Friday, September 25, 2009

The not-quite-midway-but-nearly-midway lookback

Let's have a look back at some days out/filming/working/getting wet.This comes from the trip to Whitesykes on Friday the 11th (a visit I wasn't at due to illness), where footage was shot. As you can see, the photos show how lush and green and pure the Dales can be. This is part of the idealism of the North which we are obviously keen to show in the video. Nobody wants to watch a seven minute video about chavs and missing bikes. Video material was also taken of Hartside and the bus journey back, both of which will also be used in the finished product.
From the Friday the 18th visit (again, something I wasn't part of due to a conflict in schedule) where the plucky team visited Gibson's Cave, Stanhope, Romaldkirke and pictured above the lovely Lowforce. Again, all of these different areas make up different parts of what people's expectations of what the Dale looks like, or how good the Dales can look like. Lowforce in particular will be part of the video, with the entire team being behind the idea of using fish of some description/breed/colour/texture jumping up through the water (as none were caught on film).
And Thursday the 17th took us to Blanchland and the echoing Abbey containing the Stanhope Silver band. Over an hour they belted out such classics as 'The Addams Family Theme' and 'Felix The Cat' before an appreciative audience. Footage was taken from an odder-than-we-would-have-liked angle, but putting it slap-bang in the middle of the pews (like the above photo) would have taken away from the audience's enjoyment by obstructing the view. We got an idea of how the brass noise sounds when it is played in more rural areas (as they typically use Chruches, Abbeys etc to play in, which gives much more different noise than say, a public park). Afterwards, footage and photos were taken of the Abbey and chit-chat was made with the locals, some of which had nice ideas and some had some borderline insane crazy ideas about what the Dales meant to them. Generally though, we felt we were on the right track from the previous shoots as people belived in the natural beauty of the Dales. "Why else would I be here?" said one local.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Music



Midi music file arrived from Andy on Saturday. Just over 7 mins of brass entertainment. From the music and our various visits, the group got together on Monday to develop some of the ideas. I have been working on the storyboard the rest of the week.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The boring stuff




I'm the one behind the scenes making sure venues are booked and budgets work etc (although i appear to have forgotten to include money for recording)
Anyway its nice to read about the creative process and i'm really looking forward to going out on Friday with everyone. Last friday was great, really inspirational to see and hear other people's views and ideas of a landscape i'm familar with.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Hartside, Whitesykes and Brass Bands

Up to the Hartside on Friday 11th Sept with Mark, Bob, James, Daniel, Ben and Abi. Glorious sunshine so good day for filming. Lots of dramatic cloud too captured by Ben. Just been previewing material. Some good footage to develop some ideas, have edited some of this together in this video here. The footage taken out of the window is really interesting - big landscape that moves slowly - punctutated by fast moving trees, telegraph poles, houses, walls which are closer.



Went to Stanhope Silver Band practice last night with Andy too. Great to see Steve Robson conducting away and to look at the music he was conducting from. Lines and shapes of the music almost looks like the landscape at certain times. Interesting links between what Mark was saying about the landscape being like a patchwork quilt and Steve's conducting stick being like a needle. The lines of the staves being like cotton or lines of the horizon and the objects which punctuate the landscape being like the musical notes on the staves.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

music for film

I'm working on the idea of blocks of sound representing blocks of colour in the landscape.

These will be played by Stanhope Silver Band and then embelished and modified by soloists from His Majesty's Sagbutts and Cornetts, creating flowing lines which move through the chords suggesting movement (light, water, cloud, etc) against a slowly changing backdrop.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Alston Train


Collected colours from visitors on the Alston train on Saturday. Whilst Stanhope Silver Band entertained the passengers, Abi Wylde and me chatted to people about the colours they saw in the landscape and the colours they associated with the North Pennines. It was pouring down with rain most of the morning so a lot of people said 'grey clouds'. But when the sun shone through the clouds, everyone became really excited. The rain and the sun made everything glisten and shine.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Starting E2G

Just started planning for the project today with Andy, Bryony and Abi. Got a day at Alston tomorrow recording responses to the landscape and the local area. At the train station so we should at least keep dry if it gets wet!