TEN THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT CHRISTMAS

While you're busy wrapping gifts and preparing to feast with family and friends, TIME brings you these bizarre Christmas facts to ponder.

A Very Merry Un-Birthday?

Contrary to popular belief, the Bible doesn't actually mention a specific date for Jesus' birth. In fact, most historians believe he was probably born in the spring, hence the Bible's description of shepherds herding animals. But in the 4th century, when the Catholic Church decided to recognize Jesus' birth as an official holiday, Pope Julius I chose December 25 for the Feast of the Nativity. That the date happened to coincide with the pagan festival known as Saturnalia must have been pure coincidence.



War on Christmas

Five months into the first World War, troops along the Western front took a Christmas Eve break from fighting to sing carols to one another across the battlefield. The following morning, German soldiers emerged from the trenches and began to approach Allied troops while calling out "Merry Christmas" in English. Luckily, it wasn't a trick; dozens of British fighters came out to greet them and shake hands, some even exchanging cigarettes as gifts. Later dubbed the Christmas Truce of 1914, it was one of the last examples of wartime chivalry.

Christmas in the Colonies

From 1659 to 1681, showcasing one's holiday spirit in Boston could cost you a fine of as much as five shillings. That's right — Christmas used to be illegal. It's somewhat surprising, then, that the same puritanical minds also created the first American batch of eggnog at Captain John Smith's 1607 Jamestown settlement. (The word nog comes from the word grog; that is, any drink made with rum.) Christmas was so inconsequential in early America that after the Revolutionary War, Congress didn't even bother taking the day off to celebrate the holiday, deciding instead to hold its first session on Christmas Day, 1789. It took almost a century for Congress to proclaim it a federal holiday.

Xmas Lit 101

The author best known for creating the Headless Horseman also created the iconic image of Santa flying in a sleigh. In his 1819 series of short stories The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, New York native Washington Irving described a dream in which St. Nicholas soared across the sky in a weightless wagon. The stories became so popular, they spawned a Christmas revival of sorts in the States, and even Charles Dickens is said to have credited Irving's work for inspiring his classic holiday tale A Christmas Carol.

What Advertising Hath Wrought

Like the Energizer Bunny, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer got his start as an advertising gimmick. A copywriter named Robert L. May first created the merry misfit in 1939 to lure shoppers into the Montgomery Ward department store. Frosty the Snowman and his famous corncob pipe couldn't escape the clutches of the advertising industry either; a whiskeymaker in 1890 used Frosty's likeness to showcase an entirely different kind of holiday cheer. Once Prohibition ended, the chain-smoking snowman quickly became the go-to guy for alcohol ads, appearing in posters for Miller beer, Jack Daniel's, Ballantine ale, Rheingold beer, Schlitz beer, Schenley, Oretel's lager beer, Chivas Regal scotch, Fort Pitt pale ale, Mount Whitney beer and Four Roses.

NASA's Christmas Sighting

In 1965 two astronauts on their way back to orbit spotted something in space they couldn't identify. Frantic, they radioed Mission Control. After several minutes of tense silence, engineers at Cape Canaveral began hearing the faint jingle of sleigh bells followed by a harmonica rendition of "Jingle Bells" ... played by none other than the two "frantic" astronauts. The men later donated the harmonica and bells to the National Museum of Space & Aeronautics in Washington, where they now sit on display.

Kiss Me; I'm Celtic

According to Celtic and Teutonic legend, mistletoe is magical — it can heal wounds, increase fertility, bring good luck and ward off evil spirits. The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe didn't begin until the Victorian era, a surprising origin given the stuffy and sexually repressive behavior of the time. Actually, it's not very surprising at all.

O Tannenbaum!

Even before the arrival of Christianity, Germans decorated evergreen trees to brighten the dark, gloomy days of the winter solstice. The first "Christmas trees" appeared in Strasbourg in the 17th century and spread to Pennsylvania in the 1820s with the arrival of German immigrants. When Queen Victoria married Germany's Prince Albert in 1840, he brought the tradition to England. Eight years later, the first American newspaper ran a picture of the royal Christmas tree, and Americans outside Pennsylvania quickly followed suit.

Away in a Manger

Since the Great Depression, the Rockettes have shared Radio City Music Hall with live farm animals — from camels to donkeys to sheep — to stage a live nativity scene for its annual "Christmas Spectacular." But the world saw its first living nativity in 1224, when St. Francis of Assisi re-created the birth of Jesus to explain the holiday to his followers. During that first display, the manger was also used as an altar for Christmas Mass.

Feliz Navidad Around the World

Christmas traditions vary from culture to culture. Finns often visit saunas on Christmas Eve, while Portuguese revelers hold a feast on Christmas Day for the living and the dead (extra places are set for the souls of the deceased). In Greece, some believe that goblins called kallikantzeri run wild during the 12 days of Christmas, and most Greeks don't exchange presents until Jan. 1, St. Basil's Day. Thanks to their geographic location, most Australians and New Zealanders enjoy Christmas on the beach or at barbecues. Spain, meanwhile, hosts the world's largest lottery.

Signals Media Arts Centre has been the centre for independent filmmaking and media education in Essex for 25 years and is involved in a variety of community projects.

Visit our website www.signals.org.uk for more details.

Despicable me 2- Three amazing facts

As Despicable Me 2 just had its premiere in Colchester we thought to bring to your attention some interesting facts about this American 3D computer-animated comedy film. 

1. Al Pacino

       In February 2012, it was reported that Al Pacino had joined the cast to voice the villain, Eduardo.

      On May 3, 2013, just a month before the film's premiere, it was announced that Al Pacino had left the film over creative differences about how his character should come to life. At the time of his departure, Pacino's character had been already fully voiced and animated. Chris Renaud, co-director of the film, commented on Pacino's departure: "So we don't want an unhappy actor, and we want something that is well-realized on all sides. If you don't see eye to eye, sometimes it's easier to (part company) and move on from there." Benjamin Bratt, who had already been considered before Pacino, stepped in to voice Eduardo. 

       Chris Meledandri, producer of the film, admitted that he was not "aware of any of the major animated films of the last 15 years that has brought an actor in at such a late stage." Due to the finished animation, Bratt had to match his timing exactly to the character's mouth movement. Initially, during his five-day recording, he tried to imitate Pacino's voice, but found it impossible, saying "no one can out-Al Pacino Al Pacino." He ended up only using Pacino as an inspiration, and resolved to go with his own interpretation of the character. His work was commended by Variety, saying: "You'd never guess he wasn't the filmmakers' first choice."

2. Kristen Wiig

         Kristen Wiig, on the other hand, who voiced Miss Hattie in the original film, voices Lucy Wilde, an agent of the Anti-Villain League (AVL) who recruits Gru to track and take down a tough, Mexican villain named Eduardo.

3.Despicablimp

      A blimp disguised as a Minion, named "Despicablimp," has been touring the United States since March 2013 in its six-month tour to promote the film's release. As one of the largest airships in the world, measuring 165 feet (50 m) in length, 55 feet (17 m) in height, and weighting 8,000 pounds (3.6 t), it will cross the country three times during its 20,000 miles (32,000 km) long tour, visiting hundreds of events, including the film's premiere in Hollywood. 

      The blimp, an A-150 model of American Blimp Corporation, can be tracked in real-time via GPS at the Despicablimp Command Center website, which also allows fans to post photos of the sightings, and compete for various prizes, including for a ride with the blimp.

If you’ve been to one of our Claymation workshops before, Claymation 2 workshop which is on 12th of August will take your animation skills to the next step. In pairs or individually you’ll be given your own MacBook and camera to work on so you can create your own short film from start to finish.

You can book online through our website (www.signals.org.uk booking fee applies) or you can save the booking fee and call Signals direct on 01206 560255.

The Award-winning Film 'Time Report' Nominated for Best School Production 2013

The children from Perryfields School have become real celebrities after winning the First Light Award for Best Film by Under 12s. Now they have another awards ceremony to attend  as their amazing short film 'Time Report', which is a project funded by First Light and The Ernest Cook Trust, is nominated for Best School Production at Limelight Film Awards 2013! 

The young filmmakers are passing on their message about preserving the environment by telling the story of a reporter travelling through time and reporting on the ecological state of Earth at different time periods. 

You can see what the news will look like in year 2091 by watching their show broadcasted directly from a space station. 

The young talents, with the support of Signals Media Arts Centre, came up with the script, constructed the set and props, which included a space station built from recycled materials, shot the film, made the sound effects and learned more about working with camera, green screen, sound, directing, writing, acting and editing.

Their efforts, enthusiasm and brilliant work didn't stay unnoticed and on 19th March 2013, 'Time Report' was awarded at First Light Awards ceremony in London! We can't describe the joy and excitement in the air so instead we will show you their happy faces. 

Recently the film was screened as part of Kino Flow: Colchester Children and Families Film Festival at Firstsite, Colchester. 

Now the school children have another opportunity to showcase their work and receive recognition from the industry. They will walk on the red carpet on 6th of June at Troxy along with 500 other filmmakers, celebrities, film and media personalities, artists and performers for the Limelight Film Awards 2013. 

"The standard of entries were also very high making the shortlisting an impossible task" say Limelight.

We are very proud of them and we know they deserve the award. : ) 

Banished - A Film and a Book Created by Children for Children

Last month we received an unexpected present from our friends Ormiston. 

Four years ago we worked together with The Nutmeg Puppet Company and The Ormiston Trust on a First Light project. 

With a little help from Signals the children, aged between 8 and 15 years, wrote the story, made the puppets, drew the illustrations and created the film Banished. 

You can watch the film here. It is a story by children with a parent in prison, for children with a parent in prison. It is a story of hope and resilience.

The children's author, Tom Palmer, says about the story:

"I really enjoyed reading this story - and I think that the children who wrote it should be really proud of what they have done. Because Banished has it all."

"Banished reminded me of one of my favourite stories, The Odyssey. A man travels to face the world's dangers, to come home, eventually."

What took us back in time is this little book created from the movie. 

Thank you for the lovely present, Ormiston and well done to the children! :)

www.signals.org.uk 

A Guest Post from the Filmmaker Will Stone

Now I am back from Kenya, have completed the editing and now gearing up for my videos screening at the House of Commons in March, I have had alot of time to reflect on my filmmaking experience. I left the story somewhere in the middle of Kenya. The highlights of the tip are so numerous, each as inspirational and life changing as the next. However, if I had to choose, two moments stand out.

Firstly, at 4 o’clock on the Wednesday morning, Justice (I know, such a cool name) the driver and I boomed down the dirt roads towards Nyumbani Village, racing the sun as it rose behind us on the horizon. I was determined to get a sunrise shot for the project no matter how early it was or how tired I was. With a screeching stop in the car and lightning fast equipment set up, the awe-inspiring shot unfolded in front of me. From the peripheral violet tinged clouds nestled around the orange warmth to the white hot quintessence at the centre of the slowing growing ball of light, it was the perfect sunrise. In that extraordinary moment, I knew then, with complete certainty, that I was experiencing what defines true cinema - going that extra mile to make films that matter.

Secondly, I learnt that even when you know an experience will be life changing (emotionally or professionally) you cannot know the extent until you actually live it and feel the indescribable emotional wave of something beyond our normal selves; it is the experience of doing or finding something that confirms our insignificance as individuals but greater significance as part of something much more important that ourselves. The moment that best illustrates this is my sponsorship of a 10 month orphan named Wonders. 

The great realisation dawned on me that giving enough every month to pay for his anti-retroviral drugs means that I am helping give life to someone who deserves it but was not as blessed with health as myself or almost all of you reading this right now. I am 18 now, when Wonders is 18 I will be 36. All that time I will help Wonders grow from a child to a man in a world where, before Nyumbani, everything was stacked against him and he would never have even had the possibility of reaching manhood. Wonders showed me that even a small act can bring so much happiness and have so much effect.

In short, the children of Nyumbani created an amazingly electric and dynamic atmosphere. No lack of sleep, camera difficulty or emotional strain was going to slow me down. These children that are  stigmatised in their own society, have lost their parents and are afflicted by one of the nature’s most unforgiving viruses still always manage smile and make all the trivial worries from my life in the ‘bubble’ of the UK wash away. Thank you Nyumbani for all that you do. I hope there is a day that they no longer need to exist! 

A very humble filmmaker,

William Stone

Have you seen the amazing video Will shot at Nyumbani Art Festival?

First Light Awards Excitement

The short film 'Time Report' is one of the nominees for Best Film by Under 12s at the First Light Awards 2013. It is a creation of the children from Perryfields Junior School in Chelmsford, made with the support of Signals Media Arts Centre and the professional filmmakers Emma Curtis and Jane Gull.

Young talents who took part in the First Light projects aiming at people from disadvantaged background will have the chance to receive a recognition by the film industry and a platform to showcase their work.

The ceremony this year is in The ODEON, Leicester Square, London on 19th March. Every year it is attended by prominent people from the film industry and celebrities. Judges include Matt Smith, Martin Freeman and Sir Alan Parker.

'Time Report' is a great illustration of the children's talent, hard-work and creativity. The film offers an interesting look at global warming and is a combination of the young filmmakers' interests in environment and time travel. 

This is Jacob amazed at the UBC television studio gallery. 

“The Young Filmmakers created and preformed interesting characters, props and costumes were made during lunch time sessions. This film really expresses the group creativity. They worked very hard to achieve a complex film and there are some truly lovely moments in it.”

Lisa Wright Signals Education Co-ordinator and project Tutor

This project was Supported by First Light & the Earnest Cook Trust.

Signals is hosting the biggest short film festival - Future Shorts

Signals Media Arts Centre is giving you the opportunity to be part of the global community of Future Shorts. The film content presented is challenging, entertaining, stimulating and pushing the boundaries of how culture is consumed.

After the huge success of the Autumn Season Film Festival, which was screened in 42 countries and over 135 cities, Future Shorts is launching winter season from January 2013 to March 2013 featuring 7 of the best cutting-edge short films from all over the world.

The programme includes prize-winning films for every taste - everything from horror through love story  to animation.

A special highlight is the Sundance Jury Prize winner 'Fishing Without Nets' (Kenya, 2010) telling us the fascinating story of pirates in Somalia told from the Somalis' perspective.

Other featuring films are:

The colourful animation 'Marcel, King of Tervuren' (USA, 2012),

The Woodstock Film Festival Jury Prize Winner 'We're leaving' (USA, 2011),

The documentary-cum-horror film 'The S from Hell' (USA, 2010),

The surreal coming-of-age short 'Candy Girl' (UK, 2012),

The humorous love story 'Lovebirds' (Czech Republic, 2010) reflecting on the similarities between avian and human life,

and 'Seeds of the Fall' (Sweden, 2009) by the oscar nominated director Patrik Eklund.

You can get more sense of the variety of films by watching the Trailer.

It is an event that you cannot miss so we are waiting for you on the 5th February from 7pm at Signals.
There is no need to book so come along. You can find more information in our website.

Young filmmakers we need you!

You could be a Film Director on the 6^th of July, as Colchester comes together to celebrate the arrival of the Olympic Torch.  A documentary will be created by the people taking part in the celebrations and watching the Olympic torch relay.

Signals Media Arts Centre is co-ordinating this unique film project. And are looking for young people, youth groups and schools from across Colchester to contribute to a film that will document and celebrate the Olympic torch relay in Colchester.

The film will follow on from other films that use community created content such as ‘Life in a Day’ http://www.youtube.com/user/lifeinaday and BBC’s ‘Britain in a Day’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00kqz5p.  By having participants shoot the footage themselves we hope to create a many-faceted film that really captures this very exciting once in a life-time event.

Young Colchester residents aged 11 to 19 years will be able to film the event or preparations for the event using their own cameras and camera phones.  The film footage will then be passed to Signals and will be edited in to a short film. 

The finished film will be made available on-line and on DVD.   A special screening in Colchester is also planned and will be organised by Colchester Borough Council.  The film will also be archived.

This project is supported through funding from Colchester Borough Council, Essex County Council through the Essex Legacy for the 2012 Games, and Essex Carrying the Flame.

If you are interested you should check to see if your school is participating, if not you will be able to contact Signals directly to see how to get involved or download a pack from our website http://www.signals.org.uk/links-and-resources

Production packs are now available via our website: http://www.signals.org.uk/links-and-resources

Under 'Colchester Torch Relay'.  You can download information and release forms

Signals Media Arts Centre is a charity based in Colchester, specialising in media education.  Website: www.signals.org.uk

Email: info@signals.org.uk

Tel: 01204 560255

Colchester Borough Council see this and other events:

http://www.colchester.gov.uk/torch

New film course

Calling Colchester Film Buffs

Signals Media Arts Centre is delighted to announce a new course for film lovers.

‘Introduction to film’ is a six-part film evening course where you can learn more about the history of film, each week students will be able to watch a great all-time classic of cinema and learn more about the film’s stars, director, context and genre.

Dr Lance Rickman will be leading the course, he teaches film studies at the University of Essex and the Open University and has a real passion for the subject. The course will begin in the silent era and travel though the musical, film noir and British cinema to come up to date. There will be lots of opportunities to discuss the films and ask questions.

The course will be informal and fun and will be great for budding critics or filmmakers and anyone who wants to know a bit more about the language of film.

‘Introduction to film’ starts on Tuesday 15^th May at 7.30 pm and will continue once a week for 6 weeks it will cost £50 for all 6 sessions including film screenings.

For more information or booking please call Signals 01206 560255 or email info@signals.org.uk

You can also book though our website (booking fee applies) www.signals.org.uk

Time Report - Filming in the Set

Last week was very exciting here at Signals as we constructed an amazing futuristic TV Studio gallery in our workshop space! It's taken many weeks for the children at Perryfields Junior School to collect all sorts of recycled bits and bobs and turn them into wall panels and boards for our TV Show gallery. It took two days for the set to be put together and we think the final result looks fantastic!

Four children from the Time Report group were asked to come to Signals on Tues 17th Jan and film some of the last scenes for their film about a news show set in a space station 80 years in the future. The children were Jacob, who plays 'Trent', the ever-exasperated director, James, who plays 'Sparky' our trusty technician and Lewis, whose character 'Max' is our news anchorman. Jack (who is James' twin brother) was also asked to come along and be our camera op for the day and got some great close ups of Sparky tinkering around with the set.

Below are Lewis and Jack who were setting up where Trent the Director would be sitting. We used an old edit suite as the control panel which Trent uses to cue up different clips and adjust sound levels. The idea of using old equipment came from the children who decided that in the future, we will have run out of oil to make plastics. Therefore, all technology will have to be run on old machines that have been upgraded.

The children worked really hard to get all the shots done in time and we all had a lot of fun building and filming in the set. We only have two more sessions of Time Report now to:

• Film any last minute 'pick up shots',
• Record the sound for 'Bubbles' (the pike that lives in the filthy River Thames during the Industrial Revolution)
• Record the sound for the Seagull that lives on the rubbish tip.
• Put together an 'assembly edit' or 'rough cut'
• Complete post production on the green screen sequences, add VFX and SFX

So there's still a lot of work to do!

See you on Tuesday 24th Jan everyone!

Signals Christmas Time Lapse

Hello everyone,

We have a treat in store for you! On the 1st December, we put our Christmas decorations up in our studio and used two our two DSLR cameras to film the action. Paul recorded some lovely shots using the Canon 5D Mk II and our glide track, which are all available to hire. In post production, we sped everything up using the new Final Cut X editing software, and this is what we've come up with! Enjoy!

So a very Merry Christmas from all of us here at Signals and we wish you all the best for a Happy 2012!

Signals Team x

Green Screen Test

We recently completed our 8th session of Time Report with children from Perryfields Junior School and filming is now well underway! Last week we posted a video of Craig who is acting the part of the Weather Reporter in our futuristic TV news show. We've been using green screen technology to place the actors into different scenes. We do this by filming the scene against a large green screen and lighting the shot in such a way as to get rid of any shadows. We also have to gaffa tape the green screen so it's really taut, meaning no wrinkles or creases on the green fabric. In post production, we then take out the green background and replace it with video footage or a stock image so it looks like the actor is actually in that scene (though they haven't actually left the classroom!)

We've knocked up a very rough test using the green screen function in iMovie 11 so that you can see how the video we posted last week of Craig as the Weather Reporter might look in the final film (make sure you watch it in 720p). The new version of iMovie makes this so simple to do, we'll be training up our group of young filmmakers so they can do this themselves!

Cool? We think so!

We've also been filming the exterior scenes of the school where our roving Time Reporter Zara (played by Sofia) interviews a school child, Kurt (played by Kurt) about the earth's ecological problems in 2012. Remember, our film is set in 2092 so Zara's costume is made out of left over bits and bobs including a rather fetching hat made of carrier bags.

What's the weather like?

Yesterday was our 7th session of Time Report and we filmed all of the scenes with the Weather Reporter. The part of the Weather Reporter is being played by Craig, who has Down's Syndrome. In our film, the Weather Reporter is sent to report on hurricanes in Norfolk in the year 2092. He also has to deliver his weather report in a blizzard and torrential rain! Yesterday was spent breaking up bits of polystyrene into tiny balls to look like snow. It took a very long time! We then filmed Craig against a green screen where we showered him with our fake snow, it was great fun for everyone but very messy! You can watch Craig's excellent performance here:

All the footage the children recorded yesterday will now be selected for the edit. Once the group have chosen all the clips they want to use, we will transform this footage in the edit program Final Cut Pro to take out the green background and replace it with a freezing, wintry scene. We'll then add arctic wind sound effects to complete the shot.

And if the current weather reports are anything to go by, we'll be able to film our own snowy backgrounds soon!

Time Report - Filming Begins!

Yesterday was our 6th session of our First Light Movies project, 'Time Report' at the Perryfields Junior School in Chelmsford, Essex. We have been working with children from the school to create an exciting film, 'Time Report', that's set in a futuristic TV studio and addresses issues of climate change and pollution.

The children have been working very hard with tutors Emma Curtis and Jane Gull to create the script, storyboard and make all the props and costumes. Yesterday morning was spent painting a giant dinosaur head for Dippy the Diplodocus, finishing off the news desk, sticking rubbish onto costumes and learning lines. Everyone is doing a terrific job of getting into their characters!

The afternoon was spent setting up the green screen and filming all the scenes with our TV news presenter 'Max'. The part is being played by Lewis who did a great job of remembering his lines and acting as a confident, serious news presenter.

The children have also been learning camera and production skills. They were quite surprised by how long it takes to film something and get it right, especially when they'd filmed all the scenes as a wide shot then realised they'd need to film the same scenes all over again, but this time as a mid shot! They also had to problem solve when it came to recording sound as there was a very noisy P.E class going on outside. Sofia and Jacob (pictured below) took it in turns to crouch below the desk and record Lewis speaking by using an H4 Sound Recorder. They also learnt about syncing sound and had lots of fun seeing who could clap the loudest!

We'll be filming more scenes again next week, this time with the Time Reporter (played by Sofia) and Dippy the Diplodocus (played by Sam). We're going to lend our office pot plants to help create a Jurassic landscape against the green screen, plus the school have a volcano we can use too. We'll keep you updated on how things progress with the project, but it's coming together very nicely.