Trilby Multimedia was established in 1993 with the aim of using new and emerging media formats for the benefit of social and cultural development. We work primarily in the public sector providing a range of electronic solutions for a variety of social needs.

Our speciality is the involvement of the people for whom the product is targeted - a peer group approach. Our work has included the production of educational CD-ROMs, applications, websites, databases, videos, DVDs, exhibitions and printed material.

One of our greatest skills is an understanding of how computers can break down barriers of learning and lead people to a new understanding of their abilities.

We pioneered the use of streaming audio, being one of the first companies to make use of Macromedia Shockwave in 1997 with the Blues-n-Rebellion streaming poetry website.

We were early players in community networking and established an electronic community called BeComm before the web was invented. Initially using modems for direct connection, then moving on to the Web as the world caught up.

We look to...

• promote access and content development of cultural, education and language information.
• provide information on a variety of topics for access by people with different needs who would benefit from the innovative approach that digital technology provides.
• enable access to technology where it is useful and adds extra value to existing provision.

We have a particular focus in these four areas of technology:

Software design.

We have produced many educational CD-ROMs to date. We have also developed databases, touchscreen kiosks, bulletin boards, screensavers and a range of Internet products and tools.

Project development using the Internet.

We utilise the world wide web in most of our projects both as a source of information and as a communication tool to put us in contact with our prospective user groups and partners and associates. Often our multimedia products have parallel Internet products. 

Website development.

Our team includes application developers who have produced sites for a number of organisations in the public sector such as: ACAS, Mental Health Media, Central England Screen Commission. Trilby Multimedia also created and hosted the project website for the Birmingham Youthstart 2000 Project. This provided  discussion areas for the tutors and the students and acted as a monitoring tool for the project managers. We have also developed the MOOSE package for managing out of school hours activities such as summer schools.

More recent developments are our COOL Dome and Consultation kiosks, comic and video workshops, games development for Business education and software for Education management including TrilbyTV and GROOPA both developed to facilitate the new Diploma education sector 

Network development.

We see networked systems as vital for the fullest use of technology for social progress and we set up a bulletin board system called BeComm (Birmingham Electronic Community) in as a test site for our experiments in this area. We were partners in the Black Country Community Network in 1997 and still develop intranet services for our clients.

We host a number of websites for the Education sector and for a variety of organisations who rely on our personal input and expertise to monitor and update them as new technologies emerge.

Other facts about Trilby Multimedia:

The company's in-house facilities include... Full Service web publishing from our comprehensive set of servers, CD-ROM disc printing and short run replication, colour laser printing and binding and a full set of digital recording equipment. We have a photography/video studio with cyclorama and green screen facilities and a mobile multimedia studio, for use in production workshops, demonstrations and training.

Range of work.

Our work ranges from CD-ROMs to websites to video and print and encompasses all the ingredients necessary for successful ventures - from research and fundraising to launches and documentation.

Education is also a guiding principle, consolidated by the teams experience of work with adults as well as children, and in a number of learning settings.

The four core members of the company have a diverse range of skills around education, communication and information design as well as a rich mix of abilities in creative media and the application of technology across a variety of formats.

The Workers

The founding members came from a Community Arts background and, through this history, the company philosophy reflects notions of democratic participation, social inclusion and cultural pluralism. 

In recent years the team has expanded further with new members bringing a variety of new and complimentary skills which enable Trilby Multimedia to present a full menu of digital solutions to offer our clients.