Structure for Poetic Doc

Urban Exploring Poetic doc.

The 2 minute film will consist of three sections.

Within the Stanley Tools site, there are a large number of grid formations, either from the building structure itself or the decoration. The film will open with a succession of static shots of these structures and lattice shapes. The images will be linked through form cuts, with a steady pace. The second element of the piece will begin to incorporate movement. The shots will still be composed of grid formations however this time we will see close-ups and mid shots of the urban explorers moving in and out frame. The camera will remain static, with the movement appearing within the frame. There will be quicker cuts to increase the pace of the piece, in line with the addition of movements. This will then lead into the final third. This section will consist of the most movement; the camera will no longer be static and we’ll use tracking shots and pans. This section will also include full body shots of the urban explorers. The film will finish with a camera flash filling the screen and fade to black. 

contributor consent forms

Location Issues

We had planned to have a second days shoot today at Stanley Tools. However, we had not heard back from Morris to confirm that this was okay. When Steve called up to double check, we found out that we may not be able to use the site again. 

Unfortunately, some students went to site at the weekend and were filming on the roof. The owner showed up and asked them how they had permission to do so, and as they didn't, he asked them to leave. This then led to disagreement as the students were apparently very rude to the owner and refused to leave. 

As a result of this, the owner has decided that no more filming is to take place on site. Obviously this is a serious set back as if we can no longer shoot here, we need to find and then do reccies of new locations, which we really don't have time for. 

The caretaker of the the site, Morris, has said that he is going to speak to the owner to see if we can still shoot, as we have so far complied with everything Morris has asked of us. We are meant to hear back from him by the end of the week, so fingers crossed!

Tutorial

We have had a tutorial discussing the footage we shot on our first days shoot. As expected, it wasn't 100% positive as a lot of the footage is unusable as its far too dark. This is pretty frustrating has this was very predictable due to the fact that we didn't have a shot list for the actual days shoot.

We ended up discussing the issues that we have had with Steve and how little direction he is offering people. This was made possible as he became ill at the last minute so therefore was not present. Debbie agreed that we should be concerned and offered to talk to him. Hopefully this will encourage him to put in more work, as I really don't want the rest of the group to be let down, especially after they have all worked very hard.

I think the tutorial would have hopefully encouraged everyone to make our next days shoot as good as possible.

Interviews at Stanley Tools

Grace has reviewed the sound recorded yesterday and it seems that a lot of it is going to be unusable. There is too much background noise and the voices of the contributors do not come across clearly enough. In addition the questions are not framed in the answers they give, which is something I should have thought about at the time, but also adds to reasons why we should rerecord in a studio. ]

This is a frustrating setback as I feel that the more times the contributors are interviewed, the less authentic and meaningful their answers will be. I hope this does not affect our doc too much.

Qs for the urbexers

How did you get into urbexing?  / How did you find out about it?

How long have you been doing it for?

What was the initial appeal?

Did you start by yourself?

How often to do you go?

What would you say to people who look upon it negatively?

Why do you think it’s worth photographing these places?

What’s the worst experience you’ve had?

What’s the best experience you’ve had?

What drives you to keep doing it?

How do find out about these places?

What is it about these buildings or sites that you like?

Do you think its important to photograph these places? / Why?

What is your view of abandoned buildings? Should they all just be left so you can photograph them? Why not demolish ? their taking up space..

Do some of the sites ever scare you?

Have you ever been in trouble with the police?

If the legal aspect was removed would you still find it as entertain? IS the illegal aspect the main thrill?

Were you into photography before urbexing or vice versa?

What do you do?

Background?

What inspires you?

Any ambitions?

is your work purely personal? Do you want others to see the pics?

What about the forums? Do people get a bit precious over spots they find?

Why do you think its become so popular recently?

Describe some of your favourite shots, why?

Is it depressing going to all these ruined places, aren’t they a bit eerie and lifeless? Esp. asylums.

Do you edit your pics? If so why? A lot of people are against editing their images.

Describe yourself in 3 words.

Shooting Day 1

Today we had our first full days shoot at the Stanley Tools site. The day didn't get off to the greatest start, as our director turned up late and had forgotten to bring the notes and shot list he and the cinematographer had made. As a result the day was by no means productive. A lot of time was spent trying to remember what the notes had consisted of and whereabouts in the building these shots took place.

I was not sent the shot list prior to the shoot therefore only a very rough schedule could be made. However as Steve forgot to bring these notes within him, the schedule was completely blown. This was doubly frustrating as we couldn't enter the site until 11am, meaning that due to the time of year we had little time before light started to fade.

Our contributors did show up for todays shoot though they too were a little late meaning that we were a little rushed filming with them. Myself and Grace went to interview them on the upstairs floor upon Steve's insistence that they be interviewed on the site. This was despite the fact that Grace, who is the sound recordist, said that the background noise (from external traffic and the echo of the place) meant that the quality was poor and unclear, and therefore the urbexers should be interviewed in a studio.

The interview was really interesting as both contributors had some great anecdotes and stories to tell. They both said some great things that I think would be really fitting for the documentary, so I hope that the sound doesn't come out too bad.