The Long Way Home – Second Meeting
On the 26th of January I met up with Martha Roseweir and her production team, to discuss and delegate the tasks that need to be completed before filming on the 10th to 14th of February. I took some notes in the meeting to keep track of everything that needed to be done, and then created a personal to-do list with my responsibilities. We also discussed deadlines, which are especially important because Martha is filming on a tight schedule. After the meeting I started the process of sourcing props, and looked into finding a shadow puppet theatre. Martha let us know that she had an alternative option, so my job was to look for something that fit her vision slightly more. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find anything that was within budget, although I did provide a couple of options just in case. Ultimately we decided to go with Martha’s back-up. I then moved on to looking for heat packs to keep the cast and crew warm. The Long Way Home is being filmed in northern Scotland, and the weather can be quite unpredictable. To keep the cast and crew safe and comfortable while filming, provisions such as hand warmers will be provided.
To accommodate for the budget, I gave Martha three options. The best value for money was a packet of 80 hand warmers for £26 pounds, but we ended up going with 24 heat packs for £12 as we don’t anticipate needing that many. After Martha approved the purchase, I ordered the heat packs and had them delivered to the address of filming. Finally, I researched companies that would rent out walkie talkies. I found quite a few companies, including some who specialised in renting out radio equipment for film sets. In the end, Amherst Walkie Talkie Centre had the best value, but unfortunately it is based in London so it had extra costs for delivery and returns. I emailed a few companies to get price quotations, and presented Martha with the options I had found.
The First Swallow – Project Folder
Because a lot of the decisions around Kristína Bujnová’s film are to be decided during the editing process, preparation specific to the project is quite limited. However, Kristína shared her project folder with me, so I had a look through to familiarise myself with her aims and visual inspiration. “The First Swallow” is an explorative film, and focuses on the Bujnová family’s experience in Slovakia, a former Easter Bloc country. Therefore Kristína will be relying heavily on her own family archives. This will give us a lot more freedom in editing, as licensing for archival footage can often be complicated and expensive. According to ITV Content Services, prices of footage can vary for a number of reasons.
“Filmmakers must budget for licensing fees, which can vary based on factors such as the rarity of the footage, its historical significance, and the intended use.”
Sometimes, footage can be found within the public domain or can be used under fair use, but this can be difficult to determine. Before using public domain footage, you should check details such as international copyright laws and copyright expiration dates, to determine if there are any legal repercussions to using to footage without a licence.
Alongside a synopsis, director’s statement and a description of the treatment, Kristína Bujnová included some visual references, including the following films.
- Cosy Dens (dir. J. Hřebejk, 1999)
- The Inheritance or Fuckoffguysgoodday (dir. V. Chytilová, 1992)
- My Sweet Litle Village (dir. J. Menzel, 1985)
- Marecek, Pass Me the Pen! (dir. O. Lipský, 1976)
- I Enjoy the World with You (dir. M. Poledňáková, 1983)
- Boris Ryzhy (dir. A. van der Horst, 2009)
- Is It Easy to Be Young? (dir. J. Podnieks, 1986)
In order to understand these visual references, I watched some of the films with English subtitles on. From there, I created a moodboard comprising of scenes from these films, taking inspiration from Kristína’s own moodboard in her project folder. This helped me understand Kristína’s visual inspiration.
Masterclass
This week we had a masterclass with writer/director Louis Paxton. He talked about his experience working as a director, and gave some advice on entering the film scene. My five main takeaways were:
- Focus on finding an area of film that fits your skill set
- When working with others, either with an agent or collaborators on a project, make sure they understand your work and that your goals align
- You don’t need to be based in London to get a job, for example Scotland has a good film scene
- Final decisions don’t always end with the director – other people have a say such as the writers
- Jobs can come from friends, use every opportunity to network
Articles Referenced: https://itvcontentservices.com/post/licensing-rights-for-film-archives/
