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Jump Studios Summer Programme 2022

August 1st sparks the start of the 2022 Jump Studios Holiday Programme!

A variety of FREE & FUN activities for young people aged 10-17.

Maker City

Date: Monday August 1st – Wednesday August 3rd
Time: 10 – 3pm
Location: KWMC The Factory

An introduction to Maker City where young people can experiment with digital making, creative technologies and social action! Get inspired and make products using laser cutters, 3D printers and vinyl cutters and collaborate on social action campaigns.

Sound Wave

Date: Monday August 8th – Wednesday August 10th
Time: 10 – 3pm
Location: Knowle West Media Centre

A space to come and explore music, and be inspired by the local Bristol music scene. Whether it is your first time making music or you have already started to create your own. We look at collaborating with each other to write songs, exploring different instruments and sounds and using music software to create ideas.

To register click here or contact us via WhatsApp on 07729238700.

New placements on offer through Creative Workforce scheme

We’re delighted to be part of a new scheme supporting more young people to work in the creative industries, which launched in January 2020.

Creative Workforce for the Future has been developed by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) and will help young people bridge the gap from education to work and gain the experience they need to sustain creative careers in sectors such as film, broadcast, digital production, animation and post-production.

Participants will undertake placements at creative and cultural hubs in Bristol and Bath, including KWMC, to develop their experience, CV, portfolio and industry contacts. They will also have access to a Talent Network offering industry expertise and advice.

Creative Workforce for the Future will also support small to medium-sized companies to develop a more inclusive workforce in the region’s cultural and creative industries.

The scheme will draw on the wealth of talent that already exists in Bristol but which is currently under-represented in the creative industries, supporting young people aged 18-30 from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and/or who identify as being from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. In Bristol, 11% of the city’s working age population are from ethnic minorities – but this is not reflected within the film and TV sector workforce.

Young people on placement at KWMC will work with our creative agency Eight on a range of video production briefs, mentored by experienced filmmakers, to develop skills in shooting, editing and pre- and post-production. Our placement is only open to young women as it aims to address the gender imbalance within the UK film industry, where women are consistently under-represented in roles behind the camera.

According to data gathered by BFI Filmography, reviewing over 100 years of UK feature film, less than 5% of directing credits and just over 2% of Director of Photography credits were female.[1] The gender imbalance affects other crew positions too: the BFI found that fewer than 1% of films have crews that are more than 50% female.[2]

Mena Fombo, Head of KWMC’s programme for Young People & Emerging Creatives, said:”We’re really excited to have two young people joining our team on Creative Workforce for the Future placements. They have some brilliant ideas and have already got us thinking about how we can develop our programming, with their input, while we support their growth as professionals in the sector.

“Central to our work is a commitment to diversifying the creative industries. There are many talented emerging creatives across the region who simply haven’t had access to the opportunities that exist in the sector: there is a lot of unused and unsupported talent out there. The sector needs to change and we are excited to support that change by enabling new voices, new ideas and new ways of working to emerge, to produce better and more representative content.”

West of England Mayor, Tim Bowles said: “I want to ensure that everyone, regardless of background, has an opportunity to have a career in the creative industries. Bristol is one of the BBC’s three key sites, along with London and Manchester, and the BBC Natural History Unit is soon to be expanded as a core part of the region’s production activity. It is also the home of Channel 4’s new Creative Hub. These businesses need skilled employees now, and this demand is expected to increase.”

Channel 4’s Managing Director Nations and Regions, Sinead Rocks, said: “The creative industries need to be more representative of the UK as it is today and so we’re delighted that Creative Workforce for the Future will be nurturing and developing fresh, untapped talent with a particular focus on young people from under-represented groups in really tangible ways.”

Find out more about the scheme and how to get involved here.

About the scheme

Creative Workforce for the Future will be delivered by WECA’s partners in the Network for Creative Enterprise, led by the University of the West of England and Watershed, with hubs including The Guild Bath, Knowle West Media Centre, Spike Island, and Rife Magazine at Watershed, who are joined by new hubs Bristol City Council’s Bristol Museums and Creative Youth Network. They will work with business networks in the region including Bristol Media, the Royal Television Society, Creative Bath, TechSpark, Bristol Games Hub, the West of England Design Forum and Engine Shed, and the Channel 4 Creative Hub which launched on 15 January in Bristol.

Creative Workforce for the Future is identified in the West of England Employment and Skills Plan, developed by WECA in partnership with businesses and skills providers, in line with the region’s Local Industrial Strategy. It is supported by investment from the West of England Combined Authority and the European Social Fund and is being delivered as part of the Bristol + Bath Creative R+D programme.

Sources

[1] https://filmography.bfi.org.uk/credits
[2] https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/infographic-women-uk-film-1911-2017

Young filmmakers showcase local Children in Need projects

Young filmmakers from Bristol have worked with Knowle West Media Centre’s creative agency Eight to produce three films about projects in the South West that are supported by Children in Need (CiN).

Eight supported a group of young people from Bristol to produce and direct the ‘where the money went’ films for BBC Points West, hiring young people from KWMC and partners Off the Record and Creative Youth Network as apprentices to work on the production.

In October 2018 the young people chose the three projects they wanted to visit to capture their stories: Alliance Homes, Jamie’s Farm and National Star. They conducted broadcast interviews with staff, volunteers and people supported by the projects, shooting and editing the films with support from Eight’s experienced filmmakers. The young people also co-produced original soundtracks for the films, working with music producers from KWMC.

In November 2018 the films were broadcast on BBC Points West on three consecutive evenings. You can watch the films by following the links below:

Alliance Homes
Jamie’s Farm
National Star

Check out the behind the scenes footage where the filmmakers are interviewed about their experiences too.

Some of the filmmakers attended the live Children in Need broadcast on 16 November 2018 at the Bottleyard Studios in South Bristol, where filmmaker Donnell Asare and Mena Fombo, KWMC’s Young People’s Programme Manager, were interviewed on air.

Liam McKinnon at Off The Record commented: “We were super-excited to be involved in this filming project with BBC Children in Need. Off The Record is all about empowering young people so it was fantastic to see that a real emphasis was placed on giving young people the opportunity to create and film their own piece, in their own words. The young people from our Zazi project really enjoyed the experience.”

About the partners

KWMC’s programme for young people – Jump Studios – is supported by BBC Children in Need and offers a range of creative activities, training, coaching and support for young people aged 10+ to develop their skills, networks and confidence. Our creative agency, Eight, provides a range of creative services for clients ranging from web design to filming and editing. Eight’s traineeship scheme enables junior creatives to learn and earn as they undertake these commissions with the support of experienced mentors.

Off the Record (OTR) is a mental health social movement by and for young people aged 11-25 in Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Project Zazi is the name for OTR’s work with Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) young people tackling issues of inequality, discrimination, oppression, culture and identity, promoting good physical and mental health, healthy relationships and positive lifestyles.

KYCAID is a KYC verification system, that ensures identity validation, prevents fraud, protects data, complies with regulations, enhances security, and streamlines onboarding processes.

Creative Youth Network works to help young people remove or overcome the barriers they face by:

– Building trusting relationships with young people that enable us to address their individual needs
– Advocating for young people to influence policy and get young voices heard
– Providing a wide range of programmes and activities to help young people reach their potential

Exploring masculinity and mental health

In February 2018 the Jump Studios team had the opportunity to speak to year 11 students at Ralph Allen school in Bath, UK. Their aim was to open a discussion around men’s mental health and perceptions of masculinity. The team are in the process of planning a new programme called ‘The Male Room’ which will explore these topics further, so engaging with young people to discuss their views about masculinity – what it means, what it entails – was a useful and powerful experience.

The team started the session by explaining what has led them to working in their fields of interest and at KWMC. Communications Coordinator Daniel commented: “I find it interesting how sharing your story can create a powerful environment of transparency that lends itself to others learning not just about the person speaking but from themselves as well.”

Then the students were split into two groups: those who identified as male or felt more comfortable in a male space, and those who identified as female or felt more comfortable in a female space. Working with the male group, Daniel led an activity-game of ‘Agree or Disagree’ where he read out a range of statements about masculinity and what it means to be male and invited the students to move to different spaces in the room depending on their responses.

Daniel said: “This proved to be an impactful exercise. It enabled the young people – and me – to open up about the repressive ideals that our culture can hold men to and the effect on all of us living in that space. One standout moment for me was when I read the statement ‘Society thinks being gay makes you less masculine’ and every person in the room moved to the side of the room to show that they agreed.”

As the Jump Studios team continues to develop The Male Room project, they are keen to find out more about the challenges and pressures that young men experience. If you’d like to find out more please contact Daniel or Mena on 0117 903 0444.

Product Design course for young people

Last week we ran another Product Design Course at our digital manufacturing space KWMC: The Factory, this time for young people aged 16+ who were interested in creating original products. The two-day course provided a fun and educational introduction to design and production.

The first day gave the group a comprehensive introduction to Inkskape – design software that allows the user to create and edit graphics – and the course participants came up with a variety of concepts to test out. Later in the day the group visited Think Image, a company also based at Filwood Green Business Park that offers bespoke branding, graphics and installations. The team at Think Image explained how their organisation started and afterwards the group met up with local graffiti artist Jody who talked about his creative process.

Gallery

On day two the group put the skills they’d learned into action, each creating a picture frame and a clock. Using their new knowledge of the design process and The Factory’s laser-cutter they each mae a practical and artistic piece of work.

Contact Dot or Fiona for more information about our Product Design courses.

Opportunity for gamers, gaming artists and game designers

Take over our Gaming Test Space: 13th November – 15th December

This winter Knowle West Media Centre will be showcasing exciting new talent in the gaming industry – and we want to hear from you!

For two months, the Gaming ‘Test Space’ will offer a place for individuals and groups working and playing in the gaming world to come together, particularly those who are currently under-represented in the field.

Issues around representation are widely recognised: earlier this year, the Guardian reported that “the latest figures from games industry trade body, TIGA, show that just 14% of people working in the UK games industry are women.” A 2015 Creative Skillset Media Survey found that the industry has a lower proportion of female employees than any other part of the Creative Media Sector and in 2015 just 4% of employees in the games industry were from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups (BAME).

On 4^th and 5^th November we’re hosting the third annual South Bristol Gaming and Anime Expo, which will be followed by a week-long take-over of the space by Grrrl Games – a Bristol-based group for women making games.

After this opening fortnight, what happens in the Test Space from 13th November until 15th December is up to you…

Get involved!

We’re looking for groups to take over the Gaming Test Space for up to a fortnight each between 13^thNovember and 15^th December.

You can use the space however you like: as a studio to develop a new game, as an exhibition space, for an event…whatever you fancy!

During your take-over you must work with the young people involved in our Wednesday Creative Hub session in some way and/or deliver one event, activity or workshop for people over 18.

Your group must also create something to be left in the Test Space – this could be an object, an image or some game instructions. In this way we will be collectively creating a growing exhibition and showcase for your groups work.

We will provide:

A materials budget of up to £500 depending on scale of proposal

Access to the KWMC exhibition studio (Test Space)

Promotion of your activities

Support from our young people’s team to create and deliver Creative Hub sessions

Access to a range of technical equipment. Groups will be provided with a menu of tech to play with – please contact us in advance if you need to see a list of technical kit available before sending your proposal.

If you’d like to pitch for a Test Space take-over slot please send:

Your name and short description of your group
A one-page outline proposing including:

How you would use the space
Your ideas for working with young people and/or for an adult event
How this opportunity would be useful for your group
How your take-over will contribute to championing or increasing diversity within the gaming industry.

Please also include your preferred dates / times, a copy of your CV or links to past group work and projects, a completed Equalities Monitoring Form and an e-mail address.

Deadline for applications: Tuesday 10^th October, 5pm
Interviews: Tuesday 17^th October

For more details contact Jess Linington: jess.linington@kwmc.org.uk or 0117 903 0444.

Change Creators: XLR Collective Prep for Their Graduation

The XLR Collective were back this week for another session of prep for their Campaign Celebration which will be on Monday the 25th of September. It’s hard to believe that the course is nearly over but with so much hard work put into the project there’s much to be excited about.

After recording the majority of their EP last week at dBs Music College the team took this week’s time together to organise the workings of what their graduation celebration will look like. Still having a few bits to record to polish off their EP the group took turns to record at KWMC as well. I remained with the majority of the collective and facilitated the planing session that allowed the team to work out everything that needed to be thought about regarding the event.

The great thing about this week’s session is that the team came in fully prepared. A member of the group had drafted a PowerPoint document that outlined almost everything that was needed for the content of their presentation. After giving it a read the team then divided up the work load of typing up the stats they had collected over the past few months.

Another highlight of the night was at the end when we played what had been recorded of the EP over the past week. Smiles were left on everyone’s face at the end, a beautiful sense of accomplishment in the air. Less than two weeks to go for this cohort of Change Creators:XLR Collective, exciting times ahead!

If you would like to attend Hack a Heckle’s graduation you can sign up here!

Follow us at:
www.hackaheckle.org.uk
www.facebook.com/xlrmusicuk/
@xlrmusicuk @change_creators
#xlrcollective
Insta: @xlrmusicuk

Hiring: Manga / comic book artists for a 10 week young people’s project

Knowle West Media Centre is running a 10 week manga / comic creation course for young people this Autumn (from 13th September) and we’re looking for a dynamic and talented artist/facilitator to lead the course.

The course will cover storytelling, design, digital and traditional comic styles, and creating a one-sheet comic ready for launch at South Bristol Gaming & Anime Expo in November.

Gallery

Ideally you’ll have experience of youth work and designing creative courses for young people, alongside having passion and experience for comic book creation. Sessions will take place on Wednesdays from 4.30 – 7.30pm, working with young creatives aged 10-19.

We will be contacting and arranging interviews with applicants via phone/skype on a rolling basis, so if this is something you’re interested in doing please get in touch with enquiries@kwmc.org.uk by midday on 4th September and include up to 150 words explaining your experience, why you want to be involved in the project and provide links to your work.

The fee for the course facilitator is £600. An enhanced DBS check will also be required.

Good luck!

A Musical End to The Summer

The third and final instalment to our 2017 summer programme for young people launched with a bang – literally!

After an adventurous Animal Photography course that took us to Bristol Zoo Gardens and the activities of Tech on the Table, featuring a walking, talking robot courtesy of At-Bristol, the Hack a Musical Instrument workshop included making instruments from scratch, composing songs, and a live performance to mark the launch of Luke Jerram’s Play Me, I’m Yours project. Over the course of two days, young people and adults came together to enjoy the unifying power of music.

Day One

With excitement high, we welcomed a band of young people ready to bring some tunes to the surrounding area…Project Manager Dot began the session and introduced those who would be volunteering and lending a musical hand. After a few “icebreakers” it was time to start building instruments. The activity saw rainmakers made of tubes with rice and pasta inside, maracas and even a full drum set put together with plastic tubes and old vinyl records.

The day got even more lively when Adam Amer from Chango World came to deliver an upbeat drumming session with the group. Chango World aim to deliver engaging, memorable and accessible musical experiences to a diverse range of people and their time with us didn’t disappoint.

Gallery

: Image: Dean Ayotte

: Image: Dean Ayotte

: Image: Dean Ayotte

: Image: Dean Ayotte

: Image: Dean Ayotte

: Image: Dean Ayotte

: Image: Dean Ayotte

: Image: Dean Ayotte

: Image: Dean Ayotte

Day Two

Having laid a solid foundation of music on Day One, the second day took things a step further with an introduction to song composition. The young people created their own recordings using the music production app Logic.

Decorating the set for the Play Me I’m Yours launch was next, which included hanging decorated vinyls around the outdoor piano and setting up their proudly self-made instruments in preparation to play to parents, KWMC staff and a host of other keen listeners.

Showtime came just after 4pm when BBC Points West came along to film the first pianists using the piano. The young people performed alongside pianist Nick Bignall – and were featured on the 6pm news programme!

In just two days the young people successfully built instruments, created songs and even performed live. All of the young people who gave feedback said they would “definitely recommend KWMC to a friend”. We hope to see them – and you! – next term when our after-school sessions start up again.

Visit the Jump Studios page for more details.

Tech on the Table is a smash hit

“Everyone is just ready to try something new; they are curious and motived”

Our Tech on the Table summer activities launched on 8th August with another group of excited 10-16 year olds ready to embark on a creative journey. Two days almost didn’t seem enough for a course that included building robots, interacting with At-Bristol’s fully functioning NAO robot and the Minecraft sessions that continue to be a hit. With some help from our friends at Digimakers from the University of Bristol as well as a handful of other friendly volunteers, it was finally tech time.

Gallery

: Image: Dean Ayotte

: Image: Dean Ayotte

: Image: Dean Ayotte

: Image: Dean Ayotte

: Image: Dean Ayotte

: Image: Dean Ayotte

Day One

If you walked into KWMC on 8th August you’d have felt the energy of over 25 young people ready to tackle tech like few of them had ever done before! Meeting in the building’s main studio space, KWMC’s Dot Baker explained what was going to be happening over the two days.

Harry Gee, who currently works on robot education products with the help of Bristol Robotics Lab, led the Pi robot building session. Those who attended learned how to assemble, code and activate the machine, before seeing it in action. Other sessions included gaming and digital design and our great team of young volunteers had the young people fully engaged.

“They’re keen and they are up for it!” – Harry Gee

“We really enjoyed today. Everyone is just ready to try something new, they are curious and motived” – The Digimakers student team from University of Bristol

Day Two

Our second day started off with a bang as Beth Cotterell from At-Bristol came to visit, bringing her friend Nell, the NAO robot that so many people have been talking about. As well as all of the young people taking part in the Summer Programme, staff and volunteers came along to Beth’s session too: Nell the artificial intellectual brought young and older visitors together to share a memorable experience. It was a s stand-out moment mixed with a feel-good one: we love a good win-win situation!

Building on the excitement of the NAO robot, the other sessions kept up the high pace of the day. The young people, who had begun to form bonds with each other, got stuck in to digital illustration. At the end of the day it was great to see so many parents staying around to talk to the staff and young people alike about the day, the buzz from the morning undoubtedly still in the air.

Interested in trying coding, robotics or other tech activities? Our after-school groups start back after the summer holidays on 11th September; visit the Jump Studios page or contact us on 0117 903 0444 or social media to find out more!

Contact Us

Knowle West Media Centre
Leinster Avenue
Knowle West
Bristol
BS4 1NL
+44 (0) 117 903 0444
enquiries@kwmc.org.uk

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