Initially our biggest problem was arranging a time to film with Mr Grocott as, we later found out, they were away at their house in Port Alfred which they frequently visit. After calling repeatedly and asking at Grocott's we went directly to their house and there finally met up with them.Once we had begun our filming, we realised the extent of his humility, and almost shyness, which made interviewing him all the more of a challenge. Mr and Mrs Grocott tended, too, to get tired quite quickly and this too meant that our filming could only occur in short bursts around their active church engagements and Mrs Grocott's hospital visits too. I think that, given more time, we could have developed an even stronger piece though am very pleased with some of the personal anecdotes we managed to get from him. By engaging with him throughout the day, finding out more about him and developing a more personal relationhip with him, on and off camera, he opened up considerably.
Another problem we faced was the difficult lighting in their house, which is quite old and dark though we tried to clever utilise spaces with more windows and maximise the amount of light we could get in the pitch.We also decided to include his wife Anne who was much more talkative and who he often deffered answers too, as she was able to offer Mr Grocott the credit he deserved and we felt made him a fuller protagonist.
A further challenge we faced was tracking down the archives Mr Grocotts donated, which proved not to be in the Cory Library as he thought, nor the Albany Museum, nor the history Museum, nor the National English Literature Museum. We eventually, aftere many failed attempts managed to track down some of them at the Then and Now exhibit in the Eastern Star Gallery.
Whilst the Grocott's are such an important family to Grahamstown we found there wasn't much documentation on their personal histories, merely them in terms of the newspaper, which also proved a challenge for initial research, though after speaking to people at the newspaper, in the community and the Grocott's themselves we learnt a lot from them.
Some of the lessons we learnt were the value of choosing a stronger protagonist who would become comfortable with the camera faster and be more engaging when being interviewed. Whilst Mr Grocott is a lovely man with a rich historical link to Grahamstown, his modest, humble nature makes interviewing him more of a challenge.
Another lesson we learnt was to tighten and check all the legs on the tripod before beginning a shoot, an apparently basic but very important one. Obviously, too, you become more familiar with the camera every time but I think we also learnt the value of shooting important shots/sequences on two different ND filters in case of overexposure.
In terms of interviewing technique, we learnt the value of using both a lapel and directional microphone, as whilst the lapel might be clumsy to look at, the good sound can transform a piece. We also learnt the importance of tactical positioning of the interviewer in terms of the interviewee for it's translation to film.
I don't think I would do too much differently. Possibly being able to spend longer periods of time with Mr Grocott himself, for the richness of our piece and correctly 'silly' errors we now realise with our work, such as it's framing, the weak sound from the directional microphone, and incorrect interviewing technique. I, personally, though am very happy with the piece that we have been able to produce. I think we managed to get very nice sound bytes, which wasn't the easiest task, as well as captured him exactly as he is in his retirement using sequences such as their daily lunch, him performing his chores and working at his desk all of which make up his daily routine. The filming itself was very enjoyable and I hope we do credit to a very deserving man.
Heather
Friday, 25 May 2012
Reflection time
One
of the biggest problems was getting Mr. Grocott to talk about himself and allow
himself a bit of praise. He would often attribute his contribution to his
ancestors because of his humility. However the profile is on him and we wanted
to gain insight into his personal contribution, which did prove to be a great
challenge.
Another challenge was the fact that we felt
like we were imposing. The Grocott’s were extremely accommodating and did not
at all make us feel as though we were imposing, but it was somewhat strange
filming them when they were spending time together drinking tea or eating
lunch.
At
first we would have just liked to have him as the only voice in the piece, but
we used his wife as the other voice. This was useful because she was able to
speak about her husband and the qualities that she admires in him. These were
things because of his humble and shy nature he was reluctant to share.
To
get past the fact that we felt as though we were imposing ourselves and the
camera on the Grocott’s, we tried to be as efficient as possible with setting
up the equipment. We also planned what we wanted to shoot in advance, so that
we would disrupt them and their house as little as possible.
This
project has taught me that it is essential to spend time with the subject of
your piece. The more time you spend with someone and engage with them, the more
likely they are to share stories with you. It is important to get to know them,
without the camera because once you know them, you are able to ask the
questions that will get you the answers you want. Engaging with the person does
not mean just nodding your head and agreeing with what they say, but actually
paying attention and allowing the subject to get to know you as well. If stories
are shared, that means that you get more out of making the piece as well.
I
am happy with our process and feel that we did put a great deal of effort into
the piece and gathering the necessary information, but I do feel that we could
have spent more time with Mr. Grocott. If we had spent more time with him, we
could have taken him to some of the places in Grahamstown that he mentions in
order to bring his words to life a bit more. With that being said, we did not
want to impose on his time and routine too much, so we worked with what we were
able to get.
Editing cotinues
After the presenting our work in progress to our fellow classmates, we returned to the labs to continue editing, where we made quite a good deal of progress.
The vision and structure of our piece has changed somewhat and the more we edit, the more it will change. Even if the structure and order of our piece does change, we still want to accurately portray who Mr. Grocott is.
What we have to try and do is find the balance between the archive footage and the actual interviews because he is the subject, but we do have to show his history and how he has continued his family legacy.
We found old newspapers, where there are portraits of all the Grocott's men, which we hope to include.
Other than that, it is coming along, even if it is quite slowly.
Hopefully the piece will be able to fulfill our vision.
The vision and structure of our piece has changed somewhat and the more we edit, the more it will change. Even if the structure and order of our piece does change, we still want to accurately portray who Mr. Grocott is.
What we have to try and do is find the balance between the archive footage and the actual interviews because he is the subject, but we do have to show his history and how he has continued his family legacy.
We found old newspapers, where there are portraits of all the Grocott's men, which we hope to include.
Other than that, it is coming along, even if it is quite slowly.
Hopefully the piece will be able to fulfill our vision.
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Editing begins....
Today we've begun cutting down our piece.
We've started listening to the interview portions with Mr Grocott in ernest and selecting 'sound bytes' that we think we'd like to include as well as the interview with his wife Anne.
We've decided to begin our piece, possibly, by using the visual sequences we have of the old printing press in action. It's very striking visually and the sound came out really nicely. Apart from immediately capturing the audiences interest it also offers a nice segway into the historical side of our piece, gradually evolving from the start of the Grocott's family in Grahamstown, to Jeff still living here today, the man behind the family name.
We've edited our footage into sequences where possible and have cut down our sound bytes. We were hoping to begin working on our piece according to the plan we've sketched out but are waiting until we can get some help tomorrow on adjusting the colour and sound levels on some of our pictures where we're experiencing problems. We've also briefly outlined our presentation to the photojournalism and radio students we're meeting with tomorrow.
We've started listening to the interview portions with Mr Grocott in ernest and selecting 'sound bytes' that we think we'd like to include as well as the interview with his wife Anne.
We've decided to begin our piece, possibly, by using the visual sequences we have of the old printing press in action. It's very striking visually and the sound came out really nicely. Apart from immediately capturing the audiences interest it also offers a nice segway into the historical side of our piece, gradually evolving from the start of the Grocott's family in Grahamstown, to Jeff still living here today, the man behind the family name.
We've edited our footage into sequences where possible and have cut down our sound bytes. We were hoping to begin working on our piece according to the plan we've sketched out but are waiting until we can get some help tomorrow on adjusting the colour and sound levels on some of our pictures where we're experiencing problems. We've also briefly outlined our presentation to the photojournalism and radio students we're meeting with tomorrow.
Final day of filming
Today, unfortunately, there was a miscommunication with Mr Grocott and we were unable to film him. Whilst we have the oppurtunity to film with him later today or tomorrow, stylistically we've decided to not film him at the building itself, with the idea that it might appear a bit 'forced' and expected. Also as the Grocotts Mail is no longer a large part of their day to day life, filming Mr Grocott there would seem more 'staged'.
We filmed the current printing press in use at the Grocott's building today, as well as the exterior, back of the building were Mr Grocott himself would have spent most of his time involved in the printing and stationers side more than that of the newspaper itself.
Now it's back to the labs for editing!
We filmed the current printing press in use at the Grocott's building today, as well as the exterior, back of the building were Mr Grocott himself would have spent most of his time involved in the printing and stationers side more than that of the newspaper itself.
Now it's back to the labs for editing!
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
lessons learnt (for now)
Throughout the process of our person portraits we've learnt numerous lessons about film-making...
1. Trust is essential
2. Having a strong protagonist or good enough report with the protagonist to make them 'come alive' is crucial
3. Pieces change their focus, have a life of their own
4. The context of the piece is important - more scandalous, 'great' but unrelated incidents, sound bites
5. Technical problems always arise and its vital to have a good understanding of the equipment to work around them
6. Approaching people personally is much more beneficial to your piece than over the phone communication
7. A definite plan is vital, especially with protagonists with busy schedules
8. Sensitive issues need to be worked around, dealt with appropriately
Monday, 21 May 2012
Day Three Filming
Today we dedicated to attempting to track down the Grocott's archive material they said they'd donated to the Albany Museum.
We went to both the Albany Museum and the History Museum however neither had any material that would contribute to our piece over and above what we've already filmed.
At the National English Literature Museum we found a staff member from the Eastern Star Gallery who opened up the museum for us to film. We captured a printing press like that which Grocott's used to use in action as well as filmed still photographs they had of Mr Jeff Grocott's father, grandfather and Mr Sherry. We also filmed the shots of the printing rooms in Grocott's when they were still in use.
In the Hall at the Eastern Star Gallery, we visited the 'Then & Now' Exhibition the gallery is hosting. It included a picture of Jeff Grocott's grandfather Thomas Henry Grocott standing outside the Grocott's building alongside another photograph taken of Jeff Grocott in the same setting and position this year.
Unfortunately Jeff wasn't available for filming today however on Wednesday we plan on meeting him briefly at Grocott's Mail so we can capture him at the building to supplement photograph's from the Then and Now exhibit at The Eastern Star Gallery.
Finally, we'll wrap up filming for our shoot by capturing the printing room, now dormant and used more for storage and disposal for possible use.
After reviewing some of our footage we realised that some of the shots of the exterior of the Grocott's house were overexposed and so will be working to 'repair' those if possible. We've already shaped quite a good idea of the overall flow we'd like the piece to have; initially introducing the Grocott's family history and relevance to the town and then focusing on the continuation of that legacy in Jeff, framing him in a much more personal light alongside his wife Anne recalling how they met on High Street, Anne's sweet praise of Jeff and why they both love Grahamstown so much.
Editing is set to begin in earnest on Wednesday before and after our final filming and on Thursday we'll be presenting a short talk to the radio and photojourn students also involved in the 200 project doing person portraits on our editing thus far.
We went to both the Albany Museum and the History Museum however neither had any material that would contribute to our piece over and above what we've already filmed.
At the National English Literature Museum we found a staff member from the Eastern Star Gallery who opened up the museum for us to film. We captured a printing press like that which Grocott's used to use in action as well as filmed still photographs they had of Mr Jeff Grocott's father, grandfather and Mr Sherry. We also filmed the shots of the printing rooms in Grocott's when they were still in use.
In the Hall at the Eastern Star Gallery, we visited the 'Then & Now' Exhibition the gallery is hosting. It included a picture of Jeff Grocott's grandfather Thomas Henry Grocott standing outside the Grocott's building alongside another photograph taken of Jeff Grocott in the same setting and position this year.
Unfortunately Jeff wasn't available for filming today however on Wednesday we plan on meeting him briefly at Grocott's Mail so we can capture him at the building to supplement photograph's from the Then and Now exhibit at The Eastern Star Gallery.
Finally, we'll wrap up filming for our shoot by capturing the printing room, now dormant and used more for storage and disposal for possible use.
After reviewing some of our footage we realised that some of the shots of the exterior of the Grocott's house were overexposed and so will be working to 'repair' those if possible. We've already shaped quite a good idea of the overall flow we'd like the piece to have; initially introducing the Grocott's family history and relevance to the town and then focusing on the continuation of that legacy in Jeff, framing him in a much more personal light alongside his wife Anne recalling how they met on High Street, Anne's sweet praise of Jeff and why they both love Grahamstown so much.
Editing is set to begin in earnest on Wednesday before and after our final filming and on Thursday we'll be presenting a short talk to the radio and photojourn students also involved in the 200 project doing person portraits on our editing thus far.
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Allowing for the fact that Mr and Mrs Grocott have gone to Port Alfred until Saturday and numerous deadlines set for all our subjects for the last week of term, the next time we've booked the camera for is next Monday.
After looking through the footage from the past two days on Monday we hope to shoot external shots of The Grocott's building, both the well-known front, as well as the back of the building where the printing business was located, and the lithograph machine etc.
We could follow up by interviewing Sid Penny and Dennis Richardson if neccessary, after we've begun editing next week.
Some of the shots could have their gain altered which we'll do next week. All in all we're very happy.
After looking through the footage from the past two days on Monday we hope to shoot external shots of The Grocott's building, both the well-known front, as well as the back of the building where the printing business was located, and the lithograph machine etc.
We could follow up by interviewing Sid Penny and Dennis Richardson if neccessary, after we've begun editing next week.
Some of the shots could have their gain altered which we'll do next week. All in all we're very happy.
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Day two
We went into today with the hopes of finding some of the archives that Mr. Grocott mentioned yesterday, but we were unsuccessful at the Cory Library.
While we did not manage to get the photographs, we did find an interview done with Mr. Grocott and Mr. Debbie Richardson, who worked as a printer for 52 years. This may be useful for background information as well as archives for the actual piece.
The archives that we were told were at the Cory Library may be at the Albany museum, where there was an exhibition about the Grocott's Mail and the family history.
We then filmed at Grocott's mail, where we utilised not only the photographs, but also the some of the old equipment.
We also found the details of Syd Penny, who was the editor of the newspaper while Mr Grocott worked there. He could possibly be used for on camera interviews, as well as for research purposes.
Then , we went back to the house, where we found him and his wife, Anne, having tea after church. We shot the two of them together for the first time.
We then did another interview with Mr. Grocott, in a different room to the one we used yesterday. Our aim this time was to get him to speak about himself a bit more because he was a bit reluctant yesterday. He is described as being shy, so it make on camera interviews a bit of a challenge.
Today, however, he was far more comfortable, speaking openly about his wife and how they met, memories of Grahamstown and the family home that he lives in.
Anne, his wife was very receptive to the cameras and shared fond memories and anecdotes of her husband. We also gained more insight to her, finding out that she was a teacher, working in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown.
After that, we went around the house, finding photographs and interesting features.
When it was time for them to have lunch, we filmed some more of the two of them together, talking and sharing a meal together. This was a bit difficult because we felt as though we were encroaching on their space.
We left shortly after to do some exterior shots of their house because it is such a historically significant place.
The plan is to go and visit him once more, so that we can film him going to Grocott's Mail.
Along with filming him we also plan to visit the Albany museum to track down the archives.
While we did not manage to get the photographs, we did find an interview done with Mr. Grocott and Mr. Debbie Richardson, who worked as a printer for 52 years. This may be useful for background information as well as archives for the actual piece.
The archives that we were told were at the Cory Library may be at the Albany museum, where there was an exhibition about the Grocott's Mail and the family history.
We then filmed at Grocott's mail, where we utilised not only the photographs, but also the some of the old equipment.
We also found the details of Syd Penny, who was the editor of the newspaper while Mr Grocott worked there. He could possibly be used for on camera interviews, as well as for research purposes.
Then , we went back to the house, where we found him and his wife, Anne, having tea after church. We shot the two of them together for the first time.
We then did another interview with Mr. Grocott, in a different room to the one we used yesterday. Our aim this time was to get him to speak about himself a bit more because he was a bit reluctant yesterday. He is described as being shy, so it make on camera interviews a bit of a challenge.
Today, however, he was far more comfortable, speaking openly about his wife and how they met, memories of Grahamstown and the family home that he lives in.
Anne, his wife was very receptive to the cameras and shared fond memories and anecdotes of her husband. We also gained more insight to her, finding out that she was a teacher, working in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown.
After that, we went around the house, finding photographs and interesting features.
When it was time for them to have lunch, we filmed some more of the two of them together, talking and sharing a meal together. This was a bit difficult because we felt as though we were encroaching on their space.
We left shortly after to do some exterior shots of their house because it is such a historically significant place.
The plan is to go and visit him once more, so that we can film him going to Grocott's Mail.
Along with filming him we also plan to visit the Albany museum to track down the archives.
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Interview questions/topics
JEFF:
What have you been doing in your retirement?
Tell us about your time at St Andrews? (eg brother there? anecdotes, rugby)
what have been some of the biggest changes for you in Grahamstown's 200 years?
what do you see as some of the defining moment's in Grahamstown's history that you've lived through? tell us about them?
How long did you work at GNB for? tell us what you did/about it?
Tell us about your three years in England, where were you? how did it turn from one year to three? were you happy to come back?
How did you meet your wife? tell us about her?
how many children/grandchildren/step-children/step-grandchildren do you have? tell us more about them? what do they do that they didn't get involved in Grocott's?
ANNE:
what did you do?
how long have you lived in grahamstown/known the Grocott's/known Jeff/been married?
tell us about Jeff's work at Grocott's?
when did you move to this house? all this history?
What have you been doing in your retirement?
Tell us about your time at St Andrews? (eg brother there? anecdotes, rugby)
what have been some of the biggest changes for you in Grahamstown's 200 years?
what do you see as some of the defining moment's in Grahamstown's history that you've lived through? tell us about them?
How long did you work at GNB for? tell us what you did/about it?
Tell us about your three years in England, where were you? how did it turn from one year to three? were you happy to come back?
How did you meet your wife? tell us about her?
how many children/grandchildren/step-children/step-grandchildren do you have? tell us more about them? what do they do that they didn't get involved in Grocott's?
ANNE:
what did you do?
how long have you lived in grahamstown/known the Grocott's/known Jeff/been married?
tell us about Jeff's work at Grocott's?
when did you move to this house? all this history?
Day One Filming
Today was our first day of filming at Mr Grocott's house. We started the interview off very generally in order to ensure that he felt comfortable and allow whatever insights he had to offer to come through before we began probing according to the topic.
We met Mr Grocott at his house at 9 o'clock to begin our first day of filming. We initially filmed him in his lounge, formerly the pantry, where he feels comfortable and spends his days now that he is retired. This formed the 'interview' portion of our morning. The other three walls were almost entirely windows which posed a seating and lighting problem but after countless white-balances and re-framing, the interview shots came out nicely. The next hurdle we're facing is having to continue interviewing and filming tomorrow (due to a camera malfunction) with him obviously wearing different clothes, but hopefully through filming our protagonist in different settings and contexts, and focusing any necessary shots for sequences on close ups and with clever framing, his change in appearance will be accommodated and continuity won't be a problem.
He explained the history of the Grocott's family, coming to South Africa and founding the newspaper as well as sharing personal anecdotes of his 75 years. We've found him to be quite reluctant to talk at length and divulge too much of his personal memories and history, though hopefully once we're better acquainted with him, and him with the interviewing and filming process this will come more easily. After using today as a good canvas for our interviewing and familiarising himself and us with the process, we're now drafting a second set of more definitely structured questions to ensure we add beneficially to what we already have and launch any additional topics we'd like to focus on, for example steering him away from his family and Grocott's towards answers focused more definitely on himself. After much talk of Grahamstown, too, we'd like to talk to him more about the 200 year celebrations.
We found out that he's lived in Grahamstown for 72 years with only a 3 year absence after completing his schooling at St Andrews where he headed to Liverpool and learnt the printing trade, the side of the Grocott's family business where he was most actively involved, himself never working for the paper specifically. Following the selling of the Grocott's Mail to Rhodes University, a deal he's most grateful to Anthea Garman and Guy Butler for, the subsequent years have marked the first time a Grocott's family member has not been with the business. Mr Grocott explained too, the history of the paper and printing company's founding and their family lineage's involvement with it.
Mr Grocott also spoke of a fond love for Grahamstown and it's people as well as relaying changes he's noticed to the town through the sharing of anecdotes. The world wars, his family's involvement in them as well as what this meant for the business and the newspaper was discussed as was the Apartheid era.
We filmed Mr Grocott hanging up the washing for his wife as he explained the two of them do not employ a domestic worker and thus spend lots of time involved in the upkeep of the large house in his retirement. We also filmed a sequence of him writing at the desk in his 'office', where he does his banking and charity work, his vegetable patch he likes to garden in, and the church he attends just around the corner which looms large over their house.
We filmed him looking through old letters, books and photographs around his house that were relevant to his family history and the Grocott's Mail and him speaking about these. There was a framed collection of pen nibs and other things from the business which greatly interest him. There are also other pictures of historical sites in Grahamstown, such as the Provost, which we hope to film again at a later stage inside his house.
He gave us a copy of the Grocott's Mail centenary edition which he's loaned us to look through and film. It is a special edition filled with information about the founding and operating of the newspaper, printing and stationary store as well as the family history. We hope to be able to use this as a creatively shot sequence in the piece, possibly utilizing stop motion, as well as an invaluable store of information into The Grocott's Mail, himself and his family.
Due to a camera malfunction after four hours of filming we've arranged to meet Mr Grocott again tomorrow at 11am following his deacon's meeting at the church, and film him there in that capacity capturing that aspect of his life. Religion has proved to be incredibly important to him and his family throughout their history in Grahamstown, him the first Anglican in a long line of proud Baptists with his great-grandfather in fact marrying the daughter of the first bishop of South Africa, Bishop Miller.
Other things we hope to film tomorrow include; additional interviews shot according to their relevance (eg talking about his religious life at the church), scene's around St Andrews (him there, if he's feeling up to it), archive material at the Cory Library and Grocott's Mail, Mr Grocott going to get his paper at the Grocott's Mail (speaking about the building, memories, and the photographs and collections they have there, more of his home life (him and his wife, Anne, their pets, their granddaughter they've raised.), the exterior of his house and Grocott's Mail, and clearer images of the photograph's hanging on the walls that we looked at today.
Day one - tick.
We met Mr Grocott at his house at 9 o'clock to begin our first day of filming. We initially filmed him in his lounge, formerly the pantry, where he feels comfortable and spends his days now that he is retired. This formed the 'interview' portion of our morning. The other three walls were almost entirely windows which posed a seating and lighting problem but after countless white-balances and re-framing, the interview shots came out nicely. The next hurdle we're facing is having to continue interviewing and filming tomorrow (due to a camera malfunction) with him obviously wearing different clothes, but hopefully through filming our protagonist in different settings and contexts, and focusing any necessary shots for sequences on close ups and with clever framing, his change in appearance will be accommodated and continuity won't be a problem.
He explained the history of the Grocott's family, coming to South Africa and founding the newspaper as well as sharing personal anecdotes of his 75 years. We've found him to be quite reluctant to talk at length and divulge too much of his personal memories and history, though hopefully once we're better acquainted with him, and him with the interviewing and filming process this will come more easily. After using today as a good canvas for our interviewing and familiarising himself and us with the process, we're now drafting a second set of more definitely structured questions to ensure we add beneficially to what we already have and launch any additional topics we'd like to focus on, for example steering him away from his family and Grocott's towards answers focused more definitely on himself. After much talk of Grahamstown, too, we'd like to talk to him more about the 200 year celebrations.
We found out that he's lived in Grahamstown for 72 years with only a 3 year absence after completing his schooling at St Andrews where he headed to Liverpool and learnt the printing trade, the side of the Grocott's family business where he was most actively involved, himself never working for the paper specifically. Following the selling of the Grocott's Mail to Rhodes University, a deal he's most grateful to Anthea Garman and Guy Butler for, the subsequent years have marked the first time a Grocott's family member has not been with the business. Mr Grocott explained too, the history of the paper and printing company's founding and their family lineage's involvement with it.
Mr Grocott also spoke of a fond love for Grahamstown and it's people as well as relaying changes he's noticed to the town through the sharing of anecdotes. The world wars, his family's involvement in them as well as what this meant for the business and the newspaper was discussed as was the Apartheid era.
We filmed Mr Grocott hanging up the washing for his wife as he explained the two of them do not employ a domestic worker and thus spend lots of time involved in the upkeep of the large house in his retirement. We also filmed a sequence of him writing at the desk in his 'office', where he does his banking and charity work, his vegetable patch he likes to garden in, and the church he attends just around the corner which looms large over their house.
We filmed him looking through old letters, books and photographs around his house that were relevant to his family history and the Grocott's Mail and him speaking about these. There was a framed collection of pen nibs and other things from the business which greatly interest him. There are also other pictures of historical sites in Grahamstown, such as the Provost, which we hope to film again at a later stage inside his house.
He gave us a copy of the Grocott's Mail centenary edition which he's loaned us to look through and film. It is a special edition filled with information about the founding and operating of the newspaper, printing and stationary store as well as the family history. We hope to be able to use this as a creatively shot sequence in the piece, possibly utilizing stop motion, as well as an invaluable store of information into The Grocott's Mail, himself and his family.
Due to a camera malfunction after four hours of filming we've arranged to meet Mr Grocott again tomorrow at 11am following his deacon's meeting at the church, and film him there in that capacity capturing that aspect of his life. Religion has proved to be incredibly important to him and his family throughout their history in Grahamstown, him the first Anglican in a long line of proud Baptists with his great-grandfather in fact marrying the daughter of the first bishop of South Africa, Bishop Miller.
Other things we hope to film tomorrow include; additional interviews shot according to their relevance (eg talking about his religious life at the church), scene's around St Andrews (him there, if he's feeling up to it), archive material at the Cory Library and Grocott's Mail, Mr Grocott going to get his paper at the Grocott's Mail (speaking about the building, memories, and the photographs and collections they have there, more of his home life (him and his wife, Anne, their pets, their granddaughter they've raised.), the exterior of his house and Grocott's Mail, and clearer images of the photograph's hanging on the walls that we looked at today.
Day one - tick.
Pre-filming thoughts
Today, before we set out to Mr Grocott's house for our first day of filming we've begun thinking of elements/sequences to film.
As today is a Tuesday and thus a Grocott's day of publication we'd like to capture Mr Grocott going to the Grocott's Mail and purchasing a newspaper as he's been known to do, and duly capture his involvement with the building and the staff their, asking him to too take a closer look at the archive material decorating the building laden with his family history, recalling anecdotes of his time their as both a child and a staff member.
Today we'd like to gain the 'day in the life of' perspective, capturing Mr Grocott at home andhis daily routine.
As the house itself is so old and such a strong part of Mr Grocott's family history we'd like to capture both it's exterior and interior in detail. The old, low, original walls, garden gate, peeling paint, empty pool etc. The interior, too, still resembles it's original layout and thus we'd like to give a sense of the dimly lit, big house full of antique furniture, everyday rubbish, and adorned with family photographs.
Mr Grocott is actively involved in the church right by his house and still has close ties to The Grocott's Mail, as his family has been for generations, so we'd like to go with him to both these locations important to him and Grahamstown's history.
Aside from obviously interviewing him in depth, in whichever room proves to be important to him/rich with visual depictions of his family's history, we'd also like to capture his engagement with his wife and their pets as well as performing his daily routine and actions, 'hanging up the washing', reading the newspaper.
As today is a Tuesday and thus a Grocott's day of publication we'd like to capture Mr Grocott going to the Grocott's Mail and purchasing a newspaper as he's been known to do, and duly capture his involvement with the building and the staff their, asking him to too take a closer look at the archive material decorating the building laden with his family history, recalling anecdotes of his time their as both a child and a staff member.
During the time Mr Grocott is away we'd then like to go back to the church and Grocott's Mail and film these building in detail, as well as re-do any shots we can that we are unsatisfied with after today. We have received permission to make film inside Grocott's and have access to their archive material and thus will need to decide whether to film these pictures etc. or scan them and insert them at a later stage, depending largely i'm sure on their current state.
Thankfully the rain has stopped and today looks brighter than yesterday. Should be a good day of filming!
Monday, 14 May 2012
Slow start
After finding Mr. Grocott's number when we did the initial research, we have been trying to get a hold of him since then.
With no luck of contacting him via the phone, we decided it best to go to his home, 2A Milner Street, which we found out was built by his great aunts.
We met with him and he was very willing to participate in the piece.
We would have to film on Tuesday, 14 May and only have the chance to film again next week because he is going away from Wednesday to Saturday.
We will use the time that he is away to film some of Grocott's archives, provided we receive permission for it.
He has given us permission to use photographs from his personal collection that include his predecessors who were instrumental in founding the newspaper.
With no luck of contacting him via the phone, we decided it best to go to his home, 2A Milner Street, which we found out was built by his great aunts.
We met with him and he was very willing to participate in the piece.
We would have to film on Tuesday, 14 May and only have the chance to film again next week because he is going away from Wednesday to Saturday.
We will use the time that he is away to film some of Grocott's archives, provided we receive permission for it.
He has given us permission to use photographs from his personal collection that include his predecessors who were instrumental in founding the newspaper.
Friday, 4 May 2012
Initial research
For us, finding a person who has contributed to Grahamstown's history, proved to be a challenge.
Our first port of call, the internet didn't help us as much as we would have hoped. After unsuccessfully doing computer based research, we decided it best to drive around the town.
The Fine Art department at the University was our first stop, where we were hoping to find artist who has contributed to the city's history. There were some people of interest, like Christine Dixie, who recently had her works commissioned by the Smithsonian Museum of African Art, Washington D.C, Tanya Poole, an art lecturer at the University as well as an established artist and her husband Nigel Mullins, who is also also a famous artist. While all of these people are of great interest, we decided to carry on with our research.
This led us to Grocott's Mail, where we found out that a descendant of Thomas Henry Grocott, the founder of the newspaper, is still living in Grahamstown.
William Jeffery Grocott started to work at newspaper in 1960 and by 1964 was a partner at the company. After having worked there for 49 years, he retired, shifting his attention to charity work and the church.
Grocott's Mail is South Africa's oldest independent newspaper, which happens to have been founded in Grahamstown. Jeffery Grocott is an important figure because he upheld the family legacy, through his work at Grocott's Mail, with charity and the church, and he and has family have lived through much of the 200 years of Grahamstown as both citizens and journalists.
Thomas Henry Grocott's two daughter's Ida and Emma built the house the house that Jeffrey still stays in at 2A Milner Street.
Our first port of call, the internet didn't help us as much as we would have hoped. After unsuccessfully doing computer based research, we decided it best to drive around the town.
The Fine Art department at the University was our first stop, where we were hoping to find artist who has contributed to the city's history. There were some people of interest, like Christine Dixie, who recently had her works commissioned by the Smithsonian Museum of African Art, Washington D.C, Tanya Poole, an art lecturer at the University as well as an established artist and her husband Nigel Mullins, who is also also a famous artist. While all of these people are of great interest, we decided to carry on with our research.
This led us to Grocott's Mail, where we found out that a descendant of Thomas Henry Grocott, the founder of the newspaper, is still living in Grahamstown.
William Jeffery Grocott started to work at newspaper in 1960 and by 1964 was a partner at the company. After having worked there for 49 years, he retired, shifting his attention to charity work and the church.
Grocott's Mail is South Africa's oldest independent newspaper, which happens to have been founded in Grahamstown. Jeffery Grocott is an important figure because he upheld the family legacy, through his work at Grocott's Mail, with charity and the church, and he and has family have lived through much of the 200 years of Grahamstown as both citizens and journalists.
Thomas Henry Grocott's two daughter's Ida and Emma built the house the house that Jeffrey still stays in at 2A Milner Street.
Photographs of William Jeffrey Grocott
Grocotts, which is currently in it's 143rd year, is the oldest newspaper in South Africa. Pictured below with current editor Steven Lang and two employees, Jeff Grocott is shown to still play an active role in the newspaper, as his family does in their history.
Having retired from the Grocotts staff 3 years ago, Jeff Grocott continues to carry on the family tradition of work within the church as well as with other philanthropic organisations and initiatives such as the Grocotts Christmas Cheer Fund.
Both pictures are courtesy of www.grocotts.co.za
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| Ronel Bowles, Louise Vale, Steven Lang and Jeff Grocott pictured in 2009 at the Grocotts Mail 140 year celebration |
Having retired from the Grocotts staff 3 years ago, Jeff Grocott continues to carry on the family tradition of work within the church as well as with other philanthropic organisations and initiatives such as the Grocotts Christmas Cheer Fund.
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| Jabu Van Nieker of the Raphael Centre recieves a check for R12000 from Nomakhwezi Vutela and Jeff Grocott pictured on behalf of the Grocotts Christmas Cheer Fund. |
Both pictures are courtesy of www.grocotts.co.za
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