Nudefest 2017: Naturists explain why they like stripping off
Using Facebook Live to strip away the stereotypes about stripping off
Originally published: July 4, 2017
People from as far afield as Switzerland and South Africa are making their way to the Somerset Levels to be part of Nudefest.
More than 300 people are expected to camp at Thorney Lakes Camping and Caravan Site near Langport over the course of this week, along with dozens of day visitors from across the local area.
With a packed itinerary on site and trips being planned to Muchelney Abbey, Bradon Gardens near Taunton and the Somerset Cider Brandy Company, there's plenty to do throughout this week-long celebration of the human body.
Those attending the event, organised by British Naturism, are being kept well-fed and watered by Clare Aparicio and her small army of helpers from the River Parrett Cafe in Langport.
Read the full story here.
---
I had developed a good working relationship with British Naturism since early-2016, when we covered the announcement that the festival would be moving from Newquay in Cornwall to its new home at Thorney Lakes Camping and Caravan Park near Langport. We ran a number of stories about the festival, previewing the attractions, running quizzes and giving them the opportunity to dispel a number of the myths and misconceptions surrounding naturism. We managed to strike a balance throughout our coverage of being tasteful and accurate (i.e. not just spamming people's Facebook feeds with nudity) while also playing up the light-hearted spirit of the event.
I had lengthy phone and email conversations with Nigel Pinkstone, the event's organiser, in the weeks leading up to the event, so that we could pre-arrange interviews and filming locations as far in advance as we could. I knew I would only have limited time on the site and did not want to waste interviewing time on preparation that could be done off-site. I liaised with the newsdesk about story ideas, and it was agreed that a Facebook Live should be attempted from the site. Being familiar with the village of Thorney, as a result of covering Langport for nearly two years by that point, I knew the 4G should be sufficient to make this a success.
Upon arrival at the site, I set up a base within the marquee provided for catering. I took care to frame the Facebook Live shot so that we didn't have any issues with unintentional nudity, making sure the tablecloth was low enough and the table high enough to ensure people's modesty was protected. In the event only one of the Q&A participants was nude, but it is was still sensible to take every precaution for the sake of our readership. The Q&A was pleasant, light-hearted and generated a number of comments on the live stream, the majority of which were complimentary.
Following the live stream, I conducted recorded video interviews with a number of attendees, speaking to them about what appealed to them about Nudefest and making notes on how far they had travelled to be here. This was the clear hook on which to hang the article, since it demonstrated the broad appeal of the event as well as promoting both Somerset in general and the venue in particular as a desirable destination. In assembling the article, I made sure to break up the interviews with links to other articles I had produced on the festival, as well as quizzes from other articles, increasing the amount of time people would spent on our site.
Comments
Post a Comment