Competitive Food Eating
One idea is to focus on the world of competitive eating mainly within the UK. My research has shown that it is a rising sport within the UK and is looking to catch up with the USA and Japan.
The angle for the documentary is to find a primary who competes in lots of these events, look at the health risks behind it and what their motivation is for taking up the sport using doctors and look at the UK health regulations that could prohibit the sport.
Research has shown, that there are major health risks with competitive eating and we would focus a section of this to shock and inform as well as to use the primary to connect to him as an individual.
So far the only other documentary I can find on this topic is a documentary called Hungry, this focuses on the American side of it rather than us looking at how the UK is catching up America in the world of competitive food eating.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1283844547/hungry
-Harry Webb
FreeMasons
Secret organization since the 14th Century, they have 250,000 members in England and Wales and six million around the world. Not a massive organisation but very secret and influential.
They have a very neutral and friendly face, but behind closed doors what really goes on.
Would want to look further into who and what they stand for and whether this secret organization is still as secret in the 21st century.
Where the rumors have come from and how much members know and what they believe in.
- Harry Webb
Idea's and Analysis
Getting Over Phobias
Using a few primaries that all have different phobias and follow them on a path as they try to overcome their fears. Whilst following them also interview people who have such great fears it makes leaving the house difficult, people who have very strange fears and psychologist to see why people have fears.
- Michaela Farr
Depressed Comedians
People always believe comedians to be the happiest and funniest people both onstage and off. This would show a comedian that still performs and makes others laugh whilst suffering from depression. Get their take on the illness and how they are still able to work.
- Michaela Farr
Tough Guy Competition
Follow the men as the train for this crazy competition, see what makes them want to compete in something like this and then film them as they compete. Interview the winners past and present. As well as the wives of the competitors, are the proud or worried?
- Michaela Farr
Wilf Mbanga
My first idea was to get an outsiders commentary and opinions on this years Zimbabwean elections. I thought we could try and ask the highly respected journalist Wilf Mbanga, who has been labelled as an enemy of the state in Zimbabwe, and would have a wealth of knowledge about his home country, as well as a unique viewpoint on the tyrannical rule of Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe has issued a warrant for Mr Mbangas' arrest after years of challenging their corrupt government through his various publications.
I thought this story could make a good documentary as it is quite topical since Robert Mugabe has recently been reinstated for another term as the President of Zimbabwe, a title he has held since 1987 after serving as Prime Minister for the preceding 7 years.
When thinking about how this story would best be portrayed, I thought that presenting it in a short, mediastorm format would serve it quite well. I came to this conclusion as the subject matter has potential for some quite powerful still images which I think would have suited the powerful views and stories that Mr Mbanga has towards the issue. I think that using the Poetic Mode, much in the same way as the ‘The Marlboro Marine’ (see link below) has used it, could really give this subject some depth and emotion.
http://mediastorm.com/publication/the-marlboro-marine
I think that Mediastorm would be a perfect host for such a documentary, as it would be fitting to the audience they already appeal to. The audience would be politically minded who, if they are not photojournalists themselves, have an interest in the craft.
However, with this idea, there are some quite substantial problems, not least of which being that this could possibly endanger Mr Mbanga if not done correctly. As novice documentary practitioners, this would be quite a big subject to tackle without the appropriate experience. I also feel that we wouldn’t have been able to do it justice, as we don’t have the time and resources needed to get any first hand documentation actually from Zimbabwe. This would be important for authenticity, as well as capturing some decent, and hopefully controversial photographs.
- Liam Coffey
Edward Renyard
This idea was to get in contact with Edward Renyard, the College student who threw the fire extinguisher from the roof of London’s Millbank Tower. We would find out how he came to do such a thing and how he feels he was treated from thereafter. We would also see how it has affected his life and what he is aiming for with his future.
- Liam Coffey
Bronies
This topic would venture into the strange world of the ‘Brony’. A community made up mostly by men, who are avid, die-hard fans of the cartoon series ‘My Little Pony’. When paying attention to this community, it seems to have become a bit of a faux-religion after garnering a global fanbase.
- Liam Coffey
Music Schools
Another idea was to look into the gradual decline in people learning musical instruments. Southampton Rock and Pop School has recently been bought out by another Music School called Rock Out. Over the years they had progressively lost more and more students, without being able to find many replacements. The standard of teaching has been consistently high throughout, but the demand for contemporary music lessons has fallen.
Why is this? Could it just be a simple case of bad business organisation and a lack of interest in that certain area? Or could it be due to the mainstream music industry in general for not featuring bands as much anymore, taking away the influence that talented bands had on their audiences? Maybe the concept of a ‘Rock Band’ is now out dated?
- Liam Coffey
Traffic incidents
This idea is based on roads in the UK and finding some of the most dangerous and why. By speaking to individuals from past incidents and finding out their story, I would hope that viewers would be educated in some of the causes of these incidents. Along side this we would look into current incidents that happen along the filmmaking process.
- Jordan Shepherd
|
|
|
|
|
|
Police weaponry
In the UK Firearms are illegal to carry and even carry and own without specific permits and licenses. Yet police forces are becoming more and more heavily armed. The plan would be to investigate further into these weapons and the people Qualified to use them. We will look at when, where, why and how the weapons were used. The style will be similar to the Expository mode of documentary filmmaking but will also include Participation and interaction.
- Jordan Shepherd
Fads
|
|
|
|
|
|
This idea will research into the lives of people who follow the latest craze, whether a pop sensation, technology or an out there hobby. Some ideas such as planking, Watch phones and twerking have come to mind. The people behind the fads will give another element to focus upon. Who are these people and why to they have a need to fill their lives with such crazy things.
- Jordan Shepherd
Blood of the Font Lines
Being a member of the West Essex Aeromodellers flying club for over ten years now, I have formed close relationships and got to know fellow members. Most members of the club are retired old aged pensioners who are ex-service men during World War Two who had to sign up to the army due to conscription. Although, not many club members were on the front lines, near enough all of them used to drive vehicle carrying tanks, ammunition and general supply’s to the front line.
- Johnny White
Japanese Sex Industry
This idea came to me after reading an article from the Telegraph, about the decrease of the Japanese population since the 1950’s. The number of elderly people aged 65 or over surpassed 30 million for the first time. In contrast to children aged 14 and under which decreased to a record low of 13 per cent. However, Japan is well known for their “unusual” sex industry, with such things a blow up sex doles from cartoons. This idea would take a in-depth look into the Japanese sex industry and be asking the questions “Why with such a big businesses market, that the population over the years have decreased?” This documentary idea would involve taking a trip to Japan. However, with the whole production team being students, I highly doubt that this documentary would be developed further due to not having the finances.
- Johnny White
Hampshire County Council's plans to close care homes
There are currently plans to close 4 care homes across Hampshire (Basingstoke, Romsey, Lyndhurst & Petersfield) to save money - however this has impacts on staff, resident's lives and the economy. This could happen as soon as April next year. We could also explore the neglect of the elderly by researching further. I feel this has the potential to create an emotional reaction and possibly fulfil the six qualities of PJVJ. This is also topical but has been regularly explored so would have to be of some significance to be remotely ground-breaking or original.
- Joe Wright
The rise of scrap metal theifs
Recently in Andover, a war memorial weighing 16 stone and worth over £9000 was stolen. We are seeing an increase in rising scrap metal theifs, and October 2013 has seen new laws to tighen up on this increasing problem. This topic is very current and the fact that war memorials and general memorials causes huge reactions and outrage. We could interview scrap metal dealers who experience theifs and people affected by them. There are stories of dealers being jailed for accepting stolen scrap, and large cases of theifs.
- Joe Wright