MATT NETHERY
Director and Researcher
INSPIRATION
Neon
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
 |
WEEKLY READING 7
Point of View and the Storyteller
“Documentary realism strives to make us feel we are seeing unmediated reality…” Rabinger, p 259, 2009.
This is another integral part of documentary. We will not shy away from showing what the Cambridge used to be like, with fight videos that show how violent it has been in the past. And we are aware that it is a popular club so some of the footage we may capture will involved very intoxicated people. We need to make sure we get the proper permissions of course, but we can’t avoid showing footage that casts the old venue in a bad way. It is as important to capture the feel of how it used to be as it is to capture how it currently is, to properly document the change.
WEEKLY READING 6
Crew Roles
As the director there are many tasks that I have to fulfil. These include:
1. Helping the subjects maintain focus. “You can tell from a person’s body language whether he is unified and focused or divided and troubled.” Rabinger, p 450, 2009
So maintaining focus by bringing the conversation back to the Cambridge if it gets off topic and the like, however not leading the conversation too much and allowing it to flow.
“Involve them in something holding meaning and affirmation for them, and they will take part naturally and spontaneously.” Rabinger, p 450, 2009
So I achieved this by interviewing them about something that meant a lot to them - the venue where they played their first gig. The guys from the band loved the change to talk about the venue, to give it some exposure and spread the appreciation for their favourite venue to play.
Also reminiscing on times I’d seen them play there or great times they had there really got them talking and helped them feel natural in front of the camera.
The best excerpts from this reading were to “not worry about mistakes or silences, since in documentary we shoot far more than we use”, this is important to remember and not get hung up on trying to get the perfect shot or have things go exactly how you want them to. The thing with documentary is that you don’t shoot what is planned, you shoot what happens. So a few minor interviewing mistakes are not that much of an issue, especially because we are only using small clips from the bigger interview.
WEEKLY READING 5
SHOOTING THE INTERVIEW
Getting the first go ahead for an interview was a great moment, the project could finally properly begin! The guys from the band Rum Jungle agreed to have a chat about their experiences with the Cambridge. Because I was mates with the guys already, I wanted the interview to be conducted in a way that would make them feel comfortable, emulating the feel of having a beer and a chat at the pub. We conducted the interview in their lounge room, where they would practice as a band. I conducted the interview from next to the camera, so it is a little off-axis. We only set up one light because we couldn’t dim the second light and it was way too bright. In hindsight we would probably conduct the interview somewhere a little more dynamic, maybe at the venue back stage or in the green room, or in the bar with a few beers. The lighting would be different to further reflect the atmosphere of the venue. We conducted the interview less formally, so I sat down and basically just had a chat with the guys. However, this meant that a lot of the interview is not usable because of how much I interact with the subjects, laughing or interrupting. Although it means that the guys seem a lot more comfortable and laid back than if I had just been firing questions, I will have to avoid that in the future.
“To make an easy start, ask first for information. Facts are safe, while opinions or feelings take a more confident, relaxed state of mind.” Rabinger, 2009, p. 473.
This was a great tip, as it was easy to get the guys talking about how many times they’d played there and how long it had been and before getting into how the venue had changed and what they thought brought that change on.
WEEKLY READING 4
Using the equipment to capture the feel!
Grungy, dark, neon lights and intimate. These are the words we came up with to describe the feel o the venue. Despite how many people can be in there at any time, the way it is designed means that you always feel like you are in an underground bar. We wanted to capture this feeling as it is what makes the Cambridge so unique, so we decided to try and use a lot of neon and bright lighting when designing the look of the piece. I was inspired by the works of Nicholas Windig-Reyfn (Only God Forgives, Drive), Steven Spielberg (Blade Runner) and Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049). I love dark, grainy shots lit with bright neon lights, which is reflected in the shots we took from the gigs we went to.
For a lot of the location shots, and even some of the interviews that we will take at the venue, we don’t want to use much of our own lighting. Keeping it as true to reality as we can, we will only use lighting to make sure the shots are discernible, but not mess with the original lighting as much as possible.
Handheld shots will replicate the feel of attending a gig for the audience watching. I also like slow motion shots of the crowd moving, as well as singling out faces amongst a wider crowd and focusing on that.
WEEKLY READING 3
Research, developing a crew.
What is a synopsis, an outline and a treatment?
“Research is what you do to decide what and whom you intend to film.” Rabiger, 2009 p. 119.
So after developing our idea and our angle, we now had to narrow our scope and properly plan some of the elements of the documentary.
“Anyone can get to anyone else in the world in five or less calls.” Rabiger, pg. 122, 2009
We discovered that Martin had a connection with an old owner of the venue, and I had some mates who had played there on numerous occasions. With these early convictions, a solid plan started to form of how we could structure the project. Using the old owner to give an idea of what the venue used to be like, versus from the perspective of the young band who had only seen it in the last few years would provide a great contrast to give our story its texture.
The hardest part with any project is getting started, so our “single step” started with sending out calls and emails to the contacts. We cemented in some interview time with the band, and our group attended the Cambridge respectively, to get some footage.
From this footage we sort of extrapolated the “vibe” or the “atmosphere” that we wanted our documentary to portray.
WEEKLY READING 2
Proposing and Pitching!
“People making their first documentary often do so with little or no preparation…. So they shoot…shoot and shoot…Everything. Later at the computer, you face hours of footage with no narrative thread….”
Summarised from reading 2, I felt obliged to address this. As I witnessed with ours and other groups as well, we all had really strong ideas, but no concrete potential angle cemented just yet. We had an idea of what our angle would be, but we still are faced with a whole lot of potential material. To develop our proposal/pitch, as the director I had to try and focus on what would make for a compelling narrative. Thomas talked about how it was recently voted the best venue in NSW, and I remembered reading that it was one of the most violent venues in 2014-15. This angle really jumped out at me as an interesting turning point, the venue providing its own narrative for us.
We wanted our film to not only rely on exposition and narration to tell the story, but instead rely a lot more o the visuals, provided to us by archival footage and footage we have taken ourselves.
WEEKLY READING 1
The impression given by the first reading is that any idea, no matter how basic it may seem, can be turned into a good idea. Inspiration can be taken from everywhere, using anything and anyone as a springboard for your project. Once you have established your inspiration it is imperative you become self aware and question your own idea. “Why am I making this documentary? Do I feel a strong and emotional connection to doing it? Can I do it justice? What is the subject’s underlying significance to me?” These are all questions that jumped out at me from this reading.
When we first met up as a group we immediately started talking about different ideas we all had. After bouncing around some different theories we decided to settle on the Cambridge Hotel as it was a place we all enjoyed going to, but most importantly we had a great angle to take. Our other ideas didn’t have enough direction to elaborate on in the time we had, however we thought that the story of how the Cambo turned from being one of the most violent venues in NSW to being voted the best live music venue was an incredible turn around. It’s impact on the Newcastle music scene, something we have all been influenced by is unrivalled, and we wanted to give the place some recognition. It was something that held relevance for all of us, we were all passionate about music and the Cambo so it made sense to run with it.
VISION
What we are trying to achieve!
When referring to the directors journey in “Directing for Documentary” it may seem farfetched and longwinded to assume that I can fulfil all of these criteria about some greater meaning, however as long as you look at any project with the same amount of dedication, you can uncover meaning in the most seemingly trivial subjects. What may seem like basically an advert for a hotel has turned into uncovering what it takes to change the way the public perceives your brand/name/persona. It is an incredible achievement to turn something around the way that the Cambridge Hotel has, and I think the subject matter just makes it even more relevant to the target audience. Live music in Newcastle has been an integral part of young people’s experiences here for almost as long as Newcastle has been around, with some of Australia’s biggest bands popping out here. We decided that, as something we are all very passionate about, it would be a great topic to explore. Without going too much into the actual business side of things, we instead want to take a look at how the business was turned around, how it became what it is today, and what we can learn from this phenomenon. We would like to get the experience of some of the bands that have started in Newcastle, and what it meant for them to play at this iconic venue, the journey it was to get there and how it felt leaving the city they grew up in.
To go from one of NSW’s Most Violent Venues to the best live music venue is an incredible journey, and it reflects the personal journey of the people involved in it. We want to ask the audience “what does it take to overturn your persona? Does the public opinion change the entity or does the entity change the public opinion?”
GALLERY TITLE
Gallery Subtitle
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
 |  |  |