We have been running our second BFI Film Academy in the South East of Scotland for six weeks now with 18 young people aged 16-19 taking part.
The participants have been fantastic, travelling from Edinburgh, Dunbar, Falkirk, Midlothian, West Lothian, Motherwell and beyond week on week to receive training and development in storytelling, scriptwriting, production, acting, film theory, practical filmmaking and editing.
They have received Masterclasses in sound, camera, acting and screenwriting as well as a director’s Masterclass with Scottish directors Martin Smith, Catriona MacInnes and John McPhail.
So far they have each developed and outlined an original short film, pitched their ideas to the group and chosen three films that will now be made.
The Shadowman is a creepy horror film that tells the story of Amber who must overcome her fear of the dark to defeat a mysterious board game called The Shadowman.
BigWigs Be Gone is a caper comedy about Average Joe who must take out BigWigs one by one in order to take over BigWigs Inc. and turn it into Average Joe Corps.
Kill Me Now is a surreal social drama about Death who no longer wants to do his job, against the wishes of his boss Master Death, he attempts to help people to live.
The three films will be shot in the new year with participants specialising in roles of production, directing, camera, sound and acting.
As well as all the learning and development the participants are all gaining accreditation through an Arts Award.
This past week, the participants split into their film groups and devised, shot and edited their own short comedy films, all in the space of 5 hours. You can see the fruits of their labour here.
