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Wirral TV has now launched it’s own website here:
http://www.wirraltv.net/

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Wirral TV is perhaps one of the most exciting new media launches to have happened on the Wirral for the past few decades. Launched from a unique partnership of Community Trusts the new social enterprise has big ambitions to serve the information needs in the form of short films of the entire population of the Wirral. The new website Wirraltv.net has a broad ‘church’ of content from social and community issues such as dog fouling to ASBO’s to lighter content such as film festivals, music festivals, sport and horoscopes. There will be a short film for everyone no matter what age you are, gender or ethnicity.

Community TV.
Wirral TV is Wirral’s new Community TV company. The new Community Enterprise is a Unique Partnership of Five Community Trusts, Lairdside, Beechwood, The Lauries, Leasowe and North Birkenhead.

The new fun & Interactive Website has been designed as an online magazine easy to use and view, hosting Short Films about Life and Lifestyles on the Wirral.

Community TV stations have grown in increasing numbers in recent years to serve the needs for local information. In a recent Ofcom research study of 1400 respondents, over 70% of the respondents stated that watching TV programmes about their local village, town, city or area was important to them.

Wirral TV now has dozens of short films to view on Wirraltv.net:
from Film Festivals to Music Festivals, Food & Drink to Health & Beauty, Community Information to Legal Advice, Local History to What’s On, Story Hours to Entertainment & Leisure and so much more.

Social Enterprise.
Social Enterprises are new companies developed to serve the needs of both communities and the private sector. Wirral TV has a mandate to become self sufficient within a short period and develop income streams which reduce its reliance upon funding.

The pilot project for Wirral TV, followed a feasibility study in 2006 which was commissioned in 2005 by Birkenhead Community Regeneration Partnership. Funded by Jobcentre Plus, the pilot was designed to look at the potential employment and training that might be developed through the community use of new media.

The pilot, managed by Birkenhead Sixth Form College and co-ordinated by Bright Field was funded by local regeneration initiatives matched by Objective 1 European Social Funds. The project was designed to provide both employment and training for local residents from some of Wirral’s most deprived communities.

Our Objective for Wirral TV is to be self funding as soon as possible thus enabling further employment, training and mentoring opportunities in media for the Wirral Community.

Training
Wirral TV now has media equipment in six centres across the Wirral and two fully equipped iMAC networks for use by the wider community to make short films about issues that interest and concern them.

The film & Media training facilities for Wirral TV are also located in the Head Office of Wirral TV at Royal Standard House, alongside an editing suite.

We have recently started an Adult Enterprise Mentor Programme for trainees and volunteers from the community. This project is managed by a Wirral based independent commercial production company who make broadcast programmes for Granada TV. The idea behind the course is to prepare the participants for new employment opportunities, enable new enterprise creation and promote further learning and skills opportunities for each of the participants. Importantly the course provides hands on skills in film making from camera craft to managing audio, lights, locations and editing all the key core skills required for commercial film making. The course promotes confidence building amongst the participants and the individual Mentors have a hands on relationship with all programming initiatives helping all of the participants to make the most of each film making opportunity.

Training Courses.
Wirral TV will be offering Training Courses in Media Studies to NVQ2 Level and information about these courses is available through the offices of Wirral TV.

Wirral TV will also be offering short three day Media training for organizations and individuals. These comprehensive course will include:

How to construct and send press releases; How to prepare for radio and television interviews; Crisis Media Management Public Relations.

Course places will be limited to twelve people on each course, to ensure the participants obtain the best possible training and will take place over a three day period.

Advertising
Wirral TV offer a whole host of opportunities for companies to become involved with Wirral TV and reach out to a potential audience of over 330,000 residents within the Wirral Peninsula including:

• Film Commissions
• Advertorial Opportunities
• Sponsorship Opportunities
• Banner, Sky Scraper and Tile Website Advertising
• Click Through Web Advertising Opportunities
• Assessment of Funded Projects for Evaluation Purposes
• Vox Pop & Customer Feedback Research
• Filming of Training, Seminars and Conferences with Secure Password Protected Web Hosting to review at a later date the content of the training course or seminar / conference etc.

Wirral TV is set to launch on Friday 18th April 2008 at the Williamson Art Gallery, Slatey Road, Birkenhead, Wirral CH43 4UE between 11.30am and 2.30pm

The borough-wide community TV scheme means that residents of Wirral now have the opportunity to train in video production and see their own videos on a special website.

With the aid of grants from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, the Single Regeneration Budget and Riverside Housing, the two-year pilot scheme has provided the kit and specialist training for what could become Wirral’s own community television service.

The project, which was originally administered by Birkenhead Sixth Form College in association with local community trusts, is aimed at all sections of the community and for all age groups. Training courses have given trainees the basic knowledge to allow them to make their own videos.

The idea is that local residents will have the chance to make videos about anything they choose: a local band or football team; an environmental project; a campaign to clean up a local beauty-spot; local history… the choice is as broad as your imagination!

Canapes and refreshments will be served throughout the presentation of the new Wirral TV website, which will go live during the course of the presentation.

Wirral TV hope that you can set some time aside from your busy diary and come along on the 18th to celebrate the official launch of this new successful Social Enterprise and see for yourself how Wirral TV is set to serve the needs of the whole of the Wirral.

If possible please respond before 11th April 2008 for catering purposes either by phone or e-mail.

Telephone: 0151 644 4512

Email: info@wirraltv.net

Any organisation wishing to communicate widely now has to initiate a New Media response. Web 2.0 is upon us, with users pushing to and pulling content from the media oligarchies wrestling with how to generate revenue streams from them. The main broadcasters are rapidly, though belatedly adapting to these new forms of moving image consumption to remain relevant. There are new production, distribution and funding models being developed in response to changes and convergences. Television is no longer the primary form of broadcast, instead it has become a mere medium of transmission and it shares this value with many other devices and structures.

Having gained Skillset Academy status in June 2007 and in partnership with, Lime Pictures/Conker Media, Evolution Studios, Skillset, The North West University Association Higher Level Skills Pathfinder and others, The Liverpool Screen School at Liverpool John Moores University can now offer two exciting opportunities to those in industry and to graduates wishing to explore some of the current and emerging technical, creative and contextual skill sets required for a career in new media production.

For freelancers
Certificates of Professional Development in:

• Convergence
• Digital Moving Image
• Directed New Media Production

Worth 30 credits at masters level, these modules can build towards a PgDip or full MA qualification.

Support funding is available for freelancers and SMEs.

For graduates
Lime Pictures is home to one of the biggest New Media operations in the television industry, Conker Media. From September 2007, all applicants for the Liverpool Screen School’s New Media Production MA will have the opportunity to gain sponsorship and support from Conker Media.

Application deadline: 19th September
Interviews: 21st September
Course start date: 1st October

Details on the CPDs and MA New Media Production can be found through the Liverpool Screen School web site http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/LSS/index.htm

For further details and application forms about either of these initiatives please contact: m.smith1@ljmu.ac.uk
Tel: 0151 231 4761 or 4701

Birkenhead Sixth Form College are running an OCR National Certificate in Media. Courses start 24th September for 30 weeks, 12 hours per week (school terms only)

This modem, practical and job-orientated course provides essential skills and knowledge to support your entry into the media job market. It aims to develop your understanding of what media is and to enhance your knowledge of the industry.This flexible course can be tailored to your needs, as individual units can be completed around any other study you are doing. As well as the employment opportunities this course may lead to it could also lead towards higher levels of study, for example level 3 or 4 qualifications or a media degree.

Where are the courses?
You can choose to attend at either Royal Standard House in Rock Ferry or at Beechwood Community Trust in Beechwood.

Who can Join these courses?
If you live in or very close to a Pathways area AND have been unemployed for 6 months or more but are actively seeking employment (or are likely to do so as a result of this course) then you are welcome! There will also be an interview (17th September) to ensure that this is the right course for you.

I can’t afford it!
The course is FREE and we can help with travel costs, buying books, child care costs and much, much more! Doing this course will not cost you a penny.

To get information or to apply for an interview, please call 0151 651 3718

Bright Field’s brief is also to explore ways of assuring the financial sustainability of the project and rolling it out across the Wirral. The hope is that the project will become a successful social enterprise run by and for the people of the borough.

So far, five community trusts, working with Wirralbiz, have agreed to form a company to take over the management of the project once the pilot scheme is over.

They are:

• Beechwood Community Trust
• Leasowe Development Trust
• North Birkenhead Development Trust
• Lairdside Community Trust
• The Lauries Community Trust