Teaching And Learning Portal

The winners of a competition to showcase ‘London for free’ in a two-minute film have been announced.

Image: Westminster by Jim Trodel

Katherine Wener won the student category with her ‘hand ostriches’ entry, ‘Penelope and Cedric in London for Free’. UCL Communications and Marketing’s Rob Eagle was the winning staff member. (Both videos can be viewed below.)

The competition, which was run in conjunction with the Raindance Film Festival, aimed to convey the message that London can be enjoyed without spending any money – and, in line with that ethos, the judges’ focus was on the videos’ storylines rather than the equipment with which they were produced.

Of Katherine Wener’s video, UCL Multimedia Manager and competition judge Niklaas van Poortvliet said: “This was the UCL staff pick – a unique interpretation! It was the film that made us smile and each time we watched it we noticed something new that we’d missed the last time. Katherine also invested time in the characters, Penelope and Cedric, which meant we were taken through an engaging tour of London through their eyes. This is a perfect example of the fact that you don’t need high-end equipment to make a film; keeping the audience happy is the most important thing!”

Rob Eagle, meanwhile, won in the staff cateogory due to his editing skills. “Rob’s video was an informative and literal interpretation of the title 'London For Free',” said Niklaas. “His film explores London in a series of rapid time lapses and slow-motion shots showing us the city particularly from a student’s perspective. It was exciting to watch and displayed a great use of resources – however, the main reason this was the most popular film with Raindance was because of the slick editing.”

As prizes, Katherine will receive a £300 Amazon voucher and Rob will attend a Raindance training course. All of the competition entrants will have the opportunity to become video producers for UCL’s multimedia team.

View Katherine Wener’s video:

View Rob Eagle’s video:

The other entries can all be viewed on the UCL/Raindance competition website.