IDEA ONE The first idea I have in regards to a potential documentary is that of the hobby of taxidermy, the people who practice it and the arguments for and against it. The piece will look closely in to what these people enjoy so much about the hobby and why it is an important form of art to them. Such a documentary would be balanced in its content looking at the hobby not just from the taxidermist’s perspective but also from a view point of animal rights or a similar collective or organization. |  |
 | Last year a group created a documentary called Food Chained heavily focusing on a man who finds road kill on the side of roads, and if they were in good enough condition, he would bring the animals home, skin them, cooks them and then stuffs them. Although the main character in Food Chained practice taxidermy and it was briefly mentioned in the film, this was a small and insignificant part as it mostly focused on how the man ate the animals and his reasons behind it. My group and I have all watched the piece and can safely say that the film did not give us any inspiration or influence in any way for our documentary, the idea was something we had had for a while. |
IDEA TWO My second Idea for a potential documentary is that of reflecting the laborious day to day working lives and routines of high way lorry drivers. This will involve documenting a small number of different working class lorry drivers from the moment they start work at an ungodly hour of the morning till late at night when there shift finishes. Within the documentary there could possibly focus on a section which compares and contrasts there long and drawn out working lives to that of less demanding delivery men such as drivers for small independent companies. |  |
 | What I would hope to convey through such a documentary is the possible alienation and loneliness that such a job comes hand in hand with. I would also like to look at the opposing side to this, that is to say how some may enjoy the peace and quiet as it could be a possible way of escape. Such an idea I feel would work best in the form of both the observational mode, so as to gain a true understanding of the subject at hand with minimal interference, but also expository to anchor the footage here and there in the possible form of a voice of god. |
IDEA THREE My third potential documentary idea explores the music industry looking at rock bands that very nearly made it big within the industry but had it taken away from them at the most crucial time. It will display highlights of the bands ‘days of glory’ as well as looking at them 20 years on and seeing where they are now. Do they still meet up and jam as a band? Have they not seen each other since there split? If not would they be open to a reunion? All will be deluge into. |  |
 | A large part of the documentary will also focus on young and eager up and coming bands who are trying to make it big in the industry. What I feel will work really nicely with this idea is how we will hopefully be able to juxtapose the bitter and cynical attitudes of the older bands in regards to their feelings towards the music industry, against those of the optimistic upcoming bands who haven’t yet been tainted by the industry. |
FURTHER RESEARCH INTO IDEA ONE
Many museums in Great Britain display taxidermy in a large variety of forms. I took it upon myself to research into the best and most interesting among them in the event that we decide to pay the museum a visit and perhaps speak to members of the museum staff as strong material for part of the documentary.
The main museums in Britain that specialise in taxidermy are the following:
The National History Museum at Tring, The Booth Museum in Brighton, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, Oxford University Museum of Natural History in Oxfordshire, Ulster Museum in Northern Ireland and the Quex Museum in Kent.
Out of these many locations, the most convenient and available for us as a group in terms of travel etc. would be the National History Museum at Tring, the Booth in Brighton and the Oxford University Museum of National History.
Within the National History Museum a very eclectic range of taxidermy can b witnessed. This includes: British birds, a gorilla from Cameroon and even a smiling polar bear which greets you at the entrance. All the animals are encased in tall wooden cases on top of which stand an elephant and two rhinos. |  |
 | The Booth Museum displays a vast array of British birds which are displayed in the collection of Edward Thomas Booth. A very devoted naturalist, Booth tried to capture examples of every bird in the country. These sit within a recreation of the animals natural habitat known as ‘environmental diorama’. |
Oxford University Museum of Natural History is the home place of a very important touchable collection of taxidermy. The museum displays such animals as cheetahs but also native British animals such as the fox and badger. Also on display is a mummified dodo head which is the most complete remains of the famously extinct bird anywhere in the world.
As part of my research in to taxidermy I have created two blogs on forums specifically designed for taxidermists to socialize with one another and talk freely about their shared hobby. Up on my blog I have attempted to engage with taxidermists from around the globe in an attempt to understand their passion and enjoyment behind the activity. This I hope will act as initial foundations for my research towards creating a documentary on this topic.
At present I have had little success at finding the answers I seek as it seems the people on the forums are reluctant to respond as perhaps they find my energetic questioning untrustworthy. I will however preserver and continue to create chat forums asking various questions surrounding the subject until I receive a small range of relevant and useful answers, even if it means subscribing to different taxidermy fan blogs. Below are two print screens from the one of the blogs.
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Below are some documentaries I have watched as part of my research towards taxidermy. The videos focus upon the same or similar themes to what we as a group intend to explore within our own film.
Taxidermy: Stuff the World (2005)
Heads or Tails - A Documentary About Taxidermy
Insides Out: A Closer Look At Taxidermy
Part 1
Part 2
The Black Boy pub in Winchester is full of many stuffed animal of all varieties from domestic dogs, to monkeys all the way to leopards. Naturally a place like this was a perfect starting point for me to build my research on both taxidermy as a hobby and the people such a pass time attracts.
I have a meeting with the manager of the pub on Saturday the 6th of October who practices taxidermy herself. Within the meeting I hope to discuss the matter in great detail finding out how she got interested in the hobby, where she gets her resources from and how. Most Importantly I hope to use the interview as a large a gateway to finding other taxidermists who would be willing to take part in this potential documentary, perhaps even finding societies or clubs which practice the hobby.
Progress on this particular aspect of my research will be constantly updated.
As stated earlier on October 6th to carry out my first piece of active research towards the topic of taxidermy I went to the The Black Boy pub and met with the young woman buy the name of Polly Perry, who runs the place. A practitioner of taxidermy, she was more than happy to tell me everything I wanted to know on the subject. Our talk began by her telling me why she started practicing taxidermy. This started with her visiting the National History Museum and when in the taxidermy section, she saw a sign saying that there would no longer be real stuffed animals on display but instead fake plastic models would take their place, this being due to political correctness and the current climate. |  These photos display taxidermy found at the black boy. They were taken by myself on the day of my interview with Polly. |
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Although The Black Boy as a location and Polly along with her story would both be ideal places as far as filming is concerned to begin our documentary, part of the brief is that none of it can be filmed in Winchester, so such an encounter and only be used as research. |
Polly gave me the contact details of a man stationed in Salisbury who taught her the art of taxidermy which was apparently the “traditional way” although she could not remember the gentlemen’s name. This method involved using a substance similar to wood shavings which was molded in to the inner shape of the dead animal and then bound together with nylon thread to make the solid innards of the stuffed beast. According to Polly the man from Salisbury has been in the game for 20-30 years and is amazing at what he does. He also knows many other people who practice the hobby. Polly gave me his mobile number and so we will use him both as the initial subject within this documentary and as a stepping stone to finding other potential subjects for the piece should be end up using this idea. |  |
FURTHER RESEARCH INTO IDEA TWO
Like in the case of my research for idea one, I have found and studied documentaries that focus upon very similar subject matter and themes to what we as a group intend to explore within our own film.
King of the Road
Big Rig (2008)
FURTHER RESEARCH INTO IDEA THREE
The band which the group would focus on who very nearly made a big name for themselves within the music industry only to have it taken away from them at the most critical time are named Strange Arrangement. Back in the 1980’s they were a New Romantic rock band but as of late the band work as backing musicians for Owen Paul, a once famous singer from the same era. See Owen Paul below performing his biggest hit on Top of the Pops entitled Your My Favourite Waste Of Time.
The strong contact the group have in regards to this idea is guitarist for the band, Howard Johnstone. He has expressed interest in taking part within the documentary however cannot speak on behalf of the rest of the group. He is however currently in the process of asking the rest of the band if it is something they would be interested in.
See week 9 of further research on specific topics for more details.
A large aspect of the piece would reflect heavily on the lives of the group members when they are not performing together. This would be in the form of filming various aspects of their home life including their relationships with their family. We would also wish to convey selected band members at work on their day to day routines. A lot of this is due to Howards email as by the sounds of things a lot of the members have very interesting jobs and it would be very interesting to see how the group have developed and grown since there since nearly reaching fame.
The link below and the video below that reflect the band first in there New Romantic days and 20 years later performing with Owen Paul.
To peruse initial research and contacts towards the Rock-documentary idea, one member of the group got hold of a friend named Ali Johnstone-Mackie. Ali’s father, Howard Johnstone, was and still is the guitarist for Strange Arrangement, the New Romantic group who will be one of the main focus points for the documentary.
In terms of the new up and coming bands who are trying to make a name for themselves within the documentary, the group have a handful of contacts. Our number one choice is a band from Winchester called Polly & The Billets Doux. Described by the Sunday Times as “a rich harmony of country, blues, folk and gospel”, one of our group members has already met Polly Perry, the lead singer of the group, regarding research in to the taxidermy documentary idea. As a result we are hopefully more likely to be aloud the opportunity to feature to band in our documentary as we are no longer complete strangers to them.
The group member who had had previous experience with Polly got in contact with her personally to give her an overall idea of the documentaries concept and asked whether the group would be interested in featuring in the film.
See week 9 of further research on specific topics for details of the email.
Other contacts for underground bands to feature within the documentary include Borderline. Fire and PEERS. Both have been introduced by Radio 1. These two will be contacted in a less formal way as certain members of each group are old friends of friends.
