I started filming the documentary this week. First thing to do was to shoot some initial cutaway footage. I have about 7 minutes of footage to use throughout the documentary at the moment. Filming buildings helped me get confident in using a camera again (they don’t move or complain I can take my time with them). I have 5 interviewees booked for the next 2 weeks. I met one of them to chat about what I’m doing. I’m meeting a historian tomorrow. Pre-interviews seem like a good idea for a historic doc, meet the person to understand what they have to say and get yourself and them used to one another.
I still have no idea how long this will all take to get done. But I still think it will be done by August. The main problem I foresee now is getting permission for mixed media. Stock footage, permission for paintings, drawings and maps is proving difficult. My original plan was to film paintings from the 1700 century to show the story visually. I’ve seen the paintings I want to film but you have to go through the owner of every painting to get permission.
Business wise I’ve created another website. This one www.amyspicturebox.com will be used for screening my films on as well as the place where people are brought to buy or pre-order my DVDs. I found that a lot of the public when I was filming where interested in the documentary. I’ve made business cards with the new website on so that they can find more information about the film on there. I also need to get Public Liability insurance, sort out my business bank account, waiver forms and all that sort of admin stuff done. Most of all I find I am enjoying making this.
(Screen grabs are in low quality)






Amy Clarke is a 22 year old filmmaker from England. This is her personal film making blog.



