Beyond the Boundaries 8- Reviews and inspiration

For inspiration for my film I decided to watch a few more documentaries recommended to me by several different people. In addition to this I watched some live dvd performances to further my knowledge in rock and metal music, in particular the style of the music and performance and how that affects an audience, which is something several bands like Iron Maiden achieve greatly.

The Who- Live in Texas '75
Whilst I was at my uncle's house we watched a few extracts from The Who's live performance in Texas. Whilst watching the film I was inspired by the performance of the members, in particular Keith Moon, the drummer. My uncle told stories of his drum career which involved regularly putting gunpowder in his bass drum which exploded at the end of a performance. I found this quite entertaining and it gave me more of an insight into my uncle's passion for drumming, pointing out facts on the drummer and the band throughout their performances, which is something only a strong fan of the band would know. During the film my uncle also spoke of his live performance experiences, where the band once used fireworks on the stage and the amount of smoke filled the whole room meaning he couldn't see his kit, which I found quite funny. I found live performances bring out fond memories people have with the band they may've been or any experiences they had seeing bands live. Using live performances of Rock/Metal in the 60s/70s/80s could be something that inspires stories out of some of my subjects experiences on stage. This may be a technique I could use during the production process when meeting some of the ex-members.


My Chemical Romance: Life on the Murder Scene
For inspiration I decided to watch a music documentary based around the lives of the members of a rock band called My Chemical Romance, who rose in popularity throughout time, particularly through the release of The Black Parade in 2006. The documentary follows the history of the band from the period of the early 2000s to the present, which was 2006 at the time of the film. The film was straightforward in the narrative, fluently changing from high's to low's, for example the success of the album sales contrasting with the vocalist, Gerard Way' alcohol abuse and the possible end to the band's existence. What I liked about the film was the melancholy tone to the film such as the 9/11 connections, where Gerard saw 9/11 happen for himself, inspiring him to change his life and start up the band. There was also no holding back with sharing very personal experiences and stories, such as Gerard's problems which could've lead to more severe outcomes. This is something that commendable as it is hard to take deep, upsetting stories from people unless they are very outgoing person and feel comfortable sharing these experiences.