Schools

Schools are increasingly looking to use film as a tool to tap into the creativity of pupils, document learning outcomes and support pupils in other areas of the curriculum, including IT, literacy and art.

This is being recognised and developed by organisations such as Creative Partnerships which aims to promote creativity within the curriculum, Bright Space which develops the Creative Partnerships programme, and training schemes and events being run by organisations such as Radiate and Playtrain.

Film is an excellent vehicle for self-expression and helping young people to articulate their thoughts and ideas to others.

But its benefits don’t end there.  Film-making helps young people to work together as a team, to delegate tasks and roles based on each others’ strengths and interests.  It allows for exploration and investigation of any given topic and requires planning, scripting and organising, quite often through liaising with interviewees or venues.  The focus on using film equipment gets even reluctant pupils interested in playing a ‘hands-on’ role in film-making.  Editing not only involves learning to use new software, it also gives pupils control of the stories they want to tell.  And of course, nothing beats sharing your finished film online or at your very own film premiere!

My aim is to make film-making as simple and accessible as possible, to really give young people control of their work.  Above all, film-making should be fun, so that pupils feel confident and able to use film.  My approach is informal and energetic, with a wide range of activities to cater for different learning styles.  But that’s not to say that I have all the answers – I love learning off others, and young people are often the best teachers!

I am able to:

• Helping groups source funding
• Drawing up a project plan with participants, encouraging creative input and explaining the film-making process throughout
• Bringing in other creative professionals when needed – this includes drama teachers, production of websites and workshop facilitators
• Teaching participants the rudiments of using all equipment
• Filming, sound recording and photography using industry standard equipment
• Editing, DVD authoring and duplication
• Assisting with film screenings, DVD distribution and exposure