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Tags: case study | film -making | young people involvement Boclair Academy - BearsdenGlasgow
Involving young people through film
Boclair Academy is a secondary school in Bearsden; a small commuting town three miles north of Glasgow. In 2005 the school got funding from the Scottish Arts Council through a bid by the local authority (East Dunbartonshire Council) to develop a purpose-built digital film studio on the school campus.
The studio was to be a resource for young people to explore their creativity through film-making and to portray positive images of young people enjoying formal and informal activities.
The funding went towards refurbishing a redundant space within the school campus; buying cameras, editing software and sound equipment; and providing training from a professional film-maker. As part of the training a teacher from the art department received training in film-making so the studio could be "part-managed" beyond the funding period.
Students aged 14 to 16 were the first wave of young film-makers involved with the project. After consulting with young people, the school trainee and head teacher, the school decided the first film project would be a promotional film about young people involved in formal and informal school activity.
They would use this to show to final year primary schoolchildren and their parents what the secondary school was actually like.
Making the first production
Working with the film-maker, the students created a timetable of pre-production, earmarked roles and tasks, discussed how to manage their time effectively and how to schedule the post-production phase.
The trainees divided into two teams to increase the coverage of school activities. Producing the film took four months from beginning to end. When complete the school screened it to the associated primary schools at a transition day hosted at the Academy.
What did they learn?
Through creating this short film the young people had to collaborate across their year groups, and developed negotiating skills, widened their social experiences and identified many other unexpected outcomes.
Some of the young people went on to study digital film-making at Further Education colleges.
What was the legacy of the project?
The film production project achieved several longer-term outcomes over an above the specific skills the young people developed. Those working on the project gained a sense of ownership through making the film and viewed their film as an asset to the school. And the school continues to use the film production skills and studio to document and evaluate its own activity.
In evaluating the project for the funders, the film in itself became the evaluation evidence.
What wider impact did the project have?
Since Boclair Academy set up the Young Persons Production Company, several other schools within the Greater Glasgow area have used it as a model and gone on to set up their own film clubs.
At the moment, four secondary schools in East Dunbartonshire now have film units and in June 2009 the authority is running its first ever film festival for young people.
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Resources 
Boclair Film Production Case Study (
