Progress

Progress is good today. I have had the chance to have a long chat with Danielle about the project, I have been able to film her opinions on gypsies (which can be seen under the 'Work in Progress' tab), and I have been able to think about how the piece will all come together. Danielle has come across as very confident, and even watched some videos on YouTube of the Dale Farm eviction, which has enabled her to have a little more understanding of the story. Typically of her funny nature, though, she announced that she "would like to be tasered".

I have started to look at news logos, as the name of the broadcast has been named. This was Danielle's choice, since it is her opinion that will be aired, and she has chosen to call it 'Wilby News'.

I will continue to storyboard, and am now able to write a script for the video. We will have a test run using a Canon G11 camera, before recording the final piece.

Overcoming Problems

Today I spoke to Danielle (my friend's niece), who is aged 11, and asked if she would be interested in helping me with my news broadcast. I explained a bit about the task in hand, and asked her if she knew anything already about Dale Farm. Her response to my request for help was "Yeah! I'm up for it!" This has pleased me a lot.

Danielle is well spoken, switched on, and likes to give her own opinion on events. She will be brilliant to speak to, and will be a great child to have in my video. She's happy to be filmed (however many times we may need to do it - she's a giggler!) and given her age, I will be able to discuss the topic at a little more ease that I would have had to with the 7 year old.

Plans now are to break down the story with Danielle, and to write down some of her own opinions on the event, which will then be written into a script that she can use when we film. Once filming in complete, it's a matter of putting the video together in After Effects.

Problems

I had originally planned to travel to the Isle of Wight to film my friend's son for this project, but due to money issues, this has had to be cancelled. My only other option is to ask for the help of an 11 year old (who is the niece of a friend) to see if she will help me out. In some respects, this may work out better, and she is easily accessible if something goes wrong.

Things to work on in the meantime are a script, including footage I have found in my video (using After Effects and possibly Final Cut Pro) and planning my text/animated text.

More Research

I have been watching news broadcasts made by children, and have seen a fair few inspirational touches that I would like to add to my own video.

I really like the cute, innocence of the children; the fact they laugh and mess about. This is something that I feel adds to the piece. Children are very innocent, and this should be reflected, even with a serious news story.

I have added some videos to the 'Children' tab.

Doing Research

I have been doing lots of thinking about anymore research I need to do for this project.

I will be having a good look at Newsround, the programme used to broadcast news to children. I used to watch it as a child. I have been looking at the website, and will watch a few of their bulletins to see how they approach the news these days.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/

I have also, with the help from my friend Martin, reserved three books about Gypsy Travellers at the library, which I hope to have my hands on early next week.

I will also watch a few regular news programmes (BBC News, ITN, Channel 4 News, Sky News) to get a general view of a broadcast, before I start preparing to record mine.

The main focus will be to get a good understanding of the whole story, and to get that down for my news broadcast. I will also be asking children their opinions on the subject.

Focus for the Video

My video will be focusing on the immediate run-up to, and the actual eviction from Dale Farm. I personally found the news coverage of this very interesting, and feel that it is something I can work with.

There was a great deal of news coverage for a number of months about the problems at Dale Farm, and it even continues today. The coverage of the eviction is still raw in my mind, which is why I feel that it will be good to incorporate into my work.

Class Discussion

This morning I presented my ideas to the class, and after discussing a couple of them, I feel like I am set up for what I would like to do now.

I will definitely be working on the point of view of the child, and I would like to go with my idea of a news bulletin read by a young child for young children.

I have a number of things I can now research. These include:

• News bulletins designed for children 
• Both sides of the opinion of Dale Farm (The residents and the council) 
• Phrases that children use 
• What Ethan's (my newsreader) opinion actually is 

Now that I have a firmer idea, I will re-storyboard, and will be able to progress further with my final piece.

Storyboarding

I have been working on some storyboard ideas for my video, which I have added to my 'Ideas and Plans' tab.

I am thinking about a range of different ideas, rather than just having the one idea.

After Effects Lesson

After missing the first two sessions, I finally had a chance to use Adobe After Effects today. Our tutor, Simon, was extremely helpful in talking me through the programme, and I am now feeling a bit more confident about this project.

The software is actually fairly easy to use, and I have written a few notes to help with the little things I may forget. The main thing is to remember to change the frame rate from 29 (which is American) to 25 (which is British).

I can now start to piece together some storyboards, and get to work on my video. I'm juggling with two ideas, and haven't yet decided which one to go with, but I can have a go at both.

Dale Farm Solidarity Blog

Whilst doing some research, I have found an interesting blog which is for the friends and supporters of Dale Farm.

http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/

There is an interesting range of posts on there, which I find very interesting. It is always good to look at both sides of every story.

Lecture and Tutorial

Today we viewed some of the work made by last year's second year students. It was a diverse selection, and it has certainly helped with what it is we need to achieve.

We also saw the work of some MA students from RCL, some of which I actually thought was really poor. Some was really interesting though, and the singing pasta video was brilliant. Interesting to see how creative some people really are.

We had a tutorial with Sue and Silke in the afternoon, and I listened to a great deal of different ideas for both of the issues we have been given to choose. I have decided that I will stick with Dale Farm, and I will be developing my ideas over the next few days.

Issue Choice

I have chosen to work on a visual piece of work for the following issue:

The evictions of the traveller community at Dale Farm, Basildon, Essex

During the time this was heavily publicised on the television, in the newspapers, and on the internet, I became very interested in this topic, and found myself reading about it regularly.

I saw the documentary that was broadcast about the issue, and I formed my own opinion about the issue. I therefore feel that this would be the best issue to work with.

The Brief

Main project:

You will choose to develop an opinion or point of view on one of two issues:

• Bankers bonuses and executive pay
• The evictions of the traveller community at Dale Farm, Basildon, Essex

You will need to research the subject of your news item in depth. Research, by the way, means more than ‘Google’ or ‘Google Image’! The issues of this brief have been debated for many years and the discussion around ethics and responsibility in design can possibly be traced far more easily through library research. We also recommend ‘primary research’, which means: taking your own photographs, drawing, interviews/ sound recordings etc. in response to your chosen subject.

Having established your opinion, produce a piece of work to deliver your statement. 

This is not a journalistic exercise though, nor is it an essay. You are asked to operate visually, meaning you will express your response to the article chosen in a piece of design work.
 
Additional Advice:
“Statement” does not necessarily mean expressing a point of view in a black and white fashion. Whilst some subjects seem to demand a clear message, in other cases you may be more effective by provoking a debate through posing a question to your audience. Ambiguity therefore is an acceptable strategy - if applied wisely and deliberately that is! The news items given to you were chosen in such a fashion that those students who do not wish to operate as ‘visual - social engineers’ have plenty of alternative opportunities to reflect and respond to the issues central to this particular brief.

By the way: To practice “authorship”, which is at the heart of this project, you may opt to adopt a point of view that is not genuinely your own. It can be a lot of fun to take on an ‘alter ego’ for the purpose of this brief, which pronounces different, maybe even opposite beliefs to the ones you normally hold.

Decide on the most effective way to communicate. As you develop your idea, make sure you define the audience for what you want to say at the same time, plus the context/ medium. This year we are asking you to produce a screen based outcome for this unit. This can mean still or moving image. You can use existing skills or apply new knowledge learnt in the workshops that accompany this unit.