Carrots For Your Eyes

Evaluation – Carrots For Your Eyes

‘Carrots For Your Eyes’ is the three minute documentary that we made for this module which focuses on Coventry Blind Society and how it has been effected by Capitalism. Throughout this module, I have learned that getting knocked down by the first hurdle is inevitable but you should just get up and keep going, because the next one might be a hell of a lot easier.

We originally had our minds set on making a visually stunning piece on what it is like to be blind. Our plan was to find someones own personal experience and description of blindness and create these interesting visuals around that. This would fit in to the ‘Outsiders’ theme.

The whole idea and process started off very slow for us. We knew exactly how we wanted our film to look, but didn’t have a character unlike the majority of the class. It was difficult to establish where to start looking. None of us knew anyone with visual impairment and we found the idea of approaching people in the street rude and intrusive. We knew of the Coventry Blind Society and thought they may be able to link us with someone who would be willing to help us out. After a few emails and several phone calls, we were beginning to feel a bit hopeless with our original idea. And so we felt the need to start considering our other options. At the Sheffield doc fest, we watched a film about a blind boy called Antoine. This inspired us and made us want to make our film even more. One last try at contacting the blind society was needed and we got through to speak to somebody. After speaking to everyone there we discovered that it might have to be closed down due to lack of funding. We latched on to this news and decided to make our film about the great characters there and how it would be a great shame if the society was no longer there for them.

Coventry Blind Society

Everyone at the society took a shine to us and called us “The boy band”. We visited three times, the first we met everyone and got to know them, they became comfortable with us. The next week we showed up with filming equipment and permission to film there. They were all sat around a large table when we got there, different to the first time we met them which we did not expect. As a large group discussion about their blindness unfolded, it became increasingly difficult for me to film them all. Everyone had something to say and it was confusing to work out who to film. The lack of space round the sides also made this difficult because there was no room to set up a tripod quickly. Our third visits aim was to get individual shots and cutaways of hands, eyes, cups of tea etc. This was much easier because we had more time to make ourselves some space and more control over lighting and what the person on screen was saying.

Edit Plan

During pre-production, I got in contact with the blind society and set dates for filming. Camera man was my main role during the production phase. This was definitely my strength within the group and I think it was the best position for me. During post-production, no one had an individual role. We all pulled together in the logging and edit plan phase.

Storyboarding

We put our own unique ideas down on paper, but all agreed that we would go with whatever worked best when we got to editing. During editing we all had the chance to do parts and every decision made was a group decision. The editing process spanned over two weeks. I think this long amount of time was good for the film because it let us sit on what we had done, think about it and still have the time to make any changes if we wanted to. The chance to have feedback from Ken also helped us a lot. It definitely meant that the final cut was the best it could be.

I have no regrets about this whole module. It has been very enjoyable and I am extremely proud of our finished piece. Last year I worked with the same group, and working with them again this year was definitely a good idea. We know each others strengths and we can use that to our benefit.

I feel we have been very lucky in finding this story and have executed the production very well. I would happily go back to the beginning and film this all again. If I could change anything, I would have found more time to experiment with filming space and visuals achieved before filming on the first day. The visuals we got from the second day were better than the first and the white balance was slightly different, but enough to be noticeable. This wasn’t a massive problem but meant we had to use a bit of colour correction during editing. However, the visuals have a sort of gritty and natural feel to them which I like.

I am very proud of our final piece and I hope that viewers enjoy it.

Lots of handwriting involved at times

Feedback Session 4th December

Ken Fero feedback on first edit of 3 minute film:

• Opening with Edwina is good, should be longer with titles shorter
• Establishing shot of Coventry Blind Society could do with better audio, such as the story of the guy who couldnt see his son at the supermarket
• Horse race scene is too long
• Interview with Michael from the society is out of place, it should be longer
• No need for titles at the end
• Include more close up shots, eyes, ears, face – these close ups bring character to the story

Sources

It was impossible for us to research the visually impaired people at the society before we got there. So our main source of information on characters was when we spoke to them for the first time. We initially emailed the society (http://www.coventryblind.org.uk/) but got no reply. After a few unsuccessful phone calls, and realisation that they were not open on Fridays, we managed to make contact. I spoke to Denise Riley on the phone and she told us about the Monday and Thursday clubs. She didn’t know who would be interested but said we could just turn up when possible and just have a chat to everyone.

I was put in contact with David Monks, one of the volunteers of the Monday club by Ileen Hooper. He allowed us to show up with a camera to film and gain more information on the characters there.

Just by talking to the people there, we gained loads of information about the individuals and the possibility of it closing down. I also looked in to “Sense” the charity that supports the society but can no longer fund them. I looked into the financial records, only to find that they give the Coventry Blind Society barely any money each year compared to the millions of pounds they give to other establishments. I found this relevant to our film, but did not think it would fit with the style we were going for.

David Monks helping Edwina

Process

We began our process at the Blind Society. We were welcomed warmly by everyone there and they spoke to us openly about their conditions. We didn’t take a camera with us on this first day, but intended to use a Marantz.

Our search for an individual character on this first day was pushed aside when we found out the society is going to be closed down due to lack of funds. Illeen Hooper, one of the ladies attending, put me in contact with David Monks. David runs the Monday social club and said that it would be okay for us to film the group.

The next Monday, we showed up with a Z1, unsure if we would be speaking to the same people. Only a few were the same as those we met on the Thursday, but were all as equally welcoming. We managed to initiate a big group discussion about blindness and the society closing down. Some got very emotional giving their individual stories. We promised we would come back the next week to get some individual, more informal interviews with certain people. Our shooting script for the second shoot was much more specific than the first. We got our interviews and got cutaway shots. For example, close ups of peoples hands, guide dogs, and objects they were interacting with.

After the second shoot, we logged all of our 3 tapes to make sure we knew exactly what we had. We highlighted what we knew must be in the film at all costs and what was useful. Everything else that wasn’t highlighted, didn’t get captured on to Avid. Instead of diving in to editing straight away, we loosely planned how we wanted to the film to unfold. Inevitably, this changed a lot during the edit process, but it gave us something to work from.

Log Book

I played a large role during filming. I wasn’t actively involved with those we were filming, but instead I was behind the camera, filming most of the time. I was also the link between the group and David Monks, the person we contacted at the society.

Experimentation and Exploration

When we started this production, our original idea was to make an artistic piece about how it would feel to be blind, by using a visual style. This would fit into the “Outsiders” theme. But when we approached the Coventry blind society to look for help, we came across several very interesting characters and tagged on that this society is closing down due to lack of financial support.

The society has a Thursday luncheon club and a Monday afternoon social. Our first visit on the Thursday, we met many lovely old ladies who were willing to talk openly to us about their visual impairment. We returned the following Monday with a camera, but we found that the room setup was different. Rather than sat round the sides, they were now all sat round a big table in the middle. This meant we only had a few feet of space all the way round and it proved very difficult to set up a tripod close to people that were speaking. We ended up getting a massive group discussion round the table, and some very shaky footage.

Not much space for tripod

However, we went back the next week armed with a boom microphone. We focused on interviewing individuals in a corner with good lighting. We also got a lot of cutaway shots of things like tea, biscuits, hands, eyes, etc.

Before we had even found the Blind Society, I did a bit of experimenting with the Z1 to find the style of replicating visual impairment that I was originally hoping for. I messed around with shutter speeds and focus. I also tried adding different effects using Avid. I gave up experimenting when we found out the society was closing down. I didn’t think it would really work in the story we had found.

Inspiration

Antoine

When we went to Sheffield, we were having lots of problems and were behind the majority of the class. We didn’t have a character, but had our idea about blindness. We we’re close to scrapping everything and starting again, but then we found ‘Antoine’, by Laura Bari at Shef Doc Fest. This was an observational piece on a 9 year old,  blind boy with an amazing imagination. The story of him was told through his imaginative games and ongoing adventure of him being a detective.

We didn’t want to take this unique style and copy it, but it pushed us to find our own individual story.

Antoine

Antoine 2

Coventry Blind Society

The idea for a film on blindness was my first individual idea. We were all shown some of the three minute pieces that were produced by the previous years students. I particularly enjoyed one that was about deafness and this inspired me to do something on blindness.

When we went to the Coventry Blind Society, we met many characters. In particular, one lady named Edwina who is deaf and blind. She inspired me to include parts of her story.

Edwina Horse Racing

Edwina

Production Schedule 23/11 – 27/11

23/11 – 27/11	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
AM	CT: 8:30 9:30 LOC COV BLIND SOCIETY EXT/INT PEOPLE ARRIVING STILLS OF EACH PERSON	LOG TAPES	EDIT	EDIT	EDIT
PM	RETURN Z1	LOG TAPES/IMPORT TO AVID	EDIT	EDIT	EDIT
EVE	LOG TAPES	PREPARE EDITING SCHEDULE	REFLECT	REFLECT	REFLECT
NOTES	BE QUICK TO PREP Z1. USE RIFLE MIC IN INTERVIEWS	LOG EVERYTHING BEFORE IMPORTING

Options

Video Outlines

1. A 3 minute video about a specific character mixed with footage of what it’s like to be blind.
2. Focuses on the possible closure of the blind society.
3. Focuses on the Thursday club as a group of happy old blind ladies.
4. Miracle – Partially sighted business student.

Rushes Feedback

– Good lighting – Don’t change the angle of interviews at reshoot.

– Get more B-roll footage for cut aways.

– Get EXT shots of the society.

– E-mail and call the council about the closure of the society.