Documentary Unit - Final shoot

On the final day of filming on Tuesday, we began filming at Great Bells Farm, a site that became increasingly difficult to gain permission to film at. However we gained permission from Martin Jensen, the Communications Officer at RSPB, and started filming what became a very successful shoot. On the shoot we met Phil Haynes who, though did not want to feature in an interview, was happy to oblige and help us film our documentary. Haynes took us to various location points where we can expect to find a range of birds including the Marsh Harrier, a bird that up until this point we struggled to get a decent shot of.

We were given a lot of insight into what we can expect to find, the history of the area, the future of Great Bells and the turbines. He also put us into contact with Rob Peck, a local who has been campaigning against the idea of adding more turbines to the area.

I felt that I got a lot out of Tuesdays shoot, on and off the camera. I also feel that I have plenty of information that adds to my script and I can also make some needed changes. For instance I can bring back in the Marsh Harriers having taken them out of the script and I can add more about the turbines, both advantages and disadvantages.

Documentary Unit - Research into a Documentary, The Last Orangutan Eden (2015)

The Last Orangutan Eden is a documentary that documents the work being done to maintain the orangutan population in the jungles of Northern Sumatra. It shows how one conservationist group attempts to teach the baby orangutans the survival skills they require before they are released back into the wild.

Interviews are often given on the move while the conservationists are working with the apes and feel more like general conversations rather than interviews. It works really well as it gives the documentary a more natural feel to it, the documentary feels in no way choreographed and, like I said, it feels natural. The presenter Chris Morgan takes you through the steps taken by the conservationists in intricate detail, from where they look for the orangutans, how they save them from abuse/poor habitats and the studies undertaken to understand their behaviour, to how they use all this information to teach the orangutans to cope in the jungle on their own.

The majority of this documentary is well told from the images they used. The images tell the story without the narration, the narration purely helps move the documentary and keep the audiences interest. I feel that this is the key to the documentary's success, the images of the orangutans are often very powerful and help explain the situation to the viewer, thus allowing the audience to attach themselves to the orangutans while also informing them of the treacherous conditions these orangutans are often found in.

A large portion of the documentary focuses on the orangutan named Udin, who lived a horrific early life, being beaten by savages and having his mother killed in front of him, spent three years recovering in quarantine and went on to master the art of climbing, swinging from branch to branch, to the uncontrolled joy of the conservationists and the filmmakers.

Orangutan orphan, Udin, clinging onto a tree branch

Udins story is very well told, grasping onto the emotions of the audience while educating on the appropriate ways to handle and care for a young ape such as Udin. The shots were well done and like I said before, could tell the story on their own.

Though not as well told and shot as Attenborough's Planet Earth or Blue Planet, this documentary is still very well made and worth watching.

Documentary Unit - Risk Assessment and Contributors

After Fridays location recce at Elmley Nature Reserve and the recce at Great Bells Farm the week before, we are aware of the risks that come with filming their having spoken to Gareth Fulton. We are also aware of what we can expect to find at the location and will be able to complete the script in full.

Later today we will be filming at Elmley Nature Reserve, for which we discovered the vast quantities of birds on display. We are also aware of how expansive the land area is and how much of that area we can film. Below is a screenshot of the Risk Assessment:

I feel like the visit was necessary, not just for the risk assessment, but also because it made us very aware of what we are actually able to film. The original script saw the opening to the documentary focussed on one bird specifically, however the visit made us aware that there is no guarantee of spotting any one bird, even with the vast numbers on display. For example you will not see a Marsh Harrier or a Peregrine Falcon wherever you go, you have to know where to look, and even then there's no real guarantee.

We also have a large number of contributors, some guaranteed and some potential. These include:

Crew - Sam Elliott, Troy Smith, Josh Bayly and Jack Nix

Site Managers - Nick May (Great Bells Farm) and Gareth Fulton (Elmley Nature Reserve)

Interviewees (potentially) - Phil Haynes and Robbie Peck

RSPB Media Communications Officer - Martin Jensen

List incomplete

Documentary Unit - Pre-Production

Throughout the pre-production stage of the project I have been in contact with Phil Haynes and the Swale Wader Group about getting involved with the documentary and providing their opinions on the wind turbines and how they can affect the local wildlife.

Though I have been unsuccessful in getting a response through the swale waders website, Troy has managed to get a response from the Great Bells Farm site manager, Nick Mays, who is happy to oblige and has allowed us to film on site. We have since then been able to arrange a meeting with Nick at the filming location which is right next to the wind turbines.

Upon meeting up with Nick, we were told about how the site is ran, what wildlife can be found at the site, when the turbine was set up and the effects the turbines have on the local environment, more specifically birds of prey amongst other things.

There were lots of things Nick mentioned about the turbines and the effect they have on birds that we had not known prior to the meet up, such as how noisy they are, the large shadows they produce is intimidating to birds and a number of the bird population have been pushed back another 500-600 yards as a result of the wind turbine.

Nick has also been able to put us in contact with Phil Haynes as well as another local birdwatcher who has objected to the idea of addition of more turbines in the area and has even set up a campaign against the additional turbines which have been rejected by the council but are currently appealing to get the additional turbines erected on the site. The contact details will be sent to Troy either today or tomorrow.