Archive for SET Journal
SET Journal, 07/25
Wednesday, Kevin, Christina and I went to Tower St and I got to try out my much-prepared-for workshop on copyright issues for inmates who are making creative works. We felt a strong need for this since, as inmates develop their technical skills and their creative talents, they need to develop their awareness of the rights they have and the choices they face when they use those skills and talents. My task was to try to break down the complex realities of copyright law as it relates especially to sound recording, so the inmates can make conscious choices about what rights they want to have in their music.
Highlighting the existence of choice for people whose lives are currently limited by their confinement in the prison was a key mission of my presentation. We all felt keenly that it was important to lay a framework for thinking about rights now, as already works have been recording in the prison: both well-known artists like Jah Cure, and extremely talented but unknown artists like SET Executive Board Member Serano (Director of Sports and Culture), have been recording music with other inmates and with people from outside who come in and use the SET equipment. In addition, there are several accomplished poets and quite a few other creative people making their mark, often in the SET lab on the computers or in the studio.
I explained some key concepts, gave some scenarios in which works were being put into fixed form, and we talked about what choices were open to them. Participants were very focused and asked penetrating questions about the limits and complications arising both from the difficulties in relating copyright law to Jamaican creative practices, and in understanding what their different choices might mean in their given situation. Questions abounded, from the specific (what happens when multiple people collaborate in performing/improvising a song and it is recorded by a third party?) to the general (why is it that there isn’t a uniform royalty rate set at the international level?). I had my knowledge tested on a range of subjects, but luckily there were also some in the room who could offer experience (a former radio employee provided good context on broadcasting rights, for example).
I explained the basics of copyright, and at the end had time to explain a little bit about the choices within copyright such as creative commons, which people were very interested in. Many folks were as interested in promotion or spreading their message as they were in potential royalties, and there was the beginning of some lively discussion by the time we had to leave. I think questions would have continued as long as we stayed!
SET Journal, 07/19
This week has seen several misfortunes for the SET team (can you say three mash-up vehicles?), but today’s visit to Tower St. has almost single-handed made it better.
With Antenna Alliance in tow, we headed over to Tower St. (in a taxi) to do some major technical work. We arrived at about 11:45 and split up into two groups. Oliver, Christopher, and Kevin headed outside to see what they could do about bringing internet to the radio station, while Dan, Larisa, and I held down the fort at SET FM to see what we could do about the funky radio signal.
Dan quickly discovered that not all was right in the land of cables, and quickly fixed our in-house recording system and the signal being output to the antenna. This means, respectively, that we’ll be able to provide you with clips from the inmates’ talk shows soon and that the radio broadcast will now have less distortion. Meanwhile, the internet team found that wireless wasn’t a good option and had started exploring new options when it started to pour outside for the first time this month! They quickly came back to SET FM HQ, slightly drenched, and continued discussing other options.
As all this was happening, Larisa and I were delighted to see the inmates playing with Fruity Loops on their computers although, as Larisa quickly pointed out, we really need headphones in the lab if we want to avoid soundclashes. The riddims they were building sounded really great, and I think providing them with some further tutorials will give them to boost they need to make some truly amazing stuff.
But the inmates were not the only ones playing with Fruity Loops! Officer Simms, the officer stationed down there at the time, had created his own riddim that proved very popular with the inmates. Before we knew it, three of them were jamming to it inside the radio room. Kiki, Jason, and Serano took turns chatting over the riddim with astonishing ability. With lightning speed, they all generated lyrics that were clever not only in rhythm and rhyme but also in content–most of them were incredibly socially conscious and much more deep and mature than most of the songs out there today. This improvisational jam session went on continuously for about half an hour, and I really wish we could’ve videotaped it. It was such a wonderful manifestation of SET’s purpose: we had provided the tools and a bit of training, and the inmates just ran with it, putting their incredible creative energies to a positive use that even improved relations with the institution they were in. It gave us all a reminder of why it is that we spend our days in Jamaica inside prisons instead of on the beach, and we are totally grateful to the inmates for it.
-Christina-
SET Journal, 07/18
The SET team started off the week with a farewell, as friend and teacher Wayne Marshall went home on Monday morning. We were determined to make sure that the lessons he began teaching would be continued, though, and headed to Ft. Augusta later in the afternoon. We taught the ladies the basics about setting up a microphone for recording, including how to manage levels, filter out background noise, and do a sound check. Then we reviewed the basics of multitrack recording and basic sound editing. Everyone had a pretty good time, and the ladies left excited and ready to work on their digital storytelling skills.
Today, the SET team visited the Ft. Augusta again to attend their weekly meeting. There were so many persons that we had to meet in the chapel instead of the SET computer lab, which is a great sign!
First, we had the good news that, thanks to the efforts of Superintendent Stone, the lab has been open everyday, allowing the classes to continue steadily. This is great news and we are very grateful to Supt. Stone for her firm support.
Next, the SET president led the welcome and the opening procedures. The agenda of each SET meeting –even the format!–is determined fully by the inmates, and at Ft. Augusta each meeting includes a reading of the scripture, a welcome, a prayer, a vocabulary word, and a different inspirational thought of the day. After these, Christina gave a quick explanation of the spelling bee and went over basic spelling strategies, common word roots, and so on. Then we launched straight into a very interesting discussion about the day’s topic (chosen by inmates)–abortion.
The inmates had a lot to say about abortion, and their opinions were all over the map. It was fascinating to hear them debate with each other over the moral issues and practical consequences of abortion, and everyone was forced to think about situations that they had not necessarily taken into consideration before. The debate eventually shifted to the differences in the way Jamaican society deals with boys and girls, and how homophobia was directly causing Jamaican boys to be more aggressive and violent. The long discussion eventually wrapped up, and the meeting was concluded by the traditional Ft. Augusta SET farewell.
As much as we miss Wayne already, we won’t be alone for long because Oliver, Dan, and Christopher of Antenna Alliance are coming in tonight for a 5 day tech run. We’ll keep you up to date on all the work they’re doing!
