The Next Few Meetings

Meeting's Before The Pitch

The contacts that the Producer had got hold of had both got back to us with was hugely positive for the group, it meant we had two strong ideas and had contacts for both. The message we had from the producer on-line was this about the record shop idea...

'OK so basically the guy just rang me back (he's called Spike,he is the one responsible for the selling of the records on ebay). He said that he is a little bit reluctant because he doesn't like publicity that much, however he says what he is saying is that he is in principle agreeing to be involved with our film - there are a few issues, such as the records are being sold tomorrow so they're not physically going to be there to film (but as we were saying yesterday, the emptiness/lack of items anymore could be beneficial to our idea anyway) and the store is now taken over and the locks have been changed - he said we could arrange a location nearer the time. He said that he is interested and to meet with you all today to discuss some questions to ask him and get them emailed over, as well as an outline of exactly what we'd like to focus on as an angle - as in are we focusing on what it means for the Liverpool music scene, or the history of the store - just a clear idea that I can put into a treatment and send over to him tonight. He also said that for Record Store Day, they have held a few items aside to sell at a pop up record store at a cinema related place in Liverpool - and that if our film was made successfully they could show it there for us.'

This was positive as it meant that Spike from the record shop was really interested in the project as a whole.
The day after we also received a message from Zap Graffiti and then over the week Tristan who we had contacted again both interested in the idea and project as a whole.

Over the course of the next few meetings we gathered together our notes and starting making the power point presentation pitches that we would then be able to present to the class for them to decide what idea we should go for both of the pitches for each of the ideas are shown below. Two treatments were also made, one for each of the ideas as shown below which are the originals. I will also be doing a write up of the treatment of the idea that is chosen with notes on camera angles and ideas of cinematography after the pitch.

Record Shop Idea (Change the Record) pitch presentation

Change The Record

Synopsis- The documentary will follow the story of the iconic Vinyl Emporium store in Liverpool which is currently in the news as it has recently closed down in the last year and has in the last few weeks sold it’s entire stock collection of 15,000 records via means of the internet i.e. Ebay.

How will the Story Unfold?- The documentary will follow the story of the iconic Vinyl Emporium store in Liverpool which is currently in the news as it has recently closed down in the last year and has in the last few weeks sold it’s entire stock collection of 15,000 records via means of the internet i.e. Ebay. 

Key Characters- The documentary will follow the story of the iconic Vinyl Emporium store in Liverpool which is currently in the news as it has recently closed down in the last year and has in the last few weeks sold it’s entire stock collection of 15,000 records via means of the internet i.e. Ebay.

Themes & Subject Matter-
• Advance in technology.
• Uncertainty of the future for independent stores.
• The movement into a digital age of shopping.
• The lost art form of records.
• Exploration of the independent music scene in Liverpool.
• Slow moving camera work.
• Interviews; Low Key Lighting. 

Style & Technique-
• Cinematic Style.
• Shots of record player, closed in on slowly alongside sound bites captured from interviews.
Inspirations & Influences-
• The Archive (2008) Dir. Sean Dunne
• Side by Side (2012) Dir. Christopher Kenneally

                                                Street Art Idea (City Canvas) Pitch Presentation 

City Canvas

Synopsis- City Canvas is a short documentary, which focuses on people perceptions on street art/graffiti. While some people see it as art and a way to express them selves, others see it as kindless act of vandalism. The documentary hopes to delve into the unknown world of Liverpool street art and tackle peoples perception of the art form.
How will the story unfold?- We will be following Kieron from Zap Graffiti around a few key Liverpool streets as he shares his story and opinion on misconceptions about street art, while showing us the street art various artists have created.
At the end we will reveal how he has channelled this art form into a profession and is now spreading his knowledge amongst young people from the area.
Key Characters- Kieron at Zap Graffiti- Owner of the Liverpool based organisation that promotes street art positively through workshops. He has agreed for an interview and to show us around the street art in Liverpool and his studio, which he's given us access to.
“Promoting graffiti as a positive art form across the UK since 1995”
Themes & Subject Matter-
•Celebration vs demonisation of street art -Personal experiences of street artists
•Transformation of the perception of street art from petty vandalism to a recognised art form
•Thoughts and opinions of the public - Challenging perceptions
Style & Technique-
•Modern 'urban' style; contemporary to fit with a current subject matter.
•Experiment with camera work, montages, tracking shots, fish eye lens
•Make use of the studio space available to us; freedom to explore creativity within this on the day.
Inspirations & Influences-
•Exit Through The Gift Shop (2010) Dir. Banksy
•Skateistan: To Live and Skate Kabul (2010) Dir. Orlando von Einsiedel 

Finished Treatment for Change the Record Idea 

Change The Record is a 5 minute investigative documentary following the story of one of Liverpool’s most iconic record stores, The Vinyl Emporium, which after having been closed down for almost a year has recently sold it’s entire collection on EBay.  With the store being well recognised as one of the key locations that brought the independent music scene to Liverpool, the documentary will delve into the highs and lows of this one Liverpool story, and will explore the reasons behind the store selling it’s entire stock in one load on eBay in February 2014. Through telling the tale of this one store’s journey from high street to online, it will investigate where the future lies for independent retailers now that we live in a digital age.

The documentary’s opening will focus on introducing Liverpool as a city of music and the story of the Vinyl Emporium through showing the Bold Street location where it once stood. Vox pop interviews will be held with the public directly outside where the store stood, aiming to discover local people’s memories of the store and how they feel now that it no longer exists. The interviews will also explore people’s personal preferences on shopping; whether they enjoy their high street shopping experience and how they feel about stores like this selling valuable collections via the internet.

Interviews will be main driving force of the documentary, including those with the owner of the Music Consortium (and once of the Vinyl Emporium), as well as  local Liverpool musicians. Stock footage and our own captured footage showing the contrast between what was once there and what remains today. A series of updated images as the bid for the collection progressed, will be used to tell the story here alongside voiceover narration.

The range of interviewees will enable the film to capture a variety of experiences and explore memories and opinions on a personal basis, as well as on the larger scale of what this meant for the Liverpool independent music scene. The documentary will question the impact the store has left on Liverpool and will discover the reasons behind selling the whole stock in one large collection on eBay specifically. The story has recently been covered across social media networks and local Liverpool newspapers, however telling the story through film as opposed to print based media will capture a sense of the place as well as a first hand account of the story.

Finished Treatment for City Canvas Idea

City Canvas is a short documentary, which focuses on people perceptions on street art/graffiti. While some people see it as art and a way to express them selves, others see it as kindles acts of vandalism. The documentary hopes to delve into the unknown world of a Liverpool street art and tackle people's perception of the art form.

Liverpool, the former Capital Of Culture, is renowned for its street art. Even the most prolific artists like Bansky and Sick Boi have been said to use the city of Liverpool as they canvas.  Our documentary intends to guide the viewer around Liverpool street art and challenging misconceptions as the story progresses.

The film will start off with a montage of graffiti, from the sublime works of Bansky and other talented street artist, to the ridiculous works of vandals. The intro will showcase both sides of graffiti, the good and bad in a certain extent.   While the montage plays through, as well as an upbeat sound track we will have the thoughts and opinions of local residents to see what they think. Is it art or is it vandalism?  We intend to set up a vox pop interview style in the location where Bansky iconic Rat portrait once stood. This was classed as one of Liverpool's famous landmarks.

The documentary then slightly shifts focus, as we delve deeper into the unknown. We follow Kieron from local organization Zap Graffiti for the day as he shares the difficulties he has faced in expressing his emotion and artist flare through this art form.  As well as been quite a stylistic and modern film will also be quite personal as we get a real insight to the man's life and the troubles he has faced. Although after endless phone calls and emails sent to numerous street artists it’s hard to find someone who is willing to share their story. At this moment in time no one has got back to us.

When researching we came across a business called Zap Graffiti who run events to promote graffiti as a positive art form. Each weekend they run workshops in Liverpool to help develop the skills of upcoming graffiti artist.  The story of Zap Graffiti will be a great way to carry our documentary as it shows the positive side of street art, instead of vandalism the street artist have a place to go to express them selves.  Even local business are getting on board and hiring people from Zap Graffiti to design window displays. Although seen as a positive is this company just producing the next wave of vandals or the next wave of artist?

 The target audience for the documentary will be primarily people aged 15-36 since this is the most likely range of people that will relate to the subject matter and theme of the film.