Content Research

 

Content Research  

 

What does a producer do? 

 

For this project I have taken on the role of the producer meaning I am at the practical and creative heart of the piece. I should be getting involved and spot the viability of the production, keeping the team grounded. I should be on of the overall decision makers and generate story ideas. I will work closely with the director and approve the production ideas, as well as spotting and solving potential problems throughout the whole production process. The producer role involves approving locations and crew for the production as well as delegating certain responsibilities. I will create a good working environment and communicate with all members of the team to make sure everything is running smoothly. The health and safety of all team members are the responsibility of the producer and so I should complete risk assessments to keep everyone safe (ScreenSkills).  

 

 

Observational Style of Documentary 

 

Observational documentaries typically depict actual events in dramatic form, using continuity techniques conventionally associated with mainstream fiction film. whereas most non-fiction programming, particularly TV news, speaks directly to the audience, observation of documentaries addresses the viewer only indirectly through the telling of a story (Leach 1998).  

 

Observation of films are police mic because they lack the device of voice over, interviews, an non diegetic music through which point of view maybe unequivocally expressed (Leach 1998).  

 

We spoke about taking an observational documentary approach in our project which I think we will adopt to a certain extent. We will be depicting the actual lives of our participants in a dramatic and moving form but will achieve this through the use of interviews.  

 

 

Statistics  

 

1,189 civilian deaths  

108 children  

1901 injured  

142 children 

As of March 29th, 2022 – real numbers could be higher.  

 

 

Over four million refugees left their homes in Ukraine and headed toward other countries as of March 29, 2022. Most of them fled to Poland. According to the source, approximately 350 thousand Ukrainians left for Russia. 

 

2336.8 – into Poland  

608.94 – into Romania  

387.17 – into Moldova  

364.8 – into Hungary  

281.17 – into Slovakia  

10.9 – into Belarus  

350.17 – into Russian 

 

 

Type of aid   

 

United States	350m USD in weapons
European Union	502m USD in lethal aid
United Kingdom	Lethal defensive weapons
France	Defensive anti-aircraft and digital weapons
Netherlands	200 air defence rockets and 50 anti-tank weapons
Germany	1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 surface-to-air missiles
Canada	394m USD in weapons
Sweden	5,000 anti-tank weapons
Norway	2,700 anti-tank weapons
Denmark	Body armor and up to 2,000 anti-tank weapons
Finland	1,500 rocket launchers, 2,500 assault rifles, ammunition, and rations
Belgium	Automatic rifles, anti-tank weapons, and fuel
Portugal	Night-vision goggles, bulletproof vests, helmets, grenades, ammunition, rifles
Greece	Defence equipment and humanitarian aid
Romania	Use of military hospitals, fuel, bulletproof vests, helmets
Spain	Medical and defensive equipment
Czechia	Mortars, pistols, assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles, ammunition
Croatia	Small arms and body armour

 

 

As of March 2022, over 40 global territories imposed sanctions on Russia in relation to its invasion of Ukraine that started on February 24, 2022. Furthermore, 36 countries banned Russian airplanes from their airspace, without considering Moldova and Ukraine that closed their airspace completely. In response, the Russian government prohibited airlines of several countries from flying over the country. Over 30 territories cut several Russian banks off the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). 

 

 

 

Six out of ten Ukrainians would vote for their country's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) if a referendum on that matter was held the following Sunday, according to a survey from December 2021. Less than 30 percent of respondents were against Ukraine's membership in NATO. 
Ukraine's accession to NATO is a so-called 'red line' for the Russian foreign policy. In November 2021, Ukrainian and Western officials reported 100 thousand Russian troops near the border with Ukraine. Nearly one half of Ukrainians saw a real threat to their country's security from the accumulation from Russian forces. 

 

 

In February 2022, slightly over one half of respondents in Russia had a negative attitude toward Ukraine. The public opinion on the country deteriorated in comparison to August 2021. The public opinion also worsened in 2014 when the tensions between the countries intensified and Russia annexed Crimea and Sevastopol from Ukraine. 

 

 

 

 

 

(Statista, 2022) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Timeline: A month of Russia’s war in Ukraine (Psaropoulos, 2022) 

February 24: Russia launches a full-scale assault on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy orders a general mobilisation. 

Moscow’s stock exchange plummets by 45 percent after the United States announces sanctions on Russian banks. 

February 26: The European Union bars selected Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), cutting them off from the global financial system. 

February 27: The EU bans Russian civilian aircraft from EU airspace. State-owned media Sputnik and Russia Today (RT), along with their subsidiaries, are banned from EU airwaves and the internet. 

Russian troops press towards Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and towards Kharkiv and Kherson. Ukrainians enlist. 

February 28: Ukraine applies to join the EU. Russia and Ukraine start ceasefire talks. The Russian rouble tumbles 30 percent, forcing Putin to impose capital controls. The EU bans transactions with Russia’s central bank, and approves a 500-million-euro ($554m) support package for the Ukrainian military. It is the first time the EU has agreed to provide lethal equipment to a third country. 

March 1: A 65km-long Russian convoy heads for Kyiv. Pressure increases on Kharkiv and Mariupol in the east, and Kherson in the south. Human Rights Watch reports that Russians are using cluster bombs against civilians. The US closes its skies to Russian aircraft. 

March 2: Russian tanks enter Kherson, the first and only regional capital city to fall during the first month of the war. Russian forces surround the port city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine. The number of refugees who have fled Ukraine surpasses one million. 

March 3: The International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor sends an advance team to investigate possible war crimes. 

March 4: Putin blocks Twitter, Facebook, Voice of America, the BBC and Deutsche Welle – among other media platforms – in Russia. He signs a law criminalising “fake news”, which could give offenders up to 15 years in prison. 

March 5: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on the Polish-Ukrainian border. 

The US urges its citizens to leave Russia immediately. 

Aeroflot, Russia’s biggest state-owned airline, says it will cease all international flights. 

March 7: Brent crude briefly reaches a high of $139.13 a barrel. 

Ukrainian refugees number 1.7million. 

March 8: Civilians flee the town of Sumy via an evacuation corridor as agreed in talks between Moscow and Kyiv. 

The US rejects a Polish offer to transfer Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter aircraft to Ukraine’s air force, as it seeks to keep NATO out of the war. 

The European Commission unveils REPowerEU, a plan to reduce dependence on Russian natural gas by two-thirds by the end of the year. 

The US imposes a ban on Russian crude oil imports, bringing the rise in oil prices since the Russian invasion to 30 percent. 

The number of Ukrainian refugees surpasses two million. 

March 9: Russian air strikes hit a maternity hospital in Mariupol, killing three. Russia says the hospital was housing “radicals”. 

Streams of refugees flee bloody battles in Kyiv’s northwestern suburbs Irpin and Vorzel. 

The International Monetary Fund’s executive board approves $1.4bn in emergency financing for Ukraine. 

March 10: Russian forces bomb an evacuation corridor, preventing humanitarian supplies from reaching Mariupol. 

The US Congress approves $13.6bn in spending for refugee and military aid. 

March 11: Russians kidnap the mayor of Melitopol, a city in southeastern Ukraine. 

Putin approves the deployment of up to 16,000 irregular fighters from Syria. 

Total refugees surpass 2.5 million and a further 2 million people are internally displaced, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 

The EU issues the Versailles Declaration, moving in the direction of a European defence capability. 

March 12: In Mariupol, a team of journalists with the Associated Press news agency films a Russian tank shelling an apartment building and an AP reporter is among medical workers targeted by Russian sniper fire. Russian forces pillage a humanitarian convoy trying to relieve the city’s residents. 

March 13: Russia broadens its attacks to western Ukraine, firing 30 cruise missiles at a military training base in Yavoriv, 25km from the Polish border. At least 35 people are killed and 134 others wounded, according to Ukrainian officials. 

March 14: Chechen leader and Putin loyalist Ramzan Kadyrov says Chechens have joined Moscow’s fight against Ukraine. 

The US warns China it will not tolerate any form of alleviating sanctions against Russia, as US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan meets China’s Foreign Affairs Director Yang Jiechi for talks. 

Around 160 cars manage to leave Mariupol, as Russians block an aid convoy to the city. 

March 15: The Czech, Polish and Slovenian prime ministers ride a train to Kyiv. 

Twenty thousand civilians manage to flee Mariupol. The number of refugees surpasses three million. 

Zelenskyy tells European officials he doesn’t believe NATO membership is a prospect for Ukraine, signalling possible grounds for a compromise in negotiations with Moscow. 

March 16: Russian and Ukrainian negotiators say they are discussing neutrality for Ukraine in return for security guarantees and the departure of Russian troops. 

Putin likens domestic opponents of the war to “gnats” who weaken the country. He speaks of a “natural and necessary self-purification of society” that will “strengthen the country”, hinting at a potential crackdown on dissent. 

March 18: Ukraine says it has rescued 130 people from the ruins of Mariupol’s municipal theatre, bombed two days earlier, and warns that hundreds more could be trapped beneath the rubble. A further 5,000 civilians are evacuated from the city, bringing the number of evacuees to 35,000. Russian forces enter the city and fighting is reported in the centre, as Ukrainian officials say the city has lost access to the sea. The Mariupol city council estimates 2,500 people have been killed during the Russian bombardment. 

Six missiles are fired from the Black Sea at the western city of Lviv. Two are intercepted and four strike an aircraft repair hangar, killing one person. 

US President Joe Biden warns Chinese President Xi Jinping of “consequences” should China offer Russia “material support” in the conflict. 

March 20: Russian air strikes destroy an art school in Mariupol where some 400 civilians are reportedly sheltering. 

The UN says more than 10 million people have been displaced in Ukraine, including those who have fled the country. 

March 21: Ukraine rejects a Russian ultimatum to surrender in Mariupol. 

March 22: Biden says Putin’s constant claims that Ukraine has chemical and biological weapons are a “clear sign he is considering using both of those”. 

(Psaropoulos, 2022) 

I decided to do some research around the beginning of the war and how things were unfolding so I could be aware of any updates or developments as these would all affect the story we chose to tell.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

I looked at this ‘The Guardian’ article and other similar articles when researching around the idea and story of our project. As we began speaking with contributors who are attempting to host Ukrainian families the long visa process became a re-occurring issue for each host. Many had been waiting 4-6 weeks before hearing about the status of the visas they submitted. I knew this was a factor which would affect our production and limit the number of contributors we would be able to find/access. Therefore, we thought this would be an interesting story factor to consider/cover as it was very relevant, and many people were facing the same struggles.  

 

 

 

 

 

References  

 

Gentleman, Amelia. “Ukrainian Refugees: Frustration Grows over Long Wait Times for UK Visas.” The Guardian, 25 Mar. 2022, www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/25/ukrainian-refugees-frustration-grows-over-long-wait-times-for-uk-visas  

 

Leach, J. and Grant, B. Documenting the Documentary: Close Readings of Documentary Film and Video. Edited by Barry Grant and Jeannette Sloniowski, Detroit. Michigan, Wayne State University Press, 1998.  

 

 

Psaropoulos, John. “Timeline: A Month of Russia’s War in Ukraine.” Www.aljazeera.com, 23 Mar. 2022, www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/23/timeline-a-month-of-war-in-ukraine Accessed 22nd March 2022.  

 

 

ScreenSkills. “Producer in the Film and TV Drama Industries.” ScreenSkills, www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/film-and-tv-drama/development-film-and-tv-drama-job-profiles/producer-film-and-tv-drama/  Accessed 5th May 2022. 

 

 

 “Topic: Ukraine.” Statista, www.statista.com/topics/2473/ukraine/#topicHeader__wrapper  Accessed 29th March 2022.