The Oscars are one of the largest and most glamorous events in the film industry’s calendar; only the sparkliest of Hollywood’s glitterati warrant an invitation to the illustrious award ceremony. Shiplake has its very own answer to the Oscars: the Shiplake College Media Department Awards Ceremony was celebrated on Friday 20 May. Sixth Form Media Studies pupils have to create, direct and edit a short film, music video or trailer as part of their coursework. Having worked for months on the different pieces, the shortlisted pieces were played on the big screen in the Lecture Theatre for a packed audience, before nominations were read out and the winners announced.
Organised and hosted by Head of Media Studies Mr Marcus Milburn, the awards celebrate the hard work and commitment of the pupils studying at AS and A Level. The films entered were superb; the AS Level work, which was presented first, showed a dynamic and innovative class of committed pupils have worked tirelessly at creating the trailers. Covering a range of different topics, the films included horror and demonic possession, boxing, assassinations and kidnaps: subjects were broad but incredibly well created. Kieran Leach, Henry Birdsey, Callum Murray and Andy Fearn created a particularly impressive piece called Captive, which focused on a kidnap victim, whilst Nadia Sherlock, Beth Findlay and Jess Hide captivated audiences with special effects and stylised editing.
The A Level work followed, which was an equally professional show. The pupils had been tasked with creating music videos, which they did with impressive results. Some had taken a comedic approach; Matt Morphy, Tom Thomson, James Love and Alex Bradley produced a hilarious video to go with the soundtrack Eye of the Tiger. Others had produced more sombre music videos; Cameron Whitelaw and Louise French had produced a beautiful, heart-wrenching portrayal of a young couple for a slow rendition of You’re the One That I Want.
After all of the films had been seen, the winners of each award was announced. They are as follows:
AS Level
Best Film
Captive by Kieran Leach, Henry Birdsey, Callum Murray and Andy Fearn, which can be seen here.
Best Production Design
Captive by Kieran Leach, Henry Birdsey, Callum Murray and Andy Fearn.
Best Directing
Mainline by Marcus Bagshawe, Quin Wagner-Piggott and Freddie Davis, which can be seen here.
Best Editing
Possession by Nadia Sherlock, Beth Findlay and Jess Hide, which can be seen here.
Best Cinematography
Knockout by Chris Miller, Cam Goodliffe and Ben Tressider, and can be seen here.
Best Performance
Spencer Smith in Renegade, which can be seen here.
A Level
Best Music Video
You’re The One That I Want, by Cam Whitelaw and Louise French, which can be seen here.
Best Production Design
You’re The One That I Want, by Cam Whitelaw and Louise French.
Best Directing
Black Magic by Jordan Gibson, which can be seen here.
Best Editing
Can’t Pretend by Guy Pollard, Toby Orchard and Cam Stewart, which can be seen here.
Best Cinematography
Eye of the Tiger by Tom Thomson, James Love, Matt Morphy and Alex Bradley, which can be seen here.
Best Performance
Connor Cummings in The Love You’re Given, which can be seen here.
