The Last American Freak Show. All photos courtesy of Richard Butchins

How did you start as a producer/director?

Well, it feels like it was an accident. I was broke and unemployed and just divorced. I’d been a photojournalist, shooting stories for the nationals, like the Guardian and the Observer, so moving into documentary film seemed logical as you have three elements to tell the story: visual, audio and temporal. I pitched an idea to a producer I knew and it got commissioned so I thought, “that’s easy.” Boy was I wrong!

Is this what you always imagined you would do?

I have no idea what I thought I would be doing, but it wasn’t this. I thought maybe I would be an astronaut or a revolutionary or something.

Where and what did you study?

I went to a few state schools, got into trouble at all of them and finally ended up at art school. I dropped out after being told that I couldn’t use most of the facilities as I was disabled and they weren’t insured. In those days disability was considered a handicap “joke”.

The Last American Freak Show

Who gave you your first break?

A producer called John Edginton, he’s an old school maverick documentary maker for whom I have immense respect and admiration. My first commission as a director was from Jess Search, who now runs BritDoc, but at that time she was at Channel 4 as a commissioner. He was one of the executive producers on my film “The Last American Freak Show”.

Which aspect of your work do you most enjoy?

The edit; it’s where the story is made and I love sitting for weeks in a darkened room in front of two screens, I really do. Working with a great editor is an inspiration and filmmaking is a collaborative art. The edit shows this to best effect.

What is the main inspiration that drives you?

A desire to tell fascinating tales about people that aren’t normally told. This need to tell stories is fundamental to human existence so I’m only really happy when I am making a film.

Which production have you most enjoyed working on and why?

My film “The Last American Freak Show” because it was uncompromising and a challenge to make and to watch. It upset a few people and won me a few prizes and showed that if you want to make a film then you can do it if you are prepared to just grab the camera and jump on the plane. Just don’t forget your credit card and don’t expect to make any money.

What is the most challenging aspect of your role as a producer and director?

Everyone will say “getting the money” and it’s true. Balancing the needs of commercial organizations like broadcasters and funders with the passion and desire to get an idea made is a difficult business. To be frank, most ideas fall by the wayside, not because they aren’t good but because they don’t meet other criteria.

An Attic Full of Puppets

What are you working on at the moment?

I am in paid development for several ideas for TV, but more importantly I am making a film out of “thin air” because it needs to be made and it’s kind of a consuming passion at the moment. It’s called “An Attic full of Puppets”. It’s about an amazing 93-year old man who was at one time the top marionette artist in Europe, the old archive film he has and his puppets that are hidden away in the attic. It’s also a sneaky way of looking at the way Elders are treated in our society. Everyone can go and be part of making the film as I am crowd-funding it at: www.indiegogo.com/An-Attic-full-of-Puppets

What have you just finished working on?

I have just finished working as an undercover reporter, carrying out secret filming for Channel 4 on a “Dispatches” episode about slum landlords. I had to rent a disgusting bedsit and live there. The film was excellent; it revealed some important issues about social housing (or the lack of) in the UK.

An Attic Full of Puppets

What is your proudest professional moment?

Winning the Best Director award at the Moscow International Disability Film Festival. Not an Oscar, but a big deal to me, and there was a red carpet and stuff. Being acknowledged by the Russian jury really touched me. And to beat some really good fiction films, that was a great moment.

If you could make a documentary about a well-known person who would you choose and why?

Tricky question, most celebrities and well known people are well aware of the power of the media and control their image too closely to be able to make a proper “warts and all” documentary about them. It’s all about PR and marketing. There’s a kind of obsession with making films about celebrity because it sells. I’ve met a lot of celebrities and they are usually far less interesting than their work.

I’d love to make a doc about Simon Cowell, “The C word”, or Rupert Murdoch. They are such control freaks, have so much insecurity and things they are frightened of, that they would make fascinating subjects. I’d have to have final cut rights though. So if either of them is up to the challenge, I guarantee a fair and open film showing them in their true light. So give them my number.

Morecambe And Wise – The Show What Paul Merton Did - BBC1. Photo courtesy of Brian Ritchie/Hotsauce TV Ltd

Bob Warans is the master of production buying. He has been working in television for a long, long time, (his words not ours). He has been the Production Buyer on lots of big LE productions including Are you being Served?, The Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise, Absolutely Fabulous and many, many more.…

In the first of a two-part interview OffScreen chats to Bob about the beginning of his career at the BBC and why he still loves his work. Words by Lynda Beckett

What’s the best bit about being a prop buyer?

Letting your imagination run, working with very talented designers, which I’m very lucky I do. It’s great, you get round spending someone else’s money, which is even better!

Do you think prop buying is a creative job?

Yes, I do think it’s a creative job. Probably even more so these days because budgets are tinier and tinier, so you’re trying to get a lot more for your money and looking just as good.

The Comedy Awards 2011 - C4. Photo courtesy of Richard Drew

Why did you choose to go into prop buying?

I went to Kingston Art College, a long time ago, where I studied interior design, and then a job came up at ATV in Birmingham on Crossroads. I think it was for six months. I went up to Aston Road studios in Birmingham and I got the job with the lovely Noele Gordon.

The BBC in those days used to do attachments, so I then got a job in the BBC in the transport department, and I organised the vans to pick the props up from the various hire houses. At the BBC in its heyday we used to have eight prop vans, seven days a week, just going around picking up all the props. Remember, all the dramas were done in the studios. It was amazing. For the Onedin Line they would go off for three weeks to do the boat shoots, and all the interiors were done in the studio, and all the Shakespeare, and loads of sitcoms. All the major suppliers were around the BBC, many of them still are, but there aren’t as many of them as there were in those days. So, that’s how I got into the BBC.

The BBC had a big design department, probably about sixty or seventy full-time designers with their assistants, and there were thirty staff prop buyers. As the old ones left they used to advertise a six-month attachment, and I got the attachment. Then as fate had it somebody died, and I was boarded to get the job full-time, which I did. I had the honour of being the youngest prop buyer the BBC ever had. Now I’m the oldest!

Beyonce - Victory - ITV. Photo courtesy of Julian Healy

What was it like when you first started at the BBC?

It was fantastic. It was like walking into my idea of Hollywood. You’d walk through the gates and at the weekends when they’d do the big LE variety shows, you could walk around eight studios and see Tom Jones in Studio 1, Mantovani, Nana Mouskouri… It was like a mini Las Vegas in Shepherd’s Bush!

At its prime, how big was the props store at the BBC?

It was the whole of the basement, the footprint of the building, that was called the Design Building, and it was full of stock props, lots of lovely furniture, made and bought over the years, all the smalls…we had an in-house drapes department that made all the drapes, an in-house plaster workshop that did all the moulding, in-house scene builders…it was all here!

But how many football pitches would it be?

Oh, probably about four. Three or four. It was huge.

Was there any one person who made you want to become a prop buyer? What inspired you?

Well, I’ve always enjoyed the interior design part. I did some interior design early on, and then later I did Ruby Wax’s house, and I think she put me off doing anything further because she kept changing her mind! It’s nice just being creative. You could try things out on television and if it didn’t really work, well it was shown once and then forgotten about. It was lovely. And I made it a point to specialise in entertainment shows very, very, early on because none of the other prop buyers wanted to do entertainment. They looked down on it. They all wanted to do drama. So I made a little niche for myself, which was fantastic, and I’m still working.

What was the first entertainment show you did?

I think it was a couple of episodes of Are You Being Served?, and Mrs Slocombe’s pussy appeared at Christmas… And then, I was very fortunate, I think Vic Meredith, one of the designers on Morecambe and Wise said would you like to come and do a Morecambe and Wise series, which I did. I loved it, loved it, loved it because they were so nice. That led to all the Christmas specials.

I used to look forward to those because we used to do them at the end of November, beginning of December, and you’d think “Christmas has arrived now!” And it cost what it cost! In 1977 we had just done the last Christmas show, Eric and Ernie said to Vic and I “come up to the 6th floor for our end of show party”. The 6th floor suite was hallowed territory; it was like going to the Board room somewhere. Their contract was due for renewal and they were going away. So Vic and I got on the lift with Eric. And Eric said “Enjoy yourselves tonight. They don’t know it, but we’ve already signed with Thames Television!” So I think Vic and I knew before Bill Cotton and all that lot did!

And then after Morecambe and Wise, The Two Ronnies discovered me and I did all their shows. And they were wonderful shows, lovely. Look at some of The Two Ronnies; for a two minute sketch they were huge spectaculars.

Children in Need - BBC1. Photo courtesy of Alex Craig

What was the most tricky prop you found for The Two Ronnies?

Ronnie Barker used to write his own little monologues, and one weekend I was reading the script and it said “Ronnie Barker picks up a chocolate teapot”. I thought, oh, it’s probably just a chocolate-coloured teapot. And then Ronnie Barker said to me “Bobby, where are you going to get a chocolate teapot from?” So I said ”Oh, I haven’t really thought about it yet” and quick as a flash I said “Do you want it in plain or dark chocolate?” I don’t know what made me say that! But I found a lovely lady and she made me six chocolate teapots, because we had to have extras for breakages, and they were absolutely wonderful. I don’t know how much they cost, but they were great. So I got brownie points for that!

There was another one. In the script, it said, “Ronnie Barker comes on with an alpine horn”. But I read it as an alpine horn hat, I don’t know why. This was on a Sunday, and Ronnie Barker said “now where’s the alpine horn”. I duly brought out the alpine hat. He said, “Oh no. I want an alpine horn, one of those ten foot long jobs! I’m thinking “Oh! Where am I going to get that from?” Of course this is before the days of googling everything. So I rang up directory enquiries, thinking “I’ll never work again!” and I said “Are there any musical museums in London?” She said “There’s the Horniman museum, I think it’s out near Dulwich”. Talk about buyer’s luck, I rang them up and said “We’re doing an episode of The Two Ronnies tonight; you wouldn’t have an alpine horn would you?” She said “Yes, we’ve got three!” I said “would you hire one?” “Yes!”

How lucky was that? It was there by 4 o’clock for the final dress run!

You’ve had a huge career in the BBC. Was there a buyer or someone above you who showed you the ropes?

Oh yes. When you start you’re attached to an established buyer and they then show you how to do your paperwork, and take you down to the pub and introduce you. When you apply for the job you have a prop master, the lovely Alan Hiley, the head of personnel and the head of design, so it’s quite daunting to meet all these people. You had to know all your periods. They’d show you a picture or a chair and say “What period is this?” you know. I look at some of the young guys today and think you wouldn’t know a period! It was quite staunch.

Who was the first guy that took you on?

It was a guy called Bill Eldridge and he specialised. He did Softly, Softly, Z-Cars and Barlow at Large. That’s all he did, that was his year. He loved doing all the police work. And I remember training with him on Z-Cars, in black and white. They used to have this cut-off police car, a Ford Zephyr which they’d bought and cut the front off, and put the mirror behind the car, so when they were driving around in the car they were actually in the studio. When we were doing Dixon of Dock Green, poor old Jack Warner was getting so old they used to wheel him around on a trolley because he could hardly walk. He looked about ninety and still in the police force.

Photos courtesy of Lynda Beckett

The legendary 1980s fashion designer Daniel Poole pops up in the east end of London with some friends for 18 days and then disappears. Phil Watson investigates.

There’s a famous line in the skit Michael Angelo and The Pope by Monty Python where upon seeing a preliminary version of the last supper with 28 disciples, three Christs, and kangaroo and after a lengthy argument, the pope screams at Michaelangelo something along the lines of “I may not know much about art, but I know what I like!” This is how I feel about Daniel Poole’s ¡The New Curiosity Shop! installation at The Londonewcastle Project Space. I don’t even know if it is necessarily art, but I know that I like it.

While some of the gallery was just filled with curious bits and pieces, particularly the recreation of Daniel Poole’s pop up curiosity shop in Primrose Hill, and the old bumper car and a mirror ball table in the main gallery, others such as the neon work of Chris Bracey, and the painted portraits of Jennifer Louise Martin were more “traditional artwork”.

Far and away the most visually stunning work on display there was that of Chris Bracey. For those of you who don’t know who he is, Chris, is the genius behind the lighting in Eyes Wide Shut, Blade Runner, four Batmans, Captain America, and many more movies, as well as a lot of the neon signs in Soho in the 80s. While some of his pieces in ¡The New Curiosity Shop! were simply old signs from Soho, others such as LOVE and the eye catching Damian Hirst referencing Fate were created for the show. These pieces lent the installation an almost carnivalesque atmosphere.

Another highlight was the almost tragic work of Jennifer Louise Martin whose paintings of women who appear to be crying and ruining their makeup contrasted beautifully with the rest of the show. Looking at her paintings made me imagine an alternative universe in which instead of getting broken up with, I break up with each of my ex girlfriends. I cannot over emphasize how satisfying that is. The most gorgeous piece in my eyes is, Beauty is An Affliction. One day, if I am ever well-heeled, I will find this painting and hang it over my fireplace.

The curious thing about this pop-up gallery is that it was a mixture of art, design and odd bits that mainly Chris Bracey and Daniel Poole had collected over the years and deemed worthy of putting into the gallery. And on the whole many of them were worthy because they are classic pieces of design that have been salvaged from the past and made into new artworks giving them a new lease of life. There was truly a buzz of excitement in the air, and a feeling of something new set before us.

The master-mind behind this collection of artworks is Daniel Poole. He started life as an avant-garde tailor and then moved over to street-wear. He became King of the 90s clubbing scene as his ‘dp’ logo was a must have in any clubber’s wardrobe. It is his piece that gives the show its name. It’s stunning. Sharks teeth, old toy boxes, strange medical instruments and other oddities make up the shop and appropriately a lot of them are for sale. On the opening night this was far and away the most popular element of the show, so much so that Daniel himself had to keep asking people to move to other areas of the space so that the crowd wouldn’t ruin the “shop”.

Yayoi Kusama - Photo credit: Lucy Dawkins/Tate Photography

One outlandish woman makes a load of mind-blowing art. Words by Lynda Beckett

Yayoi Kusama’s retrospective is an eye-opener. Now in her 9th decade she continues to work in her Tokyo studio, most recently creating mind-bending installations and weird block coloured canvasses, which are a mix of aboriginal/primitive art and the crazy psychedelic paintings from the 60s. Kusama is known internationally for her obsession with polka dots that have featured heavily in her life and within her work. They’ve become her trademark. But there is so much more to Kusama than her obsession with polka dots.

Born in 1929 in Matsumoto City, Yayoi Kusama was the youngest of four children from an upper middle class, wealthy family. This wealth gave Kusama choices that she wouldn’t have had otherwise. The idea of a woman becoming an artist in Japan in the 1950s would have been unusual. Despite this Kusama studied Nihonga, a traditional Japanese style of painting, in Kyoto. She quickly became frustrated with the traditional teaching methods, and leaving them behind she absorbed herself in cubism and surrealism from the West. Within this retrospective you don’t have to look very hard to see the influence of Miró and Klee within her early paintings. They have the spontaneous lyrical marks and distinctive patterning similar to those within Miró‘s work.

On the other hand the dots and patterns in these early works could have easily been paintings taken from electron microscopic photos, but this process wasn’t around when Kusama was first painting these works. Looking through this retrospective you can see how these early detailed paintings have developed into the large canvases she is painting today. Many of these paintings continue to play with her recurring biomorphic patterns, but now are enhanced by her used of two, three or maybe four psychedelic colours. They’re dazzling to look at.

By the late 1950s Kusama was on her way to America having glided over the social and cultural obstacles she faced in a deeply conservative male dominated Japan. She quickly immersed herself in the Greenwich Village community in New York and became part of the American pop art movement. She exhibited with members of the movement in the early 1960s.

Aggregation: One Thousand Boats Show, 1963 © Yayoi Kusama - Photo credit: Lucy Dawkins/Tate Photography

It was one of the pieces from the 1963 New York exhibition at the Gertrude Stein Gallery in New York that caught my eye in this retrospective – a white rowing boat completely encrusted with sculpted white penises. It brought a smile to my face as only a boat full of white penises could. This was Kusama’s first ever installation – an intriguing piece where the penis-encrusted boat sits on the wallpapered floor. In fact the entire room, walls, floor and ceiling are papered with a small repeat black and white image of the penis-incrusted boat. She openly explains that the installation ‘Aggregation: One Thousand Boats Show’, was a reaction to Kusama being forced as a child, by her mother, to spy on her father and his lovers. Kusama doesn’t just cover a rowing boat with phalli, she also covers shoes, dresses and chairs with them. Freud would have had a field day with Ms Kusama.

For the art historians out there, these works portray her strong connection with the development of pop art in the 60s. Interestingly the repeat patterned wallpaper from ‘Aggregation: One Thousand Boats Show’ was three years ahead of Andy Warhol’s acclaimed Cow Wallpaper.

Repetition and patterns are a large part of Kusama’s work. There are vast white canvasses covered with very small hand painted circles. They’re just too intense in detail. They are the creations of an incredibly talented woman who has gone through periods of depression. Kusama returned to Japan in 1973 after the death of her close friend Donald Judd. For over thirty years she has been a voluntary resident in a psychiatric hospital.

Infinity Mirrored Room - Filled with the Brilliance of Life, 2011 © Yayoi Kusama - Photo credit: Lucy Dawkins/Tate Photography

The intensity of many of Kusama’s painting and installations makes you open your mind and your eyes as you respond to her work. Her work continues to challenge today as it did in the 1960s and early 70s when she was thrusting gender, race, the Vietnam War and polka dots into our parent’s faces. Today the political content and nudity have waned, however the intensity of colour and her ability to mess with your mind prevails. Her installation ‘Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life’ takes you into a new environment where you loose any sense of dimension and visually there are no boundaries, limits or edges. ‘Infinity Mirrored Room’ is a stunning visual experience. Within a mirrored room your eyes are attracted to seemingly millions of little lights that systematically change colour. These tiny hanging lights are reflected on the mirrored walls and appear to travel into infinity. It’s a truly mind-blowing experience – it’s magical. You won’t want to leave.

Yayoi Kusama’s retrospective is currently running at Tate Modern until 5th June, 2012.

Above photo copyright of Corinne Gubba. All other images copyright of VSI Enterprises

Dr Dolittle Of The Filming World

Words by John Gubba

Driving away from Beirut Airport in the dead of night to the sound of the distant gunshots was an unsettling experience. But what made this assignment surreal was the mission: we were in Lebanon to film a mouse race.

Trevor Smith, “the world’s most versatile animal wrangler” – as billed by Animal Planet when they premiered his TV series Wild Thing, prides himself on providing any creature for filming “from a house fly to a hippo.”

The challenge in war-torn Beirut was working with untrained mice.

The client was an internet company and the storyboard was simple. The race track was a cross between a greyhound stadium and a motor racing circuit. The hero, dressed in a miniature racing jacket bearing the client’s corporate logo, was to be crowned “the fastest mouse on the internet”.

When we arrived at the studio Trevor met the director of the TV commercial, the agency who had dreamed up the storyboard and the mice. But there was a small problem. The mice.

“These mice are much too small. They’re tiny lab mice and they’re only babies. They’re just not suitable for the shots you need and won’t be able to run round the track,” said Trevor, who was duly informed there were no full-size mice in Lebanon.

The solution was to send a driver to neighbouring Syria where he collected some adult mice. Twenty four hours later, back in the studio, our animal expert began to work his magic when he selected a hero mouse and started to train him and his friends to run round the track.

It was one of those assignments that bore little resemblance to the actual storyboard, as more and more challenging elements were introduced – from dry ice to the removal of the lane dividers. But, as always, Trevor delivered the required shots and the much-acclaimed commercial that resulted was so hilarious it was featured by Chris Tarrant on his comedy show Tarrant on TV.

The fly-on-the-wall story of the making of the commercial was featured in one of the first ever episodes of Wild Thing, the series that has turned the Dr Dolittle of the filming world into arguably the most sought after animal wrangler in the business.

The episode, billed as that evening’s pick of the day by the Observer newspaper when it was first shown on Animal Planet, can be viewed online at www.wildthingtv.net/s1e3.html.

Trevor has been providing animals for commercials, feature films, pop promos and all types of filming requirements for nearly 40 years. The mouse race in Beirut was in the late nineties and 12 years on it was danger of a different kind when TV2 in Norway wanted a chromakey studio shoot with a lion.

The requirement was an adult male just like the iconic MGM lion with the long mane and that aura of power and danger. The action was one continuous shot walking to camera to include a quick look right, then left and ending with a snarl. The clients were amazed when the lion delivered exactly what they wanted on the first take.

“That was truly amazing,” said Alexander Øksenberg, CEO & Partner of Gosu Design, who put their faith in Trevor and his team to turn their storyboard into a reality.

Casting and choreography is a big part of the role of an animal co-ordinator and on this occasion the success of the shoot depended on selecting the right lion in the right location and working with a production team who specialise in filming with animals.

It is such a specialist field that Trevor decided a few years ago to set up a business to do this kind of work and build an archive of chromakey animal stock shots.

“Filming on blue or green screen is a big part of what we do. As fewer animals will be available to do this type of work in years to come it is important that we film as many different species as we can before they disappear,” explains our expert, who appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2010 seeking funding for stock footage website www.blueanimals.co.uk, a joint venture with independent production company VSI Enterprises.

It’s not just a case of turning up with the animals and filming them, you have to know how to get the actions and that’s all down to experience and understanding animal psychology. You also need a licence to film with animals,” explains Trevor, who is one of a rare breed of animal wranglers with all the right credentials.

He started out in the filming business at the age of 16, when his first assignment was to dress a nude model with snakes and cockroaches in the movie Satan’s Slaves. Grandson of the last gamekeeper of Chalfont St. Peter, Trevor later took a similar position at Windsor Safari Park where, among many other creatures, he had close contact with killer whales and dolphins.

But it was not long before he turned to working in the filming business full-time and over the years he has worked with many famous names and celebrities, including Jack Nicholson, when Trevor supplied bats for the Batman movie, and Tom Cruise, when Trevor wrangled the rats in that famous scene in the ventilation shaft in Mission Impossible.

Many of his animals have become stars in their own right, none more so than Kevin the fruit bat who shot to fame in the ads for Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles.
Trevor’s ability to overcome hopeless situations is amazing, such as the time when he was hired to take Egyptian cobras to Egypt to make a film with the legendary Omar Sharif.

Despite having all the correct paperwork, problems at customs meant the trained cobras were not allowed into the country. “It looked like we would be on the next plane home. But then we found some killer cobras that had been captured in the wild. It was a real mad situation because one bite from these snakes and you are dead in 20 minutes.

“The most important shot was getting one of the cobras to hood up and strike at the camera. I don’t think the cameraman realised the deadly snakes we were working with were extremely bad-tempered compared to the trained ones we were originally intending to work with. But as I like to say, it’s all in a day’s work.”

To contact Trevor Smith visit www.animalswork.co.uk

All images courtesy of Amiel Courtin-Wilson and Flood Projects

Amiel Courtin-Wilson is a rising star from Australia. His first documentary, Chasing Buddha, premiered at Sundance in 2000 and has won many awards internationally. His other films include the multi-award winning feature documentary Bastardy 2008. Cicada, a short documentary was selected as part of Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2009, while his first feature film, Hail, premiered at Venice International Film Festival in 2011.

How did you get started as a director?

Both my parents are artists and I was raised with a lot of family discussion about creativity. My mother had a particularly strong work ethic in her painting, so for me there was nothing really exotic about it; it was just what my parents did all day so it made sense for me to do something creative as well.

I made my first film when I was 10. It was about criminals smuggling cocaine inside glass eyes and it was promptly banned by my Grade 4 teacher for its violence and drug references.

Is being a Film Director what you always imagined you would do?

When I was about 7 years old I was convinced I wanted to be a writer. It was only when my Father started showing me Bunuel, Antonioni, Scorsese and Altman that I knew I wanted to make films. I saw Taxi Driver when I was 9 and it tore my head off.

Where and what did you study?

I studied film and photography in high school, then dropped out of university after a few weeks to make my first documentary, Chasing Buddha, which premiered at Sundance in 2000 when I was 20 years old.

Who gave you your first break?

When I was 17, I made a documentary for national television in Australia about my final year in high school. It was a video diary piece and they supplied me with a video camera for the year so it was an amazing opportunity to make all kinds of music-clip and experimental work at the same time.

Which aspect of your work do you most enjoy?

I absolutely love shooting. Being on location and working with actors or a documentary subject in the field is really unparalleled. It’s a very particular kind of creative delirium that is unbelievably satisfying. It allows for the most organic kind of collective creativity and lets you aspire to what Godard called “the definitive by chance”.

What is your main inspiration that drives you?

I make films to be humbled by the immensity of others; to explore what it is to be alive; to chart the chasms between people as well as the things that bind and ignite us.

If an idea continues to gnaw at my innards for longer than a few months I know it is worth persevering with and that it has a basis for further exploration. Having said that, it’s also important to make work that is purely reliant on instinct and momentum, so whether that means drawing and making music in between film projects to keep a fertile sense of possibility then I try to work with whatever is available to me at the time.

What inspired you to make Hail?

I met the lead actor Danny about seven years ago in a theater company made up of ex-prison inmates. I was making a documentary about this group in Melbourne and we’d been filming for about six months. I turned up to one of the rehearsals one day and saw a guy who was standing outside the rehearsal space and I walked up to introduce myself. He turned around and I don’t think I’d ever met someone with as intense a gaze as Danny had the moment I met him. He’d been out of jail for about 18 hours at that point.

Dan became part of the theatre company and he was head and shoulders above everyone else in terms of his performance. There is this hyper-vigilant, perceptive quality to Dan as a human being when you engage with him so there’s an amazing immediacy in his performances. You inevitably travel in his slipstream because he’s such a presence.

I knew I wanted to make a film about Danny as soon as I met him but it was only after becoming extremely close with Danny and his girlfriend Leanne over a period of years and hearing endless amazing stories from both of them about their criminal exploits that I decided to make a feature film rather than a documentary. I wrote a treatment based on the last five years of their life together and cast them both as the leads in a dramatic feature film in which they actually play themselves in the context of a dramatic narrative. I was deeply inspired by the love they have for one another and I wanted to juxtapose what could have just been a kitchen sink drama about the details of their daily lives post release from prison with something almost operatic in tone, something mythical, romantic and highly impressionistic. Stylistically Hail is forged from a triumvirate of influences: documentary, experimental film by filmmakers such as Stan Brakhage, and the revenge crime film genre – especially works such as Thief by Michael Mann.

What was the most difficult thing about getting Hail off the ground?

By far the most difficult part of the process was convincing a group of government funding bodies that a twenty page treatment and a cast of non-actors was a sensible equation. It’s a testament to Screen Australia, Film Victoria and Adelaide Film Festival who ended up coming on board but it certainly took a series of lengthy and probably ultimately necessary discussions about why Hail had to be made in this way. Michael Cody, the film’s producer, was also absolutely instrumental in protecting this film’s unusual methodology and with such a comparatively low budget it was brilliant we were able to shoot with so much freedom.

Which production have you most enjoyed working on and why?

I can’t really single out a production in my career so far because I’ve made films about family and friends and the people I’ve met through my films have either become family or friends so I’m drawn to the relationships in filmmaking over and above the films themselves.

What is your proudest professional moment?

Standing with the majority of the Hail crew as well as the two lead actors Daniel Jones and Leanne Letch at the Venice Film Festival last year during a ten minute standing ovation was quite ecstatic and a beautiful experience. This film in particular was founded on a lot of long-term relationships and love for one another so to be able to share that with a group of other great filmmakers is really an indelible experience.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am developing four feature film projects in both Australia and the United States. I am currently in the United States looking for writers and meeting various production companies. The sense of community in the film scene in NY is not dissimilar to that in Australia, actually, so it feels like home. There is a great sense of collectivity and sharing of production knowledge.

What have you just finished working on?

I just finished the initial shoot of a feature film set in Cambodia with Michael Cody, who produced Hail. We spent two months in Phnom Penh working with an amazing executive producer who financed the shoot for us. I’m really looking forward to moving into the edit as it is a very impressionistic, beguiling love story shot with a group of amazing non-actors we found on the streets of Phnom Penh.

What are you looking to do in the future?

As well as my film work I have also exhibited drawings and video installations internationally so I am really open to working in other mediums in between working on more long-term film projects. I find it is a necessity to keep moving between disciplines to keep the sense of momentum in your work on a daily basis.

I am part of a production collective called Flood Projects which includes ten Australian filmmakers across a range of disciplines and we are having our official launch this year.

I’m also co-editing a book about Jack Charles – a man I documented in a feature documentary called Bastardy. Jack is an amazing 68 year old Aboriginal actor and reformed heroin addict and cat burglar.

I just co-wrote and produced a feature film in Cambodia which Flood Projects is currently editing and I am writing two feature projects set in the United States.

Later this year I am also directing a film with a theatre company called Black Lung to accompany an upcoming show about death cults in East Timor.

Photo courtesy of BBC/Guy Levy

The battle between the big boys for Saturday night viewers has begun. Creative Technology in the meantime is making sure everything on the LED side runs smoothly. Words by Lynda Beckett

The BBC and ITV have chosen their weapons. ITV has gone for Britain’s Got Talent. With five series under its belt the show has a wealth of experience and we all know what we’re getting. The BBC has gone for The Voice, the new kid on the block in the battle for the Saturday evening family viewers. Having gone down a storm in the US and the Netherlands, the BBC is hoping The Voice will bring the same success in the UK.

In the early days of Britain’s Got Talent, Simon Cowell had us all on the edge of our seats watching the likes of Diversity, Spelbound and Susan Boyle. Six series in and we want something different. The BBC has turned to The Voice to give us that – a talent show that is all about the voice.

Created by the Dutch TV producer John de Mol, the brain behind Big Brother and Deal or No Deal, The Voice has cost Auntie an arm and a leg. And just in case you’ve been on holiday for the past month or so, Jessie J, Sir Tom Jones, will.i.am (the Black Eyed Peas frontman), and Danny O’Donoghue from The Script are the ‘coaches’.

In order to choose the people they want to coach, the ‘coaches’ sit in enormous red swivel chairs, with their backs to the contestants. Unable to see the contestants, the ‘coaches’ are only able to hear their voices. If the ‘coaches’ like the sound of the voice they press the buzzer in front of them and the chair spins round. If more than one ‘coach’ spins round the contestant gets to choose his/her ‘coach’.

The Voice is big, it’s glitzy and it sparkles, and that’s where Creative Technology comes in alongside the creative talent of Julian Healy, the production designer on the series.

The blind auditions, the first section of the series, were filmed in TC1/BBC in January. Creative Technology had a set and light period of three days. In this time the CT team set up over 150m2 of LED screens as backdrops and floor covering. Throughout the show various graphics, logos, holding logos and animations are fed to these screens to suit the song and the rest of the studio atmosphere. The Main Set screen consisted of 30m2 of Chromatek Black Faced 6mm LED screen. The fragmented Flyer 18mm banner screens, either side of the main screen, give the show movement and allow fluid scene changes and beneath the artist is a further 30m2 of Flyer 12mm system. CT also supplied 550 metres of their latest LED product Video Flex, edging the set and creating further movement in between the artists and judges areas.

If the UK contestants are anywhere near the same quality as Javier Colon and Dia Frampton, the US winner and runner up, we are in for a treat. Their voices are fantastic. The Voice is different, it isn’t like other reality shows which are largely about people selling a product or their looks. The Voice is truly aiming to be all about the voice.

As you look outside, the grey skies are turning blue, the sun is shining, and you can hear birds singing again. Yes, spring is definitely in the air! There are so many things to look forward to: packing your winter coat away, spring fashion, going for walks, picnics, Pimms in the park…and yet your good mood is still in hibernation.

After the long cold winter some of us will be wanting a little “pick me up”. Is hitting the dreaded ‘comfort food’ again the only answer? Luckily for your health (and waistline) there are healthier ways to put a spring in your step such as light exercise, spending time with loved ones and watching movies that make you laugh out loud. However, the extra good news is that there is scientific evidence about the use of food to support our mood. Making positive changes to our diet may help us feel better physically and emotionally.

Our moods are linked to the production or use of certain brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) such as serotonin and dopamine. Many natural compounds found in foods work as precursors to our neurotransmitters. A shortage of these precursors can change the ways we feel and behave. Therefore what we eat plays a significant role in how we feel.

Bet that got your attention! Let’s explore what’s on your good-mood food prescription…

Tryptophan rich foods – cottage cheese, chicken, turkey, oats, egg whites, tuna, brown rice, peanuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, bananas, figs, walnuts and avocados. Tryptophan is an amino acid and it helps the body produce happy chemical serotonin, and melatonin, which aids sleep.

Vitamin B rich foods – brown rice, oats, eggs, natural yogurt, milk, cheese, wholegrains, chicken, mushrooms, pumpkin, sweetcorn, watercress, cabbage, broccoli, mackerel, asparagus, spinach, root vegetables, courgettes, tomatoes, cauliflower, wheat germ, red kidney beans, sardines, lamb, turkey, soya beans. B-vitamins aid in the proper functioning of the brain and the nervous system. They can help with poor concentration and memory, stress, irritability, anxiety and depression. We deplete B vitamins when faced with stressful situations so be sure to replenish your levels.

Magnesium rich foods – Wheat germ, nuts, seeds, brewer’s yeast, buckwheat flour, wholegrains, beans, garlic, apricots, dried figs, bananas, raisins, dark green leafy vegetables, peas, potato skin, crab, lentils, soya beans, meats, poultry, fish. Magnesium aids in dealing with anxiety, depression, irritability, stress, and insomnia. It’s nature’s natural relaxant.

Zinc rich foods – Oysters, ginger roots, lean red meat, dry split peas, chick peas, haddock, peas, turnips, nuts, egg yolks, wholegrains, rye, oats, lentils, rice, pulses, seeds, canned fish, green leafy vegetables, mushrooms, potatoes, cheese, brewer’s yeast, blackstrap molasses. Zinc activates areas of the brain that receive and process information from taste and smell sensors and is essential for aiding in dealing with depression, confusion, blank mind, loss of appetite, and lack of motivation.

Omega 3 rich foods – Oily fish, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, green leafy vegetables. This essential fatty acid may influence mood, personality, depression, poor memory and behaviour.

Selenium rich foods – Tuna, oysters, herring, cottage cheese, beef liver, courgettes, cod, chicken, seeds, brazils nuts, poultry, broccoli, cabbage, onions, garlic, yeast, cereals, wholegrains. A selenium deficiency is linked to mood disorders, depression, irritability and hypothyroidism.

There you have it: your own ‘prescription to put the spring in your step’! As you can see enjoying a varied whole food diet is the key to happiness.

Nourishing well wishes

Angelique Panagos is a Nutritional Therapist with a special interest in female health, hormonal imbalances, fatigue and digestive disorders. She also sees clients with general health concerns. Angelique completed her 3 year training as a Nutritional Therapist at the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in London.

Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or chemist for any health problems, before embarking on any new health regimes, using any supplements or before making any changes in prescribed medications.

Website:
www.angeliquepanagosnutrition.com

Email:
yourhealth@angeliquepanagosnutrition.com

Twitter:
@apnutrition

Sports Personality of the Year 2011. All photos courtesy of Simon Beresford

How did you start as a Production Designer?

I was taken to see a production of Verdi’s Macbeth at Leeds Grand Theatre when I was 14 years old, and within a second of the curtain going up I knew what I wanted to do. I was lucky enough to have an art teacher at school, David Wood, who had a passion for the theatre. Over the next few years he fanned the fire, and put me in touch with various amateur operatic companies in and around Leeds. I still feel as passionate about the job now as I did when I first saw that production.

Where and what did you study?

I have no O-levels and no A-levels, but thanks to my art teacher helping me to build up my portfolio of work, I got a place at Leeds College of Art, where I did my foundation. I then came to London to do my degree in Theatre Design at Central St. Martins.

Who gave you your first break?

I was introduced to Vanessa Redgrave who asked me to design her production of Antony and Cleopatra, which opened in London, then went on a world tour, ending up on Broadway. After working for several years in theatre and opera, I met director Jevon O’Neill who asked me to design Out of Season starring Dennis Hopper and Gina Gershon, which gave me my break in film.

Kids’ Choice Awards 2008

Which aspect of your work do you enjoy the most?

It has got to be coming up with an idea and seeing it through to fruition, and the collaborative journey you go through on the way. One of the things I have always enjoyed is applying my skills as a production designer to different aspects of design – theatre, film, television, TV commercials etc. The combination always gives me a fresh look at whichever area I am working in at the time. I particularly enjoy the collaboration with my team – art directors, construction managers, painters, sculptors, technicians – and the integration of lighting and camera shots within the created environment.

MTV Base Africa

Which production have you most enjoyed working on and why?

I normally enjoy all productions that I work on – each one is very different. I very much like working on shows that combine my ability to design live events – the more theatrical experience – combined with my filmic and TV knowledge of camera shots. MTV Icon The Cure, working with director Tony Gregory, and MTV Base Africa launch, working with director Russell Thomas were particular highlights from an event perspective. From a filmic and intellectual point of view the highlight has got to be designing Mike Leigh’s Another Year. Working with Mike and his team was a real privilege, and an incredibly rewarding experience.

What is your main inspiration that drives you?

There are many inspirations that drive me; music, art, film, architecture, or just small moments in life, and the possibility of being able to make someone’s hair stand up on the back of their neck. I especially enjoy working abroad, experiencing different cultures and working in different venues.

What are you working on at the moment?

At the moment I am working on Sports Personality of the Year 2011 for the BBC, up at Media City UK in Salford Quays. I am also very excited to have won the tender to design and build the Olympic studio sets for BBC 1 and BBC 3 for the London 2012 Olympic Games. I am also looking at several film scripts, plus a corporate event for Heineken in Austria.

Sports Personality of the Year 2011

How did you get to design the set for Sports Personality of the Year?

This is a show I have always wanted to design. I worked with the BBC drama producer Nick Brown who very kindly gave me the details of who to contact in the Sports department at the BBC. As co-owner and creative director of Create-Live, a creative agency I set up and which has been successfully established for several years, I was given the opportunity to pitch, and subsequently, much to my delight, won.

BBC Sport - Darts

What were the challenges involved in designing Sports Personality of the Year?

The design challenge on Sports Personality was trying to retain the epic feel from previous productions that were held in arenas. The starting point was very much from the shots. At the very beginning of the process we were given a list of the cameras that the director intended to use. So as our design developed, camera positions were always taken into consideration, in conjunction with entrances, exits, and blocking. This is a very different process from designing for a stage, where you are more reliant on moving pieces of scenery than on a moving view of what is happening.

For Sports Personality of the Year I decided to design flown elements that change perspective as the camera moves, thus giving a sense of scale, size and perspective. This is achieved by a first layer of scenic elements, then a second layer of low-res screen behind those scenic elements, which will give more sense of space. A key factor in the design has been the close collaboration with lighting director Gurdip Mahal and director Paul Davies, and also our long-standing relationships with Creative Technology and Set Square Staging.

What is your proudest professional moment?

The red carpet premiere in Leicester Square of Mike Leigh’s Another Year!

The Ministry of Curious Stuff. Photo courtesy of Ministry Of Curious Stuff © BBC

The Ministry of Curious Stuff. All drawn images courtesy of Jacqueline Mills

Words by Roger Keen

The direction of Jacqueline Mills’ career as a costume designer took a definitive turn when she won an Emmy Award for her work on Jim Henson’s Mother Goose Stories, a Disney children’s production, beating strong competition.

“It was all tremendously exciting. We flew to Los Angeles, attended the ceremony in a stretch limo, and when my name was announced as winner I was so elated that everything became surreal. It was a thrill to stand up in front of everyone and make a speech and, when it came to the obligatory “thank-yous”, I had to think hard to be sure I included everybody!

“On the way back I had the Emmy in my hand as we boarded the Virgin flight, and who should be greeting passengers in the gangway but Richard Branson! He asked me about the award, held the statuette aloft and announced the win to a near-full jumbo jet, prompting rapturous applause. Then he upgraded us to first class, and we sat sipping champagne opposite Tom Jones and his family. Quite a trip in every sense!”

Jacqueline’s interest in costume and the performing arts started at an early age, when she staged plays with her friends for an audience of parents. “I took particular pleasure in accurate costumes, realising that they help make the story convincing. I also used to make clothes for myself and my dolls and bears from as far back as I can remember. Later I found it very liberating designing for children’s programming, because you can release your inner child and reconnect with your childhood perspectives. You feel a responsibility and a thrill, as you’re helping to shape the memories of other childhoods.”

Naturally, classic children’s films had a strong influence, and Jacqueline’s favourites from childhood are Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Time Bandits and The Slipper and the Rose. But films for adults also played their part, in particular those with a well-defined period milieu reflected in costume, such as The Great Gatsby, Death in Venice, The Draughtsman’s Contract and The French Lieutenant’s Woman.

After A levels, Jacqueline obtained a degree in Fashion Design from Bournemouth and Poole College of Art, and she got her first break in television after a chance meeting with American producer Larry DeWaay at Pinewood Studios. In earlier years, along with Mother Goose, Jacqueline also worked on mainstream films, such as The House That Mary Bought, with Susan George and Ben Cross, Shadow Run, with Michael Caine and James Fox, and Devil’s Gate, with Tom Bell, Laura Fraser and Callum Blue. Her mainstream television output includes a marathon run of ninety-six one-hour programmes for the drama series Dream Team and the mini-series The Road to Dusty Death, with Linda Hamilton, Christopher Cazenove and Simon MacCorkindale.

“As regards the way I approach a project, firstly I read the script, then I have a meeting with the producer, director and other key personnel, and we pool ideas. Some people have strong ideas about what they want, whilst others require more conceptual input from me. Then, armed with the brief, I do research and acquire fabric swatches and produce mood boards, paste-ups of many relevant photos and illustrations, which help the ideas to come to life visually. And after that, having narrowed down the options, I’ll make sketches. So there’s a great deal of pre-production work before any costume is actually sourced or made up.”

More recently Jacqueline returned to children’s programming, which has changed extensively over the years, borrowing popular formats from the mainstream, such as the game show. Considerable versatility and ingenuity are needed to tackle the complex and diverse costume briefs of such programmes.

Starfinder was set within a space station and required space cadet costumes, colour coded for each team, plus full space suits for the green screen-shot moonwalks. School of Silence had a setting that parodied a St. Trinians-like disciplinarian school, where noise of any kind was severely frowned upon. The headmistress, Miss Gobstop, was a Cruella de Ville caricature, and Jacqueline exaggerated the actress’s already considerable height by giving her a slim-fitting Harris Tweed suit with high-heeled brogues and a high-necked blouse, which also lent her a prim, 1930s aspect.

Such a suit couldn’t be sourced off the peg, so Jacqueline made it herself. “What gives me an edge is that I have much experience of the entire process of garment production, which means that when my designs are made up by a costume company, I can direct them very precisely and, when an extra-special bespoke item is required, I can tailor it with my own hands.”

The Dark Lord from Relic: Guardians of the Museum

The Dark Lord from Relic: Guardians of the Museum - BBC Photo courtesy of Jacqueline Mills

Occasionally Jacqueline designs and creates bespoke garments for celebrities, and her client list has included none other than Princess Diana. “I do like to stay involved in the fashion design end of the spectrum, and therefore I keep up with the latest collections and trends. Creating a special garment is an art in itself and provides a different kind of pleasure to my film and TV costume work.”

Jacqueline also produced a bespoke suit for Agatha, the tour guide in Relic: Guardians of the Museum, another children’s game show series. In keeping with the Gothic theme of the show, Agatha was a member of the undead, and her appearance and costume had a monochrome, 1920s silent movie-era aspect, employing a range of shades of grey.

Relic was a prestigious production, part of the BBC’s A History of the World venture, made in partnership with the British Museum and shot amongst the exhibits. It won the BAFTA for best Children’s Entertainment in 2010.

Another of its many costume design challenges involved the Dark Lord, a formidable menacing supernatural being who confronts the children, inspiring fear and trembling. His costume had to encompass a range of historical cultures represented in the museum—Egyptian, Aztec and Samurai, coupled with a futuristic Star Wars-like element to give it a contemporary edge that would appeal to children. This eclectic creation involved much careful research, mood board work and extensive design sketches.

“I had the Lord’s headdress made at FBFX, a costume effects specialist who’ve manufactured armour for films such as Prince of Persia and Clash of the Titans. It required a moulded skull mask, sprayed gold, which had to be attached to a domed helmet with tendrils coming down the sides. It was difficult to get right because it had to be comfortable to wear.”

Another interesting challenge was the hooded, cloaked costumes for the Dark Lord’s sinister henchmen. Their all-enveloping black cloaks reached to the floor and had hoops incorporated into their hems, so that when they moved they appeared to float rather than walk. “The creepiness of it was very effective. In fact it scared the children witless, but in an enjoyable way!”

Each featured relic had a ‘vision’ built around it, a short flashback to explain its history. Twelve visions in all generated around forty additional costumes, all of which came from different periods and needed to be totally accurate. The characters included the Emperor Napoleon, the Conquistador Hernán Cortés and the Painter Albrecht Dürer. “Putting these costumes together was quite a challenge, because I had to become a time traveller, whizzing backwards and forwards in history and place.”

The fact of shooting in the British Museum itself provided some intriguing experiences for Jacqueline. “It was a privilege to work amongst such fascinating artefacts. As the museum is open to the public in the daytime, all the shoots had to take place at night, and it was sometimes a spooky experience. When no one else was around, you could almost feel the place coming alive in a weird way and the weight of the world’s history enveloping you.”

Another spooky element manifested in Jacqueline’s photographs within the museum, several of which showed orbs—little discs of light—which some say are representations of spirits. “No other photographs of mine have ever contained such things, but there were many in the museum set…and they say it’s haunted! I used to be a sceptic about supernatural matters, though now I’m not so sure.”

Both School of Silence and Relic were masterminded by series producer Rob Hyde, with whom Jacqueline formed a strong creative relationship. “I enjoy working with Rob because he has an inspired overall vision of how a production should look. Therefore he takes an appreciative interest in the work of costume and set designers, and when we discuss ideas the enthusiasm always flows.”

Scarlett from Trapped!

Scarlett from Trapped! - BBC Photo courtesy of Rob Hyde

Jacqueline’s next project was Trapped!, another Gothic fantasy game show, also produced by Rob Hyde for the BBC. It required careful research into costume history to produce a Grimm-style fairytale feel, reinvented for today. Restoration and Victorian fashion was given a steampunk twist, again to appeal to today’s children, and the elimination process of the game, with the losers becoming trapped forever, also mirrors current adult reality formats.

Each stage of the games incorporated a different fairytale setting, with its own cast of otherworldly characters, which included ‘The Midnight Bride’, ‘Split Ends’, ‘Millicent and the Moths’, ‘The Baby Botherer’, ‘The Witch’ and ‘The Frozen Princess’. In the overall scheme, the sets were designed in shades of verdigris and possessed an 18th century soft-faded grandeur. Against this subdued background, the bright colour palette of the costumes would stand out vividly.

For Millicent’s dress, Jacqueline used pale grey silk crêpe de chine for a gossamer effect, together with a delicate silk georgette overlay cut with handkerchief points, which created an impression of moth-like floating and fluttering when Millicent moved. “I also took enlarged moth photographs, printed them out in shades of grey and fashioned them in three dimensions in fabric, giving the impression of moths perching around the neck of the dress. It’s that extra level of detail which makes a costume really stand out in people’s minds.”

Similarly for the Witch’s dress, Jacqueline incorporated a unique piece of French furnishing fabric, carrying an ornate print of cakes and puddings, which went with the confectionery theme of that particular stage. For the Midnight Bride’s wedding gown, she constructed an authentic Victorian boned corset and an exaggerated bustle to give the costume a striking Gothic silhouette. And with Scarlett’s Georgian-style gown, Jacqueline also employed a boned corset, together with sumptuous silk brocade fabric, complimented with more modern red velvet tombstone-heeled shoes.

Trapped! has just won the 2011 Children’s Entertainment BAFTA, completing a double with Relic, which was most uplifting for the whole team.

Again with Rob Hyde, Jacqueline’s latest production is The Ministry of Curious Stuff, a comedy sketch show with factual elements. Odd and uncanny facts about the world are brought to life in humorous sketches, songs and animations, written and illustrated by Vic Reeves, who takes the role of Minister, supported by a cast of other weird and wonderfully eccentric characters. It is set in a magical underground 1940s-style Ministry, replete with banks of endless drawers and filing cabinets of seemingly infinite height. Jacqueline reflected this fantasy edge in the costume design, going for a ’40s period feel but using exaggerated colours and design features to make the outfits clearly non-naturalistic.

For Vic Reeves’ tweed three-piece suit, Jacqueline decided on a burnt orange background with a large red overcheck, and predictably such a fabric proved very difficult to source. Before arriving at the final decision, she had samples from practically every tweed manufacturer in the country, but it was important to get the decision right. the set, this suit provided Jacqueline with an amusing moment.

“At the beginning of the shoot, I noticed that Vic Reeves had very obviously buttoned up the waistcoat in the wrong buttonholes, and for a second I was in two minds as to how to approach it—because knowing what an eccentric character he is, I wasn’t sure if he’d done it as a deliberate creative choice or not. As it transpired he hadn’t!”

The Ministry of Curious Stuff was transmitted in January 2012. More of Jacqueline’s work can be viewed at: http://jacquelinemills.wordpress.com.