On the day of production we ran straight into a problem. Me and two other members of the group were going to meet up at Bradford College to collect the filming equipment but we ended being a man down which meant me and another member of my group had to carry the equipment between us. The equipment included, a professional hdv camera, a tripod, a smaller mini dv camera and the digital audio equipment.
As before we took the train and met up with the member of our group who lived close to the centre. We then got a taxi up to the centre just like before. We arrived at the centre 15 minutes before the children were expected to arrive so we could set up the equipment and make sure everything was ok.
When we got their we weren't sure whether if any of the children were going to bring back the parental consent forms so we could film them. If not many of them did bring back the forms we had plan. We were going to take still shots of the children who didn't bring back the forms. To take the still shots we were going to use the smaller mini DV camera.
When children started to come into the centre we were surprised by the number of the number of children that showed up. At first we expected about 5 children would turn up but when it came to the filming day there was definitely over ten. As it turned out only a couple of the children brought back their parental consent forms. So with the the children who brought back the forms we were going to interview them after they had created their poster.
As they came in we told the children what we here for and told them what we would like them to do. I was surprised about how the children just dived straight into creating the posters. With the digital audio equipment we decided to record an audio version of the session. So that none of the children would step on it or mess with it we put it in a safe place.
After one of the children who had brought back their consent forms had finished their poster we decided to interview them. We asked the child questions about the poster that they had created and asked what the child what would want to do in the as a career. After the interview the session had finished and we packed all the equipment away and checked we hadn't forgotten anything. We decided to separate the equipment between the three of us so we had at least one piece of equipment to carry.
Monday 21 June 2010
Wednesday 16 June 2010
Interaction- first meeting with Angie Stack
With our proposal ready a member of our group contacted Angie Stack who is the events orgainser at Hainworth Wood Community Centre. A member of my group sent her an e-mail to try and organise a meeting with her so we could tell her our idea on what we want to do at the community centre.
To keep a record of the meeting we used the digital audio equipment to record the people's voices who attended the meeting. Me and another of the group took the train to meet up with an other member of our group who lived close by to the community centre. From the train station we took a taxu up to the community centre and went straight into the meeting with Angie Stack.
At the start of the meeting our group talked about what we wanted to do at the comunity centre. After we had talked to her about it she agreed to let us film people at the community centre. She also gave us low down on what needed sorting out before we could actually do the filming. She told us about how she will have to create parent consent forms for the children so that went it comes to filming the children will have to bring back the forms signed by their parents. She did warn us that it may be short notice and not many chidlren may bring back the forms but we took the chance.
Also during the meeting we talked about times and dates of the filming. We settled on a date and discussed what else needed doing and we told Angie Stacjk we would send her a poster advertising the event at the centre and also othe rinformation that could be sent to the parents such as, what we are using the video for.
After that was setteled the meeting ended and we stopped the recording and went home.
To keep a record of the meeting we used the digital audio equipment to record the people's voices who attended the meeting. Me and another of the group took the train to meet up with an other member of our group who lived close by to the community centre. From the train station we took a taxu up to the community centre and went straight into the meeting with Angie Stack.
At the start of the meeting our group talked about what we wanted to do at the comunity centre. After we had talked to her about it she agreed to let us film people at the community centre. She also gave us low down on what needed sorting out before we could actually do the filming. She told us about how she will have to create parent consent forms for the children so that went it comes to filming the children will have to bring back the forms signed by their parents. She did warn us that it may be short notice and not many chidlren may bring back the forms but we took the chance.
Also during the meeting we talked about times and dates of the filming. We settled on a date and discussed what else needed doing and we told Angie Stacjk we would send her a poster advertising the event at the centre and also othe rinformation that could be sent to the parents such as, what we are using the video for.
After that was setteled the meeting ended and we stopped the recording and went home.
Interaction- final idea (proposal)
The overall idea is to create a video piece that will raise awareness of a new play area in Keighley. We would like to raise awareness of road safety issues in an area of Keighley. Our group, thumbs up productions are going to co-organise a workshop with a local community centre called Hainworth Wood Community Centre. There are concerns in the neighbourhood that drivers are are taking no notice of roadside signs and this would leave the children in the area in constant danger of being hit by a careless driver. In the workshops we would have the children creating posters and drawings to get across their view on road safety.
The genre of the video piece will be a Children and Family-Orientated film. Also the purpose of our final idea is to raise awareness to local families about the local play area and we also want to teach the children about respecting the play area. We also want to advertise Hainworth Wood Community Centre and also improve their website as well.
The target audience of our group's project is local parents and also children around the ages of 7 to 10. We also want to target the unemployed to show them the benefits of working in the local community. As a group we have conducted alot of research. So far, I have looked at different news articles from a local newspaper called, Keighley news. Also I have looked at diffeerent leaflets and flyers that promote and advertise different community centres and nursing homes. In our first meeting with Angie Stack who is the events organiser at Hainworth Wood Community Centre we discussed with her the different groups of children who go to the community centre and we also discussed the different opening times of the community centre. I am going to conduct more research on the local area of Keighley by looking at local newspapers and looking at different leaflets that I find. I am also going to research ways in which we can communicate with people in the community.
It will be delivered as a 5 minute edited video piece.
The genre of the video piece will be a Children and Family-Orientated film. Also the purpose of our final idea is to raise awareness to local families about the local play area and we also want to teach the children about respecting the play area. We also want to advertise Hainworth Wood Community Centre and also improve their website as well.
The target audience of our group's project is local parents and also children around the ages of 7 to 10. We also want to target the unemployed to show them the benefits of working in the local community. As a group we have conducted alot of research. So far, I have looked at different news articles from a local newspaper called, Keighley news. Also I have looked at diffeerent leaflets and flyers that promote and advertise different community centres and nursing homes. In our first meeting with Angie Stack who is the events organiser at Hainworth Wood Community Centre we discussed with her the different groups of children who go to the community centre and we also discussed the different opening times of the community centre. I am going to conduct more research on the local area of Keighley by looking at local newspapers and looking at different leaflets that I find. I am also going to research ways in which we can communicate with people in the community.
It will be delivered as a 5 minute edited video piece.
Thursday 27 May 2010
Interaction- pitching presentation redo
The first time we pitched our 4 ideas in didn't go to plan as some improvements needed to be made. I kept reading from my notes and I didn't look at the audience which is what I should of done. Also my body language wasn't good either because as the other members of my group were talking I was leaning against the wall and looking like I wasn't bothered. We were lucky because since we did our presentation first it meant we could re do it again so this time round I memorised what I was going to say so I could look at the audience.
Our second go at pitching our ideas actually went alot better as I didn't look at my notes as much and the only time I did was when I got slightly lost but it was fine. Also I made sure I looked at the audience and not mostly at my notes and I also used hand gestures as well which made it seem more professional. I also made sure that I didn't lean against the wall again and while the others were talking I just stood up straight with my hands behind my back.
I have had the same sort of problems in the past when pitching presentations. The first time I pitched a presentation I had a problem with looking at the audience and it was a problem in the interaction presentation as well. I think in the future I need to be a bit more confident when pitching presentations, especially if I am applying for a job and they want me to pitch a presentation. Also I believe I need to memorise what I am going to say before pitching the presentation and my body language need to seem more professional.
Our second go at pitching our ideas actually went alot better as I didn't look at my notes as much and the only time I did was when I got slightly lost but it was fine. Also I made sure I looked at the audience and not mostly at my notes and I also used hand gestures as well which made it seem more professional. I also made sure that I didn't lean against the wall again and while the others were talking I just stood up straight with my hands behind my back.
I have had the same sort of problems in the past when pitching presentations. The first time I pitched a presentation I had a problem with looking at the audience and it was a problem in the interaction presentation as well. I think in the future I need to be a bit more confident when pitching presentations, especially if I am applying for a job and they want me to pitch a presentation. Also I believe I need to memorise what I am going to say before pitching the presentation and my body language need to seem more professional.
Tuesday 25 May 2010
Interaction- pitching presentation
In our group I was the first person to pitch my idea to the class and the course tutor. I didn't go well because it didn't look up enough at look at the class I was to busy going between my cue cards and looking at the screen and also my body language was bad as I kept leaning against the wall.
It didn't go well for 2 other members of my group either as they did the same as me as one of them kept referring to his notes and not looking up and the other member of the groups presentation wasn't really good enough but he still manage to look at the class as he was talking which made it better. The other member of our group, Libby actually did rather well but the only thing wrong with her pitch was that she just read from a sheet and didn't look at the class either but it was still a good presentation as she addressed all the points needed to pass the presentation.
I think next time I will have to memorise what information is on the cue cards and that way I won't have to keep looking at the cue cards and that will mean I can look at the class more. I will also have to make sure that I stand up straight and not lean against the wall and make myself seem more professional.
It didn't go well for 2 other members of my group either as they did the same as me as one of them kept referring to his notes and not looking up and the other member of the groups presentation wasn't really good enough but he still manage to look at the class as he was talking which made it better. The other member of our group, Libby actually did rather well but the only thing wrong with her pitch was that she just read from a sheet and didn't look at the class either but it was still a good presentation as she addressed all the points needed to pass the presentation.
I think next time I will have to memorise what information is on the cue cards and that way I won't have to keep looking at the cue cards and that will mean I can look at the class more. I will also have to make sure that I stand up straight and not lean against the wall and make myself seem more professional.
Interaction- preparing presentation for our final 4 ideas
At the end our investigative report essays we had to choose 1 of our interaction reports to do some more research on. After we had done the investigative report essay we had to put the 4 ideas into one presentation and present it to the class and the course tutor. We each went away and did a small presentation on the idea we picked and after we had done we would send it to one of the members of our group and from there we could merge all the presentations together.
From my investigative reports I chose the physically disabled community but more specifically the Whetley Hill Resource Centre as my idea for the presentation. I first decided to think about what information I was going to put into the presentation and I came up with about 7 slides for my idea. In the slides I included what the centre offers and what facilities the centre has such as, IT suites, rehabilitation kitchens, exercise rooms, etc. I also included a slide on why I chose that community group for the interaction project and also another slide on the location of Whetley Hill Resource Centre and also contact details as well.
After we had created our small presentations we had to another two slide presentation each on our video productions ideas. Basically how we would film our idea. We had to include two tv shows our any clip to our idea and explain what similarities there will be between your work and the tv show or clip you have chosen. For my production ideas I compared mine to 'Top Gear' and also the show 'Traffic cops'. I wanted to compare mine to 'Top Gear' because in their shows when they test a car there is a entertaining narration over the top of it and that is what I want to do for mine have a narration in an entertaining style not in a documentary style. I also wanted to compare mine to the show 'Traffic Cops' because in the show they follow around a police force and see what they do on a day to day basis and for my idea I would follow around people at the centre and see what they do on a day to day basis.
To make sure I knew exactly what I was going to say when pitching the presentation I decided to create cue cards so if I got lost then I could just refer to the cue cards.
From my investigative reports I chose the physically disabled community but more specifically the Whetley Hill Resource Centre as my idea for the presentation. I first decided to think about what information I was going to put into the presentation and I came up with about 7 slides for my idea. In the slides I included what the centre offers and what facilities the centre has such as, IT suites, rehabilitation kitchens, exercise rooms, etc. I also included a slide on why I chose that community group for the interaction project and also another slide on the location of Whetley Hill Resource Centre and also contact details as well.
After we had created our small presentations we had to another two slide presentation each on our video productions ideas. Basically how we would film our idea. We had to include two tv shows our any clip to our idea and explain what similarities there will be between your work and the tv show or clip you have chosen. For my production ideas I compared mine to 'Top Gear' and also the show 'Traffic cops'. I wanted to compare mine to 'Top Gear' because in their shows when they test a car there is a entertaining narration over the top of it and that is what I want to do for mine have a narration in an entertaining style not in a documentary style. I also wanted to compare mine to the show 'Traffic Cops' because in the show they follow around a police force and see what they do on a day to day basis and for my idea I would follow around people at the centre and see what they do on a day to day basis.
To make sure I knew exactly what I was going to say when pitching the presentation I decided to create cue cards so if I got lost then I could just refer to the cue cards.
Thursday 20 May 2010
Interaction- Investigative report essay
For our folders we had to have a copy of each member of our groups investigative reports, so we had to have 16 investigative reports in our folder. With these 16 investigative reports we had to collate all the findings in the reports and put it all into one huge essay.
To start off with I talked about the task we were set to do and also how went about tackling the task. I talked about what we had to do for the investigative reports and also I talked about what we did to help us do the reports. I wrote about how we drew up a mind map to identify the different community groups that live within the Bradford area and also how we chose from the mind map 4 particular community groups.
I then typed up my findings from my own investigative reports. Basically I wrote in full sentences, what the community group is, oragnisations and charities that work with that particular community, the problems that we will face when making contact with that group and what legal and ethical issues we need to consider as well.
After I had typed all of my findings from my investigative reports I went on to type the other members of my group's investigative reports. When typing up that information sometimes I found it difficult because some information was missing and sometimes there wasn't enough so To solve that problem I asked the member in my group who wrote the investigative report about it and they gave me some more information so it was ok.
To conclude the investigative essay our group had to pick 1 investigative report from our own 4 and choose to one to do some further research on. I chose the physically disabled community from my 4 and the other ones that were picked were, the Buddhist community, the polish community and the autistic community. At the end of the essay we had to write which ones we chose and why the groups were chosen.
This essay is probably the longest one I have ever done as I ended up doing 8 pages.
To start off with I talked about the task we were set to do and also how went about tackling the task. I talked about what we had to do for the investigative reports and also I talked about what we did to help us do the reports. I wrote about how we drew up a mind map to identify the different community groups that live within the Bradford area and also how we chose from the mind map 4 particular community groups.
I then typed up my findings from my own investigative reports. Basically I wrote in full sentences, what the community group is, oragnisations and charities that work with that particular community, the problems that we will face when making contact with that group and what legal and ethical issues we need to consider as well.
After I had typed all of my findings from my investigative reports I went on to type the other members of my group's investigative reports. When typing up that information sometimes I found it difficult because some information was missing and sometimes there wasn't enough so To solve that problem I asked the member in my group who wrote the investigative report about it and they gave me some more information so it was ok.
To conclude the investigative essay our group had to pick 1 investigative report from our own 4 and choose to one to do some further research on. I chose the physically disabled community from my 4 and the other ones that were picked were, the Buddhist community, the polish community and the autistic community. At the end of the essay we had to write which ones we chose and why the groups were chosen.
This essay is probably the longest one I have ever done as I ended up doing 8 pages.
Monday 17 May 2010
Interaction- investigative reports
For the interaction project we each had to do 4 investigative reports for the community group we had chosen. I chose to do research on the disabled community in the Bradford area. I did one investigative report on the physically disabled community in Bradford, an investigative report on the Mentally Disabled, an investigative report on the Hearing impaired and another on the Visually Impaired community in Bradford.
For each of the reports we had to research different organisations and charities that work with that specific community group and the organisations and charities had to be based within the Bradford area. Also for each of the investigative reports we had to write down any problems we might face when making contact with community group and we also had to write down any practical or ethical issues we may need to consider when working with the group. The last thing we had to was write down why that specific group was suitable for interaction.
When I researching different organisations that work with a specific community group I found it difficult to find organisations that were based in Bradford because as most organisations and charities in Bradford are based all over the UK and I couldn't find many that were based in Bradford. But I did manage to find a few organisations that helped the particular community groups that had chosen. I managed to find them on an online directory for Bradford and the directory showed different services, organisations and charity shops that were based in Bradford.
For each of the reports we had to research different organisations and charities that work with that specific community group and the organisations and charities had to be based within the Bradford area. Also for each of the investigative reports we had to write down any problems we might face when making contact with community group and we also had to write down any practical or ethical issues we may need to consider when working with the group. The last thing we had to was write down why that specific group was suitable for interaction.
When I researching different organisations that work with a specific community group I found it difficult to find organisations that were based in Bradford because as most organisations and charities in Bradford are based all over the UK and I couldn't find many that were based in Bradford. But I did manage to find a few organisations that helped the particular community groups that had chosen. I managed to find them on an online directory for Bradford and the directory showed different services, organisations and charity shops that were based in Bradford.
Interaction- first group meeting
In our first meeting for the interaction project we decided to create a mind map to help us with our investigative reports. On the mind map we brainstormed different community groups that exist within the Bradford area.
After we created the mind map we looked at the different community groups that we had thought of and we chose a certain community group from the mind map and did more research on that specific community group for our investigative reports. For the report I chose the disabled community.
After we created the mind map we looked at the different community groups that we had thought of and we chose a certain community group from the mind map and did more research on that specific community group for our investigative reports. For the report I chose the disabled community.
Monday 10 May 2010
Tropic of Cancer- episode 4 (India)
In the 4th episode of the Tropic of Cancer series, the presenter Simon Reeve travels all the way across India.
This particular show starts off with it showing establishing shots of the Western Coast of India and has a narration over the top of the different shots of Simon Reeve talking a little about India. Then it cuts to Simon Reeve and it shows him in front of part of the Western Coast of India and he talks about what he will encounter as he travels across India.
Also in one part of the show he looks for endangered animals and when he finds them the shots show the endangered animal running about so the shots show you what these animals look like. Also Simon Reeve is talking over the top of shots to tell you about the animal and also he asks an animal expert questions about the animal which gives the audience information about the animal.
On another part of the show Simon Reeve visits a community centre and me and my group are filming at a community centre so it was useful to see how he interacted with people at the community centre. To interact with children at the community centre he sits among and talks to them and gives te children compliments on their drawings. This gave me an idea that when we are filming we should try and interact with the children as much as as possible. Also they used art classes to get children together and that is similar to what me and my group are doing for our interaction project.
This particular show starts off with it showing establishing shots of the Western Coast of India and has a narration over the top of the different shots of Simon Reeve talking a little about India. Then it cuts to Simon Reeve and it shows him in front of part of the Western Coast of India and he talks about what he will encounter as he travels across India.
Also in one part of the show he looks for endangered animals and when he finds them the shots show the endangered animal running about so the shots show you what these animals look like. Also Simon Reeve is talking over the top of shots to tell you about the animal and also he asks an animal expert questions about the animal which gives the audience information about the animal.
On another part of the show Simon Reeve visits a community centre and me and my group are filming at a community centre so it was useful to see how he interacted with people at the community centre. To interact with children at the community centre he sits among and talks to them and gives te children compliments on their drawings. This gave me an idea that when we are filming we should try and interact with the children as much as as possible. Also they used art classes to get children together and that is similar to what me and my group are doing for our interaction project.
Tuesday 27 April 2010
Tropic of Cancer- episode 3 Egypt to Oman
On this particular episode of the tropic of cancer the presenter Simon Reeve travels from Egypt to Oman. At the start of the programme it shows establishing shots of Lake Nasser which was formed by the waters of the River Nile and it is 300 miles long which makes one of the largest man made lakes in the world.
Also at the start he looks at a temple dedicated to a Pharaoh who had more than 40 wives and more than a 100 children. How did he not go insane. Also when he is in Egypt he talks to a resident of a village who had to move because their village is now submerged underwater. Simon Reeve also discovers another forgotten conflict between security and a set of people and security officials are stopping them from settling in Egypt and it hard to see how these sort of conflicts are not more heard of as they are violent conflicts.
When Simon Reeve and the film crew try to get to place Shalatin next to the red sea they find that they don't have permission to go there as the government are surprisingly strict on foreign film crews and it this happens to them a couple of times in Egypt. When Simon Reeve asks someone a question the camera usually zooms in on their face to get a close-up shot of them. Also when it showed a new location the cameraman used long shots to show the location so you can see most of it.
After travelling across a desert he meets a set of people who are hugely effected by a drought which is destroying livestock. Simon Reeve asks them how it is effecting them in their daily life.
There is another shot that the cameraman uses and its when there is more than person in the frame the cameraman uses a group shot to get all the people who are talking in one frame. Also when Simon Reeve dives into the Red sea they are able to get a few underwater shots of the Coral Reef. The shots are mainly medium and long shots so you can see most of the Coral Reef.
Sometimes when Simon Reeve is speaking it sometimes shows a close-up shot of him or sometimes it cuts to a different shot, for example, when he is in the Coral Reef it shows a close-up of him speaking and then it cuts to shots of the Coral Reef itself. Also when Simon Reeve visits a resort it shows establishing shots to show the location so each time he visits a new location they use establishing shots to show that particular location.
Also at the start he looks at a temple dedicated to a Pharaoh who had more than 40 wives and more than a 100 children. How did he not go insane. Also when he is in Egypt he talks to a resident of a village who had to move because their village is now submerged underwater. Simon Reeve also discovers another forgotten conflict between security and a set of people and security officials are stopping them from settling in Egypt and it hard to see how these sort of conflicts are not more heard of as they are violent conflicts.
When Simon Reeve and the film crew try to get to place Shalatin next to the red sea they find that they don't have permission to go there as the government are surprisingly strict on foreign film crews and it this happens to them a couple of times in Egypt. When Simon Reeve asks someone a question the camera usually zooms in on their face to get a close-up shot of them. Also when it showed a new location the cameraman used long shots to show the location so you can see most of it.
After travelling across a desert he meets a set of people who are hugely effected by a drought which is destroying livestock. Simon Reeve asks them how it is effecting them in their daily life.
There is another shot that the cameraman uses and its when there is more than person in the frame the cameraman uses a group shot to get all the people who are talking in one frame. Also when Simon Reeve dives into the Red sea they are able to get a few underwater shots of the Coral Reef. The shots are mainly medium and long shots so you can see most of the Coral Reef.
Sometimes when Simon Reeve is speaking it sometimes shows a close-up shot of him or sometimes it cuts to a different shot, for example, when he is in the Coral Reef it shows a close-up of him speaking and then it cuts to shots of the Coral Reef itself. Also when Simon Reeve visits a resort it shows establishing shots to show the location so each time he visits a new location they use establishing shots to show that particular location.
Monday 26 April 2010
Tropic of Cancer- episode 2
In the second episode of the Tropic of Cancer series the presenter, Simon Reeve travels from Western Sahara to nation of Libya.
In the Western Sahara he explores the conflict between the Morrocans and people of Western Sahara as their has been arguements to who the Western Sahara belongs too. Each time Simon Reeve goes to a different country he has guide that shows him around but in this particular he gets to know his guide really well and talk too each other as if they have been friends for quite a long time. This gave me an idea on how to interact with the local children in Keighley. It gave me the idea that I should try and talk with the children alot a get too know and if I get to know them I will feel more comfortable around them.
When Simon Reeve visits Western Sahara he learns that through Westeren Sahara there is a wall that the Morrocans built to cut off Morrocan controlled territory from the rest of Western Sahara and he also learns that near the wall the Morrocans have built land mines. This tells you how serious these conflicts are and you never hear this on the news as it is like a silent war.
Also just by visiting local villages and towns he gets an idea of their culture and what their lifes are like. There is something unusual about their culture as well. In the area of Mauritania fat woman are seen as beauty as it means they are wealthy and eating well. When Simon Reeve talks to local people it seems like their is just one camera following him around it makes it seem as if their is just him and a cameraman.
When Simon Reeve visits different towns or villages he interacts with certain people and asks them questions of what life is like in the twon or village. Towards the end of the show he finds out their is also tension between Algeria and Libya. As he travels to Libya he needs to fill lots of forms so they can be allowed in and this gives you an idea as too how difficcult it is too get permission to film in different countries.
In the Western Sahara he explores the conflict between the Morrocans and people of Western Sahara as their has been arguements to who the Western Sahara belongs too. Each time Simon Reeve goes to a different country he has guide that shows him around but in this particular he gets to know his guide really well and talk too each other as if they have been friends for quite a long time. This gave me an idea on how to interact with the local children in Keighley. It gave me the idea that I should try and talk with the children alot a get too know and if I get to know them I will feel more comfortable around them.
When Simon Reeve visits Western Sahara he learns that through Westeren Sahara there is a wall that the Morrocans built to cut off Morrocan controlled territory from the rest of Western Sahara and he also learns that near the wall the Morrocans have built land mines. This tells you how serious these conflicts are and you never hear this on the news as it is like a silent war.
Also just by visiting local villages and towns he gets an idea of their culture and what their lifes are like. There is something unusual about their culture as well. In the area of Mauritania fat woman are seen as beauty as it means they are wealthy and eating well. When Simon Reeve talks to local people it seems like their is just one camera following him around it makes it seem as if their is just him and a cameraman.
When Simon Reeve visits different towns or villages he interacts with certain people and asks them questions of what life is like in the twon or village. Towards the end of the show he finds out their is also tension between Algeria and Libya. As he travels to Libya he needs to fill lots of forms so they can be allowed in and this gives you an idea as too how difficcult it is too get permission to film in different countries.
Thursday 22 April 2010
Tropic of Cancer- episode 1
Tropic of Cancer is a documentary where the presenter, Simon Reeve travels along the different countries along the Tropic of Cancer and gets help from guides along the way.
In the first episode the Presenter travels from Mexico to the Bahamas. He starts at a resort on the pacific coast of Mexico called Baja California and while he is there the locals touch there hearts when they see him as a warm greeting. In the first episode the film crew usually follow him around where ever he goes and when they go to a new location they used an establishing shot to show you what it is like.
Simon Reeve then travels to mainland Mexico and explores the ongoing Drug war between the police and drug traffickers. With his guide he is able to interact with local people in the Culican area of Mexico. Also in the area of Culican he interacts with an elite unit who are assigned to help stop the Drug traffickers. He follows the unit around and ends up going on a drug raid with the unit as well. When I was watching the part of the show when he was in Mexico I was amazed that when he visited a cememtery he found out that 90% of people dead in this cemetery were related to Drug Trafficking and around their graves were huge monuments about 2 stories high it was amazing.
Also in Mexico Simon Reeve interacts with a Mexican Cowboy at a abandoned film set where one of John wayne's films were filmed and asks questions such as, how long he has been living at the set and also where he lives. The Cowboy lived in an abandoned train on the set and said that he would never leave it.
There is a moment in the show where there is a bit of an arguement between the a mexican taxi driver and the guide and the prsenter because the taxi driver cut across the film crews car and it was the taxi drivers fault but the taxi driver wanted the crew to pay for the damage to his car which find rather astonishing.
Also Simon Reeve visited a gold mine that was based right next to a village. There had conflicts between workers of the mine and local residents of the village and one of the people that Simon talks too was attacked by a worker of the mine and he didn't want to go any closer because he was too scared.
Overall I actually like this program because of all the places the presenter visits and what other societies are really like to live such as the Culican area of Mexico it makes you think what it must be like living on a place where you are afraid for your life.It does really make you think.
In the first episode the Presenter travels from Mexico to the Bahamas. He starts at a resort on the pacific coast of Mexico called Baja California and while he is there the locals touch there hearts when they see him as a warm greeting. In the first episode the film crew usually follow him around where ever he goes and when they go to a new location they used an establishing shot to show you what it is like.
Simon Reeve then travels to mainland Mexico and explores the ongoing Drug war between the police and drug traffickers. With his guide he is able to interact with local people in the Culican area of Mexico. Also in the area of Culican he interacts with an elite unit who are assigned to help stop the Drug traffickers. He follows the unit around and ends up going on a drug raid with the unit as well. When I was watching the part of the show when he was in Mexico I was amazed that when he visited a cememtery he found out that 90% of people dead in this cemetery were related to Drug Trafficking and around their graves were huge monuments about 2 stories high it was amazing.
Also in Mexico Simon Reeve interacts with a Mexican Cowboy at a abandoned film set where one of John wayne's films were filmed and asks questions such as, how long he has been living at the set and also where he lives. The Cowboy lived in an abandoned train on the set and said that he would never leave it.
There is a moment in the show where there is a bit of an arguement between the a mexican taxi driver and the guide and the prsenter because the taxi driver cut across the film crews car and it was the taxi drivers fault but the taxi driver wanted the crew to pay for the damage to his car which find rather astonishing.
Also Simon Reeve visited a gold mine that was based right next to a village. There had conflicts between workers of the mine and local residents of the village and one of the people that Simon talks too was attacked by a worker of the mine and he didn't want to go any closer because he was too scared.
Overall I actually like this program because of all the places the presenter visits and what other societies are really like to live such as the Culican area of Mexico it makes you think what it must be like living on a place where you are afraid for your life.It does really make you think.
Monday 19 April 2010
Interaction- group meeting 19/04/10
Today I found out that we were going to have meeting on Wednesday with a representative from Hainworth Wood Community Centre called Angie Stack. So we decided to old on meeting and talk about how we should get their and what we talk about when were are there.
During the meeting we decided that to get their we should take the 13:10 train from Bradford Foster square train station to Keighley Train Station and then from the train station we decided that we would get a taxi from the train station to Hainworth Wood Community Centre.
Also we discussed what sort of things we should talk about. We would first tell her who we are and then what we want to do. We are also going to discuss other ideas with her and see if their is anything that Angie would want to include. We also decided to find alot information on the community centre.
During the meeting we decided that to get their we should take the 13:10 train from Bradford Foster square train station to Keighley Train Station and then from the train station we decided that we would get a taxi from the train station to Hainworth Wood Community Centre.
Also we discussed what sort of things we should talk about. We would first tell her who we are and then what we want to do. We are also going to discuss other ideas with her and see if their is anything that Angie would want to include. We also decided to find alot information on the community centre.
Tuesday 30 March 2010
Should the UK adopt a US culture?
On the television show ‘The Surgery’ they talked about several different topics and one of the topics was whether the UK should adopt a US culture.
Many of the youths on the show believed that the UK shouldn’t adopt a US culture because they believed that you should be proud to be British and that we shouldn’t use anyone else's culture. However some of the people on the show were not sure what UK culture is and they asked one of the youths who believed that we should stick to UK culture to describe what UK culture is. Weirdly that person couldn’t really describe what UK culture is but still believed that we should stick to UK culture.
I think UK culture comes down to a few things; the arts, cuisine, education and sport. When it comes to the arts there are many different UK traditions such as, The Proms which is a musical event held every year so it is a British Tradition. Also there is Literature as many people around the UK read lots of novels because it is something British people do. Also the UK mainly listen to two different sorts of music and that is pop and rock music because British people have been listening to this sort of music for years.
Cuisine is another important part to British culture and well known dishes that are considered to be British are, Fish and Chips and the traditional Sunday Roast. Another important part to UK culture is education. young people mainly start off at nursery then move onto primary school and then onto secondary school. The last thing that I think is an important part of British Culture is Sport. The most traditional sport in the UK is football as it watched an played by more people. However there are other sports that really common in the UK such as, Cricket, Rugby Union and Rugby League.
I think overall the UK shouldn't adopt a US culture as we should be proud to be British and I just think that US culture would not work in the UK. For instance US holidays wouldn't work in the UK as they relate to the US. Holidays like Thanksgiving and the 4th of July wouldn't work in the UK as one of them celebrates America's independence from the UK. Also traditional American sports wouldn't work in the UK because sports like Baseball and American football are only played by Americans and it is not really common anywhere else. The Cuisine in America is similar to that of UK culture anyway so that would be OK. Also TV channels in the UK show US TV shows but they are shown in the US before they are shown in the UK. I think it's 50/50 whether TV shows work in the US as they use US humour and that's hard for us to relate to as we don't live in the US but sometimes the humour is understandable as they refer to everyday life.
Many of the youths on the show believed that the UK shouldn’t adopt a US culture because they believed that you should be proud to be British and that we shouldn’t use anyone else's culture. However some of the people on the show were not sure what UK culture is and they asked one of the youths who believed that we should stick to UK culture to describe what UK culture is. Weirdly that person couldn’t really describe what UK culture is but still believed that we should stick to UK culture.
I think UK culture comes down to a few things; the arts, cuisine, education and sport. When it comes to the arts there are many different UK traditions such as, The Proms which is a musical event held every year so it is a British Tradition. Also there is Literature as many people around the UK read lots of novels because it is something British people do. Also the UK mainly listen to two different sorts of music and that is pop and rock music because British people have been listening to this sort of music for years.
Cuisine is another important part to British culture and well known dishes that are considered to be British are, Fish and Chips and the traditional Sunday Roast. Another important part to UK culture is education. young people mainly start off at nursery then move onto primary school and then onto secondary school. The last thing that I think is an important part of British Culture is Sport. The most traditional sport in the UK is football as it watched an played by more people. However there are other sports that really common in the UK such as, Cricket, Rugby Union and Rugby League.
I think overall the UK shouldn't adopt a US culture as we should be proud to be British and I just think that US culture would not work in the UK. For instance US holidays wouldn't work in the UK as they relate to the US. Holidays like Thanksgiving and the 4th of July wouldn't work in the UK as one of them celebrates America's independence from the UK. Also traditional American sports wouldn't work in the UK because sports like Baseball and American football are only played by Americans and it is not really common anywhere else. The Cuisine in America is similar to that of UK culture anyway so that would be OK. Also TV channels in the UK show US TV shows but they are shown in the US before they are shown in the UK. I think it's 50/50 whether TV shows work in the US as they use US humour and that's hard for us to relate to as we don't live in the US but sometimes the humour is understandable as they refer to everyday life.
Thursday 25 March 2010
Tracey Emin- Top spot film
Tracey Emin is a contemporary artist who created a fictional film called top spot in a documentary style. Top spot is fictional but it is based on real memories from Tracey Emin’s past. This film is part of her autobiography.
For the film Tracey Emin used a DV camera for all the shots in the film so it looked like it was an amateur film. Top Spot is about six teenage girls from Margate, England. This relates to Tracey Emin as she was brought up in Margate herself. At the start of the film Tracey Emin interviews the six teenage girls about experiences that they have had. When Tracey Emin interviews them she talks to them as if she is interrogating them so she is trying to force an answer out of them. The interviews give the audience a glimpse of what each of the teenage girls is like. Before she interviewed the six teenage girls Tracey showed loads of establishing shots of the beach and the sea at Margate to show us the location.
In Top Spot, Tracey Emin uses some scenes to try and convey a message. For instance, she uses a super 8 camera for a sepia effect and this is used in some of the shots so it looks old and the shots in sepia are used to show the six teenage girls past memories. Also in one of the scenes one of the six teenage girls are dancing and the shot seems distorted and the message being conveyed here is that the teenage girl has taken drugs even though Tracey Emin stated in an interview recently that she has never taken drugs. In one particular scene it shows one of the girls asleep and it cuts to her running around in a tunnel. This suggests that it is one of the girl’s dreams so showing her asleep is a visual signifier. It shows the dream in slow motion that makes the audience believe that it is very dramatic and I believe the message behind it is that the girl is trapped because we do not see her get out of the tunnel. At the start of the film Tracey shows establishing shots of the sea and usually in films the sea is used to show freedom. The film is telling us that the six teenage girls are trapped in their lives through the fact that they are always in their uniform and they also never leave Margate itself.
I did find some parts of the film difficult to understand but I do understand the message that Tracey Emin is trying to get across as she wants people to be aware that what happened to her when she was younger is still happening today and the victims of assaults are not telling anyone.
There are a few stereotypes that are used to represent different people. Such as the teenage girls are portrayed as people who drink, take drugs and go out with men all the time. Also the men in the film are portrayed as people who use women.
For the film Tracey Emin used a DV camera for all the shots in the film so it looked like it was an amateur film. Top Spot is about six teenage girls from Margate, England. This relates to Tracey Emin as she was brought up in Margate herself. At the start of the film Tracey Emin interviews the six teenage girls about experiences that they have had. When Tracey Emin interviews them she talks to them as if she is interrogating them so she is trying to force an answer out of them. The interviews give the audience a glimpse of what each of the teenage girls is like. Before she interviewed the six teenage girls Tracey showed loads of establishing shots of the beach and the sea at Margate to show us the location.
In Top Spot, Tracey Emin uses some scenes to try and convey a message. For instance, she uses a super 8 camera for a sepia effect and this is used in some of the shots so it looks old and the shots in sepia are used to show the six teenage girls past memories. Also in one of the scenes one of the six teenage girls are dancing and the shot seems distorted and the message being conveyed here is that the teenage girl has taken drugs even though Tracey Emin stated in an interview recently that she has never taken drugs. In one particular scene it shows one of the girls asleep and it cuts to her running around in a tunnel. This suggests that it is one of the girl’s dreams so showing her asleep is a visual signifier. It shows the dream in slow motion that makes the audience believe that it is very dramatic and I believe the message behind it is that the girl is trapped because we do not see her get out of the tunnel. At the start of the film Tracey shows establishing shots of the sea and usually in films the sea is used to show freedom. The film is telling us that the six teenage girls are trapped in their lives through the fact that they are always in their uniform and they also never leave Margate itself.
I did find some parts of the film difficult to understand but I do understand the message that Tracey Emin is trying to get across as she wants people to be aware that what happened to her when she was younger is still happening today and the victims of assaults are not telling anyone.
There are a few stereotypes that are used to represent different people. Such as the teenage girls are portrayed as people who drink, take drugs and go out with men all the time. Also the men in the film are portrayed as people who use women.
Thursday 18 March 2010
Stereotypes- class discussion
Today we did an activity and had a discussion about different stereotypes that are used to represent different people. A stereotype is a commonly held public belief about specific social groups or types of individuals.
For the activity we had to choose a group of people and find 5 examples of them in film or television and we had to write about how they are portrayed. I decided to choose men as my group because I thought I would be able to find lots of examples but I just couldn't. I was able to find 3 examples and my first example was the 'Oven Pride' ad. In the advertisement the woman says, 'It's so easy even a man can use it'. This advert portrays all men as people who can't do any housework. This advert has had alot of press because lots of people have being saying that it is sexist towards men.
My second example was the Feminax advert. In the advert a women is sat beside a guy on a sofa with period pains. She then pulls a lever and the guy shoots out of the window, hence she has got rid of the pain so this portrays the man as being the source of the pain. This advert has also had some press as it is also seen as sexist as well.
For my third example I chose the comedy show 'Two and a Half Men'. Charlie Harper is a character from the show and he is portrayed as a man who drinks, gambles, and is obsessed with good looking women.
After we did the activity we had a discussion on everyone's work and what examples they had come up with for the group of people they had chosen. After we had the discussion we watched a television show called 'The Surgery'. The show basically had one presenter who talked to a group of youths about certain topics happening around the u.k, such as, racism, discrimination and U.K and USA culture. During the show, the groups of youths seemed to have relatively different opinions on racism because one person said that they believed racism was on the decrease but another person completely disagreed with it and said that racism was on the increase. I think it comes down to what sort of area you live in. You could be someone who lives in an area where racism is common or you could live somewhere where it doesn't happen as much.
For the activity we had to choose a group of people and find 5 examples of them in film or television and we had to write about how they are portrayed. I decided to choose men as my group because I thought I would be able to find lots of examples but I just couldn't. I was able to find 3 examples and my first example was the 'Oven Pride' ad. In the advertisement the woman says, 'It's so easy even a man can use it'. This advert portrays all men as people who can't do any housework. This advert has had alot of press because lots of people have being saying that it is sexist towards men.
My second example was the Feminax advert. In the advert a women is sat beside a guy on a sofa with period pains. She then pulls a lever and the guy shoots out of the window, hence she has got rid of the pain so this portrays the man as being the source of the pain. This advert has also had some press as it is also seen as sexist as well.
For my third example I chose the comedy show 'Two and a Half Men'. Charlie Harper is a character from the show and he is portrayed as a man who drinks, gambles, and is obsessed with good looking women.
After we did the activity we had a discussion on everyone's work and what examples they had come up with for the group of people they had chosen. After we had the discussion we watched a television show called 'The Surgery'. The show basically had one presenter who talked to a group of youths about certain topics happening around the u.k, such as, racism, discrimination and U.K and USA culture. During the show, the groups of youths seemed to have relatively different opinions on racism because one person said that they believed racism was on the decrease but another person completely disagreed with it and said that racism was on the increase. I think it comes down to what sort of area you live in. You could be someone who lives in an area where racism is common or you could live somewhere where it doesn't happen as much.
A Band For Britain- ep 2
At the start of the second programme Sue Perkins reveals to the band they are going to compete in competition. The fact that they are competing goes down well with most of the band.
Between the first and second episodes Sue was able to recruit even more members to the band which makes the band even stronger and better. But the band had to sack one of their members because he wasn't turning up to practice so they had a group vote and they voted in favour of the sacking.
In the first part of this episode one of the original members cannot make it to practice because she is going to watch Sheffield United at Brammal Lane. Seeing as this member was going to the game so Sue decided to suprise the band by telling them that they were going with the band member to the game but they were going to play Sheffield United's anthem on the pitch. While at Brammal Lane the band were trying to raise money for a new conductor as they didn't have one. After the game Sue reveled that they had raised £1000.
Seeing as they had the money they decided to set up some conductor auditions. They managed to get 5 people to audition and 2 of them were already members of the band but they thought they could be a good conductor. In the end up a conductor from Leicestershire managed to get the job.
With a new conductor Sue decided to get the band a new uniform and she recruited fashion designer Wayne Hemmingway to pick the style and colours for the new uniform. The colours that ended up being picked were Mustard and blue because they are Dinington Colours.
On the day of the competition tensions were high as a squabble broke out between the band members when one of the uniforms for one of the band members didn't show and seeing as they were different for men and women they were arguing whether the young kid should wear the women's jacket. Sue Perkins found this really annoying and she said, 'I could just run into my own fist with fury' because it was just a stupid arguement. Also two of the younger members ended having a bit of a scuffle and I don't even know why.
After all the arguements they went on stage and played a Kasabian song and they ended getting third place so they managed to get some silverware. Overall I just can't understand why they were arguing about a jacket because it's just a jacket it wouldn't matter if he had the women's jacket on because it's the same colour as the rest. I do believe the band has a big problem with following orders because if they are going to be members of this band then they will have to listen more to the conductor but there was just no evidence of that in this episode except for one bit where the conductor was able to calm them down after the squabble.
Between the first and second episodes Sue was able to recruit even more members to the band which makes the band even stronger and better. But the band had to sack one of their members because he wasn't turning up to practice so they had a group vote and they voted in favour of the sacking.
In the first part of this episode one of the original members cannot make it to practice because she is going to watch Sheffield United at Brammal Lane. Seeing as this member was going to the game so Sue decided to suprise the band by telling them that they were going with the band member to the game but they were going to play Sheffield United's anthem on the pitch. While at Brammal Lane the band were trying to raise money for a new conductor as they didn't have one. After the game Sue reveled that they had raised £1000.
Seeing as they had the money they decided to set up some conductor auditions. They managed to get 5 people to audition and 2 of them were already members of the band but they thought they could be a good conductor. In the end up a conductor from Leicestershire managed to get the job.
With a new conductor Sue decided to get the band a new uniform and she recruited fashion designer Wayne Hemmingway to pick the style and colours for the new uniform. The colours that ended up being picked were Mustard and blue because they are Dinington Colours.
On the day of the competition tensions were high as a squabble broke out between the band members when one of the uniforms for one of the band members didn't show and seeing as they were different for men and women they were arguing whether the young kid should wear the women's jacket. Sue Perkins found this really annoying and she said, 'I could just run into my own fist with fury' because it was just a stupid arguement. Also two of the younger members ended having a bit of a scuffle and I don't even know why.
After all the arguements they went on stage and played a Kasabian song and they ended getting third place so they managed to get some silverware. Overall I just can't understand why they were arguing about a jacket because it's just a jacket it wouldn't matter if he had the women's jacket on because it's the same colour as the rest. I do believe the band has a big problem with following orders because if they are going to be members of this band then they will have to listen more to the conductor but there was just no evidence of that in this episode except for one bit where the conductor was able to calm them down after the squabble.
A Band for Britain- ep 1
The programme, 'A Band For Britain' is a programme charting the attempts of comedian, Sue Perkins, to rebuild the Dinnington Colliery Band. Throughout the programmes Sue Perkins faces problems to get the community to engage with this project.Sue believes that the project is really important because brass bands are part of British culture and they are decline at the moment.
In this first programme of the series, Sue facing the task of trying to recruit new members to the band because the band itself had been losing members. To try and recruit new members she gets some of the bands existing members and go on a roadshow to Sheffield to try and recruit new members. Sue also faced another problem and that was the fact that some of the members were very negative and didn't think it would work. Also to try and recruit new members she tries to use local media such as, radio. Through persistance they managed to get a few new members and organised auditions for the new members to see how they good they are.
To help her get the band into shape she gets the conductor from probably the best brass band in the world to help her. He helps her by having a few practice sessions with the band.
Throughout the programme you got sense of what some of the band members were like. For instance a couple of the original members were really picky and didn't like being told what to do.
I think overall Sue Perkins would succeed if she kept the band to a strict regime and also through persistance.
In this first programme of the series, Sue facing the task of trying to recruit new members to the band because the band itself had been losing members. To try and recruit new members she gets some of the bands existing members and go on a roadshow to Sheffield to try and recruit new members. Sue also faced another problem and that was the fact that some of the members were very negative and didn't think it would work. Also to try and recruit new members she tries to use local media such as, radio. Through persistance they managed to get a few new members and organised auditions for the new members to see how they good they are.
To help her get the band into shape she gets the conductor from probably the best brass band in the world to help her. He helps her by having a few practice sessions with the band.
Throughout the programme you got sense of what some of the band members were like. For instance a couple of the original members were really picky and didn't like being told what to do.
I think overall Sue Perkins would succeed if she kept the band to a strict regime and also through persistance.
Monday 8 March 2010
Interaction-new unit
I have just stated my unit, interaction and is the last unit before the end of the year. For this unit we have been put into 3 groups as we are being marked on how we work as a group and are individual work. I ended up changing groups to balance out the groups which I was fine with.
The unit is mainly based on different community groups within the Bradford area and how they interact with others. The final piece for this project is a going to be a video. For the start of the project we had to do 4 investigative reports on different community groups. My investigative reports were based on people with different disabilities. The 4 I chose to do were physically disabled, mentally disabled, hearing impaired and visually impaired people. My idea was to look at different disability sports clubs but after some research I could only find physically disabled sports clubs not any others. So I decided to focus on different care centres and other clubs where these people can be looked after and can interact with other people.
I managed to find places that support each of the groups that I chose. At the start of this project I was a bit confused on what we had to research but after talking to people in my group I ended up knowing what to do.
The unit is mainly based on different community groups within the Bradford area and how they interact with others. The final piece for this project is a going to be a video. For the start of the project we had to do 4 investigative reports on different community groups. My investigative reports were based on people with different disabilities. The 4 I chose to do were physically disabled, mentally disabled, hearing impaired and visually impaired people. My idea was to look at different disability sports clubs but after some research I could only find physically disabled sports clubs not any others. So I decided to focus on different care centres and other clubs where these people can be looked after and can interact with other people.
I managed to find places that support each of the groups that I chose. At the start of this project I was a bit confused on what we had to research but after talking to people in my group I ended up knowing what to do.
Thursday 4 March 2010
Newswipe compilation episode
When I watched one of the episodes from this series it was really hard to follow as Charlie Brooker kept talking so fast you couldn't what he was saying sometimes. But in the compilation episode he was really funny and I could understand what he was saying.
Newswipe is basically a show that looks at the funny side of global news.
The compilation epsiode looked a the funny side of the news' coverage of the snowy weather. The show also looked at the recession in a funny way. My favorite part of the show was when it showed someone slipping on some ice and then another person came by trying to help the person that slipped and then they fell as well.
I really do like this show as you need something that looks a the news in a posiitve way instead of a dull miserable way.
Newswipe is basically a show that looks at the funny side of global news.
The compilation epsiode looked a the funny side of the news' coverage of the snowy weather. The show also looked at the recession in a funny way. My favorite part of the show was when it showed someone slipping on some ice and then another person came by trying to help the person that slipped and then they fell as well.
I really do like this show as you need something that looks a the news in a posiitve way instead of a dull miserable way.
Tuesday 2 March 2010
The Virtual Revolution- episode 3 The cost of free
The third episode of this series was about e-commerce (buying goods online). I found the first two episodes of the series rather boring and the shows just seemed to ramble on and it seemed like it took ages for it to finish.
The third episode of this series talked about the history of e-commerce and how it all came about and who were some of the major players in e-commerce. After watching the episode I didn't realized that pizza hut were one of the first companies to use web commerce and they took orders online. You wouldn't believe pizza hut were one of the first to do it.
The show was also about fraud and how are information on facebook about are ourselves is there forever. I mean that is kind of scary. If you put any information about yourself on any website that information is there FOREVER. The presenter of the show also talked about google and how much of a success it is. Basically anytime you or anyone uses google's search engines then google automatically earn money. At one stage google were earning 200 dollars a second. Think how much money google would of earned in a day. Wow!
Overall the show wasn't something that I would recommend to anyone. It just seemed to go on and on. The last two shows have been too boring for my taste.
The third episode of this series talked about the history of e-commerce and how it all came about and who were some of the major players in e-commerce. After watching the episode I didn't realized that pizza hut were one of the first companies to use web commerce and they took orders online. You wouldn't believe pizza hut were one of the first to do it.
The show was also about fraud and how are information on facebook about are ourselves is there forever. I mean that is kind of scary. If you put any information about yourself on any website that information is there FOREVER. The presenter of the show also talked about google and how much of a success it is. Basically anytime you or anyone uses google's search engines then google automatically earn money. At one stage google were earning 200 dollars a second. Think how much money google would of earned in a day. Wow!
Overall the show wasn't something that I would recommend to anyone. It just seemed to go on and on. The last two shows have been too boring for my taste.
Wednesday 17 February 2010
The Virtual Revolution- episode 2
When I watched the first episode of this show I actually found it rather interesting because of all the people who the prsenter spoke too. After watching the second episode I did not find it that interesting because it was about politics and the internet and politics isn't something that I am fond of.
But it is fair to say there were some interesting parts to the documentary. Like I didn't know that Twitter was developed in 2006 in San Fransisco.
What I found most interesting about the second episode was when the presenter talked about sites like wikileaks. Wikileaks is a site which publishes and comments on leaked documents alleging government and coporate misconduct. I found it interesting because I couldn't believe sites like that weren't even blocked.
Speaking of blocked sites another thing that was partly interesting was when the prsenter went on to talk about the Haystack system. Basically it can unblock any site that has been blocked by the government. How cool is that.
To sum up I didn't really enjoy the second episode because it was about politics but I would recommend this show if you are fascinated about the internet and how it has affected everyone.
But it is fair to say there were some interesting parts to the documentary. Like I didn't know that Twitter was developed in 2006 in San Fransisco.
What I found most interesting about the second episode was when the presenter talked about sites like wikileaks. Wikileaks is a site which publishes and comments on leaked documents alleging government and coporate misconduct. I found it interesting because I couldn't believe sites like that weren't even blocked.
Speaking of blocked sites another thing that was partly interesting was when the prsenter went on to talk about the Haystack system. Basically it can unblock any site that has been blocked by the government. How cool is that.
To sum up I didn't really enjoy the second episode because it was about politics but I would recommend this show if you are fascinated about the internet and how it has affected everyone.
Monday 15 February 2010
'A Day In The Life Of'- improving slideshow
After showing my full slideshow to my tutor I had to improve parts of my slideshow. The first problem was that there was too much of someone else's work and the second problem was that the music needed altering because it was kind of distracting you away from the narration.
To improve the first problem I put in photos that I had taken during matchday in the places where someone else's was. But I didn't comment on the photos as they were used to describe why I had chosen the subject of football. But so some of the photos went with the narration I placed in some work that were take by the photographers that I had researched.
To improve my second problem I looked at the music that I created on garage band for the slideshow and took out the drum parts becasue they were distracting parts of the narration. After the drum parts were taken out I altered the parts of the music where there is no narration. What I did was make the music louder at those parts and when the narration was about to come bacl on I altered the music so it would be quieter.
After I sorted these problems I put the improved song onto itunes and plaved it back on the slideshow and from there all I had to do was alter the timing of some of the photos. I think the next time I do a slideshow on imovie I should listen to it carefully so I can se if their are any silly mistakes to correct.
To improve the first problem I put in photos that I had taken during matchday in the places where someone else's was. But I didn't comment on the photos as they were used to describe why I had chosen the subject of football. But so some of the photos went with the narration I placed in some work that were take by the photographers that I had researched.
To improve my second problem I looked at the music that I created on garage band for the slideshow and took out the drum parts becasue they were distracting parts of the narration. After the drum parts were taken out I altered the parts of the music where there is no narration. What I did was make the music louder at those parts and when the narration was about to come bacl on I altered the music so it would be quieter.
After I sorted these problems I put the improved song onto itunes and plaved it back on the slideshow and from there all I had to do was alter the timing of some of the photos. I think the next time I do a slideshow on imovie I should listen to it carefully so I can se if their are any silly mistakes to correct.
Tuesday 9 February 2010
The Virtual Revolution- Episode 1
A few days ago I watched the first episode of a new TV show called The Virtual Revolution. The show shows us how the internet has effected everybody from politicians to businessmen.
The first episode sees the presenter talking to the creators of things such as, the world wide web, facebook, you tube, napster and the 'well' system. I actually found this particular episode rather interesting because it gave some really interesting facts on the internet and its users. According to the show 35 million of people living in the UK go on the internet everyday.
Another interesting fact that I found out was that without the 'well' system created by Stewart Brand things like facebook may not of even existed. God bless, Stewart Brand.
Also when watching the show I was amazed on how young the creators were of you tube and facebook. They looked so young, they looked like they were in their 20s. I expected the people who created them to be like old men with beards.
I have to admit you have to admire Tim Berners-Lee for letting people have the world wide web for free. But you may think he missed an oppurtunity to become a millionaire. Look at Bill Gates.
The first episode sees the presenter talking to the creators of things such as, the world wide web, facebook, you tube, napster and the 'well' system. I actually found this particular episode rather interesting because it gave some really interesting facts on the internet and its users. According to the show 35 million of people living in the UK go on the internet everyday.
Another interesting fact that I found out was that without the 'well' system created by Stewart Brand things like facebook may not of even existed. God bless, Stewart Brand.
Also when watching the show I was amazed on how young the creators were of you tube and facebook. They looked so young, they looked like they were in their 20s. I expected the people who created them to be like old men with beards.
I have to admit you have to admire Tim Berners-Lee for letting people have the world wide web for free. But you may think he missed an oppurtunity to become a millionaire. Look at Bill Gates.
Monday 8 February 2010
'A Day In The Life Of'- full slideshow
After I finished my narration the next day I went to college and I put the whole together on Imovie. Seeing as I did the narration in 2 separate bits to make it easier I dragged and dropped them onto the desktop and opened them up in Itunes. Before putting them on garage band I had to do something similar to what I did in the other project. I had to create an AAC version of the audio clips so they could be put onto garage band. After the versions were created I put them onto garage band. Seeing as in the Imovie slideshow I placed a title at the start for 4 seconds I made sure that the audio didn't start until 4 seconds after the music had begun. I also separated the two narrations that I did by 4 seconds because of another title.
Once that was done I put the whole thing on itunes and from there I was able to put it onto the imovie slideshow.
In the slideshow I put my own work into as well as some of the photographers work that I had researched before hand. I also used some from a different source to describe why I chose football as a subject for the project. After all the photos that I needed were put onto the slideshow I put everything in sync by changing the times of each photographs. When I did this I thought it would take a while but it didn't.
Seeing as that I did it before it seemed alot easier to get the timing right. To make the slideshow look more professional I put in transitions between the photos and on each photo I used the Ken Burn's effect to make it look more professional. The effect lets you choose where you want to start the photo from when it comes up. When you click on the effect button you have box which says start and one that says end. The start box is what you will see first when the photo first comes up and the end box is what you will see at the end. So at the start you can zoom into the main focus of the photo and with the end box you can show the whole photo. If you did this then the photo would gradually zoom out to show the whole photo.
Once that was done I put the whole thing on itunes and from there I was able to put it onto the imovie slideshow.
In the slideshow I put my own work into as well as some of the photographers work that I had researched before hand. I also used some from a different source to describe why I chose football as a subject for the project. After all the photos that I needed were put onto the slideshow I put everything in sync by changing the times of each photographs. When I did this I thought it would take a while but it didn't.
Seeing as that I did it before it seemed alot easier to get the timing right. To make the slideshow look more professional I put in transitions between the photos and on each photo I used the Ken Burn's effect to make it look more professional. The effect lets you choose where you want to start the photo from when it comes up. When you click on the effect button you have box which says start and one that says end. The start box is what you will see first when the photo first comes up and the end box is what you will see at the end. So at the start you can zoom into the main focus of the photo and with the end box you can show the whole photo. If you did this then the photo would gradually zoom out to show the whole photo.
'A Day In The Life Of'- slideshow narration
After I finished my the music for the slideshow I then started to focus on the narration for the slideshow. For the narration I first had to say what I had been asked to do and what my idea was and I also to say why I chose that particular idea. I then had to go on and explain how my work links with the photographers work that I have researched for this project. The last part of my narration was to comment on the best photographs that I had taken, saying what they represent, why they work and what the meaning behind the photograph is.
To make it easier for myself I booked out the Ediroll equipment from central media for the weekend so I could do the narration at home and so I would have no distractions. Since I have used The Ediroll equipment once before I knew how to use the equipment. The first time I did some narration was for my Henri Cartier-Bresson slideshow and it took only but 2 attempts to get it done and I did that narration at college. This time around I did the narration at home and I ad no distractions. It took me 24 attempts to get it right. I think the problem was that I had written the script and had not typed it up to make it more clearer to read. I think next time I should type the script up after I have written it and then maybe it won't take me as long to get it right.
To make it easier for myself I booked out the Ediroll equipment from central media for the weekend so I could do the narration at home and so I would have no distractions. Since I have used The Ediroll equipment once before I knew how to use the equipment. The first time I did some narration was for my Henri Cartier-Bresson slideshow and it took only but 2 attempts to get it done and I did that narration at college. This time around I did the narration at home and I ad no distractions. It took me 24 attempts to get it right. I think the problem was that I had written the script and had not typed it up to make it more clearer to read. I think next time I should type the script up after I have written it and then maybe it won't take me as long to get it right.
The Family (tv show)
The other day I watched a 'fly on the wall' documentary called The Family. The documentary followed around an asian family showing us what their days are like. The documentary usually stuck to the compounds of the house but sometimes it would show us outside of the house if the one of the family members was leaving to go to work or if one of them was out in the garden. The first set of episodes of this particular family were leading up to a wedding so the episodes leading up to the wedding showed us how they were preparing for it.
The particular episode that I watched was the first episode of the series. And at the start the narrator told me clearly who the family members were and to tell you what they were like it showed a clip of them in the house and it gave you a taster as to what they were like.
Throughout the show there many indicating factors that told us that time had moved on and it was a new day. The biggest factor was what the colour the sky was. Obviously if it was blue it was during the game and if it was dark it was night. Also another factor was when it showed one of the family members getting out of bed it told you that it was morning and a new day had begun.
After watching the first episode I don't think it was something that I would watch again because it isn't something that I am interested in.
The particular episode that I watched was the first episode of the series. And at the start the narrator told me clearly who the family members were and to tell you what they were like it showed a clip of them in the house and it gave you a taster as to what they were like.
Throughout the show there many indicating factors that told us that time had moved on and it was a new day. The biggest factor was what the colour the sky was. Obviously if it was blue it was during the game and if it was dark it was night. Also another factor was when it showed one of the family members getting out of bed it told you that it was morning and a new day had begun.
After watching the first episode I don't think it was something that I would watch again because it isn't something that I am interested in.
'A Day In The Life Of'- slideshow music
For the last part of the 'A Day In The Life Of' project I had to create a slideshow on Imovie showing the best photographs that I have taken. The slideshow needed to narration and the narration and photographs had to be accompanied by an original piece of music that went with the narration and photographs.
To create the music I used garage band. When you have used garage band alot you think creating music on it is going to get easier but for me it didn't because at first I was struggling trying to get music to fit together. I was also struggling with what sort of music goes with football. I ended up finding a beat that went really well but it was hard finding something that went with with that particular beat. After searching for something to go with the beat I ended up finding a drum sound that went really well with the beat. For the music I wanted a continuous beat all the way through the slideshow. So I placed the beat all the way through to 4 minutes after a few continuous beats I placed the drum sound in with the beat and I kept that same pattern all the way through.
To create the music I used garage band. When you have used garage band alot you think creating music on it is going to get easier but for me it didn't because at first I was struggling trying to get music to fit together. I was also struggling with what sort of music goes with football. I ended up finding a beat that went really well but it was hard finding something that went with with that particular beat. After searching for something to go with the beat I ended up finding a drum sound that went really well with the beat. For the music I wanted a continuous beat all the way through the slideshow. So I placed the beat all the way through to 4 minutes after a few continuous beats I placed the drum sound in with the beat and I kept that same pattern all the way through.
'A Day In The Life Of'- Final three photos
After match day I placed all of the photos that I had taken onto my laptop and took a look at them all I picked the best ones from over 110 photographs. The photographs that I picked were then put on my USB stick which I then took to college with me.
Out of those selected photographs I had to pick three which best described 'A Day In The Life Of an Amateur Football Team'. After some hard thinking I picked what I thought were my three best photographs. The first photo that picked was taken before the before the game and it shows someone stood in between the goalposts and then sun is just in level with the crossbar.
The second photo that I picked was taken during the game and it shows to players battling for the ball and the last one was of a player after the game walking with the nets to the changing rooms.
Out of those selected photographs I had to pick three which best described 'A Day In The Life Of an Amateur Football Team'. After some hard thinking I picked what I thought were my three best photographs. The first photo that picked was taken before the before the game and it shows someone stood in between the goalposts and then sun is just in level with the crossbar.
The second photo that I picked was taken during the game and it shows to players battling for the ball and the last one was of a player after the game walking with the nets to the changing rooms.
'A Day In The Life Of'- Match Day
On Match Day I was really eager to start taking photographs at the ground. Before the game actually started the plan was to take photographs of the players arriving but it turned out that I had got there a little too late and all the players had already arrived so I decided to take photographs of the players walking out of the changing rooms and them warming up before the game. During the game everything went as much as planned. The only thing that I didn't manage to capture was some of the goals that were scored but I did get the players celebrating which was good. I also managed to get a good picture of the half-time team talk as well.
After the game went well but I wasn't able to capture the players in the pub because the owner of the pub wouldn't let me take any. But I did manage to capture the players taking down the nets after the game and also the players leaving.
Overall I think it all went well. I did get some really good photos but I was dissapointed with the fact that I got there a little late. If there was a next time I would try get there a little earlier.
There was nothing I could do about the owner of the pub not letting me photograph the players in the pub because he didn't give me permission.
After the game went well but I wasn't able to capture the players in the pub because the owner of the pub wouldn't let me take any. But I did manage to capture the players taking down the nets after the game and also the players leaving.
Overall I think it all went well. I did get some really good photos but I was dissapointed with the fact that I got there a little late. If there was a next time I would try get there a little earlier.
There was nothing I could do about the owner of the pub not letting me photograph the players in the pub because he didn't give me permission.
Tuesday 2 February 2010
Re-doing presentation
The first time I did the presentation on my proposal for my idea for 'A Day In The Life Of' I wasn't really that nervous, I wanted to go first to get it over and done with and I thought I did a good job but it turned out that I missed some important parts out of the presentation and there was no real depth into why I chose amateur football as a subject to capture.
When I was told that I had to do it again I was more nervous that I had ever been. The weather made it worse because it kept stopping me and a few others from doing the presentation again. What was really weird was on the day that I did the presentation again I wasn't nervous but before I was.
While I was up talking I kept fiddling around in my right pocket because I was partly nervous but I don't know why. When I finished it I was so relieved that I had done it and It felt good that I wouldn't have to do a presentation again for a while. But then I found out that for the last part of our functional key skills for English was to do a presentation. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
When I was told that I had to do it again I was more nervous that I had ever been. The weather made it worse because it kept stopping me and a few others from doing the presentation again. What was really weird was on the day that I did the presentation again I wasn't nervous but before I was.
While I was up talking I kept fiddling around in my right pocket because I was partly nervous but I don't know why. When I finished it I was so relieved that I had done it and It felt good that I wouldn't have to do a presentation again for a while. But then I found out that for the last part of our functional key skills for English was to do a presentation. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
My idea for 'A Day In The Life Of'
For this project my idea is to photograph an amateur football team called Seven Stars football club on match day. The reason behind this idea is that over the past few years there has been huge declines in the number of young people doing sporting activities. When doing my research for this idea I found a statistic that said over 50% of young people aged 12-21 are not active on a daily basis. When I saw this statistic I was shocked as I am one of them.
Using these photographs I want to show those young people that football is a good sport to play and that it can keep you fit and healthy. I also think that another reason that I chose amateur football as my idea is that I want to show football as a culture rather than industry because for me football isn't just about the players on the pitch. It is about the fans that go out of their way to watch the games and the burger and hot dog stalls outside stadiums are just as important in football culture as the teams.
Using these photographs I want to show those young people that football is a good sport to play and that it can keep you fit and healthy. I also think that another reason that I chose amateur football as my idea is that I want to show football as a culture rather than industry because for me football isn't just about the players on the pitch. It is about the fans that go out of their way to watch the games and the burger and hot dog stalls outside stadiums are just as important in football culture as the teams.
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