Last week the globally renown and award winning VFX company, Framestore, asked id-East to come along to their head quarters on Wells Street in London to learn more about what cutting edge VFX is, how to get work and key attributes that recruiters in the visual effects world are looking for. The aim of the visit was to really enthuse students about the wonders of what working in the world of special effects could be like and what they might expect to be to be doing within it.
id-East invited students and tutors from the schools and colleges participating in the project to come along and spent an hour in the main cinema of Framestore with Ben Owen the Crew Manager and Recruiter at Framestore. Ben introduced the business of Framestore and then showcased some of the incredible work that they have done on films like the spectacular 3D Avatar; the visually award winning Sherlock Homes and the feature length animation Tales of Despereaux. Some of the demonstrations really highlighted the processes involved in building up an image and Ben explained some of the work that takes place in getting an idea worked through to completion. He also suggested the forms of key industry standard technical expertise expected from those successful in gaining employment at Framestore as well as the dedication and commitment.
It was a really successful visit which left students inspired and informed with some being absolutely blown away by the level of detail in some of the special effects being used in producing moving images in multiple media, including advertisements, animation, TV interludes and film. One student exclaimed “I had no idea there was so much to it, it’s amazing, a bit scary just the level we need to get to, but amazing!” Everyone who attended seemed really impressed and keen that more activities take place which expose them to real live industry expectations.
The next visit on offer to the id-East partnership will be a little later this week to Channel 4, which will also give id-East students even more insight into the world of working in the media!
If you would like any more information or would like to be involved then please do contact Sarah Williams at The Creative Way (s.williams@uel.ac.uk).
Monday, 17 May 2010
Friday, 14 May 2010
Music Industry Live at Mid-Kent College, 07/05/10
What a fabulous day to showcase the latest developments in the music industry this was! Hosted by Mid-Kent College - in the shiny and impressive new Medway campus - this modern environment was the perfect setting for a day packed with demonstrations of cutting-edge music technology.
Students from Mid-Kent College, Havering College of Further and Higher Education, and local GCSE students from The Hundred of Hoo school streamed into the glass concourse to sign up for the day’s workshops and to eagerly queue for the opening of the trade stands.
Exhibiting at the event was: Ableton, Audient, Bose, IK Multimedia , JHS Guitars , Roland , Steinberg, Toolroom Records , The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance and The University of Kent .
Demonstrations and workshops ran throughout the day. These proved to be extremely popular with the students - they were all booked up before the event had even opened. And they were well worth booking in for!
First up in the theatre was Craig Blundell - percussion specialist, drummer and producer – demonstrating the wonders of Roland’s Hand Sonic , RC-50 loop station , the TD9 drum kit and the SPD-S sampling pads. Seeing a master at work on these incredible pieces of kit was an absolute treat. Craig Blundell’s technological genius, and immense percussion skill, provided the perfect opportunity for the young music students to witness the vast musical scope that such kit presents.
Up in the studio, Andrew Schravamade, Steinberg, had a heaving room of students gripped with a Cubase 5 demo. Andrew’s humorous delivery entertained, as he demonstrated the features of this software. Completely flattening the vibrato on a recorded track, he joked about the Cher-(DoYou Believe in Life After Love)-effect, asking the students to promise to never make such heavily-produced tunes, jokingly threatening to kill any who might be tempted; though he swiftly remarked “But you’ll probably have a no.1 hit, in which case I’ll be asking you to drive me around in your Porsche!” And, at the end of the session, with the promise of half-price software to students, the room quickly emptied out to the trade area where the students could have a play for themselves.
Other demos and sessions featured: JHS Guitars , The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance , masterclasses with Funkagenda and an Ableton and Novation workshop.
The day proved to be a huge success in bringing together members (students and staff) from within The Creative Way partnership, to share a learning experience in the technical and creative advancement of the music industry; and to widen the students’ gaze in respect of the possibilities within music-making, and within the available progression routes via Higher Education towards a career in music.
Partners working within the Music Industry Live project plan to continue such events in future years, allowing students and staff to continually keep abreast of music industry advancement, and to continue to build the very valuable industry links for the delivery of vocationally-rich curriculum.
Next Music Industry Live event – Tuesday 18th May at the Albany Theatre, Deptford. For more information email info@musicindustrylive.org
Lindsey Pugh, Programme Manager for Performing Arts and Music, The Creative Way, 11/05/10
Students from Mid-Kent College, Havering College of Further and Higher Education, and local GCSE students from The Hundred of Hoo school streamed into the glass concourse to sign up for the day’s workshops and to eagerly queue for the opening of the trade stands.
Exhibiting at the event was: Ableton, Audient, Bose, IK Multimedia , JHS Guitars , Roland , Steinberg, Toolroom Records , The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance and The University of Kent .
Demonstrations and workshops ran throughout the day. These proved to be extremely popular with the students - they were all booked up before the event had even opened. And they were well worth booking in for!
First up in the theatre was Craig Blundell - percussion specialist, drummer and producer – demonstrating the wonders of Roland’s Hand Sonic , RC-50 loop station , the TD9 drum kit and the SPD-S sampling pads. Seeing a master at work on these incredible pieces of kit was an absolute treat. Craig Blundell’s technological genius, and immense percussion skill, provided the perfect opportunity for the young music students to witness the vast musical scope that such kit presents.
Up in the studio, Andrew Schravamade, Steinberg, had a heaving room of students gripped with a Cubase 5 demo. Andrew’s humorous delivery entertained, as he demonstrated the features of this software. Completely flattening the vibrato on a recorded track, he joked about the Cher-(DoYou Believe in Life After Love)-effect, asking the students to promise to never make such heavily-produced tunes, jokingly threatening to kill any who might be tempted; though he swiftly remarked “But you’ll probably have a no.1 hit, in which case I’ll be asking you to drive me around in your Porsche!” And, at the end of the session, with the promise of half-price software to students, the room quickly emptied out to the trade area where the students could have a play for themselves.
Other demos and sessions featured: JHS Guitars , The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance , masterclasses with Funkagenda and an Ableton and Novation workshop.
The day proved to be a huge success in bringing together members (students and staff) from within The Creative Way partnership, to share a learning experience in the technical and creative advancement of the music industry; and to widen the students’ gaze in respect of the possibilities within music-making, and within the available progression routes via Higher Education towards a career in music.
Partners working within the Music Industry Live project plan to continue such events in future years, allowing students and staff to continually keep abreast of music industry advancement, and to continue to build the very valuable industry links for the delivery of vocationally-rich curriculum.
Next Music Industry Live event – Tuesday 18th May at the Albany Theatre, Deptford. For more information email info@musicindustrylive.org
Lindsey Pugh, Programme Manager for Performing Arts and Music, The Creative Way, 11/05/10
Dance Toolkit
Last week saw the second, and hugely successful, Higher Education Progression Toolkit day for The Creative Way Dance Network
Students from the network’s Further Education partner colleges, from across the Thames Gateway, were warmly welcomed into Laban for a day packed with activities.
Right from the start of the bursting agenda, there was a real buzz about the day. The college students gathered to register, and made their way through the bright and colour-kissed concourse of the Laban centre for the day’s introduction in the lecture room. One student excitedly declared, “Today’s going to be really good!”
With all students gathered, Veronica Jobbins, Head of Professional Studies: Education and Community Programme, Laban, delivered a presentation filled with information about the various study routes in dance: University, Conservatoire or Vocational School?
Following this was an interactive session focused on the ‘healthy dancer’. This provided a forum for the students to consider the ways in which dancers can strengthen, maintain and nourish their bodies for optimum performance within an active career.
With minds brimming with the varied possibilities within a dance career, the students continued the morning with a dance industry panel discussion, to learn more of the opportunities available within this vocation. The panel included: Sarah Dowling, dance-theatre artist; Pearl Jordan, creative homeopath, dance artist and choreographer; Paradigmz, performance artist; and Anne-Marie Smalldon, Artistic Director, Combination Dance Company and Sky Blue Pink Productions
This panel of professionals offered a real treat of inspirational stories of their own varied career journeys, with strong motivational messages instilling self-belief and determination in the dance students. Ama, Lewisham College dance student, expressed thanks for “a good choice of panel; all from different routes; all with something valuable to say”. She concluded: “I feel really inspired. I’ll take something from all of them”.
The infused messages from the panel discussion - encouraging the students to learn all that they can, be a ‘jack of all trades’, flexible and, ultimately, more employable – provided the dance students with all the encouragement needed for the afternoon’s mixed programme of dance workshops in ballet, contemporary and street dance. The studios were hives of activity, bursting with energy and enthusiasm. Students keenly engaged with all styles of dance, giving all that they had to each scheduled session.
At the end of a very gratifying day, the college students expressed much thanks to colleagues at Laban for hosting the day, which offered great insight to the variety of available study routes in dance – noting the programme’s particular success in demystifying the courses offered via conservatoire and vocational training, posing the question, ‘why don’t other conservatoires and vocational schools do this?’
Back at their various Thames Gateway institutions, one week on, reports from the students’ tutors are equally positive. The students have reportedly been left enthused by the industry panel’s encouragement that, with determination, they can achieve great things. This has impacted in the positive realisation that they can make their own opportunities in life, and in their careers. Now equipped with information about the available study routes, the students now feel empowered to make informed choices about their next step towards a career in dance.
Lindsey Pugh, Programme Manager for Performing Arts and Music, The Creative Way, 06/05/10
Students from the network’s Further Education partner colleges, from across the Thames Gateway, were warmly welcomed into Laban for a day packed with activities.
Right from the start of the bursting agenda, there was a real buzz about the day. The college students gathered to register, and made their way through the bright and colour-kissed concourse of the Laban centre for the day’s introduction in the lecture room. One student excitedly declared, “Today’s going to be really good!”
With all students gathered, Veronica Jobbins, Head of Professional Studies: Education and Community Programme, Laban, delivered a presentation filled with information about the various study routes in dance: University, Conservatoire or Vocational School?
Following this was an interactive session focused on the ‘healthy dancer’. This provided a forum for the students to consider the ways in which dancers can strengthen, maintain and nourish their bodies for optimum performance within an active career.
With minds brimming with the varied possibilities within a dance career, the students continued the morning with a dance industry panel discussion, to learn more of the opportunities available within this vocation. The panel included: Sarah Dowling, dance-theatre artist; Pearl Jordan, creative homeopath, dance artist and choreographer; Paradigmz, performance artist; and Anne-Marie Smalldon, Artistic Director, Combination Dance Company and Sky Blue Pink Productions
This panel of professionals offered a real treat of inspirational stories of their own varied career journeys, with strong motivational messages instilling self-belief and determination in the dance students. Ama, Lewisham College dance student, expressed thanks for “a good choice of panel; all from different routes; all with something valuable to say”. She concluded: “I feel really inspired. I’ll take something from all of them”.
The infused messages from the panel discussion - encouraging the students to learn all that they can, be a ‘jack of all trades’, flexible and, ultimately, more employable – provided the dance students with all the encouragement needed for the afternoon’s mixed programme of dance workshops in ballet, contemporary and street dance. The studios were hives of activity, bursting with energy and enthusiasm. Students keenly engaged with all styles of dance, giving all that they had to each scheduled session.
At the end of a very gratifying day, the college students expressed much thanks to colleagues at Laban for hosting the day, which offered great insight to the variety of available study routes in dance – noting the programme’s particular success in demystifying the courses offered via conservatoire and vocational training, posing the question, ‘why don’t other conservatoires and vocational schools do this?’
Back at their various Thames Gateway institutions, one week on, reports from the students’ tutors are equally positive. The students have reportedly been left enthused by the industry panel’s encouragement that, with determination, they can achieve great things. This has impacted in the positive realisation that they can make their own opportunities in life, and in their careers. Now equipped with information about the available study routes, the students now feel empowered to make informed choices about their next step towards a career in dance.
Lindsey Pugh, Programme Manager for Performing Arts and Music, The Creative Way, 06/05/10
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