Final Major Project - Finding Serenity Website

Another role of producer I have taken on is promoting the film. We have agreed with Bipolar UK to use the finished film on their national website, which is incredible. With over 10,000 hits a day, our film should have a wide reach and benefit both us as filmmakers and the charity. 

However, I have also decided to create our own website, which we will have more control over and be able to use it as an artistic record of our journey. 

I have decided on including the usual info, contact us, stills and film pages, but have also included a making of page, a sort of micro blog for people to follow our progress. I think this will be beneficial to our contributors too, so that they can keep up to date with our progress. 

Our theme is trying to find peace, calm and serenity, in the mind of suffers who are quite often  faced with blackness. This can be seen in our website. 

The poster image if you like is of the woods, a tranquil but perhaps scary isolation, with two birds going in opposite directions, one to the bottom right, the other to the top left. This represents the polar opposite moods of our contributors, extreme lows and out of control heights. Finding serenity is in the middle, symbolizing that we are trying to find their middle ground, a way to be happy with themselves. 


Final Major Project - John Leslie Filmed Interview

Yesterday we recorded over two hours worth of footage with John Leslie, which we have edited down to 1 hour of usable interview. It was a very harrowing afternoon, but filled with hope too. We have learnt a lot, mainly that his interview inside his house, which was constructed and led by questions is not as good as towards the end of the afternoon when he talked openly and freely to us outside. This last section of the interview was more emotional too, truly from the heart. He broke down, and fought against tears, but kept going, knowing how important it was to tell his story. I think it was therapeutic for him too. Although this is just a preliminary interview, and probably won’t make the film, it was a good start, with some beautiful moments. As I said, the first three quarters are quite dry, if you want to watch it I recommended skipping to the last 15/10 mins, to really see his personality and experiences shining through.

Final Major Project - CRUCIAL UPDATE

Today we are recording our preliminary interview with John Leslie, this will help us to start structuring the film, and create the story we need. I have also had great feedback from Gloria, our bipolar UK liaison officer, she has been a real trooper in helping us source contributors, contacting those who have showed interest in the past, as well as posting a call out for us on their national website:

Gloria has experience in working with this type of project, after her team helped Stephen Fry create “The secret life of a Manic Depressive” for the BBC.

FINAL MAJOR PROJECT - Gloria from Bipolar Uk

I have heard back from Suzanne today and her colleague Gloria from Bipolar UK, who will be our support worker and help us with the film. They both seem very positive, and Gloria has requested a phone meeting tomorrow to discuss our plan of action. She is going on annual leave this Friday, and would like to send out the advertisements for contributors, so that when she returns on the 2nd September, we should have had responses and be ready to go.

BBC EXPERIENCE

Today myself and Lauren W got back in the saddle, by volunteering for the BBC at a wildlife festival at the Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve. All day we helped groups of families go out into the reserve and shoot the wildlife, teaching them how to focus, zoom and establish shots. We edited the footage as we went on my mac, creating a montage of the clips. It was a very hectic day, as a lot of people wanted to be apart of the film. We had 8 cameras with tapes, going out all day long, so we ended up with over 25 different pieces of footage that we had to cut down. We worked really well together to achieve the task BBC learning had given us, even when we had one hour to finish the film and hand it over ready to be broadcast on SOUTH EAST TODAY news at 6 o’clock. We got the film to them on time and they managed to fit it in, the feeling of seeing our work broadcast on BBC 1 was amazing!! Such a great experience! The next day I re edited the film to make it longer and feature more of the children’s footage. I colour corrected it and added music. Lauren filmed a piece to camera with the wildlife and cameraman and presenter Richard Taylor Jones, which I also included. I then uploaded the finished film to the Kent Wildlife Trust Youtube channel, so that all the participants could see the work they had done. I hope they like it :

BBC Kent, Fifteen Minute Film Challenge.

On Sunday 18th August, families were invited to take a BBC camera for fifteen minutes, with the help of an expert, and film the wildlife in the Sevenoak's Wildlife Reserve. As a celebration of the day and everyone's fantastic efforts, the best clips recorded on the day are featured in this film . The media volunteers were really impressed with the work filmed, especially from the younger children who were able to focus, zoom and capture some beautiful images. Thank you for being a part of "The Fifteen Minute Wildlife Challenge".

Media Volunteers;
Lauren Howard
Lauren Woodfall
Elizabeth Glaister
Helenka Boden

Produced and Edited by:
Lauren Howard
Lauren Woodfall
 

FINAL MAJOR PROJECT - LOOKING FOWARD

So we have a few weeks until we are back at UNI. During this time I would like to have a preliminary interview shot with our main subject John Leslie, a full proposal, story board of the opening sequences, test shots, drafted script, a website set up and branding ideas. I hope to get this done with Lauren on the 23rd, 24th and 26th August. I also hope to be in contact with 4-6 more contributors to get the ball rolling. As part of our opening, myself and Lauren want to try and film the ballerina in the forest, the image of serenity, to help visualize “Finding Serenity”. Ideally this would be shot before the 9th September to show Simon and Helen when we return.

FINAL MAJOR PROJECT - SECOND MEETING WITH JOHN LESLIE

I met with John again yesterday, and explained the questions I want to ask, and the setting we should use to do it. We have decided to film him on Friday 23rd August in his home to get the interview so we can start putting it into a script and work on the structure. On this day we may be able to get some different shots of him living his life on a typical day. His past is also near by, the large company premises he owned, and his large detached house which was taken away from him by the bank. We may also be going to film him at a trade show in Edenbridge where he will be dressed as “professor BOSH, selling his chemicals. At the moment, he seems in a slightly manic phrase, because he has had recent success in his new business. This may make him very talkative and open up more.

Final Major Project - Bipolar uk meeting

So we have just had our meeting with Suzanne, the Chief Executive of Bipolar UK. 

We created a pitch/proposal document that I had written, and lauren helped to re-edit and re-stye.

FMP Proposal

 

Nervously we took the train up to their Head Office in victoria, London and sat in their waiting room.

At first, I felt quite intimidated by Suzanne. 
She explained that they receive thousands of these requests, and that they don’t usually get involved with filming projects because they feel uncomfortable asking their “service users” to participate in various things, especially with such a sensitive subject that good seriously harm their mental well-being. 



This made be feel nervous, and for a good twenty minutes I felt we were in way above our heads. Suzanne looked over our proposal, and pulled apart many aspects of it. She was concerned that if the purpose was to show the inside of the mind of a sufferer, we may come unstuck as most people with bipolar can’t tell you. 



Then I began to explain, we wanted the audience to be able to “feel”, what it was like to have bipolar, to really get a taste of the emotions, through voiceover/story and incredible images and sequences that showed their moods through nature, surroundings, weather and other captivating pictures. This was when Suzanne started to come on board.

We discussed how many people suffering with the disorder have become “fed up” with all the recent coverage of celebrities with bipolar, they feel the large majority of sufferers are not having their voice heard. We both felt this could be an opportunity to get them some recognition, help others and help themselves.

 Suzanne liked the idea of the style we wanted to go for, artistic and experimental, something beautiful and painful. Not a traditional documentary, but a mood piece, with documentary elements, seeing as this is a mood disorder. 



Suzanne mentioned their 30 year campaign, which is what I had researched before. As Bipolar UK was turning 30 years old, they wanted to feature 30 written accounts and podcasts on their website, with  one sufferer for each year they have been going, selected by the year they were diagnosed. 

Suzanne then started to suggest we could tie it in with this, as they already had plenty of people interested, she also said that because they were inundated with requests to be apart of it, there were many people who were upset they could not be selected, we could make them feel happier by offering them a part in the film.

Once we got on to this subject it became clear Suzanne wanted to work with us, because the timing was perfect.

 Their 30 year birthday and bipolar awareness days are in October, and although the film would not be finished then, she believed it would still be great to use. 

So I asked the question, would you like to have Bipolar UK tied in with our film and would you potentially like to use this on your website and part of your campaigns?

 She replied, “yes, yes of course”. 

Those four words made everything worth it. Not only have we got the largest bipolar charity in the UK wanting to help us with contributors, they want us to make something with them in mind, and use it on their national website, that gets thousands of hits!

 This is motivated me no end.

We then discussed a few more details. She quite rightly told us that if they find out contributors, she wouldn’t be able to just give us contacts, and so she would nominate a liaison worker for us to help communicate, judge the situation and then allow us to meet them. 

This is great as it gives the contributors confidence. I also explained that we are looking for people and their families to appear on camera, but as this is an experimental documentary, we could have contributors who tell their story purely through voice over, like a rolling poem accompanied by beautiful images, as part of our film.

I need set out the time frame. We would want to have contributors within the next 4 -5 weeks, ready to interview in 6 -7 weeks. We want to have finished filming by the middle of October at the latest. So that we have plenty of time for post production and editing. Suzanne said she would make a start, and find a liaison worker for us. She asked that we send any consent forms and risk assessments we have for her to take a look at, and that she would like to get in contact with our university.

An incredible start to our journey. We have a lot of hard work to do to make this work, but it feels more viable now.

Final Major Project - Bipolar Uk response

 Over the weekend I had a fantastic response from one of our emails. 

Bipolar UK, the largest bipolar charity, were very interested and have arranged for us to meet with their Chief Executive, in the head office London Victoria, 2pm 8th August! 

I am so over the moon and proud that we have reached this level so quickly, but also terrified. 

Because we are only really at the start of our journey and not sure where it will take us, I have no idea how I am really going to pitch this. However, in the email I mentioned we were looking for contributors and advice, so they will know we don’t have much at the moment. 

Also, I have been looking at the website, and they have a HUGE campaign and awareness day starting in October, I may be jumping the gun, but they may want us to help make something for them, if so we could combine the two.

 What ever the outcome is, I am so glad we have sparked interest, and that the chief executive wants to meet with us in person. This has really spurred me on. Onwards and upwards!!! Now to do some nitty gritty research!

Looking at what their charity is all about:

Bipolar UK strategic plan

Final Major Project - First Conversation With John

 I went for dinner with John Leslie, to discuss initial ideas so that I could write down a few notes and get more of a sense of what his life has been like and the feelings he has. It was quite an emotional experience for him, but again he felt compelled to tell his story.
I asked him to visualize his illness, how would he describe it with images. First he said it was like a maze, he could never find the way out and every corner he turned he was scared what he might find, and ultimately feel. 

He said he was an educated man, but no one gave him the correct map for life, it was like everyone else had a different one. People were laughing at a joke and not telling him the punch-line.

In a depressive episode he felt like the waves were crashing, a huge storm was coming and he just wanted to be in the sea, for it to take him (He has surfed on and off all his life and believes this is his time of serenity).

When he is in a manic phrase, everything looks inviting, like you have a different set of glasses on, it’s all in supersonic speed. He feels omnipotent - the feeling of unlimited power.

John says Bipolar is like being on a rope, you can climb a bit, but you always know you might fall at any-moment, in fact you will fall, and it takes a hell of a lot to keep pulling yourself back.

John was very emotional when I asked him if any of his ancestors had bipolar (all suffers would have had someone before them in their family), he became tearful and whispered his dad. I didn’t push the subject further, he said he would be willing to talk about that another time.  He also mentioned his spending, and that he would not have owned a successful multimillion pound company if he did not have bipolar, but it was the illness that indeed took it all away from him too. He now lives in a small bungalow, on his own.

His bungalow is quite shocking, he doesn’t seem to want to admit he has a hoarding problem as well. Although he did admit when he was younger his father was very neurotic and would chuck away his toys after a week if he hadn’t played with them. He can’t ever throw anything away now, everything has value.

John is also a recovering alcoholic, though he believes this was due to self medication for 40 years of his life, he wasn't diagnosed with bipolar until his late 50’s. He believes bipolar is the root cause and the reason for his other illnesses.

We want to film him in his natural environment, playing his guitar, working at a bootfair, delivering his chemicals (He now runs a small company making his own cleaning chemicals),  eating out, going for walks etc. I also want to explore the idea of taking him back to his home town in Bexley Heath/Sidcup and have him take us to the places that effected his life. We also have access to archive footage should we wish to use it, home videos, and photographs etc.

I want to finish with him on the downs, looking out over the world below him, a sense that he has completed his journey of knowledge and is now starting a new journey, in hope of one day finding serenity.