Eva Weber: I started making this film as I was fascinated by the fact that there is almost another world above London; yet most of us never look up to notice cranes or their drivers. Cranes dominate our cityscape; and once you notice them, you can see them literally everywhere; yet the men who operate these giant structures are often overlooked as they almost merge with their machines.  Spending most of their time up in the crane, they become invisible to the people on the site and passers-by. What emerges is an evocative and fascinating insight into a world unnoticed by most of us, yet fundamental to our lives. Without cranes our modern cities would be hard to imagine - they are fundamental to our lives.

They in turn can see everything going on around them, yet their only way to connect with the world below is by watching it from a distance.
In many ways, the film builds and expand on themes touched upon in my last film 'The Intimacy of Strangers' - the conflict between being
intimate yet distant; and how our lives are shaped by our urban environment.


Luis Pedron: Regarding Crane drivers, did you get to ask anyone of them why any
of them became Crane drivers? Thrill seekers? It must pay well?

Eva Weber: Many of the drivers started working on construction sites either as labourers or as banksmen, who direct the cranes from the ground, before deciding to train as crane drivers. In the UK, you can attend a two-week programme to train as a crane driver, before joining one of the bigger crane hire companies, where you might be further trained on the job. Whilst crane drivers get paid quite well, they also have very long working hours - they are normally the first people on the site and the last ones to go home. The job can be hard on your family life, as many drivers also have to travel to other cities in order to find work. One of the drivers in the film commutes every week from Birmingham into London where he works on constructions sites. On the weekends, he drives back to see his children.
 

Luis Pedron: Did you get to ride on these Cranes? How exciting was the experience?

Eva Weber: There are still very few moments that beat being up on a tower crane for the first time. Even now, endless climbs later, I am still amazed at the view of the world you have from up there. Walking down the back jib, looking through the thin, perforated metal floor at the ground below, is both exhilarating and nerve-wrecking.

Most of the cranes we filmed on were about 40 metres high, but one was over 73 metres high, and it is amazing what a difference thirty metres can make when you are high up in the sky.


Luis Pedron:  I realize, everybody has seen a crane one way or another, please explain what is the purpose of cranes in a construction of a building? How much is it to rent? How tall can they be? Who produces these monster machines? Do Crane drivers have to go to Crane driving school?  Is there a retirement age to Crane Driving?

Eva Weber: It is almost impossible to answer this question, as it depends on the site, the make of crane and many other circumstances.

There are a number of companies in the world making cranes, several of which are based in Europe, such as Wolff and Liebherr in Germany.

Yes, they are training programmes, again this depends on the country you are in.

Luis Pedron:  Wow, the few pics of Cranes in the backdrop of a city looks pretty and very artistic.
I would love to see more pictures from your photo contest? Please tell me how you got about putting up this contest?

Eva Weber: We can definitely send you some pictures from the contest once it is up and running. To celebrate our North Amercian premiere, we have contacted crane and construction magazines as well as local press to ask crane enthusiasts to send us their photos. We have also been in touch with crane hire companies in the States, asking them to forward the competition details to their drivers and staff.

Luis Pedron: How does completing this City of Cranes docu of yours compare to your other docu produced for BBC like?

Eva Weber: Each films brings with it its own set of challenges. Obviously CITY OF CRANES was made on a very small budget, compared to some of the work I have produced for BBC Broadcast. We are currently working on a longer version of the film which will be completed later this year.


Luis Pedron: Did you have a hard time finding Crane drivers to interview? Did you have to ask special permits to film them, pls explain the experience?

Eva Weber: When I started researching the film, I went to one of the biggest construction sites in London which happens to be near my home in East London. I asked whether I could talk to some of the crane drivers working on the site, and the drivers there were incredibly friendly and forthcoming. Unfortunately, I was never able to film at this particular site; however, I did interview some of the drivers for the film.

I subsequently spent many days traveling round London, visiting other sites and talking to drivers. I quickly found out that the world of
cranes is quite a small one: Word of mouth travelled very quickly, and by the time, I approached other sites, the drivers there had already
heard about my project.

I subsequently also met many other people working on construction sites or working with cranes, from banksmen, who direct the drivers from the ground, to the crane erectors, who erect and take cranes down.

Getting access to construction sites for filming proved to be an incredibly slow and difficult process, not helped by the fact that at
the time there were a number of accidents involving cranes in London.

I remember going with my crew to an hour-long health & safety briefing at a building site behind the Tate Modern one morning, as we had been given permission to film there the following day; only for my producer to call me later in the day with the news that the construction company had changed their mind and now would not allow us on site. Within the following few hours, my producer lost access to all but one site in what was almost a chain reaction, as construction companies, clients and site managers panicked about our film highlighting possible health & safety violations. In the end, it took another two months of constant e-mails, phone calls and meetings, to convince some of the companies to allow us albeit limited access.

The filming itself proved to be no less complicated.  We soon found out that there is no easy way to bring a HDCAM (and initially a S16mm) camera kit up a 40-metre high crane. Whatever way you try, it involves a lot of climbing up ladders.

There was also no telling who had the stomach to work up on a crane. Crew members who felt they would have no problem with the height, ended up not being able to take the movement. The tower of a crane twists and turns sideways as they slew round, and bends forwards and backwards as they lift up a load. Being up on the tower, hearing the crane creak and seeing the metal of the structure twist in front of you, can be a rather unnerving experience.

In terms of special permits, we had to complete Health & Safety Risk Assessments for each shoot, together with method statements. The crane hire company did also provide us with their own risk assessment.


Luis Pedron:  What are the lessons learned in filming Cranes and Crane drivers?
Any advice to future filmmakers in pursuing their dream topic?

Eva Weber: Making this film allowed me to enter a world which I would have otherwise never had access to. Meeting the drivers and going up cranes was a truly amazing experience.

Regardless of the difficulties of organising the filming and getting access to sites, in the end it were the reactions of the drivers that
made it all worth it. One driver e-mailed us that after his family watched the film they finally understood what his life is like up there
and what his job involves. It also proves that perseverance does pay off in the end.

Luis Pedron: What is next for Samantha Zarzosa and Eva Weber?

Eva Weber: For the last year, I have been developing a feature-length documentary project, entitled LA STORAGE, through the Discovery Campus Masterschool. Humorous, romantic and surprising, LA STORAGE is the story of the winners and losers of self storage auctions and their dreams and hopes for happiness. This documentary I have also just been commissioned to make another short documentary for the Scottish Documentary Institute, which is due to be completed in April. Later this year, I am hoping to travel to China to research my first fiction feature which is based there. 

Luis Pedron:  Pls tell us what are your advice for filmmakers about the international film festival route?

Eva Weber: It obviously helps to research festivals in advance of submitting, and working out a strategy for each film. Whilst festivals are great networking opportunities, one should never forget to have fun though. We have met some amazing people at festivals, be they filmmakers, programmers or people who 'just' come and see films, and have built some lasting friendships.