(click logo for a brief mp3 of the Rampant Corgi).
John Frame
Post:
Email: jvframe@ozemail.com.au
Phone:
(+617) 3350 1562 or mobile 0409 501 561
Bookmarks
in this page: Sadie Robinson’s life story (audio); Jim Hammill’s WW2 experiences in Tobruk (video); Brisbane PFLAG Parents share their
stories (audio); Woodstockdale 1986 (video); Paul Farrell’s
50th party (video); Statements
of Support for Equal Age of Consent
Reform in Queensland (video); article
on CD and CD-R deterioration
(text)
Rampant Corgi is
my personal working trademark for any audio
and video projects I work on.
The Corgi referred to was my
dear friend Ralph, who had a heart
of gold, was fiercely devoted to me. He also had an earned reputation for being
sporadically fierce in general. Ralph would guard food aggressively and chase
people from the room, and he could growl like
a Rottweiller. Ralph loved being in the car so much,
that he would drag me by the trouser leg as soon as I picked up my keys. He
lived with me in various houses for eleven of the best years of my life, and
lives on in all of the work I present, with pride, as a "Rampant Corgi
Production".
My
audio work:
I specialise in conducting
relaxed and entertaining interviews (see interviewee
list), either as oral histories or for radio broadcast, which are then
tastefully and carefully digitally edited, and stored on CD. I have a range of
microphone systems including a high quality Sennheiser
reporting mic and their “dummy head” true surround
sound stereo system.
Many of the interviews
I’ve conducted during ten years of presenting community radio support program Queer Radio are recorded on CD and may be
reproduced on request.
Other projects include live recordings of bands,
“specials” for Queer Radio (such as reporting on several Sydney Gay &
Lesbian Mardi Gras Parades) and “Cocky
Tales” – a contract project for the Queensland
AIDS Council which involved interviewing rural men who have sex with men
and then editing and producing 500 copies of a cassette tape resource in
support of other similar rural men who have sex with men.
- In January 2004 I donated my services in
completing a CD project "Brisbane
PFLAG Share Their Stories" for the
- In November 1999 I recorded my aunt and godmother
Sarah
(“Sadie”) Robinson relating her life story at her
Sadie was 87
when we did this recording and she surprised everyone (especially my mother)
with her sharp memory and confident, honest storytelling. Her grandson Luke Sippel contacted me from London a couple of years ago to
say how deeply he appreciated hearing his Grandmother saying how much she loved
and valued him – including intuiting that he was gay even as a young child.
The recording
was made to a Sony MZR50 MiniDisc using headset
microphones (an AKG for Sadie and a Sennheiser for myself).
|
Sadie
Robinson (left ca
1950) |
The Hammill siblings united left to right (ca 1983): Mary,
Maureen, Marge, John, Sadie, Jim and Vonnie |
Sarah
Robinson relates her life story November 1999 pt 1 of 2 (41 minutes) 96kps mono
30mb mp3 - Topics: Introduction, father and WW1 / Scotland and
memories of bitter winters / from Scotland to Australia / Mother, school, the
Wilsons, father / starting work / meeting her husband Joe Robinson / moving to
Newman Road / music: “100 Years From Today” performed
by Doris Day.
Sarah
Robinson relates her life story November 1999 pt 2 of 2 (50 minutes) 96kps mono
36mb mp3 – Topics: Starting a family / minding the shop and
the kids / the shop is sold / son Terry and his family / daughter Colleen /
grandson Michael / grandson Peter / grandson Paul / grandson Luke / brother
John Hammill / granddaughter Monique / family support
/ the pressure cooker story / husband Joe’s big belly story / music: “Life Is
Just A Bowl Of Cherries” performed by Doris Day.
My
video work:
- On 9th July 2006 I
videotaped my 87 year old uncle Jim Hammill, here in Brisbane, as he discussed his World War
2 experience of fighting with the 7th Division of the 2nd AIF fighting in Tobruk during 1941. Jim is chatting with grandnephew
Scott Casey, who was researching a high school project on the personal
struggle of soldiers in war. Jim enlisted at 17. He was with the 9th
Battalion, 18th Brigade. Jim was invited each year to discuss his
experience of war with students at the local school, so his memory is
sharp and his delivery is detailed ,heartfelt,
honest and entertaining. With Scott
are his brother Ben and their mother Kathy (my sister). TOPICS discussed in each
part:–
Part 1: "the most
handsome bloke" (with tongue slightly in cheek); tanks, dust and big
guns; "Lord Haw Haw"; the coining of
the term "Rats Of Tobruk". Part
2: flies, food and fleas; joined at 17,
fought at 20; glare from the sun and sand; suffering from lack of
sleep. Part 3: the officers; reconnaissance patrol; landmines. Part
4: fighting patrol; the "dingo"; under friendly fire;
dangerous swimming; grooming. Part 5: the canteen ship; getting
clean in Palestine; talking in Brisbane with children at the local school;
after leaving Tobruk; lost friends. Part
6: lost at night in Tobruk; the jerboa, the
chameleon and the hedgehog; praise for the navy, the gunners and for Padre
McIlveen.
Part 7: departing Tobruk; arriving in Alexandria; rediscovering food and
drink; Tobruk lost by South African forces; the
big Italian handgun.
Recording
equipment: Sony TVR16E MiniDV
camera, Rode VideoMic (mono), Sony MZR50 MiniDisc. Edited using Sony Vegas Movie Studio.
Watch the complete one hour recording, in 7
parts, on YouTube. Each part contains complete topics which are listed in the
video's information box. View the playlist at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=43B0CF666DA1F7F5
or in the embedded player below:
- I’ve worked on a few not-for-profit pet video
projects – most notably “Woodstockdale 2”
(13th December 1986) – which featured Brisbane alternative
music scene bands performing for their own mutual entertainment at Mark
Stockdale’s family property at Canungra. Bands
were Fracture,
1313 Mockingbird Lane, Mr Take’s Daughter, Sun
Orange, Thanks For The Fish, Heads Will Roll,
White Trash Experience, Gone To China and Scruff The Cat. The
day closed with an eerily memorable ensemble performance of “Smoke On The Water”. Andy
Willmott appeared as drummer for no less
than 5 acts. Recorded in binaural stereo using the Sennheiser MKE2002
dummy head mic system. Video was sourced from a
tripod mounted Panasonic VHS and a roving AIWA Video8 and edited using the
“insert edit” facility of the AIWA. A definitive DVD was edited in June
2007 from the HiFi stereo VHS master tape (with
audio carefully restored to being vastly superior to the master tape).
Watch the entire 2007 re-edit of Woodstockdale 2 (13th December 1986) (a total of approx 60
minutes) via the playlist at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F83CE0F6D3B1C2FF
or in the embedded player below:
- My more recent musical project is a two disc DVD
of the bands and people at Paul Farrell’s 50th party on Easter
Saturday – 7th April 2007 – at the property he and his partner
Rhonda Cale own at Upper Brookfield. The support
act was Punxie & the Poison Pens (featuring
Louise Day as songwriter/vocalist and husband Matt and Paul Farrell on
guitar, Noel Howe on bass, Brad Cox on drums). The main attraction was the
reunion, after 28 years, of Fuller Banks & The
Debentures – who were the darlings of 4ZZZ in their time
(through their manager and 4ZZZ promoter Dave Darling). Fuller Banks are/were Kees Steen (guitar/vox),
Greg Parkes (sax/vox),
Peter Farrell (bass/vox), Paul Farrell (guitar)
and Steven Pritchard (drums). They had
only one afternoon of practice, the day before the party (and even that
was without Greg). The PA was superbly mixed by owner/operator David
Nolan. It was great day – and all
of Paul’s arduous months of planning and physical labour
preparing for the event were much appreciated. The audio was recorded
again using the Sennheiser MKE 2002 binaural dummy head mic system blended with audio from the desk (recorded
on two Sony MZ-R50 MiniDisc units). Video was
sourced from four MiniDV cameras (operated by
myself, Daryl White, Ann Farrell and Mark Stockdale.
Watch two of the best Fuller Banks
performances on the day – “Where Are The Boys?” and “Hate Your Guts” (both
songs written by Kees Steen’s friend Sue Parker) plus
young Christie Farrell's accapella rendition of They
Might Be Giants' "Dr Worm" as a YouTube playlist (a total of approx
12 minutes) at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=5DCDA726C2140A13 or in the embedded player below (all in binaural stereo):
- My other major recent video
effort has been to create a DVD-Video/CD-ROM two disc package " 6
Statements of Support for equal Age Of Consent Reform" - as a lobbying tool to get the Beattie
Government to finally have the guts to allow all Queensland youth the same
benefit of legal protection and support inherent in there being an equal
age of consent (at 16 - the current age for vaginal intercourse). Equality
is necessary so that all 16 and 17 year olds are able to be given adequate
and relevant safe sex education and inclusive relationship education. It's
also necessary just so that no 16 or 17 year old (male or female) ever
winds up serving 14 years gaol for choosing to
engage in a sexual activity (always a possible scenario if the Nationals
ever regained power). I used my MiniDV to film
interviews with six people who represent a good cross section of opinons in justifying urgent action on equal age of
consent reform (opening with Queensland Anti-Discrimination Commissioner
Susan Booth). For full details of this project - including the cover art
and embedded YouTube videos of all six statements go to: www.queerradio.org/AOC_June_2007_DVD_CD-ROM_pack.htm
Watch all six of the equal age of consent statements
as a playlist on YouTube, with a bonus video of my own opinion and also our
delightful (almost) award-winning original music video “ShitStickers”
(a total of approx 45 minutes) at http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=60F48C3DA47DCD13
or in the embedded player below:
Re: serious deterioration of manufactured CD’s through
oxidisation & fungal attack:
I’ve also been horrified by the escalating
deterioration of the professionally manufactured audio CD’s in my collection.
Several have become unplayable and many have damage sufficient to indicate
they’re about to become unplayable – so I’ve been doing back-up copies of those
discs on good quality CDR’s.
This deterioration problem has been
identified as serious for several years – and is especially notable in hot,
humid climates around the world, but there is suspiciously very little
information on the internet to warn CD owners of the possibility or existence of this
deterioration. Certainly all of the recording companies seem to be pretending that
it’s not happening. You’re welcome to read my
detailed, but compact article on CD rotting –
complete with links to images of affected CD’s. An edited version of that
article was published in Australia and New Zealand in AudioTechnology Magazine issue 26 in June 2003.
I welcome any enquiries regarding contract
work opportunities.
John Frame
Post: 82 Main Avenue, Wavell Heights 4012 (Queensland, Australia)
Email: jvframe@ozemail.com.au
Phone: (+617) 3350 1562 or mobile 0409 501 561
(this page last
adjusted 23rd December 2009)