(Before I get into this, and by way of an intro; Way way back, I frequented the SSiW forum with alarming regularity… @aran will vouch for me, I hope! It’ll be fun to see who - from the ‘old guard’ - is still here!)
Helo SSiW!
Owen dwi i. I once played the bee on Hwb.
Remember the bee? Gwenyn Geirfa? No?
Probably best forgotten, tbh.
Nowadays, I run a social media agency. Last year, the independent TV production company Boom Cymru got in touch to ask whether we’d work with them to produce a slate of social video content to accompany their newest S4C series, Iaith ar Daith. I jumped at the chance, and now - some 5 months later - the new series is about to hit our screens!
So I’m here to share with you a little about my experience of working at arms length on this production, talk a little about the production of new social content, and let you know which videos will land, and where you can see them once I know!
You can pretty much ask me anything, too!
So without further ado, you can find (or will soon be able to find) the following brand new social videos online, and I would LOVE it if you’d find time to like, comment or share!:
Does this mean that when the other videos are out, you’ll be updating this list so we can see them?
I have no idea of who the guys in the videos are, so I can “like” them alright, but don’t really know what to comment under the videos.
However I can write a few impressions here - in case you care to read them:
I definitely liked the style and rhythm. The first video with all of them got me curious to see that and the other ones, and find out more about their stories and what they’d say. Worked great, I’d say.
I also enjoyed and found convincing the kinda casual style of the Carol Vorderman being brilliantly bilingual one.
The title C.V. laughing at things reminded me of the blog Kim Jong looking at things, which I found hilarious. But maybe you have to British or at least have a picture in you head of her doing whatever she’s a celebrity for, to really get this one…huh?
I vote the beginning of Cariad as the best - that’s my kind of humour, really got me laughing.
Actually the whole video was funny. The guys don’t really sound like learners, though, are they really? I guess fluency helps making things livelier, and humour more subtle.
Yes, absolutely! More Carol Vorderman content has been added this morning!
Diolch Gisella, I really appreciate the feedback. The titles are deliberately designed to pique interest!
In terms of style, we had access to a range of material - beyond what you’d see in the finished programmes, including interviews, in-car GoPro footage (oh boy, the upcoming conversation between Adrian Chiles and his tutor companion Steffan Powell is hysterically funny), specially-shot social content and everything that hit the cutting room floor.
To answer your question: yes - they’re all learners, although not necessarily coming into it entirely blind. Four of them are Welsh (Carol Vorderman, Ruth Jones, Colin Jackson and Scott Quinnell), and will have had a degree of formal Welsh instruction sometime between age 3 and age 16. But for example, in Carol’s case, this would have been over 40 years ago.
Adrian is an Englishman, and besides holidays at his parents’ caravan on the Gower peninsula, his potential exposure to the Welsh language as a child would likely have been zero.
My overriding concern coming into this was how the exclusively English-language subtitles would be perceived, but thus far, there’s been no negativity whatsoever, which is very pleasing indeed. They’re more than subtitles, to be honest, particularly when they’re blown up full-screen - they act as a vehicle to drive the comedy, too.
And now I’m hooked, going to see all the new ones when you post the link.
Actually the one who doesn’t sound like a learner to me is Cariad’s owner.
She’s filed under Ruth Jones in the list, but looks like a different lady to me from the one in the main video with all the learners, isn’t she?
Yeah I guess the fact they come up in all sizes, shapes and colours makes it quite clear they’re not just “normal” subtitles. Besides the fact it seems a programme aimed also very much at potential Welsh or fresh learners, so they’re way more necessary and I guess both prevent possible complaint about being English only if that was your concern.
As an Italian I just always appreciate English subtitles, of course (oh they’re also useful when you have a quick look on your mobile and maybe very noisy place with very low or even zero volume on the phone!
…I am really hoping there will be a BBC Wales version - as there are a few people I know who just need a tiny nudge in the right direction - and this is just the sort of that could tip the balance
For the exact same reasons they would watch something on BBC Wales…but probably wouldn’t on S4c…
Your guess is as good as mine, Rich. I doubt it though.
This kind of format truly seems like S4C’s raison d’être.
Also, given that the series will be available on BBC iPlayer, the walls between the two are virtually transparent imho.
I’ve long said that there’s only so much broadcasters can do to raise awareness of these kinds of cultural touchstone moments, the rest, and that nudge, is absolutely up to us, as a collective.
Aha, yes - I should be more clear! So while she’s filed under Ruth Jones’ programme, the lady in question is actually established Welsh entertainer, Gillian Elisa.
Gillian accompanied Ruth on the roadtrip, and appears alongside her in the television show.
Ruth’s videos were the first batch we edited, so they were a bit of a learning curve in terms of what worked and what didn’t. Later videos tend not to focus overtly on the roadtrip companion.
Really fascinating to have this shared in here - diolch o galon, Ow!
It would be absolutely fantastic to see SSiWers giving this stuff some serious sharing - the wider it goes, the more people it will inspire (and the more likely SSiW will be part of any future series!)
I suspect that like most brand new S4C series we won’t be able to see them from outside the UK.
But hopefully I’m going to be proven wrong in the next few days?
There should be some form of subtitles on all social video content, for the simple reason that 85% of all viewing is done without sound.
I regularly give talks on social media, and attendees are often enthralled by that stat!
It’s true, they’re very efficient in answering to any sort of questions.
But I already know that if it’s not available, it’s for various copyrights issues that can’t be changed in a day not even if they wanted.
It’s usually mostly a matter of crazy costs for international TV/publishers etc. deals and such, and sometimes programmes do become available on S4C - just later than in the UK (never on BBC).
I hope that at least on this aspect the lockdown will bring positive changes for the future (also because well…we kinda know that it’s becoming easier and easier to bypass geo-restrictions if one really wants to so it’s all in their interest to figure out a way to make it available legally I believe).
But sure, it’s still worth expressing an interest from over here, and I will!
This video presented an editorial decision I really had to consider, particularly given that the content of what Carol says could be construed in a negative fashion.
Fortunately, the narrative of the finished edit provides supporting context, and while we may not all have had the same learning experience, there can be no denying that Carol certainly did - and purely for that reason, I felt it was a valid piece to produce. I’m just glad that Boom Cymru and S4C felt the same.
I think she’s entitled to be honest in how she felt and what she had experienced growing up in the 60’s and 70’s. I never took it as negative and it’s worth speaking of personal experiences so as people understand how they can easily effect other people. It’s a better take on things than the usual ‘everyone started speaking Welsh when I walked in the pub’ story. My late father in law had no time for Welsh speakers, he believed that they thought they were real welsh and him as English. I am happy to say very few people feel that way down here (south pembs) anymore. When I sent my eldest daughter to a little Welsh unit in Haverfordwest in 1994 peoples prejudices against the Welsh language around here shocked me. Likewise we experienced prejudices from some of the parents and children over the years for not being first language speakers so we saw two bad sides of the coin. Luckily attitudes on both sides are improving day on day. That Welsh unit quickly grew and then they opened a brand new Primary school very soon afterwards which was quickly bursting at the seams. Then last year it closed and a another new purpose built Welsh school opened for children aged 3-16. This is amazing for Pembrokeshire and no one in their wildest dreams would have thought it could be possible 30 years ago.
Anway gone off tangent slightly. Just meant to say I loved all the vids ha.
I heard Carol vorderman has bought a house down our way somewhere.( I’m guessing St David’s area) so will keep an eye out for her.
I’m so glad you said that. I was mildly put out with a chap on Facebook who appeared to have completely misconstrued what she said, and took is as “spreading negativity”. I countered by expressing the following:
Gyda phob parch, we - as Welsh speakers - can’t possibly identify with the lived experiences of those who felt locked out of Cymraeg early on.
So rather than criticise their past, could we not celebrate their now, and wish them pob llwyddiant for the future?
Just FYI - I just watched the first episode (Carol Vorderman) live on S4C on my computer in the US. So they are definitely available internationally.
Yay!
Cariad’s owner.
