LSM Students are ‘Making History’!

I’m Charlotte Plowright and I am a 3^rd year student at the University of Lincoln, studying for a degree in Film, Television and Journalism. I was approached in the Summer of 2010 by fellow 3^rd year Media Production student Lisa Rustage and the Head of the School of Media Dr Sarah Barrow to contribute to a media project, much like ‘‘Who Do You Think You Are’ for children’.

I knew it was an invaluable work experience opportunity so I hastily agreed. Little was I to know that the ‘Making History’ project would be the perfect opportunity to demonstrate our practical ability as well as our knowledge of production. Moreover, it was a chance to work for the voice of ‘The Cube’ and star of the latest ‘Batman’ films, Colin MacFarlane (pictured below).

We were invited for a number of meetings with Colin and the project co-ordinator for the Lincolnshire district, Sharon. The ‘Making History’ project was in its second phase of development, as it was the intention to make the project a nationwide venture. Children of all ages, who were in full-time education, were invited to research their family history and produce a documentary, recording their progression and discoveries.

Initially, our involvement was required to film a number of interviews for the ‘Making History’ project at the participating schools. It was encouraging for us, as students, that our knowledge and practical and professional skills were trusted for such a project. For this we were able to utilise the documentary-making skills, we had acquired during our first two years of our degree.

Following this, Lisa and I were asked to co-ordinate and develop a series of Media workshops, in which we would deliver the information and skills that the children may use to make their own documentaries. These workshops would be available for three separate Lincolnshire schools, Primary, Secondary and Sixth Form, over the course of a few months. Furthermore, we would provide further technical guidance during their productions.

Initially, this was an exciting but daunting prospect for us. Whilst still in education ourselves, we were responsible for teaching the skills that we had acquired within the previous two years and adapting the delivery of them for a range of ages and abilities. However, to remain professional and to serve as positive ambassadors  the ‘Making History’ Project and also Lincoln School of Media, we researched liberally and delivered a number of workshops with confidence and guidance from the school staff.

We delivered the workshops progressively, starting with ‘Planning and Storyboarding’, leading to ‘Filming and Framing’ and finally ‘Post Production and Editing’. The children were engaged with both technical information and practical experience, in which we encouraged the student to use the cameras and editing software and implement the information that they had just received.

The experience was a lot of hard work but succeeded in providing us with the valuable knowledge and skills required for leading workshops as well as working within a team actually visiting children within school and learning how to encourage them to open up to camera. We both tried to deal with any complications with precision and professionalism, using advice from LSM staff.

Having completed the project we were invited to a presentation at the British Film Institute in London (shown above), in which all the children’s documentaries were showcased. It was a proud moment for us to see that the children had learnt from our workshops and implemented the skills that we’d taught them, to produce professional looking pieces that each one of them were proud of. It was a privilege to also be acknowledged in front of the entire cohort for our contribution. As the ‘Making History’ project continues to flourish and become a nationwide phenomenon, we know we were a large part of their initial journey.