We will be using Little bits at Plug-In. Little bits is a New York City-based startup that makes an open source library of modular electronics, which snap together with small magnets for prototyping and  learning. 

Plug-In

Has anyone else noticed that the UK's attitude towards digital education is finally starting to change? Slowly but surely it seems progress is finally being made, media platforms are starting to educate us in the need to embrace the new technology that is out there. It feels as if society is slowly entering an era of digital change. We have witnessed the advancement of technology like your average runner witnesses Usain in lane one, as a majority we just haven't been able to keep up! These days it's great to see that there is a push towards learning code, experimenting with computer circuit boards and a general teaching in the workings of apps, games and digital technology. Europe is starting to wake up and take action! That is of no surprise when you read articles that suggest Europe will face a significant shortfall of almost one million ICT professionals by 2020 if we don't start to produce more tech-savy individuals. 

It's great to see so many creative educational tools out there today that will introduce you to these digital technologies. So Signals is rounding up the best of these and we are going to make sure that YOU are plugged in. Our event Plug-In is our answer to this problem! Plug-In is a 3 day event that explores new digital technologies that are being used as educational tools. The tools are great fun and inspire people to explore these digital technologies further. The three day digital symposium will take place at Signals Media Arts Centre from 20th-22nd October. The event will bring people together and educate them in todays digital tech through, talks, workshops and practical sessions. Over the days we will be exploring RaspberryPi, SonicPi, games, Apps, Makey Makey, Little bits etc. So if you feel like your behind or want to see what innovative digital technology is out there then don't hesitate to come along to our Plug'In event! Keep your eyes out for posts on what each day has to offer and videos on the digital technology we will be exploring.

I Am Creative Project

The Ideas Foundation collaborated with the Signals Media Arts Centre, to work with the children from the North East Essex Additional Provision School. The Ideas Foundation runs an educational project called ‘I am creative’. This allows youngsters from the age of 13-19 to explore the creative industries and let them present a live brief for a global company, like Barclays, E-ON and many more.

So for this time around, the students had to come up with an amazing marketing idea for Avis. Avis have just signed a 4 year sponsorship deal with Mahindra Race team in Formula e. So after thorough researching and brainstorming for four days, they not only came up with a brilliant idea but also decided to animate it!!

We can’t wait to share the final product with you amazing people! The students worked very hard on it and we had so much fun! Now the project tutors are editing the animation and behind the scenes. We hope for the very best for the dedicated, intelligent and incredibly witty group of students that we worked with.  “The heart and soul of a company is creativity and innovation”, said Bob Iger and this group of talented students are definitely helping Avis to reach that goal with their creative and innovative idea.

Trail Blazers

Hello there lovely people!

This summer holiday let your children experience something new everyday, in the world of animation, art and drama! This innovative session grants children to break free and connect with their creativity and imagination.  They will also get a glimpse of all that goes on behind the scenes at an art gallery, an arts centre, a theatre and a media centre. 

This session is divided into two groups, according to the age of 6-8 years and 9-11 years. So for all the young creative minds out there, this would be the perfect opportunity to expand your creative knowledge within a safe, professional and fun studio environment. At the end of the week, participants receive an Arts Award and get to share their work with friends and family!

For more information and also to book a place call Mercury Theatre Ticket Sales on 1206 573 948 or you can book online at www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/event/trail-blazers-2015/ (Some bursaries available, please ask when booking).

Sessions and Age: Arts Award Discover (6-8 years); Arts Award Explore (9-11 years)

Date: Monday 10^th – Friday 14^th August 2015

Timings: Arts Award Discover from 10:00am – 12:30pm

               Arts Award Explore from 1:30pm – 4:30pm

Rate: £60 per child

Locations: Firstsite, Mercury Theatre, Colchester Arts Centre and Signals Media Arts Centre. 

Join our Youth Film Club!

Signals Youth Film Club is all about the kids and their creative minds. Our Youth Film Club provides excellent sessions where compatible children come together and share their innovative filmmaking ideas. Along with that they polish and develop media skills from animation, cinematography, photography, editing to web development and social media. The club provides you with amazing opportunities to work within an inventive space, where you not only learn but also have fun!

Our Youth Film Club runs every Monday from 4:30 – 7:00 pm. Registration is free and sessions are £3.50 per week. From September 2015 the Youth Film Club will be split into two groups: 9 – 13 year olds and 14 to 19 year olds.   

So if you are interested in filmmaking and want to gain professional media knowledge…  then what are you waiting for!? To sign up and find more information email yfc@signals.org.uk

~Thank you! 

BFI Academy Review by 2013 Participant Tomas Saunders

Thinking about applying for the 2014 BFI Academy? Why not read this blog by Tom who took part in the 1st BFI Academy in 2013 and is currently on a work experience placement with us.  

• The BFI offers a wide range of practical filmmaking skills and challenging tasks that help bring your creative ideas into action. There are many workshops that focus on particular elements that all help to bring the film together and they allow you to have the experience you need to use them in practice when it comes to your production. As well as having fun and enjoying what the BFI has to offer, it also promotes your leadership, teamwork and communication skills as you will have the chance to work independently and as a team throughout the course, which will be beneficial to you as you will leave the course with film contacts and a set of new personal filmmaking skills, such as; handling lighting, sound and camera equipment, using various editing software’s, creating stories and scriptwriting, casting a short film with actors and receiving tips and advice on how to break into the film industry.

Throughout the BFI course we were also able to visit different places that specialises in filmmaking. My favourite visit was to Elstree Studios where TV productions like “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” and “Strictly Come Dancing” were filmed. They also created blockbuster films like “Star Wars”, “The King’s Speech” and “Hot Fuzz”. The experience was amazing to behold and we were able to see an insight of upcoming productions and the sets of previous shows such as “Big Brother”.

This visit was one of my highlights of the whole course as it was inspirational to me and was proof of what you can achieve if you follow your dreams and take small opportunities that can lead to big success.  After visiting the Studios I had a greater sense of what filmmaking was like and knew that I wanted a future career in professional filmmaking productions. I never thought I’d get to visit the sets and have a tour around the place where thousands of celebrities have worked to create a blockbuster film together and it felt incredible. The BFI could be your chance to get that experience you need to develop your career for the future in the British film industry.

By applying for the BFI course, you get the chance to make a short five-minute film to be shown on big screen but you also get the chance to get a Level 2 Silver Arts Award at the same time! This can be achieved by completing the blogging, which won’t be as much effort as you think as long as you get on top of it every week whilst it is still fresh in the mind. If you complete the arts award then it is a great thing to have on your CV when applying for jobs in the film industry or it is something beneficial to have when writing your personal statement for different universities.
The experience is amazing and by the end of the course you feel as if you have accomplished something individually and together as a team. You also then have lots of new friends and film contacts that you are able to stay in touch with. For example, the group that applied for the course I was on are now all friends with me on Facebook and we still invite each other to film events in case anybody might be interested. It is important to stay in touch with everybody from the course as another opportunity may arise to take part on a paid production set and it could be the start to your future carer.

My aims for the future are to start off from the bottom working as a runner for a production and planning on working my way up to something more involved with a film production such as becoming one of the editors or script writers or something within the production that I would like doing. As I love to write stories and come up with creative ideas, it might be that I produce a script for a movie and work alongside the director in a production to capture my ideas.

There are some disadvantages to the BFI course as you have to make sure that you are committed to it, to your filmmaking team and to your personal blog that keeps track of each session you have completed every Saturday. As the course was designed for 16-19 year olds, most of us were studying at college and so it was hard to commit to the course when all the college work was piling up and you had to try and prioritise. However, even though you do have to put some time and effort into pre-production and blogging, you should be able to cope with the workload if you continue to note down what you have done every week and keep track of the events. You definitely have to be dedicated to the course as well as being on a Saturday it does take up most of the day and therefore half of your weekend and sometimes you will have to be prepared to work on the project on the Sunday as well.

However saying that, I would recommend taking the course as it allows you to experience a one in a lifetime opportunity to work amongst other film fanatics and to discover new areas in filmmaking where you might have an unknown talent. As the editor for my group, I was able to experience new editing software I had never used before called Premiere Pro and enjoyed adapting to the new software. I thought that the final outcome of my edit and of our five-minute film was rather successful in the end and it was all down to the team’s performance and the support and guidance we received from our tutors and British directors and filmmakers.

The tutor who inspired me the most to pursue this career path was Jane Gull as she has been an actress in different production sets and influenced myself and my group when we were in pre-production. She has already managed to set me up with work experience at Signals where I completed the film course and I may be able to get a job as a runner in a film production soon after if I continue to take the opportunities given to me.  Other people who have inspired me to work towards film production are writers Anthony Horowitz and J.K Rowling who have both written novels that have been made into worldwide films and encouraged me to be as successful as they have been. Director David Fincher has also been an inspiring person to me that has influenced my life choices and he has created films such as “Se7en”, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and “The Social Network”.
David Fincher is possibly the most successful director in today’s society and continues to express his creative views and ideas through his extraordinary films and I hope that one day I can be a part of something just as successful, starting off my career through the BFI.

Do you have a budding Tim Burton in your midst?

Wonder how animated films by the likes of Tim Burton are made?

This Easter Signals are branching out and running lots of creative workshops featuring filmmaking, video game making, stop-motion animation and photography, designed for both adults and kids..

The most fascinating children’s stories are the ones from which parents can derive as much pleasure as their children they read them to. These are stories that speak on multiple levels: they are great escapes that can return readers to adulthood to discover all the hidden meanings, but they also educate and inspire. The same can be said of movies; they reach across generations, rewarding both the young and the young at heart.

Many of these features are presented in Tim Burton’s movies.  Whether bringing to life children’s fairytales or his very own personal experiences, such as ‘The Nightmare before Christmas’, ‘Batman’,  ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, or  ‘Alice in Wonderland’, Tim Burton has the unique ability to present his movies with his own distinctive cinematic style, offering a delightful and resonant versions of children’s favourites fables.

If you have a budding Tim Burton in your midst, perhaps a set of filmmaking, scriptwriting and editing related workshops is in order. Apply for a place now and give the next generation of filmmakers the opportunity to discover their talents: 

Film in a Day (12+), £25
Monday 14th April, 10am - 4 pm

Fancy a challenge? Try making a film in one day. We'll kick start the morning coming up with ideas, a script and and storyboard, moving swiftly onto shooting a short film and editing it together.

Claymation (7+), £22
Tuesday 15th April, 10am-3 pm

Create your own story, characters and sets, then learn the basics of stop-motion animation using plasticine to create a short animate film.

Stop-Motion Animation (9+), £22
Wednesday, 16th April - 10am - 3pm

If you have ever wondered how animated films by the likes of Tim Burton are made, then this workshop will show you how it's done. Using a range of artist materials including plasticine, you will create your own short animate film from beginning to end and edit it together on a professional animation software.

Green Screen (7+), £15
Thursday 17th April, 10am - 1pm

A fun and active workshop for children that puts you in the heart of the action. Learn about 'green screen' special effects and make your own short film or TV news broadcast using professional cameras and software. 

To book a place, call 01206 560255 or visit www.signals.org.uk