The Department of Media Production and Faculty of Media & Communication at Bournemouth University presents its annual event for the media industries, educators, students and public on Dorset’s beautiful South Coast.

Bringing together talent and experience from across the film, TV, online and events sectors, the three days will host talks and panel discussions, presentations of new work and the latest technology, hands-on workshops, and room to rub shoulders with fellow professionals and new talent. Come along and contribute, watch, listen and meet! 

The event takes place across Bournemouth University’s Talbot Campus, home to the Poole Gateway Building and its cutting-edge production and post-production facilities.

Register to attend

Event programme

Tuesday 21 May | Wednesday 22 May | Thursday 23 May

Tuesday 21 May
Demonstrations and hands-on
10am to 4pm – TV Studios, Poole Gateway Building TV studio tour and hands-on: Visit our state-of-the-art multi-camera television studios and try your hand at cameras, vision-mixing, sound and more.
1pm to 5pm, Soundstage – Poole Gateway Building Virtual Production for Drama with Rosco: See how virtual backgrounds are used in drama production.
Meet the Makers: Production Talks
1pm to 2pm – Share Lecture Theatre, Fusion Building

Colour Grading with Ross Baker (Molinare): Ross Baker is Molinare’s Head of Grading with credits including War of the Worlds (2019), Inside No.9 (2020-22), SAS Rogue Heroes (2022) and Sexy Beast (2024). Ross will be both talking about and demonstrating the art of colour grading.

2pm to 3pm – Share Lecture Theatre, Fusion Building

All About Post with Charlie Watson (Molinare): Charlie Watson is Molinare’s Head of Brand Partnerships. Molinare is one of the UK's most established and well-known Post Production suppliers, with global clients across film, television, events, marketing and corporate communications.

3pm to 5pm – Share Lecture Theatre, Fusion Building

The BU Sound-Image Network Presents: Sound for Screens: The Sound Image Network brings together colleagues from the Departments of Media Production and Creative Technology with a focus on sound for film and television.

This panel discussion will take you behind the scenes of this vital and less-understood world. Including contributions from:

  • Zoe King (BA Media Production alumni) Foley Artist at Molinare (Matilda: The Musical, Wonka, SAS Rouge Heroes, Bad Sisters)
  • Helen Faulkner (MA Sound Design for Screen alumni) Sound Editor at Bang Post (Dr Who, Good Omens)
  • George Pertwee (MA Sound Design for Screen alumni) Dubbing Mixer / Sound Designer at Coda Post
5pm to 7pm – Share Lecture Theatre, Fusion Building

Meet the Makers Q&A with Gesa Jäger, Film Editor: Gesa studied Film Editing at Filmuniversity Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, graduating with a Masters degree in September 2013 with the feature film LOVE STEAKS, which was not only nominated for the German Film Awards, but also won her the NRW Schnitt Preis Spielfilm at film+ festival in Cologne 2014 and the Award for outstanding achievement in Editing at New York First Time Fest 2014.

In 2019, she was awarded the Filmkunstpreis Sachsen-Anhalt/Special Schnitt by the Filmkunsttage Sachsen-Anhalt and the Bild Kunst Schnitt Preis Dokumentarfilm at the film+ Festival for her editing of Dreamaway, an Egyptian-German co-production. In 2022 she has been the lead editor in Anna Winger’s new Netflix-Show Transatlantic. Her latest work Das Lehrerzimmer, directed by Ilker Çatak, won 5 Lolas at the German Film Awards 2023 including Best Editing and Best Film.

Gesa will be talking about her career, the art of editing, and what it takes to win so many awards! She will be joined by other professionals from today’s talks and more, for a fun panel Q&A!

Wednesday 22 May
Demonstrations and hands-on
10am to 12pm & 1pm to 4pm – Soundstage, Poole Gateway Building Camera, Lighting and Grip Technology Show with ARRI and CVP: ARRI and CVP supply the world's top productions with their camera, lighting and grip equipment. Come, see, and try out the latest high-end production kit and talk to the experts.
11am to 1pm – Foyer, Poole Gateway Building Camera Filters, with Tiffen: From creating a mood, to changing the weather or time of day, and one of the oldest de-aging technologies in film, Tiffen will be showing how camera filters are used in production, with a chance for you to try them out yourself.
2pm to 4pm – Foyer, Poole Gateway Building Steadicam Presentation and Demonstration: Whether it’s running up the touchline, sweeping through an intense action sequence or following a child on a tricycle in a creepy hotel, Steadicam is the go-to and strap-on technology that has been gliding audiences through the action for nearly 50 years. Come and see how Steadicam works and try it out for yourself.
Big ideas
11am to 12pm – FG06, Fusion Building Digital Publics and Cartoon Dogs: Disinformation and How to Fight It: Dr Carina Westling: It is easy enough to consider the degree to which we live our lives online, but have you considered that there is another you online? This digital twin, made up of the data collected on your interests, affinities, behaviour and connections lives its own life independent of your physical self. It isn’t just wandering around in some digital netherworld, though, it is being used, by other people, to model, predict and design the future behaviours not just of you, but of the people and systems, cultures and politics that define our lives. This thought-provoking talk investigates state-controlled disinformation and some of the work being done to fight back against it. You will never look at your phone in the same way again.
12pm to 2pm – FG06, Fusion Building

Intersectional Media Practices for Inclusion On-screen and Off-screen: Dr Chris Pullen, Dr Catalin Brylla, Dr Dennis Olsen (University of West London) The work of improving representation both on and behind-the-scenes remains challenging for the creative industries, with specific themes, issues and strategies varying across forms and genres. More recent work has recognised the complexity in recognising and responding to intersectional disadvantage experiences by those who belong to multiple minority groups.

This discussion and workshop will both reflect these challenges and provide opportunities for participants to explore equality, diversity and inclusion in media production through practical activities covering documentary, fiction and advertising, including methodological processes underpinning stereotyping, representation, tokenism, inclusion and ‘displaced abjection’.

2pm to 4pm – FG06, Fusion Building

Responsible Artificial Intelligence in Media Production: Dr. Szilvia Ruszev, Dr. Maxine Gee, Prof. Xiaosong Yang, Dr. Melanie Stockton-Brown, A.Prof. Tom Davis The rapid advancements in AI and Machine Learning have revolutionized the media landscape, opening new possibilities for content creation. Generative AI tools for creation and manipulation of text, image and sound such as ChatGPT or Midjourney became accessible for everyone and hold the promise of changing the ways in which media production can be effective and creative. However, these technological breakthroughs have also come with moral, ethical and legal challenges and risks that need to be addressed.

The panel introduce and discuss their work on the AHRC-funded project, Shared Post-Human Imagination: Human-Ai Collaboration in Media Creation, which aims to investigate responsible AI(RAI) in the context of media production, focusing on collaboration, creativity and representation.

2pm to 4pm – Share Lecture Theatre, Fusion Building 48 Hour Film Challenge Awards: One prompt, one film, 48 hours, infinite fun. Come and see the outcomes of a weekend of frenetic filmmaking and find out what our panel of professional judges thought at the 48 Hour Film Challenge Screening and Awards. Expect to experience a full range of emotions and cast your vote for the Audience Favourite!
4.30pm to 7pm – Share Lecture Theatre, Fusion Building

Meet the Execs! Developing, Producing and Commissioning Outstanding TV. With Karl Warner, Simon Welton and Rogers Ofime: Head of Department for Media Production, Dr. Karl Rawstrone, hosts presentations and panel discussion featuring three amazing TV Execs.

Karl Warner has been Head of Youth and Digital for C4, Controller of E4, co-owned his own production company, been the BBC’s youngest Commissioning Editor and was on the development team for Strictly Come Dancing. His experience is only enhanced by his infectious energy and enthusiasm. Karl is one of the most highly regarded Execs in TV and will share his insights into developing compelling ideas into great TV.

Simon Welton (Lion TV) is behind a slate of award-winning, well-known and worldwide shows including Sexy Beasts (Netflix, BBC3), Officially Amazing (100 episodes for CBBC), and Play Your Pets Right (winner of Best Entertainment Show at the 2019 Children’s BAFTAs). He has also overseen Horrible Histories for the last 6 series, during which time the show has won several BAFTAs. Simon knows what makes Kids’ TV tick and he’s at the Festival to share his experience!

Dr Rogers Ofime is a Nigerian-born Canadian-based film-maker and television producer. He is best known for producing several notable Nigerian television soap operas, including the hugely popular Tinsel, which was the first multi-camera studio-based television daily soap to be produced by a Nigerian producer in all of East, West or North Africa. This popularity makes Rogers a massive celeb in his own right, with over 20k Instagram followers!

Thursday 23 May
Demonstrations and hands-on
10am to 4pm – TV Studios, Poole Gateway Building TV studio tour and hands-on: Visit our state-of-the-art multi-camera television studios and try your hand at cameras, vision-mixing, sound and more.
10am to 12pm and 1pm to 4pm – Soundstage, Poole Gateway Building Camera, Lighting and Grip Technology Show with ARRI and CVP: ARRI and CVP supply the worlds top productions with their camera, lighting and grip equipment. Come, see, and try out the latest high-end production kit and talk to the experts.
11am to 12pm – Lees Lecture Theatre Zeiss Lenses: Zeiss create high-performance lenses for cinematography. Come and see these lenses in action and find out what makes them stand out.
1pm to 3pm – Lees Lecture Theatre Sony Cameras and Matt Lewis (Director of Photography, Boiling Point): In this talk, demonstration and Q&A, Sony and Matt Lewis will be demonstrating and discussing cinematography using Sony’s Venice, Burano, Rialto, FX3 and FX9 cameras.
2pm to 3pm – Share Lecture Theatre

Production Health, Safety and Careers with the Mark Milsome Foundation: Inspired by the achievements and character of Mark Milsome, who was killed while filming a car stunt in Ghana on 18 November 2017, the Mark Milsome Foundation educates and promotes modern health and safety practice in Film and TV production including supporting the requirement for a Level 2 Production Safety Passport for all those who work in the industry.

The Mark Milsome Foundation Film & TV Online Safety Passport course provides a single training programme for the whole industry, delivering much-needed continuity of education that can be referenced on set and during production. The Foundation also inspires, informs and supports young people to consider a role in the film and television industry. The Foundation helps young people overcome the challenges of finding work experience, mentorship and eventual employment in the industry.

Stories and Spaces: The Future of Heritage
12pm to 2pm – Share Lecture Theatre, Fusion Building

How can innovative media engagement enhance the understanding and impact of Heritage curation and education? This year, students of BA (Hons) Media Production worked with Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum to create Media interventions and installations within and beyond the heritage environment - on-site, online, and in the imagination.

A selection of this exciting work will be presented by the student creators and Dr Carina Westling, who supervised the projects, will host a discussion on how media can create new audiences, increase engagement and extend the storyworlds of unique and sensitive heritage environments.

Bournemouth University Student Film Awards 2024
3pm to 8pm – Share Lecture Theatre

This is a ticketed event, please book via Eventbrite and download the awards programme (pdf 520kb)

Screenings and Filmmaker Talks 3pm to 6pm: Come and see the best of Bournemouth University’s film productions from the past year. Presented by the filmmakers, with an opportunity for you to ask the creators about their work.

Reception 6pm to 7pm: A chance to relax, mingle and network with snacks and beverages.

The Awards, 7pm to 8pm: Who will be judged the very best of the best across a range of categories and win the coveted Best Film award for 2024?

Book via Eventbrite Download the awards programme (pdf 520kb)

Contribute 

We invite professionals from across the Creative Media Sectors to come and share their experiences and insights as Festival Contributors. 

Opportunities include Solo or Company Presentations with Q&A; Panel Discussions; offering Careers Advice and Opportunities to groups or individuals; Demonstrations and screenings. 

Academics are also invited to hold public-engagement events on topics relevant to Creative Media industries, content and education.