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Channel 4 2018 Alton Towers Documentary

Is the documentary mainly about Wicker Man, or does it mention the rest of the park, too?

Also, how do you guys reckon the documentary came about? Would Alton Towers have gone up to Channel 4 and said "Can you do a documentary about us?" or would it likely have been the other way around?
 
Matt N said:
Is the documentary mainly about Wicker Man, or does it mention the rest of the park, too?

Also, how do you guys reckon the documentary came about? Would Alton Towers have gone up to Channel 4 and said "Can you do a documentary about us?" or would it likely have been the other way around?
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Mostly about Wicker Man, and the key people involved with it. There's a lot of shots of the rides, during the intro, but very little after that.

I imagine the production company went to them with an idea.
 
Rob said:
Maybe not, but as it's seemingly a documentary about how Alton Towers have been trying to recover from The Smiler incident then I doubt it will be putting the park across as a cash cow. The ideas and content will have been discussed between Alton Towers and the production company, and if Alton Towers did not like their ideas then they would not have allowed for a such a documentary to be made.

They're clearly hoping it will have a postive impact and reassure the public.

:)
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As someone who works on documentaries for a living i know that in my experience you give a working title and concept and agree access and filming dates. You discuss access arrangements such as this will happen at x and you talk about key moments and do an initial storyline but it depends on the footage you have in the edit. Maybe 'Mel from x' is such a character that it causes filming or the edit to go off on a tangent. The cut ratio is normally 60:1 (60 mins filmed to 1 minute used) to 40:1.

I remember filming once in a zoo and we had arranged all these vet procedures being done. But the best and most intresting part was carrying the brown bear who was put ASLEEP out of the pond (went into it after being darted) and making a large portion of the segment about the keeper doing the daily penguine talk soaked through as she had no spare cloths and she was a character.


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kiphakes said:
Mostly about Wicker Man, and the key people involved with it. There's a lot of shots of the rides, during the intro, but very little after that.

I imagine the production company went to them with an idea.
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Ah right, thanks @kiphakes! Looking forward to tonight's documentary; I'm trying not to spoil it too much for myself!
 
SuperMuscleMan said:
As someone who works on documentaries for a living i know that in my experience you give a working title and concept and agree access and filming dates. You discuss access arrangements such as this will happen at x and you talk about key moments and do an initial storyline but it depends on the footage you have in the edit. Maybe 'Mel from x' is such a character that it causes filming or the edit to go off on a tangent. The cut ratio is normally 60:1 (60 mins filmed to 1 minute used) to 40:1.
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Yep.. The chap filming was filming SO MUCH, and was also keen to feature the fact it didn't open when it should. However, that doesn't appear at all, so obviously the direction of the finished film changed between then, and now.
 
kiphakes said:
Yep.. The chap filming was filming SO MUCH, and was also keen to feature the fact it didn't open when it should. However, that doesn't appear at all, so obviously the direction of the finished film changed between then, and now.
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It’s a shame they didn’t use any of that, it actually would if helped show the enthusiasm for the park. Turning up even with no chance of riding it but still the public flocked in heavy snow and winds.
 
ringo said:
It’s a shame they didn’t use any of that, it actually would if helped show the enthusiasm for the park. Turning up even with no chance of riding it but still the public flocked in heavy snow and winds.
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Yep that was me. Was there both on the Saturday and the Sunday!!
 
ringo said:
It’s a shame they didn’t use any of that, it actually would if helped show the enthusiasm for the park. Turning up even with no chance of riding it but still the public flocked in heavy snow and winds.
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Very true! I think, judging by how much is crammed in the last part, it was just down to running time. The finale is pretty well done though..
 
I'm really looking forward to seeing this.

After the Smiler crash there was a lot of misinformation and hysteria in the media, and unfortunately a lot of people bought into it without really understanding how places like Alton Towers are some of the safest places you could ever go to. I remember at the time thinking that a factual documentary that showed how it happened and how lessons were learnt could put the issue to bed. I'm hoping this documentary, although primarily about Wicker Man, will also help to dispel the myths of 2nd June 2015 and perhaps encourage some of the visitors who've been scared to come back.
 
Alsty said:
I'm really looking forward to seeing this.

After the Smiler crash there was a lot of misinformation and hysteria in the media, and unfortunately a lot of people bought into it without really understanding how places like Alton Towers are some of the safest places you could ever go to. I remember at the time thinking that a factual documentary that showed how it happened and how lessons were learnt could put the issue to bed. I'm hoping this documentary, although primarily about Wicker Man, will also help to dispel the myths of 2nd June 2015 and perhaps encourage some of the visitors who've been scared to come back.
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Without going too off topic into the incident. I think some were put off visiting as the incident was down to human error and on that logic those could argue it could happen on any ride and they assumed the place just wasn’t safe and of course if it can happen once it could happen again.

I think that was why they put out those protecting the magic booklets and videos, show what goes on behind the scenes and how safe it is.
 
Alsty said:
After the Smiler crash there was a lot of misinformation and hysteria in the media, and unfortunately a lot of people bought into it without really understanding how places like Alton Towers are some of the safest places you could ever go to. I remember at the time thinking that a factual documentary that showed how it happened and how lessons were learnt could put the issue to bed.
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Maybe one day they'll make a Seconds From Disaster episode about it?
 
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