Month: June 2019

My video package piece concerns skateboarding. Where else would be best to go other than South Bank? The iconic space has been teeming with skaters since the 1980s and remains the hub of London’s skate scene to this day. The concrete undercroft area was not initially designed with skateboarders in mind, but happened to be perfect for originators of early street-skating (as opposed to ramp/park skating, which was the norm in the 80s) to pioneer new tricks. Upon my arrival, I spotted professional skater, artist and model Blondey McCoy trying a trick on a ledge next to the National Theatre. Filming him next to me was my interview subject, Ethan, from Cleveland, who was in London for his college course placement. 

For this audio assignment, I decided to choose an event which tied in with my video package and made for an entertaining listen. I visited the Copper Box Arena, which played host to Street League – skateboarding’s premier competition. The afternoon began with an introduction to the contestants and an overview of the course. I was particularly excited as some of my favourite skaters were competing alongside younger, lesser-known amateurs with raw, unquestionable ability on a board. After barely fifteen minutes I began speaking with Reece, now a friend of mine who was sat next to me during the preliminary rounds.   

Soundcloud link:

 https://soundcloud.com/nternetamous/audio-event-sls-mixdown

On Monday 17^th June, I took a stroll around Westminster, following the recent political stir headlining the news: the Conservative leadership contest and subsequent race to become the UK’s next Prime Minister. Although the streets weren’t packed with protestors, as they were for the People’s vote in March, there were clusters of demonstrators scattered around Parliament Square and opposite the Houses of Parliament. Some were more willing to speak to me than others; I asked a question to one man, who got halfway through his answer before noticing the small microphone on my collar and becoming belligerent and trying to remove it. I was actually speaking to another person when he interjected, so I carried on without asking for permission to record him. I restarted the initial interview and rounded off my afternoon by taking some photographs and heading to the nearest Pret.