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8th May 2019
TV, film, media production and technology

After approaching organisers, two BA (Hons) Television Production students uncovered a pawsome opportunity with Dogstival, a new event taking place on 18-19 May.  

Jack Appleby and Ashley Collingwood, in their first year, were tasked with finding a story that could be suitable for a feature on The One Show for their television research module. After hearing about Dogstival, they arranged to interview the event organiser.

Dogstival, taking place in Pylewell Park in the New Forest, is described as a dog’s best day out. It features some of the leading dog display acts around the UK, a canine diving pool, rare breed dogs, and a theatre set designed house to showcase behavioural advice and help owners understand more about their dogs. Plus, there’s a vintage funfair, live acoustic stage and more than 180 stalls and retailers.

Richard Nowell, co-founder of Lighthouse Marketing and one of the organisers of the event, says: “When Jack and Ashley got in touch to interview me in around November last year, they seemed really professional. From the start of this year, once we started to increase the amount of marketing to promote the event, we wanted to produce some amusing videos, so I thought it would be a great idea to give the guys a chance.

“They’ve been a pleasure to work with, highly professional in all their communications, and they have produced brilliant videos that everyone has loved. What’s also really nice is for them it’s exposure to how things work in the corporate world. They’ve almost been involved from the start to the main event, which gives them a deeper understanding and made things consistent for me, too.”

In fact, the two have been such a hit that they’ve also been asked to work on behaviour training advice videos and to produce live coverage of the day, including with drones.

Jack says: “I’ve really been enjoying the filming we’ve been doing for Dogstival, and am looking forward to the day.

“I feel like Solent are helpful at pushing opportunities towards us, and there are so many different projects we can take part in. I think it’ll definitely give me an edge when applying for jobs after graduation.”

Richard adds: “I’d definitely hire students again – there’s a huge amount of talent out there and it’s something businesses need to embrace. It’s one thing for students to get good grades, but if they can dovetail that with experience, it builds their CV and gives them skills they can take to a future employer.”