When I had a tutorial with Anne I was told to watch a film called 'Some Kind of Monster', directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. The film itself is based around the metal band Metallica during the period of the early 2000s, when the band had not released an album for a number of years and were at rock bottom. The film shows the period of time in which there was a lot of tension within the band, resulting in the counselling of a psychiatrist to work out the bands problems.

The film begins with the band setting up a home studio to record their album. The film cuts between this and the counselling sessions they have, which is an interesting juxtaposition, between the high's of them in the studio, hiding their opinions and feelings through playing music loudly and the quiet, sombre environment, which makes the film narratively quite interesting. Being a music documentary, what makes the film interesting is the lack of music in the film, which is different to a lot of music documentaries out there, that have extended period's of music, whereas Some Kind of Monster only has short 10-20 segments of live music and focuses more on what the members of the band have to say about everything going on and what they are feeling. This is something I aim to do when making my film, as I want to focus more on the individuals and their lives rather than getting too distracted by the music.

Screenshot of Lars and James in the studio

The relationship between James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich is something that is very interesting due to the fact that they are two very big characters that tend to collide a lot of the time during the film, whereas the guitarist, Kirk Hammett, is more of an introvert, trying to keep the peace. There are a few major lows in the documentary, being the moment when James, the lead singer/guitarist had to go to rehab for almost a year. After this period he could only record in the studio from 12:00pm to 4:00pm.

Screenshot from the animation made, parodying the lawsuit Lars Ulrich took out on Napster. 

The film also focuses on the other band members for instance Lars, who is an artist in his spare time, selling painting for millions of dollars. The film also shows negative aspects of his life, for instance not being able to perform some of the songs properly in the studio and the suing of Napster, a free music website that illegally used the bands music. The court proceedings led to a negative response by Metallica fans, some of whom destroyed their Metallica albums in rage. Kirk, the lead guitarist, enjoys surfing in his spare time and spending a lot of his time alone. Throughout the film you can tell Kirk is more of an individual, and acts differently to the other members. James, the lead vocalist and backing guitarist enjoys driving expensive motorcycles whilst trying to fit in time with his family, especially his daughter, who we see throughout the film in the studio and at her dance practice. The inclusion of the families of the band members is interesting as it gives a more in-depth look into the individual members of the band and adds a lighter feel to the film, juxtapositioning between the harsh reality of life in a failing band and the simpler things in life that they seem to take for granted, like family.

Even though i'm not a huge fan of Metallica, I still felt a lot of enjoyment whilst watching the film, even though its a genre i'm not a huge fan of, or very familiar with. This is something I would like to do to my audience, being that Iron Maiden is a metal band that is to a required taste. Because the personalities of each member are so different and unique, the film is therefore made into something more interesting, differentiating from a straightforward music documentary about the history of rock/metal, where the lives of metal icons are only touched upon and the music leads the film concept. This is something I am looking to steer away from, and the casting process I intend on doing will help chose interesting individuals to focus my film on.

The end of the film touches upon the success of the band and their reformation with a new bassist, Robert Trujillo, The band offers him one million dollars to be a part of the band, which is just another reminder of the scale of the band on the metal scene, and how successful they have been. The inclusion of a bassist begins the resolution that the band were trying to find throughout the film. The inclusion of the bassist brings them all together and keeps them strong throughout all the dark, negative times they had shared previously. This then progresses to the preparation of the Metallica tour and the release of their new album, St Anger, where the members get emotional looking back at the past few years of their lives in the band, and how things have drastically improved. The film ends with a live performance dedicated to the success of the band, hosted by MTV. This is an interesting contrast to the beginning of the film, where the band were unenthusiastic and lifeless, and the leaps and bounds they made to perform at a huge venue with smiles on their faces at the end. I felt this was a predictable, yet satisfying end to the film.

Screenshot of the full, revised line up including their counselor. 

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the film and have taken many inspirations from it. The fact that the film actually uses more spoken dialogue than music is an interesting alternative to a typical music documentary. This is something I intend on following during the production of my film. I enjoy the fact that each member has an interesting life story and character, which is something I hope to achieve, being the uniqueness of the individual that makes a viewer, who may or may not be familiar or so much like the band, want to continue watching.

Doug's gold record for the first self-titled Iron Maiden album which he performed on, which reaching 100,000+ copies sold. 

To further my knowledge of Iron Maiden and to get an inside look into the history of the band and the music scene of the time, I decided to visit my uncle at his house in essex, which gave an insight into how he lives his life and what his interests are. I recorded a brief interview with him (link below, which is currently a rough-cut), where he shared some experience of his time in the band and what he is doing outside of Iron Maiden, which is the main focus idea of my film. I was also given a few names of some people who would be interested in being in the film whom have a good relationship with Doug and have been a part of Iron Maiden such as Bob Sawyer, Terry Rance, Tony Moore and Dennis Wilcock, all ex-members of the band. I was also shown some live performances of rock and metal spanning from the 60s to the 80s, such as The Who live in Texas (1975) which gave a great insight into live performance and where Doug's aspirations to become a drummer came from. This sort of information really helps me build a relationship with the people I want to be a part of the film and also is useful in furthering my knowledge of different aspects, in this case the beginnings of rock. My uncle also showed me some cd's, photographs and other useful items that related to his drumming experiences that weren't on the internet, which goes to show how limited the internet is in contrast to the actual memories and experiences people have in life, which aren't always publicised online. Doug also showed me his 3 dogs, which were very cute.

                                                                   Inside Doug's drum room

Doug's three(ish) dogs

 Brief rough-cut of an interview recording with my uncle, Doug Sampson. 

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.

Yesterday we had a camera workshop which induced us into using a few new camera's, these were the Canon C300, the BlackMagic URSA 4k camera and the Panasonic Lumix GH4 4k DSLR. We were also shown some camera's we used previously, the Sony EX3 which I used during studio shoot and the Canon XF305, which I used to make my portrait film in year one and also as second camera during the studio shoot.

BlackMagic URSA

 Canon C300

Panasonic Lumix GH4

 Sony EX3

Canon XF305

Anne spoke to us about the capabilities of each camera and which camera suits what kind of of production, which was really useful in deciding what camera I want to use for my documentary. The Sony EX3 and the Canon XF305 are most suitable for the kind of film I am hoping to make and they are a lot more compact and easier to set up for spontaneous shots I might get whilst making my documentary, something of which is harder with the Canon C300 and the BlackMagic URSA due to the weight and complexity of the menu's and set up, requiring at least 2 or three people as the recommended assistance by Anne to help pull focus and set up. In addition to this it was emphasised that only use a 4K camera if it excecutes what you are trying to say and you have solid justification for it, for several reasons, for instance the files are a lot larger than regular HD files and take more than double the time to export. They also have to be downscaled to 1080i for the graduation show which is why I am looking to use a regular HD camcorder.

Vicky spoke to us about the digital side of things, emphasising the importance of file storing and making multiple copies, which I will make sure I do when it comes to shooting my film. In addition to this making sure you don't rely on post production to save your film from any mistakes you made on set or when it comes to importing your files. We then looked at colouring, and the difference between 10 bit and 8 bit, 10 bit having a lot more colour range than 8 bit. This is brought out by the Samurai Blade, which will convert the camera's we used to 10 bit colour.

Overall, I feel that I am doing to use the Sony Ex3 predominantly because it is best for low-light situations and is a camera that can allow me to set up quickly, which will be useful when it comes to shooting spontaneous moments that may arise during a shoot. I will also be using the Ex1, which David kindly borrowed from stores to show me. What I like about this camera is the simplicity and similarities between its predecessor, the Sony Ex1, such as the quality of the footage and colours, which might be more difficult to achieve using the Canon XF305 as it has a very different picture to the Sony Ex3. I enjoyed learning more about the C300 and the URSA as they are very good camera's that produce very high-end results, however the complexity of setting up and crewing the camera would not suit the style of my film, which will be more on the move and spontaneous sometimes.

I recently had a tutorial with Anne, which was very helpful in giving me inspiration and ideas as to how I could approach the production, for example the narrative and alternative structures/themes I could look into to make my film stand out. Here are some of the key notes that were made when I spoke to Anne: 

Notes from Anne:

Origin of the Iron.

Past members – what do they have in common?.Passion for heavy metal music- some still in the music business, some not.

.Now all in their 50’s + still got long hair, all the biker demonic imagery? Symbols onstage of rebellion against conformity, anti establishment..Contrast with home life - quieter more respectable, doting granddad etc?

.Uncle is a key player – use to get introductions and information about the band lifestyle etc. is he funny or a good character? Could you use him as one of your main characters in the film? Two main characters and a cast of smaller support contributors would be enough. 

.You need to do lots of research now – talk to as many people as possible find the most charismatic people for your film.

.Re-union concert at beginning Nov could be a key date for filming uniting all your cast of characters – could be spectacular opening sequence or closing sequence..Concert is a memorial for band member who died of MS – he could be a character told in retrospect through memories of other past members. Could be poignant story.

.What do you imagine will be in the film if anything is possible?
-Concert material, backstage, rehearsals, performances in pubs weddings? Home life? Interviews with ex members why did they leave? Good memories bad memories. Some band members might have home movie footage.

.Different approaches – what is so special about metal that it can take over your entire life?
-The “Zen of heavy metal
-”Nostalgia for youth can’t let go?
-Passion for music and lifestyle?
-Other players in the film?

.The fans see ex members as legendary fans same age as iron Maiden in their 50’s.Good stories of fans travelling thousands of miles – mentioned German fan Erwin who flies over to see ex members play. Erwin could be a good character? Contact him and see if he is going to visit during your filming period.

.Wives, girlfriends, and children – do they share the same passion? Do they share the same lifestyle? It could be interesting if they do and interesting if they don’t. Think of the Osborne family as an exaggerated example.

.Other things to think about – music copyright, permission to film on location

.Important to dig out great characters .Think about structure – this will develop as you do more research. Spend as much time with your uncle ask him about everything, get him to tell you stories about his life with iron Maiden. Do some filming with him to see how he comes across – contrast with your auntie who isn’t so much a fan of metal could be humorous contrast.

.Iron Maiden started in Leytonstone – could make something of this humble east end beginning. Fans creating a blue plaque memorial!!!

.Check availability of cameras for the concert weekend. Think about what you could film around this weekend. It would be good to have multiple crews 2 or 3 camera crews would be best. There will be a lot going at once. Recruit 2 other students (2person) crews to cover this event plus runners and a production assistant. Make the most of this event.

.Check availability of cameras with Julie Flude. If not enough students free in your year check Tom Paynter Y2 is a good shooter also Megan Oxley Y2 if not too busy.
.There are some first years who are very able who might jump at the chance talk to me if you want extra help.

.Searching for Sugarman is a good film here’s a link to the film on youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXee4Elv0n4- It was Malik Bendjelloul's first film

.Some Kind of Monster is another metal film about Metallica’s breakup and re-union which might give some ideas about what kind of issues make people leave famous bands

In my next blog post I will be looking at 'Searching for Sugarman' by Malik Bendjelloul and Some Kind of Monster by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, looking at different aspects of the film and how they inspire my work.