A Picturesque Project

Dorothy Morris is a very talented artist based in the picturesque village of Ferryside.  Dorothy's art is influenced by her environment and living by the waters edge.

Spill Media have been producing a short film about Dorothy and her collection of work that depicts scenes of the traditional fishing methods used in West Wales.  We have atteneded her exhibitions and even had the pleasure of spending the day in Ferryside, soaking in the atmosphere that inspires her work.

The film will be shown, along with a body of her work, "Life On The Estuary", at The Waterfront Museum in Swansea in July.

Children’s Rights Unit

Spill was commissioned by Neath Port Talbot Children’s Rights Unit, to train a group of young researchers in Film-making. We trained the young people on all aspects of film-making to enable them to create 3 short films on Children’s Rights.

Spill were awarded the contract after a tender process and were extremely pleased to get to work with this dedicated group of young people.

Working with the group to script three short films resulted in a “How to Guide on researching with young people”, “You know your rights-right”, a film looking at specific rights on the Convention of the Rights of the Child, and an animation highlighting the research that they undertook.

The films were shown at a screening in Neath Port Talbot College and went down a storm! Mike Mainwaring, the Children, Young People and Families Participation Officer, said of the project:

“From the start the Young Researchers saw that Spill Media were not only going to give the best product but would include young people in all aspects of the film.  They were involved in the script, the production, the filming, performance and the look of the end product. They showed great patience and understanding with insuring that the young people are involved in all aspects of the work even when this slowed the process down. I would have no hesitation to highly recommend to any organisation wanting a complete experience of film making.”

Spill Meets Icon Bonnie Tyler!

We had the pleasure of covering The Caitlin’s Wish book launch recently. Caitlin’s Wish is a book written by Victoria Taylor, and is an enchanting and moving story based on real life events. It follows one little girl’s journey as she comes to terms with her father’s life-changing illness.

The launch took place at the Gwyn Hall in Neath and was extremely well attended, with Bonnie Tyler there to show her support and Kevin Johns, who was compere for the event. 

Caitlin's Wish was officially presented to Neath Port Talbot Bourough Councillor Ali Thomas, with the view to the book being available at every primary school in the Neath Port Talbot area.

Spill Sponsorship In The Community

Spill this year became proud sponsors of Ystradgynlais RFC Under 11s.  The Spill logo, which has been printed on the back of the Mini Blues jersey, for all to see as the young players cross over for their tries…and there have been no shortage of them this season.

The sponsorship further strengthens Spill’s involvement within the community and as a Social Enterprise.

It also seems that Spill have brought some good luck to the young team, who won their first Afan Nedd District Tournament whilst sporting their new kit.  This was the first time Ystrad had been victorious in the competition, having been runners up on two previous occasions.

Spill would like to say a big well done to the boys, who played fantastic rugby throughout the day. 

Swansea Telly: Share your stories…..

For the past two years Spill Media have been working on a Digital Inclusion project funded by Communities 2.0, called Swansea Telly.  Swansea Telly is an online channel to watch videos made by people in Swansea- to share stories and visions of the city.

The Project focused on tackling digital exclusion faced by older people, recently unemployed and social housing tenants, as well as working with disadvantaged younger people.

In March this year, the funding for the project has sadly come to an end. That doesn’t mean that Swansea Telly is over though, oh no… the website will continue, so that you can upload and share you photos, videos and thoughts on things that matter to the people of Swansea. 

In the last year Spill have had the privilege of working on varied and interesting projects with inspiring groups of people including Ethnic Youth Support Team

Swansea Young Single Homeless Projects, The Coastal Project, Bays Education and Training Service, Sketty Park Online and Ystradgynlais Job Centre.

Meeting The Lobster

As the winter days grew shorter and spring started to kick in, Spill Media’s Project Manager knew just the thing to get us raring to go in 2012.

“Meeting the lobster” is a short story written by Beccy Tipper which was shortlisted for the Bridport Literature festival. The festival invites film makers to make 60 second adaptations of micro fiction.

Making the film was challenging (finding a lobster was quite a tricky task) but it was great fun. Spill Media thoroughly enjoyed making this short and snappy drama; take a peek at Caroline’s Vimeo page for the finished film:

http://vimeo.com/39044530

We were really pleased with the results and have received some great feedback.

Dead Surf County Music Video - 'On a Mission'

Dead Surf Country, a local Swansea band called upon the Spill Media team to produce a music video for their single, ‘On a mission’.

Meg’s first music video, directorial debut, was a resounding success with big hits on YouTube.
 

We jumped at the opportunity to make a music video, as it was something different for us to sink our teeth into. Dead Surf Country were very happy with how the video turned out, which coincided with a radio interview and radio broadcast of the song on The Wave radio station.

The single is available to buy on ITunes.

New Spillers Ahoy…!

Spill has had an influx of people helping out and gaining new skills over the past 6 months. It has been great to have new members of the team who have come to us through various schemes.

Caroline who is studying at Swansea MET University has been working with us on a voluntary basis for the last year. She came to us through an access to Masters Course. The scheme is backed with £12.3 million from the Convergence European Social Fund (ESF) through the Welsh Government. Caroline has been gaining hands on experience with the Spill team. Caroline said of her placement,

“Working with Spill Media has given me both valuable and enjoyable work experience within a professional media production company. The experience has served not only to strengthen pre-existing skills, but has given me the opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge.”

James is the newest Spiller to gain some experience in editing. James is from Swansea and has a passion for gaming; he comes to us through Remploy and is currently working on developing motion graphics for some of our projects.

James is hoping to one-day move on to working with game software, but for now he is enjoying his new job here at Spill HQ, where he is gaining practical hands-on experience with Motion Graphics and editing in Final Cut Pro. James, says of his experience with Spill,

“Spill Media is a great place to learn and gain new skills. In the time I have been here I have quickly gained confidence in a working environment.”

Rhys has joined Spill as a camera and editing trainee. Rhys who is currently unemployed started volunteering with us way back in 2007 when he was a 6^th form student. It’s great to have Rhys back with us and learning new skills.

And last but by no means least, Dave a recent graduate from Lampeter University, has been lending his skills to our editing department with the Go Wales Graduate Academy. Dave is currently studying for ILM Level 5 in business management with Go Wales after he graduated in Media Production.

See you at the Crossroads! Young Carers say Lights, Camera, Action!

This summer the Spillers have had the pleasure of working with Crossroads Young Carers Project.

Crossroads are a charity dedicated to supporting carers and the people who they care for. The organisation works with people ages 8 to 18 who care for a parent, grandparent or sibling who has a disability, mental health issues or a drug/alcohol dependency.

The DVD that the young carers have been making raises awareness to what a young carer is and what Crossroads Young Carers Project does to help them.
Producing this DVD has been lots of fun and we hope that you enjoy watching it… and learn a little along the way.

Young Carers Project Leader, Donna Jones-Lucas, said of the project,

“Working with Spill Media on this project has been a positive experience on all levels. The young carers responded incredibly well to their approach which is both professional and fun and they have gained so much from their involvement in the production of the DVD.”

Communities First - Youth Work Project

Communities First Swansea have been working with the young people of the city to help improve their lives. The different Communities’ First wards have all been working hard, running a variety of different project to tackle many issues that face young people today.

Over several months the Spillers filmed an array of activities ranging from beauty club to street dance. We met many amazing young people and were inspired by the work being carried out by the Communities First youth work teams.

We hope you all enjoy watching the film as we enjoyed making it!

All Wrapped Up - Careers Wales Project

We gained a new client and contract this summer-Careers Wales West! Careers Wales West employed Spill to create a Training DVD that was to be used in-house and equip staff with the skills in careers guidance.

Spill hooked up with REACT Europe who provided the talented actors who played the parts of Careers

The project has just wrapped up and we are extremely pleased with the results and Gareth from CWW said of the project:

“I have found Spill Media and excellent organisation to work with in the production of our DVD. They gained a clear picture of what we wanted the DVD to achieve at an early stage, and worked in a very detailed way with us in the pre-production stage. Spill media worked jointly with us to select actors to play the key roles. Both the filming on the day and post-production work have been to a very high standard. We have met a number of times to review drafts of the DVD, and are extremely satisfied with the final product.

I would recommend Spill Media to any organisation looking at media production at a very professional standard and a reasonable cost.”

Spilling Stories with Michael Sheen!

Spill has been busy working with the Dewis on a film project which has included working with Hollywood star and Welsh legend Michael Sheen.

We trained some of the young people who use Dewis, in film-making and they each created a short film based on the theme-“I couldn’t live without”. Within this project the trainees also got an opportunity to take part and film a “Q and A” session with Michael then visited some of their homes, which are sheltered homes and had a good chin-wag with a cuppa!

We also had the opportunity to go up London, where Michael was rehearsing for his new play Hamlet at the “Young Vic”. Here we filmed the “opener” to the film.

The screening for the film took place in Pontardawe Arts Centre and it went down a storm!

Bronwen Ward said of the project:

“Dewis’ involvement with Spill Media has been a positive and enlightening experience for all concerned. Spill Media were professional in their approach in all matters and the short film that is the end result is a credit to all.”

Michael Sheen added,

“I was very pleased to come and meet some of the young people and talk to them about their experiences. This was facilitated by Spill Media…I got to spend an entire day with the young people involved in making the film and it was a fantastic experience.

Now to be able to see the film all put together is just fantastic. It’s such a great piece of work and I think it really expresses the enthusiasm and creativity of everyone involved.”

You have the choice...

'You have the choice' is a film made in partnership with the young people from the Afan Valley. In the Afan Valley deliberately started grass fires are a massive issue, not only causing devastating damage to the forest and its ecosystem, but also threatening human life and putting a massive strain on the fire service.

This DVD has been produced to raise awareness of the issue of lighting fires deliberately and the potentially devastating effects it can cause.

Forest and Grass fires are such a big issue in the Afan Valley that many of the people in the area were keen to help with the production of the film. These included, the Forestry Commission, the Fire service and even local celebrity and London 2012 flyweight boxing hopeful, Daniel Chapman.

Many thanks go out to Daniel Chapman who was more than happy to give up his time to help with the production and gave the film some extra punch! We wish him all the best for the upcoming Olympic Games next year!

The young people involved in the film were all up for the challenge and we even found some up and coming actors, so watch this space!

The film will be officially launched next month, where it will then be used in schools across the Afan Valley as well as being used as a educational resource for the Fire Service in Neath and Port Talbot.

Spill @ The Welsh Business Show 2011

The Spill team were back on the Networking Exhibition scene in June as they returned to cover the Welsh Business Show, which was this year held at the Cardiff City Stadium.

The Welsh Business Show is a national event that attracts business owners, directors, entrepreneurs and decision makers. We returned to the event following the successful event coverage provided at the 2010 exhibition and once again it was a busy, action packed two days!

Spill were documenting the exciting event as well as taking advantage of the fantastic networking opportunities, seminars and speakers. Joining the crew this year were two students who have been training with us at Spill in conjunction with their University studies. Joining the Spill team at the exhibition gave the students the opportunity to further their working knowledge in the media industry.

Neil Simons, a University of Glamorgan student said,

"Having the chance to work with the Spill Media team at the Welsh Business Show was a great opportunity. As well as it providing another aspect for my CV, it also allowed me to develop my camera skills with constantly changing situations and my people skills, with networking with other clients and keeping a level of professionalism throughout."

Check out http://www.thewelshbusinessshow.co.uk/index.htm for photographs of this years' event, and keep your eyes peeled for the film which will be coming soon.

Spill Among The Fastest Growing Enterprises in UK

Spill were recently announced as one of Fastest Growing Social Enterprise in the UK according to the official RBS SE100 Index, which was announced this month.

The index was announced at a special awards ceremony on Monday 11 July at Rich Mix in London, where Spill Media were announced as the 18th Fastest Growing Social Enterprise in the UK and 2nd in Wales.
Another accolade received by Spill, was to be named as the number one Fastest Growing Enterprise in the UK in the Marketing & Communications sector.

The RBS SE100 2011 Data Report reveals the facts and figures plus the great stories behind the UK's best social businesses and Spill were delighted to be among some of the best social enterprises in the UK.

The recent announcement came as a surprise to the Spill team, who were thrilled to receive the accolade, which further showcases all the good work that’s being done by everyone involved with Spill Media.

To check out the full RBS SE100 Report, click here or go straight to the official supplementary report by clicking here

Spill are “Reaching the Heights”!

Spill Media have had a great time this month working with Storm, an organisation based in Swansea that work with young people with high support needs.

Spill trained a group of 10 young people in digital media, so that they could create a film, celebrating the Storm Project’s success. The film highlighted some of the issues young people with high support needs face, as well as case studies that demonstrated young people’s individual journeys with STORM.

Melanie Jones, Project Manager at Storm, said of the project, "We’ve seen a big difference in the young people throughout the training process, we’ve recognised skills in the young people we didn’t know they had. It’s boosted individual’s confidence and attendance for every session was good, it just goes to show how Spill successfully engaged the young people. For me I am very proud of how the project went, and am proud to have been part of it."

Maia, Storm project worker also added, "The project went exceptionally well. Spill involved the young people from the word go, it felt very much like the young peoples project and they were made a part of the creative process. Spill devoted a lot of time and energy to the project, and we think the final product is amazing! The young people are very proud of it."

‘The Storm Success’ was launched at the project’s 10 year anniversary party and also screened at a glitzy event at The Taliesin, Swansea, as part of the Reach the Heights Project.

Spill Produce Film For Consumer Focus Wales

Consumer Focus Wales is a statutory organisation campaigning for a fair deal for consumers in Wales.

Consumer Focus Wales have recently brought out a report “From Care to where”; a report that examines the extent and nature of financial exclusion experienced by young people leaving care in Wales.

To coincide with the report Spill were commissioned to produce a bilingual film.

Gareth Price of Consumer Focus Wales said,
“Spill provided all the technical advice, equipment and know how, that turned our research and messages in to an entertaining film that has a real impact on people. The film has received some great feedback, and has now been distributed to all 22 local authorities in Wales to ensure that young people about to leave care can benefit from the experience of their predecessors, and that those in power can hear directly from care leavers about the problems they face, and the support they need to cope.“

The Wales Co-operative Centre employ Spill Media to “Spill the Beans” at The Social Enterprise Awards 2011

Spill have been up and down South and North Wales these past few weeks, filming for The Social Enterprise Awards 2011. We have met some inspiring people and companies, and would like to wish all the nominees good luck in the awards next week in Cardiff!

The films that Spill produced were screened at The Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, with Nicola-Heywood Thomas introducing and hosting the awards.

Peter Lynn and Partners Promotional Film

We were recently commissioned to create three marketing films for Swansea Based Lawyers Firm Peter Lynn and Partners.

The films showcase the range of services that the company offers and also the friendly and professional approach that the company take. The films have been screened at Introbiz networking events in the Swansea Area.

Spill Welcome Meg To The Team!

We have taken on a new recruit in the form of Meg Jenkins. Meg successfully gained a 10 week contract through the GO Wales programme. Meg will take on the role of Production Assistant and will work across a range of exciting projects.

Meg is a Welsh speaking independent filmmaker. She recently graduated from The University of The West of England with a BA (Honours) in Media Practice. Her final year project, the documentary ‘Bywyd Newydd’ looking at Asylum Seekers living in South Wales, received high praise. Meg is a highly accomplished Digital Media Artist with experience in self-shooting, sound and editing. Meg also has 6 years’ experience, working in youth and community based settings.


Meg said, “I am really excited to take on this role with the Spill Media Team. I have kept up to date with their new projects and am looking forward to getting my hands dirty and getting stuck in with a range of Digital Media Projects.”

REVUE Studio’s Launch Event Filmed by Spill!

Spill were at the launch event of the hottest new dance studio in Swansea   for the official launch of Revue Studios. The event saw a host of guests attending and taking part in the various dance sessions, taking place that very night!

Spill produced a short promotional film of the launch.

From Burlesque to Hip Hop, Revue Studios hosts classes in all forms of dance and there are also other events hosted there too.



Spill also visited Revue to take photographs, to promote BBC Gavin and Stacey’s Melanie Walters’ Pilates class. For more information on this and other events at Revue, please check out their website: www.revuestudios.co.uk