Finished

We have finally finished editing, we realised we didn’t have enough footage of Leigh-on-sea and that we didn’t film the heritage centre. If I were to do this project again I would start my research way earlier because I think that’s where we lagged behind. I wish we had contacted Carole sooner than we did and managed to actually speak to her face to face because she was extremely helpful to us. I also would decide on a story sooner so that I could arrange to do some reconstructions which would be more engaging to the audience. We had hoped to incorporate comedy into our project too however the seriousness of the subject became more apparent when we had researched and found out that the smugglers were actually very violent people. If I were to do this again I would try harder to involve comedy into it and do more in depth research.   

Reconstruction

We spoke today about reconstructing some scenes of the stories from the past. We thought about making a scene in a bar or perhaps a basement with barrels, or maybe having someone emerge from the water with a barrel or a sack on their shoulder to create more of an atmosphere. We are running out of time to find a place that will allow us to film and also sort out actors, costumes and props. We should’ve done this first before we worried about filming at Leigh-on-sea and the lido. 

Filming Day Disaster

Today we went to Leigh-on-sea to film, it did not go to plan at all. We went there hopeful to get lots of good shots of the sea but what we didn’t realise was there is a tide calendar. It turns out on the day we went the tide was very far out, we didn’t get any shots of the sea as all we could see was sand! What made things worse was the weather, it was raining and very windy so trying to film was proving very difficult, the wind was making it difficult to stay still and also was blowing rain onto the camera, we managed to cover the camera over so it didn’t get too wet. 

We should’ve spent a few days filming there to make sure we got as much footage as we could possibly get, maybe over a few weeks so that the weather is more likely to differ, and that the tide would be different too as it’s connecting the the placement of the moon which is on a 28 day cycle. If we had planned more thoroughly when the tide was going to be in we could’ve got more interesting shots of the water. We managed to film the outside of the Peterboat and lots of the old boats that were tied up in the sand. 

Instead of going back to Leigh-on-sea to film, there is a reservoir nearby in Ruislip called Ruislip Lido which we can film there at any time without having to worry about a tide calendar as it is a reservoir. All we have to worry about is the weather and because it is not far we can go more than once if need be. 

We went to film at Ruislip Lido today and we got lots of good footage we can use. The weather was also good, the only issue we had was the flies by the water, they were everywhere and at times it was difficult to see as they kept flying around in our faces. We should’ve planned our filming days more in depth and perhaps planned the shots out more instead of just going and hoping for the best.

In preparation for our trip to Leigh-on-sea, we contacted the creator of the website smuggling.co.uk, a man called Richard Platt who is an author of informative book called Smuggling in the British Isles. We have used his website a lot for research and have found the information on there very useful so we thought it would be a good idea to try and get an interview with him in London. However it proved difficult to find a time when both parties were free as he was away on holiday on all the dates we proposed. 

So, the search for another interviewee or expert began. Our next step was to speak to the people at the heritage centre in Leigh, but they told us that they were just volunteers and that nobody there could tell us anything about the smuggling that took place there, we asked if they maybe had some pictures or old records at the heritage centre we could photograph or take a look at but they said they wouldn’t know where to look for them. I asked if they could point us in the direction of someone who could give us more information and they gave us the email of a lady called Carole Mulroney. After we had searched the internet for her name, it seems she may be of great use to us as she stands up and does talks about the smuggling in Leigh-on-sea. We sent her an email asking whether she would be willing to do an interview with us and she said that she only knows what she has read, so she sent us copies of books that she had read and also an extract from one of her talks. She also advised us to contact a pub called the Peterboat which has links with smuggling. 

We called the Peterboat and the language barrier with the lady on the phone made it difficult to explain who we are and what we wanted to do, she eventually hung up the phone on me. I waited an hour then called them back, a different lady answered but I asked to speak to the manager straight away. I explained to him that we were Westminster students and were making a documentary about the smuggling in Leigh-on-sea and then we asked if we would be able to look around as we had been told by an expert that there was still remnants of the tunnels used by smugglers. The manager said that there used to be a staircase that was used but had been built over in recent years, and explained that we were not welcome to come inside as it would be too busy during the day and would hinder his business for the day, although he said we were welcome to film the outside of it.

When looking at the rules and regulations for filming we realised that we would not need to get permission and pay fees as we are a small two man crew, we aren’t planning on using a tripod and also it’s a student film.

We have decided to go and film in Leigh on sea and concentrate on the story of William ‘hard apple’ Blythe, we liked the way Leigh looks slightly run down but still full of history and old boats everywhere. When we looked at the logistics of getting to Brandy Cove, and it was going to take us around 4/5 hours to get there and as we don’t have my much money to pay for a hotel, we felt like we wouldn’t have enough time to get all the filming done if we were spending so long travelling to and from the location. We couldn’t find anyone that was willing to give us a lift and even on public transport after we had got a few trains and a bus the location was still a half an hour walk which was not practical with the equipment. Leigh, on the other hand is only an hour away from central London and the location we want to film is right by the train station. We are planning on walking up the coast to the old beach town and to the heritage center. The weather is forecast to be sunny when we go, however I am hoping that it will be overcast to give it a more eerie feel. 

Brandy Cove or Southend?

We are looking at filming in Brandy Cove because we have found out a few stories we find interesting such as William Arthur and his gang. We learn how they used to stash their loot in the caves of the cliff face before carting it to the villages through the forest making sure they weren’t to be caught. They also used bribery to ensure they weren’t going to be found out and it is said that the Swansea smugglers in the 1720′s were so influential they had all the customs officers summoned for jury duty on the day they planned to land a huge cargo into the Swansea harbor.

Oxwich Sands is only 8 miles away from Swansea but is home to a great story of 1804. A notorious gang of smugglers were waiting just off shore to unload their loot, they sent two of the gang inland and asked passers by for directions however it turned out the people they asked were from the authorities. After the gang had hauled their stash inland the raids began. The customs officers found everything and the kegs of spirits were transported back to Swansea, however 17 of these never made it back, the guards were allowed to drink as much as they wanted to on duty and a group of 200 villagers who were blocking the way of the convoy could only be swayed to move with a drink from the barrels (Platt,2017).

Platt, R., 2017. Gower Peninsula. [Online] Available at: http://www.smuggling.co.uk/gazetteer_wales_11.html [Accessed 22 March 2017].

We made a poster to explain our initial idea, we used a picture of Brandy Cove as the background which we thought was fitting to the sort of documentary we want to produce. When we researched what type of things they used to smuggle, the repeat things that kept coming up were, tobacco, sugar and brandy, we decided to overlay these onto the image of the cove to create a cosy image and give a sense of the small spaces and hidden coves they would use to smuggle these items. Our working title was An Honest Thief, this is because much like the well known story of Robin Hood, the smugglers bought/stole the goods from other countries and brought them into the UK to avoid paying tax, technically stealing from the government as this was illegal trade and the government was loosing money. 

We want the video to be slightly comedic as we think this will cause the audience to have more involvement with the story and they will be more interested if its engaging. We used the children's television show Horrible Histories (2009) as inspiration because we liked the way they told the stories in an engaging way and how they used comedy to involve the audience in the story. We also used the film The Act of Killing (2012) an inspiration also because we liked how the recreated historical incidents and that’s what we want to do and retrace the steps of the smugglers. 

Horrible Histories. 2009. [Film] Directed by Steve Connelly, Dominic Brigstocke, Chloe Thomas. United Kingdom: CBBC.

The Act of Killing. 2012. [Film] Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer. Norway, Denmark, United Kingdom: Signe Byrge Sørensen.

Questions

Is it making you excited? Yes, this subject really interests me! Can you physically feel that it's a good idea? Yes, i think that people are genuinely interested in the history of this country. Is it topical? Yes because there has been recent events where drugs have washed up on the shores of Britain and this is an example of modern day smuggling. I think people are interested in how drugs and tax free alcohol enter this country now, so it’ll be nice to show the roots of this. Are other people talking about it? In the news yes! They are talking about the recent story about the cocaine washing up on the shore of Norfolk worth £50 million. Does it link to a specific anniversary or special day? We cant find anything as this information is so old we only really have the years. Is it similar to something else but has a unique twist? We are concentrating on a real life story and trying to retrace the footsteps of a smuggler. Is there a narrative, with strong characters, goals, obstacles, a climax? It’s a real story that has actually happens so it may have been emphasised but the obstacles he faced and the things they did are still true. What happens to kick-start the narrative? The taxes in England were rising and so people found other ways to get tobacco and alcohol. Who is the story about? William ‘Hard Apple’ Blythe Why do we care about them? With him operating this close to London and the surrounding areas, chances are some of may be related to him. What's the journey? How they got the goods from other countries to England then managed to get them into the country undetected most of the time by customs officers patrolling the borders. How can we make this even better? Have some kind of reconstruction and make the story feel more real. Make them feel something? Should make the audience feel grateful for how easy it is for them to get hold of cheap alcohol, even though it’s not tax free, it won’t be as expensive as what they were paying for the luxury back in the day. It should also make them feel appreciation for the people that this line of illegal work helped, for example the ex-soldiers it helped make a living for.

A common misconception is that smugglers are not violence and tend to go round the villages selling brandy at a cheaper price than the taxed goods on sale legally. This is a romanticised impression and doesn’t accurately reflect the history of the smuggling phenomenon at any one place or time, nor does it accurately represent any gang. Smugglers were more similar to pirates than we would’ve once thought. They were often very violent people who would stop at nothing to not be caught. 

In the 18th century the illegal trade had boomed in the south of England, dodging taxes was an industry. It became apparent that the volume of  spirits being imported was so great that it is rumoured some of the illegally imported gin was used to clean windows, also 80% of the tea drank in the country at the time was illegally imported. 

Smugglers Britain. (2017). Introduction. Available: http://www.smuggling.co.uk/history.html. Last accessed 22nd Feb 2017.

We have researched places in Wales where smuggling was rife during the 17th and 18th century, Morgans grandparents live in Swansea so we started our search around that area. We found a place called Brandy Cove that was very popular with smugglers in particular the legendary William Hawkin Arthur and his gang. After looking at many photos online and on google maps we realised it was the perfect spot to smuggle goods into Wales, the small, secretive beach is surrounded by cliffs and in the dead on night anyone there is likely to go undetected.

The stories of Wlliam Hawkin Arthur are also well known on the beaches of Pwll Du, they say he was one of the most daring smugglers of his time. The Pwll Du beach was secluded and with a 300 foot high headland that made a perfect lookout, there was also a wooded area nearby that provided plenty of cover to moves the goods inland and to their headquarters at Highway, out of sight of the authorities. There is now a path that tourists can walk down known as Smugglers Lane. 

This is Gower. (2017). William Hawkin Arthur, the ‘smuggling king’. Available: http://www.thisisgower.co.uk/stories/william-hawkin-arthur-the-smuggling-king/. Last accessed 20th Feb 2017.

Visit Swansea Bay. (2017). Piracy and Smuggling. Available: https://www.visitswanseabay.com/piracy-and-smuggling/. Last accessed 15th Feb 2017.

BBC article about the smugglers in Wales.

Space, Place & History

During a workshop about processes, it was interesting to see how a film would be put together from dressing the set to adjusting the lighting to create the perfect atmosphere. We discovered that it took a fairly large team to produce even a short two page script that we had. I took on the role of boom operator which I have previously done and enjoyed. I would like to do more work using sound and images to create an atmosphere.

I think some of the most beautiful sounds we hear are the sounds of nature, e.g. the sound of birds or a stream. I have quite often found myself listening to these sounds if I am having trouble sleeping. I am an enthusiastic camper and find peace in the outdoors and the soft sounds it provides s with. I have visited both the Lake District and Scotland, both of which are beautiful places. I have done a lot of walking in both places and the most interesting thing about both is the history some of the paths hold. For example the “smugglers paths” in Scotland have a lot of heritage and interesting history.

I have found that Wales is a historical country. What interested me the most about the most about the heritage is the history of the smugglers. An article I found on the BBC website spoke about the history of the smugglers “an honest thief”, they used to smuggle salt and luxury items such as tobacco and brandy.