BTEC Trip to the Design Museum

On the 6th February 2009, BTEC art and design students from years 11, 12 and 13 went to the Design Museum in London to see the amazing and inspirational work of fashion designer Hussein Chalayan.

Hussein Chalayan is an award winning fashion designer, who graduated from Central St Martins in 1993. His work includes dresses made of lasers, to dresses which are remote controlled and can be transformed on the cat walk. His exhibition was full of absolutely beautiful pieces which I think has inspired us all for our own work. Currently in Year 12 we are starting a new costume design project which I am now very excited about, especially after this visit.

At the museum, we explored the exhibition to find our favourite pieces. This was hard as they were all so incredible. After this we made a range of sketches to use as starting points for our art work. After the Design Museum, we all braved the cold and rain and walked along the riverside to the Tate gallery to see Louise Bourgeois' Giant Spider, untitled Maman, which towered a massive thirty feet over us. It was a very inspiring day and an insight into the many career options available in the creative arts.

Aylin Unlu, Year 12 BTEC Art and Design

The Summer Challenge

Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication hosts an event called the Summer Challenge. Students from various schools the chance to produce a television show using professional equipment and in a professional environment. There were 15 students from The Ravensbourne School year 13 BTEC and 2 A-Level students involved in this
On the first day we were met by Ian, from Ravensbourne, he showed us around the studio, gallery, sound and lighting rooms during the tour we had a taster of each area to help us choose what we wanted to do for the show. After our roles had been arranged we rehearsed the programme to get people used to their roles within the team. During the early stages of rehearsal most of the shots used were simple, but as time progressed shots became more interesting. When the day ended we were told what time to be back the next day for final rehearsals before the show.

The rehearsals on the second day were our last chance to iron out as many bugs as we possibly could before we went live at 3:35. We had been told that some of the previous groups had been late by a few minuets so that their show was cut short. During this time the cameras had their final shots set up and everyone knew what they were doing. Unfortunately the band we were filming had pulled out so we had to get Andy, Andrew, and Jake to stand in for them. Whilst this was a setback it was only minor and didn’t disrupt the show. After the final run-throughs the 3:35 deadline was approaching. Due to our hard work and dedication we managed to start at 3:35 on the dot. The show turned out to be pretty good albeit a few errors but for only 2 days worth of practice it was excellent. The band segment turned out well due to the fact that there were a variety of shots that were used to replace the intended live footage. After the show we were de briefed and we saw an unedited version of what we made. All in all the challenge was a huge success and will be a very useful thing to put on a show reel.

By Scott Hennessy

The New Look River

The “new look” River is a new take on previous editions of the once a term magazine programme produced by the school. Instead of being a short video showcasing the school, it has now been adapted to a TV show format; the show has presenters who are students from the school and guests who range from faculty members to other students. Because of this a crew was needed to run the show and a group of Yr 13 BTEC media students took on the role for this all important first edition. Jobs such as camera operating, vision mixing, sound tech, lighting, floor Manager, offline editing and directing were performed by the students to great success.
Not only was this a fun extra-curricular activity it’s also a valuable learning experience for the students; it gave them the chance to build on the skills that they have acquired over the course. The reception from the audience was excellent, with many people commenting on the professional look and feel to the new show. This “New Look” River will be produced once a term and will give opportunity for students across the school and curriculum to get involved and be part of this exciting event.

By Andrew Williams and Scott Hennessy, Year 13

Post 16 Celebration Evening

The Post 16 Celebration Evening was not only a great success in terms of the MediaArts Faculty, but for the Post 16 community as a whole. The evening began with a showcase of work from a range of departments across the school, led by productions from the Drama department and interspersed with films, graphical imagery and displays from MediaArts. Physical displays were also placed in the Great Hall by various departments from around the school and a Post 16 band entertained the guests whist they perused these during the interval. A range of students, staff and the public attended and the evening was enjoyed by all. A number of comments were made during the evening about the quality of the work and the evening certainly had a positive impact for all departments involved. Year 13 BTEC Media students provided the technical support for the evening as well as a good deal of the film and digital graphic content involved and the students conducted themselves with their usual level of professionalism. The evening culminated with a very successful Christmas party for Post 16 students in the Refectory.

Mr Morrell

Y12 Btec Art Students Take on Dragon’s Den

On Friday 30th January, Ms Scruton and Miss Underhill piloted the first recorded BTEC interviews with the Y12 National Diploma students.

The students were asked to create a product for the opening of an Aquarium (ranging from fashion designs to animated projections). The students were required to “sell” their design to a panel, made up of their peers and a teacher, in order to obtain the commission as a free-lance designer.

The presentations form part of the MediaArts faculty’s new initiative to encourage creative lessons where students take ownership of their own assessment on Applied courses.