Off-air recordings for week 29 November - 5 December 2008

Please email Rich Deakin < rdeakin@glos.ac.uk > if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

Perfect Disaster: Super Tornado - Five - "At two miles wide and with wind speeds of more than 350 mph, a super tornado would reduce downtown Dallas to a war zone within minutes. Scientists say it could happen. When it does, a Dallas emergency city manager is forced to choose between making sure his family remains safe, or saving the lives of millions."

After Rome: Holy War and Conquest - BBC 2 - part 1 0f 2 "In the first episode of this two-part series, Boris Johnson travels to France, Spain, Egypt, Israel, Syria and Turkey to investigate the early beginnings of what some people now call 'the clash of civilisations.' This is the idea that the two historically opposed religious cultures of Christianity and Islam are locked into a never-ending cycle of mutual antipathy, distrust and violence... "

Louis Theroux: Law and Disorder in Philadelphia - BBC2 - Part 1 of 2 - "Louis Theroux joins the Philadelphia Police Department patrolling the most dangerous part of one of the most violent cities in America.
With gun carrying drug dealers on every corner, it is now normal for the centre of Philadelphia to stage 30 or 40 homicides a month. Embedded within the Philly rapid response teams, Louis feels a palpable sense of adrenalin mixed with frustration as police and the drug dealing 'corner boys' take each other on night after night. Here is a community desperate for protection but unwilling to talk to the law enforcers for fear of street retribution."

Horizon: Do you Know What Time It Is? - BBC2 - "Particle physicist Professor Brian Cox asks, 'What time is it?' It's a simple question and it sounds like it has a simple answer. But do we really know what it is that we're asking? Brian visits the ancient Mayan pyramids in Mexico where the Maya built temples to time. He finds out that a day is never 24 hours and meets Earth's very own Director of Time."

Imagine: Heavy Metal In Baghdad - BBC1 - "Documentary charting five years in the lives of Marwan Ryad, Faisal Talal, Firal al Lateef and Tony Aziz, who together are Acrassicauda, Iraq's first heavy metal rock band. The quartet met in high school during the Ba'athist regime's dictatorship, and bonded over their shared love of western music. However, heavy metal trademarks such as goatee beards and tattoos were outlawed under Saddam Hussein, and the group's defiant pursuit of fame forced them to become a real life band on the run."

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If there are any other programmes that you would like recording please let me know and will see if I can accomodate your request.* This applies to staff members at the University of Gloucestershire only. Any recordings made are to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence.

Off-air recordings for week 22-28 November 2008

Please email Rich Deakin < rdeakin@glos.ac.uk > if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

Time Team Special - Washingborough, Lincs - "Three thousand years ago the River Witham, just outside Lincoln, was very different to what it is today. The river itself, which is now channelled in a virtually straight canal, was then very much wider, 100 metres or more across in parts, winding its way through reed beds and marshes. And higher sea levels at that time meant that the coast was much further inland, with tides reaching the modern-day village of Washingborough. ... "

God Bless America - "George W Bush was one of the most openly religious presidents in American history. After his eight-year term of office ended this November, this documentary takes a look at the political future for America's conservative Christians... "

Lost For Words: Tonight - "Angie Mason looks at why some children arrive a primary school unable to string a proper sentence together, and how this lack of early development could affect their whole lives."

Horizon: Jimmy's GM Food Fight - "Jimmy Doherty, pig farmer, one-time scientist and poster-boy for sustainable food production is on a mission to find out if GM crops really can feed the world. We need to double the amount of food we produce in the next fifty years to feed the world's growing population. Are GM crops the answer? Or are they a dangerous Frankenstein technology that could start an environmental catastrophe? To find the answers Jimmy is on a journey that will take him from the cutting-edge technology of the GM laboratories to the banana plantations of Uganda."

High Society's Favourite Gigolo - "Channel 4's High Society season of fascinating documentaries examining secret scandals and notorious figures from the higher echelons of British society continues with the amazing but largely forgotten story of the meteoric rise and pitiful fall of Britain's first black superstar."

Francesco's Venice - "Francesco's Venice brings us the epic story of Venice, seen through the eyes of Francesco da Mosto, a descendent of one of the oldest and most distinguished Venetian families, whose ancestral history is inextricably intertwined with that of Venice. The book accompanies the BBC TWO series, in which Francesco takes viewers on an engaging and entertaining journey through Venice's history and the secrets and mysteries of its canals, palaces and homes... "

Travels with Vasari - "The first of two documentaries exploring the extraordinary achievement of the chronicler of the Italian Renaissance, Giorgio Vasari, author of the monumental Lives of the Artists. On a spectacular journey through Renaissance Italy, Andrew Graham-Dixon goes in search of the shadowy figure who wrote arguably the most important book ever written about art and looks at some of the most dazzling art ever created, including masterpieces of the early Renaissance by Giotto, Masaccio and Donatello."

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If there are any other programmes that you would like recording please let me know and will see if I can accomodate your request.* This applies to staff members at the University of Gloucestershire only. Any recordings made are to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence.

Off-air recordings 15-21 November 2008

Please email Rich Deakin - rdeakin@glos.ac.uk - if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

The Fallen - "British troops have now been in Afghanistan for more than seven years and in Iraq for over five. This powerful and poignant film features families and friends of those who have died talking openly about their feelings, their loved ones and their grief. Epic in scale and spanning seven years of war, the three-hour film gives a rare insight into the personal impact and legacy of this loss."

Super Typhoon: Perfect Disaster - "The Pacific Ocean breeds the biggest and most powerful typhoons in the world. So far, the seven million inhabitants of Hong Kong have never felt the full impact of a typhoon, but a change in weather means that the most powerful force of nature has the island in its sights. Dr Chai of the Hong Kong Observatory has a few short hours to determine whether the super typhoon will hit or miss. Out on the streets, fire service officer Annie Soho is taking no chances, worrying that her father - a fisherman - may be lost to the storm. With conditions already ripe for the most destructive typhoon imaginable, watch as detailed CGI illustrates how the storm would come together and arrive at Hong Kong's door. Experts explain how the city's skyscrapers would react to a super-strength typhoon and how the city would deal with the crisis."

Time Shift: How To Solve A Cryptic Crossword - "A look at the world of cryptic crosswords, offering up the secrets of these seemingly impenetrable puzzles. Crossword setter Don Manley, AKA Quixote, reveals the tricks that compilers use to bamboozle and entertain solvers using a crossword he created especially for the programme. We also find out why Britain became home to the cryptic crossword, how a crossword nearly put paid to the D-Day invasion and why London Underground is elevating the crossword to an art form."

Mark Lawson talks to Quentin Blake - "In a rare interview, Quentin Blake talks to Mark Lawson about life as one of Britain's best known illustrators and children's authors, having illustrated over 300 books for writers such as Michael Rosen and John Yeoman. His most prolific collaboration was with Roald Dahl and together they produced some of the most famous children's books ever, including The Twits, The BFG and Matilda. Blake also taught at the Royal College of Art from 1978 to 1986 and contributed to Punch magazine when only 16."

The Ascent of Money - New 6 part series - "Why did the CEO of Goldman Sachs make £27 million last year, and you didn't? What's a hedge fund? Why are people in Europe rich, and people in Africa aren't? These and other questions are answered along the way in Niall Ferguson's major new history of Money. "

Imagine: How An Orchestra Saved Venezuela's Child - "The Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, which caused a sensation at last year's Proms, is the product of an extraordinary music education system. Children as young as two get intensive music lessons designed to steer them away from the dangers of the street. With Scotland now trying its own version of the scheme, Alan Yentob investigates the phenomenon and meets its most successful graduate, conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who next year becomes music director of the LA Philharmonic."

Storyville: Please Vote For Me - "Chinese Director Weijun Chen's charming film takes us into the world of Chinese schoolchildren, learning about democracy for the first time as they try to vote for their class monitor. Elections are pretty uncommon in China, so when the children in a school in Wuhan, Central China are presented with the chance to choose their own class monitor they don't quite know what to make of it. It doesn't take them long to get into the swing of it, though, and soon all sorts of dirty tricks are going on. Urged on by their parents, the candidates launch elaborate campaigns of bribery and coercion. After tantrums and tears, it's finally time for the vote, and who will win - the sweet girl who woos her voters with her flute playing, the bully who beats his classmates, or the boy who has the best sweets."



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If there are any other programmes that you would like recording please let me know and will see if I can accomodate your request.

* This applies to staff members at the University of Gloucestershire only. Any recordings made are to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence.

Booking the Digital Edit Suite in QU015 and using the DVD/Video player in QU006

Just to recap the procedures for booking the Digital Edit Suite in QU015 and using the DVD/Video players on QU006 (see also original entries from FCH Service Desk Blog on 14 and 20 February 2008):

Booking the Digital Edit Suite

• The Digital Edit Suite (FCQU015) is bookable for the transfer of media, and editing purposes only (Except in exceptional circumstances i.e. if hell freezes over, Ian Paisley sends the Pope a Xmas card, or Walsall finish higher than Leicester City in League 1 this season, etc. etc. [Thinking about it, the last one might actually be a miracle]).

• Before using the Edit Suite it is advisable to have an overview of the equipment available (unless already familiar with it), so please refer to them to me in the first instance, if possible, either by email rdeakin@glos.ac.uk, or telephone Rich Deakin on 01242 714665.

• I'll usually make a booking for them by using the "Edit Suites" folder in the "LC Staff" folder section in the Outlook Calendar - NOT via Aleph. However, once it's been ascertained what their needs are, any member of the FCH LC staff should have access to the Edit Suite folder and can adjust booking time accordingly if necessary.
  

• As a rule bookings are usually made for 2 hours at a time. However, they can be extended if the editing is likely to take longer than this.

• The key to the edit suite is non-bookable and non-renewable, and is also issued for 2 hours at a time. But, the issue of the key should correspond with a booking period made in Outlook, and can be extended as long as no else has it booked immediately afterwards.

• Remember to extend the booking time on the Outlook Calendar too if reissuing a the room key for more time.
  

Booking the DVD/Video player

• If anyone needs to watch a DVD they can do so by watching it on one of the LC PCs, providing they can get the DVD drawer open of course! Failing that they can book the remote control (kept in the cupboard behind the enquiry desk) and watch it on the TV/DVD combi in the small annexe (QU006) next to the room with psychology books in it.

• Likewise, VHS videos can also be watched on the same television.
  

• In all cases it is advisable to borrow a set of headphones from the AV cupboard behind the Issue Desk.

There endeth my gibberish for today. I don't think I've missed anything out.

I'm sorry this is a bit convoluted, but we had to make the room non-bookable on OPAC / Aleph so as not encourage people booking it for non-media / editing purposes. Give me a call if you want me to make anything clear.

Rich

Off-air recordings 8-14 November 2008

Please email Rich Deakin - rdeakin@glos.ac.uk - if you would like any of the following programmes / series recording.*

A Woman in Love And War: Vera Brittain - "In 1914 Vera Brittain was young, in love and preparing to study at Oxford. She was at the heart of an intense friendship that bound five youngsters (four young men and Vera) together, full of ambition and excitement. Four years later, her life and the life of her whole generation had changed unimaginably. The war saw her companions killed. As a volunteer nurse in London and on the Front she witnessed horrors that turned her idealistic passion for a 'just war' to dust. This is the story of the First World War as seen through a woman's eyes."

Wilfred Owen: A Remembrance Tale - " Jeremy Paxman presents a docudrama about tragic WW1 poet Wilfred Owen, telling the poignant tale of his life from a childhood in Shropshire and northern England to his travels in pre-war France. Paxman visits the sites of the battles in which he fought and died, and there are reconstructions from Owen's experience in the trenches and in hospital, when he was writing most intensely."

WWII: Behind Closed Doors - New 6-part documentary series using dramatic reconstructions and testimony from witnesses to reveal the 'behind closed doors' politics of the Second World War. Episode 1 looks at the secret history of the non-aggression pact between Hitler and Stalin.

Not Forgotten: the Men Who Wouldn't Fight - "In this special edition of Not Forgotten, journalist and broadcaster Ian Hislop explores the compelling and emotive stories of conscientious objectors during the First World War. Ian visits war memorials and the battlefields of the Western Front, and looks for evidence in local archives and personal war diaries to inspire his search for stories. He meets the descendants of some of the ‘Conchies’ and hears how they have dealt with the social stigma of their relatives’ refusal to fight...."

Horizon: How Mad Are You? - "For the first in a new series Horizon has drawn together ten volunteers for an extraordinary test. Five are 'normal' and the other five have been officially diagnosed as mentally ill. This programme asks - can you tell who is who? And where does the line between sanity and madness lie."

The Words of War - "To commemorate ninety years since the end of the Great War, letters, diaries and poems depicting first-hand accounts of life in the trenches are read by serving soldiers, relatives and public figures. Interwoven with archive images of the war, the accounts tell of the optimism felt in 1914, the horrors of trench warfare, and of Europe's exhausted armistice four years later."

Oceans - New 8-part series on BBC2. "A team of intrepid divers explore the oceans of planet earth... The Oceans dive team travel the globe from the Southern Ocean to the Arctic Ocean unravelling the secrets of the depths."

Secrets of Eygypt: Screaming Man - 8 part series - "In the first episode, scientists attempt to unravel the mystery of a 3,000-yearold ‘screaming’ mummy. The man was recovered from a tomb devoid of the usual trappings of Egyptian burial, with his features locked in a screaming expression. Who was this man and what does his fate reveal about the ancient Egyptian attitude to the afterlife?"

Beeching's Tracks - New 6-part series "Crane's Trains and Automobiles.
Nicholas Crane explores what happened to Norfolk's railways 45 years ago when many of the county's branch lines were closed after the Beeching Report, and he learns of an ambitious plan to build an orbital railway by reinstating some of those axed lines."

Walter Tull: Forgotten Hero - "Walter Tull was a pioneering black British footballer and the first black officer in the British Army. He died heroically fighting in the First World War, and yet almost no one has heard of him. Former EastEnders star Nick Bailey has long been obsessed by the incredible story of this forgotten black British hero. In this programme, Nick investigates war records to establish whether there was a colour bar in the British Army and asks how Walter managed to become an officer, despite Army regulations requiring only men "of pure European descent". Nick also examines why Lieutenant Tull was denied a Military Cross for heroism, despite the fact that his commanding officer recommended him for one. "

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If there are any other programmes that you would like recording please let me know and will see if I can accomodate your request.

* This applies to staff members at the University of Gloucestershire only. Any recordings made are to be used only for educational and non-commercial purposes under the terms of the ERA Licence.