Turning Point: Film making project with young people

This half term we spent four days in Hackney, working with a group of young people to create a short film on the topic of ‘turning points’.

The project began with participants getting to know each other (and the equipment we were to be working with!) by conducting and filming interviews as a group. Following this, we returned to the studio for fruitful discussions about what the phrase ‘turning point’ could mean and came up with examples such as moments of overcoming prejudice, moving house, making new friends or having a child, to name a few. From this discussion we created a short, 8 scene film plot, following a young man with a verbally abusive girlfriend and the moment when an old friend makes him see things differently.

The next day saw us out on a local estate filming our story. Everyone had a go both behind the camera and on screen and we were amazed at the hard work and talent that everyone brought to the process. Not only did this mean we could forget about the cold and enjoy what we were doing but it also left us with incredible footage to play with in the editing studio.

Thursday was a day of editing, as well as watching and critiquing the London made film ‘I am Slave’ to see how this deals with turning points within one woman’s life.

Friday came and after some last minute editing we were able to sit back and watch with pride as the final film was screened. All who came were incredibly impressed with the high quality and delicacy of the storyline and acting and it was a brilliant end to a fantastic project that was enjoyed by all.

Abigail Darton is a supporting facilitator at Synergy and is currently completing an MA Performance Practice as Research at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.