NAHEMI / Canon Student Filmmaking Competition – Extraordinary Times.

NAHEMI, in association with Canon is searching for new filmmaking talent and looking for one-minute films based on the theme of Extraordinary Times.

The winners will receive support from Canon for their next big film project with Canon supplying professional equipment covering video, lens and camera. Canon is passionate about filmmaking and the next generation of filmmakers, the winner will have a unique opportunity to work with Canon on future projects.

The Brief is to produce a one-minute film addressing experiences, thoughts, or reflections during these Extraordinary Times. The films might focus on isolation, changing times, threat of virus, what a new world looks like, social distancing, COVID 19, lockdown, or freedom. Short films are invited, which can be shot and edited on anything students have access to.

It is preferable they are produced by a single student but pairs are allowed as long as the current government guidelines of social distancing are adhered to. Films can use animation, experimental forms, drama, documentary, essay films or a mixture of these genres to communicate innovative and memorable film ideas.

The judging panel will include representatives of NAHEMI, Canon, and invited professionals from the media industries, and nominate awards for overall winner and craft categories.

Up to four, one-minute films can be submitted from each institution through the FilmFreeway site.

We will register our interest in the competition (deadline for this is July 17th 4.00 pm 2020). Please let us know asap if you intend to enter and if you want to discuss your ideas. We will choose 4 films from all those submitted to enter to represent UCW.

Please submit your films to us (we will provide a folder on UCW onedrive) no later than 14th September. (confirm by emailing richard.edkins@weston.ac.uk)

We need to submit the 4 chosen films for competition by September 21st 2020.

The online awards will be on October 29th 2020.

Please contact richard.edkins@weston.ac.uk if interested in entering.

(You might want to consider re-editing films you have already shot that fit this brief)

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Black Lives Matter

The murder of George Floyd has re-ignited the Black Live Matter movement worldwide. On Saturday June 6th 2020 a demonstration was held in Weston super Mare and on Sunday there was a demonstration in Bristol, during which a statue of slave trader Edward Colston was torn down and thrown into the harbour.

I have been posting related articles on our @FilmUCW Facebook page and thought I would compile some of these plus links to other resources here. Please visit the excellent Black Lives Matter Weston super Mare Facebook group to learn more and support.

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Video/ Photography by Ayotilewa Babatunde - FdA Film UCW.

Video by UCW Academy of Performing Arts

Photography and Film related articles, RESOURCES, GROUPS

Netflix has curated a collection of films, TV series and stand-up specials under the banner of “Black Lives Matter”.

The streaming service’s official Twitter account wrote: “When we say, ‘Black Lives Matter’, we also mean, ‘Black storytelling matters’.

“With an understanding that our commitment to true, systemic change will take time – we’re starting by highlighting powerful and complex narratives about the Black experience.” - Independent

Eunice Olumide MBE, who spoke at UCW Graduation ceremony last September, has started this Fundraiser to support Black Women in Film.
"Over the last decade I have worked both in front of the camera and behind as an assistant director and actress. There are very few opportunities available for BME women in film the reasons for which are very multifaceted, even in cases where diversity is promoted one of the biggest hurdles is having the initial seed funding to sustain yourself while you do the necessary development for the project.

I am asking for support to fund my first solo short film production. No donation is too small. The funds will be used to pay for further script development, acquiring locations, wardrobe, cast and crew.

I plan to start filming in Scotland in mid May 2021, however I have already finished the first draft of the story and have secured an established script writer. I have also acquired several high-profile actors, line producer and will continue to put together a strong team. I have worked hard to gain all the necessary knowledge and connections to ensure that this film is a success. I would like to thank you all so much for making this dream a reality."

Also see her discussing slavery, capitalism, and racism on Question Time in Feb 2019. HERE

MUSIC RELATED ARTICLES

Some more articles, OPINIONS, CONTEXT

Racism is a business. Its marketing is so successful that even Akala looks sideways at a young black man holding a lot of cash. These racial assumptions lead...
ThereISBlackInTheUnionJack - a film and history project by BSWN- looks at the relationships between heritage, race, identity and belonging for the Black and...

Tony Benn on the Legacy of Slavery

‘In 2007, Tony Benn – who was an MP for Bristol for 20 years – gave a speech discussing the legacy of slavery, the fight which brought it down and the ideal of common humanity which powers progressive struggles.’

“We live in a very remarkable period, quite unlike any other in history, when the human race has the capacity to destroy itself, and you can kill one man with a spear, a few more with a bayonet, one or two with a machine gun or a plane, but with chemical, nuclear and biological weapons it is possible to destroy the human race, that has never, ever been true before.

But it’s also the first generation in history which has the technology and the know-how and the money to solve the problems of the human race. And that’s where you really come right into the contemporary political scene, because a fraction of the cost of the war now would see that everyone in Africa with AIDs would have free drugs. A fraction of the cost of the war would see everyone in America has a health service, would protect New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina. That is the choice.

So the question then you have to ask yourself is, well how do you change the situation? Because there are only three interesting questions in politics, what’s going on? Which is not always easy to find out. Why is it going on? Which is harder to find out. The third question is, what are you going to do about it? “

Below is video of Tony Benn speaking at a Tribute to Paul Robeson (Singer, actor, social activist, lawyer, athlete) in 2006, Tony Benn starts at 28m40 secs in.

Article: https://www.soas.ac.uk/africa/events/20sep2006-a-tribute-to-paul-robeson.html

Henry David Thoreau

Resistance to Civil Government, called Civil Disobedience for short, is an essay by American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau that was first published in 1849. In it, Thoreau argues that individuals should not permit governments to overrule or atrophy their consciences, and that they have a duty to avoid allowing such acquiescence to enable the government to make them the agents of injustice. Thoreau was motivated in part by his disgust with slavery and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). (Wiki)

Anti Racism - Anti Fascism

The HOPE not hate campaign was founded in 2004 to provide a positive antidote to the politics of hate

Books

By no means a definitive list! But here’s are a few books either I’ve read and recommend or have been recommended to me and I hope to get time to read (or listen to) soon. I will also ask our library, which books we have in our library at UCW/ Weston College. Email me: richard.edkins@weston.ac.uk if you have any suggestions (books, audio books, films, or other resources) you think we should add. Thanks

The Big Question: Should I be Filming at all?

This is from a recent news letter from Doc Society:

‘As our documentary field discusses and debates the burning question above, Doc Society has been working with our colleagues at Sundance Institute and Field of Vision to produce a ‘living document’ which offers a risk framework, current best practice and resource tools to help filmmakers, partners and funders navigate these unchartered waters. Independent Documentary: Filming In The Time Of Corona Virus is designed to encourage frank and open discussions at an early stage and to ensure that where there are doubts filmmakers err on the side of caution. We’d like to thank our General Counsel Prash Naik for his speed and wisdom.

We are super grateful to all the individual filmmakers and organisations who responded rapidly to the project, giving feedback and we’d like to offer a Vulcan salute to our co-signees below (and if you don’t know them all - check them out).’

Asian American Documentary Network, Asociación de Documentalistas de Puerto Rico, ACOS (A Culture Of Safety) Alliance, Ambulante, American Documentary/ POV, Black Public Media, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, Center for Asian American Media, Chicken & Egg, DOCUBOX, FWD-Doc (Documentary Filmmakers with Disabilities), Impact Partners, Indian Documentary Foundation, Latino Public Broadcasting, National Association of Latino Producers, Pacific Islanders in Communications, Perspective Fund, Scottish Documentary Institute, Topic, Vision Maker Media: Native Stories for Public Broadcasting

Follow link below to read document:

Chris also shared this guide from Nordic Film Guide:

Free Di Vinci Class - Learn Resolve in 4 Hours

Hi all, for those of you wanting to learn DaVinci resolve, which is a free alternative to Premiere and is on mac and PC, Ripple training, who do a really good job of training are doing a free 4-hour beginning to end workshop on zoom on Friday for 4 hours, info below. This is a free zoom workshop from a very very good trainer and it’s FREE!

Learn Resolve in 4 Hours

Hey everyone, I have some exciting news to share! Blackmagic Design invited me to teach their first DaVinci Resolve webinar this Friday. The class is totally FREE and is designed to give you an overview of Resolve's powerful toolset.

In 4 hours I'll be covering Resolve's end-to-end post workflow. I know it's short notice, but it all came together pretty quickly. The class will be conducted over Zoom and you will need to pre-register for the class by clicking this link.

Once we see your registration, you will be sent a confirmation email with the steps you need to take to ensure your system meets the minimum requirements. The email will also include a link to the media.

DATE: Friday, April 3, 2020

TIME: 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (PST - Pacific Standard Time) which is 6pm - 10pm UK (BST)

Class Schedule:

10:00 - 10:15 - Introduction

10:15 - 11:00 - Cut Page (:45)

11:00 - 11:45 - Edit Page (:45)

11:45 - 12:00 - Break (:15)

12:00 - 12:30 - Fusion Page (:30)

12:30 - 1:15 - Color Page (:45)

1:15 - 1:45 - Fairlight Page (:30)

1:45 - 2:00 - Deliver Page (:15)

Registration Required

Let me know if you have any questions! I would love to have you join me! -Steve

Click here: Link to Register

See their Youtube channel for more tutorials

In this episode, Steve demonstrates how to use the DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard in Resolve 16's Cut Page & Edit Page. Want to Learn DaVinci Resolve? Check...

GUEST FILM TALKS - #TeaAt3withMamFromage

Invite from Freya Billington at UWE to #TeaAt3withMamFromage a daily 30 min chat over a cuppa with #FilmFolks for currently dispossessed #FilmStudents Just click on zoom to join in.

REALLY GOOD 30 MINUTE TALKS WITH GUEST FILM MAKERS - Do take full advantage and tune in.

Mon 30th March - Friday 3rd April 

MEETINGS ALWAYS AT 3:00PM WHATEVER ZOOM SAYS

NOTE YOU CAN HAVE YOUR CAMERAS ON BUT MUST MUTE YOURSELF (!!)  

Monday 

CASTING DIRECTOR- VICTOR JENKINS

 Runs his own agency and has cast Fleabag, World on Fire, Broadchurch, Episodes, The Spanish Princess, Grantchester to name just a few 

https://zoom.us/j/866854710

Tuesday 

 HEAD of BFI DOC SOCIETY/ PRODUCER - LISA MARIE RUSSO 

Lisa Marie’s production credits include Ken Loach’s The Spirit of ’45, Terence Davies’ Of Time And The City, Gillian Wearing’s Self Made and Andrew Kotting’s Swandown. In 2009, she launched a production company Fly Film with Kate Ogborn. Since 2015, her company has executive produced 72 short films by young people for Screen South Ignition Random Acts Network, supported by Arts Council England and Channel 4. 

https://zoom.us/j/756363478

Wednesday 

DIRECTOR JOE LYNCH (joining us from LA) 

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1362570 

Joe is a lifelong genre film fan (especially of horror) whose work includes films like Knights of Badassdom, TV show Holliston, with director Adam Green, action/thriller Everly, Mayhem and last year's Netflix produced Point Blank.

https://zoom.us/j/426397840 

Thursday 

BAFTA-AWARD WINNING DIRECTOR PHILIPPA LOWTHORPE 

Philippa has directed a huge range of work including just released MISBEHAVIOUR, THREE GIRLS, SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS, THE CROWN 

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1339400/

https://zoom.us/j/851416266

Friday 

SOUND MIXER DEAN HUMPHREYS 

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0401981/

The Ghost Writer, Resident Evil, The Pianist, Donnie Brasco, Event Horizon along with many others 

https://zoom.us/j/104780125

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Mentorships, Film makers moving online, screenings ...

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This post will cover some links to online communities, online screenings and initiatives the film industry and community is doing during Covid-19 crisis. I’ll keep updating links here, so please do return.

‘Prolific UK documentary filmmaker Jeanie Finlay should have been in Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles this month finishing the shoot for her ninth feature film. Obviously that is not possible, so Finlay (based in Nottingham, England) decided to do something positive with the time she suddenly had on her hands: offer free online mentoring sessions to other filmmakers.’ Read More

Festivals / Competitions

"THE VOW OF SELF-ISOLATION"

Photo: (self) Isolation ©Jason Florio, March 2020, UK https://photostellstories.org/

Photo: (self) Isolation ©Jason Florio, March 2020, UK https://photostellstories.org/

This is a challenging time for making films. Within our Collaborative Work based Practice and Experimental Media Arts modules as well as in tutorials we have been discussing different ways you may want to consider working during these times.

Below is an idea by Adrian Goycoolea - Senior Lecturer in Filmmaking at University of Sussex in the style of DOGME 95’s Vow of Chastity.

Could be used as a vehicle for interesting collaborative project (s), during these times.

"THE VOW OF SELF-ISOLATION”

I swear to submit to the following set of rules drawn up and confirmed by SUSSEX20 :

Shooting must be done in self-isolation. Props and costumes must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, it can be brought in but must be thoroughly disinfected).
Only film with readily available technology. (Phones, laptops, tablets, personal cameras etc are all you need. Anything else is bonus.)

All actors must perform in self-isolation or, if more than one actor is in the same location, then any blocking and staging must maintain a six foot distance from all performers and crew at all times.
No physical contact allowed.
Temporal and geographic alienation is necessary!
Use available light or practical lights.
Found footage can be used.

Furthermore I swear as a director to refrain from “professionalism!” I am no longer seeking out “slickness.” I swear to refrain from worrying about “technique,” as I regard the story as more important than the style. My supreme goal is to force the truth out of my characters and settings. I swear to do so by all the means available and at the cost of any good taste and any aesthetic considerations.

Thus I make my VOW OF SELF-ISOLATION.

Brighton, Thursday 19 March 2020 On behalf of SUSSEX 20
School of Media, Film and Music"

“In this time of apocalyptic “shelter in place” orders, school closures with impromptu home-schooling, and toilet paper shortages, everyone is asked and admonished to practice “social distancing”. By this, public health professionals mean people sho…

“In this time of apocalyptic “shelter in place” orders, school closures with impromptu home-schooling, and toilet paper shortages, everyone is asked and admonished to practice “social distancing”. By this, public health professionals mean people should stay home except for essential tasks, keep 6 feet distance from each other, wash hands frequently, and cover coughs. These measures can slow the spread of COVID-19 and help keep our underfunded health system from collapsing.

Yet, these calls are not really for “social distancing”, but rather “physical distancing” – as pointed out by a medical student in my newly-online class last week. In fact, while society must take “physical distancing” extremely seriously, we need the opposite of “social distancing” to survive this pandemic. We need social solidarity in this time of physical distancing.” Seth Holmes . Read More

Also see competition brief BELOW from Bertha Dochouse and BBC WRITING COMPETITION

Take a look at the following threads on the ‘Films to Watch’ blog too for inspiration and research.

More Examples

Great example from Ayo Babatunde, 1st year FdA Film & Media Arts Production - UCW.:

The Actor (and winemaker) Sam Neill posted this short on Twitter, “DAS LEEK . Yes , finally it’s here. The Art Fillum Premiere you never knew you needed. Starring the great ⁦@TheStevenWeber and ... er... moi. Vast distances , viruseses, you name it - nothing could keep us apart ! This could be the #BestForeignFilm ever made in #America !”

Other related articles

Adobe Creative Cloud - 2 Months Free

Adobe CC.jpg

Message from Nick Reardon  [12:36] Important!

// ADOBE CREATIVE CLOUD SUITE @ HOME FOR FREE!!!

The IT department at the UCW/ Weston College have worked really hard this week to reached an agreement with Adobe to provide free home use licences to learners and

staff to the Adobe Creative Suite during the enforced closure of schools & colleges.

/ WHAT’S INCLUDED

Most Adobe applications including:

• Photoshop

• Lightroom

• Illustrator

• Dreamweaver

• Premier Pro

• InDesign

• plus, many more.

List of apps: https://www.adobe.com/uk/creativecloud/

/ HOW DO I GET IT?

https://www.adobe.com/uk/

            Step #1

• Login with your Weston College username & password

            Step #2

• Click the “Desktop Download”

            Step #3

                        • Select the applications you want to download.

/ PLEASE NOTE

Adobe will be revoking all Learner licences once schools & colleges reopen.  Once the licence has been revoked this will prevent further use of these Adobe applications.

Please refer to the software terms and conditions before installing any software on your device.

You install software at your own risk, Weston College are not liable for any issues or costs resulting

in the installation of this software.

// CHECKING APP SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Please be aware the system requirements of the individual applications are unique so I would recommend checking on the link below to work out which apps you will be able to run.

https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/creative-cloud/system-requirements.html

I would advise you run one Adobe Application at time, if your computers specification is closer to the minimum spec than the recommended or if your computer is having performance issues.

/ HOW TO CHECK YOUR SYSTEM SPECIFICATION ON WINDOWS 10

To check some of the basic tech specs, such as processor, memory, and the current version of Windows 10, you can use the Settings app to view this information with these steps:

• Open Settings.

• Click on System.

• Click on About.

• Check the Device specifications section to find out the device name, processor, installed memory, system architecture, and if the device includes support for touch and pen.

Source: Windows Central

Once you complete the steps, you'll have a clear understanding of the basic specifications of your device.

/ HOW TO CHECK YOUR SYSTEM SPECIFICATION ON MAC – IOS

The System Information app provides detailed specifications and other information about your Mac hardware and software, including your network and external devices. In some versions of OS X, this app is called System Profiler.

Choose Apple menu  > About This Mac.

This opens an overview of your Mac, including your Mac model, processor, memory, serial number, and version of macOS. 

To see the greater detail provided by the System Information app, click the System Report button.

Working from home - Guides, Tips ...

Some links from various film makers and creatives about working from home, which may be of use, especially at the moment.

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Good article on Medium, from Sarah J Coleman aka InkyMole about working from home. Sarah is an illustrator based in the Midlands and has done guest lecture at UCW, a while back now - discussing her Film/ book/ project - 'Stupid Enough' - which features Gareth Edwards, Sage Francis, DJ Food and others.

Films, Photography and collaborative archive(s) of life during COVID-19

Public Source - collaborative archive of life during COVID-19

Public Source is building a collaborative archive of life during COVID-19 - Visit http://covid19.publicsource.xyz to view the archive. To submit your work, email info@publicsource.xyz
Read Full article here on BJP

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OP-DOCS

How My Family Dealt With the Coronavirus Outbreak

I was stuck inside with my parents during Chinese New Year. Here’s what we did.