Between the 20th of November and the 13th of December, 2013, six young people met at The Phoenix Social Enterprise and The Station in Bristol to learn the art of digital storytelling.
Led by Mr. Michael Jenkins from 8th Sense Media Day One was an introduction to the workshop.The class identified the different elements of what makes a digital story and watched various examples. Each participant was interviewed by Michael Jenkins and asked a series of questions around race. Day one was a great day for the group to bond, understand the elements of a digital story and be interviewed as part of the larger documentary.
Day Two consisted of an exploration into the political and social definitions of race. This was lead by Roger Griffith of 2morrow 2day. The group discussed some definitions of race and had a general discussion around the topic. This was perfect for the group as it gave them a more general understanding of race and different racial terms. The second part of the day was dedicated to interview techniques. The participants went into groups and interviewed each other. They were given the task of asking up to 10 questions. At the end, they came together to discuss what piece of information they found out from each other. This provoked discussion around asking open questions and asking leading questions. These techniques will be used later in the project when they interview other members of the community around the topic of race.
Days Three and Four the group met at a new location to embark on creating their digital stories. During these two days, Rob Mitchell from First-Born Creatives led the group. Michael Jenkins felt those days where the most challenging for the group as a whole. The different elements involved in making a story seemed too technical to some members of the group. Extra work was needed to help each individual have a clearer idea of what their digital story would look like. Clarifying ideas and logistics of ideas can be challenging when working in a creative environment. This was a challenge that they faced but nonetheless; by the end of day four each participant had their basic structure, script and storyboard.
During days 5 and 6 the group became stuck in gathering and piecing together their stories. On day 5 Micheal Jenkins spend a few hours making sure all ideas where clear and went over their scripts/storyboards. Once this was done all members of the group where up to date and ready for the next phase. They all worked well with computers, and navigating the Macs was not an issue with any of the participants. They carefully followed instructions and had written guidance in their welcome packs. This helped them to use the computers and gather materials.
During the course of the following week Michael Jenkins met with the group individually and continued their digital stories. Working 1 to 1 each participant showed how much progress they had made and how much they understood the process.
Overall the digital workshop was a success with all participants completing the objectives set for each lesson. All participants were surprised with what they created. Each person grew with confidence over the 7 days and their stories are an insight into how they perceive race. Next each participant will interview 2 people from the BME community in Bristol to capture their digital stories on the place of race within the BME.
Participants In The Training
We had six young people train to conduct and create the digital stories for this project.
Name – Delano Gournet-moore
Age – 20
Location – Bristol
Ethnicity – Black Caribbean/White
Qualifications – A level
Name – Kadeem Mcdonald
Age – 24
Location – Bristol
Ethnicity – Black British/ Caribbean
Qualifications – NVQ Level 2
Name – Alexandra Lindsay
Age – 23 yo
Location – Bristol
Ethnicity – Black British/ Caribbean
Qualifications – GCSE Level 2
Name – Mollie Wood
Age – 22
Location – Bristol
Ethnicity – White British
Qualifications – NVQ Level 2
Name – Sibusiso Tshabalala
Age – 26
Location – St Pauls, Bristol from South Africa
Ethnicity – Black African
Qualifications – N/A
Name – Cameron Harrison
Age – 24
Location – Bristol
Ethnicity – Black British/ Caribbean
Qualifications – N/A