BU online film series wins regional award

A team of students, staff and graduates from the Faculty of Media and Communications at Bournemouth University (BU) took Best Online Production at the Royal Television Society (RTS) Southern Awards last week.

The team, also known as Red Balloon productions, were nominated for their Friends Drive Safe campaign, a series of online films created for Hampshrie Fire and Rescue services.

Aimed at 15 to 25 year olds, the series addresses the main reasons for the death of young drivers and how we can improve road safety.

Executive Producer at Red Balloon productions, Stephanie Farmer, commented,

'To win an RTS award is excellent news! It is testament to the hard work and talents of the Red Balloon production team.

The statistics for fatal accidents in this age group are pretty grim and the team all felt a huge responsibility to find an approach that would really resonate with this audience. We recruited wrtier and director Ian D. Fleming and his energy and experience of working with young actors on Hollyoaks was just what we needed. The films don't preach or finger wag, there are no figures of authority - just friends.'

Brendan Senden, an MA Cinematography student, worked as a grip on the Friends Drive Safe videos and said,

'It was a great way to apply what I was learning at university, to a professional context. My experience with Red Balloon boosted my CV, developed my skills and helped me to get started as a professional whilst studying.'

As well as Friends Drive Safe, BU students won Best Animation at the Southern RTS Student Awards. Klaudia Smigielska, Zeno Pelgrims and Vasil Shotarov took the prize for their animated short 'Naughty Princess'.

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!