|
|
 |
Young wannabe filmmakers can now
discover how it feels to be Guy Ritchie or Sam Mendes, thanks to
First Light, a unique project that funds the making of short films.
First Light is an innovative scheme
designed to help develop film culture for 7-18 year olds from all
walks of life.
First Light is based in the Custard
Factory
It provides grants to organisations
to help them inspire and encourage young people to produce a range
of short films including drama, comedies, animations and documentaries.
| See
the award winning animated film made by one Birmingham school
with First Light. |
 |
 |
| You could be behind
or infront of a film camera... |
People from youth clubs, schools
and colleges, and other youth organisations have made films with
First Light’s help. They are a UK wide set up, but they are based
in Birmingham’s very own Custard Factory. It’s
great that an organisation like this gets to base itself in our
city, instead of the usual London.
Media Studies gets interesting
Film subjects made so far have included
animation films mixing fantasy and reality, dramas exploring contemporary
issues like tagging, bullying, drugs, teen pregnancy and depression,
thrillers, comedies, road movies and science fiction. Someone even
made a silent movie.
Loads of schools now do Media Studies.
What a great way of studying - to make a real film!
Take a look at some of the exciting
films being made by young people in Birmingham and Solihull.
First Light film projects
in Birmingham
|
Birmingham
City Council Youth Offending Team
- 'Tags' |
|
A film made
in partnership with Stan's Cafe and filmmaker John Humphries,
exploring the different forms of tagging with youth offenders,
involving 12 young people aged 15 to 18.
First Light funding: £4,916
|
| |
Birmingham City Council - Arts
Team
- 'Massive Message Productions' |
Nine
films involving 33 young people, many with disabilities.
First Light funding: £45,000 |
| |
Solihull Youth Service
- 'Get A Life!' |
Fantasy adventure
influenced by the film Being John Malkovich, about living in
a rural area, involving ten young people aged 13 to 15.
First Light funding: £4,730 |
| |
Kings Heath Junior School, Birmingham
- 'So Who Do You Think I Am?' |
Humorous
animation exploring how young people see themselves, involving
20 seven to 11 year olds.
First Light funding: £4,082
See
the report and watch the film |
| |
Lozells Recreation Group, Birmingham
- 'Film Factory' |
A drama involving a group of
10 football obsessed young people aged 14-17.
First Light funding: £4,620 |
| |
Sampad South Asian Arts, Birmingham
- 'Bollywood to Birmingham' |
Bollywood comes
to Birmingham involving 25 young people aged 13-18.
First Light funding: £5,000
See the report
|
How can I make a film?
- First Light
DOES Fund
- Short films made by young people
- Cinematic projects including drama, animation, and documentary
films with a strong creative slant
- Films of any genre from comedy to horror, musicals to action
movies
- Films shot on digital camera
- First Light DOES
NOT fund
- Videos intended to promote an
organisation or its activities
- Training videos Multimedia or
web projects
- Making of documentaries
- Straightforward recording of
events
- Destination films (descriptive
documentaries about a particular locality)
| First
Light offers two types of awards |
Studio Awards
Studio awards are targeted at organisations
with a track record of working in the media with young people. They
have filmmaking expertise in-house, such as arts organisations,
community video or film production companies and local authorities.
Up to £36,000 can be allocated for the production of six films.
Films can be between five and ten minutes long.
Pilot Awards
Pilot awards are designed to encourage
people to ‘have a go’ at filmmaking, such as youth, support and
community groups, with help from professional filmmakers. Grants
of up to £5,000 are available to make one film.
Applying for an award
Applications can be made online at
the website www.firstlightmovies.com
or by calling
0870 770 3245 for an application pack.
|
