Mediacove: A Week in Words

Well, it has been a busy week here in the Mediacove office!

Firstly, following our success at the DDN Serivce User Film Awards, we've decided to try our hand at another film competition. We've entered the TUC 60 Second Ad Contest 2011. The brief was to create a film that most effectively portrays the impact of the spending cuts, so we decided to focus on the plight FE and HE students. We worked heavily with the City of Wolverhampton College's Student Union to make it all happen.

We are quite chuffed with the final cut.

What do you think?.....


The prizes for winning are,

• £500 cash prize
• A day filming Billy Bragg documentary-style
• Advert shown on the big screen at the TUC's "March for the Alternative" on the 26th March in Hyde Park
  
• Annual membership to the London Film Museum
• Invitation to a special awards ceremony with special guests

You can vote for us at http://www.tuc60seconds.org.uk/2011/03/14/776/, and fingers crossed we'll be victorious!

We have recently produced a video for Wolverhampton Building Schools for the Future (BSF). "Because of BSF..." is a short informative promo that will be used on the BSF website and within Wolverhampton City Council. The video shows how BSF has had a positive impact on the city, going beyond the classroom. Take a look at the film over on the BSF website...

Because of BSF...

We've had to say a fond farewell to our work placement students from Cavan Institute, Ireland who have been with us for the past two weeks.


From trips to Birmingham's uber-cool Electric Cinema, a backstage tour of Molineux, free massages and of course, experiencing the 'un-paralleled' Wolverhampton night-life, the guys really threw themselves into the spirit of the West Midlands and Black County experience. It wasn't all trips and parties though as they were here to work! They were given the task of creating promotional films for the College's Spa and Hair Salon; pitching their ideas to clients, filming the footage and editing together 60 second adverts. The office seems quieter without them around!

In terms of goings on in Mediacove itself, it has moreorless been business as usual.
We have just kicked off a 6 week course for young people not in education, employment or training. Throughout the course we will be introducng the students to techniques such as stop-motion animation.


(Image supplied by Paul Ingles)

And that's about it for this week,all thats left is for us to bouff our hair and get our glad rags on as tonight is the big inaugural screening of BYFA's "Julius Caesar" at the Odeon PrintWorks in Manchester, and we don't intend to miss it for the world!

BYFA film screening on the horizon

Tomorrow, Mediacove and approximately 80 staff, students and parents from City of Wolverhampton College will be sashaying down the red carpet for the first local screening of BYFA's latest production.

(Image provided by Sidewalk Flying)

Manchester's Odeon Printworks is the venue where we will be treated to the inaugural screening of "Julius Caesar", a thoroughly modern take on the Bard's classic work.

Filmed in the summer of 2010, it is the latest in a long line of BYFA Summer School Productions, incorporating roughly 120 young people from the local region, and we at Mediacove are very exicited to see how it has turned out.

We'll let you know how it went later on in the week.

BYFA Hit the Small Screen!

Congratulations to our friends at the Co-Operative British Youth Film Academy (BYFA), who have recently found themselves thrust into the national spotlight by appearing in the Co-Operative's latest advertising campaign, "Join The Revolution".

This is not only good news news for the BYFA, but also great news for the college and Mediacove as well. We are actively involved with BYFA Summer School projects, allowing students to benefit massively from the partenership, and this publicity will definately not do either of us any harm.

To give you more of an insight into what the BYFA do, and how they actively help students wanting to gain practical experience in the field of Film-Making, there is also an extended look at the BYFA's work under the Co-Operative, "My Revolution: Inspiring the Next Generation of Film-Makers", featuring the BYFA's very own John Montegrande.

SUIT and Mediacove combine to create award-winning production!

Congratulations to our client, Wolverhampton Service User Involvement Team (SUIT), who have picked up an award for a public information film they made in conjunction with Mediacove!

The award was the first of it's kind presented by DDN (Drinks and Drugs News) and went to the film "User: Friendly", a Mediacove production that educates people about the dangers of illicit substances and highlights the treatment options available in Wolverhampton.

Claire Brown, editor of DDN, presented the award. She said: "'User: Friendly' embodies the spirit of youth today. It makes harm reduction messages and information real and clear to the people that need it".

Sunny Dhadley, SUIT's drug service user involvement officer, accepted the award on behalf of the organisation. He thanked everyone involved for making the film possible.

We at Mediacove Productions are all very proud of this achievement, and hope that there are many more to come!

Watch our panel shows now on youtube!

Mediacove Productions and City of Wolverhampton College recently held two live topical debate panel shows as part of a Mediabox project. The panel shows were aired live on our Blog on Wednesday 9th February. The aim of the project was for young people to have their say about Wolverhampton and to also challenge why it was rated fifth worst city in the world by Lonely Planet.

The young people involved in the project identified four key areas for discussion: Education, Culture and Community, Wolverhampton's Heritage and The Future of Wolverhampton.

This video below shows the Education panel show with key figures from around Wolverhampton heading the debate in a 'Question Time' style. They tackle issues surrounding Education within Wolverhampton, and also answer questions from the audience. Check out our youtube page for the other panel shows.

The next panel show will be aired live on this blog on Wednesday 16th February from 3.30pm. Please either come and join our audience or join in with the live debate via the chat box.

Behind Closed Doors

Mediacove have recently completed this fantastic film working with Spurgeons please take a look...




Spurgeons is a national children’s charity. In Wolverhampton, they work with young carers (aged 7-18). The group produced a Mediabox funded film project with Mediacove, exploring what life is like as a young carer. Throughout the project the group learnt lots of new skills including storyboarding, scripting, filming, editing and stop motion animation with the final film including live action drama, animation, and stop motion.

Wellbeing For Life

Take a look at one of Mediacove's newest completed projects: 'Wellbeing for Life'; a fitness DVD for elderly people commissioned by Age Concern. This project involved visiting and filming seated exercise classes in various Luncheon Clubs and Drop-in Centres around Wolverhampton. The DVD includes a full 40-minute seated exercise routine that elderly people can do in their own homes. The aim of the project was to keep elderly people fit and active into old age.