Teaboy Games & JohnnySix
Confirmed at Plug-In: Tuesday 20th of October

Plug-In to the digital technologies in cultural learning Get hands on and inspired! Fantastic news! Teaboy Games and JohnnySix have confirmed that they will be running a workshop about game design at our Plug-In event on the 20th October! During the Games and Apps day of Plug-In we will be exploring the specific benefits of game design for places of learning. Teaboy Games and JohnnySix will introduce you to some entry-level tools and software through their workshop. Teaboy’s first ever game, ‘Fallen’, was recently featured as the ‘Best New Game’ on the app store!  Receiving 4.5/5 stars, Fallen is ‘unique and incredibly addictive!’ – Pocket Full of Apps. The TeaBoys will give a talk on their success story and Johnny will give a talk on his arcade style games. They will then run a workshop together on how easy and fun it can be to make unique games. For more info check out: Teaboy Games website or Fallen's trailer maybe even download this addictive game! JohnnySix website and check out his work and even play his games! So do not miss out on this fantastic training and learning opportunity! Get hands on and inspired by booking your place. Affordably priced, book your place at Plug-In £15 Plug-in per day £35 Plug-In all three days Call the Signals Team on: 01206 560255 to avoid the booking fee. All the best, Signals Education Team!

Inspired by film? Do you love getting behind a camera? Do you want to learn more about animation? 

Signals is looking for the next generation of young film makers!

If you are 9 – 19 and passionate about film, why not join Signals Media Arts Centres’ Youth Film Club and try your hand at film production. You will have the chance to experience all the excitement and fun of a film shoot, gain new skills in script-writing, directing, sound recording, editing and animation.

Signals’ experts will pass on the principles of storytelling, film language and video production, providing you with the basic skills you will need to make your own films.

Courses at Signals are designed for small groups to work with high quality equipment and resources, whilst remaining affordable and are great for anyone who wants to learn new skills or try something new.

Last year SignalsYouth Film Club made a documentary about 'Essex Girls' funded by the heritage lottery fund, which aimed to de-bunk the negative stereotype around Essex women through exploring their story throughout history, from the Witch Trails to the Dagenham girls fight for equal pay in the 60s.

We give the young people the chance to decide what sort of film projects they want to do, so also do a variety of fictional projects.

YouthFilm Club meets every Monday evening, in two different age groups: 9 – 13 year olds, from 4pm to 5pm (£2.50) and 14 – 19 year olds from 5pm – 7pm, (£3.50). To sign up and for more information contact a member of the education team on 01206 560 255 or education@signals.org.uk.

Signals Media Arts Centre has been the centre for independent filmmaking and media education in Essex for 26 years and is involved in a variety of community projects.

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!