You see that's the thing Gordon...
I'm REALLY not convinced that when the trams go in they'll be anything other than a moderately useful novelty. And they'll certainly (as far as I can see) achieve nothing over and above what could have been achieved by other simpler, cheaper, and less disruptive means.
It's been going on for decades of course; I well recall being frustrated by the roads around Princess St back in the mid-80's and remarking (to my now ex) Wife at the time that;
if as a native of Scotland and an experienced driver
I found it difficult to navigate my way around their ludicrous traffic scheme, what hope did a foreign tourist have?
And over that period I've repeatedly put off trips to the City for shopping, Cinema or Theatre; I've even turned away business, rather than face the horrors of navigating a city that seems 'out to get' the visitor...
What has been done in two-and-a-bit decades to improve an already intolerable situation?
Nothing!
In fact the City Fathers have spent that time it seems squeezing the ordinary traders and citizens (i.e. those who GIVE Edinburgh it's real character) for every drop of lifeblood they can extract. And in the same grasp pursued a series of grandiose fantasy-themepark schemes designed primarily to filter public money into the private pockets of the privileged few...
The impetus behind all this(the trams) is, in my opinion, quite frivolous. And the price of this childishness is to be counted not in the direct costs; but in what it's costing the people of Edinburgh in terms of lost trade, crippled businesses and lost jobs that will never be restored.
It's the complete and utter contempt they show for the people that gets to me too. And in many ways your friend's film really brings this home....
Now; let me be clear that I'm not having a pop at your friend or trying to run anyone down BUT to throw some perspective on this....
Your friend's films are mostly
reasonably well thought out; a bit rough in places. But the idea's there, and the presentation's really very good...
Technically speaking though they're poor. Lighting on the interviews (particularly Richar Jeffrey's interview) is absolutely dreadful given that they're 'arranged' interviews and not just someone plonked down in the street. Framing's poor too, as is the pacing of the edit, lack of graphics.... etc etc etc.... NOT the fellow who shot it's fault! The right equipment to do this job it neither cheap or easy to use...
It's fair enough; these clearly aren't professional films, they're a good amateur effort.... And quite commendable from that perspective. People SHOULD document more of the events that surround their lives and I'm absolutely behind that...
What troubles me about these films though is that they smack of a (somewhat misguided)
PR effort (and attitude to
PR) on the part of T.I.E. MOST firms, operating a sensitive project at this level would be savvy enough NOT to allow such a film to be made.....
Now; it COULD be that I and most other observers are completely wrong; that, like the M8 Motorway ripping its way through 60's Glasgow this is a real investment in the future. It COULD be that the building of the new tram system in Edinburgh is an event of immense historical importance...
..And if that IS the case why isn't its presentation and documentation being given the importance it deserves? At a basic level It would cost, over the course of maybe a year, £20K-£25K to have a properly equipped professional retained to film a quick monthly update of this nature. In the course of that they couldn't help but gather archive material which will be of immense historical importance... Material that will serve all sorts of purposes; from providing a 'bank' of material useful for presentations through to creating a saleable DVD product that quite possibly would not only recover the cost of production but make a very fair profit....
But then this is Edinburgh City Council.... Supposedly a 'world class' project. In truth it's a
PR disaster area that has Edinburghers and Scots all over the world left angry and disappointed by those who run our capital city. There is clearly a NEED for
good quality PR here. Not least to help settle the minds of the Edinburgh people...
There's an old joke; When you call on someone in Springburn you'll be asked to stay for tea, in Morningside they'll seek assurance that you've already had it!
The point of the story being that whilst the focus on the fanciful grandiose and frivolous is strong in Edinburgh, there exists an underlying mean-spiritedness and contempt for the people and things that really matter.
On the part of TIE and ECC I think that mean-spiritedness is reflected well in the fact that it's left to an amateur film maker to carry out a function that should be seen as essential by the people behind the project. That being to keep the people of Edinburgh, Scotland and indeed the world informed of what's going on...
In business, video's better
NOT used at all if it's not going to be used well and at the correct level for what you're presenting. It says it all about the veracity of what TIE/ECC say about this project... Aye; world-class pretensions, but when it comes to the folk that are paying for and putting up with it their contempt is truy reflected in their corner-shop mentality....
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