BACK TO OFFICIAL PROJECTS
Another film made for BBC Local TV. This time with Mike Jackson as my chaperone so-to-speak (you need to first be officially certified before setting foot in a school, or otherwise be accompanied by a certified representative), I filmed a local kite maker teaching the kids of a local Hereford primary school how to make Edo kites. I was in charge of getting all the footage required while Mike took a step back to allow me to get on with �the artistic stuff�. In a very crowded classroom it can be quite hard to film, especially when you�re trying to remember the names and faces of which kids have not been cleared for appearing in the film by their parents. After getting the wide shots from a safe corner of the room I dived into the sea of activity and went hand held to gather the remaining shots inside, before heading outside to get some shots of the kids flying their kites as well as an interview with Karl (the kite guy).
As I�ve said before, one of the main things you learn with this sort of work is people skills � and there�s no better place than surrounded by a barrage of kids who have an endless list of questions to ask you and the attention span to match. About the only trouble with making a film involving children is getting them to concentrate, but with the odd class smart guy aside it�s a lively and entertaining experience (if a little tiring on the old brain).
While I filmed the entire short, I decided to hand the editing over to someone else � another trainee in the Rural Media family � and the final product actually came out quite well. It�s succinct, to-the-point and you�re neither left with too little or too much information to digest � country & western vibe music aside!
