Students studying Media Make-Up at Wiltshire College & University Centre put their learning into practice on Monday as part of a varied and fulfilling enrichment event.
In total, 13 students from the College’s Chippenham campus travelled to Salisbury Fire Station to participate in a day of exciting activities to supplement in-class learning on their Level 3 Advanced Technical Diploma in Theatrical, Special Effects and Media Make-Up Artistry course.
Initially, students were treated to an informative guest lecture by industry expert Paul Savage OBE, exploring the various techniques and skills used to create simulated wounds and injuries through the use of special effects such as prosthetics and make-up.
Paul is a former paramedic with the South Western Ambulance Service and has also previously worked for HM Coastguard and the RNLI in Poole. He is now Managing Director of Saviour Medical and provides education and training on medical simulation provision.
Following the lecture, students put what they had discussed into practice by working to recreate artificial wounds on each other, with those injuries to be used as part of a training exercise for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue.
As part of their own training, the fire service created a simulated multi-car road traffic accident within the boundaries of their headquarters at Salisbury Fire Station. Those students sporting prosthetic wounds were asked to act as casualties as the responders worked to rescue them from the damaged vehicles.
Laura Lawrence, Lecturer in Beauty and Media Make-Up at the College said: “It was a brilliant day and I know the students all enjoyed it enormously. Being able to gain experience working on a live project and benefitting from advice from an industry expert like Paul will be invaluable to students’ learning and development.
“We are extremely grateful to Paul for his insightful lecture. It really was fascinating to learn how certain techniques are put into practice to recreate such realistic injuries.
“Thank-you too to Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue for allowing students the opportunity to work on their make-up and prosthetics skills for use within a practical setting.”
Media Make-Up courses are offered at the College’s Chippenham, Salisbury and Trowbridge campuses. For more information, click here.
