Becta online Digital Video conference

Richard Millwood

Ultralab, Anglia Polytechnic University

March 2003

The advent of cheap but high quality technology to shoot, edit and present film has stimulated and changed the whole debate about filmmaking by learners. Young people are now empowered to break new ground, invent new film language and demonstrate creativity.  But how can we maximise the benefits and set up a serious creative challenge for young film makers?

The lightweight, forgiving and automatic nature of modern digital video cameras opens up a wealth of possibilities to young people.  On the one hand, they can be more confident about previously difficult technical issues, such as colour balance, focus and mechanical operation.  On the other, they are able to invent new ways to relate to the important issues in filming, such as framing, camera angle and dynamics.  As with desktop publishing, the provision of a wealth of new opportunities can lead to ‘featuritis’ as every possibility is exploited without aesthetic judgement, but this soon settles down as the other new possibility – frequent and immediate review - kicks in.

Of all these issues the one that most interests me is that of framing.  I believe the LCD screen (often not used since it drains batteries) has a profound impact.  It is a representation of the finished product, rather than a targeting device.  It is shared by more than one child, so that discussions about framing can happen in real time.  Together these factors make a massive difference to shooting and accelerate creative activity.  The lightweight and diminutive nature of the camera also contributes to creative framing – activities such as spinning round, taking unusual views and varying angle can be experimented in a way that heavier equipment would preclude – especially in the hands of a small person.

The key elements of editing with a computer which add to a creative challenge are not the effects and transitions but are the elements of process such as provisionality and concreteness.  Provisionality allows film sequencing and modification to take place without risk of failure – mistakes can be undone, alternatives explored and choices discussed.  Concreteness is the ability to drag and drop sequences, modify levels of brightness and sound, tweak colours all with simple to use direct actions – often with no recourse to numbers or abstractions.  But again the wealth of opportunity to add multiple media – stills, text and audio permits new forms to be developed.  Many young people I have worked with enjoy placing text all over a film – an anathaema to most film and television professionals.  It seems that they are happy to make quite new juxtapositions and invent new language in film.  Such films are problematic – they may be construed as uncommunicative or they may be seen as innovative, depending on your viewpoint.  What’s new is that young learners can take part and have that debate in the context of film like never before.

Schools are busy kitting themselves out with projectors and interactive white boards.  What this means for film makers is that they can reconstruct a cinematic experience in their classrooms (so long as the school remembered to buy good loudspeakers too). The research at Ultralab has shown us that the prospect of a presentation raises ambition and quality in film work – our Summer School work with the South East of England Virtual Education Action Zone has been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum over the last three years – each year young people and their families (and a few interested parties from television companies) have taken part in a festival of their work.  The event is not competitive but the film makers have faced questions about their work from the audience. Its success both as a celebratory moment and a target for creativity is compelling.

Finding and working with the venues, both local and national, where young filmmakers work can be shown and so linking presentation to film making projects seems to be a recipe for creative ambition.