Working for the Beeb

Recent graduate (and Sennheiser award winner!) Mark Timms sent us some news from his current work on the BBC series 'Doctors'.

Working alongside top Production sound mixers such Tony Wass and Andy Redfern, Mark says...

"I’ve just finished my fourth week on doctors now for the BBC and it’s lots of fun, very hectic as they shoot a lot of material each day but you get used to it! I’m the sound assistant and second boom operator, so I’m in early prepping the kit for a 10-11 hour shoot then de-rigging in the evening. The team there are great though and it’s a good environment for learning and making contacts."

He adds that 'There's still loads to learn but knowing my stuff with the Sound Devices 664 mixer and having location sound experience got me in so couldn’t have done it without the help received on the course at Bucks'

As if that isn't a good enough start in the industry, Mark has also been working as a runner at one of Soho's premier Audio post-production facilities Warner Bros De Lane Lea. Of his experiences there so far he says, 'I was able to sit in on several ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement/Dubbing) sessions, including one with Brian Blessed for the Lego Dimensions game, and one crowd session for a film called How To Talk to Girls at Parties. I learnt a lot about how ADR is done at that level, I also spoke to the mix techs about what they do and they walked me through their set up which was great to see.'

Go Mark!!!

AMP student work recognised at UK Music event

On March 3^rd I was invited to attend an event organized by UK Music. 

Essentially it was a high profile acknowledgement of having devised and led the pilot initiative with BBC Introducing, which we have now been invited to help instigate at other Universities and Colleges, in-keeping with the BBC’s remit to promote new music.

The centrepiece of the event was the screening of our BBC Introducing making of video (https://vimeo.com/116336617 ); great for our profile! Huge credit to Steve Dominey who edited the film, which was very well received by the attendees and drew lots of positive comments. 

Although Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Sajid Javid) didn’t turn up (he was called to China at short notice), Baroness Jolly, who deputised for Sajid Javid, and the Shadow Culture Minister both made a speech. 

The Head of Universal Music was there, along with a few other major industry players. Dennis Weinrich from JAMES was there, supportive as ever, and Lorna Finlayson from UK Music grabbed me on arrival saying she wanted to introduce me to some people from the University of Westminster who want to do something similar.

I also caught up with BBC Introducing Producer Kieron Yeates, and they all seem delighted with what we have done – impressed by the production values and amazed at the quantity of output; 4 shoots delivered to date with another three scheduled for 

March. 

In short, this was a great showcase for our Audio & Music Production and Film & TV Production undergraduates. So well done everyone, it’s all good!

Bucks students record artist Natasha North for BBC broadcast

 

Students from Buckinghamshire New University have enjoyed the chance to record up and coming singer-songwriter Natasha North for a show to be broadcast by the BBC.

As part of a partnership that the University has with the programme BBC Introducing, students from the School of Media Production and Performance had the opportunity to mix and record three of Natasha North's tracks as well as film and edit her performance on campus. The show will be aired on BBC Three Counties Radio and the BBC Introducing website this Saturday.

Daniel Garise, who is in his final year of a BA (Hons) Film and Television Production degree, said: "This is my first experience as a producer and it's been exciting and challenging to make sure everything runs smoothly.

"We first started talking to Natasha and her team a couple of weeks ago to finalise the track list and to find out what we need to mix and how the day should run. It's been a great experience for me and very rewarding to work on a show such as BBC Introducing."

The show, which was recorded in the University's recording studio in the main Gateway building, enabled students to get a taste of what it is like to work in the media production industry and to put into practice the skills they have learned throughout their studies.

Lecturer Daniel Peters, who supervises students studying BA (Hons) Audio and Music Production, commented: "These sessions give final year students the opportunity to work in a professional scenario. From pre-production, to the shoot and then to post-production, students are expected to liaise with industry professionals, hit strict deadlines and produce work fit for broadcast." 

Natasha North said of her experience at the University: "It has been extremely professional and everyone knows exactly what they are doing. The students have been brilliant at sorting everything out."

Students previously recorded band The Scruff for BBC Introducing, and the series is due to continue featuring student recordings as part of its ongoing partnership with the University.

The latest artist the students worked with was singer/songwriter Alex Bay and guitarist Kaid Hussain.

Student Adam Taylor, studying BA (Hons) Audio and Music Production, said: "I really enjoyed the experience of having Alex Bay in for a live shoot.
"Having the challenge of an outside artist coming in gives you some real life experience you cannot get in lectures. It was unpredictable and forced us to think on our feet and problem-solve. Challenging and fun!"
Main picture: Artist Natasha North is recorded by students in The Gateway recording studio.
Second picture: Alex Bay with students following his recording.

Find out how you could study the courses featured in this story

• BA (Hons) Audio and Music Production
• BA (Hons) Film and Television Production

BBC Introducing in partnership with AMP: Live performance from The Scruff, 10/12/14

Today was the first studio-based multi-camera production that we have undertaken as part of our new partnership with BBC Introducing.

Students from BA (Hons) Audio & Music Production, supported by tutor Dan Peters, captured the sound and their mixes will go to air on the BBC this weekend. The BBC have sent out this tweet: Recording @TheScruff_ at @bucksnewuni for #BBCIntroducing this Saturday night at 8pm on @BBC3CR

                   

Students who specialize in sports and live events production within BA (Hons) Film & TV Production, supported by tutor Gary Emmins, filmed both the live music performances as well as an interview with the band that was conducted by BBC Introducing presenter Gareth Lloyd.

           
This is what The Scruff had to say about their day:

“The students were great, totally professional. We were made very welcome and the whole operation was slick on every level. It’s been a pleasure to work with the students from Bucks New University.”

The videos will be presented on the BBC Introducing YouTube pages as from this weekend.

AMP involved in new partnership with BBC Introducing

On Wednesday December 3rd, guests from BBC Introducing will be on-site to launch a new partnership with the department of Production. The partnership will see AMP students capture and post-produce sound which will ultimately be promoted via the BBC Introducing YouTube site.

When asked about how the partnership with the BBC came about, Steve Partridge (head of department for Production) said: 

"We have been filming live music performances for a few years now and have gained a reputation for doing this pretty well. Colleagues from the BBC noted this during a visit a year or so ago and as a result agreed to my proposal that we might partner with them to support their remit from government to promote new music"

Steve continued,  
"The music [captured during multi-camera shoots] will be broadcast via BBC 3 Counties on the Saturday, and the video output will be promoted via the BBC Introducing YouTube site. 
This is increasingly a collaborative project that will engage all three course areas within the Department. The multi-camera crews comprise Film & TV Production students, the audio crews who manage live sound and post-production/mixing are Audio & Music Production students. And the aspiration for when we have installed our new Vizrt VR solution (likely to happen around Christmas), which is of great interest to our partners at the BBC, is that we will soon be able to offer the option of filming a band in a full VR set that has been created by animation students as a full 3D render that will then run in real time via the green screen studio facility."