Burgh Castle Almanac Film Making Proposal
Introduction
Brodie A.M.S is an audio-visual production company with over 25 years experience, working closely with clients across corporate, broadcast, charity and public sectors.
We are excited to present our proposal for creating a series of short films reflecting the positive experiences of people attending the Burgh Castle Almanac Project.
Proposal. ‘Stories From The Castle’ or, ‘A Return To Happier Times…’
We believe this film project presents a wonderful opportunity to tell the engaging story – or, indeed a series of stories – of how a significant and historic setting is providing an inspiring environment for personal growth and development, and creating positive change within the community it serves.
At a time when fewer and fewer people are able to access mental health services or are feeling evermore detached from their environments and communities, The Burgh Castle Almanac Project offers a rare opportunity for people to (re)engage with the cultural and natural world through inclusive art, music and photography installations, events and projects.
We suggest the proposed film/s offer a fantastic opportunity to explore the far-reaching benefits of these community projects on the health and well being of individuals.
It is proposed that we would identify 3 people, each with their own reasons or needs for participating in the Burgh Castle Almanac Project and explore how the relationship they have with the site, and the many activities the project offers, helps them.
Across two or more ‘meetings’ with each person we would create a ‘before, during and after’ timeline.
Before the activity – What are your hopes from attending these sessions?
During the activity – What are you doing/enjoying and why?
After the activity – What difference has it made, would you recommend it and why?
Through informal, intimate on-camera conversations we would explore the concept of ‘Culture Therapy’ and the positive affects of the site towards ‘mental health’, ‘conservation’ and ‘social inclusion’. We will see each of our subjects attending their sessions, walking the Castle walls, creating photography, art and sculpture and, by doing so, allow our audience an insight into the positive affects this ‘work’ has on the individual (and the group).
The on-camera conversations will be used, in part, as voice over to images of the group activities, their artwork and the castle environs, allowing the audience to understand and appreciate the ‘Almanac Project’ experience. These images will be supported by the sounds and music the project has created, captured as recordings and augmented with other natural sounds from the Burgh Castle landscape.
As part of the films, we would also meet the project sponsors and ask them why the project was set up and how the project has evolved in response to the participants.
The mood of the pieces will be informed by the stories we discover, but we would anticipate a sense of space, discovery and mindfulness, and we hope, a ‘return to happier times’. We believe the castle walls, juxtaposed against Norfolk’s ‘big skies’, will provide a powerful visual allegory, whilst moments of stillness in the sound design will provide a sense of calmness and reflection.
We believe these personal insights and stories will deliver compelling material and provide audiences with an engaging picture of the impact of the project on individuals and groups. We expect our viewers to experience a strong sense of positivity and we hope they will consider how the experience of the natural world might impact on their own wellbeing and that of others in their communities. Perhaps they will even want to experience the Burgh Castle environs first hand, and maybe even produce some art themselves!
Note: Our strong advice is that by producing a set of shorter, 3-5 minute films we are more likely to engage our audience. It is a simple, if challenging, truth that in this busy online world our audience’s attention is of a premium. We believe we cannot risk this important work being overlooked because it is wrapped up into a single, long-form film. By creating a set of shorter stories we have a better chance of ‘hooking in’ and keeping our audiences’ interest and therefore delivering our ideas and messages. Our belief and intention is we can create a separate generic ‘Burgh Castle Almanac’ film using the footage and interviews from the proposed videos – see ‘Deliverables’ (below).
Deliverables
We will produce four short (3-5 minute) films under the banner ‘Stories From The Castle’:
Three personal stories as described above and a generic ‘Burgh Castle Almanac’ ‘promo’ made up from the images and words taken from the three personal stories. This fourth film will be a ‘mood’ piece rather than a detailed exploration of the projects, creating a clear but broad picture of the castle’s setting, the participants and the activities undertaken.
Production Budget
A detailed budget can be made available on request, but we would expect to deliver the four films for £12.5k.
This would allow for four days of planning, seven days of filming* onsite at the castle and twelve days of editing, including all commensurate expenses (travel, subsistence etc).
*A day of filming allows for a 10-hour day with two crew with all commensurate audio-visual recording equipment.
Who We Are
Steve and John have been colleagues and close friends since meeting on an educational video shoot for Portsmouth City Council in 2004. They have since worked together on many video productions and enjoy the opportunity to use their collective experience and skills to help their clients tell their stories.
Steve Brodie
Steve is a local man who has lived in and around Norfolk his entire life.
Over an extensive career in the media sector Steve has built an enviable reputation in the industry for his commitment, personable approach and a desire for each new project to be the very best it can be.
Steve is an innovative, and technically accomplished film producer and sound engineer with over 25 years experience working in broadcast, live events and installations. With credits for all the major British broadcasters he is widely acknowledged for his outstanding technical knowledge and attention to detail resulting in selection for many high profile projects for leading broadcasters and corporate clients.
Steve has also worked with a broad spectrum of corporate and public sector clients to produce video including Cambridge Assessment, Cambridge University Press, Carmarthenshire Local Authority, Suffolk County Council, Breaking New Ground Heritage Landscape Partnership, Catch Up (literacy and numeracy classroom interventions charity), Rising Stars UK (educational publishers), and Norfolk and Suffolk Wildlife Trusts.
John Mitchell
John has over 20 years experience in video production, both as an owner of a small production business and as a freelancer. He has produced, directed and edited corporate video productions for a variety of organisations and local authorities, including Xerox, The John Lewis Partnership, Pearson, PepsiCo and Buckinghamshire County Council. John is a very confident communicator and has experience working closely with Senior Management Teams (and their stakeholders), helping them to deliver their projects successfully and within budget, whether £5k or £75k.
You can see examples of John’s work here: https://vimeo.com/jonnymitch
Example Projects
Caring For The Built Heritage of the Brecks – Breaking New Ground Heritage Landscape Partnership
A short film celebrating the first season of Breaking New Ground’s Heritage Building skills workshops delivered by Orchard Barn Environmental Education CIC. Including a look at the 6 topics covered and interviews with BNG project manager, course tutors and participants.
Introducing The Buckinghamshire Local Offer – Buckinghamshire County Council
The Local Offer brings together a wealth of information from social care, health, education and other services about the support they are expected to offer to children and young people aged 0-25 years with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
OCR Supports Coventry City of Culture 2021 – OCR / Cambridge Assessment
OCR has been in Coventry since the 1850s and delighted to support Coventry 2021 as a 2021 Club member. This video introduces that relationship to the staff and the wider community to raise awareness of forthcoming projects. We hear from Jill Duffy, CEO and her colleagues about why they are proud to be backing Coventry 2021!
Brecks Uncovered – Norfolk & Suffolk Wildlife Trusts
This video documents a collaborative project between the Norfolk and Suffolk Wildlife Trusts to bring excitement and engagement to the classroom for children living in the beautiful and unique Brecks landscape. This was project was led by Breaking New Ground Landscape Partnership and funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund.
Referees
Nick Dickson
Breaking New Ground Landscape Partnership Scheme
Nick.Dickson@suffolk.gov.uk
Julie Lawes
National Director (retired) Catch Up Literacy and Numeracy charity
julielawes500@hotmail.co.uk
Contact
A PDF Version of this document is available to download here!