Abingdonian 2017

36 The Abingdonian Film Unit at Sobell House Towards the end of 2016, Charlie Landells, Scott Thomson and I were approached by the AFU’s director, Mr Taylor with the idea of working on a short film in support of Sobell House Hospice in Oxford. The concept arose from the school’s previous connection with Dominique Cadiou who had worked for the Pegasus Theatre in Oxford before taking on her present post as Head of Fundraising at Sobell. She explained to us that the hospice was seeking to raise money for a new wing that would offer desperately needed accommodation for patients requiring end-of-life care. When we heard the proposal, Charlie, Scott and I volunteered immediately, conscious of how important, as well as heart-warming and touching a film of this sort could be. Preliminary discussions with Dominique gave us an important insight into the nature of the work, and the sensitivities of filming in a place like Sobell. We spent a day at the hospice getting to know some of the people who work there and meeting patients, before visiting on three further days to make the film. We began by capturing footage of the hospice using the AFU’s Canon C100 camera and a recently acquired “slider” which allows the camera to glide smoothly along a track, adding interest to tripod shots. With this kit, we were able to collect some good images of the location and other ‘cutaway’ material we would use to add variety to the interviews we filmed. We recorded sound with a RØDE radio mic which we clipped to staff and patients to achieve sharp audio. Not only did this provide excellent sound but it was also very unobtrusive and could be used handheld, as well. For another element of the film, we came up with the idea of encouraging people to raise money for Sobell by using the device of a cyclist collecting support for a sponsored cycle ride. Luckily, we were able to call on the services of Abingdon’s resident cycling enthusiast Charles Quarterman, and spent a day shooting him on his bike, in and around school. Risk assessments were hastily revised as we hung out of car windows to film him as he cycled round Park Crescent one cold December afternoon. In this part of the operation, we benefitted hugely from the slow motion capabilities of the C100 which allowed us to achieve a cinematic look we hoped would help to inspire our audience to take up similar fundraising challenges. When we came to edit the film, we combined interviews with Tim Harrison, Sobell’s Clinical Lead Doctor, and with Dominique, then interspersed them with our shots of the cyclist to make a clear link between the effort required to raise money for Sobell and the work such money would enable the hospice to do. The music we used in the film played an important role. It helped to define the rhythm we wanted the film to have, but also created much of the atmosphere we were seeking to generate. Indeed, when we watched the film without music it seemed barren and dry which was the polar opposite of the feeling we’d experienced at Sobell, and the one we were trying to convey. Some of the music was sourced from royalty free websites, while another piece was recorded live, performed by Sobell’s resident music therapist. We found the two pieces linked together well and helped to lend the film a positive and even uplifting tone. After our three days filming at Sobell, we