Evaluation

'Steel Bells' overall, is a piece of work I am proud of. The idea of the film and what we wanted the result to be did change throughout the semester therefore the final film was very different from the original idea. Originally the film was supposed to be about several of the Morris teams in Sheffield. This changed over the semester as we decided to focus on Boggart's Breakfast, a mixed border side who defy all stereotypes.

The poetic Documentary I think was a lot more chaotic than I would have liked. This is what detracted from the film's overall impact. I wanted the poetic film to be an introduction into the Morris world that would be understandable to 'Morris Virgins' who might have either not have heard of it or have negative preconceptions about the tradition. I also wanted to show the journey from learning a dance and practicing it to dancing it out as a performance. I think we accomplished the former but not the latter. I think we tried to fit too much in and a lot of meaning was lost because of that. Therefore we learned from this and changed our approach, concentrating on a single team rather than several. This I feel leads to a more concise narrative and makes the film easier to follow for people who do not know the Morris world. Deciding to concentrate on Boggart's was I think a wise decision as they are a great strength in the film. They are all interesting characters and are all different with their individual face paint. Not what one would expect from a Morris team. From this we have created an interesting story to tell the audience that in coherent and centred on one thing while still fulfilling the original intent of breaking down the stereotypes of Morris.

I think another strength of the film is the imagery and sound and how they work together. The look and sound of the Morris was important to get across in order for this film to work. I feel this comes across and encompassing the noise and rhythm of the dance creates a strong audio/visual spectacle which captures the audience's attention. The interviews as well I think are a great insight into the team and this culture of Morris.

A major weakness I feel in the film is that it does not go deep enough into the characters of the Boggarts. I had wanted to keep the idea of them as Boggarts not themselves as a part of the film but I think this did not work as well as I had hoped. The audience need to get to know these characters as people I think so they can engage with them. This would have given them a deeper understanding of why they do this and therefore answering another question that the film asks; why do people do this?

I also feel something else we needed to set up better was the idea of the stereotype; this would have made the film even more impactful. I think we have this visually but for people who are not familiar with Morris, there is not enough of a setup, launching straight into the Boggarts I think works for people that have seen Morris dancing before, but not for people who have not.

When I came up with the idea of the film I wanted it to contradict the stereotypes of English folk dance and to be an education for people who did not understand what Morris is. I think it succeeds in opposing the stereotype but I think the idea of educating people on Morris is not something that has been explored fully in the finished film.

Making this film for me was a massive learning curve as I had never headed up a project that was my own idea before. Creating 'Steel Bells' was process in which I learnt a lot about documentary making.

One major thing I learned about was trying to get the best from interviewees, about how to make them talk and give interesting and good answers. I think the technique we used that developed over the semester was to talk to the interviewee beforehand, not about the questions as such but more making them feel at ease in front of the camera and prepping them in terms of asking them to frame the question in the answer. Making I think the interviews more natural looking.

Something else I have learned from making this film is that working with people you know and are in groups with leads to perhaps being more cautious in what you ask of them. I know that I was incredibly cautious of coming across as rude or causing offense. I think this is a factor that as a documentary maker you have to overcome.

We had to learn very quickly to make the most out of the shoots. We only had about two opportunities to film with each side, as they only practice once a week. Therefore we had to make the most of the time we had. We decided upon a two camera and two microphone set up. This is something I had never used before personally. We had to work around each other and not get in the way and being able to still get good footage.

In terms of the edit, working together in a directorial role with an editor was something I'd not done before either. In the edit process I had to know when to back off and let Lewis do his job and when I needed to step in and tell him about things that I really wanted to emphasise.

The final stage of this project the sound edit was a major challenge because the music was so important to the overall quality of the film and how effective it would be. I understand a lot better now how music and interviews need to be well balanceds, especially in a film where music is such an integral part of the film.

Overall I think my contribution to this project was large. It was my idea so I headed up the production. I took on the producing role. Because I am so heavily involved in the project we were shooting and had some contacts and understood the 'world of Morris' it made sense for me to take on this role. Also I feel that our contacts would feel more comfortable letting us film if they had had contact with someone they knew was looking for the positive side of Morris.

Overall we shared the directing role. I thought this would be best as I am not that strong at cinematography so I needed to be able to trust the others that had more experience in it. I think one reason I had to take on a directorial role as well was that a lot of the time especially when we were focusing on Boggarts I could tell Natalie where she could go and not get hit with sticks.

As we were such a small team we all chipped in doing more then one role. My other role was sound; I think my work on this was effective if rushed. In my opinion the music maybe takes over too much, I think it is quite constant and should have maybe considered breaks to breath. I also did a lot of the recording but took the production decision to bring in assistance on this as it was not realistic to be able to record everything at the exterior shoots when I was also dancing.

I think the only problem we encountered in terms of the group framework was the fact that Natalie and Lewis did not understand the idea at first they had to learn a lot about the subject before and during shooting

I think the team worked well together. I think Natalie and Lewis had to put a lot of trust in me to be able to carry out this idea. Also though I was able to trust them to help it be realised as they were investing in a project that was about something they did not really know anything about. This trust about the subject I think made for a strong group dynamic. We worked well together and I think that is reflected in the film that we made. It would not have been as successful had we not all worked together and shared thoughts and ideas so readily.

'For every Documentary there are at least three stories that intertwine; the film maker's, the films and the audience's' (Nichols, 2010). I feel this is something that defiantly rings true for me with Steel Bells. If I am the filmmaker, the film having been my idea, my story in the Documentary is wanting to show the world that there is more to Morris dancing than old men with beer bellies and hankies. The face that the film is produced by at least one person who holds Morris close to their hearts I hope came through. The film's story is of Boggart's Breakfast. Charting where they came from and why they do what they do. It also shows that the stereotypes of Morris are not always true. Then there is the audience's story. If an audience member had never seen Morris before the story is of an education in what this English tradition encompasses. If they have a preconceived idea the film for them would hopefully mean a change of attitude, and for anyone who was already into the scene it is maybe an insight into a team they had seen out dancing but did not know much about.

Documentary has two personalities in a way. 'Film as a record and as a representation centred on an idea - or ideal- unadultered truth'. (Bruzzi, 2006)

 

I think this would generally concern film where the subject matter is more serious however still I think this can be related to Steel Bells. To see it simply as a record is not I think enough. If we had simply left unedited clips of dancing maybe. However we have used deliberate cuts and chosen what parts of an interview we use in order to tell a story. In other words to represent the truth, or what we see as the truth, that Morris is not boring. Whether or not what we have shown can be conceived as truth depends upon the audience I think. However, we have as film makers represented through our use of editing and sound design what we see as the truth.

Many films are plot driven, some are character driven and some are question driven. (Bernard, 2011). 'Steel Bells I think is a mixture of character and question driven. As the filmmakers we are asking the question 'What is Boggart's Breakfast?' This is what drives the whole film. However I think that the character driven element cannot be ignored, it is the idea of these mischievous boggart characters that help to drive along the story along side the question.

What 'Steel Bells' is, is an adventure into a world that people may not know about. 'The best Documentaries are models of disciplined passion; they show us new worlds, or familiar worlds in unfamiliar ways' (Rabiger, 2009). Morris dancing is like a different world, it has it's own etiquettes and politics and inhabitants. What we aimed to do with this piece is to show this world to a new audience. And to an audience that knows about Morris dancing we show them a different side of something they may have thought they knew. By exploring something that people think they know and challenging expectation I think we have created a sense of discovering the unknown and have succeeded in our goal to show the audience something new.

In conclusion, I am satisfied with the film that has come from this semester. I think I've worked hard and well as part of a team in order to create a solid documentary. It does have issues and weaknesses but that is part of the learning process that I have undergone in this module.

 

Bibliography

NICHOLS Bill (2010). Introduction to Documentary 2^nd edition. Bloomington, Indiana. Indiana university Press.

BRUZZI, Stella (2006). New Documentary: a critical evaluation 2^nd edition. Abingdon, Oxon. Routledge.

BERNARD, Sheila Curran (2011). Documentary Storytelling 3^rd edition. Kindlington, Oxford. Focal Press.

RABIGER, Michael (2009). Directing the Documentary 5^th edition. Jordan Hill, Oxford. Focal Press.

 

Michael Moore

One of the most prominent documentary makers of our generation is I think Michael Moore, he is controversial figure in the media but I think the strength and the technique of his films is of major importance to any documentary maker now.

His films in a way gave new life to the Art of documentary making. Never before had political documentary had this same energy that Moore's presenting style injected. His style is like a tornado, incredible powerful and has no real breathing space, constantly bombarding you with information.

Something that stands out to me in terms of this module is his interview techniques. He is very clever about what he says/ He knows what he wants to get out of people and asks the right question to extract these answers. I suppose one parallel one could draw is Jon Snow of Channel 4 news and his way of bombarding politician's until he is able to get a straight answer.

I think something to take away from this is that you have to be insistent in yourinterviewing, you just need to know what to say in order to get the points you want. For the film we are making this has a slightly different context as we are not wanting to get any information that anyone would be reluctant to yield like Moore however it is still important that we ask the right questions so that the answers given reflect the structure we want for the film.

Another trick of Moore's is the editing he does, he knows hot to manipulate the footage in order to create an effective film. and also how to create a point. It adds also to the comedy in some cases.

His use of humour is as well something that I want to get into my work, we may not be using humour for Satire as Moore does but I think remind me that humour is a useful tool in documentary to keep your audience interested. In my case I think it should be used to represent that Morris dancing is a light hearted pass time and people do it for the enjoyment and to literally have a laugh, out film should reflect this.

Moore is a clever filmmaker and I think looking at his somewhat unique approach is defiantly useful for any aspiring documentary maker who wants to make their film impactful and interesting. Also he is a different school of film making from the early days and from the beginnings of Political documentary, he is an important figure to keep in mind I think.

Sound edit.

Th esound edit for this piece involves quite a lot of syncing sound. The quality of some of th esound recording is not great in some of the clips because of unavoidablt background noise. I have therefore done a lot of cleaning up with the sound. I have taken out a lot of the lower frequencies to make the rumble less. Also some of the recording was done in the Peace Gardens as that's where a lot of the recording was taking place.  To try an minimis ethis hissin gsound I have taken out th ehiger frequencies using the single band EQ filter.

Something else I am trying to do is to make the most of the rhythum of the music. With the levelling I have decided to go for a loud strong start. With some shots and parts of the film however I am keeping the sound lower and more ambient so it' smore like being in the sudience watching them. In other Parts I am trying to really bost the volume. The effect of this should be that the audience doesn't get complacent. It should rise and flow over the film.

Also I don't wan tthe music to constantly overpower the interviews. Also I want there to be a little breathing space, rather that a constant wall of sound. As there is such a strong drum beat I think it is in danger of beocoming a littletiring if it is there constantly at a high volume.

Overall the sound edit is going well. I would have prefered more time. But as lewis was ill it was no one's fault.

St George's day Shoot

Overall I was happy with this shoot However there were a few issues. The boom pole was dodgy and the mic kept twisting making life quite difficult. this rendered at lest one interview unusable. once again I was dancing and shooting which was a challenge but I feel I coped well with it. Also this time we were a two rather than all three of us plus two extra pairs of hands we had last time. I think Natalie and I overcame this however and still got a lot shot.

Due to the idea change we had a much more concentrated shooting schedule. Interviews were also easier to get as all the interviewees ere in the same place. We did have problems with background noise but this as to be expected and there wasn't much we could do about it as there wasn't time between dances to take people away from the scene to somewhere quieter.

this said we did get some great interview material and a lot of great footage.

The edit

Just a few wee notes about the edit I was not that involved at this stage as Lewis prefers to work on it then for me to come in and look at it.

After finishing the shooting we are now in the edit process I am happy with how this is going. I am able to trust Lewis to get on with the job. I am also really happy with how well th efilm is starting to look.

The introduction is solid and I think very effective.

Lewis and I seem to be getting on well in editing the film. I think that I have needed to relinquish a lot of the control that I had over the project and trust lewis in the edit.

Th eonly thing I have not been happy with is the amount of fotage of one particular team. Persoanlly even though i tis nice footage I think it is starting to encroach on the idea this is a film about boggarts just because it's so much of one particular team. However I am sure we will find a solution.

Slightly revised treatment

As we have changed our idea slightly I have decided to revise the treatment slightly. A lot of our original intent is stillthe same so the treatment has not changed much. What I have done is to focus the outline more on the Boggart's.

Documentary Treatment

Working Title: Steel Bells

Length: 5-10 Minutes (Approx.)

Hook/Tag Line: Blue people, bells, and Morris.

Short Synopsis: Focusing on Boggart's breakfast a mixed Border Side from Sheffield, this film aims to oppose the stereotypes of Morris Dancing through telling the story of a team who does not conform to the usual preconceptions of English Folk Dance.

Outline of Documentary: For this documentary we are telling the story of Boggart;'s Breakfast and the people who are involved in the side. For an introduction the two minute piece will aim to show its audience the process of a troupe's progression from rehearsal to the Morris Tour. The main piece however, will focus on developing an emotional connection with those involved, by the use of interviews and archive to tell their individual stories as to why the take part in this society. The different stories will come together to allow the audience to have a broader understanding of the subject as a whole as well as hopefully change the stereotypical view of the culture and people involved. We aim to tell the story of Boggart's breakfast. To find out why people take part in this odd custom. With a piece that concentrates on one team, the audience will be able to focus on this team and get to know them. By taking this approach the film will show the idea of Morris Dancing in a new light. With this film, we intend to show the audience a world that they may not have seen before. Through showing them the strong sense of community, the strange yet loveable mix of characters that are involved, we intend to educate people on not only the dancing itself but the wider context of how important the traditions in our country are. By bringing to the forefront the excitement that is encompassed with in a performance, the audience will be able to engage with why people feel so strongly and enjoy the dancing so much. The visual spectacle and sound that come from a performance will be edited together to create a sense that the audience are part of this performance therefore drawing them into the film and it's issues even more.

Analysis: The film will be shot over a series of practices and a weekend of dance that is taking place in the Heart of Sheffield. We also plan to use a range of information, such as interviews, vox pops, archive and event footage, to offer variety throughout the piece, using shots and sound creatively. In regard to sound, we will use a mixture of the music from the events, the interview recordings, mirroring the rhythm and the power of the dance. We aim for the documentary to follow and rely on the interviews we record to create the narrative and emotion. During this, the shots will correspond with the interview information. The interview will talk about the process of rehearsal, where we will react with using shots that correspond with this, i.e. the film work taken within the training hall, if the interviewer talks about their past, we could use archive footage. We want the piece to flow so the audience understand and follow the information being presented to them. For inspiration, we looked at previous documentary Way of the Morris by Tim Plester & Rob Curry, and also used Alice's knowledge, as she herself is part of this group. Way of the Morris has been a major influence mainly due to its subject matter. The way in which it approaches the dancing through the human experiences of the people who are involved is something we have taken into consideration. However rather than tell the story of one team as Way of the Morris does we aim to tell the story Morris as a whole and how it has effected its members and why they have felt drawn to participate. The mood of the piece is light hearted, reflecting the jovial nature of the tradition. It would seem wrong to look at a hobby in a way that was serious or pessimistic. Some may want to document the decline of the tradition, whereas we want to celebrate it and its people. In the film we aim to reflect the fun that people have, the brilliant mix of people and the passion they have for this form of dance. Steel Bells will be heavily driven by interview which will have a major part in the narrative. A documentary where I saw this technique was Saving Face. Although the subject matter of out film is not serious like that of saving face, the use of interview in the film is something that is very important. Through interviews the stories are gently unravelled. This idea is very appealing and effective. By using interview as a narrative tool it will be possible to subtly reveal the dancers stories and therefore revealing the broader story of Morris Dancing as a whole. By asking about why people do Morris it will be defined in a deeper manner than simply asking what it is. This will reveal a more human side to the tradition and involve the audience more, engaging their feelings rather than bombarding them with historical facts.

Alice Hathaway: Producer/Sound Design

Lewis Hague: Editor

Natalie Obank: Cinematography

We decided to all take on the Director Role throughout the project.

As producer Alice is able to use her contacts in the Sheffield Morris scene to arrange contributors and locations for the documentary. As cinematographer, Natalie can use her module skills and equipment to capture the footage throughout the work, arranging different shots and set ups. Lewis, the editor, will look through the footage, and depending on the tempo of the visuals, he can accordingly create an edit that compliments the visuals on-screen.

 

Idea Shift

After the two minute film we decided it did not have enough of a focus in the film. I feel if it is to be successful we need to have a focus on one team and tell their story. I think this will make the documentary more focused and more successful.

We have decided to concentrate on Boggarts Breakfast. I want to include this idea of the boggart character. That the idea that the dancing is dine by boggarts who are characters outside of their human personalities, there is the idea of a separate character while they are dancing. I think this an interesting idea that would make the documentary more intriguing.

Another element will be how the team is really different from other Morris teams. I think by telling the story of Boggarts we will still create the same intent, which is to show that Morris dancing does not always conform to the stereo types. We will be able to tell a more concise story but will still have the same effect over all.