Finishing Touches To Edit

Last week during our screening, Simon suggested that we came in too hard with our first picture, and suggested we have some kind of pre title titles.

I toyed with the idea earlier on of using some quotes from one of our contributors who we had to let go along the way.

He has released two books, one called " fast train approaching", which features his story and lots of poetry he wrote whilst in hospital.

I liked a few lines from one of his poem:
"Watch me beneath the setting sun, as I tred the tightrope, balancing between light and dark>'

I also liked the opening of a Mandela speech:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It's our light not our dark that most frightens us."

I thought these both reprsesented the subject of Bipolar well, and would start the audience thinking.

However, once I placed the tiles in the edit with the font we are using to brand our film, I imeadiately went off the idea. I felt it cheapened everything I was trying to achieve in the edit.

So back to drawing board. I'm looking at the opening of some of my favourite documentaries.

I think I may go for the simple but dramatic:

Lau Productions and Paper People Present
A Lauren Jay Howard production
in association with Bipolar UK

Final Major Project - Research

The top documentary film makers of all time are known for their innovative approach to cinematics. Many producer/directors have created great films in this genre, and some of the best include Michael Moore and Alex Gibney. Other of note that should be included in any list of this magnitude are Michael Apted, Ken Burns and Errol Morris.

Michael Moore is known for his on screen antics as well as the controversial subject matters that he explores. His films have addressed a range of social problems, and he’s well known for his cinematic works. He was born in 1954 outside of Flint, Michigan. While other documentary film makers remain inconspicuous and objective, Michael Moore is known for his personality, and he created a name for himself with his onscreen antics. He has created several masterpieces, and Roger & Me was his first successful film. Other documentaries that he has created include Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint, Canadian Bacon, The Big One, And Justice for All, Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko and Capitalism: A Love Story. He has addressed a number of social issues, and his films have focused on everything from health care to the auto industry. He has also written several best selling books.

Michael Apted is the director of the famous BBC Up Series. He is also the President of the Directors Guild of America. The Up Series has been a work in progress since 1964, and this is a sociological study that has aspirations of forecasting the future of British society. This program follows the lives of 14 seven-year old Britons from various backgrounds. It closely analyzes their expectations and the dreams that they are after. Apted was instrumental in selecting the youngsters that were portrayed in this program.

Ken Burns has documented many subjects as diverse as music and war. These programs have thoroughly explored American popular culture, and he is passionate about the drama of truth. This director hails from New York, and he is known to handle all of the issues associated with the production of his epic documentaries. Most of these are filmed in segments. He is known for the total creative control that he exerts on his films.

Another great documentary film maker is Alex Gibney. He is an astounding storyteller, and utilizes many things in his quest for the perfect film. Cinematography, lighting and the pace of the film are all ingredients that he makes use of. He is best known for his film, Taxi to The Dark Side, which showcased the American armed forces treatment of prisoners of war. Many of those tortured have been shown to be innocent of the crimes that they’ve been accused of. He has also directed a legendary account of the life of Hunter S. Thompson.

Errol Morris is known for the interview style that he uses to capture the subjects of his film. He is notorious for profiling the mindset of soldiers who tortured terrorists in Iraq. His masterpiece is The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara. This details the former Secretary of Defense, and is an excellent interview that even enthralled the subject of the documentary.

The top documentary film makers of all time have created some of the best true to life viewing pleasures. Most of them focus on subjects that are important in everyday life. A variety of issues have been explored, and these directors have essentially captured the feeling of modern society. Michael Moore, Alex Gibney, Errol Morris and Ken Burns are some of the best.

Liz Interview - 03/10/13

Liz is the second of our four main contributors and lives in the beautiful village of Brookwood, near  woking surrey. We decided to book in two days of filming, and stayed at a friends nearby over night. 

Liz suffers with the most severe type of bipolar, bipolar 1,  which can often be confused with  schizophrenia, due to paranoia, psychosis,


hallucinations and hearing voices.

My main responsibility was to schedule the day, direct us to her house, lead all interviews/ conversations and make her feel as comfortable as possible.

We left early to get round the M25, and arrived there about 10 am. Liz was very welcoming, and because of our phone conversation and emails, I felt like we had already met. Whilst Lauren was recording her establishing and cutaway shots, myself and Liz got to know each other over a cup of tea.

I went through my outline for the day, and discussed the style of interview I was looking for. At this point I made sure she filled out the consent form.

On our arrival Liz told us that her husband would be taking the following day off to participate in filming, and would like to participate by being interviewed. Although we briefly mentioned this through emails, I had no confirmation that Nick wanted to be involved. Therefore I felt slightly unease that I would be interviewing him without much research. However I quickly realised that a whole day before with Liz was all the research I needed, and so during the first day I made notes of the sorts of things I would like to ask her husband.

The first day went really well, we all got along great.

Liz very kindly made us lunch after Lauren had filmed her sequences. We then went for a lovely walk around her village, she introduced us to many people along the way, neighbours, friends, ex colleagues etc. All appeared in her story. This was a good opportunity for Lauren to film some beautiful nature shots that will be the main key to Liz's narrative, as she loves to walk and be at one with the world around her.

After our tour around Brookwood I conducted the main interview. Liz was confident and articulate, I was transfixed by her words, her advice and heart felt sincerity. There was one moment where Liz was overcome with emotion, and needed to take few minutes to allow herself to cry. I felt myself and Lauren dealt with this maturely and sensitively. It was hard to realise I had made Liz cry and put her back amongst her nightmares, but I had to keep reminding myself I was doing this for a greater cause. 

Sound was also my responisbity, and I now think I am getting the hang of checking we are recording sound, listening to the recording, adjusting levels etc, all the while listneing intently to the subject and not allowing them to notice my distraction with recording. It's all about multitasking.

The second day was even more relaxed, but I needed to keep pushing the shoot forward to make sure we got what we needed.

Nick's interview was significantly harder. It took him a little longer to become comfortable, open and relax. To begin with there were very short one word answers. I put this down to the fact Liz had thrown him in at the deep end, and hadn't allowed us the opportunity to speak with hime before hand. Nick was also a lot more emotional then Liz, and broke down on a number of occasions. This was particularly hard for me, as I could feel his pain and knew exactly what he had gone through, as I had gone through it too. 

I managed to keep my composure, but I learnt today how difficult it can be to do a subject that is so close to your heart, especially if there is still pain there, but I know the reasons why I am doing this, and that keeps me together. 

I felt deeply touched by the two days spent with Liz and Nick, I learnt so much and they gave so much information to us that it was hard to switch off for the next following days. To me they became old friends, or an aunt and uncle with the best advise in the world. I decided I wanted to personally thank them, so after filming we took them out for a nice lunch and chatted for hours. Documentary making is incredible for meeting such fascinating people. 

Final Major Project - The Shoot - John at Joss Bay.

The main aim for Finding Serenity is not only  show the dark side of Bipolar, but provide inspiration for those who have recently been diagnosed or have family members that suffer with the illness. We want to show that mental illness does not stop you from having a fulfilled life, that you can still do the things you love and have a family if you want to. 

For John, he finds his serenity in Music and the Sea. He calls the Sea "His Friend", and it is something he turns to in times of trouble and in times of elation. At two key suicidal points in his life he was pulled to the sea and wanted to end his life in the waves. Yet his love of surfing offers him calm, peace and joy. 

Although he normally surfs in Cornwall and California, I did some research to find that Joss Bay in Kent has a relatively large surf community. As someone who has surfed myself, I read the wave reports at with a forecast of 2-4ft waves, I decided we should go there to film a few sequences with John. He too was surprised that he had lived in the South East all his life and never knew there was surf here. He was over joyed and agreed to come with us. Unfortunately all the surfing shops had closed for the season, so we couldn't rent him a wetsuit or bodyboard, but Lauren brought hers along and decided to take the go pro into the sea anyway, to see if we could recreate the allusion of John surfing in a point of view style. Or just give the impression of what it feels like to surf. I thought this worked really well.

During the shoot we also did a number of sequences with John walking up and down the beach, throwing stones into the sea and playing his beloved guitar. The whole day seemed to uplift him considerably, we could tell instantly the impact the sea had on his mood. This was great to witness and be a part of. John even serenaded the beach with several songs. 

Sound was obviously an issue. On a windy day, I couldn't do a good interview with the equipment I had. However we did manage to record his music, which really is all we needed. 

I made the quick decision to do an interview in the car whilst we were driving. I decided this would show the journey he is going on metaphorically and mentally. He will be the only character in a car, perhaps suggesting the others have found their way of coping, where as John is still very much at the start. 

Unfortunately I was sitting in the front of the car and Lauren was in the back, so I am not quite sure how well the shot would look, as it is from behind him and you may not be able to see his facial expressions. Unless of course she managed to shoot into the mirror which would have been good. Either way, it was a good interview and I am sure we can use some of it. 

Now that we have spent two filming days with John, I believe his story is beginning to take shape. We still need o get some more sequences in his home, and I feel we will also need to get some stronger answers from him. 

Final Major Project - RAW TV

After further research I have found RAW TV, headed by founder Dimitri Doganis, the producer of The Imposter. He works closely with his Creative Director Bart Layton and together they make amazing documentaries. They have a head of US Factual, a head of UK factual and a managing director. That's it, no writers or cinematographers. I think this is a model myself and Lauren are working towards. I am in the process of contacting RAW and Dimitri to find out more. In the meantime here's some stuff from their website: 

Final Major Project - Researching Producing

I'm now starting to make the research into roles segment of my report a lot richer, by digging deep into the world of the documentary producer. Unlike a film producer, they tend to have a much greater role in the story telling, this is because they are finding the stories, working with he contributors and ultimately interviewing them. Therefore the content tends to solely lie with the producer. It isn't a writing role as such, more investigative, selection based, building a jigsaw.

I have mentioned previously that the film The Impostor, has had a great influence on myself and Lauren, the style and content seemed perfectly matched. Sometimes with documentary there is too much style over content, or the content is there but the basic style lets it down. The Impostor was complimented by both, neither existed without the other, and if one of them had been slightly weaker, it would not have had the same impact. 

I love the filmic look of The Impostor, which I know Lauren is doing a lot of research into, so I don't need to go into detail about the style. What is interesting for me is how they dealt with he story. There is no narration, something I want to avoid, let the audience piece things together with the help of the contributors. I want out audience to be active, not passive. Each revelation is told my the characters. So I want to know how the producers did this, how did they know what to ask? How did they make the links? How did they structure in the beginning of at all? What was there building blocks? A sort of what came first the chicken or the egg? 

I knew the main producer that has done interviews and has been photographed at awards ceremonies is Dimitri Doganis. He seemed to be the investigative force, he found the story and did the interviews. Then there is a whole list of other producers, 18 to be exact. It didn't have a large budget and was backed by film four, it is completely British. What did these producers bring to the table? Who was in charge of what? I hope to contact a few a figure out what I am most closely linked to, what title would they have given me? 

Most interesting there was NO writer credited. The producers were writing the content or organizing the content the contributors gave them. The director would then choose the shots. 

All The Impostor producers: 

John Battsek	....	executive producer
Sam Brown	....	development producer
Katherine Butler	....	executive producer
Simon Chinn	....	executive producer
Paul Cziok	....	archive producer
Robert DeBitetto	....	executive producer
Poppy Dixon	....	co-producer
Dimitri Doganis	....	producer
John Farrar	....	development producer
Kate Horne	....	assistant producer: Spain
Tabitha Jackson	....	executive producer
Mary-Jane Mitchell	....	development producer
Randy Murray	....	local producer: Phoenix, AZ
Theresa Murray	....	local producer: Phoenix, AZ
Robert Sharenow	....	executive producer
Molly Thompson	....	executive producer
Vanessa Tovell	....	line producer
Paloma Lopez Vazquez	....	local producer: Madrid

Final Major Project - Why make a documentary for my final project?

Before I joined the course, I had a great desire to make documentaries. I was inspired by my media studies lecturer who was passionate about the genre and educated me in the films of Nick Broomfield and Michael Moore. With films like Aileen- life of a serial killer, and Bowling for Collombine, it really showed me the documentaries are all about story telling, pulling the viewer in and more often than not are extremely powerful and interesting because they are true!

When I joined broadcast Media, I thought this was the path that I would stay on. Then I found a new love for script writing during the meeting, which I hadn't done for a few years. I took the path of director/writer, and was pleased with my choice. However, it has been long said that to become a director, stop watching films and start watching people. Become familiar with the world around you, with art and polictics. Find subjects that your are passionate about, civilizations and stories that capture your imagination. Go traveling, read magazines and newspapers from all over the world, search under every rock to find gripping stories. That's when  realised, that finding true stories, human stories, is what I wanted to do. Documentary is this at it's heart.

I love a good investigation, and as Lauren will tell you, I get quite obsessed with stories in the news. When the bombings happened in Boston early this year, I was listening to CNN 24/7, even going to sleep with it on. I learnt the case inside out, made notes, researched the political background and the families/friends. This may sound weird, but I wanted to know every detail, to make an informaed opinion and to file it as a potential story to write about in the future.

I believe a good documentary maker is fundamentally a detective and journalist, which I love. You start with one piece of the puzzle and someone you need to find all the pieces to make the film.

I'm hoping I will stay with documentary making for now at least, if not I believe it's a great opportunity as a writer and director to learn their craft and find those human stories.

Role As Producer

After another chat with Helen, it has become clear that this sort of documentary wouldn't have a traditional script writer. The story comes from the interviews and then is worked out in the edit. So for this project I'm not sure I would not necessarily have the role of writer?

 Therefore my role is a Creative Journalistic Producer and I would hope to be judged on these elements:

1) Coming up with the idea and developing the film. Extensive research into the subject.. hours of reading, watching documentaries, emailing doctors and professors,  scouting news paper articles and blogs.

2) Building an audience through Bipolar UK, film festivals,  our website and potentially BBC South East.

3) Working with contributors, building a great report with them, finding the stories, emails, correspondence, interview techniques, phone conversations and recording them.

4) Although traditionally a film producer would find the budget, I feel I have achieved this in a way by pitching to  Bipolar UK, a very scary process.
 I managed to convince them to partner with us, and they provided an employee to work with us throughout the project, who is available when ever I need advice and support.  I suppose if you factor in her salary, this was a large amount of budget we have negotiated. Another large amount of money, would be the platform of the film and the effect/ cost of the bandwidth on their website. To reach 10,000 viewers a day without them, would take thousands of pounds of investment and advertisement. Bipolar UK have asked that the film have a positive ending/message and exceeds no longer than 30 minutes, which is what we will work towards. With other university projects, I know people have made their films with the BBC, ITV and Channel Four in mind. I understand they were never actually shown on these platforms, so if Bipolar UK decide not to use the film in the end, I hope this would not ultimately affect my mark. We would have tried our best, and the offer of it potentially being used is still a huge achievement. 

5) Working on the story (not strictly scripting), developing the top lines,  identifying key areas of interest and debate.

6) The main skills I need to complete Finding Serenity, is to be extremely cautious, aware, sensitive, compassionate and knowledgeable about the subject. I need to let contributors down gently if we can't include them, learn to talk confidently, and openly about suicide and depression. Not to be phased, but be respectful of the emotional journey they are sharing with us. Learn to be aware of how situations can affect them and to be careful not to create stressful situations. But after considering all these factors, I also need to make the best film I can, and push the boundaries as much as I can.  I believe this takes great skill and is a large part of the role I am undertaking. To ultimately be a good communicator. 

7) I will also my credited as the story editor, working on editing software to piece together this enormous jigsaw.

8) I will also be helping Lauren to record sound.

After a lot of research into the field, it seems that documentary making has extremely lapse roles, the majority of those today have one person shooting, producing and directing, Helen also explained she often had to take on all roles. As this is something I want to do in the future for my own business, it makes sense that I would know how to work in all roles. It isn't as straight cut as drama and fictional film. All documentaries have different ways of allocating roles and jobs. I hope this has helped to identify the extensive work I shall be doing on this project. 

I of course will continue to evidence this as we go along. 

Love Always Shoot

Dan Baugh, asked me recently if I would like to be his First Assistant Director for "Love Always", as he liked the work I had done on Poppy. 

Although this won't really go towards my Final Major Project, it is nice to be working on set. Dan feels I work well with actors and organising shoots, which is what I have helped to do on his first day of filming. 

During the day I helped to make sure the actors where happy, thanked them for their work etc and helped Sam Creamer as a second camera op.

I also controlled traffic during a scene we had to record on an extremely busy road, it was scary and very hard to do, but we got there in the end. 

I came into my element when we got to the salute the 40's event at the historic dockyard. 

I negotiated with two photographers dressed in 1940's gear to appear in the film and I managed to get hold of a 1940's car for our couple to use. 

Quick thinking was key for this part of the shoot, so I made sure we were there with our cameras ready to record at the right time at a moments notice. This included filming dancers doing the lindy hop on a stage, I got the actors to dance next to them, then the professional dancers without any question saw what we were doing and decided to grab each of them and show them how it was done, a priceless moment that I hope Dan gets to use in the film. 

I also managed to get the actors into a mock tearoom and theatre entrance, having them act our an afternoon tea conversation, and the purchasing of tickets for a show. 


It was a great day and I was thrilled to be apart of it. I offered advice but made sure I didn't interfere with Dan's vision. 

I just wanted to thank Dan for asking me to come on board, what a professional atmosphere there was! Well done everyone!

Emails, Emails, Emails.

My role as producer for this documentary is to do heavy research into the subject and get to know my contributors and their own stories inside out. I want to find the best stories I can, and make them come together through interview and edit.

Bipolar UK sent out an advert which attracted over 100 responses. I went through every single one, and selected forty, then twenty. Out of those twenty, Bipolar UK contacted them all to make sure they were well enough to participate. 14 were given the go ahead.

I then began to email all 14, to explain who I was, what I was doing and why I was doing it. I wanted to come over as friendly, but professional as possible. I had to make sure that I did not promise anything form the get go, as we are only looking for 4-6 full contributors in the film. I knew at some point I would have to let people down, this was hard to accept and I had to tread carefully.

It took two weeks to build up report, find out the information I need and to organize logistically challenges. Dozens of emails were exchanged with each contributor.

four contributors came through very strongly and five others I would still like to interview research and test further.  I have to be careful not to give to much information away as this is an extremely personal and sensitive situation. All I can devulge at present is perhaps their name, rough locations and career. 

Dan - Mental Health Worker - Maidstone
Dorrit - Ex Lawer, now personal fitness trainer for the disabled - London
Liz - Ex Teacher, now helps with a breakfast club - Surrey
John - Had a multimillion pound company, now runs a very small company making chemicals - Medway

Belinda - Clarinet player and University lecturer - Canterbury
Seema - Optometrist in the NHS - London
Steve - Writer - Tonbridge
Antonia - Studying for her PHD, wants to start up her own business, moved from ITALY - London
Sarah - works for MIND in one of their shops, also does lectures on her experience - Surrey. 

So far I have contacted, Dorit, Dan, Steve and Antonia on the phone,  this week I will be recording the others on the phones and begin to plan a shooting schedule. 

Final Major Project - What are our platforms?

After my tutorial with Simon, it was agreed that as producer I need to be the one who is focusing on where this film is going to be seen, and that is is my responsibility to make sure it meets the criteria for each platform.

I have identified three areas where I want to showcase our film and will be doing more detailed research into them.

Festivals:

Sheffield Doc/Fest: 
The UK's largest documentary film festival. The film festival would fit our time schedule, as the documentary needs to be made after June 2013 and be submitted by Feb 2014. The film festival will be June 2014. 

 It costs £25 to submit, and it is preferred to be submitted from a Vimeo link. 

There are three categories that we could enter either  Short Films: Less than 30 mins with credits. Medium Length which is 31-59 mins with credits. There is also the Cross Platform, which could be great, this is for "films created for exhibition on multiple online platforms, or in non traditional media spaces. Any duration acceptable". 

Films that are unsuccessful may be place on their "Videotheque" which is an online video library. 

This is an extremely established and prestigious festival that I want to aim highly for

Toronto Online Film Festival:
More and more festivals are appearing online, although they may not have gained prestigious fame, they are a lot more accessible and offer a much greater audience. 

Their aim:
"To honour the top creators in the digital arts world as voted by members of the online community worldwide. Especially undiscovered gems that yearn for an international audience. "

This film festival has been born out of the hub of filmmakers in the toronto district, where digital media has boomed in the last five years. 

There is no submission fee, and there is a simple application process with the need for a Vimeo link that is live and viewable until the Awards announcement. 

Videos are voted for by worldwide selected viewers. 

Once a Week Online Film Festival
Another online festival, but winners are chosen every week of the year. 

This film festival is very popular with online platforms. Films can be submitted throughout the year. 

"Once a Week Online Film Festival is a weekly showcase of short indie films under 30 minutes.  All films showcased come directly from submissions. Every Wednesday at 9pm eastern time the highest rated film from our judges will be given the distinction of an Official Selection.   Each Official Selection will be shown on the homepage for an entire week. 

Audience Award: 
Submitted films will compete for the distinction of the Audience Award.  All submitted films will receive their own page. The film with the most social media shares in any given week will win the Audience Award and will be shown on the homepage along side the Official Selection for the week.  

All winning films will be archived under Official Selections and Audience Awards on the Watch The Films page.  All other films will remain in categories under their respective genres. "

There are no submission fees, but each film must be under 30 mins total duration time. Can be submitted through a youtube or Vimeo link, which must be kept live for the duration of the festival. 

Online Streaming and Platforms:

Vimeo
Vimeo is the filmmakers youtube. The quality of films are higher and their appeal is higher in the film industry. Most if not all film festivals will require you to have the film uploaded to youtube and be readily available to view. 

Vimeo also has far reaching categories, and their own festivals and groups, to help your film reach the right audience through the right platform.

We will be setting up an account for "Finding Serenity" shortly. 

Films For Action
Is the perfect platform for finding serenity. 

It takes films from Vimeo and gives them the platform they really need, to be seen by other audiences, filmmakers, producers, and distributors. 

There only criterias? That it already has a URL (Vimeo) and it's a film that want's to help change something or make the world a better place. 

"At an International Level:

Films For Action uses the power of film to raise awareness of important social, environmental, and media-related issues not covered by the mainstream news. Our goal is to provide citizens with the information and perspectives essential to creating a more just, sustainable, and democratic society.

Our website has cataloged over 1500 of the best films and videos that can be watched free online.

At the Local Level:
On the ground, our City Chapters are working to create alternative media channels that will inform, connect, and inspire action at a community level.

Our city chapters screen documentaries at independent theaters and other venues regularly throughout the year. With most films we launch an accompanying educational and action-oriented campaign to address the issues presented by the films. Some of our chapters air films on their local public Access TV channel. And all the films we buy we make available for people to borrow from us for free, either to watch themselves or to screen in their own neighborhoods.

Our local city chapter sub-sites offer several tools to connect and inform people through our website, including a calendar of local activist events, a directory of local progressive and radical groups, and a blog for writers to contribute local news and perspectives.

All in all, through the screenings, public access TV, this website, and our Lending Library, our City Chapters aim to provide an information and resource network that will reduce its city's dependence on corporate media, providing more meaningful and reliable ways to stay informed on the issues that matter.

"Films for Action is outstanding! Thanks so much for creating this incredible tool!" - Elisa Beck. Transitionpgh.org

"I love how different people from all over the world are coming here to watch amazing films, write and discuss. Greetings from Lithuania!" - Danny Crowe

I just discovered this terrific resource. Try it! - Jo Sippie-Gora

Films for Action has made me more informed and more effective in my activism. I don't think I could live without it. - Terry Knepp "

Filmbinder
Filmbinder is an alternative to itunes and netflix. It means you don't have to have a distributor to have a platform where people can rent or download your film. It costs $14 a month to upload a film(s), and for every 24 click you should receive $1. Sounds good! It would be a good indicator to see the potential for our film. There is no cancellation fee or contract, so we could see how well we do for just a month or two? 

 

Websites:

Our own Website
We have set up our own website, which we will use to promote the film. It will feature a vimeo link. Audience reach is low, but it will enable us to have a central location for the film to begin with. 


Bipolar Uk 
This at the moment is a tricky area. Simon feels that he isn't sure whether we are making the film for them or not, which of course impacts what we do. Currently we are making a film for film festival and online release, Bipolar UK will have the opportunity to use our film if they wish. 

Our film will be 30mins in length, this will not be altered should bipolar UK want something different. We would how ever make them a revised version for their website if they couldn't feature the film in it's entirety. This can be seen in all distribution situations, including blockbuster films that are "edited for TV" i.e. sex and violence toned down. 

Although we are not making a film that it is confined to Bipolar UK's expectations, I have emailed them to request what they could feature and what they couldn't. (This has been discussed over the phone and in the meeting, but I feel it is important to have a clear idea in writing from them). 

Their website is not our primarily target platform, they would probably feature it from our Vimeo etc. This could be likened to Netflix. Films aren't made to feature on Netflix, they are made with the cinema in mind ( I know this is changing), but they would hope Netflix would want to feature it. They wouldn't change the production to suit Netflix criteria, as their main aim is a cinema release. If Netflix after the cinema release wanted to platform the film, edits may be made etc. 

Therefore it would be a bonus if Bipolar UK accepted our film (They recieve 10,000 hits a day, but as a creative producer I will not let this effect the artistic creation of the film or dictate what is/ isn't included. I want to make the best film I can.