Stradivari and Me - Secret Knowledge (2013) Katy Homan

This is useful because we learn about Michael Phoenix's inspiration in the art of violin making - Anthoni Stradivari. The soundtrack also works perfectly with the style and subject matter. It is really quite moving that what Michael carves out of wood can make such a beautiful, haunting sound and reminded me immediately of the poem on Michael's website;

You lived long in the forest,

You were cut by the cruel axe,

In your first life you were silent,

But in your next, I promise, you shall sweetly sing

At 8:21, there is an interview set-up. Although we wish to avoid the conventional documentary set up, we will be filming Michael whilst we interview him but only in his studio; amongst the violins/wood so it's constantly relevant, like this shot. We want to create the mood through Michael and his working environment.

At 8:36, it shows the handling of such a delicate, monumental violin, in a beautiful manner here, in a close up of the architecture. There is a pull focus on the violin. We would definitely like to capture some moments in this style. Whilst studying the shape of the violin, I was reminded of arches in the architecture of buildings and I thought it could make an interesting documentary to film the two framed together; both beautifully carved.

"It's just something as a violinist that you always dream about"

This quote is showing her passion for the instrument and we hope for Michael Phoenix to say something similar to this, along with various anecdotes from his years of carving violins.

At 9:58, it shows a woman playing the violin. Over the phone, Michael Phoenix told us that the customers often come in and sample the violins. It would be brilliant if we could film some of them in action, focussing more on the violin than the person holding it.

This documentary inspired me with some of the shot compositions, really portraying the beauty and passion within the instrument. I would love to use some of these shots, especially the pull-focus ones, however, this documentary - to me - uses too many conventional documentary styles (for example the interview and direct address to camera), which I would ideally like to avoid. Preferably. I would like to go for a more experimental approach, nonetheless, this was useful in finding out more on the subject of Stradivari.