News Stories and Blogs at Dv8 Sussex

Jake, The RedRed Video – Video Production & Motion Design, Industry Guest Speaker

0

Be human. Talk to People. Stay Focused. Stay Passionate.

One of the most inspiring things about having industry guests deliver sessions at Dv8 is to see just how passionately they speak about their craftsmanship after they’ve spent years creating content / products and mastering their skills. This was absolutely the case for Jake, a Video Production & Motion Designer who gave his time to share his experience and industry tips with our Introduction to Music, Media & Digital students.

View The RedRed Video’s website and Jake’s portfolio here.

Jake's Top Tips for Succeeding in the TV and Film Industry

Actors are great but they cost a lot of money – do you have enough budget?
You may have a lot of films / work but not all of it needs to be in your portfolio. Cherry pick your best work. Quality over quantity.
When you’re just starting out, be diverse with your work. Produce content for all kinds of genres and styles.
When a client comes to you and doesn’t have a clear vision of what they want to make, use it as a chance to experiment; actors, lighting, location, SFX, etc..
Offer your experience to clients. You have first hand experience of what tends to work and doesn’t.
Take time out to storyboard and draft out concepts. You can always pull these out to show to clients.
It’s great to have an online presence but just be aware that you will need to put time aside into managing these. If you have too many it can take up a lot of your time. Someone could leave you a negative review if you don’t respond to their query quickly enough.
Be human and talk to people – not a corporate robot! Discuss ideas over a coffee, not just via phone and email.

If you’re shooting film in a public location, make sure that you get the proper permission to do so. If you turn up with your clients and equipment and get asked to move, it’s going to be embarrassing and look highly unprofessional.
If you are passionate about the services you offer and work you produce, then every day you will network with people naturally.
Don’t be afraid to be pedantic. If you’re at a set and you’ve got loads of equipment, don’t be in a rush to leave. Ensure you pack down properly and have all of your kit. You’ll be annoyed at yourself if you lose a thousand pound piece of equipment!
Back up all of your work after shooting. And then back it up again on another device. You can never be too safe.
Remember that when working with bands, they aren’t trained actors. They’re performers. Standing in front of a camera might not be natural to them. Take your time with them. If they’re looking tired or getting a bit agitate, take a break, help them to refocus and relax.
Remember that videos are forever so make sure you put in 110% effort and take your time to get everything right.
Have good communication with your client leading up to the shoot. Make sure they know the schedule and running order of the day.
One man film crew: low budget, full control but more responsibility, light and manoeuvrable.
Larger crew: Bigger budgets, more outgoings, spread the workload among a team – manage that team, bigger vision and more time required.
Equipment hire costs can be expensive so budget correctly.

THE MINDSET

Strong Ideas / Clear Goals

Plan Well

Execute Even Better

Stay Focused

Stay Passionate

We want to say a big thank you to Jake for giving up his time to inspire the next generation of film makers and creatives!

If any of our students or aspiring film makers want to check out Jake’s presentation with some really useful information that he delivered, he’s kindly shared it here.

Save Dv8 Sussex from possible closure – Sign our petition!

0

SAVE DV8 SUSSEX FROM POSSIBLE CLOSURE

Update 12th February 2019

Thank you all for your huge support in our campaign to keep Dv8 open and offering our unique service for young people in Sussex. Over 2500 people have now signed the petition and hundreds of messages of support posted. Please keep sharing so we can get up to 3,000 signatures.

The case conference to decide our future is on Wednesday morning. We will not be able to attend the meeting, so can only keep putting evidence their way to support our case.

We would encourage all to please also write directly to the ESFA if you possibly can by late afternoon today (12/02/19). Please email to Enquiries.EFA@education.gov.uk.

This week we were also very encouraged to receive letters supporting our campaign from Caroline Lucas MP for Brighton & Hove, and Huw Merriman, MP for Bexhill and Battle.

Please see Caroline’s letter here.

Please see Huw’s letter here.

Thank you all again for your support, it is hugely appreciated. We hope to be able to provide further positive news after Wednesday’s meeting at the ESFA.

Update 30th January 2019

Allow Dv8 to continue to recruit for this year and deliver from September 2019 – Sign our petition or send statements of support to info@dv8sussex.com

As you may be aware, Dv8 Sussex was recently inspected by Ofsted, and received a final grading of Inadequate, despite our best ever year of results in 17/18. We published a statement detailing our response to the inspection on 18th January.

The Inadequate grading has now however triggered a process within the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) that has led to an immediate suspension of student recruitment within this year and our 2019/20 contract being placed on hold, pending review. There are currently around 25 students planned to join Dv8 programmes in February and March this year that will now not be able to do so and over 100 current applicants to date for September’s courses.

We urgently need the support of parents, students, stakeholders and partner agencies to help us make our case that we are a unique provision locally that cannot easily be replaced and that our contract should be reinstated as soon as possible.

If Dv8 were not to deliver in Sussex next year, there would be around 200 students having to find an alternative college in September to meet their needs. Around 100 students would be in the middle of two-year courses, around 20 High-Needs students who are settled and supported at Dv8 would need to find an alternative college. There is a real risk that a number of our students would not find suitable provision and may become disengaged from education completely.

There is an excellent range of provision on offer locally through larger colleges, however our students are often looking for something different. Our students join Dv8 due to the unique kind of provision we offer; not just a creative college, but with small class sizes, a highly supportive and inclusive environment, where young people are nurtured to develop confidence, achieve and progress.

Young people and parents tell us that Dv8 was the only place that they have ever felt comfortable and able to achieve. The majority of our young people progress back into further education at the end of their course, ready to move on and to have successful lives.

Many of our students simply do not thrive in larger educational environments and may not have achieved previously in school, or in the larger main colleges. We do not feel that there is any like for like provision locally that offers something similar.

Our learner numbers have grown by 20% each year over the last four years. For the last two years the ESFA have approved contract growth at Dv8 to meet local need, based partly on the closure of other local independant providers such as Access to Music and Nacro in Brighton. There is a real need and demand for the sort of provision that Dv8 offers and the positive impact we have on young people’s lives.

We want to hear your stories so that we can provide this evidence to the ESFA to help them make the right decision to enable Dv8 to bounce back from this most challenging period and become the Good or Outstanding provider that we have always strived to become.

If you are a parent of a young person who has succeeded at Dv8, if you studied with us and went on to a successful career or just that we made a positive impact on your life, please get in touch and leave your story.

If you have worked with us and were inspired by the work that we do, please leave a message of support. If you just know of us and want to support us in our mission to “enable creative thinkers to be successful in work and life”, then please sign this petition.

If you are a current student or parent / carer of a current student or someone that has applied to join us in September please leave a message of support highlighting why you chose / are choosing Dv8.

It would be helpful if you could leave your name, if happy for us to use this, and also if you could state if you are an ex or current student, parent or other interested party. We aim to send hundreds of responses to the ESFA by next Wednesday so please leave messages this week if you can.

Please show your support not only for our current and future students who could be left extremely disappointed but for the future of Dv8 and to protect one of the last truly independent providers in the region.

Your help and support is very much appreciated.

Some supportive messages we have already received:

“Dv8 has changed me so much! They have built up my confidence and improved my skills and all of my family and friends have noticed the positive changes in me.” Ex Dv8 Student

“Since doing the Level 1 course at Dv8 I have progressed to a Level 3 Music Production course. Learning in a small class was brilliant and really allowed me to find the things I was best at” Ex Dv8 student

“I was moved to email you following the release of Ofsted’s report and express my solidarity with you as educators, and gratitude for all the work you put in. You have made an enormous difference to my daughter who has struggled to engage with formal education throughout her school career. It might not look like it but her engagement with your staff and your course is the single most positive learning experience she has had.” Current Dv8 Parent

“This ofsted decision is so so wrong. My son was at Dv8 for 2 years and came out with a distinction. He is autistic. And found when we were looking for a college it was his favourite. The staff are amazing and very supportive not just to my son but to me too. How can a college be classed as inadequate when they believed in my son and his dream. They could see his ability and worked with him to develop it and improve it. Giving him confidence and belief in himself. Which his school didn’t, if anything they stripped it away. My son wouldn’t of been able to move onto a bigger college if it hadn’t been for DV8” Dv8 parent of Ex student

“Dv8 have been amazing. The support they gave my son has been fantastic. He grew in confidence and achieved so much more than his school had ever thought possible. He has now moved on to a bigger college, something which at one point he would not have done. Thank you so much to all at Dv8” Dv8 parent of current student

Ofsted Inspection Statement

0

Statement Re: Dv8 Sussex’s Recent Ofsted Inspection and Outcome

Following our current Ofsted inspection and overall grading of inadequate, please see link to a statement regarding the matter from Dv8’s Managing Director Dan Wallman.

Statement Re: Dv8 Sussex’s Recent Ofsted Inspection and Outcome

Download: PDF | Word Doc

For further information or to ask any questions regarding the current position, our plans for next year or our current actions taken in response to Ofsted, please contact the centre on:

Phone: 01273 550 432 ext 212 or 213

Email: info@dv8sussex.com

Speakeasy – A show by the Event Management Team

1

Speakeasy by Event Management Students — Taken by Level 3 Media Production student James

'Mad Dog Kelly found dead! Grand opening of the Speakeasy to continue as planned...'

On Friday 14th December, the Event Management students held their very first show after months of preparations. This is their write up of the planning and production of the Speakeasy…

The day had arrived where as a class, we were tasked with planning our first event!

The first thing we had to do was come up with a theme. And so, on a sunny day in The Pavillion Gardens, our group decided our theme would be a 1920’s prohibition era and that we would run A Speakeasy.

It was a bit of a 6 week blur from there, from allocating our roles, sewing and making all of the costumes ourselves to booking our taxis to transport all of our instruments to the venue.

We all had jobs to complete during the planning process and they all overlapped. Some of us were booking acts and some of us were working production but we made sure we had a really thorough planning period.

The day before the event we hit our first hurdle. There was an issue with our instruments and some of our bands cancelled. But with a bit of quick thinking we managed to call in some favours and luckily in house we had our talented opera singer Jasmine who agreed to perform – we all stayed calm and were able to problem solve well.

It was the day of the event – I could feel the anticipation in the air. We met at college and talked about the day ahead. Soon we were at the venue running around trying to get all the decor up and do a sound check all within our hour get in! Our venue was The Walrus – which was so perfect for our speakeasy theme. And they gave it to us for free (huge thanks to The Walrus)!

The doors opened and we were off! At 1:30pm the entrance was flooded with people. We had a queue! We asked some people what they thought of the event and they said that “the performances were really good throughout the night.” – One person interviewed said they would give the event “10/10”.

We were really lucky to have amazing performers who were really talented and helped to bring the event to life so a big thank you to – Miri, Jessie, Jamie, Ed, Latya, Alex, Will, Sian Anouska, Catherine and Jasmine. Also a big thank you to all of the staff at The Walrus.

Overall I think we had a hugely successful event with almost 100 attendees and lots of great feedback. I know as a class we were really happy with our efforts and we are very excited to start planning our next event!

If you’d like to learn the nitty and gritty of planning and production for Events and even put on your own, check out our Level 3 course here and apply to start in September 2019!

Industry Guest Speaker – Richard Dufty

0

"Your showreel is your calling card."

On Tuesday 4th December, Media Production students welcomed Motion Graphics Designer Richard Dufty to hear about his career in the media industry and to learn from his experience and passion for all things graphic.

Richard has had a long and successful career in the industry. He first began his journey at university and since worked on a variety of projects encompassing branding, post-production, broadcast design, channel launches, live television and digital video. Richard primarily works in After Effects and has his own studio in Brighton.

Check out his incredible portfolio here.

Our favourite pieces of advice from Richard:

Your showreel is your calling card.
There are opportunities everywhere in the film and tv industry – every piecce of film needs editing, putting together and animating.
Never had a single employer ask to see his university degree. Having said that, Richard learnt a lot from his uni experience that he continues to use every day.
A lot of your work will come from people you know or once knew, e.g. those at university.
Employers see real value in the projects you create yourself.
Have a passion and build a strong body of work.
Behance is key for professionals wanting to showcase their work online.
Instagram is also really powerful
Get a Vimeo acount – professional ad easy to embed – looks a bit slicker than YouTube
When seeking work experience opportunities, find a company you like, then source the right contact on their LinkedIn page. Next find a piece of work or a campaign about the company you really liked and highlight it in your email. Show your interest in their company. Blanket emails to multiple companies don’t get you very far. Stand out from the crowd. Follow up after a week if you don’t hear anything.

Learn to speak the language of the industry you’re interested in.
You can only get your personal production value so high on your own.
Go to conferences, network with people. They want to talk to you!
Conferences are broadcasted online if you wish to see them.
If you can get into a big company then you absolutely should because you’ll learn heaps from those people with experience there.
The industry is demanding and exciting. There are always new technologies, softwares and plugins – you must keep up to date.
Back up your work online! At some point, you will lose what’s on an external hardrive. Don’t be that person.
Loads of YouTube tutorials for After Effects.

If you want to learn new digital skills and make your own graphics, apply to study on our Level 2 / 3 Media Production course in Brighton or Bexhill next September!

Brighton & Bexhill Careers Day 2018

0

Two days full of industry guest speakers and skills workshops

Careers Day is all about giving our young people valuable insights into the working world and inspiration for their next steps in life. We explored University as a progression route, the types of Apprenticeships you can get and how they can get themselves meaningful work experience.

We also invited in some amazing industry guests to share their experiences and wisdom on succeeding in the creative industries, and to deliver some exciting skills workshops.

We’d like to say a big thanks to everyone that was a part of our two fantastic careers days – we couldn’t have done it without you. Below is just a flavour of some of the guests we had in and what we learnt from their sessions.

Adam Sheldon, Big Egg Films – Running your own business and being self employed

Adam is the co-founder and director of Big Egg, a full service production company in Brighton. Adam and David have a combined 15 years or so in the film and TV industries and have worked with Sky, Disney, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Nowness, BFI amongst others. Their most recent projects include a homelessness awareness short film for Brighton Housing Trust released this month.

See Big Egg’s work here.

What we learnt from this session…

Big Egg gives work experience placements.
Adam recognised that videos and narratives need to be shorter. Find your niche and unique selling point (USP).
Owning a business is scary but liberating.
You might have your own team that you need to then pay wages to.
Learn about invoices. It’s easy to forget about these kind of things.
People like having fluidity when they’re self employed. The opportunity to have different roles on different days for different companies.
If you’re working in media and entertainment and unsure what to charge your clients, BECTU can help and will make sure you don’t charge too little or too much.
Charging too little for your services can be just a put off as overcharging.
Brighton Film Makers group has loads of opportunities for (you guessed it) film makers.
Also check out Mandy, Shooting People, Talent Circle.
Don’t work or surround yourself with arrogant people or those that just want to moan. It sounds obvious but you don’t need to surround yourself with negativity.
Don’t be afraid to turn work down if you don’t think you’d enjoy working on it. If you do accept, you won’t produce your best work.
Do get your foot in the door. It’s better to be at the bottom of a ladder you want to climb than no ladder at all.

Sam Watts – Make Real

Sam has been working in the games industry for the past 15 years for a variety of global development and publishing studios. He’s worked on MMOs like Guild Wars with NCsoft, casual Facebook games for Zynga and a range of agencies creating promotional gaming titles for the likes of Sony PlayStation, BBC, Channel 4, Sky and more.

More information on Make Real here.

What we learnt from this session…

45% of the games industry is made up from Europe.
There are 145 million active steam users.
Unity and Unreal software make games development accessible to everyone.
There are so many different roles in the industry, particularly in big companies. Find what your strengths are, you don’t need to be a master at everything.
Learn new tools, meet new people wherever you can; game jams, networking events…
It’s important when in a big studio to have a diverse team with lots of different backgrounds.
There are 35 game companies in Brighton.
Sam wants to help develop more work experience and internship opportunities for young people and make it so that there are less game development degree led routes into the industry.

Sarah Perryman – Brighton Fringe

Sarah Perryman is the Participation & Development Manager for Brighton Fringe, and works with over 5,000 Participants, Venue Managers and Arts Industry Professionals each year. She started her career as a performer, before moving into arts, marketing and administration. Sarah has worked as a stage manager, a production manager, tour manager and front of house manager. She was a freelance theatre producer for 10 years, taking shows to Brighton and Edinburgh Fringes as well as touring nationally and internationally.

Click here to check out Brighton Fringe.

What we learnt from this session…

Learnt about how Brighton Fringe works
How they could put on their own shows for Brighton Fringe
Came up with their own fantasy shows including emo-burlesque and drag-con
Brighton Fringe put 1000 events on in 2018 (4000 shows!)
Over 160 venues across Brighton
The festival is about celebrating creative freedom. There were events in really abstract places, like in someone’s bathroom!
There are lots of support for artists.

Nick Ford Photography

Nick has studied photography and has worked in the field for 10 years. His background has included working as Senior Photographer and Photo Manager on P&O Cruises & Cunard. This has enabled him to travel the world, to some amazing places including Sydney, Hong Kong and Dubai. His work now is portrait, wedding and commercial photography.

Click here to see Nick’s work.

What we learnt from this session…

It’s important to maintain relationships with client and people you meet. You can end up with a lot of return business.
You don’t want to create more work for yourself so make sure you plan ahead, including all of the little details that make the bigger picture. Be strategic.
Don’t miss opportunities! If you need to get up early or stay up late for that perfect shot, do it.
A good rule when out and about shooting is to have two camera bodies each with a different lens.

Sam Hannah – Small Pond Studios

Sam is the Booking and Promotions agent for successful Brighton record label and recording studio Small Pond. Sam books and promotes shows and tours all over the UK and Europe. Sam studied music at university before joining Small Pond. He has worked with The Physics House Band, Delta Sleep, Mogwai and Syd Arthur. He also runs his own promoting business called “Slippy H Presents”.

Click here to check out Small Pond.

What we learnt from this session.

Learnt how to put on the perfect gig – how to choose the right band and right venue. What forms of marketing to use to reach your audiences, how much to charge for tickets, etc
How to calculate a budget for a show.
General insights into the world of promoting (and specifically in Brighton).

Leon Holder – Audio Engineer at Hope and Ruin

Sam is the Booking and Promotions agent for successful Brighton record label and recording studio Small Pond. Sam books and promotes shows and tours all over the UK and Europe. Sam studied music at university before joining Small Pond. He has worked with The Physics House Band, Delta Sleep, Mogwai and Syd Arthur. He also runs his own promoting business called “Slippy H Presents”.

Click here to check out the Hope and Ruin.

What we learnt from this session.

Jac Mills – Elev8 Careers

Elev8 was here to help with the important decisions student need to make in their career journey. This could be anything from practical decision making (such as what GCSEs to take), to knowledge building (for example where you can take the courses that interest you) to skill building (such as CV writing and interview techniques) and some of life’s bigger questions along the way.

What we learnt from this session…

Professional online profiles are essential in helping you to promote yourselves and be more discoverable.
How to present yourself well in an interview – what to talk about and what not to say.
The different progression options available to young people.
Plan ahead,
Find employers your want to work for and approach them. Look up specific contacts on LinkedIn. If you don’t get a response, email them again. Persistence is great as long as it’s not annoying.

Lee Brighton – Label Manager for BBE Records Hastings

Lee Bright has been with Record Label BBE Music for 18 years now, joining them in their infancy, now part owner and label manager. BBE is globally renowned for releasing quality Hip Hop. Jazz, Disco, Rare Groove and Funk, and has represented artists such as; Mark Ronson, Masters At Work, J Dilla, Will I Am, Bilal, Paul Weller, John Morales to name but a few.

See BBE’s catalogue of music here.

What we learnt from this session…

You might not think it but it’s really important to get a good level of English and Maths as there’s lots of data to handle and communication to be had.
Lots of people don’t know how their royalties work and there is a good chance that some people will exploit that.
Make sure as an artist you know about the royalties and money you can tap into.
You don’t go into the music industry to make money – not a good mindset to have. You need to be passionate and it needs to be a lifestyle choice as you need to be switched on 24/7.
The internet gives everyone a way to broadcast themselves.
Try and get as much experience as you can as early as you can.
Engage with local labels and artists you like listening to. They love social media interaction.
Record Labels often offer internship placements. If you’re looking for experience, Lee might be able to help…
If nobody gives you the opportunity to do it, do it yourself!
You need to have a bit of hustle in this business.

Simon Newbury – Photographer

Simon runs his own photography business serving Hastings, Bexhill and Eastbourne. He specialises in people, pets and places. He is the winner of the Guild of Photographers’ Overall Image Of The Year (Member’s Choice) 2015 and 2016 and 6th in the Guild of Photographers’ TOP TEN wedding photographers 2017.

Check out Simon’s work here.

What we learnt from this session…

Simon works a lot with Photoshop – lots of time spent in post-production.
Photoshop layers will change your life!
Trying to follow a complex line with your mouse is near impossible – get yourself a drawing tablet, you won’t regret it!
Challenge: Take a photo every single day – you’ll never be more productive.
The flash on a camera gives you complete control.
Don’t pay for an expensive camera body. They can all take great photos and you can pick them up on ebay. Spend your money on different lenses as that’s where all the detail and control comes from.

Ed Frith – Head of Live Programming at De La Warr Pavilion

Ed joins De La Warr from his role as Music Events Manager at the Roundhouse, Camden where he delivered a diverse range of music events from Radiohead to David Byrne, Patti Smith to Chic, Snarky Puppy to BBC live music events. He was involved in its many festivals including the Apple music festival and Roundhouse Rising – a platform for emerging musicians.

See the De La Warr Pavilion here.

What we learnt from this session…

It costs thousands of pounds to open the auditorium doors for a show. Equipment needs to be hired, staff hired, marketing and advertising, ticketing,etc.
DLWP could help some students out with opportunities such as photographing live gigs.
They wanted to know what young people would want to see put on at the DLWP.

Martijn Van Der Meulen – Snap Finger Click Studios

Snap Finger Click was founded by Martijn van der Meulen and Ed Gladwin in November 2015. Ed and Martijn originally met many years ago whilst working together at Sony PlayStation, and they both have long careers in gaming and technology, including stints at Yahoo! and Electronic Arts. The team at Snap Finger Click largely consists of the people behind the BAFTA-winning Buzz! quiz franchise and are experts at creating innovative multiplayer experiences.

See the Snap Finger Click Studios

What we learnt from this session…

Martijn had a go at making a PS4 game by himself and set up Snap Finger Click Studios.
He made a game in 3 months with his friend.
You need to find a way to effectively communicate the ideas in your head with other people around you – a really good skill to have.
The way you write things down gets interpreted really literally.
Get yourself a Twitter account and engage with the gaming community.
You need to stand out when applying for games. Martijn once had 200 applications for a role.
Build an online presence as early as possible. You need to have a stand out portfolio of work. Be discoverable.
Just go out and make a game!
If you want to do a degree, make sure you study the right one. Don’t just pick the first course that has “games” in, find out what’s involved and compare it to other uni courses.

Vicky Speirs – Higher Education Programme Coordinator at East Sussex College

In this interactive session, learners explored University as a potential progression route. They discussed the pro’s and con’s to Higher Education as well as busting some myths along the way!

If you’re looking to start your journey into the creative industries, apply to join us in September 2019!

YMCA ‘I Am Whole’ Creative Arts Workshop

5

“Your mental health is a priority. Your happiness is an essential. Your self-care is a necessity.”

To mark the importance of World Mental Health Day on Wednesday 10th October, young people and creative arts organisations across East Sussex came together in the evening at Dv8 Sussex to share their thoughts and experiences around the issue of mental health.

Be human. Talk to People. Stay Focused. Stay Passionate.

Jake's Top Tips for Succeeding in the TV and Film Industry

THE MINDSET

** SAVE DV8 SUSSEX FROM POSSIBLE CLOSURE **

Statement Re: Dv8 Sussex’s Recent Ofsted Inspection and Outcome

'Mad Dog Kelly found dead! Grand opening of the Speakeasy to continue as planned...'

"Your showreel is your calling card."

Our favourite pieces of advice from Richard:

Two days full of industry guest speakers and skills workshops

“Your mental health is a priority. Your happiness is an essential. Your self-care is a necessity.”

“This has been the biggest year of my life…“

“Follow your dreams. Don’t give up!”

Where did you grow up and what was your childhood / earliest ambition?

Smiles & laughter, tears and sweat, joy and sadness….

A Showcase featuring Music, Media, Games & Fashion

Part of the Last Dance: Re-imagined Future Series

University applications, producing a short film & life at Dv8…

Irregular Choice visits Dv8 Sussex Fashion Students

Highlights from our Careers Day 2018, Brighton & Bexhill

Industry Guest Talks at Dv8 Sussex

Industry Guest Talks at Dv8 Sussex

What is Get Into?

SAVE DV8 SUSSEX FROM POSSIBLE CLOSURE