hannahhistory-blog - Tumblr blog

[hannahhistory-blog]

Editing

Editing has been a long process however I am proud of the documentary I have made and I hope it was worth the time and effort put into it. After doing the editing process I am hoping to do a documentary next year for my dissertation.

[hannahhistory-blog]

The Thin Blue Line

The Thin Blue Line is a very powerful piece that later led to the release of Randall Adams from prison who was falsely accused of murdering a policeman in Texas. Although I enjoyed the documentary I do feel as those it was too long and at times confusing as the story would jump from person to person. This documentary had a very personal feel as those involved in the arrest and trial were interviewed and gave their own personal perspective on the case. This documentary was also told through re-enactments, which gave the film a good spin on the classic documentary. This also allowed the audience to easily visualise the events that took place on the night of the murder of Robert Wood. These re-enactments were repeated at different angles throughout the film and changed slightly to portray the different stories that witnesses and suspects were suggesting. Although I enjoyed the re-enactments as it helped tell the story well I do feel as though they were repeated to much and actually lengthened the film out to the point it did feel like a long watch. However having said this the use of interviews with the majority that were involved in the case were excellent and really helped keep me and the audience engaged. 

[hannahhistory-blog]

Black Fish

A moving and emotion driven documentary. The film began with a brief summery of the widely publicised death of the experienced Seaworld trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010, who was tragically killed by Tilikum the orca. The filmmakers then proceeded to back track to the original footage of Tilikum being captured off the coast of Iceland in 1983. Tilikum spent his early life at Sealand where he had already demonstrated aggressive behavior towards trainers. After several incidents Sealand was eventually closed and Tilikum was transported to Seaworld where he continued to live in captivity. This film undertakes a different angle on animal captivity. Although the film follows the horrors of orcas in captivity, the film also shows how little Seaworld trainers understood orcas and how Seaworld would withhold information from trainers and the general public. The story is told through ex-seaworld trainers, orca researchers and even those who originally captured Tilikum. This gives the documentary a very personal feel as emotion can be clearly seen when talking about tragedies with trainers and the whales themselves. As well as this the story is also told through old video footage including news programs, right back to the initial capture and early days at Sealand. In addition several court cases are shown through basic drawings giving a good summary of how Seaworld is still in their rights to be open and housing animals in captive conditions. This documentary does not just make you sympathise with the whales but also with the trainers who were deprived much information about the dangers of working with orcas after being sold the all fun, all glamorous job of being a Seaworld trainer. The film ends with a full explanation of the heartbreaking death of Dawn Brancheau in which Seaworld continue to explain as a trainer error, ending with evidence of the corruption involved in the orca entertainment industry. Blackfish was and is groundbreaking, as it has made people aware of the dangers in holding animals in captivity.   

[hannahhistory-blog]

Transcipt

Andrew Murphy Transcipt

Life was simpler I would imagine, There was no the same pressures as there is now, or presumably there is now, I think nowadays it’s the media that put pressure on the youngsters of today. They’re told that they must do this and they’re got to have that. As long as you behaved yourself you could do anything you wanted. You had to come in at a reasonable time at night, because places closed earlier. Pubs closed at a certain time, discos closed at a certain time. You knew you had maybe four or five hours to entertain yourself.

 In my day, you went to school, you were told to listen to the teacher. If you didn’t leave school and get a good job. And that was the ambition, to leave school and get a good job. Most of the boys wanted an apprenticeship. I did five years as an apprentice moulder. We always aspired to an apprenticeship. And the girls they either wanted to be a shorthand typist, a nurse, or work for the local council in an office.

It was quite exciting, actually. If you were like at primary school and in your teenager year. You walk out the door, where I lived particularly and you were right on the high-street. And on a Saturday morning it was chock-a-block. The people were just out. The women were carrying their grocery bags and the young folk were in and out of the shops, if there was a music shop they’d go in maybe buy a 45.

 I had to jump on the bus with other friends and travel 9 mile to the other town. And they had two discos, one called the rath on called the Burma. I remember one night going along and we met a couple of chaps. They said were you going. Oh we’re going to the Burma del Shannon’s singing tonight, the American. They said o we’re going to the rath to see the Beatles. I remember saying to this chap I’ve never heard of the Beatles who are they. He said oh it’s a group they’ve come up from Liverpool. Are you coming. I said no I’ve never heard of them I’m going to see del Shannon. And I missed my one and only chance to see the Beatles. I’ve seen everyone else except the Beatles, it’s unbelievable.

[hannahhistory-blog]

Editing

I have been using a lot of photographs and video clips. For this I have been using the cross dissolve tool so that the transitions between photos are smooth. This took a while to master as it is important that the transition isn’t too long or too short. Therefore this took numerous times of viewing each transition to make sure the length was right.

[hannahhistory-blog]

Editing

Editing was a complected process. However once the basics were understood I was able to progress quite quickly. One issue I have had was with the sound. I have decided to use little snippets of narration. Over this narration I have used various 1950s/1960s songs. However it was crucial to make sure the music wasn’t so loud that it was drowning out my narration. Eventually I found the correct level for the music and narration, making the documentary sound better.

[hannahhistory-blog]

These are the story boards that I used as the basis of my documentary. Having this in place provided a good base that I could work from when editing my documentary. Initially I stuck with my story board however, as the editing went on I became more comfortable and the documentary began to take a slightly different path. 

[hannahhistory-blog]

Editing

Now I have all of my footage, including the all important interview I can begin editing. The technology looks slightly daunting so to begin with I think its best to think about how I want my documentary to look. I think the best way for me to do this is write everything out including drawing up a new story board. This way I will have a rough idea of how I want my film to look.

[hannahhistory-blog]

Interview

The interview with Rebecca has gone very well. She provided me with all the material I hoped to get. Her nicely sized office allowed us enough space to move about so we could achieve a good camera angle. Furthermore the sound was good as we used a lavalier microphone to block out unwanted noises. I believe that Rebecca Andrew will provide the bulk of my documentary due to her detailed answers

[hannahhistory-blog]

Hoop Dreams

The award-winning documentary film; Hoop Dreams follows the teenage years of two African-Americans with the ambition of achieving success in the Basketball world. This documentary was filmed across eight years, in order to see the outcome of William Gates and Arthur Agee’s pursuit of NBA stardom. From the beginning of this documentary you become invested in the lives of both Gates and Agee as well as their families. Throughout the film it is inevitable that you will become increasingly concerned with the two teens academic ability as well as their athletic abilities. The way in which this film has been edited is extremely good as it shows every important aspect of their lives, from the difficulties faced fitting in to the mainly white school that they were attending, to the varying differences in economic hardships between the two children and their families.

This film has moments where you will experience the journey the two young boys are going on. You begin to understand that their ninety-minute commute is not an issue for them due to their dedication and determination to make it in the NBA. When edited there are often moments you feel like you are travelling with them on the train for their commute which allows the audience to realise just how important their place on the world class basketball course is.  

As well as looking at the NBA stardom ambition from the teenager’s perspectives this film gives a good idea of how important success is amongst their parents. Throughout this film their parents often experience the same ups and downs as their children. They equally become invested and driven for Basketball success. The director uses many close-up shots of the teenagers; which makes you feel closer to them allowing you to empathise with the young players.

This film is not only about Basketball it is also about life. The everyday pressures of life are shown and this is easily relatable by many. Our teenage years are the years we develop as people and expertly done, the directors of this film successfully capture changes these two young boys underwent during the 1990s. The film also captures this specific time in history, although it follows two young boys it shows society during the 1990s as well. You become transported back in time.

However this film is very lengthy and once the film end it does feel disheartening that the two teenagers did not make it into the NBA unfortunately. This is just a personal opinion which is quite trivial when the film is brilliantly representing everyday life to the everyday person.

[hannahhistory-blog]

Music

I have only just began to think about music however I will be using various different famous Rock n Roll songs from the 1950s and 1960s. i believe that these songs fit with the theme of the documentary. As well as this they also create and upbeat and happy tone to the film, a tone that aim to achieve.

[hannahhistory-blog]

Footage

After thinking about the footage, I am hoping to have interviews being the bulk of my film with the help of photos and videos. I am hoping to overlay these photos over the interviews so that there is always something knew to look at.

[hannahhistory-blog]

These are some still photos from when I was testing what sort of angle I would like to use when filming my grandad’s Interview. I took several photos so that I could decide what I liked best.  The interview went well and I believe I have a lot of footage that will be very useful in my documentary.

[hannahhistory-blog]

Interview

Continued difficulties in getting people to interview for my film have been faced. I have emailed various different people for an interview including lecturers at Derby, Nottingham, Liverpool, Huddersfield and Leicester. However I have secured an interview with Rebecca Andrew a lecturer in history at the University of Chester. She seems very helpful and I am looking forward to meeting her.

Questions for Rebecca Andrew:

How would you describe a typical British teenager in the 1950s/1960s? Would you say that demographic changes in post war Britain had a direct effect on the development of the new ‘teenager’? and why? In what ways did Butlers Education act of 1944 influence the rise of the British teenager? How important was the rise of youth employment in the birth of the British teenager? Did the rise in the consumer market add to the development of the teenager? And vice versa? Can you give an outline of David Fowlers argument surrounding the idea that the birth of the British teenager began in the 1930s, and not in post war Britain? Do you agree with David Fowlers views on the Birth of the British teenager, or was it purely a post war phenomenon? Did the increase of moral panics through the media across Britain affect the rate of the teenage phenomenon? Did putting a label on teenagers make teenagers more aware they were a separate group between childhood and adulthood? And why? In what ways, could the national service have affected the way young people lived there lives, with particular focus on after leaving school and before joining the army? How did the increasing importance of popular music such as Rock n Rock lead to the post war teenage phenomenon? Were leisure activities such as holidays more accessible to teenager’s post war? What sort of leisure activities were popular amongst teenagers in post war Britain and why? Did these activities affect the rise of the British teenager?

[hannahhistory-blog]

Archive Footage

Due to changing my idea at such late notice i have decided that i will have to consider not getting copy right footage for all of my work. This is unfortunate as I will not be able to submit to film festivals. However I believe it may be the best thing to do on such short notice.

[hannahhistory-blog]

Photographs

These are some of the photographs that my grandad has given me to use in my documentary. 

[hannahhistory-blog]

Interviews

Recently I have been finding it difficult to get people to interview for my film. I have been thinking about interviewing my grandad however I’m not sure that he will be able to act as though he doesn’t know me. However I may ask him for some photos of when he was younger as they will be very useful in my film.

I have emailed several lecturers at MMU however I haven’t received any positive feedback. Although I am thinking about finding lecturers from other universities as well