Assignement Day Check List and Feedback

Completed  documentary - Check
Overall I am pleased with the documentary, the information is unique and new. However I didn't use much of Dr. Antony  becasue he was rambling and the sound bites would not have made for a good documentary. N


Completed in class display - Check
The hard work and money spend paid off. This team is proud of our in class display.


Appearance Release Forms- Check
I had to omit some persons from the interview due to time constraints. However the paper work of the interviewees used are in my hands.


Permission Letters

Of all the requests made via paper, the only paper trail that came to fruition and used in this documentary was that  of the National Museum.

The use of the Pescheir Graveyard was granted to us by Charlene Costello, the holder of the key and descendent of the Peschiers.


The rest of paper work concerning footage were omitted, such as the La Regalda snd brole from GISL,  as they were used in our documentary.




Sly.

Social Media Link

This the link to my social media site, in order to obtain audience feedback.

https://www.facebook.com/lyonscubproductions

Time To Panic!!!!

Ok, so we are two days away from assignment submission date and Lorraine Goring-Brown is nowhere close to finishing this documentary. I guess she did not anticipate how much work this involved. I am here to give her the support in whatever way she needs help, but by this delay, my script will be delayed too, as the final edit determines the accuracy of this documentary's storyline. Bon dia!


Sly.

In Class Decor

The plan is to create a colonial decor for our in class display. This includes a 4 x 6 painting depicting the Queen's Park Savannah, the Boissiere house, Cocoa Houses which represented the Stollmeyers and the cemetery of the Peschiers. That picture will be  supported by pipe dream units and placed in the middle of brocade curtains and cascading valences. the curtain rod  will be held by 3 adhesive hooks. 

I have decided that the tables are bulky and does not  compliment the colonial era  artwork. In place of the SBCS tables I will use a corner stand to hold the speakers, laptop and headphones on one side, on the other side I will use two white parasols to lend to the colonial theme.

Sly.

Narration Snag

Glen Preddie has be under the weather and is not available to finish the narration. As a result I have decided to voice the rest  of the story line which involves the Stollmeyers and revoice some the names he mis-pronounced such as Zuzule (Zoo.Zool) and Peschier (Pay-She a' or Pesh. ee. a').
 You might ask, why was it that Glen didn't voice the entire script.? Well, due to imperfect audio during interviews, some of the sound bites had to be omitted. Therefore this group decided to wait until portions of the documentary were edited, then proceed with the story line to make our work easier.

I am not sure how that would sound but at this point I am desperate and need to complete the documentary.



Sly.

Deadline At Hand

This group intends to post this documentary by Wednesday of this week, provided that all goes well with the editing process. Lorraine's laptop is not reading some of the footage from Gerard Besson and within there lies the basis of our documentary.
I am trying not to panic. In the meantime, I will assist Lorraine by gathering all the necessary photos for the purpose of b-role.

Sly.

Gerard Besson Footage

The quality of the Gerard Besson footage is not the best, but that is not the real issue at hand. Lorraine is having issues with importing the settings and right now Besson looks like a ten cents floating on a black ocean.

Lorraine will try to get into contact with Christopher Aaron to rectify this issue by tomorrow.



Sly.

Changes to 4 x 6 Painitng

Upon delivery of the 4 x 6 canvas, I realized that the original and agreed details were altered.The artist included the Boissiere house but neglected to put in the Stollmeyer Castle.The direction of the horseman has changed as well. 

 

At this point nothing can be done. Although the cocoa houses in the back drop reflects the Stollmeyers who also made a living through the coca estates, this information will be given in the documentary. 

Sly.

Progress Report

After two weeks of excuses; Christopher Quammie was finally able to produce a 4 x 6 painting for our in class display. A small fee of $800 was charged for his intricate work and for this we are grateful. However, due to his tardiness I had to politely ask Quammie to return our down-payment. The very next day; the very next morning I got a phone call from Quammie saying that the painting was completed and ready for pick up. That saved us from executing plan B; which was create a miniature Queen's park Savannah along with the featured mansions in our documentary and the cemetery.



As for now Lorraine is in the process of securing all the useful sound bites so that when we meet next week; our focus will be the actual editing of the documentary. In the meantime I am tweaking the story line and sourcing other photos for the documentary.


Sly.

Dr Michael Anthony Take 2

Dr Michael Anthony this time around was most patient and accommodating with Lorraine and I this time around. He was most forthcoming with his knowledge in recognition that we were knowledgeable about some of Trinidad's history. He defined the Cedula of Population and read some of the clauses from his copy of the legislation.

More importantly, footage was in focus and Dr Anthony allowed us to capture on camera Cazabon's painting of Paradise Estate and the Great House of Madam de Beltgens; brole that will add to our documentary. 

Sly. 

Progress Report Bon Dia!!!!!!

Our excitement and dreams of meeting the man who wrote and published over 30 titles including novels, young readers short fictional stories, history and travelogues, were shattered when we met him yesterday evening. he was cold and intractable. he even asked for money to do the interview even though we told him weeks prior and just before the interview that we were students.


The worst part of all is that Lorraine deleted the footage in error. I promised never to call on that man EVER again, but, I swallowed my pride and called him after 8 this morning, explained my plight and requested to do another interview, to which he graciously said yes.

Poor Lorraine, she feels awful, but I am far from mad with her. I think things happen for a reason. My plan is to improve on the interview. I neglected to ask him about Jean de Boissière's slave/lover Zuzule who is the grand mother of the owner of the Boissière House around the Queen's park Savannah. So next Monday afternoon I will be sure to get his take on Madam Zuzule; who I have developed a strange post humus connection with.


Sly.

Victor Peschier - Windy Shoot

 Last Sunday electricity was gone for 8 hours in Arima; the hometown of Victor Peschier. As a result the interview took place in Mr. Peschier's porch which was windy and noisy due to the surrounding trees and passing vehicles.

Despite the use of a hand held recorder, the atmospheric noise was  overwhelming. This means that shoot has to be re-done. Mr Peschier agreed to do the interview on Monday 31st March, 2014 but since Kathryn Stollmeyer has  asked to be interviewed on Monday; the Peschier interview has to be rescheduled to Friday 4th April, 2014 at 4 or 5 p.m.



Sly

Outstanding Interviews/Footage

Footage of architect Colin Laird speaking about the designs of the Boissière Mansion and the Stollmeyer Castle. What is my plan of action? I sent an email to Christopher Laird, asking him if he has any stock footage of his dad, who is unwell to do an interview, speaking about the architecture of these two houses.

Footage of the Country Club formerly known as Champs Elysées.

What is my plan of action? Call the country club.


Footage of Boissière family pictures and the interior of the mansion. Call Gerard Besson for assistance; but I will wait until after the interview with Kathryn Stollmeyer who has pictures of the Boissière Mansion and family members.


Footage of the interior of the Stollmeyer House. How will this be executed? Foreman Mr. Maynard is quite hesitant but I am persistent.  He has asked me to call him back at 3: 30 p.m. today.


Footage of Eric Williams and his Mom Eliza Boissiere. I intend to get this through the UWI Eric Williams Memorial collections, upon the advice of Erica Williams.


Footage of the Stollmeyer cocoa estates and houses in Santa Cruz. Lorraine Pouchet, the Marketing Director and tour guide of In Joy tours will arrange a tour for Lorraine and I to get footage.



Things are coming together but I wish it will materialize at a faster speed. We will get there despite the fact that Lorraine and my time tend to not mesh very well.

Sly.

Kathryn Stollmeyer Interview! Je suis excite'

Kathryn has finally agreed to do an interview on Monday 31st March, 2014 at 4 p.m. This is a dream come through. Kathryn has also promised to share some of the  Boissière photos with me. Things are working out! Finally!!!!


Sly

Museum Footage Peschier Sword

Yesterday the National Museum accommodated us with the taking of footgae of Henry Peschier's sword but we were met with two snags:

1. The sword was in a glass case which created a lot of light reflection ,something that needs to be avoided in a documentary, and the holder of the keys was absent so that a vantage view was not given for the footage.  As a result, we made arrangements with the curator to return today. Unfortunately, I pick up work at 1 p.m., so Lorriane will go on her own.

2. The information  on the sword said that  Henri Peschier's son in law and family member Joseph Peschier was in fact the holder of the sword and not Henri himself. Besson said that it belonged to Henri in an interview, which we wanted to use in the documentary, but editing will rectify that.



Sly.

Good-bye to the Rada Family! Hello to Ian Jardine!

Last Saturday's Assignment (pitch and question and answer) proved to be quite beneficial to this documentary in that Ingle and Ms Ajim raised the concern about the apparent imbalance between the white and black family, in that there are three white families but only one African family. As much as I did not want to omit the Rada, I felt it was best to do so.

It can be perceived by viewers as an after thought to include them in the documentary.  You might suggest to find two other African families to make the documentary even, but that is difficult, in that there exists today very little effigy and vestiges of the Africans. That approach will not be helpful to the documentary and it is for that reason the painful decision was made to leave the Rada Community out of the film.

Ian Jardine is a white descendant of the Peschier. He is quite knowledgeable about his family's history and is willing to share all the information that he knows about Henri Peschier. Hopefully he will share some family photos with us. This interview is scheduled for next Sunday at 10 am at his St. Ann's home. However, this Sunday, Victor Peschier, a black descendant of Henri will be interviewed. 

Also the Museum has given us permission to take footage of Joseph Peschier's sword. A date and time will be set as to when the shoot can take place. 

Sly. 

B-Role & Stock Footage Flop

While Lorraine and I were doing cartwheels for acquiring footage that was very difficult to find, all thanks to Christopher Laird, Lecturer Christopher Aaron sent us back to the drawing board because the 1985 footage is not of industrial quality. So the issue of airing the documentary publicly is of no consequence.

Christopher also said that the brole footage of the Stollmeyer Castle,  Boissière House and the exterior of the walled cemetery needed to be held for 15-20 seconds. So this Saturday; to avoid the over exposure of the blazing mid-day sun, we would re-shoot the brole footage at 6.30 a.m.


I am also in the process of getting the proper procedure to acquire footage of the privately owned Peschier graveyard. Mr. Green of the National Trust was on another call, so I left my name and contact number. If I don't hear from him in 30 minutes time; I will be sure to call again.


More than 30 minutes have passed and with lots of running around I was finally able to find out that I have to write a letter of permission to the Director of the Horticultural Services within the Ministry of Food Production; Mr. Kamaldeo Maharaj, to get footage of the Pechier Graveyard. We are hoping to do this by Monday 24th March, 2014.

In the meantime, I will be visiting the foreman who is responsible for renovating the Stollmeyer's Castle. I want internal footage of the castle. This project has turned me into a serious beggar, but I am determined to get the job done.


Sly.

Christopher Laird/ Gayelle's Stock Footage

Christoper Laird was quite helpful in providing the group with stock footage on the Rada Shrine and arial as well as interior footage of the Stollmeyer but only under the terms and condition of using it for a school based assessment and not airing it at any public forums. While it is a school based project; part of the assignment requirement is to post the finished documentary on FB. How are we going to resolve this problem? Well we might have to reason with Mr Laird and see what he has to say about that, if not, we are willing to pay the cost of the stock footage, if it comes down to that.


Sly.

Dr Michael Anthony/ B-Roll Footage & Stock Footage

Dr Michael Anthony had an unforseen occurrence and as a result he was not able to facilitate the interview. We, Lorraine and I decided to make use of the day and take footage of the Stollmeyer Castle. We even made an attempt to go inside the compound, but the guards said that we need to ask the foremen permission to do so, as the building is undergoing restoration.

Exterior footage of the   Boissière Mansion was taken and then, we did a furtive act of going to the wall of the Peschier grave to capture footage of the tomb stones. The gate was locked but we stuck the camera between the cracks, zoomed into the writing of the tombstones and recorded some of the names engraved on the tombstones. Unfortunately, from the vista view, there was no evidence of the actual name Peschier carved on any stone. I am aware that this an ethical and legal issue but as media students we are determined to get the required information.

What is our plan of action then? I am thinking of using the footage and when posting it on FB, give credit to the Peschier family and to mention that this documentary is a school based assignment and anyone stealing this footage will face legal actions. We are hoping not to face legal action ourselves. In the meantime, I will try to get permission to take footage of the Peschier graveyard. Yes, I know it is buying the carriage before the horse, but time is quickly passing by.


Sly

Papa Nanee's Great Grandson & Victor Peschier

It was a difficult search, but thanks to Khafra Kambon; I was able to make contact with Henry Antoine; the great grandson of Rada Community founder; Abojevi Zahwenu. He has agreed to do an interview on Sunday 30th  March, 2014.


Next Sunday, I would be visiting Victor Peschier to find out how he is related to Henri Peschier. He has been experiencing heart issues, so I am praying that he stays alive far beyond next week Sunday.



Sly.

Dr Michael Anthony Interview

The interview with Michael Anthony has been set for this Sunday 16th March, 2014. This feels like progress # smiley face#

Interview questions have been set. As a matter of fact; Besson and Anthony will be asked the same questions to maintain consistency and to get contrasting or comparative  views of both historians.


Sly.  

Historian Gerard Besson

Yesterday was a true test of my determination and ability to rise to the occasion. I called Gerard Besson to confirm a date and time to be interviewed and his capricious response was " today!" I was wide eyed in disbelief but my response to him was 'yes!' There was no way I was passing up on this opportunity since his contribution to this documentary adds credibility and validity to this documentary.

He decided to accommodate me by providing camera equipment due to the impromptu nature of the interview; so I spent four hours at work preparing interview questions . When I arrived at his office in Cascade, I set up the camera and started the interview. One of the problems I faced was that Mr. Besson was giving to me one word answers which showed that he was uncomfortable. So I had to stop the interview and tell him what the interview was all about again and how much I need his valuable contribution to a topic. it was only then that he became quite verbose.

In the middle of the interview, I discovered that Besson is a descendant of John Boissière through this great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother Zuzule, a slave and John Boissièr's lover, who bore to him four children. He frequented the Boissière House, as they were his relatives; which made him an authority on the internal and external design of the house and the Boissière ancestry. This discovery saved me the hassle of begging the present owner of the mansion, Greta Elliot, the grand daughter of Alice; the original owner of the Boissière Mansion for an interview. Note: Alice was married to Charles Boissière and Charles built the Boissière mansion to his wife as a wedding gift. 

Nevertheless the overall interview was informative; Besson said that the sword of Henry Peschier can be seen in the National Museum on Frederick Street. Besson will know this because he was a director of the National Museum.  With that knowledge, I 

called the National Museum today to seek permission to 

video tape the sword among other useful effigy or vestige. Although, they seem clueless about the sword #SMH#. The incompetence of my people. 

Also, I contacted Dr Michael Anthony, another historian to get a balance or different perspective on the Pecheirs, Stollmeyers, Boissièrs and the Rada Community. He advised me to call him back in 30 minutes; it is about that time.

Sly!

Conflicting Views of Freetown

I just had a telephone conversation with historian, Gerard Besson, who made it equivocal that Freetown is not Belmont. He explained that it is a colloquial  term used by the freed Africans to loosely describe the  location in which they settled after the 1840's. Besson said Freetown is from the stretch of lower Piccadilly street to Queen and Prince Streets.

Meanwhile, Khafra was not opposed to Belmont being called Freetown; in addition to Belmont he also referred Freetown being within the vicinity of Besson St. Now this conflict of information indicates how Trinidad's history is poorly recorded and a documentary like this is needed to educate our society.

Sadly, the musical group Freetown Collective was so named because of the so called Freetown history  affiliated with their hometown Belmont. I wonder how would those members feel knowing otherwise. Or perhaps I should include them in the interview; food for thought.

Besson has asked for me to call him on Monday to set up a date for the interview.

The plan is to get Michael Anthony to do an interview. Also a Pschier family member will be interviewed this Sunday. Pauline Phillip of Citizens for Conservation has asked for a list of the interview questions so she can be better prepared. I promised that it would be ready by the weekend.

Sly.

Khafra Interview

Mr Kambon was rather accommodating, the interview was informative but  more importantly, the video quality, sound and lighting was of industrial standards. Mr. Kambon has offered to get into contact with one of the members of the Antoine ( Rada) family. I am trying to make contact to Rawle Gibbons, a UWI lecturer and resident of Belmont. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment because of the all the bureaucracy involved.


Sly.

Interview Tomorrow

An interview has been confirmed with Khafra Kambon tomorrow. I am greatful that Kambon has agreed to do the interview on Sunday at his home. My schedule clashes with Lorraine's so Sunday is the only day that we can agree upon.

Interview questions have been prepared. Lorraine collected the equipment. I am hoping that everything runs smoothly. Will be sure to inform you of the outcome.


Sly.

Disappointment

President of Freetown Elton Scantelbury is an epic disappointment. Here it is he is pleading with government to make Belmont into a heritage site/ museum through the ink of local newspapers who were fighting for his cause. He claimed that he wants to preserve his forefather's memories and lifestyle by educating people about the freed Africans who settled in Freetown by means of private tours.
 Yet he displayed mega unprofessionalism by not living up to our scheduled tour date. He promised to call me twice and he didn't. My issue is that Lorraine and I, agreed to pay him a total of 225$ per person, quite costly for a school project, yet his actions said that  he is doing us a cost free favour.

How am I going to move forward from this? The plan is to go ahead to contact some UWI history lecturers to assist with the history of Belmont.

Still waiting on Kathryn Stollmeyer  to respond to my interview questions.



Sly!

National Archives & Freetown

Lorraine and I spent the entire day at the National Archives trying to excavate pictures and information of the Queen's park Savannah, the Peschiers, the Boissière, the Stollmyers and Belmont. Unfortunately, the book on the  Boissière Peschiers and the Stollmeyers were not available. However, a descendant of Henry Peschier, who happens to be a historical tour guide, was at the National Archives and he has agreed to do an interview with us and he will take us to the Peschier's grave site in the QPS. 

On the 9th of February, Lorraine and I will be going on a tour of Belmont, through the Freetown Foundation. This will help greatly with our research and interview questions. I am very excited about this.

Sly. 

Progress on Documentary

I sent the interview questions to Kathryn Stollmeyer who said that she will print and review and get back to me. She also sent a link on my facebook page with more pictures of her family.

As for Khafra Kambon, he responded to my email quite positively. He said, " I am certainly prepared to do the interview. I will call you. My number however is 633-9236."
 
Things seem to be shaping up this far. I hope that the end product of this documentary is what I envisioned. 


Sly.

Further Research: Discovering the Unknown

After doing extensive research, I think we need to provide more information on slaves in Trinidad. Documentaries have been provided on these colonial houses, with little perspective from the African Community, since they were the ones to pour their sweat and blood into building these colonial structures, with no acknowledgement. Therefore I would like to highlight the history of individual slaves, such as 

"ZuZule who was a domestic slave and nanny in the household of Henri de Boissiere in Maraval... She bore her master four children-two sons and two daughters- and lived to a ripe old age well into the 1890s as the ‘matriarch’ of the coloured branch of the De Boissière family which counted among its descendants, the first Prime Minister, Dr. Eric E. Williams who was the great-grandson of Zu Zule." 

 The challenge is that  information on slaves is not documented as much as the colonialist, therefore it will require extensive research, but I am up to the challenge.


I am hoping to interview Khafra Kambon, leader of the Emancipation Support Committee (ESC) as well as Historian Carl Campbell. I really want to push the envelope since too many times we glorify colonialists who give "His-Story" which may not be the "echt story." Sadly the secondary level school history was misleading and remote from the truth. Note:While I do want to highlight the colonial edifices and the characters behind the men who owned these structures, I also want to  resurrect slaves out of the "yus massa" era and into a liberated 21st century, where they can freely speak of their experiences (exploitation, trials,  and persecutions) through these historians.

I will do research on some of Kafra's and Carl's books, so that I can ask them sensible questions. I will keep you posted with this progress. Oh P.S. Lorraine and I will be going to the National Archives on Wed to do some research. Check out the pic of a COLOURED NURSE AND WHITE CHILDREN In TRINIDAD CIRCA 1885. 

Sly!

Plan Outline

This Documentary will not provide in-depth information on all the mansions around the Queens Park Savannah. It will  zoom into the life of Conrad Frederic Stollmeyer , his son Charles Conrad Stollmyer Snr Charles' children and grandchild Kathryn Stollmeyer with whom we will conduct the interview.

Also, an interview will be conducted with one of the Boissière family members. Up to early last year the house was up for sale under the terms and conditions of not demolishing the structure, but recently Lorraine noticed that the perimeters of the house was galvanized. This should make for an interesting interview, although no contact was made with Greta Elliott, the descendant of Charles Edward Hamilton Boissière, original owner of the Ginger Bread House( Boissière House).

The Documentary will however start with the Peshiers. Victor Perhier's niece was able to trace the family's lineage to Henry Peshier, who owned 232 acres of land, north of Port of Spain, which included the Queens Park Savannah. The interview will cover the 6,600 sqft, walled in cemetery intended for the Peschier descendants, that still exists today in the QPS.


In this documentary, I would like to cover the edifice of the Woodbrook Tax office, where residents used to pay their land rent and property taxes. It is now a school, but to this day the antique chest of draws can be seen. The structure stands on Maurray St corner, but it is almost invisible or it's purpose is not really known.


Then, to show a balance the founder of Freetown Foundation, Elton Scantalburry will be interviewd.
 He is a member of the Rada movement  in Belmont, formerly known as Freetown, since the freed Africans settled in that area.The movement started in 1855 by Robert Antoine from Dahomey (Benin) , Africa. I would like for viewers to see the other side of colonialism.


Pauline Phillip is one of the members of Citizen's for Conservation. She or one of the members of CFC will shed some insight on the progress of the restoration of the mansions but also share CFC's reason for starting such an organization.


Historian, Michael Anthony will add credibility to this documentary by his information on the above mentioned.

The National Archives will allow us to see inside some of these structures as most of them are not accessible.


Lorraine suggested that we do a miniature a colonial house. I love the idea but I suggested a miniature of the Queens Park Savannah in the late 1700's which should include carriages and the genteel, cows grazing and possibly  a nearby plantation. The National Archives will help us get a better visual for the designer. Another suggestion by Lorraine is a picture book done mainly in sepia/black and white.


This is basically the outline of the plan. Questions will be sent to interviewees before hand, but more research  is being done before that step is taken.


Sly.

The Plan

The commencement of this blog is a bit late due to PC issues at home, nevertheless I was taking the time to gather my thoughts and do some further research for this project. Further is underscored because this idea was birthed some three semesters ago. I didn't want to pursue it last semester because I felt that my group members were not mature enough and mostly would have lacked the appreciation and passion for such a topic. 
 
So what is this  plan? It is to resurrect the echt significance and history of seemingly elusive colonial structures and vestiges of the African community during the mid 19th century to the early 20th century in Trinidad through descendants of colonialists and descendants of freed Africans, historians and members of Citizens's for Conservation.

I wanted to include the Ministry as last Wednesday, the Express shed light on the restoration project of Hayes court, but based on the last class project, the bureaucracy  was so overwhelming to interview a minster, I decided to rule out that idea. (In another blog I will outline the ideas/plan. )

Lorraine Goring and I have excellent work chemistry and  she is also very passionate about colonial houses and we will work together on this project. 

Sly.