TODAY the Yes DIY page takes a look at Unchained Media Scotland (UMS), the latest group to benefit from funding by the Scottish Independence Foundation (SIF).
The foundation raises funds from supporters of Scottish independence to invest in grassroots projects to build the case for independence and progress its delivery.
It has just given a grant to UMS, which describes itself as “a collective of autonomous contributors who bring in stories from all areas of Scottish life including politics, history, culture and music”.
UMS told The National: “Video production is a labour-intensive affair and editors commonly spend a minimum of three and as many as 12 hours at one sitting to work on projects.
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“The people involved have a special talent and can handle the graft but computers are another breed. To this end, SIF have honoured a grant for a new high-spec desktop computer which will form the central engine of the UMS project and more than double the production chain efficiency.”
UMS is a team composed of an editorial core that includes David McGowran, a self-taught camera operator, director and video editor and Siobhan Tolland, a professional writer who works with contributors to develop their concepts, giving structure and direction.
In addition, Dr Michael Dempster, the director of the Scots Language Centre, offers UMS a standard in Scots language content and he is currently the voice actor coach for the series of Scots comics being produced by the collective.
UMS is also available for hire and this is how the project has been funded since its official launch 12 months ago at the Aberdeen Independence Movement (AIM) Conference where they screened the AIM crowdfund and promo video – shot at various landmark locations around Aberdeen.
SIF’s funding has enabled UMS to gain an industry-standard audio capture device, while broadcast and media student Debbie Dow is now cutting her teeth as a live production operator in the professional world with UMS.
UMS said: “The skills and knowledge she is delivering to the self-taught is quite remarkable and is shoring up the professionalism no end with every job she works on.
“UMS use industry-standard media software where Debbie is highly proficient and thanks to SIF funding the team are now able to follow Debbie and her recommendations for online training on various essential apps towards the recognised Adobe certification.
“The team at UMS are not only grateful for the recognition of their worth to the Yes movement by the Scottish Independence Foundation but are champing at the bit to finalise the next batch of projects and get the production line into full flow.”
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