If you’re regular – and I hope there’s a few of you – you’ll know that we’ve been working on the Greens Stories project for Affinity Sutton since October last year. We are really, really pleased to say that the final part of the project – the films – are in the can and on YouTube. You can vote for your favourite on the Affinity Sutton website.
Of course we’re totally impartial and without sounding like a swarmy game show host, all the competition winners were top folk and dead lovely to work with.
On July 20th Affinity Sutton will be screening the films and announcing the final winner of the competition. The prize is a weeks holiday at the Eden Project.
They were all an inspiring bunch who are the real faces of everyday activism. People creating changes in their lives and their communities; it’s heart warming stuff y’know.
If you’re making a film or advert, there are few things more crucial or overlooked than the soundtrack.
During our recent work on Green Stories, ‘the soundtrack’ has been an interesting challenge. Thanks to Sam’s eclectic ear and The Insomniax’s knack for composition, it was a challenge that we rose to.
The subject indirectly leads me onto one of the catchiest and utterly spot on pieces of music for the Ikea Kitchen Party spot by Mother. The campaign launched last year and has recently made a resurgence, with a soundtrack so good that I initially thought that I’d heard it before. Turns out that I probably had.
“I really hate this shot [above]. It’s the worst of humankind. I always ask myself, ‘Why do you do this job?’ And the answer is: I want to show the best and worst of humankind. Every time you go to a conflict, you see the worst. We need to see what we do to be able to show future generations the mistake we make. The guy with the knife in his mouth is a human being like the rest of us, What’s important is that we show what human beings are capable of. The day I don’t do that with my photography is the day I’ll give up and open a restaurant.” – Alvaro Ybarra Zavala
While paparazzi photographers everywhere waste their [technical] talent and your time with what I’ll just describe as nonsense, there are journalistic photographers risking life and limb to capture some very harsh realities.
Featured in The Guardian, The shot that nearly killed me showcases essential imagery and supplementary written narratives that need to be both seen and heard. Here’s hoping you have the stomach for it.
It seems we are on the verge of some sort of change, a different way of doing things. Networks such as Good to Avaazare growing in momentum and support as we attempt to understand both our own personal impact on the world we live in and the type of legacy we wish to leave behind.
The idea of ‘good’ is now becoming a relevant and necessary currency for both individuals and brands as indeed it makes good business sense. The rise of social enterprises has seen many organisations embracing the concept of ‘doing good ‘as part of their company’s DNA, which can be nothing but a good thing.
To help the world celebrate what good means A Very Good Company have organised – A Good Week: an opportunity to get involved with events, activities and seminars and do some good for yourself and others.
A Good Week kicks off today so check out the site for the list of events.
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Good word count: 10
Heidi and Guy make up CoDoc. They are the team behind The Truth Wasn’t There: a documentary about the aftermath of Sri Lanka’s civil war. In May 2009 the CoDoc team headed to Sri Lanka as student journalists; a privilege that allowed them unrestricted access to the frontline and the opportunity to document what other journalists could not.
Since creating the feature documentary, the film has been supported by Amnesty International. With that new found notoriety, the pair have been travelling around student campuses sharing their story.
Not afraid to tackle political sensitive subjects, their next film ‘Forgive Me Mother’ is a documentary focusing on formerly abducted child soldiers in Uganda. Out later this year, we feel it will definitely confirm CoDoc as ones to watch.
Found during an endless trawl through Sam’s local flea market, the footage is unbelievably untouched and unedited. And that’s where the magic lies.
When heartfelt visuals combine with heartfelt music there’s a synergy for all to see. Spend the next 4 minutes checking out what that magic looks like.
Watched an interesting news piece on Channel 4 News about the withdrawal of funding from the Poetry Book Society by The Arts Council featuring Carol Ann Duffy and Kate Tempest.
As we all know this year has seen the culling of many arts organisations financial life lines as the government turns the tightening of belts into strangle holds.
We recently spoke about this very subject at Progressive Londonalongside eminent artists such Bonnie Greer and Mark Wallinger, offering ideas on the way foward. One of the key words we used was ‘relevance‘ and it’s a word we find ourselves using quite frequently.
Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy argues that without the necessary support the ‘whole setup will crumble’. When Kate Tempest was asked about her feelings about the matter she said;
“I’ve got no idea what it is. I’ve never heard of it. Sorry. It’s not relevant to me or what I’m doing, although not to dismiss it, it’s just not on my radar.”
Kate Tempest’s introduction to poetry like many contemporary poets was through Hip-Hop. The artform has long been appropriated and remixed to appeal to a younger generation, with the latest reincarnation being ‘Poetronica’. I’m not really one for daft sub genre names but for the purposes of an argument, Poetronica is, you’ve got it, a blend of Electronica and Poetry.
Organisations such as Apples & Snakes, (performance poetry & spoken word) have consistently been attractors of new talent such as Kate Tempest because it has remained relevant.
Kate’s comments illustrate that whether you produce high end art or sell second hand cars, if what you’re doing is not perceived to be relevant to audiences it will just fall on deaf ears and worse than that, die a death.
Sorted London will be displaying a variety of artwork from ten of Britain’s finest up and coming artists and illustrators, curated by one of our favourites Lucy Wragg (featured above).
Limited Edition prints of our work will be on sale as well as lots of free goodies for you and your friends to take home with you.
There will also be a bar stocked up to the brim with ice cold beers and wine – Mmm… Just what you need after a long hot Thursday at work.
