we produce beautifully crafted multimedia » Training

Plane sailing

Mike Lusmore — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:07:02 +0000

It’s been a a bit of a trek getting out to Bangladesh where I am working with Benjamin for a few weeks and if I thought the trekking was over I was wrong. The transport here in Khulna is slow progress and the roads would keep the highways agency back in the UK busy for a lifetime. That said the drivers do their best to overtake everything in their path, and with one hand on the horn they get around as fast as possible using the whole road and a little bit more. If your still not put off by the driving out here in Khulna I suggest trying a trip in the dark. Lights here are definitely an optional extra here and after seeing the first coach load of people appearing from behind a single light resulting in our car lunging toward the water surrounding the road I started to worry a little bit.

This wasn’t the first time my heart had been left beating hard since leaving home. As we crossed the tarmac at Dhaka airport to head west towards the fishing areas I saw our transport for the afternoon. No not the learjet with the armed guard parked up at the end of the runway but the ageing twin prop next to it. I didn’t really take a second look until we had all boarded the place when I noticed out of the corner of my eye a mechanic staring blankly up at the engine. He was joined by the captain, another mechanic and another all of whom looked more bemused than the last. The last straw came for me when the air hostess started to offer up suggestions to the cockpit…surely they aren’t trained for this..’Chicken or Fish….oh and maybe you should try the big red button..’

Not what you really want to be looking at whilst sitting on the runway..

Thankfully they shipped us back to the terminal where we kicked back in the vip/cip lounge (suggestions on a postcard..?) whilst they looked into the problem although with all honesty, my confidence was low. Half an hour later we were boarding the same plane with the faulty engine already running as we arrived. I can only assume that they hadn’t really fixed the problem, rather just got it running and didn’t really want to stop it. To make up for it we must have had a very talented pilot as it was a smooth ride all the way although I would say that next time I’d prefer not have the faulty engine staring me in the face for the flights duration.

More to come from Khulna soon. I’m heading off to Ali Baba’s restaurant tonight so maybe a restaurant review is in the pipeline.

I was pretty happy to be coming in to land in Jessor by this time

Getting close to people

duckrabbit — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 12:52:55 +0000

During the photofilm training we’ve just wrapped in London we spent a lot of time talking about how you get a great interview. There’s no magic. Its just about you and the person, having a bit of time, having a connection and most of all trust.

For me the best interviews are when people tell you something they were not expecting to say.

I think Brenda Ann Kenneally expresses the route to trust really well in this post I found on Fotoevidence.

I establish trust in photography the way anyone starts and maintains a relationship. I show up. I am interested. I hope the other party is interested in me. I reveal as much or more about myself as I would want them to do of themselves. I am myself at all times, or I try to be. I am honest about what I do. I notice after years of doing what I do that people see that I am passionate and I work hard.

Wish you were here…

duckrabbit — Mon, 23 May 2011 13:54:44 +0000

No, really. You are missing out on one of the most beautiful, creative and inspiring workshops I’ve ever known.

OK, I have a vested interest, but I don’t do bullshit. The Hinterlands Workshop is exceeding our wildest expectations.

We are blessed to be able to spend time teaching and learning from some fascinating students, blessed to be able to see a blanket of stars every night, lucky to sleep in huge Mongolian Yurts and even luckier to be chasing intriguing stories.

Oh, and don’t forget the awesome food, the real ale, the cider, the campfires, the sheepskin rugs, the camaraderie. Plus…..there’s a whole lot of learning going on ( that is the point, after all ).

Our students have been up in gliders, seen the emergence of new life, learned about beekeeping, steam trains and eagles, amongst a thousand other things.

As I write this they are sat in the communal barn working on their story edits, and tomorrow they will produce their final pieces. Also tomorrow the subjects who were kind enough to allow our students to pester them for a day will be coming to watch the final pieces, voting amongst themselves which team has created the most interesting and inspiring piece.

Like it says at the top, wish you were here…you’re missing out. Please come next year… what’s not to love.

The Good And Bad News About Training With duckrabbit

duckrabbit — Wed, 11 May 2011 00:46:24 +0000

The bad news: all our three day workshops have sold out. More later in the year so get in contact if you want to go on the list.

The good news: we still have a few slots left on The Hinterlands workshop which starts in ten days time and is going to be a blast.

But is a duckrabbit workshop worth going on?

Don’t ask us, ask the people who have just finished training on our workshop here in Montreal. The following (humbling) comments are taken straight off their feedback sheets.

Benjamin is a superb teacher, down to earth, open and very flexible. The workshop was a great learning environment. I feel energised’ – Corinne Smith, CBC

The workshop taught me to push myself and my subjects. To learn from my mistakes and to really look for the interesting people and stories. This workshop came at an important time for me. Thanks. -Scott Gray

Benjamin is raw and you will learn a lot in this workshop. He is a very generous teacher. Get ready to have your thinking challenged. – Nathalie Fonteux

I loved Benjamin’s openess and honesty. His passion was so inspiring. I have done a number of multimedia workshops and duckrabbit was by far the best. – Brigette Bouvier

The totally honest, humble way Benjamin shared his huge amount of knowledge around the balance between strength and fuck-ups was inspiring. I loved the beautiful mix between humour and really deep and serious learning. – Trine Mikkelson

I’ve learned more in these 3 days than in the whole of last semester at Uni. Everything rocked. The group, the teacher, the venue and our project. Everything, so thank you! – Aalia Adam (workshop scholarship student)

You are a huge inspiration and I am hoping a little of you take-no-bullshit-stop-being-so-fucking-boring approach to storytelling will rub off on the work that I do. -Sue Allan

What a great workshop. There was a perfect balance of chilled learning and pressure to produce a finished photofilm. – Brandt Slomovic

http://www.flickr.com/photos/duck-rabbit/sets/72157626691771246/show

A massive shout out has to go to the awesome photog Daniel Seguin for organising possibly the best duckrabbit workshop ever (and taking the photos above). I’m really looking forward to working with Daniel in the future, so if you want to be kept up to date about workshops in Canada drop us a line.

To find out more about what training duckrabbit has to offer please go here.

Hope amongst the chaos

duckrabbit — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 23:04:13 +0000

In our recent trip to the DR Congo the great photographer Yasuyoshi Chiba told me why his pictures often carry so much hope (something he has in common with David).

Whilst his father was dieing his mother never gave up hope.

From that simple, but profound experience, he learned that in almost any circumstances people cling to hope. For Yasuyoshi, if he is to truely reflect the world he lives in, then his pictures will carry this story.

Of course in life there are many moments where hope is lost. Like the Tsunami in Japan. And if we only photograph moments, then it is possible to present an ugly, hopeless world. But if we tell stories, then there will always be hope amongst the chaos.

Amonst the wreckage of last months earthquake a cherry tree blossoms. (c) Yasuyoshi Chiba

‘You are thirst – and thirst is all I know’ (inspired and inspiring photofilm)

duckrabbit — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:51:46 +0000

Every now and again duckrabbit has the pleasure of training someone who understands that to nail a great photofilm has as much to with sweat as it does talent. David Mansell-Moullin has worked his photofilm ‘To The Desert’, close to perfection.

Short, poetic and speaking to my heart. I hope it speaks to yours too (comments always really welcome, details about the poem and music below)

The poem “To the Desert” is by Benjamin Alire Saenz. The music is from the soundtrack “Desert Capriccio” by Yo-Yo Ma.

‘”The classes and tutorials that I have taken with Benjamin (duck) have not only been inspiring but opened my eyes to the possibilities and power of working with photo-films. His experience, insights and suggestions have proven invaluable in taking my practice to another level.”

If you would like to be trained by duckrabbit we have a few spaces left on courses running in May/June and July.

“Stop thinking so much and look to your heart”

duckrabbit — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:38:10 +0000

This short film could be brilliant but for me its a great illustration of how to nearly nail an interview.

The next time someone tells you:

“I feel happy to not have to have something more to fill the void, cause the void is filled with love”

STOP THEM AND ASK THEM WHAT THEY ACTUALLY MEAN?

Surprise them by not accepting such a generalization. Because actually when you boil it down it’s pretty meaningless stuff, it’s not really telling us anything.

One of my top lessons for interviewing is never, NEVER accept generalizations. MAKE people explain what they mean. That’s when the conversation gets interesting.

“It was afterwards that we heard the whispers about the oil and that’s when I thought, fuckinghell I might be on the wrong side”

duckrabbit — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 08:05:08 +0000

Its very hard to keep an audience glued to your photofilm unless you offer them a gripping opening 30 seconds and openings don’t get stronger then in Florence Royer’s photofilm about one soldier’s attempts to come to terms with life after combat in Iraq.

Florence was one of the students at LCC last year who benefited from duckrabbit’s photofilm training. As a piece of feature journalism, it doesn’t get much stronger then this.

Raw, real and essential viewing. Please, please share on Facebook and Twitter.

duckrabbit photofilm workshops (Montreal and Devon)

duckrabbit — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 22:11:03 +0000

There are only two spaces left on our hotly anticipated Montreal workshop that is being organized by Daniel Seguin.

Closer to home the photofilm workshop that we’re really salivating over is The Hinterlands (spaces still available). If you want to start making films then we promise an inspiring space to sharpen your skills.

Hidden History: The Irish At War, Damian Drohan

duckrabbit — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:28:34 +0000

Goddamn this is a project and a half barrel of whisky.

Immense.

Damian Drohan is one of the most committed students duckrabbit has had the pleasure to train. It gives me great honor to introduce you to his monumental project about the unknown, unrecognized Irish veterans of World War 2 (be sure to check out the full project here).

I wish I could take some credit for this work, but I can’t. Its driven by Damian’s passion to capture memory before it flares to smoke.

‘WW2Vets project is a visual/audio and photo-film project which seeks to tell the story of war memory in Ireland. These memories have been buried for many years. Although 70,000 Irish men and women fought in WW2, their service has never been recognized officially, except through token gestures, and occasional mentions. The stories here represent the direct experiences of veterans from, or living in Ireland and the experiences of those indirectly affected, such as Brian Smith, whose family war memory spans several generations, and the story of Paddy Bassett, a child during the war, his memories, preserved through the many military items he has accrued, the first being a piece of a spitfire he collected as a child.

Photography alone would be too limiting for a project such as this, there would be a danger of preserving the veterans as relics of history, monuments if you like. Instead the audio and photo-film approach helps to bring their stories to life.

A big thanks is due to duckrabbit for various types of support during the project, advice, guidance and encouragement, and various plugs and mentions have helped keep the project alive. Cheers Ben & David.’

Damian Drohan

Paddy Bassett was born in England and remembers World War II as a young child. He was evacuated on several occasions, but survived. He worked in England in the Forestry Service for a time after the war, and moved to Ireland in 1952. Paddy has retained a lifelong fascination with collecting all things military. He has a large collection of uniforms, bayonets and other items, some of which he’s had since he was a child. One of the first items he collected was a piece of a downed Spitfire Aircraft.

Brian Smith was born in Swansea in South Wales into a family with a long military history. His father served in the Great War and survived being gassed, twice. His uncle was in a Cavalry division and survived being buried alive by shellfire. Both of Brian’s brothers flew with the RAF during wartime. One brother flew in a Lancaster bomber and survived unscathed, except for hearing damage sustained due to high altitude flying. His other brother was a wireless operator-airgunner on a Beaufort torpedo bomber, he also survived unscathed. Brian describes being surrounded by the war, Swansea was a hive of wartime activity. The large harbour meant it was used in training exercises in the lead up to D-Day. Brian was too young to join the RAF during hostilities but he served as a pilot for three years in the early 1950′s. He later joined the Merchant Navy and then the Coastguard. Until recently he provided safety courses for sailors. He has now retired and lives in County Cork.

Sound Portraits:

Margaret McGrath

Margaret (Peggy) McGrath moved to England to take up nursing training at the age of 20. She trained in the Royal Waterloo Hospital and then moved to East Grinstead to Archibald McIndoeís pioneering plastic surgery ìGuinea Pigî hospital. She recalls meeting her husband-to-be on her very first dayís service. He had lost his toes through frostbite and was traumatized after returning from a Japanese P.O.W. camp. She continued to nurse her husband after the war ended as he was unable to take up work. He eventually found work in a new initiative program which was designed to get injured ex-servicemen working. She lived in England for most of her life and moved back to Ireland in the last few years.

Paddy Mooney:

Patrick (Paddy) Mooney is 89. He joined the RAF at the age of 22 in 1943. He wanted to join sooner but his mother didn’t approve. He was posted to Egypt and maintained aircraft engines, with the intention of becoming a flight engineer. However the squadron he was posted to didnít train flight crew, so he worked as ground crew for the remainder of the war. He also served in Palestine. After the war ended he returned to Ireland and ran his own bar businesses for the much of his working life.

James Redmond:

James Redmond’s father served in the Great War. James joined the RAF in 1942, and ended up serving as a rear gunner in a Bomber squadron. There was a long waiting list for Pilots and Navigators so impatience led him to accepting a position as a rear gunner. After the war he trained as a doctor and lived for many years in Zimbabwe before Robert Mugabe’s land confiscations forced him to flee.

Jack Allshire: D-Day Veteran

Jack Allshire served in the Second Battalion of the Royal Ulster Rifles. He lied about his age to gain entry to the army at 15. He landed on Sword Beach on D Day, and was part deafened in action a few days later whilst firing an anti-tank gun. He continued through France to Germany and left the army in September 1947. He spent the post-war years as both a painter-decorator and a truck driver. In common with many of the veterans featured here, his father fought in the Great War.