So What is 'The Historic Dockyard'?
Now, I thought it would be essential to have a post about what the company I'm creating my commission for actually is. So in brief, the Chatham Dockyard (now the Historic Dockyard) was one of the largest docks in the UK to serve for the Royal Navy and to serve for the second world war. Not only this, but the Dockyard has been serving for Royal Navy for over 400 years: Ranging from the Tudors to the Georgians up until 1962 when the Submarine was the last ship to be created for the Royal Navy at the docklands.
Now, it's authenticity has been maintained to create a tourist attraction enabling people to view the dockyard itself which is still mostly in it's original condition, as well as being given the chance to view 3 of the remaining warships which were built there. As well as this, tourists can take part in activities such as learning how to make rope, and viewing newer facilities such as the gallery which changes a couple of times a year, providing rare and informative galleries for the tourists to see.
Below is some information about the key features of the Dockyard and how I aim to incorporate and film these features for my video:
HM Submarine Ocelot (1962)
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| HM Submarine Ocelot (1962) |
This is a perfect feature to use for my film as I can tease the audience by potentially showing sneak peaks of what the submarine looks like inside, as well as the outside. This idea of a POV would be perfect to tease the audience and hopefully make them want to visit the ship itself.
HMS Gannet (1878)
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| HMS Gannet (1878) |
Much older than the Submarine, the HMS Gannet served in the Victorian Navy and was used to attack a dangerous anti-slavery operation within the Red Sea. The Gannet was built in the dockyard Sheerness in 1878 and is powered by both sail and steam and was originally designed to protect any danger to the British interests and trade. It has also had a £3 million project to restore the ship, enabling it to fly the British flag like it did 150 years ago.
This too can have a similar style of filming as the Submarine, however less of a POV style due to the ship not being cramped like a submarine (as it would be hard to bring in camera gear on the submarine due to it being cramped). Therefore, this can have a much freer form of filming as it is an open-based boat. However, this too must only 'tease' the audience. It could even consist of an interview with an expertise staff who can describe briefly the Gannet (or even all 3 ships in general) whilst having cutaways of the ship(s).
HMS Cavalier (1944)
The final of the iconic ships is the Cavalier: a green/grey aggressive-looking ship built in 1944 at Samuel White's Isle of Wight yard. It was the Royal Navy's last operational WW2 destroyer and is now preserved at the dockyard as a memorial for the 11,000 British troops who were killed at sea. It was then modernised in 1957 and was frequently used by the Royal Navy up until 1972 where it was sent to Chatham to retire.
This too can follow the same style as the previous two warships. Or as previously mentioned, we could have a montage of all 3 ships and have a voice narration of an expertise giving a slight brief (like what I've written now) to 'tease' our audience.
Victorian Ropery (1870s)
The building which is stuck in 1875 - tourists are given the chance to learn how to make rope in a ropery which has it's same authenticity from when it first opened. Reaching a quarter of a mile long of ropewalk, tourists who pay a little bit extra (or get it with certain tickets) are given a 40 minute tour within the building.
This would be excellent to film - snippets of seeing how to make rope plus the whole theme and authenticity of the building fits in perfectly for promotion as it will enable the audience to immediately see that everything is kept in it's original state. Plus, it's always interesting learning something new and a slight introduction into the lifestyle of the 1870s onwards.
No.1 Smithery National Museums & Treasures
Opened in 2010, the smithery is a small museum opened by the National Maritime Museum and the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust. The museum displays world-class maritime models and has a gallery displaying certain events a few times a year. This would be a good venue to film as it can enable the audience to learn what is being shown at the gallery at the time it's open. As well as this, the gallery is a wide-open room making it great for either an interview-location and/or establishing shots. However, the museum is low-lit which may make it difficult and a lighting kit could be needed.
Steam, Steel & Submarines
This recently modified building is a room displaying many stories of the Dockyard in the 19th and 20th centuries. Tourists here can read how the Historic Dockyard has developed and range from stories from the being who build the ships, to the stories and involvement in the first and second world wars. This building too could be great for an interview location due to the iconography inside the building (e.g. the interviewee could be placed in front of one of the stories which you can see in the background), plus for some extra cutaways.
RNLI Historic Lifeboat Collection
Moving back outside, this area of the dockyard enables tourists to walk around and examine the historic lifeboats - some which've been in their same state for over 150 years. There are 17 vessels to view and the authentic state of some of the boats provide a great taste as to what these boats were like at the time they were made. This too is a wide-open space however this too is lowly-lit meaning and because its based outside, lots of lighting may be needed.
Festivals: Steam of Transport & Salute to the 40s
Although this isn't available everyday at the Dockyard like the features above (they are only available one weekend a year), this would provide excellent content for the video as these attractions gain thousands of tourists over the weekend. The steam of transport festival takes place on the 5-6 April meaning I could prepare and ask for permission to film for this event. The festival is a celebration of the steam trains and generally anything steam-based. As well as this, it also has classic cars, locomotives, a mini-zoo, street acts, and so on. Therefore, I will plan to film for this weekend as this would provide excellent footage for my promotional video.
Anything Different to my Structure?
Now that I have undertook research, I now know what they key and most useful features are for me to use for the promotional video. It's clear that the following features are most likely to attract tourists and to 'promote' the video the most:
- The warships
- The Steam and Transport festival
- The Victorian Ropery
- The Lifeboat Display
As well as this, I've also decided that the museum and SSS (Steam, Steel & Submarines) could provide good locations for interviews with staff and maybe even tourists. This is purely because it enables the audience to see an interview take place in the Dockyard's environment, creating this idea that you are invited to view the attractions.
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