Group project - Developing the Idea

After deciding on using the World War II idea, we knew we had a pitch coming up soon. We had to research, and bring together ideas that would make our pitch boast a strong and professional structure. So as a group we researched and brain-stormed to create some good ideas, that would result in a “yes”, at the end of our pitch, while at the same time, executing the pitch in the correct fashion.



So, the first task was to look for contributors, without these, the project would be a “no-go”, and we surely wouldn’t progress on to create the documentary, as contributors are an essential cog in making a documentary function. I had some relatives that would make great contributors, as each have a different background, but to get the real experience of making a documentary, we also needed to venture into the outside world, meeting new people and potential interviewees, to get the proper “out in the field” experience of making a documentary.



So, what was it about my relatives that made them good contributors? The first of them, Ruby West, lived in the country capital, London, and was 16 when the war began, and lived as a civilian during this time. She encountered bomb threats, and the general day to day war life. When she turned 19, she became part of the women’s land army, and has vivid memories of this also.



Another contributor in my family was Jean smith, a civilian during the Second World War, living in the only part of Britain that was taken by the Germans; the British channels islands, specifically Jersey, where she is from. This gave us an inside look on what it was like to be occupied by the enemy during this time.



One other contributor was a local elderly neighbour who served in the RAF and always enjoys sharing his stories from his time during WWII. Someone who enjoys voluntarily speaking of the object would make for a good contributor, and also displays a different background to the previous possible contributors, adding different angles and lifestyles between people who lived through this time period.



Then, through research, we discovered two locations, where we may be able to find available contributors. The first location we came across was Somerset Legion House on Weston-super-Mare's seafront, “Which offers members of the armed forces a place to relax and, talk to people who understand what they've been through”.



It states that it is for “Service men and women across the country”, which offers gender differentiation for our interviews. It also boasts that; “Somerset Legion House is a haven of a retreat.” They take in people who served in the forces (not just during WWII) from all over the United Kingdom. We took the contact details, and managed to arrange filming dates over the phone, for the Easter holidays. We also met up personally with the staff, who work there, to confirm and address them further of our intentions.



The second location was Flowerdown house, conveniently located, opposite, and about 10 yards from the Somerset Legion House. Flowerdown House interested us, describing itself as a “Residential care home scheme is managed by Royal air forces association. Flowerdown house provides short welfare breaks for the RAF family”. We agreed this was another good location, which welcomed both men and women of the RAF and WAAF of the United Kingdom. Once again we gained contact details, and arranged dates within the Easter holidays also.



We repeated our act of visiting the staff in person, and informing them on the whole process. After visiting both locations in person, we gained feedback from the staff, telling us, that the occupants were very willing, and happy to undergo our interviews for the dates negotiated. Release forms and location filming forms will need to be created for these events to be legally usable for our project.