OF TIME AND THE CITY

Of Time And The City is a documentary that 'paints a picture' of Liverpool's history using home footage, news footage and general found footage. The images used create a brilliant sense of the place in a way that flows like poetry. As we were aiming to create a poetic piece, I took a lot of inspiration from this film. Terence Davies didn't plan the shots he used, he selected them from what was available (a lot). I wanted to take a similar approach, so I decided that we would use copyright-free archive footage along side own footage. I decided that I would shoot lots of footage when in Liverpool, mostly un-planned, so that during the editing stage, Amy, Nyle and Hannah would have lots to choose from like Terence Davies did.

Shot list

There were a few shots I had in mind before we travelled to Liverpool. As we were trying to achieve a poetic documentary I thought I would allow myself some freedom and decide on the majority of shots when I got there. However, there were some that I had in mind:

• Long shot of the cityscape so we could compare to archive footage
• Time lapse of the sun rising
• Looking at the water side from the ferry
• The docks, particularly Albert Dock using the reflections 
• Reflections in the water of birds

I recorded all of the shots that I wanted and many more that I was pleased with. Hopefully my best shots will be selected in the Final Cut!

Dark Days

Dark Days Marc Singer (2000)

Dark Days is a documentary about a group of homeless people living in a New York train tunnel. We follow the day-to-day lives of the small group as we see them encounter different problems; some life threatening, some trivial. All in all, this film is successful in creating an emotional response from the audience as the film is so personal and not at all subjective.

The camera work in the film, is very 'gritty'. The camera operator uses an on-camera light which shows the audience that the makers of the film are very welcome, especially when they also see how the group and relaxed with the crew and how open they are to talk about their experiences. As most of the documentary is filmed in the dark, there is a lot of grain on the image, this ties in with the subject as the place where the group is living is unclean and their lifestyle seems very dirty. 

'Mood Board'

Steel Homes 

 For my role of Cinematographer, I took lots of inspiration from the Steel Homes documentary. I liked the use of deep focus in this film and the use of carefully composed shots. I think that they gave the film a really aesthetically pleasing aspect. I wanted our film to look similar in many ways as it was meant to be a poetic documentary focusing on emotions rather than facts.

     

The Bridge

 In the Swedish/Danish TV Drama Series, The Bridge there is a similar approach to the cinematography. A lot of the shots include symmetry and carefully framed shots. Colours in The Bridge are a rare thing, I like this aspect of the cinematography as it sets quite a low-key mood which would fit in with the poetic theme of our film. Also, the titles are minimal, using a simple font with a small type. I would like similar titles to feature in our film.

Other Inspirations

 These shots are all carefully framed and the use of deep focus is there. For the interview parts of our film, I wanted there to be a very blurred background, with the subject in sharp focus.

Change of Role

Before we set off to film in Liverpool I planned everything as if I was directing. When we got to Liverpool, I was told by the rest of the group that the roles had been changed (without my presence.) I was very confused and under prepared for my new role as Cinematographer. I felt that the director had little control over what I was meant to be filming so I had to use the notes I made as director to help me decide what to shoot.

Treatments for two different documentaries

Football Fans of Liverpool 

In Liverpool there are two main football clubs; Liverpool FC and Everton FC. The rivalry between the two sides is a massive part of the city's culture. In this documentary we will expose the fan's passions towards their team and their feelings towards their rivals and how certain families are divided between Everton and Liverpool. At first the context of the fan's comments won't be known to the audience but will be revealed after a short introduction using 'cutaways' to iconic views of Liverpool.

 Once we have found out how the fans feel towards the rivalry, we will then ask questions about whether or not they believe that the

 religious origins of the rivalry are still 

relevant and whether or not they are aware  

of the rivalry's origins. As we do this we will 

detail the origins of the rivalry and the

 beginnings of both football clubs.

The look of the film will represent Liverpool in a

very realist way, meaning, the cutaways won't

be biased into making Liverpool look more

attractive than it is. The look of the interviews

will be as personal to the interviewee as possible,

this will make the film less sterile. If possible we

will film the interviews in the houses of the

interviewee with the background revealing

something about the person i.e. a laptop to reveal

that the person is in touch with technology or a 

record collection to show that they enjoy music.

Undercurrents

Undercurrents is about the history of the docks and the ferry and its effect on Liverpool. The docks have seen many historical events, such as the slave trade, the large scale immigration following the Irish Potato Famine, The Titanic and mass emigration to America, These and other events have shaped not only the waterfront’s history, but also Liverpool’s. We envision the documentary to be no longer than five minutes at the most, with careful filming and editing.

We aim to explore whether the people of Liverpool have fallen out of love with their Maritime heritage, and have they turned their backs on their roots? The history of the docks in Liverpool has been documented on television in times before, such as in “This In Our Time” by  and there are telling’s of individual events such as the Titanic that have given us scope to include in our documentary- the difference with ours though will be that we will be asking the people of Liverpool now whether they feel the docks influence on their lives has changed- this is the goal of our project.

You will see the city from the river, as we are to film on the Ferry, adding another layer to the already famous landscape, and workers on the ferry expressing what it has meant to them in the years working upon it. By using the lyrics of  “Ferry Cross The Mersey” as a premise, we can create a multi layered film to explore the underlying feelings of the people of Merseyside, and how they relate to the body of water they live alongside, and use every day. The lyrics of the song, though simple and accessible, convey an emotional response to this place, which is very moving. Combined with a catchy almost traditional folk melody, which vacillates between major and minor keys, the song provides a key, with which to unlock the Soul of The City of Liverpool. We also have a piano version of ‘Ferry ‘Cross The Mersey’ recorded for the introduction to this by our producer. The song is a true Liverpool Story.

We will also be filming inside the Maritime museum, showing the true history of the docks as factual information rather than just individual stories. This will be interesting as not only are the main events to be included but there will also be chance for the audience to see stories of the docks that they would not have heard of otherwise.

Then onto the streets of Liverpool to ask people now how they feel about the importance of the Waterfront docks not only in the history of Liverpool but in their everyday lives..

We aim to show a poetic film, to create quite a calm mood throughout the entire documentary- especially with the filming the Big Sky from the Mersey. Also, we are going to be interspersing archive footage into the documentary to give it a more serious tone that hopefully the audience will consider and be left informed and also intrigued about the history of Liverpool docks.

As a target audience, though the older generation would have more experience first hand with the docks, as it is such a huge topic and one which is vitally important to Liverpool itself, it may be of interest to the younger generation who would be wanting to know more about the history and also present day role in the docks upon Liverpool. 

I am happy with how both ideas can develop and how they are looking at this early stage. Whichever we decide to go with, I will be happy to direct and I think I will make a good job of both, as I see them as quite similar projects as they are both personal to the people of Liverpool.

Start of Documentary preparation

In my crew for the Documentary project there is:

• Myself - Director
• Nyle Roberts - Producer
• Amy Silk- Camera
• Bryony Rogers - Sound Recordist
• Hannah Solly - Editor
• Sarah Rich - Sound Editor