Zen and the art of Sandcastles

Sometimes the real art is in letting go …

“It was like being a proper journalist again …. turning up in a town you’ve never been to and not being allowed to leave until you’ve got a story.“

Last Weekend duckrabbit ran its first multimedia training course at the Trinity Arts Centre, in Bristol, England.

We threw our two students right in at the deep end, unleashing them on the British seaside town of Weston super Mare. We gave them one day to sniff out a story, collect the photographs and audio, and another day to rough edit the material.

“When we went to Weston super-Mare with duckrabbit we had no idea of what we’d come out with, but there’s little more satisfying in that situation than pulling something out of the bag.

After a wander around the town centre to weigh up subject potential, we agreed a plan of action and with the help of Benjamin and David each did our thing. After just a few hours we returned home with a huge sense of achievement and the raw material for this finished piece.” Ciara Leeming.

The finished result (above) is a powerful, evocative and warm meditation on loss. We also hope it shows what magic can happen through training, as well as the undoubted talents of our trainees.

Please be aware to fully appreciate this feature you need to watch through right to the end.

What our students Ciara and Oliver have to say:

‘Thanks again for a great weekend, I was thinking the other day that it is well worth the money as I learned so much more than I would have done on any other form of photographic/software/audio training. I have been having lots of ideas to use it commercially.

I will stay in contact and give you guys a ring from time to time if that OK, also if there is any work or help training, or recommendations, or photographs you want me to do, I will be happy to oblige if I can get the time off work as I really think duckrabbit and multimedia is going to take off and I would like to be one of the original photographers working on high quality multimedia in the UK.” Oliver Edwards, Photographer.

‘I’m really pleased to have been one of the first to learn from duckrabbit because I love what they’re about and would love to capture even a tiny bit of that spirit in my own work. Audio interviewing was probably the biggest challenge for me but I’m now actually looking forward to integrating this into my own storytelling and being able to make my subjects’ voices heard.‘ Ciara Leeming, Freelance Journalist

For more information about duckrabbit’s training just give us a shout.

YOU RESPOND

ED KASHI

What a sweet little story that gives one a sense of the place and wonder of the event, yet conveys a deeper and universal message through the excellent audio. The images are wonderful as well. Great job!

jonwild

I am amazed at the quality of this. The layered soundtrack is a wonderful achievement in its own right, but add a consistent and varied selection of images with some superb individual pictures, and it reaches a level of professionalism that really astonishes for a first attempt. And that’s not even mentioning the journalistic nous to craft a narrative that turns from jolly seaside spectacle to a little parable on the frailty of life and relationships. Well done Ciara and Oliver for producing a great testament to duckrabbit’s skill and inspiration.

Miki Johnson

Fabulous! It is SO hard to elevate a little story like this past the simple visual wonder of the sculptures to something vast, no less than a commentary on humanity and mortality. The juxtaposition of the children/father’s comments and the kicker at the end is brilliant. Thanks guys.

MARK PAGE

I thought this was again a masterclass. Duckrabbit, storytellers supreme, and generous with their craft. Lessons well learnt by Ciara & Ollie……….

JUNO

Beautiful photos and audio! Places one right in the scene.
Who would have thought there’d be a great lesson to learn from sculpting sand. Thanks.

LISA

Woah, this is an absolutely fantastic little story. So gentle and humane…

My beautiful, wonderful Tinka dog, who was my best friend for eleven years passed away suddenly on Wednesday morning and somehow this wonderful meditation on life and loss appears on the inimitable Duckrabbit site just a few days later…

It has hit all the chords with me, not sentimental, but feeling and knowing and well, it just has the perfect tone really…

Wow, the more I know about these rascally Duckrabbits the more I appreciate their absolutely gorgeous hearts

LITTLE SIS HANNAH

Fabulous slide show – you weren’t kidding when you said it was a masterclass!

CIARA

wow, thanks everyone for the lovely feedback…we had such a great time making this, so it’s great to know that we got it right.
once again, a HUGE thank you to Benjamin and David for all their support and advice )

OLLIE

Thanks for all the comments everybody, was a great weekend and thanks again for everything I learned.