STUDENT TELEVISION AWARDS 2011

RTS Student Awards 2011

The Royal Television Society (RTS), Britain’s leading forum for television and related media, has announced the winners for the RTS Student Television Awards 2011. The event took place on Friday 25 May at the Barbican, London.

Chaired by Patrick Younge, Chief Creative Officer, BBC Vision Productions and hosted by comedian Nathan Caton, the RTS Student Television Awards celebrate the best in student television from across the UK – the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Awards were judged in four categories including Fiction, Entertainment, Factual and Animation. The event was attended by key industry figures, students and tutors.

The RTS Student Television Masterclasses were held prior to the awards ceremony. Students were given the opportunity to benefit from the experience of respected industry professionals including Steven Moffat, Head Writer and Executive Producer, Doctor Who and Co-Creator Sherlock; Sue Bourne, a multi-award winning documentary maker, whose films include a theatrical release Jig, Mum and Me for BBC One and The Street for Channel 4 and Siobhan Greene, the Head of Television at Syco TV and the executive producer of The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent.

Winners

Undergraduate Fiction: Alex Blackwood

Title: Grade
Production Company: Plymouth College of Art
Nominees:
Gavin Laing, Murdo Macleod & Ross Williamson - My First Spellbook
Lucy Campbell - The Surface of Impenetrable Things

“An original idea with extremely fresh, youthful visual production and excellent audio design. A voice to watch.”

Undergraduate Entertainment: Paris Palmer, Ian Morley, James Earing & Team

Title: Mourning of the Valley
Production Company: University of Wales, Newport
Nominees:
James Newton, Mariam Hanif, Alex Blogg & Team - Fired By Facebook
Christopher Lavelle - The Turn of the Screw

“It displayed exceptional production values delivered to broadcast standards. It was technically confident and incorporated a clear and moving narrative.”

Undergraduate Factual: Steven Hinde & Neil Dempsey

Title: Confido
Production Company: University of Sunderland
Nominees:
Peter O'Brien, Peter Madden & Luke Sweetman-Pell - Rose
Lucy Liddell, Sam Smith-Higgins & Ezra Byrne - Vince and Cherry's Greatest Hits

“…was full of energy and life-affirming. Highly engaging it had a real freshness, combining a light-hearted and playful tone with a skillful reflection of some of the key issues at the heart of modern Britain. It was a fun, informative and confidently delivered film.”

Undergraduate Animation: Will Anderson

Title: The Making of Longbird
Production Company: Edinburgh College of Art
Nominees:
Becky Bush - Britain
James Wilkinson & Sam Renton - Zero-G

“An extremely well-crafted film, effortlessly merging various styles and techniques with a wickedly sharp sense of humour.”

Postgraduate Fiction: Michael Lennox & Team

Title: Back of Beyond
Production Company: National Film and Television School
Nominees:
Tatiana Korol, Philipp Zakrzewski & Team - Hello, My Name is Olga
Eleni Nicolaou & Team - The Body

“This had an excellent script which was superbly paced in a difficult environment. It managed to focus the tension and keep the judges engaged and gripped throughout.”

Postgraduate Entertainment: Mariana Frantzi, Rebecca Casey, Emma Dalesman & Team

Title: If You Wanna Be My Lodger
Production Company: National Film and Television School
Nominees:
Justine Ostrowska & Team - The Reporter
Amber Eames - Where the Wild Things Were

“This was an ambitious and confidently delivered attempt at a difficult formatted show with impressive use of layering, secret filming and contestant tasks.”

Postgraduate Factual: Lou McLoughlan

Title: Caring For Calum
Production Company: Edinburgh College of Art
Nominees:
Shira Pinczuk - Karet
Juliet Brown & Team - Noah's Canoe

“…was a superb piece of film-making which engaged the jury from the outset with its authority and calmness. Beautifully made, it led the viewer into a hidden world through careful character revelation. The film maker successfully held back the key revelation keeping the audience on its toes.”

Postgraduate Animation: Richard Phelan, Philipp Zakrzewski, Gareth Sergeant & Team

Title: Damned
Production Company: National Film and Television School
Nominees:
Afarin Eghbal, Kasia Malipan, Francesca Gardiner & Team - Abuelas
Julia Pott - Belly

“An excellently scripted, boarded and animated film in the classic style. A laugh-out-loud story with well rounded characters and stunning set pieces.”