Work with BBC Spotlight: Olympic torch
So I have been selected to work alongside a BBC Spotlight camera man on Saturday 19th May to help cover the start of the Olympic torch relay in the UK. I am very excited about the prospect despite having to start work at 6.45am! University College Falmouth students were invited to express an interest in volunteering for the event to help conduct vox pops/interviews for them. I of course jumped at the chance…after all why not – I’m in Cornwall, the Olympic torch is coming…it just makes sense! I had been planning on going along anyway and doing my own filming so the chance to do it with the BBC instead was fantastic.
I was interviewed by the Producer and the Head of Current Affairs for the South West and we found out immediately. Even better, we were told that we will be paid for the work and put on the BBC’s system as freelancer’s : )
On Friday I attended the Production safety training which all BBC staff have to complete which was a great insight into the type of training the BBC offers and included some interesting clips and tips on risk assessment.
Today I found out the route I will be taking on Saturday which includes Newlyn, Penzance, Falmouth and Trewoon and tomorrow I have my briefing so I’m ready to go!
Happy World Penguin Day!
I can’t believe it got to the evening before I found out that it was Happy World Penguin Day!! The penguin is my favourite animal, I absolutely LOVE them! I couldn’t let this day pass without a post dedicated to the amazing creatures!
So here is an assortment of my personal penguin encounters.
To find out why this day exists visit this Penguin-tastic blog (it even has live cam’s to various zoos with penguins!!) Also – check this link out for some amazing penguin photography.
One World Media documentary workshop
We recently had a workshop on documentary production ran by Sophie Chalk on behalf of One World Media. The organisation is a charitable trust that believes the media can be a powerful tool to increase global dialogue and understanding and can play a role in tackling issues like poverty, hunger, climate change and conflict resolution. This post will give an overview of what was a very practical and helpful workshop. A LOT was covered!
The role of journalistic documentary within the news environment
Most news is there because it is negative, whether it is because of a scandal, a natural disaster, a war or conflict. It is not usually deemed news worthy when something has gone right or to plan!
Documentary therefore has a role to tell the other stories, those that don’t make the news. They can be the stories behind the news though, perhaps examining an issue or topic by using a central character to highlight a human aspect like this one by Olly Lambert:
Sophie showed a number of clips from documentary and news output throughout the day to illustrate different styles and era’s of reporting from the developing world to examine representation and approach.
Representation
The following news piece from the BBC’s Michael Buerk in 1984 shows some of the earliest reporting coming out of a developing country and how it was treated. The extended report is very graphic and disturbing and conjures a variety of responses.
It raises questions of how to cover famine, poverty and natural disasters. If someone dies should that be shown on TV? It also raises the issue of editing and potential mistreatment of shots (for example in this video there is a shot of people running and the voice over links this to them running for food aid. It could be questioned as to whether this was just a shot of people running for something else). This type of question comes up more and more with the amount of media on social media sites now. Verification is a huge task for media professionals to undertake and misrepresentation must be avoided.
Live Aid Legacy
The report also seems quite de-humanising, but then a disaster of nature on that scale is de-humanising, so is this ok? The only voice in this piece is from a white doctor. This report led on to the Live Aid concerts and a huge campaign for aid. Since it has been criticised widely and VSO’s 2001 research report ‘The Live Aid Legacy: The developing world through British eyes’ shows how it made the British public associate negative thoughts and images with the developing world, and more specifically Africa, long afterwards.
Even long after this media report, other images and videos like this de-censitised audiences and helped strong stereotypes to grow about the developing world. In addition the sense of white superiority and the inferiority of the developing world was found to come out of this type of coverage. Not only has it been criticised in the west but also by Ethiopians and other African nations.
Now the way the media covers developing countries is quite different and broadcasters have guidelines on how to represent people and how to deal with victims and vulnerable people. One of these guidelines it that naked children cannot be shown, even if they are naked for a cultural reason.
Most charities and NGOs no longer want to represent people as victims who need the ‘west’ to sort out their problems. Now they like to show how people are helping themselves out of problems and poverty.
However, it is hard to avoid the fact that a victim is a victim. This last year has proven a challenging one in regards to covering the Horn of Africa drought and Somalia in particular. I think this video from Save the Children however, was a really different and fresh take on film footage at the time and was incredibly successful in terms of viewer numbers.
It’s all in the first minute
A lot of people have stopped watching the news because it is depressing. However, they do watch documentaries and the first minute is crucial for keeping a viewer. If it is hard hitting, it might provoke guilt, make the viewer compare the situation with their own and then often this guilt turns to anger, then they will turn over to something light hearted where they will not feel depressed and angry. So when thinking about your documentary you need to think about the time of day you expect someone to watch it and their potential mood. Would I watch it? Is it depressing? I thought this part was interesting because as much as we want to think people will be interested in ‘serious/important’ matters – often people turn on the TV to relax and switch off and so therefore might not want to watch a ‘heavy’ documentary.
We were advised that if, in the midst of a disaster, you can find characters to show a sense of humour, or a sense of hope then you can humanise these negative, tragic stories. This is one technique to illustrate and cover such topics.
Tips/things to remember
- The security of your contributor is of huge importance and could impact their future safety
- The internet complicates things and makes journalists much more accountable for the way they represent people/areas
- Don’t be judgemental – go in with an open mind and get the best out of a person you can (don’t always have such a rigid plan what you want them to say, or think they might say that you miss something important)
- When focusing in on an individual ‘character’ to tell a story you must relate that to a wider situation/issue
- Never assume your audience understands the context of your story
- Keep asking why would my audience care?
- When taking a camera into a situation you will draw in crowds – think of the implications to those around (will you be putting someone at risk?)
- Embassies (for filming permits/visas)
- Other journalists
- NGOs
- Fixers
- Researchers and other film makers
- UK Army
- Translators
- Diaspora community
- Safety
- Call sheets (contacts and schedule with full details)
- Have a plan B
- Risk assessment – inc. seeing photos of rooms you might interview in to plan and visualise your environment
- Letters of introduction
- Communications
- Electricity!
- Insurance
- Flights and baggage
- Foreign office
British Red Cross Refugee Services, Plymouth
Over the last few months I have been working with the British Red Cross refugee services (BRC) team in Plymouth. The team there are keen to have a film project involving young refugees in Plymouth and so myself and fellow course mate Steffi Partridge have been up to Plymouth a few times to meet the group of young people and have some background training at BRC’s office.
The group are really great to spend time around – very inspirational young people. They have just finished work on a project called Nowhere Island which is part of the Cultural Olympiad accompanying the 2012 Olympic Games. For this they have been working on a music project with the Plymouth Music Zone which has seen them brainstorm ideas around nowhere island. This is part of an island from the arctic which is being transported to the UK to do a ‘tour’ around the south west. The idea behind artist Alex Hartley’s island is the central question ‘if we were to create a new nation, how might we begin?’ The programme around the island has involved a number of different community organisations working on the theme.
The BRC group have written lyrics and come up with a song around these themes and I was lucky enough to go along to the final session and recording of the song. There was a great energy in the room and you could tell everyone had really enjoyed the project and taken a lot from it. The lyrics are clever and the performance was brilliant. I was asked to document the recording with photos which can be seen here. You can watch a video about this project below (made by the Plymouth Music Zone).
National Geographic’s BAD
Some friends and I were speaking yesterday of dream jobs and of course the National Geographic came up! It inspired me to do a google search and I found this amazing video which is an audio slide show of 30 years of photography from Bruce Dale – BAD.
The aeroplane pictures are just incredible!
Enjoy : )
Women of Egypt: bras, beatings and new beginnings
After 14 months of revolution and on the eve of the country’s first free Presidential elections, Catherine Feltham investigates whether Egypt’s women have carved a role for themselves in the country’s future.
Image: Lokha (Flickr)
Millions of people everyday listen to headphones as they walk around cities, transporting themselves to another world. Many do this to block out the traffic and bustle of city life or simply to relax. However, Habiba in Cairo uses it as a coping mechanism to “avoid hearing stupid or ugly things” shouted by men.
“A brave friend of mine insults back whoever insults her,” Habiba explains as she describes daily life in Egypt 14 months from the beginning of the revolution. “My female friends and I agreed that our levels of demands in terms of security when we walk in the streets are so low, we only don’t want any stranger to touch us. This includes even conservative, veiled girls.”
Habiba Mohsen is a political researcher and project coordinator for the Arab Forum for Alternatives, an organisation working towards developing a society in which democracy, civil society and human rights prevail through an academic and practical approach.
She is also an everyday woman who is experiencing the revolution and like millions, looks forward to a brighter future for women. Now Egypt is on the eve of its first free Presidential elections and all eyes are watching to see the outcome, especially for Egyptian women who have fought so hard to create a space for their voice.
Women were heavily active in the Arab Spring countries through social media, trade unions, post opposition parties, NGOs, informal networks and even on the streets. Egypt was no exception and the fight is ongoing. Women were on the front lines of the demonstrations being “beaten, sexually harassed and arbitrarily arrested by security forces,” remembers Habiba.
The 18 days of revolt from 25 January 2011 marked the start of the Egyptian story. Yes President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown, but the old regime is still in power in the form of the military – the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). Minky Worden, Human Rights Watch, explains the change in mood: “There’s a euphoria when you throw a dictator from office but that fairly quickly moves into a hard nosed assessment of what is next and what is your agenda for protecting rights.”
Desire for change and advancement in rights has been displayed by women, who have become victims of the transitional rule. A couple of incidents brought this to international attention. The ‘virginity tests’ following International Women’s Day, 8 March 2011, shocked audiences worldwide. One brave woman spoke out and filed a law case for sexual assault which she lost in March 2012. By doing so 25-year-old Samira Ibrahim accelerated women’s rights to the centre of the political scene and grabbed global interest.
The second major incident, known as ‘blue bra girl’ took place on 17 December 2011. Video footage swept across the web showing a girl being violently beaten along with her veil lifted to reveal her bra. Tweets and news articles from around the world condemned the shocking act and sparked international outrage and concern for respect and dignity for Egyptian women.
Nadje Al-Ali, Professor of gender studies at The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (SOAS) describes the huge impact of these events: “If you compare International Women’s Day this year to last year, there were thousands of women there and lots of men in solidarity. In the run up to it there were lots of talk shows on television. I think there is much more recognition right now because of these two incidents, that women and gender issues are very important to what’s going on in Egypt.”
Despite this increased attention to women’s rights they have no representation within the SCAF and the recent parliamentary elections resulted in less than 3% of the 508 seats going to females. This indicates a gender power imbalance and highlights the challenge facing women to advocate for positive change.
The outlook for the forthcoming presidential campaign is similarly unpromising, with just one female candidate, Bothaina Kamel failing to gain backing from any major political party. With the rise of conservative groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafi’s, many are questioning whether the revolution will advance women’s rights.
Nadje Al-Ali notes that the Brotherhood have no female parliamentary candidates and doesn’t personally feel that they are committed to women’s rights. The Brotherhood did not respond to our request for their views. Women activists have been a feature of Egyptian society for decades and Habiba adds: “Women cannot realistically share equal rights as men in a patriarchal society in the current situation in Egypt.” Minky Worden recognises the pivotal point the country has reached: “We are at a time of change when you could certainly see greater freedoms for girls and women but you could also see a roll back of established rights and freedoms…women don’t expect anyone will hand them their rights so I think they are fully prepared to fight, but they do need and deserve international support.”
International recognition of the Arab Spring movement has been evident by heavy media coverage. The United Nations (UN) has acknowledged the need for international support in the latest revision of the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (2012), which the UK and US have endorsed. A spokesperson at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We remain concerned that the progress made in recent years in improving women’s rights in Egypt is under threat. We shall be working with Egyptian human rights defenders to restore the momentum of improvements.” The Human Rights Watch is concerned that this rhetoric needs to be turned to action and that the UN itself needs to showcase women as negotiators by having more women in top leadership positions.
Another lady on the ground in Egypt who continues to play her own role in the revolution is lawyer Hafsa Halawa. She is less pessimistic: “Unlikewhat most report, the political influence and role of women in new Egypt hasn’t gotten worse than it was under Mubarak. Nonetheless, it hasn’t changed. Women are still in the same position they were before.” Hafsa believes that real change for women will continue to come from a grassroots level. She also highlights the need for a transparent impartial media as a key contributor to building a strong democracy so that those in power can be held to account. Women such as TV presenter Mona el-Shazly are already at the forefront of this movement.
Hafsa said: “Whilst there is much to lament over what hasn’t happened in Egypt since the uprising, it is important to focus on what has happened, and what is yet to happen. There is a great opportunity for the whole country, including its women, to move forward and succeed with this revolution, and I for one am very optimistic about the future, even if it may take longer than we envisaged.”
It is evident that many activists and onlookers do have hope for what lies ahead. Habiba similarly accepts that change is a very gradual process and that “women now have more space to be, act, express themselves, and even lead.” She does however see a need for a feminist movement with a clear agenda linked to the demands of the revolution.
Work experience with film team at Water Aid
As part of my MA International Journalism I am required to gain at least 3 weeks of work experience as it is a BJTC (Broadcast Journalism Training Council) accredited course. I have so far completed one week with Heart radio and am one week into a two week placement with an International NGO called Water Aid. Having worked in charities and NGOs I have long been interested in working for a film team within such an organisation so I made contact with Water Aid to see if they’d be willing to have me for a placement and to my delight they said yes!
The placement has been really enjoyable so far and has been a great insight into how an NGO film team operates and the type of work they take on. This gives an overview of what I’ve been up to so far!
Day one
- Introduction to the film team and an overview of current projects
- Attended cross department meeting
- Introduction/overview of the media team and how they work
- Editing video interviews for the website of country representatives
- Burnt project dvds from a supporter trip
- Editing more video interviews for the website and feedback on first round
- Edits to a short film for an upcoming event at Anglian Water
- Learnt some new short cuts in final cut pro
- Meeting with photography officer. Learnt about the ethical policy and how they go about photography and film work.
Day three
- Editing more video interviews for the website
- Putting together B roll for media team to send to BBC to support the Water Aid country themed garden at this year’s Chelsea flower show
- Learnt to use compressor
Day four
- Finalised B roll for BBC
- Edited more interviews for the website
- Overview of the Communication Services team (branding and editorial)
Interesting facts learnt this week:
Through editing lots of country representative interviews I’ve learnt quite a bit about water and sanitation in countries around the globe as well as general background of the countries. Here are some of the interesting things I discovered:
Burkino Faso
- 45% of the population lives on less than $1 a day
- Less than 10% of the urban population and less than 1% of the rural community have access to sanitation
Post conflict countries have added challenges such as security and moving from an emergency response to a development approach.
In Liberia and Sierra Leone many of the challenges in relation to water and sanitation relate to infrastructure and capacity.
Papua New Guinea
- Indicators show that its moving backwards
- There are 800+ languages spoken by a population of 6 million
- 80% of its population is rural
- There is no shortage of water, but the quality is a major challenge
Timor Leste became an independent country in 1999 (it was previously occupied by Indonesia). After independence its water supply and roads were destroyed.
Ethiopia is Africa’s 4th largest and second most populous country. It is one of Water Aid’s oldest country programmes (since 1986).
There are 300 million people living across 16 countries in West Africa. Of this 162-166 million have no access to sanitation and 88 million have no access to water.
One of the main points that struck me when listening to all the interviews from Asia and Africa was that girls are hugely impacted by lack of adequate water and sanitation. They often have the role of collecting water and walk for miles to fulfil this. They often miss out on education for this reason as well as the fact that many schools do not have toilet facilities.
I love the Canon 550D
I was recently given an amazing gift from my boyfriend…it was a Canon 550D DSLR camera. As you can imagine I was really really happy and extremely grateful! I’ve been talking about getting one but had not really got around to sorting it out financially or research wise!
Having a graphic design/photographer as a boyfriend though definitely has its benefits as he knows what he’s talking about!
I have had the camera for coming up to one month now and have been out and about with it every week so far. Initially I was a bit thrown by it as there are so many options and after getting used to using a Panasonic AG-HVX200E at University it seems much more complex. However, after playing around with the ISO, shutter speed, aperture and lens a little I’m starting to feel more comfortable on it and can really see the benefits of filming with a DSLR.
- Number one it is SO light and easy to carry around! I LOVE that!
- Secondly the colours and quality of image are phenomenal – so much warmer than the Panasonic camera and easier to control and change.
- Thirdly, the depth of field is amazing and is not something that can be achieved on the Panasonic.
I haven’t uploaded/edited all the footage I’ve taken so far but you can see a preview of some of its shots on the following links:
- World Pasty Championship feature (see if you can guess which shots were from the Canon!)
- Behind the scenes filming for the Penwith Community Development Trust
- Clip one
- Clip two
- Clip three
Behind the scenes…editing Eden
We used Final Cut Pro to edit our Eden feature as luckily I have it on my personal computer. I also wanted to practice on it as I’ve only edited once before on it for my Argentina glacier video. It’s used by lots of professionals so I want to become competent at using it.
This gives you an insight into what it looks like!
