Richmond and Swaledale Extended Schools Film Projects
Over the past year I have had the pleasure to work with Chris on a couple of film projects.
The first project was to work with a targeted group of vulnerable Year 10 students to put together a short documentary type film about the main school production “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”.
The aim of this project was to engage the students in a project that they would not normally volunteer for or have the opportunity to be involved with and in doing so introduce them to new skills. The students were taught the basic skills of filming, storyboarding, interviewing and editing techniques.
This was a challenging project due to the dynamics of the group and the varying nature of the student’s personal issues. Chris proved to be ideal person to work with as his relaxed and approachable style meant that he very quickly gained the trust of the group and had a good rapport with other students and staff involved in the project. Chris also demonstrated enormous patience at times when plans had to be changed at short notice.
Overall this project took six months, at the end of which the students together with assistance from Chris successfully produced a fifteen minute film. The film was then screened to different year groups and introduced by the students themselves. It was also screened at the NYCC Culture Shock festival. Two students have subsequently used their work and experience towards an arts award. Staff also commented on how confidence levels of the students had risen and how a number of them were now more engaged in school.
The second project on which I have worked with Chris was “A Day in the Life of a Year 7”. The brief was to make a short film that would address some of the issues surrounding transition from primary school to secondary school.
After consultation with students about their worries over moving on to secondary school, Chris’s professionalism, helpful advice and easy rapport with the students meant that we were very quickly able to put together a short film that both appealed to students and was informative to parents. Parents commented on how useful and reassuring it was to see what students would do in a typical day. Students said that after seeing the film they were much more relaxed and less anxious about their first few days at secondary school.
I have enjoyed working with Chris enormously and look forward to collaboration with him on some proposed projects in the future.
Andrea Offord Extended Schools Coordinator – Richmond and Swaledale  |
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