can uk latest

Reports4u - The Optima News Team

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:03:23 +0000

We’re working with Optima Community Association to train and develop their very own junior news team who will report on events and issues around the estate.
The Reports4U project has already produced 2 broadcasts and another 3 are planned which are being distributed online via a Facebook site
The underlying principles behind this approach is that the young people will act as positive ambassadors for their community and are a direct link back to their own wider family networks. Using a media project in this way helps housing organisations to talk directly to their tenants and engage them in new and interesting dialogues. Its also a lot of fun!
Key elements of this project are the high production values, the development of an exciting viral brand and the way in which this work is enthusing young people to become involved in their neighbourhood.

Switch Radio iPhone App

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:27:01 +0000

We worked with Switch Radio to develop their very own exclusive iPhone app that promotes the radio station to a wider audience.

The station broadcasts to a population of approx 100,000 in north east Birmingham, principally concentrated around 5 council wards: Hodge Hill, Erdington, Shard End, Stockland Green and Tyburn. Since going online in late January 2011 the Switch Radio website has attracted nearly 6,000 visits from people in over 50 countries. Around 3,000 of these are unique visitors of which 492 people have listened to the station’s online feed. The app is being deployed as part of this media strategy and is intended to attract new audience members and provide a ‘sticky’ experience - holding on to those visitors.
The app includes general information about the station, different ways of contacting the live studio and DJs, a presenter profile section and the weekly programme guide. The app user www.apple.comcan also listen to the radio station via a live radio feed piped straight to their phone.
The free Switch Radio app is available on the iTunes App store now.

Broadway School | Building Schools For The Future

Fri, 13 May 2011 10:20:05 +0100

CAN UK Media was commissioned by Aston Pride to produce a DVD about Broadway School which will be used to promote the school facilities and show the new build process. The DVD was distributed to stakeholders and was also distributed online.

Broadway School has some of the best educational facilities in the country and is one of three sample schools in the first wave of the 'Building Schools for the Future' programme. The filming programme involved interviewing pupils, teachers and local residents about the impact the new school will have on the local area and their hopes for the future.

Junior Street Champions

Wed, 4 May 2011 13:58:53 +0100

We were commissioned by Junior Street Champions to produce an online Flash game which explained recycling and was aimed at under 11s. Flash was used for its ability to create an interesting, immersive and dynamic game environment.

Two primary schools in Birmingham worked with media producer Lee Martin from CAN UK Media to transform their ideas into designs for the computer game. The pupils took part in design and development days to incorporate their artwork into the graphics and record voiceovers that featured in the game. Project Officer Eileen Doyle from The Housing Education Initiative said, “ All the children who have participate in this project have not only increased their knowledge about recycling and environmental issues in their communities. They have also gained new skills working together to produce fun educational material for their peers’.

Introducing The Official Lozells News Free App - Version 2.0

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:24:05 +0000

CAN UK Media was commissioned by Birmingham City Council to develop a mobile app to help people keep up to date with all the latest video news and tweets from Lozells News and the wider Lozells neighbourhood.

Local information and contacts including the ‘Life In Lozells’ website, statutory services and local neighbourhood forum meetings were all accessible in an ‘easy to use’ free downloadable app.
The challenge was to develop a brand identity and graphic layout that could contain and wrap all the information into a functional and intuitive design interface. Keeping the information topical was achieved by hooking into feeds from other local websites so that the app could become a ‘one stop shop’ for Lozells residents.

The project was funded by Birmingham City Council.

Life In Smethwick - Smethwick Bangladeshi Youth Forum

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 11:13:00 +0000

We were commissioned by the Smethwick Bangladeshi Youth Forum to produce a series of short films investigating issues that the young people in the area felt were important to them. The resulting filming was presented in six episodes which included 'Life in a typical restaurant', 'What does Girl Power mean to young girls?' and 'Why do people think we're not talented?'.

The project was distributed online via a Facebook site and the videos were available on Youtube.

Travellers Caravan Site - Walsall

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:32:32 +0100

We worked with whg ( Walsall Housing Group) to survey residents at a Travellers Caravan site in Walsall. The documentary will be used by whg to improve and tailor the services that they offer for this specific group.

There are huge cultural differences between New Age travellers, Travellers and Romany Gypsies which residents ranging in age from 4 to 80 years talked about on camera. The residents we spoke to are Romany Gypsies who originate from India and have a distinct set of values and preferred lifestyles. This group of residents live on a council run site which consists of plots for caravans and their day houses as well as a communal building which is used for schooling and other leisure activities.

Holte School visit to The Centre For Alternative Technology

Wed, 9 Jun 2010 10:36:18 +0100

Lozells News - Holte School - Facebook Link
We spent a glorious week with Year 9 students from Lozells at The Centre For Alternative Technology in Wales investigating the amount of energy and water that we use. The students took part in various interactive workshops led by staff from the centre and we filmed their discoveries as they happened.
This work is part of the Lozells News Team project and the residential has been edited and put online for wider distribution. Working in this way can be challenging - capturing the action and developing the 'on camera' relationship with young people whilst keeping the experience fresh and informative. The inner city landscapes that these pupils are used to are very different from the natural backdrops that feature throughout the documentary so take a look at the video online for a slice of Welsh eco power!

NOW Youth Engagement - CAN UK Media deliver

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:31:40 +0100

WHG NOW Youth Engagement - Facebook Link
CAN UK Media was commissioned by whg to run two exciting days of events at Moxley People's Centre and Dartmouth Youth Centre working with young people to get feedback from them about their area and their aspirations. We used a mixture of digital and traditional methods to gather lots of info. Kids had their portraits taken in the photo booth, submitted themselves to the diary room for an in-depth interview, created a 'cool wall' and filled out speech bubbles to help collect lots of responses to questions developed with staff from whg.

CAN UK Media featured on the BBC2 Learning Zone

Wed, 7 Apr 2010 11:51:30 +0100

The BBC2 Learning Zone recently featured Lozells News, an online magazine programme produced by CAN UK Media and Birmingham City Council's Housing Education Initiative. Now in its seconds season; the Lozells News Team has exceeded all expectations and attained wide media coverage. Despite the poor reputation of the area the programme gets high search listings and dominates the Google rankings : contributing to a more positive view of Lozells. Lexie & Nevicka were interviewed for the BBC2 broadcast and talk about what they have gained personally from presenting the programme.

Fluid Animation Space - Watch the animation

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 11:35:54 +0000

CAN UK Media worked with a group of 6 creative trainees from Fluidspace Arts to develop their animation skills. Initial experiments in stop motion animation quickly led onto developing a storyboard and a panoramic set. Filming took place over 3 weeks - an epic story of love and rejection wrapped in eco friendly paper destined for Buster - ‘ the has bin’ - hero.

Staffordshire Primary BSF Programme

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:57:14 +0000

CAN UK Media filmed primary schools in Staffordshire who were helping to develop a ‘pupil brief’ for the BSF programme. The first stage in this consultation process involved 36 primary schools taking part in 3 days of workshops at the National Memorial Arboretum in December to explore and express views about the designs of their new schools.

Lozells News Season Two - Watch The Promo Video

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:51:02 +0000

CAN UK Media and The Lozells News Team ( LNT) filmed a documentary about homes that were being refurbished and made more energy efficient. LNT obtained exclusive access to show the transformation programme.

You can follow the project @lozellsnews on Twitter and subscribe to the Lozells News Youtube Channel www.youtube.com/lozellsnews to keep up with the latest news and information

Blue Coat School Library Refurbishment Update

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:15:22 +0000

The new furniture has been delivered to Blue Coat Library and the scheme is now complete. The Learning Resource Centre as it will now be called has been transformed, in the words of a pupil, "from a dark dingy place to a fun exciting place to be in".

Go here to the cantoo website

Shout For Village Pride - SHOUT TV

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:44:16 +0100

CAN UK Media have been out filming for the SHOUT Festival in Birmingham and caught up with John Lupton and Garry Jones who have been busy producing the winning artwork for two murals to be located within Birmingham’s Gay Village area. The murals will be an integral part of the environmental improvements in Hurst Street.
We spoke to Ken Hurd the competition winner and David Viney, Producer - SHOUT Festival about the impact the mural's will have on the gay village.

Housing Education Initiative - Anti Litter Campaign

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:35:12 +0100

As part of the Active Neighbourhoods programme children from City Road J&I School and St. Patrick’s RC J&I School worked with Housing Education Initiative (Birmingham City Council) and CAN UK Media to produce three films that looked at anti-social behaviour. The children raised the issue of litter and dumping and discussed how they could stop it. Pupils were concerned about this problem and felt that litter and dumping was ruining their environment. They asked - “Who causes all the litter problems?”

The advert shows people of all ages who live and work in the community saying `We Don’t Like It’! It’s a clear message to anyone that most people want to live in a clean and tidy area.

Blue Coat School Library Refurbishment Video

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:48:50 +0100

We have been working with Blue Coat CofE Secondary school alongside Cantoo to deliver the media component of the library refurbishment scheme. The project was commissioned by Creative Partnerships as a way of involving pupils in key design decisions relating to the refurbishment of the space. Questions such as how to create a stimulating contemporary learning environment whilst retaining a feeling of quiet study were key to the programme of analysis and engagement. All this was documented with video during the design workshops.

Go here to the cantoo website

Work Experience placement

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:56:43 +0100

We're welcoming Lauren this week as she will be working with us on various projects as part of her work experience placement from Swanshurst School.

Day One
Visiting Blue Coat Library Refurbishment project
Visiting Form Fabrications to discuss Brocks Hill fence
Photo shoot at St George's CE Primary School

Day Two
Littleton Green School
At the school we worked with a class of year one pupils
to create some mosaics, which will soon be displayed outside in thier new school premises. I also visited the site of the new school which is currently being built. The new building is a great deal larger and more open which will provide a great environment for all the pupils and staff! To view the building site we needed all the correct safety equipment and clothing. The building's decor is based on a specific colour palette and the feature wall colours change throughout the year groups.

Day Three
Working in the Studio
In the studio I learnt how to edit some film and add sound, text and motion to a piece. We used a program called final cut which is used especially for editing media pieces.
In the afternoon we went to Redditch to see the launch of the Winyates bus shelters project, where i took several pictures of the event and interviewed Peter the project manager. We also video recorded the event to use in a video presentation of the project.

Day Four
Littleton Green School
We returned to Littleton Green school to complete the mosaics that the year one pupils had started on Tuesday. In the afternoon we received lunch and then started working with the year two pupils. Eric explained how the mosaics worked and the children planned out which insects they would base their mosaics on. At the end of the day all the groups managed to complete the mosaics and we had a finished product.

Day five
Film Editing
After the Winyates bus shelters launch, we had a collection of footage which needed to be edited to go on the Cantoo and Can UK website. With all the clips we used final cut to select sections and add them to our timeline of footage. By adding motion , transitions and composing a piece of music for the video it was very successful.

WHG - Youth Engagement Strategy - Web Site Update

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 15:46:50 +0100

We have been working with Walsall Housing Group (WHG) since 2003 to document their regeneration programme on estates in Walsall. Some of our previous film projects have included Goscote’s Big Mouth, Bovvered About Bentley, The YES Programme and the Youth Oscars Night. The documentary process that we've developed with WHG has been used as a way of capturing 'snapshots' of estates prior to regeneration and the community growth that occurs as a consequence of those regeneration programmes.

Go here to the website

Lozells News

Thu, 14 May 2009 12:39:28 +0100

We've been working with young people in Lozells to create a news programme and website.

Birmingham City Council Housing Education Initiative (HEI) and CAN UK Media worked with primary school children in the Lozells area of Birmingham to present their own news programmes.

Pupils attended media training workshops at the CAN studio in preparation for scripting and filming the actual news broadcast. The finished work is being distributed both online and on DVDs.

Eco Radio Lozells

Tue, 5 May 2009 12:24:43 +0100

The Eco Radio project is working with primary school children in the Lozells area of Birmingham to raise awareness of energy issues, promote the benefits of saving energy, promote understanding of climate change and the contribution that changes in lifestyle can make to reduce carbon emissions.
The project is linked to the environmental improvements planned for the area. These messages are delivered through an eco educational website and podcasting radio station.

Around the Houses

Mon, 4 May 2009 12:41:33 +0100

The Aston maps 'Around the Houses’ project was celebrated at a launch event with over 800 pupils from local schools attending. Participating companies from six other arts organisations showcased their work at the Drum, Newtown.

The programme was part of the Arts in Regeneration programme supported by Birmingham City Council Housing and funded by Urban Living.
We worked with 3 schools Anglesey Street, Prince Albert and Aston Manor to explore their local area, taking photographs and recording landmarks and then using this information to create an interactive board game and their own maps.

We all move through our environment using favoured routes and stopping points. But our journeys through the ‘urban jungle’ are made easier by our familiarity of the trails and landmarks that we use to measure our progress and distance from home. Landscape architects will call these routes ‘desire lines’ – urban planners will refer to circulation patterns and traffic movements. We propose to work with young people to reveal how they use their space, where they feel safe, where they rest and play and where they stop to talk in order to redraw the community map.

Visit the Aston Maps project website here

Play the game online here

Here Come The Girls!

Fri, 1 May 2009 14:44:28 +0100

This short documentary was commissioned by Walsall Lifelong Learning Alliance (WLLA). Continuing our partnership with WLLA; we interviewed women who have been returning to work as result of the regeneration programme in Walsall.

This documentary is part of a larger portfolio of work that we have undertaken with Walsall Housing Group (WHG) since 2003.

Go here to the website

Stuffed

Wed, 1 Apr 2009 13:41:59 +0100

We worked with BTEC media students to develop films and animations that explained complex maths problems in fun ways for younger pupils. The students researched the brief, developed film scripts and were trained in various media techniques including stop motion animation.

The programme was supported by Creative Partnerships and delivered using the latest Adobe Flash video compression.

The Orchard School promo video

Sun, 1 Feb 2009 15:20:09 +0000

This is the second promo DVD we've filmed for the school.
The video will be used as tool by the school for prospective new parents and shows how they can become involved in the school.
Recorded in stunning HD with crane shots of the building.