Tag: Screen Education Edinburgh

Young filmmakers SEE for themselves

Short films produced by local schoolchildren through the Cashback for Creativity initiative were premiered at North Edinburgh Arts Centre last night, and both ‘Danny’ and ‘The Clock Strikes Fate’ were real quality productions.

Participants from Broughton High School, CORE, Pilton Youth and Children’s Project and Muirhouse Youth Development Group worked with professionals from Pilton-based Screen Education Edinburgh to produce the two short films, with the young people were involved at every stage of the process – from script writing and finding locations to acting, selecting soundtracks and editing. The young filmmakers discovered that an awful lot of preparation and hard work goes into creating even a short film, but their efforts were richly rewarded with two fine short films.

Introducing the films, SEE project manager James McKenzie said: “I think you will agree that these films are remarkable, given that most of the young people involved had no experience of filmmaking. I am sure they will be very proud when they see what they have produced – these are excellent films”.

Danny dealt with the issue of schizophrenia in an unusually entertaining way, while ‘The Clock Strikes Fate’ was a silent movie, simple yet touching.

In a question and answer session with SEE engagement officer Neil Rolland after the screenings, the filmmakers were unanimous in saying that they had learned a lot from the process and all expressed a wish to go on to make more movies.

Kyle Fitzpatrick said: “I thought to begin with I would only be acting but we all got involved in lots of different aspects, things we hadn’t thought we would be doing – for me it was using film cameras, for example. It was a great experience and we learned a lot over the course of producing the films. This was the first time we’d seen the finished films and I think they look pretty good!”

The films will now be entered into film festivals and will appear on SEE’s website – www.screen-ed.org – sometime soon. The young filmmakers will also get their wish for more opportunities to male movies – Screen Education Edinburgh plan to set up a North Edinburgh Young People’s Film Group in the not too distant future. So you never know, Danny Two – the full length sequel?

Cashback for Creativity film premieres next week

Criminal profits have been put to good use with the launch of two short films created by local young people. Screen Education Edinburgh (SEE) (formerly Pilton Video) will be screening ‘Danny’ and ‘The Clock Strikes Fate’ at North Edinburgh Arts Centre on Tuesday 18 September at 6.30pm.

SEE worked with young people from the outset on the projects which were made possible through funding from the Cashback for Creativity programme, a fund which takes cash confiscated from criminals and ploughs the money back into the communities they prey upon.

Cashback for Creativity (formally Creative Identities) is Creative Scotland’s programme that provides young people across Scotland with access to high quality dance, film and music activities, funded by the Scottish Government’s CashBack for Communities programme which reinvests the proceeds of crime back into communities to benefit Scotland’s young people.

As part of the scheme, Screen Education Edinburgh are running an intensive programme of short film making for young people aged 12- 19 across the City of Edinburgh, with priority given to those living in areas of deprivation.

In North Edinburgh, a series of taster workshops took place in partnership with Broughton High School, Community Organisation for Race Equality, Muirhouse Youth Development Group and Pilton Youth and Children’s Project, leading to the most interested young people moving forward to form a core filmmaking group based at SEE. Learning the skills of screenwriting, acting, camera, sound and editing, the group have completed two short film’s ‘Danny’ and ‘When The Clock Strikes Fate’.

The two films will be premiered on Tuesday 18th September at 6.30pm at North Edinburgh Arts Centre to an audience that will include the cast and crew, their families and friends, invited guests and members of the public. The event will also feature a ‘making of’ documentary and a question and answer session with the young people involved followed by a small reception.

Seats are free and available on a first come, first served basis; so turn up early on the night to guarantee a seat!

SEE’s Creative Manager Graham Fitzpatrick said: “The project was a fantastic opportunity for North Edinburgh youngsters to learn how to make films, with two outstanding and mature dramas being produced. We look forward to the premiere and supporting the group as they build on the experience to produce more shorts, whilst the programme also rolls out to East and West Edinburgh from now until Christmas.”

Local pupils to produce BBC documentaries

Screen Education Edinburgh (formerly Pilton Video) has been working in partnership with BBC on a film project with local young people. The project will give the pupils a taste of film-making and their work will be shown by the BBC.
 The initiative, a partnership between Screen Education Edinburgh and BBC Scotland, will see pupils from Craigroyston Primary, Craigroyston High School and Castlebrae High School learn to produce a five minute documentary film each to be broadcast on the BBC’s website next month.
Graham Fitzpatrick, Screen Education Edinburgh’s  Creative Manager, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for pupils in Edinburgh to learn how to produce their own documentaries. The topics they have chosen are very current – Global Citizenship, Literacy and Olympic Values – and we can’t wait to see the  final results. Our aim is to unearth untapped                  creativity in young people, giving them the knowledge and skills to pursue a lifelong interest in film-making.”