Well, it's not every day you find yourself in a professional music studio, no siree. And my, was it…read moreamazing! I shall give you some context first, as although it would be awesome, I am not some kind of upcoming, next-big-thing music maestra (sigh), although my dad has been writing songs for a long time and has enough for a full album. So, seeing as I have music contacts, I arranged for him to record it in a proper studio. And boy, did I pick exactly the right place!! Marcus Alexander was our studio engineer for the day, and has been a friend of mine for quite some time, so he was how I found out about 80 Hertz. The studio is based in The Sharp Project, which has been built as sort of a counter point to Media City; an alternative space to use, if you will, and therefore has all the facilities necessary for almost any media work; there are studios in which they film T.V. for Channel 4 and Sky, media lawyers have offices there, there are web development, promotional and advertising companies... Basically, anything you may want in the world of media, you will find it here! Back to the studio though; upon arrival we were treated with a really friendly welcome and brew (always a winner), and were given the tour by John, who was helping Marcus, while my dad was able to set up and get his bearings around the studio. It was all of our first times in that environment as we were told to "Make [ourselves] at home" and were given free reign of the facilities such as the kitchen, canteen, vending machines, and were given an access pass allowing us into and out of the building for smoking purposes. We immediately felt comfortable, though obviously the initial hour or so we were trying to get used to the environment, but I highly recommend this studio for anyone who wishes to record an album or lay down a track in Manchester. I am aware there are alternatives, of which I am not yet versed, but I know that the way in which we were treated by everyone involved in the studio was lovely to each of us, and our first day of recording was hard work, but tonnes of fun! None of us can wait for day two of studio antics, and whether you are looking for an unusual gift for a budding musician, or something to further along your own musical ambition, 80 Hertz is a wonderful place in which to live and love the rock'n'roll experience!

From the owner: Music Composition | Recording | Mixing | Masteringread more

Sometimes you have to diversify a bit, and Photo Express couples being a small place to get photos…read moredeveloped with being an internet café as well. Internet Café wise, there are five or six terminals with partitions so that people can't see what you're saying to your long-distance girlfriend on yahoo messenger. There's far more to say about the range of photography services Photo Express offer though. They provide wedding photography and filming services, as well as studio portraits. And if you're stuck and in a rush, it's worth noting that Photo Express will also do you six passport photos for £4 and you won't have to sit in a horrible booth interacting with an annoying machine in some horrible corner of a train station to get it done.

needed some photos for my driver's license and I found this place and went to Rushholme, they…read moretreated me very well, the photographer took two photos of which I chose one. And I loved the photos. and they are not expensive, a little more than the machines to take pictures. Excellent! I recommend it.

The Studio @ Media City is basically where many of the shows watched across the UK are filmed,…read moreincluding the Jeremy Kyle show, from Ryan C's review as well as Countdown and more recently Judge Rinder sharing that studio, I decided to come here and watch Countdown, in an episode where Jamie Washington wowed all, with some amazing answers where we also saw Michael Whitehall in Dictionary Corner. The whole viewing experience was very pleasant, however it was quite hard to originally find "The Studio" due to a lack of signposting, around Media City but I did find it eventually, quite close to a branch of Costa Coffee, also nearby is a nice new row of restaurants and coffee shops including a Prezzo, where I ate, which had done enough to earn a 4 star review from myself, and PRET A Manger, which I sadly have not visited yet. The studio did look quite nice, but seeing it for the first time compared to what it was like on TV was very weird, with all the cameras and watching the bloopers in action, including Rachel Riley being stumped by a Maths problem, and someone else having to give her the answer! As it was the Afternoon Session, they shown 3 shows for me, with a 1/2 an hour break between Shows 2 and 3, where water and Kit Kat's were served, however there were some breaks in between episodes too, where the whole cast basically got changed for the next day's filming, which was quite frustrating as it just felt like hanging around. There was also a nice man trying to keep the crowd entertained, chatting with them all and he did seem really nice, they even were giving out free Countdown Mugs if the contestants didn't get the conundrum and someone else in the audience did, which I sadly was unable to solve, being a word I had previously never heard before but now can't get out of my head - Hyperbolic which is an adjective and means 1. relating to a hyperbola. 2. (of language) deliberately exaggerated. I also liked the cool feature where you were given a pad, and a very nice Oxford Dictonary Pen to play along. Most tickets as well, especially for Countdown are free so it is a great day out, if you book in advance while considering if you are there for a while, car parking across the way at The Lowry will be sky high, with Media City not having there own parking. Overall, this is a really nice day out to watch a programme here, Countdown is a British show, being famous here since the 1980's, even being watched by the Queen, so if you're in Manchester hoping for a cheap day out, you have one here, and this deserves a solid 4 stars, better handling between the shows and more drinks would have been nice, I was told due to budget cuts and health and safety they had to decrease from a 4 to a 2 finger Kit Kat, and were banned from handing out hot drinks, and had to give bottled water instead. UPDATE: After some consideration I can't help but feel most of the aspects of my review was for the show I watched here and not the studio its-self, which is why I feel the need to downgrade to a two, the main issues causing this downgrade is a lack of facilities once entering through giving your name in etc, with barely any drinks or water machines, there was water handed out in the show but this wasn't open access, and you did have to get a member of staff to get it for you, and they only seemed to like doing it during the break in-between the shows, it was also frustrating how they handled events in-between shows and simply how hard it was to find it, with a lack of labeling and signage in the very big, complicated Media City complex which sadly makes me feel the Studios at Media City deserve just two stars, and not the four I originally awarded.

Went to a BBC Media City tour a few weeks ago. I didn't know exactly what we would be seeing but I…read morehoped to see the Match of the Day studio. And kind of the Blue Peter studio although I have not watch it for ages and last time was when it was based in London. There was a tour group every 15 minutes or so. Our group had about 15 people. We saw the group before and it was about the same. You go round with a couple tour guides who seemed to know everything and were very enthusiastic and informative. We got to see the actual Blue Peter studio and an actual working Radio 6 Music studio. Also part of the tour was a mockup BBC Breakfast studio with the sofa and the weather screen. A couple people volunteered and presented the news, reading off an autocue. Another couple people also presented the news - this was done in front of a "green screen". Unlike the news, the weather had no autocue so they made it up as they went along. It was interesting to learn that the weather after the news is sort of a buffer. So depending how long the news goes on, determines how long the weather needs to be. Sometimes if the news overruns, they may only have a minute or less so they need to be very concise with the weather. However, if they have longer, they need to pad more. Apparently this is when you may see the weather person having a bit of a wander, talking to the news presenters. Maybe asking what they are doing this weekend :) There was a mockup Question of Sport area so I pretended to be a panelist and answer the guess who picture round questions. Unfortunately, we did not get to check out the Match of the Day studio since the show was on that evening. Shame :( We were told about on one floor in one of the buildings is like the BBC Research and Development bit which is all top secret and secure. The tour guides said they have never been in - because they would end up telling people all the secrets. I would love to check it out. Just imagine that iPlayer was probably thought of etc a few years before it was actually released to the public. What they are doing now will probably be seen by us in 2-3 years!!

Juke Media regularly produce high quality music videos filmed on location around Manchester, often…read morein difficult locations but nonetheless the team always rise to the occasion. Excellent service from start to finish, with high attention to detail and speedy turnaround times. The team are very friendly and extremely conscientious, a real pleasure to work with. Highly recommended!

CSV Media Clubhouse operates as part of the UK-wide Civil Service Volunteers programme, looking…read morespecifically into education related to the media. Split across two levels, the CSV Media Clubhouse operates as a training centre for children and adults alike, teaching vocational skills in filmmaking, radio, editing, television and sound production. Courses are free for people who have difficulty finding work, or for young people who have trouble in a traditional academic system. The centre itself is pretty rundown but has good equipment and excellent staff - they seem to focus their limited finances on getting the best out of their students rather than other media training centres which promote a swishy wipe-clean image. The staff are exceptional - teaching to a very high standard with limited resources and sometimes difficult students.

The KCFC is one of Manchester's hidden gems. They come out to shine about once a year with the…read moreManchester Kurdish Film Festival and some smaller screenings of home-made shorts, but other than that you probably aren't aware of their existence. A lovely not-for-profit organisation, the KCFC are a cultural beacon for Kurdish people in the North West and filmmakers in the region. They operate as a film company producing their own films, an educational organisation touring schools and colleges and an arts organisation arranging cultural events and screenings. If you're into cinema you really need to check out the KCFC. They have their finger on the pulse of regional filmmaking and an excellent grasp on cinema being produced in Kurdistan and Iraq. Run by Alan (Kurdish) and Sandra (Kiwi), the KCFC has a really friendly approach and welcomes anyone from any background to learn about filmmaking and Kurdish cinema. They produce several shorts a year and are moving into full feature films, they also host a Kurdish Film Festival which was a great success last year. Held at the Cornerhouse in 2009, the Kurdish Film Festival screened some award winning shorts and features made in or about Kurdistan. Filmmakers travelled from the Middle East to give talks and take part in discussions, and an eclectic mix of cinemagoers filled the Cornerhouse foyer for a week. Whether you have Kurdish heritage you would like to connect with, teach a class at a school or college who you would like to enrich with cultural knowledge, or just appreciate a good film when you see one, the KCFC is for you.

Best place in Manchester for 35mm film developing!…read more Cheaper and better quality prints than boots, jessops etc. Lady and man that work there are very friendly and the 1 hour processing is v reliable, one time they even spent extra time tweaking the exposure (probably not the correct terminology I'm not familiar with the process of developing prints) on some prints from very dodgy expired film that I took in, so I got better photos at the end for no extra price. If you want affordable, good prints and friendly service this is the place to go! Been going for 2 years and really missed it when I moved out of Manchester for a while - definitely recommend.

i gave this place a visit because of the amazing reviews and it totally lived up to my…read moreexpectations. sent and developed in one hour, the man that works there was very sweet. will definitely become a regular !! (ps. it's inside the shopping centre if you walk around the building lost, like I did. a sign outside to find it !!)