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JUNGLE 3RD DRAFT FEEDBACK

This is the final round of feedback we received on our third edit. The second two points are very easy to fix and certainly points I agree on, I do think the pause in Joram’s audio is quite a poignant moment in the film and more time should be given afterwards for the message to sink in further. This links back to my issue with Human Flow, and also our own aims of making a more reflective and artistic piece that doesn’t necessarily fit the representations of the Jungle that have been seen before.

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JUNGLE 3RD DRAFT

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NYNKE’S FEEDBACK

After sending Nynke the final edit she was super happy with the result. There was nothing at all she wanted to change, except the suggestion to add subtitles. We will let them use the subtitled version for their promotional materials and focus on the non subtitled version during submission.

SUBTITLES DECISION

Following the Dubbing Theatre crit and more feedback from Julie, me and Richard had a long discussion about whether or not to include subtitles. The issue that was raised was the fact that using subtitles over English speaking interviews, regardless of how coherent they are, could be seen as offensive or even racist.

This was a heavy piece of feedback as it’s antithetical to the actual messages and themes of the piece. Our reasons for wanting to use them was because in different bits of feedback from friends, friends working in the industry and some jurors at Sheffield Doc/Fest was that subtitles would be needed to make the film understandable and that nobody thought it was racist to use subtitles for some contributors and not for others.

However, I do understand where Julie was coming from but did disagree with the argument that you wouldn’t subtitle people with thick accents from around England like Scouse or Scottish. I found a BBC3 documentary where a woman was subtitled (2nd Image) as she was speaking in a strong northern accent which would have otherwise been difficult to understand. She was the only contributor subtitled in the series except for a Scottish man who’s speech leant the same issue. Without subtitling these people the documentary would’ve lost meaning through not being able to understand important interviews. I believe the difference in opinion may come from me and Richard thinking about film festival eligibility and making a film more geared towards TV, whilst on CMP it sometimes feels as if films are geared to being more artistic and consider elements that wouldn’t necessarily be picked up by festival juries or TV channels.

Our resolution was to make one final edit with subtitles (1st Image) on the parts that are difficult to understand, and one final edit with the most challenging section removed and replaced with a more coherent interview that didn’t require subtitles. We will most likely play the non subtitled version in the crit but make everyone aware there is an alternate version, and after the hand in we will get more industry opinions on which one would be best to take forward to festivals.

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UPDATED STATEMENT OF INTENT

Now that the focus of our documentary has changed rather drastically due to the ethical concerns of the mental health angle, I have completed a revised statement of intent below, to better reflect the aims of the documentary that have developed over the past few months.

REVISED STATEMENT OF INTENT

‘Jungle’ looks to integrate the stories of the anonymous refugees of Calais with the voluntary first aid team that provide them with life saving treatment and emotional support. The film will aim to construct a realistic reflection of what life in the refugee jungle and the surrounding town of Calais is really like for refugees and volunteers. The documentary will also adopt a more investigative tone, as with our filming being constantly effected by violent and tragic incidents happening to the community, we want to examine the cycle of despair and lack of support in trying to find some sort of resolution to the situation. The story will facilitate the stories of those who have experienced the struggles first hand and offer some opinions on the future of the situation.

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A NAME FOR THE FILM?

We have spent a lot of time debating names for the film and trying to decide what is most appropriate and likely to grab an audiences attention if they saw it in a film festival program for instance.

The original name in the proposal was ‘JUNGLE’ when the film focussed more heavily on the mental health aspect of being a refugee in the harsh conditions of Calais. When we decided to shift our focus to the medical team, we felt the title was no longer fitting so debated names such as FAST and AIDERS. We stuck with AIDERS until the film shifted and became more of an investigation into the constant cycle of incidents and despair for the situation. This is when JUNGLE came back into the mix, and we felt it perfectly joined together the stories of the anonymous refugees and the medical team. It also could be seen to reflect the complexity of the situation, and would give a subtle indication of what the film is about without giving too much away so we are very satisfied with the title.

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JUNGLE 2ND DRAFT

This edit responded to all of the feedback from last time, but there were still some issues with the sequencing in terms of pans and shots that didn’t match. This was more minor this time so we will go back and reflect on how we could make the final section flow better. We also adjusted the audio in places and tried to make the transitions between sections smoother. I believe this has definitely improved since last time and we have made considerable differences to the flow of the piece, but I do think we could still make the transition from the archive footage into the house a bit more coherent, and I will experiment with making it sound as if the speech is coming from a radio/ TV in the flat. Not only could this make it more reasoned, but it would also reflect the media attention the crisis receives at times of violence which is part of the cycle we are trying to represent.

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JUNGLE FIRST DRAFT

Feedback

- Need to rethink and adjust some of the pans towards the end as it is odd to have pans moving in different ways.

- It is very difficult to hear one of the interviews at the beginning.

- Need to adjust some of the audio levels and mixes, especially after the archive footage.

Overall we received positive feedback on the first draft, the impression we got was just that the film generally needed a lot of tidying up which we completely expected as this was the first export and draft of the film. I personally would also like to adjust the fade to black at 7:02 as I think it is unnecessary and was only put there as we did not have a shot to tie the change in time together. We will need to review different techniques as we do not want to interrupt the visual flow when the audio/ narrative doesn’t call for it.

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REVISED STORY STRUCTURE

We really think this new structure may work - it would allow everyone to give their perspectives, but would include my questions, voice and phone call to fill in the gaps and explain the journey we had. It's almost a middle ground between the original concept and what you were suggesting today, but I think it would explain why this still needs to be reported on, help people understand the reality and nature of the situation and also allude to what the future may hold with this acting as a big cycle.

I think this is the most confident I've been on the structure, so I hope you think it could be a good solution that puts the real story first. This way we would be using Joram and Nynke as an alternate perspective and commentary on the crisis without it just being about them.

STRUCTURE - 2 mins - Shots around Calais in the style of the EPP - 1 minute of this would be refugees talking more generally about themselves and the conditions in the camp.

- 2 mins - Joram & Nynke's introduction & perspectives. Talking about lack of hope with refugees/ police violence/ lack of solution set to the footage of them helping and the medical container etc - will remind of basic needs not being met for refugees and explain some of the help that is available. Will include Molly asking questions to contextualise answers and also introduce the voice for later on.

- 1/2 mins - Back to refugee perspective talking about issues related to Joram & Nynke - empty food containers, b-roll around the outskirts of the camp.

- 30 secs - Archive of the brawl - chopped up news footage as many different sites claimed the fight was started by different people and reported on the violence blaming it on refugees - J & N claimed it was police/ smugglers but could be biased so will focus on all the different information by news outlets.

- 1/2 mins - Phone call between Molly & J/ N talking about the violence and clashes, how that effected the filming and how the nature of the camp is a cycle. Use b-roll around the camps where it looks particularly empty, shot of refugees walking down road in sunset & pylones with discarded socks. End on shots of ferry going home and Molly & N/J ending conversation.

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Minimalism: A Documentary About The Important Things (2015) Feature Documentary Dir. Matt D’Avella (USA)

This was a documentary I was watching recreationally, but I was really taken with some of the aesthetic choices. Whilst the documentary itself didn’t hold my attention with the story the whole way through, when it had more experimental interludes, some of the choices by the director and cinematographer were very thought provoking.

I particularly appreciated the sequence where one of the protagonists does a reading of his book on the beach (top image). Like with many of the interviews, the framing is incredibly minimal, but instead of feeling sparce feels clean and full of breathing room. The colour palette is also very fresh and natural feeling. The screen grabs I took all contained lots of blues which was unintentional, but shows that when a film really is consistent, you should be able to take random screen grabs that appeal to you and they all look related.

We could relate many of the building and nature shots to our own filming. The composition in the middle shot manages to be very minimal but also visually interesting at the same time. The sharp lines and shapes make what could just be a shot of windows, very interesting for the viewer and linking to wider issues of feeling trapped in materialism. This could be applied in how we film Calais and Amsterdam, by making sure each shot has a purpose and taking the time to make sure the composition is as interesting and well considered as possible to convey our own messages of isolation and decay of a once bustling sea side town.

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Swagger (2016) Feature Film Dir. Olivier Babinet (France)

This documentary focusses on a group of young people growing up in housing projects in the outskirts of Paris. It creates character studies based on their dreams and experiences of growing up with limited social and financial ability, but looks more at their personal development.

The cinematography often reminded me of the look we are going for, and perhaps some more elements we could have considered. The shots of the housing projects are often vast and focus on the lights coming from the windows and the bleak structures many of these individuals inhabit. Every shot is beautifully considered and the story is built carefully around them. The interviews also place the characters against interesting backgrounds, whether it be the school they are placed in, or their rooms where they build their identities.

I believe we have a lot of shots with parallels to what was filmed here, and our interview with Salman took on a similar technique. It was also interesting to learn more about first and second generation immigration in France, and how isolating it can be as a community which is another theme we hope to push forward in out own edit.

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Salman’s Full Interview Transcript

We met Salman on the shoot and he was a surprise addition to filming. He was volunteering for another charity in Calais, and we were interested to learn he worked as a voluntary translator having lived in the jungle himself for 11 months. He agreed to sit down with us and be interviewed on camera, as he was settled in France having successfully been granted asylum.

His interview was really interesting, but when transcribing I realised how difficult it was to understand him sometimes - especially when his grammar made some elements of what he was saying come across wrong because of the ordering of his words. I am glad we got this interview, but I am not sure it is useable or will add anything to the final film.

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Nynke and Joram Interview Transcript (PART 2)

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Nynke & Joram Interview Transcript (Part 1)

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Shortened Audio Release Forms

I have created this form as to be less intimidating for refugees who may be willing to partake in audio interviews with us. I wanted to reduce the form down to the bare essentials, as it is unlikely a refugee would want to disclose personal information or be part of any records or paperwork. I consulted with a number of people who largely said release forms for audio where the contributor cannot be identified are not necessary, but I have printed these just incase and will ask refugees to fill them out if possible.

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Schedule 20/02/18 - 26/02/18

Full schedule breakdown for each day of the shoot/ trip. Because the exact nature of the locations and state of affairs in Calais was unknown, some days are intentionally vague to allow us to adapt to any issues we may have whilst out there.

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Travel Cost Details

Some information about the costs and timings of the transport logistics for the shoot.

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