global digital creativity research & workshops

Ultralab has been working with young people for the past two years using the latest free movie making software and Apple computers. The BBC attended the 2001 V&A Event at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Greg Childs, head of BBC’s Future TV spoke about how the BBC would need to adapt to meet the demands of changing audience capabilities and employed the Ultralab team to work in collaboration with the BBC to explore the future of children’s television.

Stephen Heppell, Richard Millwood and Matthew Eaves have been spending a lot of time in meetings at Television centre with the ‘Future TV’ team.

Here are the pictures from the Blue Peter Garden, taken my Matthew and Richard on their tour.

Richard and Matthew also visited the Top of the Pops and Blue Peter TV Studios.

The rest of the day was spent talking about how young people used technology for creative purpose and the potential places across the North of England where research with young people could begin using the Ultralab model.

The Input CBBC website is online here.

The results from the 2001 project are amazing, with 17 excellent movies. The movies were turned into a DVD and exhibited at the V&A (Victorla and Albert) museum in an evening celebration of digital creativity managed by the Ultralab team. Click to watch the audience arrive.

The film ‘Tacky’ stretched the possibilities of iMovie 2, ‘Tragedy’ was partly filmed at 4am, and the girls from ‘Ordinary’. Ordinary is a movie containing lots of face painted children defended their movie exceptionally well infront of a live audience at the V&A…

Teacher in Audience: “Why have you got your face painted throughout the movie? face painting is not ordinary”.

Girl from ‘Ordinary’ Film: “To a face painter, face painting is ordinary”.

December’s event at the V&A was attended by the DfES and the press, a spectacular achievement for all involved. The very first DVD to be produced by Ultralab was built and presented to every child who took part in the project.

The movies have since been showcased at conferences and presentations worldwide. At one conference the BBC saw the work and began discussions with Ultralab on a potential project where Children make their own television.

Click to watch Tacky or Tragedy or to watch the V&A event highlights for 2001, or click here to watch all the other movies from 2001.

Greg Childs from the Future TV department at Children’s BBC was the special guest speaker.

Ultralab Team:
Stephen Heppell, George Variopoulos, Matthew Eaves, Hamish Scott-Brown, Mark Constable, Neil Boughen, Richard Millwood, Claire Gregory, Colin Elsey and Alex Blanc