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Do you have a passion for people, their lives and their issues? Are you interested in capturing them on camera and making it into a different kind of movie? Could you inform, entertain and surprise an audience?

Northern Film & Media in partnership with Community Channel and Sheffield Doc/Fest are launching ”Capture 2010” a factual and documentary talent development scheme and will provide you with access to industry professionals, talent spotters, broadcasters, exhibition platforms and some project funding.

NFM  are looking for energetic Film Makers who have a passion for making content that could make a difference to an issue, a cause or a community.

They want to find talent that has a desire to innovate and are willing to go the extra mile to draw attention to their projects and reach a wide audience.
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The social media world is Buzzing (pun intended) with news of Google Buzz which has achieved a massive number of users since launching only last week. If you are a Gmail user you probably noticed it appearing below your inbox.  Since the Google Buzz launch there has been a furore about privacy concerns [ see article ] which Google has reacted quickly to address. The general opinion is that the genie is out of the bottle and Buzz is here to stay. Personally I don’t spend my life on social networking sites but if you want to dip your toes in a combination of Facebook and Twitter is enough to be social online. I’d say, add Buzz to that too because it adds a new dimension to your email inbox and just as Twitter and Facebook are different beasts, Google Buzz has a uniqueness to it too.

So how about making them all play nice together?

With thanks to Ari Milner who posted an article about integrating Facebook ad Twitter into Gmail, I now have Buzz, Facebook and Twitter all in one place. Here’s how it’s done……..

1. Go to Gmail Labs. (you should find this at the top right of Gmail. –see pic below)
2. Activate “Add any gadget by URL” in Gmail Labs — you’ll find it near the bottom of the list.
3. Now go to Settings (to the right of labs in image above) and then  Gadgets. Here you’ll find a place to add Gadget URLs.
4. Add the TwitterGadget App. This lets tweet from the sidebar of Gmail. To do this copy  the following URL and paste it into Gmail’s Gadget settings https://twittergadget.appspot.com/gadget-gmail.xml
5. Add the Facebook Gadget. To add it, copy and paste this URL into Gmail’s Gadget settings
   “http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/104971404861070329537/facebook.xml”
6. That’s it – Facebook, Twitter and Buzz are integrated into your email account. Click here to see my set up. Hey ! please don’t read my email!

If you’ve enjoyed this, watch out for the new “Social Media for Enterprise” course coming out of Teesside University.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

A unique exhibition will run at Middlesbrough’s Python Gallery from Feb 18th to March 12th featuring the work of staff at Teesside University’s School of Computing

School of Computing staff at Teesside University work in a variety of fields, meaning they are able to teach drawing and computing skills which combine traditional 2d drawing and painting skills to create conceptual computer created imagery, mostly based on and for the computer game industry.

Staff continue their art-practice as part of their on-going research and they have produced, for this exhibition, a collection of eclectic work, including photography, drawing, painting, sculpture and animation.

Featured in the exhibition is what is believed to be the world’s first 3D print of a ‘Mandelbulb’ and also Maggie Parker’s seminal works, ‘Infinity’ and ‘Torus’.  These pieces are impossible to make in the ‘real world’ due to their complexity of shape, only being able to be manifested in the ‘real world’ by recreating them using a 3d printer.

The retiring Dean of the school, Derek Simpson says “This exhibition, to be held at the Python Gallery, Middlesbrough, is an excellent opportunity for both academic and ancillary staff to consolidate their status as artists in both the public’s and students’ eyes and disseminate this work into the larger community”.

Python Gallery, Royal Middlehaven House, Gosford Street, Middlesbrough, TS2 1BB, Telephone: 01642 247745

The community animation event (Animex Fringe) in Saltburn on Thursday 11th Feb was a tremendous successes with a full house for the matinee (in which we hooked up with children and police in Latvia) and around 80 people for the evening event. The event made it onto Latvian National TV !

You can relive the event on the blog at www.saltburn.org.uk or if you really want to re-run the event in the order it happened click here ( it builds slow but quickly gets media rich) – just read each page, scrolling down and then click “older entries” at the bottom. As well as the hook-up with Latvia, the event was followed by people in Greece, Lithuania, Poland, Turkey, Sweden, Finland and the UK.

The event saw the world premier of “The Force is With You” which you can enjoy below.

“The Seer Sung Husband” a new paperback of Bob Beagrie poetry is released this month by Smokestack Books,  priced at £7.95 (ISBN: 978-0-956034-14-4)

The Seer Sung Husband tells the story of the Pilgrimage of Grace, the sixteenth-century Northern rebellion that briefly defied the authority of Church and State. Tobias Shipton, carpenter and husband of the Yorkshire witch and soothsayer Old Mother Shipton, weaves a wyrd tale of love and loyalty, rebellion and royal retribution. The Seer Sung Husband is a book about folklore and myth, imagination and belief. It’s a portrait of England at a time of radical social, religious and political crisis. It’s a magical realist verse-epic set against the violent upheavals of 16th Century England. It’s a book about witchcraft and statecraft, religious faith and political betrayal.

1 x Visual Artist Required

To undertake community engagement sessions with young families and then to create and paint* a mural in the crèche, as well as creating a piece to be displayed outside.

* They  are open to other mediums

Please refer to the project outline for more information and all application details. Please note the deadline for completed applications is 9am Monday 22^nd February 2010 and that work will need to be completed by the end of March. PLEASE NOTE TIGHT DEADLINE

Please download the project outline for more information & details of the application process at www.teesvalleyarts.org.uk/newsandevents.html

Or email info@teesvalleyarts.org.uk to have the information emailed to you

Terms and conditions

The artist must supply original Enhanced CRB documentation (dated no older than March 08) and evidence of current Public Liability Insurance cover to TVA before appointment; be responsible for their own taxes and national insurance; comply with any health and safety requirements of Acklam Whin Centre.

Total fee to artist – £1,500 (inclusive of any VAT)

The fee to the artist is for creating and painting an indoor mural and external piece, and to attend and participate in two community engagement sessions at Acklam Whin Centre to involve children and parents in the creation of ideas/ images for the mural and for a site visit/ project meeting/s and for any ‘off site’ work as necessary. Fees are inclusive of project travel and any VAT.

There is a materials budget of £400 for the project.

Acklam_Whin_Mural_Project_Outline (PDF)

The Video below is by Tom Marshall  .Tom completed a DigitalCity fellowship in 2009 as part of the company Hallows Media and produced the short film, God & Lucy which had award winning potential and was distributed to high-end festivals including Edinburgh and Venice.  Tom also worked as scriptwriter on ‘Soldier to Man’ and ‘Scribble’ both shortlisted for the BBC drama shorts scheme, ‘The Reception’ and ‘The Grill’ which were shortlisted for the Digital Nation Scheme. Below the video Tom describes the making of this film.

The film was made to fit a brief for a competition being run by reed.co.uk, they wanted films based around the theme ‘workplace’ and under 3 minutes in length. I used the competition as a reason to do something I had wanted to do for a long time, write and record a comedy song and then shoot a video to it. I’m a huge fan of ‘Flight of  the Concords’ who do this brilliantly.  I think our attempt isn’t quite up to their standards! But I am still very proud of how it has turned out.

I wrote the lyrics to the song, I gave these to Aaron Turner who then came up with the track and the arrangement. We went more ‘Pet Shop Boys’ than ‘G Unit’ a sort of white middle class rap thing which I thought was going to be best comedy-wise! We recorded the song in one afternoon, and it was a great experience, although I’m not planning a career change to record producer just yet! (As I let Aaron do most of the work, my input was mostly “Be a bit more like Bowie on this bit)

The guy playing the lead is actually my old English/drama teacher from secondary school, who was the young trendy teacher everyone wanted to be friends with.  I think he carries the video brilliantly, I knew he would, as he was just as entertaining in the classroom.

We filmed the whole video in one day, all the dolly movements you can see in the video were done on a peice of equipment that I managed to blag. All filmed in the Phoenix Building (Thanks again Kieran Weatherill, IDI) with a skeleton crew of 4.  For extras I was just a bit cheeky and roped people in who were working in the building (spot the cameo from Kieran’s glamorous assistant Kylie).

I have always wanted to make a film like this, so I guess even though there is a very small chance we will win, I am still very proud of the fact I just went out and made it. That’s not to say I won’t be having a few bitter rants once I find out who has won instead of us!

Writers’ Block is an exciting new project for writers and creative’s in the North East. It will have its base in an empty property on Albert Road in Middlesbrough and is part of Middlesbrough Council’s empty shop scheme, which aims to support innovative ideas and create new opportunities in the Tees Valley area.

Writers’ Block will be a hub for creative talent in the region, bringing all kinds of different writers together with local Actors, Directors, Film Crew, Musicians, Illustrators, Animators, Radio Producers and Photographers; it will provide a work space for writers; create opportunities to produce showreels and develop portfolios; house regular training sessions, challenges and debates, designed to give writers new skills; and give writers access to Agents, Publishers, and the people who can launch their careers.

On top of these opportunities, Writers’ Block will house the resources, facilities and equipment needed to produce work to a professional standard; will be home to a film club and a reading group with a regional emphasis; and will have a collection of industry books and magazines to keep you informed and inspired.

Writers’ Block kicks off with a Writer Development Day on Friday 5th February. This will be attended by the likes of the Script Editor from Ashes to Ashes, a Screenwriter from Hollyoaks, an award winning Poet and Novelist, and a Development Producer from Tiger Aspect. The day event will be followed by an evening of short films in the Centuria Building, Teesside University, between 7 and 9pm. Unfortunately, the day event sold out quickly, but anyone is welcome to join in the evening screening event, to hear from the likes of Tom Marshall and James Harris – how they made it happen and how you can follow suit as part of the Writers’ Block scheme.

Join ‘Writer Network’ on Facebook to find out about future events and opportunities.

You can contact Laura @ laura_degnan323@hotmail.co.uk

Generator Compact is our new programme of music business development units for delivery as one day bite-size workshops.  These short courses offer a practical solution for small music businesses and have been assembled by people who have extensive experience of working within the music industry.  The central aim is to ensure that the information given is industry standard and also up to date.

DateTuesday 16th March 2010 Time: 10.30 am – 4.30pm Venue: The Institute of Digital Innovation Teesside University Middlesbrough TS1 3BA

This unit is designed to help bands, labels and managers use the internet to market, promote and sell their music. It will look at the range of services available and also how you can combine online marketing with traditional methods e.g. press and radio. Any artist or label looking to ‘break’ a record needs to know how to maximise internet promotion to their advantage.

For more information and to register for the workshops please email Martin McAloon or call 0191 245 0099.