Briony Campbell - Blog @brionycampbell - Tumblr Blog

Looking for a sound woman

We're looking for a sound woman (with the aim of balancing our our mainly male crew) to record sound on a 1 day studio based shoot. We'll be filming pairs of children in conversation about belief sitting in a 'magical cloud scene'. We need their conversations recorded. There will be no other sound so it will be very controlled.

Jan 26th, Hours probably 8 til 4 (tbc) in Hackney, London. Please email [email protected] with:

A few sentences about your experience

What set up you'd use and why

Do you own the kit needed

If you have experience working with kids

Your day rate - if you don't own your kit we'll offer less than £400

We believe in Unicorns will explore how children form beliefs (outside of religious contexts). Children aged 8/9 will be filmed having conversations about beliefs in pairs. The commissioner is an academic collective called Explaining Atheism and the funds come from the John Templeton Foundation. The collective's aim is to expand understandings of non-religious beliefs, by looking at Atheism in all it's diversity - in seeing it not as something in opposition to religion but a value system in it's own right.

We Believe in Unicorns

We're looking for a set designer to finalise our visual concept for a simple but magical studio set within which we'll film children talking about belief. Ideas are already well developed, but more creative input from the right person is welcome. Within our current concept your role would be to source or make 'floating' clouds, seats for 2 kids, curtains for set and then to install on Jan 25th, the day before shoot. We're also considering incorporating shadow puppets. (There is some flexibility on the fee depending on the final concept).

We want to avoid too much 1-time-use wastage, so people experienced with creative recycling etc very welcome. We are documentary makers inexperienced with sets, so we are looking for an awesome collaborator who can take this element of the film to its full potential, working within our limited budget and timeframe; £1000 - £2000 to cover fees & props.

If interested please email [email protected] with: 1. A few sentences about your relevant experience. 2. A few sentences on why the role appeals. 3. Link to your website SM profiles or relevant egs of work. No more than 2 links please. 4. Roughly how you would use the budget. 5. Your availability for a chat on Jan 9th or 10th. Will confirm the successful applicant the same week.

We believe in Unicorns will explore how children form beliefs. Children aged 8/9 will be filmed having conversations about beliefs in pairs. The commissioner is an academic collective called Explaining Atheism and the funds come from the John Templeton Foundation. The collective's aim is to expand understandings of non-religious beliefs, by looking at Atheism in all it's diversity - in seeing it not as something in opposition to religion but a value system in it's own right.

Director: http://www.brionycampbell.com/

Production company: https://www.speakit.org/

Flow Unlocked: call out

We’re seeking autistic People of Colour in East London to join our participatory project.

Through creative writing workshops Flow Unlocked will explore how autistic people experience relationships and aims to promote autistic acceptance. This is a is creative participatory research project, funded by UCL Culture, for autistic East Londoners to reflect on their relationships and the effects of lockdown.

Flow Unlocked seeks to highlight the importance of relationships to autistic people and rewrite the damaging stereotypes that exist about their lives. We are also investigating the questions of co-authorship and representation inherent to our process. FlowUnlocked invites autistic people to join a collaborative and creative process of knowledge exchange with artists and researchers. Through creative writing workshops we will create a safe space for autistic East Londoners to share their perspectives and ideas on relationships, and the effects of lockdown. We are interested in environmental and sensory relationships as well as interpersonal and human/object/animal relationships. We aim to create honest and compelling art inspired by how autisic people relate to the communities and environments around them.

Who we are We are a collaborative group of three; Georgia Pavlopoulou, Doctor in Psychology and Mental health, UCL autism researcher & neurodiversity advocate; Jon Adams, neurodivergent poet, polymath, Synaesthete, MHChampion & artist; Briony Campbell, East London photographer, filmmaker & creative facilitator.

Background info on this call out We ran a successful pilot project in which we co-produced the Flow Unlocked objectives and methodologies with seven autistic consultants. You can read about it here. We will be inviting the same people to join the full project.

We are committed to create a diverse group Unfortunately, we did not get any response to our pilot project call out from autistic POC East Londoners. We feel it is important to include POC as participants, because they make up significant parts of East London‘s population and because they are still very underrepresented in autistic research. So we have 2 more places to fill and we would like to offer them specifically to autistic POC East Londoners.

Participants roles Participants will take part in 4 online creative writing workshops (approx 2.5 hours each). They will happen once a week for 4 weeks. Workshops will be led by Jon Adams, supported by Briony Campbell and Georgia Pavlopoulou, with guest poets contributing. There will be 5 participants.

No experience in creative writing is required, only an enthusiasm to enhance these skills and a commitment to express yourself honestly.

During workshops we will invite all autistic consultants to speak openly about their relationships (personal and environmental), and the opportunities and barriers they have experienced during and after Lockdown in East London. There will be short writing exercises within each workshop, and inspiration from a guest poet (different each session). Participants will make work during the workshops as well as in between workshops, in their own time. There will be no obligation to spend a fixed amount of time on this, nor to complete pieces, but only to share outcomes or reflections with the group afterwards. Some participants may write one piece over the course of the workshop series, while others may make work for each workshop, completing multiple outcomes. We are open to whatever suits your creative inclination.

Jon and Briony, who have been commissioned to make work as visual artists (as well as to facilitate the participatory process) will be making visual art works based on the conversations and creations that occur during the workshops . Participants will be invited to comment on and critique these artworks in order to influence the artist’s final outcomes. Through this open and honest process of collaborative creativity we want to learn about transparency and authenticity in artistic representation, and challenges and opportunities within autistic/ non-autistic relationships.

Agendas for the meetings and instructions on how to join online will be available in advance. Schedule will be confirmed late September, with workshops starting mid October.

We will require permission to record the meetings for our research and you will be asked to complete a consent form. We will require your permission to make our own art inspired by your contributions to the workshops and your writing. We will require permission to share this art publicly, in FlowUnlocked project sharing activities; exhibition, conference, publication, online. We will ask permission to share your writing publicly in project sharing activities (this is an opportunity you can take or leave).

We can offer £200 per person as a token of our gratitude (and to cover any costs incurred).

About our funder

We are being funded by UCL Culture (University College London), within their Trellis project. The intentions of Trellis are to connect UCL researchers with local artists for knowledge exchange and to engage the East London communities that surround the new UCL East campus, which is currently under construction in Stratford.

Project outcomes

More detail on project sharing activities will be shared with selected participants.

Interested?

Participants must identify as POC, live in the boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Newham or Waltham forest and be 16 years old or over. If you would like to express interest in joining FlowUnlocked please email: [email protected]

Please include your full name, age, where in East London you live, and how you identify (gender/ ethnicity/ neurodivergency). NB self diagnosed people are welcome.

If you prefer not to communicate via email in general, just specify your preferred contact details. We look forward to hearing from you! Please share this call out if you know somebody else who might be interested.

Between Beliefs: Seeking documentary film participants

We're looking to find pairs of people, one believer and one non-believer, who are willing to be filmed for a documentary project. Contact: [email protected]

The film

The Between Beliefs documentary will explore relationships between believers and non-believers in the UK. We aim to offer intimate insights into the diverse and evolving belief systems that exist within our population.

Our film is a collaboration between Banyak Films and independent filmmaker Briony Campbell. We will record conversations between people who identify as committed believers in formal religions and people who identify as non-believers. In contrast to the typical simplistic polarisation of believers vs unbelievers, our film will reveal honest and nuanced relationships, built on self-reflection and compromise.

Who we are seeking

We are looking for pairs of people who would like to take part in the film. One person in the pair will identify as a believer in any kind of religion and the other will identify as a non-believer. It is essential that the two people have a close relationship. They will be family, close friends or partners and know each other very well.

What we will ask for

We would like to spend a day with each pair of people. The day would involve filming a conversation between the pair, which may go on for a few hours, or may be shorter. We will ask each person to describe their individual positions on belief and discuss together how they understand each other’s positions. It will be a conversation rather than a formal interview, but the filmmakers may suggest questions or steer the discussion to keep it relevant.

Then we would ask you to show us places that are important to you both, or to your individual lives. These may be social places, public places, religious places or any that is meaningful to you.

There will be no payment offered to participants, but no expenses should be incurred as we will come to you at home. The crew will be just two: Director Briony Campbell and Producer Dan Boaden.

Timing

We aim to film in September/ October.

The crew

Briony Campbell: http://www.brionycampbell.com/

Briony Campbell is an independent filmmaker and photographer, who is recognised for her gentle approach to conveying personal connections. Her depictions of intimate worlds have been screened, exhibited and won awards internationally. She is best known for The Dad Project, produced in collaboration with The Guardian; the story of her relationship with her father during his last months. A recent collaboration with Birmingham University called Life Moving saw Briony mentor terminally ill people to make films. Due to its success the AHRC funded project will travel to America, Australia and India this year. Her on-going project, Love in Translation, capturing the lives of African/British families on the African continent is supported by the Arts Council.

Banyak Films: http://banyak.co.uk/

Over the last decade Banyak Films have produced over 50 hours of social issue films filmed all over the world and commissioned by international broadcasters - putting them at the heart of the international documentary scene. They’ve had films in cinemas worldwide including UK, USA, Asia and Scandinavia, and made films for major broadcasters including PBS, NBC, BBC, Channel 4, ARTE and ZDF. They've won funding from Creative Europe, British Film Institute, Norwegian Arts Council, Doha Film Institute, Norwegian Film Institute, Fritt Ord, Doc Society, Wellcome Trust and Goodpitch (2012, 2016 & 2017).

Film commissioners/ broadcasters

The film is funded by Understanding Unbelief, a major new academic research programme aiming to advance the understanding of atheism and other forms of so-called ‘unbelief’ around the world. Our film is one of 6 non-academic projects funded by the programme with the aim of increasing public engagement with their new research. Though the wider programme focuses on unbelievers, our film is equally interested in the perspectives of believers and non-believers, and the nuances of the relationships between them.

The study is based at the University of Kent. It is made possible through a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, and is a collaboration with St Mary’s University Twickenham, Coventry University, Queens University Belfast and the Nonreligion and Secularity Research Network. Research into ‘unbelief’ will be carried out in UK, USA, Japan, China, Brazil and Denmark. We aim to replicate the Between Beliefs film format in these countries subsequent to the UK film.

Between Beliefs is not yet commissioned to be broadcast on any TV network or online platform, so we have full creative control. We are aiming to get it broadcast, so would require your permission to broadcast the final film in any media in any part of the world.

Thank you very much for taking the time to consider this. If you are interested in taking part, or would like to talk further about it please get in touch via email: [email protected]. We would love to hear from you! Please do share this info with anyone else who may be interested.

Seeking African+ European couples for portraits: “Love in Translation”

Love in Translation is a photography and film project which tells the stories of African + British couples living in African countries. I’ve been working on it since 2012 and it all started with my own story. The project explores themes of otherness and assimilation, colonial heritage, cultural expectations and love. Please take a look: https://loveintranslation.net/ where you can see photo stories and a video trailer as well as reading the back-story.

I’ve had different levels of involvement with 12 different families, from just a conversation and a portrait on one afternoon, to revisiting some families over the 6 years and staying in their homes while capturing their daily lives. I’m now expanding the project from British to European people. I’m looking for new couples now who would like to be involved. I wouldn’t ask for any more commitment than a conversation and a portrait initially. I’m particularly interested in finding older couples, same-sex couples, and also White-African or Black-British people. The couples should comprise one person who has spend their formative years in a European country and identifies as that nationality, and the other person who has spent their formative years in an African country and identifies as that nationality. I would also love to hear from people who may have had life partners who have passed away, but would still like to share the story of their African+European relationship.

The project has been funded by Arts Council England previously (and is currently self funded). I am now working towards a photography book, a series of short documentary films and an exhibition.

Please take a look at http://www.brionycampbell.com/ to see my other work. I would love to hear from anyone who’d like to participate, and be grateful if you could share this with others who might be interested. I’m happy to chat through more details of course. Thanks very much for reading! Briony x

Looking for assistants...

I’m looking for an assistant (or a few assistants) for some on-going project support. See details below and please do forward to anyone else you think might be interested in the opportunity. Thanks very much!

----------

Hours: casual

Fee: £75 per day - tbc dependant on skills. (experienced shooters will be paid more for shoot days)

Location: East London. Work from home sometimes.

This is me: brionycampbell.com Working within the arts, music, social and education sectors, my practice spans documentary photography and video, creative filmmaking, collaborations with academic/ social/ health research, participatory projects and teaching.

Schedules will be flexible and arranged on a rolling basis. The 3 areas I am looking for help with:

Project assistance; researching stories and opportunities, liaising with collaborators and project participants, writing proposals, managing contacts lists and schedules, managing photo and video workflows and archives.

Tech & shooting assistance; shoot production planning, liaising with collaborators and clients, second camera on video shoots, (rare but occasional support on photo shoots).

Social media and communications; developing my SM profiles, managing output and contacts, writing proposals and press releases, developing and managing mailing lists.

Ideally I would find one person to offer all these skills but I expect it will be more realistic to compile a list of a few different people with different skills. So please do apply if you have strong skills in 1 or 2 areas only, and make this clear. Here is some more detail of the experience and skills required in each area (some skills overlap):

Project assistance skills

Essential:

Proactive approach - you can turn this job into something bigger than it is. I hope the right person will become a long term collaborator.

Strong organisational skills and attention to technical detail. Like many creative people I am lacking these! I need someone to whom they come naturally.

Strong conversational and written communication - more than anything I need to be able to have a good chat with you. There will be lots of talking to strangers too.

Experience of photo/ video production - if you don’t know how to shoot but do understand what goes into making photo and video work, or want to, just make that clear.

Experience of social media for promotion - this is important as I can’t find time for it.

Interest in themes of multiculturalism/ and other interests within my practice. Please have a good look around my website and linked SM profiles, to see if our interests align. Desirable:

Understanding of photography, film, music & arts industry & own contacts.

Arts marketing/ event promotion experience.

Experience of managing photo/ video production

Interest in/ knowledge of African societies/ cultures/ diaspora.

Interest in/ knowledge of contemporary theological studies and atheism.

Experience using Lightroom and Photoshop (and aperture would be a bonus).

Video editing skills & knowledge of Premier pro CC.

Web design/ development experience.

Tech & shooting assistance skills

Essential:

Proactive approach.

Strong organisational skills and attention to technical detail. Hopefully you love the kit, working out it’s glitches, keeping up to date with advances etc. Anticipating technical issues before they occur.

Strong conversational/ getting-on-with-people skills - more than anything I need to be able to have a good chat with you. There will be lots of talking to strangers too, tact and empathy always essential.

Experience of photo/ video shooting. Please detail what kind of shots you have worked on. Desirable:

Experience shooting with Canon SRLs. Please detail what kit you are familiar with.

Experience shooting live arts event; music and theatre

Experience shooting with multi-camera shoots, rigs, and sound equipment. Please detail what kit you are familiar with.

Experience using Lightroom and Photoshop (and aperture would be a bonus)

Experience using Premier pro CC (Video editing skills).

Experience using After effects

Experience in sound recording

Experience using Pluraleyes.

Social media and communications skills

Essential:

Proactive approach - you will lead me in this area.

Strong organisational skills and attention to technical detail. Like many creative people I am lacking these! I need someone to whom they come naturally. Don’t pretend on this one.

Strong written communication.

Strong knowledge of FB & Insta communities (tumblr would be a bonus)

Experience using SM for promotional tool, not only personal

Arts marketing/ event promotion experience. Desirable:

Understanding of photography, film, music & arts industry & own contacts.

Interest in/ knowledge of African societies/ cultures/ diaspora.

Interest in/ knowledge of contemporary theological studies and atheism.

Experience using Lightroom and Photoshop (and aperture would be a bonus).

Video editing skills & knowledge of Premier pro CC.

Web design/ development experience.

------ ------ -------

Please apply by October 19th via email to [email protected] with: 1. A short paragraph, no more than 250 words about yourself and why you’re interested in the role. Include a sentence on your long-term aims. It’s important to me that if you’re working in this low wage it’s at least contributing towards your career goals.

2. State which of the 3 areas you are applying for (or all 3), then copy & paste the list of skills I have written and add a sentence in response to each, describing your level of experience with that skill. If none, state none, no worries.

4. CV, of no more than 1 A4

3. Links to your webpage or egs of your own work, if relevant. Not essential

I will read applications as they come in, so the sooner the better. I aim to invite people for interviews week of Oct 23rd and chose someone (especially for production assistance) before the end of October.

NB The deadline isn’t a total cut-off though, as I’m looking to compile a list of people. So if you’re reading this late, do drop me a line to ask if I’m still looking.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

I've been shooting Tongue Fu's first album project. One of the best things about my work is the chances I get to be part of other people's creatve processes. And when it's as raw as Performance Poets going from pencils-in-the-park to recording-studio-sans-rehersals, that's magic! http://Facebook.com/tonguefupage Collaborating poets are: Chris Redmond, Anthony Anaxagorou, Zia Ahmed, Amy Leon, Deanna Rodger, Vanessa Kisuule, Dizraeli & Joshua Idehen www.tonguefu.co.uk

Ok, forget America's PrimeArsehole, "look up in the sky". I promise this will cheer you up for a whole 12 mins 49 secs

#music #spotify

Just 24 hours til I'm back to where it began. YES. Turn this one up loud.

#music #spotify

The Power of Death book

My first academic publication is in print! The Power of Death, contemporary reflections on death in Western society, features my essay on The Dad Project. It’s published by Berghahn and is available here. And next month our story of love and loss will be published in China’s beautiful Lens Magazine.

Britain Loves Africa see's it's first African publication this month in Arik air's Wings magazine.

#Britain Loves Africa

Lisa, Lemarchi, Asha and Sylvester in Lagos, Nigeria. My first Nigerian family to share their story with 'Britain Loves Africa'. Sylvester came to England from Nigeria to achieve his dream of studying quantity surveying at the highest level. Lisa told me that had heard the name Asha in church as a teenager, and told her friend she wanted to marry a black man and have a son called Asha. Lisa met Sylvester on a Christian dating website and they talked for three months before meeting. They married a year later and now have Asha and Lemarchi. When Sylvester couldn’t find a work during Britain’s economic downturn they came to Lagos, where he works for an oil company and she runs a school.

#Britain Loves Africa

First few moments of my month in Lagos

That little gap of air between the door of the plane and entrance to the airport sent a warm waft of familiarity up my nose; reassuringly African.

This was my first time in Nigeria. Each time I had told someone in London that I was about to spend a month in Lagos I got one of two responses. From Nigerians; ‘Oh you’re going to have SO much fun!’, and from everyone else; ‘Ooooo really? Be careful’. From a Ghanian friend who I asked for introductions to any Nigerian friends; ‘Just don’t trust noone’. From one of my best friends; ‘I’ve never wanted to leave a place so much, but I know you’ll love it’. I was ready to love it.

Upon stepping onto Nigerian soil I was told to queue up to have a gun put to my head. Overheard the guys behind me saying ‘No Ebola here, Nigerians we like life O’. It was a plastic thermometer gun, and thankfully I passed my Ebola test.

Next interaction was with at passport control and went like this; Immigration officer: Hello Madame Me: Hello Sir IO: Passport please Me: (Grinning) I do like your bow tie (he looked dapper in and old-school-gent sort of way, and I had been advised to kiss-arse at passport control or risk losing a portion of the money I had even exchanged yet) IO: You are a very pretty lady Me: Thank you IO: Maybe I could be lucky enough to have your hand in marriage Me: Sorry, but you’re not going to be that lucky my friend IO: Ok, maybe in the next life Me: I’ll look out for you. IO: Welcome to Lagos!

No delays picking up my bag, but asked twice if I was with Total (Oil). When was the last time you saw an Oil Tycoon in leopard print converse and a pink hoody? Are all the white people entering Lagos in Oil?

Approach a desk manned by a soldier (handsome, dressed in Army fatigues, also looking dapper, but with a much naughtier sort of glint in his eye):

Soldier: Welcome to Nigeria Me: Thank you Soldier: Passport please Me: Here it is Soldier: O! You are single. (Only now I notice it’s stated in large letters on my visa) Are you looking for a husband madame? Me: No I’m not. Soldier: Or a boyfriend?

Me: Nope Soldier: O but you are very nice. Me: (supressing giggles of incredulity) Thanks. Soldier: Is someone collecting you? Me: Yes Soldier: A friend? Me: Yes (Not true) Soldier: A man or woman? Me: A man (true) Soldier: Ooooooo (biiiiig grin) he is a lucky man. You tell him that I said he will have a very good night. Me: (now failing to supress my giggles at the ridiculousness of the military officer expressing his excitement about me shagging the taxi driver). Soldier: You will enjoy yourself. Me: (unsure of the potential consequences of escalating this excruciatingly inappropriate flirtation, I scuttle off with eyebrows raised to levels of maximum disapproval indication).

I enter the main terminal expecting to be hit with a wall of human chaos, but it fulfils none of the scare stories I’ve been fed. It’s calm and pretty empty. A few taxi drivers approach me, and take-no-for-an-answer quietly. By the time I’ve realised I can’t see my taxi driver and can’t get reception on my phone a lad has attached himself to me, determined to help out. I use his phone to call the driver who appears moments later from around the corner holding a 'Briony Campbell' sign, tip the lad and we’re off into the night, into the city. That's the first time I've been picked up with a Briony Campbell sign and I'm feeling special. Yeah, those London Nigerians knew what they were talking about, bring on the fun...

And the fun did come. TBC...

A few pics from my first weekend. 'Felabration' at The New Afrikan Shrine:

#Britain Loves Africa #africa #nigeria #lagos #fela kuti #african music #live music

Soundtrack to my pre-departure Saturday all nighter (desk not dancefloor)

#music #spotify

I recently had the pleasure of photographing Tim Andrews for his portrait series 'Over The Hill'. He's been photographed by over 300 photographers since being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. See the project here: http://timandrewsoverthehill.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/tiger-meets-tim-by-briony-campbell.html

Shout out to my lady snappers: Come down to IdeasTap HQ for this informal networking and panel session from and about women in photography on Tuesday 14th. See you there! (Men welcome too of course).

#news

Heading to Nigeria on Wednesday to teach a workshop at: http://www.lagosphotofestival.com/ In my planning I've been thinking of that last time I collaborated with an African Photographer - in Mali. Above: Harandane Dicko at work.

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