NEWS
Greater Manchester businesses support the Living Wage
It was great to create this film for The Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter, capturing organisations that champion the Living Wage across Greater Manchester.
At SAZ MEDIA we pay the real Living Wage because we want our employees to know that they are valued and that they have a basic employee right to be able to live a full and happy life without worrying about making ends meet.
What's your reason for paying the real Living Wage? #socialenterprise
#videoproduction #livingwage #goodemployment
Mental Health First Aid - Production Trainee Jake qualified :)
Film and photography production trainee Jake recently attended Impact Hub London for Mental Health First Aid training hosted by Social Enterprise ABC Life support. Jake really enjoyed this training and in his own words below wants to tell you why he’d recommend it.
Jake - ‘It was an enlightening and educative course that showed me a lot and how little I knew about positive mental health and the best ways to support people that are struggling. In the course we went over a broad spectrum of topics such as stress, anxiety, depression, Bipolar and much more. When going through the topics we learnt the ways that people may show signs that they could be experiencing these struggles and the best way for ourselves to identify these things and to approach the person that we are concerned about without making things worse.
One of the biggest things that I learnt is the massive difference between sympathy and empathy and how sympathy can sometimes seem condescending to the person you are talking to even if that is not your intention or it lacks sincerity as that may appear more obvious than intended.
One of the hardest things about the sessions were the practice conversations, we would group up in threes, one person role playing as the Mental Health First Aider, one person struggling with their mental health and the other judges the conversation and how you can improve as a First Aider, I found this particularly difficult as I am no actor and I struggle with mock up situations, this was obvious in my first attempt at the conversation, however by the second I found my feet a little bit and by the final attempt I felt myself massively improve, which helped to build up my confidence. From these practice conversations I pulled out a lot of knowledge and experience I can take with me further, but it also showed me how important it is to plan conversations so that I don’t just stare at them blankly and make things worse.
Overall it was an amazing experience to get to learn about how I could possibly help people in the future and how I can apply the knowledge I have gained from the course at work, the workshops that we provide at work, as well as my everyday life. I would also like to say aa big thank you to The Impact Hub London and ABC Life Support for hosting and providing this great Mental Health First Aid training course.’
Sara - We are so proud of Jake for completing this two day course. We think it's really important in every workforce that someone gets the opportunity to train in this area, you could be the difference between someone surviving or thriving and we all thrive when we are supported.
Social Enterprise UK
We captured the Social Enterprise UK procurement event in London.
Businesses and Social Enterprises were in attendance to see how they could collaborate to increase their social and environmental impact. Have you got an event that needs filming? Get in contact email contact@sazmedia.co.uk
Social Enterprise Day 2023
Social enterprises are businesses that work to achieve positive social or environmental impact. They are primarily motivated, designed and driven by a desire to make a positive difference in the world. Like all businesses social enterprises seek to deliver profit by trading in goods or services, but they reinvest or donate at least half of those profits to their social or environmental mission.
Social Enterprise Day takes place on Thursday 16 November 2023 and is a global event celebrating the incredible contribution that social enterprises make to communities and the environment across the world.
SAZ MEDIA reinvests 100% of our profits to support our community and mission which is to be ‘the go to place for creative content that inspires positive social change’ we don’t just create lovely photographs or films for clients, we make content that carries a message, that inspires people to see things differently or make a change. We also up skill young people in digital media through innovative workshops, work experience, traineeships and through engaging our youth board.
This Social Enterprise day we will be making a difference within our Stockport community, we will be filming the Proper Good Business conference where businesses and Social Enterprises will come together to collaborate and see how they can mutually benefit to support the community and better the world we live in.
We look forward to sharing the content we create with you.
SAZ MEDIA IS A CERTIFIED SOCIAL ENTERPRISE :)
Living Wage Week 2023
This year Living Wage week was held at Media City in Salford where businesses and institutes came together to celebrate 10 years of the Living Wage movement in Greater Manchester. We filmed and photographed the event as well as our own Director Sara Auty speaking at the event. Sara introduced the film we created for Living Wage on behalf of Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter. The event was a massive success, with Andy Burnham Mayor of Greater Manchester opening the event and hearing from employees about the difference being paid the real Living Wage makes.
A call to arms for all businesses
What do we do best at SAZ MEDIA? Create films that inspire positive social change? absolutely!
We created the Living Wage film released for Living Wage week which is an initiative set up by Living Wage Foundation on behalf of Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter and its employer organisations.
We filmed at 3 different businesses across Greater Manchester and asked them questions written by Chris Dabbs at Unlimited Potential With our pre production sorted, it was then beautifully captured by Phil and Sara, they took it back to SAZ MEDIA headquarters, Sara edited the storyline and laid down the imagery and music on the timeline and Phil finished the final touches. We are really happy with the results and we think it proves a strong business case for any organisation to pay the real Living Wage. Let us know what you think! Watch below.
SAZ MEDIA celebrates 5th anniversary!
In 2016 Director Sara set out to find a way to utilise her skills gained in the broadcast media and charity sector to support young people to get hands on experience using photography and filmmaking equipment so that they could gain experience and knowledge in that creative digital field, bridging the gap for young people who may not have access to extra curricular activities and could benefit from experiences that go beyond their norm, examining life through a lens to form conversation and gain a greater sense of identity and purpose through meaningful themes.
SAZ MEDIA was formally established as a Social Enterprise in 2018 and has been trading ever since. Now thriving SAZ MEDIA continues to support young people through innovative workshops and utilises their power of combining business and industry knowledge with exceptional filmmaking and photography skills to service some of the UK's largest companies.
We're celebrating forming a youth committee with some of the first young people to attend our workshops in 2018, we're celebrating 3 paid employees and a volunteer that have been with us for 5 years! We're celebrating all our volunteers past and present, lighting a candle for Freya who sadly passed. We're celebrating recruiting our first apprentice and investing in young trainees. We're celebrating the accreditations we've gained with amazing institutions that drive positive social change. We're celebrating moving in the right circles with people and organisations that want to make a difference to people, planet and place.
We're celebrating all the young people we've worked with and our wonderful clients who support us on our mission to be the go to place for creative content that inspires positive social change.
SAZ MEDIA is a company for the community and long may that continue.
SAZ MEDIA capture the best events!
Got an event coming up? Need a specialist team to capture it? Well look no further, you’ve landed on a pretty amazing website. We specialise in filming and photographing events and much more.
SAZ MEDIA is a Greater Manchester Social Enterprise offering our content creation services nationwide. Here’s a project that kept us busy for a little while in April this year. We captured for The Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter event including creating all the films in the run up to it!
Filming with so many different organisations across Greater Manchester gave us an exclusive insight into what Good Employment looks like. You can find out more about the Charter following this link https://www.gmgoodemploymentcharter.co.uk
SAZ MEDIA: Capturing August's Exciting Highlights
August has been a whirlwind of activity for SAZ MEDIA, and as the month ends, we're taking a moment to reflect on the incredible projects and collaborations we've been a part of. From filming with local businesses to empowering young minds through photography, this month has truly showcased the versatility and passion of our team.
Carrs Pasties Growth Through The Growth Company
Our journey this month began with a visit to Carrs Pasties, a family-owned business that has become a staple in the UK. The Growth Company played a crucial role in helping Carrs Pasties grow and succeed. They provided important assistance in areas like online strategies, customer service, and overall business growth through mentorship.
SAZ MEDIA was responsible for creating films that showcased The Growth Company's mission, which is all about helping businesses grow and adapt to change. These films helped spread the message of The Growth Company's dedication to supporting business development. Stay connected for the release of the films, where you can see how SAZ MEDIA effectively brought to light the importance of growth through their work.
Bringing Together Stockport Homes’ Youth to Explore The Art of Photography: Workshops at Bridgehall Community Centre
Next, we found ourselves at Bridgehall Community Centre in Stockport, where we organised a series of photography workshops for the young people of Stockport Homes. Our mission at SAZ MEDIA has always been to empower individuals to tell their stories through the art of photography. These workshops, facilitated by our executive director Sara Auty and team, provided these young minds with professional setups and cameras, allowing them to capture their unique perspectives.
Dylan Abbot, the youth engagement officer from Stockport Homes, was instrumental in making this collaboration possible. Witnessing the spark of creativity and the growth in confidence of these young individuals was a highlight of our month.
SAZ MEDIA Photography Workshops
At Bridgehall Community Centre, Stockport
Behind the Scenes in the office getting ready for our photography workshops
We delivered hands on photography workshops using both digital and film cameras, enabling young people to learn about different processes and techniques.
Decarbonisation Project: Greater Manchester's Green Revolution
Climate change is an issue close to our hearts, and this month, we had the opportunity to document Greater Manchester's ambitious decarbonisation project. In a massive collaborative effort, Greater Manchester's 10 districts have set their sights on becoming carbon neutral by 2038. Our filming covered the impressive strides already made, including reduction in carbon emissions and the implementation of green technology that is saving local businesses energy bills through the smart energy framework. It was inspiring to see the commitment and the need to help to give back to the frontline services, councils, hospitals, and universities by this carbonisation project in driving this green revolution. This not only helps local businesses to save money but it also creates new job opportunities.
Beyond Empower: Celebrating Abilities
Our month also included an inspiring project with Beyond Empower. This incredible organisation is making waves in Greater Manchester, championing the abilities of disabled individuals. Our cameras were there to capture the profound impact they're making, showcasing the strength, resilience, and potential of every individual they work with.
In summary, August has been a month of growth, empowerment, and inspiration for SAZ MEDIA. We're grateful for the opportunity to work with such incredible organisations and to tell the stories that matter. As we move into September, we're excited about the new stories waiting to be told and the inspiring actions yet to be captured. Inspired by our August journey? Join us for the next chapter. Get in touch!
Keep an eye on our social media platforms Instagram, Facebook and our YouTube channel for our regularly posted Films, Photography and Projects.
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If you have any questions or queries, please don't hesitate to reach out to our team. Contact us and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
SAZ MEDIA
Good Employment Charter - SAZ MEDIA's Supportive Environment for Team Members Development
At SAZ MEDIA, we are thrilled to have been actively involved with the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter. As an organisation, we are dedicated to embracing and consistently practicing the 7 characteristics of the charter, ensuring Good Employment remains an ongoing focus within our team. This project has strengthened our commitment to nurturing a positive work environment, where every individual's contributions are appreciated and encouraged. In this spirit, we would like to highlight our Content Creator Apprentice, Tom’s significant contributions to the Good Employment Charter project, as we strive to provide on-going training and support to our team members in their respective roles.
Here is what Tom has to say about his experience and what he learned throughout his role, working with the Good Employment Charter:
“I started working on the Good Employment Charter with SAZ Media in March 2023. I have taken on multiple roles whilst working on the project with GEC such as Editing, photographing, Interviewing and Subtitling. Each of these was challenging and fun at the same time.”
Editing
“As an editor it was my job to take the footage that we had captured and turn it into the finished video to be posted to YouTube for the winners of the awards. I was able to take what each of the winners said in their interviews and bring the best bits forward to the video to help show the company in their best light and allow them to express how thankful they are for the nominations and votes that helped them to win the award. Through the editing process I also needed to make the visual graphics that were played in front and at the end of the videos for both the winners and the nomination videos that we created. These were used to introduce the companies and inform people as to how and where they can find and contact the team at the Good Employment Charter.”
Subtitling
“Additionally I worked on the videos to subtitle them, so that in the event that there was someone who was hard of hearing watching the videos they would still be able to enjoy the videos all the same and know what was being said throughout the videos. This was challenging to do as I needed to get the subtitles both grammatically correct and ensure that there were no spelling errors or American spellings of words throughout the video.”
Interview film of the 3 finalists for the 'Best for Employee Engagement' award for the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter Awards 2023.
Watch the rest of the films for the Good Employment Charter Award event by clicking here.
Photographing
“Through my time photographing for the Good Employment Charter I had lots of fun. This was partly photographing behind the scenes photos on the days of filming for the videos and also photographing the awards ceremony itself, which allowed me to capture the winners of the awards receiving them, and seeing the smiles on their faces as they did so. With the behind the scenes photos I would capture some of the moments of our team on set whilst we were filming and interviewing for the videos.”
Behind-the-scenes glimpse of the SAZ MEDIA team as they conduct an interview with the Good Employment Charter Awards nominees, Wigan & Leigh College.
Interviewing
“Finally, I also had times where I took on the role as an interviewer. This involved asking questions to the people who worked at their respective companies to allow us to be able to get the footage that we would need to create the videos of the Good Employment Charter. This was quite challenging for me as I had never really done anything like this before, however I did enjoy it as it allowed me to talk with the people who worked for the companies who had been nominated and see what kind of people they were and help them to feel more comfortable being on camera even if I wasn’t the most comfortable asking the questions. I was able to hear all sorts of answers with varying topics about how it was to work at the companies in regards to their wellbeing and mental health as well as what their companies are doing to help with things such as how the company they work for is tackling inclusion.”
Tom conducting an interview with The Co-operative Bank, one of the nominees for the Good Employment Charter Awards.
“Getting the opportunity to work with the Good Employment Charter and creating the videos for their awards ceremony was an absolute pleasure and I truly enjoyed every second of it, from interviewing the companies all the way through to photographing the event and editing the videos. This is one of the biggest projects I have worked on since starting with SAZ MEDIA and I cannot wait to work with the Good Employment Charter on future projects.” - Tom
Thank you for joining us in today's blog. We hope it was informative and inspiring for you.
Read about Jake, our Camera Trainee’s experience and how he developed his skills by being actively involved with the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter.
Keep an eye on our social media platforms Instagram, Facebook and our YouTube channel for our regularly posted Films, Photography and Projects.
To stay up-to-date on the latest news and insights, be sure to sign up for our newsletter.
If you have any questions or queries, please don't hesitate to reach out to our team. Contact us and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.