Media students joins Channel 4 Celebration thanks to Rise Up Project

Two A Level Media students from Oaklands College will head to Channel 4’s headquarters to pitch a digital campaign they have created around tolerance and inclusivity in College and the wider community.

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Two A Level Media students from Oaklands College will head to Channel 4’s headquarters to pitch a digital campaign they have created around tolerance and inclusivity in College and the wider community.

Hannah Godfrey aged 18 from St Albans and Mina Unal, aged 17 from Hitchin, both study A Level Media and have been shortlisted in the ‘Rise Up’ Awards, for their suggested campaign for London-based digital media company Dentsu Aegis.

With the challenge set to come up with a campaign to solve a problem in society that they are passionate about, they are one of 13 teams who will now pitch their campaign to a panel of expert judges, including TV personality Reggie Yates. If successful, they could have their idea made into a reality or get first hand work experience at the digital agency. 

The campaign, ‘Walk a mile In my Shoes’ is a web channel of short stories developed by the duo exploring the stories of people at Oaklands College with one to one interviews and testimonials. The videos are shot with only the speakers walking shoes in the frame, meaning viewers remain entirely focused on their story and quite literally, walk a mile in their shoes as they talk about their experiences, thoughts and feelings.

The videos encourage us as viewers to consider how we treat those around us, and to consider what people may be going through in ways we cannot see. With a mile taking on average 20 minutes to walk at a normal pace, the videos are also underpinned with health and mindfulness messages about taking the time out to talk, air your feelings and exercise.

If the campaign is chosen by the agency, it could be further developed to be shared via social media and posters and print adverts. Hanna and Mina hope it can easily adapt in the wider community, encouraging people to share their thoughts and be more considerate to the hidden feelings of those around them. To date the campaign has been brought to life with support from fellow Film Studies student Pawel Kaszuba from St Albans who has lent skills in video editing and sound and logo design to develop ideas into reality for the pitch.

The awards stem from ‘MyKindaFuture’ – an award-winning social enterprise who create opportunities for students to work on briefs, events and workshops for key brands such as Coca Cola, HSBC, Google and more. On 12th December, Hannah and Mina will head to Channel 4s HQ in London supported by Stephen Bewick, a representative from College work experience team ‘The Edge’ who shared the project with the class.

He said: “Opportunities like this are a great way for our students to get experience for their CV that gives them that extra edge when moving into the world of work. Hannah and Mina have worked hard to develop their concept and we are thrilled it made it through to the awards night.

“Whatever happens they should be proud of developing and producing a well thought out, professional concept which has the potential to be developed into something really meaningful. This campaign has a really positive message about inclusion and communicating your thoughts and feelings that we can all take something away from.”

To find out more about the project, see this video from Dentsu Aegis here: https://youtu.be/Tp8ovJJOkmI

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