Well Equipped for Your Future
With substantial investment in recent years and healthy links with a variety of industry leaders, those enrolling on a
course within our Faculty of Media and Creative Arts will reap the benefits of one of the finest equipped media departments
in the country.
We recognise the crucial importance of giving you access to the exact technology and software you will be paid to use
once you enter employment, and we want to ensure we continually produce high calibre, creative professionals who are technically
savvy when it comes to finding graduate employment.
As well as holding prestigious AoC Beacon Award status for Media students’ work with local hospices Fair Havens, the College
is also an Apple Certified Training Centre for Education (AATCe), which empowers us to deliver high-quality training and
certification in key software applications used by the professionals. As an AATCe, we can give you a jump-start in film,
television, recording and other new media careers, with first class digital education. We are also an Apple Authorised
Training Centre (AATC) for industry.
Photography
We became the first official Nikon Academy in the UK, which highlights our commitment to photography and out students. Benefits
include seminars for students where Nikon’s own experts will be available to deliver a wide range of information on subjects from
the latest technology to its use in a professional environment covering all aspects of workflow and digital imaging. Students will
also be able to take advantage of a student discount scheme.
Our photography department includes a tungsten flash studio, black and white/colour darkrooms with manual/automatic processing,
digital facilities including Macs, film scanners and high quality digital printing facilities. We also offer a comprehensive range
of traditional cameras in 35mm, medium and large formats. We even have a stylish Campus Gallery for displaying your work. The College is
also affiliated with the Association of Photographers.
Design
Computer Games Design students will use DarkBASIC Professional, the most advanced games development package available – you will be able
to create 2D and 3D animations, environment mapping, lightning fast 2D sprites, cartoon shading and so much more. You will also
get to grips with 3ds Max, a modeling, animation and rendering package. Blockbuster films such as the Harry Potter franchise,
Hellboy and Tomb Raider used 3dx software in some of their visual effects.
Interior Design students will be trained to use Computer Aided Design (CAD) and image manipulation packages, such as AutoCAD Architecture,
3DStudioMax, Maya and Photoshop.
Fashion
The fashion department is equipped with Gerber suites, which are fundamentally used for pattern cutting and production of
fashion design. The department is also equipped with specialist textile design equipment – exactly what you would see in
industry.
Music Production
Sound and music students will have access to Xtreme, our well-equipped offsite recording and rehearsal studio, which includes a
32 channel Mackie mixing desk featuring the latest Pro Tools software, 24-track hard disk recorder, various outboard gear, a
mix down suite for post-production work, four rehearsal rooms and a live recording room. There is also a Yamaha acoustic piano,
and range of microphones. Upstairs at Xtreme, the IT suites feature music sequencing software such as Sibelius, Reason and Cubase.
Film and Television
Our Media department has a £250,000 High Definition (HD) Sony approved television studio presenting students with the opportunity
to produce broadcast quality television programmes. With television moving to HD by 2012, the Sony Studio ensures our graduates are
well prepared for the transition. Film students also get access to HD cameras and Apple Editing suites as well as being trained in
Final Cut Pro.
"I studied for a degree in TV and Screen Media. I am now working as an editor for a media company. Make the most of all the
facilities and equipment on offer at the college and take your learning to the next level. I met people already in the industry and
built up a great list of contacts."
Matt Scarsbrook, BA (Hons) Television Production and Screen Media
Specialist Areas
Our art and design courses feature specialist technical areas appropriate for print, photography, sculpture and digital
manipulation, and we also have individual studio spaces.
Specialist animation learning space and equipment comes in the form of animation TV studios, photographic darkrooms and
studio production areas. Our Digital Animation degree not only covers CGI development but also the fundamentals of animation
practices relating to traditional studio methods.
Journalism students can harness their skills in all mediums, whether it’s in our radio broadcast suite, television studio or with
desktop publishing software, Adobe Indesign, QuarkXpress. We also provide a dedicated newsroom and official student magazine, DAVE,
which has seen interviews with the likes of Lee Evans, Stephen Seagal and Darth Vader!
Beauty Academy
The Beauty Academy in Queens Road, which delivers South Essex College's wide range of beauty courses, has been extensively
refurbished and is now home to two new beauty salons, nail bar and wet room area that incorporates a
sauna, hot tub and sun bed, as well as a laundry room.
The incorporation of two more 12 bed salon training rooms now gives the Academy an impressive total of four salons and the
afore-mentioned brand new wet room which means that students can learn more new practices than ever before and perform spa
experience treatments on clients.
Nicki Kelly, Academy Manager for Beauty Therapy at the College, said: "The Beauty Academy provides students with a realistic
working environment with up to date equipment and a vast amount of expertise from lecturers. These additional facilities also mean
that we can take 30% more students than we did last year."
Engineering
Engineering students will benefit from the facilities at our East Street workshops which include:
- 2 Lathes
- Bench drill
- Bench sheer
- Flypress
- 3 welding bays
- Oxyacetylene equipment
- 12 benches with vices for using hand tools
- Engine crane and stands
- Workbench for soldering and electronics
- Oscilloscopes, multimeters and signal generators
- Mobygo
Sports
Our sports lab features a variety of fitness testing equipment which has even been
used by Southend United Football Club. Our Wellstead Gardens facility houses a gym
and sports playing fields. Students will also get to visit Southend Leisure & Tennis
Centre which houses 4 indoor tennis courts, 4 outdoor netball courts, 4 outdoor
tennis courts, 8 court sports hall.
At both our Basildon and Thurrock Campuses, facilities include:
I.T. & Media Suites
Feature programs such as: Adobe CS4 suite, Office 03 & 07, Sage 11 & 12, Sage Payroll
7, AutoCAD Suite 2009 & 2010, Multisim package, Firefox, Windows XP Pro operating
system, MS Project 2003 & Frontpage 2003, Dragon Speak Software (For Dyslexia users)
as well as the standard packages. Media Suite - Mix of: G5’s, Ipower & E Macs, Digital
photo labs, A3 scanners with negative scan trays and colour laser printers.
Visage Hair Salons - A Wella Centre of Excellence
The salon uses Wella products and includes: steamers, hood dryers, hair dryers,
straightners, tongs and heated rollers. The salon also has Climazone (not many colleges
or even salons have this.
Oasis Beauty Suites
Our beauty suites offer a wide range of beauty and complimentary therapies and use
dermologica products and Fake Bake tanning products. Equipment includes: body faradic
machines, sunbeds, sauna, steam room, spa bath, epilation facilities, micro current
machines (non-surgical facelift), vacuum suction face and body units, G5 Unit (body
massager) and more.
Student social areas
The Health & Wellbeing Centre at the Thurrock Campus provides access to fitness equipment, a squash court and table tennis.
Students at the Basildon Campus are able to play table tennis in Scoff, the student cafeteria, during their free time.
Learning Resource Centres
The Centres offer a wide range of research and source material including books,
magazines, videos/DVDs and internet access.
Catering facilities
Refectories at both campuses with menus created to cater for dietary and allergen
needs. Also vending machines for out-of-hours service. Specific Located at the Thurrock
Campus is The Riverview Restaurant, a professional working restaurant. Hospitality
and Catering students learn both front of house and catering roles in a professional
working restaurant environment.
Fork Lift Truck Centre (Thurrock Campus)
Based at the Thurrock Campus is a purpose built Fork Life Truck centre, opened in
partnership with Barloworld Handling.
Also
At both campuses, you will also find sports halls, gymnasiums, art studios and a
pre-school service.