Recently, Year 2 Media Production students at Cirencester College hosted an End of Year Show. This was an opportunity to present their final pieces of work on the big screen to their friends and families, thank them for their support during their College journeys and celebrate two years of hard work.
The students organised the entirety of the event, which included creating online tickets and logos, setting up the tech, car park duties, and providing refreshments for guests. The event also posed an opportunity for the students to raise money for a charity of their choice. They liaised with representatives at Cirencester Housing for Young People (CHYP) about how they can support them by donating all proceeds from ticket sales.
Over 100 guests gathered in the Cirencester College T-level Building to watch a mixture of student made documentaries, short films, and music videos. Each student addressed the audience with a short speech to introduce their projects.
The audience consisted of friends and family, and one student, Molly, welcomed a very special guest of honour: 99-year-old Alec Chambers, the focus of her documentary project.
“For my final project, I created a documentary on the Berlin Airlift to ensure it is not forgotten.”, said Molly, “A family friend in my village, Alec Chambers was a Flight Engineer in the Berlin Airlift and flew liquid fuel into Berlin. I went to see him one afternoon to see if he would like to be in the documentary, and he was just as excited about it as I was. I worked with him for a few months, hearing about his stories, doing interviews, and capturing his archive material from that time. He recently went to Berlin for the 75th anniversary of the Airlift and when he got back, he came to our End of Year Show to see the documentary on the big screen. As I read my speech, it was a very special moment to say thank you to Alec and give him a round of applause from everyone at the event. At 99 years old what Alec has done and is still doing is incredible. I learnt so much from Alec and it has been a pleasure to get to know him. He will always be a dear friend to me.”
This wasn’t the first End of Year Show for the family of Year 2 student, Will, whose older siblings Olly and Charlotte also studied Media Production at Cirencester College. “My brother and my sister were previous students at Cirencester College, and did the same course I am just finishing”, said Will, “My sister began the course six years ago now, and they both also took part in an End of Year Show. They both said that they really enjoyed the show, and liked the variety of styles and genres in films they saw.
My role for the show was split into three parts. I helped on the graphics team to create the logo and brand image for the show, then I worked on creating a mix of popular film soundtracks for the background music. On the evening of the show, I helped out with preparing the venue for the guests to arrive, and then I helped out in the car park by providing directions for guests.”
Ella and Franklin took on the role of treasurers and managed ticket sales, and they said “The proceeds of this event were donated to CHYP, Cirencester Housing for Young People, a charity that supports local youths who don’t have stable homes and living conditions, meaning that they can have support and live a better life. This money came from ticket sales and on the night donations, meaning that we raised an incredible £223.25! Tickets sold out, bought by our families, friends, and former students. Representatives from CHYP also attended the event, which was wonderful as we could show them all of the hard work we had produced. They also kindly gave us donation pots to collect our money on the night.”
Flossy, who worked in the management team for the event, said “Putting the show together was a long 12-week process with many ups and downs along the way, but all of the hard work paid off in the end. I especially enjoyed the night of the show as it showed all of the hard work coming together. I enjoyed working in many different roles across the process as I got to work with a range of people and learn new skills.”
Aimie said “I think our hard work really paid off. It was fun to be leading the team, and I think the show went really smoothly and everyone acted professionally. This was definitely one of the best things I have done!”
“My work on the graphics for the show was really fun”, said Jon, “I think the main logo turned out really amusing and cute and helped to add more personality to the show. I feel as though we were able to create coherent and professional branding throughout all different departments and I am proud of how it all came together.”
Gus said “I was one of the leaders for the show managing some aspects of the team but mainly arranging the technical set up for the show and a lot of equipment behind the scenes. Overall, I think the show was a massive success and everyone put on a great performance.”
Jenson said “I oversaw tech with Gus for the set-up and evening of the show. My job was to control the screen from an external laptop and help control the sound alongside Flossy and Franklin as a backup. The evening went smoothly and had zero issues during the playback which was our biggest concern as it was a struggle to set up.”
Principal Matt Reynolds said “I was so impressed by the levels of creativity and innovation on show this year. Together with creating and producing the films, the learners did a fantastic job of organising and hosting the whole event. I was so proud of what they had achieved. The staff who taught the learners were also credited for how helpful and supportive they had been by their students, and that was really nice to see.”
Nigel Gooing, Head of Media at Cirencester College, said “The work the students produce is nothing short of professional standard across the board with submissions this year covering everything from short drama to music videos, and some outstanding documentaries. They should all be really proud of everything they’ve achieved.”
Congratulations to the Cirencester College Media Production Class of 2024 on putting together a fantastic event.
For more information on this story please contact chloe.suter@cirencester.ac.uk
