Production Unit - How to film a Documentary (possibly more detail)

When we embarked on this documentary with nothing but an idea and a very rough script we had no idea where to start. We knew we were pressing to get the Black Magic Ursa Mini from UCA Farnham and we knew the kind of cinematic look we were after, however we didn't really know how a documentary is filmed or the process in which a documentary shoot is conducted. So i did some research and a website called Desktop Documentaries recomended a brief informative paragraphed list of the steps to take when creating a documentary, they are as follows:



Tell a story you care about

Start with a subject that excites you. If you’re lukewarm about the subject matter, chances are, the final movie will be too. Make a documentary you're passionate about and makes sense to YOU. There will be plenty of people who don’t “get” your idea. But if YOU get it, that’s what counts. Need help finding a story idea?



Research

Learn everything you can about your documentary subject. Sometimes the story lines are obvious, sometimes not. Do a lot of digging and follow leads. This is where you put on your reporter hat. Gather facts and search for leads on interesting characters and story lines. The gems of your story are sometimes buried deep out of sight.



Make a Plan

Create an outline. Think about HOW you’re going to tell your story. What’s the structure? The style? Is there existing footage or photos that help tell your story or will everything need to be shot brand new? Who is your primary character(s)? What are you core story points? What are the elements of your story that are compelling and/or make you “tingle” with intrigue? How can you create that intrigue for your audience? Is there some existing situation you can film or do you need to create the moment



Create a Shot List

This is a list of the footage and interviews you’ll need to make your movie. Think of it as your list of “ingredients”. Depending on the complexity of your project, you may or may not need to create a budget.

Start Shooting

Are you making documentaries for the web, mobile devices, television, theater? Maybe a combination? Keep in mind HOW your movie will be viewed because that can dictate your shooting and storytelling style. (Hint: tiny details off in the distance will not be seen on an iPhone). Make sure when you're shooting an event to capture a variety of angles including close-ups, medium shots and wide shots.




Write a Script

Once all of the footage is shot and you’ve gathered the various production elements, time to start organizing it into a script. Pinpoint the most compelling elements of your story and start crafting "mini-scenes" around those events. Remember, a script isn't necessarily what's spoken or a voice-over. A script describes what the audience is seeing AND hearing.


Begin Editing

This is actually one of my favorite parts of the process. It’s like putting together a great big puzzle! First you'll need to choose your video editing computer and video editing software. Once you're all set with equipment, you'll start putting down your clips of footage one right after the other in a sequence. The art with editing is to create a "roller coaster" ride of emotion, some parts fast, some part slow to create a dynamic viewing experience.



Check Legal and Copyright Issues

Even though this is near the end of the list, it should actually be something you keep in mind from the very beginning and throughout the ENTIRE filmmaking process. I cannot express enough the importance of this section. I would recomend reading through these pointsabout copyright before starting on your project.


Distribute! Of course, now that you’ve done all the work making your documentary, you want people to see it, right? Never before have there been so many options for filmmakers to showcase their work. From theaters to television to DVD to the web, a new world of distribution is being invented right in front of our eyes. Making documentaries and showcasing your work is easier than ever.

Above is a video from YouTube that i found that i found really helpful and actually raises a lot of super valid ponts that i went on to exploit when filming for the project. He mentions voice over being a good element but you shouldn't have too much otherwise you will be telling not showing, this is exactly the reason we decided against V/O in our documentary, there are so many already existing layers to it for such a short doc that V/O just wasn't needed. Another great point that i couldn't agree more with is his point about B-Roll or GV's as we know them. Overshooting is key (as long as you have enough storage) because you need as much as possible to play with in the editing suite, and he comes out with an astonishing figure, that B-Roll counts for about 60:1 so that means for roughly every 60 minutes you get of B-Roll or GV's you will only end up using 1 minute of it. 

Production Unit - Netflix research

Netflix, Inc. is an American media-services provider headquartered in Los Gatos, California, founded in 1997 by Reed Hastingsand Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California. The company's primary business is its subscription-based streaming service which offers online streaming of a library of films and television programs, including those produced in-house. As of April 2019, Netflix had over 148 million paid subscriptions worldwide, including 60 million in the United States, and over 154 million subscriptions total including free trials.

Since 2012, Netflix has taken more of an active role as producer and distributor for both film and television series, and to that end, it offers a variety of "Netflix Original" content through its online library. By January 2016, Netflix services operated in more than 190 countries. Netflix released an estimated 126 original series and films in 2016, more than any other network or cable channel.

Unsolicited Submissions to Netflix

I decided that the best place to start research was Netflix's own website, and found some useful material on their help page.

If you have an idea for a show or film, you may be curious how to send it to Netflix. Netflix only accepts submissions through a licensed literary agent, or from a producer, attorney, manager, or entertainment executive with whom we have a preexisting relationship. Any idea that is submitted by other means is considered an “unsolicited submission.” Whether it is an idea that just came to mind or a fully developed script, Netflix does not accept unsolicited materials or ideas. Any submission, even those we solicit, must come to Netflix through a licensed literary agent, or from a producer, attorney, manager, or entertainment executive who already has a relationship with Netflix. 

If you have an idea, script, screenplay, or production already in development that you’d like to pitch to Netflix, you should work through a licensed literary agent, producer, attorney, manager, or entertainment executive who already has a relationship with Netflix. If you do not have any of these resources available, Netflix will be unable to accept your unsolicited submissions.

Netflix uses all of the following methods to find new content to buy or create:

• Netflix employs a team of creative executives and buyers, who receive pitches for shows and movies.

• Netflix has deep relationships with the creative community and talent agencies, who propose ideas for shows and movies.

• Netflix may purchase finished works at film festivals or other established venues.

• Netflix may generate an idea internally and hire writers or other creatives to develop those ideas further.

Through some research on a website called lightsfilmschool.com i found lots of really insightful articles about approaching Netflix and things to remember such as "10 easy-to-overlook pieces of the film pre-production puzzle". I am writing a re-worded version of this article because Netflix will want to see if you are a competant producer of content and to do this you need to have good skill at managing all the below points:

1. Script - The script is the base of your project, the back bone, the structure from witch it will grow so it needs to be clear, concise and cover the following points:

• What scenes you’re shooting.
• Where those scenes take place.
• Whether they’re happening indoors or outdoors.
• The time of day during each scene.
• What actors are involved in each scene.
• What those actors are doing.
• What elements need to be created and/or found for each scene: wardrobe, props, art, and the like.
• Although cameras and equipment aren’t quite the focus of our discussion today, you’re also probably already thinking about the gear you’ll need to realize the aesthetic the script suggests.

2. Project Budget - 

Really there are two ways of looking at your budget, planning the shoot around your budget or plan the budget around what you need for the shoot. So by now you will have established what kind of figures you have to play with and if it is a small/ micro budget then your approach will be ther first of the two choices, planning the shoot around the budget and visa versa. You should also have a realisic sense for budget, if you know it will be limited find a way to finance the project or make it more affordable.

You should also consider where on the spectrum between super high production value block buster and small time indie film your project lies and plan for budget accordingly. Another question to ask yourself is how big is your team? Is it a skeleton crew or a large scale production? You must take this into consideration when looking at catering, because especially when you bring in a catering company and don't just get sandwiches from M&S every person will make a big difference to budget. Creatives decisions are another key aspect as well, what camera gear and equipment do you need in order to bring the director’s vision to life? will you need special FX? these are all things you still need to take into consideration when thinking about budget.

3. Shooting schedule - 

Build a schedule - Professional shoots use three types of schedule:

• The one liner - A one-liner is essentially an abbreviated shooting schedule. Most productions also create a more detailed shooting schedule that breaks down each day by scene and includes the equipment, location, talent, and other relevant information but not eveyone on set needs such a detailed schedule and it would be a waste of paper.

                                                                                                            

• The day out of days - A day out of days report, or DOOD, is quite simply a chart.

On one axis, the chart shows the names of all of the characters in the film, sometimes with a note about which actor is playing which character. Each character is numbered, and they’re usually listed in order of importance to the story – for example, the protagonist is “#1”. The numbers in this scheduling document correlate to the numbers in all other documents.

On the chart’s other axis, you’ll find all of the days in the film shoot. Here, in each box, you’ll find a notation that indicates whether an actor is working on the day represented by that box.

Furthermore, codes in the boxes are used to indicate a range of things. Some of the most common codes are:

• SW: “Start Work”, which indicates an actor’s first day on set.
• W: “Work”, which means that the actor is working that day.
• H: “Hold”, which means that the actor is not currently scheduled to work, but production is requiring them to remain available in case the shooting schedule changes. Remember Big Actor from my example above? I wouldn’t schedule a meeting with Big Producer on a date noted “H” unless I let Big Producer know that their plans could change at any time. An actor is paid for hold days even when they don’t end up working.
• WF: “Work Finish”, which indicates an actor’s last day on set.
• SWF: “Start-Work-Finish”, which means an actor started, worked, and finished their job all in one day. This code also can be “PWF”, which stands for “Pickup-Work-Finish” and means the same thing.

• The call sheet - The most detailed, day-to-day document on a professional film shoot is the call sheet. A call sheet exists for each and every day of a film or television shoot and is distributed to cast and crew at least twelve hours before the day is scheduled to begin. The main feature of the call sheet is the call time; meaning, the time that any given individual associated with the production is expected to be on set. The crew call time, which applies to most of the people who work on the film who are not actors, is featured front and center on the call sheet. Because of its detail, the call sheet is often thought of as the biggest and most important production scheduling document.

A key thing to remeber to do is make lists:

Locations - Interior or exterior setting

                   Time of day

                   Actors involved

                   Elemements - wardrobe, art, props

Group scenes - Group scenes by location, within location

During day - back to back and in same location

During night - back to back and in same location 

Time of day - back to back actors scenes

If you make a list of what scenes have specific requirements e.g. a sunset in the backrground or a group shot in a warehouse then when creating the call sheets etc you can refer back to these lists and plan efficiantly to make the most of the actors time and even if they are seperate scenes have back to back shoots at the same location to save having to rehire it. 

4. Hair, make up and wardrobe - 

As the creator of the project you need to go through script and find out what each actor is wearing for each scene and thier genreal apperance. Going back to those listing skills you must then list what each character is suppose to look like in each scene.This will help with both visualisation and liasing with wardrobe department.

The job of the script supervisor is to watch actors between shoots to make sure they maintain continuity and consistency. They must also watch all the props so that the shots maintain the ilusion of continuous time, something you couldn't have if a drink on a table is in different positions between shots.

The job of the Producer (on shoot) is to work with and support hair, make up and wardrobe departments. They make sure everything is where it needs to be when it need to be there. If an extra wig is needed thats down to the roducer. Wrong colour green for that cape? Go tell the producer that.

5. Props and Art -

Yet again another list to make; props and for requirements for each scene. There needs to be a list of what is needed and in which scene they are going to appear which is vital for props department and script superviser to know. You must also consider the location you have to shoot your scene in, if it is a salesman's office but you need it to look like a doctors office what props would you need? Medical poster? stethiscope? Name plate on desk wit Dr. before the name? 

On larger shoots, you may have a prop master on hand to help. They’ll find, store, and manage everything you need from scene to scene. If you don’t need or just don’t have a prop master, then a list will help you get organised and keep track of the details.

6. Locations - 

When writing a shooting sceduale you should:
- find out location of each scene
- Identify place 

- Contact owner or person in charge

- Find out if and when possible to film

- Find out if you need to pay fees to use

Once these are established you must then ask these questions to yourself:

• Is location avalible when needed?
• Are the fees to use within budget?
• Location close to others? Budget - travel costs?
• Are modifications/ alterations to the location allowed?
• Rules and conditions?
• Elecricity?
• Bathroom near?
• Water?
• Off screen space - Equipment

A good idea especially if it is a large shoot is to get a location manager who can tend to all the possible problems that may arise with locations and location aquisition. Not only this but they would be in charge of attaining a permit to film at that location if needed. 

7. Staging areas -

One of the biggest things to plan for is using avalible space. You need to be able to go on a location recce and figure out what space is going to be used for what and when. Things you will have to find space fore are:

• Equipement in use
• Equipement not in use but  that will be needed later
• Hair, make up, wardrobe
• Props art and staging storage (depending on type of shoot)
• Area actors to rest (known in the industry as holding)
• Snacks and food

The key thing is to use space wisely and get the most out of what you have.

8. Cast and crew agreements - 

Indie films - with indie films actors tend to be friends of crew or are working for free unlike large scale productions. To run a shoot smoothly cast and crew must allign expectations; Hours, times of arivel, food etc. Make sure you know all there is to know about who is working for you especially actors, for example do they belong to a union? Because if that is the case then the lower end budget projects probably won't be able to afford all that entails someone under a union. This doesn't mean however that you have to settle for less than what you envisioned, just because an actor is building thier reputation by working on low budget films they may still be a good actor.

When you are casting you need to keep an open line of communication, let them know that (within reason) if they need to they can contact you at any point and it doesn't hurt for you to send them a message now and then checking in on them re-confirming that they are still available etc. 

Once the actor is aquired and os on location you need to try and accomodate them as much as possible, keep checking up on them, keep them happy and keep them confortable. When actors are represented by someone or an organisation certain requests about food, hotels, transport etc might be made and you should do your best to try and meet as manyt requests as possible.

9. Catering - 

In the film and TV industry it is customary to cater for actors which means full meals and snacks throughout the day. If it is an early shoot breakfast should be provided but you should stick to suitable times e.g. not a four day shoot with 04:00 am starts every day. Don't forget it's not just actors that yoiu have to cater for, it's also crew cast and any extras you might have. Ideally you should have a member of crew that soley deals with catering, arrival, set up, cooking/ heating if necessary, and serving. 

10. Transportation - 

Transportation - You need to find a way to get People, equipment, props, and wardrobe to location

Location - Can you store stuff? Will you need to keep it in the transportation? Is there a secure car park?

Rent vehicals - How will this affect the budget ? Who will be the drivers?

to be able to sort transportation you will have to rely on the good old skills of Planning, Organisation and Lists.

Netflix Requirements

There are far too many specifications, options and requirements for Netflix for me to hand-type them on here and i would feel like a bit of a fruad just copy and pasting them so i will leave the documents on here for you to open if you wish. Netflix have a partner website called partnerhelp.netflixstudios.com in which there are headings and subheadings of subjects that you can look into if you want to either work for them or have a project picked up by them, from cameras to QC tools you can find advice on what Netflix likes to use. 

The Moment

So lets say you have done everything in this blogpost to an outstanding level, then you need to make it happen, it is time for the moment you pitch to get your project on Netflix. The only problem is you have no contacts within this inpenetrable business and they very rarely reach out to people, so what do you do? One option is to go to a company like Quiver.

After a flat fee, filmmakers can distribute their film on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon and Netflix and keep all of the profits. iTunes, for example, will only accept content through a preferred encoding house, who often only work with preferred aggregators such as Quiver. The content requires a specific format and delivery especially for distribution on iTunes. The aggregator will encode and deliver content specifically to all four platforms, including assets and metadata.

For platforms that require pitching such as Netflix and cable video-on-demand networks, the aggregator will also pitch your film directly to the platform. Once your film is on the platform, they will pay the aggregator and then the aggregator will pay you! For example, at Quiver, they charge a flat rate for the first platform you sign up for, and a smaller fee for each thereafter. After paying this fee, the filmmaker receives all revenue earned from TVOD platforms and payments from SVOD platforms.

Working with an aggregator is paramount to getting your documentary on platforms such as iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and Netflix. As a documentary filmmaker, you are able to submit all of your metadata and assets to one place for delivery. However, it is important to realize that as a filmmaker, you are still responsible for marketing your documentary so that people can find it on these platforms. Aggregators like digital distribution company Quiver typically do not execute marketing for films.

Production Unit - Audiences: America vs.UK vs. the World

America vs. UK vs. the World

It can certainly be said that things are little more on the extreme side when it comes to how content is presented to audiences from America as apposed to those in the UK but i feel that this can be related back to how things are marketed in the US. For example ELLE, a fashion, beauty and lifestyle magazine, advertised one of thier srticles on twitter in two completely different ways because one was in the uk and one was for Americans.

I believe it is this difference in the way the American and UK audiences are marketed to that after long periods of exposure starts to give them a "type" of maketing, TV, Film etc. that they like. If you see adverts for things ranging from breakfast cereal to lawnmowers that have deep voiced dramatic narrations which lots of action on screen then you grow acustom to that and start to expect that from eveything you watch. Which is why when they are sown something that isn't fast-paced adrenaline fuelled action-packed then they don't like it, they can not sustain their attention. 

Not only this but there also seems to be an extraordinary amount of over expression and almost fake happiness where Americans are concerned. For example, McDonald’s UK‘s tweets to customers contain far fewer exclamation marks and smiling emojis, in comparison to the McDonald’s U.S. twitter feed. When you campare American marketing to British marketing you could say it looks "boring" and a lot of the time when Americans watch british humour it's lost on them, not because they are unintelligent, but because they are aware of the small details and hints that sacrcasm or other comedic devices ar being used. As Ricky Gervais explains in an aticle for TIME about the difference between British and American audiences " We (brits) use sarcasm as a shield and a weapon. We avoid sincerity until it’s absolutely necessary. We mercilessly take the piss out of people we like or dislike basically. And ourselves. This is very important. Our brashness and swagger is laden with equal portions of self-deprecation. This is our license to hand it out". So he basically is saying that it is the culture that people are raised in, how we walk and talk in every day life that reflects the type of thing we watch and things we laugh at. He compares the two countires cultures in the following quote: "Americans are brought up to believe they can be the next president of the United States. Brits are told, 'It won’t happen for you'." However following Gervais' comment about Brits and their self-deprication, swagger and brashness he follows it with "This can sometimes be perceived as nasty if the recipients aren’t used to it. It isn’t. It’s play fighting. It’s almost a sign of affection if we like you, and ego bursting if we don’t. You just have to know which one it is." This to me perfectly sums up the difference between the two audiences, why Americans have thier TV shows and we have ours. Not because one is better than the other but because they are tailored to suit two different cultures, show one of one counties shows to another and more than likely they wouldnt understand it or they just plain wouldn't fancy watching it. A perfect example would a comparison between the American comedy show Big Bang Theory and the british comedy tv show This Country, an American audience would take the british show too literally and probably not understand the concept at all, they need one liners, obvious jokes not subtle humour that builds up. This to me is why Netflix proportions and limits what shows go where, otherwise they are spending money keeping content in countries that most likely are not going to watch it.

Not only this but along with the fact that the word awesome can never mentioned too much in America the easiest way to get an American audience on board is to be patriotic. America is the definition of patriotism, if you have an American flag in your front yard in the US you're a patriot, you're applauded and respected, you have a union jack in your front garden in the UK it's most likey the council will ask you to take it down as it offends other cultures. America as far as it is concerned is the middle of the universe, the best place in the world where you can do and be whtever you want yee haw Murica! However companies exploit this day in day out with the "American Dream" style attitude, the good old formula of "if you have guns, the american flag, a grizzly bear or a Bald Eagle the American people will like it". An example of the typical advertisement in America is the video below:

Being conditioned with this kind of stuff every time you put the TV on leads to a certain style of film or TV programme that is most successful in the US; make it dramatic, make it attention grabbing, have a plot twist in it (if it's not too complicated) and have lots of action (explosions prefferably). This of course works in Hollywood because... well name a big block-buster that has made millions (*cough* Marvel's last 22 films *cough*) that didn't have loads of action a few cheeky plot twists and have explosions in it. This becomes a problem however when you try to make a Documentary.

From the get go we have wanted to get our documentary or project or idea on Netflix in one form or another, however they started out in California and although they are branching out internationally and have said they are opeing an office in London, they still have thier audience to think about. Americans accounted for 60.55 million subscribers in 2018 where as the UK only accounted for 9.1 million (statistics from Ofcom and TechRadar). So when deciding on what content they want to commission they WILL be thinkinking about how well it will do in America even if the people pitching it are British. Netflix will sit down with their marketing team and discuss whether they think they can market it the way they know it will attract an audience who are used to American TV and adverts.

This is where their system of regulation comes in. Obviosly it would be great for them if every title that was pitched to them would be able to be streamed in every country and as many people as possible could give Netflix revenue by watching all these titles, however this is impossible due to several factors. One being limitations culturally and legally, for example China have banned Big Bang Theory because, according to the website cheatsheet.com, they don't want the depiction of "losers" being glorified, only successful hard working role models should get the spotlight. Not only this but Netflix in general is a touchy subject in China, technically you can't "get" Netflix in that country but you can watch it. There is however no leaniancy with the platform in countries such as North Korea, it is completely illegal to have or attempt to stream Netflix there and punishments for said activity can be quite brutal. Anyway with such limitation on content in some countries this can lead to people who live in that country paying a similar price as that of another country but in effect getting less for their money as less content is being aloud to be shown.

See below the difference in library size and types of content due to restrictions between UK/USA and the likes of Russia and Iran:

Production Unit - Exploring Sensationalism

When you are making a documentary or planning to make one you must first do absolute mountains of research beforehand and sort of establish what the problem you will be adressing is or why the topic is documentary-worthy, much like a journalist for a news story to see if it news-worthy. So in this stage of being a sort of temporary journalist you will meet and talk to lots of people but the key thing is not to belive anyone. If you talk to 30 people don't belive a sing one, collate the stories, cross examine them, find the patterns and let that speak for itself. The problem arises when you start to grow a strong bond with the topic or individuals and start to take every word as gospal, then you you will be reporting on them with an enthusiasm and bias that you wouldn't have if you didn't have that bond. And this can lead to sensationalism.

To understand the controversy surrounding sensationalism in journalism, you must first have a clear grasp of what these two terms mean:

Journalism

Whether freelance writers or staff contributors, journalists follow a strict code of ethics. Journalism requires that content be created with several key principles in mind:

• Objective and unbiased reporting
• Factual accuracy
• Distribution of useful knowledge
• Service of the public good
• Fulfills a genuine need to know
• Avoids slander or libel

Journalists help people understand complex issues, motivate them to become more involved in their communities, and give them a broader perspective on worldwide events.

Sensationalism

Sensationalism is content that is:

• Controversial
• Shocking
• Attention grabbing
• Failing to explain the broader issues behind the story while focusing on superficial details
• Published to attract readers, regardless of whether the information is accurate or informative

Some examples of sensational stories you might find in the media include stories about the private sexual exploits of famous actors and actresses or repeated coverage of crimes that are unique in their level of gore and violence. Articles that use junk science to back up dubious claims such as "a woman over the age of 40 who gets pregnant is doomed to give birth to a special needs child" can also be considered sensational. Accusations of sensationalism seem to come up most often in the field of broadcast journalism, but print journalists can be involved in this as well.

History of Sensationalism in the Media

So now we know what sensationalism is, but where did it come from?

While the general public often criticizes modern mainstream media for promoting sensational content, journalism and sensationalism have been linked for many years. Yellow journalism, the practice of trying to promote biased opinion as objective fact, often involved sensationalism. Newspapers would run minor news stories with huge, overly dramatic headlines and the lavish use of attention-getting pictures or drawings. Stories would often be misleading and feature pseudo-science or quotes from faked interviews. In the 1890s, The New York World run by Joseph Pulitzer and The New York Journal run by William Randolph Hearst were known for yellow journalism, yet routinely outsold competitors who published purely objective content.

Avoiding Sensationalism

For a freelance writer or documentary maker, the real danger occurs when a story starts off to be journalism and begins to veer into sensational territory. For example, a writer working on a story about the current economic recession could include statistics about the unemployment rate, interviews with officials in local economic development offices, and information about which major businesses have laid off workers in the last year. Anecdotes could also be used to support key points in the story, although this is where writers must be careful not to be overly sensational.

Anecdotes should represent the common experience, not what is most shocking. Choosing to profile a single mother lost her job as a supermarket shelf stocker and has five children with four different men is not responsible journalism if your statistics indicate that most of the people affected by the poor economy in your area are middle-aged men who work in the construction or manufacturing industries.

Production Unit - Topic Research

On this post i will mention websites, articles etc that i have explored to try and gain an insight into the world we are filming and what to expect.

My first nugget of information comes from a site called www.injustice-film.com, which briefly describes the process of trying to access a prison to film.

"The presentation of these possibilities is itself framed by the film production process: gaining permission to enter a prison takes a very long time and requires that the film idea – and the film maker – is palatable. This is to say, it is unlikely that a project whose intent is to end prison will be welcomed. Moreover, our position is a rhetorical one too – the mere act of asking permission positions one within a frame of reference that is not of one’s choosing.

The film makers have never asked permission to make their films, and they are not about to start. If, we do choose to use footage from inside prison, we suspect that it will only be footage provided by prisoners themselves, who didn’t ask permission."

There is a documentray simply called Prison made by a man called Paddy Wivell and it is a three part series. On the 11th of January this year (2019) he was interviewed by chanel 4 about his third installment in the trilogy and what it was like to film:



You made a three part series about HMP Durham. The first two parts were on over the summer. Why the delay for this one?

We were waiting for an outstanding court case to finish. The person involved in that was the main contributor in the third episode, so we’d potentially be in contempt of court if we put it out before the end of his trial.

Why did you want to make this series, and why now?

I’ve always wanted to make a series in prison, and this was the first time an opportunity had come up. It’s a particularly important moment to be able to get access to prison, because no camera’s been allowed in to make a documentary film in five years, and in that time, we’ve seen almost daily reports coming out of prisons of the crisis that’s going on within them. I think, for that reason, it’s a particularly important series, because it tackles the crisis that’s affecting prisons up-and-down the country, specifically to do with drugs and mental health and violence, which are the themes to our three episodes. It feels quite timely, I think.


Was it difficult to get access? What kind of assurances did you have to give?

Do you know what, it was remarkably straightforward. I came in at the stage where Spring Films had already spoken in depth to an Executive Governor up in the northeast, and he invited me to come and spend a bit of time in one or two of the prisons in the region. Durham was the second one I went to, and I knew instantly that was the place I wanted to make the films. That was partly because of the building itself – it’s an old Victorian prison, and it really feeds into the public perception of what prison’s like. It had a charisma all of its own. But more importantly, I got on really well with the governor. He’d been there for ten years, and was really well thought of, and felt that it was a good idea for us to come in. His sense was that they were getting the worst headlines they could possibly imagine, and that actually his staff were doing an amazing job in the most difficult circumstances. I think we just got on really well, and I was quite transparent in my thinking. We had meetings weekly, and I talked about how the series was shaping up, and he just afforded me a huge level of trust. So the management access went really well, but then I had to spend quite a lot of time on the shop floor, on the wings, trying to convince the prison officers that we weren’t there to stitch them up. We had a shared agenda, showing what a remarkable job they do in the most trying circumstances. I kept trying to remind people that in the public consciousness, the idea of what they do hasn’t really been updated in a long time. In fact they do a very different job to the one a lot of the public think that they do. They don’t rule with an iron fist. They have to be much more empathetic and subtle and nuanced and thoughtful in the way they go about their work.

It strikes me, from watching the programme, that you have a lot of respect for the staff and the job they do.

Yeah, I was blown away, actually, by what they have to put up with. Particularly in a prison like Durham, which is a remand prison. So they get a huge turnover, a massive traffic of people coming in and out of the prison all the time. They’re in that prison straight from the police cells right up until they get tried. So they’re dealing with people who are very often in a state of crisis. It can be a very volatile atmosphere. They do an extraordinary job, given how challenging it is. What I wasn’t prepared for was the shocking level of violence and the epidemic of mental illness that’s going on in our prison. Quite often, places like HMP Durham are where our most vulnerable citizens end up, given the cuts to community care. It becomes one of the only places that can really take care of people, and central to that are the prison staff.

You seemed to get a remarkable amount of candour from prisoners. How did you go about winning their trust?

I think a lot of them were quite welcoming of a different voice coming in. We’re sort of independent from the staff, and a lot of the prisoners are quite bored. Their lives are incredibly routine in there, and I think it was interesting for them. A lot of them didn’t want to take part, for understandable reasons, but quite a lot did. I think it’s partly because, wherever I go, I’m tapping into people’s expertise, and it’s no different with inmates. They know something that I don’t, and I really want them to tell me about it, and I think that kind of attention can be quite enjoyable. Plus, I don’t go in there with a set agenda or a set of judgements. I go in there to win the trust of people so they can give me an insight into a life I don’t really understand. And I think they quite enjoyed a chat. Particularly in the northeast, they love a chat up there.

Did any of them just see you as an effete, southern film-maker with all the advantages in life?

I don’t think that north-south thing really comes into it. It’s just one person taking interest in another. I try my best to win people round. I think people quite enjoy that process – talking about what they know.

Did you ever feel threatened during filming?There was a bit in the first episode when there was an idea that we might have grassed some people up on the wing, and an intelligence report came back to us that we were in danger of getting attacked. It felt a little bit odd, the atmosphere, for a couple of days. But actually it was fine. To be honest with you, I didn’t feel particularly endangered. In the main I felt really quite welcome.

The mental health episode had a devastating postscript. How did you feel upon learning of James’ death?

Totally shocked. It was awful. I just didn’t see the trajectory of his life going in that direction. Particularly with the level of care and support that he got. It felt like it was moving in the right direction, that he’d be going to a psychiatric unit for a period of assessment, which is something he wanted. But it just showed me how little you can know what is really going on inside someone’s head. It was extraordinarily sad. It was only with his mother’s blessing that we felt able to show that story, and we’re very grateful to her for that.

Was there a lot of stuff the staff at the prison asked you not to show?

I’m sure there must have been, but I can’t think what it was. There was a lot of concern about the James storyline in particular. But my argument was always “Just let us cut the film, and we’ll show it to you.” But I think the story actually challenges the idea that a death in custody is necessarily the outcome of some kind of wrongdoing or neglect. Actually, terrible things can happen despite people doing everything they can for an individual. I totally understood why there was anxiety around us showing that, but I knew what I’d filmed and what I’d seen, and I felt strongly that it was an important story, and one that would be really illuminating for the public, about the crisis of mental illness that’s going on every day up-and-down the country.


How long were you filming for?

Seven months, in total. Every day. I knew I needed a lot of stories for three episodes, and I knew there was so much uncertainty about what I’d be able to show and what I wouldn’t be able to show, because of issues of consent, or because of impending court cases. So I just kept gathering stories. But it was possible, because prisons are teeming with stories and life. These are often people who are very difficult to film on the outside, because they’re quite chaotic and unreliable. On the inside it’s much more feasible, because they’re there.


Did it take a toll on you?

To a point, but I like going to tough places, where you’re looking at the extremes of life. The worst thing that can occur when you’re filming is nothing happening. And that’s just not the case in a place like that. In fact, it’s weirdly invigorating, as a film-maker, because so much is going on. Even though you might be looking at people’s lives that are quite difficult, the actual process of being there and speaking to people is quite enjoyable. Plus I always look hard for those pockets of warmth and humour. I think a lot of prison films of the past have the danger of being a little bit one note in their tone. I’m always looking for characters or individuals or circumstances that are a little bit enjoyable to be around. In the drugs film there’s something quite amazing about people’s tenacity and ability to try and beat the system. I wanted all the films to be very present tense, I didn’t want them to be about people’s past or their crimes. I wanted to take the viewer inside a place they’d never set foot, and to give them a real taste of what it’s like in there. I was determined to make all the stories in the hear and now, and I think that gives it a vitality that you might not expect.

What was the biggest surprise to you, making this series?

I think the biggest surprise was the mental illness. I knew it was a problem, but to be amongst it and to witness it… I think there’s a mental health worker in that episode and I ask her how many prisoners are in there, and she says 950, and I asked how many of them suffer from mental halth problems, and she said “At least 600.” That is flabbergasting. The level of self-harm is truly shocking. That was the biggest surprise.

One of the things that comes to light in this final episode is how stressful it is for prisoners being released. Why is that?
Yeah. I think the public reckon that the day of release is a really happy one, and it so clearly wasn’t. Prison can take away the responsibility of making decisions. Suddenly you see prisoners about to leave, realising how difficult their life is about to become. It’s actually a very fearful thing.

If you were put in charge of prison policy tomorrow, what would be your first act in the job?

Oh God. I wouldn’t presume to know any better than the professionals that do it.


Okay, to put it another way, what’s the biggest problem facing prisons?

I think it’s a societal one, really. Poverty, housing crisis, drugs policies, cuts to mental health services – these are all problems that exist in society, and prison is a place where they have to cope with the consequences of that. That service is coping with difficulties that lots of services are facing outside. It’s a very deep-rooted set of problems, and not easy ones to solve.

What do you say to people who argue that life behind bars is too cushy?

It’s complete rubbish. You don’t have to spend long in a prison to realise it’s not a holiday camp. I think the biggest [problem is when people see that prisoners have a telly. But that does more to alleviate the problems that incarceration causes than any other thing. After I’d been in there a few months and the gloss of the new had worn off a bit, the sense of the narrow existence that people lead in a place like that is really quite a crushing thing. What’s particularly sad is when those living conditions are better for quite a lot of people than those they live in outside. 

  What strikes me is how far myself and george have gotten considering we didn't have big production companies or managers or people with contacts in government etc we were literally two lads from maidstone. For example the question where C4 asks Paddy how hard it was to get access to a prison and he said it was really quite straight forward but then goes on to say that Spring Films had been speaking with prison officials, staff and govenor for a long time before he was involved. Well when you have an Oscar nominated, Emmy Award winning production company specialising in high-end feature and television documentaries doing 99% of the coroborating for you then it most likely would be quite straight foward! 

Certainly there are differences between our experiance with prison access and Wivell's but we are in completely different leagues when it comes to have the sway that a company as big as Spring Films can have on certain people/ places. 

One of the first things i did was research what it was like to be a prisoner, get a grasp of the old saying "to be like a _____, you must think like a _____" and to think like a prisoner i had to know what prisoners face from the moment they arrive. The GOV.UK website was extremely helpful and had informative bullet points of what happens to you from start to end in prison. 

Arriving at prison

When someone arrives at prison they have at least one interview and assessment so they:

• understand prison rules and procedures
• know what their rights are
• are told of courses available
• get the right healthcare

The prisoner gets a prison number and their property is recorded and put somewhere safe until they’re released.

Security categories

Prisoners are given a security category based on:

• how likely they are to try to escape
• their risk of causing harm to other prisoners and prison staff

A prisoner may be transferred to another prison with a different security category at any time.

Prisoner privileges and rights

Privileges
Prisoners who follow rules can earn privileges. This is called the ‘Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme’. A prisoner may be able to:

• get more visits from family or friends
• be allowed to spend more money each week 

Privileges are different in each prison - staff can explain to the prisoner how the scheme works.

Punishments
A prisoner who breaks prison rules is normally punished. They can be:

• kept in their cell for up to 21 days
• given up to 42 extra days in prison on top of their original sentence

The prison can take away privileges - eg removing a TV from a cell.

Rights
Prisoners have rights, including:

• protection from bullying and racial harassment
• being able to get in contact with a solicitor
• healthcare - including support for a mental health condition

All prisoners should be able to spend between 30 minutes and an hour outside in the open air each day.

Healthcare in prison

Prisoners get the same healthcare and treatment as anyone outside of prison. Treatment is free but has to be approved by a prison doctor or member of the healthcare team. Prisons don’t have hospitals, but many have in-patient beds. Most problems are dealt with by the healthcare team. If they can’t, the prison may:

• get an expert to visit the prison
• arrange for treatment in an outside hospital

The healthcare team can ask the prisoner’s family doctor for their records, but only if the prisoner agrees to it.

Special help and support

Prisoners can get specialist support - eg if they:

• have drug or alcohol problems
• have HIV or AIDS
• are disabled or have a learning difficulty
• Refusing medical treatment

A prisoner can refuse treatment. However, the healthcare team may choose to give treatment if the prisoner isn’t capable of making decisions themselves (eg they have a mental health condition). Wherever possible, the healthcare team will discuss this with the prisoner’s family first.

Vulnerable prisoners

Staff are trained to spot prisoners at risk of bullying, suicide or self-harm. The prisoner may get their own case manager who will make sure they:

• are asked about their mental health - eg if they’re feeling depressed
• get regular support from a health specialist

Most prisons also have ‘listener schemes’ that offer emotional support in confidence - normally from fellow prisoners.

Psychiatric hospitals

A prisoner can be moved to a secure psychiatric hospital for their own safety. This only happens if they meet certain conditions under the Mental Health Act.

Once the prisoner gets better, they return to prison.

If you’re worried about a prisoner

If you’re worried about a prisoner:

• tell a member of prison staff when you visit
• contact the prison’s ‘Safer Custody Team’

Some prisons run confidential Safer Custody hotlines where you can leave a message explaining your concerns.

Education and work in prison

Courses are normally available to help prisoners get new skills, eg learning to read and write, use computers and do basic maths. Most prisoners get an Individual Learning Plan listing courses and training.

Qualifications and skills

Most courses lead to qualifications that are recognised by employers outside prison, eg GCSEs or NVQs. Prisoners may be able to do a distance learning course, eg Open University. A prisoner can learn skills eg woodwork, engineering or gardening.

Working in prison

Many prisoners get the chance to work while carrying out their sentence, eg making clothes and furniture or electrical engineering. This is done in prison workshops and is normally paid work. Prisoners can also work around the prison itself - eg in kitchens and laundries. A ‘low-risk’ prisoner may be allowed to work in the community.

Statistics

Not only did i need to get into the mindframe of what it would be like to be in prison but i also had to do some backrgound research on the current status of our prisons and whether thet are infact in a crisis. After some internet surfing i came across an extremely informative (some may even say too informative) site called the Institute for Government which explained all about prison funding, over crowding and other matters.

The following paragragh is taken from the Institute for Government website and i noted it here because i thought it had relevence to one of our case studies Jordan Cunliffe. He was 15 when he was in court and was given an adult sentence (life) and sent to an adult prison! So when it talks about number of young offenders decreasing i wondered if that was the case of that things were being organised to exploit some kind of loophole that means it looks like the number of under 18's offenders is decreasing. 

"The total number of prisoners in June 2018 includes 642 under-18s (all male), most of whom are held in young offender institutions. There has been a dramatic fall over recent years in the number of young people held in custody: between June 2010 and June 2018, the number of under-18s in young offender institutions more than halved (from 1,661 to 642). This reflects an apparent overall fall in youth crime – fewer young people are being cautioned or sentenced. However, there is evidence that the remaining population of young people in custody is becoming more challenging, with a growing proportion being held for violent offences."

Production Unit - Inspirational Documentaries

A Slice of Reality - Shots

A slice of reality is a three and a half minute short documentary about a modern art pice made by sculptist Richard Wilson. I had seen this documentary previously before this unit had started and i remembered it because of how nicely shot it was. The documentary starts with shots of the river Thames, lots of slow motion movement and some very intimate close ups of the sculptist himself when he introduces himslef.

The shots then progress from the sculptist to the topic of his convorsation which is his piece called " A slice of reality". He explains it took two years to plan and that it is a section of a large ship that was removed and placed on the banks of the river Thames. As he is explaining this there are lots of great shots covering different angles of the ship. I think what makes them so appealing are the combination of focus pulls and the fact that the shots are so fluid.

There is very rarely if any at all a shot (especially of the ship) that is static. This creates a sense of cinematic purpose, we are moving for a reason, we are on a journey and the conclusion of the documentary is the destination.

In the shots above you can see a wide shot or arguably an establishing shot of the sculpture in question. This shot is one of the first shots you see of the ship and it seems like they may have attained this shot from being on a boat on the river Thames however they must have also used a gimbal due to how stabilsed the shot was. Couple the stabalisation and the smooth movement and keeping the ship framed up well this shot turns into something mesmurising because it doesn't feel like a human holding a camera could create this. I have a theory that when you create shots with no shake and no hint of error or that a person is operating the camera you fall completely into the suspension of disbelief. You dont ask yourself "how did they get that shot" you as basically an animal are mesmerised by this moving image and seeing something in a view that you wouldnt normally see it. 

Following the wide shot from the river is this relitively fast pull out from the ships windows revealing more and more of the interior. Not only does this give you a strange feeling like the ship is gettimg bigger and bigger but it is in keeping with the fluid structure of the filming so far. After this shot however when the Sculptist starts talking about how long it took to physically cut the ship and why he chose to present his piece this way and what it symbolises, there is a barage of short lasting shots of the sculpture and its creator. 

After this quick succession of shots the pace of cutting then slows down and things seem to become very calm and almost somber. This slow and grey tone is introduced by a time laps of the sculpture however there is a key difference with this shot that i have never seen in any other time laps. Not only does the camera record the time laps and obtain that cool effect of an object standing still while the world around it wizzes by, but it also pans to the right whilst doing so. 

 As a viewer you get a sense that the journey is heading to its end and this seems to be his fairwell speech, an almost "you're watching this documentary because..." type of tone. It ends on him talking about lots of ships being surplus to requirement and how in 1936 on the coronation of King George 1000 ships passed the point in which his sculpture now stands. The doc ends on another time laps with the sun going down and the sculpture fading into darkness.

One of the biggest things to take from this extremely short doc would be the music. It compliments the shots perfectly with each note occuring with the change of a shot. It also has a serious tone without beeing gloomy or too dramatised/ over the top. To me it is the perfect example of what a short doc should look and sound like.

The Dissapearance of Madeline McCan - Interviews

When i was watching this documentary, what struck me the most was two things; one was how much drone footage they used (and reused) but also how thier interviews looked. Through out the documentary there are a lot of people interviewed, either specialists in the field that is being discussed or people who have had direct contact or experiance with the McCans. However they are all shot differently. Some are shot central, some use the rule of thirds, some have everything in focus and some have a shallow field of depth (blurred background and focus on the foreground). They even appear to have diffent tones and colour grades.

The man above is called  Jim Gamble, he was a senior police officer who had worked at the child exploitation and online protectoin centre. He is shot in the classic interview style framing, using the rule of thirds and keeping his eyeline just to the side of the camera. He is also being interviewed in an office enviroment wearing a suit which is standard practise for "professional" who is being interviewed for something. 

Robert Hall - Senior Correspondant BBC 

Robert Hall is shot slightly differently, it has very low key lighting with dark wood desk and background. Not only this but there is a lot more desk between the camera and subject, this creates a lack of  intimacey with the interviewee unless you cut to a close up. They do adopt a widely used technique when framing and staging for an interview which is putting a visible source of light in the background. This adds to the enviroment of the location but also gives a pleasing aesthetic to the overall picture. 

Sandra Felgueiras - Portugese Journalist

There are actually several locations that Sandra is interviewed on but this is the most cut to and the style we like the most. This type of raming offers a close up intimite style of interview with more severe eyelines that means when they say something very impactful or talk about something that would cause you to feel uncomfortable, you don't because she is not making eye contact with you therefore you hear and understand what she says without having the emotional impact as badly. We also admire the look that having a background out of focus has, not only does it look really nice but it allows you to mentally and visually focus on her as there is no detail for your brain to pick out from the background. 

Goncalo Amaral - Head of Polícia Judiciária

With this interview some may argue his positioning is strange as he is almost slap bang in the middle of the frame but this arguement can be counter argued with a point that didn't seem apparent to me at first. Even though they have blurred the background (cinematic) Goncalo doesn't speak english so he has subtitles that appear as he talks. Therefore, it doesn't matter too much how he is framed because you are intently reading (and following with your eyes) every subtitled word as it appears so you won't actually be paying to much attention to his appearance. 

Julian Peribanez - private detective

Julian isn't introduced to the viewers until later on in the series, about episode 5 or 6 as he was hired by wealthy business owner Brian Kennedy who decided to support the McCans, to search for Madeliene back in Portugal. Here you can see he is centre of frame and unlike Goncalo he speaks english, and, he looks directly into the camera. This is usually a BIG no no in the industry but clearly they made a creative decision to shoot it this way. Maybe they thought that what he had to say was imperitive and they wanted to grab the viewers attention by placing him in an unfamilliar position and making direct eye contact. 

Time: The Kalief Browder Story - Intimate feel

With the documentary Time: The Kalief Browder Story it opens with a very cinematic metophorical title sequence in which you see all the inner working parts of a clock. This then fades to a camera man following Kalief around the city in his red and black leather jacket. 

As the camera follows him around the shots vary from medium side shots to medium shots of him stationary to close ups of him sat in a doorway. This shaky cam style of filming coupled with someone out of frame speaking directly to kalief making jokes and casual convorsation gives you a real sense that this was filmed "in the moment". It becomes very grounded in reality and as the viewer you feel as though you are there with them, sitting in on the interview sat on the city streets. 

We had originally planed to replicate this on the streets of London when filming Liam Allan. They are both young men who have suffered at the hands of the criminal justice system and have had the media spotlight shone on them. We loved how real and gritty it felt watching this casual but harrowing interview as kalief recalls his experiances. However filming rights differ slightly in the UK to the USA and after some thought we decided we wanted the doc to look more clean cut and professional. 

The Innocent Man - Cinematic

The documentary The Innocent Man is an American true crime documentary television series based on John Grisham's 2006 book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town. The six-episode first season debuted on Netflix on December 14, 2018. Like Grisham's nonfiction book, the series follows two murder cases in Ada, Oklahoma, between 1982 and 1984.The cases examine the potential false confessions of Ron Williamson, Dennis Fritz, Tommy Ward, and Karl Fontenot.

Firstly i love the trailer to bits! I felt it really captures exactly the same tone as we wanted to with our first trailer. Moody and dramatic/ cinematic with lots of dark tones and tense/ dramatic music, quick cuts and a clear message from the get go. If i could give one example of a trailer that we wanted our trailer to look like it would be this.

However after our first meeting with Beth (a lady helping who was an outsourced industry proffessional) she warned us after seeing our trailor that we should try to steer away from sensationalism (for more info see my post on sensationialism) if we could. She did say if that is what we were going for then no problem but if we wanted it to be more grounded and have more wieght behind it as a factual programme then we should try not to dramatise too many things. She said the biggest thing to look at was the music, as this can completely change the tone of a project.

Innocence Ignored - Access/ GV's

When watching this docu-series made by VICE i noticed one resounding thing that all the series had in common, heaps and heaps of access and GV's to cut to. Now i don't know if they are just stock footage or staged to look like the real thing or the crew have actually managed to gain access to these places but all i know is there is an abundance of things they have to cut to and it really helps things progress through the story of the doc. One particular episode i watched was about a man called Ray Krone or affectionately known as the "snaggletooth killer". This episode went into detail about what his case was and what went wrong/ was proven wrong and lead to his release from death row but what struck me was the amount of great looking GV's they had to introduce the topic for the episode in the first two minutes, here are just some of them:

Labs are possible to film in but you either need to have a connection to the university in which the lab resides or know somone in a position of authority that works at a lab. However scenes of crime and courtrooms are completely different kettles of fish in the UK. We spent 3 months trying to secure a court room to film some GV's in but still had no success. With scenes of crime i guess if you are in the right place at the right time (excuse the expression) and something happens near you and you happen to have the camera on you and you keep your distance and you are not filming any private property then legally you are in the clear. BUT morally it is a question of repect. If that was a family member of yours that had just been stabbed or injured etc and someone was filming the forensic team around their body how would you feel?

Either way this is the kind of GV coverage that we aspired for, to be able to get shots of ambulances, prisoners, police cars, crimes scenes etc however in reality, on a near £0 budget and with just Right to Film laws for public services we had to take the best we could get.

David and Me -  Similarities 

Filmmakers Ray Klonsky and Marc Lamy set out to help their friend David McCallum, who was forced to confess to a 1985 murder he didn’t commit as a teenager, prove his innocence. The friendship between Klonsky and McCallum began over a decade ago, when McCallum contacted Klonsky’s father after reading an article he wrote about Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a former boxer and exoneree who became a strong advocate for the wrongly convicted. (Innocense Project)

As this synopsis states the origin of this documentary stemmed from one person contacting another due to seeing a news headline. This resonates with our story of how our documentary started out. We were looking through news stories on the BBC website when we came across one that really caught our eye because of the topic. It was Liam Allan and the story told us about how he had been waiting on remand for 2 years and then 3 days into court evidence was found that the prosecution knew they had all along and the case was dropped. So we went off and did some research into this kind of thing and how often it happens and it turned out that it happens more often than you think!

Armed with this information we decided to try and contact this person Liam Allan however we knew this would be a bit of a stuggle as (especially when they are this high profile in the news) there tends to be a confidentiality issue and anyone who has spoken to him can not share his details. We phoned a few companies/ organisations and people he has been seen speaking to on the news or involved with however they all had a similar answer which is they can't disclose any personal details. So we decided to decend to social media, first we looked at facebook but we couldn't find anything of any real use there, however we did learn that he had started his own organisation called the innovation of justice. We looked on twitter for this "Innovation of Justice" and found it quite easily, possibly due to it having quite a few followers but through this account we were able to find Liam's Twitter. We decided to message him on my account as i had barely used it since it was set up therefore it could seem a bit more proffesional than say someone who had football stuff plastered all over thiers. Any way we messaged him with little hope that he would reply as it is such a big social media platform and he probably gets hundreds of messages a day, but within a short period of time we got a reply!

From there on well the rest is history but when i heard about this doc David and Me although Liam and George and I aren't life long friends there is still that similarity in how the documentary was born.

Abused By My Girlfriend - Recounting memories/ personal experiances

This documentary is one of my only influences that isn't the netflix style of dramatisations and cinematic tones but it is still an influence for two main reasons: 1) I want to get this raw visceral emotion on camera the same as this doc does, and 2) it tackles a asubject that is not too often front page news of reported on as much as other topics. It is something that could cause controversy between certain groups of people, but to be honest, I love that!

Something that helps with the cold chilling reality of what these people went through is actual footage from the event or of something that happened to them/ thier experiance. There is a lot of access to the police being BBC so they show police tapes of the abuser's interview and body cam footage of when officers arrived at the scene when he was attacked with a bread knife.

Another key part of making something very emotionally impactful and establishing a connection with the viewer are personal photos. Either as a couple or of your new born child because those are the same photos that almost everyone will have posed for or taken of loved ones, so when you see these photos and hear what she had done to him that creates a strong emotional reaction.

So we had established so far that we really needed to try and get a good connection within the police in order to get an interview with them or at least obtain some footage that the police may have of any of our contributors or topics. This however proved useless and impossible to achieve as the police will only consider spending time with and cooperating with large scale companies such as the BBC. Never the less we found another thing within this documentary that we wanted to incorperate and this was thier use of titles. To keep the narrative flowing and not let the doc spiral out of control, they sum up periods of time or events in this factual timeline so that in the terms of "show don't tell" they only have to film what is absolutely necessary to "show" thus saving time and money.

Picking Up The Pieces - Structure

Picking Up The Pieces 2003 (due to its age the full doc is on youtube)

Wrongly convicted for the murder of Annie Walsh, Robert Brown was the longest serving miscarriage of justice case in UK history. This documentary follows Robert as he tries to pick up the pieces of his life in the first year after his release from prison. This case seems very similar to one of our contributors Eddie Gilfoyle, who spend 18 years in prison and belives he is innocent in a crime that in his opinion not only he was accused of wrongly, but that never happened in the first place. This approach is one we considered for our documentary, where the documentary actually focuses on the aftermath of the contributors experiance, delving into what their life is like now. However as we are not only focusing on one particular person it would have been impossible to go into the amount of detail needed to give the viewer an appropriate look into the persons life and each challange they have to overcome. With this in mind we decided to not take this approach but if our documentary were to have several episodes then this approach could become plausible if we made each episode about one contributor. We still take influence however from the genral structure of this documentary, opening with an impactful statement from the contributor(s) fading to title then fading from title to news clip about said contributor. This seems general practise in most documentaries but along with the similar subject this was definitely a documentary we took influence from.