Showcase: Competition Entries

Ursula Cherry

Age: 15

Explanation of processes:
The digital process that was involved included photography in which time lapse was used and editing using paint to include Shepton sheep.

Explanation of criteria:
This work meets the competitions criteria because it involves photography, it also shows some towns in the Somerset and some interesting historical facts about the town.

Explanation of connection:
I have connections with somerset as I live in Midsomer Norton and also go to school at Norton Hill School.

Gareth Stamp

Age: 46

Explanation of processes:
Original digital photographs were taken on the Somerset levels. These were transferred into vector graphics and used to produce stencils using a laser cutter. The stencil images were transferred to the canvas and additional laser cut styrene sheet details were attached.

Explanation of criteria:
Reveal the invisible – as we travel around the Somerset countryside we 'see' the farm animals but we don't look at them. Each is unique in pattern, shape and character. We become complacent that they are food 'machines'.
Change our perceptions – the welfare of animals and where are food comes from has always been important to me. I am lucky to be surrounded by farmers who have good animal welfare and I aim to challenge the factory farming methods that blight our food production. Each animal is individual and should be treated so- I am not a number!

Show your unseen talents – I regularly have photographs published but this work, produced especially for Shepton Mallet Digital Arts Festival, aims to turn history on it's head. Many people feel that photography superseded painting but by using new technology I want to use photography to create paintings.

Make people take a second look – It's striking and bold. The pop art influences are strong but hopefully a closer second look will raise a smile and maybe the viewer will stop, look and think next time they drive over the Somerset Levels.

Explanation of connection:
I have lived in Somerset for over twenty years and find inspiration in the landscape, people and unique events. I have a fledgling business as a photographer and hope to grow it in the heart of this inspirational county.

Ben Hewitt

Age: 23

Explanation of processes:
This piece was created entirely through the use of digital editing and drawing techniques within Photoshop and Illustrator. It comprises of various stock imagery and personal images as well as my own effects and composition.

Explanation of criteria:
This piece symbolises the culmination of a wide range of objects and features that make everything in the world up.

SAM has collected and assimilated various items to build himself over the years, just as Shepton has built itself up over the years with developments in existing features of the town and new added features which have all ended up benefiting the local area and its residents.

Explanation of connection:
I lived in Shepton Mallet for about 18 years since birth, Shepton will always be my home, it's where most of my memories were created as well as a base for friends and family.

Autumn Frederickson

Organisation: University of the West of England
Age: 25

Explanation of processes:
The entire film was created using adobe's digital programs.

Explanation of criteria:
The competition asks for entries that reveal the invisible, change our perception, and make people take a second look. I've used my film to explore a state of mind too often taken for granted – boredom. Rather than focusing on the negative aspects of 'having nothing to do', I've chosen to inspect the insane, nonsensical and well meaning idiocy and fun that boredom can lead to.

Explanation of connection:
I was a post-graduate student at the University of the West of England located in Bristol.

Liam Bauckham

Age: 25

Explanation of processes:
The video, created by Liam Bauckham, was made using a Sony Dcr-Sr52e camera and an Apple MacBook Pro running Adobe After-Effects and Final Cut Studio.

After-Effects was used to create the computer generated images and the colourising/colour correction. The colour tones have been used to place or suggest different contexts i.e. dreamed, imagined or real episodes; it is up to the viewer to decide or work out which is which!

Editing and the creation of the titles was done using the Final Cut Studio suite.

All of the music is original, and includes a sequence from another short film (created by the same people) called 'Lock and Load'.

The dialogue, which was recorded using just the camera, was cleaned up in Protools LE, also on a MacBook Pro.

All dialogue was compressed and placed in appropriate 'environments' using a reverb plug-in. A copyright prohibited ringtone was replaced by a vibrate noise (and a mobile phone speaker interference sound), and the speech from the telephone which was recorded at the same time as the on-screen dialogue by someone sat behind the sofa (!)), was made to sound as if it was coming from a telephone (i.e. in the narrow voice-band of the audio spectrum).

All audio work including the composition was done by Ed Davis using an assortment of hardware instruments, as well as Native Instruments' Reaktor 5 and Kontakt player.

Explanation of criteria:
This 2min 31seconds long video is being submitted under the open, sub-3 minute 'Short Film' category.

'Hammer Falls' is a tongue-in-cheek Hammer-esque horror, and is an example of an amateur collaborative effort by Liam Bauckham - who intends to study film making at University next year with a view to pursuing a future in film production, and Ed Davis - an amateur musician and audio producer, who has already completed a BA (Hon) in Creative Music Technology at Bath Spa, but wishes to explore, and possibly pursue a career in, composition (and sound design) for picture.

Explanation of connection:
All contributors are connected through friendship directly or indirectly, from working at Sky Broadband in Shepton Mallet, and are from the Mendip area.

Liam Bauckham works in Shepton Mallet, lives in Yeovil, but made the film in Street, while the soundtrack was made in a small home-studio in Shepton Mallet. The 'Shepton Mallet' sign makes an (albeit modified) cameo as the chilling reminder that you have entered the somewhat dangerous but suitably named town of 'Hammer 'Falls'.

Simon Power

Age: 45

Explanation of processes:
I filmed this piece on a DV Cam and edited it together in Sony Vegas.

Explanation of criteria:
Perhaps people may understand more about the importance of steam technology in the history of transport and learn a thing or two along the way. And see that there are many people who's work goes largely unnoticed.

Explanation of connection:
It's great to see events like this in an area that I am very fond of. I have lived here for many years and enjoy these kind of events very much.

Howard Vause

Age: 47

Explanation of processes:
Images that appear in the film include original digital photos and my own scanned illustrations, plus copyright-free photos/textures. Photoshop was used to edit and manipulate all images. Movement was added using Flash software. Sections of the film were exported as QuickTime movies and assembled in iMovie. The original soundtrack was created using Cubase, edited with Audition and synched in iMovie. The film took 6 months to complete and is entirely my own work.

Explanation of criteria:
"The Driver" is an allegorical animated musical tale; a Film-Noir-Road-Movie preoccupied with probing beneath the surface. Follow the adventures of our eponymous "X-Ray Spex" wearing hero on a night journey across weird landscapes, full of dark twists, mysterious hitch-hikers and perhaps light beyond the terrifying Gateway guarded by the twin demons Fear & Desire. "The Driver" is crammed with detail and well worth repeat viewings.

Explanation of connection:
I moved from Scunthorpe to Bristol in 1984.

I made this film at home in Frome, where I have lived since 1999.

Callum Rich

Organisation: Whitstone School
Age: 14

Explanation of processes:
I use a Digital Camera/SLR.

Explanation of criteria:
It is a Digital Photo and your competition is a Digital Arts Festival.

Explanation of connection:
My Dad is a farmer. I go in Shepton Mallet school, Whitstone.

Marsden Murison

Age: 17

Explanation of processes:
It was filmed with a camcorder and edited on a Mac.

Explanation of criteria:
I feel my short reveals the invisible as it is about a boy who sees a murder, I made it so that the audience could share his tension & have some insight into something they shouldn't be seeing.

I feel it makes people question the characters and perhaps their relationships and thoughts. I feel it changes perceptions as at first the audience may be thinking this is simply a coincidence that this boy has seen such a disastrous thing. However, judging by the age of the murderer it may ask the audience is there a link between the murderer & the witness?

Explanation of connection:
I live and study in Frome and my Dad lives in Shepton Mallet.

Jake Ewen

Age: 33

Explanation of processes:
12 photos were stitched together in photoshop to create a 360 degree panoramic. This was then edited, leveled, transformed and polarised to create a floating planet in a world of it's own.


Further elements were added for impact, finished off by the Sunrise mandala 'burned' into the ground.

Explanation of criteria:
This piece is based on a panoramic shot taken at the Sunrise Off-Grid festival that was held this August just outside of Shepton Mallet.

I enjoy this technique of creating microcosmic worlds all wrapped in on themselves. The metaphor of a small planet lends itself perfectly to our local festivals, revealing them as temporary communities, self contained 'worlds' if only for a few days. Again, the mix of implausibility and realism make people double take. The aim is to create a moment of suspended disbelief in which the mind is invited to explore it's own projections, and pattern-seeking intentions.

Explanation of connection:
I'm local to Glastonbury, having moved down from London 3 year's ago. I love somerset and it's history, seeped into the landscape.


It was only after i moved here, i learnt that my Great grandparents were actually from Coxley, just down the road from where i now live myself!


I particularly like the music scene down here too. Starting in 2006 I became a festival organiser of the Sunrise Celebration, an eco, ethical and community minded event of 10'000 or so people, which now takes place annually in Bruton. Amongst things I program the music and create all the artwork both online and for print.


This has been my main avenue for working with the local communities of creatives, and has taken up pretty much all of my time the last 3 years, but i manage to put a little aside for art in between events.

Phil Davidson

Age: 57

Explanation of processes:
Digital video cameras. Digital editing programmes.

Explanation of criteria:
Because it is digitally made, its art + I live in Somerset.

Explanation of connection:
I live here + also the film is about the South West.

Year 6

Organisation: St Paul's CE VC Junior School
Age: 10

Explanation of processes:
Flip video camera were used by the pupils to record the scenes. The built in software was used to produce the finished film.

Explanation of criteria:
The video was planned, shot and produced as a final film by seven pupils aged ten or eleven years from St. Paul's Junior School in Shepton Mallet. Many people in Shepton do not know what is behind the archway this film gives a whistle-stop tour of the things our pupils decided needed to be seen.

The film has been completed in the last couple of weeks.

Explanation of connection:
St. Paul's CE VC Junior School is in Shepton Mallet.

Gabriel Piers-Mantell

Age: 22

Explanation of processes:
Before shooting I assembled an animatic using windows movie maker in order to plan the shoot.

The film was shot entirely on a hand-held digital camera, and the stills were processed using Framethief on a mac mini. I also used the 'Onion-skinning' function on Framethief whilst animating.

After the shoot the various scenes were re-assembled using Cinema 4d, and colour graded. Then I edited all the footage using Final cut pro.

I composed and performed the original score myself on Pro-tools le 7.4 and edited the footage to fit the dramatic beats provided by the music. I used an online sound effects library to provide additional sounds and edited these on Final cut pro as well.

Explanation of criteria:
Because it uses traditional physical skills; i.e. the construction of the sets and puppets, in conjunction with extensive use of digital processes. I have lived in Somerset for most of my life. The film was inspired by the monkey enclosure in the nearby safari park in Longleat.

Explanation of connection:
I was born in Somerset and have lived here for most of my life. I went to School in Wells.

Josh Pickford

Organisation: Whitstone School
Age: 12

Explanation of processes:
Made animation using plasticine figures and a miniDV camera with a program called StopMotion Maker, which took time lapse snapshots and saved them in a loop as an AVI file. Used Windows Movie Maker to edit and produce movie (and Windows Audio to record voiceovers). The two pieces of music were created by two of our Year 11 students as part of their BTEX Music studies using Reason, and they gave me permission to use their music on the video. I gave them credit at the end.

Explanation of criteria:
The animation uses a video camera, Stop Motion and Movie Maker software on a PC, and sound recording.

Explanation of connection:
I have lived in Shepton Mallet all my life.

Robert Heap-Hammond

Organisation: Visual Statements
Age: 54

Explanation of processes:
Photograph taken with a digital camera and transferred to Adobe Photoshop. The image was highly manipulated using Photoshop and specialist filters. The image is laser printed onto acrylic.

Explanation of criteria:
"I didn't know that". The original picture was of my cat! The image is 1.2m x 1.2m so will definitely make people "take a second look".

Explanation of connection:
I live and work in Somerset and have exhibited my artwork in the county on several occasions.

Bendigo Binns

Age: 29

Explanation of processes:
I shot the film on two digital handycams and recorded the sound for the interviews with an Olympus digital recorder, as I could not attach any external microphones to these cameras. I also took over 800 stills with my digital SLR.

After shooting over 250GB in three weeks, I edited the film digitally on my MacBook, synchronising the images with the sound, over a period of four months. I then added subtitles and voice over, before finishing off by creating a DVD title menu.

Explanation of criteria:
This film is shot in the remote jungles of central India. An area that is not known by many. It reveals an inside look at the trials and tribulations of life for the resettled Bengali refugees and the local Adivashi tribal people. The film explores the impact of the charity on the community, showing that with a little help, life can be improved. It makes the viewer sympathise with the locals and want to help the charity continue with its good work.

Unlike most fundraising charity films, it shows immense progress within the community, captured by the beaming smilies of these beautiful people. Already the success of this film has increased funding for two more heart operations and more standing orders have been placed. I enter this film not only to show unseen talent, but to increase awareness of these forgotten people. To make people say "I never knew that".

Explanation of connection:
My family and I have lived in and around Glastonbury since 1996. The charity that the film shot is show about, is also run by my mum, from our home in Glastonbury. We all do what we can to help with a charity that has been part of our lives for the last 15 years. The local community in Glastonbury has also been a great help, by supporting local fundraising events, including annual Indian music concerts put on in the town.

Kate Fulford

Age: 42

Explanation of processes:
Taken with D200 camera Nikon digital camera.

JPEGs were edited in Adobe Elements 4 and various plug-ins.

Explanation of criteria:
The shots are from my "Prophect of Light" work which was a connection to our spiritual langscape which I believe can change our perceptions of energy and light in photography and make you take a second look.

Explanation of connection:
I have lived in Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet for 5 years. I am originally from Kent but have always had close connections to Somerset.

Alexander Parker

Organisation: Frome College
Age: 18

Explanation of processes:
I used Digital Cameras to film and capture the images as well as digital software to edit and add visual graphics to the animation. I also used Adobe Photoshop to create the backdrops seen throughout the animation.

Explanation of criteria:
The animation meets the criteria because it used digital technology and equipment. It's also quite unique and new which will look good in the competition. I also was awarded a Digital Media Oscar for this work in March 2009.

Explanation of connection:
Living in Somerset. Attended Frome Community College in which I made this animation for an A Level project. Currently studying Digital Design at Bath Spa University.

Clifford Robinson

Organisation: Private
Age: 42

Explanation of processes:
Greenscreening in lounge using FXHome software (CompositeLab Pro). Digital effects added using FXHome software (EffectsLab Pro).

Explanation of criteria:
Plenty of digital effects - hopefully shown some amateur talents - revealed some of Shepton's historic facts - a touch of humour incorporated.

Explanation of connection:
Private resident for some 20 years.

Kate Fulford

Age: 42

Explanation of processes:
Taken with D200 camera Nikon digital camera.

JPEGs were edited in Adobe Elements 4 and various plug-ins.

Explanation of criteria:
The shots are from my "Prophect of Light" work which was a connection to our spiritual langscape which I believe can change our perceptions of energy and light in photography and make you take a second look.

Explanation of connection:
I have lived in Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet for 5 years. I am originally from Kent but have always had close connections to Somerset.

Joshua Layfield

Explanation of processes:
I used a DV tape camcorder to shoot the footage for the film. I then edited the film using iMovie eventually converting the format to QuickTime.

Explanation of criteria:
The most obvious theme my film addresses is social desirability in that it denotes the fact that people may behave/dress etc in a certain way to become socially accepted meaning they are not being true to themselves.

This was symbolised through the jumper the protagonist would not wear until everyone else in the world had gone, this is representational of minimal things such as fashion sense and group bullying right down to career choice or sexuality.

This I believe may reveal the invisible and change our perceptions. The protagonist had become so preoccupied with trying to not look socially undesirable he became a socially awkward himself, this could make people take a second look when judging a "social freak".

I would hope that this short film I have created demonstrates the diverse range of abilities needed to be a film-maker and the potential I have for a career in the industry.

Explanation of connection:
Having lived in Somerset my whole life I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by some of the most culturally rich and aesthetically pleasing locations in the world such as Bath and Bristol and have therefore never been deprived of creative stimulation or inspiration.

Growing up in Frome, which hosts one of the top arts festivals in the country, is home to the prestigious Merlin theatre and the specialist Media College which I attend.

I have had a supportive platform from which I have produced varieties of media and had plenty of opportunity to showcase them including at the Clubflix film Society based in Bath where industry professional e.g. 'South West Screen' often attend amateur film screenings.

Jake Ewen

Age: 33

Explanation of processes:
Initially photographic elements are selected to kindle the imagination, then, through a mixed of symmetrical transformations and/or creative manipulation within photoshop, hidden forms are coaxed out and embellishing upon as they arise up to my awareness. It's both a very 'organic' and 'digital' process at the same time.

There are many layers in this image, overlaying and blending into one another to create the final image. I find the extent to which one can effect (and even transform beyond recognition) an image in the computer a source of great fascination and inspiration.

Explanation of criteria:
The way I work is all about exploring and developing hidden stories.

Often I will begin without any clear preconception of the finished piece, rather letting the image evolve itself as much as possible, slowly unfolding a visual story.

This particular piece reveals an imaginary landscape of Glastonbury Tor, being birthed, perhaps, from the the land, through the hands of a Green man. It would however be wrong to limit the image's meaning to my own interpretations, it is open to each individual to see what comes up for them. People seem to double take at the piece, which seems to depict at once a strangely realistic and yet plainly implausible scene. The aim is to create a moment of suspended disbelief in which the mind is invited to explore it's own projections, and pattern-seeking intentions.

There will of course be people that are not already familiar with the sight of Glastonbury Tor, and with that there is a small delight in thinking that they may not even realise that there is no great waterfalls on the Tor, and so the mythos grows...

Simulacra, metaphor, sacred proportion, reflections, symmetry, symbology and the fractal analogy of micro and macrocosms are reoccurring themes in my visual work.

Explanation of connection:
I'm local to Glastonbury, having moved down from London 3 year's ago. I love Somerset and it's history, seeped into the landscape.


It was only after i moved here, i learnt that my Great grandparents were actually from Coxley, just down the road from where i now live myself!


I particularly like the music scene down here too. Starting in 2006 I became a festival organiser of the Sunrise Celebration, an eco, ethical and community minded event of 10'000 or so people, which now takes place annually in Bruton. Amongst things I program the music and create all the artwork both online and for print.

This has been my main avenue for working with the local communities of creatives, and has taken up pretty much all of my time the last 3 years, but i manage to put a little aside for art in between events.

Charlie Freestone

Organisation: Whitstone
Age: 14

Explanation of processes:
Took black and white photos (film) and manipulated that photo along with digital ones to make my final print.

Explanation of criteria:
I manipulated it in photoshop.

Explanation of connection:
I live here, in Shepton Mallet.

Julie Hayward

Organisation: The Keepsake Co.
Age: 35

Explanation of processes:
I used different features on Photoshop to create and enhance my own idea's.

Explanation of criteria:
It's digital from start to finish.

Explanation of connection:
I live and the studio that I'm partners in is in Shepton Mallet.

Kate Fulford

Age: 42

Explanation of processes:
Taken with D200 camera Nikon digital camera.

JPEGs were edited in Adobe Elements 4 and various plug-ins.

Explanation of criteria:
The shots are from my "Prophect of Light" work which was a connection to our spiritual langscape which I believe can change our perceptions of energy and light in photography and make you take a second look.

Explanation of connection:
I have lived in Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet for 5 years. I am originally from Kent but have always had close connections to Somerset.