Currently working on "The Racket"...

Over this dingy, dark, winter period, one of the projects I'm currently working on is editing a new documentary called "The Racket". It's kind of a tie-in to this year's 100th anniversary of the start of World War One, but looking at the conflict - arguably the first war to be fought on an industrial scale - from a financial and political perspective. While good men were fighting on the battlefields, who was enabling (and paying for) this endeavour behind the scenes? "The Racket" explores this topic.

Check out the official website HERE, and watch a portion of the film.

The Problem of Evil (2012)

This five-part series of educational films, aimed at 16-18 year old students of theology and religious studies, discusses some of the complex ethical issues surrounding one of the biggest questions: if there is a God, why is there evil in the world? Examining various theodicies linked to the topic, The Problem of Evil has one central evil at the heart of it – to help tie everything together – and that is the Holocaust, represented sensitively-but-honestly with stunning archive film.

 

The main four films (which I shot and edited) provide the in-depth starter knowledge to help inspire and sustain informed and passionate debate within the classroom, while the fifth film (for which I wrote the script and edited) provides an optional brief history of the Holocaust, from the election of Adolf Hitler, through the end of World War II, and beyond to the present day.

 

Editing this series provided some interesting creative challenges (as evidenced in the third video clip below), not only in continuing to produce visually-arresting educational films that didn't resemble the staid affairs I remembered from my own high school days, but also in sensitively dealing with tragic subject matter – most specifically the Holocaust. The main four films all exhibit sequences relating to the subject, but the key was to not push too far with the footage, while maintaining an honest and educational approach to the material.

 

However, we also felt that it was important to provide an optional extra on the DVD – the aforementioned The Holocaust: A Brief History – which fully lays bare the horrors of those events in a truthful manner that avoids audience manipulation. It isn't required viewing in a class room, but teachers have been provided with the choice to show it, or alternatively utilise the script (provided on the DVD with comprehensive teacher's notes).

 

Once again, by working on an educational DVD, a challenge was offered to create strong and interesting visual representations of the complex theological issues and ideas being put forward by the narration. I was able to tweak and improve upon previously used techniques, as well as try out some new ideas across all the films, to keep the presentation fresh and absorbing.

Click “READ MORE” below to watch preview clips of all five films featured in The Problem of Evil, and see what people think of the films themselves...

"Gaia: Greek Goddess of Earth" wins award!

"Gaia: Greek Goddess of Earth" - an alternate version of one of the films found in the "Gaia & Genesis" Environmental Ethics DVD - has won an Australasian Best Environmental Film Award. From a field of 85 entrants, our film (Joe Jenkins of Ethics Online wrote the script and directed, while I was in charge of the camera work and editing) was chosen as the winner by the Australian Film Critics Association.

It screened last night (May 12th 2012) at the Campfire Film Festival in Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia. The film is also in general competition at the festival, and is one of the finalists.

Many thanks to Campfire for this award!

Ethics Online's 2012 Promo Reel...

Check out the new promo reel that I cut together for the educational DVDs of Ethics Online - this video covers the range of topics currently on offer: War & Peace, Gaia & Genesis, Sex & Ethics, and Abortion: Ancient & Modern.

Abortion: Ancient & Modern (2011)...

This project (three films between 15 and 20 minutes each) was a chance to further build upon my previous experience with educational DVDs, and what I've done with them in the past. Being on the topic of abortion, which is a difficult thing to represent on-screen, due to its controversial nature but also in terms of a concept - it's incredibly hard to be literal about it (due to a lack of footage, but also not wanting to get exploitative and visceral), so I had to develop a more metaphorical and ambient approach to the visuals.


On previous educational DVDs we used a lot more Public Domain 'Public Information Films' (PIFs), but here it wouldn't have worked, so combining modern day stock footage and photos with more ethereal elements such as water, smoke, and light, in our own established style ("video collage" as I often put it), proved to be a successful way to present the subject - both visually and as a topic of discussion and information for Sixth Form students.


Below are some examples of feedback that we have gained, as well as sample video clips. Visit www.ethicsonline.net for more information about Abortion: Ancient & Modern.

"I congratulate you warmly on this production, well balanced and full of fascinating history. Well worth screening outside classrooms too."
Lord David Steel, Architect of the 1967 Abortion Act

"A brilliant resource. All three films are extremely thought provoking and material is presented in a sensitive manner."
Sarah Hopkins, Religious Studies Subject Leader, Bishop Hedley High School

"These films are of an exceptionally high standard. They are well-researched and ideal for discussion. Highly recommended."
Tina Hollingsworth, Westminster College

"Very insightful and challenging.... really good."
Beth Aston, A Level RS Student

Abortion: Ancient & Modern - Part 3 Screenshots...

The new educational DVD - Abortion: Ancient & Modern - is complete, and below are some screenshots from the third film in the three part series. This third film was the most complex of the lot, on a project that proved to be quite the editing challenge - the find a way to not only maintain our visually arresting style, but to wrestle with a topic as controversial and tricky to visualise as abortion.

Abortion: Ancient & Modern screenshots...

Film Two is now at the 'Beta Edit' stage - as I like to call it - the penultimate stage where the only thing left to do is make any final tweaks, stick on the credits, and render the final file.

As promised a couple of weeks back, here are some screenshots to get an idea of the visual style of these films that I've been working on recently.

Film One:

Film Two:

It's certainly proving to be an interesting and enjoyable creative challenge. With each new educational DVD project, I get to try out new visual ideas that help produce a visually arresting series of films that have proven popular with students and teachers alike nationwide.

What have I been up to lately?

Editing - that's what. A new educational DVD, this time on the topic of Abortion. It'll be three films, and the first is pretty much done - what I'd call a 'penultimate draft' (so there's just a tiny bit of tinkering left to do, whack on the credits, and do the final render).

And it looks a bit like this ... on the edit timeline anyway.

I'll post some screenshots in due course, but suffice to say I'm quite chuffed with the first film, and what's more it doesn't drag - it moves along at a nice swift pace, and it's never boring to look at - something I'd always aimed to achieve with these educational films we've done, because I remember watching such films when I was in school and they were always so dry, dull and ever-so-earnest in their presentation. What we do, on the other hand, is much more interesting - and we've been told just that by the students themselves (and indeed their teachers).

Contempt of Conscience - full documentary online...

A few years back now I was involved in a documentary project called Contempt of Conscience.

It has now been uploaded in-full to YouTube, and you can watch it via the links (or embedded windows) below - or you can visit Top Documentary Films and see it there.

PART ONE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2pVngostcs



PART TWO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCkox_jq9wQ



PART THREE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yru4-86epCo

Ethics Online now has a YouTube Channel...

Scoot yourselves over to www.youtube.com/ethicsonline to have a gander.

All the films available on the DVDs for War & Peace, Sex & Ethics, and Gaia & Genesis now have clips up on YouTube, differing from the clips available to view at www.ethicsonline.co.uk

You'll also see that I've linked to the above YouTube Channel in my links section over there on the right among the other links.

Just War (2010)…

This is an educational film about warfare, from Augustine and Aquinas to Afghanistan and Iraq, covering the history and development of Just War Theory as well as its implications for armed conflict today. I used my experience shooting and editing (especially the latter in this instance) previous educational films extensively on this project, learning from past mistakes or things I’d like to change, both in terms of the edit itself, and how I edit.


Out of all the educational films I’ve put together, I feel this is my best work to date (at the time of writing). I improved my editing style, use of Non-Linear Editing software, and – as always – took care to edit tight from the get-go. I dislike cobbling things together and then doing extensive re-working – I always do a tight edit from the out-set, because if you can see how something should appear on screen straight away, why waste time getting there?


Past educational films I’ve worked on have been praised for their visual style (in addition to content), which has proved engaging to teachers, students, and festival audiences alike – and so with Just War I continued to explore new ways of making the film look (and even sound) striking. I’m very pleased with how the final product has turned out – a film that, for me personally, pushed me to further enhance my editing and organisational skills. The final film is informative, visually and aurally exciting, and sports an efficient pace.

Sex & Ethics, and Gaia & Genesis reviews...

A couple of reviews for these educational DVDs - as found at www.ethicsonline.co.uk:

Sex & Ethics:

"The DVD is extremely well presented and addresses sexual ethics in a clear and concise manner. The links between sexual ethics and Natural Law, Utilitarianism, Kant and Situation Ethics are particularly good as they encourage pupils to make links between the ethical theories which is absolutely crucial at A-level. The DVD is not only visually stimulating but, more importantly, current for those who are watching, and is a must-have resource for any RE Department, especially for those departments providing A-level Philosophy and Ethics courses."

Emma Brambell, Teacher of Religious Education

Gaia & Genesis:

"This is an outstandingly engaging and timely resource that will grab the attention of students and persuade them of the significance of environmental ethics like never before. The narration and content presentation includes concise quotes from key thinkers that add depth and academic rigour to a stimulating and intelligent exploration of the main issues in environmental ethics. It would stretch the brightest at GCSE, engage the vast majority, and, inspire AS students to personal curiosity. It is visually impressive, content rich and well produced - overall a great resource."

David Potter, Teacher of Religious Studies, Ashby School

...

And here's some more short & sweet comments on the Sex & Ethics DVD:

“Lovingly crafted by Joe Jenkins, a master at producing workaday resources for hard-pressed teachers at both GCSE and A Level."
RE Online

“Highly recommended.”
Judy Grill, Churcher's College, Petersfield

“Well worth the price of a few text books."
Andrew Pearce, Principal Religious Studies Examiner

“Accessible and stimulating.”
Christine Chalstrey, Wychwood School, Oxford

“Absolutely fantastic.”
Hannah Williams, St. Helen's School, Middlesex

Gaia & Genesis online clips, and Sex & Ethics review...

Click your way in this direction:
http://www.ethicsonline.co.uk/pages/environmental.html
And you'll find five clips, one from each of the five films that make up the Gaia & Genesis DVD.

...

Then head over here:
http://news.reonline.org.uk/article.php?34
And you'll find a review of the Sex & Ethics DVD, an excerpt of which is below.

"‘Neat’ is an expression that was perhaps overused by students when I was at university, but it is one that I am more than willing to use for this DVD. It is not only neat but it is also simple, user-friendly and self-contained. You have everything needed to enliven your teaching of one particular unit from the A2 Religious Ethics syllabus, namely ‘sexual ethics’..."

Sex & Ethics has had a lot of positive feedback since its release, so hopefully Gaia & Genesis will follow suit.

Sex & Ethics (2008)...

This was my first educational DVD, and I was charged with the task of filming and editing the whole thing. At this point it was the biggest filmmaking project I had been involved in, and it was great experience.


The DVD consists of eight films (four topics split into two films each), with added student group discussion (and teacher’s notes too). The DVD is about ethical theories and issues related to sex and relationships.


It was a great opportunity to really come up with arresting visuals – personally, my experience of educational videos (that dates my education, haha) was usually one of boredom, of something rather staid. Obviously I didn’t want to be responsible for filming and editing something that wouldn’t keep the students interested in watching – so I was able to come up with an interesting style.


We not only used a whole wealth of Public Domain stock footage (to use as-is, or re-cut and re-contextualise), but I also got to put together colourful and interesting sequences through various means (layering video, colouring, shooting re-enactments/scenarios in different ways etc).


The project wasn’t the most organised I’d worked on, so that was an education in itself – but it has helped to improve my own organisation, shooting, editing and filmmaking in general – plus, it also acted as a testing run (in a way) for the next educational DVD, which was all about the environment from a theological stand point.

Follow the below link to the official website, where you can also see four video clips:
http://www.ethicsonline.co.uk/

Sexual Ethics DVD - more feedback...

Just swung by Ethics Online to see if there were any new responses from those who had purchased the DVD, and indeed there was:

“A must-have resource for any RE Department.”

...and...

“This DVD will definitely help students develop their knowledge and understanding of sexual ethics. It has been lovingly crafted by Joe Jenkins, a master at producing workaday resources for hard-pressed teachers at both GCSE and A Level.”

... ... ... ... ...

As for the new educational DVD we're working on, it's coming along nicely - I'm currently doing the last of the five main films (after which there will be five short chunks of corresponding student discussion to do, as well as finishing touches to all the five main films).

Obviously as a result of my recent operation I've not been able to work on it for the last 2 or 3 weeks, but I've gotten back (gently) into the saddle and have resumed work on the last film left to edit. It's coming along well, and is probably the most complex of all the films (in terms of editing together), but also one of the ones which has afforded me the most creative freedom (in terms of trying out some new ideas, and indeed learning a couple of new editing skills).

Anyway, onwards...

Script and editing update May 12th '09...

Well From The Inside Out is still continuing, although I have been going through a bit of a dry spell with the creativity...that said, I finished the second draft of the second act today - so that means I can get onto the third act, and that means I can soon have it finished and then start on the treatment, and then start putting the treatment out there.

...

Editing wise, it continues apace - it's coming together nicely, like I said, the films are even better than last year's Sex & Ethics films, so yeah - it's good.

Sex & Ethics DVD - another review...

Another nice little review about the Sex & Ethics DVD that I was involved with last year (currently being followed-up by this new one about the environment).

"Making applied ethics, relevant, interesting and thought provoking for teenagers is not an easy task, but this DVD manages to do all three. An excellent multi-media teaching resource and well worth the price of a few text books"

Andrew Pearce, Principal Religious Studies Examiner

I'd also been hearing from Joe about comments he's been given about the DVD, and how people have been impressed with the over all presentation of it - i.e. it's not just some boring trudge through facts and figures, visually speaking - instead it's visually engaging.

I'm pleased that other people are seeing that, as from my side as the dude who filmed and edited it, I wanted to make it visually appealing, as I knew full well from my own experience in school, how boring these educational videos can be if they're not engaging.

From students as well, we've heard good things about it - the visual style changes frequently throughout, in that there's always something new to look at. We mixed a variety of things together, photographs, stock footage (from many eras of public domain videos, or the excellent Global Cuts website), and things we filmed - which included students in a group debating directly about the issues being discussed (a great way to help the students in other schools get that start for their own discussions, rather than everyone sitting quietly not wanting to say anything - again, I've seen that when I was at school - students just need that little push), and also filming "scenarios" as I liked to call them.

Scenarios (made up of stuff we filmed, and using a wide variety of disparate stock footage) that related to the issues at hand, and which were presented in different ways, some of which were quite striking from a visual stand point - lots of colour, lots of imagery, and liberal use of compositing - or, for the laymen out there, simply getting two layers of video and putting one on top of the other to create an interesting look for the segment.

And of course - for these scenarios - Magic Bullet really came in handy. I'm a big proponent of colouring video, and it really does help make the visuals more engaging - if you can keep the students looking at the screen, they'll keep their ears listening to what's being said.

It certainly seems that we have succeeded in keeping the students engaged with this Sex & Ethics DVD, so I'm quite chuffed that it's doing well. The link for it can be found on the right. www.ethicsonline.co.uk

Sex & Ethics DVD...

As I've blogged about a bit on here before, last year I shot & edited an educational DVD called Sex & Ethics, which is now available to schools via www.ethicsonline.co.uk (linked to over on the right hand side).

Anyway - I just noticed a bit of feedback about the DVD, which I thought I'd share here too:

"Sex and Ethics DVD is a tremendous resource that students will find educational and engaging. Each ethical theory is presented clearly with an appealing visual interpretation and is followed by well informed, wide ranging and thought provoking student discussions. This is an invaluable resource that will help teachers help students write detailed, accurate and evaluative essays. Highly recommended."

Judy Grill, Head of Religious Studies, Churcher's College, Petersfield

Many thanks for the kind words.

How's the writing going? Good! So it is...

Been a while since my last script update, it's going swimmingly however, so that's good.

I'm currently on page 94, the first act has been given the polishing treatment, and I'm now about to embark on polishing up what I've got of act two so far.

Yes, page 94 and still in act two - but remember than act one took more pages than usual, just because of the sheer volume of detail to explain. However, act two thus far - between page 49 and 94, a lot has happened - I've even added scenes that just sprung to mind and weren't planned at all.

As I'd said before, part of my planning for the script involved a brainstorm layout of the entire script in its simplest form, on which were eight segments. Five of those eight segments are now done, and there's one more to do to finish off act two.

But, I'm going to hold up for a moment, go back to page 49, and work my way through - fettling away, trimming any extraneous fat, adding anything I've neglected, or what have you. I've really gotten into this script writing lark recently, so it's all flowing very freely now, it feels great to be writing this well, especially after I had such a prolonged period of writer's block/malaise prior to finally opening up Final Draft and setting to work.

So yeah, I'll polish up what I've got of act two so far (three of four segments), and once that fettling is done, I'll finish act two and either A) continue into the third act, or B) fettle that one remaining segment of act two.

How long is that fourth of four act two segments gotta be? No more than 15 pages, I don't want to go any higher than 109 pages for the end of act two - and ideally, a little bit shorter than that.

For the script over all, an absolute maximum of 139 pages is my target, but ideally I'd like to clock in at 130 pages...told you it was a zombie epic.

It's been enjoyable to work on this second act, having spent a fair amount of time plugging away at the first act, which was mainly about one thing, whereas act two has a whole variety of stuff going on. There's action, there's a lot more dialogue, there's different locations, there's new ideas, there are montage moments (I need to show the passage of time at certain points, which helps make the whole situation - and certain things that happen during act two - more believable).

So yep - going rather well indeed. I don't know when I might get it finished to the 'draft 1.5' standard that I seek, but it might not take too long - but on the other hand, the Xmas season is coming up shortly - will I get it done before then? Unlikely. Will I get it done before New Year's? More likely, but perhaps not a sure thing. Mid-January would be an easy target to achieve mind you, but I'll hopefully finish it earlier than that.

There's still some final editing to do on Sexual Ethics Part One (the second part will be sometime later, possibly winter 2009), and the next educational DVD I'll be setting to work on hasn't gotten going yet beyond script pondering, so I've got a nice relaxed gap in my day-to-day schedule to really seize the opportunity and write like the wind - in fact, this time last year I was in the midst of writing Generation Procrastination, which became a 90 page graduate comedy...with a surprising (to me) amount of romantic comedy elements ... but surrounded by swearing and discussion about things like public toilets.

Indeed ... anyway, onwards to Final Draft, version number unknown!