**FILM** ONE LONG JOURNEY (about boats and dreams)

[onelongjourney]

Hi

I am about to start shooting a documentary feature about one mans dream to build a boat and sail it home.

There is something very Shane Meadows about the film and he and his films are definitely an inspiration for all involved in the film.

Here is a link to our website where a short teaser/ trailer we have made can be seen...

www.onelongjourney.allritesreversed.co.uk

If you like it and to follow the journey please like it here...
www.facebook.com/onelongjourney

Thanks for watching and hope you enjoyed it x

[onelongjourney]

Forgot to say any comments, feedback, suggestions or ideas would be much appreciated

[RichK]

Hi,

Interesting premise, interesting chap. Just a few thoughts, you've probably thought of these already, and obviously you'll have a much better idea of what you want to do with the project so these might not be of much use...

1/. Definitely need to know why Windsor. When I think of Windsor I think of a/. The Queen b/. Eton College up the road c/. tourists = busy d/. expensive e/. Heathrow flight path.

2/. I wonder if the boat should be the only mode of transport featured. Being able to jump on the motorbike and drive to the ultimate destination in under 4 hours maybe undermines the epicness of the boat journey, in my head at least. It's like Captain Scott taking a helicopter to the south pole to have a look around, then being dropped off at the edge of Antarctica to make the same journey on foot. Even the knowledge that he has the helicopter available to him takes the anticipation out of the longer journey... Hope that makes sense!

3/. Obstacles - obviously you have the fact of the boat being in a bad way.. but like all good films, good documentaries thrive on incident. Are there any things which you can identify early on which might help give a narrative thread to the story? Do boats need a certificate of water-worthiness etc? I doubt its going to be plain sailing anyway, if you'll pardon the pun, but if the journey does end up being largely incident free, you might peak dramatically when the boat gets renovated, and then never get back to the same heights. I might be wrong though, maybe a gentle potter through the canals would be lovely anyway.

4/. Speaking of which, ever seen this? www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi541563161/

Sasha, who made that film, is lovely - I'm sure she'd be up for giving you some advice if there was anything you were interested to know.

Finally, regardless of any of the above, if you're ever thinking of screening your documentary commercially, you'll need the permission of the Canals and Rivers Trust (formerly British Waterways) to film on towpaths etc. I know who best to contact in that respect and I'd be happy to introduce you to that person, just PM me on this site, and you may need to get some public liability insurance for the project in order to satisfy the CRT that you're covered in the event of any mishaps. There are various insurers who could help you with this but alas it would involve spending a few hundred quid. Ouch.

You could blag it of course, but then you're always running the gauntlet of meeting officialdom on your journey, being asked to stop filming etc.

Likewise if you meet and film other people on the route, you'll need them to sign releases giving you permission to include them. A simple thing to do, and I can send you a standard form if you don't already have one, just print a load out and take them with you. If really caught short it can be acceptable to film the person giving their permission, saving those filmed permissions on file in case you ever need them.

Apologies if you're already all over these issues, just trying to think of everything to help it all go smoothly. Obviously if you're just making it as a bit of fun for yourselves you won't need to go into so much detail, just go out there and do what you like!

Good luck!!

[allritesreversed]

Thanks RichK for these pointers, we are onto some but your comments on the narrative were great and I enjoyed Sasha's trailer. We are having some fun with our approach to this film, running stuff on-line and inviting people to Flash mobs along the way...


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