For each blog update, I’ll repeat the little introduction about myself, just in case you’ve not had a chance to read previous entries!
I’m Alfie Whitby and I’ve been working independently in the arts for over 20 years, most notably as a professional musician, illustrator and journalist. I’m embarking on a new journey into filmmaking and I thought it might be interesting to document this process for Read The Room. I’ll be using this blog to not only document the technical side of my filmmaking discoveries but to also share the personal aspects that impact, influence and inspire my creative life.
To the sea: an unexpected call
The beginning of February this year, I received a call from my Dad. Mum was really unwell, it was serious and maybe I should come down to visit as soon as possible. She was bleeding, in pain and being investigated for cancer. I decided to put everything on hold and head to the West Somerset coast to be with them. What began as a short stay turned into two months as I supported my parents, giving my Dad (who is her full time carer since she had a leg amputated several years ago) a breather and helping look after Mum. It proved to be a very emotional time for all of us while we made numerous trips to the hospital while my Mum was getting tests and biopsies.
Mental health: finding solace in filming
I’d decided to take my new Zoom H1N sound recorder with me (which I talk about in my first blog post) along with my small flexible tripod as it fitted easily into my suitcase initially to continue playing around with field recording and maybe capture some sounds of the sea if I had time.
I hadn’t anticipated just how affected I would be by the situation and how deeply my mental health would be impacted. During this trip I was able to add “crying on a beach at the sea” to my expanding list of public weeping locations.
I started taking daily walks in an attempt to clear my head and began taking little films on my iPhone 13. I’d film anything and everything, particularly looking for interesting shapes, angles and reflections. I adore social documentary photography too so I tried to capture some of the beauty I was finding in the everyday life that was going on around me. To me there is nothing boring or mundane in terms of imagery. The number of times I stopped to have conversations with people who were curious as to why I was filming a puddle.
It wasn’t long before I had a considerable amount of footage. I started sharing stills from my shoots on social media but I still needed something a bit more substantial to focus on. Perhaps I could make a documentary?
A new project: making something meaningful
My family was big on still photography when I was growing up but never ventured into the world of video, so we don’t have any moving images or sound recordings of the family unit. My Mum had serious mental health problems throughout a large part of my youth, and I think the last thing my parents wanted was a reminder of how dysfunctional and difficult things were.
As an only child, the prospect of losing a parent hit me hard. There’s a unique kind of loneliness and isolation, especially when your extended family is also very small. I wanted something more than just photographs as memories and I had all the equipment I needed to make a low-budget documentary on the fly. I didn’t want the subject matter to be sad or depressing so I decided it could be about my parents' love of the seaside.
My Mum didn’t want a filmed interview but agreed to answer a few questions audio only. This wasn’t a problem as I had plenty of footage that could accompany the audio. I hadn’t intended on interviewing my Dad initially but the idea for the documentary started to grow, and it went from a short arty doc to something bigger. So I sat him down for a chat too.
It’s windy by the sea, very windy.
On the technical front, I continued to play around with the settings on my iPhone 13. I’d read some reviews that you shouldn’t use Cinematic mode because it’s rubbish, but I wasn’t getting the visual style I wanted on normal mode and I only have my iPhone to work with. I would often forget to change the aperture settings before exporting/deleting the video from my phone to free up room and ended up with leaving quite obvious digital blurring on some shots that looked a bit shit. I’m still learning.
Despite having windscreen muffs for my Zoom H1N, the wind was frequently sending my levels into the red. There’s a few recordings of me swearing as I’m trying to capture sounds of waves crashing onto rocks and the wind whooshing across the mics as if the muff didn’t exist. Thankfully, there were a few days when the weather was much more calm and I was able to gather some good field recordings.
I also had to buy a shock mount to attach to my tripod as the zoom was still incredibly sensitive to even the smallest vibrations from finger movements. Can’t be having that, can we?!
Below is a short rough edit of a few clips, an interview soundbite, field recording and music to give you an idea of how the film could look.
What next?
As the film is developing, I’d like to add my own narration from my perspective. I’ve not had the time to sit down and write my ideas for this yet but it’s definitely something that, I feel, will raise the film up to something much more weighty, if that makes sense?
I contacted a dear musician friend, Rachel Taylor-Beales, as tracks from one of her most recent album releases ‘Out Of This Frame’ fitted the mood perfectly for the documentary. She very kindly agreed to allow me to use instrumental versions of a few tracks. The music will be used throughout parts of the film.
In the future, I will need a bit of financial help to cover some costs, especially as I’d like a few other folks to help me make it the best film it can be, as well as submit it to festivals if I can. I’ve got an idea to create a set of photo zines which I could sell. We’ll see. It’s exciting but I’m finding it hard going from an emotional point of view to work on, so I’m giving myself a lot of time. There’s no rush.
Words: Alfie Whitby (they/them)
If you enjoyed this blog, why not read Helena's article A PA in the Life: Understanding the World of Film/TV Production.
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