Students make Asbo documentary

The skills developed by students making a TV documentary helped them win the semi-final of a public speaking competition.

Over the course of a week, students from Bourne Grammar School in Lincolnshire made a film about Anti Social Behaviour Orders (Asbos) with the help of BBC journalist Sam Atkins.

Then on Wednesday 23 January 2007, three of the students beat six other schools in the district semi-final of the Rotary Youth Speaks competition for their age group.

The win secures them a place in the final on 1 March 2007 where they will compete against schools from Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire.

Head of English at Bourne Grammar, Richard Cave, said: "Making the documentary taught the students to relate to the audience rather than talking at them or making a speech. This certainly came across in the public speaking competition."

Madeleine, 13, added: "Sometimes I can be quite outspoken and through making the film, I learned the importance of listening to everybody's views and working together as a team. It helped us to win this round."

After interviewing a wide variety of people, of different ages and genders, I realised that you can't pre-judge people Madeleine, 13

As part of BBC Lincolnshire's Parachutes project for 11 to 18-year-olds, the young film-makers initially opted to produce a spoof documentary in which a "chav" takes up the challenge to be issued with an Asbo for his or her behaviour.

However, after listening to each other's opinions, the students decided to re-version the documentary with a serious tone.

Madeleine said: "The decision to start all over again was a difficult one. At the beginning I wasn't very happy about it. But now, I think the film we made does more to combat stereotypes than the funny version we would have done, and I'm really pleased."

As a result of the project, Madeleine realised that she had also harboured some prejudice.

She explained: "When we were looking for members of the public to question, I noticed that, at first, I was reluctant to interview someone who looked like the stereotype we were trying to get away from.

By interviewing people for the documentary, I learned not to be scared Pippa, 13

"But after interviewing a wide variety of people, of different ages and genders, I realised that you can't pre-judge people. It was really interesting to hear all the different views. In fact this was the part of the project I most enjoyed."

Pippa, 13, who is the chairperson of the public speaking team, also thought interviewing the public was one of the most challenging and beneficial aspects of the project.

She said: "I used to be really nervous about speaking in front of people I didn't know. By interviewing people for the documentary, I learned not to be scared. Having confidence helped me in the public speaking competition and it'll help me when I go on to study drama."

Legal issues

Rachel, 14, who is interested in studying law, embraced the fact that the representation of Asbos would have to be factually correct from a legal perspective if it were to be showcased.

She also learned the importance of obtaining permission from the people they filmed - and, if they were under 18, from their parents.

I think the finished piece looks quite professional, especially the shot of shoppers reflected in a mirror leading into a reflection of public opinion about Asbos. Rachel, 14

She said: "We even had to get permission from our own parents."

The three girls enjoyed learning how to frame a shot in the view-finder of a video camera.

Madeleine advised: "Make sure the person you are interviewing is standing slightly to one side and looking towards the opposite side. This gives them some space to look into and the viewers' eyes will be drawn to them naturally."

She added: "It's also really important to keep the camera steady. Put one hand on the recording button and keep one hand on the top of the camera for balance."

These tips, however, will only work if the camera is recording in the first place.

Recording sound

Madeleine said: "There are so many buttons, it can be really easy to end up with a blank tape. I practised filming at school and played back the tape, to check it had recorded, before I went to film the public."

The students also had the chance to operate the sound equipment, monitoring background noise though a set of headphones plugged into the camera.

Madeleine said: "If I heard a loud noise, I'd ask everyone to start again, but if the noise was constant, such as passing traffic, I let them carry on."

She added: "If you do record some unwanted noise, sometimes it's possible to edit it out afterwards."