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.

Final Major Project: Conformation of visit to the 'Poppy Appeal - Aylesford Village'

Here is a copy of the conformation I received which secured our visit to the British Legion Village at Aylesford from Ray Sheppard, Head of the Poppy Appeal.

Final Major Project: Correspondence

Here are some of the correspondence between myself and Christine Cobbold from the RBL Poppy Appeal. We have arranged for us to visit on the 26th September to film some footage at their centre and find out some more about what they do.

Final Major Project: Visiting the Poppy Appeal HQ

Today we filmed at 'The Poppy Appeal's Head Office' in Aylesford in Kent. We secured our time there with a contact I made, Christine, who is PA to the Head of the Poppy Appeal, Ray Sheppard. She put us in contact with Ray, who invited us to visit and do some filming within the warehouse and and to meet some of the team who work as part of the Poppy Appeal.

Here are some screenshot stills from the footage we got, most of which is actuality, but we also managed to film an interview with the warehouse manager who controls the operations in and around the warehouse.

Still from footage of a poppy making machine 

Interview with warehouse manager Steve 

Cutaways of Military badges used for Poppy Wreaths which are distributed around the country and across the globe 

Actuality footage of staff folding the boxes for Poppy collections 

Actuality footage of Wreaths being packed for distribution 

Cutaways of generic Poppy branded products

Final Major Project: Making Contacts

Since we've started our research for our documentary, I have been in contact with numerous people to organise meetings and schedules so that we can find out more information about the RBL and how they work. Our first point of call as mentioned was Becky Warren. Becky is the head of Public Relations. Becky gave us the go ahead for our documentary when I spoke to her on the phone. She advised me to speak to local beaches of the RBL to find our way in for filming purposes.

We then got in contact with Flo Owen, who is the service secretary for the RBL Maidstone Branch. After talking with her about our production, she was very keen for us to meet at the local branch of the RBL in Maidstone to discuss our ideas. She informed me that her husband, Ivor, was the Chairman of Maidstone Branch and that they would both be interested in helping with our documentary.

Mel and I decided that we would need some more footage or interviews with somebody from the Poppy Appeal which lead us to the Royal British Legion Village in Aylesford. The was very handy for us as it is just outside of Maidstone. We learnt that the Poppy Appeal was run from Aylesford and we contacted them to find out some more information. I spoke with a lady named Christine Cobbold who is the PA to the Head of the Poppy Appeal. Christine and I spoke about arranging a time for us to come and film some footage of of their centre at Aylesford. We some about their machines which make poppies and how they distribute them from the centre. We are hoping to arrange a visit within the next two weeks.

Final Major project: Research

So to start the ball rolling with our documentary, we needed to start thinking about what we would like to focus our story on. We originally liked the idea of focusing on the Poppy Appeal, which would look at how the Poppy Appeal was created, what it does, how the money is collected and where the money goes.

I started to make some contacts within the RBL and started at the top with the head of Public Relations for the RBL, Becky Warren. I had a conversation over the phone with Becky which we discussed our project and what we aim to do. Here is a copy of the email I sent her after our conversation about our work.

Since we had the go ahead, we could carry on with some contacts which I had previously made at the Maidstone branch of the British Legion who run their branch from 7 Marsham Street in Maidstone.

Final Major Project: Royal British Legion

So after complications with our first idea of creating a documentary based on the RNLI, we have decided to change our idea and focus on the Royal British Legion instead. The Royal British Legion is an organisation which provides remembrance and support to ex-service personnel and their dependants.

Here is some background knowledge of the British Legion from their website...

"Our history

The Royal British Legion was formed on 15 May 1921 bringing together four National Organisations of ex-Service men that had established themselves after the Great War of 1914-1918.

The main purpose of the Legion was straightforward: to care for those who had suffered as a result of service in the Armed Forces in the Great War, whether through their own service or through that of a husband, father or son. The suffering took many forms: the effect of a war wound on a man's ability to earn a living and support his family; or a war widow's struggle to give her children an education.

But even those who had come through the war relatively unscathed struggled with employment. As a result of the war, Britain's economy plummeted and in 1921 there were 2 million unemployed. Over six million men had served in the war - 725,000 never returned. Of those who came back, 1.75 million had suffered some kind of disability and half of these were permanently disabled. To this figure then had to be added those who depended on those who had gone to war - the wives and children, widows and orphans as well as the parents who had lost sons in the war, on whom they were often financially dependent.

The situation so moved Lance Bombadier Tom Lister, a Lancastrian, that he decided that if the Government was either unable or unwilling to do anything to improve the lives of ex-Service men, he would do something about it himself. This eventually led to the formation of The Royal British Legion.

When the Legion's leaders looked around them in 1921, not only did they see a gigantic task in front of them looking after those who had suffered in the recent war, they also sought to prevent further sacrifice by reminding the nation of the human cost of war and to work actively for peace.

By the time of the Legion's formation in 1921, the tradition of an annual Two Minute Silence in memory of the dead had been established. The first ever Poppy Appeal was held that year with the first Poppy Day on 11 November 1921.

We were granted "Royal" status in 1971, and extended our membership to serving members of Her Majesty's Forces, as well as ex-Service personnel, in 1981. Now, anyone can become a member of The Royal British Legion. We welcome men and women of all ages, whether they have served in the Armed Forces or not."

Final Major Project: Meeting the Owen Family

Today we met with Flo and Ivor Owen at the Maidstone Branch of The Royal British Legion. we met at their centre at 7 Marsham Street, Maidstone, to discuss our documentary ideas.

We found out some really useful information about the work they do from the local branch and spoke a lot about how they are struggling to  recruit new members to their branch.

We also found out that...

• to become a member of a branch it costs a £6 annual fee for anybody aged 12-17 and a £16 annual fee for anybody aged 18+
• Each branch has to raise its own funds to keep themselves running and all money they collect unless specifically donated to the branch will go to the 'Poppy Appeal'
• 4 members of the Owen family are officers at the Maidstone branch.
• Ivor has given 25 years of his life working voluntarily for the RBL
• The branches no longer take care of Welfare (distribution of money) which used to be run from each separate branch, which is now run from the Kent county office for the Kent Area and determined by caseworkers who work from a specific branch.
• Maidstone has 93 members.
• Maidstone Branch raises £30,000 - £40,000 each year towards 'The Poppy Appeal'.
• The Maidstone branch are represented each year at the remembrance day parade as well as often attending the county and civic parade.
• Each month, the branch produces a newsletter/magazine called 'The Emblem' which contains information about the Branch and any events coming up including fundraisers and events which is sent out to each member.

We asked Flo and Ivor what they would like to get from our documentary and how they would like to benefit from it. There were two main points which they would like our documentary to highlight which were; 

• Raise awareness on their work for Welfare (helping people face to face who are ex-service personnel or their dependants).
• The importance of recruiting new members for each branch (Branches are closing down as they are not recruiting new members. This means that their expertise will not be passed on to younger members - this may lead to the closure of a branch which will affect the money raised for the Poppy Appeal in that area).

Using this information, we are able to ensure that our script will reflect the needs of the local branches of the RBL. 

Final Major Project: IDEAS - The RNLI

So for our initial idea, we have decided to make a 30 minute documentary based on the everyday running of the RNLI. 

"The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea

We provide, on call, a 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service and a seasonal lifeguard service. Our Values reflect the way we do business as an organisation. 

Purpose:

The RNLI saves lives at sea.

Vision:

To end preventable loss of life at sea.
 

Values:

Our work is based on and driven by our values. Our volunteers and staff strive for excellence and are ...

Selfless: willing to put the requirements of others before our own and the needs of the team before the individual, able to see the bigger picture and act in the best interests of the RNLI, and to be inclusive and respectful of others. Prepared to share our expertise with organisations that share our aims.

Dependable: always available, committed to doing our part in saving lives with professionalism and expertise, continuously developing and improving. Working in and for the community and delivering on our promises.

Trustworthy: responsible, accountable and efficient in the use of the donations entrusted to us by our supporters, managing our affairs with transparency, integrity and impartiality.

Courageous: prepared to achieve our aims in changing and challenging environments. We are innovative, adaptable and determined in our mission to save more lives at sea."

The purpose of our documentary would be highlight the life of a crew member at different stations across the southeast and show how they work, how they save lives and the day to day running of each station.

We have made contacts at two different stations, one being in Hastings in Sussex and the other in Sheerness in Kent. The Hastings station has agreed to us filming with them on their boats and on training procedures which would give our documentary a real insight into the danger of working on the lifeboats. The Sheerness station has agreed to allow us to film with them, specifically looking at the SS Richard Montgomery, a ship which run aground  in the Thames Estuary just a mile off the sheerness coast, with a load full of live explosives which still lie dormant today.

Along with my colleague, Melissa, we would produce, direct and edit the documentary together, her taking the role of Producer, and my self becoming the Director and Editor.

Production Concept: Puppet Design

After receiving quotes from a professional puppeteer which were way out of our budget, I decided that as part of our package I definitely wanted to build a puppet as  production design and prop making was something which I would definitely like to specialise in in the future. This was going to be a mammoth task but was something I wanted to do.

I started to do some research into what sorts of materials I might need. I wrote up a list of the materials I would need to build Sally.

Body - 

1/2" Foam
Felt (Skin, Mouth, Nose)
Wadding (Stuffing)
Eye Materials
Wool (Hair)


Costume -

Suede Fabric (Waistcoat)
White Shirt


Accessories -

Glasses & Chain
Jewellery for Costume


Stages of Puppet Building -

1 - Building the Foam Head

After Cutting out the shapes in foam for the necessary parts for the head, I began to glue each part, moulding it to the correct shape. Getting her the right size meant enlarging some templates I had drawn up.

2 - Sewing the Skin

Once the foam head was complete, I then had to cut shapes to build the skin of the puppet. I then began to sew each shape together using a sewing machine to ensure that the stitches were neat and professional. The final skin shape had to be just the right size to house her head, making this too small would mean that the skin would have to be completely re-made and sewn again which is very time consuming.

3 - Inserting the Head

Once the skin was finished, it was then time to insert the head which was extremely tricky to do with stretching the felt skin as it was such a tight fit. Once it was in, it was then that I had to glue the skin to the mouth plate leaving ample material for the puppet to be used without stretching or tearing the felt.

4 - Building the Arms

This part of the process is extremely difficult as it means sewing in reverse and turning the sewn arm inside out. After cutting the shape from the template, it was then time to double up and sew. This is a very difficult part to the process as it is so tricky to sew neatly around the fingers of the puppet. once, reversed, the arm is then ready to be stuffed. I have stuffed Sally's arms stiff as she is a prototype. If she was to be used professionally, her arms would be looser for flexibility and movement.

5 - Making the Clothes

The clothes for Sally were something that were essential to her character. We had to purpose built her  a tan waistcoat and sourced a shirt suitable for her style and size. although time consuming, it was also very satisfying knowing that she had the perfect clothes that she needed.

6 - Finishing her Features

Once the clothes for 'Sally" were finished, I had to start adding her facial features, her hair and eyes and nose really brought her to life, adding eyelashes and mascara to make her more feminine. I added the brooch to her collar and finally her glasses. I am really pleased with the final outcome of the puppet and she's exactly what we wanted for the show.

Production Concept: Alternate Artwork - Fusing the logos

Looking at the samples I received from matt for logo design, I really liked one of the typefaces he had created for me. It really suited the project and the audience. I was really happy with the final logo which I had already chosen but wanted to experiment with the new font for an alternate logo I could include within my package. I sent the font to my contributor Rio, who was able drop in the puppet cartoon for sally and incorporate it into the text. I really liked this logo and if been given it earlier, I would have probably chosen to use it instead of the one I have chosen. Nevertheless, I am happy with the design I have chosen and still believe it suits the show perfectly! The final version of this logo is printed my Alternate Artwork book. Here are some different version which Rio made for me, One with layers within the text, one without, one in colour and one faded to white with the image.

Production Concept: Alternate Artwork

As I already had my logo finished and set to be printed, I was sent some sample logos from a friend of mine who is a graphic designer. He was only able to mock up some ideas quickly for me as he is very busy working full-time as a freelancer designer. luckily he was able to create some text designs for me which as samples for me to use. His name is Matthew Pomorski. Here is a link to his website which shows some samples of other work he has created. http://www.matthewpomorski.co.uk


These are some of the PNG Samples he created for me...

Production Concept: Getting the Designs Printed

As part of the presentation of the project, Gabby and decide dot buy a suitcase which would look like an authentic prop from the set. Gabby is going to present her scripts in a hardback book, so I wanted to present my designs in a different way.

I went and spoke to a designer and printer at a local shop 'Absolute Creative Print' in Maidstone. They were more than happy to help me print some of my artwork for my package. I decided that I wanted 3 A2 posters printed each focusing on the three main design parts I had finished - Set design, Puppet design and Logo design. These three posters would be printed on high gloss quality paper and I would present them as three scrolls within the suitcase. I also wanted some of the original sketches to be delivered as part of the package so had some small A5 prints made of the Set Design, Puppet Designs and also some text design.  Also I wanted to have some merchandise printed as part of the package to mock-up some ideas which could be used or branding. I decided to have a children's T-sirt printed with the logo and also a keyring with the brand image on it. Also, I had some alternate artwork which was designed for me very last minute by a graphic designer. these were really lovely text ideas for the logo so didn't want them not to be included in the package. I designed a small 8 page book with the alternate artwork in that I could also present with my package. And finally, of course, Sally herself.