Mandy McIntosh, online exhibition

Dear friends and fellow filmmakers!
I thought you might like to see this link to my work, it is being exhibited online at Animate Projects UK

here is the link

http://www.animateprojects.org/films/by_artist/m/m_mcintosh

Live - Love - Laugh

Allowing me to be initiated into the world of 'blog' is dangerous.  My emails and letters to friends can become rather long and 'wordy' so I will try to take Mandy's advice about stripping away the meat of our story .... back to the bare bones, or as Robert said "kill your darlings".  To anyone outside the group this sounds more dangerous than intended!!!
This week has been transforming and helped me to look at the future with different eyes and the opening  of all sorts of opportunities.  New friendships forged and an increasing awareness of all sorts of possibilities.  The people in terms of tutors creative Maddy and Hannah amazing technical support from Paddy and getting to know the international participants plus the support of young talented volunteers has been inspiring.  A big thank you to everyone.
There is a definite excitement amongst us about tonight's showcase.  It will be so good to see everyones hard work and results come to fruition.  Wonderful how our Love stories are so different and we could each write or rather digitalise another on the same topic.  Food for thought.
My husband Roger and son Paul will be at the "Oscars this evening, (I'm looking forward to seeing their  reaction when they see themselves 32 years ago and the story attached!)  
Back soon - Anita

Many thanks for my achievements in Love Storytelling Workshop

Hello,
I am very pleased with this Love Storytelling Workshop and all activities we have done through this learning week.
I would like to say many thanks to Hannah and Mandy for excellent organization and support and actually to all our volunteers, especially to Mia and Claire, who helped me a lot.

I was attracted to the Workshop because I like to learn, like to work in a group and share experiences, to improve my English and computers skills.
During the Workshop I have learnt how to use digital technology and realized how the learning process is important / maybe more than the final result.

I enjoyed very much in all activities, my favourite moment was, when I realized what we can do with all these digital tools, support and help in a short time.

I enjoyed in boat tour and visiting Clifton Village as well. Bristol is a very good environment to learn in!

With love and all the best,

Nada

How I love Nordic Walking Style or my happy week in Bristol

It was a happy week in Bristol. The week among amazing people thinking and speaking about love.

It was very nice to hear impressive and exciting love stories the friends of the group were telling about.

My story about  my love for Nordic Walking Style was not very  attractive.  It was  usable mainly  like good base which helped me in creating digital film about love.  Yes, I love Nordic Walking, but my love for my close  people is much  more deep.

One of the main actors in the  film is my grandson  Augustas. In order to convey an emotion of  the “excellent feeling” it was the best way to show the happy smile of a child.  I love him very much.

Another “actor- sportsman”  was my son Vytautas. I am happy, than in the same day when I finished my  job - small digitall film, he finished his big job –  became the bachelor at Kaunas University of technologies.

All materials for my film I took from my own archive and from my site  www.siaurietiskasejimas.lt  (English version in the near future will be in  www.nwstyle.eu).

I would like to thank our excellent leaders and teachers Hannah, Mandy  and Paddy. Your help in creating digital films is very important and usefull to me. I found the great  possibility how to put  information and my  living experience into the film by using digital technologies.

With grateful thanks,

Jonas Koryzna

The last day of Love, the next day of Love

We are winding down and preparing for our showcase this afternoon, an incredible atmosphere, peaceful, calm, one or two people were still finishing this morning, last minute tweaks, under the wire last minute scans, Michel, the prefectionist wanting to re-record un seul mot of his text, then the letting go of the story and preparing to launch these gems into the world.

As someone who works in stories and digital media and uses biographical material in my own work, I am happy to have had the opportunity to enable this with others and I respect and admire each participants depth and honesty and commitment to their work. Every story is unique and every story is special. Very many thanks and congratulations to everyone, what a remarkable achievement. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Best Wishes to you all,

Mandy

Sue-g

Hi,
I am a participant of this love-story workshop in June this year. I am happy have been working with
12 other people coming  from Lithuania,Portugal, Germany, UK, Slovenia, France, Norway and Belgian.

I learnt to shorten a story to it's heart, which took two days. This was very important. I learnt new things, to do on the computer and got a lot of help, whenever I needed it. I learnt to bring pictures to a film.

I do appreciate the good atmosphere. Hannah and Mandy really encouraged us and supported us to find our own way. Many thanks to Mandy, Hannah, the Volunteers , to Watershed and the grundtvig support.
My best regards to all the lifelong learners,
Sue- g

Chiseled from the Heart

Chiseled from the Heart, A tribuet to Life in the Sculptures of Gustav Vigeland (in the Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo, Norway).

A wonderfull 5 days at the Watershed Love Workshop!

First, great thabks to Hannah, Mandy and Paddy for their disciplined organisation of the project, for their and the volunteers knowledge, helpfulness and not at least patience.

As my theme, 'Chiseled from the Heart'm  I have chosen some of the scuptures of Gustav Vigeland which implis a 'Cirle of Life', from infancy to old age. There are obviously too many sculptures to fit in a digital story of 2 minutes, so the examples are inturely my own and personal.

One part of a sculpture that is being repeated, is that of a child reaching for, picking up a serpent. I have followed this image by sculptures or details that contrast with the immediate response to Love: the angry little boy, the raging youths (pestering an old, retarded man), a young boy withdrawing from the hand of a grandfather, man drifting apart from his woman and the man trying to break the ring, the bonds of (everyday) life.

Finlly, the Circle of Life, the Wheel of History, a sculpture placed at an height at the west end of the park, showing 5 humans integrated as a ring.

The Road Goes on Forver, wrtites Tolkien; or as we say in Norway, Life takes place as we wander along the road.

The inspiration and gained knowlegde of these five days will help me 'getting into' the tools of digital storytelling. I hope to be able to master the craft within soon  - and there will be many more stories told.

Again, great, great thanks to the staff for their patience, knowledge and inspiration!

Best regards to all.

Bjørn Kongsgaard