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Welcome
to April's Issue of the Newsletter for members of "The
Creative Networks"
'Creative Networks' at UCE Birmingham's Technology
Innovation Centre (tic) is
about bringing together all parties involved in sound
and screen-based media in the West Midlands. 'Creative
Networks' seeks to promote both successful business development
and collaboration. It also seeks to contribute to the establishment
of a strong, long-term, sound and screen-based Creative
Industry in the West Midlands. The tic
achieves this through increasing knowledge sharing and use of innovative
technologies, creative practice and business processes.
Regular monthly networking events are held at tic.
They offer opportunities for individuals and companies
to network, make pitches, identify the resources they
are seeking or support for the projects they are planning.
Visit our online portal www.creativenetworksonline.com
for up-to-date news, funding, business support, training
and tender opportunities.
In This Issue:
1. COMING UP -
April's Creative Networks Event @ tic *DONT
MISS OUT*
2. Event Reviewed
- March's Creative Networks Event
3. Get
the most from your business with our latest i4 short courses
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...we’d also like to hear from you!
Contact Mandeep Chana, The Creative Networks administrator
with your news and views:
:: phone
0121 331 5400
:: email
mandeep.chana@tic.ac.uk
:: or
post to Technology Innovation Centre, Millennium
Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham, B4 7XG |
| 1.
COMING UP - April's
Creative Networks Event @ tic *DON'T
MISS OUT* |
Thursday
27th April - From 6.00pm til LATE at tic, Millennium
Point
The
Collaborative Networking Event for Creative Industry Professionals
TBA
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| 2. Review of March's
Creative Networks Event |
Thursday 30th March from 6.00pm til LATE at tic, Millennium Point
March’s Creative Networks evening welcomed creative industry professionals to the TIC at Millennium Point for our 17th monthly networking event. This was the first month in which we have sent SMS text reminders to our network members, and it seemed to be a welcome gesture with over 140 people joining us for free hot food, collaboration, pitching opportunities and a guest speaker from BBC Local TV.
The theme this time was ‘Be Seen On Screen’, with BBC representative Pat Hoskins addressing the packed out lecture theatre on how they could get involved with this pilot project which spans right across the West Midlands region.
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| Summaries of the
Open Floor Pitches |
| We always give the opportunity for a number of delegates to stand up give a short pitch about their creative company in order to both gain business, and seek collaboration opportunities with fellow professionals. |
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Perpetual Motion is an established DVD producer for live theatrical, musical and dance events. They have several big name clients, including the Birmingham Rep and Hippodrome, and also serve the business community with corporate events, training, educational, and promotional material. Perpetual Motion have produced sell-through self-help videos and business reviews for the Chamber of Commerce.
They are looking to increase their involvement with the arts and artists, whether it be personal show-reels, recording shows for promotion or posterity, or ideally working with artists to create work for incorporation into performances. The company are also keen to begin work on short features and want to hear from writers, actors and production crews. |
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The Audio Suite is one of the UK's most exciting and capable digital audio post-production facilities. The team provide a comprehensive selection of sound services including: award-winning Sound Design, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Voice-Recording and ADR, ISDN audio-link, Location Sound Recording and DVD authoring. Their city-centre studio complex comprises of a Dolby 5.1 / Dolby Surround mixing theatre, plus two further Dolby-equipped mixing studios, all linked to a voice studio and networked to an in-house High-Definition Avid DS Nitris on-line suite; with two further Avid off-line rooms. A boutique approach ensures that clients can choose as much or as little as they need for their precise requirements - from a simple one-off, one-hour voice recording session, right up to a high-end, full audio post-production service. |
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The West Midlands IT Association (WMita) has been established as the private sector organisation responsible for the development of a credible and thriving IT industry within the West Midlands. Headquartered in Solihull, the primary focus of the organisation is to encourage the growth of small and medium sized businesses (SME's) through the provision of training, the delivery of business networking opportunities and by promoting the credentials and image of the industry in general.
WMita would like to work alongside the creative industry through networking, partnerships and collaborative projects for the prosperity of the region. If you’d like to talk about how your business can get involved, then get in touch with WMita to discuss your ideas. |
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Neil stood up briefly to tell us about a week of free hands on workshops, seminars and demonstrations at its new state-of-the-art facility at the NTi, UCE Birmingham's new building opposite Matthew Boulton College. The courses offer amateurs and professionals an opportunity to experience Apple technology and relevant software for producing digital material and content. The week of free courses runs from 8th-15th May, so book your place soon as the slots are filling up quickly! |
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New Grey Whistle Test
Contact: Gary Haywood
mobile 07766 028 582
email gary@newgreywhistletest.tv
web www.newgreywhistletest.tv
Gary gave us a pitch for the second consecutive month to highlight the work that they are doing to help unsigned acts. The New Grey Whistle Test’s whole idea is to carry on from the BBC Old Grey Whistle Test which gave a media platform to the likes of Led Zeppelin, Simply Red, John Lennon, Dr Hook, Jimi Hendrix and countless others. The New Grey Whistle Test has a slight change in that it gives a much needed media platform to new bands and solo artists working with today's technology.....the Internet. If you are a local band looking for exposure, then get in touch with Gary Haywood to find out more. |
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Solar Pictures is a local video and film company which is managed by David King, who has recently had one of his films shown in Cannes. He has just completed the script for a feature film and is looking for funding and potentially someone to take on the role of Executive Producer. If you are interested or have any relevant contacts for David, feel free to get in touch. |
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Barnard stood up to tell us about the the Moseley Festival which is taking place from June 25th-July 5th 2006 in and around Moseley. This will involve a street fair with live music, quizzes and lots of entertainment for the community.
The organising team would like to hear from people who are interested in advertising in the event guide which will be distributed to a large number of people across Birmingham. If you’d like to find out more, please get in touch with Barnard. |
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Rasib Khan informed us that Alphabet Runner will be launched at Hamley’s in London during the summer, which is a major achievement for the Birmingham based entrepreneur. The board game will also be used by a number of schools to teach children that learning to spell doesn’t have to be boring!
This month, Rasib appealed to the network for a production designer to take his game up to a standard which is visually appealing to the likes of Hamley’s and major toy stores around the world. If you have a the relevant expertise and a demonstrable portfolio to fulfil this request, then get in touch with Rasib to see how you can work together collaboratively. |
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Pat Hoskins - BBC Local TV "Be Seen on Screen"
email patricia.hoskins@bbc.co.uk
web www.bbc.co.uk/localtv
The TIC’s special guest speaker for the evening was Pat Hoskins from BBC Local TV. The Beeb’s project is a pilot within the West Midlands which provides up to 10 minutes per hour of original material for each of the following six locations; Birmingham, The Black Country, Coventry and Warwickshire, Hereford and Worcester, Shropshire and Staffordshire.
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The idea is to get communities involved and to create greater public value in the BBC. Contributions to date have included a video diary of a woman’s fight with cancer and a number of small scale local events right across the region. The Local TV team are predominantly looking for character and people stories which the community can relate to.
Pat attended Creative Networks event to call for the input of the West Midlands creative sector in the Local TV project. Although there is no budget for payment to content providers, the BBC can offer a multi-platform service with good exposure to get your content seen by a burgeoning audience across the West Midlands.
The service embraces the latest broadcasting technology to create and distribute relevant local news and information via a number of platforms including digital satellite, broadband, 3G mobile phones and even the BBC Big Screen in Chamberlain Square.
BBC Local TV will be running for nine months and will allow the trialling of innovative new ideas and formats, which is plenty of time for you to get your content aired. Throughout this period they will be asking audiences for their views in order to help them produce a service that will be of benefit to the whole community.
If you want to find out more, please get in contact with Pat and her team to discuss how you and your creative enterprise can get involved. A number of Creative Network members made suggestions on the night, and it is hoped that many more ideas will be put forward in the coming weeks.
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| Summer Showcasing Event - Steering Group |
This month’s Creative Networks also hosted the 1st meeting of the Summer Showcase Steering Group. This was the last opportunity for members of Creative Networks to volunteer to plan and organise a showcase of work from within the Network.
Several members stepped forward to offer their services as group leaders. The Steering Group will be split into the following sub-groups: Music; Film & Video; Performing Arts; and Design & Interactive Media. Later this month we’ll be letting you know who to contact if you have work you want to showcase in either of these four areas.
The Showcase itself will take place in Millennium Point and provisional dates are set for this July.
There were a number of people who attended the Steering Group meeting who had not previously signed up for the group. If they are still interested, could they please send their contact details and area of interest to Michelle Costello ASAP on michelle.costello@tic.ac.uk or call 0121 331 7551.
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| 3. Get
the most from your business with our latest i4 short courses *DONT MISS OUT |
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| ©
Technology Innovation Centre (tic) 2006
Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham B4 7XG
phone +44 (0)121 331 5400 fax +44 (0)121
331 5401
email enquiries@tic.ac.uk www.tic.ac.uk
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