Built on a rocky islet in St Aubin’s Bay, Elizabeth Castle has defended Jersey for more than 400 years. You can take the amphibious Castle Ferry or walk out along the causeway at low tide. Elizabeth Castle is the perfect place to spend a day exploring Jersey’s history.

Theme for the film: Post-war tourist attraction, current site of Jersey Heritage and living history.

SYNOPSIS:

The short film we will be producing at Elizabeth Castle will be about the post historic events and the tourist attractions. The short film will include pictures of the main historic parts such as the; canons, the structure of the castle, and the main outside area (the layout). This short film is to show the evolution of the castle and how it once gave refuge to King Charles II and has now become open to the public and marked as one of the most historic elements on the island.

About Elizabeth castle

To reach the Castle and begin your adventure, walk along the causeway or take the amphibious Castle Ferry. Spend your day exploring this sprawling 15-acre fortress: climb the battlements dating back to the time Sir Walter Raleigh was Governor of Jersey; explore the grounds that gave refuge to King Charles II during the English Civil War; uncover the story of the Castle during the German Occupation in World War II; then discover the oldest part of this site, The Hermitage, where Saint Helier is thought to have lived around 550 A.D.

A bit of history on the castle:

After gathering some research and looking at reviews tourists have put about Elizabeth castle it has made it clear to me what attracts tourists the most… therefore I know what to include in my film to ensure the target theme, which is post war tourist attraction, is accurate. One of the most important things being trying to include as much history to draw in the tourists.

Moodboard for our film:

Pages from my zine being developed in Adobe Lightroom.

Elizabeth Castle was built on a tidal island off the coast of Saint Helier in the 16th and 17th centuries when the power of cannons meant that the existing stronghold at Mont Orgueil was insufficient to defend the Island and the port of St Helier was vulnerable to attack by ships.

The castle was first used in a military context during the English Civil War in the 17th century. The Prince of Wales visited the castle in 1646 and again, but now as Charles II in September 1649, staying in the Governor’s House, having been proclaimed King by governor Sir George Carteret, despite the abolition of the monarchy in England, in February 1649. In 1651, a windmill was constructed half-way between Fort Charles and the Lower Ward. In the same year, the Parliamentarian forces landed in Jersey and bombarded the castle with mortars. 

Today, the castle is administered by the Jersey Heritage Trust as a museum site: among the historical displays are the Jersey Royal Militia Museum holding several centuries of military memorabilia. Every Sunday through the season when the castle is open, a team of historical interpreters recreate the garrison of 1781, at the time of the battle of Jersey. Displays are given of musket firing, cannon firing and civilian life.

The occupation : Elizabeth Castle remained in use up to and including the Second World War, when it was occupied by the Nazis. The occupation by the German forces commenced on 1st July 1940 and eventually ended on 9th May 1945 – Liberation Day.

One of the key shots we want for our short film is of Elizabeth’s castles cannons and artillery, showcasing the powerful defenses the fortress had in place against an attack. If possible, I’d like to try to get a slow-motion shot of the cannon or other weapons firing.

I think that a drone shot looking down on Elizabeth Castle would be perfect as an establishing shot for our short film, if we can get our hands on one.

A shot from the peak of the castle would also be fantastic, as we can get high-up establishing shots if we don’t have access to a drone, as we can look down onto the courtyards and other features of the fortress.

We could also attempt to shoot some footage on the amphibious bus that takes us to the castle if the ride is smooth enough, or even just take a shot of it driving up to the castle.

On a clear night, we could go down to the St Aubin’s bay and take some more footage of the castle at night, which might be good for the final sequence of the short film (maybe even during sunset?).

We could also shoot at other sites and fortifications from WWII around the island, such as Noirmont or the Jersey War Tunnels, and link it to the German Occupation of the island, which would help the informative side of our short film. Some of the coastal sites may be difficult to film from the exterior without access to a boat, which we don’t have.

Visual inspirations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xwIZ9GdhPk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtWeqZsuzpE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFRR0zC70-0

Basic Edits

Best images from the shoot

This is one of my best images from the shoot because of the composition and structure. I used the rule of thirds to centre the image and create strong leading lines up the image. I find the image in itself presents a story of movement and busyness in the underground. The focal point is the person getting into the escalator at the bottom, creating the idea that the image is telling their story. It also presents a sense of loneliness or self reflection amidst the crowd.

This image is similar using the rule of thirds and having a main focal point. Again the subject is stood still amongst the busy life of Camden Market.

My images compared to my inspiration.

STORY: What is your story?
Describe in:

• 3 words – Around Dunster Castle
• A sentence – photographs taken from around Dunster Castle.
• A paragraph – I have taken multiple photographs from around Dunster Castle. It is a former motte and bailey castle, now a country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo-Saxon period.

NARRATIVE: How will you tell your story?

I will try to tell my story by ordering the images based on the chronological order they were taken while watching them on colour and dimension. I want to show off the beauty and history of the castle

Mindmap of what we want to do in our film:

Our plan for the film we are making is telling the history of the castle through the architecture, mainly the old era and the WW2 era.

When we start the film, we will be exploring the old castle, the castle from when it was built in 1588 until the Battle of Jersey in 1781. We are hoping to be able to explore the entire area, especially the chapel of St Helier, where he lived until his death in 555 AD. We also are interested in filming the green areas and the main tower of the castle, as it has a view of most of the castle from it. The Parade Ground was rebuilt during the Georgian era to how it is seen today with an Officer’s Barracks that housed 12 officers; an Infantry Barracks that housed 300 men with 6 wives of the Garrison staying the attic; a canteen at the North end; the Ordinance Store at the South; and the Gym, Library and Fire Station next to the Ordinance Store, we may use these in our film. Using the sounds from around the castle we’re hoping to create a soundscape to play throughout this portion of the film along with some music. At the end of this part there will be a cannon sound and that’s where there will be a shift in atmosphere.

In the end segment of the film we will switch to showing the fortifications from the Second World War, with a much darker tone, we will explore the different artillery bunkers on both the East and West sides of the castle both have the original guns from when the bunkers were built, none of the castle has been changed until recently, these current changes are just refurbishment and won’t actually change any of the historical significance of these buildings. We will also be filming the different fortifications including the anti-tank gun, the guns on the bunkers and the anti-aircraft weaponry. This entire segment of the film will have quite a dark, gloomy atmosphere to it, we will have some melancholic music playing in the background and some crackling music playing throughout this part.  A searchlight on rail-tracks could be wheeled out of its protective bunker under the Georgian Hospital to a position that could patrol the harbour. 100 Nazi Soldiers lived out at the castle and nothing has been changed at the castle until today. The majority of the bunkers are open to the public, with the guns being the originals and were never removed from their positions.

In both segments we will have some sort of voiceover describing what is happening in the film, or even some history of the area, some parts of the voiceover possibly being in French if there is French information posters around the place but our plan is to mainly use music and our soundscape instead of spoken facts.