Treatment

Documentary Treatment

Working Title: Steel Bells

Length: 5-10 Minutes (Approx.)

Hook/Tag Line: An untraditional look at tradition

Short Synopsis: Focusing on several of the Morris sides in Sheffield, our purpose is to highlight who the dancers are and through this learn more about Morris dancing as a whole.

Outline of Documentary: Our two-piece documentary will focus on the cultures and personal lives of those involved within the Morris Dance community. For an introduction piece will aim to show its audience the process of a troupe's progression from rehearsal to the Morris Tour. We hope to use interview and vox pop within this piece to show the different views on the subject and the amount of people who actually understand what the Morris Dance entails. 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. 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 it's 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.