Agtel’s digital farm safety campaign wins international award
We’re delighted at Agtel to announce the hard-hitting Irish farm safety digital campaign we created for the Health and Safety Authority, Survivor Stories, has just won a major international award in the UK!
At the core of the campaign are six emotive documentary style videos featuring farmers who have experienced an accident or the tragic death of a family member on their farm. Reaching farmers in a creative way online, the campaign harnessed targeted banner and YouTube advertising as well as peer-to-peer video sharing and has attracted over 85,000 video views to date. Generating discussion online amongst farmers on farm safety topics was also achieved through a campaign Facebook page and other social media including Twitter.
The campaign has now won an International Visual Communications Association Clarion Award for Strategic Communication in the Public Sector, which was presented at a ceremony in London last night. The IVCA Clarion awards are a major international event in their sector, with winners in other categories including Channel 4, OgilvyOne and Unilever so we’re in good company!
Pat Griffin, Senior Inspector with the HSA said:
“The recent headlines about the tragic loss of life on farms has highlighted the seriousness of farm safety for many. However, this is not a new problem. In recent years, someone has died almost every two weeks on an Irish farm due to an accident. We want farmers to help communicate this message to their peers and encourage them to take some simple steps towards a safer farm. The Survivor Stories campaign is an example of best practice in farm safety communication internationally and this award highlights the value of this innovative online approach.”
This project would not have been possible without the six farmers who re-lived the most traumatic day of their lives so that others might be spared the same experience. To their credit, there has been an overwhelmingly positive response from the farming community seeing the videos online, with many insightful comments and conversations sparked about safety. Key to this campaign was the ‘activation’ of the audience online – actually getting the right people to click on the video to watch it. We are very excited in Agtel to now be working on a number of online video campaigns for our clients that are very clearly focused on accessing the right people and creating measurable results.
Have you seen the campaign? What are your thoughts? How have you harnessed social media for your campaigns?
If you would like any more information don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Agtel wins prestigious IVCA Award
Cover of ESA Mission 4: Space Robotics
Agtel was honoured to receive a Bronze IVCA 2009 Award in London. The award was for our DVD ‘Mission 4: Space Robotics. This high-energy and engaging teaching resource was produced as part of our “Project: Zero Gravity” series for ESA’s ISS Education Programme. The production includes footage shot by the astronauts themselves on board the International Space Station (using storyboards created by Agtel as a guide) and also includes footage shot in schools in four countries across Europe.
We already have plans for our 2010 entry and will continue to focus on quality and originality in all our work and for all our clients.
More information on this DVD series is available on the ESA website: http://www.esa.int/esaHS/SEMZTFYO4HD_education_0.html
Innovative eLearning DVD just launched
FSAI Safe Catering Launch
Agtel’s latest production for the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (www.fsai.ie) has just been launched.
A finalist in the Best eLearning product or course category of the 2009 Digitial Media Awards, this innovative eLearning training production is a key part of the new “FSAI Safe Catering Pack”. It uses a TV show-style approach to engage the target audience of 29,000 food businesses around Ireland, and makes full use of high quality video, DVD interactivity and motion graphics to deliver its message using solid adult learning principles. The DVD also contains frequently used forms in PDF format that the food businesses can print out themselves.
Mary Wallace, TD, Minister for Health Promotion and Food Safety at the Department of Health and Children launched the FSAI Safe Catering pack at their headquarters in Dublin. Food safety is becoming increasingly important as more and more businesses from shops to small cafés start to provide a range of foods to customers. In response to this, the FSAI developed a Safe Catering pack that smaller food businesses can use to put a food safety management plan in place.
The FSAI faced a challenge in ensuring that industry professionals move through the “tipping point” form initial perceptions through to an understanding that the pack is a valuable and practical tool. Agtel took a unique and innovative approach to this challenge by developing an accompanying eLearning resource that uses a Presenter-Led Investigative Journey captured on video to bring learners on a tour of a variety of businesses that are already using the pack. Seeing the pack in action creates an engaging and motivational learning path, while the presenter provides an accessible and approachable “face” for the resource.
Usability was a key consideration for this eLearning resource given the diversity of backgrounds of the target audience. The learners it is aimed at have different levels of computers literacy and also varying levels of access to computer resources. To deal with these issues, Agtel recommended that the resource be distributed in DVD format and the resulting product makes clever use of DVD menus to enable interactivity with users. Clear explanatory graphics are seamlessly embedded in the video clips to emphasise key learning points.
Enabling Self-Directed Learning is an important consideration for any eLearning resource aimed at adult learners. Users of this resource can choose which order they want to cover the material in simply by selecting the relevant section from an on-screen menu.
Another important criteria to take into account when dealing with adult learners is motivation. This resource tackles this aspect creatively by including interviews with people in the catering sector in each section who give their own personal reasons for using the pack.
For maximum knowledge retention and transference among learners, the presenter wraps up each section with a recap of the most important educational key learning points. He also uses the opportunity to prompt them to open up their own workbook and start filling in the relevant part of it.
Demand for this eLearning resource has been high with industry professionals who are very keen to engage with it and motivated to put what they’ve learnt into practice.
Agtel takes on New York again!
We are Munster
‘We Are Munster’ – Agtel’s first ever production completed on the RED ONE camera is in competition at the upcoming New York International Independent Film Festival in March.
Held twice a year the festival is the world’s biggest independent film festival. Agtel’s big screen, short film adaptation of ‘The Battle of the Boyne’ scooped the award for Best International Historical Documentary back in September and the production team are hoping ‘We Are Munster’ can take the award in it’s category this time round for Inspirational Short Film.
The film will be screened on Saturday March 21st at 3:55pm at the legendary City Cinema’s in Village East, Manhattan. Maverick director Abel Ferrara is the festival president for the eight day film extravaganza.
Agtel Nominated
The Digital Media Awards 2009 Finalist
Two of Agtel’s flagship productions from 2008 have been nominated for the upcoming Digital Media Awards.
Food Safety Authority of Ireland – Safe Catering Pack has been nominated in the Best eLearning Category, this is the first nomination of it’s kind for Agtel, highlighting the quality and expertise that has been used in the creation of this eLearning production.
Meanwhile ‘The Battle of the Boyne’ has been nominated in the Best Film/Animation Category. A win at the Digital Media Awards would follow on from the recent success for Boyne at the New York International Independent Film Festival where it won ‘Best International Historical Documentary’
Agtel’s Michael Parker, commented that ‘the nominations represent a further milestone for us as we move to establish Agtel as a national and international leader in communication excellence.’
The Digital Media Awards reward excellence in digital film and video technology across the country and Agtel are proud to be part of this years competition. The gala awards ceremony takes places on Feb 13th in the Crowne Plaza Hotel and the Agtel team will be in attendance on the night hoping to scoop both prizes.
For further info log on to http://www.digitalmedia.ie/2009/index.html
Agtel presents environmental tv award in London
EuroPAWS Festival and Awards 2008
The environment is the theme of this year’s EuroPAWS science and technology TV and new media festival and the winners will be announced in London soon.
Each year EuroPAWS runs a festival for the best TV programmes in Europe drawing on science and technology. The range of productions featured now includes New Media and promotional Video in recognition of the growing variety of audio-visual opportunities for communicating science and technology and reaching new audiences.
Taking place at the Instituition of Engineers (IET), the Awards Evening features a panel-led discussion on “Climate Change: Seeing is Believing”. There will also be a Keynote Address by Sir David King, who is currently Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, Univserity of Oxford and who was until recently the UK Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser. Diarmaid Mac Mathúna represents Agtel on the international judging panel, and on the night he will be presenting the Jury prize for “a programme / production with special qualities beyond categorisation.”
Agtel films Science Week Lecture Series in HD
Agtel filming at the Science Week Lectures
Science Week Ireland is always a busy time for the Agtel team and this year was no different. Filming on behalf of the Irish Government initiative Discover Science & Engineering, Agtel filmed this year’s Science Week Lectures Series in High Definition.
Building on the success of last year’s Series which Agtel also filmed, the 2008 Lecture Series took place between Monday 10th November and Friday 14th November in the Science Gallery, Trinity College Dublin. This year there was a fantastic mix of Irish and international speakers to talk about a variety of topics such as the ‘Science Behind Hollywood Special Effects’, ‘Will Robots Ever Have Emotions’ and ‘The Future of Space Tourism.’
Using a two camera High Definition setup to capture all the action along with broadcast quality audio recording, Agtel worked with the event organisers to optimise the lighting and audio at the Science Gallery venue. Advanced post-production techniques are used to full effect to create the finished products which include video inserts from the speakers as well as smooth rostrum moves on their PowerPoint slides to illustrate key points. Motion graphics and dramatic music are also used to full effect to create an impactful opening sequence for each of the lectures.
The lectures are available for viewing on-line on the Science Week website http://www.scienceweek.ie/sw2008/lecture_2008.asp – and if you want to see any of last year’s lectures you can still watch them in the Science Week 2007 lecture series video archive!
Award for ‘Battle of the Boyne’
'Best International Historical Documentary' at the New York Independent Film and Video Festival
Agtel’s first ever big screen production ‘The Battle of the Boyne’ which was launched at an historic event by Bertie Ahern and Ian Paisley on the 6th of May this year has just scooped the award for ‘Best International Historical Documentary’ at the New York Independent Film and Video Festival.
This is a major achievement for all involved in the project. Here in Agtel, we hope it is the first of many awards for the cutting edge high-definition production which tells an engaging and action packed story of the biggest battle over fought on Irish soil. The film is also in contention for further awards and festival screenings in the coming months so watch this space!
The production is screened daily at the Battle of the Boyne visitors centre at Oldbridge in Co. Meath. DVD copies are available by contacting Lee Cronin – (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Italian Science Film Festival Showcases Agtel Productions
In 'Star Gadgets' Irish celebrities spoke enthusiastically about their favourite technological gadgets and encouraged the audience to think about how central science and technology was to their lives.
Encouraging people of all ages to take an interest in science is a challenge being faced in many countries, and television and on-line videos are playing a key role in engaging with these audiences. The Italian science film festival “Vedere la Scienza Festival” aims to present the best worldwide production of science films and documentaries. Films by independent producers and big production companies, short videos and TV movies, unreleased works and classic movies: different genres, technologies and disciplines all meet at Vedere la Scienza Festival with the same goal of seeing, and showing, Science.
This year’s festival in Milan featured two of Agtel’s productions. As part of Ireland’s national Science Week, Agtel produced a range of web videos aimed at young people for the Irish government initiative Discover Science & Engineering. Discover Science & Engineering (DSE) is Ireland’s national science promotion programme and it aims to increase interest in science, technology, innovation and engineering among students, teachers and members of the public.
“Kitchen Chemistry” (presented by Sue McGrath) was aimed at primary school children and demonstrated some very visual (and messy!) science experiments. It was described in the festival programme as “an invitation to have fun with science and experience firsthand what may seem distant and elusive when seen from a classroom desk.”
Another series of videos called “Star Gadgets” engaged with an older target audience of secondary school students. In these fast-paced YouTube-style video messages Irish celebrities spoke enthusiastically about their favourite technological gadgets and encouraged the audience to think about how central science and technology was to their lives.
These high-production value web videos were received positively at the festival – particularly as they were encouraging young people to take an interest in science. They demonstrate how a creative approach to science engagement from a team experienced in science communication can have a big impact.