Rights & Releases Simplified – Model and Location Permissions for Schools and Clubs

Filming in schools, sailing clubs, science labs, concerts, community events or training sessions brings one big responsibility: permission.
Whenever people — especially children — appear in photos or video, rights and releases become essential. They protect you as the filmmaker, protect the organisation, and protect the people being recorded.

At Philip M Russell Ltd, where we film science lessons, sailing races, concerts, club events and tuition content, clear paperwork keeps everything safe, legal and professional.
Here’s how we keep things simple.

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Why Releases Matter

A release form grants you permission to:

• film a person, group or location

• use the footage in educational content, YouTube videos, social media, websites or printed materials

• store the footage in your archive for future projects

• avoid legal or safeguarding problems later

Without a release, even a single clip can become unusable — especially in schools.

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Model Releases – When Filming People

Essential in schools, youth clubs, and sailing clubs

Children cannot legally consent, so parents or guardians must sign.

Model releases cover:

• permission to appear in photos/videos

• where the footage can be used (YouTube, websites, press, teaching)

• duration of permission

• data protection and storage

• the right to withdraw consent

Tips for smooth release management

• Use clear, plain-English wording

• Offer opt-out options for students who do not wish to appear

• Keep a register noting who can and cannot be filmed

• Provide stickers or wristbands for “no photography” cases

• Brief staff and volunteers before filming begins

This ensures you never accidentally film someone without permission.

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Location Releases – Filming at Schools and Clubs

Location releases give you the right to film on private premises and use the footage commercially or educationally.

A good location release includes:

• name/address of the site

• the dates you are allowed to film

• access rights (e.g., classrooms, labs, pontoons, clubhouses)

• permission to film signs, artworks, branded items

• rules about not filming confidential or sensitive areas

• safety and safeguarding requirements

At sailing clubs, marinas, or National Trust areas, you may also need permission to:

• fly drones

• film on jetties or pontoons

• capture other members’ boats

• record identifiable individuals in the background

Always ask before you start filming.

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Keeping It Simple (and Legal)

At Philip M Russell Ltd, our streamlined workflow is:

1. Before the event

• Send release forms to the organisation

• Highlight how the footage will be used

• Provide sample clips so people know the style

2. During filming

• Keep a printed list of approved students

• Brief teachers or club officers

• Use signage stating filming is in progress

• Avoid filming anyone without consent

3. After filming

• Store releases with the footage metadata

• Restrict access to protected or unapproved clips

• Label “no use” footage clearly

This protects everyone — including future you.

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Special Considerations

• Drones require additional permissions from landowners and (sometimes) neighbouring landowners

• Safeguarding rules vary by school and club

• High-profile events may require extra disclaimers

• National Trust and sports clubs often have strict location policies

If in doubt, get it in writing.

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The Takeaway

Rights and releases aren’t complicated — you just need a consistent system.
A few clear forms and a good workflow ensure that every photo and video you capture can be used safely, legally, and confidently across websites, YouTube, social media and teaching materials.

Good releases protect you, the organisation and — most importantly — the people you’re filming.

 

Budget pH & Conductivity Duo – A Low-Cost Teaching Kit Using Off-the-Shelf Probes and Arduino

Affordable titrations and water-quality testing for real classrooms

Traditional pH meters and conductivity meters are accurate — but expensive, fragile, and often supplied as standalone units that schools struggle to replace. When you’re trying to equip a science lab, run demonstrations, or teach online from a studio, buying multiple commercial units simply isn’t practical.

At Philip M Russell Ltd, we’ve been developing a budget pH + conductivity combo kit using off-the-shelf probes, a simple Arduino, and a set of open-source libraries. The goal is to create a tool that is:

• affordable

• easy to repair

• simple to calibrate

• robust enough for students

• flexible for titrations or water-quality investigations

It turns out you can get excellent results for a fraction of the cost.

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Why Build Your Own?

Science teaching benefits enormously from cheap, replaceable, modular equipment.
A DIY solution gives you:

1. Low Cost

Commercial meters often cost £80–£300 each.
Our Arduino-based version costs under £40 including both probes.

2. Easy Repairs

Drop it? Spill acid on it?
Replace just the probe — not the whole unit.

3. Modular Design

The same Arduino board can also:

• log temperature

• run colour sensors

• measure dissolved oxygen

• support environmental monitoring projects

4. Ideal for Student Use

Students can see the electronics, understand the sensor, and even modify the code.

This makes it perfect for GCSE and A Level required practicals, as well as fieldwork.

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The Hardware – Simple, Reliable, Replaceable

pH probe

Off-the-shelf BNC pH probes are inexpensive and widely used.
They require:

• a BNC interface board (cheap and stable)

• two-point calibration (pH 4 / pH 7 or pH 7 / pH 10)

Conductivity probe

Basic EC probes connect to a small amplifier module.
These give surprisingly good readings for:

• titrations

• investigating ionic strength

• river-water comparison

• checking tap water hardness

Arduino Uno / Nano

Provides:

• analogue inputs

• USB or wireless connection

• easy integration with laptops or Chromebooks

• simple coding environment

It uploads data directly to the computer — perfect for plotting titration curves.

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Example Experiments the Duo Can Handle

1. pH Titration With Real-Time Graphing

The Arduino outputs pH every second as acid is added.
Students see the equivalence point appear live on the curve — extremely satisfying.

2. Conductivity vs Concentration

A simple, reliable experiment for ionic solutions.
Useful for teaching ions, strong/weak acids, and bonding.

3. Water-Quality Comparison

Measure conductivity in:

• tap water

• river water

• distilled

• rainwater

• bottled waters

Great for both Chemistry and Going Green sustainability links.

4. Neutralisation Investigations

Compare:

• strong acid + strong base

• strong acid + weak base

• weak acid + strong base
  using pH and conductivity simultaneously.

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The Software – Open Source, Easily Modified

We use a simple Arduino sketch that:

• reads both sensors

• averages readings to reduce noise

• outputs values over serial

• logs data in CSV

• supports temperature correction for conductivity

Students can see every line of code and adapt it for coursework or projects.

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Why This Matters for Teaching

The biggest advantage of a low-cost kit is that students can experiment more often.
Instead of protecting expensive meters, they can:

• take multiple readings

• run repeated tests

• work in groups

• investigate their own questions

• build confidence with data

It’s exactly what practical science should be.

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The Takeaway

A budget pH & conductivity duo built around an Arduino is:

• far cheaper than commercial meters

• flexible and repairable

• perfectly accurate for classroom work

• ideal for titrations and environmental studies

• great for cross-curricular sustainability content

Research and development like this helps us offer better teaching resources without relying on expensive proprietary equipment.

Sometimes the best science kit is the kit you build yourself.

 

Multi-Cam Sync with Timecode – Using Clapperboards and Tentacle Sync for Perfect Alignment

When filming lessons, science demonstrations, organ performances, or sailing videos, we often run two, three, or even four cameras at once. Multi-camera shooting gives flexibility — wide shots, close-ups, overhead angles, reaction views — but it creates one big challenge:

Everything must sync perfectly in the edit.

A one-second mismatch between angles is obvious.
A half-second mismatch is annoying.
A few frames out can make speech feel uncomfortable and scientific demos look wrong.

At Philip M Russell Ltd, our multi-cam workflow relies on three complementary tools:
timecode, a proper clapperboard, and Tentacle Sync units.
Together, they make synchronisation fast, accurate, and reliable.

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Why Sync Matters

When you’re teaching or demonstrating, every detail counts:

• A chemical colour change needs precise alignment across views

• Practical explanations must match gestures and objects

• Multi-angle organ recordings rely on tight audio sync

• Sailing manoeuvres require frame-accurate timing for clarity

Good sync isn’t cosmetic — it’s essential for educational clarity.

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Option 1: Timecode – The Professional Backbone

Timecode is the gold standard.
Each camera and audio recorder “ticks” at the same rate, sharing a master clock.
This means:

• All cameras start the day aligned

• Each clip contains embedded timing information

• Editing software lines everything up automatically

If your cameras support timecode input — like the Canon R5C — it’s the most accurate method available.

Pros:
✔ Frame-accurate
✔ Works through long takes
✔ Perfect for multi-hour recordings
✔ No need for audio matching

Cons:
✖ Not all cameras can receive or generate timecode
✖ Needs additional hardware (unless built-in)

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Option 2: The Traditional Clapperboard – Still Essential

Even in 2025, a simple clapperboard remains one of the most useful sync tools.

Why?
Because it gives:

• a bright visual mark

• a sharp audio spike

• an obvious sync point

This is vital when:

• shooting outdoors

• audio sources vary between cameras

• using cameras without timecode

• filming on a boat or moving platform

A clapperboard ensures you always have a definitive sync reference.

Tip:
Always clap in sight of the cameras — don’t do the clap audio off-screen!

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Option 3: Tentacle Sync – The Practical Middle Ground

Tentacle Sync units are small boxes that feed reliable timecode into almost any camera or audio recorder.
They are perfect when:

• only one camera has built-in timecode

• action cams (GoPro, Insta360) need matching

• you want to timecode microphones, mixers, or recorders

• filming in locations where re-syncing by hand is too slow

Tentacles keep everything locked all day long with surprising accuracy.
Import into DaVinci Resolve, and everything snaps together automatically.

Pros:
✔ Works with almost any camera
✔ Very accurate
✔ Tiny and unobtrusive
✔ Ideal for multi-angle educational videos

Cons:
✖ Requires charging and calibration
✖ Slight learning curve for setup

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Our Multi-Cam Sync Workflow

At Philip M Russell Ltd, we use a hybrid approach:

1. Tentacle Sync units

• Feed timecode to the R5C

• Feed timecode into action cams and secondary bodies

• Feed timecode into the main audio recorder

2. Clapperboard at the start of every clip

Even with timecode, it provides:

• a backup reference

• alignment for cameras that occasionally drift

• a check that everything is recording

3. DaVinci Resolve Auto-Sync

Using embedded timecode, Resolve aligns all clips instantly.
If a clip lacks timecode, the clapperboard provides the fallback.

This gives us a workflow that is fast, reliable, and suitable for everything from 6-hour teaching recordings to quick outdoor shoots.

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The Takeaway

Multi-cam filming becomes dramatically easier — and the final product far more professional — when you use a structured sync system.

Timecode gives precision.
Clapperboards give clarity.
Tentacle Sync gives flexibility.

Together they make multi-angle filming smoother, faster, and more accurate, whether you’re in the lab, in the studio, or on the river. It doesn't look like you're making a film unless someone has a clapperboard and shouts take 99.

 

Event Coverage Without Clutter – How to Move Through Crowds and Still Get Clean Angles

Covering events — regattas, open days, school performances, organ concerts, club socials, or even busy science fairs — means working in constantly shifting spaces. People move unpredictably, backgrounds get messy, and the perfect shot can disappear in the second it takes someone to step in front of the lens.

At Philip M Russell Ltd, where we regularly film at sailing events, school activities, concerts and club gatherings, the goal is always the same: get clean, usable footage without disrupting the event.

Here’s how we move through crowds smoothly while keeping angles tidy and professional.

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Think in Layers, Not Just Subjects

Crowded spaces are full of distracting elements — signs, elbows, bags, bright jackets, swinging arms, and heads popping up at the wrong moment.

A clean shot comes from controlling the layers:

Foreground:

Avoid passing bodies and objects.
Move slightly to one side or change your height.

Midground:

Shift your position until only your subject occupies the central space.

Background:

Look for natural “frames”:

• doorways

• walls

• sails

• boats

• banners

• sky

• water
  A tiny side-step can remove 80% of background clutter.

This mindset ensures you’re always watching the whole frame, not just the subject.

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Walk the Edges, Not the Centre

In crowded areas:

• walk round the perimeter,

• go behind chairs,

• hug walls,

• use service corridors,

• or walk the down-wind / down-stream “quiet sides” at outdoor events.

It keeps you invisible, fast, and able to reach clean angles without squeezing through the crowd.

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Change Your Height

One of the simplest tricks:

• Raise the camera over heads for a clean top-down view.

• Drop low for dramatic hero angles and to lose background clutter.

• Use a monopod as a mini crane in tight spaces.

A 20cm change in height can be the difference between cluttered and perfect.

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Use Longer Focal Lengths for Compression

Telephoto lenses help isolate subjects in lively spaces:

• They blur busy backgrounds

• Crop out individuals walking across frame

• Let you stand away from the action

• Give tighter, more composed shots even in chaos

Brilliant for sailing events, concerts, or large school halls.

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Move with Purpose

Crowds react better when they see confidence.

When moving to a new position:

• hold the camera safely and visibly

• take a straight, deliberate route

• avoid hesitation

• use gentle hand signals if needed

• give people time to naturally step clear

You’re not pushing through — you’re signalling your intention.

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Anticipate Movement

Experience helps you predict where gaps will open:

• When the choir breathes

• When boats spread during a tack

• When students turn a page

• When an instructor moves to a board

• When crowds react to something on stage

These natural pauses create clean windows.

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Respect the Event

Perhaps the most important rule:

The event is not about you — you’re there to record.

Stay low-impact, quiet and out of the way.
Clean angles don’t count if you ruin someone else’s experience.

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The Takeaway

Filming clean angles in a crowd isn’t luck — it’s technique.
By controlling layers, changing height, using longer lenses, walking natural edges and anticipating movement, you can capture professional footage without interrupting the event.

Whether it’s regatta coverage, school productions, organ concerts or science fairs, a calm, thoughtful approach will always get you the cleanest shots.

 

Reflective Metals Made Easy – Using Polarisers and Flags for Shiny Objects

Shiny metal objects are some of the hardest things to photograph or film. Stainless steel, brass components, lab instruments, boat fittings, even organ pipes — all of them behave like tiny mirrors. They reflect everything: lights, windows, you, the camera, and even colours in the room.

At Philip M Russell Ltd, we deal with reflective metal constantly: lab equipment for science videos, fittings on the RS Toura and Whaly, tools in the workshop, and polished organ pipes. The key to clean, professional images is learning to control reflections rather than fight them.

Two essential tools make this much easier:
polarising filters and flags.

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Why Metals Are Difficult

Unlike matte surfaces, smooth metal doesn’t scatter light — it reflects it directionally.
This means:

• hotspots

• blown-out highlights

• distorted reflections

• unwanted colour casts

• the photographer visible in the object

Without control, shiny objects look messy, distracting, or impossible to expose correctly.

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Step 1: Polarising Filters – Reducing Glare the Smart Way

A circular polariser (CPL) can dramatically reduce reflections on many surfaces, especially brushed metal, painted metal, and objects with coatings.

What a CPL does:

• cuts glare

• deepens contrast

• reveals underlying texture

• reduces hotspots

• gives more even illumination

When it works well:

• brushed aluminium

• anodised metal

• painted or lacquered surfaces

• chrome with partial diffuse reflection

• metal with fingerprints or smudges

How to use it:

Rotate the filter while looking through the viewfinder or screen.
You’ll see reflections “fade” in and out.
Stop where the glare is minimised but the subject still looks natural.

A CPL won't remove pure mirror-like reflections entirely — but it often improves the shot dramatically.

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Step 2: Flags – Controlling What the Metal Sees

Because metal is reflective, it “sees” the world like a mirror.
If you want clean reflections, you must control the environment.

Flags (or “gobos”) help by:

• blocking stray light

• shaping reflections

• preventing unwanted bright patches

• controlling the silhouette the object reflects

• keeping your camera out of the shot

Flags can be:

• black foam board

• pieces of card

• professional cutters

• matte black cloth

• small barn doors

• even your own hand

Practical uses:

• masking bright reflections from windows

• creating controlled gradients on cylindrical objects

• shaping highlights along metal rods or pipes

• removing ceiling reflections

• hiding the photographer

Flags are shockingly effective for very little cost.

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Combine Both for Perfect Metal Shots

Using a polariser and flags together gives far more control than either tool alone.

For example:

• CPL reduces the glare

• Flag blocks the room reflection

• Second flag shapes a pleasing highlight

• Side-light adds texture

• Controlled environment gives consistent results

This works beautifully for:

• metal lab equipment

• chemical apparatus

• organ pipes

• sailing fittings

• engineering parts

• high-contrast product photography

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The Takeaway

Shiny objects don’t have to be difficult.
With a polarising filter to cut glare and flags to control reflections, you can create clean, clear, professional images of even the most reflective metals.

It’s a simple setup that works everywhere — in the studio, in the lab, and out on the river.

 

Biodiversity B-Roll – Filming Pollinators for Cross-Curricular Clips

Because you never know when you’ll need it

One of the most valuable habits in educational filmmaking is collecting b-roll long before you know what project it will support. At Philip M Russell Ltd, we film plenty of pollinators — bees, butterflies, hoverflies and the occasional dragonfly — not just for biology lessons, but for chemistry, physics, sustainability, and even our Going Green podcast.

Pollinator footage is endlessly versatile, and having a library of it means you can enrich lessons and videos immediately, without grabbing a camera at the last second.

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Why Pollinator Footage Is So Useful

1. Biology Lessons

• pollination

• plant reproduction

• mutualistic relationships

• biodiversity and ecosystems

• conservation discussions
  A few seconds of bees landing on flowers tells more than a paragraph of text.

2. Chemistry & Physics

Surprisingly, pollinators are useful here too:

• colour and UV patterns on petals (UV photography clips)

• wing-beat frequency for physics analysis

• energy expenditure in flight

• surface tension when insects land near water
  Cross-curricular connections strengthen student understanding.

3. Going Green Podcast & Sustainability Videos

Pollinators are a visual gateway to:

• climate change impacts

• habitat loss

• rewilding projects

• local ecology
  They help ground environmental issues in real, relatable imagery.

4. Sailing & Outdoor Content

Even pmrsailing.uk benefits — riverside plants, reed beds, and meadows along the Thames are full of pollinators. The footage paints a broader picture of the river environment.

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How We Capture Pollinator B-Roll

Use the Right Lens

A macro lens (like the Canon 100mm Macro) allows close focus without disturbing the insects.

Shoot in Early Morning or Late Afternoon

Pollinators move more slowly and light is softer and warmer.

Film at Higher Frame Rates

120fps or 240fps helps show wing movement and landing behaviour.

Stay Still and Let Them Come to You

Patience produces better footage than chasing the subject.

Collect Across Seasons

Spring bees, summer butterflies, autumn hoverflies — each brings different colours and behaviours.

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Building a Library You Can Reuse

The more b-roll you collect, the more often you’ll use it.
In our archive we categorise clips under:

• species

• behaviour

• habitat

• season

• shot type (macro, slow-mo, tracking, wide)

This makes it easy to drop footage straight into biology topics, sustainability discussions, and science revision videos.

You never know when a Year 10 ecology question or a last-minute YouTube upload will benefit from a few seconds of a bumblebee.

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The Takeaway

Filming pollinators is one of the simplest ways to future-proof your educational content.
It creates a flexible, cross-curricular resource that brings biodiversity, ecosystems, and environmental topics to life — no planning meeting required.

Capture now. Use forever.