Leeds Media Services - Video Production

We've moved to WordPress

2011-01-11T05:25:00.000-08:00

We've moved our blog over to WordPress. As a result this blog will no longer be updated. Our new blog can be found at - http://leedsmediaservices.wordpress.com/

Northern Lights - The Story of the Heckmondwike Illuminations

2010-12-21T01:16:00.000-08:00

Mark Smith of Leeds Media Services has just completed work on Northern Lights - The Story of the Heckmondwike Illuminations. Heckmondwike, one of the first towns in the country to have illuminations, first celebrating the opening of the market and then celebrating Christmas from 1885 - making 2010 the 125th anniversary of the illuminations.

The documentary explores how the illuminations started and the impact they had on Heckmondwike. It highlights parallels with the now world famous Blackpool illuminations and features interviews with Kim Strickson of Kirklees council, local artist Shakila Mumtaz and Blackpool based historian and writer Terry Regan. Including news cuttings, images and photographs the documentary charts the illuminations from the early days through their heydays in the 1920's, 30's 40's and 50's and finishing with 2010's Christmas lights switch on.

To view the documentary and to find out more information please visit www.heckmondwike.info.

Maths Matters in Computing web resource now online

2010-11-19T07:41:00.000-08:00

All the Maths Matters in Computing series videos are now available on one website. The videos are aimed at A-level and undergraduate students pursuing a career in computing. The videos demonstrate the importance of having an understanding of maths fundamentals. They are free to use in teaching and can be accessed by anyone.

Access the website by following this link - Maths Matters in Computing

The series is made up of five videos and a seaparate introduction. Each video looks at a different aspect of how maths plays a big part in todays computing.

Included in these videos are explanations of how Shazam the music discovery engine works, how e-mail filtering technology keeps spam out of our mailboxes and how hill climbing computing techniques help treat cancer.

Ethics in Computing

The Ethics in Computing series looks at the ambiguous nature of ethical issues in computing and aims to highlight some of these issues. They can be used as a platform to to start off classroom discussions and debates. There are two videos in this series - Real Ethics and Virtual Reality and What Price Freedom.

Leeds Media Services provide video for the Leeds University Business School virtual open day website

2010-11-18T00:49:00.000-08:00

Leeds Media Services working with The Production Zone have recently completed work on a number of video clips for the Leeds University Business School's Virtual Open Day website - http://virtual.business.leeds.ac.uk/.

The website aims to answer potential students questions about what it is like to study here, programme content, careers after graduation and much more.

This site offers viewers the chance to meet programme directors, professors and staff working across Leeds University Business School programmes, as well as students and alumni from those programmes talking about their experience at Leeds.

Filming at Leeds University Business School

There are nearly two hundred clips of interviews with over fifty staff and students.

Latest Talking Points video now online - A Happier Way of Life by Nic Marks

2010-10-25T05:14:00.000-07:00

On the 11th of October Leeds Media Services filmed the latest Talking Points lecture for the Yorkshire & Humber teaching public health network. 'A Happier Way of Life' was presented by Nic Marks.

Well-being is one of most important aspect of our lives, as individuals and as societies. But despite unprecedented economic prosperity in the last 35 years we do not necessarily feel better individually or as communities.

Data shows that whilst economic output in the UK has nearly doubled since 1973, levels of happiness have remained flat. Beyond a certain level of income and material stability, more money has a negligible and even negative impact on the quality of our lives.

The centre for well-being at the New Economics Foundation (NEF) seeks to understand, measure and influence well-being. In particular we ask the question 'what would policymaking and the economy look like if their main aim were to promote well-being?'

Nic Marks, Founder of the NEF Centre for Wellbeing will be addressing delegates within the region on NEF values and how to implement these within your workplaces.

Leeds Media Services film University of Leeds annual alumni lecture with Dr John Elderfield

2010-10-20T01:59:00.000-07:00

On the 9th of October Leeds Media Services filmed the annual alumni lecture at the University of Leeds. This years lecture was presented by Dr John Elderfield former chief curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Leeds Media Services provide video for OzBio 2010

2010-09-28T01:20:00.000-07:00

Dr. Donald Nicholson

Leeds Media Services have produced a video for the OzBio 2010 "Molecules of life: from discovery to biotechnology" conference in Australia. The video features biochemist Dr. Donald Nicholson as he talks through his life's work in biochemistry.

The video also features Dr. Nicholson's Metabolic Pathways Chart, Minimaps and Animaps.

Minimaps are designed to supplement the Metabolic Pathways Charts by enlarging selected major individual pathways so as to illustrate additional aspects of metabolism such as Membranes, Compartmentation, Organs, Organelles, Shuttles and Regulation.

Animaps are perhaps the most exciting inovation on this website since they are able to illustrate the animated detailed sequences of biochemical reactions ocurring within the cell. The use of Flash makes it possible to show the flow of reactants into the inside of enzymes where they align exactly with their active sites. These are usually charged amino acids or cations which are an integral part of the enzyme structure. This alignment of the reactant with the structurally positioned active sites explain the lock and key analogy with enzymes and substrates. Flash animation also makes it possible to show the detailed movements of bonds and electrons which are characteristic of biochemical reactions and hitherto generally illustrated as curly arrows in printed publications.

Leeds Media Services provide video clips for Making Group-Work Work mobile resource

2010-09-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

Leeds Media Services have recently completed work on the video clips for the mobile version of the award winning online resource 'Making Group-Work Work'.

Making Group-work work is a web based resource designed to help students and tutors understand the challenges of group work.

This resource has been designed to offer tutors a number of options. They can work through from start to finish or, more likely, they can dip in and out highlighting specific episodes to illustrate current issues or challenges. The episodes can also be accessed by students independently, allowing the tutor to use the resource for pre-session familiarisation, embed it into a learning session or signpost it for post session reinforcement.

Making Group-Work Work was designed and developed by three LearnHigher partners; the Universities of Brunel, Bradford and Leeds.

Go to http://www.learnhighergroupwork.com/mobile/ to see the mobile version.

Leeds Media Services complete work on University of Leeds Library videos

2010-09-15T01:52:00.000-07:00

Leeds Media Services have just completed work on a new series of library induction videos for the University of Leeds. The videos are designed to help new students understand how to check-in and out books using the universities automated check-in system. There are also videos on access to the libraries and self pick-up of holds.

Latest Talking Points video now online - Wellbeing - the Casualty of Modernity

2010-08-08T05:18:00.000-07:00

On the 28th of July Leeds Media Services filmed the latest Talking Points lecture for the Yorkshire & Humber teaching public health network. 'Wellbeing - the Casualty of Modernity' was presented by Sandra Carlisle.

Dr Sandra Carlisle, Research Fellow for the University of Glasgow presented 'Wellbeing - the Casualty of Modernity'. Dr Carlisle worked with Professor Phil Hanlon on an innovative research project investigating the effects of modern culture on wellbeing.

Leeds Media Services complete work on new design instruction videos

2010-08-08T05:05:00.000-07:00

Leeds Media Services have just completed work on a series of garment design instructional videos for the School of Design at the University of Leeds. Working with Elaine Evans from the School of Design nine videos have been made available to view online. Visit http://lutube.leeds.ac.uk/texelg to view the videos.

Yorkshire and Humber Teaching Public Health Network lectures now online

2010-07-28T04:38:00.000-07:00

Leeds Media Services are filming the 'Talking Points' lecture series for the Yorkshire and Humber Teaching Public Health Network. The first three lectures are now online here - http://vimeo.com/user3684719. The most recent lecture featuring Wayne Hemingway founder of the Red or Dead fashion brand is featured below.

Leeds Media Services complete work on new Ethics in Computing video

2010-07-14T08:49:00.000-07:00

"Ethics in Computing: What Price Freedom?" is now available to view online. Leeds Media Services filmed, edited and provided the visual effects for the video which was produced for the Inter-disciplinary Ethics Applied centre at the University of Leeds.

This video introduces a number of important ethical issues raised by Free Software. Featuring exclusive interview footage with Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation, it explores the claims made by proponents of Free Software such as the following. What is free software, and what kind of freedoms does it claim to preserve? How important are these freedoms (if they are important)? What is at stake in the decisions of students and programmers about the licence terms under which they make their software available. What is at stake in the decisions of companies, schools, universities, and large organisations in their choice of software? Do the claims of the free software movement depend on a rejection of intellectual property? It also explores how successful the campaign for free software has been (and the success of GNU/Linux), and what challenges remain.

Leeds Media Services film the Gatsby Plants Summer School Lectures 2010

2010-07-14T02:25:00.000-07:00

Leeds Media Services provided filming and editing services to the Gatsby Plants Summer School. Six plenary lectures were filmed and will be provided online for viewing by registered users of the Gatsby Plants website. The speakers are all world-class plant scientists at the cutting-edge of research in their area. Their task will be to challenge students to new ways of thinking about the humble plant. From how science can contribute to sustainable food production to the global impact of stomatal pores, students will be encouraged to think about plants from every angle.

The Gatsby Plants Summer School aims to bring together 80 high-achieving 1st year undergraduates with leaders in the field of plant science research. In the relaxed setting of Hawkhills, home to the Emergency Planning College, students will be challenged with new ways of thinking about plants and will discover why plant science research remains crucial for our future.

For more information about Gatsby Plants visit the website - http://www.gatsbyplants.leeds.ac.uk/

Leeds Media Services create promotional DVD for international vocalist - Nancy Jenkinson Brown

2010-07-14T02:09:00.000-07:00

We have created a new promotional DVD for Nancy Jenkinson Brown.

Volcalist, bandleader and songwriter Nancy Jenkinson Brown has been working all over Europe as a freelance musician for the last six years. With the rich dark chocolate voice of blues and jazz also comes the talent of adding the cream of funk, dance and indy sounds making her highly sought after for public, corporate and private events, sessions and clubs.

For more information about Nancy visit her website - http://nancyjbrown.com/

New examples of our work on the showreel page

2010-07-14T01:59:00.000-07:00

There are now more examples of our work on the showreel page of our website - http://www.leedsmediaservices.co.uk/showreel.html.

Leeds Media Services is one year old

2010-07-14T01:57:00.001-07:00

On the 1st of July Leeds Media Services celebrated it's first birthday. Many thanks to all our clients and everyone who has supported over the past twelve months.

Leeds Media Services film Greyhound Derby finalists lunch for William Hill

2010-06-02T01:30:00.000-07:00

On Monday the 24th of May Leeds Media Services filmed a special lunch put on for finalists of the 2010 Greyhound Derby by William Hill. The videos can be found online at http://www.youtube.com/user/williamhillsports.

Steve White of Leeds Media Services filming.

Tommy the Tomato helps school children fill in the Home Food Diary

2010-05-13T06:41:00.000-07:00

Leeds Media Services have recently completed work on the Home Food Diary animation. The animation features Tommy the Tomato and he explains how to fill in the Home Food Diary.

The Home Food Diary is part of a nutrition study that the University of Leeds is carrying out across schools throughout the UK.

Leeds for Life - volunteering at the University of Leeds

2010-05-04T04:33:00.000-07:00

Leeds Media Services have just completed work on 'Leeds for Life - volunteering at the university of Leeds'. The video highlights the work of Leeds student volunteering projects, the good it does within the community and the background behind the initiative.

The video was premiered at the Leeds for Life Citizenship Awards on the 29th April 2010 - http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ace/L4L.html.

Leeds Media Services create graphics for the Surface Design Show

2010-05-04T04:22:00.000-07:00

Leeds Media Services created the motion graphic animation that Veritas UK used on there stand at the Surface Design Show.

Veritas™ the newest and most design-forward system of translucent ResinArt™ Panels destined to challenge and inspire designers and architects worldwide.

They're an extension of your inspiration, allowing you to tell vivid, unforgettable stories without saying a word.

Ultimately, Veritas ResinArt Panels give you a whole new language for communicating about space and transforming it in ways you never thought possible.

http://www.veritas-uk.net/

Produced by Leeds Media Services - http://www.leedsmediaservices.co.uk

The Surface Design Show - http://www.surfacedesignshow.com/

Ethics in Computing: Real Ethics and Virtual Reality nominated for award

2010-03-27T04:31:00.000-07:00

The educational video "Ethics in Computing: Real Ethics and Virtual Reality" has been nominated for an award in the prestigious Learning on Screen Awards held by the BUFVC.

The 2010 Awards will take place during the Learning on Screen Conference to be held at the Open University in Milton Keynes on the 27-28 April 2010. The Awards celebrate and reward excellence in the use of moving image and related media in learning, teaching and research.

Ethics in Computing: Real Ethics and Virtual Reality has been nominated in the "Course and Curriculum-Related Content" category.

Ethics in Computing: Real Ethics and Virtual Reality from Mark Smith on Vimeo.
Playing video games can be an opportunity to suspend the moral rules we all live by, allowing us to identify with characters who behave in a way that we never would in real life. But does this mean that virtual worlds are a values-free zone, whose characters and situations are immune to scrutiny from a moral point of view?

In 2007, Manchester Cathedral threatened to take legal action against Sony over a violent game, Resistance: Fall of Man, which used the cathedral as a location. This short film examines that case and the many important ethical questions this raises. Can be used either for individual study or as a basis for classroom discussion.

Link to award nominations page - http://bufvc.ac.uk/learningonscreen/learning-on-screen-awards-2010

About the BUFVC

The British Universities Film & Video Council (BUFVC) is a representative body which promotes the production, study and use of moving image, sound and related media in higher education and research. It was founded in 1948 as the British Universities Film Council and became the British Universities Film & Video Council in 1983. The Council is a related body of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and receives part funding as grant via the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).

http://bufvc.ac.uk/aboutus

Working Journeys video now online

2010-03-08T03:33:00.000-08:00

Leeds Media Services have just finished editing the Working Journeys video in collaboration with Research Toolkit.

The video supports a report created by Research Toolkit on The Skills Passport Employability Programme at the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Following from a successful Yorkshire Forward/NHS funded Employability pilot at the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Trust developed their own 'Skills passport' initiative in 2009. This evalaution tells the story of that programme through the evidence provided from participant group interviews and individual story-telling sessions. The interviews and story-telling sessions formed the basis for the case studies included in the report, and also for the accompanying DVD. This evalaution work was commissioned by the Sheffield Work and Skills Board (2009).

The video can be seen on Research Toolkit's website - http://www.research-toolkit.co.uk/our_work_wj.html

Learning & Teaching Conference 2010 - now online

2010-02-23T07:18:00.000-08:00

Leeds Media Services filmed and edited The Seventh Annual University of Leeds Learning & Teaching Conference in January.

LTC7 2010 also provides teaching and support staff at the University of Leeds with an excellent opportunity to find out more about innovative and exciting ways for teachers and students to learn, and at the same time offers a unique chance to network with colleagues from all around the University.

Keynote speakers

We are delighted to announce two excellent keynote speakers for LTC7:
Ray Land is Professor of Higher Education and Head of the Centre for Academic Practice and Learning Enhancement (CAPLE) at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow UK. His research interests include academic development, threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge, research-teaching linkages, and theoretical aspects of digital learning. He is the author of Educational Development: Discourse, Identity and Practice (Open University Press 2004) and co-editor of Education in Cyberspace (RoutledgeFalmer 2005), Overcoming Barriers to Student Learning: Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge (Routledge 2006), Threshold Concepts within the Disciplines (Sense Publishers 2008) and Research-Teaching Linkages: Enhancing Graduate Attributes (QAA 2008). A new volume, Threshold Concepts and Transformational Learning will be published in early 2010 (Sense Publishers, Rotterdam)
Visit http://personal.strath.ac.uk/ray.land/home.htm for more information.

Liz Beaty, Director of Strategic Academic Practice and Partnership at the University of Cumbria. Liz spent five years at HEFCE where she was Director for Learning and Teaching. With an excellent reputation as a speaker, Liz currently holds strategic responsibility for teaching and learning, participation and progression, and partnerships with other UK HEIs and FE colleges and has overall strategic responsibility for the University's FE Provision.
For more information about Liz, please visit www.cumbria.ac.uk/AboutUs/TheUniversity/University%20Management%20Team/Liz%20Beaty.aspx

Routes into Language Careers – part of EXPO 09 now online

2010-02-23T06:56:00.000-08:00

In November 2009 Leeds Media Services filmed the Routes into Language Careers – part of EXPO 09 for the University of Leeds. A careers extravaganza including specialist language recruiters, talks for sixth formers on careers with languages and interpreting workshops. For Y12/Y13 pupils plus undergraduate students.
Organised in partnership with the NNI, the Faculty of Arts and the University of Leeds Careers Centre.

The video can now be watched online at - http://www.nationalnetworkforinterpreting.ac.uk/assets/video/expo09/index.html

Link courtesy of Dragos Ciobanu.

LMS film Talking Points: Why are inequalities in health greater now than at any times since the 1920s?

2010-02-11T10:13:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday the 10th of February Leeds Media Services filmed "Why are inequalities in health greater now than at any times since the 1920s?" part of the talking Points series of lectures organised by The Yorkshire and Humber Teaching Public Health Network (YHTPHN).

The third in the Talking Points series was given by Professor Danny Dorling from University of Sheffield. Danny Dorling's extensive works take consideration of a wealth of data and statistics and are used to provide an exceptional description of poverty within the UK. He presents these with passion and uses issues to describe issues that matter.

"He has uncovered evidence that the government would perhaps prefer stays buried: that Labour has presided over an era of unprecedented inequality widening and declining social mobility.

Dorling has demonstrated that where a person is born remains the primary determinant of their status, health and wealth in later life. He has steadily chipped away at progressive politicians' most treasured policy ambitions. "By 18 or 20 your life is largely mapped out for you," he argues. "You'll either have interesting jobs where you use your mind your whole life, or your life will be working in a servile occupation."
The answers, he suggests, lie in the concentration of more and more wealth in the hands of the rich - and the government's failure to address it with, for example, more progressive taxation. As a Labour voter, he says New Labour's failure to tackle the flourishing wealth of the already rich is "very odd because there's more and more evidence that shows that having more and more rich people in a place is bad for people in that place".

Dorling admits that things might have been even worse had the Conservatives been re-elected in 1997, but the figures are, he feels, an indictment of Labour none the less." (The Guardian, February 2006)

Dorling writes that "this is the first supposedly progressive government that has seen inequalities widen under it. Wasn't New Labour supposed at least to be about equality of opportunity? We've not only gone back to 1930s levels of inequalities between places but we are on the reverse trajectory. It's not just that things are unequal, it is that we are heading towards dramatic levels of future inequality between areas."

"The key thing is recognising what's happening. Just wanting something to be better doesn't mean it happens. They thought [in the mid 90s] that by not doing really horrible things, things would get better; thinking that moving the rudder slightly would help" (Dorling 2006).

The edited version will be online soon.

The Yorkshire and Humber Teaching Public Health Network - http://www.yhtphn.co.uk/

Talking Points: Why are inequalities in health greater now than at any times since the 1920s? - http://www.yhtphn.co.uk/index.php?id=326

To download Professor Danny Dorling's biography please click here.

Photo courtesy of Catherine Grinold.

LMS film New economics: The onslaught of free

2010-01-21T01:18:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday the 20th of January Leeds Media Services filmed 'New economics: The onslaught of free' part of the Connected World series run by The Bathwick Group.

New economics: The onslaught of free

The rise of ‘free’; the potential and pitfalls of monetisation of online content. Who pays? Can advertising power all online business models? What is the future of offline media? How will the BBC vs Sky and the commercial model play out, and what will be the impact of IPTV?

The panelists included:
Chris Tulley - Partner, Interllectual Property & Technology Group, DLA Piper UK
http://www.dlapiper.com/chris_tulley/

David Parkin - Editor, TheBusinessDesk.com
http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/yorkshire/about-us.html

Professor David S. Wall - School of Law, University of Leeds
http://www.law.leeds.ac.uk/about/staff/wall/

Dr Leo Enticknap - Deputy Director, Institute of Communication Studies, University of Leeds
http://ics.leeds.ac.uk/details.cfm?id=94&susername=ICSLEN

Further information about the event:
http://bathwickgroup.com/cw/index.php?action=event_details&id=1

Further information about The Bathwick Group:
http://bathwickgroup.com/

'Countdown to Copenhagen' now online

2010-01-19T06:46:00.000-08:00

In November Leeds Media Services filmed 'Countdown to Copenhagen'.

Hosted by the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, this debate was introduced by University of Leeds’ Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Arthur and chaired by Centre Director, Professor Andy Gouldson.

The panel comprised:

- Franny Armstrong, Director of the Age of Stupid and founder of the 10:10 campaign
- the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for DEFRA
- Edward McMillan Scott MEP, Vice-President of the European Parliament
- the Rt Hon John Prescott MP, Leader of the British delegation to the Council of Europe/ Rapporteur for Climate Change for the Council of Europe
- Ashok Sinha, Director of the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition

The debate, which was a catalyst for a lively open question and answer session with an audience comprising students, university staff, people from the city and region working on climate-change/sustainability, activists and members of the public, explored issues such as:

- Given the latest scientific evidence on climate change, what kind of global deal does the world need?
- What are the obstacles to achievement at Copenhagen and how can these be overcome?
- What should the UK and the EU be doing to enhance the prospects for an ambitious global deal at Copenhagen?
- How can activists/other interested parties best maintain political pressure on Government/other decision makers?
- How will Government ministries work together to deliver on commitments made at Copenhagen?
- What impacts might a global deal at Copenhagen have on the economy and society in the UK and internationally?

http://lutube.leeds.ac.uk/avsmas/videos/2389

Leeds Media Services film and edit promotional video for Leeds University Business School

2010-01-17T08:25:00.000-08:00

Leeds Media Seervices have recently completed working on two promotional videos for Leeds University Business School. The first video - a message from the Dean of the Business School, Peter Moizer, can be found on the LUBS homepage http://business.leeds.ac.uk/.

Leeds Media Services film The Seventh Annual University of Leeds Learning & Teaching Conference

2010-01-09T04:44:00.000-08:00

On Friday the 8th January Leeds Media Services filmed the two keynote speeces from The Seventh Annual University of Leeds Learning & Teaching Conference.

Both keynote sessions will be available to view online soon.

http://www.lts.leeds.ac.uk/conference.php?PAGE=5&SUBPAGE=17

Leeds Media Services produce 'Progression to Post-16 and Higher Education In Inner South Leeds' video

2010-01-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

This video captures the views and experiences of progression to higher education by some of the young people interviewed during the research. Key findings are presented by Lead Researcher Dr Paul Sharp.

Leeds Media Services film Alumni lecture - Life at the Top

2009-12-18T07:53:00.000-08:00

Mountaineer Kenton Cool returned to the University of Leeds to share his astounding adventures on the world's toughest mountains. Leeds Media Services filmed, edited and encoded the event. It is now available to watch online.

Kenton started climbing when he was at Leeds University and is now one of the UK’s leading alpine climbers and mountain guides. He has made many significant ascents in Alaska, India, Pakistan and Nepal and among his impressive list of achievements is establishing a major new route on Annapurna III, becoming the first Briton to ski an 8000 metre peak on Cho Oyu, and becoming the first European to summit Everest seven times.

He has also taught Sir Ranulph Fiennes to climb and has successfully guided him up the North Face of the Eiger and to the summit of Everest.

Ethics in Computing: Real Ethics and Virtual Reality - now online

2009-11-26T02:50:00.000-08:00

Playing video games can be an opportunity to suspend the moral rules we all live by, allowing us to identify with characters who behave in a way that we never would in real life. But does this mean that virtual worlds are a values-free zone, whose characters and situations are immune to scrutiny from a moral point of view?

In 2007, Manchester Cathedral threatened to take legal action against Sony over a violent game, Resistance: Fall of Man, which used the cathedral as a location. This short film examines that case and the many important ethical questions this raises. Can be used either for individual study or as a basis for classroom discussion.

Neuropathic Pain video now online

2009-11-26T02:19:00.000-08:00

Through the experiences of the four people featured, the video shows how people are able to live with neuropathic pain successfully. 'Understanding Neuropathic Pain' is aimed at healthcare professionals and patients. It will be distributed in clinics, hospitals and GP surgeries as well as on the web.

Leeds Media Services film careers fair

2009-11-19T07:16:00.000-08:00

Leeds Media Services filmed the Language Careers Discussion Panel, Careers in Interpreting and Translation and Interpreting & Translation Alumni Panel that made up part of the Expo 09 run by the University of Leeds. Speakers included staff from GCHQ, the UN, the European Parliament,
the European Commission. The event was also streamed live to an overflow lecture theatre. The event will be available online soon.

Ethics case study video nears completion

2009-11-18T11:10:00.000-08:00

Leeds Media Services is putting the final touches to Real Ethics in Virtual Worlds. The teaching video is about morality in virtual worlds, which will also form part of the 'Maths Matters in Computing' series.

Neuropathic pain video nears completion

2009-11-18T11:09:00.000-08:00

Leeds Media Services is completing work on 'Understanding Neuropathic Pain,' a video produced for the School of Healthcare at the University of Leeds and sponsored by Napp Pharmaceuticals Limited.

Leeds Media Services film charity concert

2009-11-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

The Charity Dreamgirls www.charitydreamgirls.co.uk held their annual 'Soul & Motown Revue' concert at the Victoria Theatre in Halifax on Saturday the 26th of September. Leeds Media Services worked with Complete Video Solutions to record the event.

'Making group-work work' wins two top awards

2009-11-18T11:06:00.000-08:00

The online learning resource 'Making group-work work' that was filmed and edited by Leeds Media Services, Steven White and Mark Smith, has won two top awards.

The LearnHigher 'Making group-work work' resource, developed by the Universities of Bradford, Brunel and Leeds, received first place for both the Jorum Learning and Teaching Competition - www.jorum.ac.uk/community/altcCompetition.html and the Epigeum Award for Most Effective Use of Video Presentations (presented at ALT-C 2009 conference).

The resource is designed to help both students and tutors understand and overcome the challenges of group work. The learning path involves a series of 10 episodes, taking five students through the journey of a group work project. Each episode highlights a different aspect of working as part of a group and includes video, audio, discussion points and a range of additional resources. The resource can be found at www.learnhighergroupwork.com/

In 2008 'Making group-work work' was nominated in the British Universities Film & Video Council's prestigious Learning on Screen Awards. This was one three productions that have been nominated in the past two years in which Mark Smith and Steven White have been key contributors.

Veritas motion graphics now online

2009-11-18T11:05:00.000-08:00

Leeds Media Services have created a motion graphic video demonstrating the new Veritas system.

The video was used on the Veritas stand at the 100% Design exhibition in London that ran from the 24th to the 27th of September. The video is now being used on the Veritas homepage www.veritas-uk.net.

Veritas™ the newest and most design-forward system of translucent ResinArt™ Panels destined to challenge and inspire designers and architects worldwide. They're an extension of your inspiration, allowing you to tell vivid, unforgettable stories without saying a word. Ultimately, Veritas ResinArt Panels give you a whole new language for communicating about space and transforming it in ways you never thought possible.

Leeds Media Services create induction clips for Leeds University Business School

2009-11-18T11:03:00.000-08:00

Leeds Media Services have completed filming and editing a number of induction clips for new students starting at the school in the autumn. The clips are hoted by staff from the school and are intended to help students get used to the school and university life in general.

Leeds Media Services help promote new low fat cheese

2009-11-18T11:02:00.001-08:00

Througout August and Setptember we have been working with Kerry Foods to promote their new low fat mature cheese Kerry LowLow - www.kerrylowlow.com. This work was in preparation for the release of their new multi-million pound advert that was broadcast for the first time on the 14th of October 2009.

2009-11-18T11:00:00.000-08:00

July 2009

Leeds Media Services record plant sciences lecture series

Leeds Media Services complete filming of the Gatsby Plants Summer School 2009 lecture series.

The 5th Gatsby Plants Summer School took place at the Emergency Planning College near York between 5th - 11th July 2009. The Gatsby Plants Summer School continues to be a successful medium through which those at the forefront of their subject can simply convey their passions to students eager to be excited by science and its opportunities.
The lecture series can be found online at www.gatsbyplants.leeds.ac.uk/index.php.

What a difference a decade makes

2009-08-05T07:01:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago I was working for UPS. I didn't like it but I needed a job and along it came. Whilst there I used to long for the day when I could be my own boss and run my own video production company...

My way out of UPS came in the form on a job advert posted on a website forum. Such things are commonplace nowadays but back then you never really knew if the advert was real or not. The job was for a trainee technician at MultiMedia Direct in London. It looked pretty good. Okay, I wouldn't be working in video production but I would get to build non-linear edit systems and use the latest video editing software. So, I applied by e-mail and managed to get an interview. I got the job and in November 1999 I moved to High Barnet from where I would travel by tube to Islington everyday to work as a Trainee Technician.

Video editing systems back then were tricky things to set up. It wasn't a matter of going to PC World and buying something off the shelf and using Windows Movie Maker. You had a choice of Windows 98 or NT and Adobe Premiere 5 or Ulead Media Studio. Pentium 3 chips had only just been released and 256MB of RAM was a lot. Putting an editing card into a PC wasn't as easy as just sticking it in there. You had to make sure it was the right PCI slot so that it wouldn't be sharing resources with anything else. Then you had to make sure Windows was optimised to run the video editing software. The video and audio being out of sync was a common problem.

Anyway, why I am I rambling on about the good ol' days? Well, we've recently been asked to recommend some small, easy to use camcorders and came across the Flip UltraHD. I'd heard of similar things before but hadn't realised how good they were. HD video recording for less than £200. Okay the quality isn't anywhere near a proper camera but is perfectly acceptable for simple recording and family movies. Editing on computers has moved on so much since then too. Apple Macs and PCs now come with built in editing software and there's no need for an extra capture card.

In ten years we've come a long way. You can evan record and edit on mobile phones on your mobile phone now. I remember the mobile I had when I moved to London. It was huge and text messaging was as sophisticated as it got.

As I sit here dreaming of being someone else's boss and becoming a millionaire I wonder where we'll be in another ten years?

14 days in

2009-07-14T07:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked our 14th day of trading and things are going well. We've just finished filming a series of lectures at the Gatsby Plants Summer School 2009 held at the Emergency Planning College in Easingwold near York - http://www.gatsbyplants.leeds.ac.uk/SS/index.html

The filming went very well. We also filmed some student interviews talking about what they liked about the summer school. The short video will be online in the coming months.

In a previous life...

2009-06-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

... I was (actually still am at time of writing) a Video Editor at the University of Leeds. It was a pretty cool job as we got to work on all sorts of projects from filming lectures, encoding stuff for the web to learning and teaching, training and promo videos. Every day was different. Sadly the university has decided to close it's multimedia department. But, a pheonix rises from the ashes in the form of Leeds Media Services. Two weeks today we officially start trading. Very exciting!!!

One of the most interesting projects we worked on was the 'Maths Matters in Computing' series of videos. We finished the last 2 videos off on Monday and now they're all online. The series is designed to convey the importance of an understanding of the mathematics that underpin computer science. Take a look at the first video in the series - Games.

The other videos can be found at:

Chance and Uncertainty

http://lutube.leeds.ac.uk/avsmas/videos/593

Hill Climbing

http://lutube.leeds.ac.uk/avsmas/videos/869

Optimisation

http://lutube.leeds.ac.uk/avsmas/videos/870

Adventures in business

2009-05-12T05:47:00.000-07:00

As I write there are 50 days left until we start our new business. It's a scary time starting a business especially when the whole world is in a recession. Despite this Steve and I are confident we can survive and prosper. We both have lots of experience and bags of enthusiasm. Plus we already have a number of jobs lines up already, which always helps.

I've effectivley been running my own business on the side for about 7 years as a freelance video editor and cameraman, working mainly with Dave Redmond of Complete Video Solutions. When you're doing this full-time though there is a lot more to think about.

Business Link have been very helpful with lots of information and the free consultation sessions. They set up meetings for marketing, SEO and accountancy for us which have all helped tremendously. If you're thinking of starting a business I would definetley recommend contacting them. Another good starting place is the Enterprise shows - www.theenterpriseshows.com. Everyone you might want to speak to if you're thinking of starting a business are all under one roof. The shows are finished for this year but will be running again next year.

Business Link's website is - www.businesslink.gov.uk