Check out this video from our Media Industry Speakers Day at Inspired Campus
Students have been engaged in the production of media content for skills development in Script Writing, Cinematography and Video Editing. They have researched, planned and produced videos for various projects, including exploring narrative themes and TV studio multi-camera productions. Students also undertook productions exploring emerging technologies in live web streaming.
The standard of work has been excellent, with students researching, writing and producing final project work including short film, music video and documentary. Productions have benefitted from students having access to TV studio facilities to enable advanced uses of lighting and cinematography.
The work produced this year shows genuine creativity and imaginative uses of industry standard resources.
Stuart McConnell, Lecturer in Media
This qualification offers learners the opportunity to develop their technical fashion & textiles skills through a process of self-evaluation, practice and review. In addition to the specialist fashion & textiles content available in this qualification, learners will develop the transferable and higher-order skills that are highly regarded by higher education and employers, for example communication, project management and problem solving.
You will develop practical skills and knowledge in fashion and textiles through lessons taught in specialist studios. From initial ideas and concepts, you will learn how to pattern cut, create your own textiles and construct garments. You will have the chance to see your fashion collections come to life during public fashion shows and a final exhibition.
Dudley College now also offers a Textiles and Fashion T Level qualification that will provide you with the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to progress into skilled employment or higher-level technical training or study in the Fashion and Textiles sector. The core knowledge and understanding will be assessed through an examination and core skills through a practical employer-set project.
John Jones, Computer Games Design Course Tutor
PHOTOGRAPHY Y1 ZOO POSTER PROJECT
Each year, our photography and graphics students work with Dudley Zoo on a variety of exciting projects aimed at raising awareness of animal welfare and conservation.
This focus of this year’s project was to produce posters about each species of animal which interested them, with many students making regular trips to the zoo to photograph the animals and learn more about them and their eating habits.
Not only is this a good chance to put their knowledge of camera techniques to the test (as animals can be notoriously difficult to photograph) , it’s also a great opportunity to get closer to wildlife in a way that can’t be achieved simply by watching nature documentaries online or on TV.
Below is a gallery of some of our students’ amazing images – we hope you enjoy.
Phil Brooks, photography course tutor
A-Level Photography allows learners the opportunity to express themselves creatively while exploring ideas and concepts that are personal and meaningful. This is clearly demonstrated across the wonderful work created by this years A-Level cohort. I could not be prouder of the work and achievements made by each member of the Photography group.
Learners often choose issues within society as a means to connect their Photography to an audience. The course consistently challenges them to problem solve and improve both quality and concept as they progress. This ultimately prepares them for both industry and Higher Education.
Industry-standard software and equipment are embedded throughout the course to again support progression, exploring the Creative Cloud Adobe Suite with programs such as Photoshop and Lightroom for image editing, along with InDesign to create their stunning portfolios and project work. To allow for a deeper understanding of photography, learners are encouraged to work with both modern and traditional techniques such as darkroom and Cyanotypes. This 2-year programme builds theoretical and practical knowledge to allow our learners the creative means to express themselves through Photography.
I hope you enjoy exploring the work from this year’s Photography learners.
Simon Morris, A-Level Photography Tutor, Dudley Sixth
The concept of my project (component 2) was to convey images that expressed the weather and light. While taking these images I tried a different number of locations as well as objects – like trees and ponds and boats as well as geese and ducks.
I really enjoyed both black and white photography and colour and when it came to picking my final images it was sometimes hard picking between the two. When editing my work, I didn’t really change much, just exposure of the images.
I am currently working at a photography studio and hope to continue my work there and to develop more skills as a working photographer.
These images mainly served as final images for a project which revolved around self-portraiture as a means to explore the deeper workings of the human psyche. These images all use a variety of editing methods, with the main ones being the use of digital editing to create Spiral effects, blending as well as enabling two subjects to be present in the frame at once.
Other edits that I employed for these series of edits include physical editing methods such as the act of tearing and overlaying two images. All of these were carefully chosen since I felt that they captured the deeper portrayals of the human psyche in a captivating and creepy manner.
I plan to study History and War Studies as a joint honour at The University of Wolverhampton.
These final images are from my component 2 project where I explored the topic Active or Relaxed. I decided to focus on a documentary style approach for this project, focusing on one person per photoshoot.
I wanted to capture people doing their favourite things that keeps them active and/or relaxed. For example, I captured my dad playing golf which both keeps him active but also helps him relax as it is a sport he thoroughly enjoys. I kept the images in black and white, as it gave them a more personal feel to them, as well as emphasising documentary style.
After A-Levels I plan to continue working with photography and hopefully pursuing photography as a job.
Throughout my works, I chose to follow a cinematic route by capturing scenes that surround me on a day-to-day basis using candid imagery. Cinematography often controls what the audiences can and can’t see, so I was able to use this to my advantage by capturing the beauty that is pre-existing within people, places and things; to help me change people’s perceptions of certain aspects of life that may be overlooked.
I believe that I have successfully demonstrated this concept through the images that have been showcased here.
I plan to continue pursuing photography at the University of the Arts London (UAL) and obtain a degree in it.
I have thoroughly enjoyed photography A-Level, and my final 2 components have been orientated around my interests, such as street and natural photography. These interests I stretched to my extent, firstly beginning Component 1 based on Fantasy and Fiction. Hopefully, these images look ethereal and perfect to project this theme.
However, for component 2, I have totally switched this on its head and experimented with the idea of Fear enforced by the Urban Environment. These contrast my first images, being dark and isolated and scary.
Thank you to everyone who has helped me through these 2 years including Simon and my family, and I want to wish a well done to everyone else in my class who have done a fab job : )
I plan to study a degree in Archaeology and History at Exeter University, keeping up photography as a keen hobby.
For both my Component 1 and 2, I worked around the central theme of fashion. My component 1 I worked on glamour and fashion photography as it aligns with my interests and is common in everyday media. I investigated magazines such as Vogue and Elle which inspired me and guided me to understand modern beauty standards.
For my second project I worked with different fashion in different locations, I tested a range of different models and places to create a range of moods and aesthetics. I am currently working towards going to Worcester University to study Dance and Performance, and intend to carry on with photography in the future.
For this project I explored the concept of individuality by forming characters to showcase the distinct separateness between people and how each person has their own identity. My initial starting point of this project was table, and it is through a table that I have presented the different personality types of an individual by giving them their own personality trait.
For the layout of the images, I wanted to capture all of the models together in an arrangement to further accentuate the uniqueness of each of the characters. Overall, my images are successful as they extenuate the difference between each person through the simplicity of a table and incorporate a variety of skills such as cinematography which is the art of photography and visual storytelling in a motion picture. I used this to build a narrative for each of the characters to help further underline the individuality of a person.
In the future I am to go to the University Of Birmingham to study sociology and education.
Within my first project I explored the connections between human and natural form. Through doing this I hoped to portray our connection to nature and emphasize our natural beauty as I feel this is something which has been lost within the Morden age, because of the harsh beauty standards rooted within society.
For this project I followed the brief ‘focus’ and chose to photograph natural forms under colored lighting conditions to emphasise the level of detail their surfaces contain, and to make the outcomes more interesting.
I am planning to take a gap year and work on my photography portfolio and hope to continue into photography as a career.
This work is from my component 2 project. I focussed on blurring the lines between the arts and culture of my closest city -Birmingham- and the architecture and work culture by combining work of the graffiti and street art of Digbeth and the inner-city buildings and workplaces by creating collages and overlapping images of the two.
I chose to show this due to the erasure of art in a city’s culture despite its immense impact especially on its youth, I wanted to focus in particularly on the windows of the buildings to showcase the architectural aspect, this is compared to the fleeting line work and bold colours of the street art.
My photography work has helped me obtain more knowledge of the arts and helped solidify my passion in this field. After my A levels I am going to study Art History at Aberystwyth university.
The role of a graphic designer is incredibly varied. You may find yourself immersed in a fantasy world while designing a set of illustrations for a book, or exploring complex data to create exciting and vibrant infographics that inform rather than confuse.
Graphic communication students at Dudley Sixth are introduced to a wide selection of processes and techniques. Using a range of both traditional and digital methods, they are encouraged to move beyond their comfort zones to produce a variety of work supported by an understanding of design theory and a developing awareness of contemporary practitioners to inform and influence their ideas.
In their second year, students begin to develop their own visual identity while becoming increasingly self-directed and independent, producing a collection of work tailored to their interests and specialisms. This could be an advertising campaign, design work for a clothing website or a set of illustrations for an album sleeve or book. Throughout the year, students will be encouraged to try new approaches and consolidate the skills they have learned in their first year to produce strong, challenging and professionally-produced designs. I believe you will see all of these qualities in this year’s second year work. I hope you enjoy it.
Chris Worley, A-Level Graphic Communication Tutor, Dudley Sixth
This year has seen some adventurous work come from the A-Level Fine art cohort. The organisational skills and motivation of the students has really been tested. Working with found objects and sometimes huge canvases the patience and skill level of the students has been pushed to their limits. However, all the students have risen to the challenges presented over the year and produced high quality work they should be proud of.
The students should be extremely proud of their achievements – as am I – and I wish them all the luck for the future.
Gillian Worley, A-Level Fine Art Tutor, Dudley Sixth
Next year is the 200th anniversary of the first photograph. Despite its recent convergence with the world of ‘high tech’, photography is still essentially about communicating creative ideas eloquently through the capture of light and time. However, with 200 years of photographic history behind us, it becomes increasingly difficult for photographers to surprise us with ‘effective novelty’, as creativity is sometimes defined as.
This year’s large second year cohort has had its share of ups and downs. Last year they had a trip to Ilam in Derbyshire where we climbed Thorpe Cloud and Bunster Hill, as well completing a 10-mile hike to Thor’s Cave. Many also travelled with me to Poland, where we visited Krakow, the Salt Mine and Auschwitz.
Two students represented the college in the Lessons from Auschwitz program, presenting their findings to 400 people at this year’s Dudley Holocaust Memorial event, marking 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz.
In March, we managed to exhibit our positive-image portraits of Dudley’s Refugees in The Upper Waiting Hall of The House of Commons. We were pleased to have exhibited at such a prestigious venue, to reach an influential, wider audience and shine a positive light on the plight of all Refugees. We feel this project is more important than ever now, in order to promote a sense of hope, unity and togetherness.
In addition, current second year students have made a yearbook and a book exploring and conveying positivity and acceptance within themes of diversity, individualism and togetherness, focusing on areas such as age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race, hair colour, disability, etc. Again, first years have had their zoo project exhibited at Dudley Zoo. We are grateful also to Dudley Rotary Club for generously funding our ‘Wonderful Water Competition.’
We have been fortunate to work with local art photographer – Anand Chhabra again, on an ‘Exploring the High Street’ project for Historic England. With Anand’s help we have developed the Dudley Photographers Network this year, involving talks by world class professionals such as Andy Kruczek and Rob Hornstra from as far afield as Holland.
We have continued to build close relationships with local universities too, many of whom we visited for workshops, or they visited us. Thanks to Hereford College of Arts for awarding this year’s ‘One to Watch’ awards. Over half of our young people are heading for university, many locally but some as far as Falmouth, with one even studying marine photography there!
We were proud to welcome back Megan Jeffries of the class of 2021, a graduate of Falmouth University, who has worked closely with us in her transition from student to lecturer. In the end, the class of 2025 have solved problems and come together to showcase their creative talents here. Thanks to our wonderful technician – Chris Davies for making this online exhibition possible!
Phil Brooks, course leader, photography
A-Level textile design encourages students to work with a wide variety of skills and processes across the fields of textiles, fashion and interiors. This includes printed textiles, constructed textiles, embroidery, fashion construction, weaving and fabric manipulation. Learners are introduced to different techniques which they are then able to develop into personal final work. This can be clearly seen within the variety of imaginative outcomes produced this year.
Learners are encouraged to explore both historical and contemporary techniques and processes and to support their work with research into a range of suitable artists, designers, and trends. They are prepared for industry or Higher Education and all the learners from this year are continuing by pursuing degrees, employment or progressing onto the art foundation diploma course here at Dudley College.
I hope that you find the work inspiring. I am very proud of what the learners have achieved this year.
Clare Buchanan, A level Textile Design Tutor
Through my project I explored the theme of spring contrasting with the season of winter. I looked at how the season of spring is slowly disappearing due to the climate change as the transition of the weather is starting to go from the cold winter weathers to the humid summer temperatures skipping the warmth of spring.
To develop this idea, I wanted to look at a form of ‘solution’ to this by creating a garment suitable for both winter and spring weathers by utilizing layers of thinner fabrics combined with thicker fabrics and colours of spring to showcase this. Moreover, by creating different layered garments which can be easily added and taken off the garments would be functional in both weathers.
My component one topic is Urban and Rural. This topic came from my love of streetwear and subcultures such as grunge and the fashion found within these further induced the idea of urbanism. Rural came from my love of nature and the impact which urban fashion has upon the rural environments. This was the key focus of my project to explore the differences and also to find a solution to sustainable urban fashion.
To represent urban style, I chose denim as my material, the brown on the jumper came from earth tones such as tree bark. I weaved denim through my knit to represent how these ideas can be complimentary. My garment is fully sustainable as it is made from secondhand materials. The silhouette of the garment was inspired from the 90s grunge scene.
wanted to create a dramatically oversized jumper to reference the style of grunge singers such as Kurt Cobain.
This project is themed around jellyfish and inspired by their vibrant colours and patterns. The piece is a 3-piece set including a skirt inspired by the body of a jellyfish, slash and stitch arm cuffs and a beaded top with smocked/ stitched fabric inside.
The patterns on the skirt are inspired by pollution and include bubbles made from a paper straw, dyed bubble wrap under a heat press and dyed string. The inside of the skirt was stuffed with recycled plastic bags. The outer layer of the skirt is made from organza which shines which reflects different colours in the sun mimicking neon jellyfish.
For this project I explored the use of recycled materials, experimenting with ways of reusing and upcycling to promote ideas of sustainable fashion and more thoughtful design. I used a combination of everyday recyclables like plastic bags mixed with old clothes, of which I focused on my use of denim, sourced from old jeans.
For this I was inspired by the ethos of Maison Margiela’s spring 2020 ready-to-wear collection, where designer John Galliano created and used a concept he termed “recicla”, which focuses on giving garments a new life through restorative design, each item in the collection was created from second-hand garments.
I was also inspired by the silhouette and use of raw weaved edges from Viktor and Rolf’s “vagabond” collection from autumn/winter 2016, in this collection they used scrap fabrics from past collections and worked them together in a new way.
experimented with various techniques to combine as many scraps of fabric as possible, focusing on maximising my use of materials and ensuring my project was entirely zero waste, I concluded by using weaving as well as taking inspiration from the creation of rag-rugs and using both within my final piece.
My topic for component 2 was faces and I worked round the inspiration from famous pop artists such as Roy Lichenstein.
My piece is to overall show women empowerment by featuring girly expressions and symbolism. I worked off images I took to create the printing screens and therefore it allowed me to personalise my own work whilst adding key symbols of pop art into them.
I was attracted to the themes of ‘Make Do and Mend’ and the historical context of the usage of the phrase. After a visit to The Imperial War Museum in London I was further inspired by a book, written during World War Two, of tips on how to care for clothing. Using free-machine embroidery techniques, I incorporated some of the text from the book into my own work.
I also researched traditional patchwork techniques and experimented with a range of mixed media such as rust dye, teabags dipped in wax, and stitched paper. For my final piece I decided to focus on everyday domestic items, an apron, oven glove and peg bag. A washing line seemed a fitting way of connecting and displaying these everyday items.
Finally, I felt it was important to use materials that were upcycled or readily available at home, therefore, I combined vintage fabrics from charity shops with teabags and old dress-making patterns and used tea, coffee, red wine and rust to add subtle colour to the fabrics.
