Media Student collaborates with Local Charity

Lena Terry, in her second year studying Media, has been gaining practical experience in video production in a summer internship with the Rainbow Centre, organising, shooting and editing a promotional video for a local charity.  

As part of a continued project the Media department are working on with the Rainbow Centre, Lena put herself forward to create their summer promotional video. For her, this collaboration enabled Lena to apply her classroom-learned skills in project management, direction, and planning to a real-world project, which is further enhancing her portfolio and industry connections. 

After being given the brief of advertising the charity’s mobile food service, including their foodbank and a new initiative called ‘The Pantry’, Lena got to work. 

Speaking of the project and how she’s benefitted by getting involved, Lena said:  

“Working on this videography project made me more independent and confident in my learning and professionalism. Everyone involved was wonderful, and the atmosphere was very relaxed. I met Wendy from the charity at the college, and she explained what the video needed to cover and explained what The Rainbow Centre is.” 

Lena was responsible for overseeing the whole video production process from beginning to end, including storyboarding and pitching her ideas to the company, to planning the shooting days and deciding whom to interview.  

It was decided that the focus would be on documenting the charity’s operations, interviewing users and staff and highlighting how members can pay a small fee per visit in exchange for a wider range of products.  

Speaking of the process, Lena said: “It was very important that I made a list of what I needed to capture, ensured my equipment was ready with charged batteries and enough space on the SD card, and planned for various shot types. I was able to improve my knowledge through working cameras, tripods, a gimbal, microphones and even a drone. When it came to editing, I used Premiere Pro which we’ve used lots in class.” 

Whilst Lena has had experience with all these aspects before during video shoots in her media course, this was one of the first times she’s been responsible for every single part of a project. 

Looking back on the experience, Lena said: “Overall, I’m grateful for the opportunity to create this video for the charity and to work with Wendy. Everything went very smoothly.”  

This opportunity came about thanks to Zak Waters, Programme Director of Media at the College, who has been leading the collaboration with the Rainbow Centre for the past eight years.  

One of Zak’s goals for the Media courses is to continue to link up with local industry partners and to ensure that students like Lena gain a range of unique and practical work experiences. He is very happy to see Lena jump at the chance to make a difference, saying:  

“It’s been fantastic to work with the Rainbow Centre for so long and help them shine a light on the great work that they do for our community. It’s so important to us that we help students gain practical experiences and make a real difference to their communities whilst they study, and this is just a great example of that. I know Lena will go far in her career and it’s been amazing to see her progress in her skills over the past two years.” 

Wendy Lehnert, the Rainbow Centre’s Food Services Manager, was the person who provided the initial brief to Lena. She has been heavily involved in the charity’s partnership work and is excited to help even more students enhance their skills in the upcoming academic year.  

The College’s support for the Rainbow Centre extends beyond video production. In previous years, both the art and media departments have organised exhibitions to raise funds for the charity. This has enabled them to not only build their social action and leadership skills, but to showcase their work to a real-life audience.  

There is also an official food donation bin located on campus, allowing students, staff, and visitors to contribute should they wish. 

Having now completed her Media course, Lena is taking a gap year before starting university. She plans to build on the success of the video by working even closer with the charity on several exciting projects and strengthening her relationships with the charity’s staff and users. 

We can’t wait to continue to provide students with hands-on experience while helping charities like the Rainbow Centre over the next year, to increase their visibility and impact in the community. 

Learn more about our Media courses and apply today.