Story Archive

New developments for MediaNet

Launched in 2006, MediaNet has developed under the careful eye of The Rural Media Company, with support from Screen WM's Access Fund, and has played a key role in supporting the media literacy strategy for the West Midlands.

Gaining Ground shares valuable lessons for work in PRUs

Gaining Ground was a two year action research project, lead by The Rural Media Company, that provided practical media workshops for excluded pupils, and professional development for teaching staff, at Pupil Referral Units (PRU's) in Herefordshire.

Blast 2008 offers traineeship and work experience opportunities

Blast is the BBC's youth creativity service, inspiring young people aged 13-19 across the UK to get involved in new media, art, film, music, dance and more. Last year it engaged with over 150,000 people across the UK as part of Blast on Tour '07. As part of its 2008 programme it is offering Creative Traineeship, Work Experience and Young Reporters schemes to give young people over 18yrs old the opportunity to complete a work placement with the BBC.

Digitial Artists Handbook launched

The Digital Artists Handbook is an up to date, reliable and accessible source of information that introduces you to different tools, resources and ways of working related to digital art.

New research from NFER

Special effects: the distinctiveness of learning outcomes in relation to moving image media. An NFER study, conducted in partnership with the BFI and sponsored by Creative Partnerships, investigated nine case-study projects across England which involved some aspect of moving image work.

First Light Award Winners!

On Tuesday 4 March, London’s famous ODEON Leicester Square was filled with talented young filmmakers and an audience of British film industry movers and shakers all celebrating the First Light Movies Awards 2008.

Cultural Offer Pilot Scheme Applications

The Cultural Offer is intended to provide all children and young people with five hours per week of high quality arts and cultural activities in and out of school.

Action for Children's Arts online survey

Dame Jacqueline Wilson and Michael Rosen, the Children's Laureate, are supporting a national survey into the state of children's arts in the UK.

SHINE festival

To kickstart Find Your Talent, the government has announced the SHINE festival which will celebrate young people's talents in schools this summer.

Birmingham ArtsFest call for submissions

ArtsFest is the country's largest free arts festival and it will return on the 12th -14th September 2008. This annual event celebrates the wealth of creative talent in Birmingham and the West Midlands, and is a chance for artists to promote themselves to the media and audience alike. 

'This is Media Studies' Workshop For Teachers

This is Media Studies focuses on AQA media syllabi and provides teachers with little or no experience of teaching Media Studies the skills required when developing and delivering provision in this area. Tutors Faye Davies and Oliver Carter are highly experienced teachers of media studies.

Screen WM Recruiting

Screen WM is the lead agency for all film, television and digital media in central England. Exciting new national developments in Education, Archive and Exhibition mean we're creating a central new department in order to advance fresh strategies and focus at a regional level.

Mediabox announces its 2008 funds

Mediabox is launching the Mid and Big Mediabox grants to make and distribute youth-led media projects that express young people's ideas and views in a creative way, using their preferred media platform:

Creative Partnerships opportunity- Creative Practitioner needed

As part of an Enquiry School project for Summer term 2008 St Edmund's school Wolverhampton are looking to recruit a photographer / facilitator to lead a creative research programme with secondary pupils aged 12-14 identified as under-achieving in school.

Screen WM announces new Education, Archive and Audience Development department

Screen WM, the West Midlands' regional screen agency, has announced the creation of a new department to focus on Education, Archive and Audience Development. The department has been created in response to major national initiatives, and will replace the current Regional Partnerships department at Screen WM.

First Light application process goes online

First Light Movies is changing its application process from March this year to a wholly online service. This will allow applicants to easily fill out application forms for all their schemes from their computers.

PWNE networking event - Funding Participation in Birmingham

Participation Works are holding a networking event focussing on funding and funding providers, with a range of providers in attendance to offer advice and support. The event on Friday February 29th at Government Office West Midlands, Birmingham will run from 10am - 4pm.

Co-operative Young Film-Makers calls for entries 2008

Each year the Co-operative Young Film-Makers festival shows 100 films on the big screen at the National Media Museum - all made by young people under 21 years old. The submission process for the festival is now open.

BFI announce Greg Dyke as new Chair

The BFI has announced that Greg Dyke will become its Chair in March, replacing renowned film director Anthony Minghella.

First Light Movies Awards 2008 nominees announced

The nominations for the First Light Movies Awards 2008 have been announced with two West Midlands' films in the running for the prestigious awards. The nominated films are being judged by a panel of film industry giants and celebrities including actors Kevin Spacey, Orlando Bloom, Alan Rickman and Stephen Fry, producer Nira Park and directors Sam Mendes, Gurinder Chadha and Michael Winterbottom.

Help us to develop the regional Media Literacy Action Plan

Switching On To Media Literacy, the West Midlands Media Literacy Strategy was launched back in the summer. In order to take the work forward we are now developing a Media Literacy Action Plan. To help with this process we have developed a short survey about the work your organisation is currently doing or planning for the future. The survey should take no more than a couple of minutes but will help develop a picture of the good work already taking place.  

Mediabox recieves £2 million for its second year

Mediabox, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) fund which offers 13-19 year olds the opportunity to develop and produce media projects has been awarded £2 million to continue the scheme for a further 12 months. Information on funding deadlines and application guidelines will be available by 29 February 2008.

£31 million funding boost announced for the third sector

Minister for Young People Kevin Brennan today committed a £31million funding boost over the next 3 years, through the Children, Young People and Families Grant Programme, benefiting nearly 100 third sector organisations.

Positive Destinations Grants Programme Deadline announced

BBC Children In Need and the Hunter Foundation have announced that they are now accepting applications under a new £2 million grants programme to fund innovative and effective projects that have the potential to deliver positive outcomes to some of the most vulnerable children and young people in the UK.

Screen WM are on the road!

To coincide with the launch of the Media Production Fund: a £4 million investment fund aimed at increasing filma and media production in the West Midlands region, Screen WM will be holding a series of roadshows across the region throughout February.

Acclaimed filmmaker Nick Broomfield speaks at Creative Networks

Celebrities support national languages and film competition

The Language and Film Talent Awards (LAFTAs), is a nationwide competition to encourage young people between the ages of 13 and 21 to develop original short film clips that demonstrate the importance of language learning and to display them on YouTube.

Exploring the Youth Justice System: an introduction for Arts Practitioners

Arts Council England (ACE) in partnership with the Youth Justice Board (YJB) is offering 300 arts practitioners the opportunity to participate in an innovative professional development programme for those who want to work with young people in the youth justice system.

Wanted - Film Production Team

Creative Partnerships Stoke on Trent has been working with schools in the city since 2005, providing opportunities for teachers and pupils to work alongside creative partners to improve creative learning and teaching. As Creative Partnerships nationally enters a new phase of activity, we want to mark the impact the programme has had so far for teachers, children and young people, school leaders and creative practitioners. We are looking for a team of filmmakers who can collaborate with a small group of young filmmakers to create a film that will explore this impact in a dynamic and engaging style, for an audience of educationalists, creative partners, parents, and other stakeholders.

Find out about the British Youth Film Academy in Warwickshire

The British Youth Film Academy supported by the Children's Film & Television Foundation, sponsored by The Co-operative, in association with selected FE Colleges and key HE Institutions are to give a presentation outlining their work and their proposals for engaging vocational learners within the sub-region of Coventry & Warwickshire.

Win 6 webcams and a software site license from Kudlian Soft!

Curtis Jobling of 'Bob the Builder' and creator of the CBBC animation 'Frankenstein's Cat', has teamed up with Film Street and independent educational software developer Kudlian Soft challenge primary schools and young people aged 12 and under to design a character to for an animated, claymation film. The creators of the best designs will win webcams and software to turn their 3D characters into the stars of their very own mini movies!

NOISE festival seeks submissions from young artists

NOISE is a European online media arts festival, which is now seeking new and original creative talent. The initiative allows young artists under 25 to enter up to 6 projects by submitting their creative work via the NOISE web site.

Human Rights Watch seek youth media submissions

The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival and Adobe Youth Voices are looking for youth produced works on human rights from around the globe to screen in our newly established YOUTH PRODUCING CHANGE program.

Youth Engagement Officer Vacancy

The Youth Engagement Officer is a new post to deliver a three year youth volunteering project funded by v involved - the national youth volunteering programme. We are looking for an enthusiastic person with a mix of youth work / media experience and a passion for the environment to encourage young people to engage with the outdoors.

Sign up for Film Club!

FILM CLUB is a new service supporting schools in setting up after-school film clubs to screen a diverse range of movies. It is currently in it pilot phase in Yorkshire, Kent, Northern Ireland and London and hopes to expand the service next year. They now need to know if YOU are interested in setting up a Film Club for your school.

Life is what you make it, according to Tenneil!

17 year old Tenneil Ameena Badley from Birmingham is one of ten lucky winners of a Mediabox/4 Docs documentary competition. Tenneil attended a prestigious award cermony and screening in London where all the young film makers were presented with awards by Russell Brand.

MACE seeking to provide films in the classroom

MACE, the East and West Midlands film archive, is working with teachers to develop web resources for classroom teaching .   

Arts Award is taking hold in the West Midlands

Arts Award in the West Midlands is set to reach the highest numbers nationally outside London. Over 600 artists, teachers and youth workers have been trained as Arts Award Advisers across the region with 1500 young people registered.

Arts Award Access Fund opens its coffers again!

Arts Award, the youth arts accreditation scheme, offers grants of up to £500 to projects running Arts Award through its Access Fund. Registered Arts Award centres can apply for money to pay for tickets, travel, artists fees, equipment or venue hire to help run their arts award project.

Enyan consults on 'Aiming High' young people's strategy

Enyan, the English youth arts network, is giving those working with young people the opportunity to shape government policy on cultural provision. Following its conference "The Youth Offer: Arts Meeting Young People's needs" in November, where Margaret Hodge MP asked the sector for help in shaping government plans, the agency is asking for people to email their input for collation and submission to the government in the new year.

Submit your Film NOW for Wolverhampton Disability Film Festival

The First Wolverhampton Disability Film Festival will be taking place between the 17 - 20 April 2008. They are seeking submissions for consideration. Its free of charge to submit films and entry forms can be downloaded from the website www.outside-centre.info.

Sir Digby Jones launches regional Media Literacy Strategy

Work is well underway to develop a Media Literacy Action Plan following the launch of Switching On To Media Literacy, the new media literacy strategy for the West Midlands, in June. At the launch Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham said "(we need to) get media literacy deep into the DNA of the education process," adding "it must become part of every educational, social and economic strategy in our country."

Final Mid Mediabox deadline coming up

Mediabox, the £6 million government scheme to fund young people's media projects has its final application deadline for Mid Mediabox funding next month. The scheme accepts applications for media projects for disadvantaged young people aged 13-19 of up to £20,000.

ITV Local gives new platform to Midlands' films

ITV Local, launched back in March for the central region provides a platform for locally generated films. Alongside news, short films from across the region are available to view on demand through the site.

My Mediabox applications now even easier!

Mediabox has launched a new and improved application system for My Mediabox grants. Young people visiting the site will now be directed to a section dedicated to them, with handy tips and advice for applying, examples of funded projects, comprehensive editorial and production guidelines and a shortened application form.

Mediabox awaiting news on its future

The future of the Mediabox funding scheme is still uncertain although goverment minister Beverley Hughes is keen to see if it can be continued. Its hoped money from the government's Comprehensive Spending Review allocation for the Department of Children Schools and Families could be used to extend the scheme.

Channel 4 seek young filmmakers ideas

Channel 4 and Cancer Research UK have teamed up for a new filmmaking competition for young people. They are keen to generate ideas from young people about smoking and why its not a good idea. The winning ideas will be made into a short film which will be used in a viral marketing campaign on the internet.

Screen WM offer up to £15,000 for film related projects

The Screen WM Access fund offers up to £15,000 for film related education, audience development, exhibition and new talent projects. The next deadline is on 7th January 2008 and they are keen to hear from you if you have a film related education project.

Cinemagic Launch 2007 Festival Programme

The Coca-Cola Cinemagic International Film and Television Festival for Young People has launched its annual film festival programme which is set to run from 16 November - 2 December 2007 in various venues across Belfast, including Movie House Cinemas Dublin Rd, Storm Cinemas, and Queen's Film Theatre.

Work Related Learning Case Studies sought

To support the launch of the Diploma in Creative and Media in September 2008 Skillset, the sector skills council for media, are seeking case studies for inclusion in a toolkit for employers. The case studies should show examples of good practice in work related learning in media and the creative industries.

Vcashpoint second round in December

v cashpoint' is the funding initiative for young people aged 16 to 25 in England, who want to set up a volunteering project in their local community. By providing grants of up to £2500, v cashpoint can help young people turn their ideas for volunteering projects into reality!

Grants for the Arts Education Surgeries

The Arts Council, West Midlands Learning Team are launching monthly Grants for the Arts advice surgeries for the Arts Education sector.

Engaging with Creativity Conference

Arts Included, the network for education and arts professional working with young people at risk are holding their annual conference on Thursday 8th November at mac in Birmingham from 10am - 4pm.

Young People's Fund 2 launching soon

Further lottery funding for youth led projects will become available from the end of this year. The Young People's Fund 2 will be launched in two phases in December 2007 and April 2008 and will fund a small number of high quality, youth led projects.

ALISS seeks new creative apprentices

ALISS, the West Midlands' Artist and Information Learning support service is looking for practitioners who are interested in working with schools for their Creative Apprentices training programme.

Stars lend support to project tackling homophobic bullying

Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies is lending his support to "Sticks and Stones", a new project set up by The Rural Media Company. Young gay, lesbian and bi-sexual people (aged 16-25) are being asked to talk about their own experiences of life in rural areas and get involved in making a series of short films on tackling homophobic bullying.

Oska Bright Film Festival invites submissions

Oska Bright, the first national film festival anywhere in the world run by, and for, people with a learning disability, is now accepting submissions for its next festival.

Viewfinder 2007: Digital Film Festival

Viewfinder 2007 is a digital film festival which celebrates the work of emerging filmmaking talent within Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The festival will screen a selection of the best short films at venues throughout the three counties providing a showcase for young filmmakers through to adults and professionals.

Local Shorts Film Club

Local Shorts is a new monthly Film Club, showcasing films from Birmingham and the West-Midlands, covering all genres of filmmaking: Drama, Documentary, Pop Videos, Animation, Artists' Video, Commercial, etc. Creative Insight are looking to show short films by local filmmakers whether they are established professionals or aspiring newcomers (political, experimental and student entries welcome).

Media Directions

Media Directions magazine are happy to announce that the second edition of Media Directions sponsored by Sony is now on sale for £4.00, including post and packaging.

'New Media Made Cheap and Easy' Seminars

The Media Trust is holding free seminars throughout England to give small to medium not-for-profit organisations the skills to use a range of new media communication and marketing tools. The introductory seminars feature practical advice and examples of free internet techniques such as blogging, podcasting and wikis.

The Oska's come to Birmingham!

The Oska Bright Film Festival, a one-day film festival run by and for people with a learning disability, will be coming to Cineworld, Broad Street, Birmingham as part of a partnership project with Carousel, a learning disability arts charity from Brighton, on Friday 2 March 2007 from 10:30am till 2.30pm.

MEA announce details of their inaugural conference

The Media Education Association has annouced details of their first annual conference to take place at Warwick University from 18th -20th May 2007.

UK Film Council consults on future funding and policy priorities

The UK Film Council is seeking views on its policy and funding priorities over the next three years in a consultation document - Film in the Digital Age.