Liverpool Screen School refurbishes

Liverpool Screen School, part of Liverpool John Moores University, has completed a major upgrade of its production equipment as part of a €300,000 investment in a sparkling new teaching facility.

The facility is designed to prepare students to become the next generation of broadcast producers and production staff on courses ranging from BA and MA undergraduate programmes in Media Professional Studies, Film Studies, Journalism, Broadcast Technology and Interactive Media and postgraduate degrees in Screenwriting, Digital Games and New Media.

The Liverpool Screen School itself opened just a year ago, soon winning industry recognition with the award of Skillset Media Academy status – the only academy of its kind in the North West’s and one of only 17 across the country.

A decision to refresh the School’s camera and editing equipment was already underway when Endemol Productions commissioned three short films from the School’s students, giving the upgrade even more impetus.

“Three third year Media Professional Studies students pitched to Endemol to make films for the Lottery Channel working under the brief ‘to show how good causes benefit from the money’,” explains Trevor Long, Head of Media Professional Studies and Screen Studies. “Endemol worked with the students to research, recce, film and edit the films and asked us what we needed in terms of kit to produce the films. We were already thinking about the Sony HVR-Z1E and Endemol confirmed that this would be an ideal camera.”

The three films concern The International Slavery Museum (ISM), FACT (the Foundation for Art and Technology) and St. George’s Hall in Liverpool and are all airing or about to air on the National Lottery Xtra channel (on SKY, Virgin and Freeview).

Three HVR-Z1E professional HDV camcorders

According to Endemol producer and the production’s mentor Michelle Lanaway, “The FACT film is being used as an example of an excellent student film. I understand that the Lottery/Camelot has played it at at least one meeting and the office holds it up as one of the best. I have also been using it in my workshops.”

Long ordered three HVR-Z1Es for production of the films, but the way the student filmmakers took to it opened his eyes to the camcorder’s wider potential.

“We had mainly domestic camera stock and four older DSR models from Sony,” he recalls. “Like most institutions our financial constraints meant we’d only previously bought units in piecemeal which eventually causes interoperability issues with format, accessories and generations of equipment. We wanted professional broadcast cameras that would ease that interoperability problem and be robust enough to withstand constant use for several years. We also wanted enough of the cameras in volume so that any student who wanted to use one could.

“Having used Sony kit in the past, we were biased toward them because of their ease of use and reliability, but the other factor was that our student population had risen fivefold to 550 for these courses in recent years,” Long says.

The solution? A wholesale faculty re-equip comprising 39 additional HVR-Z1E camcorders accessorised with the same number of tripods, Shotgun mics and carry cases, ordered from CVP-Mitcorp, which just recently opened a Manchester office serving the region.

CVP-Mitcorp service

“CVP-Mitcorp were not just able to get us a great deal but get them to us quickly,” says Production Technician, Rachel Brewster, “The way our budgets work we can only sign-off on large purchases at certain times in the year, so we needed a quick turnaround.”

At the same time it was decided to outfit the faculty with 32 complete Avid Media Composer V3 systems on dual screen HP xw4600 Avid Qualified PCs. “We are primarily interested in the creative production process of putting stories together rather than the technology itself, but we also realise that having a solid grasp of the tools of the trade is vital,” explains Long. “The combination of the Z1E with Avid is perfect for self-shooting directors since they can shoot and edit at broadcast quality.”

Because of the variety of routes on offer at the School, students can specialise in any number of disciplines, but Long has set the curriculum up so that everyone is capable of filming on the Z1E and then compiling an edit. “We arranged quite a rigorous training regime to get everyone up and running on the kit,” says Long. “It means that by the time current first year students graduate, they will have experienced three years working with professional broadcast grade equipment. They will be confident operating a camera and compiling an edit, but more importantly, they can work with a producer or crew from day one, knowing what works and what doesn’t and having a deeper understanding of production.

Integrated with Avid systems

According to Brewster the training is not a cursory one. “We want them to understand how the camera works; how to focus pull and go into the menus and change the settings rather than have a basic knowledge,” she says. “It’s the same with Avid. Some students had no prior knowledge of timelines or claimed to be complete technophobes, but we make sure that they undergo a thorough workshop and ensure that they get time to handle the kit. We’ve had several ‘Damascene’ conversions in which students who previously hated technology are suddenly the most enthusiastic about it or who land jobs in post production.”

The Avid systems are not networked together, since doing so was viewed as an unnecessary expense and complication. DV material from the Z1s are digitised directly into the PCs with rushes and works in progress stored on 320GB external hard drives individual to each production team. Finished projects are burnt to DVD from Avid.

Students also have access to 15 Apple Final Cut Pro suites and a green screen studio to compile the short films and documentaries on which their degrees are judged.

The School’s advisory board includes film director Alex Cox, Lime Pictures managing director Sean Marley and Brookside creator Phil Redmond.

23 February 2009