Research post for 160MC

Our research really began in the first session. We decided to think of what items the character could have in their pockets firstly and so we went about doing this by going round the group and seeing what items they had on them. We wrote down all our findings into a list and from this list, narrowed it down into a shortlist. We knew we wanted every day items to make the character believable, but also to give them a unique spin to make them relevant to the character.

Other research included finding out the interests of members of the group and applying them to the character. This is where the character (Jackson Matthews) gained the interest of heavy metal music; from interests of the group. From this we decided he could have been in a heavy metal band which has since failed and so Jackson is longing for a way to relive the days in which the band was together.

Because our created character was once in a heavy metal band, we wanted to develop this past further. We wanted to create a variety of production pieces to accompany the fictional band we created, MotorForge, and enable a sense of hyperdiegesis.

We wished to create a fictional heavy metal band, whereby our character would be the lead singer and rhythm guitarist. A few of the members had an interest in this kind of music (including myself) so we decided to put a few of our interests into the character Jackson Matthews. We began researching classic rock and heavy metal bands, ranging from Metallica, Iron Maiden, Dio and Black Sabbath to get a feel for the music which would help us get into the mindset for the creation of the production pieces. The band bears a lot of significance and importance to our character so it was important to get it right. The whole story revolves around Jackson conflicting with his goal of reforming his old band, but in doing so having to leave his girlfriend Katie behind.

After we had listened to a collection of heavy metal songs and had the character’s timeline in place, we decided to create a MotorForge promotional tour poster. We looked at a few posters of mainstream heavy metal bands to gain inspiration, such as the ones below:

From the posters such as these we were able to create our own band posters, now knowing the look and feel the posters and the bands present.

Our MotorForge tour posters:

MotorForge Tour Poster #2

MotorForge Tour Poster #1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The image on the left was the original version of the tour poster with image two being the amended copy. We thought that the addition of fire would make it more eye-catching than the original and would also keep in tone with many heavy metal concepts and imagery.

We also chose to create a radio interview to show the success the band once had at the release of their one-hit-wonder single ‘Flame of the Night’. Due to a video problem in post-production, we could not create this radio interview but instead used the footage to create a trailer for the radio interview. We researched trailers for promoting either live shows or upcoming tours but instead applied this to a trailer for a radio interview. The most notable trailer we looked to was the one that can be seen on the main ‘Download Festival 2012’ homepage.

http://www.downloadfestival.co.uk/

We felt that this trailer had the right style and feel for our fictional band MotorForge, and felt it was appropriate for the heavy metal style we were going for, thus changing it to promote an interview.

The trailer for our radio interview can be viewed below:

http://vimeo.com/32923166

Process / Development post for 160MC

Following the inception of our character, we had to present our creation to the other groups and lecturers. In our first presentation our group essentially just reiterated the list of personal information we had come up with for the character (Name, occupation, relationship status) and elaborated on how we came up with the character’s interests by taking interests of the group members and applying them to the character of Jackson Matthews. We also explained that we wanted the items to not be over-elaborate but instead wanted to make them every day items that someone would carry around with them, but put a unique spin on them to make them relevant to the character; something we have kept the same throughout the project.

As well as this, we also created a Facebook page for the fictional character and this has continued through the course up until the big event that was originally going to happen to Jackson Matthews on December 1st (this has since been changed to the 29th November which will make more sense in that a few day will have passed before we present the unfolding of the event) which will explain why no more posts are made after the date of the project hand-in. We have continued to add to this page on a daily basis to add further depth to his character.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003113874793

This has been updated through the statuses posted by Jackson and his girlfriend Katie, serving as a build up to the event that will happen to Jackson. Messages between the two show the progress and eventual breakdown of their relationship which builds upon the notion of duality between Jackson’s career and relationship with Katie.

The overall reaction to the character on the first ever presentation was fairly positive, and the way in which the Facebook page will coincide with the story and come to an end as the project ends was highly praised. The way in which our Cabinet of Curiosities is more of a character driven project rather than a plot driven one was also commended (although this isn’t technically true as we also have a plot that explains why the story ends) and the way in which the Facebook page creates this personal relationship with the character. Things that were not praised were the repetition of certain information as part of the presentation, in that we had no real structure of who was going to say what piece and as a result, some character features were repeated a number of times. This is something we have worked on in the ensuing presentations; allocating people to certain discussion topics and planning beforehand the way in which the presentation will go. As a result, we have now been able to structure our weekly updates on the character and generate a much more focussed approach compared to our first week of presenting.

One of the main areas of Jackson’s backstory that we decided to really focus on was his history in the band. In our first presentation we didn’t have a band name decided on, the other members of the band, what songs they released, and why they broke apart. Following this, we decided that this was the area that we needed to work on the most and over the past few weeks have created various production pieces for, such as a radio interview, a trailer for the interview and band tour promotional posters.

We decided to think up possible heavy metal themed band names and came up with the name MötorForge. The band was first set up in April 19th, 2004 and broke up on May 6th, 2006. During that time, the band released a hit single called ‘Flame of the Night’ from their debut album ‘Blood & Metal’. Although ‘Flame of the Night’ was highly successful, the same could not be said for the album, receiving negative reviews and selling very few copies. To try to boost popularity in the album, MötorForge organised a series of tour dtes between the dates of March 15th, 2006 – April 10th, 2006. When little to no tickets were sold, and a negative reaction from the people that did turn up, the band decided to quit. Jackson has never quite recovered after his passion of being in a band has never been rekindled.

The members of Jackson’s band were:

Jackson Matthews – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Michael ‘Pyro’ Storm – Lead guitar
Dave Roberts – Bass guitar, backing vocals
Steve Johnson – Drums

Our original concept for the event/story that happens to Jackson.

We meet the character now on his 27th birthday1st December 2011.

The character wakes to find himself trapped in the wreck of a car. He is unable to remember anything that happened in terms of how he got where he is and why he is here. He manages to get free of the car and retreat to a safe distance. He checks his pockets to find out anything he can of how he got to where he is. The items he finds are:

• Small note that says ‘Had to leave in a hurry. Be back in a few hours. Looking forward to tonight. I love you x’
• Mobile phone – Low battery, 3 missed calls, no credit
• Wallet photo – partially damaged in the crash. Picture is badly torn over the person who is with him in the photo. He can just make out that it is a female who seems very familiar. He is smiling which shows it is a happy memory.
• Guitar pick
• Lighter – engraved with the initials K.S.
• Gun – no bullets

After sitting staring at the first item (guitar pick) he recalls he used to play guitar and was in a one hit wonder band. The second item (the lighter) he remembers opening as a present. He reads the initials but can’t seem to place who they belong to. The third item (the note) he remembers reading and folding up and placing in his pocket before turning to acknowledge someone come in through the door. He then takes out the gun and remembers through a startling epiphany what brought him here. It was his birthday, and his girlfriend Katie Smith had left to pick up some things for his birthday meal that would go ahead that night. As he was in the house alone he opened his gift and it was a lighter with Katie’s initials on them. He put the lighter in his pocket. Just then a bunch of attackers broke into his house to try and rob him as they thought he was a famous music star and might have money. The attackers had guns and Jackson fought them off, taking one of the guns from the attacker. The door opened behind him and before he could think Jackson spun round and fired the gun, only to find that it was his girlfriend who had just returned. In a catatonic state of shock, Jackson crawled to his dying girlfriend and stays with her as she dies as the attackers leave. In a blind panic, Jackson takes the gun and flees to his car where he sped off. As he got quite a long way from London and into rural back roads, he lost control of the car and crashed it, causing him temporary memory loss. Realising what he has done, he picks up the mobile phone to listen to the missed calls, each one from Katie. As he listens to the messages he begins to cry as he stares at the torn picture of his girlfriend. In order to try and forget his past, he takes the lighter that was brought for him and burns all his belongings and throws the lighter into the car which sets it alight. After doing so, he turns around and continues walking down the long, deserted road alone.

At the end of the original presentation, we were pulled aside by one of the lecturers who asked us what our story was around the time it all ends. We explained it but it didn’t seem to take; referred to as “over-the-top” and “far-fetched”. He liked the idea of the car crash and ensuing amnesia which makes the character check his pockets to work out who he is, and he felt this worked well with the item collections in the Cabinet of Curiosities but told us to go back and create a more realistic story.

We decided to keep some elements, such as the car crash and amnesia, as well as the cabinet being the items that Jackson has in his pockets to try and remember what happened and how he got there.

We decided to keep the set up the same in terms of the car crash and memory loss, but we also narrowed the item list down to:

• Lighter
• Note
• Guitar pick
• Wallet photo (woman is on the picture with him. Both are smiling. A happy memory.
• Mobile phone (3 missed calls)

Through a series of flashbacks, he remembers he was on his way to a record deal with his old band, now reforming for a comeback for another shot at fame. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for him to be a successful musician, under new management with a new record company. In re-joining the band, it would mean he would have to  move away (due to the new lifestyle of a world famous band) and leave Katie behind as she has to look after her ill parents. In a fit of frustration, he yelled at Katie to leave as he felt he was no good for her and she could do much better. Upset, she left. Choosing to pursue his career, Jackson was late for the deal and sped to the record deal. Hearing his phone go off, he went to check it but lost control of the car and crashed it.

The guitar pick was his own that he used in the band MotorForge. The wallet photo was of him and Katie. Checking the mobile phone, he listens to the missed calls and they are from Katie, who talks about Jackson’s choices to either stay with her or pursue his career. Picking up the lighter, he burns the guitar pick, the wallet photo, and the mobile phone and throws them into the wreck of the car. Now trying to discover what he wants most in life, he sets off alone.

We felt this was a much more believable event to happen than the original one and seeemed to tie in a lot more effectively with his duality and conflict between his career in the band and his life with Katie, making it a more personal story.

162MC Lecture: – The Treatment

A loud banging is heard at the door and Jonathan Willson wakes up abruptly. He checks the clock and sees that it is says 3:22am. Choosing to ignore it, he tries to get back to sleep but the knocking continues. Jonathan gets slowly out of bed slowly and tries to check out the window to see if he can see who is knocking but his vision is obscured. Thinking it could be someone in need of help, he descends the stairs albeit with great trepidation and causion. As he is halfway down the stairs the knocking turns to shoving but just as he gets to the door the knocking stops. He starts to open the door slowly and just as it opens, a dishevelled man lunges at him and grabs him by the throat.

As they struggle, the attacker rips the phone out of the wall and smashes the phone on the floor as well as kicking the door shut. Jonathan tries to break away from the attacker and tries to fend him off but to no avail. The attacker beats Jonathan up and after a long fight, breaks Jonathan’s arm and throws him onto the ground; Jonathan now in a bloody mess. The attacker approaches Jonathan slowly, a look of sheer hatred and contempt. Jonathan tries to back away, questioning why the man is doing this. The attacker claims that Jonathan has ‘ruined his life’ and ‘taken everything from him’. Jonathan looks confused and tells the attacker he has no idea what he is talking about. The attacker says he was seeking revenge on a man named Jonathan Willis. Realising his mistake, Jonathan says that his name is Jonathan Willson, and that Jonathan Willis lives across the road. The attacker stands unmoving, the look of anger disappearing off his face and looking like he has made a big mistake.

A loud banging is heard at the door of Jonathan Willis’s house and he wakes up abruptly. He opens the door and the attacker lunges at him in the same fashion as Jonathan Willson.

The Cabinet of Curiosities – #3 Information about Jackson Matthews Band & Facebook Developments

Following the previous presentation, our group felt that we had neglected an important area in the backstory of Jackson Matthews; his band. We decided to think up possible heavy metal themed band names and came up with the name MötorForge. The band was first set up in April 19th, 2004 and broke up on May 6th, 2006. During that time, the band released a hit single called ‘Flame of the Night’ from their debut album ‘Blood & Metal’. Although ‘Flame of the Night’ was highly successful, the same could not be said for the album, recieving negative reviews and selling very few copies. To try to boost popularity in the album, MötorForge organised a series of tour dtes between the dates of March 15th, 2006 – April 10th, 2006. When little to no tickets were sold, and a negative reaction from the people that did turn up, the band decided to quit. Jackson has never quite recovered after his passion of being in a band has never been rekindled.

The members of Jackson’s band were:

Jackson Matthews – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Michael ‘Pyro’ Storm – Lead guitar
Dave Roberts – Bass guitar, backing vocals
Steve Johnson – Drums

MötorForge Band Logo #1

MötorForge Band Logo #2

Blood & Metal Tracklist

Blood & Metal Album Cover

We also made a timeline for Jackson Matthews, of all the key events in his life.

• Drops out of University –  December 8th, 2002
• Auditioned for MötorForge – April 19th, 2004
• ‘Flame of the Night’ single released – June 22nd, 2005
• ‘Blood & Metal’ album released – August 12th, 2005
• Parents leave for Ireland – October 17th, 2005
• Met Katie – July 15th, 2006
• Became couple – September 21st, 2006
• Moved in together – February 13th, 2009
• Our cabinet takes place on December 1st, 2011

As well as this, we have decided to change the event that happens on the date of December 1st, 2011. We found the story to be quit unrealistic and felt it drew away from the grounded in reality character we had come up with. We decided to keep some elements, such as the car crash and amnesia, as well as the cabinet being the items that Jackson has in his pockets to try and remember what happened and how he got there. Our amended event is as follows:

Jackson Matthews finds himself in the wreck of a car after crashing it. He can’t remember how he got here or why. After crawling out and moving to a safe distance, he checks his pockets for any items he may have to help him solve the reason he is here. He finds:

• Lighter
• Guitar pick
• Wallet photo (woman is on the picture with him. Both are smiling. A happy memory.
• Mobile phone (3 missed calls)

Through a series of flashbacks, he remembers he was on his way to a record deal with his old band, now reforming for a comeback for another shot. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for him to be a successful musician known, possibly, worldwide. In re-joining the band, it would mean he would have to  move away and leave Katie behind, as she didn’t want to part from her career. In a fit of frustration, he yelled at Katie to leave as he felt he was no good for her and she could do much better. Upset, she left. Choosing to pursue his career, Jackson was late for the deal and sped to the record deal. Hearing his phone go off, he went to check it but lost control of the car and crashed it.

The guitar pick was his own that he used in the band MotorForge. The wallet photo was of him and Katie. Checking the mobile phone, he listens to the missed calls and they are from Katie, who discusses about chooses and ‘how he can be the only decider on how he chooses to live his life.’ Picking up the lighter, he burns the guitar pick, the wallet photo, and the mobile phone and throws them into the wreck of the car. Now trying to discover what he wants most in life, he sets off alone down the road.

Elements of this will be taken and put on the Facebook page, and we will record the missed calls that will have been uncovered at the site of the crash from the mobile.

 

 

160MC Lecture: – Editing 18/11/2011

Editing can make or break a movie or programme.

• Basic editing such as news reports with inserts are functional but necessary.
• More ‘creative’ editing can actually be detrimental to the project.

It is said that if you can see or notice the edits then the editor has failed.

As well as this, we watched a series of videos of Alfred Hitchcock (one of my favourite directors) talking about editing and the implications that can be made through certain shots and edits. Everything Hitchcock says in these videos are completely true in my opinion, and he really knows his craft and how to develop the scenes through clever camera work and by building tension.

“You’ve got the audience working.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG0V7EVFZt4       < – – Alfred Hitchcock on editing

“That’s what film can do for you.”

162MC Lecture: – The Treatment 17/11/2011

If you are asked to write a treatment, it means you are really being taken seriously by the executives.

It is arguably the most important document, as it has to be a detailed and informative piece to tell the main story. This also includes telling the subplots and everything that happens in order that it would appear on screen. Every scene is written out, including every incident and can even include short snippets of dialogue.

A good and detailed treatment makes the writing of the actual screenplay much easier.

• A feature script written without a detailed treatment will be a mess; full of plot holes and missed opportunities.

At this stage, you will generally be working with a producer or a script editor. This usually means that you may have to write more than one version.

Up to 10 pages would be considered too short for a feature treatment. A short film would take about a page to two pages for a treatment.

Movie Reviews – The Lion King 3-D Re-Release

*Spoilers*

‘The Lion King’ was Walt Disney’s 32nd animated feature released in 1994 and has since gone on to become one of the greatest, well-known and most successful animated films of all time. But does ‘The Lion King’ still hold up to modern audiences, regardless of its 3-D makeover, and is the circle of life still with it?

‘The Lion King’ has always been one of my favourite films since I first saw it when I was a kid, and when I heard that it was going to get another theatrical release I was very excited, as it would give me a chance to see it for the first time on the big screen. However, I hate the recent move of films into 3-D and find it a useless, pointless and extra money making excuse, so when I heard ‘The Lion King’ was being re-released in a 3-D format, I was a little annoyed. Nevertheless, I put aside my hate for 3-D just for this film as I really wanted to see it at the cinema.

Waiting for the film to start was a great experience as there were a mix of people who had watched it when they were younger (like myself) and had come for the nostalgia if nothing else, people who had never seen it before (what were they thinking!?) and a new generation of fans. Finally the lights went down and the film began with the audience in complete silence…and then…

If a sunrise ever looks like this, it's probably the Apocalypse.

That opening scene took everyone’s breath away as it is one of the most iconic film openings and hearing ‘Circle of Life’ blare out was a phenomenal experience I think the whole audience shared. It was at this point that I was eagle-eyeing the 3-D to draw comparison to the 2-D film I had been so used to for all these years. And quite honestly, the 3-D wasn’t actually that bad. Would I watch it every time in that format? No. But it was interesting to see it in this new format, even if after a while I didn’t really notice it any more, which I’m not sure is a good or bad thing.

As the film went on, the level of nostalgia was at sometimes overpowering, and I won’t be ashamed to admit that it was very emotional at times. Hearing all those old songs that I grew up on and to see all of my favourite characters again was an event that I don’t think had been captured since Toy Story 3. A lot of the audience were singing along to the songs and I think everyone was watching the film with a smile on their face as they recalled all the iconic scenes….well…up until the infamous death of Mufasa scene.

For those of you who have seen The Lion King, the scene that I was most looking forward to seeing on the big screen was the Wildebeast Stampede segment, which I always remembered to be a very powerful and intense scene, and it has stayed exactly that same way even today. This scene was made for the big screen, with its fast paced visuals, its swelling musical score (composed expertly as always by Hans Zimmer) and top notch voice acting and sound. And it didn’t disappoint. And when the time came for arguably one of Disney’s most memerable and heartbreaking scenes, the death of Mufasa, you could tell the whole audience was just embracing the emotion and poignancy of that scene. Watching this scene made me realise just how daring kids’ films used to be and how many risks they took. I for one wish that today’s children’s films would have the same tone and be as audacious as not only ‘The Lion King’ was, but animated films from this era were. ‘The Lion King’ deals with very relevant and mature issues such as death, deception, destiny and regicide (well, it is essentially an animated version of Hamlet). There are even connotations of Nazism, which when I was a kid I didn’t understand, but watching again were very clear and blatant. Such examples of this are with the villain, Scar, yelling to his army of Hyenas “Stick with me and you’ll never go hungry again!” and promising to stop the persecution of his people and lead them to a higher authority.

Note the goose stepping Hyenas

Such messages would be deamed unfit to contain within a children’s film anymore, and I think it’s a shame to see that Walt Disney pictures has gone from creating challenging and thought provoking films that were also entertaining for adults as well as children, to resorting to bland and forgettable films that offer no moral lessons and lack of interesting characters.

"Join me, Simba, and together we can rule the Pride Lands as father and son!"

On the subject of characters, The Lion King’s voice acting is perfect; boasting the talents of Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Rowan Atkinson, Woopi Goldberg and Darth Vader’s very own James Earl Jones. Nathan Lane still makes me laugh to this day playing the loud-mouthed meerkat Timon and James Earl Jones is unequalled as his stoic and powerful performance as Mufasa. Although the characters are obviously cartoons, the voice talent works so well that they almost feel like real characters, which is a sign of good film making if you care about and connect with its characters, even more so if they are just drawings on a page.

The animation is one of the finest examples from the Disney Renaissance, and the use of colour, impressive landscapes and character design help the characters and world seem to leap of the page and dazzle the viewer. The 3-D re-release has remastered the animation and the bright and vivid colours created a whole new layer to the film I had never really noticed before. That being said, the 3-D glasses did make the film appear quite dark, so I can’t wait to pick this film up on Blu-Ray and compare it to my original VHS copy.

Overall, ‘The Lion King’ is still to this day a shining example of animation and one of Walt Disney’s greatest masterpieces. Although revenue isn’t everything, the figures for the re-release show that audiences still hold ‘The Lion King’ dear to their hearts as it made $71.9 million within the end of the month of September, and became September’s highest grossing film (probably due to the increase in ticket prices of 3-D showings). So what does this mean for the future? Well, since the re-release in 3-D of ‘The Lion King’, Walt Disney has comissioned a new wave of Walt Disney Classics to be re-released in the format, including Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid to be released between 2012 – 2013, as well as converting PIXAR’s Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc. Is this a sign of hope that an interest is being shown once again to these good, character driven classics, or does it show executives that all audiences want is more quick 3-D re-releases to make money. Only you can decide that for yourselves but one thing is for certain, 3-D isn’t going away any time soon. Would I recommend the 3-D for ‘The Lion King’, no, but ‘The Lion King’ is a must see for children and adults alike and is to me, and will always be, one of my all time favourite films ever made.

162MC Lecture: – Pitch Outline

Jonathan Willson wakes up in the middle of the night to hear a loud and relentless knock at the door. It takes a while for him to realise what is going on and he tries to check out the window if he can see who is knocking. With his vision obscured, he chooses to ignore it and go back to sleep. When the knocking continues, he approaches the door with great apprehension. As soon as Jonathan opens the door the slightest inch, a dishevelled man lunges at him and grabs him by the throat. They proceed to have a fight around the house as the mystery attacker tries to kill Jonathan. After a long and brutal fight, the attacker breaks Jonathan’s arm and throws him to the ground, yelling that he has ‘ruined his life’ and ‘taken everything from him’. When Jonathan explains that he doesn’t know what the attacker is talking about, the attacker says he is looking for a certain ‘Jonathan Willis’. Realising his mistake, Jonathan tells him that Jonathan Willis lives across the road.

Following this, Jonathan Willis hears a knock at the door. He opens it as the dischevelled attacker lunges at him in the same fashion as the original Jonathan.

105MC Lecture and Workshop: – Representation & Ideology 15/10/2011

-Hegemony: – Gramsci – became leader of the Communist Party in 1923. Massive influence on media studies. ‘The Prison Notebooks’.

Hegemony is not the same as dominance.
Power as static possession of one group over another; more flexible, multiple, recognises change happens through means other than violence.

Representation of Maculinities

Theorising masculinities:
Influenced in part by: –

• Social movements e.g. feminism, gay movement
• New representations of men in media

3 phrases in men’s studies:

• sex roles theory
• sociological / structuralist (Connell)
• Cultural / post-structuralist

Hegemonic masculinity: not one masculinity, but many masculinities. Hegemonic masculinity preserves the interests of the powerful.

Homosociality: – many social practises in which men can participate in the construction and maintenance of hegemonic masculinity.

Maintains power relations at every level of the social structure.

• Men are not only organised hierarchically in relation to women, but also to each other in relations of marginalisation and subordination.
• All men recieve a patriarchal dividend, even if they are excluded from the dominant definitions of masculinity.

Empty signifier – never really reached ideal, hegemonic masculinity can never be reached.

– Beynon 2002 p.143

Or does media present us with a proliferation of masculinities that challenge and dilute hegemony?

– Crisis of Masculinity

Coventry Transport Museum

As part of our course we are expected to attend three museums and so the Coventry Transport Museum was my second visit during the course so far. I’ve never really been a big fan of cars but I can appreciate them if I think one looks ‘cool’ or if one has been constructed for a film, such as the Batmobile or Ghostbusters car. The museum hosts more than 240 cars and commercial vehicles, 100 motorcycles and 200 bicycles.  That being said, the museum was actually pretty fun, even to someone ignorant of the world of motors.

The museum mainly consisted of old cars such as the ones that were the originally cars ever made. In the main entrance there was an original wooden bicycle which had no brakes or a chain, so the rider had to move it forward themselves as well as having to be very careful when going downhill. Seeing those old cars and transports made me think about modern day technology, not only for cars, but things to do with media production and it became apparent just how far technology has moved on, and the looming fact that things we see as relevant now may again be outdated in a few years time.

A really fun part of the museum was the notable exhibits of Thrust2 and ThrustSSC, the British jet cars which broke the land speed record in 1983 and 1997. There was a simulation that was only £1 to go on, which put you in a mock ThrustSSC with a screen at the front which made it feel like you were in the same vehicle. The ThrustSSC would move accordingly and there were audio cues to explain what was about to happen. ThrustSSC highest speed totalled 763mph.

But without a doubt, the highlight of the visit for me was the ‘Back to the Future’ DeLorean DMC-12. The ‘Back to the Future’ trilogy has always been one of my favourite series of films of all time and to see the car right infront of me was a great experience. Unfortunately, without a flux capacitor, I doubt the time travel was possible….

DeLorean DMC-12

Again, like The Herbert, access to the Coventry Transport Museum is free so I would definitely recommend this to any car or general vehicle lover or to anyone who wishes to see the Back to the Future car up close. Just don’t try to get it to 88mph…