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Welcome to March's Issue of the Newsletter for members of "The Creative Networks"
'Creative Networks' at Birmingham City University'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 and 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 - March's Creative Networks Event
*DON'T MISS OUT*
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:: Tony Garnett 'Making it Happen' - Birmingham-born Tony is an experienced producer of both feature films and television programmes. He will provide a mix of practical advice based on his own experiences and explore topical issues such as 'Cinema Vs TV'. |
2. Event Reviewed
- February's Creative Networks Event
- Documenting In Style
3. Media Vault - New Equipment - *DON'T MISS OUT*
4. The Music Network - Monthly Networking Event held at tic
5. IGNITE - Creative Photography
6. i4 Skills - Courses NOW Available |
We’d also like to hear from you!
Contact Scarlet Scardanelli, the Creative Networks coordinator
with any feedback, case studies, success stories, interesting projects, collaboration opportunities or news:
:: phone
0121 331 5400
:: email
creative.networks@tic.ac.uk
:: or
post to Technology Innovation Centre, Millennium
Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham, B4 7XG
:: or online at www.creativenetworksonline.com |
| 1. COMING UP - March's Creative Networks Event *DONT MISS OUT* |
Thursday 27th March - From 5.30pm until 10.00pm at tic, Millennium Point
The Collaborative Networking Event for Creative Industry Professionals proudly presents the 2nd annual...
Creative Industries Convention 2008
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Creative Networks is the leading monthly networking forum for creative companies in the West Midlands. Sponsored by the Learning and Skills Council and Advantage West Midlands, the second annual Creative Industries Convention will expand our usual programme of networking and guest speakers, with an opportunity to meet the wider support organisations for creatives in the region.
If you are active in the creative industries sector and are serious about enhancing your prospects, attendance is essential!
Business Support Exhibition, Networking & Buffet
5.30pm – 7.00pm
Venture into the world of ‘Second Life’ – discover the virtual web-based platform for business and social engagement.
Creative Networks will be showcasing the Learning in Virtual Environments (LiVE) project. Funded through the Advantage West Midlands ‘Interactive Digital Media’ initiative, the project is researching the use of a three-dimensional, virtual environment for collaborative working and student assessment.
The session will also explore the future utilisation of virtual environments specifically for the media industry. Presentations will include:
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An introduction to virtual world technologies from Daden Ltd, the leading exponents of building virtual worlds |
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The exploitation of virtual worlds for content creators, e.g. as a tool for pre-planning location shoots |
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The future of media and the possible convergence of virtual worlds with TV, e.g. streaming media and mixed media productions. |
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The use of virtual worlds in marketing and e-Business |
Guest Speaker: Tony Garnett - Making it Happen
7.00pm – 8.30pm
Birmingham-born Tony is an experienced producer of both feature films and television programmes. From his early television appearances in the 1960’s as an actor, Tony’s career has scaled the heights of Hollywood and seen him revolutionise the format of British television drama. His recent credits include Between the Lines, Ballykissangel, This Life, The Cops and Attachments amongst others. He was the producer of Cathy Come Home and produced and co-wrote Kes.
Tony will provide a mix of practical advice, based upon his own experiences, in addition to exploring topical issues such as 'Cinema versus TV' and the effectiveness of today’s new media applications.
Networking and Entertainment
8.30pm – 10.00pm
The event concludes with an opportunity for networking and socialising, whilst taking in the vocal and instrumental duo Barry London and Donna Lea, in Millennium Point’s iBar.
This event is free to attend. If you would like to join us, please email creative.networks@tic.ac.uk, or phone 07969 226 693. Alternatively, you can register online via the Creative Networks portal www.creativenetworksonline.com.
You’ll be very welcome. |
| 2. Review of February's Creative Networks Event |
Thursday 28th February - From 5.00pm until 10.00pm at tic, Millennium Point
Nick Broomfield - Documenting in Style
The topic of the 40th consecutive Creative Networks event was documentary film making and we felt honoured to have Nick Broomfield share some of his anecdotes and views with us.
Creative Networks recorded another record attendance with 226 people joining us for the evening. At 5pm we invited Light House to present the highlights from their City and Guilds Film Production course 2007 in a pre-talk screening. This is the second year running for this collaboration and the boardroom was ‘sold out’. We had to bring in some extra chairs so all could relax and enjoy the films.
From 6pm we opened the buffet in the café and the evening provided an opportunity to talk and network with other individuals and companies representing the creative industries across the region. A round of speed networking also went down a treat.
At 7pm, we moved to the Lecture Theatre for the main event – to hear this month's pitches and our guest speaker Nick Broomfield present his unique take on the world of documentary film making.
Creative Networks provides the opportunity for individuals and companies to pitch and identify the resources they are seeking or find support for the projects they are planning. If you wish to pitch at a future event please email creative.networks@tic.ac.uk |
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Screen WM recently relaunched its flagship R&D project, the Advantage Development Fund, offering a total of £558,000 of development funding to projects or slates of projects in film, television, animation and digital media. The fund runs out in December 2008, and please contact Dan Lawson for details of which projects Screen WM are looking for, and how to apply. The Advantage Development Fund is supported by Advantage West Midlands and the European Regional Development Fund.
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Nic's work includes illustrating children’s books and educational publications working for organisations such as the Family Planning Association.
Recently Nic has been involved in producing art work for CD covers for up and coming hip hop artists. He is also experienced in producing logos and branding for companies and individuals, producing business cards, letter heads and other promotional materials particularly within the creative industries where people perhaps want something a bit more artistic and individual.
Nic can draw cartoons and illustrations for newspapers, newsletters etc, visually depicting and highlighting an idea expressed in an article and making the information more interesting and accessible.
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Quarterlight Pictures is Lichfield based digital visual effects all-rounder Christian Lett. Christian started out learning After Effects to produce motion graphics to enhance the corporate films made by his own video production company, but this soon ballooned and he was coerced into producing 70 visual effects shots for a feature film. Discovering his love of digital animation and effects eclipsed his film making aspirations, Christian now provides 3D animation and compositing services for other video and film production companies using After Effects and Maya. |
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Research House produces cutting-edge research that empowers organisations to capitalise on changing market conditions and rapidly evolving economies. Their aim is to deliver real benefit to society through the work they do. For more than twenty years they have worked with clients in the public, private and not for profit sectors, and their specialism is in enterprise and economic development.
Research House work with major organisations to understand the facts and help meet their challenges. They focus on regeneration issues, enterprise initiatives, business strategies, investment and trading patterns, industry economics, social issues and private and public sector concerns, combining industry experience and academic rigidity.
Their core services are:
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Research & Evaluation |
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Economic and Social Development |
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Business & Community Consultations |
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Programme Management |
Over the past seven years, Research House have worked extensively with enterprise and regeneration programmes in the UK and abroad. Their clients include private corporations and government departments and agencies such as Learning and Skills Councils, English Partnerships, European Social Fund, Business Links, Regional Development Agencies, etc. |
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The Skills team at the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) works to align post 16 learning with the needs of employers and the marketplace. The Skills team also work through the Train to Gain framework to help employers discover and articulate the continuing skills needs of their employees that are necessary for company growth.
The LSC has just completed an employer driven research activity to discover the gaps in the West Midlands between the skills delivered by education and the needs of learners, employers and freelancers and will be ready for launch in March 08.
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NOTE: If you would like to pitch your own company in this way and get you message across to all the attendees at CN (as well as getting a mention in our monthly newsletter) then please contact Scarlet on 07969 226 693 or email creative.networks@tic.ac.uk |
| Guest Speaker - Nick Broomfield - Documenting In Style |
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Nick Broomfield
phone 01444 482 890
email nick@nickbroomfield.com
web www.nickbroomfield.com
Documenting In Style
Nick was welcomed on stage to a thunderous round of applause and started by showcasing a clip from his new film 'Battle for Haditha'. This moving production showed Nick’s enthusiasm for film-making and highlighted his passion for telling a story effectively.
Nick then suggested that the event should take the form of an open forum, with the audience asking him questions right from the start.
Nick was asked about his history and how he got into film-making.
He told us about his first film ‘Who Cares’, produced in 1970. He was a student in Liverpool at the time and worked tirelessly in the editing process whilst trying to find the voice of the film. Created using a camera borrowed from a local rugby club and utilising short ends of film stock of varying quality from numerous film-making companies and photographers, Nick eventually produced an 18 minute black and white film, which took an incredible year and a half to edit manually. Editing took place at night in a small borrowed studio in Soho, London and Nick emphasised that there is a certain amount of pain that has to be endured to get the results you want.
Another member of the audience asked if Nick thought that short films still have some value. Nick replied that the art of the short film was a discipline that will always have some value, ‘3 Minute Wonder’ on Channel 4, as an example, shows that broadcasters still rate this type of film-making.
Nick was then asked how he goes about making a film; whether the subject matter comes to him, or whether he has to ‘go’ to the subject matter. Nick’s response to this was that the most important thing is researching ideas. Nick’s inspirations typically come from newspapers, news broadcasts and reports. Intrigue and passion for a subject are the important driving forces behind research.
The next question asked whether Nick knew when he 'Had It', meaning at what point is it apparent that the final idea crystalises. Nick replied that it is sometimes very difficult to know where your work is going and it is only when you find the ‘voice’ of the film that creatively things fall into place. Adding that angelic intervention sometimes helps at the worst moments of crisis. He once again stated that certain thresholds of pain in the creative process must be passed to achieve your goal.
Nick stated that 'Who Cares' was broadcast and shown in numerous cinemas during the 1970s and 1980s, and more recently in Liverpool as part of a retrospective look at the changing face of the city. The work was also shown as part of 'Cinema Action', projecting films onto tower blocks and presented to Parliamentary Committees debating the growth of council estates in the 1970s.
Nick admitted that it was now harder to get your films noticed, however with the ever increasing availability of new media it is becoming easier to create content. Documentaries, as a medium, are a 'hard-sell' to broadcasters, as it is difficult to generate advertising revenue or finance streams from them. However, there is some hope, as both the BBC and Channel 4 have remits that state that a percentage of their output has to be focused on 'informative' programming. So documentaries still have a place within the broadcasting schedule, but as a niche market.
Nick also agreed with a member of the audience that the multi-film days of the cinema were over and, unlike the 70s and 80s when viewers were treated to more than one film or a main feature and a short, the very corporate nature of cinema has now unfortunately meant that this form of distribution has all but died.
Nick felt that his films were thematically similar, dealing with people and also things that, up until the commencement of his work, he personally knew little or nothing about. In 'Behind the Rent Strike' (1974), he explored the disenfranchised working class of Liverpool, something that had not been done before. By putting himself in his own work he showed his 'humanity' and this allowed him to introduce a new viewpoint. At times adding himself to a film is done on purpose, however with some films this participation is not intentional but as filming progresses he sometimes finds himself an 'unwilling participant' of the events that are unfolding.
With his documentary style, the story, script and tone of the film can easily change and evolve as more footage is gained. This was evident in his film 'Kurt and Courtney' (1996), where his involvement in the documentary as well as his initial ideas changed during production. Instead of producing a film about Nirvana, the film's initial theme instead became about the freedom of speech.
Nick highlighted the need to learn the skills of film-making, constructing a narrative and watching documentaries. We now all have access to relatively inexpensive equipment and can, with a little help, produce work in a 'citizen journalist' style.
This was one of the most passionate and enthusiastic speakers we have had at Creative Networks. Nick Left the stage to a huge round of applause and we thank him for attending, his presence inspired us all. |
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The Music Network leads a monthly networking event at the tic for all music related businesses from the West Midlands region.
Running successfully for over five years, their meetings have proved inspirational in the support, development and promotion of thousands of music related activities.
If you have news to report, events to promote, points for discussion or a pitch to make, the Music Network will be useful for you.
They offer access to contacts, opportunities, help, advice and guidance - and even free tea and biscuits.
The Music Network is a voluntary, not for profit, social enterprise organisation seeking charitable status. Meetings take place on the last Thursday of each month, 4-6pm at Birmingham City University's Technology Innovation Centre (tic), Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham, B4 7XG.
email info@birminghammusicnetwork.com
web www.birminghammusicnetwork.com |
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A new group has taken us up on the offer of hosting their meetings at Millennium Point.
Ignite is a newly formed group of 14 photographers who aim to showcase their work to new audiences and start a new network for creative practitioners to link into.
If you would like to join the group, their meetings will take place on every last Thursday of the month from 4-6pm, prior to each Creative Networks event. Please contact annie@creativealliance.org.uk |
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LOW COST Short Courses Currently Available
i4 Skills courses at Birmingham City University's Technology Innovation Centre (tic) provide a low-cost way to realise the full potential of your creative talents.
| Courses |
Course Start Dates |
| DVD Authoring |
19-Mar-08 |
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Digital Video Editing & Production |
19-Mar-08 |
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| Introduction to Live Sound Engineering |
19-Mar-08 |
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| Motion Graphics and Video Effects |
20-Mar-08 |
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| Camera, Sound & Lights |
20-Mar-08 |
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Introduction To Website Design & Production |
29-Mar-08 |
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Desktop Publishing |
01-Apr-08 |
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Business Essentials for Media Start-Ups |
03-Apr-08 |
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Introduction To Computer Animation |
11-Apr-08 |
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Introduction To Website Design & Production |
21-Apr-08 |
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Graphics For Web & Multimedia |
26-Apr-08 |
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Digital Video Editing & Production |
30-Apr-08 |
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Market-Led Diversification for Media Business |
01-May-08 |
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Further Website Design & Production |
02-May-08 |
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Introduction to 3D Modelling |
13-May-08 |
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Broadcast Editing |
16-May-08 |
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Digital Video Editing |
21-May-08 |
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Introduction to MAX/MSP |
23-May-08 |
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Introduction to Sound Recording |
28-May-08 |
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Introduction to Sound Production |
29-May-08 |
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Business Essentials for Media Start-Ups |
05-Jun-08 |
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Camera, Sound & Lights |
06-Jun-08 |
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Desktop Publishing |
10-Jun-08 |
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Digital Video Editing & Production |
11-Jun-08 |
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Home Studio Design |
17-Jun-08 |
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Further Live Sound Engineering |
18-Jun-08 |
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Graphics for Web & Multimedia |
20-Jun-08 |
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Further Sound Recording |
23-Jun-08 |
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Further Sound Recording |
25-Jun-08 |
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Flash Video Development |
26-Jun-08 |
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Further Sound Production |
26-Jun-08 |
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Broadcast Editing |
27-Jun-08 |
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DVD Authoring |
30-Jun-08 |
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Motion Graphics and Video Effects |
01-Jul-08 |
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Digital Video Editing |
02-Jul-08 |
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Market-Led Diversification for Media Business |
03-Jul-08 |
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Further MAX/MSP FOR Audio DSP |
04-Jul-08 |
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Introduction to 3D Modelling |
08-Jul-08 |
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Introduction to Digital Photography & Image Manipulation |
08-Jul-08 |
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Introduction To Website Design & Production |
12-Jul-08 |
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Further Website Design & Production |
18-Jul-08 |
All courses are delivered at Millennium Point in Birmingham City Centre.
For more information or to book a course phone 0121 331 6400 email course.enquiries@tic.ac.uk or visit www.i4skillsonline.com. |
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© Technology Innovation Centre (tic) 2006
Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham B4 7XG
phone 0121 331 5400 fax 0121 331 5401
email enquiries@tic.ac.uk www.tic.ac.uk
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