About Us

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 exclusively 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, websites, databases, videos, 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 firs 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 on CD-ROM and the Internet

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

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

Software design.
We have produced eight educational CD-ROMs to date with a further training CD-ROM due in the near future. Although our speciality is multimedia authoring 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 CD-ROM products have parallel Internet products. Developments in 2000 include online training materials and learning environments that use the Internet.

Website development.
Our team includes website designers who have produced sites for a number of organisations in the public sector such as: ACAS (including online publications), Mental Health Media (including video clips), Central England Screen Commission (including a database). Trilby Multimedia also created and hosts the project website for the Birmingham Youthstart 2000 Project. This provides discussion areas for the tutors and the students and acts as a monitoring tool for the project managers. The site is reflected on the Birmingham ASSIST pages. We have also developed the MOOSE package for managing out of school hours activities such as summer schools.

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 1995 as a test site for our experiments in this area. We were partners in the Black Country Community Network in 1997 and are currently developing intranet services to complement several of our projects.

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 mobile multimedia studio, comprising 6 networked computers and all peripherals, which we use for 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.
To date (October 2004) we have produced 20 CD-ROMs, 40 websites and created databases, public kiosks, training videos, interactive exhibitions and printed products.

The Workers.
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 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.

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.