New Guild member Hannah Lloyd was quick to take on the unique opportunity to complete an assignment for the Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) to create three mini-movies for the 2013 event.
Working with fellow Guild member, film-maker Ian Damms, her task was to interview three progressive farmers selected by the OFC and help produce the resulting videos.
Hannah applied to take on the task after an invitation to all Under 35 members was posted by the Guild mid-September. She was selected to conduct the interviews on-location at the farms of Chris Philpot, who runs Barleylands education centre in Essex; Peter Hall, the man behind the Organic Concept Orchard in Kent; and Charlie Russell, the Ayrshire-based 2011 Farmers Weekly Farmer of the Year.
“The Oxford Farming Conference wanted to give a U35 Guild member the chance to create farmer video ‘shorts’ to introduce three of the main sessions at the conference in January,” explains Guild member Julian Gairdner, an OFC director. “The OFC has worked with Ian Damms of Breeze & Freeze for a number of years and he was very keen to work with us on this Guild link-up.”
Apart from having a unique opportunity to develop and showcase her skills, Hannah will also receive a press ticket, accommodation and dinner tickets for the conference, which is being held on January 2-4, 2013.
Commenting on Hannah’s enthusiastic approach to her role, Ian Damms of Breeze & Freeze said: “Over the period of time I spent with Hannah I tried to give her a feel for all aspects of the video production process starting with the basics and showing her all the equipment that we use in a professional video production.
“It was rewarding to pass on some of my experience to Hannah,” he adds. “She was a real pleasure to work with and her enthusiasm and empathy with farmers will ensure she is a success in her new career.”
After 22 years in the business, Ian admits he takes for granted the mix of skills required to produce quality video and how much he has learned over the years.
“But working with Hannah took me back to my first days in the industry when I was lucky enough to go on the Guild training scheme and gain work experience with Anglia TV,” he says. “It was that course that enabled me to take my enthusiasm for agriculture and mix it with moving images to define my career to date.”
Production of the video shorts has been sponsored by FAI Farms, the Oxford-based organisation that engages with farmers and food-chain stakeholders and takes an active role in improving the quality of information and communication in the sustainable production debate.
Mike Gooding of FAI Farms is a Guild member and also chairman of the 2013 Oxford Farming Conference. He said of the video assignment: “The ability to clearly communicate the issues around food production, the countryside and the farming community are greater than ever, and the 2013 report from the Oxford Farming Conference will highlight just how valuable that communication is for the future of society.
“We are delighted that Hannah took up the challenge of producing the three farmer case study ‘video-shorts’; it was a great opportunity for her to demonstrate her journalistic skills, to work alongside an exceptional video production team, and to interview some of the most dynamic and inspiring farmers in the UK.”
To see Hannah in action and for a sneak-preview of the films being shown at Oxford, click here.
