BBC Radio 1 interactive picks its prize mixer

BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra have announced the winner of their Superstar VJs competition which invited budding VJs to download over 100 BBC clips available under the terms of the Creative Archive Licence and build a mix from them. Jack Spencer, age 20, from Leeds clinched first prize with a mix which judges Addictive TV acclaimed as a “fantastic use of archive footage” and Coldcut described as showing “great talent with limited use of visual trickery.”

The competition attracted around 400 entries. Both the University of Wales and Leeds College of Art and Design (where our winner is studying for a HND in Multi Media Studies) got a whole class to enter as a project. Jack hadn’t heard of VJing until his course tutor suggested they tackle the competition as an introduction to copyright and editing. “Most of us were novices,” Jack explains. “I’d used iMovie for my A Level in Media Studies but got to grips with Final Cut Pro for this exercise.”

Addictive TV praised Jack’s mix for its “very accomplished cutting.” Fellow judges Coldcut said “not everyone will stomach this, but it is full of meaty cuts and subtle visual slices in time to the music.”

Jack had some prior knowledge of copyright issues and reports that neither he nor his fellow students had a problem understanding the intellectual concept of the Creative Archive Licence. He’s excited and pleased that his winning mix is available for download under its terms.

Paul Gerhardt, BBC Project Director of the Creative Archive, says “Our objective is to find out if there is an appetite for this kind of BBC content and if users understand the legal framework we've introduced. We're really delighted that our first phase has proved very positive in both these areas. We are now looking forward to engaging with other BBC audiences with new initiatives coming soon."

So watch this space.

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