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.
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