The old-style blackboards, whiteboards and overhead projectors are used to good effect, bringing back memories for many service providers of the classrooms of their youth. The film follows the format of a typical school lesson, where the lead is taken by the teacher with some interaction with pupils.
The film has been funded by a social care training grant provided by the Department of Health. Local film company Cliff Productions won the commission to produce the film and the director, Darren Cliff, with input from the young people, created a script that employed a dramatic narrative to get the message across.
New staff working for Buckinghamshire service providers such as the police, councils, schools, health and voluntary organisations will benefit from this training film. The film is designed to explain about important policies and procedures when working with children and young people, in addition to emphasising the benefits of services working together and sharing resources.
Jack Miller-Halliday won the lead role of the teacher after taking part in open auditions held in early August. Filming for his role has now been completed, but is still taking place for the other roles featuring Buckinghamshire children and young people. The classroom video recorder will be used to feature these roles.
Jack spoke of his exciting experience: “I have experienced how it all happens in filming. I got to feel like a real actor getting followed around with the camera and the boom pole being hovered over my head. It was brilliant. I have learned that you don’t have to do the whole film in one take. You do clips of the film and at the end Darren, the director, will put the whole thing together through editing. Filming is so much more calm and chilled than theatre work. I have enjoyed every single part of the making of this induction film. I especially liked the camera being on train tracks, so that Darren could get smooth moving shots while I acted. This is going to be an excellent project for my showreel and I can’t wait to get in front of the camera again.”
Marion Clayton, Cabinet Member for Achievement and Learning, said: “Jack deserves our congratulations for the excellent contribution he has made to this production. This multi-agency film will enable new staff working for service providers within Buckinghamshire to understand the importance of strong partnerships and sharing resources. This will help us in our work to deliver the best possible services for children and young people throughout Buckinghamshire.”