Two groups of Coleg Gwent students experienced the squeeze of tight deadlines and pressure of client satisfaction in the fast-paced media industry earlier this year when they produced adverts for local radio and a young people’s drug and alcohol support service.
A group of first diploma media and Welsh Baccalaureate students from Coleg Gwent’s Ebbw Vale Campus were given a week to put their creative ideas into practice for two website adverts on work experience at Brynmawr Radio Station. Students rose to the challenge and managed the whole project from start to finish including talking to senior company managers, creating a filming schedule, organising resources and crew, scripting and storyboarding.
Ebbw Vale Campus media Tutor Lynda Lloyd Probert said: “Students handled the pressure really well and were pleased with the results. The project allowed them to work for real clients under time constraints to produce a professional product for the station’s website. The skills they’ve been using will be used in a variety of settings during the course including film and documentary making, and will be vital for a successful career in the media industry.”
National diploma in media students also found out what life behind the lens was really like when they worked with Fusion Young People’s Drug and Alcohol Service over the winter to create two adverts aimed at preventing drug taking.
Students spent eight weeks developing ideas into scripts, before filming, producing, creating voice-overs and editing.
Daniel Jones from Fusion said: “I really enjoyed working with the students and found they were very interested in what Fusion do. The work they produced was to an extremely high standard and we hope to be using it very soon. We hope this will be the start of more work with Coleg Gwent.”
Student Dale Biggs, 17, from Tredegar said: “The experience has been hard work but well worth it, it’s really encouraged me to have the confidence to go for a career in media. We’ve gained skills in filming, editing and developing a project, all under realistic industry conditions.”
