Summary of my contribution to the collaboration

During the course of this project I was involved with the research of our chosen location, Thamesmead and finding good locations for the filming process. Together, with others in the group we chose Southmere park and lake and the surrounding buildings to do a lot of the filming. I found the park very interesting because there where a lot of horses chained up all over the park. It seemed that the horses and been in the same spot for quite a while as they were standing in huge muddy circles the length of their chain. These circles created quite an interesting pattern on the grass when viewed from afar. We also chose to do some filming under the bridges that run next to a very busy road. This was where we drew the chalk drawings and found a lot of good footage of graffiti and staggering amounts of drug paraphernalia.

On day one of filming, I spent most of the time looking round corners, climbing the odd hill, venturing up scary stairwells in the hope of finding new things to shoot or a different angle on a building to make the shot more interesting. Although we weren't planning on doing much of the filming on the first day, the weather conditions were perfect and there were things around that wouldn't have been there the next day so we ended up shooting as stuff as it came, i.e. a balloon stuck in a bush or an airplane flying perfectly over a tower block.

During the second day of filming I took more of a back seat, having scouted around the areas the day before. The group split into three, people filming, some people doing chalk drawings and some people doing sound recording. I stuck with the film crew and helped to set up shots, like getting a horses attention and feeding it apples while someone else got the shot we needed.

When it came to editing the film, there was a smaller group of us working on it. Mainly the ones of us who are studying film. I found the editing process quite tricky as I find it harder to concentrate when staring at a computer screen all day long, but I had my input and it was heard and as a result I feel I contributed more towards the middle and end result of the collaboration than the beginning.

Although our group was very big, consisting of 10 people, I found it really fun and interesting to work with so many. It meant that there was never a dull moment, a lot of creative opinions were being passed around and everyone had there own role to play. Which I think has resulted in a great film.  

The Film During Options Festival

Photo courtesy of Duncan Mullery 

Final Film

http://vimeo.com/83837786

This is the link to our final 5min short film. 

Risk Assessment

Chalk Drawing Behind the Scenes

Photos courtesy of Pilar Rivera 

We made a wall to project the film onto. When it was up we drew some more chalk onto it.  

Behind the Scenes

A few behind the scenes photos of us shooting at different locations in Thamesmead

Photos courtesy of Pilar Rivera 

Chalk Drawing Idea

We came up the the idea to create some childlike chalk drawings somewhere in Thamesmead. The purpose of the chalk drawings would be to contrast from the harsh and stark scenery already there and to cheer the place up a bit. 

They would also contrast a lot from the amount of rude and scruffy graffiti already there. Our chalk drawings would, if looking at them at a glacnce could just be yet more graffiti but when looking at them properly, people would realise they are lovely childlike drawings. 

Google images of inspiring child like chalk drawings. 

Plan of Action...

Day 1......
Go to Thamesmead (our chosen area is Southmere park and lake + the surrounding buildings and the bridges underneath the A2106 road)
Find suitable locations for filming,
Find good places to record sound i.e. birds, water, traffic, airplanes etc...
Scout out a place for the chalk drawings


Day 2.....
Split into groups, some people filming, some on sound and the rest creating the chalk drawings.

Initial images

Scouting locations...  

Why did we chose Thamesmead?

We chose Thamesmead because it is quite hard to distinguish if it is more suburban or urban. The dramatic 60's architecture was extremely interesting to us and the collection of things we came across, like the horses, heavily littered lakes and rivers. Also, the amount of wildlife that was living on/in the lake was surprising.

Interesting Features of Thamesmead

After a trip to Thamesmead these were the things that caught my attention the most. 

1. 60's architecture 
    Very bold, harsh, raw buildings 

2. Horses chained up in the park. Dotted all over the park
    Look dirty and hungry 

3. The lake next to the harsh architecture which is home to a lot of wildlife. looked very out of place          next the bold scenery. 

4. The bridges under the road.
    (lots of interesting graffiti as well drug paraphernalia strewn on the ground.) 

5. The emptiness of the place.
    Considering how built up the area is, it was quite surprising at how there were not very many people around.   

Brief History of Thamesmead

Much of Thamesmead was initially built by the Greater London Council for rent to families moving from overcrowded back-to-back Victorian housing (also referred to as slums) in south eastern parts of central London. The area had been inundated in the North Sea Flood, so the original design placed living accommodation at first floor level or above, used overhead walkways and left the ground level of buildings as garage space. The first residence was occupied in 1968, but already there were rain penetration problems. The pre-1974 parts of Thamesmead are a mix of modernist town houses, medium-rise and 12-storey blocks system-built in concrete, which have featured in various films due to their 'rough urban look'; the design of the newer buildings is more traditional and in brick.

When the GLC was abolished in 1986, its housing assets and the remaining undeveloped land were vested in a non-profit organisation, Thamesmead Town Limited (TTL). TTL was a private company with an unusual form of governance. Its nine executive directors were local residents; they periodically submitted themselves to re-election.

In 2000, TTL was wound down and two new organisations were formed. In broad terms, Gallions Housing Association took over the ownership and management of the housing assets whilst Tilfen, later Tilfen Land, took over the remaining undeveloped land. 

(Information found on wikipedia)