by emily.peers -

Audio Vox Pop: The Hardest Thing About Moving to University

Contextualising Statement

I have created an audio vox pop as one of my artefacts by interviewing a wide range of students on the York St John University campus. In the planning phase I individually had to choose a topic for the my own vox pop, relating to student life, and I chose the hardest thing about moving to University. I chose this topic as I thought it would be interesting, and I would be able to gather a range of varied answers, resulting in a better artefact.

During the production process on this task, I was conscious of ensuring that I always had the sound levels on the zoom H1 microphone set correctly. This meant resetting the levels with each individual contributor to my vox pop, something that I practiced getting right with my recording partner for the task before carrying out my interviews. Amanda Willett (2013) stated that ‘the critical thing is to get the distance between the microphone and the item you are recording right’, which is exactly why I had to collaborate well with the various contributors that I was recording, ensuring that they felt comfortable, while also getting this distance right. Willett stresses the importance of practice in order to make the best use of your own time, as well as that of your contributors, when carrying out tasks such as this. This is another reason why practice with the equipment was crucial.

One very important thing that I had to keep in mind when producing this audio vox pop was the music. Not only did I have to ensure that the music I used enhanced the overall product, I had to be careful to not break any copyright laws. In order to ensure that I was using music legally, I chose my backing track from Free Music Archive, a royalty free music site. I also made sure to attribute the music to the creator in my soundcloud description of the vox pop, stating the creator, track name and album name.

As all of the recording for task took place on campus, there were not many health and safety risks to take into account but ‘most accidents during filming happen because things are being done in a rush’ (Bamford, 2012). Therefore, I took time myself to think through everything that could go wrong or harm myself or others. The nature of this task being to only record audio also meant that there were no props involved that may have caused harm to myself or my contributors. The only real potential risk that could have been involved in the production of this task was agitated contributors, which can always pose a risk. However, all of my contributors were fellow students that I knew who volunteered to be questioned for the vox pop. Therefore, the risk of agitating the contributors was considerably lowered. Despite this, I still acknowledged the potential of that risk in my risk assessment prior to beginning the task, so I was prepared just in case it turned out that a contributor did react badly in any way as it is always a possibility.

Reference List

Bamford, N. (2012) Directing Television: A Professional Survival Guide. London, Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 60

Willett, A. (2013) Media Production: A Practical Guide to Radio and TV. Oxon, Routledge. p. 132

by emily.peers -

Pursuing A Career In The Arts Is More Competitive Than Ever: A York Initiative Is Here To Help!

‘There’s no money in it’. This is what Julia Levai heard over and over as she was growing up: she was told that there is no money in a career in the arts. However, as someone with a passion for theatre, she didn’t let this little phrase deter her from pursuing her dream career in theatre. Now, still a student at the University of York, she is the artistic director of Takeover Festival 2017 from 23rd October to the 28th at York Theatre Royal.  I sat down with Julia and festival manager Paula Clark to find out why the initiative, and encouraging young people to invest in the arts, is so important.

Artistic director Julia Levai (left) and festival manager Paula Clark.
Artistic director Julia Levai (left) and festival manager Paula Clark.

 Takeover Festival began in 2009 as a way of introducing more young people to the world of theatre. Funding was provided so that students could get tickets to live shows and, since then, it has escalated into a way of letting young people (aged 12-26) take the reins in a professional setting and produce their own pieces of art, such as plays and musicals. One such musical debuting at Takeover is ‘Amphibious’, a critical outlook on separation in society, directed by Julia herself. The festival also hosts a range of workshops designed to encourage young people to try out different forms of art, such as the handmade parade lantern workshop. Julia stressed the importance of having today’s youth working on the festival, stating that ‘young people bring in fresh ideas which bring in new audiences’. Paula added that the festival is unique in terms of the experience and insight it offers its young organisers. She explained that theatre is ‘more competitive than it has ever been before’ as permanent contracts ‘just don’t happen these days’ and ‘entry level jobs are really few and far between’.

York Theatre Royal, the home of Takeover Festival 2017.
York Theatre Royal, the home of Takeover Festival 2017.

Julia explained to me that Takeover allows young people to ‘learn on the job’. She was even given the opportunity to pitch an idea for the theme of this year’s festival and, when given the go ahead, to plan the whole festival around that theme, which was ‘Walls: An exploration of the diverse barriers of stigma and prejudice in contemporary society and how we overcome these challenges’. This is a ‘global issue’ in Julia’s mind as everybody faces walls at some point in their life, so she felt that it was extremely important to explore this concept and ‘reach out to as many different people as possible’. She also felt like this theme was particularly relevant in such a youth oriented project due to the metaphorical walls that young people face when embarking on a career in the arts, such as social pressure to choose a more ‘stable’ job or the difficulty of finding a way into the industry.

York Theatre Royal at night.
York Theatre Royal in the evening.

With such a wide range of fully funded workshops, shows and other activities for young people to attend and create, Takeover Festival is really fighting the idea that a career in the arts in unattainable for the youth of today. Its importance can’t be overstated and its thanks to people like Julia and Paula that young people are able to pursue their dreams like they did. Takeover Festival will be back in 2018 with a new team and even more fresh ideas in the theatre.

by emily.peers -

‘The stigma surrounding mental health issues is one of the reasons why so many people go without help but hopefully we can show them that they are not alone’ – Canse Karatas

mental health day 1

Approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a problem with their mental health at some point in their life but even with statistics such as this, the stigma around mental health issues continues to persist. This is why event organiser, Canse Karatas, brought World Mental Health Day to Clarence Street in York.

With over 20 different organisations present on 10th October between 11am and 3pm, there was something useful for everyone, including support groups, helplines and a range of activity programmes. Just one of the organisations represented on the day was York Mental Health Peer Support Group, a new and independent service set up by people who suffer from mental health issues for people with mental health issues. One of their primary goals is to end the stigma surrounding mental health problems by having people talk to each other about their own experiences in a relaxed and friendly environment.

 

Karatas went on to state that ‘mental health issues can affect anyone at any time, which is why this event is so important; it allows local people to access services that can help them through these issues.’ She explained that ‘many people are not aware of just how many others are going through the same issues as them, which really increases the stigma around the topic’.

by emily.peers -

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by emily.peers -

Introduction

Hello, my name is Emily. I’m a first year Media Production student at York St John University with hopes of working in the film and TV industry in the future. I’ve always thought that film and TV was very interesting, and have become increasingly determined to better my skills. My love of film and TV has always been apparent, and now I want to move away from just watching towards actually making my own products that I hope other people will enjoy.