Adverts - The clever and the cringe

Adverts adverts adverts.

'Age defying, gravity defeating, enjoyment injecting, fame attracting, fat reducing (we cannot guarantee any of the above)

AND

You're life is simply pointless, failing and uninteresting without this brand new, scientifically approved (on the one occasion we tested it), totally (almost) organic, (sometimes) expert trusted product!'
Sound familiar?

24/7 we are bombarded by adverts. With the added fear that along with visual and audial adverts we are constantly programmed subliminally to plough our money into commodities, it's refreshing when we stumble across an advert that doesn't make us physically turn away, mute the sound or vow to give up television (let's be honest, switching it on and ourselves off can be an inviting end to a hard day).

An advert that doesn't obviously bamboozle us with the product but instead catches our attention, entertains us and leaves us feeling different. Be it a charmed fuzzy feeling like the internationally shared reaction to dear Sergei from comparethemarket.com (I for one was thrilled when he got a new laptop instead of an offer of early retirement) or the deeply troubled feeling the oxfam adverts induce.


Advertising is a necessity and it's becoming more and more important in our economic climate. As we continue to hear reports on the rather depressing state of the economy it could be assumed that funds for advertising are vulnerable. But I'm not so sure. I think the demand for more interactive adverts is on the rise. Adverts that not only sell a product but also tell a story that we as viewers can relate to. Let's not forget Adam and Jane from the BT adverts. The story from their meeting to their wedding unravelled between our tv shows from 2005 to 2011 with social networks, radio stations and the public talking about them. This ad campaign was so interactive that the general public planned the fictional couple's wedding.

It's adverts like these that make us feel involved and make the companies that make them appear human. We forget our lives are constantly moulded and influenced by multi million pound advertising campaigns and enjoy being moved by them.

This trail of thought was triggered by the vibrant new advert for Lurpack. I'm not a butter fan but 'cooking a rainbow' Directed by Dougal Wilson (Blink) took me by surprise and my respect for the advert is close to convincing me to try the product.

The advert launched on the 15th January as part of Lurpacks 10 Million pound advertising campaign into their new low fat product. The fluidity and detail of the shots make it pacy and original. Coupled with the progressing sound effects and backing track it's clourful, clever and interesting to watch.

- Much better than that advert that tries to convince us of the highly scientific and impressively technical nature of shampoo. Do we really want to hear about your companies' research while we watch a women perform pre recorded 'noddies' with that look of deep understanding and importance on her face?
Oh don't worry. Lab coats and glasses have never been used to symbolise intelligence and sophistication before. . .

As for Sergei. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next!

Using Keynote on iPad

KEYNOTE
In ways a useful app for presentations, meetings and the odd bit of general graphic design malarkey. Today however I have found a few time wasting drawbacks that have caused a spell of seething irritation.

Lacking features, fonts and formats the iPad 2 app is not up to date with the mac version of Keynote. Having spent a good hour on a presentation for my WIZmedia website plans I had only to find that a good half of that time (lovingly spent on the design) was a total waste.

The presentation was meant to be an easy way to fit all my website requirements - Design ideas, portals, images, content - into one editable document that I could carry around with me and edit before presenting it (in it's final shining glory) at a meeting with a website designer. I created the presentation on my mac then with relief found that the presentation transferred easily to my iPad using Keynote file transfer (method explained below). However, I then discovered that notes are not transferable, pictures are not transferable (even if the picture is in fact on the iPad) and a number of fonts and styles are missing. I found myself copying out my notes for all slides and spending another half hour changing fonts and filling in gaps. Most disappointing.

I'd like to say I am rarely disappointed by the apps of Apple and this came as a complete shock but actually. . . It didn't. I suppose the lack of surprise did soften the blow of extra work I was faced with and it did urge me to solve the issue for future reference...

If you do not want to edit your presentation once it is on your iPad you can export your presentation from your Mac as a JPEG slideshow, PSD file or Quicktime movie. However, if you are looking to then present on your iPad beware that all three tend to lower the quality of your slides so small writing may become illegible.

If you are looking to ultimately present using your iPad as the device for delivery in a meeting, boardroom, lecture etc. or by plugging the device into an external screen (e.g using a VGA cable) then my advice would be:

• Get all your written information in any old font down on mac in slide order 
• Gather all photos/images/music you may wish to use in the presentation into one folder
• Plug your iPad in to transfer the saved Keynote document using keynote file share through iTunes (see picture & notes below)
• Also transfer the folder containing other media you may use to iPad (using iTunes-you can also do this through iPhoto) 
• Then use the iPad version to focus on the design - Choose your colours, fonts, images, spacing, sounds and effects on your iPad and also add any notes you wish to the slides at this stage rather than through your mac (to avoid inevitably losing them in transfer)
• Give it some funky graphics and get ready to impress

This way you will know exactly what you're going to be presenting on your iPad, still having access to all your mac's files and will avoid any nasty design shocks caused by this particular app's mishap.

If you're often away from your mac it is a good idea to get into the habit of emailing files to yourself you may want for presentations so that you have access to them on your iPad wherever you are. Although watch out. This may sound easy but Apple's many file sharing systems are often not quite as simple as they seem. Check to see what format your iPad will download and read and Keynote will recognise before relying on an email system. Remember the notes section on iPad can be very useful for copying and pasting words from other documents.

In the apps section of iTunes you will find the above section. Click on keynote and you should find your Keynote documents. Once you've found your desired presentation click on it and then click sync. Your presentation will then be saved in Keynote on your iPad.


Hope this was useful!

UNITY - Stomping out poverty

August 2011 saw the first ever UNITY event in Guildford, Surrey. The night brought an eclectic range of people from all backgrounds together. United under one roof for one purpose. To STOMP out poverty.

Founded by Thom Flashman in aid of charity Onthebox Mission (www.ontheboxmission.com) the night span off without a hitch and was enjoyed by more than 120 party goers.

UNITY was born from Mr Flashman's growing respect for the charity following his stint in the Kabira slum, Africa, where he helped build a school for some of the poorest people in the world.

With dj's mixing a range of genres including Electro Swing, Techno and Heavy Jungle whilst poi spinning and magic tricks are performed the purpose of UNITY is to raise awareness and funding for Onthebox amongst a vast variety of people. All proceeds from UNITY go to the charity.

The second UNITY night has now been booked for the 3rd February 2012 at popular Guildford music venue, The Boileroom, and it seems hype for the night is growing. Dj's have begun queueing for the chance to play and those at the last one are brushing off their dance shoes ready for round two.

Find UNITY 2 on facebook for information and to get involved with the next event. See you there!

Memories of the real David Shayler

Many people have heard of 'whistleblowing' ex MI5 agent, David Shayler, but few have experienced the person behind the headlines. I am one of those few who, in my days of 'freeman' discovery (made up of stories I won't delve into in too much detail), got to know David or 'je sus' (hey zeus) as I called him as part of an interchanging group of lost souls.

When you read about David Shayler, about his history and involvement with Tyting Farm, half penny lane, Guildford, and Hackhurst Farm, Abinger Hammer, it can be easy to label him a mad man. A person who couldn't take the pressure and stress demanded by his work in MI5 and cracked. My memories of him, although not entirely in disagreement with these theories, are mostly of a calm, intelligent and determined man who 'waltzes to his own tune.'

I remember waking up in the morning sun to his soothing offer of a full cup of fresh coffee off the fire. Crawling out of the main bender where we slept as people sat around smoking. Filter coffee and 'smoke-ables' were of the few things we spent money on. I remember walking with him up to the church building on top of the hill. Talking about the peace that could be possible if you could find it within. I think he was referring to finding and making peace with yourself - something we all needed to do.

I also have barmy memories of him. A significant example would be when I first saw him emerge out of the bender dressed in a leopard print mini skirt, fake boobs and a blond wig. He looked at me, through his make up, expectantly waiting for my reaction. I merely smiled innocently back, not phased or shocked by his alter ego, Delores. We were all a bit loopy and although I was surprised by the questionable sight of a 40 something year old man in fishnets, it didn't bother me or get in the way of my escapism. I was too caught up in the beauty of my surroundings and care free attitude of the non - world I was becoming part of. Too concerned with rolling the next smoke and convincing myself I was where I belonged and with the people I belonged with. Too out of my head to notice my real life drifting away along with my sanity. Again though, that's another story.

We went to Wales on a pilgrimage and chanted from the top of Angel Mountain. We got ourselves surrounded by most of Guildford's Police and Security men before being carried off one by one. I watched a full grown man, praying to a marijuana plant, tell a Policeman that David will place all the Police under arrest for harassment. I sat there whilst a music producer told David how he was going to make him a music star and together we would all make a hit number one single - David would be dressed as Delores of course.


You can shun freeman laws as hippy nonsense but it has to be said that David knows his stuff. Although in his case knowledge isn't saving him. Nor is the ideology of his dreams and the ignorance of his following helping him. Time will tell whether the 'common law' he teaches will ever stand up in court. In my opinion there are too many people in this world and too many less fortunate than us Brits to merit a case for some of those that call themselves 'freemen.' My experience of self proclaimed freemen has led me to believe that many of these people are not so much free as they are burdened with past experiences. I do not include all in this judgment - However, many of those I lived with seemed to be running or escaping something, David was their ringleader and to some, their oracle. People who seemed to want to forget about what were probably once fairly normal lives and applaud themselves for doing something 'different'.

I think to myself now that it's not new really. Communal living already exists - It's called society!

Building Burning Wick Productions

Around April time 2010 Nick Hayman and myself (Louisa 'Wizzi' Seaton) bumped into a chance opportunity to go along to the shoot of the Abertoir horror movie festival trailer and make a behind the scenes documentary. Having discussed, at length, the possibility of one day working together in the real world of moving image we jumped at the chance and named ourselves Burning Wick Productions.

The point of the documentary was to give the public an idea of how horror movies are made; Hopefully resulting in the creation of a budding bunch of horror movie makers to enter the festival and give a generous range of choice for the organisers to show.

http://abertoir.co.uk/

As I arrived on set with the self administered title of 'documentary director', my Canon XM1 in hand, a list of peoples names, the trailer script and absolutely no idea of what I was doing, I calmed my exterior with a false film of confidence. Pretending I directed documentaries all the time I took a deep breath. Nick set up the camera and away we went, throwing ourselves into the opportunity to learn on the job.

By the end of the day a general exchange of business cards was occurring amongst the trailer crew members and to my surprise people were approaching us. 'We are Nick and Wizzi from Burning Wick Productions but unfortunately have no cards on us right now. We are happy to take yours and will be in touch.' The words seemed to trickle professionally out of my mouth as my heart beat along with my head, thoughts such as 'Surely they know we're bullshitting, we're only students, we don't know what we're doing, and shit we should get business cards' tried to penetrate my cool surface face.

Plans for Burning Wick productions date back to my Godalming college days when Nick and I would team up and create short films and documentaries together for a laugh. Nick has always been focused on his plans to become a professional camera man/editor and I have the habit of leaping at any chance to be in the spotlight or position of creative control. Three/four years after the completion of, a less than impressive, 'day in the life of Wizzi' video to Pendulum's 'Fasten Your Seatbelt' we decided to get serious. With an understanding of the unfavorable ratio of employed to unemployed creatives in the UK we thought why not create our own jobs and begin our career climbs now.

At the time we considered Burning Wick productions to be a plan for the future, a far off dream of running our own production company. Something to strive towards once university was over. However, since 'Abertoir April' this dream has speedily morphed from the future to the present. Now it seems that rather than waiting two years for a paid or unpaid job or two we are actually faced with the task of choosing which jobs to turn down and deciding how much work we can realistically take on without jeapardising our degrees.

My summer has been packed with schedules, phone calls, meetings, producing, directing, filming, interviewing, editing, emailing, law research, legwork and thinking. To my pleasant surprise my plans for Burning Wick have already begun to materialise and now, back from my welcomed week of holiday, I, along with Nick, am on the final push to get our summer project, 'The Guilfest Documentary', finished and book the premiere before going back to uni to begin my second year.

We now have a properly set up edit suite with our post production equipment. The fabulous Canon 550D which, no matter what anyone says, you can believe shoots beautiful video, and a range of other essentials. In time our equipment will expand to include all we need/want (if that is humanly possible!) but at present we resonate in the Guerrilla film world making do with what we find and own. It's an interesting world and I love every minute of it!

Abertoir: Behind the Scenes can be found below.

Abertoir Trailer Behind The Scenes from Burning Wick on Vimeo.

Other Burning Wick productions can be found at www.vimeo.com/burningwick with our most exciting yet on the way. Check out our facebook page for the up coming premiere date which we are holding this October.
To contact me email Wizzi to: burningwickproductions@googlemail.com
We have a website on the way.

Feature: Behind the scenes at Guilfest

EXCLUSIVE!

FEATURE: Behind the scenes at

Guildford’s biggest event of the year

Summer is coming and with it the greatly anticipated festival season. For many Guildford locals the steady crawl up to Guilfest is filled with tent testing and welly boot buying. For the organisers however, the task of preparing for the festival is far more complicated. From as early as October last year the festival’s chief organisational quartet has been working away, planning three day’s worth of delight for this year’s Guilfest. I wonder how many people think about what it takes to put on a festival of this magnitude. I decided to go and find out. . .

This year up to 21 000 people are expected to turn up per day. Considering the festival costs an adult £110 for the weekend camping you would think Tony Scott and his team at Scott Events would be rolling in the money. They are quite clear on their stance as a ‘not for profit’ organisation, which is believable as simply putting the festival on costs way over a million pounds each year, excluding the percentage charge for renting the site (Stoke Park). Unlike starting up your own business you cannot get a bank loan to begin your own festival, the banks simply would not take the risk. You have to have the capital to begin with and then pray you can make it back. So, for those hopeful future festival organisers out there - be warned - it’s an expensive dream. As far as Guilfest goes this monetary responsibility lies with one man alone.

Ade Goldsmith acts as Tony Scott’s right hand man and when April arrives it’s full on for the team and Ade’s job as Press and media manager really kicks in. Organising all of the public relations for the festival, writing press releases and designing the marketing strategy for the event are just some of his tasks.

‘I have a database of 200 to 300 journalists and I email all of them.’ He must get all the publicity he possibly can before the festival begins, as stories in newspapers act as a vital key to selling tickets. The more people that know about the festival the more likely they are to turn up, especially if they have see an article on a local band from their area that will be performing.

When asked about the ethos Guilfest is centred around Ade said: ‘We try to appeal to people from all walks of life, making it as family friendly as possible with something for everyone.’

Differing from many other music festivals, vast and diverse crowds are welcome at Guilfest, which, in some senses makes the organisation even more taxing. The organisers all have their own music preferences and visions for what they believe should act as the running theme at Guilfest. Creative differences can cause problems at this stage and festivals are increasingly forced into the mercy of health and safety restrictions, put in place by the Council. Maximum capacity laws must be kept to and the hiring of a security guard company is important. The risk of shutdown would be too much for Tony Scott who has built the festival from scratch. Although Guilfest does not veer away from that laid back vibe expected at festivals, the organisation must be ‘above board and solid.’ From booking each band through to the hiring of each of the 1000 staff members who will work over the three days - all must be official.

Amongst his responsibilities, Ade has the duty of booking bands for the dance tent, which he says he is fairly relaxed about until mid to late May. I asked him how he chooses between willing acts? He said:

‘What I like and what will sell tickets.’ Although he personally does not like the focus to be on selling tickets, as the public relations (PR) man, it is a major part of his job. (Even not-for-profit organisations have to at least break even.)

Many problems can occur both in the organisation and at the festival itself. Last year one the headlining acts in the dance tent was two hours late. Ade only had Dub and Electro DJ Rusco’s agent’s phone number and not Rusco himself - a mistake he won’t be making again!

‘I decided to put someone else on and the chanting for Rusco continued as everyone thought it was him.’ Following that Pendulum were an hour late but at least they turned up eventually. There is always the possibility that artists will simply drop out at the last minute, causing the gruelling task of finding a replacement with what little time there is left.

Our famous unpredictable weather conditions can cause a crisis in ticket sales. If it rains throughout the weekend local people are less likely to turn up and if it gets rained off, as Sunrise festival did last year, Tony Scott and the team can kiss goodbye to all their hard work.

Luckily, Guilfest has never yet faced this travesty but the possibility contributes to the stress leading up to the festival.

When it comes to being backstage it is vitally important to be busy or at least look busy at all times to avoid the unattractive title of ‘backstage blagger.’ We tend to imagine people clothed in CREW t-shirts scurrying about backstage with radios and clipboards, darting between a few gigantic security guards who spend their time telling over-enthusiastic fans to GET BACK. In actual fact the ‘blaggers’ who stand around trying to look cool and important are rarely a threat to anything but their own dignity. Backstage crews at Guilfest can either be a mixture of Guilfest employees made up of roadies, light and sound engineers and the stage’s producer, or the bands own entourage of experts. Depending on the stage and how big in the music business the bands are, the amount of back stagers can range from a handful to well over a hundred.

‘There are ridiculous amounts of people backstage for the main stage.’

The major acts booked so far include Chase and Status, N-Dubs, Status Quo and Orbital. For updates and to see the full line-up you can visit the website at: www.guilfest.co.uk.

I leave you with a thought:

When you are trying out your tent, worrying about the possibility it will collapse on you, spare a thought for Tony, Ade and the

others who have to make sure the whole festival doesn’t collapse on them!

Q&A with Ade:

Q: What do you enjoy the most about your work?

A: It involves my own interests. I live for what I do

Q: How did you start out getting into this kind of work?

A: I began working for Tony’s (Scott) marquee company but wasn’t really doing alot. Then sombody said ‘why don’t you go to uni?’ So I went and studied music industry management. When I came back three years later Tony gave me the job of PR manager.

Q: WHat is the hardest part of your job?

A: Proffessional disagreements. WHoever puts the money in has the last say which means you can be prevented from doing what you believe in.

Q: WHo are you most proud to have worked with in the music industry?

A: I wouldn’t really say I was proud of who I’ve worked with. Alot of the biggest artists you talk to, you realise are d***heads.

Below is how the feature actually looked

Reggae Rooms with The Bevan's

Worplace to home, the rise of the Bevans

Against common view that couples ought not work together, Derek and Rachel Bevan’s successful collaboration at home and at work has made Reggae Rooms go from strength to strength.

The pair work together on many projects,

‘She has the hook-ups and the eye for it.’ Derek said in a recent interview. Derek Bevan has been collecting records ranging from Hip-Hop to Roots Reggae and all genres lying between since he was 13. Now at 37 he still buys vinal from the likes of Mikey Dread, the face of the biggest soundsystem in the UK, Channel One.

The ethos behind Reggae Rooms is to bring people together, Derek said:

‘In Godalming people seem to be getting glassed. Here in Guildford the vibe is peaceful. We can get really decent groups of people to come together.’

Reggae Rooms began five months ago and Derek has been growing the event alongside working full time as a lawyer and bringing up two children with another one on the way.

Like many successful music event managers, the Bevans began on the free party scene. Becoming a culture the scene peaked in the 1990’s holding the idea of paying as little as possible to hold and attend big parties.

Derek works alongside Kieron Hunter and Sam Reed who t

ogether make up ‘The Roots Brothers’. Spinning mixes of Jungle, Ragga and Reggae across the country with Rachel Bevan managing them whilst also promoting Mikey Dread, Channel One and the mighty DJ Earl Gateshead of Trojan Records.

See previous post for an exclusive interview with Earl Gateshead.

For more information on The Roots Brothers see:

www.facebook.com/rootsbrothers?ref=ts

To see photographs of the Reggae Rooms all day BBQ click link below: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=214190&id=517634458&ref=pb

Interview with the mighty Earl Gateshead

Interview with Earl Gateshead from Burning Wick on Vimeo.

Dancing at the Albert Hall in VIVA!

Back in April I danced in the Royal Albert Hall at the celebration of the 80th birthday of the Fitness League. The organisation focuses on the health and well being of women everywhere and teaches exercise movement and dance. It was fantastic and I was lucky enough to do it again on the 5th June at the Exercise Movement and Dance Partnership show. Below is a personal review I wrote for the Fitness League to go in their magazine on dancing in their 80th birthday show. It will be my first published work.

‘Designed to bring out the girl’s inner showgirl and outer sparkle!’

The item certainly did that! I only joined the Fitness League a few short months ago but quickly became aware that I had become part of something really rather special. As members of all ages and walks of life came together to rehearse those hip-wiggling steps, I could not quite believe I was to be in my second Albert Hall show. My first was in 2008 when I was in a routine named ‘Hoe Down’ as part of the first EMDP (Exercise Movement and Dance Partnership) show. It was a lot of fun but not the opening, so it felt less pressurised than ‘VIVA’.

Producing a routine for the Albert Hall that 13 year old, birthday girl of the day, and a member who, I believe, has seen her 70^th can perform in and enjoy is an impressive task to complete. My auntie, Suzie France, managed just that and as I joined her and my mother, Gill Jardine (who is also a teacher and long standing member of the League), in performing at the 80^th Birthday of the Fitness League show, I realised I was becoming a League lady, joining thousands of others world wide.

The monthly rehearsals became a lovely excuse to see all the faces involved that I didn’t get to see at Suzie’s Monday night Guildford class, which I regularly attend. As time went on gold and pink began to shine out of the costume cupboard and the individual steps blossomed, beginning to achieve the identity of a fluid dance routine.

As the practices closed in from once a month to every fortnight, it dawned on me – Just four weeks to go!

What had previously seemed so far away was now staring at me, head on and armored with glamorous, glitzy sparkles and feathers. My excitement began to simmer, along with my anticipation.

‘One two, cha cha cha’ I would whisper as I imagined myself travelling across the Albert Hall, looking to my right as often as possible, remembering that key phrase in all league shows,

‘LINES girls!’

Waiting at the top of the stairs, ready in my extravagant show girl make up, moving my hands to my hips in preparation for our grand entrance was, for me, the most frightening part.

I think it is probably the most nerve-racking moment of any show.

All the rehearsals, costume fittings, time and energy had all led up to that point, where I found myself taking my last few breaths before entering the arena. That tricky footwork on the fourth move I struggled to get my head around would have to be performed as best I could. The most important thing, of course, was to remember to smile.

A well-known truth amongst amateur performers is that as long as you smile the audience will forgive you anything!

It turned out that trying to smile was as unnecessary as ensuring accuracy in the finale. I enjoyed it so much I could barely keep back my wide, goofy grin.

As the last move was held and the music came to an end, we shouted ‘VIVA!’ and then poured off the arena to our applause. Hearts racing and faces beaming, we passed other teams waiting for their big moment and I shan't forget the absolute support and feeling of comradeship from them all as we joyously skipped along.

‘Well done girls!’ We could hear as we scurried back to our dressing room to congratulate each other and ourselves. Rather like a group of schoolgirls who have just won a netball match, we were unable to contain our excitement. The kid like giggles and grins coming from all amid our vast variety of performers reminded me of that accomplishment of the League, that allows the inner child spark, found deep within us all, to surface and shine.

Exclamations of, ‘We did it!’ came from all directions in the dressing room.

It was only after this point that the penny dropped and a slight sadness surged through me – for now, it was over. So until next time - Viva la league!

A little rant about road rage

Whilst driving through Guildford yesterday it occurred to me how ridiculous people's behaviour can become when behind their shield of metal and glass. What is it that turns people into angry, egocentric twits when they get behind the wheel? It's like as soon as they get in the car they think that the road is theirs, no one elses. In reality, many people use the roads and, in this country at least, we cannot escape this. If you accidentally get in someones way when walking down the street the natural reaction is not to shout, 'OH you f***ing Wan**r get out of my way!'- lets face it, that kind of attitude could result in a bloody nose. However, when in the car, people seem to think this behavior is perfectly acceptable. It is true that getting in someones way on the road is more dangerous than on the street but what happened to manners? Behaving like the road is yours, no one elses, and that you are the most important person on the road is rather stupid in my opinion. More and more cars are joining the roads every day and can't we learn to share them? I suppose when in the car people feel safe. They are in their own little box of safety, where people can only look at them through glass. Yes, the box may save them from fatal injuries, unlike a motorbike, but it doesn't save you looking like a complete idiot. Without the box the world may be a scary place. But lets be serious, a bit of metal and glass won't really save you from looking like an arse.

The Surrey Sonar

Semester 2 Print assessment. The Surrey Sonar is a music and entertainments paper centred in Guildford created by Tim Pilgrim, Emily Black, Heather Newland and myself Louisa Seaton (Wizzi).

It contains informations on newly licensed radio station Kane FM, up and coming heavy metal band Black Iris, music event Om Bongo, new 'SAW' attraction at Thorpe park and various news in briefs on events happening in the area.

Below are the stories I wrote that made this page:

A modern Robin Hood story

Local summer festival-goers reunited at the Robin Hood pub in Guildford to raise money at a charity gig night.

Advertised on facebook the night featured an array of psytrance, dub and psychedelic music performed by well-known musicians and DJs from the Surrey area. Included were sets from members of the popular Psychedelic trance band Wobbly Squadron who appeared as a major act at Guilfest last summer.

Organiser Ade Goldsmith, 28, said: ‘This gig is really about bringing back old faces from the summer to raise money for the most important cause out there, climate change.’

Goldsmith, manager of Wobbly Squadron, is also in charge of the PR and booking bands in the Dance tent for July music festival Guilfest was happy to reveal the February 12 gig raised £75 for Coolearth. The charity itself works with local communities to secure forests at risk of being destroyed and spends donation money on ‘safeguarding our climate.’

This was the first of two charity gigs held in Guildford this spring with the next on March 27 at the Star Inn pub.

Dean Scott, 41 also known as DJ Yoda from Guildford, said: ‘It’s really good knowing you’re playing your tunes for a good cause and I hope having a bigger venue next time will attract more people and larger donations.’

The gig itself was free and a donations bucket was handed around the tiny venue shortly before the last act played. The decorations gave the event a mini festival feel with UV lights and banners sporting the Ying Yang symbol.

http://www.facebook.com/OmBongo

Surrey stars surface

Local metal band Black Iris are set to impress with the release of their fully mastered EP.

Famous for re-mastering old Queen hits and producing their last album, Josh McRae has now done Jack Leatherbarrow, Ed Forbes, Simon Parker and Johno Madgwick the ultimate honour in mastering their tracks.

McRae is currently working with Bob Geldoff but was not too busy to journey to Maple House Studios, Sunningdale, to master hits like ‘The tangled web we weave’ and ‘Only just begun’ for Black Iris.

The band said they were excited about their new EP but guitarist Johno Madgwick, 24 said: ‘Nowadays it’s easy to get a good sounding EP but difficult to get people interested.’

Madgwick has played alongside Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and has been with Black Iris for nearly four years. Madgwick revealed the band were in talks with a new record company involving John Cope who has worked with the likes of Eric Clapton and 60s rock legends Genesis.

Black Iris, who have gigged with Breed 77 and The Blackout are playing at Freefest for the second time this coming summer. When asked about how the band were received Madgwick said: ‘The biggest compliment is when people who don’t actually like rock and metal turn around and say it’s really good. In a way that seems to be a more honest opinion.’

http://www.myspace.com/blackirisMusic

Baby Elephant Package

THE STORY OF MR SHUFFLES

TV Package evaluation

The focus of this evaluation is on a soft news story rather than a hard one. Claudia, Heather and myself produced the package and the version you are about to see I edited alone using Final Cut. We found the story on the Sky News website and then went to Reuters to find corresponding footage

As a group we wrote the studio link and recorded it in the studio. I directed it and with Alan’s help recorded it with a green screen so that I could try using Chroma keyer (in post production) to create my ‘UCA today’ logo that begins the package and is the backdrop to the studio link.

To create the logo I began with the university’s UCA logo and a clock that I found on Google images. I edited the two together, along with the added words, using a transparent background so that it would show up as black in the video.To use it as the studio background I adjusted the colour spectrum of the green screen so that all the green was blacked out in chroma keyer.Unfortunately, there is still a slight green glow around Claudia and Heather. When trying to remedy this, parts of them began to disappear, so I had to leave parts of the green in view.

I think better lighting when shooting in the studio would minimize the colour spectrum of the green screen and make it easier to black out areas required for use with chroma keyer. Next time I will pay more attention to the lighting will spend more time learning how to use this tool.

The titles at the beginning of the package introduce it alongside a jingle I found onwww.i-freeware-download.com.This site had many downloadable tunes but I chose ‘DragonAwakes’ as I thought the eastern style sound would fit with this light story.

Heather did the piece to camera as the group thought her voice suited this story. After filming Heather’s piece to camera I slowed the footage down in Final Cut as she spoke very quickley. I kept the pitch of her voice the same and I have noticed since doing this that a very slight echo can be heard from the voice. I also edited one of the members of the public's voices so that it sounded more natural. The gentlemen that said 'Boon Thang' sounded unnatural as he was very conscious that he was being recorded and said it so clearly and slowely that it did not fit with the other Vox pops. I simply sped his voice up allowing the pitch to change and therefore flow better.

One problem I found when editing was a lack of footage. We got roughly 2 and a half minutes footage off Reuters when trying to produce a minute and a half to 2-minute package which I have learned is scarcely enough. It was difficult for us to get our own footage for this story so I have created more zoom shots and increased the duration of some stills to elongate what we had.

We did film our Vox pops but did so in a rushed way. The framing could have been better and the position of the microphone looked unprofessional so I cut out the video, replacing it with more shots I edited from the Reuters footage. Next time I will ask those we record Vox pops from to bear with me whilst I set everything up properly. The problem was that they seemed keen to get it over with quickly so we felt pressured.

It would have been good to have a sound bite that went with the footage of elephant manager Gary Miller but the sound quality from Reuters was not good enough to use.

I wrote the voiceover and recorded it in the radio studio. I had to be careful not to mention the baby elephant’s current name ‘Mr Shuffles’ as Heather introduced this in her piece to camera. I used information that Claudia and myself found on the story from the Sky News website.

The seven Thai names thought up by workers at the Zoo had different meanings but rather than giving out these meanings I created titles that would appear after announcing the names to create a more visually interesting piece. I created these on Photoshop using ‘Matura MT Script Capitals’ as the font as this style seemed in keeping with the Thai names. I used red to stand out the best against the footage however on refelction they could have been slowed down to increase reading time.

I began the project using Premiere Pro but was having problems getting the software to work. The sound and video kept falling out of sync and refusing to playing so I started using Final Cut. Since finding Final Cut easier, I will probably stick to using this programme. I found exporting the video the way I wanted it less confusing.

A sign off from Heather would have ended the piece better than the rather abrupt ending you see. On the whole, I think we produced a good package and I am pleased with the amount I have learned for this assessment. I look forward to using my practised skills to produce higher quality work next time and in the future.

You can follow Mr Shuffles on Twitter!

http://twitter.com/MisterShuffles

Click below for 'Baby Elephant Walk' by Henry Mancini

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf8BT3wbZSo

Alice in Wonderland review

As far as Tim Burton films go it has to be said that this is not in his top ten. There was a lot of excitement and expectation leading up to the release of grown up Alice's adventure back down the rabbit hole. Unfortunately it was less an adventure into the anticipated nonsensical world of imagination and more an epic journey resembling such films as The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of The Rings. With monsters and the slaying of a dark creature creating a wonderland war hero out of Alice, the little girl who was once known as the inquisitive intruder seems long forgotten.

Lacking in hallucinogenic imagery seems inexcusable coming from Tim Burton, creator of such films as The Nightmare Before Christmas, which he managed to create spectacularly without the use of CGI.

The film begins very well and I take my hat off to the creators of the fall down the hole scene which does set the dark mysterious mood one expects from a Burton masterpiece. This beginning to the adaptation of 'wonderland' into 'underland' sets the scene but is unfortunately followed by a disappointing display of computer generated characters.

I must say the character of the mad hatter has successfully been given more depth in this film and Johnny Depp pulls the hat off perfectly, managing to add another masterful performance to his repertoire of extraordinary characters. Mia Wasikowska also gave an applaudable performance as the 19 year old Alice, carrying the character well throughout despite often having to act to blank spaces where the CGI characters were yet to be created.

Traits of Black Adder series 2's 'Queenie' can be found in Helena Bonham Carters performance as the Queen of hearts, but she held her own in the part displaying believable insight into the character.

As a film on the whole this new adaptation of Alice in Wonderland is enjoyable, entertaining and perhaps deserving of a more positive review. However, following on from other modern Tim Burton films it seems to also lack that 'something special' we are used to from his earlier works.

Click link below for trailer.

http://teaser-trailer.com/2009/06/tim-burtons-alice-in-wonderland-movie.html

Toyota recalls package

TV Package mini evaluation

TOYOTA RECALLS

This is a package I have edited in Premiere Pro using a combination of Reuters footage and my own. The accelerator pedal was animated using After Effects. I recorded the voice-over using Audition. I chose to do this package as there was some good footage on Reuters about it and it has been a continuing story that affects many people.

There was a lot of information concerning Toyota problems across seas and particularly in America but I chose to leave this out and focus on what the story means to British people.

The main problem with this package is the footage we shot ourselves (myself and Claudia). We had a lot of problems with equipment on the day of the shoot. The microphone was missing the connecting cable and we could not attach the camera to a tripod (our fault for not checking the equipment first-we won't be making that mistake again!) The shots we did ourselves were a bit shaky and we would not have used them had we been able to go out again and re-shoot.

I didn't want to use only Reuters footage as I felt the package would lack substance and variety of skills. I brightened the footage we shot using Premiere Pro as the colours were very dull due to weather conditions. I raised the contrast and brightness of the footage and am pleased with how the colours turned out. I also reversed the original shot so that a pan was shown before a zoom in on the Toyota symbol, as I believe it looks better that way.

I learned how to create titles and used this to make Toyota's phone number enter the video across the screen. I used yellow writing as I thought this would stand out the most. I also learned how to blot out sections of video using this skill to cover a number plate that shows in the final shots. This could have been done better as the block was rectangular in shape and would have been better if I had worked out how to curve it slightly. As the shot pans around the blotting remained in the same place so had to be large enough to continue to cover the number place through the shot. This worked as another reason for the positioning of the writing and when it came. It served as a cover for the blotting that shows across the carpark.

For information on Toyota click the link below to be redirected to Toyota's blog page.
http://blog.toyota.co.uk/

News story - A modern Robin hood story

Local summer festival-goers reunited at the Robin Hood pub, Guildford to raise money at a charity gig night.

Advertised on facebook the night featured an array of psytrance, dub and psychedelic music performed by well-known musicians and DJs from the Surrey area. Including sets from members of the popular psychedelic trance band Wobbly Squadron who appeared as a major act at Guilfest last summer.

Organiser Ade Goldsmith, 28 said: ‘This gig is really about bringing back old faces from the summer to raise money for the most important cause out there, climate change.’

Goldsmith, manager of Wobbly Squadron is also in charge of booking DJ's for the dance tent at July music festival Guilfest and was happy to reveal the 12^th February gig raised £75 for Coolearth. The charity itself works with local communities to secure forests at risk of being destroyed and spends donation money on ‘safeguarding our climate.’

This was the first of two charity gigs held in Guildford this Spring with the next on the 27^th March at the Star Inn Pub.

Dean Scott, 41 also known as Dj Yoda from Guildford said: ‘It’s really good knowing you’re playing your tunes for a good cause and I hope having a bigger venue next time will attract more people and larger donations.’

The gig itself was free and a donations bucket was handed around the tiny venue shortly before the last act played. The decorations gave the event a mini festival feel with UV lights and banners sporting the Ying yang symbol.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1826208440&ref=ts#!/pages/Om-Bongo/493504790213?ref=ts

Avenue Q

Being Valentines day on Sunday I was excited to find out my present from the boy I walk beside was tickets to the theatre. All I knew was that it was in Soho, involved puppets, and was called Avenue Q.

Well by my standards anything happening in Soho is likely to knock my top interesting thing of the day off it's pedestal and grip my attention. I love puppets, be they used in film, on stage or in animation and so my anticipation was boosted.

As for the title, Avenue Q. . .well I didn’t know what to think of the name apart from having a sneaky suspicion this play was to be set somewhere in America.

I was right and as the curtains rose to reveal a downtown street in New York the question was asked, 'What do you do with a BA in English?'

The answer to this initial question is never really answered. Fittingly I believe, as I doubt many people leave university knowing how to face the frightening velocity at which you fall when coming to the end of the education conveyor belt.

Following this the first song is entitled, ‘My life sucks.’ What a way to begin this musical puppeteer production and set the scene for the fabulously hilarious Avenue Q. Think R rated Sesame street meets the muppets performed by an array of energetic cast members sporting American accents.

This opening number introduces you to the main characters who are a mix of actors and puppets who describe, through song, how and why their lives suck more than each-others. A combination of has-beens and hopeful haven’t yet beens could describe the characters surrounding purpose searching shy boy Princeton. The character is taken on a journey to enlightenment throughout the play where the concluding thought is simply that whatever happens is ‘only for now’ so there really is no need to worry.

In a time where recession and war are often heightened topics of conversation with many of us uni going youths questioning the point of our papers and grades, this show is the perfect remedy of controversial but notably honest musical numbers. With 'everyone's a little bit racist', 'the internet is for porn' and a wonderfully clear explanation of 'schadenfreude' (when you feel pleasure at others misfortune, we all do it!) these puppets and puppeteers offer a light, almost philosophical view on life.

I saw the production at the Gielgud Theatre in Soho where it will be shown until the 19th of March before moving to Wyndhams Theatre in Charing Cross. If you have the chance and need a laugh I highly recommend this obscure show involving some slightly disturbing scenes nearing puppet porn. Don’t worry the puppets are not fully exposed and the song that goes with it will have you creasing in your seat.

Seeming too good to be true by the end I was attentively searching for mistakes. Actor Tom Parsons who played characters Nicky, Trekkie Monster and one of the unforgettable Bears of bad ideas was on stage in the final scenes with all three puppets at once. Successfully switching voices and hands to control the separate puppets' movements in time with the right voices. I was sure he must make at least one little mistake, either by using the wrong voice whilst operating a character or forgetting to make the right mouth move, something! He didn’t and has earned the title of most coordinated individual I have ever seen. He made no mistakes and gave an outstanding performance all the way through; he was my favourite actor of the night.

By the end of the show my mouth was aching from laughter and nothing could ruin my night. I was ready and willing to watch the whole show all over again and want to get more tickets asap! A definite thumbs up from me - the person that walks beside me liked it too!

http://www.avenueqthemusical.co.uk/?gclid=CIf6gL6SgaACFdoB4wod7Ez6iw#/home/

Berlin Wall Package

Edited by Louisa Seaton and Timothy Pilgrim

Christmas Shopping Package

The recession, christmas shopping and the dear local people of Farnham.

UCA today bring you their Tv journalism assessment package. Complete with,

• A link/voiceover, on top of some ‘fill in’ footage of Farnham
• A piece to camera (P2C)
• On camera head to head interviews (vox pops) with retailers and consumers
• An improvised outcue

And all this in just a minute 15.

So maybe it’s not quite BBC ready just yet. . .

We are mere students of the trade.

For now.

Christmas shopping package evaluation

Allocating roles for each group member was the initial task for this project. I’ve learned you must put your inhibitions aside when leading a group and ensure everyone knows exactly what is required, even if it seems obvious.

When working ‘in the field’ in TV journalism you have different considerations to radio and print, such as camera shots and equipment, making it a more complex (but more enjoyable!) practice. Print journalism emphasises the writing element. The journalist gathers information before making a report, in effect, working independently. The writing itself has to really grab the readers’ attention and ‘hook people in’.

In radio you must write simply and concisely so that your story is easy to understand, easy to read and fits into a time slot. For TV you also have time constraints, the piece needs to be interesting visually and audibly and again needs to be easily understood. There is a lot of focus on introducing stories in TV. Links and P2C’s play a major part in the script. Flamboyant language is used so you can be more creative with your writing.

In TV and radio, the journalist begins with a plan but the project is shaped when they go out and meet the public. The angle of the piece can be directed beforehand but could end up quite different, as you can never be sure what the public are going to say. There is an editorial process in all three areas where you can pick and choose which quotes or parts of quotes you want to use.

After going through scripts, plans, equipment checks and recording Chris’s voiceover (adding in a nifty news intro we stumbled across), my job was to approach people for interview. People were generally happy to help out when they knew it was a student project. Approaching them with this information confidently, like in radio, worked much better than asking them to ‘spare some time’. I wrote the questions, altering them slightly for consumer and retailer interviews and consciously aimed for people I might get mixed responses from. Unfortunately the best consumer responses were all from women so we used them in the final edit. This reduced the scope of responses as I would have liked. This was a considered editorial decision. We could have improved this by carrying out more interviews.

I could have manned the microphone better, waiting until I had completely finished asking the questions before turning the microphone to my interviewees. With practice my performance of these tasks will improve. The importance of preparation is therefore emphasised.

The recording - Radio journalism

So here it is. . .

My first attempt at radio journalism.

I tried out my ‘radio voice’ and have survived relentless ridicule from my very grownup 27 year old brother!

Radio News by Wizzi



Remembrance Day Vox Pop evaluation

Our first group task was to decide on the question(s) to ask the public. The first thing I learnt was that closed questions cause problems.
The public were responding with yes/no answers, which meant we had to ask the interviewees to expand. Yes/no answers, although good for gaining qualitative results, for use when for example you are conducting a survey, in this case simply made our job more difficult. Beginning with an open question where the public would have had to give wordy answers in the first place would have saved us time and editing. The initial questions could have been better prepared so that they instigated a more flowing response.

Changing the initial question to, ‘What is your opinion on the relevance of remembrance day?’ would have probed fuller replies and made it easier to edit out our own voices, without leaving the material ambiguous.

Asking people to ‘spare a few minutes’ makes them less likely to talk to you than if you approach them directly and confidently. Going straight up to them, telling them you are from the university and then asking if they would mind answering a couple of questions worked much better. I learnt that it is important for the group to all know what they are going to say when approaching people. Time is wasted by ambiguity in roles within the group.

The equipment we were using cut out and we lost two good interviews, which was extremely frustrating. From this I have learnt to always fully charge equipment before going out and take time to ensure equipment is working (recording) prior to pressing record. I have learnt how to use a mini disk recorder (the HHB Portadisk MDP500), how to transfer data onto a computer and how to edit a soundbite.

I have learnt that editorial skills can be transferred across sound and video, so once you understand the basics of one programme it is easier to use other programmes. Having previous knowledge of Premiere Pro helped me pick up the basics of Soundbooth.

The microphone must be close to the person being recorded but does not need to be so close that it puts people off. The ability to alter sound levels when editing means that volume differences inevitably recorded when asking a variety of people (who will have varying natural voice volumes) are not an issue so long as they are all recorded within a certain range.

Each person in my group had a go at holding the equipment, directing the microphone and asking the questions. I began editing the voxpop in class where we were told to begin removing our voices. The interview I put in at the beginning does not sound like an answer to our questions so I have left it on it’s own to introduce the piece. After that I put the best sounding questions (clearest) in before the corresponding answers and grouped together various responses, so that the piece makes sense.