CHARLES PARKER PRIZE
WINNERS
GOLD Award (SADiE Editing System and two weeks placement at BBC Feature Department and a Roberts DAB Radio)
Adam Allinson from the University of Westminster for:-
Beachy Head – Life on the Edge
The judges said that this programme was "the absolute stand-out entry, which could have been crafted by a radio producer with years of experience behind them;” “it was my first choice by a long way,” commented another judge. A third praised its “beautiful unputdownable opening” and remarkable stories, underpinned with “beautifully handled sound and music.” This aspect was widely admired: “the subtle use of haunting music perfectly matched the harrowing tales that unfurled. The listener never had their emotions milked. The empathetic interview techniques ensured that people’s stories were told with an openness and frankness that left the listener reeling.” Life on the Edge was “professional and mature,” one judge added, “a real programme”; “this was a compelling, intelligent and important piece of radio,” concluded another, “that shone as brightly as the Beachy Head lighthouse.”
SILVER Award (two weeks placement at Smooth Operations and a Roberts DAB Radio)
Diane Gray from the University of Sunderland for:- Where Are They Now
“In terms of topicality, and also in terms of execution Where Are They Now? is a brilliant piece,” said the judges, “spot on for the Charles Parker prize”: “A great idea for a ballad-style work”, a colleague agreed. They praised its very strong opening: “unbeatable – the mix of music, birdsong and words are quite heart-stopping”. Another also praised its “superb use of music – a beautifully developed idea”. This was “impressive” said one judge, “with some nice radio techniques and mixes” that really “paid dividends,” added another, “as the programme swelled towards its conclusion.”
BRONZE Award (a week’s placement at Falling Tree Productions and a Roberts DAB Radio)
Chloe Gosling from the University of Sunderland for:- All at Sea
The judges praised the choice of a really good subject “this is a radio ballad”, which contained “excellent interviews, with a surprising and satisfying number of women”. Another judge liked the way the producer used her interviewees: there was “no need for a narrator yet the story unfurled without confusion. It allowed people to tell their own story and opened up a new world to me. Gentle and engaging”; “it was a little gem”, concluded another judge.
ADAM ALLINSON, CHLOE GOSLING AND DIANE GRAY
2015 WINNERS
The Charles Parker Prize is awarded each year for the Best Student Radio Feature. The prize was introduced in 2005 and is open to any student studying radio production at Further or Higher Education establishments throughout the United Kingdom. The feature should in some way reflect an essence of Parker’s own work – for example, story led documentaries or short features that bring life to the stories and concerns of ordinary people through creative radio production techniques.
Since 2010 three prizes have been awarded – Gold, Silver and Bronze. The entries are judged by a panel consisting of:
the Chair Simon Elmes, Creative Director, BBC Radio Features;
an Independent Producer;
a newspaper or magazine Radio Critic.
The Charles Parker Prize 2016 for the Best Student Radio Feature was announced at the annual Charles Parker Day held at The University of the West if England on March 18th 2016.
The winners will feature in a special programme, presented by Sara Parker, on BBC Radio 4 Extra on Saturday 28th May at 12 noon (then on iPlayer for 30 days). You will also shortly be able to hear the winning features and the presentation of the awards on the Charles Parker Prize website – www.charlesparkerprize.com.
The Judges for the Charles Parker Prize 2016 were:
John Goudie – Chair of the Judges and Editor, BBC Documentary Unit
Kate Chisholm – Radio Critic of The Spectator
Simon Elmes – Former Creative Director, Features and Documentaries, BBC
GOLD Award
Chris Delaney of Goldsmith’s College, University of London for:
In Memory of Ayrton Senna
This brilliant piece of intensely personal radio took the listener on a wry, ingenious journey of discovery and challenge. Acoustically dynamic and impeccably recorded and mixed, the programme did what only the very best features do which is to play with the listener, engaging her or him in a haunting switchback of story and emotion. An immensely mature, confident piece of professional work that challenges the standards of much regular broadcast output.
SILVER Award
Mariana Des Forges of Goldsmith’s College, University of London for:-
Behind the Door
Unputdownable listening is rare in our hyped, click-away world, but Behind the Door was both theatrically gripping in its use of sound and utterly rivetting in its narrative tug. A genuinely frightening story told in simple and graphic manner - a classic.
BRONZE Award
Eve Conlon from the University of Sunderland for:-
Student Gamblers
This was a serious and important piece of journalism sourced from and brilliantly relevant to its susceptible young audience. It neatly used dramatic and documentary technique to make its point, and the power of the interviewees' testimony was overwhelming. A significant piece of work on an under-discussed topic.
2016 WINNERS
(L-R: Mary Kalemkerian, Chair of the Charles Parker Trust with Joseph Ovenall (Gold), Jordy Cernik and Weidong Lin (Silver) and Tom Glasser (Bronze)
GOLD Award - Joseph Ovenall (University of Westminster)
Black Shuck – Hellhound of the East
The judges were unanimous in their appreciation of this powerful and professionally made documentary. The feature was “very well made, well researched and entertaining, the voices have authority and the unpacking of the different elements keeps you listening. The music, actuality and effects are extremely well handled and subtly done, and the final ghostly encounter with the mysterious dog is really chilling.” The programme had “a good soundscape and was a real attempt to understand the true nature of the horror and demonstrated exemplary command of the narrative documentary form”.
SILVER Award
The tightness of the competition this year was amply illustrated in the awards made for second and third place. In the end it was decided to divide the second place Silver Award between two very different yet equally well-executed entries:-
Weidong Lin (Goldsmith’s College)
The Trace of a Cloud in a Chest
This was a finely crafted piece of imaginative radio, with a gentle, Zen-like contemplative quality. Two men discuss death, and specifically the recent deaths of their mothers, in a piece that mixed amusing and sharply observed anecdotes with more mystical thought. “Very moving, slightly hypnotic, innovative and imaginative”, said one judge, while another observed that the maker “brings an oriental sensitivity and originality to the production, transforming the dialogue by subtle use of gongs and bells, drones and audio overlays.” The judges also praised “a great piece of straight interviewing given how much the man opened up. A minor critique from the judges was that the title was rather too puzzling for its own good!
and
Jordy Cernik (University of Sunderland)
Both Sides of Dying
This was a simple, yet moving tale about surviving a meningitis attack – a short powerful piece that tells its story very simply by intercutting the two voices of the victim and his wife. The judges appreciated the programme’s assembly: “cleverly edited, (with) good use of sound.” “The use of music is quite subtle,” commented another, “and enhances the dreaminess. But it’s above all the powerful words of the victim whose ability to describe his feelings during the episode that make this piece stand out.” “Humane and moving,” commented another, “even life-changing, given its message about death.” “Very effective radio” was the overall judgement.
BRONZE Award - Tom Glasser (Goldsmith’s College)
See without Seeing
This programme is ideally suited to radio: the story of a man who’s spent his life capturing and thinking about sound. It’s simply made, and all the better for that. The sounds are commented on with energy and the speaker, Louis, comes over as a strong and interesting character. The programme was well liked by the judges who felt it was “very clever, ideally suited to radio, mindful and with a great twist so managed to be both about an individual and about a different way of living.”
2014 WINNERS
The Charles Parker Prize 2015 for the Best Student Radio Feature was announced at the annual Charles Parker Day at the CCA in Glasgow on March 27th 2015.
The winners featured in a special programme, presented by Sara Parker, on BBC Radio 4 Extra on Saturday 9th May (then on iPlayer for 30 days). You can also hear the winning features and the presentation of the awards on the Charles Parker Prize website – www.charlesparkerprize.com .
The Judges for the Charles Parker Prize 2015 were:
Simon Elmes – Former Creative Director, Features and Documentaries, BBC
Stephanie Billen – Radio Previewer for the Observer
Mike Hally – Square Dog Radio
The 2015 Winners
2017 WINNERS
Gold: Tabitha Konstantine for "Heavy Toll" - University of Salford
Silver: Laura Irving for "Quiet Revolution" - Bournemouth University
Bronze: Hester Cant for "Broth, Swede and Tofu" - University of Westminster
Bronze: Astrid Hald for "Outlander" - Goldsmiths College, University of London.