The start of a new project which would shape the destiny of mankind (our media degree at least). It all started on Wednesday the eleventh of November 1998. From this session would be unleashed a monster which was to tear up the roots of our lives and change the world (of Wednesday mornings).
A typical media lesson, we thought. Little did we know of the triumph of artistic mastery that would be born that day. Leading media guru Alf started the proceedings by explaining the project in full. Every aspect was being crammed into my undersized brain, as yet untested in many fields and so regularly distorted with beer. I would have to utilise this resource to the full in order to organise my thoughts to help unleash a dashing media project on the world. The group turned to me.
�Any ideas? They asked,
�No� I said, my head simmering with pain from the night before, �It�s half nine�in the morning!�
The lesson continued. We watched previous attempts at the project we were about to confront, tame and hopefully get a good mark in. We observed the work of our media predecessors for about � of an hour and towards the end Rob finally turned up. Our group was as follows:
Paul Ashdown
Fraser Campbell (sounds familiar)
Kingsley Scott
Carol Jenkinson
We started to discuss the nature of the piece. Ideas were slow in materialising at first, but then they came quick and fast (which I suppose means the same thing really). All of mine were really dull.
A short list was drawn but it was quite long. The difficulty was resolved by calling it a long list.
Group ideas (4-minute day)
Prison
Old person
Baby/child
Farming
Cat
Barnsley football club.
We discussed and evaluated each of the ideas on their individual merits. We had to consider several aspects for each, including relevance to brief, legal and ethical issues and just an element of realism. The chosen option had to be realistically achievable.
We thought the prison was a really good idea, if we could pull it off. The success of this venture would depend of a whole string of factors. A brittle chain of events which, if broken, could easily result in the failure of the project and our lives! We anticipated numerous problems along the road to filming in a prison. The red tape, we imagined, would be a nightmare. I often wake up in a cold sweat thinking about it, even now. Another factor tainting the practical aspect of it was the lack of a starting point. None of us knew where the nearest one was (at least that�s what we said) or how to get in touch. With hindsight this could have been found out with the use of minimum research, but if we�d had a starting point and known a guard rather than convicts the option would have seemed more feasible. The interior side of the prison would have been hard to represent and someone might nick our camera. With the prison put on the backburner due to the length of bureaucracy we searched alternative options.
One, which we thought would be good, was a day in the life of an alcoholic. We knew this would be a hard idea to portray but it would make a good film and we had visions of him waking up in MFI. This vision suggests we would have trouble dealing in a serious way, what is a very serious subject but if it came to it I�m sure we could cope. There were other issues confronting us. The film was meant to represent the local area, so we would run into problems there. Focusing on an alcoholic would be a meaningful exercise but how would he mirror the local area? It�s dodgy territory. And, another factor, which cannot be under estimated, is that we were dealing with a sensitive issue.
The other suggestion being batted around was a day in the life of a cat. Yes, that�s right! Kingsley and Carol were ecstatic about this proposal but Paul and myself were less enthusiastic. I doubted this would fit the demands of that brief I�d lost and questioned it�s relevance to the local area. Paul even considered deferring to another group. Traitor!
The Barnsley football club option was pursued quite a long way. We thought it would be great to film, preferably the build up to a match, but we recognised other areas that could be covered. They have a shop, which was an outside possibility but action shots of training and ground preparation could find a place. Carol was happy because they�ve got a cat. A letter was drafted explaining the situation and asking for assistance.
Days past, then weeks. We still haven�t had a reply. Not even a politely worded �no chance�. Paul kept on ringing them but, apparently, such issues have to go through the ground manager and there was no realistic chance of catching him. At this time Carol had sorted out the stables and it seemed a wise option.