Filming at Frensham Ponds Sailability project

A look at some of the filmmaking that went on at the Sailability project
Peter Matthews gets ready for a shot

The disabled sailing club at Frensham Ponds, which is south of Farnham and only a mile or two from the Surrey Border Film & Video club, has a hydraulic lift, seen on the left of the picture, for lifting disabled people into and out of boats. It also has a fleet of boats specially designed with disabled people in mind. The camera crew in the middle of the picture are logging the latest shots. It is very important to keep track of what shots have been taken and which ones are still required.

Discussing the next shot

There were plenty of boats out on the water, but once they had left there was not much activity for the film crew who are seen here discussing the next shots. Film crews always work in a minimum of pairs - one person for the filming and the other to fetch and carry, to watch the equipment and look out for hazards. It would be all too easy for an enthusiastic camera person to step backwards into the water!

 Two camera crews waiting and discussing

Two pairs of film crew discussing
Filming a disabled sailor being lowered into his boat

Here a disabled person is held in the air by the hydraulic hoist. He is being swung from the wheelchair into the boat and is about to be lowered into position. Once in the boat, disabled people report a new-found feeling of freedom. One such disabled person who the film crew met at Frensham was so enthusiastic for the activity that he had bought his own boat. Although there are plenty of boats at Frensham, he says that with his own he can spend even more time out on the water - still with all the help of everyone at the Sailability project.

Hydraulic hoist helping sailor into boat

In preparing for filming an interview it is important to get the microphone as close as possible to the speaker and at the same time hide it out of sight and from the wind. Here an intrepid film crew member helps a woman with the positioning of a 'tie clip' microphone. The interview was in an idyllic setting with the boats sailing in the background. For any project like this it is normal to interview a number of people to get their feelings for what is going on. It is also important to film more than will eventually be used in order to be able to pick out the best parts and the best interviewees.

 Paul Holden attaches a microphone

A tie clip microphone attached

Dick Hibberd films a boat setting off

A hand-held shot is used for this situation which was dynamic and changing fast, starting with the crew getting into the boat and ending with them sailing away. The end of such a sequence would normally be with the camera held fixed while the boat sailed out of frame.

Filming two setting sail
 

Of course not all the filming was on land. Here two members and a helper are waiting for the right conditions.

 Filmmakers in a boat at Frensham Ponds waiting to film

Three in a boat waiting to film
 
Paul Holden and Neil Cryer recording the narration

The whole project was carefully planned with a script, shooting list and logging sheets to be filled in for each clip. The script was reviewed and modified as the project progressed and in the light of advice. Finally with each clip logged the various voice-overs were recorded. In the picture here we see the main narration being recorded directly onto a Sony portable computer. This allowed the waveform and amplitude to be monitored closely and sections repeated as necessary. The recordings were then written to a CD as WAV files and handed to the editor who is using Adobe Premiere for the video editing. The final Sailability video is due to be premiered on 8 October 2002

Recording the narration
 

Proof of the value of the video
 

1. Thanks from Accessible Boating Association (who operate boats for disabled people on the Basingstoke Canal)

"This is to thank you for the interesting film show after our AGM in March. It was the first time I had seen anything of the work of Frensham Pond Sailability, and I found it very informative. I think all the members enjoyed both that one and the one about our Canal. (Our earlier club community film "A Canal Reborn" - See the page on this web site for 'community films' - webmanager)

Yours sincerely, Ann Paine Honorary Secretary"

2. Hydon Hill Cheshire Home. Four quite severely disabled residents from Hydon Hill Cheshire Home at Godalming started sailing at Frensham last summer. They enjoyed it so much that it was proposed that funds available from a local support group should be used to purchase an additional two seater Access dinghy, a boat especially developed for disabled sailors. They cost just under three thousand pounds each.

Quite understandably, the management of Hydon Hill and the Cheshire Home organisation needed evidence that sailing was an appropriate and safe activity for residents in their care. This is difficult to demonstrate verbally. However, the Frensham Pond Sailability video was shown at a Cheshire Home management meeting in late November and I quote a letter dated 28 November from  Hydon Hill Sailing Organiser, Nick Long - "Lastly of course was the undoubted success of the video. I showed this after the presentation. All I can say was that it was very well received. Everyone was stunned!!"

I am delighted to say that approval was given for the funds to be used to purchase the boat. Residents from Hydon Hill and other Cheshire Homes will have priority use of the boat, and other Sailability members will have use of it when Hydon Hill are not on site.

A very satisfactory result for all concerned - so again another big thank you to Farnham Lions and Surrey Border Film & Video Club.

 

3. RYA Sailability Forum. A recent communication from the RYA has complemented the club on the video and raises the possibility that it be shown at the RYA Sailability Forum on Sunday 2 March at the RYA Sailboat & Windsurf Show at Alexandra Palace. (N.B. this is not yet certain but is under discussion between the RYA and the club and will receive the full support of Surrey Border Film & Video Makers)