Students produce videos to help local organisations

Posted 4 April 2016

Final year students at Harper Adams University have produced a collection of promotional videos for real-life clients.

The students are enrolled on countryside-related courses. They created the videos for local organisations Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Meres and Mosses and Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), Shropshire.

The five videos were made as part of the students’ ‘managing countryside projects’ module. They learnt new skills including how to use the camera equipment and editing. Most importantly, they learnt how to communicate and handle real-life clients and their requests. 

They were also required to break down complex messages and make them suitable and engaging for their target audience. 

Student Isabel Thompson, 21, said: “I really enjoyed the assignment. It was very different to any other modules I take and was run in a very practical way. I learned a lot of new skills and I’m very proud of what we created.

“The key thing I learnt from this assignment is how to be an efficient member of a team and be able to use your own initiative. 

“We were a very democratic team. Everyone had a say and we all shared the workload. I also learnt that even though I don’t like conflict, it can be a brilliant tool for creating new ideas, as long as the discussion stays on track.

“The best thing about the assignment was how realistic it was; we were working for a real client who wanted a product that they would use. We pitched them our ideas and worked with them to ensure it was what they wanted. I feel it gave us real-world experience that will be vital in the workplace.”

All videos were judged by accessing their camera work, editing, scripting and sound.

‘Mr Drip’, one of the videos created for the Shropshire Wildlife Trust, follows the story of a drop of water as he travels around Telford, finding places where he can enter the ground. The video received an impressive 90 per cent from the judges. 

The video was launched by the client a week after the judging session took place. It was shown at schools and community groups in Sutton Hill, a key location in the video.

Watch the videos.