“I’m not a journalist, I’m a filmmaker”

Before I go on, I’d like to offer my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Mr. Richard Mannington Bowes. Naturally answering questions about this video hasn’t been my primary concern. Although I have seen the thousands of comments, e-mails and blogs you have left and feel compelled to respond.

In the days leading up to the Ealing riots, I was watching the rolling news coverage and seriously contemplating getting myself over to Hackney or Peckham to film the events. I had no motive other than collecting rare footage that I could add to a showreel. However at this stage, I was sub-consciously talking myself out of it. 

Then Facebook began spreading news that trouble had broken out in Ealing. There was no contemplation, I instantly prepared my camera. I use a Canon EOS 550D and had to make a snap decision on lens. I didn’t want to take more than one as I wanted to be light as possible without a bag full of lenses. I chose the “nifty fifty” (Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II). A few reasons popped into my head as to why; I didn’t want a hench lens that looked professional and would attract attention. Putting the 50mm on made the camera resemble a more of a consumer level camera in the eyes of potential thieves. Since zooming was out (no zoom on 50mm), the crop produced by putting a 50mm lens on a 550D means the subject seemed closer than I actually was. Also, night had rolled in and the 50mm handles low-lighting conditions sublimely. Coupled with that knowledge and the fact that I’d most likely not have time to manually control the image, I set the ISO to auto. 

For the same reason as choosing the 50mm (not drawing attention), I chose not to take the DSLR rig. This meant the footage was going to be pretty shaky. But, it was my intention to shoot the footage in 50fps. Then the footage would be conformed to 24fps (using Cinema Tools) to produce slow-motion footage. This would eliminate most of the undesirable shakes, leave the footage presentable and unlike the camera phone footage being uploaded to youtube in droves. With everything set, I headed out downtown to begin filming. 

I arrived in the town as Police began closing Ealing down. I remember there being an overwhelming lack of communication. The faces of the Police were that of the spectators. At this point I was “allowed” to film standing by the North Star pub. That was until I was told to move along with force. I was being pushed down the street despite informing the officer what she was doing was an offence and it was my right to be there. I kept my cool, knowing fine well I would have been arrested if I didn’t comply. It didn’t last long however, as I headed to Haven Green to bypass the Police blockade in the high street. 

I arrived at TK Maxx where all hell broke loose. I pointed my camera where HMV once was, as a swarm of youths came bundling round the corner. One guy was sent clean flying over the railings and another was knocked to the ground with a riot shield and immediately silenced with a baton to the face. I turn my camera as a man is being intimidated by a Police officer. I remember being completely taken aback by this, not seeing what had justified such brutality. These few seconds of footage played at normal speed was incomprehensible. Too much going on in one shot. Slowing it down allowed the study of the footage. 

At this point riot Police moved down toward Karma night club where the majority of the swarm had dispersed. I followed them. One riot officer made a point of respecting my right to film them, but did insist on me staying behind them and that I was there at my own risk. After a stand off, it had become clear that the rioters had done a number on them, using the alleyways around the Ealing Broadway shopping centre to rejoin the masses. The riot Police returned to the high street where we stood briefly until word was received that trouble was happening at Spring Bridge Mews. The riot Police ran toward the trouble where a wall of Police stood. In the distance, bottles and bricks were being thrown by rioters. Uniformed Police backed off, leaving a 5 to 6 man riot squad to deal with the rioters. When we arrived where the rioters had been, it resembled a war zone. Bins set ablaze, glass everywhere, a man lying motionless on the ground. With bricks still being thrown, I lean against the wall of the Arcadia shopping centre, shielding myself. 

When the rioters eventually backed up and Police where able to move forward to the florist on Haven Green. One riot officer remained to attend to who would later be revealed as Mr. Richard Mannington Bowes. I remember asking if he was OK, as I saw a wound to the left of his face. Needless to say, I felt incredibly uncomfortable filming this, so I stopped. As we were waiting I remember getting frustrated that no ambulance could reach us. There was nothing we could do. I raised my voice, “well what are we going to do?”. The riot officer told me to go find a first-aid kit. I ran to the high street and told the Police officers there that a man was unconscious and needed help. Where can I find a first aid kit? They said “try the back of a Police car, but they’re probably locked”. Thanks. I ran to 3 Police cars whilst the officers watched me frantically try the boots. All locked. No one helping. I go to a Police van parked up outside the Arcadia and get the officer to look for a kit, but to no avail. This was getting ridiculous. Then I saw a Police car that had been smashed up in the middle of the road. I ran to it then proceeded to move a large piece of window to allow me to reach into the car and grab the kit. 

With the first-aid kit, I made a beeline to Mr. Bowes, running passed 3 Police officers, who I remember having a go at in anger. “I’ve just looted this from the back of a Police car… do you mind?!” I get to Mr Bowes and hand the kit over to the officer still attending him with Peter Firstbrook. I then took some water to the riot officers towards the florist and then made my way to Tescos, where I could see a group of rioters. As I reached them, I remember being a pretty cautious at this point as I was beginning to get a lot of interest from rioters. “Are you BBC?” asked one rioter. “Nah mate, I’m just doing this for youtube.” That seemed to drop the attention. I ventured to Ealing Broadway station where there was another stand off. I remember standing at the entrance to the station, safely filming. Until the Police began moving us (me and two others) into the line of fire! Despite telling them this, they carried on forcing us round the hair salon to the road leading to Tescos, where bricks and bottles were flying over. 

When back at Tescos, I grabbed a few more shots as my battery began depleting. I recall standing on the roundabout as cars were trying to get passed. However a bike was blocking the way. I got down from the roundabout and moved it for the car. Looking back, that was an incredibly stupid thing to have done. Since Mr Bowes was attacked for similar reasons. The battery died and I remained as a spectator briefly as a car was stopped by rioters and then had it’s windows smashed with the driver and passenger still inside. Police arrived and chased off the rioters. The men were visibly shaken by what had just happened. I then decided to leave. 

I got home and began to review the footage, making a very basic edit in my head and conforming the shots I wanted to use. I didn’t spend the time transcoding the footage to the Apple Pro Res 422 codec and dumped the footage in Final Cut raw. It was at that moment when I decided to put music to it. I’d just lived it and the music I’d had lined up for the next showreel (The Chemical Brothers - Container Park) was just perfect, and represented exactly what I was feeling whilst in the midst of the riots. Now, I’m fully aware that this is not how you report the news. But, let it be known, I’m not a journalist, I’m a filmmaker. Thus this was a documentary. 

During my time at the University of West London, I had two major obsessions, British Realism and Documentary Film Making. To me, it really did feel like I was living a movie. I’d never experienced something like this without being in cinema or on a sofa. I thought to myself that, this could be an experiment if you will. A blurring of the lines. Everything that happens in the video actually happened. No matter how much you slow it down. It doesn’t remove the fact that it’s real. Even with the music. I understand that it suggests a particular emotion, but the emotion was precisely what I felt and that was precisely what I wanted to convey. How it felt to be there in the midst of a country falling to pieces. I had edited it within two hours of the event. The emotion was still fresh within me and is still present in the video and forever will be. If I’d edited it the following day, the emotion would have been distorted by other influences. I simply wasn’t thinking about reporting the news. It wasn’t intended to be as wide spread as it would become. I intended it to be another spontaneous short such as ‘London: 6AM’. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Well I uploaded it to an instant 301 views. I contemplated calling the Police since I had amassed a package of evidence. I thought, chances are I wouldn’t get through and cancelled the call. I didn’t have to make that call. I woke up the next day to over 100,000 views and a text from my old housemate saying the Police had come looking for me and that they were on the way to my house. It was true. They arrived and I recalled the events from the night before in the form of a statement, then gave the Police the footage. The Police then left to carry on their enquires. Then my phone began to ring… but that’s another story. 

Kris Thompson