BRIEF
The Junction Foundation is a charity that acts as a catalyst for change in communities and makes a difference to the lives of young people in Redcar and Cleveland and Middlesbrough. The charity had received funding to help raise its profile and after a competitive process that involved presenting to some of the young people it helps, we were delighted to be chosen to help it produce four films. Each film focused on a different service provided by The Junction.
CONCEPT
The charity wanted its young people to be totally involved with the production process, so the first step was to meet with them and listen to their ideas. And they were great! We used our expertise to get them to think about how to make their visions a reality and consider the parameters of time, practicality and budget. Together we agreed on different approaches for each of the services. One was to be a great story, simply told by the young person at its centre. Another story from someone more reticent about appearing on camera would be told with voiceover, simple images and animation. The third featured stories from young carers and highlighted the relief offered by The Junction’s support. Meanwhile a fourth, featured here, about the charity’s Create project, was a film of two halves. The first part showed young people “before the Junction”, isolated, unhappy and living in “black and white” while the second part showed their lives, now connected to The Junction, in colour.
CREATE
The young people wanted to show how unhappy they had been before the Junction, at home, at school and in public. We knew that getting access to film in a school would be tough, so instead we filmed them in our green screen studio and then “placed” them in different environments created from stock video. In this way we were able to make them appear to be “black and white” in a world of colour, in post-production. Over these images we heard powerful testimony from each of the young people about how low they felt. However when they began to talk about the impact the Junction had had, they became “colourful” and appeared in much more positive imagery. This imagery was slowed down for dramatic effect and the result was a really powerful film. The young people were involved at every stage and those whose stories weren’t featured, got involved behind the scenes or as extras.
CONNECT
Both the staff and the young people at The Junction Foundation love the films. Some were moved to tears by them and the fact the young people were engaged at every stage means they feel really authentic. It was a privilege for all of us at Dependable Productions team to work with The Junction Foundation and we are delighted that we’ve been able to spread the message about the amazing work done by the charity.