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connect @tsd.ac.uk

BA Film and Visual Culture BA New Media Production SUMMER 2013

Develop the skills and confidence to work creatively in the film and media industries

Welcome This summer 2013 issue of connect@ tsd.ac.uk arrives as we begin to move into our state-of-the-art facility on the main campus in Carmarthen.

This year’s Celtic Media Festival was held in Swansea’s Marriott Hotel in the Marina area of the city. The festival was attended by practitioners from the film and television industries across the Celtic nations, where the outstanding pieces of work from the last year were recognised.

We were delighted to have helped sponsor the event and were able to offer our students the opportunity to participate in all aspects of the festival and to meet experts in their fields.

Our new teaching area has inspirational views of the countryside This issue celebrates the creative achievements of our students over the past year and the great links that we have developed with local organisations that will benefit those starting with us in September.

These include the Celtic Media Festival, The Dolaucothi Roman Gold Mines, Swansea City Football Club, Cardigan Bay Wildlife Trust, and The Welsh Xtrem.

We have also linked up with Skillset to ensure

Two our students acted as shadows for the festival organiser and multicamera director. Others were given the opportunity to meet and interview leading figures from the industry including Dinamo, the creators of children’s programme Abadas, Peter Devlin, sound recordist on many Hollywood films including Star Trek and Any Given Sunday, and Guto Harri, Director of Communications at News International.

one of the production team, Greg Fisher.

The film was very well received and provided an insight into the students’ perspective on, and enthusiasm for, the unique location in which they have studied. The film took its audience from the centre of Swansea and their work in documenting the progress of Swansea City Ladies Football Team, via a motorcycle ride, into the rivers, beaches, and countryside of West Wales.

that our students participate in degrees that will deliver the best employability skills needed in the highly competitive film and media industries.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the launch of our new facilities in September!

Our students also had a prominent role within the festival by creating a twelve minute film welcoming the festival and its delegates to Swansea and West Wales.

This original piece was screened during the festival having been introduced by

CONTACTS

Film and Media lecturers with the student film producers at the Festival

BA Film and Visual Culture – Dr Susan Drake (s.drake@tsd.ac.uk) BA New Media Production – Mr Trevor Harris (t.harris@tsd.ac.uk) http://www.trinitysaintdavid.ac.uk/en/creativearts/

Celebrating student filmmakers In May, Film and Media students gave an exhibition of their film work at the Short Shorts Film Festival in Carmarthen. The event, which is planned by the students, showcased films from this year’s graduating students.

Work being screened included final projects, as well as commercial work students have undertaken above and beyond the requirements of their course..

Student award First year BA Film and Visual Culture student Georgina McHugh was this year’s winner of the Celtic Media Festival’s 60 second film competition.

Of particular note was Henry, following the love story of ‘Henry’ the hoover, which was produced in collaboration with Numatic International, and ‘Under A Tree With Him’

Henry with Hetty- an odd romance!

which is a Japanese language film, by an Italian student, utilising animated layers created in Adobe After Effects.

Other final year students merged imaginary 3D worlds with live action in order to

The theme for this year’s student competition

create their own CGI blockbuster, such

was ‘Tide’, a concept which the festival

as ‘Municipal Darwinism’, whilst the

thought appropriate for the venue in

documentary ‘Don Brett: A life in Colour’

Swansea. As sponsors of this year’s Celtic

sensitively explored the paintings and

Media Festival our students were excited

inspirations of mid Wales artist Don Brett.

Greg Fisher’s documentary “Don Brett: A Life in Colour”

to be involved in the event and be given the opportunity to enter work into the

Not only do we enjoy film screenings at

competition.

these end of year shows but we also have a partnership with ‘The Parrot’ club

The entrants into this category were voted

in Carmarthen where we regularly have

for by a panel, and the winner announced

screenings, whilst our new facility has its own

on the final day. Georgina was thrilled to

student studio and screening room.

Alex Cook’s “Municipal Darwinism” film merged live action in a 3D CGI world

be announced the winner of a competition which had been open to students at all stages of study. The judges stated that the entries to the competition had been of a high standard, and commended her film for its originality, technical skill, and creative take on the brief.

The film was produced using stop motion techniques and employed the traditional art of shadow puppets to create an enchanting version of the classic story of King Canute.

The narration was recorded with fellow student Thomas Blake a first year on the BA New Media Production course.

Our students organised the ‘One Last Time’ film festival held on the Trinity Saint David Lampeter Campus

Students@work

Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre is a local

The students on the trip found the

charity based in New Quay, on the stunning

experience not only hugely enjoyable,

Ceredigion coastline. We took a group of

but also really worthwhile in giving them

our students out on one of their boats for

experience of the very particular skills

a day filming dolphins, seals and sea bird

needed to successfully film wildlife and the

colonies. Steve Hartley, the manager of the

natural environment. The elusive nature of

charity, is keen to develop further links with

the wildlife and the constant movement of

our students, who will act as volunteers to

the boat meant that this experience of filming

film the wildlife that his organisation works to

on location was very different to any they had

protect.

encountered before!

Greg Fisher introduces the 12 minute student film to broadcasters at the Celtic Media Festival

Our students helped with the organisation of the Celtic Media Festival in Swansea

Surfing in West Wales © Graduate Steven Clarey who has built an enviable reputation as an extreme sports photographer

Students linked up with the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre to plan future production work. This included a fantastic day dolphin spotting on a scenic tour of our local coastline.

Having spent the season filming the Ladies Team, the student production team and lecturers had press passes for the final game of Swansea City’s season at the Liberty Stadium, including a guided tour of the stadium’s media facilities and the Sky outside broadcast setup

This year we’ve set up some great projects for our students with the National Trust, including work at Dyffryn Gardens and the Dolaucothi Gold Mines. Each location has its own distinctive features, one a stately home under repair, the other a Roman goldmine. Each project required photographing the site, and then creating films designed to showcase the benefits of visiting these outstanding sites. Dolaucothi tour guide Sandra Parry loved the interaction with students, commenting “I’ve been working here a long time, and the work the students have come up with is just fantastic. It’s made the whole site come to life, and I look forward to future students coming here, too.”

stevenclarey.com Graduating student Steven Clarey is now working for Drift Innovation. Beginning with travelling across Europe this summer, Steven is doing some really exciting work filming extreme sports events, including the use of a camera mounted Quadcopter. The films, which are sponsored by companies, such as Red Bull, are edited and posted on the partner’s web sites. Sounds like an ideal way to start a new job!!

www.anim8design.com Graduate Diana Davey recently gave current students an inspiring talk on setting up and running her successful Anim8design micro business in Ceredigion. As she showed the tractor front that she had unexpectedly been asked to design for one of her web design clients, she urged the students, “Just do it, you will never know what will come along until you get started!”

Students visited the Dolaucothi Roman Gold Mines and Dyffryn Gardens to plan future production work, as we continue to develop our partnership with the National Trust

peryglproductions.wordpress.com A collective of filmmakers, writers, photographers and digital artists, this student production team has been making an impact during their 3-year course.

Relevance to Industry Skillset’s Creative Provision is a 2-year pilot programme to develop the industry relevance of courses in further and higher education, helping facilitate success in Wales’ Creative Industries. Both the BA Film and Visual Culture and BA New Media production have been selected to take part in this new scheme, which will benefit students on their courses and later on as they move on to work or start their own business in the creative industries.

They won through to the final of the Cultural Olympics 2012 in London; member Rokas Baniunas won a film competition in Lithuania in 2012; and in 2013 they made the showpiece student film for the Celtic Media Festival. Watch this space!

Keep up to date with us: facebook.com/creativeartsTSD