Starting in the first week of October the community development team’s Power to Change Project multimedia workshop started, offering young people basic digital skills to enable them to become content creators and to gain confidence when creating their own content.
We started out with a group of five young people from different backgrounds and very different abilities who were all very keen to get involved in the many different disciplines we had to offer such as, podcasting, music production, audio manipulation, photography, videography and lighting, with the common goal of producing a piece of work showcasing all the skills they have collectively learnt over ten sessions.
Starting with podcasting the youth group quickly picked up the basics of the equipment, demonstrating a keen interest which made the learning more fun. After a short time, the young people were creating their own podcast’s and confidently conversing with each and debating a wide range of topics.
Following on from this, we started investigating DSLR cameras and video cine cams, learning their functions and the basics of using these types of cameras taking them out into the field, taking different types of images and videos, testing different ways to shoot.
Moving onto the audio element, creating, and recording music and post processing of audio we took a group to a mobile studio to get some hands-on experience in the studio environment. They all enjoyed the experience and learnt some valuable lessons that they later transferred to our wider goal of a final media production.
The final element we looked at was lighting, and how we can use the different types of lighting to enhance our productions. This element was really the final piece of the puzzle, and the young people picked it up well, learning different type of lighting set ups such as 3-point settings and 2-point setting, and using different colours to achieve different looks.
In week nine we then started to put all these different elements together and began planning an interview production including a prominent member of the community, Inspector Yakub Ismail, who agreed to be interviewed by the young people. First on the agender was to plan out the set design and to create the most effective scene to capture the interview. We then set about collectively creating the questions we would ask Inspector Ismail, including questions regarding his career and experiences, and being an ethnic minority police officer. Roles were then assigned, which included camera person’s, audio technician, interviewer, and lighting technician.
Finally, the day came where we put all these elements and learning into action and successfully created our first media production.
An Interview With... click the link below for the full interview
I would like to say a huge thank you to Inspector Yakub Ismail for giving up his time to support our young people and agreeing to this interview. We are very grateful.
Neetu Squire; Head of Community Development, Leicestershire Cares