Dowson Communications

Talking about video production in Bradford

OpenCoffee in Bradford was worth getting to this week - a good opportunity to talk about my video production services to a group of designers and website specialists. I got talking to Jimi about editing on Final Cut Pro, and caught up with my old boss Steve Ding who runs bmedia. Even decaff coffee was available which makes a change. I have been busy with a film for Yorkshire Concept which you can see on their website Yorkshire Concept

Ian Green, Green Communications in Wakefield; Anthony Waddington of BeInvolved,

and Gill of bmedia

The new father Pete McClory (L) of Panoetics , amd the newly-wed Tom Gatenby (R) of Squashed Pixel who works in the same building as me, for the second time in his life,as we were colleagues at BTL Group in Shipley a few years back.

Older People's Views

We're currently making a pair of films - one concerning the Future of Social Care for Older People - support etc so we're filming people in Bradford District to get their views on what they want, and how it should be provided and paid for. The other video is on older people's experiences of care in hospital, particularly for those suffering from mental health problems. We started filming yesterday at a Bradford Council event, and got some good stuff. One of the interesting things about video production is that you have the privilege to enter peoples lives for short periods when you film them for a video, DVD, or website. I heard some amazing stories as part of this Total Place project which is a national programme currently being undertaken by the Government.

Meri Yaadain - Asian Dementia Video

This film - in both standard and subtitle version - was produced to explain the issues surrounding dementia from a south asian perspective in Bradford. Meri Yaadain is the name of the project and it provides support and sign-posting to NHS and council services to users and their families. The video we produced was show at a the National Media Museum in May 2009 to an invited audience, and was the outcome of four weeks of planning, filming and post production as well as 750 DVD copies in a full library case. The final video has been used extensivley by other authorities and a further 500 DVD copies were run off on our CD/DVD duplicator for the client a few months later.

Meri Yaadain Film - quicktime streaming

Bradford Council Adult Services Video Film

Making presentations to national bodies where you need to have video testimony from individuals is something that many organisations need to do from time to time. The Adult Services team from City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council were presenting in early January 2009 in London on the subject of how they were engaging and involving older people in the district. The problem was that their elderly clients were unable to accompany them and tell their side of the story, so we did the next best thing - we produced a video that took the users to the audience. We filmed Vera Jacques  in her own home where she could explain the practical support she had been given that made living in her own home a lot easier. The authority's Chief Executive was also able to go to London - on DVD of course!

 

 

Leeds Met Faculty of Business and Law video

A film produced for the Faculty of Business and Law at Leeds Metropolitan University to record their annual student festival exhibition, to be used at various events for new students. Shot with our Sony DSR 450 DVCAM, edited by Tom Jones. The client was really pleased with the video and how it turned out considering we had shot it all in just a few hours at their event, and it was good to produce another piece of work for the university and continue our long association with them. Matt Dowson even lectured there in the late 1990s on a third year media course, and various industry short-courses. It's not the first time we've produced a video for Leeds Met and we are often called in to film events by them when the in-house team is too busy, as our camera is identical to theirs, although I like to point out that our lens is better quality!

Student Festival Quicktime movie c8mins

OpenCoffee Leeds

I finally got along to an OpenCoffee in Leeds, which was a great opportunity to talk over video production, technology developments, and website design with media and creative types, and have some free coffee, even decaff which is all I drink now. Excellent to catch up briefly with what Imran Ali is up to, since we were colleagues at bmedi@ in Bradford. I can recommend it as a place to meet new people in a relaxed setting, share information, get a new persepctive on something you were thinking of doing, and so on. As I'm a big believer in video on the internet its good to talk to the creatives who work on those projects.

The venue is old Broadcasting House on Woodehouse Lane, which was home to the BBC until a few years ago, and was my home during university in the 1980s when I worked part-time for BBC Radio Leeds, and then full time when I left Bradford University in 1985. Today, among other things, it provides hot desks for new technology start ups and is home to the New Technology Institute, which provides first class Apple training, which I have utilised on a number of occasions.
Photo by Imran Ali

More video production in Bournemouth & Poole

We were back down to work with the NHS in Bournemouth and Poole, shooting a new film for them which looks at the challenges the PCT face with a high proportion of older people on their patch. We visited a number of people with long term conditions, terminal illness, recovering from alcoholism, and heard about the issues they and their carers face. It's always a privilege to hear about peoples situation and experiences as you enter their lives for an hour or so - we had a great session filming a couple and afterwards over coffee we chatted, as you do - the husband had fought with the Polish Army in WW2 and we heard about his experiences escaping from a Nazi labour camp, I wish I'd kept the camera rolling! The short film was edited by Dave Burnham, filmed and directed by Matt Dowson, with camera assistant Tom Jones.

Film 3.42mins - streaming quicktime file

Gumption Centre

I have known David Robertson-Brown since I worked for bmedi@ Bradford's digital media network, he's a great guy and I've been very impressed at the work he and his business partner John Simms have put into their venture in Bradford, a business centre for small businesses located by the National Media Museum. I attend a regular networking event that they host, and it gives me the opportunity to chat with familiar faces about the problems and challenges we all face in business, make new contacts, and even turn up new projects. This week we heard from Colin Nesbitt whose young son has cancer and is permanently at St James' Hospital in Leeds, and there is a fund raising ball for Colin's charity Little Heroes, to support the children and fanilies affected by cancer. THe Little heroes Cancer Trust Ball is on 27th September at the Hilton in Bradford email billy@shinerc.co.uk to book a table, at £500.

KC Mobility film

We have been shooting a new film for KC Mobility, a West Yorkshire provider of disabled mobility systems - essentially all the transformation needed to make a vehicle disabled friendly. The shoots have taken us from Norwich to Widnes, to hear how people value their independence and how it has changed their lives. We produced a film for the Robostore system a few years ago, and its been great working on a project which really touches peoples lives, some of the stories have been quite awe inspiring.

shooting Assia King in Shipley

Shoot for Bradford & Airedale Teaching PCT

A fun day with actors at Undercliffe Health Centre in Bradford, which makes a change. But remind me never to have someone filing their nails
it makes continuity a touch difficult. Lee Martin on camera, Matt Dowson directing, and camera assistant Tom Jones.

Many thanks to Gill for the teas and coffees! Boiling hot day in May, we should have been outside.