revue

okay so ive finished the film now, i just have to collate all my research into a presentable format for handing in and finish off some sketchbook work and do my evaluation. i got some photos developed from my time at the centre:

1 film down

i finished editing David, as its now called. its about 11 minutes long, which is pretty much as long as it can be, but i dont feel it drags on, im really happy with the way the film illustrates a way of life very much outside your average viewer's experience. also, it was important to me, after meeting many friendly and interesting homeless people at the 999 club, to show that rough sleepers are approachable people and dont deserve the stigma they usually get.

however i started to edit the other film, and it soon became clear that i was setting my sights too high, in terms of cutting 6 or so different half hour interviews down to 5 minutes. Also with many of the interviews spanning different topics, the message of the documentary was lost. i was trying to tell a story about the 999 club but at the same time didnt want to lose all of the interesting life stories the various users of the centre had told me. so i was advised to just concentrate on perfecting David. i also think that had i continued with this second film, if it had been as bad as it was starting to look then it may have had a detrimental effect on the first.

superdave

david is such an interesting guy and ive got hours of really great footage of him. on wednesday, after the club closed i followed dave as he walked from deptford up to point hill where he sleeps. its a walk that he claims to have done just over 700 times. when we reached his bench he showed me how he sets up his bed for the night and then we chatted for some time about various things from the establishment to families. you come to realise that he is a happy man living how he does, and its a choice he's made. he has a very simple life and doesnt need anything more than what he's got. i learned that he gets up in the morning and cleans up rubbish around blackheath tea hut, and in return he gets a cooked breakfast and a fiver. then he spends the day at the 999 club where he can get anything he needs to eat or drink and in the evening if he needs another drink the tea hut are very generous. unlike a lot of homeless people he doesnt drink alcohol, he spends the little money he does have on cannabis, which he claims keeps him sane, which i highly doubt, but as long as he's happy...

i think this films gonna turn out really good.

aaaaand cut.

so im filming. well pretty much finished now, ive done all the interviews and ive organised to film dave tomorrow evening. the interviews all went fantastically well, in that i had a whole list of questions written out but after asking the first question most people would talk so much without much prompting that i wouldnt have anything left to ask them by the time they had finished. i even managed to get some people talking on sensitive subjects such as past relationships and drug addiction. the only problem with the interviews was the sound quality; i didnt use a microphone so far too much background noise was picked up by the camera and a couple of the interviews were so bad that the actual conversations were drowned out. hopefully ill be able to play around with the audio when it comes to edit the films

films

i now have a rough outline of what to film. the idea is to make two 5-10minute films, the first would be a series of talking head style interviews with staff and users of the 999 club, talking about what the centre does and why they use it. the second will focus on a user of the centre, dave, who i find particularly interesting, and he has agreed to show me where he sleeps and how he goes about his life. i feel it is important here for me to remember there is a fine line between being insightful and intrusive. i hope to start filming next week.

999

right so ive been at the homeless centre for about a week now. ive been keeping a journal of all my observations of the centre and the people i come across. i feel this will help me to draw conclusions of what to film in a few weeks time, but at the moment im still looking for ideas. im contemplating making 4 or 5 very short films which illustrate the key elements which make the centre so fascinating.