As Nature Intended Newsletter June 2012

As Nature Intended Newsletter December 2012

Profile Story (Titled A Man of Many Talents) on Sizwe Director, Bongani Yona selected for the Broadsheet handed out at City Varsity's Festival (BMW Pavillion 18-20th November)

(Profile Story written by Taig Marshall, edited by Gemma-Louise Wright) 

Desktop Publisher - Magazine Cover designed on Adobe Indesign (Nov 2011)

Art by Gustavo Rimada, taken from his web page 

‘City Varsity Definitely helped me get rid of this notion that 8 hours of sleep is mandatory!’ (September 2011)

With a sense of humour that never fails, I decided to interview Dylan Ford, a past City Varsity student and a sound engineer who owns Serotonin Studios, where everything from band albums, post production and sound design takes place.

His student years at City Varsity were a bit of a blur but an enjoyable experience.

 ‘I did all-nighters down in the studio twice a week, every week for a couple of years, so lots of bergie showers…the time in the studio, trying not to bathe in the sink’.

Dylan was born in Scotland .He moved down to Cape Town in 1996 with his family.

He graduated from City Varsity in 2000 and at the tender age of 21 (almost 22), he went on to work as a freelance sound engineer, taking any job he could find, either being in the studio, on location or doing sound live.

During the freelance period, he worked on numerous productions which aired on MTV Europe, the Discovery channel and local radio and TV stations. 

He did post-production work for films which later went on to be accepted into prestigious film festivals such as the New York, Berlin and Sao Paulo film festivals and later screened on the Australian and New Zealand cinema circuits.

Afterwards, he received the opportunity to start a ‘Live Sound’ company which he ran for a number of years before the ‘late nights and carrying of heavy equipment took its toll’.

The creation of Serotonin Studios shortly followed.

When asked what he enjoys about his job, he replied: ‘probably the point where a production comes together in the mixing stage. There’s a certain point where everything just clicks and it always re-ignites the love for the project’.

But like all jobs there are things he doesn’t enjoy, like editing.

‘Editing. Mondays. Editing on Mondays. Seeing cyclists out on the streets on the way to do editing on a Monday. Seeing cyclists on the way back from editing on a Monday’

In all his years of working, his memory of an aired production on MTV Europe (in which he worked on the sound design) stuck with him.

 ‘It’s pretty surreal when you realize that people from all around the world have just seen something that you’ve worked hard on’.

Dylan believes that in this particular industry, a lack of money is one of the main problems.

‘A serious cash injection into the music or movie industry in South Africa in the right areas would help to lift the standards across all the different mediums to new heights. Ironically there seems to be more money changing hands in training sound engineers than in actually doing ‘sound’ in South Africa, which I think is flooding the industry with a lot of qualified but unemployed engineers’

In order to survive this profession, he believes: ‘a lot of determination, patience and desire to learn more about the recording world’.

If he could choose an historical figure he believes he resembles, Dylan chose ‘a blend of Winston Churchill and George W. Bush…As a producer I have to keep the production moving as swiftly and efficiently as possible but I also have a goofy side to not make the experience too ‘stuffy’‘

I asked, with a sense of humour:  If you were to die and come back as something or someone, what would it be? His response: ‘the sound geek in me says a capacitor in a Neve console, the politician in me says Malema's woodwork teacher, the testosterone in me says Hugh Hefner’s security camera, the realist in me says Dr Phil’s couch’.

Since Dylan works in the music business, I thought I would ask who his favourite bands are: ‘If a bass guitar is nearby then its Rage Against the Machine, but I also love bands like Tool who have amazing progressions in their arrangements, and Pearl Jam for the strong vocals, it’s too difficult for me to claim a singular band as my favourite, each has a time and place’.

If he could give advice to bands wanting to record an album, he strongly suggests pre-production. He believes that walking into a studio with a well written and well-rehearsed song, ‘not only saves time and money but the reality is that a good song that is badly recorded will be a lot more successful than a bad song that is well recorded’.

‘If I had to give a ratio I'd estimate that for every hour spent on say guitar lessons, a guitarist should spend two hours learning about song writing, even if it’s just studying the music on their iPod. This goes for every member of a band’.

Lastly, I asked if he had any advice for current City Varstiy students doing the sound engineering course:

‘Get as much hands on experience as possible. It’s a tough industry and when you walk out the door you are not only competing with fellow graduates but with guys who have decades of experience, so learn as much as possible and never stop trying to master your craft’.

Interview and story by Gemma-Louise Wright

Creative Writing Crime Fiction Intro (September 2011, the start of a story)

The last thing she saw before she died was the man standing over her. She couldn’t move and she was losing focus. Desperately pleading him to just leave her alone, the tears started running down her face. She knew this was it for her and there wasn’t much time left. He said something, she couldn’t hear. With one last glance at what he’d done, he left her. Alone, she died silently, the tears still fresh on her cheeks.

***

It was already uncomfortably hot. The sound of school kids and taxis empowered the busy residential street as they made their way towards the taxi rank nearby. The sun was set high, unusual for this early in the morning. In the shade next to a local spaza shop, the body had already started to smell, mixed with the stench of December days and urine. Flies were having a field day, hovering over the nakedness. She was hidden away, in the rubble and litter until the shop owner’s usual morning routine became abruptly interrupted with the sight of her bare foot, illuminated by the light.

Detective Zikhali made his way to the crime scene. He had received a call from the station. He was already sweating from the humidity and it was only 7:30 am, dark circles invaded his shirt under his arms which immediately left him irritable. He made his way up the street towards the commotion near the spaza shop, parking further down to avoid moving his car through the crowds. Residents had already started gathering, their curiosity distracting them from their mundane tasks for the day ahead, they spoke and gossiped in Xhosa, excitedly passing on rumors down the crowd. He fought his way through the gathering and slid under the police tape, nodding at the police men positioned to keep the crowd under control. His colleague, Mgwebi was standing, lost in his notepad, flipping pages back and forth, sweat hung from his forehead, every now and then he lifted his hand, irritatingly wiping it away.

‘What’s the story?’ he asked, above the noise of the crowd. Mgwebi looked up from his concentration. Unenthusiastically, he replied:   ‘Unknown black female, discovered about half an hour ago by the local spaza owner. She’s clearly dead, naked. No sight of her personal possessions’ he flipped through some more pages, ‘her hands have been tied up tight with underwear, presumably her own. She has multiple stab wounds and there seems to be evidence of sexual assault. Forensics is busy back there. I think they found a name badge. The killer obviously has some shred of dignity’, he looked behind him and pointed the pen in his hand towards the shade. ‘Thanks’ Zikhali whispered and made his way to the side alley next to the shop. The shop owner sat dead still outside the main window. With his eyes down and his hands grabbing each other, he hardly noticed the commotion going on around him, especially the officer in charge of questioning him. Zikhali quickly glanced in his direction and headed towards the crime scene.

The small alleyway was cramped with the forensics team. All he could make out was the victim’s bare foot, which happened to be visible through one of the forensics’ legs, while he stood over the body. A surreal moment for him and he took a minute to take it in. His trance was interrupted by the slight vibration in his left pants pocket. He recognized the number. The Eastern Cape. It was probably his wife, wanting more money. Answering his phone, he moved away from the noise. If this was about money again, her phone call would be cut short. Taking in a deep breath, he answered.

Cape Town Acid Victim on the Slow Road to Recovery (September 2011, Practical Reporting Course, 1 of the final assignments)

The Zimbabwean women who endured a recent acid attack in Cape Town, is on the steady but slow path to recovery with the pro-bono assistance of plastic surgeon, Mark van der Velde at Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital.

‘It will take about 25 hours of surgery over a three to four year period to reinstate her beauty’ Van der Velde said.

She has suffered burns to her eyelids, her left brow and her left ear, as well as deep burns to her left shoulder, hands, legs and left breast.

The 23 year old Zimbabwean was attacked by two males on the corner of Hudson and Strand Street in Cape Town recently.

Just minutes before the attack, she was on her way home from work at a nearby health clinic in Seapoint. Waiting for a taxi, she started to feel uncomfortable when the two men approached her. She climbed into a taxi and noticed that the men had followed her.

‘The taxi was heading towards Strand Street when they asked the driver to stop at a very quiet spot’ she said.

She told the police and media that one of the suspects had a bottle in his hands that looked like it contained water. When they got off the taxi, they threw the substance at her and within seconds she could feel her face burning.

The men then fled in the direction of the Bo-Kaap, while the taxi driver rushed the victim and the passenger next to her, to the Christiaan Barnaard Memorial Hospital.  The doctors on duty confirmed that she had suffered severe acid burns. The passenger, a male, suffered minor acid burns on his legs.

Mark Van der Velde was in the emergency room at the time of her arrival.

He stated that it is a ‘privilege’ to offer his services to restore her ‘beauty’.

Police have arrested a male they believe to be one of the suspects. He briefly appeared in court where he has been charged with assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm. He is currently in police custody, while the search for the second suspect continues.

Speculation of a xenophobic attack has been ruled out.

‘We don't want to speculate about what the motive was, but it could have been a case of mistaken identity. It is an unusual crime. I can't recall a case of acid attack in this province’ stated SAPS spokesperson, Andre Traut.

Although Christiaan Barnard Memorial hospital have offered to reduce the victim’s medical costs, the total amount to help her recover have been estimated at R500 000. A trust fund has been set up to help with all her medical expenses, see below for details:

Standard Bank

Branch: Thibault Square, branch no: 02090900

Name: ACID ATTACK EXPENSE ACCOUNT

Account no: 074421395

Research:

‘Why me?’ asks Cape acid attack victim article, Mail & Guardian, 9^th September 2011

http://mg.co.za/article/2011-09-09-why-me-asks-cape-acid-attack-victim

Acid Victims forgives attackers article, allafrica.com, 9^th September 2011

http://allafrica.com/stories/201109091455.html