'The Mass Commute' Almost a million people commute into London on a daily basis. There have been countless wildlife documentaries made about mass migration of animals from one spot to another but how is that any different to mankind’s everyday travel to work? My idea is to capture this movement in a poetic/observational style documentary. |  |
Pros:-
- Location, Winchester has a large commuting population using the train station to travel to London
- Cost, relatively low cost
- Original, It hasn't been explored a great deal within mainstream media
Cons:-
- depth, without careful planning it could lack depth and be too short
Research:http://socialdocumentary.net/exhibit/Ireneusz_Luty/1015 - I found this photographer, Ireneusz Luty on socialdocumentary.net, He has a photo essay on commuters which I found was a great inspiration for this idea. His full photo essay can be found here I find these photos very inspirational because they epitomise what I want to capture on this documentary film. I want to show people isolating themselves, shutting down any need to socialise with fellow commuters, I would also hope to capture groups of friends and couples happily engaging in conservation at the train station and juxtapose this against the teenager sat on his own listening to his Ipod. After looking at this photo on the right it got me thinking about why people voluntarily seclude themselves while on the train. I saw that two people are reading side by side which gives them a common element that would be easy to bring into conversation, however they don't. Maybe in my documentary there's a possibility to explore this social issue, I think if it was done in the right way it could add depth to the film. |  |
Pedal Power - Documentary 2009
Pedal Power Final Cut from Mike Kurec on Vimeo.
Although my documentary would be quite different to this one both visually as well as subject matter I found it useful to watch. There are several points that I can take from this to inform my vision of 'The mass Commute':
- I need to capture footage that is self explanatory to avoid the need for subtitles.
- I don't want my film to be comprised of only cut away shots and interviews, I want quality subject matter from my footage that is full of information without the need for words or dialog.
- I do like some of the cut away shots of the film because they are visually interesting, especially the ones where the camera is on the bike, if possible I would try and get the camera in a position on the train to capture it in motion.
'Bouncers'
Every Friday and Saturday night across the country our towns and cities transform into adult playgrounds. The mix of large crowds and alcohol inevitable make the need for security measures and this is where the bouncers come in.
I would like to make a documentary exploring the job of the bouncers and the problems they face trying to provide customer service. I would like it to be a expository style documentary that is filmed over a series of nights with recurring characters.
Pros:-
- Availability, having venues in Winchester and Southampton will provide more than enough locations and people to film
- Entertaining, Having lots of action and drama occurring on location will make it interesting to watch
Cons:-
- Overdone, this type of documentary has been done before with programmes like Traffic Cops on the BBC
- Legalities, lots of research into ethical standards and regulations will be needed due to the subject matter
Research:
After constructing my idea I began to look into documentaries about doormen, I found that its a topic that has been explored numerous times by students. This deterred me away from the Idea but I eventually found some professional pieces which I looked at in more depth.
'Bounce: Behind the Velvet Rope' is an expository documentary looking into the reality of being a doorman. It explores the lives and work of several doormen from around the world and fights the stereotype surrounding bouncers. I found the film engaging due to the characters development throughout the film and this creates a connection between them and the audience. Rather than focusing on the action that the bouncers get involved in (which was the direction many of the student documentaries took) it concentrated on the bouncers, their personal lives and showing their personalities to the audience, this ultimately gave the film more depth and captivated the viewer.
There are several points I can take from this film to inform and refine my idea.
- Try to establish characters and build their story up.
- Do not make the focus of the film about violence or the job of a bouncer.
- The documentary could consist of three main elements, footage from club nights, interviews with the bouncers and footage of the bouncers outside of their job.
Traffic Cops is a long running BBC television series that explores the work of policemen in various areas of the UK. It is an expository mode of documentary that has a narrator introducing policemen and incidents. The programme has a unique mix of high paced dramatic scenes alongside comical situations that the policemen encounter, this juxtaposition between serious drama and light hearted comedy creates a balanced viewing.
One element of this programme that I feel I could incorporate into my idea is the flashback scenes where the characters relive past memories of incidents, this is done my having the character visit the scene and explaining the story while archive images or footage plays over the top.
