Sarah has perfect CBeebies pitch

Computing student Sarah Parsons has clinched a work placement at CBeebies, the UK’s number one children’s preschool channel.

Sarah achieved the two-week placement by entering our annual Vis Awards, devised by the School of Computing.

She entered the ‘Life’s a pitch’ category, sponsored by CBeebies, where students pitched their idea for a final year film in no more than six minutes, to a panel of CBeebies professionals. Sarah, 22, from Enfield, North London, has just completed the final year of a BA (Hons) Web Design. Her prize-winning pitch was for a film entitled ‘The Town’, an interactive experience featuring a secret agent and two criminals.

Sarah’s fictitious town is a bleak and violent environment, sectioned off from the rest of society. The film's twist comes when the audience is asked to vote for the ending. It's a really lovely opportunity Sarah received her prize in a ceremony at Middlesbrough’s mima art gallery. She said: 'I am really excited to win this placement in the summer, it’s a really lovely opportunity and I can’t wait to start! I knew I’d be pitching to a panel of four BBC professionals so I made sure I was well prepared. I was nervous doing the pitch but also felt confident. Having this opportunity has helped me gain more confidence and working hard has really paid off.”' Jackie Edwards, CBeebies Acquisition Manager was one of the four judges and said: 'I was delighted with the standard of all of the pitches, the students were all very charismatic and with great ideas. Sarah was the overall winner as she delivered an excellent, compelling and truly multiplatform idea.

'The BBC has been working with Teesside University in the run up to the move to MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. The Connect and Create partnerships were set up with universities across the North to spot students with the best talent, so that they can be considered for recruitment. And next year’s Connect and Create conference will be held at Teesside University.'

Gaynor Cavanagh, Senior Lecturer in Multimedia, said: 'Through hard work and dedication Sarah has continued to produce work of an extremely high standard and her placement year at the Disney Channel UK provided her with a fantastic opportunity to hone and extend her skills. Her work exemplifies how much a student can develop and achieve during their time within the School of Computing.

'Clearly we are delighted that her commitment and determination has resulted in her achieving this wonderful award. The fact that she has won this award will make her an inspiration to current and future students.'

The other Vis Awards were awarded to:

• Games Programming Award sponsored by Ubisoft - Winner: Ole Kristian Homelien
• Games Design Award Sponsored by Ubisoft - Winner: Justin Lim
• Digital Music Award sponsored by Loft Music - Winner: Sara Ross
• Character Animation Award sponsored by Ubisoft - Winner: Wei Xing Yong
• Modelling Award sponsored by Ubisoft - Winner: Peter Adamson

Winners of the Ubisoft Reflections sponsored-prizes have won rare internships with the company.

Ubisoft Reflections are one of the world’s leading computer games companies and their six month internships are individually worth the equivalent of a £7,000 salary and the prize-winners complete the placements at the end of their studies.

Sara Ross, winner of the Digital Music Award, won an internship with Loft Music, a Newcastle-based music company. The University’s Vis (Visualisation) Awards are in their third year, and the competition was open to the following students from the University’s School of Computing: second and third years, postgraduate and research.

The Vis Awards have also been sponsored by Codeworks, who award runners-up prizes in five of the categories. Codeworks support the digital sector in the North East.

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