Lights, Camera, ACTION!!

Our Vox Pop Project is well under way and we have the majority of the filming done and dusted.

So far we have had meetings with Taras, Tony, Rosie, Pam and Lynne and have gone further by filming Taras, Tony and Rosie.

All the interviews and filming have gone well; we have noticed how every volunteer is different and how nerves affect them all in various ways. However, all of them have been very willing and patient.

We have found that this project has caused most work for us as we have been constantly phoning and emailing to set all these interviews up. I have also found that the volunteers are much more comfortable about the whole experience once we have had the initial meeting so they fully understand what we are doing and why. The only volunteer we have left to speak to at all is Peter but that has now been arranged for next week, along with Pam's filming.

I have also noticed that the volunteers are quite enthusiastic about the project and are all anxiously awaiting the finished product.

We have decided that the editing should begin to take place soon, much of which we can do off site on our university campus. Imogen and I have arranged another meeting with Tom in order to learn how to use the appropriate software and how to make the most of it. I am looking forward to this as technology eludes me a little so I feel I may learn some valuable skills for the future. This will allow us to start the editing process straight after Easter so the project is finished in time.

It is all onwards and upwards from here.

Brownies take over the Palace

On February 13th 2013, I organised for some of my local Brownies to come to the Palace for the day. This was in aid of the Vox Pop Project so we could film the volunteers within their role at the Palace. This will be part of Rosie Petherick's interview which has been organised but not yet carried out.

We had a very lovely day, even though only two of the girls could come. We spent the first part of the morning making shields in the Learning Room. This was an activity based around the knights and their shields. It was amazing to see how the education department actually worked and to get involved with the activities.

It was interesting to see which patterns the girls chose for their shields and why and then what the symbols would have meant early in history on a knight's shield.

We followed this up through doing the Dragon Hunt which the girls thoroughly enjoyed and this gave us an opportunity to film them a little for the project. Sara did all the technical work but only stayed at the Palace for a couple of hours. However, we managed to get more than enough footage and pictures. I think the Dragon Hunt was the most popular activity as it did encourage the girls to be outside; they also loved the fact the dragon was a girl and they could tie ribbons on her. However, we did get to explore the inside of the Palace as well and I was surprised to see how interested they were about the History of the Palace as they sat and watched the video in the Long Gallery all the way through.

After our pleasing find, we took part in a Shield Hunt to warm up. This allowed the girls to explore the inside of the Palace a little more. This worksheet was a little more challenging with a complex activity at the bottom but they seemed to enjoy it.

Then all that was left to do was explore the market place a little before heading home.

I really enjoyed this particular week as it was a little break from all the work we have going on. I had a little bit of a hard time coming to terms with going on our Reading Week as it was meant to be a week away; however, I enjoyed organising the trip for the girls and making the most of the Palace as a visitor as well as enhancing our projects a little more. The Vox Pop project is finally beginning to take shape. Yay!!