Katies's Page

Documentary questionnaire

Are you Male or Female?            

·        Male

·        Female

How old are you?

·        16-18

·        19-21

·        21-25

·        25+

Do you enjoy watching Documentaries?

·        Yes

·        No

Which type of Documentary do you prefer to watch?

·        Factual

·        Observational

·        Current Affairs

·        Wildlife

·        Historical

What do you expect to see when watching a documentary?

 

Do you prefer when its narrator/presenter led or following someone’s life?

·        Narrator

·        Presenter

Do you enjoy watching documentaries which include archive footage or reconstructions of real events?

·        Yes

·        No

Do you think documentaries should refrain from being biased and offer two sides to a story? Why?

 

What do you hope to get from watching a documentary?

 

Is it important for you to be kept up to date on current affairs?

·        Yes

·        No

Would you be interested in watching a documentary which takes a different approach on Gang culture?

·        Yes

·        No

Gang Violence Questionnaire

Are you Male or Female?

·        Male

·        Female

What is your age category?

·        16-18

·        18-21

·        21-25

·        25+

What area do you reside in?

Would you say your area inherits gang culture?

·        Yes

·        No

Have you ever been a part of a gang?

·        Yes

·        No

Do you know anyone who has been involved in gang crime?

·        Yes

·        No

Have you ever been a victim to gang crime?

·        Yes

·        No

If yes was this physical or verbal and what were the consequences?

Do you know anyone who had been a victim of gang crime?

·        Yes

·        No

If yes was this physical or verbal and what were the consequences?

Are you aware of the effect which gang violence can lead too?

·        Yes

·        No

·        Explain …

Why do you think individuals choose to be a part of the gang culture?

Do you think there are more underlying issues which could resolve the increase in gang culture?

How would you rate the polices involvement in resolving gang culture?

·        1 – Poor

·        2

·        3

·        4

·        5 – Good but can do better

·        6

·        7

·        8

·        9

·        10 - Excellent

What do you think can prevent gang violence?

Cast Auditions

Today Monday 4^th March we held casting auditions for the drama, we had a few minor delays in which people cancelled last minute, so we did not see as much people as we had hoped to, however these were the final results.

Natasha – she was auditioning to play the part of Alicia Fuller, in which she did succeed as she came across as very professional, and she really got into character and portrayed a lot of energy and emotion into her lines.

Davida – she was also auditioning for the part of Alicia Fuller, we have used her before in previous work and she again portrays a professional manner, however she did not show enough emotion into her lines as Natasha did therefore not succeeding in getting the part, however seeing her previous acting skills and having a well-spoken voice we decided that we wanted to use Davida as the main presenter.

Glen - He auditioned for the role as Inspector Hanson, after having a brief chat with him about his acting background we found that he acquired a lot of experience as he had been acting for 29 years, 11 of those been professional acting, he had taken part in theatre, musicals and pantomime productions, with videos via Star Now and YouTube (thespian 488). When reading his lines he did not put a lot of effort in however he was still good therefore he succeeded at gaining the role as Inspector Hanson.

Reggie Yates – Teen Gang Violence

Basic Structure

·        Intro – we are introduced to Reggie yates walking down a London high street (action shot)

·        Dialogue – he begins by speaking about Riots in London, teenage gangs, his beliefs to why they choose gang life (establishing shots of London and gangs)

·        Tells his own story

·        Introduces gang background (voice over)

I was thinking that we could start  of by introducing the presenter, as she describes gang violence in the Midlands and about her own story (boyfriend part of a gang). We could also use establishing shots of Birmingham and places around Perry Barr to give it that crime look. It is important to give a brief synopsis of what her aim is to find out throughout the documentary in which we will introduce the contributors. We can also look at the location where her boyfriend was murdered, where the drive by took place.

·        A specific set of questions to ask each contributor, open questions so it leaves more room for discussion, keep it casual.

·        Lots of establishing and action shots.

Here we can use the establishing shots and actions shots to show a brief insight into the contriubutors lifestyle. We can get shots of Joe Jackson’s counselling meeting, follow the policemen etc. with this I think it would be good to use voiceovers as well as on camera presenter appearance.

·        Reggie Yates would explain how he felt and what he found out after every visit with a contributor.

·        Footage of counselling with the person who offers support groups to pre and ex gangs members

One of the scenes between an interview with Reggie and one of the counsellors  they spoke about how a lot og young gang members explained a reason to why they involve themselves with gang violence is because it has been passed down between generations from their elders. I think this is something important that we can go in to and look at.

·        Archive footage of the London riots – maybe we could see if there is any archive footage of gang crime in Birmingham which we can include.

·        Reggie ends his journey speaking about what he has learnt.

Intertwined with the drama I think the basic structure of how we should present our documentary is in the beginning explaining our reason for the documentary, followed by the journey throughout to find out how it affects the families, how the police and counsellors offer support, we can use both the presenter and voice overs the conclude.

                                                                                      Documentary research…

Last night I watched the ITV documentary called Her Majesty’s Prison. Whilst watching it I jotted down some notes in rough, which enabled me to elaborate how I felt we could incorporate some of the elements into our own docu-drama.

The documentary was about one of the roughest prisons in the UK in a town called Aylesbury. It focused on gang violence in the prison and how individual prisons will strive to do anything to either be sent back to a prison nearer to home or even just for status quo. For me it was quite hard to watch because when it showed interviews with the prisoners they partly blamed a lot of their behaviour on past experiences from when they was younger from either their personal family lives or just peer pressure.

·        Prison gang – fight for survival

·        No qualms on dying

·        Careless behaviour

·        Even in prison it was still about maintain a reputation

·        Paranoia

·        A few prisoners wanted to hurt people and wanted to have fights. Some said it made the day go faster as they get bored doing nothing.

·        Confused behaviour – psychotic thoughts

Those are some of the notes I briefly jotted down, most from the prisoners perspectives. Like I mentioned before a lot of the prisoners blamed their actions on past life experiences in which I feel in regard to our production when interviewing gang member, (the pastor) or the families, it is important for us to ask questions such as why they believed that was a correct way for them to behave and really search deep down to why they go down the wrong path and associate themselves with gangs and violence.

With the information we receive it is important that at the end of the documentary we give information to the audience offering them helplines and support groups as this could possibly allow young adults who may have these same thoughts ask for help.

For me this is an interesting topic, but if we could get it out there it would be great to know we could help others.

Currently looking at different campaign suport groups in and around Birmingham to see if they will be able to contribute towards our Documentary. This could be as little as pointing us in the right direction of support groups which fit ur criteria or groups which will allow us to attend a meeting and give us one to one information.

I have emailed the company Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Trust - they offer support to ex gang members and their families.

http://www.swmprobation.gov.uk/?page_id=953

Currently awaiting a reply.

This company hold a wide range of campaigns eager for everyone to participate. It is called Birmigham Community Safety Partnership and works in close knit to Birmingham city council, Birmingham police and the support company i mentioned before.
Their priorities cover Anti-Social behaviour and gang and youth violence.
http://www.birminghamcsp.org.uk/campaigns.html

                                                                           

                                                                            Hate Crime Campaign

What is hate crime?

Any criminal offence committed against a person or property that is motivated by an offender’s hatred of someone because of their race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality or national origins, religion, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation or disability.

The impact of hate crime

Birmingham is the safest of the eight core cities in the UK with the lowest overall crime rate but hate crime can have enormous impact on people’s lives − physically and emotionally. It can affect a victim’s health and well-being, it can damage their health and it can affect their outlook on life. Most types of crime are reducing in Birmingham but with hate crime, we don’t know the real picture.
Hate crime is an important area of activity for Birmingham Community Safety Partnership, not least because those that are victims of hate crime are afraid to report it, but also because victims feel that hate crime is ‘just one of those things that you should put up with. This has to change.
We want to encourage residents to report hate crime and trust that we will do something about it. We are aware that this campaign may encourage reporting to go up but we are prepared for this increase and have made sure that our staff are available to provide support whenever needed.
Birmingham Community Safety Partnership believes that most people in Birmingham do get on together and won’t stand for hate crime. Birmingham is not a city where hate crime is acceptable, nor is it tolerated. Birmingham Community Safety Partnership and its partners will take action against those who commit hate crime and are currently actively undertaking legal proceedings on a number of individual cases across the range of hate crime types.

What support is available to those that report?

The way that hate crime can be reported has been improved and additional training for staff in existing City Council hate crime reporting centres, neighbourhood offices, libraries and leisure centres, is being rolled out across the city. This training will underpin the service and enable staff to ensure that reports of hate crime are directed to the right place for the appropriate course of action, and that victims are referred to the appropriate support services. The number that is being publicised in the campaign is 0121 303 1111. This confidential service is resourced by trained staff able to take reports of hate crime.

The Campaign

The campaign aims to raise awareness on hate crime and encourage reporting. The hate crime campaign was launched in November and involves a strong visual element to the campaign. These posters are displayed on poster sites across the city and will run through until March 10.
We are aware that this campaign may encourage reporting to go up but we are prepared for this increase and have made sure that our staff are available to provide support whenever needed.
The campaign posters will be displayed in and around the city in high visibility locations including poster sites and inside buses. One poster includes a scene on Birmingham New Street where everyone has a label. The labels identify anonymous individuals by gender, ethnicity, religion, sexuality or disability. These are the different elements that make up hate crime. The poster suggests that we all have labels that identify us but it’s when they are used negatively against you, that hate crime occurs.
The second poster in this campaign includes residents of Birmingham spearheading a message to not tolerate hate crime in this city.
Birmingham Community Safety Partnership hope that the images used will make people who are guilty of discriminating and abusing others, think about their actions and also encourage those that have suffered from hate crime, to come forward and report it.



Statistics we can include. With covering such a serious topic it is important we add specific statistics, awareness groups and helplines.

Birmingham teens begin non-violence campaign

Posted: Oct 12, 2012 6:21 PM Updated: Oct 19, 2012 6:21 PM

By WBRC Staff - email

BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) - For two years, Birmingham city leaders have asked teens to sign a pledge saying they will not commit a violent act for 100 days. It is called the 100 Days of Non-violence campaign. City leaders say the campaign has been successful and they are doing it again this year.
Birmingham Councilman Jay Roberson says the past two years they have done this program in Birmingham, they have not had anyone under 18 die from a violent crime. That is why Roberson says this campaign works.
The campaign kicked off this morning at Parker High School. Students listened to personal testimony from a former gang member who said 25 of his friends died because of violent crimes.
Parker High School Principal Cedric Tatum says if they can get students to practice that behavior for three months, it should become habit.
"We want to just remind them what their civic responsibilities are to one another. Teaching them how to solve problems without using their hands and when you have the support of the city council's office and other community members, it just lets the kids know we care," said Tatum.
During the program, students will have service activities on Friday and Saturday nights that will help keep them out of trouble. The 100 days on non violence will end on MLK Day with a big celebration.
Copyright 2012 WBRC. All rights reserved.

Catch 22
http://www.catch-22.org.uk/About-Us

Another support group i have emailed.

About us

A forward looking social business, Catch22 has over two hundred years’ experience of providing services that help people in tough situations to turn their lives around.
Our programmes help those we work with to steer clear of crime or substance misuse, do the best they can in school or college and develop skills for work, live independently on leaving care or custody, gain new skills and confidence as parents, and play a full part in their community.
In 2011/12 we worked directly with 34,000 young people, families and adult offenders in 150 localities, supporting a further 49,000 young people through national partnership programmes. The people we work with may have had tough upbringings, few opportunities, or lived in difficult neighbourhoods.

Here are some links to recent gang related crimes which have happed throughout Birmingham recently, i have researched and came across statements that gang violence has decreased a lot however by looking at the following news reports, personally i feel that gang violence is certainly becoming out of hand as the violence is becoming to take place in the most unlikely places at odd times. This is something i feel police should be cracking down on as it does not just affect the gangs or families but innocent witness who happen to be in the right place at the wrong time.

Rococo nightclub (broad street)
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/man-stabbed-and-tasers-used-in-brawl-1286987?fb_action_ids=105810859601243&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map=%7B%22105810859601243%22%3A163473407134840%7D&action_type_map=%7B%22105810859601243%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=[]

Street Attack (small heath)
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/small-heath-robbers-eyed-up-1285278

Bullring Shooting
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/bullring-shooting-eyewitnesses-describe-horror-137970

Birmingham, west bromwich and wolverhampton
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/7pm-update-trouble-reported-in-birmingham-159218