Castles, Woods and Water

Castle Morpeth Borough Council, as part of a regeneration project by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), held a consultation exercise in the local area. Part of this involved finding out what local young people felt about the area, and where they would like to see the money spent.

Working with a group of 7 secondary school pupils at King Edward VI school in Morpeth, I and a colleague helped them to develop ideas, create a script and structured shooting schedule, and then go out and film in and around the local area.

It was important that the ideas were their own and that we just helped them to realise them. We had a day to prepare and a day to film in. While it took the first morning to get into the swing of things and for the students to forget that they were still in school, by the afternoon ideas and enthusiasm were flowing. The same happened when we went out and about and began filming, and the students took over the direction and organised the presenting amongst themselves.

The video has been very well received, and has been shown at a conference organised by the ODPM and in Morpeth to residents.

A short version of this video is available at:

http://www.castleswoodsandwater.org.uk/dvd