What Wicca really is about!

We have now interviewed a Village Witch Sally Walker and Wise-woman Ann Glaister and they have give me a lot of understanding to what Wicca really is about and my initial interpretation is now reformed (towards the British Wicca anyway).
This little introduction to Wicca really expresses what I have now come to understand of British Wicca as 'preconceived', 'misunderstood' and 'misinterpreted'!!

WITCHCRAFT - AS I BELIEVED IT TO BE!

HERE'S AN ARTICLE THAT BRIEF'S THE GENERAL PERSEPTION OF WITCHES IN NIGERIA - AS I HAD ALSO KNOWN THEM TO BE.

Witchcraft in Nigeria - And why it has such a hold on people's minds

Written by CD, in LagosTuesday, 19 November 2002

Due to the immense poverty and apparent hopeless situation of ordinary working people in Nigeria many of the old superstitions still survive today. Comrade CD in Lagos, of the Nigerian Marxist journal, Workers' Alternative explains why.

She lay curled up by the roadside; a pathetic little figure in rags-dead, scattered pieces of rocks nearby indicated she was stoned to death. Her crime, she confessed being a witch.

Reasons for belief in Witchcraft

Some years ago, 1995 to be precise, the nation woke to the horrifying story of two children whose fingers were burnt by the Prophetess of a church in alliance with their father to get them confess to an alleged "witchcraft powers". Which they have been using to 'bewitch' their father, causing him misfortune and preventing him from progressing, etc. Shocking as this might seem, many people actually believe the charge of witchcraft levied against the children. However, the public outcry against this practice was so great that the Prophetess and the children's father were tried and sentenced to various prison terms.

But what kind of society causes such permanent disability to its children for, of all things, possessing 'witchcraft powers'? What is the social basis for belief in witchcraft?

Concerning the story above the father at the time was a poor factory worker paid 1200 Naira monthly. With this money he was expected to feed and cloth himself and his family, pay his children's fee, transport himself to and from work, etc. How on earth can any reasonable person expect or be expected to do all these on the starvation wage of 1200 Naira? Witchcraft, although an imaginary world, when used to explain away poverty, illnesses, accidents, natural disasters, etc, becomes a horrifying "reality", with the weakest segments of society-women and children-as its victims.

Socio-economic problems and tensions reflected in the collective consciousness as acts of witchcraft. Everyday problems arising from the dislocation and disintegration of society were blamed on witches and therefore protection must be sought from a "witch doctor". The fear of witchcraft is not peripheral; it touches virtually all segments of society. It is deeply rooted in the collective consciousness.

Fly-By-Night

Underlying this belief is the idea that Human soul could exist independent of the material body. At night this soul quits the body and assumes the form of a creature to carry out evil acts against others. At stake is the question: spirit or matter, which is primary? The spirit or consciousness is merely a product of the brain, itself a product of matter. There is no soul as an independent entity that survives outside the body.

Witches were said to possess super human powers that they use to perpetrate evil. According to certain belief a witch could harm anybody including her family members. This especially makes her highly hated. They are said to kill their own children, drink human blood and bring ruin and ill health on their friends and families. That is to say, in contrast to normal human beings witches conceive and cause the most horrible misfortune on their families and communities. They were viewed as the embodiment of everything that is evil. Witches, it was said, could practice their wicked art only in the dead of night. Deaths, natural disasters, and epidemics; everything were blamed on witches. In most beliefs a witch was said to confess her "crimes" before she died or went mad. Homeless, possibly childless old women driven from their matrimonial homes are especially the victims of these alleged "confessions". Old women driven into the streets and losing their mind, in their madness utters nonsense to the effect of being a witch, killing her husband and children, causing accidents, and bringing ruin on their families were immediately set upon and stoned to death by passers-by. Voluntary claims of witchcraft reveals only a state of madness. A person cannot be in possession of something that does not exist. Witchcraft merely reflects the real world. Yet, the fact remains that even intellectuals still believe in the existence of people who "fly-by-night".

Historical Perspective

Witchcraft is rooted in primitive society. Fear and ignorance played powerful roles in its growth and development. Subsequently, it played strategic roles. Not only was it used to explain away bad harvests, illnesses, deaths and deterioration of farmlands; it acted as a socio-psychological and moral constraint.

Since a witch was said to cause harm to members of her family or community, in a closely-knit commune she was viewed as especially dangerous. But why were mostly women and children witches? In a Patriarchal society being called a witch was no easy matter. It spells certain death for the accused-usually being burnt alive, stoned to death, or in rare instances banishment. This accusation was strategic. The fear of being thus branded kept young people from criticizing the 'elders'; the poor from showing open resentment to the 'well to do'; rank and file tribesmen from challenging the status quo, and women from challenging male domination because those who threatened the existing order of things in any form were branded as witches. That is to say, it was used to strengthen Patriarchy.

In these societies women's labour was ruthlessly exploited and she was viewed as having reasons to resort to witchcraft. Even childless old women seemingly living apart from the farming community were branded as witches.

As feudal society entered into conflict with nascent capitalism, with production shifting from the home to the factory important changes began to occur in the society. Women and children went to work at the factories. The coming together of women at the factory and the common struggle for higher wages and women's rights further undermined Patriarchy. In addition, the abandoning of farming for factory jobs by village youths further undermined the system, although not eliminating it.

In the primitive communities, witchcraft became all-pervasive that nothing happens naturally. Every adverse situation is the wicked act of a witch, who was invariably a woman or a child.

In current day society, these primitive superstitious beliefs were still preserved as they still serve the same functions. These beliefs, despite the advancements in science and technology, combined with the explanation of many natural phenomena, is still being consciously promoted by the ruling class, both nationally and internationally.

Today, on TV, radio and newspapers, there are so many programmes geared towards promoting, not explaining, these views and the targets again remains primarily old women and children. For instance they never say that Abacha is a witch or that the person who steal public money is a witch or that their system is responsible for poverty, unemployment, etc. However they can easily promote the idea that one woman or one of your father's wives is responsible for a person's lack of progress. Even in the advanced capitalist countries views like these are still being promoted.

How can a person be killed or cause permanent disability merely for claiming possession of a non-existent power? Because the truth of the matter is that a "witch" or "wizard" possesses no power at all and therefore poses no threat to anyone. Why kill an old woman and inflict such injuries on charges of witchcraft?

Belief in witchcraft is deeply rooted in the collective consciousness and will take much time and effort for them to be supplanted with new, scientific concepts. Only a radial transformation of the society with adequate provisions made for all segments-materially, culturally and intellectually can uproot these archaic beliefs by uprooting the conditions that gave rise to them.

Witchcraft does not exist. Only when man masters the productive forces and subjects them to his will through conscious planning can man successfully master these fears and rise above these primitive beliefs. Only a socialist society offers this condition.

October 1998

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.marxist.com/witchcraft-nigeria-peoples-minds.htm

WORK EXPERIENCE: Take Me Out

I had another gracious opportunity to work on the set of the popular british dating show 'Take Me Out'.
Just like last time I helped out as a stand-in for the rehearsals of the boys for the show. It was indeed a very long day but far more worth the experience getting to see how preparations for one of the UK's largest studio production is seasonally brought to the entertainment light.
Last time I was unlucky not to get a reservation to see the live shoot but this time around I had the privilege to sit in amongst the audience. It was an awesome experience noting how professional everyone from the presenter Paddy McGuiness to the Floor managers worked as a team to produce a hugely entertaining show keeping the fantastic audience full of cheers.

My hunger to work in the TV/Film industry has never more been fuelled.

RESEARCH: The Religion that is 'Wicca'

GREAT INCITE FOR ME INTO THE BELIEFS OF 'BRITISH WICCAN'

Wicca

Gerald Brosseau Gardner ©

Wicca is a Pagan Witchcraft tradition. Today, the name Wicca is frequently applied to the entire system of beliefs and practices that make up the spectrum of contemporary Pagan Witchcraft. However, although Wiccaand Witchcraft are often used interchangeably, it is important to note that there are also Pagan Witchcraft traditions that are not Wiccan.

Wicca was used originally to distinguish the initiatory tradition of Witchcraft practised as a religion, but American popular television series have adopted the word to include what would once have been called natural magic or white witchcraft. When people in Britain describe themselves as Wiccan though, they generally mean that they are practising a form of religious Witchcraft. Media images often show Wiccans as teenage women, but in fact it is practised by males and females of all ages.

Origins of Wicca

Religious Witchcraft is not merely a system of magic, but is a Pagan mystery religion worshipping Goddess and God and venerating the Divine in nature. Its origins lie in pre-Christian religious traditions, folklore, folk witchcraft and ritual magic, but most Witches draw their inspiration from the 'Book of Shadows', a book of rituals and spells compiled by of one of Wicca's major figures Gerald Brosseau Gardner (1884-1964).

Gerald Gardner claimed to have been initiated in 1939 into a coven of Witches who met in the New Forest in Hampshire and his two most well known books Witchcraft Today (1954) andThe Meaning of Witchcraft (1959) produced a huge surge of interest, inspiring a movement that has spread around the world.

Gods

Wicca honours the Divine in the forms of the Triple Goddess, whose aspects of Virgin, Mother, and Wise Woman or Crone are associated with the waxing, full and waning phases of the Moon, and as the Horned God.

The principal names by which the God is known are Cernunnos or Herne, both of which mean 'Horned One'. The emphasis placed on Goddess and God differs between groups, traditions and localities, but most Wiccans believe that for wholeness the image of the Divine must be both female and male.

Structure

There are no central authorities in Wicca. Some Witches are solo Witches. Others belong to covens – groups of like-minded people who meet together to worship the Gods and to do magic. Some covens are part of initiatory traditions in which more experienced people act as teachers to newcomers. Others are formed by groups of friends who want to meet and learn together. The classic number of people in a coven is thirteen, but many covens are smaller. Some are mixed sex groups; others cater for Witches who prefer single sex covens.

Rites and celebrations

Wiccan priestess and priest ©

The major festivals of Wicca are known as sabbats. These are held eight times throughout the year and mark changes in the seasons. The festivals are Winter Solstice or Yule on December 20/21, the shortest day, Summer Solstice or Midsummer on June 21/22, the longest day, and the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes (March 20/21 and September 20/21) when the hours of darkness and light are equal. The other four festivals are Imbolc, February 1/2; Beltane or May Eve on April 30/May 1; Lughnasadh also known by its Anglo-Saxon name of Lammas or Loaf Mass, August 1/2, and Samhain, also known as All Hallow's Eve, October 31/November 1. Witches also honour their deities at monthly rites known as esbats, which are held on the full Moon, when the mind is thought to be more magically powerful.

Sabbats begin at sunset and end at sunset the next day and most rites are held at night, lit evocatively by candles if indoors or by the moon, bonfires and lanterns if outside. For indoor rituals, some Witches have rooms set aside as temples in their houses, which they use for rites. Others use their ordinary living space.

Rites take place in a consecrated space, the circle, and even if there is a temple, the circle space is created anew for each rite. The space is first swept with a broomstick or besom to purify it and then blessed with the four elements – air, fire, water and earth. The circle is then symbolically sealed by drawing a circle around it in the air with a wooden wand or a black-handled knife known as an athame. The four directions – east, south, west and north – are then honoured. Within the sacred space, the Goddess and God are invoked and magic performed. Rituals usually end with blessing a chalice of wine and cakes that are shared among the participants.

Magic and ethics

A pentagram used for a spell casting©

Like many Pagan religions, Wicca practices magic. Witches believe that the human mind has the power to effect change in ways that are not yet understood by science. In their rituals, as well as honouring their deities, Witches also perform spells for healing and to help people with general life problems. Magic is practised according to an ethical code that teaches that magic may only be performed to help people when it does not harm others.

Witches believe that the energies that we create influence what happens to us: negative magic rebounds on the perpetuator but magnified. This process is often known as 'Threefold Law'. Other important ethical teachings are that people should strive to live in harmony with others and with themselves, and with the planet as a whole. Environmental issues are important to Wiccans.

After death

Wicca teaches reincarnation. After death, the spirit is reborn and will meet again those with whom it had close personal ties in previous lives. The aim of reincarnation is not to escape life on Earth, but to enjoy experiencing it again and again until everything that can be learned has been absorbed. When the spirit ceases to reincarnate, it remains in a blissful realm known as 'The Land of Youth' or the 'Summerland'.

Wicca and other contemporary Pagan spiritualities

Wiccan ideas and rites have been taken up by the Goddess spirituality movement. They appeal to both women and men who have rejected male-dominated religions and who prefer to venerate the Divine in female form as Goddess.

There are many similarities between Wicca and Druidry. Both emphasize the importance of developing close links with Nature and their rites frequently take place out of doors. Both also stress the importance of guardianship of the Earth and environmentalism. Some distinctions are that Druidry is more purely Celtic than Wicca, there is less emphasis on magic in Druidry, and Druidry more actively encourages the development of music and poetry as paths to spiritual growth.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/subdivisions/wicca.shtml

You are a Witch?!

When Neill first mentioned to me about his religion being Wiccan or witchcraft, my initial reaction was that of 'a puzzled surprise' as I'd never had imagined it to even be classed as a major religion.
This is due to the fact that the 'witchcraft' I know of from africa (Nigeria to be specific) is of pure negativity and evil pagan acts and beliefs.
Witches over there are believed to worship the devil and practise magic for use to torture and torment their victims. They tend to practice their rituals in their covens late into the night in secret too; most of the time spiritually too.
Witches were said to possess super human powers that they use to perpetrate evil. According to certain belief a witch could harm anybody including her family members. This especially makes her highly hated. They are said to kill their own children, drink human blood and bring ruin and ill health on their friends and families. That is to say, in contrast to normal human beings witches conceive and cause the most horrible misfortune on their families and communities. They were viewed as the embodiment of everything that is evil. Witches, it was said, could practice their wicked art only in the dead of night. Deaths, natural disasters, and epidemics; everything were blamed on witches. In most beliefs a witch was said to confess her "crimes" before she died or went mad. (CD, 2002)
This is therefore widely frowned upon and classed as a highly controversial topic so to find someone openly confess to being a 'witch' or pagan worshipper in Nigeria (or I'd imagine anywhere) is highly unlikely.

However, further more into my conversation with Neill, he explained to me how his Wiccan beliefs are in fact the complete opposite of my initial perceptions. Describing that Wiccan's believe in peace, nature and positive world energy.

I have now come to understand that there may well be various kinds of Wiccan's with varying beliefs and practices.This may well turn out to be a huge eye-opening documentary; myself included.

Documentary Unit: Commission

The pitching results have been released and unfortunately my idea hasn't been commissioned but I have been paired to work with my colleague Neill Morris on his documentary title 'Waking the Witch'.

'Waking the Witch' will be a 10-minute documentary on the beliefs of Wicca and Witchcraft. 

It is proposed to be aired on the national television BBC one and scheduled for Sunday night viewers aged in their late teens and older. 

Looking into what Wiccan beliefs consist of; how they are perceived in the society, the criticism faced of the early church and it's current reaction towards them.

The documentary style will consist of using visual anchors, Interviews, Cutaways and Actuality shots, Archive footage e.t.c.

Follow the production process, blogs and progress at: http://wakingthewitchdocumentary.blogspot.co.uk/

Narrative/Genre Unit: Chosen Subject

I have decided to study one of my favourite TV shows for this unit subject on Narrative/Genre. Spartacus is an American TV series that has been aired on Starz TV since January 2010 and is currently due to release its third series is January 2013.

Documentary Unit: Practice Project

I have now finished editing the practice project with my team member Neill.
Though we had a lot of interesting shots, there didn't seem to be enough especially with the questions which were answer really briefly causing the finished product to be under 5 minutes long.
However, this is just a practice so we aren't too worried about that especially as we are happy with the quality of footage we got which at this stage is more important. Also, because of previous issues we had in pre-production stages, we were only able to film on one day where-as other groups had two or more so we feel if we had the chance to get more footage, this issues would be easily resolved.

Documentary Unit: Practice Project

I have now gotten hold of the footage from the interview session my team members carried out at Blake's Cafe. Looking through the footage, there's a lot of cut-aways, a few actuality shots and the inteviews should all be just about enough to work with. LET THE EDIT BEGIN!!!

Documentary Unit: Practice project

After several unsuccessful attempts to get a business for our interview, my group has finally scheduled to interview a cafe in Maidstone called Blake's Cafe/Bistro.
The interview date is scheduled for the 12th of November 2012. Unfortunately I won't be able to make it to the shoot due to prior commitments but I have taken on the role of editor for the project anyway so I don't necessarily need to be there.

Commission Unit: Documentary

For this Unit I have some rough ideas so far:

One idea is based around international students and looking into how they cope with the life changing decision to study abroad; living in a different environment and society, lifestyle, weather, expenses etc.

My second idea is a pre-developed project.
During the Easter break, I got the opportunity to document a week long fashion course run by the UCA Rochester for young kids to encourage them to take up the career path and progress on to study it at the university. For this project, we only had to produce a five minute brief promo for the five days duration of the course. Needless to say we had surplus amount of footage recorded over the five days.
I feel I could incorporate incorporate this event into a documentation of the course.
Also in a cause to develop the idea, I could re-visit students who attend the course and document their progress after the course and their feelings towards taking up a career in fashion and the overall impact of the course in their lives.

Direction Unit: Charcters and Props

Still deciding on what shoes for the female character.
I am kind of swaying towards the red converse shoes
just because well they are red and could signify characteristics
and relate to the twist in the plot.

Behold my Episode Prop - 'The Shovel'!!

This was roughly the kind of look
we have agreed on with the female actor.
So this is her in full costume!

This will be the top costume for the male character 'Drew'
who I will be playing in the episode.

Direction Unit: Final Title Sequence

I have finally been able to finish off the title sequence for the Web-series so here is the final product.
Overall I am pleased with it and feedback from the group results the same so we are happy to stick with it.

Direction Unit: Title Sequence

I have finally been able to finish off the title sequence for the Web-series.
We collected clips from most of the episodes and mixed them up into the sequence, putting down the opacity at certain points to allow a blend.
We then decided on the font for the title which was 'Technovia'
For the music, I experimented with a few of my brothers tracks and the group decided on the one that works best in terms of mood and flow.

Direction Unit: Final Piece - Episode 1

Behold here it is - Episode 1 of 'Park Story'

Park Story: Episode 1 - DEBT

Overall, I am pleased with the final outcome. My only let down is that I had to cut a few shots that I was quite happy to include. However, watching the final piece now I don't regret that but instead feel they would have made it unnecessarily long and a bit of a drag. Whereas the final state I feel is now at a steady pace for my intended mood and style to be successfully achieved.

Direction Unit: Feedback and Development

I had a chat with my tutor, showing him my episode edit in order to get some feedback on what I could improve on to gain the final piece. Points to improve that I noted down were:

- One hard cut needs shortening in order for it to be much more smooth.
- In the opening scene cuts should be made when the car door and boot are simultaneously shut to materialize the 'jump-cut' editing technique.
- A clip needs the speed and cut sorting out.
- Lesser clips for the shovel hit scene to allow quicker cuts and more impact.
- Sound levels still a bit hit at certain points.

These were all minor issues so I was able to make the required adjustments quickly and my episode is near enough ready for release.

Direction Unit: Edit

I have successfully synced the sounds together with the clips now and found some good sound effects to go with most of my key scenes. Now I can get on with concentrating on the visuals.
I decided from the start to go with a dark feel in the visuals as the story is set in the dusk hour. Also so that the mood of the film could be tense and gritty. I can use color correction to play around with this to get the right tone of visuals.

Direction Unit: Title Sequence

So I have now got clips for most episodes and put them together to experiment on my idea for the Title sequence montage. There was also a nice pov tracking shot of the park pathway by one of my colleagues Kevin O'Flanagan which we decided to incorporate into the title sequence.
I decided to use this shot as a background for all the episode clips to layer on and it's worked and coming along really well.

Direction Unit: Edit

I have now cleaned up my edit and started work on the sound. As I recorded my sound separately this will be a bit of a mission trying to find the right sounds let alone sync them properly with the video.
However, the sound quality is so much more better that that on the video camera so can only be worth it I suppose.

Direction Unit: Title sequence

The course group came together and had a discussion regarding ideas for the Title sequence and a lot was I talked about it terms of using shots of the Vinters park as it is a central link to all the episodes.

So I thought of a montage idea in which clips from each episode is used together to make up the title sequence.

Direction Unit: Edit Cut 2

I have now reached the second stage of edit and have successfully but painfully cut down my episode to the required 3 minute mark. A lot of establishing shots that I really hoped to use have had to be rejected; not the easiest decision I have to admit but has to be done.

Direction Unit: Park Story - Edit

I have now uploaded my footage and started editing.
Overall I am pleased with the footage I got from the shoot, the only one I am not too satisfied with is the angle of one of my shots which was too wide and another of the shovel digging into the ground which I didn't watch back instantly and isn't now what I wanted as the digging seems effortless.
The first draft of everything is in place but its up to 3 minutes 45 seconds at the moment so a LOT of cutting out to do!! Oh dear!!

Direction Unit: Filming

My shoot is now successfully over after a few battles with the weather.
The weather today wasn't the worst but frequent brief showers meant interruptions and waiting around a bit but as time went on the weather cleared up especially as we moved to the digging scene where we were protected by the trees.

For this shoot I decided to experiment doing a two-camera shoot. This worked quite well and easier than I pre-judged. It meant being able to get two different shots/angle at a time cutting down the amount of retakes required.
The only negative thing I can think about it is probably the restriction in shot angles while trying to avoid the 2nd camera getting in shot. But then again an extra take could always be done in order to get that tighter angle.
Also, another thing I picked on which could give me a problem in post production will be the fact that both cameras are different - I was shooting with the studio Sony XD cam and a Canon 5D MK II so their qualities were physically different. However, this isn't unsolvable as beauty of Colour correction exists.

Direction Unit: Script Update

 I have had to make some changes to my script due to unforeseen circumstances:

One of my stated props is a BMW which I was going to use one owned by a friend of mine but unfortunately he is unable to make my shoot date so I will have to make do with another.
Possibilities: Mine (Again) or one of my course colleagues.

After the peer reviewing session, I realised that a vital requirement in the brief stated that we begin our episode and end it at the entrance of the park so I will have to change the ending of my story/script.
Instead of ending with a bang as initially intended, one of my characters will now exit the park at the end.

Paper Talk

Our short project brief was to create a 1 minute film using a prop and 2 characters; having one of the characters approach the other with a note which had some sort of message which the receiving character had to react to.
My approach to this was by having a message that would evoke a negative reaction on the receiving character. I also thought as my characters were a male and female, the note could be relative 'divorce' i.e. the female handing over the divorce papers to the male character. During filming I decided to play around with the audience expectations and portray the male character as optimistic and reassuring only to be approached by the female character, leaving him shocked and dissapointed by the message in the note.

Summer project - Mechanical ME

During the summer holidays, myself and Neill Morris helped run a film lab course as ambassadors at the Uca Rochester campus.
People of different ages applied to take part and were divided into three groups to produce an episode each of a web-series titled 'Mechanical ME'. Myself, Neil and the other ambassadors involved had to act as producers for each episodes taking charge of a group each.
The course production ran for just over a week leaving each group 3 days to film and 2 days to edit after pre-production. I was in-charge of episode 2 and due to shortage of time, in-experience amongst the peers and  other difficulties, I ended up also editing the episode.
Here is a link to all three episodes... MechanicalMe Web Series

Direction Unit: Park Story - Development

I have now completed a second draft of my script and completed the casting for the character roles in my episode.
Next up is getting a feedback from my tutor on the script, producing a story board, shooting script and sorting out a complete production cast list.
I have set my filming dates for the 2nd and 3rd of October 2012.

Direction Unit: Park Story - Location Recce

I did some location recce today to check out some possible locations for the scene shots in my film:

Possible establishing shot for when Drew finds the spot 

where the money is buried

Possible spot for which the money could be buried

Possible park entrance

Another possible entrance

Possible path for entry and exit to park

Directors Unit: Idea 2

PLOT: A detective investigating a case about a missing girl notices a corpse buried in a park with a shovel stuck horizontally on the spot. After digging up the corpse, he notices a note in the hand of the victim that reads, "I paid my debt with my life" and also across her forehead is written, the word "Snitch".
The detective then has a flash back that reveals him with the victim in an interrogation room as he convinces her to admitted to witnessing a crime and confirming who the prime suspect is. This then links her confession to her death.

Mood of Film: Dark thriller and Crime drama

References: A detective similar to Luther's character and a style of police drama  "Southland".

Directors Unit: Idea 1

PLOT:
Two friends Sammy and Casey are indebted to a dangerous gang, decide to dig up a stark of money they had buried in a park.
As Sammy digs up the bag of money from the ground with a shovel, he is unaware that Casey has other plans. So when he turns to grab the bag for them to escape, Casey betrays him by stabbing his back and knocking him down with the shovel. She then runs away with the money, leaving him for dead by the hole.

"Costume for Sammy and Casey"

Casey feels she has no where to run and already had a private meeting with the gang who gives her an alternative to kill Sammy and get the money to them.

"The type of  bag used to bury the money in the ground"

Mood of Film: Dark and dramatic with a sense of tension all through from beginning to end.
References:
Dark Knight Rises - The BIG twist scene!! (well for me it was anyway - and an awesome twist too if I may add) ...When Talia stabs the Batman as he is crouched down towards Bane and reveals that she is in fact Ra's al Gul's daughter.
This is how I picture the twist in my film to be when Casey unexpectedly turns against Sammy. So the whole build up to that scene will sympathize with both characters having a close relationship up until that moment.

Directors Unit: Park Life

Episode 1
Theme: Debt
Object: Shovel

For this direction unit, I have two brief ideas for what to do with my theme and object.

Marlowe Academy Project

The local press and UCA covered a story on the Marlowe Academy Olympic project. A post is live on the UCA website, check it out here - http://ucreative.ac.uk/news/2012/may/broadcast-media-film#.T7jplEWJc_c

2nd-years' 'AS LIVE' studio shoot

After weeks of rehearsals and months of planning and preparation, the Broadcast Media 2nd-year students finally did a marvelous job producing a live music studio production at the Maidstone Studios.
It was a privilege to aid them in achieving such a feat and even better noticing the progress from all the preparatory stages to the final shoot day.
Along will all others of the 1st year, I was able to help as a cable-basher for one of the stage camera's and as practiced, everything went to plan; if not better. An experience I will treasure and hope to exercise when it comes to our production next year.
Haven experienced a professional studio production at the Maidstone studios, I must admit that this was no less. The stage set-up, production teams and shoot procedures were all depicted to a good standard so I have nothing but high hopes for what the finished production will be like. Can't wait!!
Congratulations to the whole team and especially the 2nd-years.

An Olympic Challenge

I have been commissioned to produce a short film for 'The Marlowe Academy' in Ramsgate. The film will be screened at the school's assembly on 22 May to kick-off a day of celebration for the 'Thanet Schools Olympic torch handover' in the lead up to London 2012 Olympics.

The project is organised UCA Canterbury 'Access and Outreach Co-ordinator' Gill Wilson.
Gill Wilson along with the Marlowe Academy Director of sports, Paul Johnson and myself had a meeting at the school in Ramsgate on the Wednesday the 9th of May 2012.
We went through all the filming procedures and project plans then on Friday the 18th of May 2012, I went down to the film the sports events practiced by the BTEC Sports Studies students at the Marlowe Academy.

I am currently editing the film and hope to be done by the deadline day Monday night 21st May which is a bit of a challenge considering this is also my Media Strategies essay deadline day but one I gladly accept... Goodluck to me!!

Sound Unit: Story Edit

I have adjusted my story and am now 70% through with editing my sound project. The title of the piece is 'The End Journey' and is about a young man who wakes up on his birthday, gets ready and leaves for work. Afterwards, on his way driving to the restaurant where his girlfriend had organised a meal for him and a few friends to celebrate, he comes across another guy who challenges him to a road rage and he unresistably accepts with damning consequences.
I have now edited all the pictures together and got most of my sound in-sync.

Sound Unit: Story edit

Some of the sounds I tried to experiment in my piece included 'tuning of a radio music' and 'music on a shop floor' but after being noted by my tutor and looking at the brief of the project, NO form of music can be used.
This is a bit of an inconvenience as a part of my storyline is based around the changing of a cd player/music. So now I have had to rethink my story through and cut out that part of the storyline.

Sound Unit: Editing

I have now got most of my photos edited and started on the production edit, laying out all the pictures in sequence on final cut pro. I also got some simple sounds downloaded in order to match the pictures and give me a general idea of the flow.

Sound Unit: Photo Edits

Today I went through the photos I have gathered for my sound project. I selected the better ones and edited them ready for the video production stage.

Sound Unit: Picture Time

Today I went out to all the different locations to take the required photos for my sound project. Using the story board as a guideline I took all the photos in my room, parking lot and then went to blue bell hill to take some of the road scene shots.
However, as some of the shots need to be taken at a stadium, I can't until the next home game which is next Saturday so I have decided to postpone those till then.

Sound Unit: Story board

After planning out and Writting down the plot and structure of my story, I have now drawn out a little story board of how the pictures will appear. This will help me when it comes to taking the photos so I know what shots are required.

Sound Unit: Picture planning - Structure

I've now written down the structure plan of how the plot of my story will go. Writting down in sequence what pictures will follow which and also a few sounds that will general go with them.

Sound Unit: Idea Plot

The idea for my sound project is based around the supposedly last day in the life of a young man who seemingly leads a comfortable life.
He wakes up on the morning of his birthday and gets ready for just another day of work at his local teams football stadium in the merchandise store.
His girlfriend has planned an evening meal in a restaurant for him and a few friends.
On his way to work he has an arguement with a lady about parking in front of her driveway which makes him late.
After work, he heads off with his colleague to the birthday meal organised by his girlfriend.
However, on the way they both get carried away while having a car race as a fox gets on the road and causes both to crash.

Story-Telling Unit: Trailer edit

Today I finally concluded the editing of my trailer. YAY! :)
With some constructive feedback from my tutor I made some final adjustments to it.
The clip transitions needed to be more clear-cut and the the fonts needed to look bigger. I also toned down the peaking volume of the soundtrack and completed all the color correction filters for each clip. Here is the finished piece...

Sound Unit: In The Mix

Today at the studios we were briefed about sound production and how different effects can be merged with a totally different visual in order to give a motion picture a more creative effect and feel.
We were then divided into groups of twos and threes and given a film scene without sound in order for us to create a sound piece for it.
I was paired up with Scott Fisher and this is our final piece...

Sound Design Unit: Sound equipment Workshop

Today we were introduced to the different ways of which sound recording for film is undertaken. Experimenting with the camera and sound equipments such as the foam and dead cat, blimp, boom and radio mics. We practised different ways of capturing good quality sound from a range of distances.

Story-Telling Unit: Trailer Edit

After some critical feedback on my trailer, I have been notified about the size of my fonts being too small and some clips being confusing and randomly positioned so today I did some more work on it, selecting the font type and size, adjusting the sound and music and sorting out the clips.  I am now 95% satisfied with the final product so next I will look to polish it up and get some more feedback to find out if there are any more critical points to be improved on.

Work Experience at UCA Rochester – Day Five

SATURDAY 7/04/2012
The final day of the course; the groups prepare for the presentation of their finished products and designs.
They were also briefly tutored on how to photoshop the images from their photo-shoot. Magherita and I went about capturing footage for the edit and I also had to go through the clips for day four and select the required shots for editing.

Work Experience at UCA Rochester – Day Four

THURSDAY 05/04/2012
Day four is the 'Photoshoot day'. Three professional photographers and two internationally professional models have been flown in to model the final products. We set off for two shoots at the Campus Studio and three different off-site location shoots around Chatham; a private car park garage, church grave yard and a public garden in Rochester. Except for the windy blistering cold weather, all the shoots were very much a success.
Now we are set for the last day of the programme which will be a presentation day for the groups to showcase their finished fashion designs on Saturday.

Work Experience at UCA Rochester – Day Three

WEDNESDAY 04/04/2012
Third day for the programme and all the groups have gotten started on their designs and plans including make-up and hair styling. As there wasn't much differing activities occurring today there wasn't as much filming needed so Margherita and I agreed that she carried on filming while I get an head start with working on the footage from the past two days. This meant watching over 400 video clips, selecting the best takes and sorting them into bins ready for editing. Fun? I can't say it was the best but was interesting nonetheless so I enjoyed it. I also starting searching for suitable soundtracks for the video.

Work Experience at UCA Rochester – Day Two

TUESDAY 03/04/2012

Just like the first day, except for A late start at 11am, myself and Margarita went around with the students as they had now been split into groups capturing their different activities including branding and pattern researching, designing and draping.We also did some interviews with the participants explaining what they engaged in and how they felt about the course.

Work Experience at UCA Rochester – Day One

MONDAY 02/04/2012

First day of the fashion taster course filming and it’s an early one beginning at 9am, set to finish at 4.30-5pm. Myself and the assigned film-maker ‘Margherita Gramegna’ (no not some kind of cheese, an Italian lady) set about filming interesting and creative shots of the students as they are lectured on what the week long programme entails. We then followed them around as they went about their activities in the studio and the library.

It’s only the first day but I have gained a better understanding of camera work, handling, shot angles etc.

The main aim is to capture as many interesting clips of the events as possible so that the footage can be edited into a short ‘documentary’ style promo for the Taster programme.

Looking forward to another four days with Margarita.

Work Experience at UCA Rochester

I have been lucky enough to land a work experience opportunity as a filming assistant for a whole week filming at the UCA Rochester on the first week of our Easter break. There will be a four day ‘Creative careers in Fashion’ taster course running at the Rochester campus for young people between the ages of 14-17 from schools all around the South-East. 

It is an absolutely amazing opportunity for young budding fashionista's as they will not only be briefed on the industry practices, but will also be engaged in producing a brand design and garment which will be modeled and photographed by top professionals.

Story-Telling Unit: The Meeting – Trailer Edit

I have now started editing the trailer for my short filmand gladly I must say it is going well; so far so good . 

I will be using a soundtrack that was produced by my younger brother. From the first time I walked in on him producing it, I immediately felt it was perfect for the pace and emotional flow I indeed for my trailer.

I got a couple ofrandom scenes together for the beginning edit to flow with the beginning of the soundtrack and this worked well to give me astarting point. 

I have also been watching a lot of trailers in order to help medevelop ideas of how to structure mine.

Story-Telling Unit: The Meeting – Shot assessments

After calling it a wrap for the film shoot, I took time to go through all the clips in order to make sure I had gotten all the required scenes in the script. I was very content with the overall result. The only scene I wasn’t very happy about was one from the underpass; because I had forgotten to do a white balance, the scene lighting was very red, so haven done white balance for other sections of the same scene, this was very obvious in the clips. So now I’m hoping I’ll be able to adjust this problem during edit. However, thinking about it, I could completely change this underpass scene into a black and white capture as it is all a depiction of a ‘past’ event, which could give it an interesting composition. If this still doesn't turn out right then i'll have to re-shoot the scene as a last ditch option.

Story-Telling Unit: The Meeting – Day Three

WEDNESDAY 28/03/2012

It didn't feel like a good start at all when I found outboth of my camera men were unable to make the shoot today so I wasn’t bestprepared but it wasn’t to put me down as I soldiered on to the scene location atthe underpass with my actors and equipment.

Lighting in the underpass itself was good enough butfilming the entrance scenes were a little tricky as outside the underpassitself was extremely dark. I therefore decided to cut out the scene of Deanwalking towards the underpass and just go straight to him getting in theunderpass.

Also due to not having enough assistance today, I havedecided to cut out the Chris and Gabby characters in my script in order to alsoconcentrate more on the central roles that is Dean, Chloe, Gaz and Sid.

No surprise it was double hard work trying to plan outthe shots as well as direct the actors then do the camera work and act too, but wegot it all done in the end and finally called it a WRAP! 

Story-Telling Unit: The Meeting - Day Two

TUESDAY 27/03/2012

I think it’s safe to say Day two went well as it surely couldn’t have been worse than the chaotic first day. Everything flowed a lot better as planned, although time was a lot more constraint due to sunlight and my actors’ schedules.

We managed to film most if not all of the Car park scenes including the second fight, road and car motion scenes and I even had time to re-shoot one of the riverside scenes that I missed out in day one.

Story-Telling Unit: The Meeting – Shooting Day One

MONDAY 26/03/2012

My initial plan to shoot in a day hasn’t gone as well as I hoped due to unforeseen circumstances. However, I have managed to film most of the riverside scene today but because of the timing and the sun setting, loss of lighting became a problem so I couldn’t film the car park scene.

I have now rescheduled a new shooting plan using all three days I have the camera available to me. I’ve decided that for day two, I’ll concentrate on shooting the ‘Car park scene’ from around 2pm in order to allow enough sun light time for filming before dawn.

Day three will then be for the ‘Underpass scene’ starting around 8pm in the hope that it will be clear at that period.

Story-Telling Unit: The Meeting - Shooting plans

I am now ready to shoot as I have gotten all the actors and locations set for filming.
I booked the camera out for three days but plan to do the shoot in just a day; The Car park and Riverside scenes will be shot from mid-day till dawn while the Underpass scene can be shot later at night as it will be lit up and empty.
Props needed: Fake blood, Tear drops, A pocket knife, Two cars, Camera, Tripod, Sound equipment, and a reflector.

Story-Telling Unit: The Meeting - Scene Locations

I have now gotten the scene locations for my shoot:
A RIVERSIDE BENCH nearby Upnor castle.
A CAR PARK near the riverside.
An UNDERPASS near Maidstone East rail station or Maidstone Town centre.

Story-Telling Unit: The Meeting - Pitch & Synopsis Update

TITLE: THE MEETING

GENRE: Drama/Thriller

PITCH: 'The Meeting' is a Romantic/Drama Short about a couple Dean and Chloe who get caught up in a violent confrontation with two yobs in relation to a brutal attack a few years back.

SYNOPSIS: ‘The Meeting’ is a short film about a confrontation between a male in his mid-twenties Dean Chamberlain, his girlfriend Chloe Richards and two hooligans Gaz Maloney and Sid Graham.

Dean was attacked by Sid and Gaz as he walked past in an underpass. Chloe came along shortly afterwards and seeing him in a state, she helps him out. Shortly afterwards they begin dating and have been together since then.

Years later, it’s their anniversary and Dean decides to take Chloe to the river side bench view where they regularly visited when they first started dating; he intends to propose to her. Dean however, forgets the ring in his car and so when he goes back to get it, he comes across two mobsters hanging around the car park.

He instantly recognises them as the two boys, Gaz and Sid, who inflicted that unforgivably brutal attack on him years ago which has haunted his memories ever since.

Gaz Maloney and Sid Graham who also recognise Dean decide to approach him with intentions none other than to replicate the events of the previous meeting. However, this time Sid is reluctant and more bothered about smoking crack.

Chloe who hears loud noises from the direction of the car park becomes worried about Dean as she has been ever since the attack and decides to go after him only to find him getting beaten up by Gaz.

The whole repeat incident has a major psychological effect on Dean but he tries to fight his inhibitions especially as Chloe is now part of the situation. This causes him to lose his self-control with raging and chaotic consequences.

This is a 5-10 minute short film that touches on dynamic subjects such as ‘bullying’ ‘love’ and ‘redemption’ with a dramatic plot.

THEME: The moral to the story is a reflection on the long-suffering issue of ‘Yob attitudes’ ‘Bullying’ and ‘the notion of combatting one’s predicaments as well as self-control’.

SETTING: A little rural riverside town that stands on the opposite side of the River to a large city shopping complex and office central. A car park.

Story-Telling Unit: The Meeting - Script development

After attending the lighting workshop and consulting my tutor Fergus about the potentials of shooting a night scene, I came to realise that it would very difficult to get a good picture quality due to poor lighting, especially as the night scene in my script is set in a car park which means no source of power supply for electrical appliances. I will now look to re-editing the story so that it works for a day-time or evening scene as this would be the best option.

Story-Telling Unit: The Meeting (Script-writing)

After the feedback from my tutor I have decided to make some changes the ending of the storyline and also the structure. I developed an idea for the plot which is to show flashback scenes of the previous attack during the second meeting between Dean and the thugs.

Precious (2009)

TITLE: Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire

DIRECTOR: Lee Daniels

GENRE: Drama

PLOT: Set in the ghetto of Harlem 1987, an overweight and illiterate teenager Precious (Gabourey Sidibe), is pregnant with her second child for her father while living with a dysfunctional and abusive mother Mary (Mo'Nique). 

She is taken out of high school and referred to an 'alternative school' in the hope that it will help shape her life in a better direction. 

The film follows Precious as she deals with unimaginable hardship and fantasies of a stardom lifestyle.  

IMDB RATING: 7.4/10

HONOURS: 2 Oscar Wins and 77 other awards & 50 nominations.

VERDICT: Heart warming and Inspirational movie with a powerfully emotive story. (7/10)

FAVOURITE QUOTES: "Clareece 'Precious' Jones: The other day, I cried. But you know what? Fuck that day. That's why God, or whoever, makes other days."

Work Experience: JML

Working on the JML Itv Pilot production was a great experience. I acted as a runner on the set, going around all the departments helping out whenever needed; from making tea and coffee to getting the set ready for the shoots. It was an experience I will cherish forever, getting the opportunity to see how things are done behind the scenes is second to none.
Last friday, we produced a live show at the video center in the UCA campus and that was pretty much the exact scenario and set up for this production except of course that it was on a bigger scale and level. This just goes to prove that we really do get the real deal from this course and makes me feel even more confident and appreciative of it. From feeling like a director under pressure of producing "a five minute talk show in a student TV studio" to watching an actual director work under immense pressure on a big scale studio production, it gave me a real sense of what it really is like to work in the TV production industry.
I look forward to more experiences like this and hope that it proves to be a stepping stone for my career in this industry. Onwards and Upwards!

Studio Production at the UCA campus

We had the opportunity to produce a little talk show at the video studio in the UCA Maidstone campus. Getting hands-on practice with all the equipment including video camera's, vision mixers, sound recording system, tracker etc. This was a great session that gave me a good idea of what the process of studio produced TV shows are like.
I got to be a Director for one of the recorded shows. This was a great feeling and experience for me as I am more used to Film productions so this painted out the real differences between both systems.
Afterwards, I decided to exercise my Final cut Pro skills by editting the recorded takes on the studio show we produced. I will upload the finished product as soon as I can.

Media Strategies: Representative Organisations

Around the early 1880’s, the Reverend George Staite voiced the need to establish an organisation similar to that of the ‘Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ due to a fact that social deprivation and hardship was at an alarming level for children.

On the 8^th of July 1884, his wish was granted and ‘The London Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’ was founded.

By 1889, the London Society branched out to 32 others around England, Wales and Scotland, raising funds for inspections and investigations on reports of child abuse and neglection. As a result of an annual general meeting the society decided on changing its name to the ‘National Society for the Prevention of Child Cruelty’. In the same year, Queen Victoria was made Patron and the first Prevention of Cruelty to Children act was passed.

Since then, more than 10 million children in the UK have been rescued by the NSPCC.

The NSPCC recently faced criticism for allegedly exaggerating and fabricating facts and figures in its research and also using ‘fear mongering’ techniques in its advertising.

The Independent Television Commission (ITC) received 150 complaints regarding the NSPCC TV Ad which was aimed to encourage viewers to report suspected child abuse situations. The advert included objects like teddy bears, children wallpapers and magazines while a voice-over of adults is heard speaking to children either aggressively, sexually and mockingly.

Some of the viewers, who reported, claimed that they had been abused at a younger age and found the adverts to be distressing. Others either claimed that the campaigning advert was to hard-hitting for children to watch, that it implied only parents abused children or that it could potentially encouraged abusers in a stimulating or reassuring manner.

The ITC sympathized with the viewers who claimed to be victims of child abuse and found the advert distressing but stated that it however, approves of such strong material to be shown in the context of charity or public service advertising. Although the campaign was powerful and emotive, the ITC judged that its cause and objectives were generally acceptable.

The NSPCC then explained that they also offered arrangements for counselling sessions with counselling organisations.

Furthermore, the ITC disagreed with the complaints suggesting the advert to be “suggestive of only parental abuse” and “encouraging for abusers” and concluded that the advert should be allowed to continue, leaving the complaints un-upheld.

Bibliography:

History of the NSPCC: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-we-do/about-the-nspcc/history-of-NSPCC/history-of-the-nspcc_wda72240.html

Television Advertising Complaints Report: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/itc/itc_publications/complaints_reports/advertising_complaints/show_complaint.asp-ad_complaint_id=207.html

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Society_for_the_Prevention_of_Cruelty_to_Children#Campaigning_and_controversy