Project description   

This Young Person became involved in Screen Education Edinburgh through the City of Edinburgh Council’s JET Academy by participating in our Access to Film Making course. The  Access Course is where the participants will learn basic film theory and making skills. They have a hands-on experience in screen writing, camera, sound directing, acting and editing. They work as a group, using state of the art film equipment, to produce a music video or shotgun short film.     

Background of young person featured   

The Young Person had been referred to the JET Academy as she was interested in working in the creative sector. She is already a singer and participates and performs with other young groups, however she wanted to develop her film and camera skills. The Young Person also had sporadic attendance at school and during the school year her attendance dwindled. At one point she was not engaging with any other service except for the Friday sessions she spent with JET and SEE. She had never done any film making activity before. 

The Young Person acknowledged herself that she wasn’t a confident person. Although she has ‘performance persona’ for when she sings, she lacks in confidence in other aspects of her life, particularly over her appearance and when she is talking to other people, particularly new people.  

How the young person got involved   

As already mentioned, The Young Person got involved with SEE through a referral from the JET Academy. She was keen to learn more about working in the creative sector and thought that this would be a great route. She approached her teacher about it (while she was attending school) and asked could she do it. She attended an open session, enjoyed it and signed up to do an Access Course.   

Outcomes achieved so far   

The Young Person has embraced her SEE experience and is now an active member of SEE Youth – a committee led by young people to feed into the wider aims and objectives of the organisation. She has taken part in focus groups and has now progressed onto our Introduction to Film Course which she has just completed and will achieve an Arts Award for. In addition to this she will now progress onto a Next Steps course and will hopefully work with the Filmhouse on another project which will take place at weekends.  

The Young Person also used the opportunity to appear on camera in both of the films she took part in. She volunteered and said that although she was nervous at first, she really enjoyed it at the end. 

Impact so far on young person due to their participation with the project/programme you are running   

The Young Person has also reflected on her journey with SEE with staff from the organisation. Recently she said that the experience of working on a film project has helped her to develop team working skills, communication skills and improved her confidence to speak out in groups. She feels listened to and is now more confident at meeting new people and coming into a new group.  She has made new friends, widening her social circle and they now meet up outside of the group. 

In addition to this for a period of about 2 months, the Introduction to Film Course and SEE Youth were the only things that The Young Person was engaging with as she had stopped attending school. She has now officially left and has applied to college. This has been a positive group for to be a part of as it has kept hr motivated and has encouraged her to leave the house. She also told me that her Dad commented that it was a brilliant opportunity for her and that she should take it up.