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..to
the November 2004 Issue of MediaVaultNEWS |
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Issue
six of the Newsletter for members of "The Media Vault"
The Media Vault is the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF) Project, managed by the Technology
Innovation Centre (tic) and designed
to assist West Midlands Screen-Based Media Companies.
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In
this Issue:
1. COMING
UP - CREATIVE
Networks Event at tic *DONT
MISS OUT*
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Collaborative
Networking Event for Creative Industry Professionals
Wednesday 17th November - From 6.00pm 'til LATE at tic,
Millennium Point
:: NEW BUSINESS
OPPORTUNITIES
:: FREE PRIZE DRAW
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:: The
tic's Digital Short Film Festival 2004
:: Final Cut Pro User Group Meeting at the tic
:: Royal Television Society (RTS)– Midlands Centre
Awards Dinner 2004
:: The Birmingham City Council Creative City Awards 2004
:: FLIP Animation Festival 2004
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3.
Get the most from your business –
FREE management courses available during this
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Winter
- Could you be making more?
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Cost of
i4 courses is supported by European Social Fund/Learning
Skills Council co-financing which means they
are fully subsidised!
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4.
The Media Vault: Work-in-Progress
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:: Burned
Out Productions - Technical Equipment Support
:: Cracked Actors - Technical Equipment Support
:: Vixia Enterprises Ltd - Digital Asset Management
:: Studio 3 - Website Design & Development
:: Hazelwood Associates
- Website Design & Development
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5. Local Content for Public Space Broadcasting |
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Local
tic Digital Short Film Festival Winners
now showing on BBC’s Birmingham Big Screen
- the BBC and Birmingham City Council's giant twenty-five
square metre screen with a full sound system in Chamberlain
Square.
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6. Short Independent FILMS wanted for worldwide
distribution |
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EMAK
MAFU have been working on behalf of Independent filmmakers
to secure new and exciting channels of distribution in
the mobile phone sector and are now accepting monthly
short film submissions.
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We’d
like to hear from you!
Contact Paul Trigg, The Media Vault’s administrator
with your news and views:
:: phone 0121 331 5400
:: email paul.trigg@tic.ac.uk
:: or post to Technology Innovation
Centre, Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham,
B4 7XG
Do you know someone who'd
benefit from our help?
The
Media Vault is ‘open’ now and
ready to support your screen-based media activities.
If you know of anyone who would benefit from these
support-funded services, please contact us via The
Media Vault Website at www.tic-online.com/mediavault
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1. COMING
UP - CREATIVE Networks Event at tic *DONT
MISS OUT* |
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Collaborative
Networking Event for Creative Industry Profesionals
Wednesday 17th November
- From 6.00pm 'til LATE at tic
Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham,
B4 7XG
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...look
out for this card in the post
The Technology Innovation Centre (tic)
team that brought you The Media Vault
and the i4 programme invites you
to a special evening of Networking
Entertainment
Prize-Draw
and - most important
of all -
NEW PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES
TO SUPPORT YOUR BUSINESS
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*DONT MISS OUT*
An evening of:
- Great Guest Speakers
- Networking & Collaboration with Creative Industry
Professionals
- Entertainment, Wine/Buffet & FREE Big Prize Draw
- FREE Courses on offer
- FREE Equipment Hire
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| * FREE WINE & BUFFET* |
| PROGRAMME |
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18:00 - |
Buffet
and entries for FREE Prize Draw |
| (Make sure you arrive
on time to ensure inclusion in the Prize Draw, no
entries accepted after 19.00) |
| 19:00
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Business Opportunities
Presentation |
| 19:30
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Showcasing Media Vault
Client Projects with Wine Reception |
| 20:30
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Panel of guests from the
Industry and Big Prize Draw |
| 21.15
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Entertainment 'til LATE |
| BIG FREE PRIZE-DRAW
PRIZES -
be there before 19.00 to enter the draw |
| 1st
Prize: |
iPod |
| 2nd
Prize: |
Digital Camera |
| 3rd
prize: |
Memory Stick |
| 4th
Prize: |
£50 Cash Voucher |
| 5th
Prize: |
Bottle of Champagne |
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IT'S AN OFFER YOU CAN'T REFUSE!!
Do give us a call,
if you would like to bring guests from other media companies
- just let us know. |
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The Digital Short Film Festival 2004
Thinktank Theatre, Millennium Point 13th - 14th September
2004
West
Midlands black comedy voted Best Film at second tic
Digital Short Film Festival
A black comedy called ‘Fanatic’, by first-time
West Midlands screen-writer Lee Murphy, has won the
judges' accolade of top film at the Technology Innovation
Centre’s (tic) 2004 Short Digital
Film Festival.
He receives the Festival award and an MV750i camcorder
generously donated by prize-sponsor Canon. Lee’s
film was voted both best drama and overall film by
a judging panel drawn from West Midlands film and
broadcasting experts, chaired by a leading educational
journalist.
Three further category
winners also receive awards.
Documentaries were won by ‘Seeking’, a
film by young asylum seekers from Milton Keynes. This
examined popular attitudes and media coverage of refugees
and asylum seekers. Directed by Chris Bradley, it
was produced by Living Archive. |
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| Animation winner was ‘The
Wolf who came in from the Cold’. Based on a
short story, it tells of the outsider’s quest
to find a sense of belonging, blending computer-generated
animation with live action. It was jointly produced
and directed by Ian and Dominic Higgins. |
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BBC Big Screen's Geraldine
McCullagh with tic Short Digital Film Festival Award
winning writer, Lee Murphy, and her fellow judge,
ITV Central's executive producer Mike Burch (r). |
The experimental group winner, entitled
‘Echoes 2: Check’, compared electronic ‘processor
power’ with human guile. It was directed by Jeevan
Chowdhury and co-produced by Uzma Choudhry and Barry Hale.
Over 70 original entries for tic’s
Short Digital Film Festival 2004 had to be reduced to
a top 25 for judging. These were then shown over two evenings
in TIC-neighbour THINKTANK’s theatre, at Millennium
Point.
The professional judging panel* comprised Mike Burch,
executive producer with ITV Central, Geraldine McGullagh,
BBC producer who manages the Birmingham Big Screen and
Katie Hemmings, Talent Project Manager of Screen West
Midlands. They were chaired by leading, Birmingham-based
educational journalist Tony Collins.
Apart from the winners being shown on the BBC Big Screen
in Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, they are to be prepared,
along with a selection of other entries, for a Community
TV channel programme.
*Judges’ overall comments on the 2004 entry:
Mike Burch, executive producer, ITV Central: “We
saw a big leap in innovation, imagination and technical
quality compared with last year. The entries were really
impressive - well made and showing good use of technology.“
Geraldine McCullagh, BBC Big Screen:
“There was such a wide variety. The films used many
techniques which made them so stimulating and engaged
the emotions.”
Katie Hemmings, Talent Project Manager
of Screen West Midlands: “I am impressed by the
standard of the films, the fresh ideas and the experimental
nature of many of them”
Chair of judges Tony Collins of
the Birmingham Evening Mail summed up: “The standard
is very impressive, as was the originality of the range
of entries.”
Final Cut
Pro Users Group Meeting at tic
Technology Innovation
Centre (tic) - Thursday 30th September
2004
The last day of September
saw the SECOND Final Cut User Group meeting
for the Midlands taking place at the Technology Innovation
Centre (tic).
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Hosted
by tic, the meeting saw over 20
people attend from all over the country –
including London and Wales - for an evening of demonstrations.
Rick Young - author, producer, trainer and founder
of the UK Final Cut User Group, and all-round Mac-addict
– was once again on hand with a number of
tips and tricks. Starting out by looking at just
how easy it is to integrate Photoshop graphics into
Final Cut projects, he also took a look at the dazzling
array of new effects available from Boris FX, and
talked us through how to make the best use of multi-camera
footage in the Final Cut timeline.
Chris Roberts, tic’s resident
Final Cut Pro expert, also took to the floor to
talk about a project he’d been involved with
where he’d used Final Cut to help put together
a bespoke multimedia project for a Media Vault client:
“I had to create a QuickTime file for
the client that incorporated live action studio
footage with animation renders – all in a
layout which was specific to the clients requirements
and which had nothing to do with TV screen size.
The Final Cut Pro systems we have at the Media Vault
breezed through the work and it just goes to underline
what a flexible package Final Cut really is."
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The next User Group Meeting at the
tic is scheduled for late January 2005.
We’ll be taking a look at Apple’s new titling
tool, Motion, and getting expert advice on colour correction.
Entry is free, but registration in advance is
essential. Please email Chris Roberts – chris.roberts@tic.ac.uk
- for details.
For information about other Final Cut Pro User Group regional
meetings in the UK, visit: www.ukfcug.co.uk
Royal Television
Society (RTS)– Midlands Centre Awards Dinner 2004
Saturday 9th October 2004 - International Convention
Centre, Broad Street, Birmingham
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the Royal Television Society’s 2004 Award
for Best Regional Programme, demonstrating its enthusiastic
support for screen-based industries.
The award was won by Current Affairs Series 'Inside
Out' and was presented by Michael French (Eastenders,
Born & Bred) to Andrew Tomlinson (Editor), Jacob
Hickey (Assistant Editor) and Rachel Bowering (Director).
The ceremonial dinner, where the awards were made,
was held at Birmingham’s ICC on Saturday October
9th 2004, and was attended by an impressive line
up of Midlands media personalities. |
Rachel Bowering, Director - 'Inside Out'
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The tic's eMedia Centre Manager, Steve
Smith chaired the table with colleagues Bez Shivani, Dave
Taylor and Ha Vu. Representatives of partners agencies Mervin
Levin (DTI Head of Digital Content), Michael Ryan (LSC Media
Cluster Manager), Frank Challenger (Chairman of Lighthouse)
& Stephen Broadfield (MediaDev Co-Ordinator) were guests.
In addition, clients who had already received support from
The Media Vault project, Dan Sturley (Digital Shepherd)
& Ayesha Broadbent (GRID108) joined us. The
event was an important celebration of talent and achievement
by all those involved in Midlands Creative Industries.
The Birmingham
City Council Creative City Awards 2004
International Convention Centre, Broad Street,
Birmingham - Wednesday 20th October 2004
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The
tic joined forces with Birmingham
City Council to sponsor the Creative City 2004 Award
for Outstanding Innovation. Steve Smith, tic’s
eMedia Centre Manager, presented this to Sjolander
da Cruz Architects at the prestigious Gala Awards
Dinner held at the ICC on Wednesday October 20th.
The award acknowledged their outstanding technical
innovation in creating responsive and flexible design
solutions for early years educational buildings.
Several of the tic's Media Vault
clients were present and amongst the award winners
and runners-up. |
| Left to
Right: Emma Cutler, Mark Pressdee (Macoy Media) Marina
Ibrahim (SPARK), Aidan Sheridan (Black Country Chamber
& Business Link), Ha Vu (tic), Steve Smith (tic),
Saranjit Birdi, Andrew Griffith (Vixia Enterprises),
Dom Breadmore (Predacom Productions) Dave Taylor (tic)
& Mo White - out of shot |
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Some of them accompanied
our team alongside guests from Support Organisations
that make up the ‘Creative Pool’ partnership
in the region. The enjoyable evening provided a fitting
platform to publicly recognise the achievements of
creative companies in Birmingham. |
FLIP Animation
Festival 2004
Flip is a brand new animation festival for the
West Midlands. tic's partner Light House
(part-funded by ESF) led this initiative with support
from Wolverhampton Art Gallery and the University of Wolverhampton’s
Creative Industries Project. Running over two days between
22 and 23 October 2004, the event included talks, workshops
and screenings.
The tic supported Flip by participating
in two of the events. Rob Ellis from the i4
Skills Incubator gave a talk at the Pitching and Commissioning
session, covering the creative process from the initial
idea through to the commission. As well as offering short
courses in Technology, the tic's i4
Project also runs a number of Management Courses which
can help people who have ideas to understand the processes
and the various stages that are involved in running a
creative business.
At another event, tic Media Vault's Dave
Taylor, Jeetendra and Rakesh Sidhpara presented the benefits
of using its Digital Asset Management system. This facility
offers the unique advantage of working on-line with several
companies at various points around the globe at any one
time.
With the huge explosion in new media, Digital
Asset Management (DAM) resources are becoming
much sought-after. The session included case studies from
local animation companies who have used the resource to
support their business growth.
If you run a screen-based creative business and haven’t
yet taken advantage of the tic's i4
short courses and The Media Vault’s
DAM system, it's time to give them a try – there’s
nothing to lose and everything to gain!
For more information visit www.tic-online.com/i4
and www.tic-online.com/mediavault
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3. Get the
most from your business – FREE management courses
available over Winter |
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Could
you be making more?
Cost of i4 courses is supported by European
Social Fund/Learning Skills Council co-financing which
means they are fully subsidised!
At the Technology Innovation Centre (tic)
you can learn how to build and make the most of your business.
If you are just starting up, take advantage of this help
to ensure you can move quickly. The courses range from
interpersonal sales techniques to business operations
- tic can help you grow your business
and gain hands-on skills.
The courses are completely free to creative businesses
and freelancers within the West Midlands.
Introduction
i4, the tic's skills
incubator is holding a series of training courses designed
to grow young creative screen-based media businesses.
They are FREE of charge to those who are working
for SMEs or are self-employed. For a full list of courses
and to take advantage of this outstanding opportunity
contact Faye Nicholls tel: +44 (0)121 331 5400 email:
faye.nicholls@tic.ac.uk
or visit the i4 website at www.tic-online.com/i4
Courses Include:
:: Business Planning & Analysis
:: Grow Your Creative Business
:: Network Selling
:: Pre and Post Production
:: Commissioning Tactics
:: Project Management
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4. The
Media Vault - Work in Progress |
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Check
out some of the work we've done so far and what our clients
have said about it. For more information on other clients
we've worked with visit our website at www.tic-online.com/mediavault
and click on the case studies link.
Burned Out Productions
:: Technical Equipment Support
Ravi Spolia of small film-making
company, Burned Out Productions approached tic’s
Media Vault to help with resources for a short film about
issues relevant to the West Midlands. With limited technical
knowledge, he looked to the Media Vault team for help
and advice on the equipment available to enable his crew
to carry out location shooting for his project. Through
the guidance given in hiring a DV-CAM camera and sound
equipment, and how to get the best results from the kit,
Media Vault helped Ravi to make his concept a reality.
The Clients Quote:
“We were referred to the Media Vault through a friend
who was always singing its praises. Once we had contacted
the Media Vault and had spoken to some of its staff we
realised that our project was definitely going to happen
.The Media Vault provided us with a top of the range DVCAM
camera to shoot the film and also with superb sound recording
equipment. All at very reasonable rates of hire. The individuals
who staff the Media Vault are of the highest calibre in
both technical and practical knowledge. They made us feel
completely at ease by explaining fully how the equipment,
we were hiring, worked and by showing us the way to get
the best out of the equipment.
It is our opinion that the Media Vault is and will continue
to be a huge asset to the companies and individuals of
the West Midlands and beyond who are media minded. Many
thanks Media Vault!"
Ravi Spolia – Burned Out Productions
Cracked Actors
:: Technical Equipment Support
'A Rock and Roll Documentary’ with the working title
of ‘Cracked Glastonbury!’ is being created
by The Cracked Actors group. It asked a local film maker
to record a documentary of the group’s Glastonbury
festival performance. The original nine-piece band combines
ska, reggae, punk and rock into a show that always generates
a party atmosphere which is based on its strong original
music.
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The band have
been filmed over seven months culminating in 5 days
at the Glastonbury Festival. Over twenty hours of
footage have been generated.
Using high quality Media Vault cameras from tic,
the group achieved a real ‘fly on the wall’
look to the film. The wide selection of Media Vault-supplied
equipment used included DVCAM cameras and sound
equipment. |
The Clients Quote:
“Without the support of tic
this project would not have been possible. The support
and service throughout was fantastic, the project gave
me the opportunity to experiment with new filming techniques
and use the array of impressive equipment that tic
has to offer. tic gave us the
chance to push the boundaries of our own skills with the
confidence of the professional equipment we were using.
It was also reassuring that the tic team
where always available on the phone for any support or
advice. We now have a film that we could never have normally
produced that should be well received at festivals and
should generate some interest of broadcasters. We are
planning to do a film premiere before Christmas with the
band performing afterwards, hope to see you all then,
many thanks to all who supported the project at tic.”
Mark Pressdee. Macoy Media
Vixia Enterprises Ltd -
www.vixiaentertainment.com
:: Digital Asset Management
Innovative company, Vixia Enterprises, is seeking
to establish their Vixia Entertainment website as the
premiere online ‘marketplace’ for music and
video production. Vixia also aim to make it a prime source
of information and associated services relating to promotional
marketing as well as music and video tuition. Through
its wide range of talented associates, who come from widely
varying backgrounds in music and video, Vixia brings people,
with relevant resources, to each project.
Vixia Enterprises is a very commercially aware and competitive
company. With its ambitious aspirations, Vixia aims to
expand into community-based initiatives; delivering opportunities
to talented individuals seeking a gateway into the music
and video businesses. The company’s mission is to
make Vixia Entertainment a platform for anyone to exhibit
their talents to a wide audience. Whether their skills
are in music, video, promotional activities or design,
Vixia will provide them with an Internet platform to promote
their virtuosity.
Vixia’s Andrew Griffith approached tic’s
Media Vault seeking a resource in which to store the company’s
vast collection of audio and video files. The storage
capability also had to provide a platform from which the
material could be ‘transported’ simply and
electronically to third parties in any location.
tic’s Media Vault was able to provide
the most advanced solution available through its Digital
Asset Management (DAM) system. This provides a comprehensive
solution for digital media management. Media Vault not
only assists with the client’s creation of audio-visual
material, sometimes in collaboration with others, it then
stores, librarises and makes accessible the stored A/V
assets ready for distribution. It works seamlessly between
unlimited users, regardless of location, helping clients,
and their customers, easily track down specific material
in reasonable time.
By making use of Media Vault’s DAM system, Vixia
Enterterprises has been able to create a reliable and
accessible archive of all its stored digitised media assets.
And
it can now distribute video, photofiles, graphics,
audio and production files quickly and easily, worldwide,
through broadband.
Apart from Media Vault’s DAM acting as a major
storage facility for its digital assets, Vixia Enterprises
was also able to stream its sound and video files
online, as well as annotating photos, creating graphics
and frame-by-frame storyboards, based on the stored
video footage. |
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The Client's Quote:
“Through the implementation of the DAM system,
my company Vixia Entertainment has been able to place
all its audio and video files onto a secure and centralised
platform which enables remote access of these digital
assets. I am also able to collaborate with my colleagues
in the USA as previously I had to send work by email which
carried limitations such as the file size of an attachment
which could not exceed 3 megabytes.”
Andrew Griffith - Vixia Enterprises Ltd
Studio 3 - www.studio3birmingham.com
:: Website Design & Development
Located in central Birmingham, Studio 3 offers the combined
skills of traditional television design with the services
of a modern digital effects editor. Its in-house, designer-led
facilities are fully digital and networked, providing
the combined benefits of powerful high-end graphics’
systems with rostrum camera and PC-based software (such
as Photoshop).
Studio 3’s Chris Brett approached tic’s
Media Vault team to develop a website both to showcase
and promote its portfolio of services in order to develop
its client base. Clear, easy-to-use navigation was crucial.
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A range of web technologies were used in creating
a visually distinctive solution which incorporated
extensive visual representations of the range of
effects which have been created by Studio 3.
The end-product is a website which offers a slideshow
feature which enables the user to browse through
a large collection of images which help to distinctively
convey Studio 3’s innovative capabilities. |
The Client's
Quote: “The Studio produces specialist
videographics and this gave rise to a number of difficult
technical and design problems which had always got in
the way until the tic agreed to help
out. A series of informative and friendly
meetings quickly resolved these difficulties and we now
have a very user-friendly and well-designed site to showcase
our work. This provides an improved company presence which
will enable us to grow new business and better inform
our clients. Many thanks to all at the tic
who made this possible.”
Chris Brett, Studio 3
Hazelwood
Associates - www.hazelwooduk.com
:: Website Design & Development
Hazelwood Associates is a publishing company with over
30 years experience in the production of company magazines
and brochures, for blue chip West Midlands companies.
A one-stop shop, Hazelwood Associates given a brief and
the contacts to source the articles will take a publishing
project on from there. Contacting story sources, organising
photography, liaising with printers, all within an agreed
budget, Hazelwood offers an all-in, fixed-price package
to its clients.
Hazelwood Associates needed a web presence. Company principal,
Hazel, went to tic’s Media Vault
with a clear brief about website structure and content.
However, she was open to visual ideas for web branding.
A distinctive and memorable approach was needed to do
justice to a company reliant on design and presentation
in its publications.
A suitably
strong logo was derived and embedded throughout the
structure. This was then complemented by high quality
presentation in terms of colour and typography, as
befits a publishing house.
Friendly
navigation makes downloading information simple despite
the detail it conveys. Hazel’s experience in
the provision of clear page by page content enhanced
the flow of the site which gave freedom to Media Vault’s
creativity and inspiration. |
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The
Client's Quote: “I am so busy providing
communication skills for other companies, that I kept
putting my own needs to one side. So when I was introduced
to tic it was an opportunity not to be
missed. They listened to my remit, took my ideas and gave
them a splash of colour and vitality and brought my website
to life. Superb support throughout, I have had no hesitation
in recommending to others.” Hazel
Wood, Hazelwood Associates
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5. Local Content
for Public Space Broadcasting |
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Local
Film Festival Winners now showing on BBC’s Birmingham
Big Screen
The winners from Birmingham’s own Autumn film festival,
recently held at the City’s Millennium Point, have
been publicly launched on the BBC’s Big Screen.
With the presentation of the Technology Innovation Centre
(tic)’s second Short Digital Film
Festival awards, came the news that the four winning films
will lead a selection from the festival in being shown
on the BBC’s Big Screen. This was installed in Birmingham’s
Chamberlain Square in Spring 2004.
The four winning films being regularly shown are headed
by a black comedy called ‘Fanatic’, from first-time
West Midlands screen-writer Lee Murphy. This won the judges
accolade for best film and is a product of the Channel
4 IDEASFACTORY scheme for new screenwriters.
The ‘Birmingham Big Screen’ are seeking non-commercial,
local content from partnerships including media and arts
students, local film-makers, galleries and training organisations.
The required formats will be DVCAM and MiniDV. Any interested
parties should contact Geraldine McCullagh at the BBC
on 07764 335203 or email geraldine.mccullagh@bbc.co.uk
P.S Media
Vault client, multi-creative artist Saranjit Birdi's film
"Follow" is also being shown on The Big Screen
from 4th November and over the following 6 weeks, within
a package of 6 'shorts'.
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6. Short Independent
FILMS wanted for worldwide distribution |
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EMAK
MAFU have been working on behalf of Independent filmmakers
to secure new and exciting channels of distribution in
the mobile phone sector and are now accepting monthly
short film submissions.
They are looking for films that demonstrate bright ideas,
visual beauty, a sense of humour or a new slant - or all
of the above.
If you think your film can make the cut, translate well
to mobile format and be put up there along with films
from the Lumiere Brothers to modern - day genii in the
making, send them to EMAK MAFU
and start earning cash and exposure for the films you've
made in this new and exciting way.
This is not a festival. This
is distribution.
Submission Format: Full resolution Quicktime
files on data DVD or CD only
Duration Categories: 50 secs, 1 min &
10 mins
Style Categories: Short Film, Video Art, Music
Promo & Eclectic visuals
Send To: Emak Mafu, Studio 10, Silwex House,
Quaker Street, London E1 6SN
Deadline: 11th of each month
Questions: email: nina@emakmafu.com
Website: www.emakmafu.com
so...SHOW THEM YOUR SHORTS!
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