Producer/Director, Rachel Carney has recently been working with students from Merchants’ Academy in Bristol. Bexmedia is currently in the process of creating a promotional DVD for the Academy.
Our aim was to involve students in creating footage for the DVD. Students actually had the opportunity to get hands-on experience of using professional video camera equipment whilst also filming each other to get their views across on camera, whilst also learning new skills with Rachel & teacher Polly Higgins.
During the six-week project, the students produced short pieces around the theme ‘A Sense of Community’. The project was initially run as part of a Film module in the International Baccalaureate Diploma which the Academy offers through its sixth form provision, but later an extra-curricular Film Club was set up to offer younger students the chance to get involved as well.
Stevie Woodland from Knowle wanted to study film as she has a love of photography. She said: “I’ve enjoyed learning to use a video camera and have learnt about lots of elements that were new to me like lighting and sound and white-balance. I found I was naturally quite good at framing the shots and after I finish the IB, I might look into film for a career.”
Academy Director and ex-television producer Polly Higgins said: “Some of the work the students have produced has been really innovative. The fact that they have thought out and filmed their own pieces from scratch is quite a remarkable achievement considering they were new to film production only six weeks ago.
Working with the students at Merchants’ Academy was a real pleasure. I found them vibrant and enthusiastic, with a real aptitude for learning. As well as getting to grips with the technical equipment, we also tackled quite advanced production techniques, such as developing concepts and building ideas for scenarios, as well as issues of narrative and plot
It’s going to be exciting to see the footage used in the DVD that is due for release at the end of the year. The DVD aims to build bridges with local community and business and what better than the students being involved themselves to encourage positive image and ideas about young people in the area.
We at Bexmedia hope to carry out similar projects in the future and give more people the chance to learn whilst using the power of video albeit on DVD or for the web to express themselves and communicate such positive messages.
If you have a project that you think needs a similar approach, why not give us a call…
Rachel