Commissions Unit- Workshop

This is Danny Day a film created by Aimee Saunders, Danny Hewitt and myself. This was for a workshop about sequencing.

Commissions Unit- Food Bank Script 1

This is the first version of the script I created;

Script- Food Bank

After talking to Helen I found I need to make a lot of changes we also discussed the work and what the key facts are in which then I wrote up to expand.

Commissions Unit- Music

While reviewing applications to create music for our documentary I have been looking at these people and their show reels to see if I think they can produce what I need.

• Ben Bland
• Leonard Cosensen
• Keith W
• John Curran
• Brian Johnson
• SOLI
• Daniel Manning
• Tom Bailey
• Sofia Di Vuono
• Joe Dostal
• Matin Thiselton
• Rob Goldfinch
• Adam Langston
• Tristan Whibley
• Stewart Dugdale
• David Flood

Commissions Unit- Treatment, Food Banks

My Hero, Food Bank

Commissions Unit- Presentation, Food Banks

My Hero, Food Banks

Commissions Unit- Research

I have decided to do some text book based research for my documentary.

Hopefully by going through these books I will be able to create a more interesting piece of work.

Commissions Unit- Contact Doctors

After Proff. Peter Jeffries refereed me to other staff members at the university I decided to get in contact with Ms Linda Jenkins, a public health specialist in the hope that she would be able to help in the project. 
http://www.kent.ac.uk/chss/staff/research/jenkins.html

"Dear Ms Linda Jenkins, 

I am creating a university documentary called "My Hero" and I would like to interview an expert about malnutrition, as the project I am doing is following the help that Food Banks provide to people living under the poverty line. I understand you may not have first hand experience with the Food Bank system but I am hoping that you would have an interview to talk about the UK and public health. 

Thank you 

Roxanne Meats"

Commissions Unit- 1 min script

Script for 1 Min Sequence

During the day of the filming there was a lot of rain so instead of playing football Danny plays Fifa on the PS4.

Commissions Unit- Pitch for Food Banks

One off documentary following the service provided by Food Banks and the volunteers.

Commissions Unit- Change

 I called the Medway food bank and they gave me an email address for Ian Charles, the manager of the food bank. I have emailed him;

"Dear Ian Charles, 

I am creating a university documentary about "My Hero" I would like to do it on the service the food banks provide. This documentary would look at the people that volunteer and the people who need the help, we would like to start filming in the next couple of weeks and show the work the food banks do. As i understand it you are set up in a few churches around the area and I would like to speak to some of the people there as well as anyone you could suggest for an interview. 

Our names our Aquila Hodgkins, Aimee Saunders and Roxanne Meats, as this is our university work we are highly interested in the work that you do and finding out more about the process. 

With Kind Regards 

Roxanne Meats 

Hopefully he will be in contact in the next few days." 

The street pastors contacted my on Friday 28.03.14 with this email:

"Dear Roxanne,

Thank you for contacting Gravesend Street Pastors about a documentary.

Unfortunately at this time we will have to decline this offer. I apologise for this, the time frame would put a real pressure on us as we have to follow media protocols that are set out to follow. 

We also have a major event we are planning for the 5th april so again it would put a stress on us at present.

Once again we apologise for not being able to deal with your request at this time.

Kind Regards

Anwar Bourazza 

Gravesend Street Pastors Coordinator

Gravesend Street Pastors, 55 Windmill Street, Gravesend DA12 1BB"

Commissions Unit- Contact Doctors

For this documentary we would also like to talk to doctors, I looked on the NHS website to talk to the press office and to talk to Kent Universities health department.

This is the email I sent to the NHS:
"To Whom it may concern,

I am currently working on a documentary for university, called "My Hero" and would like to interview a NHS employee, as this is the press office I was hoping you could point me in the direction of a doctor on Kent that I could interview to talk about the effects of drinking. This documentary will be filming in the next few weeks and would like any help that you could provide us. 

With Kind Regards 

Roxanne Meats"

This is the email sent to the university; 

"Dear Prof. Peter Jeffries,

I am creating a university documentary about "My Hero", and would like to interview someone from your university about the effects of drinking, such as the long term damage and injuries that people can face from drinking to much. I would like to talk to someone from your department in the university as you focus on health. This would be an interview that could then be inserted into the film and then handed in as well as put on to a YouTube channel. The filming will take place in the next few weeks. 

Kind Regards 

Roxanne Meats "

This is the email I then received on the 27.03.14

"Dear Roxanne
KentHealth is not an academic School or Centre but acts as a 'one-stop' shop for matters related to health research or training on behalf of all the University so I do not have my own staff to call on. However, I suggest you contact Ruth Webb (http://www.kent.ac.uk/chss/staff/research/webb.html) who may have the expertise you are seeking.
Regards
Peter"

Commissions Unit- Contact Police

So far this is the email that the Kent Police have sent to me asking me for more details. 

"Dear Roxanne

I would need more detail on your documentary before I can establish whether we can progress this and who would be the best person for you to speak with. 

Yours

Lee Russell

Lee Russell MA

Chief Inspector

Partnership and Communities

Kent Police HQ"

This is the email I sent back on the 27.03.14

"Dear Lee, 

The project has changed slightly and I would like to interview someone about how stealing can be linked to poverty and how the Food Banks that have now become more relevant and easier to access help against crime.
Kind Regards
Roxanne Meats"

Commissions Unit- Script

My Hero Script

This script was written by Aimee, I have put this on my blog but I will be adjusting it later when I create the second draft.

Commissions Unit- Contact Police

I have contacted the police by email to ask if they would like to help us in the documentary by being in a interview I asked them to get in contact through email.

Commissions Unit- Narrator

Me and Aimee decided to put up a casting call for a narrator.

Commissions Unit- Casting Call

After discussing the music we need me and Aimee created a casting call for a musician on Star Now.

Commission Unit- Contact Street Pastors

I wrote an email on behalf of the group to send to the pastors;
To whom it may concern, 

On the 14th March part of our group (Aquila) approached you on an opportunity for you to be featured in our university project titled "My Hero". This is a documentary in which we would like to look at the service you provide to the intoxicated night club goers in Gravesend, we would like to volunteer with you and also have a chat with a few of your current volunteers to discuss their motivations to joining in this service. We would like to follow you on a average night for a street pastor, filming to show the service first hand. We would like to film the weekend of 28th, these would be us walking around with you and helping you. The interviews we would like to film on the week of the 31st. This is only so that if we cannot get the footage that we can come back and try again with your permission. If there is instructions that we need to know for the night such as any training we would like to film this, if that is possible. 

Our names are Aimee Saunders, Aquila Hodgkins and Roxanne Meats, we would like to introduce our selves in person and discuss with you the documentary and how we would like for you to be involved.

Thank you 

Aimee Saunders, Aquila Hodgkins and Roxanne Meats

Commission Unit- Feedback from Pitch

The feedback from the pitch was the main ideas of security issues, such as making sure the crew were safe but also the equipment. We have decided to solve this problem by asking few friends to come with us just to keep an eye around us so that if anything may occur we can be warned. The next issue was if we wanted voice overs or narrators or if we want to go with a reporter. We have decided to use narrations but are unsure of the style of reporting to be used.

Commissions Unit- Locations

The Pembroke and Somerset arms are the two main locations that are being currently looked at but still need to be contacted. 

Commissions Unit-Script

The next stage in pre-production will be to produce a script for the documentary. The creation of a documentary script is not on final draft but can be made on a table in 'Word'. There needs to be collums to say about audio, visual and which scene we are on.

This is the time to look at if someone would like a narrator, all the locations and how many interviews that may be filmed. 

The locations for my film will be in Gravesend, "The Pembroke" and "The Somerset". 

We are having a look at interviewing; 

• Police 
• Cab drivers 
• Doctors
• Night Out goers 
• Street Pastors 

We are at the moment unsure of what the narrator may be as we could have one of our group members to be a type of reporter or we could find a narrator for a casting site.

Commissions Unit- Contact with Pastors

After having a conversation with the Street Pastors Aquila managed to find if they were interested in the project, she talked to them on a Friday night while they were out volunteering. One of the pastors gave Aquila an email address for us to get in contact with them.

Aimee and I have decided to write the email including a few points that Aquila pointed out to the pastors on Friday.

• Student Project 
• Add a link to the UCA Rochester Television Production site 
• Send part of the link 
• Suggest volunteering 
• Say what we would like off them (interviews and actuality footage) 
• Introduce our selves 
• Ask for a meeting 

We need to have a meeting and some dates set up for the pastors before we email them as it may effect their involvement. 

Commissions Unit- Pitch PowerPoint

My Hero Copy

Commission Unit-Treatment

My Hero

Commission Unit- BBC Three, Fresh

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p019xhm0

Fresh online is a new space for short documentary films, finding voices and directors of the future. Fresh is a place to watch, learn and share, giving new and emerging documentary filmmakers an opportunity to have their work shown by the BBC. 

This is one of the short documentaries on the website.

This is a recent film put on to the website.

Commissions Unit- BBC Three

While looking online for information about the BBC 3 documentaries this page has a video and information regarding how the BBC would like their documentaries to look like and how they are looking for fresh new ideas.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/briefs/tv/browse-by-genre/documentaries/documentaries-on-bbc-three.shtml

Documentaries on the BBC Three engage with subjects and issues that matter to a young but broad BBC Three audience. 

This both about the most important issuer for a young adult audience (16-24 at it's core and 16-34 at its broadest) and about their perspective on the issue that affect us all. 

On one side of our slate the stories are compelling and often intimate: the extraordinary personal stories of ordinary people. 

On the other, this is THE place for Documentaries to be entertaining, bold and upfront in style and tone to break through to future Documentaries audience. 

Whatever the idea, a punchy title that will capture the attention on the audience on the audience is crucial. 

After looking through the above page I found this link;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/briefs/tv/browse-by-channel/bbc-three/

This is a page on what the channel is looking for, their priorities being that BBC Three is a mixes genre channel for young audiences. On this webpage they out line the three key priorities:

• The channel needs to be disciplined about focusing on the young- it's centre of gravity will be 16-34 year-olds: people who are young in spirit and mind set.
• BBC Three is 'Never Afraid to Try New Things' and that's why we will continue to innovate with breakthrough comedy, stand-out entertainment, brave documentary and intelligent factual formats. Our content needs to have potential to innovate across platforms. 
• BBC Three should provide an environment for the development of new ideas and talent and for existing talent to take risks, becoming a genuine laboratory for BBC One and BBC Two. 

When looking at my project I want to aim the audience to be 18-30, as they are of drinking age and are most likely to relate to the subject matter. I believe that this is a new idea and as the BBC Three want to "Try new things", and could be a brave documentary, this could be put across a few different media platforms in which the BBC can portrays this across. 

Commissions Unit- BBC guidelines

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1715_reporters/page2.shtml


"Audiences rightly expect the highest editorial and ethical standards from the BBC. The BBC's Producers' Guidelines are a public statement of those values and standards and how we expect our programme-makers to achieve them. 

They detail the BBC's approach to the most difficult editorial issues and provide guidance which programme makers at all levels need to be aware of and follow." Greg Dyke, Director General of the BBC. 

While researching the guidelines of the BBC I found this link with details of what the BBC would like. Unfortunately other links to the producers guidelines link is not working at the moment. 

Commissions Unit- Research

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This is a BBC 3 documentary about under age drinking. They use a narrator, interviews, music, facts and experts.

Commissions Unit- Street Pastors

Street Pastors have been in the news since the idea was first pioneered in London 2003;

This article is about the ideas to expand the street pastors coverage and how they would like to be able t go out and help every week instead of every other week.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7811669.stm

Street pastors to double patrols

A Christian group that patrols the streets of a Kent town on Saturday nights to help stranded or drunken revellers is planning to expand. This BBC article talks about the street pastors and how they are trying to keep the streets safe.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/surrey/6651585.stm Street pastors keeping town safe Trained street pastors have taken to the streets of a Surrey town in a new scheme aimed at keeping it crime-free.

Commissions Unit- Workshop

On the 12th March 2014 we had a sound workshop in which we could use microphones and work out how they worked and the best ways to use them. We hid a clip mic under a tea towel between two people talking and had a boom mic also between. 

Commission Unit- Research

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This is a documentary with a narrator and interviews, the interviews include with the participants and with experts.

Commission Unit- Unique Selling Point

While making a documentary or any program the key is to have a unique selling point. For our street pastors idea with out knowing what kind of characters we are going to find we decided to try make our USP to be that we volunteer with the street pastors and help them on a usual night out. I have decided to volunteer and the rest of my group will film.

Commissions Unit- The Pitch

In the Radio Times we can find examples of the type of information that can sum up the program;
Monday 17th March, BBC three;
Prostitution: What's the Harm:
"Documentary examining young people's attitudes to prostitution- from the men who pay for sex, to the women who sell it. The programme also looks at the changing nature of the industry, and examines the strength of politicians' arguments to ban it entirely. Presented by Billie JD Porter."

Here is the 25 or more words for the Pitch;

A one off documentary following the reality of a standard night out for a street pastor. Volunteers of the organisation help night clubbers in need, providing water and flip-flops.

Commissions Unit- My Hero

http://www.gravesend.streetpastors.org.uk

The Gravesend Pastors are volunteers that come from a church groups, this organisation send volunteers out on nights in Gravesend and Maidstone to take care of those that are intoxicated. They hand out bottles of water as to sober up intoxicated night-club goers, they hand out flip-flops to those who have abandoned their high heels. The volunteers also clean up the streets by helping people that need to be pushed in the right direction, they also pick up glass bottles and trash. 

We would like to film inside a night-club, bar, interview experts such as doctors and police officers. We would also like to interview volunteers.

The experts interviews will include questions about how long term drinking can effect people and how many cases of drinks being spiked can be found in the last few years. The police officers will be hopefully asked about how many occasions they may have had to deal with drunk and disorderly. For the documentaries I want to find out facts from 2012 about the amount of drink related crimes and health problems. 

We will want to find a character within the volunteers that is willing to tell us their stories and why they help out with intoxicated people they may not appreciate their help. 

Commissions Unit- Commissioning

While looking into Factual Entertainment I found "http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/faq/pitching-tv-ideas.shtml" a web page that is based on questions and answers that the BBC have created about Pitching ideas for television.

Channel 4 also have a similar page about questions and answers about factual entertainment. " http://www.channel4.com/info/commissioning/4producers/factual-entertainment-faqs"

These channels are providing the film maker with guidelines/ information about how to get their ideas out there and what their ideas need/don't need. 

Commissions Unit- BBC 3

The BBC 3 is part of the British Broadcasting Corporation a public service broadcaster, that aims at a younger audience. The flag ship channel being BBC 1 focusing on family entertainment, BBC 2 aiming to create and broadcast "highbrow" programs, BBC 3 with the target audience of 16-34 and BBC 4 is based around factual programming.

BBC article; BBC three to be axed as on-air channel
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26447089

As the article explains due the BBC wanting to cut costs they have decided to make the BBC 3 channel only available on line, this may not affect the audience that already spend most of their time on the internet.


While looking for factual programming shown on BBC 3, on iPlayer, it can be seen that most of the programs are Docu-Drama's.

This is a preview to a Documentary lead by a presenter made for BBC 3.

Commissions Unit- Schedules

http://www.radiotimes.com/tv/tv-listings

While thinking of when to show our documentary on BBC 3, we need to look at the current programs shown by BBC 3 and when and then look at what other programs are shown on other channels that are aimed at the same audience.

The BBC 3 programming is aimed at a younger audience, therefore it needs to be compared to channels such as channel 4 and E4. When looking at the listings on the 3 channels Thursdays is popular on E4 as its their night of new shows. Channel 4 have films Saturday and Sunday and most reality before 10 week days. BBC3 have films friday and saturday, repeats most of the week of programs such as Don't tell the Bride and Doctor Who. Monday at 9pm is the main Documentary slot for this channel. One week being "Don't call me Racist" and the next "Who needs Ibiza?".

These are screen shots of the BBC 3 time slot two weeks in a row at 9pm, both weeks having documentaries instead of Docu-Dramas.

Commissions Unit- Idea Research Food Banks

My Hero- Food banks.

 A food bank is part of a non-profitable organisation that distributes food to those who have difficulty. There are food banks across the country set up to help people in need of help with buying their families food. More food banks have had to be introduced in the last year to supply for the demand of help needed.

 13 million people live below the poverty line. In 2012-13 food banks fed 346,992 people nationwide. Of those helped, 126,889 were children. Rising costs of food and fuel combined with static income, high unemployment and changes to benefits are causing more and more people to go to food banks.

 Trussell Trust are a charity in Medway that run food banks. They have over 400 food banks currently launched.On their website they explain how food banks work and what stages they go through. First stage is food is donated by the public to the local food bank. Large collections are made around the time of the harvest festival as most of the food banks can be found in churches or churches donate the collection from the harvest festival to local food banks. Food is then sorted through by volunteers, they check the dates on the items and then store the items into boxes. Frontline care professionals then identify the people in need. Care professionals such as doctors, health visitors, social workers, CAB and police identify people in crisis and issue them with a food bank voucher. Food bank partner with a wide range of care professionals who are best placed to assess need and make sure that it is genuine. When people receive food bank vouchers they can go to food banks centres and receive three days of emergency food. Volunteers meet clients over a cup of tea or free hot meal and are able to signpost people to agencies able to solve the long-term problem.

Here is an article published by the Guardian commenting on food banks;

Food poverty: Panorama, Edwina Currie and the missing ministers

The rise of food banks in Britain tells a story of punitive welfare changes, but as a BBC documentary found, the government is curiously reluctant to stand up and defend the reform 

Groceries donated to a food bank. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

http://www.theguardian.com/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2014/mar/03/food-poverty-panorama-edwina-currie-and-the-missing-ministers-food-banks

Commissions Unit- The Group

For the documentary we got into a group of 3, the 3 of us have decided what part of the project we would like to take on;

1. Roxanne-Pre-production (producer)
2. Aquila- Production (director)
3. Aimee- Post-Production (editor) 

Commissions Unit- Ideas

As we are working within a group we came up with a few ideas to look up and research into:

1. Local Unknown Heroes
2. Charities 
3. Elderly 
4. Homeless
5. Life Guards
6. Food Banks 
7. Floods
8. Teachers 
9. Street Pastors 
10. Police

After discussing these ideas in our group of three we each decided to research one each; 

• Aquila- Street Pastors 
• Aimee- Local Unknown Hero 
• Roxanne- Food Banks 

Commissions Unit- Hero

Hero-
1. A man distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.
2. A person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal.

As part of the brief one of the options is to do the documentary on "my hero", this can depend on what the audience or the film maker thinks a hero is.

Many things can be thought of when someone says "my hero", this includes television shows, characters such as super man or any super hero. Some can think of people they know as heroes, it all depends on the definition of hero to the person. 

http://myhero.com/go/home.asp- this is a website that shows people with stories that are heroic in the eyes of the audience and the writer. "The mission of MY HERO is to use media and technology to celebrate the best of humanity and to empower people of all ages to realize their own potential to effect positive change in the world." 

http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk- We believe that any Serviceman or woman who suffers life changing injuries in the line of duty deserves the very best support for life.

Although not in the style of documentary this is a video from someones perspective about heroes.  

This is a short video of clips where people save others while they are in danger.

Commissions Unit- Cathedral

An option for the documentary is to do work on the restoration project currently happening at Canterbury Cathedral. 

Part of an article produced by the BBC on their website;  http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/kent/hi/people_and_places/religion_and_ethics/newsid_8470000/8470329.stm Canterbury Cathedral restoration

By Hamish Reid  BBC Kent

The roof replacement was one of the first projects to be completed

The campaign to raise £50m for vital repairs to Canterbury Cathedral is attracting national attention.

The All Party Heritage and Arts Committee travelled from Westminster on a fact finding visit.

They hope to bring pressure to bear on government to find more funds for the cathedral.

So far, the south east transept has been re-roofed, half of the east end corona has been refurbished, and stone work repairs are ongoing.

http://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/2013/08/22/the-conservation-of-the-jesse-tree-window-in-the-corona-chapel/

Here is a short video that has some facts about the conservation of the Cathedral's stained glass.

This is a documentary on a Cathedral, this includes an narrator, interviews and re-enactments.

Commissions Unit- Research

Documentaries-

A documentary can be described as an in depth look at stories and issues. This is factual but can be constructed to suit the needs of the film maker. Everything in a documentary is intentional, what/when/where/who/how, are decided by the film makers.

Documentaries are usually have a few different structures;

• Interview sound bites 
• A narrator 
• Re-enactments 
• Text
• Actuality footage 

With the use of editing and a script a documentary can be constructed to be dramatic and to build tension as to keep the audiences attention. The objective is to end up with a film that is engaging with the audience. 

Editing can help the story along as by using interviews, the sound bites can be overlaid on to other parts, this can make a documentary flow more. But a narrator can also be used to tell the story with interviews, the narrator acts as a voice for information that may not be provided other wise, it also provides a break from interviews to see other images. 

6 Modes of Documentary (Bill Nichol)-

1. Expository- Doesn't follow the strict conventions of most documentaries. Uses voiceovers and addresses the audience directly, may gather a variety of material to support argument. 
2. Observational- This type of documentary focuses on using one camera, it observes the world, Location shooting, no interviews are used and rarely voice over. 
3. Participatory- The documentary maker is visible within the documentary, they normally participate as the narrator. 
4. Reflexive- Bases on real life moments and objects, these types of documentary are based more of suggestion and opinion rather than facts.
5. Performative- Based on emotion, the documentary maker/crew may interact with the subject. 
6. Poetic- Subjective representation of reality. 

I watch many documentaries about serial killers and this is a documentary that I would watch. It has interviews, re-enactments and a narrator. This was produced by the Investigation Discovery channel. They involve the audience by creating questions that are later answered.