I wanted to make a start on my project’s production before the Christmas break, mainly to get everything rolling but also because it helps balance out the workload we will have in the New Year. Therefore I have arranged to film one of my ghost stories ‘Molly the Tea Lady’ on Tuesday 8th December 2009 at Yeovil Junction Train Station. I have spoken to Ros (storyteller) and she is happy for us to get there for around 10.15am. I have organised a small crew, Aleicia will be the camera operator, Tom will be the sound recordist and I will direct. The aim of the filming day is to
• Film Ros telling the story of Molly and her strange and unusual activities
• Film a train coming into the station
• Film an external shot of the café
• Establishing shot of the café
• People sat sipping from cups
• Shots of the basement (Freezers open and closed)
For this shoot I have booked out a SONY Z7 Camera, Sound Equipment and Lights.
Hopefully the shoot will be a success and I will have some footage for my documentary ‘The Myths, Legends and Hauntings of Somerset’.
Monday, 30 November 2009
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Encounters of Documentaries
Last week a group of us from Paintworks headed over to ‘The Encounters Short Film Festival’ at the Watershed, Bristol. Whilst I was there I took the opportunity to carry out some further research for my Individual film by going to view ‘4 Docs’. During this viewing we watched four documentaries each about a different topic. At the end of the showing one of the directors ‘James Lees’ the director of ‘The Apology Line’ gave a short talk about the making of the documentary, how the idea came about and why certain creative decisions were made. I found this talk to be very inspiring and beneficial as it helped me think about certain creative decisions I will make, how I’m going to present my topic, the type of camera shots / angles I will use, etc.
After viewing the documentaries I decided to include some of them within my research sketch book – making a note of my likes and dislikes of them to help me make certain decisions and guide me in the right direction of achieving my documentaries aims.
Whilst researching the documentaries on the ‘4docs’ website I cam across some more great short documentaries, all very inspiring and interesting to watch. The one I particular liked and felt made great use of the beautiful surroundings was ‘Valley of Goats’. I personally found this documentary style approach to be quite similar to ‘The Ghostman of Skye’ recently broadcast on BBC2. At present I am currently thinking this is the style and direction I would like my documentary to go. The only dislike I had with ‘The Ghostman of Skye’ was I didn’t particularly like the presenting style – I prefer just the story-telling approach from local people who have had encounters with the subject matter.
A few other documentaries I have been looking at and researching are ‘The Girls who were found Alive’, ‘The Archive’ and I have recently been watching ‘John Sergeant On The Tourist Trail’ I particularly liked the feature on The Loch Ness Monster, all these programmes have helped me decide on things I like and dislike helping me progress further with my research, planning and creating my individual film on Myths, Legends and Hauntings of Somerset.
Picture Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00636/sargeant_385x185_636323a.jpg
After viewing the documentaries I decided to include some of them within my research sketch book – making a note of my likes and dislikes of them to help me make certain decisions and guide me in the right direction of achieving my documentaries aims.
Whilst researching the documentaries on the ‘4docs’ website I cam across some more great short documentaries, all very inspiring and interesting to watch. The one I particular liked and felt made great use of the beautiful surroundings was ‘Valley of Goats’. I personally found this documentary style approach to be quite similar to ‘The Ghostman of Skye’ recently broadcast on BBC2. At present I am currently thinking this is the style and direction I would like my documentary to go. The only dislike I had with ‘The Ghostman of Skye’ was I didn’t particularly like the presenting style – I prefer just the story-telling approach from local people who have had encounters with the subject matter.
A few other documentaries I have been looking at and researching are ‘The Girls who were found Alive’, ‘The Archive’ and I have recently been watching ‘John Sergeant On The Tourist Trail’ I particularly liked the feature on The Loch Ness Monster, all these programmes have helped me decide on things I like and dislike helping me progress further with my research, planning and creating my individual film on Myths, Legends and Hauntings of Somerset.
Picture Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00636/sargeant_385x185_636323a.jpg
Monday, 9 November 2009
'The Wookey Witch' - The Outcome
Just a short blog piece explaining the latest on ‘The Wookey Witch’ situation; As mentioned in a previous blog entry I wanted to film at ‘The Wookey Caves’ where the story original took place and still continues to be told. However after first contacting ‘Wookey Hole’ I was told this would not be possible, no explanation was given. I then contacted the owner of ‘Wookey Hole’ who kindly passed all my information on to ‘Wookey Hole’s’ general manager Daniel. Today I received a reply from Daniel explaining I would be allowed to film in ‘The Wookey Caves’ but in return they would like to show my film at the popular tourist attraction – “Wookey Hole’
I thought this was great news, not only can I now feature one of Somerset's popular and well-known legends I can now get my film seen by people. I just need to arrange a meeting with Daniel to discuss the details and possible dates further.
I am really pleased and happy with the outcome, but also it has helped build up confidence in being persistent, as it does show results. Whatever project I may be doing some sort of problem or obstacle will occur and I will need to find ways to overcome these – and just like the ‘The Wookey Hole’ situation sometimes you need to take a different direction and keep trying until you discover a result or solution.
Picture Source: http://www.wookey.co.uk/witch.htm
I thought this was great news, not only can I now feature one of Somerset's popular and well-known legends I can now get my film seen by people. I just need to arrange a meeting with Daniel to discuss the details and possible dates further.
I am really pleased and happy with the outcome, but also it has helped build up confidence in being persistent, as it does show results. Whatever project I may be doing some sort of problem or obstacle will occur and I will need to find ways to overcome these – and just like the ‘The Wookey Hole’ situation sometimes you need to take a different direction and keep trying until you discover a result or solution.
Picture Source: http://www.wookey.co.uk/witch.htm
Friday, 6 November 2009
Molly the Tea Lady
On Wednesday I visited the café at Yeovil Junction Train Station to find out some more about the haunting of ‘Molly the tea lady’. I met with one of the café owners Ros who was very helpful in answering all my questions and gave me a guided tour of the small café showing me certain places where some strange and unexplained things happen, like the freezers being left open.
The café is a listed building and no alterations can be made to the building and its décor the only thing the owners have been able to do are refurbish the kitchen area, put up some curtains and a few ornaments. The main area of the café has had to remain the same since Victorian times – even the main counter is the same. With the café looking like an old and traditional café it has some fantastic character and I believe it would look great within my film and be a good short feature.
Whilst at the café I spoke to Ros about what I was hoping to do at the café and asked if she would be willing to provide me with an interview. Ros was very open to different suggestions and said an interview would be fine. After talking more about ‘Molly’ she mentioned some of the locals and previous staff members had experienced a few strange goings ons and that Ros would speak to them about asking them if they would be willing to tell me their experiences with ‘Molly’.
Ros explained that a best time to film would be from half ten and they usually stay open until around half two but they could possibly stay a bit longer if need be. I asked if I could film over a couple of days if needed this would be fine I just need to contact them to arrange the days the team and I would be visiting the café.
Once I had finished at the café I went to speak with the train station office to ask who I needed to speak to about getting permission to film at the station – the member of staff there rang through to their marketing department and they said I would be fine to film at the location.
During my visit I completed a recce form and took some photographs for my production file to support my finished film.
I think this is one story I would definitely like to feature within my film due to the story and the characteristic look of the location.
The café is a listed building and no alterations can be made to the building and its décor the only thing the owners have been able to do are refurbish the kitchen area, put up some curtains and a few ornaments. The main area of the café has had to remain the same since Victorian times – even the main counter is the same. With the café looking like an old and traditional café it has some fantastic character and I believe it would look great within my film and be a good short feature.
Whilst at the café I spoke to Ros about what I was hoping to do at the café and asked if she would be willing to provide me with an interview. Ros was very open to different suggestions and said an interview would be fine. After talking more about ‘Molly’ she mentioned some of the locals and previous staff members had experienced a few strange goings ons and that Ros would speak to them about asking them if they would be willing to tell me their experiences with ‘Molly’.
Ros explained that a best time to film would be from half ten and they usually stay open until around half two but they could possibly stay a bit longer if need be. I asked if I could film over a couple of days if needed this would be fine I just need to contact them to arrange the days the team and I would be visiting the café.
Once I had finished at the café I went to speak with the train station office to ask who I needed to speak to about getting permission to film at the station – the member of staff there rang through to their marketing department and they said I would be fine to film at the location.
During my visit I completed a recce form and took some photographs for my production file to support my finished film.
I think this is one story I would definitely like to feature within my film due to the story and the characteristic look of the location.
Monday, 2 November 2009
Wookey Hole Trip
Last Monday (26/10/09) My sister and I took a trip up to “Wookey Hole’ to learn and find out some more about the legend of ‘The Wookey Witch’.
After getting lost a couple of times and ending up in the middle of no where (this was with a Sat-Nav) some locals finally directed us the right way and we made it there.
The aim of my trip was to discover more of the legend, complete a recce and talk to the manager about getting permission to use the caves within my film.
The first thing on our agenda when we arrived was to have a guided tour of the caves. This took about half an hour and was a great way to find out more of the legendary story and to get a feel of what the caves would be like to film in.
During the tour I took a few photographs for my own reference however due too the limited lighting they haven’t come out great – which was disappointing but no flash photography could be used within the caves for health and safety reasons.
After the tour we proceeded onto the Museum where some of the ‘Witches’ bones can be found and other items relating to the story. At this point I knew that it would be a great to story to feature within my film because of the history and facts that go with it.
Taking a look around the grounds and facilities making a note of areas to eat, get refreshments, where the toilets are located (all for my recce form)
I then tried to locate the information office – which was no where to be found. I managed to find a member of staff who informed me that ‘Wookey Hole’ doesn’t have an information office as such and could he help with my enquiry. After explaining my project to him, he telephoned another member of staff who I spoke to over the phone. After explaining my project and what I was hoping to do at ‘Wookey Hole’ she seemed enthusiastic about the idea and told me she would contact their general manager and get back to me.
Unfortunately I received an e-mail later that day from a member of Wookey Hole’s marketing team telling me that after speaking with their general manager Wookey Hole would not be able to accommodate me this time. Disappointed with the result I decided to research some other places around Somerset that I could feature within my documentary – some places I have found and am going to follow up are Bath Thearte Royal, Bath Ghost Walks and Glastonbury Tor.
Later on in the week I spoke to Dani about my project and ‘The Wookey Hole’ outcome he suggested that there could be other ways to feature the story of ‘The Wookey Witch’ possibly by filming at another cave, and maybe showing some of The Wells Museum’s items they have relating to the story.
During a tutorial with Nic, he suggested that I try and contact someone else at ‘Wookey Hole’ possibly the owner, as ‘Wookey Hole’ is privately owned. Following his advice I contact Gerry and he informed me that my information and details of my project had been passed onto Daniel (management of Wookey Hole), as Gerry doesn’t work directly with Wookey Hole. I am now awaiting a response hopefully it will be a positive one!
After getting lost a couple of times and ending up in the middle of no where (this was with a Sat-Nav) some locals finally directed us the right way and we made it there.
The aim of my trip was to discover more of the legend, complete a recce and talk to the manager about getting permission to use the caves within my film.
The first thing on our agenda when we arrived was to have a guided tour of the caves. This took about half an hour and was a great way to find out more of the legendary story and to get a feel of what the caves would be like to film in.
During the tour I took a few photographs for my own reference however due too the limited lighting they haven’t come out great – which was disappointing but no flash photography could be used within the caves for health and safety reasons.
After the tour we proceeded onto the Museum where some of the ‘Witches’ bones can be found and other items relating to the story. At this point I knew that it would be a great to story to feature within my film because of the history and facts that go with it.
Taking a look around the grounds and facilities making a note of areas to eat, get refreshments, where the toilets are located (all for my recce form)
I then tried to locate the information office – which was no where to be found. I managed to find a member of staff who informed me that ‘Wookey Hole’ doesn’t have an information office as such and could he help with my enquiry. After explaining my project to him, he telephoned another member of staff who I spoke to over the phone. After explaining my project and what I was hoping to do at ‘Wookey Hole’ she seemed enthusiastic about the idea and told me she would contact their general manager and get back to me.
Unfortunately I received an e-mail later that day from a member of Wookey Hole’s marketing team telling me that after speaking with their general manager Wookey Hole would not be able to accommodate me this time. Disappointed with the result I decided to research some other places around Somerset that I could feature within my documentary – some places I have found and am going to follow up are Bath Thearte Royal, Bath Ghost Walks and Glastonbury Tor.
Later on in the week I spoke to Dani about my project and ‘The Wookey Hole’ outcome he suggested that there could be other ways to feature the story of ‘The Wookey Witch’ possibly by filming at another cave, and maybe showing some of The Wells Museum’s items they have relating to the story.
During a tutorial with Nic, he suggested that I try and contact someone else at ‘Wookey Hole’ possibly the owner, as ‘Wookey Hole’ is privately owned. Following his advice I contact Gerry and he informed me that my information and details of my project had been passed onto Daniel (management of Wookey Hole), as Gerry doesn’t work directly with Wookey Hole. I am now awaiting a response hopefully it will be a positive one!
Friday, 16 October 2009
Wells Cathedral Project - FACT FINDING MISSION.
As Adam was going away we needed to make an urgent start on finding out what was required for The Wells Cathedral project so Adam contacted Ali (the client) to arrange a meeting to discuss the project further. All we knew was she had received some money to help towards revamping the cathedral’s website and she was hoping to work with us to produce some films to upload onto the website for content.
We all arranged to meet at the cathedral on 6th October around 2pm. Adam and I arrived a bit earlier and knowing Ali was in meetings during the course of the morning we took the opportunity to have a look around the surroundings and take a few photographs.
I personally found the Cathedral to be really amazing and looked beautiful there was so much detail in the architecture. But even the surrounding areas were pretty amazing too. Vicars Close (where some of the cathedral’s staff live) reminded me of something out of Harry Potter everything looked so surreal and a fictional place.
At 2pm we met up with Ali who gave us a tour of the cathedral explaining the different areas and some of its history. Whilst walking around we discussed what she was hoping to achieve from this project and what she required within the films’ contents. Ali explained that she wanted to create an up to date, modern website something a little more interesting and wanted the films to explain different aspects of what goes on at the cathedral. However she was very open to different suggestions and ideas of what the films could contain. Ali did suggest possibly doing one on the people of the cathedral, one on the cathedral’s music and maybe one of the building or a part of the building such as the ‘Jesse Window’.
After some further discussion it was suggested we could do one on the life of a chorister boy and maybe another one on the December service where the cathedral is lit up with hundreds of candles.
After the meeting Adam and I were talking and said it’s going to be a really tough decision to decide on just three areas to focus on, because everything is so fascinating and has a great story. However I do think it would be a fantastic and interesting project to work on. Ali is friendly and very keen to be involved and I think she would be a great client to work with.
We all arranged to meet at the cathedral on 6th October around 2pm. Adam and I arrived a bit earlier and knowing Ali was in meetings during the course of the morning we took the opportunity to have a look around the surroundings and take a few photographs.
I personally found the Cathedral to be really amazing and looked beautiful there was so much detail in the architecture. But even the surrounding areas were pretty amazing too. Vicars Close (where some of the cathedral’s staff live) reminded me of something out of Harry Potter everything looked so surreal and a fictional place.
At 2pm we met up with Ali who gave us a tour of the cathedral explaining the different areas and some of its history. Whilst walking around we discussed what she was hoping to achieve from this project and what she required within the films’ contents. Ali explained that she wanted to create an up to date, modern website something a little more interesting and wanted the films to explain different aspects of what goes on at the cathedral. However she was very open to different suggestions and ideas of what the films could contain. Ali did suggest possibly doing one on the people of the cathedral, one on the cathedral’s music and maybe one of the building or a part of the building such as the ‘Jesse Window’.
After some further discussion it was suggested we could do one on the life of a chorister boy and maybe another one on the December service where the cathedral is lit up with hundreds of candles.
After the meeting Adam and I were talking and said it’s going to be a really tough decision to decide on just three areas to focus on, because everything is so fascinating and has a great story. However I do think it would be a fantastic and interesting project to work on. Ali is friendly and very keen to be involved and I think she would be a great client to work with.
Thursday, 15 October 2009
Finally...an IDEA
After a lot of frustration and various different subjects ideas including, religion, influences of the media and DIY I have finally, yes finally settled on an idea which I feel will be interesting, entertaining and informative both to watch and to make.
I have decided to make a short documentary style film on ‘The Hauntings, Myths and Legends of Somerset’.
After carrying out some research the Somerset area is home to many different mysterious and strange stories.
Some stories I think will be great and interesting to feature within my film include:
‘Molly the tea lady’ based at Yeovil train station. This story because I may be able to get some interviews with staff members and customers who work and visit the little teashop.
‘Wookey Hole’ because it’s one of the most well known legends of Somerset based in Wells.
‘The Crown Hotel at Wells’ this hotel has had many mysterious visits and unusual activity take place – something I believe will make an fascinating feature.
‘Stanton Drew’ - The Dancers of Stanton Drew. A legend that has been around for many years and has an out of the ordinary story.
These are currently just a few possible stories that I may feature I haven’t decided definitely yet. I am still currently in the researching process and need to speak to all the relevant people to get permissions etc. I have sent some e-mails out to some possible contributors and am currently waiting for a response.
After discussing my project idea with Nic a suggestion was made to try and get my film played / broadcast on a local website or at a local museum. This is something I am going to try and do; so now I just have to get in contact with the relevant people to hopefully find someone who is looking and willing to use my film. But at least I now I have a project idea to progress further with. HOORAY.
Picture Sources:
http://photos.igougo.com/images/p127552-Somerset-The_Crown_Inn_Wells.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqtffkL9PAagJLjMTTPqAhuV1_j4M1Wsy9hp0XaQp9m6v-q0RGkRjKypBXdSNPGLlleRcebzoAN98Vj_ijiXimufNDJEQyk4_xSoHrmu7db1FntqaI1x8pR2kFV7GyU2nueaERxp64v3g/s320/wookey+hole+witch.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qQPvmr17pRnuAGNs9AYKAO88yze9vv_R7JIpRGDUtTlNUWHhEyBvaSCG91OpJicBBGHhqRP09UpAC9x-dowzPm-P2HBr-a3iMyJRHM6CuBN_uouzmV1ZTLo1qbOOeXhLp1UWDOVfMcCZ/s400/Stanton+Drew+016.jpg
I have decided to make a short documentary style film on ‘The Hauntings, Myths and Legends of Somerset’.
After carrying out some research the Somerset area is home to many different mysterious and strange stories.
Some stories I think will be great and interesting to feature within my film include:
‘Molly the tea lady’ based at Yeovil train station. This story because I may be able to get some interviews with staff members and customers who work and visit the little teashop.
‘Wookey Hole’ because it’s one of the most well known legends of Somerset based in Wells.
‘The Crown Hotel at Wells’ this hotel has had many mysterious visits and unusual activity take place – something I believe will make an fascinating feature.
‘Stanton Drew’ - The Dancers of Stanton Drew. A legend that has been around for many years and has an out of the ordinary story.
These are currently just a few possible stories that I may feature I haven’t decided definitely yet. I am still currently in the researching process and need to speak to all the relevant people to get permissions etc. I have sent some e-mails out to some possible contributors and am currently waiting for a response.
After discussing my project idea with Nic a suggestion was made to try and get my film played / broadcast on a local website or at a local museum. This is something I am going to try and do; so now I just have to get in contact with the relevant people to hopefully find someone who is looking and willing to use my film. But at least I now I have a project idea to progress further with. HOORAY.
Picture Sources:
http://photos.igougo.com/images/p127552-Somerset-The_Crown_Inn_Wells.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqtffkL9PAagJLjMTTPqAhuV1_j4M1Wsy9hp0XaQp9m6v-q0RGkRjKypBXdSNPGLlleRcebzoAN98Vj_ijiXimufNDJEQyk4_xSoHrmu7db1FntqaI1x8pR2kFV7GyU2nueaERxp64v3g/s320/wookey+hole+witch.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qQPvmr17pRnuAGNs9AYKAO88yze9vv_R7JIpRGDUtTlNUWHhEyBvaSCG91OpJicBBGHhqRP09UpAC9x-dowzPm-P2HBr-a3iMyJRHM6CuBN_uouzmV1ZTLo1qbOOeXhLp1UWDOVfMcCZ/s400/Stanton+Drew+016.jpg
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