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.

Introducing the Wulf Debate crew

We've had huge amounts of fun preparing for the Wulf Debate over the past month or so. On Wednesday 9th February and Wednesday 16th February we're going to be going live with our panel shows in front of a live audience, and streamed here on the Mediacove blog.

We've got three fantastic presenters who will be chairing the debates, but there are plenty of others working away behind the scenes as well. So, just to make sure that no-one escapes unnoticed, here are a few snaps of the crew at work!

Marla is our Producer and she will be making sure that everyone is in place and know what they are doing.

She is ably assisted in the Gallery by Kirsty, the Director, who will be calling the shots throughout the show.

Nicole is our Floor Manager, responsible for relaying messages from Kirsty and Marla to everyone in the Studio. What she says goes!

Matt, Chris and Kane are our camera operators and will be using some brand new HD cameras for the job. They will be receiving instructions through earpieces telling them which shots are needed.

Meanwhile, back in the Gallery we have Amy who is responsible for sound and Tom who has been working hard to create the intro graphics and music.

Your presenters for the evening will be Rhii, George and Olivia who are responsible for chairing the discussion. They'll be introducing our panelists, asking the questions and inviting our audience to ask their own questions.

Simon Keeling has a wide and varied range of experience, including being a TV Weatherman, author and training up-and-coming TV presenters and media students. He's been sharing his valuable experience and showing us the ropes to prepare us for the big day!

Other honorable mentions go to Elke, the brains behind the operation, and Matt who will be setting up the Live Stream and fielding questions from anyone who posts comments onto the blog or Tweets using the #wulfdebate hashtag. We also have to mention Colin, our technician, who gets all of the equipment ready and in order to ensure everything goes smoothly.

Emma has also been working away behind the scenes along with other staff at Mediacove firing off e-mails, booking panelists, filling out forms and generally making things happen! She's also been working alongside Lauron and some of the young people to create a documentary, 'What's Wrong With Wolverhampton?' which has been the starting point for the debates.

Make sure that you contact the Mediacove office on hillr@wolvcoll.ac.uk to reserve a place in the audience (places are limited!) or tune in live on this site from 3:30pm this coming Wednesday where we will be debating what changes in education funding mean to young people in Wolverhampton.

Mediacove host a live panel show!

Over the past few months Mediacove have been working with a group of young people aged 13-19 on a documentary project entitled ‘Wolverhampton-Have your Say’. This project involved the group talking to local people about their views on the city and what they thought about it being voted as the 5th worst city in the world by Lonely Planet. The documentary tackles issues including Education, Culture, Community, Wolverhampton’s Heritage, and The Future of Wolverhampton.
As the project is approaching its end, Mediacove have organised to host two topical debate panel shows that will be broadcast live on the internet. The panel shows will be in a ‘Question Time’ style and will include local key people who will discuss different important issues about the city of Wolverhampton. Young people will be invited to become part of the audience and will also manage the technical side to the filming and steaming of the shows as well.
The panel shows will be filmed and streamed on the Wolverhampton College website in early February. If you are aged between 13-19 and would like to become part of the audience or technical team please Contact Us

Wellbeing for Life in Wolverhampton

Wellbeing for Life managed by Age Concern Wolverhampton is one of 29 health and wellbeing projects in the Living Well in West Midlands portfolio, funded by the Big Lottery. Wellbeing for Life is a physical activity project which has been running in Wolverhampton for 3 years providing exercise to older people in Luncheon Clubs and Drop in Centres.

Mediacove Productions have been working with the team over the past few months to create a DVD which showcases the achievements of the Wellbeing for Life Project. The DVD contains a 5 minute overview of the project which includes interviews with project organisers, class trainers, and elderly participants to the classes as well as showing the benefits of the exercises for elderly people.

The DVD also contains exercises for you to do in your own home – consisting of a warm-up, 10 minute seated exercises, 10 minute standing exercises and a cool-down.

If anyone would like to purchase a copy of the DVD, please contact us

Wolves Young Carers

Spurgeons work with young people and families all over the UK. Within Wolverhampton the Spurgeons team supports young people aged between 7 - 18 years that care for someone in their family unit. This could be due to a disability, illness, mental health issues or drug/alcohol misuse.
They provide support to the young carers in the form of evening activity groups, holiday day trips, parties, one to one support and general information, guidance and signposting.
Mediacove Productions have been working with Spurgeons for the past few months in a film project which explores what life is like as a young carer. The project started with the group creating their own poems which expressed certain aspects about being a young carer and what challenges they face every day. These poems were then used as the script for the film and the group started to storyboard and plan how each scene within the film would work.
The group have learnt lots of new skills including storyboard, scripting, filming, editing and stop motion animation and the final film will include live action drama, animation, and stop motion.
To find out more about the film project please have a look at the Spurgeons Blog: www.wolvesyoungcarers.tumblr.com

ABCD...Changing Places, Transforming Lives

The City’s New Deal for Communities programme is chronicling the effect it has had in transforming the All Saints, Blakenhall and Parkfield areas of Wolverhampton in the last decade by producing a DVD.

ABCD was set up in 2001, having been awarded £53.5 million Government funding, to tackle issues such as unemployment, crime, poor housing, education and health to make a real and lasting change to the lives of the people living in the community. The 10-year programme ends in March 2011.

Mediacove have been working with ABCD to produce a short film which will give an overview of the many projects that have been carried out by ABCD. These include projects such as building the multi-award winning St Luke’s Primary School, reducing crime and increasing residents’ safety, transforming Phoenix Park, providing grants to boost small businesses and providing stunning, award winning eco-friendly new homes.

Tim Clegg, ABCD executive director, said: “The whole ABCD area has undergone a
dramatic transformation in the last 10 years and everyone is proud at what has been
achieved.”

The film will be premiered at a special community celebration event on 12 February 2011, and copies will be given to every household in the area.