Christmas Shpping package

Tv evaluation
Creating the Christmas package was an interesting activity. The first time we filmed it we forgot to turn on our microphone, so we had to go out and film it again. It worked out better, because by the time we filmed it again we all had more experience and a better knowledge of what was expected from us. By filming this piece I learnt how to speak to the camera in a proper manner and also to slow down. I had never realized how quickly I actually spoke, so after filming the package I now understand the speed in which I need to speak. We were able to include almost all of the techniques such as: voiceover, piece to camera, interviews and pictures. My main role in the Christmas package was to do the piece to camera; I also helped with the writing of the script for all sections of the package. I believe I was successful in delivering a brief and informative work. When all the filming was done, I also helped with the editing. All of the computer programs that we now use are new to me, so I was able to learn the basic techniques for editing a video piece. For our package we decided to take the angle of a news piece, since we asked businesses about the effects of the recession, as well as the general public, our work takes a more in-depth view of how people are reacting to the recession and how it is affecting the retail business. The filming of our package could have been a bit steadier; in some instances we could have used a tripod, which would have made the images more stable and therefore more professional.
There are many differences when writing for print, radio and television, the main point is trying to make radio and television more conversational. When writing for print, we have learnt to squeeze in the most important facts in the introduction, while using the least amount of words possible (creating a pyramid). On the other hand, when writing for radio you need to create clear sentences which will hold the interest of the listener and create a vivid image with your words. When writing for television, first of all you need a clear voice and also need to make the script as conversational as possible, you also need to remember to convert jargon to words commonly used, therefore a wider range of audience will understand and take an interest in the news story. This was the first time I had ever filmed a piece of work like this, and I am looking forward to see how I can improve and excel in television and print.

Vogue's Housewife

I have to say, this American Vogue cover is definitely my least favorite. I do love Rachel McAdams, as I think she is naturally beautiful, however the styling is just all over the place. The first thing that came to mind when I saw it was: over done southern housewife. Probably not the best look.

Maybe it is the combination of fuchsia lips with red flowery dress that does not work in any way. Normally Anna pulls of stylish and sophisticated covers, but something was off in the production of this one. Rachel is only 31 years-old, and in this picture they managed to age her quite a few years. What do you think of Anna's new take? I am definitely not loving it...

Thoughts?

Underwear becomes popular outerwear

Inspiration definitely comes from famous starlets such as Rihanna and Lady GaGa, and it seems that the ladies of Britain are responding. The retail giant Selfridges has reported a 70% increase in the sale of luxury corsets from the same period last year. This number clearly shows that it is in to use your intimates out in the open, these must be brave women considering the cold weather around the UK.

Selfridges head lingerie buyer, Helen Attwood, said: "The trend of underwear as outwear is more popular than ever, with costumers investing more in fashion that adds a touch of spice to everyday life."

The increase in all these numbers come after famous figures have worn eye-catching clothing, or lack of. After Rihanna wore a white bandage slip to the American Music Awards, Bordelle's Angela Cage Bandage Slip, which retails at £367, sales jumped 90%.

I don't know if i would be brave enough to face this weather with this new look, but would you try this new daring trend?

12 days of... Strike! BA's actions will affect 1 million passengers

British Airways have declared a 12 day strike starting on the 22nd of December to the 2nd of January, this is the first walkout they have had in 12 years. Unfortunately for the costumers who have already booked their tickets a refund or other arragements look complicated due to the holiday rush. The decision came after a 92.4% of BA members voted for the action because of escalated pay and working conditions.Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary of Leaders of Unite has said:

"The problem with intransigent management is that you can push people so far, but eventually workers will say that enough is enough. We would like passengers to be angry with the company. It is something of an irony that the people responsible for making BA the best airline in the world are now engaged in a dispute."

The airline responded with:

"British Airways is extremely disappointed that Unite is planning massive disruption for hundreds of thousands of our customers over the Christmas/New Year holiday period. A 12-day strike would be completely unjustified and a huge over-reaction to the modest changes we have announced for cabin crew which are intended to help us recover from record financial losses. Unite's cynical decision betrays a total lack of concern for our customers, our business and other employees within British Airways,"

BA's chief executive Willie Walsh believes the airline needs to drastically cut cost due to the current financial condition. These 13,500 employees will cost the company tens of millions of pounds. I wonder if this strike will be worth it, and the interesting thing would be to see if British Airways can survive this, if not the union workers will cause everyone in this company to lose their job, making their actions 'suicidal'. In my opinion this action is cynical, and it also lets the costumers down. The staff from BA earn twice as much as their rival Virgin Atlantic. This means it is the best paid job in Britain in this field, as their earn around £56,000 per year.

At this moment I am very pleased I am traveling with American Airlines, I need to get home NOW and I could definitely not handle a delay !

Farnham Local Radio News

Radio news by shane90

Remembrance Day Vox Pop

VOX POP by shane90

Remembrance Day Vox Pop

This was the first day we actually went out and spoke to people on the street. I found it quite discouraging after being turned down by three people but then I finally was able to ask someone about Remembrance Day. My teams question to the public was: “Do you find Remembrance Day still important, and it is in any way relevant to you?” I was surprised to find out how many people were actually affected by this event, and how they were all eager to speak their minds. Each member of our team asked a different person, we decided to do it individual since all four of us going up to one person would have been intimidating. We decided to ask a variety of people, ranging from young people to the elderly, as well as a foreigner. With this we were able to obtain a larger spectrum of answers and reflections on Remembrance Day. In this activity I was appointed to be the team leader, I believe we all did the same amount of work since we all individually asked a different person, however I think I also helped in the planning and in the creation of the main question. Unfortunately one of our members is no longer in the journalism course, this caused a bit of a problem as he was the one with the vox pop on his memory stick. We were able to get the work from him however when I received the email from him there was only two voices in the final file, but there should have been four. Because of this, the rest of the team and I had to ask more people about Remembrance Day to complete the vox pop.
The recording of the vox pop went very well; we encountered no problems with the equipment or while asking people the questions. The editing was quite simple and I found it easy, it could have been improved by removing background noises and the voice of the person asking the question, since it is sometimes heard. The production could have improved if we would of saved the vox pop in various locations, then we would not have had to ask more people.

Student Media Conference

On the 25th of November I was lucky enough to join all the Canvas editors to a trip to London to attend the annual Student Media Conference by The Guardian. It was a very early start to the day since we had to be at the train station at 7:50, but it was worth it! I had the chance to meet amazing working journalists and also get great tips of the trade, before arriving at The Guardian Headquarters in King's Cross, we had to choose the sessions we wanted to attend, I chose:

1) Five star reviewing:

Here we heard from Melissa Dane ( deputy editor, the Guardian), Miranda Sawyer ( radio riviewer and cultural commentator, the Observer), Krissi Murison ( editor, NME) and Paul Morley ( writer and broadcaster). They gave the audience of budding journalists a view into the world of reviewing, generally focused on music. I found it really interesting to see how each one had made it in the business, and all the great bands and musicians they had met. However, what I found the most interesting was Krissi, since she had worked for Nylon magazine in New York as their music director! Nylon, being one of my favorite magazines for fashion and inspiration I took the time to go up and talk to her after the session had ended!!

LUNCH

Simply amazing! I did not expect lunch to be as delicious as it was, very impressed. And best brownies ever, I gave in and had a naughty second. Had opportunity to speak to other journalism student, some quite.. confident, to put it in a nice way, since they were from very fancy uni's like Oxford and York, maybe just not my type.

2) 'to tweet or not to tweet'

This session was conducted by the sky news team, and their social media correspondent Ruth Barnett. I must say that I thought it was going to be much better, they did have a live twitter feed on the screen behind them which made it quite fun and interactive. But, maybe twitter is just not my thing since I did not find this session as interesting as the rest. The speakers were reading their information and tips from paper, they just did not seem as inspiring as the rest. Made me a bit scared of losing my future job ( if I get one ) to the power twitter gives to "citizen reporting"

3) Last and final session: 'Meet the interviewers'

This session by far my favorite! Three amazing journalists took the stage to vividly tell the audience about the do's and dont's of interviewing. I was quite shocked at the vast amount of people they had interviewed from Madonna to Woody Allen and Leonardo DiCaprio. The interviewers Simon Hattenstone ( feature writer the Guardian), Decca Aitkenhead( weekly interviewer for G2) and Ginny Dougary ( award winning journalist and special feature writer for the Times) shared their own personal experience with such passion I can assure you most viewers wanted to become just like them. It was great to watch such dedicated journalists talked about a field they seemed to love so much, I was truly inspired and it was fun. Things I learnt about this session was when to ask tough questions, how to ask them and also to always be as prepared as you can! Remember, they said, to always keep the interviewee entertained and make the interview as conversational as possible!! Few tips I am glad to share with all of you reading!!

I would like to mention as well the keynote speech from Nick Davies ( special correspondet from the Guardian) was hilarious! He was great giving useful tips and tools of making it into the business. He also said very important information about being a good journalists since "only 12% of national newspapers check their facts" and the single most important thing about a journalist, he said was being honest. Important things to note:

- have selective judgement

- always have an angle

- emphasize on the real world and the effect of people

- objectivity

- journalists can show emotion!

All in all it was a fantastic day out, I was quite tired by the end of it at 6 pm, but certainly look forward to attending next year!

20 year old model found dead in Paris apartment

In demand South Korean model Daul Kim, was found last thursday ( 19th of November) dead in her Paris apartment. French police are now saying that the cause of death was suicide. The young 20 year old model was found dead by her boyfriend just hours later. Kim had modelled for Chanel, Dries Van Noten and Maison Martin Margiela, and had her debut in Paris Fashion Week in 2007, according to fashion magazine Vogue.

Before her death, Kim aparently had a instant message conversation with a friend about depression and her abusive relationship with her boyfriend just hours before taking her life.

According to The Daily Beast:
She was depressed, she wrote, according to a transcript of the chat seen by The Daily Beast. She and her boyfriend had just had another brutal physical fight. She’d punched him in the face; he’d yanked her hair. But she was afraid to leave him, afraid to suffer the agony of being apart. The last time they separated, she hadn’t been able to eat, dropping from 112 to 99 lbs. Her friend begged her to leave town, book a job, call her mother. No, she said. She’d miss her dog. She ended the conversation abruptly, saying she was going off to clean the house.

The model's body went for an autopsy today, and the results are expected later this week. There are reports that Kim left a suicide note, however this cannot be confirmed. Daul's family is still questioning wether she did really commit suicide. Daul often wrote about depression and being overworked on her blog named " i like to fork myself."

Her agents at Next released a statement saying:

"She was a top model and a great friend to all of us at Next. Please respect her family's privacy at this time of sadness. We will all miss her very much."

RIP

Expression Reading

We had an assignment to try and tell what expression or emotion the news anchor was trying to portray. I decided to watch bbc live on my computer, at first I had to watch it for a while since there was this speaker that simply look bored to death. After about 5 minutes of watching him speak ( with no sound ) I could not really make out what he was really walking about, so I cheated a bit and put my headphones on and of course he was talking about something not so interesting, business. I later continued to watch the main news reporters and noticed how much they actually do use their body language, mainly they move their eyebrows a lot and lean on the table, but not in a messy way. I had never really analized how news reporters acted, therefore I found this activity quite interesting, each reporter had his or her own way of expressing emotion. Shifting their papers and moving their hands seems to be the basic or normal movement, but it is very obvious when a breaking news story comes in as both news anchor eyes go straight down to their papers looking for further details. As the lighter stories are being read you can see a slight smile in their faces, making these stories easily identifiable.

I will continue to watch news reporters and analyze their movements so one day I will be able to look as natural and comfortable as they do. :)

It's not always Bright in Rio

LIGHTS OUT!!!

( Av. Paulist in Sao Paulo) ( Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro)

18 states in Brasil suffered from a catastrophic blackout on the night of the 10th of November and early Wednesday morning. Main cities as Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo came to a full stop as traffic lights, 89 train stations, mobiles, households, restaurants and hotels lost their power. The police and fire-fighters were overwhelmed by the number of emergency calls about people getting stuck in elevators. The power went at 10:15 pm ( local time ) and lasted the whole night. 70 million people around the country were left withought power and were uncommunicated. It is said that this event was caused by a problem with a transmission line from the main power center in Itaipu, which Brasil also shares with Paraguay. Not only was there a problem with the electricity, but also this brought the problem of water. The police force warned citizens about leaving their house, since many attackers took advantage of the blackout to rob people. Three million students were also not allowed to return to school on Wednesday due to lack of running water.

Rio's mayor Sergio Cabral Filho sent in troops to northern favelas to help assure no drug wars would arise, since recently 40 people were killed during a fight. This blackout comes only weeks after Rio de Janeiro was nominated as the location for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
Madonna was also in Rio ( since she is due to mary brazilian model Jesus Luz, who is by the way only 22!!!) were having dinner at a posh japanese restaurant went the lights went out, however it did not ruin their dinner as they continue to eat using the light from a candle and their hotel ( Hotel Fasano on Ipanema) was on of the only buildings in the Zona Sul to have electricity, well she is paying around $32,000 a night!

Brasil has had other blackouts in the past during 1984, 1997, 1999 and in 2001 which also caused similar problems as this recent event.

Isabel's friend

I was just going through some of my favorite blogs as I came across this picture of Isabel and a "friend" I just thouht it was quite entertaining that he calls Adrian Grenier just her friend. However check out his blog, his pictures are amazing!

Very random post!! :)

Girly Girl

Who would of thought that little schoolgirl hair styles would be the new thing? Apparently they are as we saw them come down many different runways during Fashion Week S/S10. Pigtails and braids were all the rage, also flowers at Chanel, bows at Luella and Vuitton ( and the afros at Vuitton) sweet barrettes at Phillip Lim, pretty headpieces at Peter Some, sweet hair accesories are definitely having a moment.

Another girly girl trend to rock Fashion Week 2010 was the braid, and I think Alexander Wang did it fantastically. The genius behing the hair was stylist Guido Palau and he was spot on at creating a easy-going look inspired by the 70's and early 80's "Brooke Shields thing", Palau says about using extensions: "The girl's of that period didn't really cut their hair". I'm definitely going to be trying this trend, LOVE IT!

Ralph Lauren Caught in Photoshop Overdose

In a world where many people believe that by being thin is the only way to be beautiful, the last thing we need is a scandal like this. Ralph Lauren was caught in a photoshop scandal as they published an ad of a model that had been modified to look alarmingly slim. The photoshopped body of model Filippa Hamilton is unreal, with her head being significantly bigger than her pelvis. At first, Ralph Lauren tried suing Boing Boing for reprinting the ad for criticism, however anyone in law would know that it is not illegal to reprint ads for that use. Ralph Lauren did release a statement about the image, saying:

"For over 42 years we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman's body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately."

They did address the problem, however we were expecting more since lately so many people are trying to change this portrayal of a women's figure.

Lindsay in the Spotlight

We have finally seen Lindsay Lohan's attribution to haute couture through the Emanuel Ungaro collection shown in Paris Fashion Week this Sunday October 4th, and of course everyone is talking about it. We have now seen what it was all about, and as predicted women's fashion is not one of Lindsay's domains. We should of known, since creating your own legging brand isn't really the same as collaborating with a well establish high end clothing power house.

The whole collection is said to have been whipped up in a matter of three weeks. At the end of the runway Lindsay appeared to give her fashion bow holding back the tears, and it is easy to see why; trying to put on a good face in front of fashions best must be a daunting task. The fashion crowd is not an easy one, and all the fangs were out for this event. Some designers stated that it was an insult to anyone who had ever worked in fashion to be involved in the same industry as this celebrity. It is difficult however to find someone to blame, is it Lindsay for taking the job or Ungaro's President for believing he could install a troublesome celebrity in the mix? Publicity is certainly what he got.

All in all I believe the collection is a mess, there does not seem to be a correlation between the clothes ( except for the appalling little hearts appearing here and there, one word: why?) After reviewing the collection, the first thing that came to my mind is a mix between Aladin and a spanish bullfighter. However the color scheme was spot on: deep purples, hot pinks and silvery whites, colors that pop out and definitely make a statement.

After the retirement of Emanuel Ungaro's founder Giambattista Valli in 2004, this label has never been able to return to the top. Will this designer line ever have a stellar debut again?

Estrella Archs over Lindsay Lohan

LiLo as many of you know, has been hired to be the artistic advisor for the Ungaro Label. A lot of you might think she is the one responsible for the designs going down the runway. However we now know who's the designer dehind it all, Barcelona based Estrella Archs. The CEO of Emanuele Ungaro, Mounir Mouffarige, has himself admitted to have hired Lindsay Lohan based on the fact that she is a celebrity, however I do not know why he would want to tie his label with the type of publicity she gets. Maybe it is because the label has been through a bit of turmoil the last few years, mainly in 2004 following the retirement of their head designer.

“Will there be more troubles? Sure. Fine,” More drama seems to be in the picture for this designer label, but I guess they see it as a way to bring a new sizzle. Lilo has had more run ins with the law that actual spots on the big screen, but maybe this is exactly what they are looking for. We are happy that they were able to make a great decision by bringing in Estrella, some of her past jobs have been in Prada, Nina Ricci and Emilio Pucci. Estrella says collaborating with Lindsay seems like a "revolutionary concept", and we think so too, but maybe not in a good way. I am concerned however if the runway does bring in good critique that all the credit will go to Lindsay Lohan. Mouffarige has admitted on hiring Lindsay not because of her designer skills, but the constant buzz sorrounding her.

"I was looking at who was attracting lots of attention. Celebrities have replaced the models - Linda and Christy and Cindy - have all been replaced not by other models but by celebrities." Says Mouffarige about hiring Lindsay. Well now we certainly see what it is all about, attracting a lot of attention, but I think in the expense of credibility.

- Chantal

Caching $$

I was looking around for something interesting to write about and I came accross something quite different. Theres a new material in town for making clothes, money - yes money. Strange, but true there is a company actually making t-shirts out of US currency. Recycling is all the rage right now, but really isn't this taking it a bit too far? The company is called Money Laundy Clothing ( Cleeeveer!!!) Each shirt is made with around $25, but you have to pay $70 to get one! I am really curious about how they must feel, hopefully not like real money! hehe.
Inventive? YES
Legal? I do not know...

Lets see if any celebrities decide to wear one, maybe then it will become the new thing...

Pastel Dominates

Many designers are changing direction for S/S 2010, almost no more neon bright colours are seen, the new thing is pastels. Soft blush-pink, delphinium blue, pistacchio and lilac are making their way in many runway shows throughout fashion weeks around the globe. Michael Kors uses this pallete for the first time and does it beautifully, by being influenced by architecture we can see a perfect balance between pretty and strong. This style was shown by combining pastels with zippers, plastic and geometric cut outs, all of this together created a gorgeous collection. Other designers also used this palette along with different feminime touches like florals and ruffles. Marc Jacobs and Jonathan Saunders also pulled it off brilliantly but at the same time making the whole collection edgy and modern, not even a bit washed out. So, bring out the girly girl in you for spring/summer 2010!

Runway finally changing?

I could not believe it when I saw real size models strut their stuff down the runway in Mark Fast S/S 2010 collection. It was not taken easily buy the young designers staff, both his creative director and stylist walked out 3 days before the runway show. The designer decided to use models UK size 14 , and in my opinion looked beautiful. It is about time that someone did something drastic about it, and there is nobody better than an up and coming designer like Mark Fast. A couple of freelance designers stepped in at last minute and helped put the whole show together. Amanda May, managing director for the Canadian designer said there were “creative differences with regards to the casting of those girls. There was a team change and we’re glad we stuck to our vision.”, the director also adds: “We wanted women to know they don’t have to be a size zero to wear a Mark Fast dress- curvier women can look even better in one.” In my opinion the show was wonderful, a little tweeking here and there in some of the girls walks would of made it perfect, however the show was complete with beautiful models and fabulous knitwear yet again from Mark Fast, now we can all say, big girls are in!!!

UPDATE: Mark Fast is teaming up with TopShop for a new collection, however the highstreet brand contacted him before the ss 2010 runway, so it was not just a press ploy!

- Chantal

Fashion in Pictures! Julia Salameh

I was just looking around for a good picture to post, and I came around this design. I think it is really interesting and full of detail, very beautiful indeed. Julia Salameh is responsible for this work as she specializes in print and web design. Check out her website www.juliasalameh.com.

Byeeeeee!

- Chantal

Good Morning!

Im in Uni today! Second week now and still getting used to it. Probably the hardest thing has been, money management! This is something very dangerous, money just seems to go away and then I have no idea what I spent it on. But oh well, I guess that is what money is for, right?? Even though I am getting used to it, I can't wait to get back to Puerto Vallarta. Soon I will be on the plane back, hopefully time WILL fly!! This is my first post, and hopefully next time I'll have something more exciting to blog about.

byeee!

- Chantal