We have now started the editing process and I am working very closely with the editor to come up with a structure for the story. Our first step was to go through all the interviews we filmed and pick out all the best bits that were either informative, emotional, interesting or funny.
Our main interview was of Pam so that is going to provide the main bulk of our film with supporting interviews from two other volunteers
Pam is there to tell the story and give us most of the emotion, alongside the animals. Fiona who is a volunteer who works in the office will be our fact and figure person who will deal more with the money side to things and also give us some supporting information about Pam. The other volunteer is Catherine who is an elderly volunteer that has been there for 3 years now, she helps with the general looking after of the animals and is quite clued up on the runnings of the refuge so we will use her to give us general information about the refuge and again supporting information on Pam. We did interview another volunteer but her interview offer up anything new that the others hadn't already covered and she also didn't come across as well on camera as Catherine, who gave a bit more emotion and information.
Once we had chosen all the best and relevant bits that we thought we could make a compelling story out of, we grouped them into different clusters according to the topic. We had a money group, volunteers group, animals group and Pam group to start with. We were then going to put them into the order into where we think they should come in the film but have since changed our minds and have decided to start the edit and see what comes naturally. This came about because the editor and myself already had an idea of what we wanted for the opening sequence so started working on that and then from that found what came next seem to flow naturally from what we had got already. I'm not sure if this is the most efficient way of putting the edit together but personally I find it seems less pressured then thinking we need to have this section first, then have that bit and so on. As we're putting it together we're finding that through the visuals, things being said in the interview and thinking about what the narration would be saying that we are automatically piecing the different sections and sequences together.
Starting the Rough cut - Opening to the film
There is a little anecdote Pam tells us, about how she ended up with one of her first exotics. I decided this would be a nice way in to the film as it's an interesting and funny story which I think will gain the audiences attention. Also by starting with this story we're setting up how and why the refuge came to be because she explains that she overheard a pet shop owner saying he was going to dump a Python in the river and that she offered to take it off his hands, she goes on to explain how it snowballed from there and more and more people started bringing them animals. I like this as a beginning because it's interesting and not only gives us an insight into the birth of the refuge but also into Pam herself as we learn that while offering to pay the pet shop owner for the snake that she had to borrow the money off him first to pay for it. I think it sets up the fact that Pam will do anything for animals and also the future money problems that the refuge was to face because even from the very beginning we know that they had little money.
It also means that we don't need to use loads of narration to explain everything because the story does a lot of it for us and in a more dynamic way than what voice over would. Another reason I liked it, is because it is not a sad story that is expecting sympathy from the audience straight away, it's light-hearted which is good as I don't want people thinking it's all going to be sad and like an appeal type thing. There will be moments that are there for tugging at the heart strings but it's important to me that there is relief and humorous moments also to take the audience on a journey.
To accompany the story we've used still location shots from the outside and inside of the refuge to give a sense of location and how isolated it is. We have allowed the shots the last for a while so have used slow cutting as to not detract attention away from the story and give people time to take it all in. We have deliberately chosen shots that do not give too much away also because I want to build into the film and story slowly without giving away what it is and all the best bits straight away. I want to drip feed the audience the information so it keeps them guessing and because the shots are of just random bits and pieces in and around the refuge it leaves some ambiguity because you're not seeing any animals yet so it kind of just looks like a bit of a waste land.
These are some of the shots of Pam we got, the film is mainly centred around Pam so it was important to establish her early on in the film and show her talking. There are also lots of shots of her with the animals because it was imperative to show how close she was and her bond with the animals so the audience can see this for themselves and empathise with her more. We also wanted to include shots of her working because I wanted the audience to know that she doesn't just walk around stroking the animals, leaving the hard work down to the volunteers. Also it is clear to see that she is not in the best bit of health and showing that she still carries on despite this will yet again show the audience just how hard it is and how much she sacrifices. It is not so much about making people feel sorry for her but to just admire what she does and take inspiration from it.
These are some pretty static shots that were used in the montage, we wanted this montage to have a gentle and serene feel to go with the soft piano music and that is why we chose shots with limited movement as to not disrupt the pace and feel of the sequence. The montage is also a good way of starting to introduce some of the animals at the refuge. The film is only going to be about 10-15 minutes long so we won't have time to meet and get to know every single animal and their stories.
These are shots from the Emu sequence that occurs after the Titles. This is where I want to start drip feeding the audience little bits of what kind of place this is and the animals. Firstly there is a woman entering a pen but you don't see what's in the pen (it looks like quite an average pen you might see at a farm or somewhere with a trough in the middle so people might expect to see pigs for example). You then see her tip the food into the trough and again the food looks quite normal as there are pellets and vegetables but then it cuts to a pair of strange looking feet walking towards the woman and then finally the Emu briefly comes into shot and then after she's left it cuts back to a close up of it eating and then finally a long shot which establishes the whole scene. I liked this sequence as I feel it plays on peoples expectations and I like the thought of making people wait for information as it keeps them watching and intrigued to find out and then it also surprises them when they finally see what it is.
Below are some of the shots we've used to establish the location in the first sequence of the film. We're deliberately no showing the animals because I feel it will create more anticipation within the audience by withholding this information as it will keep them guessing. Some of the shots also show the mess that the place is in with junk and mud everywhere, it almost looks as if we're at a tip not an exotic pet refuge full of colourful animals which you get to see as the film goes on.
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