Jacana Projects, University of Warwick

June 26, 2012

Team Journal WEEK 9

We didn't sleep. We didn't eat. We were exited and full of ideas. Passion was all around us.We came to prayers early in the mornings.... But we eventually made it!

Week 9 was full of stress, expectations, epiphanies, restructurings, debates, more debates, interviews, lively discussions, crazy dancing breaks, motivational songs (which Nina can sing for you !), team spirit, nights and early mornings dedicating our lives to making this dream come true!

CrazyBrainstorming

When you don't have white boards, you get creative!

All the girls feel that our group dynamic was exceptionally productive, meaning that we managed not only to develop a sameness and a kindness between individuals, but rather had passionate debates all bargaining together for the best!

jacana Team

One of the rare pictures where nobody is using a chair as a car :)

IN THE END... THE BEST WEEK EVER !!

Aurelie Duret : 26 Jun 2012 03:51 | Tags: Team Journal | Comments (0) | Close comments | Report a problem

June 18, 2012

Team Journal WEEK 8

Interviews:

Andrew Harris (arranged for June 20th)
Transport Museum
Thessaloniki Guerilla Initiative
Moscow City Architect
People at the Herbert Gallery
Students and Professor at the Media department, Coventry University

Footage taken:

Coventry city centre: the 'Mysteries week' festival
Thessaloniki
Herbert
Transport Museum

After having allocated the storylines writing part by part, we completed the task and our script seems almost ready

At the media suite:

First video draft edited
Voice-over halfway through
Brainstorming concerning our strategic suggestions

1 hour tutorial:

Feedback on our progress
We expressed our disappointment and frustration about the fact that Authorities seem not to bother (they are absolutely unreachable)
We received a great deal of encouragement and useful tips on how to approach and get to the right people we want to interview

Chrysoula Chatzisavva : 18 Jun 2012 00:14 | Tags: Team Journal | Comments (0) | Close comments | Report a problem

June 15, 2012

Team Journal WEEK 7

Tasks completed:

Documentary structure parts and timing
Interviews arranged, along with interview questions (Thessaloniki & Moscow creative people, Andrew Harris)
All necessary documents regarding interviews gathered
Shootings in Coventry city centre: Interviewing citizens on the street

Realisation: After constant and persistent attempts to reach the officials (Coventry City Council regeneration unit)one of the things that makes the city lacking creativity is that people who could be leading such initiatives, are not even bothered.

3-hour seminar:

Making a documentary – reflections on pulling it all together
Hints and tips on how to make your film more engaging and intriguing
Realisation: If we want to make people believe in our attempt, we have to believe it ourselves fully, put all our passion into it

More:

Consulting library resources on creative documentary making
Gathered further contacts on creative intitiatives in Coventry such as 'the Mysteries week' and visits to creative places in Coventry for interviews

Chrysoula Chatzisavva : 15 Jun 2012 14:52 | Tags: Team Journal | Comments (0) | Close comments | Report a problem

Team Journal WEEK 6

Meeting at the Media Suite

First trials of the editing software available
Documentary structure amendments
Allocations of structure parts to all members in order to elaborate
Script Brainstorming
Initial interview contacts

1 hour tutorial

Feedback on our progress so far
Tips on which people to interview

Chrysoula Chatzisavva : 15 Jun 2012 14:10 | Tags: Team Journal | Comments (0) | Close comments | Report a problem

May 31, 2012

Team Journal WEEK 5

Week 5

- Media team meeting (Documentary Meeting)

o Elaboration of a structure for the Documentary

o Identification of stakeholders and potential interviewees

o Allocation of the task for the media team

o Do we prepare a set of questions for interviews? We decided that we would prepare a set of flexible questions (but were advised by S&S to have at least a few similar questions in order to create contrast and comparisons in the documentary)

- Follow-up with the entire team (Documentary Meeting)

o Allocated documentary part to each member to write the storyline

o Develop the structure further

o Brainstorming about technicalities. How to shoot, with which devices

o Elaboration of a more comprehensive list of potential interviewees, first contacts

o Draft the disclaimer, letter of consent for images

- First Shoot: Coventry Vintage Fair, Central Square

Aurelie Duret : 31 May 2012 14:12 | Tags: Team Journal | Comments (0) | Close comments | Report a problem

Team Journal WEEK 4

Done: Reset of the blog, Creation of the Website, Research on our implementation project: I LOV COV

Our project Our idea : the Cost Effective Creative City

- Tutorial with Tomi in the morning: research and research questions presented

- Tutorial with S&S in the afternoon

o We need to replace and scale Coventry in a meaningful context for the viewer

o We have to AVOID THE NOISE. Meaning that we sometimes one good idea or one strong small thing in a project can be a sufficent driver. We shall not let our spurs of creativity get into the way of our vision and good strategy. Focus of the money and creativity on one idea makes it stronger

o We shall understand the CITY AS A BRAND. Using the brand framework might help us identifying what are the needs, the problems as well as solutions

o We do not need to think that a creative city must be permanently creative

TO DO

- Creation of thematic entries on the blog: with the help of the research team to elaborate and show our findings

- Continuation of the research about Coventry: Nina Justyna Chrisa

- Cherry picking of good initiatives and ideas

- We should already start to edit and storyboard what we can in our documentary

Aurelie Duret : 31 May 2012 14:08 | Tags: Team Journal | Comments (0) | Close comments | Report a problem

May 30, 2012

Team Journal WEEK 3

What the Brief said
Week 3: Tuesday 8 th May – 3 hour seminar: Initial documentary ideas and feedback:

• Each team will present three initial ideas/approaches in terms of subject matter

• Feedback and critique by other teams

What we did

or prezi link here

What we missed

Everybody has a very different understanding of this project: bottom line It is a RESEARCH documentary
We were too visual

Action Plan (See task list)

- We need to make further research

- We need to master the art of the Blog (Blog guidelines soon to come)

Aurelie Duret : 30 May 2012 16:16 | Tags: Team Journal | Comments (0) | Close comments | Report a problem

Team Journal WEEK 2

Defining our company and assigning team roles

The team gathered for 3 hours in order to define our identity and our positioning. We haven’t got the time to do the positioning. Were advised by Sara and Sandy (S&S) to inquire this. Were also commented on our not addressing stakeholders.

The presentation we made to S&S

Slide 1 Presentation Logo Name

TEAM ORGANIZATION

PRODUCTION & MARKETING
Merging of pre and post production, Finance, Action plan, every week task list: CHRISA + AURELIE

MEDIA MANAGERS
Web editors, directors, video editing, looks, visuals web editor NINA, Director ALINA & video editing JUSTYNA

RESEARCHERS
PRERITA Part 1 Alina Aurelie Part 2 Everybody Part 3 Chrisa+ Prerita Creative solutions

Aurelie Duret : 30 May 2012 16:10 | Tags: Team Journal | Comments (0) | Close comments | Report a problem

Creative Cities: The courage to create

"When I look at my city, Thessaloniki, I see a city suffering from the financial crisis, as most of Greek cities. I witness the consequences on people and families. But I also see how our initiatives and resilience is fighting the gloom. No one would think that in such conditions I could observe my city becoming even more creative and culturally interesting as it previously was.

It made me realize that creativity didn’t depend on how much money or how many creative organizations exist; but rather on the implication and involvement of people and inhabitants. When they seized that moment as an opportunity to change their world, at that very moment, my city truly became creative."

Chrisa, A thessaloniki resident in love with her city

This is a guerilla creative experiment ”Thessaloniki in another way’ which empowers the citizens into doing something for their city because of the failure of the government.

‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’ shouts the man at the beginning of the video

And all it took was passion, will, love for what their city represents for them.

Sao Paolo, Brazil is another example of people engagement in the face of the government incapability to invest many resources. It has pushed its resident into taking action about the look and the dirt of the city.

This campaign aimed at ‘cleaning’ the city, but it was not only about physical dirt and rubbish, it also positively engaged people into unveiling the true creative colors of their city! And in order to allow for the public space to become again a space for people to project themselves they decided on the ban of advertising!

‘In today’s synthetically colored cities, people assume that vibrancy derives from neon lights and advertising campaigns. The ban in São Paulo reminds the world that it’s a city’s inhabitants and cultural heritage that bring the true flavor’ http://www.newdream.org/resources/sao-paolo-ad-ban

We believe that to make a city creative you have to focus on its soul: its citizens. Creativity entails freedom of expression, but also the ‘courage’ to do so. In order to bring out the creativity of people you need to shape the appropriate framework. Engaging inhabitants in showing their inner creativity is what we believe is a true creative city project.

Aurelie Duret : 30 May 2012 15:52 | Tags: Creative Guerilla | Comments (0) | Close comments | Report a problem

May 28, 2012

"Administrating" the City

What we understand by the management conception of the city is a rather top-down approach to city issues and adminitstration. Meaning that local governments' top-down vision can sometimes lead to ambiguous situations and more importantly implementations where the government ends up confronting its own residents.

This can be accurately observed in developing cities because they are forced upon following the imperative of economic growth while coping with basic needs. Urban development research has found that government authorities are investing massively in projects which lead to lop-sided development.

Mumbai is an archetipal example, as asserted by Dr. Andrew Harris' team (see below), of a city administration where people are not a part of the decision making process, creating a situation in which the development of a brand new metropolitan hub takes place at the cost of a basic necessity like water.

These unilateral ways of imagining and governing cities create divides and opposition within a city. In cities where the residents are given more opportunities to engage in the local government these historical tendencies are counter balanced.

More and more initiatives foster the collaboration between professionals, organizations and inhabitants. These, despite their fanciness, are rare examples of merging of ideas, conceptions and people in order to improve and foresee living in the city.

The future city game is a very good illustration of this attempt. Initiated via the Creative Cities Europe by the British Councilthis exercise connects professionals and residents in creating a future vision and map of their city.

This is an interesting conversational and democratic initiative, which local governments are trying to imbibe. However these are rare examples, and the local political structures are not flexible enough. Jacana projects aims at developing consensually decided and inspired enhancements in cities.

Aurelie Duret : 28 May 2012 11:37 | Tags: Development Government Policy Video | Comments (0) | Close comments | Report a problem