The end-of-workshops screening – along with the storycircle – is everyone’s favourite part of the workshop. This afternoon at two at Valleys Kids, Soar Chapel, Penygraig, Rhondda, we’re holding the Rhondda Lives! screening and I’m really looking forward to it. This week has been a fantastic one with ten people making a personal film with Valleys Kids using archive footage from BBC Wales and the National Screen and Sound Archive in a project funded by Heritage Lottery money. This project has been a lot of hard work for a lot of people and – seeing the stories that people have made – makes me realise it’s worth all the hard…
-
-
What God looks like
Hamish Fyfe: ‘I remember being in a classroom in Northern Ireland where the children were drawing. I noticed one little girl of about seven and asked her what she was drawing. “I’m doing a drawing of God” she said. I said I thought that was interesting since a lot of people didn’t really know what God looked like. “Oh”, she said, “that’s alright, they will in a minute”.’ That’s a story Prof. Fyfe told at University of Glamorgan last night as he set out his vision for society where there are exciting new spaces set out for the arts. He show digital stories and compared today’s You Tube age with…
-
Queuing and digital storytelling
When I lived in Ardfert, County Kerry, in the Republic of Ireland in the mid 90s, I remember a radio programme called ‘Queueing For A Living’ in which the presenter Paddy O’Gorman sought out queues of all kinds and recorded conversations he had with those waiting. From laundrettes to prison waiting rooms, there was something about the stories that came out of those everyday situations and people spoke of things I hadn’t heard many people speak of on radio before. I think Professor Hamish Fyfe of University of Glamorgan would have enjoyed that programme too. I’m looking forward to attending his inaugural professorial lecture this evening at the Glamorgan Business…
-
DS and political engagement PhD
University of Leeds is advertising two fully-paid PhD scholarships, one of which will be about “Digital storytelling and political engagement”. I studied media management with this university’s Institute of Communications Studies and it’s a great department and a fabulous place to study and live. (Link to application from on right-hand side of this page.)
-
Media Literacy Summit
I had an interesting day at the Media Literacy Task Force’s Digital Media Literacy Summit at Channel 4 in London yesterday. “Right now there are more than 300 million people around the world watching video content online. It’s a fundamental shift that completely democratises our business.” Peter Chernin, News Corp. (Jon Gisby’s slide; I think this is the source.) Yes, democracy can be served by absorbing content but it’s participation is what makes the democracy vibrant … and that isn’t happening yet because only: “0.16% of YouTube users upload to YouTube” (Ewan McIntosh‘s slide – photo of Guardian chart, May 2007) I’d really hoped for more from the Task Force…
-
Decisions decisions
If you’re starting out in digital storytelling, you face some fundamental decisions that will determine or be determined by equipment and software you have access to. I’m not going to give many answers today, but I’ll come back to these in future. It’s just useful to be aware of the scope… What kind of computer am I going to use: Apple or PC? Or am I going to use a device like a mobile phone? Am I going to work in Standard Definition or High Definition? Which operating system am I going to choose: Windows, Apple, Linux? Will I launch the operating system from the comupter hard drive or will…
-
Participative media in the mass media
My friend and colleague Rhys Williams just showed me a website he’s project managed for a new Welsh-language TV show for young people called Mosgito. I haven’t watched it yet but judging by the website this looks like a fantastic show, where the producers have woven elements of participative media into the on-air programme. They’ve recruited a team of participants – Gwegang – who use their own webcams to record pieces for the show. Other kinds of participation are also encouraged. In the Citcreu (create-kit) area, there are video tutorials on storytelling, camerawork, animation as well as uploaders so authors can share their work. It’s great to see a programme…