Wrexham Christmas Light Switch On

This was another huge event that I again was directing. This time the crew was huge. Myself and Holly Cooper took the static side of stage camera to catch most of the action, as we always do. Another of the film teams was David Fisher and Ayse Kaya, who were placed in the space above the butchers (The Meat Man). They had cleaned the window and set up the camera to look down on the event. They were also in a perfect spot to capture the fireworks coming over the buildings. Paul Lowndes was with Frank Hagger and Dave Hale was with Tommy Needham. Both of these crews were floating around to capture the atmosphere of the crowd and to get close-ups of the stage. Paul and Frank had the specific job of getting the fireworks display. We also had a massive photography team, including Sue McGrane, Juliet Dover, Will Arun, Ryan Ankers, Jessica Combe, Kathryn Lunt, Steph Bate, Jessica Kilvert, Dawn Field, Katie Cowell and Catherine Findley.

This is the running order we recieved prior to the event:

The whole crew, ready to go !!

Wrexham Christmas Lights Switch On, Queen’s Square, Thursday 22nd November
Running Order (approx)
1.00pm - Access to square from this time onwards
1.30pm - Mobile Stage Arrives
2.00pm - PA Lights Setup
3.00pm - Volunteer / Steward Briefing
4.00pm - Soundcheck
5.15pm – 5.20pm Event Opens – Calon Fm Host CONFIRMED
5.20pm – 5.40pm Tudur & Ali from S4C’s STWNSH CONFIRMED
5.45pm - 6.00pm Delta Academy Performance CONFIRMED
6.00pm – 6.05pm Calon Compere introduces The Mayor CONFIRMED
6.05pm - 6.10pm Mayor Speaks
6.10pm – 6.15pm Calon Compere introduces Panto Cast CONFIRMED
6.15pm - 6.30pm Panto cast CONFIRMED
6.30pm – 6.35pm Calon compere announces comp winner, s guest, lights
6.35pm - 6.45pm Switch-on with GARETH THOMAS
+ FIREWORK DISPLAY CONFIRMED
6.45pm - 7.05pm Heal The Last Stand CONFIRMED
7.05pm Event ends Set down and area cleared by 10.30pm
Notes:

Power is supplied on site from a mains source (liase with WCBC electrician)

Mobile, covered staging is provided – own production required.

Scale drawing of site inc access /egress points available upon request.
All contractors / service providers must have necessary insurances in place and be able to provide up to date copies of those insurances for inspection prior to and at anytime during the event.

We encountered a lot of problems on the day of filming. First off, as it was the end of November, it was a truly miserable day and it rained non-stop. This meant that it was touch and go as to whether or not we could risk the equipment. We over came this by sourcing umbrellas for the film crews. We had runners in place to help with keeping the crews and equipment dry and safe. Once we decided we could go ahead, we went up to the room where team 2 would be filming. This is where we encountered our second problem of the evening. The battery on one of the film cameras was completely juiced out. luckily there was a charger at hand to top it up before the fireworks. The plan was for Paul and Frank to use that battery and stay indoors until it was charged. Most of the photographers had DSLR's capable of HD footage so everybody pitched in. Kathryn and Ryan especially helped, as they were meant to be filming on Canon 5D at the top of St. Giles church. Due to the weather, this had to be abandoned. This meant they could join the street crew and do filming and photography.

©Sue McGrane. Dave, me and Holly, Setting up.

We got set up in our locations and everything got underway. It was absolutely freezing but I enjoyed the event itself. As I was directing this project, I occasionally left my post to check up on everybody else. I went up to see how Ayse and Dave were getting on. Everything was running smoothly with them and they had no problems all night. Dave Hale and Tommy had some interesting ideas for composition and cutaways that they ran by me. They worked extremely well as a team and are both talented cameramen. Paul and Frank also knew what they were doing. I used my time circulating to get feedback and relay messages to other teams. Will had a problem as he wanted to use his tripod, due to the low lighting. I advised him against this, as there was far to many people around. As a compromise, I helped him find the correct settings. I made sure all the photographers were in the right places at the right times to capture the specific moments they were meant to. Everything went incredibly well given the circumstances. I was very proud of our team.
When we came to upload the footage we had a massive issue with storage. Luckily the university allocated us our own Mac to use for editing. We moved it into our own space, a little office we created. This made us look a little more professional. We wiped the Mac and put the footage on there but ran out of space. The main camera footage was uploaded first and this is where we ran into problems with space. Our technician, Simon, then came along to do a restore to get rid of unwanted files from the machine. Unfortunatly, he accidentally wiped the footage we had just transferred. This meant the core footage and sound we had recorded had gone and we had no way of getting it back. This was a major setback. Luckily we had taken the Fostex with us. This is a device that records sounds straight from the sound desk. Jess Kilvert had some sound effects of crowd that she let us use. This meant that the sound was sorted, we just lost a lot of footage. We realised that it was going to be a massive editing job now so decided to set up an editing rota. This is the rota:


This is the editing rota we have set up for the Light Switch On.
Monday 26th - All day
Beckah
Kathryn
Ryan
Juliet
Tuesday 27th - AM
Kathryn
Beckah
Tuesday 27th - PM
Ryan
Juliet
Wednesday 28th - AM
Tommy
Beckah
Wednesday 28th - PM
Tommy
Beckah
Sue
Thursday 29th - AM
Beckah
Holly
Thursday 29th - PM
Holly
Beckah
Jess K
Sophie
Friday 30th - AM
Tommy
Will
Sue
Friday 30th - PM
Tommy
Will
Ryan
Monday 3rd Dec - All day
Sue
Beckah
Kat
Ryan
Tuesday 4th Dec - AM
Beckah
Ryan
Sue
Ayse
Tuesday 4th Dec - PM
Sue
Ayse
Beckah (popping in and out)
Kat (popping in and out)
Wednesday 5th Dec - AM
Ayse
Tommy
Beckah
Sophie
Wednesday - PM
Tommy
Beckah
Sue
Holly
Thursday 6th Dec - AM
Sue
Holly
Thursday 6th Dec - PM
Sue
Holly
Beckah
Kat
Thursday 6th is the deadine. On friday it will need to be exported and uploaded to YouTube.
This rota is based on who was at the meeting and told us when they are available. People who were not at the meeting, please just come along and help out when you can. Any problems with days you cannot come in, let us know.

At first, everybody stuck to the rota. Towards the end, however, myself, Sue and Holly did the bulk of the editing. It was serious hard work as we had so much content and a specific time cap. We managed to get everything edited together in time. Andy Argyle then joined the Collective as we needed help sorting out the sound levels. He did a brilliant job of it and we got it exported and uploaded in time for all of the clients to view it. I believe this was a massive success and well done to everyone involved.

A Sense of Space Exhibition

This was, by far, one of the biggest projects we have taken part in with the Collective (aside from the carnival). We were approached by a number of the people involved to cover the event. Myself and Sue McGrane actually went along to the meeting to help set up the exhibition and how it would best be filmed. We were involved with the artists, such as Angela Davies, who ran the actual exhibition, as well as the people providing the entertainment. These include Heal the Last Stand and the Wrexham Community Choir. We were asked to cover the grand opening of the exhibition in Wrexham's Peoples Market.
I was in charge of the film crew on this event. We had four Panasonic film cameras to cover this vast event. I was using the static camera, set up an a tripod, to capture the bulk of the action. I then instructed Ayse Kaya, Ryan Ankers and Yale student Emin Atilgan to be in certain places to capture certain aspects of the event.
All in all, the coverage of the event ran smoothly. Ayse and Ryan then edited the video.

The Big October Bash - Oswestry

This was a charity event in aid of Hope House at The Venue in Oswestry. Myself and a fellow member of the collective were invited there to take pictures by a member of the headline act, Monsta Ball. We were under instruction to act as press and paparazzi, as this was a celebrity fancy dress themed night. I was nervous and excited as it was my first time covering an event photographically for the collective. Our first job was to stand outside around the red carpet and catch the people as they came in. This was something completely different to what I have done before. At first I found it hard to get the images to be exposed correctly, but thanks to the help of some member of the Oswestry Photagraphic Society, I managed to work it out. One of the red carpet images is left of this text.
We then moved inside when the event got underway. A radio DJ from the local station, Signal 107, was presenting. There was a fashion show and a number of other great performances from gymnasts and a raffle.
    I really enjoyed this experience and it made me realise that I would like to cover more events from a photographic point of view. I know that I work well under pressure, so having a time limit by which to have the photographs edited made my work stronger. I got some fantastic feedback from the organisers and all involved. It was a brilliant night and my images have been used on the website of the band and the designers. My images can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.372838279467936.90350.265825453502553&type=3

Wrexham Community Choir at Wales vs England Rugby League Game.

Sue Mcgrane, who established and organised the collective, has worked closely with the Wrexham Community Choir previously and has connections with the people that run it. She was approached by the choir and asked to film their performance at the rugby game. We encountered a problem straight away. The rugby game was to be televised live and the BBC had the contract and rights for this.We let Wendy know that there might be a problem and she chased it up. The BBC were kind enough to let us film. However, there were terms and conditions.Firstly the BBC would only allow two of us in with recording equipment. this meant that we were limited to one Panasonic film camera, one boom mic and a Canon DSLR, capable of capturing film. This limitation of equipment also limited the amount of footage and the variations of angles etc. We were then informed that the two people would not be allowed pitch side during the actual performance. We were, instead, granted permission to perform the rehearsals on the pitch. We decided that we would just play it by ear, as it was useless trying to plan much as none of us, including the choir members, had any idea what was going to happen on the day.

    We arrived at the sports hall on campus early to ensure we got all the information as it became available. Nobody still had any idea of what was going on. Suddenly, it was announced that we had to make a move and get over to Glyndwr Racecourse Stadium for rehearsals. We were whisked over there and barely had time to set up the tripod, camera and mic before the rehearsals began. it was all very rushed but we were then told we could still film the performance, just not pitch-side. We had to stay within the barriers. This news was a great relief as we did not have sufficient quality footage. When we were allowed back in for the actual match, we made sure we got a pitch-side seat in order to film. We filmed with the Panasonic and Canon, using on deck sound. After the choir had performed, I had a chance to do some sports photography. I used the Canon with a zoom lens and enjoyed myself trying to get good images. I have used some of my images to illustrate this post.

Wrexham Carnival, Peace Day, Zine Fair and SWICA Workshops

This is the first event I helped cover with the Wrexham Film and Photography Collective. Over three days, around 12 of us covered four different events. I was in film crew two, along with classmates Kathryn Lunt, Ryan Ankers and Will Aron. As part of this team, I covered the SWICA Workshops at Bryn Alyn School. This was our first assignment of the week and I was really excited to start. SWICA is the South Wales Intercultural Community Arts group. They originate in Cardiff. They create arts opportunities across the North Wales region and celebrate multicultural arts. On the day of filming, our job was to capture the children of the school whilst in a dance workshop with a member of SWICA. These workshops where intended to be a two day event but we ran into problems on the first day. The workshops were meant to be at a community centre in Plas Madoc. We arranged travel and drove to the community sentre only to discover that the workshops had been moved to Bryn Alyn School. We were not informed of this so we then had to get into contact with the organisers of the workshop. We then made our way over to the school. When we got to the school, they had no knowledge of us being there. We had also arrived before the SWICA team.This meant that we had to wait for them to arrive to confirm us. This is where we ran into our second problem. As the teachers at the school had no knowledge of us being there, there was in issue with consent. As the children participating in the workshop were under the age of 16, we needed written consent from the parents to film and photograph them. SWICA had also overlooked them. After a while discussing our options, it was decided that we would not be allowed to film that day. The good thing about this is that it has made us realise that we have to be aware of this on every job we take up. We managed to get some consent forms sorted and delivered to the school, courtesy of Steffan Jones-Hughes at the Arts Council to be given to the children for the next days worth of filming. This meant that, with enough returned forms, filming could go ahead the next day. .It was unfortunate about this set back and how long it took as the other film crew were snowed under and under-staffed covering the Peace day events at St Christopher's School.
     We arrived the next day at the time they asked us too and were given the go ahead to film. This was a relief and were glad of it. We discussed as a team how we would set up. We had one Static camera set up in the corner of the room with a boom mic and one handheld to capture cutaways and different angles. We took it in turns in our team of four alternating between operating both cameras, operating the boom, and shadowing the hand held camera operator. We thought this was best as then everybody got a turn at doing each thing. I feel that this technique worked extremely well.

Next came the editing stage. I did not have much input when it came to editing due to illness. We needed to edit the footage and create a DVD cover, as requested by the school. We also created a YouTube page for us to display our work. The link for the channel is below, along with the video from this project. http://www.youtube.com/user/WrexhamFilmPhotog

On the last day of the three days events came the finale in the form of the Wrexham Arts Council Carnival. This consisted of the Zine Fair, the Peace Day finale and the SWICA parade and street performances. The Zine Fair was in the Oriel and I was not on the film crew to cover this. The same crew that covered this covered the Peace Day Finale as they had been involved with that all week long, as we had with SWICA. Peace Day finale was a fair on the library field, including live music by local bands on the bandstand, to promote peace in the community. I was working on the parade and street entertainment, due to my previous work with SWICA. I was with the same team and we were produced by Dave Hale. He gave us a lot of hints and tips and was around during the day to help us out. We got to the Oriel early to film the SWICA crew rehearse and get ready. This was good as it gave us a backstage view and more footage for the edit. Next came the parade. When we arrived, we did not really know the parade route due to a miscommunication. We found out the route plan and decided on a static camera and a hand held. We also decided on a 'leap-frog' technique to ensure we captured all of the action. This meant that we would position ourselves in different locations and when the parade had passed us, we would run onwards along the route so that we were in front of the other two, then they would do the same. the Hand held camera was for filming cutaways such as crowd shots and feet shots. I was with Kathryn on the handheld. When the parade ended in Queens Square, we decided to use the same approach with the street performers. We set up one camera on a tripod with a boom mic and kept it rolling to capture all of the footage. The handheld was used for filming different angles and cutaways for editing. Dave and his film crew cam over and helped out by grabbing some interviews with the crowd, performers and organisers. It was a long day but it went extremely well and I really enjoyed my first week with the collective.
 

I edited the whole of the footage for SWICA's involvement in the carnival. I have realised now that i have more of a passion for film than I do for photography but still love to take good photographs. Editing has become a stronger point for me and taking creative control over this project has really helped me to develop my skills. This edit took me between 4-5 weeks and after this, it has been decided that I will become chief of editing within the collective, overlooking and tweaking all of the edits. I am really pleased about this news. This edit was also put into the main edit that went to the Arts Council.





In total, 5 films were made for the events over these three days. I was also involved with the filming of the footage in the Wonderbrass Video.