Inspiring Futures: you can't be what you can't see
Inspiring Futures aims to do just that; show young people the details of a particular job and open up their eyes to the possibility of a role like that in their future. Our project brings together young people and professionals from film and television and they make a film together, in just a week.
The focus this time was to create a film about The Discovery Museum, a brief set by our partners at Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums (TWAM). The museum in Newcastle, wanted to know how to attract a teenage audience to its building so we tasked our group of teenagers to find out. Our brilliant group were recruited and supported by Success 4 All, an educational charity whose mission is to ensure that all children have a bright future regardless of their circumstances.
So we had a group and a brief, now we needed some experts; enter Chris Jackson and Andrew Coats, two of our regular freelancers who both have a wealth of industry experience and expertise.
The group set to work to find out how to do a range of roles including camera operator,researcher and producer before deciding on their specialism. They also develop vital employability skills along the way, eg; sharing information within a team and with the public; working to a common goal; providing feedback; articulating ideas; learning assertiveness; building confidence. All of this happening with the support of professional mentors like Chris Jackson:
“A MENTOR CAN PROVIDE REAL ADVICE BASED ON A LIFETIME OF MAKING MISTAKES AND TRIAL AND ERROR - IT MEANS A MENTEE GETS A SHORTCUT TO BEST PRACTICE AND CAN ASK WHAT THEY MAY FEAR IS A SILLY QUESTION IN A SAFE AND SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT.”
See both their finished film and the Behind The Scenes film here:
As is clear from these films, they had a great time working on it, but is it something they’d like to do again?
“I REALLY ENJOYED IT AND ALSO I’VE DONE SOME EDITING IN THE PAST ALONE, BUT I DISCOVERED NEW THINGS WITHIN EDITING SO I CAN NOW FIGURE OUT SOME NEW THINGS. YEAH ABSOLUTELY I THINK IT CAN HELP ME FOR THE FUTURE. I WILL KEEP EDITING AT HOME.”
- Godstime, young film-maker
“I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY FUN. I’M REALLY HAPPY THAT I’VE GOT TO TAKE PART IN SOMETHING LIKE THIS BECAUSE IT ENHANCES MY SKILLS AND WHEN I GO OUT INTO THE WORLD AND PEOPLE ASK ME WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN PART IN, I FEEL LIKE THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS I CAN SAY TO THEM THAT I’VE DONE AND IT’S REALLY GOOD.”
- Evidence, young film-maker
Stella, the young peoples’ worker from Success 4 All, has been blown away by the groups’ prowess in this field:
“I REALLY HAD HIGH HOPES WHEN IT STARTED BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU’RE ASKING THE YOUNG PEOPLE TO COMMIT THEIR TIME DURING THE HOLIDAYS SO YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT’S WORTHWHILE TO GET THE SKILLS AND THE TIME TO SPEND TOGETHER AND THE MEMORIES IT’S MADE. IT EXCEEDED MY EXPECTATIONS. I’M REALLY PROUD OF HOW THEY’VE WORKED AND THEY HAVE GOT SKILLS. ANDREW AND CHRIS OBVIOUSLY KNOW THEIR STUFF. IT’S VERY GOOD BUT NOT JUST THAT, I THINK IT’S THE FACT THAT THEY WORK SO WELL WITH YOUNG PEOPLE. BECAUSE THERE’S A LOT OF PROFESSIONALS WHO HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE, BUT WHEN THEY HAVE TO WORK WITH YOUNG PEOPLE YOU CAN SEE IT’S NOT SO GOOD. IT HAS BEEN A REALLY WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THE FILM. I THINK THEY GAINED SOMETHING ELSE AS WELL AS FILM SKILLS, AND YOU CAN’T ASK FOR MORE THAN THAT, CAN YOU, REALLY?”
You really can’t!
If you’d be interested in a similar project for your group, please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you!
Huge thanks to our partners at Success4All, TWAM and for Creative Central Newcastle for the funding.