Queen Margaret University film and media students have been spreading their own special brand of happiness around local businesses and across the global, as part of their ‘Working in the Media’ module.

Each year, the QMU students undertake a project with external clients which involves the production of a media product such as a film, website or social media campaign.  Often the client is a small business, charity or community group, some of which don’t have the expertise needed to produce specialist promotional media. The result is therefore a win-win situation – our students gain excellent practical and technical experience working on a live project, and the client gets a high quality promotional tool.

2nd year students on the BA (Hons) Film and Media degree, Siril Borgersen, Anine Rygg and Sophia Saheicha, teamed up with Clifton Hall School in Edinburgh this Easter to create an energetic short video set to the chart-topping single ‘Happy’ by singer Pharrell Williams’.

The fun film ‘Clifton Hall Does Happy’ demonstrates the dancing skills of staff and students at the school and has such a great feel-good factor, that it is now being used on the institution’s website and YouTube to show people what a happy school it is.

The feel-good factor has already spread beyond Scotland with many views taking place in California. The school has been able to identify that ‘Clifton Hall Does Happy’ has been viewed by staff at Stanford University in California!

The foot-tapping video has also generated enquiries from parents interested in enrolling their children at Clifton Hall School and into its ‘happy’ environment.

To watch ‘Clifton Hall Does Happy’ visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0TbLjYLQrU

Another group of film and media students has teamed up with an East Lothian home improvement network to help it attract more members and to give its social and digital media presence a boost.

The REdesign network offers furniture up-cycling and refurbishment services for house-proud residents in East Lothian, as well as staging a range of creative upcycling workshops, pop-up shops and local community group events throughout the year.

QMU level two students, Stuart MacKenzie, Connor Mullan, Blue Rainbird and Roni Simpson worked with REdesign to build a new social media network, linking together Facebook and Twitter, as well as photo and video sharing channels – Instagram, Vine and Pinterest. The students also created a new image and logo for REdesign, by advising on a new style of photography to reflect the network as it develops.

The results of the students’ work are already having a positive impact on REdesign’s membership and online presence.

If other East Lothian and Edinburgh businesses and voluntary organisations are interested in finding out more about QMU’s film and media client projects they should contact Denny Collie on E: dcollie@qmu.ac.uk