Category: Video

Norman Maclean and Am Pàipear

~ Gordon Wells ~ 2 Comments

Seo an treas eisimpleir de stuthan ùra airson Guthan nan Eilean. Tha an t-ùghdar Tormod MacGill-Eain a’ bruidhinn ri Eairdsidh MacAoidh a sgrìobh pìos fada mu dheidhinn sa Phàipeir.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr_briCza9I&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0]

In the piece above writer and entertainer Norman Maclean talks in Gaelic about how he came back to live in Uist. In the piece below he talks in English about creative writing, and refers to some of the issues with which he has struggled.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8V6JgxS_BA&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0]

As with all Island Voices materials the full package will include word-for-word transcripts of all interviews, and short documentary clips in both Gaelic and English giving a plain language introduction to the full Am Pàipear story.

Same Language Subtitles?

~ Gordon Wells ~ 7 Comments

Nìall Beag on Fòram na Gàidhlig has commented as follows on the Hebridean Surfing preview:

“Math fhéin.

Anyway, have you considered this time including optional same-language-subtitles (SLS) on the DVD as well as the transcripts? I find them quite useful in filling gaps in my aural understanding.”

The full post is here.

The current phase of the project will see all video materials placed online. A DVD package would be extra, but if there is evidence of demand it should be possible to include an SLS option. Examples can be found on YouTube via this link.

Opinions from learners and teachers are welcomed! Just leave a comment below.

Hebridean Surfing

~ Gordon Wells ~ 3 Comments

Here’s another preview of material for the new series of Island Voices. It’s a short documentary on surfing, featuring Uist resident Will Lamb. In accompanying English and Gaelic interviews Will, who is originally from Baltimore, talks freely about his surfing hobby/obsession, including tips on the best times of the year to surf, which winds are best, and so on. All interviews and documentaries will be accompanied by full transcripts. This documentary introduces the topic in simpler language, here in English.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXM4jfriBhU&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0]

Seo e ann an Gàidhlig.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1IJN-TiEQY&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0]

Buain na Mònadh – Peatcutting

~ Gordon Wells ~ 3 Comments

Seo eisimpleir bhon t-sreath ùr a bhios a’ tighinn a-mach aig deireadh na bliadhna. Tha Eairdsidh Caimbeul fhèin ag aithris an seo – agus bidh agallamhan ann cuideachd a thèid ris a’ phìos bheag seo.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0OQNvT-lAI&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0]

Here’s a first preview of material from the new series, which will be completed by the end of this year. In addition to the short documentary itself there will also be accompanying “talking head” interviews – all with transcriptions. In this version Archie Campbell’s narration is in English.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of5cWjD9CKg&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0]

Nicosia Workshop – POOLS-2 Project Link

~ Gordon Wells ~ Leave a comment

The Island Voices project is being used as a model for community-based video production for language learners in another European project – POOLS-2. Co-ordinator Gordon Wells was in Cyprus last week leading a workshop for participants representing Cyprus, Malta, Portugal, and Switzerland, with Kent Andersen from Denmark also assisting. Gordon’s demonstration videos and some of the participants’ first productions can be viewed via this link.

Island Voices on YouTube

~ Gordon Wells ~ 2 Comments

A number of video clips from the first series have found their way on to YouTube – which makes them easy to view online. Here’s the English version of the Ceòlas documentary, uploaded by Fionndan, and below it is the Gaelic version of the same film, placed by NiallBeag. This is copyleft material, meaning that you are free to adapt it, as long as you don’t then attempt to copyright the resultant product. NiallBeag has added captions to the Gaelic material. He has also uploaded some of the Gaelic interviews and supplied subtitles here. A lot of work!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWF3s-sNnSc&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0]

Seo agaibh e ann an Gàidhlig, air a chur suas le NiallBeag. ‘S e stuth “copyleft” a tha seo. Tha sin a’ ciallachadh gur urrainn dhuibh fhèin rudan ùra a chur ris, fhad ‘s nach fheuch sibh fhèin copyright a chur air.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm9JBJz8jN4&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0]

Tha feadhainn eile aig NiallBeag cuideachd an seo – agus chìthear gu bheil e air fo-thiotalan a chur air na h-agallamhan. Obair mhòr a bha sin!

Filming update

~ Gordon Wells ~ Leave a comment

2009 has been a busy year for both filming and editing. There’s still plenty more to do – especially editing – but the rough shape of the eventual resource bank (due at the end of 2010) is now coming into focus. Under the broad environmental theme the three subcategories look like being the following:

1. Generations

2. Outdoors

3. Enterprise and Innovation

The Generations work is largely filmed, and will include coverage of the Children’s Parliament in Barra and Benbecula, crofting and boatbuilding skills development for teenagers on Uist, lifelong learning at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on Skye, and a family day out at the Grimsay Boat Day.

Under the Outdoors category will come a range of traditional sustainable and crofting practices (such as how to make lazy beds or catch razor fish) as well as leisure activities that are more recent additions to island life, such as surfing or windsurfing.

Finally, in the Enterprise and Innovation section there will be a focus on community, social, and private enterprises that develop or exploit the natural or cultural heritage. Some filming has already been done, for example with Seatrek in Uig and St Kilda, and Tobar an Dualchais in Lochboisdale, and plans laid for including Am Pàipear in Balivanich, and Seallam in Northton. This is the section in which most work remains to be done, and the door is still open for other suggestions to be made. Just add a comment below…

Welcome back, Am Baile

~ Gordon Wells ~ 4 Comments

After an absence for technical reasons the first series of videos is now back on Highland Council’s Am Baile site. The clips have been compressed to facilitate fast online access, which results in loss of video and audio quality, but it does mean they’re available at just one click (if you have broadband…).

The English link is here, and the Gaelic one here.

DVDs at Ceòlas and Gaisgeach an t-Sluaigh

~ Gordon Wells ~ Leave a comment

Pipes in the BorrodaleCooking crabCeòlas Summer SchoolThe pilot series of Guthan nan Eilean/Island Voices films was released as a DVD/CD-Rom package, and is proving its worth as a promotional tool to help explain what the expanded project is about, as well as in its own right as community-based language learning material. This week and next the package is available at Ceòlas and Gaisgeach an t-Sluaigh in South Uist and Eriskay, two major events where residents and visitors meet and mix.

It is also available online from the Gaelic Books Council.