by bethany.stephenson1 -

Bar workers are calling for action- not words.

Police have seen a spike in the number of violent crimes in nightclubs, bars and pubs.

Each weekend hundreds of police call outs are made by pub owners, workers and customers after violence has struck.
They made an estimated 365 call outs each year in Hull alone – with a fraction being dealt with.

Pub owner of The Bowery said it was time that the Humberside police followed the lead of the pub watch.
“We live in a culture were drugs and alcohol tend to go hand in hand these days” says Melanie Craggs. “In the past 10 months we have had to call the police 7 times but fights are over as quickly as they start.”

But bar workers appeared adamant that it was about time something was done to reduce the percentage of violence in their workplace.

Annie Bateson glass collector at The Bowery, said: “Unfortunately it’s something you’re always going to get and its part of the job.” She also said: “it was only last bank holiday where I got caught in the middle of a fight and got punched in the face.”

Even customers are threating about the rise in violence “My son had to be rushed to hospital after having his neck slashed with a bottle during a night out at ATIK in Hull city centre” said Alan Wilson. His son hasn’t been on a night out since.

This week the Humberside police rejected calls from Pub watch regarding the community safety team.

The pub watch scheme has been set up by pub owners and they share any information of any violence that may have occurred and for any customers that needs to be notified. Tis information gets shared between the bar staff and those in the area.

But the Humberside police has said it is committed to helping Hulls violence rates.

Now bar workers are calling for action- not words.

by bethany.stephenson1 -

The Clock is Ticking for Coney Street’s Retailing Future

Fourteen shops in York’s premier shopping street have now closed or are set to shut and experts believe this isn’t just a blip and Coney Street won’t be booming anytime soon.

The Swarovski site is one of the several empty stores in Coney Street. Curry’s has also closed, York’s shopping treasure Burgin’s Perfumery closed in July after 137 years. The year-old signs on the former Wallis and BHS site, promising new shops in 2018 are looking not very optimistic.

Andrew Sharp Head of business at the destination management organisation Make it York, said: “High street should be seen as a civic, not a private space. A shared resource in which people come together to create value and shared experience” but “As one of York’s principal shopping street it is disappointing to see the current level of empty shops along Coney Street.”

Owner of Pylones, a shop brimming with unusual and jaunty objects, San Froid, said: “Coney Street just isn’t working anymore, it needs to be more of a social place with a vibrant evening economy and to offer something that neither shopping centres nor the internet can match.”

But shopper Georgia Leeson said: “York’s problem was no different to those found in any other major city up and down the UK, and blamed internet shopping for the closure.”

Local government association has stated: “Our vision for the future of high street is of multifunctional and social places which offer a clear and compelling purpose and experience that’s not available elsewhere, and which meets the interests and needs of the local people.”

The latest official retail figures from the Office for Nation Statistics showed sales volumes were down 1.2% in March
But there has been no official explanation to what is keeping the consumers away from the shops.

Though, internet shopping is making the cost of maintaining a high street presence unviable. The internet is considered to be fast becoming the destination of choice for shoppers.

by bethany.stephenson1 -

Photography Task

Long exposure

Depth of field

Silhouette

Reflection

Frame within a frame

Forced Perspective

The photography artefact includes six individually produced images demonstrating all 6 techniques from the brief which includes; long exposure, silhouette, reflection, frame within a frame, forced perspective and shallow depth of field. All fitting within my overall theme of ‘black & white’.

For this artefact we had to work in pairs and we only had a 5 hour timetabled slot to capture our six photographs each in our pairs so preparation was key to ensure that we were productive. I decided to produce a storyboard of the six shots that I wanted to capture. When I was capturing the photos, I took as many photographs as possible to ensure that I had quantity and quality when I reached the editing stage. Due to forward planning and careful consideration of location, it made it easier to get the photos I wanted for the artefact (Bamford 2012). This places emphasis on the importance of pre-production as planning ensures that you are taking time and consideration to plan ahead of production.

When creating my depth of field image I ensured I used a wide aperture so that it concentrates the interest on the chosen subject which in my shot was a drink bottle. I also took upon Langford skills (1986 p.41), as he suggests that to demonstrate depth of field you should use a variety of items at various distances from the lens. The lens aperture was also considered important and it was controlled for dimming and brightening the images.

Creating a silhouette shot was the most challenging aspect of the artefact as I don’t have much camera skills. I decided to research the camera techniques on Improve Photography to ensure I has the right settings. It took time to adjust to the perfect setting but I managed to create a stunning silhouette shot and I would feel confident in doing this again.

When I reached the post-production stage I used Adobe Premier to edit my images. This software was easy to use and this was the stage where the development of my theme began. I transformed all my images to black and white and adjusted the light and exposure to so that more definition was made within the images. Apart from adjusting the images colour there was not too much editing that was needed as a lot of the techniques has been demonstrated through the camera skills rather than editing.

I’ve learnt that health and safety in production environment is important (Verrall, 2006) which is why a risk assessments was made for each location of filming so me and my partner were not at risks. During our shoot on location, which was in York city centre, the main risk was the public with our equipment and them not being aware. The risk management we incorporated was to not set our cameras in busy areas, narrow walk ways and ensure that there was no trailing of wires across the pavement. We also had a production schedule which was the glue that held the production together as without the schedule we wouldn’t have been able to get the images I had in mind (Brown, L. Duthie, L 2016).

Bibliography:

Bamford, N (2012) Directing television, a professional survival guide. London, Bloomsbury.
Brown, L. Duthie, L (2016). The TV Studio Production Handbook. I.B Touris
Langford, M. (1986) Basic Photography 5th Glasgow, Eagle Colourbooks Ltd.

14 Tips for Shooting Stunning Silhouettes