Documentary Blog - John Rowbotham

Post One: Film Analysis

Eve Wood’s feature length documentary “The Beat is the Law” is extremely relevant to the piece I am making. “The Beat is the Law” documents the story of the sheffield music scene from the late 1970’s, through the 80s and into the 90s. The film uses local band Pulp as it’s centerpiece, using their own story of surviving adversity and their journey from relative obscurity to global stardom. A huge element of this documentary which I really want to incorporate into our own is the idea of using a story microcosm to pave way for a far wider narrative. This structural storytelling device is useful for us as it allows us to use The Leadmill as our story anchor, whilst also giving us the opportunity to springboard into wider topics that have deeper, further reaching implications. As an example, in “The Beat is the Law”, the story of Pulp remains the constant overarching narrative line, whilst the film also explores how the music scene in Sheffield changed over the years and how the fact that the city was “the socialist republic of south Yorkshire”, actually allowed as an incubation chamber for a lot of new wave, emergent artist expression.

A really interesting visual device used in Eve Wood’s documentary is the framing and setting of her talking head interviews. Very few, if any of them actually have any consistency. Some are in studios, some in derelict or seemingly abandoned ex-metalwork buildings and some even appear to be in some kind of underground chamber. Although this sounds rather jarring and unpleasant on paper, it really adds dimension and character to the interviews; with talking head segments, especially in films of this length, monotony can creep in rather rapidly and a boring setting only seems to exacerbate this. When directing my own film, this is something I really want to experiment with, by encouraging our cinematographer and working with her to curate our mise en scene in an interesting and evocative way.

The film operates within a very linear structure, building to and subsequently culminating in Pulp’s Glastonbury headline set in 1995. This makes for a very neatly packaged story, which is ultimately what we also want to make. We wish to tell the story of The Leadmill, its impact on Sheffield’s culture, the wider societal issues of the time and the importance of spaces like The Leadmill for artists and musicians alike. I believe linear storytelling, like that in “The Beat is the Law” really suits the style and form we are aiming for.

Due to the nature and genre of the film, archive photos and footage are used a lot in Eve Wood’s documentary. I also believe, however, that it is essential to not become over reliant on using archive material to tell your story. Archive footage, images and sounds should be used to support your underlying thesis and be relevant to the story being told. Wood does this by being fairly literal with her use of imagery, for example, using live sets from bands as a visual with audio low in the mix, while members of the band discuss their memories of the time. I also really liked how archive footage was used alongside music as a kind of interlude to talking head segments, but also told the story visually without the necessity for literal audio-description. This would be something I would love to incorporate into our own film, as I believe in both clever visual storytelling, as well as music being featured in more interesting ways than just a backing track. I wish to create a punchy introduction to our film with the help of fitting music, which is something “The Beat is the Law” also does.

A big theme in “The Beat is the Law” is art and music vs politics. This is also something I really want to explore and artistic expression being a way to make sense of the world is something I am very passionate about. Wood does this sensitively in her film, with the theme being somewhat subversive rather than overt and in-your-face. That is to say, it is never directly addressed, but rather shown through the structure of the piece. For example, a section regarding the awful impact the mass death of industry in sheffield had on local families and businesses is often juxtaposed with a triumph for pulp or the local music scene, and as a viewer, we begin to establish a cause and effect correlation between these two things without even realising. This was what captivated me most about the film and is something I really want to grasp in our final piece.

A shorter documentary piece I found really helpful when researching for my own work was “Dub FX - A Short Music Documentary” by Gido Gil. A lot of what I took from this film was in terms of reshaping structure to condense your story into a far tighter time constraint. The film is just shy of ten minutes long and yet manages to tell a very clear and thorough story of musical artist Dub FX. It tells of his beginnings, inspirations, journey across Europe on tour and what it is like to be a street performer. This is achieved by having short, clear segments with different elements of a wider story (such as the aforementioned), linked thematically (in this case, the unification of people through Dub FX’s music).

I noticed immediately that the opening minute or so did not actually contain a verbal introduction to the film’s main contributor, but rather kept you guessing at what was actually going on. This, I felt, was a very clever device; instead of just having a contributor introduce themselves and what they do straight away, a short segment such as an anecdote or them doing what they do (in this case, setting up a loop-station for a performance) really gives us an immediate insight into their character and is far more insightful than “hello my name is -”. This is something I’d love to carry through into my own documentary piece as it really helps to set the tone and introduce us to a contributor in a different and intriguing way.                    

Post Two: A Text Analysis

In Bill Nichols’ Introduction to Documentary (2001), there is a chapter on how documentary deals with social and political issues. This seemed especially relevant due to the socio-political nature of a large proportion of the themes and ideas addressed within the documentary we are making. Nichols discusses the importance of not over-romanticising political ideology or purposefully manipulating the way your contributor is portrayed in order to shape a more sympathetic edge. While potentially well-intended, this can often result in what he calls “tradition of the victim”. By poetically empathising with the struggles of an on screen individual, we can perhaps unintentionally belittle or patronise their plight, paradoxically rendering them unsympathetic by oversimplifying issues or attempting to falsify emotion via the filmmaking process. This can attribute a “cap in hand” trait to a contributor which often resonates negatively with audiences. In regards to application of this idea to our own film, it will be far more beneficial to focus on how artists/musicians/venues overcame what they saw as political tyranny at the time and how they used it as a tool for self development and growth of a unified ideology, rather than painting them as victims of an oppressive right wing regime. It is essential to maintain and represent fairly the dignity of contributors when dealing with such topics, and paint a picture that is one of resilience and hope rather than a brow-beaten counter-culture awaiting charitable rescue.    

Nichols also discusses the concept of building a national identity within a documentary film and how it’s construction is heavily reliant on the strong representation of themes such as community and close, family-like relationships. This is another fantastic idea which ties in  with our own work; all of our contributors were (and still are) extremely passionate about the unification of community amongst the working classes via the medium of art and artistic expression. From speaking to our contributors and background research, something which is brought up frequently is the unspoken bond that existed amongst the working class north of England in the 1980s, especially between families of miners and those who worked in the steel and coal industries. An “us against them” mentality is palpable still with only the briefest of discourse.

There is a risk, Nichols points out, of pigeon-holing a community or identity as something that is non-fluid or fixed. He highlights the importance of portraying multiple identities of those within the film as both individuals and members of a wider idealism. For example, one of our contributors was heavily involved in the creative left-leaning explosion of artistic expression in the 1980’s, but also feels a struggle with his identity on account of his being Anglo-German. It is also key in films of this nature to express that community and unity is something that is ever changing and adapts to the political climate of the current time. A lot of the thoughts and ideas expressed by contributors in our film are not time-specific to the 1980s, but rather important concepts which are applicable to any moment in history. As an example, an area we are trying to focus on in our film is the continued need for (and subsequent lack of) creative spaces for artists, musicians and performers.      

        

Post Three: Documentation

Original Treatment:

 The Leadmill: 36 and Counting

Length:​ 10 minutes 

Format:​ Documentary  

Hook or tag line:​  Leadmill through the years 

Short synopsis

A music documentary, providing an insight into the history of the iconic, Leadmill, Sheffield’s longest running live music venue and nightclub, which is forever embedded in the history and memories of the community, shaping culture and music alike. This film will present stories from the past and present, as well as providing clues as to what we can expect from this legendary venue in years to come. This year, The Leadmill will celebrate its 36​^th Anniversary, a great opportunity to delve into the myriad of stories available from the last three decades. 

Mid-Length synopsis/outline

Sheffield is a city, rich with vibrant culture and a stand-out variety of creative output. Amongst this plethora of culture and art, is Sheffield’s music scene. Long regarded as one of country’s hubs for musical originality, Sheffield is home to not only some of the world’s most successful acts, but also to some of the most iconic venues. One of these aforementioned venues is The Leadmill, now deep into its 36th year of business. In this documentary, we really want to show the human side of this legendary place; the work that goes into putting on a gig, the blood, sweat and tears it takes to book that next big act and finally, the stories and anecdotes that dwell within the walls . The Leadmill is somewhere everyone in Sheffield has heard of, and that residents and visitors spanning over two generations will have likely visited.  We aim to personify the venue itself. The best way to shape this, is to have contributions from the people that have lived it and known it for many years.

Many bands see playing at The Leadmill as a rite of passage, and will often return time after time, even after achieving levels of fame that could sell out much, much larger venues. But why is this? What is it about the Leadmill that has allowed it to survive multiple cultural shifts, decades of musical and societal changes and still be the number one choice for musicians and audiences alike? This is the second of the core ideas we will explore; what makes the Leadmill great?

Elyse Peacock (28), brand manager at The Leadmill, is passionate, adventurous and dedicated. She is tall with long, wavy, blonde hair. We want to hear from the woman responsible for the upkeep of a name that has been household for over 30 years. Elyse is THE aficionado and fountain of knowledge when it comes to all​things Leadmill. She is a fantastic source of information because she knows The Leadmill inside and out, and at its core, the Leadmill is a brand. 

Joe Food (27), the head of Session music at Exposed magazine, is funny, witty and outgoing. Exposed is a local magazine which is at the forefront when it comes to reporting and creating buzz on the music scene of Sheffield. When it comes to music in Sheffield, this man has seen it all. Joe will provide us with an insight into how The Leadmill has shaped the music scene in this amazing city, and indeed vice-versa. 

Jon McClure (34) is the lead singer and guitarist of high profile, local band, Reverend and the Makers. He has a rough, edgy look with dark facial hair. Jon still lives and practices in Sheffield, often returning to gigs at The Leadmill. He has been to the Leadmill as both an audience member in his youth and as a performer in his later years, providing us with the amazing opportunity to peer through eyes that have seen both sides of the stage. Jon also has controversial views of the music industry and strong political views, which shine through in his lyrics.

Martin F Bedford (61) is an original founder of The Leadmill and an extremely reputable poster artist who has worked with the best of the best where music is concerned. During the 90s, he parted pays with The Leadmill and hasn't looked back. We want to know why.

Henry Tiezsch-Tyler (60s), an artist who has been a resident of The Leadmill since 1980. Through thick and thin, Henry has remained unmoved and will certainly have a few stories to tell.

Analysis of approach

A large part of this documentary is the connection and flow between past, present and future. As Leadmill has been standing for so long, their collection of archive footage and photos is extensive to say the least. When discussing the past, we want to be able to make this as visual as possible, keeping the audience engaged. This will require us to utilise the archive content in an interesting way. One method of doing this when using photos is to employ the Ken burns effect. This classic documentary tool moves the image on screen to give the impression of movement where there isn't any. We may use this effect to slowly reveal more of an image as the narrative accompanies it. For example, starting with a zoomed in image of someone's face (a recognisable face, perhaps someone famous in their youth) and slowly revealing their location or the situation they’re in. While this is nothing new to the documentary format, we feel it is a great visual aid when working with historical contexts. 

As this documentary is music-focused, we want to include music as much as possible. We will use unsigned artists all from the local area. This means that while the soundtrack is relevant (and copyright free!) we will be contrasting the history of Sheffield’s music with its bright and varied future. One contributor we have lined up for the musical accompaniment side of this, is previous collaborators, I Set the Sea on Fire. A number of other unsigned bands from the local area and further afield have also agreed to take part including Kai Greensmith and his band Warhol Superstars, Major Matilda, George Husband and Ben Ovington.

As previously mentioned, we really want to bring the Leadmill to life as an entity of its own and really show that it is more than just a building. An idea we have is to show shots of the Leadmill when it is it empty, void of the hustle and bustle of a busy gig night, and contrast this with actuality sound of one of its busiest periods, really showing that there are two sides to this coin. We will capture as much of the venue’s spirit as possible, not just through the stories of our contributors, but also with footage of the building throughout its highs and its lows. In addition to this we will record the ambiance inside The Leadmill, portraying the building’s character, creating and preserving this moment in time.

Michael Moore’s (Bowling for Columbine 2002) really inspired us as it uses old footage in a really interesting way. This documentary had quite a large focus on the past, and used many tactics to keep this as interesting as possible, including animation and use of old footage contrasted with a modern soundtrack. These are aspects we would like to incorporate into our own film. (Sound City 2013), Dave Grohl’s directorial debut documentary is a music documentary about a place as opposed to a person (as many music related documentaries are). This documentary used multiple contributors from many roles in the industry to shape and build an image of the pace itself, something we will also to try and recreate.

For our poetic piece we really want to express that sometimes art is a thankless labor of love. This is something that Elyse touched on in her interview and that we found really poignant. We will represent this visually by showing clips of graffiti art from around the city. Street art is a hobby that has absolutely no financial gain and is purely done for the artists enjoyment.

Bibliography

Bowling for Columbine. (2002). [DVD]. Directed by Michael Moore. United States, Alliance Atlantis, Dog Eat Dog Films, Salter Street Films. October 11 2002.

Sound City. (2013). [DVD]. Directed by Dave Ghrol. United States, Roswell Films. January 18 2013.

Post Four: Evaluation 

Our finished film was poles apart from our original idea. I feel like a huge part of this is born out of a combination of both necessity/situational changes and a continuous development of ideas within the group.

Upon conception of the idea, we had decided to tell the story of the rich history of The Leadmill, and document major changes or pivotal moment in the venues lifetime. This led us to our first contributor, who was the Leadmill’s current brand manager. Aside from the major technical issues we faced (including poor audio quality due to electrical hum, dim fluorescent lighting from a neon sign and unflattering framing), it also became apparent that our contributor wasn’t quite what we were looking for. Because being a brand manager is undeniably intertwined with constant promotion of said brand, all of the answers we were getting to our questions felt very rehearsed, corporate and plastic.

However, from this we gathered a list of names belonging to potential future contributors, a shift in our thinking in regards the narrative and a myriad of fresh ideas, we hit the drawing board once more. We really liked the idea of using something that was a long-standing pillar of society (a venue such as The Leadmill) that has been around for decades, to tell a much wider socio-political story. Referring back to Bill Nichols’ section in Introduction to Documentary about fair representation of social issues and contributors, I began to piece together a story spanning over 30 years.

The documentary came together very slowly, after a prolonged false-start and over 3 hours of footage we began to mine a narrative. I think one of the huge strengths of the film is the flow of the narrative. Myself and Maya spent a long time ensuring that we had an introduction, two clear sections of story (history of the venue and politics of the time) and an outro. Only by sticking religiously to these sections did we begin to piece together the different elements of the interview. Our contributors were strong, interesting and articulate individuals all of whom spoke with a rather imaginative and descriptive vernacular. They are also all very passionate about the issues and themes raised within the film; politics, artistic expression, the importance of artistic workspace or lack thereof etc. This makes them very believable as contributors and means that they gel very well in the finished piece, existing almost symbiotically in terms of the storytelling. Our use of material outside of the talking heads also strengthens the piece. Using a collection of images obtained from sheffield city council, artwork and photography by one of our contributors, animation and music, the piece really comes to life. The edit feels very smooth, as this was the most painstaking and fine tuned part of the process, with Maya and I spending upwards of 30+ hours in the edit.

The project is not without its pitfalls, however. The aforementioned false start was a huge drain on our time, although the outcome was ultimately positive. Some of the footage in Henry’s interview is over-exposed as we wanted to use the natural daylight coming through the windows for lighting, as this is what he works by, forgoing electrical lighting of any kind. When the sun came out from behind a cloud, the interview becomes very bright and over-exposed. I think to counter this in future (when using natural light) we would have someone monitoring the camera more closely and if an issue like this presented itself, we could be proactive in re-shooting or altering lighting/camera settings. In some parts, namely Martin’s interview, the audio is rather quiet. This was because of the placement of the microphone and our contributor moving so that the radio mic was in a position that was more difficult for it to pick up his voice. Although we also had recorded using a boom and rifle set-up, we were hesitant to combine these in post as the result sounded a little off. With more research into sound design for post production and better placement of radio and lapel mics, this could have been avoided.

As director and producer, I was heavily involved in the film from the very early stages. After pitching the idea to my group, we began to develop it, which ultimately led us to our contributors. I composed and sent a series of personalised emails and multiple phone calls to our chosen participants, and where a dead-end was reached, discussed with my group how we could make it a positive. For example, after contacting Sensoria Festival to see if anyone there might have access to any archive footage, the answer was unfortunately no. However, from our contact at Sensoria, we gained the names of several other potential interviewees, one of whom would become crucial the our film. I met up with all contributors pre-interview to discuss the project, our aims and desired outcomes, as well as to run through the questions I wanted to ask them. From this, invaluable relationships were formed and our contributors actually helped shape the questions to allow for a more concise and interesting line of enquiry. Liaising with our contributors and getting the best from them, whilst also ensuring their comfort and continued willingness to participate was a key part of my role as producer. In between this, I took some time to visit my uncle, who had been a miner at the time of the strikes and had been heavily involved. I took some of the things he was saying into consideration when talking to contributors; not just for the benefit of the film, but also because an extensive knowledge of subject matter is imperative when attempting to tell as story such as this. During my role as producer, I really began to understand the importance of the combination of both personability and professionalism when creating a film. I think This will be extremely useful in terms of employability. All of my initial correspondence was in the correct formal register, but also it was important for our contributors to see me as a human, with a great interested and shared passion in something they loved. I believe it was this, as well as the whole crew being friendly and approachable that really brought out the best in our interviewees. After creating the interview questions, I conducted the interviews, as well as working with the cinematographer to achieve the visual style we had agreed on. We discussed the importance of having our interviewees face the same way, maintaining the same eye-level.                    

After production had concluded, I co-edited the film. Maya and I first synced and exported the individual interviews on premiere pro so that we had 3 “ready to go” portions of interview. We then transcribed the interviews, colour coding the transcripts by giving each of our themes a colour and highlighting any corresponding sections of interview the same colour. This seriously helped by enabling us to create a narrative linked by both topic and theme and saved us a lot of time in the long run, despite being a tiresome and tedious process. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we had to be ruthless with what we left out. We stuck rigidly to our narrative arch, avoiding lengthy anecdotes etc. This was a shame and a took a fair amount of deliberation between Maya and I to decide what to leave out. I do however, believe that this ruthlessness helped to create a much tighter piece of short documentary.

All in all, I am happy with the piece and felt that I have really learnt a lot; technically, in terms of editing, and on a professional level via my time liaising with contributors and directing the crew. I have also discovered that it is okay to not make what you set out to make, because ideas grow from one another, almost exponentially at times, and sometimes a shift in the paradigm or a failure on one front can be just what you need to regroup and refocus and make something even better, that you are even more proud of.

Finished piece link:

https://vimeo.com/195377545

Poetic link:

https://vimeo.com/191634870