Final Major Project: Starting the edit!

The end of last week I started the edit of the documentary. This is crucial that I get a rough cut finished by Friday 31st October so that we can get a rough script to our voice over artist who has confirmed that she will offer sound to our documentary.

I started importing all of my clips into Final Cut X which is what I will be using to edit. I have started to arrange my sequences in order with my script so i can get a rough idea of the flow of the documentary. There is a lots of footage for each interview which needs to be cut down and edited precisely. This process will also highlight the shots that I may need to pick up or have missed. Having my rough cut finished with 3 weeks left to go means I have plenty of time to finalise and perfect my edit. The one sequence which will be missing is the Remembrance Day Parade which will be shot on the 9th November. Obviously this is an annual event and I am unable to change or bring the date forward which would obviously be much more convenient. By this stage the rest of my edit should be complete and it should be just this final sequence and my voice over to overlay.

Here are some still taken from my first day of editing on Final Cut.

Final Major Project: Filming our Interview with Beverley Nolker

Yesterday we travelled to the Isle of Sheppey to meet with Beverley Nolker, a volunteer who has helped plant poppies at the Tower of London for the installation to commemorate the centenary of WW1. We thought it was key to get an interview to help ground our documentary and make it a bit more relatable to the general public who are not involved with the RBL.

Bev was extremely helpful and found us some lowly photos which inspired her to take part in the installation and give up her time to visit the Tower.

Final Major Project: Meeting Helen from the RBL Maidstone

On Thursday, Mel and I visited Helen Collingwood at her home in Barming. Helen is the secretary for the British legion in Maidstone and has been part of the RBL for many years. we visited her to film an interview about her work with the RBL and asked her why it is important that the RBL recruits new and younger members for their branches. Helen was extremely helpful and was very happy to help us, even though she was recovering from an operation on her hip.

Helen gave us a lovely interview at her home and we also managed to get a nice double interview with Helen and Flo together. We were really happy with what we have recorded and think that it will be nice to cut some of the audio over some of our other footage we have already about the RBL and the Poppy Appeal. Helen was useful to talk to as she dealt with all of the Poppy Appeal correspondence at Maidstone and could be a very useful link into our footage about the Poppy appeal we have already filmed.

Final Major Project: Contacting the Tower of London

Today I spoke with a lady from the press office at The Tower of London about the possibility of filming the installation around the Tower for our documentary. I explained the outline of our documentary and what we would focus on and the significance of remembrance. She informed me that they only allow filming access for press and for anything in connection to the tower itself (internal and broadcast).

As she could not facilitate our project, I asked her if there was any archive footage of the installation that they have to use in our documentary and she has said she may have some that would be accessible to us for our project. I have sent an email to their press office and outlined our project again for them to share among their colleagues.

Final Major Project: Meeting with Helen Collingwood from RBL Maidstone Branch

On Thursday we are meeting with Flo Owen and Helen Collingwood from the Maidstone Branch for a possible interview. Helen is the secretary for the branch and will hopefully shed some more light on the real struggle they are facing. We are going to meet them at Helen's house as she is recovering from an operation but is very keen to meet us.

Final Major Project: Meeting Phil Bushell

Last week we met Phil Bushell who is the Standard Bearer and Vice-chairman for the Maidstone Branch of the RBL. We met Phil at Aylesford on the British Legion Village where he lives. We discussed our project with him and gained a lot of information about him and his service to the Legion over the 44 years he has been a part of it.

Phil discussed his family connections to the Legion, his mother and father and also his brother who nows continues their service after their parents passed away. He explained his duty as a 'Standard Bearer', what he does and why it is so important to him. We discussed following him on remembrance day at the parade and filming a short interview with him on the day. Phil is an exceptional member of the legion who has dedicated his whole life to the British legion, his home life - living on the village, his work life - as groundsman on the British Legion Village at Aylesford, and his spare time - Voluntary at the Maidstone Branch and often attending military funerals and services.

It was very helpful to meet with Phil and he was very knowledgable about the Legion and was kind enough to give us a guided tour of the village.

Final Major Project: First draft of our Script

Here is the first draft of our script which has been completed by our producer Melissa.

Final Major Project: Arranging an Interview with our contributor from the Tower

I have secured an Interview with somebody who has recently visited the Tower of London to lay poppies as part of the latest exhibition for the centenary of WW1. Our contributor is called Beverley and she visited the Tower to take part in the exhibition on Friday. She has sent me some photographs of herself whilst at the Tower for us to use amongst archive footage within the documentary. She is a very inspirational lady who does lots of charity work. She is a great person who has a lot of experiences and will be perfect for our short interview sequence. I am currently arranging a date to add to our schedule so that we can interview her about her experience and the importance of remembrance.

Final Major Project: The Poppies at the Tower

Today Ive been looking at the current installation at the Tower of London in connection with the British Legion. I saw this two weeks ago when passing the Tower and was really overwhelmed at the sheer size of it installation and what a touching act of remembrance it is.

I would really like to touch on the is within our documentary if we can find a way to use it amongst our story. I have been in conversations with a few people who are going to/have laud poppies at the Tower in remembrance of their loved ones. Heres a bit more information on the insulation...

About the installation

Don't miss the major art installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red at the Tower of London, marking one hundred years since the first full day of Britain's involvement in the First World War. Created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins, with setting by stage designer Tom Piper, 888,246 ceramic poppies will progressively fill the Tower's famous moat over the summer. Each poppy represents a British military fatality during the war.

The poppies will encircle the iconic landmark, creating not only a spectacular display visible from all around the Tower but also a location for personal reflection. The scale of the installation intends to reflect the magnitude of such an important centenary creating a powerful visual commemoration.

We are hoping to sell all of the poppies that make up the installation and, in doing so, raise millions of pounds which will be shared equally amongst six service charities. 

Final Major Project: Interview with Ray Sheppard - Head of The Poppy Appeal

On Tuesday we were lucky enough to meet again with Ray Sheppard who is the Head of the Poppy Appeal. Ray was happy to be interviewed about his work and what the Poppy Appeal stands for and aims to do.

We sent Ray the questions which we had prepared for him to answer, and he was so prepared that he had typed up his answers to each questions, which was great, however, upon starting the interview, he read from the sheet which he had prepared and it was very hard for us me to capture his eye on camera. Mel asked him to ditch the sheet and just talk to her off the top of his head. This worked perfectly and we managed to get a much more natural interview.

There was also a chance for me to take some actuality shots of him working in his office, and also get some establishing shots of the HeadQuarters. I am really happy with the style of the interview and it is of the right quality which I am looking for for the style of our Documentary. Here are some still shots from the interview and some of the cutaways and actuality shots which I managed to get in the short time we was with Ray.