Last week I had the pleasure of visiting a long standing education member of EVCOM, Bournemouth University, on the invitation of Richard Wallis, Principal Academic, Faculty of Media and Communication where I delivered a presentation about Corporate Film to the second year Media Production students. For most students, the world of Corporate Film is a total mystery so it was a perfect opportunity for me to talk about the size and scope of the sector, the kind of work that is produced and what the clients want from ‘corporate’ film. I shared examples of award winning work so that the vast array of styles, subjects and approaches could be seen on a large screen. They are currently working on projects where they adopt specific roles: content creator, social media, creative director, account manager, project manager and so forth which will certainly prepare them for the team working nature of film.
After the presentation I spent time with a couple of students who showed me around the campus and met Dr. Karl Rawstrone, Deputy Head of Department, Media Production. We discussed the importance of industry links to highly practical courses like these and the need for the next generation to step in and fill the skills gap.
We then went on to tour the brand new Poole Gateway building which is packed to the gunnels with state of the art kit to enable student to learn every aspect of visual and audio communications. Every student I spoke to was super-enthusiastic about their work and the facilities and support on their course – and having all of those shiny toys to play with must help!
All in all a great day sharing information about the corporate film sector and hearing about the aspirations of the next generation.
It was great to have Claire come and contribute to our Client & Audience module (and in person!). It’s vital that our media production students learn about the role of media in business communication, and to understand how brand and corporate film production works. Having Claire come and talk about the industry just as our students begin to experience what it means to work to a brief for an external client was invaluable.
Great fun showing Claire around our new studios demonstrating how the facility has been designed and integrated not as an equivalent or simulation of industry standard, but as a broadcast ready 4K studio complex, testing and implementing workflows with the next generation of broadcast kit. Also satisfying to see my pic at the vision mixer getting use above – we pride ourselves on encouraging everyone to be hands on in the studios regardless of why they are with us!