Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Treatment
BUSKING DOCUMENTARY
Brief Overview
To allow the audience to contemplate the social construct of how street performers are viewed using the legislation proposed on charging buskers as an issue that will affect all buskers. We are trying to capture a more human side to the busking community by recognising them as individuals. We will do this by focusing on a specific individual called Jonny Walker, a Liverpool busker who has had a certain amount of commercial success. We will further shoot an interview with a councillor called Steve Munby who will discuss the legislation and his opinions on what effect this will have on the busking community.
Narrative development
Opening Scene: FADE IN- Publics view on buskers without disclosing subject matter of buskers immediately then introducing subject matter with
cutaways to buskers performing and back to the public disclosing the word busker in an answer.
Buskers view on their own community.
Cutaways of Buskers within the Liverpool high street
Narrator says statistics about how many buskers there are in the UK and how much income is made in a year by the busking community over the top of the buskers on the high street.
CUT TO: high street time lapse shot with Jonny Walker walking into centre frame setting up and starting to busk. Cut to Jonny discussing 'What is in the Street Performing community?' and 'Why do people chose to busk?'
CUT TO: Jonny Walker being interviewed about himself as a busker. Asking why he became a busker, what his favourite location is and how the legislation will affect him as a busker.
CUT TO: Cutaways of Beatles museum- Narrator talks about how famous celebrities have busked and the opportunities that have raised for bands such as the Beatles.
CUT TO: Steve Munby's interview about the council's legislation plans. Ending with how he thinks it will affect buskers CUT TO: Jonny Walker's interview, how he thinks it will affect him personally.
CUT TO: Jonny Walker on the street performing a song of his own toward the end of his interview. (Juxtapose)
END
Style
The documentary will be a hybrid approach of educational/informative and investigative as we are looking at the busking community in detail but taking a journalistic approach by interviewing the local council for views and information on the legislation that poses a threat on the busking community.
We will give a sense of vibrant activity by using brightly lit shots and time lapse shots within the piece to further exaggerate the similar activity the buskers give in this area. We will also use this when focusing on Jonny Walker as he is the main individual in this piece so this technique will help to create a more interesting visual. Furthermore we will use Jonny Walkers own music to centre the documentary more around him than other issues that are raised.
Audience
We will have a broad demographic range in this piece however it will mostly be based on middle class people of any age who have an interest in their community or political interests. As a journalistic approach we aim to please the widest range of people we can within this genre.
MAIN ARTICLE FOR DOCUMENTARY http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/11/19/liverpool-city-council-planning-to-charge-buskers-100252-29801770/
JONNY WALKER
www.jonnywalker.co.uk/ http://www.myspace.com/jonnywalkermusic
BUSKING INFO:
http://musicblog.merseyblogs.co.uk/2007/02/i-was-walking-through-town.html http://www.myspace.com/campaignforrealbusking/blog/485053106
LOCATION INFO FOR BUSKING: http://www.catalystmedia.org.uk/issues/nerve7/licence_to_busk.html
To allow the audience to contemplate the social construct of how street performers are viewed using the legislation proposed on charging buskers as an issue that will affect all buskers. We are trying to capture a more human side to the busking community by recognising them as individuals. We will do this by focusing on a specific individual called Jonny Walker, a Liverpool busker who has had a certain amount of commercial success. We will further shoot an interview with a councillor called Steve Munby who will discuss the legislation and his opinions on what effect this will have on the busking community.
Narrative development
Opening Scene: FADE IN- Publics view on buskers without disclosing subject matter of buskers immediately then introducing subject matter with
cutaways to buskers performing and back to the public disclosing the word busker in an answer.
Buskers view on their own community.
Cutaways of Buskers within the Liverpool high street
Narrator says statistics about how many buskers there are in the UK and how much income is made in a year by the busking community over the top of the buskers on the high street.
CUT TO: high street time lapse shot with Jonny Walker walking into centre frame setting up and starting to busk. Cut to Jonny discussing 'What is in the Street Performing community?' and 'Why do people chose to busk?'
CUT TO: Jonny Walker being interviewed about himself as a busker. Asking why he became a busker, what his favourite location is and how the legislation will affect him as a busker.
CUT TO: Cutaways of Beatles museum- Narrator talks about how famous celebrities have busked and the opportunities that have raised for bands such as the Beatles.
CUT TO: Steve Munby's interview about the council's legislation plans. Ending with how he thinks it will affect buskers CUT TO: Jonny Walker's interview, how he thinks it will affect him personally.
CUT TO: Jonny Walker on the street performing a song of his own toward the end of his interview. (Juxtapose)
END
Style
The documentary will be a hybrid approach of educational/informative and investigative as we are looking at the busking community in detail but taking a journalistic approach by interviewing the local council for views and information on the legislation that poses a threat on the busking community.
We will give a sense of vibrant activity by using brightly lit shots and time lapse shots within the piece to further exaggerate the similar activity the buskers give in this area. We will also use this when focusing on Jonny Walker as he is the main individual in this piece so this technique will help to create a more interesting visual. Furthermore we will use Jonny Walkers own music to centre the documentary more around him than other issues that are raised.
Audience
We will have a broad demographic range in this piece however it will mostly be based on middle class people of any age who have an interest in their community or political interests. As a journalistic approach we aim to please the widest range of people we can within this genre.
MAIN ARTICLE FOR DOCUMENTARY http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/11/19/liverpool-city-council-planning-to-charge-buskers-100252-29801770/
JONNY WALKER
www.jonnywalker.co.uk/ http://www.myspace.com/jonnywalkermusic
BUSKING INFO:
http://musicblog.merseyblogs.co.uk/2007/02/i-was-walking-through-town.html http://www.myspace.com/campaignforrealbusking/blog/485053106
LOCATION INFO FOR BUSKING: http://www.catalystmedia.org.uk/issues/nerve7/licence_to_busk.html
Questions
Questions drawn up by Rhys and Joeley for shooting:
(for the public)
How do you feel about street performers?
How do you think street performers contribute to your area?
There is new legislation that could put some restrictions in place for street performers, how do you think having restrictions in place will affect your community?
(buskers)
What made you become a busker?
As a street performer, do you feel like there's a sense of community?
How do you feel the new legislation will change your livelihood?
What are the public's reactions to your performing?
(Jonny Walker)
What made you become a busker?
Do you have a sense of community with other buskers or is it more competitive?
What are your favourite locations to busk in?
Do you get hecklers and if so, how do you deal with them?
How has the busking scene helped to promote your music?
How will the council's legislation affect you in the long term?
How do you think it will change the Liverpool busking scene?
(for the public)
How do you feel about street performers?
How do you think street performers contribute to your area?
There is new legislation that could put some restrictions in place for street performers, how do you think having restrictions in place will affect your community?
(buskers)
What made you become a busker?
As a street performer, do you feel like there's a sense of community?
How do you feel the new legislation will change your livelihood?
What are the public's reactions to your performing?
(Jonny Walker)
What made you become a busker?
Do you have a sense of community with other buskers or is it more competitive?
What are your favourite locations to busk in?
Do you get hecklers and if so, how do you deal with them?
How has the busking scene helped to promote your music?
How will the council's legislation affect you in the long term?
How do you think it will change the Liverpool busking scene?
Beginnings
While there for the initial meeting and genesis of our idea I was unfortunately very ill on the day of the actual trip and so was unable to go. This was extremely unfortunate as I would have really liked to get a true sense of the atmosphere and characters that I would be editing into a short film. In the end I just had to really watch and get to know the rushes in order to develop a sense of what I was editing.
Our early meetings went quite well. We decided our roles and I chose to be the editor as I had done sound on the last project (though I did a lot of the edit also and wanted to dive into more of this). When searching for ideas together I managed to find a story about buskers in Liverpool possibly having to get a license in order to play on the streets and everyone seemed to like this angle. I felt it had a lot of potential as I thought the buskers themselves (already used to attention) would most likely be happy to talk to us and it was also a good subject to discuss with general passers by. Also the potential for recording the buskers playing and using this in our soundtrack was extremely enticing.
I also unfortunately missed the meeting in which the initial treatments were devised. Joeley and Rhys ended up being the main people responsible for this.
I'd like to take some time to mention how great Joeley was in her role as producer. She managed to get in touch with Jonny Walker very early on. He proved to be an enormous asset to our documentary and was the main reason that we could approach the idea with such confidence. Joeley has kept notes and been an extremely organised anchor throughout production and (through unfortunate necessity) ended up essentially taking over the Director's role also for the majority of the filming and editing.
Our early meetings went quite well. We decided our roles and I chose to be the editor as I had done sound on the last project (though I did a lot of the edit also and wanted to dive into more of this). When searching for ideas together I managed to find a story about buskers in Liverpool possibly having to get a license in order to play on the streets and everyone seemed to like this angle. I felt it had a lot of potential as I thought the buskers themselves (already used to attention) would most likely be happy to talk to us and it was also a good subject to discuss with general passers by. Also the potential for recording the buskers playing and using this in our soundtrack was extremely enticing.
I also unfortunately missed the meeting in which the initial treatments were devised. Joeley and Rhys ended up being the main people responsible for this.
I was very happy with how the rest of the group enthusiastically worked on the idea and what we all ended up with was something that I felt could be very effective.
I also felt that the pitch went quite well (or as well as it could have considering none of us had ever pitched anything before) and felt that we had one of the stronger ideas.
I'd like to take some time to mention how great Joeley was in her role as producer. She managed to get in touch with Jonny Walker very early on. He proved to be an enormous asset to our documentary and was the main reason that we could approach the idea with such confidence. Joeley has kept notes and been an extremely organised anchor throughout production and (through unfortunate necessity) ended up essentially taking over the Director's role also for the majority of the filming and editing.
Eric's Secrets
Eric's Secrets (2008)
4 minutes
Lucia Ashmore
"What keeps you going until you are 91? Dr Eric Frankel reflects on the last 53 years in his house with his wife, and reveals his secrets of marriage and cooking."
This is another very short documentary that I found to be quite effective. Again, it has a very simple structure, cutting from what Eric is saying to old photographs and images of his house to punctuate what is being said.
This is perhaps the most conventional of the documentaries I watched and, in a way, it suffers because of this. It really doesn't do anything particularly interesting and it's strength comes from Eric himself and the choices made about what parts of his interview to include.
I certainly have a soft spot for older people reminiscing about their lives and this was an effective little documentary in that regard.
4 minutes
Lucia Ashmore
"What keeps you going until you are 91? Dr Eric Frankel reflects on the last 53 years in his house with his wife, and reveals his secrets of marriage and cooking."
This is another very short documentary that I found to be quite effective. Again, it has a very simple structure, cutting from what Eric is saying to old photographs and images of his house to punctuate what is being said.
This is perhaps the most conventional of the documentaries I watched and, in a way, it suffers because of this. It really doesn't do anything particularly interesting and it's strength comes from Eric himself and the choices made about what parts of his interview to include.
I certainly have a soft spot for older people reminiscing about their lives and this was an effective little documentary in that regard.
Pockets
Pockets (2008)
3 minutes
James Lees
"What's in your pockets? Filmmaker James Lees asks Londoners to share what they're carrying in their pockets and what it means to them. Every object tells a story, revealing more than expected about its owner. From tiny treasures to the downright bizarre, the contents of Pockets provides a quick and charming social insight."
Honestly this is one of the most effective short films that I've ever watched. Such a simple idea, but executed perfectly. James Lees must have asked hundreds of people in order to get such a fantastic range of responses.
The use of focus pulls and the juxtaposition of people and images all come together to create a very focussed and poignant documentary. My personal favourite moment is the boy talking about the spider key ring his mother made and how the key he has it attached to doesn't actually open anything. It's a wonderful bit of humanity.
3 minutes
James Lees
"What's in your pockets? Filmmaker James Lees asks Londoners to share what they're carrying in their pockets and what it means to them. Every object tells a story, revealing more than expected about its owner. From tiny treasures to the downright bizarre, the contents of Pockets provides a quick and charming social insight."
Honestly this is one of the most effective short films that I've ever watched. Such a simple idea, but executed perfectly. James Lees must have asked hundreds of people in order to get such a fantastic range of responses.
The use of focus pulls and the juxtaposition of people and images all come together to create a very focussed and poignant documentary. My personal favourite moment is the boy talking about the spider key ring his mother made and how the key he has it attached to doesn't actually open anything. It's a wonderful bit of humanity.
In a lot of ways this documentary is particularly inspirational to me in how such a simple idea with simple shots and a fairly simple edit can be so effective and emotionally resonant. Especially as it is only 3 minutes long. We employed some of the ideas from this documentary in making our own such as our focus on the buskers' money boxes.
Documentary Project - King of Laughter
King of Laughter (2008)
3 minutes
Nick Hillel
"Ethiopian's King of Laughter visits England to see it laughter is really shrinking in the western world and whether his brand of laughter therapy can cheer up the UK's unhappiest town."
I've found that I quite enjoy short form documentaries like these that focus on a relatively simple subject and tend to use interesting techniques and clever editing to be poignant and interesting.
I found this one to be pretty effective in what it set out to do. It's light hearted and the way the camera is used reflects this (such as the camera that has been fixed to Belachew Girma). There are also moments of emotion such as when Belachew talks about his fairly tragic life and how he learnt to laugh as a way to cope with it.
The film's use of close ups and often showing images that don't fit the dialogue can be quite effective though in some ways the background sound in the film can be a little distracting.
3 minutes
Nick Hillel
"Ethiopian's King of Laughter visits England to see it laughter is really shrinking in the western world and whether his brand of laughter therapy can cheer up the UK's unhappiest town."
I've found that I quite enjoy short form documentaries like these that focus on a relatively simple subject and tend to use interesting techniques and clever editing to be poignant and interesting.
I found this one to be pretty effective in what it set out to do. It's light hearted and the way the camera is used reflects this (such as the camera that has been fixed to Belachew Girma). There are also moments of emotion such as when Belachew talks about his fairly tragic life and how he learnt to laugh as a way to cope with it.
The film's use of close ups and often showing images that don't fit the dialogue can be quite effective though in some ways the background sound in the film can be a little distracting.
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