Time Lapse by Max

When i last went out for a ride Max had an HD camera and was filming some time lapse footage from the top of a carpark and this was when I got talking to him about my project and it was a good chance to bounce some ideas around. The time lapse stuff is something i really want to use in the edit that i produce because in HD it looks unbelievable and can really add to the atmosphere in a piece of film. It will also provide a sense of the city that the fixed gear riders use as a playground in a way and could help make the edit more visually interesting.

Talking about Leeds Fixed Gear edits

LSF edit one from Fixed Gear Leeds on Vimeo.


Fixed Gear Leeds Teaser Trailer from Will Brown on Vimeo.

When I met up with some of the riders we got talking about former bits of filming they had done. First off this is really good for me as it means there are people who have old footage and when we got talking about it they were more than happy to help me out because I would be filming more footage they could use as well. In particular a guy called max had done a little bit previously and he is doing a television production course at Leeds Uni so really knows his stuff and he also has access to equipment. So this opens up the realm of more collaboration within the project when it comes working with new people and probably more advanced skills than me, which could come into its own when I am filming myself. They haven't done anything as substantial as they would like yet either so people are interested in getting involved with my project.

Another new DVD

After receiving the MASH DVD through the kindness of Sam i decided to fork out some of my own money on another fixed gear DVD, this time called Fast Friday. Yet again its based in America this time looking at the fixie scene in Seattle. I bought the DVD in Magma chain of bookshops selling art, design, fashion books as well as DVD's on fixed gear bikes. I thought this showed how the scene is becoming bigger and DVD's such as MASH and Fast Friday aren't solely available from the internet. Fast Friday documents the scene in Seattle and is quite close to what I'm looking at doing with my much shorter film.

More work I like - Mash

Sam from Fixed Gear Leeds recently sent me a copy of this DVD by Mash San Francisco. Apart from being a really good fixed gear edit it also help to get an idea as to how a lot of the ride footage is filmed. For this edit most of the footage was film by a camera man sitting on the back of a scooter. This means that they can easily get up to the speed of the bikers with a much smoother ride and the cameraman can solely focus on catching the action. This presents myself with more of a problem because I don't have a scooter so I'm going to have to rely on getting similar footage from a car, which doesn't give you as much freedom as a scooter. It also means that I am not gong to be able to do the filming single handedly but the more i think about it this gives the option of more creative input. The more and more i watch different edits the better idea I am getting as to the sort of shots used and it is a good way of helping me generate ideas for when it comes to me filming.

2nd Inspiration

This is my second main inspiration that I have decided to include more for aesthetic reasons and ones that probably relate more to promotional videos than the documentary. With that said I still want the riding and trick footage in the documentary (and any sort of promo I may do) to look amazing and in my humble opinion I think the footage in this video is. I think the fact that it is filmed in HD in sunny America really helps but it's the camera work that makes it look so smooth and really helps to emphasize how good the riders are. I realise this will be the first time I have filmed anything whilst riding a bike or even filmed anyone on a bike full stop so this sort of level may be well beyond me but it is definitely the sort of standard I aspire to be.


A Taste of The Toast from Michael on Vimeo.

My main inspiration

This is the documentary that sparked my idea to do something similar looking at the Leeds fixed gear community. This documentary looks into London cycles couriers, many of whom use fixed gear bikes. It is the couriers that pioneered using bikes that were designed to be used on a track on the road instead as the bikes offered them great acceleration and are easy to maintain. The documentary looks at the courier lifestyle and the job itself as well as the couriers attitudes to other road users etc. I think that it is a really interesting piece and the combination of interviews, riding clips and voice overs works really well to give you a sense of what it's like to be a courier. The documentary was filmed and directed by Philip Diprose who is also the editor 'The Ride Journal', a bike magazine looking at all aspects of bike riding.


Written In The Streets from philip diprose on Vimeo.

1st Crit/Tutorial

The main point that was raised during the first crit on Wednesday 25/03/09 was that I didn't have a starting question for the documentary and what I was talking about sounded very much like a promotional video for Fixed Gear Leeds. After thinking about this I think there could be an opportunity to do both of these ideas because I have until June 17th 2009 to submit a documentary to the Sheffield Documentary Festival. I will be filming riding and trick footage to include in the documentary anyway so I could use this footage without the interviews/voice overs etc to make a short promotional video.

In terms of a starting question for the documentary I'm thinking along the lines of:
'What does it mean to be a fixed gear rider?'
I want to look into the emerging scene and coolness factor that is attached to fixed gear bikes and hopefully talk to people who have been doing it for a long time alongside people who have recently turned to fixed gear bikes.

Proposal

Below is the text from my proposal for my new brief. It is a self initiated brief that also involves a competition and working with a new group of people.

Rationale:
(Why are you doing it? How does it fit with your own sense of development? What is your particular interest in this area?)

I want to produce a documentary film in order to explore my interest in moving image that I developed at the end of last year. Technically it will also help to develop my camera, sound and editing skills. Finally it will be a different genre of moving image that I haven’t tried before that I can try my hand at.

Context:
(Where does the project fit in the real world?)

I will be producing the documentary film for the Sheffield Documentary Film Festival. This means that I have to keep it in mind that most of the people viewing the film won’t know about the existence of a fixed gear community in Leeds or possibly even what a fixed gear bike is.

Brief:
(What exactly are you/is somebody else expecting you to do?)

I will be creating a documentary film looking at the fixed gear bike scene/community in Leeds for the Sheffield Documentary Film Festival.

Partners/Key Stakeholders:
(Who else has an involvement or interest in what you are doing?)

I will be working with the members of the fixed gear bike community in Leeds. In particular I have got in contact with the creator of ‘Fixed Gear Leeds’ Samuel Hodgson, who runs the blog and facebook group. He’s shown interest in working with me and we currently have and ongoing dialog.

Outcomes:
(What exactly will you have, or will have happened, at the end of your project?)

I will have a short documentary film and will have built up a relationship with the fixed gear community.

Measures of success/evaluation strategy:
(How will you know how successful you have been? You can’t evaluate effectively unless you know what your aims were.)

My aim is to produce a documentary that is of a good enough quality to gain a place into the Sheffield Documentary Festival. I also want it to be a film that represents the community in a positive way and is something they are pleased to be part off. I don’t want them to feel like I am exploiting them. It also has to be enjoyable for people who are not part of the community and I think this will go hand in hand with creating a documentary that will do well in the festival.

Research:
(What do you need to find out to help you deliver the project?)

• Leeds fixed gear community – What do they get up to? What do they think about the scene? Future of the scene? Bikes, tricks etc.
• Documentary film making
• Sheffield Documentary Film Festival – Previous entries. Ones that have got through in previous years.
• Technical skills – Filming, sound recording and editing. Different styles of filming such as filming while on bikes and at trick sessions. Filming on location.
• What people will be interested in learning about the fixed gear community?
• What the fixed gear community wants to say? If anything?
• Planning the documentary. How long will it take? Will I be able to do it all on my own or will I need more people to help me film etc.
• Are there any docs out there already looking at fixed gear bikes?

Why is it live?
(How does it meet the live requirement of the brief?)

Firstly I am making the documentary with a view to entering it into the Sheffield Documentary Film Festival, so in essence it’s a competition brief. I am also taking elements of working with a community that is new to me so I will have to take that into account.

Resources:
(What will you need at every step of the project? Physical 1 space/people/hardware/software/money/transport are all resources to plan for.)

• Camcorder and tape (preferably HD)
• Digital SLR camera
• Final Cut Pro
• Fixed gear riders to interview and film riding
• Locations

Start of the Live Brief

This is the start of my new blog for the live brief and this is where all of my research will be located.