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.

From the Archive - Antony Gormley

In 1999, Antony Gormley's 'Field for the British Isles' was erected in Colchester by Firstsite.

Signals made a documentary about the exhibition and the public reaction to it. We thought we'd share this with you as it seems rather topical...

Anthony Gormly-The Field from signals archive on Vimeo.

Time Report Session Three

Yesterday, Emma and Lisa completed Session Three with our 'Time Report' film group at the Perryfields Junior School. It was one of our last pre-production sessions with the group, who have been designing how the characters, sets and props should look in their forthcoming film.

Here is a little video we made introducing you to some of the children in our group and their hard work:

This exciting project has been funded by First Light Movies. First Light works with young people from a variety of backgrounds, developing skills in media production. They identify and nurture talented young people and enable them to achieve their potential through targeted training activities. Working closely with industry partners, we are able to offer realistic progression routes for young people to find employment within the creative sector. First Light works with over 5,000 young people aged 5-25 every year providing opportunities to learn the craft of filmmaking from industry professionals (like Signals).

Going Back in Time...

Last week, Signals took ten lucky children from the Perryfields Junior School in Chelmsford on an exciting trip to Layer Marney Tower. The children have been working with Signals on a filmmaking project called 'Time Report' which has been funded by the lovely folk at First Light Movies and the Ernest Cook Trust. For the next 10 weeks, we'll be training these children up to become young filmmakers, showing them how to use a camera, record sound, edit video and act on the screen.

We have been working with the school children to come up with a film script based on the idea of creating a futuristic news report. Here's the story they've come up with so far...

The year is 2091 and humans are living on a space station that orbits a polluted earth. A journalist, the ‘Time Reporter’, is sent into time and space by a news show to find out about how the planet earth has been used over the years, and to find the cause of the current ecological problems. The Time Reporter interviews lots of different creatures and people including a dinosaur, a Tudor farmer, a present day school child and an alien trying to find out how the planet earth got in such a state. Back in the studio, there are a few technical problems, which the Director and Technician try to sort out. They decide that to save planet earth, they are going to break all the rules and make a DVD of the Time Report to send back to the present day school child, so that the people of 2011 can act now to save their planet.

So last week's trip to Layer Marney Tower was a fantastic opportunity to meet some Tudor people and learn all about Tudor life so we can include some of our newfound knowedge into the film. We learnt some amazing facts, including...

Did you know that chickens don't lay as many (if any eggs) during the winter months?

Stinging nettles were the Tudors' most precious herb? They used it for all sorts of things including making cloth, medicine and for eating!

Animal poo was collected and used for fuel!

On All Hallows Eve (or Halloween to us modern day people) the Tudors would have spent the night on their knees praying in the church. But the next day was All Saint's Day and was the biggest, most holy festival in the Tudor calendar.

We spent the day at Layer Marney, exploring all over the ground and meeting the farm animals including the horses, goats and sheep. The children all had a great time and will be recapping everything they learnt in tomorrow's third filmmaking session back in the school.

First Light Movies Studio Award 2011

Signals Media Arts Centre are thrilled to announce that we have secured funding from the national First Light Movies Scheme to work with three different groups of young people on exciting filmmaking projects. This year we will be working with:

Perryfields Junior School on a futuristic drama called 'Time Report' that looks at life on Earth through the ages.

Pupil Referral Unit, CSS Mile End, on a short film called 'Black & White' that explores the group's individual experiences in a film noir style.

Allsortz Group and Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service on a mixed animation film project focusing on the circus called 'Big Top' that will be made by young autistic people in Ipswich.

The groups will be working with professional filmmakers and tutors to learn creative and technical skills like scriptwriting, storyboarding, camera and sound recording and editing. The projects are due to start in a few weeks and will be finished by Spring 2012. We will be posting regular updates on our blog about the projects so watch this space!

This project is funded and supported by First Light Movies, which is a BFI initiative supported by the Lottery. You can find out more information about First Light on their website: http://www.firstlightonline.co.uk

Earlier this year, Signals worked with Perryfields students on a short animation project that explored the feelings of excitement and anticipation in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic games. We worked with Emma Curtis to create this short film and you can watch it here:

Unboxing

Signals are now the proud owners of the Canon 600D and EFS 17 - 55mm lens!

As a charity, we don't get new kit very often, so today was like Christmas in the office. We were so excited, we thought we'd share our joy of welcoming this new addition to our tech room.

We will be uploading a test video soon showing the quality of the video shots you can achieve through using this camera. So watch this space!

Autumn

There is a definite chill in the air on this blustery September day. Our sash windows at Signals HQ are rattling in their panes and all we want for lunch is some hot soup, a blanket to snuggle up in and a DVD of Legends of the Fall.

Having said that, this time of year is a great chance to be outdoors on those blustery autumnal days where the clouds skid across the sky, taking photos which capture all the rich colours and textures of the season. Most people have access to a digital camera nowadays and for a relatively small amount of money you can pick one up fairly cheap. Signals have two Canon 1000Ds and also the revolutionary Canon 5D Mark II which are available for hire and take great digital stills and video.

Signals are offering a great introductory course called 'Autumn Photography' for adults. The workshop will run on Tuesday 18th October, from 10am - 2pm and will be taught by experienced professional photographer, Nick Wood, of Unshaken Photography. Places cost just a mere £20 per person for four hours of practical tuition, plus you'll get to keep all your beautiful photos. Just make sure you wrap up warm and have a flask of hot chocolate on standby :)

To book a place on our fun and informal Autumn Photography course, call Lisa on 01206 560255, email lisa@signals.org.uk or book online here.

New Season

There is a back to school feeling in the air and it’s getting colder, but then again unless you have been away somewhere lovely this hasn’t been much of a summer. However September marks the beginning of a new year, at least an academic one for those at school or collage, and fresh starts and learning something new is always good.

This will also be the last year before tuition fees shoot up. This is likely to be more of a concern to those thinking about taking creative and art subjects where well-paid jobs are few. We hope people will keep creative and do what they love. If that is filmmaking there are lots of short courses out there to learn the basics or perfect a skill.

Here at Signals we are looking forward to some new and exciting media courses in the autumn. One of the first is a course run by Will Wright, a local filmmaker and tutor. Will is excited as has just had his short horror film 'The Ritual' accepted at the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival in LA and his film will be judged by international director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth). ‘The Ritual’ was shot in Colchester back in 2008 and has taken a couple of years to finish due the addition of a CGI creature. So it sounds like it will be worth looking out for.

New course -

Filmmaking Next Steps – a six session modular course for adults interesting in developing filmmaking skills; from script idea to edit you can choose as many sessions as you like or do them all for a complete filmmaking course. £50 per session. Begins Saturday 10^th September.

More: For more information on these courses and all our others please visit our website www.signals.org.uk or keep an eye out for our course brochure with listings of all our courses and workshops over the next few months.

Booking: You can now book places through http://www.eventbrite.com/org/1306873523 or save the booking fee and book direct with Signals, call 01206 560255 or email lisa@signals.org.uk

We hope you will find a course that would be of interest, but if there is something you would like to know more about, that we haven’t covered, please let us know.

Cineskates

Our Education Co-ordinator, Lisa Wright, jetted off to China in Feb 2011 with the task of creating a documentary film about Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service's 'Changing Lives' project. 'Changing Lives' is part of the national Stories of the World cultural olympiad project and saw ten students from the Gilberd School in Colchester take part in a host of cultural activities linking their school to the Jiangsu province in Eastern China. As part of the project, the young people each had to choose a precious artefact from the Nanjing Museum to come back to Colchester Castle in 2012 for a special exhibition. You can read more about the project and the film here.

Anyway, whilst Lisa was out there, carrying our Canon 5D Mark II kit up and down the Great Wall of China, she had an idea about how useful it would be to have a tripod that could have detachable wheels on the ends. She wasn't sure if such a thing existed, but since returning, we've found this wonderful product that we'd like to add to our wish list and maybe you'd like to add to yours too...

Cineskates

We think they'd be great fun to use with our Canon 5D Mark II and the best thing would be helping to get Justin Jensen's unique product out into the market. What do you think?

Oh, and in case you were wondering, you can watch Lisa's documentary here.

We like the pretty night time shots best :)

Turning destruction into creation

Whether your local high street has been ransacked, your neighbour's car has been torched or your sat at home watching the news in leafy suburbia, it has been hard to escape the riots in England these past few days. Cityscape's now look like war zones and social media sites have erupted in a frenzy of activity. The destruction is deplorable, disgusting and down right stupid. But out of the ashes of adversity, rises creativity. Here is a collection of some of the best creative work to come out of all the destuction.

More of these photoshop manipulated images can be found at http://photoshoplooter.tumblr.com/

One creative piece that has gone viral on Twitter is a cartoon strip that pretty much sums up the events. Due to the odd naughty word, you can't see it displayed here but the link to illustrator Jamie Smart's work is here

Whilst the cartoon portrays the lunacy of the riots, this shocking image shows how good photography can really depict the severity and reality of a situation. The image found its way on to the front page of numerous newspapers and will remain synonymous with the incidents for years to come.

Whilst some some photographers captured the destruction, others along with their journalist counterparts were attacked and mugged. As anyone interested in photography will know, a camera is an expensive bit of kit, especially when it is your livelihood. Although I'm sure a broken or stolen camera was the least of their worries.

For some creative industries, the riots have added fuel to their fire, allowing artists, photographers and film makers to illustrate the nations disbelief at what is going on. Although the situation for one advertiser has meant they've had to prevent their creative work from going on television. Levi's Jean were just about to embark on a campaign that depicted riots in the spirit of their 'rebellious' jeans but decided to withdraw

the adverts. Read more here

However the most creative work has to be awarded to those who have started a movement, utilised through social media, to gather and reclaim the streets with clean up operations. Digital Media is so powerful in 2011 that "The revolution will not be televised...it will be tweeted".

Keep Aaron Cutting was developed by 3 interns at advertising agency BBH London. Barbershop owner Aaron arrived at his shop on Sunday morning to find the shop he had built up over 40 years smashed up. The campaign aims to keep Aaron in business using donations.

This is London is a website created by Digital Agency Dare. It contains images of people pulling together to clean up, like the one above. It restores a little bit of faith in humanity.

If only the riots were inspired by a particular Banksy piece...

6 minutes of Inspirational stuff

If you've stumbled upon this blog whilst bored and had a little look through what's going on at Signals, then here are some videos to help you onwards on your journey into procrastination. However, these videos should ignite something within to get up and go achieve. They are all, in their individual way, inspiring. Two of them are the result of Signal's work with young filmmakers and the last is a piece that inspires us to continue being creative. The only downside is that the videos cannot be embedded and so only the links are provided.

Three short films on the Olympic athlete that Doctors said Asthma would beat, a team of disabled swimmers proving it's not disability, it is ability and one man's trip to 11 countries in 44 days in 1 seamless minute of film.

Click on the quotes to view the videos.

"Don't let anyone deter you from trying to achieve your dreams"

Sarah Claxton, British Athlete in 100 Metre Hurdles

"Focus on what you can do rather than what you can't do"

Phoenix Colchester Swimming Team

"A trip of a lifetime"

Rick Mereki

Now you're creatively inspired, get motivated to go out and achieve something this weekend.

A picture paints a thousand words

Your plane has just touched down. You've still got you're shorts, shades and sandals on. But you're no longer on holiday. You're in England.

Not to worry though. The memories of the family holiday are still fresh. The tan will stick around for a week or so and then there's all those pictures you took on your digital camera...which will remain on your camera, only to be seen again just before you decide to delete it to make space for new photos on your camera, which will also never be seen again. Perhaps you might be proactive enough to upload the contents of your SD card to a folder on your computer or laptop. Some of you will share photos with 'friends' on Facebook.

But how many of you will do it the old school way and get them printed or developed?

Photo albums have taken a new form in the last few years. They have become digital, which has resulted in the magic of the memories found in frames and albums being lost. Yearlyleaf.com has tried to resolve this, allowing Facebook users to put a years worth of status updates, photos and comments into a luxury bound biographical book, giving customers a hard copy of all their social network activity. But who wants the happy moments captured on a camera spoiled with LOL's, OMG's and WTF!'s?

Left: Literally your Facebook in your hands.

We don't want people to lose memories captured on camera. The Signals Media Art Centre introduces the Family Photography workshop on September 2nd. A fun day out with great results, taking photos of each other and the surroundings. Hopefully after having discovered a new perspective on photography, you'll take pride in your work and have them in frames and albums, or even stuck on the fridge! After this workshop you'll be taking fantastic shots on your next holiday and the memories will no longer live just inside your SD card. So you can look forward to looking back in years to come.

Breaking into the Film Industry: Making the Final Cut.

The creative industries are notoriously difficult to get into and to get your work noticed by the right people. Whether it is Film, Photography, Advertising or Illustration, a lot of people aspiring to be a creative are met with the same reaction. "You're best getting a proper job". "Too many people want to be one of those". "It's too hard to get into." And that's just your careers advisor at school! You're family will be concerned as there is not a lot of money to be made starting out..if any at all. But that is no reason to give it all up if it's something you really want to do.

But they are right. If you're not willing to graft then it is better to get a 'proper job'. They're also right when they say too many people are trying to get work. There are hundreds of courses that dump a load of graduates each year into the world of job seeking. Not to mention the countless freelancers. And they definitely weren't wrong when they tried talking you out of it for financial reasons. It is very costly to have the appropriate equipment. Filmmakers need a high spec camera, a tripod, editing software, Lighting equipment, Sound stuff...the list goes on and on.

Signals Media Arts Centre provides award winning expertise in filmmaking, scriptwriting, photography and post production through their range of adult courses and professional workshops. They can also give a helping hand when it comes to equipment hire and studio space. But before you take a look at our website-http://www.signals.org.uk/

Here are a few tips for budding Spielbergs, Tarantino's and Theroux's.

• Immerse Yourself: Practice making as many short films as you can. A great film can be 15 minutes long or 15 seconds long. Watch as many films of all genres, of all styles for inspiration and knowledge of the kind of stuff being made out there.

• Market Yourself: "It's not what you know, it's who you know". Well in truth, the more you know and the better you are then naturally more people will get to know you. Enter into competitions, go to local film festivals and screenings, collaborate with other local creatives. Do what you can to get your name about.

• Better Yourself: Do a course to improve on areas you're not as competent in. If you're a great scriptwriter but feel you can't put your ideas into action, attend a camera workshop. Or you may be brilliant at shooting and editing but don't have the skills to make a script exciting enough to show off your filmmaking talents. Signals Media Art Centre have courses to make you a master of all trades. Click here to see more info.

Good luck!

10 things to do in Colchester

Colchester is the oldest recorded town in Britain. Once the capital of Roman Britain, it is now home to a much fiercer army - Colchester United. Sons of the Colchester area include the band Blur, Dermot O'Leary and singer Olly Murs. But what is there to do in the town? Here is a list of 10 things to do in colchester to keep everyone entertained whilst School is out for Summer. It's in no particular order...except for number 1... which is an absolute must.

10. Get your skates on at Rollerworld

9. Get your swimming cozzie on at Leisure world

8. Colchester Castle

7. Row a boat down the River Stour in Dedham

6. Watch a Colchester United game

5. Castle park

4. The Beach: Walton, Frinton and Clacton are only a short drive away.

3. Go Bananas

2. The Zoo

1. A signals Media Arts workshop. Click here for more information

A summer of fun, film and photography

The Summer Holidays are fast approaching and for many people it will mean sun, sea and sand...for a short while anyway. Closer to home, the British Summer never fails to disappoint. The expected heatwave never arrives. The kids are under your feet. "I'm bored mum." "I'm bored dad" they moan. There is only a certain amount of times you can visit the zoo, go to the cinema or take them to the beach before they become 'boring' too.

If you're short on ideas and looking for things to do in Colchester, then Signal Media Arts Centre has a variety of workshops that will not only keep them occupied doing something new, fun and interesting but it will give them skills in new areas that they never knew they could do. If you were impressed with the drawing you've got stuck on the fridge door then you'll be blown away when they come home with their very own comic book, which they created themselves in the Comic Book Heroes Workshop (7+)

When its mid August and it starts raining, instead of sitting indoors watching Wallace and Gromit boxsets with the kids, wondering

"how do they make those little plasticine figures walk, talk and eat cheese?"

let your child spend the day at our Claymation workshop and they can come home and inform you on how it's done! Our most popular workshop teaches them the basics of stop frame animation using modelling clay to create a short animated film.

Signals Media Arts also provide a Five Day Film School that will really give them something to talk about when they head back to normal school in September. Taking them through storyboarding, scriptwriting, camera work, sound skills and editing, the Five Day Film School gives young people aged 12+ a real hands on experience in filmmaking.

So you're probably feeling a bit left out now. Your Summer sounds boring compared to the kids. But you can get the whole family involved with our Family Photography and Family Claymation workshops. Then you can tell all your neighbours how your family feature in your very own film. Take a look at the full list of courses and workshops here

Now, who said there aren't things to do in Colchester?