Category Archives: Staff stories

Towns in Britain named ‘Book of the Week’ | LSFM’s Chris Matthews

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Well done to LSFM’s Chris Matthews.  He said: ‘Our book has been named as London Review Bookshop’s Book of the Week. Really chuffed – couldn’t be better. Job done!’ His good news was shared by Lizzy Mitchell at the University of Lincoln’s Press & Media:

Towns-in-Britain_BookCoverChris Matthews, who is a Lincoln School of Film & Media lecturer, graphic designer and local historian, celebrated the launch of his new book, Towns in Britain, earlier this year.  It was produced in collaboration with town planner and urban designer, Adrian Jones, and published by Five Leaves Publishing (2014). Continue reading →

Looking China 2014 | Filmmaking Project Review | Marcella Forster

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LookingChina2014_BlueLogo Following on from the post on Looking China 2014, our Senior Lecturer Marcella Forster reports on the filmmaking project she undertook in Dalian with LSFM’s four graduating student-producers: During Looking China 2014 we were each asked to sum up our experience in one word. I chose “illuminating”. For me, the scheme shed light on Chinese culture in general and the Dalian way of life in particular. Our young translators and the Chinese filmmakers introduced us to local eateries, locations and people we would not have been able to access as tourists, and for this reason I would recommend the scheme to anyone interested in modern China.

LookingChina2014_airportscheduleWe left Heathrow airport in London with little idea of what to expect in Dalian, other than what we had read on the internet and heard from other travellers. We anticipated good seafood, we hoped the weather would be fine and we wished for a warm welcome. Our hopes were answered, and our wishes were surpassed. A sea of people in lime-green shirts, waving Looking China 2014 banners and cheering, greeted us as we exited Dalian airport over an hour behind schedule (a typhoon had been threatening the city.)  We were whisked away to our accommodation in the postgraduate dormitory of Liaoning Normal University and then taken out for a carousel of dishes at the university’s cultural centre, including some excellent kung pao chicken. We were offered forks but opted for chopsticks. The next morning, wearing our own lime-green Looking China 2014 polo shirts, we attended the launch ceremony at the west campus of the university and had a chance to look at some impressive student work in fashion, animation and art. UK students were then allocated a Chinese producer and a translator and got to work on their projects. Continue reading →

Video As Above, So Below | International Drone Culture Colloquium

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University of Lincoln CrestA video about the Drone Culture research event on 24 May at the University of Lincoln (UK) was captured by graduating student Andrew West and 2010 alumnus Steve Young.  The international 1-day event was organised by the School’s Dr Rob Coley, Dr Dean Lockwood and Adam O’Meara.  It was hosted by the 21st Century Research Group at the University of Lincoln (UK) where academics, writers, artists and performers from across the globe discussed the social and conceptual implications of unmanned aircraft.   Andrew West, video producer: I hope this video shows to an extent the atmosphere of the international colloquium throughout the day, which was filmed by Steve Young and me (both from the Lincoln School of Film & Media). As a soon to be postgraduate student I personally took a lot from the event and whilst filming enjoyed listening to the various discussions, arguments and debates around drone culture.

Dr Rob Coley:  Dean, Adam and I would like to say a huge thanks to everyone who attended or otherwise supported the colloquium on drone culture. Continue reading →

Congrats to LSM’s Chris Matthews on a New Book ‘Towns in Britain’

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Graphic designer & local historian Chris Matthews, a Lecturer in Lincoln School of Media’s teaching team, has a new book with town planner & urban designer Adrian Jones. Towns in Britain is published by Five Leaves Publishing (2014).

Towns-in-Britain_BookCover

The authors are pleased to invite you to their book launch of Towns in Britain on 24th June. The book expands on the themes from their blog – see postings at jonestheplanner.co.uk – written by Adrian and presented by Chris. It is a great partnership whereby Chris came up with the idea and undertook working on the research, visiting towns, taking photos and creating the layout. There are a couple of dates THIS month to catch the designer duo ‘Jones the Planner’:

Tuesday 24th June 6.30–8.00pm Book Launch.       Nottingham Contemporary. RSVP to Five Leaves Bookshop Tel: 0115 837 3097 Email to: bookshop@fiveleaves.co.uk

Saturday 28th June, 3.30pm at Lowdham Book Festival. A free illustrated talk about ‘Towns in Britain’ presented by Chris and Adrian.

Chris said: Here’s a sneak preview … “Written for the informed general reader, Towns in Britain looks at what is happening to our cities today, and is essential reading for those interested in urban design, architecture, and town and transport planning. Continue reading →

1-day International Colloquium on Drone Culture | 24th May 2014

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Rob-Coley_LSM-LecturerLincoln School of Media Lecturer Dr. Rob Coley has organised the international one day colloquium, hosted by the 21st Century Research Group at the University of Lincoln. THIS SATURDAY distinguished speakers from around the world will gather on-campus in EMMTEC to explore prominent issues surrounding ‘drone culture’. Join academics, writers, performers and artists from across the globe to discuss the social and conceptual implications of unmanned aircraft.

Rob said: “We will explore issues of local importance as well as of global concern, and presentations at our colloquium may also address the use of the drone in farming, in journalism, and in marketing gimmicks by the likes of Amazon. The event will deal with the idea of ‘drone culture’ more broadly, touching on films, contemporary art, video games and, of course, the drone as a musical form. We are particularly excited to have two fantastic keynote speakers who will address these wide-ranging issues, including how remote visualisation changes our perception of space and geography, and how the drone could be a symptom of a changing relationship between humans and machines.” Continue reading →

BBC’s 1st OB recreated by LSM, Locals, a Violinist & Nightingale!

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To celebrate the 90th anniversary of BBC radio, LSM Senior Lecturer in audio production David McSherry shares this sound story.

DylanRoys-and-JanetWelsh_18may2014-at-18.34.1490 years ago today on the 19th May, the BBC transmitted its very first outside broadcast and the stars of the show were cellist Beatrice Harrison accompanied by a very tuneful nightingale. To celebrate the anniversary, Senior Lecturer in radio and sound Dylan Roys and I accepted the challenge from Reverend Mark Holden (Wragby parishes) to recreate the historic event in Lincolnshire. 

Violinist Janet Welsh kindly agreed to join us in this quest and we headed off to Whisby Nature Reserve to recruit a willing nightingale to our band. As dusk fell, Graham, our expert guide and one of Whisby’s wardens, attuned our ears to the song of the nightingale amongst the many other voices of blackcap, whitethroat and robin.  LISTEN to ‘The Violin and The Nightingale’ here.  Continue reading →

LSM’s Andrew Elliott on his book ‘The Return Of The Epic Film’

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The Return Of The Epic Film Genre, Aesthetics and History in the 21st Century_Andrew-Elliott_onAmazon

On Amazon by Edinburgh University Press, 2014

Many congrats to Dr. Andrew Elliott, Senior Lecturer at the University of Lincoln School of Media, on his latest book ‘The Return Of The Epic Film: Genre, Aesthetics and History in the 21st Century’ (Edinburgh University Press, 2014). Andrew’s edited a collection of essays by those in the film and history fields. 

He’s done an interview with The Economist and said “it’s great having to explain research this way. It was fun!” He talked about the epic film from its heyday to the part CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) has played in the genre’s comeback. Here is an extract: 

“What would you say are the key elements that make a film an “epic”, rather than, say, an adventure movie?  There are as many definitions of epic as there are film critics to come up with them, so I hesitate to try to offer a complete definition of my own. However, I think what most people understand by the term today is not only a historical setting (though for me that is important), but something to do with size and expense, as well as the scope of the narrative settings and the size of the cast. Continue reading →

Research Project led by LSM Andrew Elliott with Lincoln Cathedral

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A collaborative project called ‘Crowd-Curated History’ will preserve community memories of Lincoln Cathedral and it will be led by Lincoln School of Media’s Senior Lecturer Dr. Andrew Elliott.  Marie Daniels from the University of Lincoln’s Press Officer shared the story.

Lincoln Cathedral_fromUniPOA project involving researchers at the University of Lincoln and the team at Lincoln Cathedral will see members of the public using a new Smartphone application to preserve and share their memories of events associated with local historic sites.  The ‘Crowd-Curated History’ project, being led by academics from Media, Computer Science and History subject areas at the University of Lincoln, UK, will enable visitors to Lincoln Cathedral, and other local historic sites, to contribute their stories to the body of knowledge about exhibits, objects and places. Continue reading →

What links LSM with Woodhall Spa, Milan and Missing Gnomes?

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Answer is Colin Reiners, our Principal Lecturer in Media Production!

ColinReiners_WoodhallSpa_2You see he lives in Woodhall Spa and Colin’s creative images of rural Lincolnshire life formed a photographic tour, which is being showcased throughout Italy. His exhibition ‘Gnome Thieves Attack Woodhall Spa’ started last year in Pontremoli, continued with a successful tour around Italy to Milan. Colin said: “The opening attracted people from as far away as Florence, and even a bemused visitor from Boston, Lincolnshire!” Unsurprisingly (this week when the exhibition comes to a close but has been on track in Milan’s railway!) missing gnomes and Colin’s images that captured Woodhall Spa’s community are still hitting headlines abroad and in Colin’s home patch. 

From Horncastle News: A missing garden gnome is raising the profile of a Lincolnshire village in a city over 1,000 miles away.  Continue reading →

Update: Media Culture 2020 European Programme

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MC2020_Latvia_NewYear2013Find out what 9 Lincoln School of Media students and 2 lecturers got up to in Latvia when they completed the 2nd edition of Media Culture 2020.  It is an innovative EU-funded programme designed to explore new modes of collaborative teaching & learning. Here’s an update from LSM’s Martyn Thayne and Graham Cooper:

The main objective of the Erasmus Intensive Programme was to break down classroom and campus walls by creating an open learning environment, where students from different countries and fields could explore and learn together. The multi-disciplinary project featured five universities from across Europe, including Lincoln, the University of Vic (Spain/Catalonia), Tampere University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Liepaja University (Latvia), and HKU Hilversum (Netherlands). In addition to the delivery of a number of interactive, online workshops, the project culminated in a two-week intensive programme hosted by Liepaja University, Latvia.

Video Produced by The CakeTakers

Continue reading →