Battersea Arts Station – Free marketing

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battersea arts final

Battersea Power Station Development Company’s  “Battersea Art Station”- by submitting artists give consent for unpaid use for the company’s marketing.

Battersea Power Station Development Company has organised an art competition Battersea Arts Station hosted at the Battersea Arts Centre, an open weekend on the 25th-27th September exhibiting art inspired by Battersea Power Station. Amateur and professional artists were invited to submit work of the iconic building and now have the chance of being awarded prizes.

On the first of September Battersea Power Station Development Company announced that over 500 artworks had been submitted from all around the world including photography, poetry, oil paintings and cast iron sculptures. What they didn’t mention was that the artists might have faced a surprise after submitting their artwork.

Before the artists submitted their art they had access to the Data Protection terms and conditions. However they were not able to see the terms and conditions of having their work displayed at the exhibition until after submitting. Yet submitting meant they agree to these unseen terms and conditions. These could only be read and agreed to once the form had been fully filled out and the artists’ work submitted.

Therefore the artists were unaware that the Battersea Arts Station, part of the Battersea Power Station Development Company, intend to use the artists’ work for marketing, promotional or broadcasting purposes, as well as reproduction without paying.

Here is a section of the terms and conditions which the artists only saw after they submitted their work (BPSDC is the Battersea Power Station Development Company):

10.2 By submitting Work(s), You consent to BPSDC and/or BAC and/or another third party permitted by the BPSDC or BAC: (1) filming and making available the whole or any part of the Work(s), including but not limited to the right to include the Work(s) in any broadcast (and rebroadcast) by any broadcaster (including the BBC) and any licensees of any broadcaster; (2) filming, broadcasting and/or reproducing the whole or any part of the Work(s) for archival, educational, publicity and marketing (including without limitation on the website, exhibition posters, leaflets, private view cards and all forms of social media), press, signage, gallery guide and catalogue purposes and (3) reproducing images of the whole or any part of the Work(s) from the Website that have been submitted by You. The above consent is irrevocable and given without payment of any fee or royalty and includes consent to make available the Work(s) in all media (including without limitation all forms of electronic and social media) for perpetuity and on a world-wide basis.

We await to see what kind of art is submitted but no doubt the winners will be be suitable for (free) marketing purposes.

Co-written by Elina Kuusio

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Battersea Power Station – from no mans land to architectural extravaganza

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bps small web

The iconic Battersea Power Station is at the heart of Rafael Vinoly’s master plan – a massive “regeneration” scheme for Battersea.

The riverfront district of Southwest London around the Battersea Power Station will soon be unrecognizable due to a huge “regeneration” scheme. The Battersea Power Station which has remained largely unused since its closure in 1983 is at the heart of this luxury housing development financed by a Malaysian real estate investment group Eco World.

This regeneration scheme has recently hit the headlines with its culmination London’s first ‘sky pool’, a swimming pool which has been planned to bridge two 10-storey buildings in Embassy Garden’s as a part of the Battersea “redevelopment” plan.

However Nine Elms ‘sky pool’ has not been acclaimed by everyone. A private swimming pool sky bridge in the middle of London’s affordable housing crises has stormed critique as a symbol of rising inequality. The recent newspaper headlines show the other side of the story of the highest residential swimming pool in London:

The Independent wrote: “Nine Elms ‘sky pool’: luxury London flat owners  will be able to swim while literally looking down on everyone else”.

In addition, The Guardian stated: “The ‘sky pool’ is just the start: London prepares for a flood of bathing oligarchs”.

The planned luxury flats are being criticized for being aimed at wealthy foreign buyers taking advantage of the rising value of property in London. In January 2013 the first residential apartments went on sale and now all of the Thames-facing apartments have already been sold, way before the project was even launched.

Last year the reselling cycle made possible that the flats with starting prices from £1 million were on sale later on the year for £1.5 million. However the rapidly increasing prices are only a one side of the issue. The fundamental conflict lies on the fact that only 16 % of the planned new homes (560 of the total of 3,444) will be affordable housing.

pbs model

The “redevelopment” of Battersea would change the Landscape of London – the iconic Power Station would be surrounded by huge building blocks.

Since the power station ceased generating electricity in the 80s, it has become one of the best known landmarks in London. As the largest brick building in Europe, the iconic power station was listed on the World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund in 2004.

During the past 50 years, numerous redevelopment plans for the Battersea Power Station have been introduced. However these projects have usually failed due to a lack of funding. In 2010 Real Estate Opportunities were granted permission to redevelop the power station. This resulted in the creation of the current master plan for Battersea, an architect Rafael Vinoly’s design which gained planning consent from Wandsworth Council in 2011.

However, Vinoly does not have exactly a clean architectural record. According to the BBC the ‘Walkie Talkie’ skyscraper on Fenchurch Street in London had been blamed for reflecting light and causing a ‘death ray’ with a high temperature. The 37-storey tower designed by Rafael Vinoly was claimed to damage vehicles by melting parts of them and even causing fires.

Last week Building Design magazine announced that Walkie Talkie, nicknamed because of its bulbous, curving shape was voted for the worst building in London. Building Design’s annual Carbuncle Cup sparked an online debate including not so flattering comments about the building such as one reader commenting: “I now have a new personal goal: to live long enough to see this building demolished”.

Now the planned Phase 3 with proposals for the future of Battersea and the power station has been revealed by the Battersea Power Station Development Company, a Malaysian consortium in charge of the project. The Phase 3 of the project will provide 1,310 residential homes with only 103 of them being affordable which is less than 8 % of the houses that are planned to be build.

Will this solve the growing divide in the London housing market? Very unlikely. So far it seems that the beneficiaries are the wealthy few who the housing crisis doesn’t hit with its sky-high prices.

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Video Marketing For The Web Training Course

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video marketing

Spectacle offers a variety of different training courses. If you work for a business, start up, NGO or charity this might be your chance to learn how to use digital video for marketing purposes.

Hiring film crew or attending a training course to learn video skills can be expensive. However, Spectacle’s video marketing for the web course is affordable and can help you to boost business.

If you work for a business, start up, NGO or charity then our course could be beneficial to you, by offering advice on using digital video to advertise, target and fundraise.

By 2017, video will account for 69% of all consumer internet traffic according to a study by Cisco. Online video is quickly becoming a key means for people to satisfy information and entertainment needs, and has become the future for marketing.

Video has the biggest potential reach on the web, Youtube receiving more than 1 billion unique visitors every month. Meaning Youtube receives the second most visitors on the whole of the web, after Facebook.

We schedule courses at our premises in London regularly over the year but are also available to come and teach at institutions. The course has recently been taught at Cambridge University Press and several Borough Councils. We have received excellent feedback.

Freelance Marketer Ella gave excellent feedback and said :

I was looking for a cost effective course to extend my marketing skills to be able to offer short digital video production for my clients. As a freelancer, a lot of courses I looked at were too long, with content I didn’t need, and frankly too costly. Of course, part of me thought the Spectacle course was a suspicious bargain, but testimonials were strong and I liked how ‘real world applied’ the content looked. 

I needn’t have worried. Mark has a skill to extract exactly what you need from the course and flex content to suit you. My photography skills were basic at best, and decades old, but very swiftly updated!  Hands on use of high quality camcorders straightaway means that you fly out of the blocks on that, and find yourself filming around Clapham getting the feel of things very quickly indeed. By the end of day one we’d interviewed, reviewed framing, focus and exposure issues, and – most eye opening to me –  got the hang of how to record broadcast quality audio. Not to give too much away, by the end of day two we were in post production…

For me, the key was Mark’s ‘mindset’ approach. So, of course, my technical skills will need hours of practice over the next few weeks, but unless your training gives you the mindset of a film maker, you might as well work your way through the manufacturer’s manual. Mark covers how to keep swapping your hats, from thinking like a sound engineer to how to capture plentiful footage that’s filmed in a away that doesn’t prompt a performance or reaction, to maintaining the story thread (and safe files) through the edit process.  

On editing, I have even less background than photography. But there’s hands on time again, and most importantly a really in-depth comparison of software you can use, with differing tools and screen layouts. The same goes for kit options – there’s no pressure to buy any one brand or configuration, and Mark discusses what you’re likely to need specific to your setting.  I have confidence now to choose what will suit me best, and even where to hunt for 2nd hand, which is a quantum leap from where I was 

Would I recommend Spectacle? Only grudgingly – it’s my secret support system now, and I’m not sure I want to share… I shall definitely be going back.

If you are interested in booking the course visit the How to Book page.

For information on other Spectacle training courses

Or contact training@spectacle.co.uk

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An insight into an internship at Spectacle

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I have just completed a month long work experience placement at Spectacle, an award winning independent television production company. Spectacle is a small, friendly company with a positive office atmosphere.

As an intern my tasks include promoting Spectacles training courses in video production through social media such as Twitter, Facebook and the Spectacle blog. Through this I have learnt how to use TweetDeck a useful tool to line up tweets, improved my ability to use WordPress and learned other transferable social media skills. I have also been involved in writing Spectacles monthly newsletter.

As Spectacle is a small organisation there is the opportunity to become involved and receive a greater insight into the company. For example I have had the opportunity to be on the film set of one of Spectacles current projects.  I do not have any past experience in the film making industry so this was interesting and valuable.

Another benefit of working for a small company meant that my ideas and opinions were valued and my actions made more of an impact.

I am currently a student at Bournemouth University studying Communication and Media and needed to complete a four week summer placement as part of my course. I came across Spectacle on my university careers website, which can be used by both current students, graduates and members of the public looking to further their career.

To find out more about Spectacle’s work experience placement opportunities.

 

7 (More) Reasons Why Video is Important for Business

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Using video on your website can help to boost business, here are 7 reasons why.

1. A study by Aim clear shows that search results with video have a ‘41% higher click through rate than plain text’.

2. Video marketing is 53 more times likely than plain text to rank on the first page of googles search results.

3. Video can transform your website by being visually appealing. When visitors to your site are given the choice of whether to watch a video or read a piece of text, the majority will choose to watch a video.

5. Marketing Sherpa discovered individuals spent 100% more time on pages with videos on them.

6. “A video is worth 1.8 million words” – (James Mcquivey – Forrester)
The average web attention span is 5 minutes, meaning video is an effective way of getting information across to the audience quickly.

7. Visuals are transmitted to the brain 60, 000 times faster than text.

There is a growing demand for websites to include video . Our courses are short and affordable compared to others around, and it is cheaper to train employees to use video than hiring a film crew. Recently, Spectacle have provided training courses in video production for Cambridge University Press and several Borough Councils.

If you are interested in booking the course visit the How to Book page.

For information on other Spectacle training courses

Or contact training@spectacle.co.uk

If you would like more information on future training opportunities at Spectacle sign up for the Training Newsletter – tick the box if you would also like Spectacle’s general newsletter.




 


 

SPECTACLE ANNOUNCES NEW FILM ON BATTERSEA POWER STATION

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PRESS RELEASE: SPECTACLE ANNOUNCES NEW FILM ON BATTERSEA POWER STATION

Where's the Chimney?

Where the Ducks the Chimney? Battersea Power Station 2015

Spectacle has announced that work has begun on its new film about Battersea Power Station, commissioned by the World Monuments Fund and American Express. The film is due for release in Autumn 2015.

The film will look at the historical and architectural significance of the power station, as well as the tireless efforts of the Battersea Power Station Community Group (BPSCG) which have led a grassroots campaign to preserve the building for the public good since the early 80s.

Working with the BPSCG, the film will raise awareness to the plight of building preservation in an age of redevelopment. The redevelopment of Battersea Power Station has aroused a passionate and highly-charged debate about whether – and how – iconic buildings should be governed, preserved, modified or replaced, and ‘who’ they belong to. As Colin Thom concludes in the Survey of London Chapter: “Perhaps more than any other structure today it represents the impotence of the heritage lobby when faced with big business at its most rapacious.”

The film will follow this debate in an even-handed, factual and interesting way, becoming a case study for similar issues in other cities around the world where a historic building finds itself on a high value site.

From gracing the covers of a Pink Floyd album to generating a fifth of London’s energy at its height, Battersea Power Station is a creation steeped in industrial history and rich in meaning. With stunning imagery throughout the ages – some from Spectacle’s archive and others newly shot – the film will reveal, in a unique manner, some of that history and meaning. It will raise awareness to the needs for preservation and the current challenges faced by conservation.

***
About Spectacle

Spectacle is an award-winning independent television production company specialising in documentary, community-based investigative journalism and participatory media.  Spectacle has been documenting the changing landscape around Battersea Power Station for the past 15+ years.

Spectacle’s film work has been exhibited at galleries worldwide, including Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool. The Photographers Gallery, Institute of Contemporary Art, National Film Theatre in London. Glasgow Centre for Contemporary Art, National Architecture Institute Netherlands, Kunstverein Hamburg, Pianofabriek and “Bozar” Brussels.

It’s broadcast films include “Battle of Trafalgar”, (Winner of Prix du Public Nyon Film Documentaire), “The Truth Lies in Rostock” (Nyon Documentary Award Special Mention).  The Guantanamo films- “Outside The Law” &   “Shaker Aamer: a decade of injustice”.

 

Click Battersea Power Station for more blogs
See our Battersea Power Station project pages for more information and videos.
Or visit PlanA our general blog on urbanism, planning and architecture.

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Spectacle Delivers Video Training to Borough Councils

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IMG_1813

Spectacle has recently been asked to provide training in digital video production and editing to the communications teams at a number of borough councils.

As well as sessions using traditional video equipment, we delivered training on producing high quality results using technology most people already have to hand: smartphones and iPhones to video, and iPads and tablets to edit.

What we invariably heard during the training sessions is that local government is experiencing an increasing demand to expand into online video content to engage modern audiences. Our training can help tap into this, on a budget.

After a highly successful session in Watford, we caught up with Angela Farrance, senior communications and engagement officer, to see why she had decided to organise the training, and if it was something she would recommend to other local authorities.

SPECTACLE: Why did you decide to arrange video training for your team? 

ANGELA: We work for a local authority, and want to promote our services, activities and places to visit in the most accessible and fun way, to a wide range of people.

Why did you choose Spectacle? 

I liked the flexibility that Spectacle offered; the training was completely bespoke and reactive to our needs, but still covered everything we wanted to learn.

Did the training meet your expectations? 

Yes, the team had varying levels of experience, and all felt it was a really well spent few days. Everyone is very keen to get started!

What part of the training did you enjoy most? 

The post-production was really good fun; seeing how everything comes together. Everyone really enjoyed the session on interview techniques too – really useful!

What part did you find most useful? 

All the hints and tips for capturing good footage – and then the post-production day. 

How do you plan to use the training now you have completed the course? 

We are going to start building a library of footage from around the town; and will capture each of our events this season. 

Do you think other local councils could benefit from the training? 

Yes absolutely. Local media are increasingly looking to increase their video content online – we have found that the videos we send in are invariably used by local media outlets, and they achieve a fantastic reach on social media.  

Would you recommend the training?  
I would recommend the training, and already have to fellow comms officers in Hertfordshire. Mark made the sessions fun, accessible and everyone is really excited to get filming.  

 Thanks Angela!
If you are interested in booking the course visit the How to Book page.

For information on other Spectacle training courses

Or contact training@spectacle.co.uk

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Do you have a view of Battersea Power Station?

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Battersea Power Station

Do you have a view of Battersea Power Station from your flat window or balcony? We are looking for views of #BatterseaPowerStation for our film for the World Monument Fund.  As you may know the Battersea Power Station development means that many iconic views of the Power Station will be lost as the power station is surrounded by tall residential blocks. We are interested to get some shots of these views before they are gone so if you can help in any way please get in touch with Mark or Emily at bps@spectacle.co.uk

We would also like to hear from you if you have any stories about how the power station, past or present, has had an impact on your life.

Click Battersea Power Station for more blogs
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Our Video Production Weekend training course is short, sharp, affordable and receives outstanding feedback every time

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Our Video Production Weekend course is always popular: short, sharp and affordable, it’s a great way for anybody interested in filmmaking to get started, to revive old skills or even just to test the water.

We teach comprehensive, ‘future-proof’, transferrable, video production skills that don’t restrict participants to using specific equipment or working under specific conditions. This makes the course accessible to people from a variety of different backgrounds, and suitable for people with a number of different aims.

For some people, the course is the beginning of a journey into filmmaking, that could lead to (or advance) a career or become a life long hobby. For others, it’s just an enjoyable, creative way to spend a weekend and try out something new. We’ve even had participants given a place as a gift.

Regardless of their motivations, signing up for the course is something our participants never seem to regret; we have mountains of positive feedback building up, and many people come back again and again.

Recently, we’ve been working on redesigning the training pages of our website, to make them more user friendly and more informative. We plan to showcase our outstanding feedback on the new website, and in the process of sifting through it we’ve realised just how much we have gathered over the years. Here’s a small preview…

Cat: “It was great to learn so much and excellent to do something different at the weekend.”

Graham: “[The course] covered the essentials of video production with an experienced professional. Certainly interested in taking more courses in the future.”

Masa: “It was very good to learn through practice in a comfortable learning environment, with people who had the same aim of learning. Thank you, it has been a great course!”

Ella: “It is clear and thorough, covers a lot of information without feeling rushed.”

Bethan: “Both the theoretical and the practical parts of the day wound together really harmoniously — it was during the practical that I felt I really cemented my knowledge. It was very good for a beginner, I found the whole thing very informative and interesting”

Katie: “Very practical, good overall. Nice small group and individual attention”

Jason: “Practical, good advice on equipment, fun, entertaining”

Iain: “Hands on, confidence building, very enjoyable, informative, small group”

Zahra: “I found the section on learning the settings very useful, as it has set me up with a basic understanding so I can operate a video camera, which I couldn’t really do in a professional way before the course. I found all my expectations were met, I have learnt a lot and would definitely recommend”

Duncan: “I Found it consistently useful — classroom and practicals were both relevant. for my goals, I believe it provided what I needed”

Rob: “Great, hands on, technical course for beginner/intermediate – great price, very affordable and learnt everything I wanted”

 

 

If you are interested in booking the course visit the How to Book page.

For information on other Spectacle training courses

Or contact training@spectacle.co.uk

If you would like more information on future training opportunities at Spectacle sign up for the Training Newsletter – tick the box if you would also like Spectacle’s general newsletter.




 


 

Digital Video Production and Editing for NGOs, Charities and Community Organisations

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We offer video production and editing training suitable for charities, NGOs and community groups who want to learn to produce their own video content to document and promote their work, to raise awareness, fundraise or campaign.

Our Four Day Filmmaking Course is just £500, it’s probably the cheapest option around and we believe it’s the best too, based on the feedback we receive from participants. The course aims to introduce participants to every stage of the documentary filmmaking process, so that afterwards they’re in a position to build on their skills on their own. Once you or your staff have learned to make your own video content you will be able to do this again and again, saving on the cost of hiring a film crew

There is an ever-increasing demand for high quality online video to get your message across and to reach audiences. DIY film making and successful use of no/low budget techniques can slash your production costs and actually improve the content you produce. Training existing staff or volunteers in the techniques of high quality digital film making is far more cost effective than hiring a film crew. But in addition to this, when people working on the ground record their own activities and events, capture client testimonials and document their work you can often get better results than with a hired film crew of strangers. Where your staff have built relationships and trust with your clients they can film more relaxed and interpersonal moments – moments that might elude an external film crew, making for a more direct and powerful film.

If you work in remote locations or developing countries, training your own staff to record their work could be particularly beneficial, potentially saving you a lot of money and ensuring your organisation achieves an end result which accurately reflects the nature of the project.

ABOUT THE TUTOR

Mark Saunders is an award-winning independent film-maker, media activist and writer. His expertise in the field spans over two decades.

He is currently running Spectacle Productions, a company which he founded in 1990. Clients have included Amnesty International, Channel 4, the Rowntree Foundation, the Howard League for Penal Reform, Council of Europe, Groundwork, the London Health Commission, and many others.

His films have been broadcast internationally and exhibited at galleries, including Tate Britain, the National Film Theatre, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Musee des Beaux-Arts,  the National Media Museum and the Photographers Gallery.

Alongside production work, in 1990 he was a founding member of INURA (International Network for Urban Research and Action). Mark has also been teaching for over 15 years, and has been a visiting lecturer at a number of institutions, including London School of Economics, the Royal College of Art, the London College of Communications, Bournemouth, Florence, and Coventry Universities. He is currently teaching at Birkbeck College.

For more information please email training@spectacle.co.uk

If you are interested in booking the course visit the How to Book page.

For information on other Spectacle training courses

Or contact training@spectacle.co.uk

If you would like more information on future training opportunities at Spectacle sign up for the Training Newsletter – tick the box if you would also like Spectacle’s general newsletter.