Where it all began…

How did my interest blossom?

My last post about How to Find an Idea is all very well and good, but I was asked today, via comments, on how I chose undiagnosed genetic conditions as a topic for my documentary.It took a lot of thinking to write a reply. It’s hard now to separate my thoughts and feelings in April from my thoughts and feelings on the subject now. I’ve learnt so much that it’s hard to separate the two.I decided it was worth repeating here, in my blog, as well as my reply to areyoukiddingney.

The topic was something I stumbled upon. Last year I graduated with a BSc in Molecular Cell Biology so I often Google “genetics” to keep myself informed and find new research that interests me. In April, my Google results led me to the SWAN UK blog, and in turn, to other blogs by parents with undiagnosed children.
Some of the blogs invoked such an emotional response from me. One minute I was sad, then furious at the injustices being suffered by lack of services, and then each and every blog would leave me with a smile, as the parents finished by saying how their child had done something new, hitting a milestone that they’d never thought they’d reach, or just that despite the lack of support- they were so happy they had a beautiful SWAN, so they’d just keep fighting and hope for the best.
So, that got me interested.

I then started looking into the theory. I researched into the studies being undertaken- with the two mains ones being GOLD and DDD. I rang NHS genetics centres to find out how it all works behind the scenes- what equipment do they use? Why are children undiagnosed? Where are parents sent after they’ve run out of answers? And I was surprised at what I found. The intricacy of the science fascinated me- and I wanted to explain it to everyone else.

And also, I wanted my documentary be to worth something. I wanted it to have value and I wanted to enjoy doing it. I believed in those families from the first time I contacted SWAN. In fact, my first phone call to the parents lasted over an hour! And it was so natural!

PLUS, I’ve always worked with children. Whether that be paid or voluntary, I’ve worked in a crèche, hosted kids parties, been a rainbow and brownie leader, worked in summer schools and now I’m a Heart Angel, I give freebies and face paint aswell! I remember working with a child in a crèche that had disabilities. The family used to come in on the evening opening hours- you could pretty much guarantee you would have the place to yourself then. He would roll his head, smack himself and make the strangest noises. It made people stare as they walked through reception, and yet in the crèche I would look forward to them coming in- the same time on the same day every week. Him and his father, while his mother went to the gym. Because he wasn’t “normal”. That meant that we could have more fun interacting with him, showing him the colourful balls in the ball pit and playing with the toys he’d brought with him- light up, colourful and very good fun. I suppose in hindsight, since I’ve done the documentary, it’s the feeling that you have with your children every day.

I enjoyed meeting all of the children in this documentary. I loved meeting their families and, in some cases, their Grannies and Aunties too! And I hope to do more in future to help. Not just with undiagnosed children now, but I am starting to understand about different types of disabilities which I had never thought twice about before, so maybe in future, there will be some sort of career for me to work in science, media and with disabilities… Any ideas would be appreciated!

Useful document: What Happens in a Genetics Laboratory via NHS Choices (PDF)

Pass it on:

As I wrote here, the subject matter of undiagnosed genetic disorders really interested me. I found it randomly by searching “genetics” in Google and finding the SWAN Website. I really felt for these families and the challenges that they were facing- and felt that I HAD to do something about it… and so the documentary was formed.

How To- Find an idea

“A half baked idea is fine, as long as it is in the oven” Anon

Before making a documentary you need to have a solid idea in your head. It can be difficult because, as I have alluded to in my MA blog, there are stories happening around us all the time. However, these aren’t always necessarily right for a long form documentary.

Plus, for an independent piece such as this you need to think about what you can achieve on your own. Do you have the funding to travel great distances to interviews? Perhaps go abroad? A friend of mine travelled to Tahiti for her documentary but she had the fortune to speak the native french and have family in the region.

Start by checking out the stories in your local community. Have a look at websites and blogs to see if there are any people with a particular experience which interests you. If you are interested, you are more likely to do it justice.

My original ideas didn’t cut the mustard. I had wanted to do a doc on the local heroes who had carried the torch but it had a limited audience and timeframe. I had also thought of linking tourism and trade in Torbay- but even I wasn’t really interested in that topic. Each idea I had thought of initially fell, and trust me, it took a lot of “no’s” from my tutor before I received a yes.

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

You then have to think about who you are targeting. Who will watch your documentary, what age are they and when will it be on?
Even for a web documentary its important to stick to certain formats which your audience is comfortable with to maximise your reach.

My documentary is very BBC; I aimed for high production values and an informative approach. I hope that’s what you feel you got!!

Take home lessons:

a) think of something that will comfortably suit your time frame.

b) can you realistically afford it?

c) what will it look like? who’s your audience?