News & Events
Liverpool Screen School News
SCREEN SCHOOL PRODUCTION UNIT ALUMNI BREAKFAST – 18th MARCH 2010As part of the launch of its new Production Unit, Liverpool Screen School is holding a breakfast event for all alumni interested in finding out more about the project.
An informal event, this short session will introduce the Production Unit, explain how it operates, how alumni can get involved, and allow for discussion as to how the Unit can best support graduates. The event is open to all alumni but will be of particular interest to the self-employed or freelancers.
Where and when:
Thursday 18th March
9.30 – 10.30 am (breakfast provided)
Liverpool Screen School,
Liverpool Innovation Park, Edge Lane, Liverpool L7 9NW
To register or for more information please contact: lssproductionunit@ljmu.ac.uk
Graduate receives BBC Innovation Award
Liverpool Screen School celebrated student success for a second year running at the recent BBC ‘Connect and Create’ conference as Dan Bate, a graduate in iMedia from LJMU, won the BBC Partnership Award in Innovation.
A BBC initiative which links students with staff at the BBC in Manchester and with those departments in scope to move from London to MediaCity, Connect and Create aims to identify the best talent from the region and to put those students in the best possible position in time for the BBC’s recruitment push later this year. .jpg)
The Innovation Award recognises work which demonstrates the interdependence of content and technology to reach out to new audiences and communities.
Receiving the award, Dan commented: "I'm thrilled to win this, as the competition was so strong. It's really encouraging to know that the skills and knowledge I gained from my time at LJMU are recognised and valued by the industry."
Dan’s winning entry provides the user with a virtual writing desk to explore artefacts from the Second World War, to uncover a personal story, providing a snapshot of life on one day in August 1940. The piece sets one individual’s experience against the backdrop of world history and invites the user to learn through exploration. Using traditional media sequences of sound, animation and text, the work delivers a story in an interactive and non-linear way, engaging the user and delivering history through narrative, encapsulating perfectly the BBC North's vision, ‘To innovate, inspire, surprise: always
‘Behind the Scenes’
self-employment and working freelance event for Liverpool Screen School
Students taking part in the ‘speed dating with industry’ session
The Business Development Centre’s Student Enterprise team has delivered its first dedicated event for the Liverpool Screen School, to help students explore all aspects of self-employment and working as a freelance.
Over 50 students were provided with inspiration to consider self-employment, work as a freelance and to learn how to “get a foot-in-the-door” with prospective employers, through a series of keynote talks and activities during the event.
Two keynote speakers – Ed Pugh, freelance media consultant and Ngunan Adamu, LJMU alumnus and BBC journalist – set the scene for the day using practical advice and anecdotal experiences of the media profession, with the key theme being that students need to consider the ways in which they can stand out from the crowd. Ngunan also spoke of the many opportunities that lie ahead with the BBC’s impending move of a number of its departments to MediaCityUK at Salford.
Industry experts were also invited from the subject areas covered in the Liverpool Screen School including television production, independent film, journalism (particularly broadcast and sport), and PR.
The experts introduced themselves to the student audience and the students took part in a targeted ‘speed dating’ session so they could find out more about how to break into their chosen profession.
Alumni Q&A panel (L-R: Judith Jones, LSS Academic Manager; Paul Riordan; Marie Hardy; Chris Day)
During the afternoon, the students received practical advice on surviving as a freelance, in a session delivered by media consultant Moira Kean. This was followed by a Q&A panel with alumni Paul Riordan, Marie Hardy and Chris Day, hosted by Judith Jones, LSS Academic Manager. Paul, Marie and Chris spoke highly of the way that their LJMU degrees had prepared them for their working lives and shared their tips for success.
The event concluded with a joint presentation from Student Enterprise and the GDC WoW™ team on the support that is available for developing a business idea, working as a freelance and making the best possible impression with future employers.
Speaking after the event, Judith Jones said, “‘this was the first time that the Liverpool Screen School has worked with Student Enterprise on an event like this and I thought it was a great success. The students loved being able to talk directly to industry professionals and to receive lots of useful information and advice. The industry speakers have also been impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment of our students. We certainly hope to hold another event next year.’
Keynote speakers (L-R: Judith Jones, LSS Academic Manager; Ngunan Adamu, BBC; Ed Pugh, freelance media consultant)
A Screen School student also commented, “I just wanted to say big thank you for yesterday, I found it very useful and got some really valuable advice, and possibly even some work placements!” and one of the experts said he had had “a thoroughly invigorating and highly enjoyable day”.
Amanda Smith, Entrepreneurship Champion within the Business Development Centre, said “Behind the Scenes was a truly inspirational and well received event - a fantastic opportunity for students to gain some behind-the-scenes knowledge of this industry and an essential event for those looking to enter the creative/media industry. The industry experts spoke openly and honestly regarding the ups and downs of the industry whilst offering good contacts and our Alumni guests also gave an account of their experience and how their degree has opened doors. They also gave a few tips and advice on how to enter and survive in this sector.”
LJMU would like to thank the following people for their support: Ngunan Adamu, BBC; Erica Clarke, Lime Pictures; Owen Cotterell, Mocha Productions; Chris Day, LJMU iMedia alumnus; Marie Hardy, LJMU Media Professional Studies alumnus; Don Jones, LFC TV; Moira Kean, freelance media consultant; John Maxwell, independent film producer; Sarada McDermott, Northern Soul film company; Shivani Mair, Creative by Nature Ltd and The Careers Surgery; Simon Malia, media professional; Stephanie Power, Power Productions; Ed Pugh, freelance media consultant; Paul Riordan, LJMU Media Professional Studies alumnus; Ian White, freelance drama producer.
If you would like the Business Development Centre to work with you to deliver a similar industry-focused conference for students in self-employment, please contact Amanda Smith, Entrepreneurship Champion on 0151-231 8091 or a.smith2@ljmu.ac.uk
If you are a student with a business idea and you would like support to develop your idea, please contact the Student Enterprise team on 0151-231 8060 or email startup@ljmu.ac.uk
This event was funded by NCGE (the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship)
Media Professional Studies
A group of Media Professional Studies students experienced a lesson with a difference when they went to watch a film at Liverpool One’s Odeon cinema which had
been produced by graduates from their own degree.Former MPS students Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern, now filmmakers based in London, have directed a film about last year's reunion of the pop group Blur entitled 'No Distance Left to Run.'
The film was premiered in Leicester Square last week and is now out on world-wide release.
Head of MPS Trevor Long commented "When the boys got in touch about their film being on general release I couldn't resist taking current students to the local Odeon to see it. There can't be a better motivation for them than watching the work of graduates from their own course on the big screen."
Will and Dylan will attend a special LJMU screening of their film later in the year. 'No Distance Left to Run' completes a recent hat-trick of international film success for LJMU Screen School alumni.
Film Studies graduates Adam Wright and Hannah Quinn had their short film selected for the Cannes film festival and 2006 Film and Drama graduate Claire Foy has followed up her starring role in the BBC's 'Little Dorrit' by appearing alongside Nicholas Cage in her first Hollywood role in 'Season of the Witch,' which is out on general release in March.
Pictured, from right, are third year MPS students Sian Mansley, Emily Webber, Yassmin Hussein, John Clarkson and Victor Gould.
Journalism
Journalism students from LSS made a big impact with two research projects this month, in an ambitious public opinion exercise which converged all three levels to gather views from more than 600 people in the city. The JMU Journalism website (http://www.jmu-journalism.org.uk/) sent out two teams of students over the course of a week and asked questions about two very different topics of debate that are currently affecting the city.
One team spoke to 355 LFC supporters in a two-day period to ask whether they thought it was time for Rafael Benitez to leave the Liverpool manager's job. National newspapers and fan sites have run their own polls recently, though online voting is notoriously unreliable and can become hijacked by supporters of rival teams. 
JMU Journalism decided to find out what Liverpool fans really think by doing it the old-fashioned way, on foot in the city. The results, which were published as a newsflash on the BBC Sport website, were that 35% felt he should leave, while a majority of 53% thought he should stay, with 12% of supporters undecided.
http://www.jmu-journalism.org.uk/#/sport-110/4538355780
Another team raised public awareness about the risks of tanning and skin cancer by asking almost 300 people whether they prefer the tanned or natural look. The results of the street survey were fairly evenly split, with a majority of 52% preferring natural, compared to 48% who favour the tanned look. When broken down between the sexes, it emerged that a majority of women the students asked prefer tanned-looking skin (57%) rather than natural (43%). However, among the males, the preference was much more in favour of natural (69%) than tanned (31%).
The students then asked all those surveyed whether the 94% rise in Liverpool's skin cancer cases in the last six years came as a surprise. Around 48% said 'yes', while 52% responded that they were not surprised. The survey idea was sparked by Government plans to ban under-18s from using sunbeds, as the latest figures from Cancer Research UK show that half of all girls in Liverpool aged 15-17 regularly use them, while the city's skin cancer cases rise is more than double the national average.
http://www.jmu-journalism.org.uk/#/news-155/4535528658
Film
Research Seminars 2010
Monday 1 February 2010: Dr Lee Grieveson (University College London): "The Work of Cinema in the Age of Automotive Mechanization." More information
Monday 8 March 2010: Dr Catherine Grant (Film Studies for Free / University of Sussex): "Quote/Unquote? The 'Unattainable [Film] Text' in the Age of Digital Reproduction" More information
Thursday 22 April 2010: Professor Steve Neale (Exeter University): "Overseas Independents and Post-War Hollywood" More Information