First draft of documentary timeline

Recce for Raystede

We visited the animal shelter at first to scope the location for appropriate filming spots and to see each section where the animals lived.

We spoke to the people who were in charge to discuss the kinds of footage we wanted to take away with us on our filming days and who it would be most fitting to speak to and interview with

We also took away and read through some of the leaflets that the organisation offer, to gain further insight into Raystede, which told us some more specific information about the work that they do for the animals.

We came away from this visit with set times to interview people, an understanding of shooting suitability for the location[s] involving lighting and sound

Documentary: Louis Theroux

Louis Theroux's documentaries follow hard hitting issues, tackling taboo subjects such as drug abuse, violence and murder

-Theroux dives straight into action
-Talks to professionals e.g doctors, police, psychologists
-Talks to 'normal' people, effected by themes e.g convicted murderers


Louise Theroux: The City Addicted to Meth

Gains insight from range of people with experience in the field from police, meth addicts, recovering addicts, families of addicts and salesmen of crystal meth

Uses shots of settings, environment for example the rehabilitation centre, shots of recovering addicts taking part in activities and support meetings and during their day to day routines 

Uses close up interviews with people within appropriate environments, showing insight into their lives and situational circumstances

Uses open ended questions

Moodboard for Raystede

documentary idea

We have decided to use an small, local running animal shelter at the topic of our documentary as we feel there is considerate human interest when it comes to animals and the rescuing and facilitating of those who have been abandoned and abused.
We also chose this as in comparison they had shown much more interest and commitment to helping us create the documentary than other options we had explored

http://www.raystede.org

Possible Interview questions

• -How has working at Raystede affected your life? -What does it mean to you to take care of these animals? -What would you say to other people thinking about adopting an animal? -What is your name and what do you do at Raystede? -What are Raystedes main aims for the animals? -How long have you worked at Raystede? -Do you build a strong connection to the animals you take care of? -Is it hard to say goodbye to the animals you have been taking care when they are adopted? -Have you adopted an animal from Raystede and if so how has that affected your life? -What are the some reasons for the animals coming to Raystede? -Have any arrived in a critical state, if so how did that make you feel? -How many animals come in each year and what percentage of those animals are re-homed?

Initial Ideas

As a group we have looked into a wide range of interesting topics and community projects to base our documentary work on. Such ideas included Brighton Aquarium, Local bike recycling projects encouraging bike riding to save the environment, a cat emporium cafe, where visitors relieve stress through petting kittens whilst drinking tea and the Bike Project which provide riding courses and recycled bikes for refugees in an attempt to help bring them into the community and to help develope life skills such as being able to interact within their new community.

I found the two bike projects through my research as I was already trying to find somewhere to buy a secondhand bike but stumbled across the very inspiring Bike Project (http://thebikeproject.co.uk). Which described what they do as refurbishing old bikes and providing bike riding and fixing lessons for refugees to help them try to adapt to their new lives.

Here is a copy of the initial email i sent to them.

Hello,

My name is Ella; I am a 1^st year Media Practice student at the University of Sussex. Part of my degree studies entails working in a small team of four students to create a short documentary film capturing the essence of a fascinating community project. Having carried out substantial research our attention has been captured by the work you do. Hence I was wondering whether you would be willing to be the subject of our documentary. 

 This would entail our visiting your premises and interviewing key project members to understand the motivation and drivers behind your involvement. Ideally. We would work around when best suits you and look to cause as little disruption as possible. 

 We will of course also ensure you get full access to our finished work.

 Please let me know if you would like to be involved in our project. I would be happy to come visit and walk you through what we are trying to achieve if that would help. 

Kind regards, 

Ella Dowling