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Night Lives

A project by: Ella Sheffield

Successful

WE RAISED £2,005

from 71 donors

This project received pledges on Wed 08 Jan 2020
An intimate portrait of our generation through a take on the nightclub culture in England

why do we go out now?

Night Lives is a poetic documentary painting a portrait of our generation, through a take on the nightclub culture in England. We are closely looking at notions of collective identities, performance and truth. Following the structure of a night-out and the overarching themes and emotions that come out through it, our creative investigation hopes to explore how the microcosm of a nightclub works as an excessive reflection of society and the ways we choose to live. 

This is our final year group project at university, and we really need your help to make it happen! 

the team 

our creative investigation

In the past, nightclubs were a form of self-expression, a form of rebellion- they helped the lgbt community and other movements to grow- they reflected upon society; Why do we go out now? Why do we follow the crowds, why do we dance in groups?

Artfully constructed as a collage, aesthetically piecing different textures and surfaces of audio-visuals together, it will be structured in the form on a night out. From getting ready and the expectations that come with it, to the aftermath and the morning after, the most raw emotions come out through the course of the night in a narrative arch, and for each “chapter” of the night a different theme can be investigated. We believe that nightclubs are fascinating, not only for the numerous visual and aural opportunities that we can experiment with, but as an arena for exploring the themes we are interested in in excess; the hunger of youth, and how it demonstrated itself in the collective performance and behaviour of a night out, to questions of identity and self-expression, living in an age of mass culture and excessive choice.

This is the only time we can make this documentary; we are part of this culture, part of this generation, whether we go out or not. We live through it in many forms, and we have access to its complexities, and we can create an honest time capsule. 

Where will the money go?

Research - £100

With an array of flyers to be printed, as well as some 'on the ground' research, (which may or may not consist of buying a few potential contributors a drink or two) we will need some funding to help us spread the word of our film. 

Crew Travel - £200

For hiring of taxis to get our kit and crew members to and from locations. The shoot is six days and often will be taking place in the early hours of the morning. Making sure we get home and are well rested is essential for our safety... and sanity! 

Catering - £250

We aim to take good care of our crew and participants who need to be fed and watered while shooting. 

Participants - £150

It is our responsibility to ensure our participants are taken care of, and stay safe. To thank them for taking part in the film, we will buy all their club tickets for them, as well as get them taxis home. 

Additional Equipment - £450

Due to the nature of our filming, we cannot use most of the department equipment that we are (very luckily!) provided with, as it is not safe nor practical to be carrying big cameras on location in clubs. We will need to hire more compact equipment and accessories to allow us to film in tight spaces with flexibility, as well as investing in hard drives to keep our footage safe.

Location - £350

This will cover filming permits for our locations, the price of crew tickets for the club events, and renting out a room close to our filming locations to store our equipment during long shooting nights.

Post Production - £200

We will have to commission music and purchase rights in order to create the soundscape we need, as well as cover some right, like archive footage, sound effects etc. 

Contingency - £300 

Inevitably, something will go wrong and having this extra money will help us with any hiccups along the way! 

Rewards

If you are kind enough to donate to this project, we are offering some amazing rewards to say a big thank you for your help. 

help us succeed and follow us!

Donating as little as £1 would make a huge difference to our project, but donating isn't the only way to help us succeed! Please share this project with anyone you think would support us – on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, by email, telephone, in a chat over the fence or on your blog.

Follow us to find out how we're doing!

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nightlivesdoc/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nightlivesdoc/

Thank you so much!