Creative Futures Day 1 continued

Copyright for Creatives

This was a lecture by Janet Jones who is a Journalism Lecturer at Glyndwr University. She began by explaining the law around intellectual property rights.

The Copyright & Design Patent Act of 1988 – covers patents, copyright design and trademarks. It prevents work being used by other people without permission. Gives the right and permission to use work and make money from it.

To have the copyright for a piece of work you need to be identified as the creator of products, skills, creativity and labour time. Copyright only protects original work and it must be derived from a creative effort. It comes into force as soon as the original work has been created. It doesn’t have to be applied for. There are a number of myths about copyright law.

Myths about copyright

1. Copyright can protect ideas.

To obtain a copyright the work must be tangible (ideas aren’t), although it is possible to obtain a patent for an idea. For example an idea for a book is not protected but the actual book is. Football fixtures were protected as copyright but this is currently under review. The AA was sued by Ordnance Survey for copying its maps to use as their own without permission. Ordnance Survey proved this case as errors in their maps were also copied by the AA. The AA had to pay £20m in damages.

In another case Creation Records who were creating the cover for a new Oasis album ‘Be Here Now’ had a Rolls Royce in a swimming Pool [Figure 1]. A journalist booked a hotel room at the venue and took a photo of the shoot and published it. Creative Records sued the newspaper but they lost the case as the judge ruled that the set was not a permanent fixture so therefore wasn’t covered by copyright law.

Names, titles, colours and short phrases cannot be copyrighted, although a combination of these can be. Copyright is a civil offence and therefore prison sentences are not given for breaching it. Copyright can be sold, given away as it’s an asset.

It includes 

• Moral rights
• Paternity rights (as owner & creator) 
• Integrity rights
• Intellectual rights to a creation (separate from physical artwork)
• To qualify for copyright a work must be original.

2. Post your work to yourself (recorded delivery) to prove copyright (this is also known as poor man’s copyright). This is tenuous if used in court but you can post the work by recorded delivery to a solicitor which is better, but there is likely to be a charge. However, the above is only a safeguard and not necessary to obtain copyright. One exception to this is if an individual works for a business and they retain all copyright in the course of your employment (unless alternative arrangements have been made).

More Legal bits

The 1988 act covers:

• Original literary, dramatic, music or artistic work. The copyright on these creatives lasts 70 years after the creators death.
• Film – Copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of all the creatives that contributed to the making of the film (For example, principal director, Author of screenplay, composer)
• Sound, film and video recordings – Copyright is valid for 70 years
• Broadcasts & Programmes – 50 years
• Typographic arrangements
• Computer programs

After these time periods the work is in the public domain. However users of the material still need to take care as there could be multiple copyrights for a piece of work. For example music is complicated, there are composers, artists and the recording label that may all own the copyright. PRS is used to copyright for music and when copyright is infringed. Material that is copied, lent, performed and/or played without permission is in breach of copyright.

3. Up to 10% of original material can be used without infringing copyright. Fair dealing/ use proviso is built into copyright this helps protect new reporting or critiques/review of material without causing a breach. The fair use proviso also covers educational, private study or research purposes providing they’re used for non-commercial purposes. However, there must always be sufficient acknowledgement of the author of the work. Copyright licensing agency can help. Fair dealing includes examples of recording something that has music playing in the background that is copyrighted or part of a photograph that includes copyrighted material. However even if the 10% that is used is the core part of the piece then this could still be seen as a breach of copyright. The best advice is to always ask for permission and give credit to the original author no matter how little of the material is used.

Remember: Any breach of copyright can lead to a civil action.

4. Everything on the internet is in the public domain and is therefore free to use (this is only true if the copyright has expired, see legal bits above). Unfortunately, work published on the internet can be copied easily and you may never know it has happened. However, it could be argued that the internet is the best platform to get work published. See Margaret Stewart – Copyright Digital Rights Eco-System on You Tube. There are however, some steps that can be taken to protect your work online (see below case studies).

Case Studies

Phil Barton Photographer, Pb Artworks

Has never come across copyright issues but takes some simple steps to protect his work. For example only using low resolution images online and adding watermarks.

Kirsteen Harris-Jones, Illustrator

Always checks the terms and conditions of a contract before signing it. Always ask questions, contracts can be confusing. In a contract she received a company wanted her to hand over copyright of a character she had created. She agreed to this as she needed the work. Unfortunately the publisher went bust and she was unable to publish any further work for this character as she no longer owned the copyright. It took many years to eventually get the copyright back. The overall recommendation is not to hand over the copyright at all, always use an agency and use licensing instead. If you do wish to sell the copyright then always ask for a higher fee.

David Atkinson, Travel Writer

Mail on Sunday used his work without permission.

Re-cap

• Copyright Act 1988
• Copyright is automatic
• Legal Rights to your original work
• Ask for advice if unsure
• Don’t lift anything without permission
• Always credit original author
• Respect your own and others copyright

I found this lecture extremely useful as I learned a lot about copyright and how I can apply it to my own work. It's important to know from a legal perpsective the rights I have over my work and how I can use other peoples work in my own.

Getting started in Photography

The final talk of day one was with Paul Hermann of Redeye - The Photography Network

Redeye, is a not-for-profit organisation set up to support photographers at every level, and improve the health of photography generally. It is based in Manchester, UK, and has subscribers and users across the UK and globally. It aims to form a clear picture of the ways photographers and photographic artists are working now, and give them access to events, opportunities, advice and information that are relevant to their work and difficult to find elsewhere. Alongside this it works to bring photographic and other organisations together, to encourage ethical and best practice, and to build a voice for photography.

Paul Explained that Redeye covers a brosad range of topics for Photogrpahers:

• Networking opportunities and advice
• Information (What's on, news, what to see)
• Events: Portfolio sessions, lectures, workshops, symposia and debate
• Big projects for example, Lightbox, Look Festival and the National Photography Symposium (NPS)
• Volunteer contribution
• Business ethics and good practice (Doing the right thing when starting out)

• Membership is aimed at developing photographers and provides the following benefits:
• New contacts for networking
• Photography opportunities
• Discounts
• Exposure
• Knowledge

The cost of membership for students is £30 per year.

The future

Paul recommended that we think about what we'll be doing in the next 5-10 years:

• Not working
• Working but nothing to do with photography
• Working in a field related to photography
• Actually working in photography

 If you are going to be working in photography Paul asked us to think about the type of work we would be doing as there are a number of areas for photographers:

• Commercial/Advertising
• Fine Art/projects (Exhibitions etc)
• Editorial (Publications etc)
• Project Management (Running events for organisations)
• Research
• Social/High Street/Wedding
• Mixture of the above
• Other 

How to be a star photgrapher

Photographic practice is completely different to 5-10 years ago. Paul gave us some good advice which included a number of quotes about the recipe for success:

• Work hard and be nice to people
• Believe in  your dreams, never give up
• "Be Honest" (Alan Tussant)
• "You have to be burning and you have to get your shit together" (Christoph Bangert)
• "You've got to have something to say, it's got to be worth saying, then the picture's actually got to say it" (Francis Hodgson)

What do top Photographers have in common?

There are two paradigms:

The old photographer

• Primacy of craft
• Narrow range of work
• Tight circle of clients

The new photographer

• Primacy of ideas
• Complimentary range of work
• Works in International and virtual circles

The top photographer

Top photographers have a number of traits:

• Has strong interests, good knowledge and research skills
• Can market themselves and are good at talking in writing
• Has a strong voice. You can by looking at a photograph who took it
• Personality - good at building relationships with clients, buyers and curators
• Strong work ethic and good business
• Long term commitment and motivation
• Craft skills and ideas for work that gels, resonates, reflects and surprises

4 main areas are required for a photographer

• Photography
• Communication
• Efficiency
• Motivation

The business side of photography (Employed vs Freelance)

Paul gave us some more advice about the business side:

• Invest, look after, put all your money into your degree show
• Get some business help
• Ethics: Think about growth, sustainability and champion alternative ways of working
• Collaboration and collectives is important
• Look at community based projects
• Have a digital/online presence

Fees, copyrighting and licensing

Fees (How much should photographers charge?)

• Work out your break even point
• You must have a minimum charge for for a job without going out of business
• The formula for this is your total annual overheads as a business divided by the number of jobs you can reasonably doing in a year.
• Consider the minimum wage

Expenses

• Marketing, Portfolio, equipment, office space, insurance, maintenance can cost between 20 and 100k per year
• It's normally only possible to do 1 or 2 shoots per week
• You can't do billable work every day

In which circumstances would you charge less than a minimum fee?

• As a loss leader for a marketing opportunity
• When you're able to re-use the photos

We all choose to do work for free sometimes, depending on the circumstances.

Usage

• Always retatin the copyright, think 50 years ahead
• Get used to licensing
• Consider the physical image and reproduced copies
• Factor in usage, research and expertise
• Stock/library sales
• Fine art and print
• Work as a facilitator

Licensing

• Issue a license with every piece of work you produce (Build this into the original quote for your work)
• Provide a description of how you allow your work to be used
• Dimensions should be included (Number of times used, size, Geographical data etc)
• It doesn't have to be complicated

Licensing is:

• Advantageous for a photographer
• Limited in duration
• Doesn't replace paid work
• Copyright is respected as a result
• Socially useful 

Paul also said that with print sales never break an edition!

Protecting your work

Paul provided some additional advice about protecting work. Labelling with file info (metadata) in Photoshop is important otherwise you create orphan work.

Finally Paul gave us a list of 21 things you can do

1. Go to openings (Galleries etc)
2. Visit festivals
3. Get business advice
4. Training 
5. Use social media (Twitter, Linked in, Facebook) 
6. Add metadata to work
7. Get involved in projects
8. Work with others
9. Create a website and blog
10. Utilise a slideshow
11. Make your portfolio enjoyable
12. Have good marketing material
13. Write about yourself and others
14. Give a talk
15. Apply for a grant
16. Be written about
17. Sell prints
18. Exhibit
19. Create a book of your work
20. Enter competitions
21. Email a newsletter 2-3 times a year.

That was the end of day one! There's a wealth of very useful information here that I will definitely be re-visiting during my time at university and whilst in work.

ARD504 Creative Futures 2 Opening address and keynote speaker

Creative Futures week has come around so quickly! It's an event that lasts for one week and provides an opportunity to listen to professionals and academics from the university who provide valuable advice and information about the creative industries. It also allows opportunities to network and obtain valuable contacts. For those with portfolios there are sessions to obtain feedback and further advice.

The introduction to Creative Futures week was provided by Dr Stuart Cunningham. He told us that 67% of employees in the creative sectors are graduates, and this number is rising. He said it’s core skills such as a good sense for business, management skills, experience and industry knowledge that will help students land their dream job once they’ve graduated. It was comforting to know that 94% of Glyndwr's graduates obtain employment within 6 months, although it was unclear as to whether this was in an industry related to their degree. In summing up Dr Cunningham said we should grab all the opportunities that come our way. Good advice in my opinion!

The next speaker was Vice Chancellor Michael Scott who was stepping in for the original speaker as they were unable to attend. His talk was about Shakespeare. He began by telling us that Shakespeare was little more than a thief and a very good business man!

The Vice Chancellor provided detailed information about the life of Shakespeare, how from a young age he witnessed his father, a glove maker go bankrupt and decided that the theatre was an opportunity to make money to support his family back home. The Puritans would not allow theatres to be built within the city of London so he built one on the outskirts. He began by re-writing plays he had obtained by suspicious means, and putting them on stage in his own theatre. Shakespeare was a shrewd businessman; he saw the uprising of the theatre and recognised an opportunity to make his fortune. The moral of the Vice Chancellor’s story was that a crisis can potentially be your greatest moment of all!

Keynote Speaker

The keynote speaker Angus Montgomery, is the Editor of Design Week. Design Week is the UK's leading Design website specialising in design news and jobs.

Angus has spoken to a number of people in the industry about graduates:

• According to Simon Manchipp (SomeOne design company) lateral thinking, enthusiasm, and progressive working are all very attractive traits in designers. They should also pay particular attention to how they brand themselves.
•  Rhiannon James (DandAD) talked about the company’s graduate academy and how it nurtures the best talent. DandAD’s graduates find employment within 3 months. 
•  Lizzie Mary Cullen an award winning creative also emphasises the importance of marketing yourself professionally. 
• Greg Quinton (The Partners), says it's important to encourage students to find their own influences, not to follow what everyone else is following. Collaboration with other fields is important, working with people and finding a space to work in groups. Always love what you do, push yourself and your passion will drive you to better yourself.

Angus then told us how student fees have been a topic for discussion within Design Week. He said he’d asked lots of professionals in the industry what they would do if they were faced with paying up to £9000 a year in tuition fees. He said that every one of them said they would without a doubt. He believes that if you have to pay for your education you will make the most of it and value it.

Work

Angus then began to tell us about some of his work.

Bodyshop

A particularly poignant story he reported on was a campaign to stop the sex trafficking of children and young children. This was created for the Body Shop. Enter Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young Children, is a three-year global campaign in partnership with NGO ECPAT, the international network of children’s rights organisations. The campaign aims to put an end to the trafficking of children and young people, guarantee their rights to be protected from exploitation and inspire long-term change to strengthen the protection offered to these children and young people. 

The Body Shop stores tell the campaign story, its people donate their time for on-the-ground campaigning, and a ‘Soft Hands Kind Heart’ hand cream was specially developed to fund the campaign – with profits on sales donated to ECPAT. From a commercial perspective the campaign needed to be substantial enough to get franchisees on board and make it worth giving up a window, since shops sell volume of product on a daily basis, based on what’s in the window.

The campaign has been extremely successful:

• 17 countries have had law changes regarding sex trafficking.
• Donations to ECPAT to fund the campaign exceed objective by 200%: after 24 months, profits of Soft Hands Kind Heart hand cream generated just over £3 million in donations to ECPAT – 200% more than £1 million objective.6.6 million signatures on petitions worldwide, surpassing the 6 million target by 10% and firmly enshrining this as The Body Shop’s biggest campaign ever.
• The largest ever human rights petition was presented to the EU commission in June 2011. Plus fifteen countries handed their petitions to national governments by July 2011, securing commitments beyond The Body Shop’s greatest hopes and expectations.
• 65 markets launched this campaign – more than any other campaign in The Body Shop’s history and further asserting this as The Body Shop’s biggest campaign ever.*

*(Information obtained from 300million.com)

One laptop per child

The next campaign was called ‘One laptop per child’. The aim of this is to provide children in developing countries with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop. With access to this type of tool, children are engaged in their own education, and learn, share, and create together. They become connected to each other, to the world and to a brighter future. The laptops are generally sold to governments and issued to children by schools on a basis of one laptop per child. As of 2011, over 2 million laptops have been distributed under this model.

Plumen

The next case study was the Plumen energy saving light bulb. The designers (Hulger) believe that if you make a bulb attractive people will spend a bit more and enjoy a better quality of light and a design they appreciate every day. The Plumen 001 was awarded the Brit Insurance Design of the Year in 2011, one of the world’s highest profile international design awards. It was also awarded the prestigious Black Pencil at the D&AD awards in the same year. I actually like the design of these bulbs, it could be argued that they are an expensive and unnecessary luxury but in my opinion design is not just about making objects that are practical but about producing things that are aesthetically pleasing. 

Pearson Lloyd

In May 2011, the Department of Health and the Design Council commissioned a multi-disciplinary team led by PearsonLloyd, to look at how design could reduce levels of violence and aggression in A&E. 

They looked at how design can make improvements to A&E environments, systems and services so that the likelihood of violence and aggression occurring is reduced. The principle was to redesign a person's experience within A&E. They produced a chart that maps the patient’s route through the different departments and a screen that communicates essential information.
The scheme is currently being piloted in eight hospitals and there are plans to increase this in the future. Early reports positive from the hospitals are good, people appear to be calmer and much less violent. This is a great example of how design can make significant improvements to peoples lives.

St George's Crypt

Next was a piece of work commissioned by the homeless charity St George’s Crypt. When it came to producing its annual report the charity tasked the design agency B&W Studios with designing a brochure that would communicate strongly and vibrantly to the corporate sector and encourage it to donate. They wanted the realities of Crypt life to be communicated in a compelling yet engaging way. B&W felt that the brochure needed to be both educational and thought provoking and decided that almost life-size reproduction of the powerful stories of six of the refuge’s clients would have the most impact. They therefore reproduced pictures, stories and statistics on the effects of alcoholism, (including the Crypt’s accounts) in an A2–sized 12-page, document that was roughly the size of a small blanket a rough sleeper might use. Sadly, during the making of the report one of the six men featured, Dougie died due to the long-term effects of alcohol addiction. He was aged just 35.

I think this is a fantastic use of design to change what would normally be a fairly dull accounts document into an opportunity to raise awareness and raise funds.

Someone Design Agency

Someone's new identity for PR agency Resonate was made using £1000 worth of flowers, liquid nitrogen and explosives. Working with photography group Sorted and effects specialist Pirate, Someone froze bouquets of flowers using liquid nitrogen then detonated them with explosive charges. This type of thing has been done before for example by Electronic companies exploding televisions but I've never seen it done with flowers. I think it's an interesting take on super slow motion camera work.  

The Milton Agency

The Milton Agency manages the unsung heroes of the TV and film industry, including some of the best hair and make-up artists and costume designers in the business. It commissioned Magpie Studios to create a new brand logo.

They created a simple star logo with the letter 'M' in the negative space. At first glance the 'M' isn't immediately visible but if you look closely you can see it in the spaces between the stars. This is a clever design but in my opinion isn't strong enough for a brand logo. The 'M' doesn't stand out enough for me.

Harrison & Co

The final company Angus presented was a design consultancy called Harrison & Co. They were commissioned to produce an advertising campaign for the Orchestra of Age and Enlightenment.

The shapes and arrows are ’an interpretation of sound’, the design is an attempt to recreate the look and feel of ’doodling on a picture’. I like these designs as I think they really help bring out the personalities of the musicians.

Finally Angus showed us some of his favourite work by students.

The first is a piece by Sam Grey (Plymouth University) entitled ‘Vertigo’. The aim of this work was to depict the effect of vertigoin that a person feels as if the world is spinning. I think this image is great and really speaks for itself.

I really like the final piece of work which were created by Alan Clarke (Falmouth University). They were designed for the London 2012 Olympics and represent various sports. They are very graphic and do a great job of representing movement.

That was the end of the first day which was interesting and informative. It was great to hear from industry professionals about their views on design and to see some good examples of work. I learnt that it's important to grab every opportunity that is presented to you and always remember to market yourself, be passionate and push yourself!

ARD504 Creative Futures 2 - Influence boards

For this module I was required to create six influence boards that provide meaning to me. It was designed to be an effective approach to start my PDP/Creative Futures work for semester 2. I needed to research areas of interest that I admired and evaluate why I selected them. Below are the results of this research:

One of my very first influences was the cinema. My earliest memory was queuing outside the Gaumont cinema in Birmingham City Centre for the film Star Wars. I can’t remember how long we queued for but I do recall there being a long queue of parents and excited children wrapped around the building waiting to see this new film. Star Wars introduced me to the ‘Magic of Cinema’, the massive screen (The Gaumont had the largest screen in Europe) and fantastic sound were unforgettable and a big influence.

  

Films

Above is montage of some of my favourite films. As mentioned previously Star Wars was one of the first films I saw at the cinema. Many of these films have been critically acclaimed and some are Oscar winners. I enjoy all genres of films although I do sway towards Sci-Fi and Fantasy films. However, true life stories such as GoodFellas and Raging Bull are amongst my favourites.

Books

I also get influence and inspiration from books. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy are some of my favourite books, I enjoy the epic journey the characters take through a fantasy world that has so much depth. I also enjoy real life stories such as Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNabb which tells the story of the SAS whilst in Iraq. I like Dan Brown’s books as they are fast paced, exciting, mysterious and contain a number of little known historical facts. The Ghost Map is a thrilling account of the most intense cholera outbreak to strike Victorian London and a powerful explanation of how it has shaped the world we live in. I always find that there is always so much more content and detail in books that in the films. The Harry Potter books are a good example of this.

Sport

I find Sport influential. For example sportsmen like Lance Armstrong who won the Tour De France 7 times after surviving testicular cancer. Darren Clarke who won the open last year at the age of 42 year, particularly poignant having gone through the tragedy of losing his wife to cancer. Muhammed Ali for self belief and confidence in his own ability. Their never say die attitude is inspiring. Oscar Pistorius a Greek disabled athlete that runs against able bodied athletes. Nigel Benn’s courage in the ring. Jonny Wilkinson’s dedication to ‘practice makes perfect’, Rafael Nadal for never giving up.

Camerawork

Pioneering camerawork in documentaries such as The Blue Planet, Planet Earth and Earth flight inspire me. The crew often endure physically challenging conditions and wait for days to get the shots they need. Due to the environments they travel to, carrying all of the usual equipment is impossible, they often have to improvise creating equipment from the resources available to them. The environments are often hazardous and there are always risks whether it be the weather or an attack from Polar Bears to take into consideration. The dedication and tenacious commitment of the crew to get the best shot is admirable and inspires me to try out some of their techniques (in a safer environment!).

Visual Effects

 

 

I also gain inspiration and influence from companies such as Red Giant Software and Video Co-Pilot.  I enjoy post-production techniques and I'm considering this as a future career. The websites provide a number of examples of what is achievable using software such as After Effects with plugins like Trapcode Form and Particular. They also have tutorials and blogs containing information on how to create special effects and I am learning how to apply these techniques to my own work. Vimeo.com is also an important source of inspiration for me as it's a site used by creatives to showcase their work. It helps me generate ideas and also shows me the standard I need to be aiming for with my work.

Directors

Not surprisingly some of my favourite films have been directed and/or produced by these men. Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill etc), George Lucas (Star Wars), Oliver Stone (Platoon, JFK, Wall Street), James Cameron (Aliens, Avatar, Terminator 2), Martin Scorsese (Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Good Fellas, Casino, The Departed), Steven Spielberg (Close Encounters, E.T, Jurassic Park), Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Cast Away), Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings Trilogy).

• Quentin Tarantino's films are often violent but stylishly shot to enhance the story and bring life to characters
• Martin Scorsese's films are often based on the Mafia and give a violent and disturbing insight into this world (see below for further information)   
• I admire Peter Jackson for the immense challenge of bringing the Lord of the Rings Trilogy to life in the films
• Steven Spielberg has made a number of ground breaking films, many of his films contain fantastic special effects and he has often been a pioneer in this area.

I particularly admire the camera work in Martin Scorseee films. For example in the film GoodFellas there’s a tracking shot that lasts nearly 2 and a half minutes. The shot is used to demonstrate how the characters world is shaped by influence and money. It has also been used in films such as Kill Bill and Taxi Driver.

A fantastic reverse tracking shot that helps create tension between the two characters in the film GoodFellas, this type of shot has also been used in the films Vertigo, Jaws and Lord of the Rings to create atmosphere and tension. These shots are stylish and help bring the story to life and demonstrate the technical ability required to operate a camera. Both are examples of work I would like to attempt in future productions I’m working on.

Long panning shot to establish a scene in Taxi Driver. This is a shot that I’ve not seen that often in films. The camera is in a fixed position, most likely on a tripod. It does nearly a 360 degree rotation as it begins with the character entering his place of work (A Taxi Rank) and ends up with him leaving the other side of the building. The shots aren’t new from a cinema perspective but I like the way that in Scorsese’s films he always tries something different.

I enjoyed creating the influences boards as they really made me think about my values and beliefs and the way they influence my creativity and work decisions.  As a Photographer and Filmmaker I now have a good insight into what motivates me and how I can use these influences to enhance my personal development.

Design for Society

This Semester was split into two modules 'The Message' and 'Design for Society'.

Design for Society

Assignment Title : Support a cause/Community/Charity

This module is about developing communication skills by telling stories through still and moving images that help others make lifestyle decisions. The module was split into a 6 separate assignments. I was required to choose three assignments from those provided. Below are the ones are completed:

Use photography and type to produce a poster campaign for two awareness campaigns. Again a number of choices were provided. I chose to produce a poster for the Samaritans and Amnesty International.

Samaritans
The brief for this project is to produce a poster campaign that encourages people with suicidal thoughts to call the Samaritans for help. The strapline for the campaign is ‘Try us first, please!’.

My thought process for this project was that it needed a theme that was ‘hard hitting’ and would really grab a person’s attention. I was aware that it could be controversial and there was a possibility that it could be upsetting in nature. There have been advertising campaigns in the past that have had controversial themes and have damaged brands for example Benetton ran a campaign with pictures of a baby covered in blood and real human hearts to demonstrate ‘United Colours of Benetton’.  These adverts damaged the brand in certain countries with sales being hit, however overall awareness of the brand rose, but arguably not in a positive way. 

With this in mind I decided to use photographs of methods of suicide before the act took place. For example my first picture was of a hot running bath with a knife next to it. My second picture was of a bedside cabinet with alcohol and pills on it. Only one poster was required to meet the brief but I also had other ideas such as a hosepipe and car exhaust and a person’s legs dangling from a high building.

Whilst the theme of the poster campaign is ‘hard hitting’  it isn’t gory in the same way it could be argued the Benetton adverts were and I don’t believe they would damage the Samaritans brand but reinforce the message ‘Try us first, please!’.

Amnesty International

Amnesty International is a campaigning organisation. Its purpose is to protect people wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied. For this poster I decided to focus on a person being incarcerated. There are many people around the world that have been imprisoned unfairly and without trial. Amnesty International looks to campaign for the release of these people. I decided to take a photograph of a person’s hands holding onto bars. Underneath the image I placed silhouettes of the head and shoulders of people which represent the many people that are unfairly prisoned but are often unknown to the outside world. In my opinion it’s a simple but effective idea.

The next assignment I chose was entitled ‘Empathy’

The brief was to use a range of media to produce a 1-2min music driven message that works to support the promotion or eradication of a global, national or local issue. It is aimed to work on a global stage so no words or language was to be used. My planning for this assignment began in November and my idea came from the poppy appeal. I decided to base my empathy film on war, particularly Afghanistan as there are troops fighting there at the moment. The music I chose for the piece was ‘Adagio for strings’ by Samuel Barber. This is a particularly powerful piece of music that I first saw used in the film ‘Platoon’ and I thought it worked particularly well in that genre as it is a very emotional piece. Here is a link to the film. I found the pictures on the internet, I think there are some terrific images there. I didn’t want the images to be too gory as I wished to keep my target audience fairly wide and too include children if possible. I also wanted to strike a balance between both sides of the war without appearing to favour one particular side. I decided to tie this in with the Poppy Appeal and also 90 years of the British Legion. Here is a link to the film http://youtu.be/X7FMzkXQCr8

Documentary

Gemma from our group did some voluntary work for the North Clywd Animal Rescue Centre. She thought it would be a good idea to film a documentary about the centre as they’re always looking to raise awareness. After contacting them they agreed we could spend the day filming there. When we arrived we were given a guided tour of the centre. The centre is a registered charity that was founded in 1978 by Anne Owen and has cares for over 1000 animals (dogs, cats and rabbits) a year.

It was great fun filming at the centre and very rewarding knowing that we were helping out a registered charity and good cause. I was really pleased with the end result and it was worth the effort we put in.  A link to the film will be posted shortly.

The Message

The next module was entitled ‘The Message’ and is all about persuasion for example changing a way of thinking or encouraging a person to buy a particular product (i.e. advertising).

For this module we were asked to complete all of the assignments. These are listed below:

1)      Percussive Rhythm – The brief was to capture live action images that contain distinctive sounds (excluding musical instruments) and form a ‘visual soundtrack’. The imagery had to be based on a particular theme, use a multi-screen approach and consider the film having a commercial message. For this particular project I decided to use ‘Sounds of the Kitchen’. I therefore filmed several different sounds from my kitchen. The filming often took place whilst I was cooking dinner so the sounds and images are authentic. I enjoyed this project as it helped improve my editing skills and it was also great working with sound. However, it was more challenging than I initially thought, particularly trying to put the different sounds together to make a rhythm. I think I succeeded though, here is the film.

2)     Time lapse/Compression – For this assignment we were asked to create a series of sequences that when speeded up compress time in an interesting and creative way. For this project I decided to film myself painting a picture.  Again we had to think of a way this could be used as a commercial perspective. I therefore decided to paint a picture of the New York skyline. It was taken from a photograph I took on a visit to New York a few years ago. I interspersed this with images of clouds and a clock to show the passage of time. I don’t get time to paint very often so it was nice to be able to dust off my brushes and paints for this project. Here's a link to the film http://youtu.be/xCQY3ufeXOM

3)      Green screen – It was agreed that we could work as a group to deliver this project. I teamed up with Gemma she had an idea based on an animal rescue theme. A man is surfing the internet looking at a dog skateboarding when his alter-ego pays him a visit from inside the computer to tell him to stop wasting his time viewing silly videos and spend some worthwhile time looking at the NCAR website. Here's a link to the film http://youtu.be/XfjI-lTCRII

4)      Photography – This assignment was originally given to us to complete during the summer break. The brief provided us with an opportunity to practice some new camera techniques.

Technique A: The locked off camera. This requires a tripod and a very slow shutter speed so that anything not moving within the frame will remain sock solid and anything else will be blurred.  I was lucky enough to go to Las Vegas for my birthday this year and I took this photo (below) of a car travelling along the highway. I like this photo as it looks like the car is floating.

The photo below was taken of a friends daughter as she played in the garden with a kite.

Technique B: The panning camera. This requires a slightly faster shutter speed and the image should produce a reasonably sharp subject against a blurry background. It is a good technique to demonstrate speed and movement. I took this photo at a British Carriage Driving event

From the photos submitted I had to choose one from each category, an appropriate product, words and typography to create a sales campaign for the product.  From the panning camera category I chose another photo from the horse trials and the sales campaign was based around promoting the London 2012 Olympics and ticket sales. For my second sales campaign I chose another photo I took whilst in Las Vegas. This was a locked of shot with a long exposure and is of the Paris Hotel on the Las Vegas Boulevard.

Illustrating a feature
The brief for this assignment was to choose either a food or fashion magazine and produce a image for 4 categories. I chose the food magazine and the categories I had to choose from were as follows:

i)                 Fantastic Fruit – The idea for this photo came from a food magazine. It was November and close to bonfire night so toffee apples were my chosen subject (thanks to Delicious Magazine for the recipe).

            

ii)               Vegetable Visions – I based this photo on an idea I had for the London 2012 Olympics. My thinking was around encouraging people to eat their ‘5 a day’.  With the New Year approaching and 2012 being an Olympic year people’s minds are inevitably focussing on shaking off the excesses of Christmas and becoming fitter and healthier.

iii)              Pass the Pasta – I decided on another Olympic theme for this feature with a relay baton being replaced with a packet of spaghetti. Pasta is a healthy food and I though this tied in really well with the athletics theme.

iv)              Vine and Dine – I came up with several different ideas for this feature all based around food and wine

I enjoyed working on these modules. The work was challenging but varied and interesting. I feel I've learnt a lot of new skills which will be of great value to me in the future.

Summer Break Photography

Landscape

During the Summer break we were given an assignment to produce a portfolio of work, 3 images in 3 categories that were based on Landscapes. Below are the images I produced:

City

                                                             St Paul's Cathedral, London

Las Vegas Boulevard Skyscrapers

                                                 View of Las Vegas Strip from Stratosphere

Industrial

Cadbury's factory, Chirk

Colebrookdale, Iron Bridge

Cadbury's factory, Chirk

Rural

                                                               Sandstone Trail - Broxton Hills

                                                                   A Corn Field near Wrexham

Beeston Castle, North Wales

World's End, North Wales

Photography the traditional way

Had a couple of great lectures with Colin recently in the photography studio.  Firstly he gave us a tutorial on how to use a 5x4 camera. We then were shown how to load the photographic paper into the cartridge that goes into the camera. This seemed easy enough in the light of day but due to the sensitivity of the paper we then had to do this in the dark room! Fortunately there was a safe light in there so it wasn’t completely dark. We had to cut the paper to shape using some scissors and then load two pieces into the cartridge. It was then time to take some portrait photographs of each person in the group and then develop them using the traditional method of developer and fixer chemicals. The results were mixed, some photos were over exposed and others turned out great. They were produced on negative paper so the original picture produced is a negative. However, I have inversed the image in Photoshop so you can see the results. This picture was taken by Gemma so well done to her, I think it turned out really well.

The second lecture was all about pin hole photography. Colin gave us a selection of tins, from large ones that originally had Quality Streets in them to smaller ones that once contained Pringles or coffee. The insides of the tins were painted black and there was a small pin hole to let the light in, with a piece of tape over the hole to prevent an unwanted exposure. After inserting the paper in the dark room we proceeded to the studio to take some more portraits. This time Alex was the volunteer. The tins needed a stable platform due to the long exposure required (around 30 seconds) so we improvised and used some step ladders! We then developed the photos in the dark room. I’m still waiting to see the final results after drying the photos but again there were mixed results from no exposure to some really creative looking pictures! I will post them here as soon as I have them.

NCAR

Had a fantastic and eye opening day on Friday at the North Clywd Animal Rescue Centre (NCAR). We were there to film a documentary about the running of the centre.  Volunteers are an integral and essential part of the running of the centre and the NCAR manager was keen for us to emphasize this in the film.

NCAR is a privately run registered charity that was founded by Anne Owen in 1978. It has grown over that time to take care of over 1000 animals per year.  They take in stray dogs, cats and rabbits. It is entirely dependent on members of the public to help with funding and donations to look after all of these animals. Vet fees can be anything up to £4000 per month so you can see how important the fundraising is to keep the centre going.

We started off by interviewing a volunteer called Adam is a dog behaviourist. Adam gave us an insite into the work he does with some of the more challenging dogs that come into the centre.

Filming the documentary with animals did present some challenges, for example the noise of dogs barking was an issue so we couldn’t do any interviews within the kennels themselves. However, being a documentary the film gives us an opportunity to dub the soundtrack by adding narration and/or music without detracting from the overall atmosphere.  The staff were also very busy so we didn't want to interrupt the excellent work they were doing although everyone was very accommodating and gave us as much time as we needed.

Whilst in the shop a couple had come to bring their dog ‘Oscar’ for his second round of injections. We were fortunate enough to be able allowed to film him having his injections and ask the owners some questions about their experiences at the centre and search for a rescue dog.

We also held an in depth interview with Owen who is one of the Managers of the centre. He gave us detailed information on the fundraising events they attend

It was amazing talking to the members of staff and volunteers and they deserve a lot of credit for the amount of effort they put in to run the busy centre.

If you are interested in adopting one of the animals, becoming a volunteer or making a donation then please visit the NCAR website by clicking here http://www.ncar.org.uk/