1. EXPLORERS STORIES MEDIA REPORT
BRITISH EXPLORING HIMALAYA EXPEDITION 2015
Cameron Mackay
18th
January 2016
'
2. CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Project 2
1.2 Project Aims 2
1.3 Background 2
1.4 The Film 2
2 PRODUCTION TIMELINE
2.1 Personnel and Management 2
2.2 Teaching 2
2.3 Equipment 3
2.4 In-Field Organisation 3
2.5 Post-Production 4
2.6 Distribution 4
3 EVALUATION
3.1 Expedition Narrative 4
3.2 Expedition Environment 4
3.3 Safety 5
3.4 Explorer Interaction 5
3.5 Scientific Messages 5
3.6 Post Production 6
4 APPENDIXES
4.0 ‘Project Proposal’ 7
4.1 ‘Briefing Weekend Presentation’ 8
4.2 ‘Media Working Group Workshop’ 11
4.3 ‘Production Values’ 12
4.4 ‘Explorers’ Stories Brief’ 13
4.5 ‘Equipment Requirements’ 18
4.6 ‘Links and References’ 20
1
3. 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 THE PROJECT
The project was led by the author, a trainee
leader on British Exploring’s (BES) 2015
Himalaya expedition, who had experience
producing films on two previous
independent expeditions. Through using
photography, video and audio recording on
the expedition, the film would be a short
documentary following the story of the
young explorers (YEs) on the trip, making
a document of their work that could be
shared in a professional context.
1.2 PROJECT AIMS
The project had several objectives as
outlined below:
- To enhance media outputs from the
expedition with a film sharable
outside the audience of BES,
- To allow further engagement with
scientific activities for YEs through
presentation of what they had
learned,
- To give YEs environmental
research and communication skills
that they can implement in their own
future projects,
- To share important environmental
messages to a UK audience.
1.3 BACKGROUND
Tis project was called the ‘Explorers’
Stories’ project which refers to an
organisation being set up by the author to
offer an open source online platform of
environmental media resources for
education and public outreach. Through
linking this platform to YEs on the trip, they
could be guaranteed a high profile
audience for their expedition work without
having to set it up from scratch themselves.
The audience set up through Explorers’
Stories that will be used to share the
Himalaya film includes the Royal Scottish
Geographical Society, Education Scotland,
the Glasgow Science Centre, IMAX
Cinemas and many independent events
and websites.
1.4 THE FILM
Title: Adventures in the Himalayas
Runtime: 10:43
Release: 15th
January 2016
WATCH FILM HERE
Filming, editing and soundtrack were done
by the author with additional footage
submitted by YEs.
2 PRODUCTION TIMELINE
2.1 PERSONNEL AND MANAGEMENT
At the beginning of 2015, a proposal was
sent to the British Exploring office to carry
out this project (see Appendix 1: ‘Project
Proposal’) which was accepted and plans
were then made with the Chief Leader and
Trainee Leader Mentor. The Media leader
Joined the expedition shortly before
departure so played no part in the planning
of this project.
The plan was to form a group of YEs that
would cover each of the expedition’s fires
called the Media Working Group (MWG).
On the trip it was hoped that these YEs
would meet regularly to discuss progress
on the project and plan for the coming
weeks. It was also hoped that there would
be a media desk at basecamp where
people could upload footage to one central
laptop.
On the first night of the briefing weekend
when fires were grouped together for the
first time, each of them was approached
and asked to select two people interested
in media to join the MGW. Those that were
interested were asked to attend a meeting
the following morning.
Some fires expressed great interest so
more that two YEs became involved.
2.2 TEACHING
At the briefing weekend, two sessions were
run. One was given to the entire expedition
team in the form of a 10-minute PowerPoint
2
4. presentation (see Appendix 2: ‘Briefing
Weekend Presentation’) to outline what the
project would entail and how it would be
run.
The MWG members then stayed for a 1-
hour workshop, a plan for which can be
seen in Appendix 3: ‘Media Working Group
Workshop’. A corresponding presentation
can be seen in the second part of Appendix
2. This workshop discussed how to add
production value to the shots we were to
get on the trip and also had interactive
elements where the YEs presented to
camera and watched it back together.
Lists were made of the YEs’ suggested
production values that would lead the
project in India. This depicted what they
wanted to get out of the project for
themselves and also how they wanted to
make the film effective. This list can be
seen in Appendix 4: ‘Production Values’.
All people involved were given an
information pack which detailed the project
aims and summary, a detailed production
plan (that was made with YEs) and links to
online resources. This can be seen in
Appendix 5: ‘Explorers’ Stories Brief’.
After the briefing weekend, planning
continued on a dedicated Facebook group
linked to a Google Drive folder.
2.3 EQUIPMENT
The primary equipment used to record
material for this project was bought and
owned by the author. This consisted of:
- Nikon D7100 DSLR with kit lens,
filters and cleaning kit,
- Manfrotto tripod,
- Røde shotgun mic,
- Røde lapel mic with transmitter,
- PowerTraveller solar charger,
- 120GB of SD cards,
- 3 camera batteries,
- Nikon battery grip,
- Notebook.
The YEs were encouraged to gather their
own footage which was done on a variety
of compact cameras and SLRs. No funding
was given to the above kit, all of which was
sourced through personal funds by the
explorers involved.
In the early planning stages, a list of
equipment that could be used for the trip
was made (see Appendix 6: ‘Equipment
Requirements’). It was hoped that
companies would donate equipment or
give financial support. This was done in
part to give the YEs experience of
corporate sponsorship and further their
skills in communicating with companies.
This was not given a lot of time and no
funds or donations were sourced. Should
more time have been available, this may
have been possible.
2.4 IN-FIELD ORGANISATION
Once in the field, the original plan of having
regular meetings with the working group
was no longer possible as fires organised
time independently and mixed teams
together so it would not have been practical
to push for meetings. Instead, the
members of the MWG were involved on a
more independent level through
discussions of media within their fires.
One MWG meeting was held in Leh, the
town the expedition flew into to decide on
a mission statement for the project. This
was ‘What can we learn from Ladakh?’.
This was very important as it set the YEs
minds onto a target for the project.
However, it was not mentioned in many
discussions as the trip progressed.
To keep a clear narrative, one YE from
each fire was asked to volunteer to be the
person who would present to the camera
for the whole trip. While most of these
people were heavily featured in the film,
some YEs showed a keen interest in being
on camera for specific parts of the science
work who had not volunteered and they are
also featured in the film.
3
5. Most of the filming was done by the author
with separate teams on the trip. The author
was not assigned one specific fire and
floated between many different ones to
allow a wide variety of the expedition to be
covered on camera.
Initial filming was done as part of the
training rota for fires. The author led
several training sessions where YEs were
familiarised with the camera through
filming interviews to be used for the travel
sequence and introduction to the film.
2.5 POST-PRODUCTION
Once back in the UK in September a short
film was produced detailing the science of
the trip for BES’ communication (WATCH
FILM HERE). Because of university
commitments, the entirety of post
production for the main film was done over
the 2015/16 Christmas break.
The soundtrack was composed and
recorded by the author using a Zoom mic
and GarageBand software (LISTEN
HERE). The film was storyboarded over
this and edited using Final Cut Pro X
software.
Once a first draft was complete, it was sent
to all YEs and leaders featured in the film
for their approval.
A release date was set with BES for Friday
15th
January 2016 as this time and day was
when BES’ social media received heaviest
activity. The video was embedded through
YouTube links and also directly uploaded
to Facebook. The Facebook video
received many more views in the 4 days
following the release.
2.6 DISTRIBUTION
The film will be shared primarily using the
Explorers’ Stories platform at
www.explorersstories.org. The first
screening event will be at the IMAX in
Glasgow as part of an event set up by the
author called ‘Opportunities in Geoscience’
on 11th
February 2016. More screening will
be set up following this.
3 EVALUATION
3.1 EXPEDITION NARRATIVE
The first challenge on the expedition was
how to create an engaging narrative with
an expedition so big. With over 80
members it would not have been possible
to follow the story of the expedition in
general. The initial decision was to follow
one YE from each fire and have them film
interviews and present regularly
throughout the trip. Many of the people in
the film were the selected presenters but
most of their content comes from
interviews done at the beginning and ends
of the trip. The YEs that were filmed
conducting the science were not initially
interested in media, they just presented
well because of their interest and
knowledge in the science itself.
The final film’s narrative summarises
different projects in a non-chronological
order. This projected could be adapted to
make a film with a stronger narrative that
was more closely related to the
expedition’s timeline by following one
individual fire. If this fire was chosen with
media in mind, it would allow the audience
to engage much more closely with each
individual YE and allow much more
personal and emotive moments to be
captured in the film. However, it should
also be noted that in the 2015 project it was
very difficult to take a message from the
science as the samples collected all
required lab analysis in the UK. Therefore,
careful thought would have to be given to a
potential media fire’s scientific objectives.
3.2 EXPEDITION ENVIRONMENT
As with any expedition, the environment
posed a lot of challenges that needed to be
considered while planning this project.
There was a great deal of dust so a lot of
camera cleaning kit was taken which
4
6. successfully prevented any equipment to
fail or any smudges to appear in the raw
files.
Solar charging was used to charge the
cameras but many commercial solar
chargers that YEs had brought became
faulty or stopped working all together after
a few weeks in the field. Only the more
expensive models owned by BES worked
perfectly throughout the trip in terms of
charging camera batteries. The Nikon
camera grip also stopped working after two
weeks in the field.
In early plans for the trip, it was hoped that
360o
video recording technology would be
brought onto the expedition. However,
based on how this trip worked, it would
have been difficult to use them. The best
shots were filmed when there was time to
carefully set up tripod and camera. This
usually occurred at base camp or whilst
resting on walks so there would have been
few opportunities to give the project the
time it would need.
3.3 SAFETY
When trekking, walking on glaciers or
climbing mountains, it was very difficult to
gain footage of a high production value.
With so many young inexperienced
members of the expedition, safety had to
be the first priority. Whilst on the move,
conditions were often so complex that it
would not have been responsible to ask a
YE to think about anything media related
on top of keeping themselves safe. Based
on the 2015 Ladakh expedition, it would not
be advised to plan for the YEs to capture
footage whilst in any hazardous
environment that they are not experienced
in. This includes moving on a glacier and
any time when people are roped up. When
the fire is all stationary, footage could be
captured in such locations, but the
involvement of an Adventure Leader would
be the most responsible option.
Whilst film festivals love footage of
explorers in near death situations such as
avalanches and ice falls, no YE will ever
come remotely close so being in such a
situation. Therefore, in any expedition
media project, it is important to manage the
expectations of the YEs in such a way that
none of them are expecting to gain any
footage similar to what is widely presented
at film festivals and on television, in terms
of things going wrong.
3.4 EXPLORER INTERACTION
Each YE that can be seen presenting to the
camera in the film was either prompted to
speak whilst carrying out a scientific
activity or in an interview setting. To
overcome any nerves that the YEs had,
simple techniques such as “speak to me,
not the camera” etc. were used. YEs were
rarely too nervous to film. This may have
been assisted by the fact that we had the
presentations at the briefing weekend and
that we returned to the same people to film
as much as possible.
Most of the filming was done by the author
and not the YEs. While YEs were very
receptive to being on camera, only two
contribute their own footage to the film
which was used as cut-aways. YEs did not
gain any footage that could carry a
narrative. A possible reason for this is lack
of good quality filming equipment with mics
and not having the associated knowledge
of how to use it. A potential project like this
would require external funding in future as
well as much more training. It would also
be good to select dedicated individual YEs
at the briefing weekend so they could do
their own media training before the
expedition. This would only be necessary
should a much longer documentary be
planned or one which was solely produced
by the YEs themselves.
3.5 SCIENTIFIC MESSAGES
In extracting the main themes of the
science to communicate in the film, it was
challenging to know how to sum it up. This
5
7. was because two of the major science
projects (diatoms and sedimentology)
required lab analysis in the UK so no
conclusions could be drawn in the field
where the YEs could have given their
thoughts. The plan had been to travel to
each of the two labs with YEs to present
the findings on the trips return but there
was no time for this and it would not have
been logistically possible. Therefore, to
suggest how a future project may achieve
the best results, if there was one particular
media fire, it would be greatly beneficial to
link them with a science project that would
both, show immediate results in the field
whilst still hit a world issue such as climate
change. On the 2015 trip there were three
projects that may have achieved this.
There was a series of ablation stakes that
could have been linked to past summers’
data but no media was possible to capture
when they were surveyed as they were on
a glacier and this, again, raises safety
issues.
There was a camera trap set up at a
potential snow leopard den but the device
did not trigger correctly due to a technical
error.
There was a time-lapse camera set up on
the Drang Drung glacier but the footage it
gained did not show drastic enough
change to captivate an audience in the film.
3.6 POST-PRODUCTION
In post production the biggest challenge
was sourcing footage from YEs. The hope
of projects like this is to offer a platform to
showcase the work of the YEs so moving
forward a lot can be learned from issues
experienced in this project.
A link was sent out for a collaborative
Google Drive folder for YEs to contribute
their work in December 2015. There were
eventually two responses. Should this
have been sent out within two weeks of the
expeditions return, perhaps more people
would submit their footage.
Some particular YEs who were not
interested on being on camera, or filmed in
any way, expressed an interest in helping
with post production. However, there was
very little opportunity for them to do that in
the running of this project. In future it could
be considered to train some interested YEs
in video editing. This would give them a
valuable skill and help them feel more
connected to the final piece of work. This
would also bring in new challenges. If these
YEs were not able to dedicate many long
days of intense work to this, the project
may not succeed. Also, it can be
complicated and restricting to share
footage between different editors,
especially if they do not live nearby.
3.7 TRAINEE LEADER
I planned, filmed and produced this film
alongside commitments as a trainee
leader. This was completely achievable as
I was made to rotate between several
different fires. There were many new
leadership opportunities and lessons
presented through the running of the
project. For me it presented new personal
development avenues that would have not
been possible through being a trainee
leader alone and it was positive to apply
the skills gained through trainee leader
training to this project. However, it should
be noted that, should any future trainee
leaders be interested in taking on a similar
project, that can’t expect to gain as close a
relationship with an individual fire and get
as much experience in the skills of
personal and emotional support of the YEs.
6
9. EXPLORERS’
STORIES
engaging the world with the changing environment
cameron-mackay.wix.com/explorers-stories
PROJECT AIMS
COMMUNICATE TO PUBLIC
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
EDUCATION
SHORT FILM EDUCATION RESOURCES
WORKING GROUP
2 REPS IN EACH FIRE
MEDIA DESK
YOUR PROJECT!
NEXT STEPS?
PLAN PRODUCTION
SOURCE EQUIPMENT
CONTACT MEDIA ORGANISATIONS
8
10. EXPLORERS’
STORIES
MEDIA WORKING GROUP: PLANNING
cameron-mackay.wix.com/explorers-stories
OUTPUT PARTNERS
IMAX & EDUCATION SCOTLAND
BBC3 & FILM FESTIVALS
PROJECT AIMS
ENGAGE MORE PEOPLE
IMMERSIVE PEER LEARNING
EMOTIVE CONTENT
EXPLORERS’
STORIES
MEDIA WORKING GROUP: PLANNING
cameron-mackay.wix.com/explorers-stories
TIMELAPSE FOCUS SHIFT
9
11. FILM IT ALL!
EXPLORERS’
STORIES
MEDIA WORKING GROUP: PLANNING
cameron-mackay.wix.com/explorers-stories
NEXT STEPS?
FACEBOOK/GOOGLE DRIVE
SOURCE EQUIPMENT
FILM PRE-DEPARTURE ACTIVITIES
10
12. !
!
PRESENTATION 15 mins kit: projector (use own laptop)
- Outline project
- Short film and education resource pack (use example videos)
- Working group role
- In field set up
- Next steps? (lead into workshop)
WORKSHOP 20 mins kit: camera gear, projector
TEACH
- Camera techniques (how to add production value)
- Presenting (give experience in front of camera and review presenting styles
on projector, write up on whiteboard)
- Editing (show software and basic techniques)
ACTIVITY
- Edit BES footage from weekend into short (1 - 2 min video)
- BES: send short BES film to BES social media and website
HIMALAYA PLANNING 20 mins kit: whiteboard + marker
- Discuss outdoor films (good/bad, effectiveness in telling story/
communicating message)
- Discuss YEs past experience and ideas, hopes for project (what they want out
of it)
- STORYBOARD:
- Plan aims for film and education pack
- Storyboard short film
- Discuss education packs content (link to curriculum Scotland/England)
NEXT STEPS 5 mins kit: projector
- Facebook/Google Drive: where discussions/documents will be held
- Keep in contact (today is to start discussions, to be continued online)
- Kit: contact companies for media equipment
- See BES 1 - 2 min video go up online, discuss effectiveness
- Think ahead to expedition...
Equipment needed: Projector, whiteboard + marker, flip board paper
Provided by CM: DSLR camera, tripod, laptop, cables.
EXPLORERS’
STORIES
engaging the world with the changing environment
!
Working Group 1 Hour Workshop
cameron-mackay.wix.com/explorers-stories
11
14. !
!
Explorers’!Stories!is#a#new#online#platform#that#partners#expedition#projects#with#communication#partners#to#
engage#the#general#public#with#environmental#issues#in#an#artistic#and#emotive#way#to#inspire#action.#The#BES#
Himalaya#expedition#will#make#a#short#film#and#education#resource#pack#to#be#communicated#with#Explorers’#Stories#
#
#
#
!
Short!Film:!A!short!film!will!be!produced!documenting!the!Himalaya!expedition.!This!will!follow!the!
science/research,! Himalayan! landscape,! expedition! logistics,! young! explorers’! (YEs)! personal!
development!with!the!aim!of!communicating!an!environmental!message!to!the!general!public.!This!will!
be!themed!around!environmental!issues,!as!decided!by!YEs.!
!
Education!Resource!Pack:!An!online!miniCseries!will!be!created!for!use!within!primary!and!secondary!
education!in!the!UK.!These!will!comprise!of!short!episodes!detailing!a)!curriculum!areas!and!b)!new!
discoveries!made!in!the!Himalayas.!!
!
!
!
!
A!team!of!YEs!and!senior!expedition!members!will!be!established!at!the!Briefing!Weekend!to!create!the!
Explorers’! Stories! Working! Group.!Two!YEs!from!each!fire!will!take!on!the!role!of!Media! Reps! to!
represent!this!working!group!and!their!fire!throughout!the!expedition.!!
The!Media!Reps!will!be!responsible!for:!
C Planning#and#producing#the#short#film#and#education#resource#pack#
C Uploading#footage#from#their#fire#to#production#laptop/hard#drive!
C Taking#forward#feedback#and#ideas#from#their#fire!
C Managing#equipment#to#carry#out#the#media#activities#in#field!
There!will!be!regular!meetings!on!expedition!where!the!full!Explorers’!Stories!Working!Group!will!meet!
to! discuss! production.! There! will! be! a! media! desk! at! base! camp! where! there! will! be! an! editable!
storyboard,!production!plan!and!laptop!where!footage!will!be!uploaded!in!field.!!
!
!
!
!
The!aim!of!the!Explorers’!Stories!project!is!to!partner!young!people!and!expeditions!with!high!profile!
media/education!organisations!to!communicate!their!work.!There!are!both!confirmed!and!conditional!
partners!set!up!to!communicate!the!2015!Himalaya!expeditions!resources.!
!
CONFIRMED:!!
C Glasgow!IMAX!Cinema:!!Screen#short#film#after#it#is#release.#
C Education!Scotland:!Share#education#resource#pack#with#schools#across#Scotland#
!
CONDITIONAL:!
C BBC3:!Share#short#film#on#BBC#Fresh.#Conditional#of#film#being#accepted#on#application#
C Film! Festivals:! Screen# short# film# at# film# festivals# across# the# UK# (green# film/# adventure/#
mountain/#youth).#Conditional#of#film#being#accepted#
EXPLORERS’
STORIES
engaging the world with the changing environment
!
BES Himalayas 2015
cameron-mackay.wix.com/explorers-stories
! Projects
! Explorers’ Stories Working Group
! Communication Partners
13
15. EXPLORERS’
STORIES
PRODUCTION PLAN
A proposed plan for the PLANNING, FILMING and POST-PRODUCTION of Explorers’ Stories resources on BES Himalaya 2015 expedition:
- Short Documentary Film
- Education Resource Pack
Stage Production Action Points Personnel Comments
Pre-Briefing Planning - Set aims of production
- Open up to YE input
- Apply for equipment
sponsorship
Start up team:
Andrew Reid
Media Leader
Joelle Engolia
Cameron Mackay (TL)
BES Office Team
Briefing
Weekend
Planning - Elect Media rep in each fire
- Establish Media Working
Group (MWG) with media
leaders, chief leader
- Have workshop meeting with
MWG. Train in: filming
techniques, editing software
to be used. Possibly involve
patrons?
- Encourage all YEs/TLs to film
their training/fundraising
activities.
- Set filming objectives for
expedition
- Start work on storyboarding (to
be completed before and
during expedition)
Leadership Team
YEs
Media Working Group
Suggest Final Cut Pro as is user friendly and easy to
download. Should be noted that free download is easy
but possibly not completely legal.
Briefing
Weekend
Filming - Film activities from Briefing
weekend for BES soc med
- Film content for film (before
MH
CM
Media Working Group
14
16. and after interviews of YES)
After
Briefing
Weekend
Post-
Production
- Encourage MWG to take on
post production (editing and
disseminating of briefing
weekend footage)
Media Working Group
BES Office Team
Pre-
Expedition
Planning - Media working group stay in
contact and continue
discussions of story board and
their own fires objectives
- Apply for equipment
sponsorship
- Sort out equipment and its
transportation, maintenance,
charging and data storage for
the expedition
- Contact potential supporters in
Ladakh
Media Working Group
Expedition Filming - Establish media desk:
Have editable story board
Have curriculum areas to be
covered for resource pack
- Carry out filming objectives on
treks and at camp
- Film other objectives and
activities where possible
- Encourage all members of
expedition to film with
whatever cameras they have
- Meet with MWG where
possible to discuss progress
MWG
Full Expedition Team
Meet with MGW in parts as fires are together at different
times.
Expedition Post-
Production
- Establish laptop at media
desk at basecamp with
external hard drive
- Members of the MWG can
upload their footage to hard
drive and edit their footage in
field
- Where possible send footage
to BES office for them to
upload (Dropbox/Google Drive
or similar?)
MWG
BES Office Team
We will need to make sure we have reliable solar power
source (Power Traveller or better)
15
17. Post
Expedition
Post-
Production
- MWG begins to compile
footage of expedition for Short
Documentary Film and
Education Resource Pack
- Release short cuts of footage
for social media (BES and
sponsor orientated).
MWG
BES Office Team
Next Steps
Weekend
Filming - Film with YEs about their
personal experience and what
they learned about the
geography of Ladakh.
- Interview and presenting
format.
MWG
Next Steps
Weekend
Post-
Production
- Media production day:
Optional day in venue the
Sunday after the Next Steps to
produce media from
expedition.
- MWG meet to edit film footage
- Interested YEs/TLs meet to
contribute other art for
film/output.
- Music group could form to
compose and record film
soundtrack
WMG
YEs (non-
compulsory)
TLs (non-compulsory)
Look into RGS space. If too expensive, find other nearby
location.
Source instruments from local organisation?
Use ‘free improvisation’ from stimulus of photos and
videos from expedition to get the right vibes and groove
for the recording. Cameron can lead this.
Going
Forward
Post-
Production
- For those of the MEG
interested, they can meet/work
online to finalise editing and
production of resources,
working with partner
organisations (Education
Scotland/IMAX)
MWG If there are not enough people interested t take this
forward, we hopefully have enough people in the Start
Up Team who can do it.
Public
Engagement
Showcasing - Film screenings at
festivals/cinemas – local
YEs/TLs can give supporting
talks and Q&A
- Can build into AG.
Anybody interested
from the expedition
16
21. 4.6 Appendix 7: ‘Links and References’
- ‘Adventures in the Himalayas’ film link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPLIQViDmv8
- ‘Adventures in the Himalayas’ soundtrack link:
https://cameronmackay.bandcamp.com/album/adventures-in-the-himalayas
- ‘Science in Ladakh’ video link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU8G0ltDKjU
- Explorers’ Stories website:
https://www.explorersstories.org
20
