Experimental Film

VIDEOS ON THE MAP!

All the mass observation video done can be found on this map. Zoom in and have a look!

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MASS OBSERVATION VIDEO

This is a small 3 minute video on mass observation of different people who gathered in FolesHillFields Project Vision, a community service based organisation in Coventry.

Filming and Post Production

As a part of the mass observation project, on November 25th, my friend Yasir and me went to FolesHillFields vision project in Coventry city with the cam, mic and other stuffs. We interacted with various people there and requested permission to shoot the ongoing events. They gladly granted us permission and then we started filming. Yasir helped me with the sound and I was handling the camera trying to get montages as much as possible. Later after gathering quite a good collection of footage, we went on with trying to get people have their say on what exactly was the purpose of the organisation.

A few interesting interviews which was shot really helped a lot because I had captured different people from different origins talking about a single issue. The whole shooting thing lasted for two hours. I had gathered 40 minutes of footage for a 3 minute video. Well, editing is a serious business!

I digitised the footage the same day and was quite happy with the outcome. Editing the captured footage was quite simple. A few days later when it was screened, I got various feedback asking to cut the music, take off the fancy titles and credits as this was no documentary but a mass observation project lasting for just 3 minutes! I had to re edit the whole stuff which I managed to do today!

Then comes the part where I had to upload the video on google maps which again turned out to be quite easy. First an account was created, then various works of mass observation in the city of other students along with mine were posted on google my maps. All I have to do is embed the video as well as the map on my blog and lo, its feedback time!

The New Treatment

Hmmmm! Its been quite a while since I updated my blog. I finally found something that I could actually film. So after a lot of waiting I decided my documentary would be on FolesHillFields vision project. I found this place very interesting. What they do here is bring together different communities, people from different countries and gather together and talk about various things in a pleasant atmosphere. At first when I heard about this, I thought it would be a boring thing to do, but when I actually visited the place, my whole mindset  changed. There is always a lot of difference in hearing and experiencing!

Apart from this, the group has a lot of social activities such as gardening, a global citizenship programme, volunteering work and more. They work mainly on bridging the gap between different communities and talk about things that happens in a much more broadminded way. It was amazing to find a lot of people from different countries in the same room and all share the same ideologies and work for the same cause. This place truly makes one feel very welcome and a part of the society.

I met a lot of people and interacted with them and got to know more about things that are done. There are a lot of stories present in here as I felt that this place could hold a lot of people from different backgrounds under one roof. And this is the reason I decided to make a small film and interview a few available people of what exactly is being done and how one feels to be in the place. This kind of a community work is very beneficial because it brings together various people and unites everyone to make a better living in the society.

Helmdon Trip

Thursday the 19th was an interesting day! As a group of media production students, we visited Helmdon for the actual shooting. Even though my documentary was to be filmed in Coventry, I went along in order to help my classmates. I reached there before 10am and went around looking at the various projects that were being done. My actual camera work started with an interview of the Royal Mail postman which was a part of my classmate Russell’s project. After that, along with my other classmates Ranjeet, Yasir and Gary, worked and assisted together on various other interviews. It really turned out to be a long and a busy day! Most of the interviews took place in the reading room. It was a good experience to come together and meet new people. The whole thing got over by 4pm and we made it back to Coventry by 5pm in one piece!

CHANGE OF PLANS

After all, its not very easy to make a meaningful documentary. Even if it is for 3 minutes. I was seeking permission from the Royal Shakespeare company in order to interview a few actors and record their experiences. But when I contacted the respective person asking for permission, I got no replies. Thus I had to change my story even though I had begun the actual filming in Stratford Upon Avon.

I was looking for stories within Coventry city and was glad to find one with the help of my classmate Nathan. I am working on the treatment now and still waiting for further permission to start with the actual filming. I hope I get the permission this time which I think I will. Changing plans can be frustrating especially when you are deeply involved with the idea already created.