YouTube doc. report
Project title
Normal for Norfolk? The Bizarre Case of Alpaca Trekking
Normal for Norfolk? The Bizarre Case of Alpaca Trekking
The idea
The idea stemmed from a news story I saw on the KL.FM website, in which a police officer on break saw somebody walking an alpaca with a lead in Wells-next-the-sea. Just the thought of walking an alpaca was enough to both confuse and inspire me and I knew it would make a unique story to cover.
One alternate idea I had beforehand was a look into the effects that fireworks have on those with post-traumatic stress disorder, since the project was started around Halloween and some people would be holding fireworks displays. However, I discovered the strangeness that is alpaca trekking soon afterwards and decided that it would make a more unique and interesting story.
The idea stemmed from a news story I saw on the KL.FM website, in which a police officer on break saw somebody walking an alpaca with a lead in Wells-next-the-sea. Just the thought of walking an alpaca was enough to both confuse and inspire me and I knew it would make a unique story to cover.
One alternate idea I had beforehand was a look into the effects that fireworks have on those with post-traumatic stress disorder, since the project was started around Halloween and some people would be holding fireworks displays. However, I discovered the strangeness that is alpaca trekking soon afterwards and decided that it would make a more unique and interesting story.
Research for my documentary
The first bit of research I did was in finding out more about alpaca trekking as a whole, particularly in Wells. This led me to the website of the Wells-based alpaca trekking shelter, aptly named "Alpaca Trekking". (https://alpacatrekking.co.uk/)
The first bit of research I did was in finding out more about alpaca trekking as a whole, particularly in Wells. This led me to the website of the Wells-based alpaca trekking shelter, aptly named "Alpaca Trekking". (https://alpacatrekking.co.uk/)
From here I wanted to find the contact details of the owner of the establishment, but I could only find the email address of the business itself, not the owner in particular. It's far better than nothing though, so I noted it down anyway.
I did some more Google searching to find the name of the owner and found a selection of reviews from journalists and locals who went on a trek. It seemed fruitless at first and it began to irritate me: how could one person running an open business be so elusive? Eventually I found a name, however: Ian Curtis is, according to some of the articles, the owner of "Alpaca Trekking". It just goes to show that patience pays off in the end.
Continuing my quest to find the owner's contact details (though it did begin to feel quite stalker-esque after a while), the name Ian Curtis led me to search for a LinkedIn page. However there were a trillion Ian Curtises from across the world, and it soon seemed to me that the one I was looking for wasn't on LinkedIn... Never mind. I decided I would try and reach him through the company email instead. For all I know, maybe he looks at it himself.
The visit to the Alpaca Trekking site is a primary source of research in and of itself, as I had first-hand experience with the alpacas. Alongside that, the interview I conducted is also primary research as I collected the information and footage myself.
I also happened to interview some of the people who went trekking, asking them how it was and if they enjoyed the trip. This helped shape the target audience as I could gather information about what kinds of people enjoyed the trek.
The visit to the Alpaca Trekking site is a primary source of research in and of itself, as I had first-hand experience with the alpacas. Alongside that, the interview I conducted is also primary research as I collected the information and footage myself.
I also happened to interview some of the people who went trekking, asking them how it was and if they enjoyed the trip. This helped shape the target audience as I could gather information about what kinds of people enjoyed the trek.
Target Audience
- Demographic: People who love animals and/or who want to learn more about strange trends such as this near their area.
- Age: 3+
- Gender: Female
- Job (for those 18 or over): Office
- Income: ?
- City / Country: England
- Interests: Animals
Press release development
The structure of the press release mostly follows the template provided to us. I also found that my knowledge of article writing from the last project helped in writing the press release: both are very similar.
The structure of the press release mostly follows the template provided to us. I also found that my knowledge of article writing from the last project helped in writing the press release: both are very similar.
That being said, the first thing to do was come up with a headline and subheading for the press release. The headline I wanted to make punchy and clever, as was advised of us. I thought that "Normal for Norfolk?" was a good use of alliteration that gets the point of the story across well: I'm digging deeper into alpaca trekking to see if it's... well, normal for Norfolk. The subheading is just a short explanation of what the documentary is about.
The next part of the press release is setting the scene. It isn't too detailed: I didn't visit the location before writing the press release. It merely tells where I'll be going and what I'm doing.
Next came the event list. This part wasn't too difficult as I knew exactly what I wanted to shoot: An interview with Ian Curtis, a look around the area and the alpacas, and finally some footage of an alpaca trek.
Final copy
Normal
for Norfolk? The Bizarre Case of Alpaca Trekking
An
odd activity called alpaca trekking has become a renowned outdoor experience in
Norfolk and other parts of the country. As the name suggests, people can visit
an alpaca trekking shelter, where they can pay to have a walk around while towing
real alpacas, with the opportunity to feed them later in the day.
This
documentary will dig deeper into the thought process and history behind alpaca
trekking in an attempt to learn more about it
.
.
Perhaps
one of the more popular alpaca trekking shelters is located in
Wells-next-the-sea. The shelter, aptly named “Alpaca Trekking”, is run by a man
named Ian Curtis. I plan to visit the shelter and interview him to learn more
about the history of the business and the alpacas themselves.
The
events that I hope to film are as follows:
- The interview with Mr. Ian Curtis
- A walk around the shelter and a visit to the alpacas
- Footage of an alpaca trek
Video idea
Video script
Normal for Norfolk? The Bizarre
Case
Of
Alpaca Trekking
By
Finley
Driver
EXT: WELLS-NEXT-THE-SEA - DAY
FADE IN
A side shot of people walking the
alpacas down the street. Title flashes over the footage.
“Normal for Norfolk? The Bizarre Case of
Alpaca Trekking”
CUT TO
INT: “ALPACA TREKKING” – DAY
IAN CURTIS, the owner of “Alpaca
Trekking”, is sat down to the left of the frame for the interview. He
introduces himself as the first person in England to do alpaca trekking.
Cut in is a scene of IAN bringing
his alpacas out of the field, and later walking them.
The first question is shown as a
basic title graphic.
QUESTION 1
What’s the best part about your job?
IAN answers QUESTION 1.
A clip of IAN informing people how
to hold the alpacas.
QUESTION 2
Where did you get the alpacas from
and how did you get them?
IAN answers question 2.
People walk the alpacas.
Three alpacas are stood in a field.
Close-up of a brown alpaca.
QUESTION 3
Do you intend to take in more
alpacas
in the future?
IAN answers question 3.
People feed the alpacas.
QUESTION 4
What are your thoughts on the claims
from animal rights activists who
think
that keeping the alpacas to walk for
our amusement is a violation of
their
rights?
IAN answers question 4.
A brown alpacas eats grass from a
field.
Front shot of an alpaca being
walked.
Alpacas being walked.
Close-up shot of a white and black
alpaca behind a fence.
Video production
To film the documentary, I of course had to travel to the site in Wells first of all. Upon arrival, I gathered a few short clips of the alpacas and scenic shots.
To film the documentary, I of course had to travel to the site in Wells first of all. Upon arrival, I gathered a few short clips of the alpacas and scenic shots.
After that we had to wait for the visitors to arrive, so I decided to shoot the interview in the meantime. Setting up the tripod was difficult as the area in which I was shooting was quite small, but the interview itself went smoother than I expected.
Once the trekkers arrived, Ian told everyone about the alpacas: their names, where they came from, how to handle them, etc. Everyone was then given an alpaca and split off into two groups. I followed behind both and gathered footage of the alpacas being walked and later fed.
Video post-production
The interview was used as the base footage in the timeline as it is more or less the main focus for the documentary. The interview's audio came out OK and so I didn't have to use the imported audio that I planned to.
I then added in small clips of the other footage I captured, both throughout the interview and in a short opening montage that accompanies the title.
As stated previously, I wasn't entirely comfortable doing a voice-over in traditional documentary fashion. So interview questions are shown as still screens with a black backdrop.
I then added in small clips of the other footage I captured, both throughout the interview and in a short opening montage that accompanies the title.
The last thing to do was add some music in the background, so there isn't an eerie silence between shots anymore. The track I used was "Rainy Way Back Home" by Nujabes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDSIbRHjQEM). Nujabes is one of my favourite artists whose music works wonders with documentary-style videos, and Rainy Way Back Home worked especially well with my video (or at least that's what I think).
Upload onto YouTube
Testing of the story in situ
My audience liked the video, saying it is an interesting idea for a story with good cutaways. However, the quiet audio and lack of music are two concerns which I will try to address. I also noticed that the quality of the video seems somewhat grainy compared to others. This may be because of the camera I used being less powerful or it's simply just a rendering issue. I will re-render the video in different ways to see what I can do about that.
Evaluation
Overall, I deem this project to be the best piece of work I've done on this course so far. It shows a great jump in quality from the last video I made, with better audio and footage that I recorded myself this time. The story also proved to be unique and interesting. The only drawback is the audio mixing, one clip being slightly louder than the other. Otherwise, the project was a great success.
Overall, I deem this project to be the best piece of work I've done on this course so far. It shows a great jump in quality from the last video I made, with better audio and footage that I recorded myself this time. The story also proved to be unique and interesting. The only drawback is the audio mixing, one clip being slightly louder than the other. Otherwise, the project was a great success.
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