Meal with a message
Thu, 14 Jun 2012 16:11:00 BST
Students’ film boosts organ donation and is up for a prize
Pictured during filming - (l-r) Jenny Owen (front), Holly Petrie, Greg Gould, David Birtwhistle, Ross Birks and Suzie Carden.
AN unusual and imaginative film that aims to boost the numbers of organ donors is the first project by a team of University of Huddersfield students who have formed their own production company. And it has made it straight to the finals of a major NHS-sponsored competition.
The six-strong team – most of whom have now completed their media studies course at the University – have named their new venture Pictures & Noise. They have some music videos under their belt too, but their entry for the NHS’s ‘Organ Donation Through A Lens’ competition will see them attend a London awards ceremony on 3 July. Their offering is one of ten films to have made the shortlist.
If judges – including radio and TV’s Edith Bowman – deem it to be the best, the prizes include £1,000 worth of camera equipment.
There is also a ‘People’s Prize’ for the shortlisted entry that notches up the most views on YouTube – view at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAsviuXdK9Y&feature=plcp.
Named ‘Pass It On’, it is a short film with a twist. It begins with two young women – played by University of Huddersfield drama students Jenny Owen and Suzy Carden – who are apparently about to order a meal in a restaurant. But the ‘waiter’ – played by David Birtwhistle, who is one of the Pictures & Noise team, turns out to be a transplant surgeon. A message about the importance of organ donation and carrying a donors’ card is worked into the dialogue.
‘Pass It On’ was filmed over two days at the real-life eating establishment, Rhubarb, which is opposite the University’s Queensgate Campus. The film’s director was Ross Birks: “We were encouraged to be creative and to think out-of-the-box,” he says.
The Pictures & Noise team is completed by Ash Walker, Greg Gould, Michael McGougan and Holly Petrie, who is taking charge of PR and publicity.
“Pass It On was the first video we made together so it is great to have got into this national recognition,” she said.
The winning film in the ‘Organ Donation Through A Lens’ competition will be announced in time for National Transplant Week which runs from 9th to 15th July.
