Production Folder

As a group we created a production folder of all the ideas that we all contributed along with elements that separate people had to create. For example Paul, the producer, created calls sheets for each day of shooting so that everyone knew where they should be and the rota for the day:

For my sound editing I mainly used two items from the production folder that were created by other members of the team so that I could sound that we had all agreed on and also had an easy way of knowing what each bit of audio was.

The first item was that of a storyboard drawn by the camera operator, Megan, that showed exactly what we were looking for picture so I could incorporate sound to fit that:

While on shoot Myles had also kept a log off all the sound pieces. In his log he wrote what the file was called but also what the audio contained so if I needed a specific sound like scraping of wood I would be able to easily find it:

Editing

To begin with for the sound editing we wanted to try to get rid of some of the background noise that was distracting from the piece. This was mainly due to a heater that was left on during filming.

Myles and I tried two different methods to try to reduce this noise. The first was the use of the EQ level that on Pro Tools where we tried to get rid of the frequency of the heater meaning it wouldn't be heard. 

 However I found that the noise frequency of the heater was very similar to Michael's voice meaning once we began to reduce this noise his voice began to sound like he was in a tin can. Due to this we tried a different method of using Noise Reduction on Soundtrack Pro. 

By selecting a specific part of the audio that contained both Michael's voice and just the heater on it's own I tried to reduce the noise however again I reached the same problem that the frequencies were very similar so I was unable to reduce the noise while still keeping his voice clear and normal.

It was decided that we were unable to use this clip because of the heater. Thankfully it was noticed on set that this noise was effecting some of the pieces so was turned off from then on and didn't effect any others.

Meeting on Wednesday 26th

We re-grouped for a meeting on Wednesday 26th to discuss five main points:

1. Louise and Joe- editing
2. Production Folder
3. Meeting with Lee
4. Music
5. Friday

The main points that I focused on was that of 1,2 and 3 as they were linked directly to me.

Joe and I decided to meet after the meeting with Lee on Thursday so that we could plan out an edit schedule for the whole of this week to make sure we are ready for the presentation on the 6th of March.

As a group we gave all important documentation to Paul (the producer) for the production folder to show Lee as well as discussing points we want to raise with him.

Group returns from Liverpool

Once the group returned from Liverpool and I was well enough we met and discussed how the project had gone. Although all the footage that we had was exactly what we wanted in terms of style and visual quality we found a large chunk of audio missing. This was due to a member of our group, James, either not recording the audio or deleting the audio accidentally (is is unsure which). Due to this it was decided that a skeleton crew would return to Liverpool to re-record what was missing. While there they are going to re do the sit down interview as we felt we needed to ask more questions to gain a better image of Michael Phoenix as a whole.

Decision on Roles and Illness

When first deciding the roles they were decided as followed:

• Paul- Producer
• Megan- Camera Operator
• Louise- Sound Recordist
• Myles- Sound Editor
• Joe- Video Editor
• Chris- Direcor
• James- Extra Sound Recordist

However due to illness I was unable to attend the residential filming meaning we decided on a role change where Myles became the recordist and I became the editor. This meant I could still play a part in the creation of the project.

Pitch Feedback

After pitching these ideas to the group they both received an equal amount of votes meaning it was left for us to decide which one we would go for. However Debbie pointed out that focusing on a specific artist rather than just interviewing different ones around the establishment. We took this on board and decided that we would do a documentary on one of the artists situated at Bluecoats.

Megan suggested an artist called Michael Phoenix who makes violins in the old fashioned way that Stratovarius used to do including by candlelight at night. We decided to re write the pitch and contact Michael to see if we could work with him.

See below for pitch:

Treatment for ‘Scouservari’

‘Scouservari’ is a five minute long documentary film about Michael Phoenix, master violinmaker and restorer based at The Bluecoat in Liverpool. Michael first started working on musical instruments when he was eleven years old and has become a master in his field, recently working on a historic instrument made by Antonio Stradivari, the ‘Englemen’, crafted in 1709 and worth £10 million. What sets Michael apart from fellow violinmakers is that he keeps absolutely true to the style and techniques of the great Cremonese master, Antonio Stradivari (1644 – 1737). This means that he uses no electric power tools to craft his musical instruments, only hand tools and 400-year-old techniques to work the wood. When night falls, Michael continues working by candlelight to further heighten the authenticity and quality of his instruments.

We will capture Michael’s passion for music and the art of making musical instruments, as well as showing his great sense of humour and love for life in general. The film will begin by showing the audience a glimpse of Michael’s background, exploring what led him to pursue this unusual and highly skilled career. These will be in the form of interviews, which will take place in his workshop. As his techniques are so interesting and unique, these will be a major focal point of the documentary. They will be shown through beautiful close ups as Michael crafts by candlelight as well as natural light, showing the dedication to his work and making the highest quality instruments possible. The film will also include stories from Michael’s career and life in general, giving the audience an insight into his personality and character. We also plan to explore Michael’s emotional connections to the instruments he works on, and his passion for music and how he thinks it is a vital part of the human psyche to appreciate it.

Michael has incredible care and attention to detail when working on his instruments, and this will be reflected in the visual style of the film. We intend to use numerous close ups of the instruments that Michael has made and worked on, as well as close ups of his hand-made tools that he uses to craft them. This will show the audience the level of care Michael has over his instruments, making sure that the wood on every one is perfectly finished. The soundtrack to the film will consist of classical guitar music played by Michael himself as well as violin music recorded off-set. This will compliment the footage and help set the tone that we want to create.

‘Scouservari’ has been influenced by the documentary, ‘The Archive’ (Sean Dunne, 2008). We have taken inspiration from the way the subject’s love for his record collection is portrayed and intend to capture that same dedication in our subject. We have also been influenced by documentaries about luthiers, particularly ‘The Violin Maker’ (Dustin Cohen, 2013), which uses beautiful close ups of the violin making process. We intend to broaden our audience’s knowledge of the art of violin making and heighten their appreciation of music itself. Michael’s character will make this film stand out to others on the subject by highlighting his unique persona, adding a touch of Liverpool humour. We intend the film to be accessible to all audiences; however, the subject matter will predominantly appeal to those with an interest in music and the arts.

First Ideas and Pitches

When first given the brief we came up with two ideas. The first was that of Jake Morrison who was the youngest ever elected councillor at 18 years old and our second was that of the sceptic society who we at first thought would analyse different conspiracies however they did not. Instead the group would meet and analyse how these things aren't conspiracies but straight up facts so we thought this wouldn't be very interesting for a documentary.

Instead we decided to change our second pitch to that of The Bluecoats, an independent creative centre for artists, our plan was to interview different artists in the centre about the importance of Bluecoats in Liverpool.

Please see below for pitches:

Treatment- Councillor Jake Morrison

A personal profile of Liverpool’s youngest ever elected councillor, Jake Morrison. Elected to office at 18 years old, we find him over half way through a 4 year term. A term mired in controversy. We discuss Councillor Morrison’s aspirations, his successes and his failures during his time in office.

We will ask what makes an 18 year old enter the political world and what are the challenges that a young man faces when attempting to do so. Does Councillor Morrison consider himself a victim of his early success? What are Councillor Morrison’s hopes for the future? We will discuss his plans to become an MP, who he is as a person and what shaped his early years. In addition we will focus on what Councillor Morrison considers to be the biggest challenges facing local government today. Does he feel like his youth and relative inexperience have caused difficulties? Has his use of social media helped or harmed him?

The film will aim to not simply focus on Councillor Morrison as a political figure but as a person to drill down to the man beneath. The man behind the headlines. We will follow Councillor Morrison through the course of his day as he attends to his constituents and see the challenges faced by those who have the task of representing the people.

The mood will be reflective, introspective and insightful. We will take a more stylised approach in terms of the filming of the documentary. Rather than to take a traditional approach such as a direct interview like set-up, they suggested using the idea of the documentary “Pockets” which is not directly shot of the interviewee but rather objects they are carrying and the story which each of the pockets unfold. We would apply this to our documentary idea so that Councillor Morrison’s responses and story will be shown in a series of shots about his life such as the area in which he grew up and his ‘rise to power’. This will strongly express and strengthen his story, in a way which is engaging to the audience with the intention of creating a response from our peers about Councillor Morrison and his life. Specifically drawing upon what he has achieved, the controversy around his persona as a political figure and his life in the online spotlight (Twitter). We will use point of view shots to compare both the subject matter to the visual, so that the audience can identifying and understand what Councillor Morrison is identifying within the interview.

We imagine the film will be of interest to academic institutions hoping to raise aspiration in young people as well as this the film could also appeal to those interested in politics/local authority figures.

Treatment- Bluecoat Creative Community

An exploration of a thriving arts community based in Liverpool’s most historic building. The Creative Community at Bluecoat consists of three groups; create industries, independent creative retailers and artists who work across all art platforms.

The Bluecoat houses a wealth of artists working across a wide range of artistic disciplines including painters, video and sound artists as well as fine artists, textile designers and multi-media collaborators. The documentary will feature interviews with artists asking what makes Bluecoat so unique/ successful and how they feel Liverpool benefits from having such an established creative community. We will look at the rise of the nine independent retail units, selling variety of handmade and unique objects from textiles to ceramics. Alongside this we will ask how/ if they can compete with big chains. Also looking at the stories of why some people set up these businesses. We will consider the contrast between the thriving creative community at The Bluecoat and the struggling contrast between the thriving creative community at The Bluecoat and the struggling high street and ask if the Bluecoat faces any issues in its immediate future in terms of budget cuts and how will it plan to sustain itself as an enterprise. We can ask the independent stores how they are faring in the economic climate, how important the Bluecoat is to them to continue trading and what they would do without it. Also we can ask the shoppers why they choose to support small shops instead of large chains.

The piece will be light in mood and focus of the positive aspects of regeneration and community spirit. We will be mostly using diegetic sounds recorded in the artists own workshops to accurately represent their world. Given the artistic nature of the community we will be profiling we intend to reflect this in our treatment of the footage during post production. We intend to use colour tones to further enhance the emotion of the film. We will begin with a brief history of the building utilising old photographs of the building then fade them in/out to our own shots of the buildings now. Alternatively we will use time-lapse shots of various parts of the building and people making art. While using voice over of contributors stating how important the community is to them. We plan not to use a traditional interview set up whilst speaking to the artists instead we will film them while they’re making their art. There will also be lots of close ups and short depth of field shots of the art.

We intend the film to be accessible to all audiences however given the nature of the documentary it will appeal predominantly to those with an interest in the arts or independent scene. The film could be used as a promotional tool for the benefits of small business and arts communities nationwide.