Folklore documentary series available to watch on Apple TV, Amazon Prime and YouTube
Making Gatherings: A Six Part TV Documentary Series
Filmmaker / Director
Why I made Gatherings...
Why I made Gatherings...
Since 2006 Dave Brewis has filmed over 100 cultural events, customs and traditions and built an extensive video archive of folklore subject matter primarily from the UK and France. Dave runs production company TEN80. His work is artistically shot, features extraordinary interviews and contains all the building blocks necessary for storytelling across short-form and long-form documentary/factual.
Why I made Gatherings...
Why I made Gatherings...
Why I made Gatherings...
"For years I covered offbeat subject matter for TV—primarily for news and magazine style programmes. Folk customs would always be lumped in with 'daft competitions' and framed as weird, offbeat or eccentric. Mainstream media has always given these subjects short shrift —from early 20th century Pathé reels to the news & magazine programmes
"For years I covered offbeat subject matter for TV—primarily for news and magazine style programmes. Folk customs would always be lumped in with 'daft competitions' and framed as weird, offbeat or eccentric. Mainstream media has always given these subjects short shrift —from early 20th century Pathé reels to the news & magazine programmes we all grew up with. More recently social media has fuelled renewed interest in folklore, but really only incites the viewer to hover over the subject and doesn't get further than the aesthetic. I've always felt that these events contain real depth and demand way more investigation. They are each unique and often deeply rooted in a specific place. To the documentary maker they are strikingly rich in theme: They speak to our sense of belonging, communal identity, creativity and passion. Participation is often multi-generational, and they are a vehicle for artistic expression. Many speak to our relationship with nature. Most were there before us, and will continue after we are gone. They are intangible but immortal, and are a reflection of who we are and what we value—over time. Gatherings is a realisation of my long held desire to hold a mirror to these extraordinary events, and document them with authenticity and without prejudice." - Dave Brewis, Filmmaker.
The Production Company
Why I made Gatherings...
The Production Company
TEN80 Productions is a UK based TV / video production & marketing outfit run by Dave Brewis. TEN80 was initially set up in Paris to provide TV production services, before going on to produce two successful 6 x 30 minute factual series - both distributed internationally. TEN80 is today a vehicle for the development and production of documentary titles such as Gatherings.
post production
Editing
Audio Mixing
Editing
Each 30 minute episode is a documentary in its own right, so our approach was governed by the best way to tell each story. Experiential / observational documentaries can't rely on written narration or on-screen presenter for structure. We therefore aimed for a more 'organic telling of the story' based on the unfurling of the event in the present day - from preparation to spectacle. At relevant points in each film, information/explanation/history is delivered via sit-down interviews with key people and participants. Crucially, we wanted the films to breathe, to tap into our audience's sense of wonder, and allow for reflection at the right times. The overriding goal was to deliver films which felt as authentic as possible.
Grading
Audio Mixing
Editing
Here's David working his magic. While there is an overall look to the documentary series, each film needed to remain authentic to the season in which it was shot: Haxey Hood is held in midwinter, Rushbearing in late summer and so on. Also, while the series is packed with the same underlying themes, the overall 'feel' of each event is different. Sometimes we needed to emphasise cool competition, and sometimes the warmth of community and togetherness. For the archive footage we didn't overly treat the image, as the natural aesthetic of VHS (for example) immediately dates the footage - which helped us deliver backstory and visually demonstrate the passage of time - which is key to the principal theme.
Audio Mixing
Audio Mixing
Audio Mixing
The challenge for Josie in mixing was to clean the vocals and then find the right balance between music and atmosphere, for each sequence of each film. Recording sound at folkloric gatherings while 'run and gun' filming has challenges. Isolating interviews from atmosphere - often crowds, bands or fireworks - is tricky. Separating further in post was expertly done. Creatively we spent a lot of time thinking about how to drive the mood with music, and where to leave space for audience wonder and comprehension. 'Authenticity' was the key word.. no FX.. no false drama.. just nuance and embellishment.