West Wales Students Develop Multimedia Projects to promote Accessibility in Adventure.

Students from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s BA Adventure Filmmaking course have been developing multimedia work that raises the awareness of accessibility in adventure.

By developing creative projects in collaboration with stakeholders including Ski4All, Cerebra, and Blue Horizons, students have been able to utilise their film and media skills for a great cause.

Caitlin Longden developed a project about creating a free inclusive event for people of southwest Wales to give adaptive sports a go including skiing, surfing and mountain biking. She then created a multimedia strategy to promote the event across different platforms and media types.  She said:

“I developed my project by spending time at Ski4All at Pembrey Country Park, listening to individuals, their families and also the instructors. Their insights into adaptive sports were hugely valuable, heartfelt and inspiring. I spent time taking 3D scans of the adaptive ski equipment, photographing participants coming down the ski slopes and interviewing various people. I also then developed an interactive website featuring the 3D scans of the equipment to help people feel more comfortable and familiar with the equipment before using it at the event.”

She created a promotional strategy including creating short reels and motion graphics posters, physical goodie bags, personalised emails and the event planning and management strategy.

Daniel Phillips, another student from the BA Adventure Filmmaking course designed a transmedia campaign with the aim of celebrating people and organisations that facilitate accessible adventurous activities. He said:

“ For my project, I created a range of media for use across various platforms, with branding and QR codes making the content identifiable. Each platform was designed to reach a range of audiences and point them at an immersive gallery in the Carmarthen Campus immersive room. The project encouraged us to consider accessibility both in adventure and across media. We had to consider how we showcase participants in adventurous activities as well as how people with a range of needs may be able to engage with the media we created.”

Both students recognise the importance of this exercise to their development within the industry

Caitlin adds: “This project helped me to be mindful of how I approach future projects, ensuring my content is accessible to a wide range of audiences.

“I suppose it has made me realise that everyone interprets life differently and therefore digital information…it can be hard to digest certain media types or formats and I think businesses in particular need to consider this more thoroughly in their media/marketing strategies, ensuring they are making their information accessible particularly as everything is predominantly done online now. I think with the right knowledge, research and skills it’s easy to do and makes a valuable difference!”

For Daniel:

“The project was overwhelming at first with so many complex considerations but it’s pushed me to work outside of my technical and creative comfort zones, while considering ways in which to make the work I create inclusive for everybody.”

Mia Martin-Evans from Ski4All Wales said:

“Ski4All Wales is proud to have collaborated with UWTSD students on this accessible adventure project. The students were great to work alongside and their final projects showcase adaptive adventure sports brilliantly. Projects such as this are vital for raising the awareness of both the need for and availability of accessible adventure in Wales. We hope this is the start of many more exciting projects together!”

Programme Manager Dr Brett Aggersberg said:

“This project has been a fantastic real-world experience for our students. Meeting beneficiaries and volunteers first-hand has allowed the students to share the amazing work being done to support people with a range of disabilities to access the outdoors and adventurous activities. The students have developed a range of materials on different platforms, such as websites, photographs, films and immersive spaces to tell an engaging story, and will hopefully help the stakeholder organisations to raising funding for more of the unique equipment they require. At a recent showcase event, students guided stakeholders and beneficiaries through the potential of the projects and received feedback to develop the work further. This is the kind of work that we are proud to offer students on our courses, where we bring civic mission and media expertise together to benefit everyone.”

For more information about the BA Adventure Filmmaking course, please visit https://www.uwtsd.ac.uk/programme-courses/undergraduate/film-media-and-animation/adventure-filmmaking-full-time-campus-full