The Story of Gelert || How to make a tent

Initially the group began with the idea of Welsh folk stories, which we were interested in because of the way that they are communicated. These stories were only passed by word of mouth, and have only been recorded in modern times.

 

  

Buying fabric, and constructing the tent in Gallery 1, Arnolfini

 

The group explored these stories, becoming attached to ‘The story of Gelert’ and the Welsh language, mainly its translation and mistranslation into English and other languages. This lead us to explore translation, which became the centre of the project.

The group wanted to create a den or tent like space to present the story, as we felt that this was the perfect storytelling environment.

After we had decided on creating a tent space, we were given found footage of a family putting up a tent. This coincidence re-affirmed our tent concept, and became a really important part of the work.

 

The story of Gelert continues to be an integral part of the work and its creation.

Using Analogue Photography

I have been going back through my old archives setting up a new website recently to get my photography on a website that I’m proud of, not just my Tumblr (not that there’s anything wrong with Tumblr). One big thing that I realised is that is that the majority of my photography that I feel proud enough of to share is done on either 35mm or medium format film.

Now I’m not condemning digital, I love how much the use of digital can free you up, in fact I use digital more than analogue. It’s when I come to produce a final product, nine times out of ten; I will choose to use film.

In this post I just want to simply highlight for me what I believe the benefits of using film over digital are.

The Film Quality

Now you are probably thinking that I’m going to get all biased and talk about the quality of the grain of the film and how nothing can reproduce it (which I do believe by the way). Well I’m not. When shooting on film, especially medium format, scanning the film properly and at a high resolution gives you a sharper and crisper image.

The limitation

When you are working with 36 images only then that puts a sort of barrier in your way. You can’t be trigger happy and waste all 36 of your photos. This limitation makes you think about each photo you are taking. These limitations also force you to think more creatively, when you are presented with obstacles you need to think of new ways of surpassing them.

Learning process

Like with the limitations, using analogue cameras makes you think more about what you are doing, thus making you learn more about what you are doing. You can’t just snap a photo (not at first anyway), you have to change settings and make sure the photo will even look like a photo.

The Darkroom

Using analogue 35mm film means you get to process the film yourself. This is the analogue counterpart of using Photoshop. For me it’s an integral part of the photographic process because of how much you can play around with different things to create cool effects. Using things like bleach or vinegar to mess with your images can look really interesting plus it feels a lot more natural than altering digital files because you can see the direct responses to your changes happen in front of you.

The Price

For the quality nothing can match its price. You can do what’s worth thousands in digital with just hundreds with film.

Other than that there is something about following in the footsteps of the great photographers. People don’t play old blues songs because they are hipster and awkward, they do it because they like to follow in the foot steps of their idols. 

Thank you for reading!

Charlie CT

all photography in this post belongs to me

The Cube & Emily & Alice

Those who have been to the Cube Cinema for any one of the many different events held there will not need telling what an essential part of Bristol’s cultural scene the venue is. In an attempt to buy the building before their lease comes to an end, the Cube owners have been asking for donations from their audience, with a number of fundraising events organised throughout the year.

Alice and Emily Trott have made a film shot during their travels in South America, hoping to screen it on 1st December in celebration of the Cube’s Bluescreen nights. They’ll only be able to do this if they meet their target of £1400 on Crowdfunder.co.uk, of which they’ve so far raised £1100 with until just 2.30pm on Friday to get the full pledge, else they risk losing the whole amount.

To make a pledge, visit the Crowdfunder page here.

Or, to donate directly to the Cube, go here.

Sunday Roundup

Blackcurrant Soda EP Cover

Maz Shar

Blackcurrant Soda EP
It’s been one month since my EP was released and it’s been a surreal experience. Writing & rapping has been something I’ve been doing semi-secretly for 4 years, so it’s been weird seeing the reactions of people who’ve heard me for the first time. I’m excited because the reception for Blackcurrant Soda has been positive and I feel the EP will serve as a sturdy stepping stone for future projects.

You can listen to Blackcurrant Soda here. Feel free to send any feedback my way – it’s greatly appreciated.

P.S. University is awesome!

Fiona

Stacey Knights, Illustrator

Someone I have been meaning to post something up about for a while is Stacey Knights, as she has been one of my biggest inspirations, and I feel I owe a lot to her. Her illustrations are tactile, beautiful and clever in their simplicity. Look out for a more in depth post about her work in the near future. But in the meantime… http://www.staceyknightsillustration.co.uk

Grace

I just watched the film Kinky Boots and thought it was completely fantastic! It’s got a mixture of humour and genuinely sad moments, paired of course with amazing costumes and fabulous shoes – would definitely recommend. Also it’s based on a true story.

Sunday Roundup

Grace – Up To 21 Film Festival

I’m currently in Warsaw, Poland, after having attended the Up To 21 International Film Festival. This is the first time I have taken part in such an event and I have really enjoyed in. Highlights included Spare Parts by Wilson Verstreken, and Dr. Jazz by Alex Pietrzak. The part I enjoyed the most was meeting people my age making a successful career for themselves in film, and inspiring one another. I now think I will try to make more films in the future and hopefully attend again next year.

Charlie C-T – Robert J. Lang, Origami

I don’t need to say much about this because his models are just so intricate and beautiful. The Arthropods are my favorite.

An Animated Nightmare

A boy is invited to the wedding reception of a mouse wedding. Inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale ‘The Sandman’, this is a stop-frame animated film which I co-created, as part of my Drama course at University of Bristol.

Florida Film – My outcome

As I mentioned in my last blog post I wanted to make a film of my experiences in Florida. I had never been to the USA before and found the whole experience really exciting, in particular, I loved the southern part of Florida because of the variety of cultural influences. We used the Rough Guide to Florida for ideas of places to go and I’d really encourage people to do this as we found places we would have never have got to by ourselves like the incredible fruit stand, Robert is Here, in Homestead, where you can buy anything from plantain to miracle fruit to key lime milkshakes.

I spent some time on almost all of the days filming my family and their surroundings, however by the time we reached the Everglades I’d run out of memory card space and decided to spend the rest of the holiday without my camera. Now that I’m home I’ve had time to organise the shots into a short film, and this is the result. I intend to use this as the starting point for my last project on my Foundation.

The music is Man on Fire by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

Hope you enjoy!

– Grace

On Roger Ebert

The study of the work and ethics of Roger Ebert is, essentially, the study of film.

Few voices have ever spoken so loudly, and been heard by so many, as his. Throughout his career, in his broad writings, of which I have barely skimmed the surface of, it would be an understatement to call Ebert’s knowledge of cinema encyclopaedic, but it is in his understanding of what movies mean to the individual and to society that signify the intelligence behind his influence. As a budding filmmaker and journalist myself, Ebert became – and remains – a sort of avuncular figure in my studies; a plethora of wisdom that alleviates the great fear of betraying one’s own voice or, worse, not having a personal touch at all.

It was as if he possessed an anxiety of ever becoming terse, or not having something to say. I followed his last works closely, but it is his enormous back catalogue I find myself referring to again and again. It’s practically second nature to me now to check if my new favourite film is in his ‘Great Movies’ or ‘Your Movie Sucks’ list. Outside cinema, too, Ebert always spoke with impassioned honesty, such as in this sublime essay entitled I do not fear death from Life Itself: A Memoir.

Here is one of many excellent videos available featuring Ebert & Siskel, here they discuss the very purpose of film criticism and the dangers of abiding to social etiquette:

Sunday Roundup

Maz:

“My little sister eleven, I looked her right in the face the day that I wrote this song, sat her down and pressed play.”

*EXPLICIT LYRICS*

Tom:

I’ve already written a little about the TRON party, but before preparing for the event on Friday I was profoundly moved by Ken Loach’s new documentary The Spirit of ’45. There is an inherent prevalence of socialism in much of Loach’s work, here focussing on the Labour Party that came to power immediately following the war. Using interviews mostly of nurses, miners, railway workers, dockers and other proletariat, Loach manages to juggle national history with personal stories. Of course the Spirit of ’45 is entwined with the full circle made in 1979 when Thatcher came to power, the film then proceeding to show what work was undone and why the nationalisation process was flawed to begin with. At it’s heart, however, is an impassioned defence of the NHS which is sorely lacking political support. At the risk of using a cliché, this is simply an essential film for everyone with an interest in history, in politics, in a bygone era, in Britain; every citizen.

Charlie C-T:

I’m going to Portugal tomorrow so I thought I would find a Portuguese artist to showcase. I then realized I don’t know any Portuguese artists, so I did some research. Rui Chafes, Burning is the Forbidden Sea. It’s an odd deep sea creature/monster that has an air of tranquility that comes from it being isolated within a blue room. The audio that accompanies it gives it a life. I think it’s one of those pieces that would be better to see live rather than a video, but this best represents it. I really like his work, here is his website to see more, http://ruichafes.net/. Such elegant shapes.

Jacob M:

On a recent trip to the Saatchi Gallery, I was particularly inspired by the collage work of  Russian artist Anna Parkina:

Parkina’s work combines the appetising and vibrant world of pop-culture and pop-art with the strength and command of propaganda and constructivism (having witnessed Russia’s transition between the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent restoration of capitalism whilst growing up). I really like the way her work absorbs you with it’s colour and complexity, but, at a point, also detaches you with her portrayal of people caught up in worlds of distractions and consumerism.

More information about the artist here.

TRON: Everything was Illuminated

I’m pleased to say that last night’s screening of TRON and the subsequent after party was a great success, at least in the eyes of the BFI Film Academy. We were delighted that so many people came along as this was something we’ve had in the works since January. Further thanks are due to DJ Guy Bartell (below), Hannah Higginson, Madeleine Probst and the rest of the Watershed staff that were kind enough to accommodate our event.