Media centre

Thursday 19 May 2011

SWINDON’S YOUNG FILMAKERS CAPTURE THEIR IMPRESSIONS OF THE RAILWAY

Region & Route:

| Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

Aspiring young filmmakers from Swindon College will be benefitting from a bursary fund set up by Network Rail and First Great Western. The fund of £1000 will support a film competition and will help kit out the school with new film equipment.

Through this initiative, students will get to hone their filmmaking skills, while sharing their impressions of the railway and the impact on their area.

Mark Langman, route director for Network Rail said: “The railway has played a massive role in the history of Swindon and today the Great Western Main Line remains integral to the development of the town. The line has served passengers for 175 years with Swindon being one of the key urban hubs along the route, supporting thousands of commuters and businesses every day and demand continues to grow.

“We have huge ambitions to continue to progress the Great Western over the coming years to meet the growth and our next generation will be the biggest beneficiaries. This initiative aims to engage young people, offering them a chance to explore the history and understand today’s railway and encouraging them to share their visions or ideas using their creativity.”

Mark Hopwood, managing director of First Great Western said: “We are proud to be able to work together with Network Rail to support the next generation of filmmakers from Swindon College. First Great Western often hosts filming productions on our stations and trains from major feature films to local student films, and we look forward to seeing the creative vision from the students of Swindon College.”

Paul Moss, the film and video editing techniques teacher at Swindon College said: “We are thrilled to be working with Network Rail and First Great Western on this. It is such a great opportunity for the students to be involved with. They have free reign to be really creative and as it’s so personal – the films are all guaranteed to be different. I cannot wait to see all of the different interpretations. The equipment that the bursary will provide will be very well received by everyone here at Swindon College.”

Over the course of the summer term students from the film and video editing techniques class will be producing a short film on rail travel and what it means to their area. Students can be as abstract and creative as they want in their short films, each of which will be judged and the best three will be awarded by Network Rail and First Great Western.