Editing Process

Rather then all five of us sitting in front of a screen an not all being able to contribute, we decided to take turns in editing. Myself and Clarice went in one afternoon and did around 2 hours worth of editing, which resulted in around 1 and half minutes worth of footage! we edited the two interviews that took place in the Cavern Club as these seemed the most complex and we wanted to start with the "hard" stuff.

The next day we met as a group and looked at what Jen Alex and Hannah had done and now it was just a case of putting it all together. The biggest problem we had when editing was to try and get the video in sync with the recording from our marantz, especially when it was one of the performers! So after playing around with it for a while we manged to get it as synced up as possible!

Another problem we had was mostly with the sound levels as perhaps sometimes the Boom pole was held to close to the person we were interviewing and so went a tad fuzzy and muffled. However, we soon got this sorted.

After 3 days work between the team we have finally finished editing our five minute documentary and I am very happy with our final result!

Overall Oppinion

Overall, it's been a great experience getting to produce a documentary and to my surprise, I have enjoyed it a LOT more then i thought i would! I have learnt a lot about Liverpool itself, its a beautiful City full of culture and fun. I also have gained a great interest into the Beatles (which i never thought I would) so that's a plus!

Although I was signed "editor" I do think I would have achieved more if i got given director. But sometimes you have to go with what you get and I managed to get help from the rest of my group to produce, what I think, is an educating and enjoyable documentary on The Beatles.

Sound Log

Sound Log – Beatles Documentary (The Liverpool Legends)
Here is a list of all the sounds that were recorded whilst on our trip to Liverpool. Most were recorded either with a Marantz or a Boom pole, or in some cases, both. Again, I will use subheadings of locations so it will be easier to group the different sounds together.

Albert Docks
- sound of the water by the docks (Marantz)
- background noise of people walking around (Boom)

The Liverpool Museum (Beatles section)
- Male voice of Brian Thomas was recorded for the interview (both Marantz and Boom)
- Background noise of the Museum and people walking into the entrance to create ambience noise to play whilst the man isn’t talking (both Marantz and Boom)

The Cavern Club
- Various sound recordings of performers (Jon Keats and Tony McCanon) (Boom)
- Interviews with both performers (both Marantz and Boom)

The Beatles music Store
- Similar to most of the otherlocations
- Interview with Steve (both Marantzand Boom)

Camera Log

Camera Log – Beatles Documentary (The Liverpool Legends)
Ok so here is a rough list of all the camera shots that were recorded whilst being in Liverpool. To make it easier, I will put them under subheadings by their locations.

Albert Docks
- various pans of the sea front
- establishing shots
- close ups of interesting statues that were situated here to use as cut-aways

The Liverpool Museum (Beatles Section)
- main interview with the man who worked there
- various cutaways of memorabilia such as posters/pictures/artefacts
- establishing shot of entrance to the museum
- random set up shot outside of museum to capture people walking in/out

The Cavern Club
-Establishing shot of entrance both to show the venue and people walking in it
- hand held shot of walking down the stairs and opening the door of the Cavern to create a “personal” effect to our documentary
- various long shots of the two performers (Tony and Jon)
- close ups of the two performers
- random focus pulls of candles on shelves, peoples messages on the walls etc.
- panning shots of both performance rooms
- far away shots of people dancing to the performers
- close up shots of various artifacts in glass cupboards

The Beatles Music Shop
- various pans of the inside of the shop to show the all the different things that they sell etc
- The main interview with the shop worked (Steve)
- Establishing shot of outside the store
- Handheld pan from outside walking down the stairs to the desk where Steve is standing

Liverpool - Day 2

Filming has finally arrived and we can crack on with getting the footage we need for our documentary on The Beatles (or The Liverpool Legends!) as were calling it. So, up for breakfast nice and early and met as a group at 945 to set off for our 10am schedule. Whilst filming we will be splitting up at points, but want to stay together as much as possible because it will help and save time when setting up for an interview etc.

So, first things first, we went to the Albert Docks and myself and Clarice took the "Beatles experience tour" in order to collect some still images that we could include in our documentary when someone is talking in an interview to use as an overlay. Whilst we were doing this, Alex Jen and Hannah went to the Liverpool Museum and went to the Beatles Section to interview a guy called Jon Francis who had worked there for just over a year. Once we had both completed this, we met back up and walked around town and grabbed some lunch and had a group discussion about what we had got so far and what the rest of the day had to hold for us.

After a half an hour or so lunch break, we stayed together as a group and walked to Matthew Street where The Cavern Club and Pub are situated. We went inside The Cavern club and found a man called Tony who said he would be happy for us to film him performing and to interview about his time at The Cavern and what his favourite Beatles song is etc. After this, as set up the day before, we met up with Jon Keats (the events organiser at The Cavern) and had a interview with him about what The Cavern are doing for the Beatles 50th Anniversary and also Paul McCartney's 70th Birthday. Once we had enough footage of performance and interviews, we filmed a few random shots of the interior and exterior, people dancing and drinking to get the great atmosphere etc.

Cavern club DONE! now off to the Cavern Pub to grab a couple of vox pox's for our opening. We interviewed a lovely lady called Sharon who worked behind the bar and asked her about her favourite Beatle and Beatles song etc. Unfortunately we were running slightly behind schedule and din;t have time to get any exterior shots, but not to worry, we had already 30 minutes of footage for a five minute documentary!

After this, we needed more vox pox's so we searched the Liverpool high street to get a handful of people who were willing to be filmed and interviewed and dint mind answering a few questions! We didn't get as many as we would have hoped for, however we did get around 5 or 6, and with all our previous footage, we now had 80 minutes worth which is more then enough to edit! speaking of editing, this is what we have got to do next after a very successful day of filming in Liverpool. Bring on final cut pro!

Contact List

Sophie McNamara - Editor - 07956148242
Jen Francis - Director - 07947935485
Clarice Flack - post production - 07875752471
Hannah Bushnell - Sound - 07972306258
Alex Rhule-Martin - Camera - N/A

Liverpool - Day 1

So, once we had arrived at the hostel and were all unpacked and settled in, myself and my group had a meeting about confirming our chosen locations. Once we had finished our discussion, we split into two groups: Myself and Clarice were to go and explore the Albert Docks and to see if The Beatles Museum would allow us to film inside and Alex, Jen and Hannah went to check out The Cavern Club, The Beatles Music Store and any other music shops we would come across.

After a couple hours of exploring Liverpool in the glorious sunshine, time had soon passed and it was time to get back together at the hostel and discuss what we had found out from today. It turns out to our disappointment that The Beatles Museum tour need at least two weeks notice permission for any filming/interviews to occur, even though we had emailed them a week before, it still wasn't enough time. However, on the plus side, although the museum was hitting by the time we got there, they did say that you are allowed to film so at least we had this secured for filming! Meanwhile Jen Alex and Hannah had visited the Cavern club and set us up an Interview with Jon Keats (the events manager) and is prepared to be interviewed at any time tomorrow so this is very exciting to know! Also, the Beatles Music store also didn't have a problem with filming, althoughdue to its size the worked in their (Steve) said to try and come as early as possible in the day as it gets very busy around lunchtime/early afternoon.

So, although we had a downer on us with the Beatles Museum, everything else was a high success and are all ready and excited to film! :)

Schedule

For the two days whilst we are in Liverpool we have made a brief schedule that we are going to try and stick to:

Monday
-12-2pm: Travel to Liverpool
- 2-230pm: Check into rooms
- 230-3pm: Get into our groups and plan our ideas
- 3-445pm: Visit our various locations such as Beatles museum, Liverpool Museum, Cavern Club, Albert Docks and see if we were granted any further permissions we hadn't heard from up until now
- 5-6pm: Re-meet back at the hostel to discuss what we have found out from our chosen locations after actually visiting them.
- 6-7pm: Tutorial with Esther to discuss our findings and what we plain on achieving tomorrow when actually out on filming and receive any positive/negative feedback to see if there is anything we can improve or change.

Tuesday
- 945am: meet as a group and have a final discussion before we go out and film
- 10-12am: Albert Docks, Beatles Museum Tour and Liverpool Museum to film various interviews with staff, panning/scenery shots of the Docks which can be used for cutaways and also to take stills from the Beatles tour to use as close to archive footage as possible.
- 12-1pm: Lunch break and meet back as a full group to discuss how our mornings filming had gone.
- 1-3pm: Cavern Club to include interviews with nay possible performers who are there, any owners or staff events managers etc and also to film both the interior and exterior to get some great establishing shots.
- 3-4pm: The Beatles Store in interviewing a member of staff to see how long they have been working there and whats their take on The Beatles.
- 4-530pm: "Vox-pops" in Liverpool Town Centre to get people to sing/quote any Beatles songs and lyrics and also to comment on their favourite band member and why.
- 545pm: Arrive back at hostel and have a 15 minute break to rest our poor legs!
- 6-630pm: group discussion on how we thought the day has gone
- 630-7pm: final word with Esther and then off back to Sheffield!

Now to actually get this all completed calmly and without any distractions or unwanted interruptions!

Presentation of Treatment

After presenting both of our ideas to Esther and the rest of our class, we found that the Beatles idea held much more density and we had researched into it more and so this is the idea we are deciding to go with. BRING ON THE BEATLES :)

Locations of Shooting

Now that we have decided to go for The Beatles Documentary instead, are following chosen locations are:

- The Cavern Club

- The Beatles Museum Tour

- The Liverpool Museum

- The Albert Docks

- Any possible music stores

- The Beatles Music store

- Liverpool high street/shopping centre

King of Laughter

This is again, similar to pockets, a "3 minute wonder" taken from Channel 4. Its made by Nick Hillel and to quote he says "I don't quite know how and why I came up with this idea, I just wanted to put laughter and fun into peoples lives..." (4docs website).

Its based on a recent poll that claimed "Walsall" to be the most unhappiest place to live in the whole of Britain and so Belachew Girma, the man who holds the current world record for the longest continuous laugh has come to try and change this. It shows him in various different locations such as the pub, a supermarket, the local market etc with a variety of people in trying to make them laugh and supposedly "cheer them up".

In terms of the technical side to it, I really enjoyed this piece. I like how for the opening and ending its Belachew looking around and the camera is moving with him and it almost takes you as a viewer on a journey with him. At times however it does get a little distracting and at a couple of points in the documentary, although its very short, I did almost forget what I was watching. I also really liked the random shots of things in the Supermarket with the voice over of the women in the shop saying "good afternoon shoppers, we've got some very exciting offers for you in store today..." and then it goes straight to a clip of Belachew laughing and the title "King of Laughter" coming up underneath him. This introduction frames the documentary well and just from this, is made me want to watch the rest immediately.

In contrast to the mostly "funny" theme to this documentary, the music that is played at the beginning and throughout is much more serious and I almost feel like it doesn't quite "fit". if you are going to make a documentary on a "king of laughter" surely the music should fit with this and also be rather comical?

Overall I really liked this piece of comical documentary and I will be taking some of the camera angles and editing techniques into consideration when it comes to filming our own documentary in Liverpool!

Pockets

Pockets - Short Film (Channel 4) from James Lees on Vimeo.

Pockets was a "3 minute wonder" first broad casted on Channel 4 in July 2008. It's a very simple and short documentary and has the "does exactly what it says on the tin" concept in which it simply is a group of people who have randomly been asked on the street and to show and explain what they have in they pockets and whether it holds a significant meaning or no.

I like the extreme close ups on the hands to enhance the significance of the object(s) in the male/females pocket. Also, I like the way you hear the voice and see the hands before you actually see the characters face. I think this is a good idea as it made me realise that different things are significantly important to others.

The music is very light hearted which fits the theme of this documentary very well. It blends well as the shots fade one in to another also which makes it a lot easier to watch. I like the use of fades because it almost links all the people together as if they know each other, when in fact they are complete strangers.

Overall this documentary is a simple idea, but has been constructed very well in a way that makes it light hearted, enjoyable by a wide ranged audience and very easy to watch. Top work James Lees!

Treatment - Idea two

Treatment for Documentary Film
Hook: The idea for our documentary isto get a response out of the Liverpool public about their views on how their city is being represented due to the reality TV series Desperate Scousewives.
If it a true or false likeness? We also aim to look into the style and fashionof Liverpool, stemmed from the Desperate Scousewives angle.

Narrative Development: Beginning: We aim to start the piece by having a narration over establishing shots of Liverpool talking a bit about the show and how it developed. (After the success of TOWIE and Gordie Shore) Mentioning that the show has not been picked up for a second season and asking questions as to why this may be. Leading into the one of the main strands of the documentary. The effects the show has had on the people that live there and asking them if they agree or disagree with the way they were portrayed in terms of style and
attitude.

Middle: Hopefully going into Nail salons/ Hairdressers and talking to the people that work there and asking them how business had flared since the show came around and if locals are copying the over-exaggerated style or if things were already like that and the influx of people who are starting to embrace it. Then we would switch over and look at people who disagree with the stereotype based on their own personal look. From this going into vintage shops and talking to shop assistants and asking them what kind of style consumers are buying in to.

End: To close we would then look at the pros and cons of the shows effect on the people living in the city and come to a conclusion based on If Liverpool is anything like the portrayal we are shown on the television.

Style: We want to go for a style that doesn’t scream documentary; we are considering using a presenter type (Direct Cinema) to make it a lot more casual someone who we either see or hear interacting with people on camera we also feel that this will help make them feel more comfortable. We also want to keep the camera moving as much as possible, sweeping shots of locations we intend to use, keep. Music to be fast paced and modern as the mood we are trying to create is a light and if possible comedic, with an informal tone, nothing serious or laden with too many facts.

Audience: The target audience is 17 to 27 year olds, roughly around the same age as the audience range for DSW, as well as this because of the second strand of fashion and style around Liverpool
it would be more ideal to focus on a younger age range. The documentary we feel will be seen on Channel 4 as one of their lighter documentaries, perhaps shown on between 7pm and 9pm any day from Monday to Thursday.

• How well the idea meets the brief
• How well the idea is demonstrated and explained
• How well the idea is approached creatively and imaginatively
• How realisable the project is within time and resources constraints
• Imaginative presentation of your pitch
• How effectively your group will work together as a team and what your roles
will be

Treatment - Idea one

Treatment
Target audience: The
target audience will be aimed at Beatle fans and the local Liverpool community.
The tone of the documentary will be balanced with the pace speeding up and
slowing down when needed to add extra effect and emphasis on our points being
raised, with an engaging and more relaxed and contemporary feel. We want the
documentary to target a wide audience; this is because the band made a massive
impact on world music inspiring people from Michael Jackson to Lady Gaga.
Purpose: To inform
people of the build up to the Beatles 50th Anniversary in August and
to remind them of what the band brought to the city of Liverpool.
Style: Artistic
cut-aways with a voice over.

Working title:
Celebrating The Beatles
Main message of the
package: The build-up to the
Beatles
Details of specific
content (plot/angle, discussion topics/facts/stats/interviews etc: We
will be visiting the Beatles museum showing some of their famous moments in
history. The main topic will be about what will be happening towards the
anniversary. A topic we will also be discussing of what change to band made to
the city and the music industry with their music. We will also me asking how
important The Beatles history is to the different generations and is it
appreciated enough by the community. We will also want to exhibit different
ways people shall be paying homage to the legends
Music/Actuality: http://www.istockphoto.com/search/text/The%20Beatles/filetype/audio/source/basic#11dc24a8

Archive Sources &
research: http://stock.mrfootage.com/mrfootage_contact.php
http://www.beatlesstory.com/media-room/filming-resources.html

Who will I interview –
suggest names that you have researched: Museum staff and Public
Locations – where will I
go for my content: The Beatles Story
Britannia Vaults, Albert Dock,
Liverpool L3 4AD
0151 709 1963 ‎
Mersyside Highstreet