As Live- Location research

So today, myself, Hennie and Maddie went to the venues we want to film our gig guide VT at. We wanted to check for things such as, space, the area the bands would be performing in and lighting.

The first venue we went to was The Druids Arms, this is in a central location in Maidstone and they have bands playing on a Friday and Saturday from 9.30pm 12, as well as acoustic jam nights every other Friday from 6pm-10. They have said it is fine for us to film as long as we get permission from the bands playing. The performance area is outside in the beer garden which I think would give a different edge to the shoot.

We then went to The Old House at Home, they have acoustic sessions every Thursday from 8pm-1am. We have been told to contact the manager about permission to film here and will be doing this tomorrow.

Earls was next and this was an extremely helpful place for us to go. We spoke to the landlord who explained to us he was more then happy to help us with our project and that we could film in Earls no problem what-so-ever. He has told us to visit a gig night on the 5th April so that we can decide on the best places to situate cameras etc. He also explained to us that they do all their own lighting and effects such as smoke machines, this would bring a new dynamic to our shoot and make it look a lot more professional. We would then do the shoot on the 19th April. Earls has gigs Thursday through to Sunday, with the more up and coming bands playing on a Thursday from 9pm-12. Dave the landlord also told us about the business he uses to source the bands that play at Earls. They are called Make Some Noise and they source up and coming music acts for many of Maidstone's hotspots for music. Dave also told us that when we go along on the 5th he would e happy for us to get there a bit earlier and film the setting up for the gig, and even interview some of the band members who are performing that night. This will give us the chance to add a 'access all areas' section to our VT, which would give the viewer and insight into what happens backstage.

We then moved onto the Style and Winch pub. First impressions were that it was quite small, but we were then shown the beer garden and performance area for the bands. This was quite a substantial size. They have gigs on every 2nd Friday. Unfortunately the landlady Debbie was not there and we were told to contact her any time between 10am and 3pm. They also have Splinter Sessions which is an open mic night, and are apart of the Maidstone Fringe, they are having acts all day on the Monday, these are all perfect opportunities to film for our gig guide VT.

I have also taken down the details of the Make Some Noise company so that we could possibly get in contact with them to see if they have any other suggestions of places to film that we have missed out.