Journo V Tough Mudder

Tough Mudder, considered to be one of the most challenging ways to prove you are truly tough, consists of 20-25 obstacles strewn over 12 miles. The obstacles consist of varying ways of putting your body through absolute hell, including: swimming through ice, running through exposed electric wires and crawling through enclosed spaces. Those unfamiliar with the concept would automatically conclude that anyone participating must be mad. However the underlying point of doing this is the vast amount of money that is raised by many each year for the “Help for Heroes” charity. The course is designed by British Special Forces, who themselves would probably liken it more to a walk in the park than an intense mental and physical challenge. Nevertheless it is an incredibly difficult test of your average Joe’s steel, grit and determination - something I got to learn very quickly.




Glorious sunshine rolled over the Wessex hills of Winchester for the first of two weekend Tough Mudder events taking place over Saturday and Sunday. A fitting setting for testing courage and determination against the odds, much like King Alfred’s men did many years ago. Thousands descended on the former Wessex capital for a chance to prove who had the biggest proverbials, accompanied by family and friends with music, beer and food all contributing towards a festival-like atmosphere. A short registration was quickly followed by our team of six group joinging the bigger group warm up for our ‘wave’ that would be running at 11:45. As everybody came together joined arms and screamed in each other’s faces, literally, you couldn’t help but be taken in by it all, a sort of mob mentality; but the good kind not the kind that leads to stealing rice from Tescos during riots “coz the government took all our taxes innit”. Slightly straying off the point a little, the start line was oddly a short run round the corner on the other side of a wall, a secret hidden obstacle perhaps? A short climb later the wave huddle had come together once again spurred on by the MC reeling off inspiring phrases such as “hoorah” although maybe reading this you can’t appreciate the appeal of this one word gesture. After a quick safety briefing we were let out the traps like greyhounds, the hopes and dreams of our family and friends resting on our young shoulders, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration but we were away with a nervous but excited expectation of what lay ahead.



After running up and down short hills we were confronted by the first obstacle, a wet muddy surface to crawl through with barbed wire on top. They really weren’t kidding when they called it tough mudder! The 20- 25 obstacles that lay ahead were all challenging in their own way, some easier than others. The easier consisted of jumping over gaps in the floor to going up and under logs. However the tougher obstacles really were tough. They consisted of the arctic enema which sounds exciting and exotic but I assure you it was not. The arctic enema was essentially an ice and water filled skipped with a large bit of wood in the middle which you have to swim under in order to make it to the other side. Entering the water it didn’t seem that bad, however the freezing water does start to take your breath away and make it difficult to breathe. The longer you stay submerged the harder it becomes and eventually I started seeing a bright light at the end of a tunnel, “Tigger is that you?” (Tigger is an old family cat who passed away; not by way of arctic enema I must stress). A few obstacles later, that included a rock climbing wall over water, a log carry and running over loose floating “islands” across water, we came to another big challenge; mud mile. The obsession with mud is something that should have been expected, it’s not called tough grasser after all, although that doesn’t really have the same ring to it. We were fortunate the Gods had been kind to us and the mud mille was largely not that muddy, however it was still wet and at the bottom of each large mud mini hill was a soaking puddle of muddy water. The mud was seemingly impossible to avoid but strangely enjoyable to be plastered in so often. In between the obstacles, at times, laid large areas of open space for running. The large gaps tested ones mental strength as the key was to block out the overwhelming desire to stop and simply walk to the next task. This was truly a test of mental as well as physical grit, made a lot easier by running with team mates and the general camaraderie shown by all competitors. A very enjoyable obstacle, yes that’s right there were some, was the monkey bars. Of course being Tough Mudder it was not that simple, the monkey bars went up then down at sort of triangle angle and there was some suspect looking water. I managed to get half way before landing in the drink, but it was a rather refreshing dip at that point in the day, although I didn’t intentionally fall off! Another very difficult obstacle was the ominously named “electric eel” – a shallow pit of water to crawl through with electric wire across the top, oh and exposed live wires to shock you if you were unfortunate enough to touch one. This required steely concentration and skill to navigate through the water without being zapped, something I managed, although a team mate of mine was unfortunate/stupid enough (delete where appropriate) to guide me through once he had finished only to lean on the electric wire himself. The Berlin Wall came later on in the day, or before; you get a bit delirious after running 8 or so miles in the scorching sun. The Berlin wall standing tall at around 12 feet high requires the help of your fellow Tough Mudders, although there were plenty who could traverse the wooden wall unaided. There were many more obstacles to come, such as the half pipe that required each Tough Mudder to run up to the top. This was where some of the greatest team work was shown. There were mudders unknown to each other that helped pull each another up to the top of the half pipe, fantastic team work shown, really captivating the theme of the event. There was one final test that separated every Tough Mudder from the glory of finishing, as well an ice cold Strongbow that has never seemed more appealing. This final test of character came in the form of more electricity, this time longer exposed wires hanging down above some slippery muddy…mud. There was also a volunteer to spray you with water, just for good measure. The best advice for anyone reading this who is considering taking on Tough Mudder in the future is; close your eyes and run fast. It is nearly impossible to avoid the array of wires, your best bet is to run and hope for the best!



Once you make it through the electric hell you finally make it across the finish line for one of, if not the, most refreshing pints of Strongbow, given out by a team of very helpful staff. Friendly as well, as I forgot to grab my pint I was allowed to go back and get one, hoorah! Despite coming out feeling very battered and bruised and in a fair bit of pain, the overwhelming sense of achievement more than made up for the aches and pains. The adrenaline helped you through most of the course and takes a while to wear off, just be aware that some point between getting in the car and lying down in bed it will hit you! The whole day is a fantastic day out, really well organised by Tough Mudder and Strongbow and something I would recommend to anybody mad enough to be thinking of taking part!

Land Critical Review

The aim of our housing documentary was to show the contrast between country and city living whilst highlighting so called ‘urban sprawl’. The idea was to show suburban expansion and importantly the Greenland that has been and is being built on and the paranoia, and the positive and negative that comes with it.

The opening scene was one that was given much consideration in the original plan; we had decided to do a shot of a rising sun, but after seeing many other people had used that we decided against it. Furthermore it would not be entirely relevant to our subject of housing. The helicopter shot going over St George’s hill lacked the visual impact we had hoped for and the voice over gives it more emotion, whilst setting the tone for the rest of the documentary. The choice of poem is ironic in the way it talks about land being free to share whilst showing St George’s hill which has been acquired by a richer class than the previous owners. The bloody atrocities that occurred during the digger’s movement at St George’s hill provide the legitimate usage of the footage under public interest. Furthermore only what is necessary has been used which protects the usage of the short clip under the ‘fair use’ policy.

The sound is brought in to contrast the peaceful imagery of St George’s hill, the succession of building site sounds and imagery was intended to show the hectic nature of building. These shots are mixed in with countryside shots of open land and animals with a voice over which talks about the countryside being built on. This technique of contrasting loud sounds of a building site with the countryside is done to emphasise the difference of what can be seen as an intrusion of man and machine onto natural land. This concept is echoed by the voice overs of the ‘Save Barton Farm group’ who put this into words again giving more emotion.

The time lapse sequence intends to show the negative impact that urban overpopulation and new housing can have. The images show crime, the time lapse represents the fact that over time increased population and overcrowding has been linked to crime. This is of course one of many factors that have been attributed to over population and urban decay but is the one that visually provides a strong feel. The idea of crime spreading and over all urban decay is reinforced by the smashing of the bottle which also ads an acoustic contrast into the following sequence.

The next part of the documentary shows urban decay, the visual imagery here was basic in terms of the shots as the dilapidation of the buildings speaks for themselves. However the colour was taken out of the shot of the post man walking through the estate. I feel the colour left on the post man represents the contrast between the dreary surroundings of the estate and man’s ability to overcome bad surroundings. It shows that despite what surrounds you, you can prevail. I feel that the inclusion of social housing is very important; council housing shows the might of welfare state, but also its ultimate failings. With many estates now derelict it shows the negative side of housing and how despite its roaring success in the mid 70’s it has led to urban decay and ultimately failed. The sound track was made on garage band with the intention of being dark to reflect the images; however we made it a bit more upbeat than originally planned so that it would keep the viewer interested and is catchy. The voice tracks over the music provide more stimulation without literally narrating the piece, adding the negative attitudes towards housing as well as the visual of run down places. Originally we had planned to use shots from Barton farm that we had got permission to use, however they were not of a great quality and upon reflection did not add to what we were trying to achieve.  The clasped hands again represent the struggle between people and their surroundings and show the contrast between concrete and flesh. The shots of the estate are a bit grainy as they were not filmed using a HD camera; however this added to the affect that we were looking to achieve. The sun light at the end of the sequence shows the light which represents nature and that there are light and positive aspects to emerge from the mass building of new houses.

The interviewee voice track that goes over the countryside shots balances the views on housing talking about the positive sides of immigration and new housing and the interviewee is an immigrant himself which provides a valid point of view. The music from the busker was again courtesy of a John Knutson who filmed him on the day of the Barton Farm protests which fitted perfectly with the tone of the shots of various housing estates. The suburban housing estates were put together to show a rapid succession of identical houses that show the monotony of suburbia where everything seems to be the same as the neighbour. This is reflected by the overlapping of shots, which are actually of different estates but they look very similar. This wasn’t intended to reflect the positive or negative side of housing but simply what comes with new build housing estates. Whether the audience see these sorts of housing estates as a positive or negative thing is open to interpretation. The sequence also shows new homes that contrast the urban decay shown at the start of the documentary. Although we had used music over these shots, I think that we could have interviewed someone at a building company or from the council who could talk about the positives and negatives of new housing to back up the other interview. This would have given a bit more balance as well as getting more information on housing estates.

The Drama of the urban decay shots coupled with the protestors from Barton Farm gave a dark sinister feel to the documentary, which contrasts with the countryside shots which have no music. The idea was to show the countryside as being natural and untouched and I felt that the images speak for themselves in this case and did not need a music bed and just needed a simple voice over as the images are strong enough on their own.

Media Law 6

Freedom of Information (FOI)

The freedom of information act 2000 gives the general public the right to information from public authorities including the government.

The freedom of information act is seen as a good thing for journalists as it allow them to uncover truths about subjects that the public otherwise wouldn't have known. Tony Blair's government brought in the act to give the government more transparancy however Mr Blair has openly regretted the move as many journalists have used it against the governments favour.

Public services covered include;
. Government departments
. Local authorities
. National health service bodies
. Schools, colleges, and universities
. The police
. The houses of parliament
. The Northern Ireland assembley; and
. The National assembley for Wales

McNae's Essential law for journalists states;

Any person (icluding a journalist) who makes a request in writing to a public authority for information must be told wheter the authority holds that information and must be supplied with the information he is seeking, unless an exemption applies. However, in the majority of cases where an exemption applies, the public authority will then have to consider whether the information must be released in the public interest.


Reference: McNae's essential law for journalists 19th edition.

Media law 5.

Copyright

A short but sweet lecture and helpful nonetheless!

Copyright, according to McNae's, covers people's: skill, creativity, labour or time.

For a journalist this will cover video output as well as written articles.

It is important to note that a whole varitety of things are covered from; music, dance moves, written words, adverts, costume designers and so on.

Copyright gives the person rights to whatever it may be, for example music will belong to the artist and producers.

Fair dealings

Copyrighted work can be used for the uses of criticism or review, for example when reviewing a movie and this does not infringe the law. However people must be careful that they credit the makers of the film in this case, you must make it clear that the work has been done by somebody else.

media law 2

Reporting in courts.

The two main issues you want to stay clear of are; contempt of court and prejudice. Basically if anything is reported that may sway the juries mind for example calling the defendant a thug could make the jury (who are supposed to be impartial) think differently. This would be contempt of court which is punishable by jail. so don't do it.

Before a trial has begun however, you can report on some aspects of the case such as:

Names, age and occupation of the defendant.
Magistrate and courts name
Bail arrangements
Barristers/lawyers
Wheather or not there was legal aid

When the case is active you can then be found in contempt of court, the case is active when;

A person has been arrested, or a warrant for his arrest has been issued, or a summons has been issued, or if a person has been charged orally.

The case ceases to become active when;

.The arrested person is released without police charge (except on police bail)
. No arrest is made within 12 months of the issue of the warrant
. The case is discontinued
. The defendant is acquitted or sentanced
. He is found unfit to be tried, or unfit to plead, or the court order the charge to lie on file.

The courts are keen to stress that everybody has the right to a fair trial and that the media should not affect this.

Court reporting must be as always; fast, accurate and fair. The story must be printed without prejudice it must have accurate details and be printed on the first available issue.

People who are victims of sex crimes such as rape, and children involed in sex crimes should be treated with caution as they are guranteed anonimity and their names should never be reported.

Magistrates courts can give out these sentances;

.6 months Jail time
. Fines up to £5,000
. Suspended sentance
. Community orders
. Asbo's

References; McNae's Essential law for journalists 19th edition

Media Law 1

Basic court structure, Basic Law.

In England and wales:

At the lowest level you have;

Magistrates court - Tribunals

Crown Court - County Court (Split in to criminal and civil respectively)

High court

Court of Appeal (split in to Civil and criminal divisions)

The supreme court - The top of the pile where for all appeals.

Break Down

Magistrates court:

All criminal cases in England and Wales start in the magistrates courts.

Indicitable offences are sent to the crown court

Triable either way cases can be at crown or county court.

Cases heard by JP (Justice of the peace)

Crown Court;

The most serious offences are sent here, for example; Murder, Rape, Section 18 wounding etc.

Cases heard by a Judge and Jury.

They hear cases from magistrates court
They deal with cases sent for sentance from the magistrates court
They try indictable offences such as those mentioned above.

County Court;

Deal with civil law.

Cases such as contracts and common law torts are dealt with at country court, such as claiming compensation money.

High court;

Deals with civil cases, and listens to appeals from the crown court. It is split up in to the following divisions;

Family Divison - Deals with divorce, adoption etc.

The Queens Bench Division - Deals with large compensation cases also listens to some appeals from crown or magistrates court

Chancery Division - Deals with wills, winding up orders etc.

Court of Appeal;

Deals with Criminal and civil appeals from crown courts and County courts respectively.

Supreme court;

Deals with cases that are appealed from the court of appeal in civil and criminal cases.

The European court of justice is what cases are reffered to when involving Eurpean law, this is the only court above the supreme court that cases can go to. The European court of Human rights is a court which deals with cases of human rights, where someone thinks a case can't be solved in the national system.

References;

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_rights/legal_system/courts_of_law.htm#high_court

McNae's essential law for journalists 19th addition

Winol 16/11/11

Good headlines.

The in studio debate was a good idea and made a change from the usual introduction of a package. The questions are good however it didn't come across as natural coverage like Gareth and Becky were having a conversation. I think this was the idea however it was just Becky reading from a sheet and came across a bit strange to me.

Lou's Package is very good, however to a simpleton like myself it is a big confusing. I'm not really sure about services being cut and merged I think it is a bit hard to explain to your average Joe. The first interview is framed well, however the second is a bit awkward the man is sort of staring in to no where towards the camera he needs to turn to his right to be better framed. But over all a good package.

The pedophile story is a bit long, Flick delivers the information needed very well and is well framed in the shot. However there is a lack of cutaways which is understandable, but it makes the package drag out a bit, possible better in a OOV. Also there is a shot of the court that pops up after Flicks sing off, maybe a technical issue.

The parking story is a good local story, all be it a bit dull it is relevant to our audience a good mix of shots keeps the viewer interested. Lee has done well to get the interview, who gives a good quote asking why the prices are being raised giving his opinion. The interview with the councillor gives balance explaining the reason for the rise.

The festival story Good use of natural sound at the start. And lets face it, it is a shameless promotion for Winchester University.

The University App is an interesting story, and maybe could of been made in to a longer package maybe with some vox-pops as this story directly affects students. This appeals directly to our target market.

SPORT. The Totton package had to dominate sport as it was such a big story. It was well covered and edited. Stefan Brown interview was good, but as Angus said, he had set a world record for the fastest goal ever scored off the bench so this could have been focused on more. Possibly with a follow up feature after scoring the hat trick.

The final story is good again some shameful self promotion but still a interesting story. The shots of Aaron talking into the microphone then talking over that from the first part of his interview was a bit confusing. The interview with Joy carter was well framed and it is good to get her opinion the charity radio show.

ICE HOCKEY- Much of the same from me again. I feel I am starting to master the ice Hockey packages. As it was low scoring game I didn't get a chance to use a score counter in the corner. I did a feature where I travelled to the Bison's home ground and did two interviews and got on the ice myself. I decided to make it funny as it will be better to watch. I did a fast paced scene of of me putting the gear on then cut to a slow motion of me walking out of the Bison curtains. Then a few shots of me falling over! I made sure that I over did it with the comedy side so that it was obvious it was a jokey thing rather than serious as it couldn't be half serious and half funny as I think this wouldn't look right. For one of the interviews I asked about the fighting aspect of the game as this allowed me to put archive footage of fighting over the interview. This made it a little bit more light hearted as the cut aways were interesting as the subject of fighting isn't too in depth and I think is interesting to the viewer. The only thing that I was not happy with was the amount of time I had on the ice. I would have liked longer and to got more shots of me doing different things on the ice but we simply did not have time. Furthermore I tried to get some shots of the camera being sprayed by skates but it didn't work and again we didn't have time to film it because we could only be on the ice for 15 minutes.