Media Production students from Coleg Ceredigion were invited to film the celebrations surrounding the opening of  the “Poetry Path” overlooking the church in the village of Llandre during last term.

First year student Heledd Wyn Jones coordinated a team of camera operators and sound recordists who together filmed the unveiling of the plaque and the speeches and then, using four cameras, covered the poetry recitals and music within the church.

Filming the event gave the students an excellent opportunity to gain real work experience whilst contributing to their community.

The event was also covered live by a professional crew and featured in the S4C show “Heno”.

“It was a great chance for us to work together. We really wanted to use our skills to help record this historic event for our community.” said Heledd. Aled Williams commented “Our tutors encourage us to get out of the classroom and work on real projects. It was very hard work, but the pressure of filming an event was exciting.  I learned a lot.” “It was great to meet the poets and the people from S4C were very friendly and encouraging.” said Hannah Read.

Speaking on behalf of the organisers of the event, Rhodri Morgan commented “We were very happy and exceedingly grateful that the Coleg responded so positively.  It was also a pleasure to work alongside the students and their tutors. A number of different elements and technical challenges faced the crew in filming the events on both nights and we hope that the efforts reap their rewards in terms of the experience gained by the students.”

Heledd and her team plan to edit a short record of the event which will be placed on the web to help promote the Poetry Path to visitors to the area.