Journal entry. Week 1 / 2.

For the first week I have spent a lot of time organizing the documentaries I am going to make. A lot of progress is in snippets in that a quick conversation or a chance meeting will move the project along ever so slightly. I am a little concerned that the access to equipment will hamper the smooth production of the documentaries, mainly the tripod and the microphone. I have emailed the relevant department and she has said that when they have a schedule she will send it on. When I have this schedule to hand I will be able to work around this non-flexible element. I have thus far been concentrating on the non-practical elements of the term such as the essay, the treatments for the documentaries and the screenings.

I had a meeting with the head of sports Kathy Hynes to discuss the sports documentaries; mostly we discussed the format that the documentary will take. I am making two documentaries in conjunction with sports clubs. One of which will entail a lot of small portions of different clubs (who all train at different times), this will be many small pieces making up the whole documentary, these small pieces need to collected individually. In short there will be no one ‘production day’ but many small instances of filming. The discussion with Kathy went well in that she accepted that the format of the films would be determined by myself (although I have assured her that I am intending to produce something that will be useable for the clubs). She also gave indication that there would be assistance if required with certain equipment (a model helicopter and the use of a gopro camera for filming aerial shots of the sports fields, I could also use this for aerial shots of the rowers on the Corrib). On the whole the clubs are more than happy to be filmed, they are aware of the benefits regarding things such as promotion. Regarding the filming of the clubs I have made up a training schedule (at the moment just for the indoor clubs) in order to organize when I shall film them. This element is ready to go I am just waiting on access to the equipment.

I also had a meeting with Jim Horgan who is a boat builder in Furbo (http://www.galwayschoolofboatbuilding.com/project.php). He is more than happy to be filmed. Discussing the documentary with him I noticed that he is quite aware of what constitutes the making of a film as he has been filmed quite a lot in the past. Although it will not be a problem it will be interesting to try to film him anew and from a fresh perspective. Jim knowing exactly what is required to make a film will affect the questions I will ask, the film itself will be in poetic mode and so I would not like the answers to be by rote. He is however very accommodating and is more than willing to allow me access to film the process of building a boat. It will also entail a lot of footage filmed over a period of time, as Jim put it I would travel out to film for the ‘key moments’. I am hopeful that the venue in which we shall build the boats will be well lit as otherwise it shall entail the borrowing and use of lights, either that or I shall improvise. This film will be the process of wood being turned into a boat and as such will be done also over the course of the semester. I am a little worried that the end few weeks of term will be spent with my head stuck in a computer screen 24/7.