Bridging generations: UWL students support Age UK Ealing in creating a film sharing older people’s perspectives
Intro
Media and Communications students from UWL's London School of Film, Media and Design (LSFMD) are helping Age UK Ealing to record the views of older people to share with local and national politicians in the run up to the general election.
Article body
Age UK supports older people and champions their rights across the country. Its Ealing partner is creating a short 10-to-15-minute film, to share on social media, with students managing the interviewing and filmmaking.
Our Chair, Charles Lowe contacted UWL for help as we've never done anything like this before. We were put in touch with LSFMD and it's been a great partnership so far. We’re really enjoying working with some wonderful young people,"
says Age UK Ealing Trustee Kerry Kent, who is leading the project.
I am pleased to see our students taking the lead on a real-life industry brief. The work Age UK is doing to give local older people a voice in this election year is so important, and it’s great to see students contributing to this,”
adds Dr Marcus Nicholls, Course Leader for Media and Communications.
The film responds to one of Age UK Ealing’s key objectives of ensuring that the voice of older people in Ealing is heard by those in positions of influence, Charles explains:
What Kerry and LSFMD have achieved far exceeds my expectations: it’s brilliant!”
The aim is to share perspectives on what politicians could do to improve life for older people in Ealing, creating a written manifesto to send to them alongside the film.
We're holding focus groups and asking people to come up with practical suggestions for improvements. For example, having accessible transport and public spaces,”
Kerry says.
Second year BA Media and Communications student Inna Khomenko has been conducting interviews and acting as a transcriber during focus groups.
Everyone is lovely and very passionate about their opinions. I wanted people to feel comfortable – and I was conscious of asking questions in a way that would give us a range of answers,”
she says.
Going forward, Inna is excited to be involved in video editing, script writing and voice overs:
These areas particularly interest me from a future professional perspective.”
Her fellow second year Saeed Warsame is lead camera operator, something he describes as a “pretty cool experience.”
Age UK Ealing is a wonderful client. They are clear on what they want and good at helping us with the set up and filming at locations,”
he says.
Saeed feels inspired by people’s stories:
This is about social issues – what could government do better, it is great to hear their perspectives on what matters.
I am using a Sony FS5 camcorder and also mobile phones, so people don’t feel intimidated by being filmed. We want to help their voices to be heard and mobile phones can offer a more relaxed atmosphere for this,"
he explains.
Marcus concludes:
This project is giving students key experiences and skills which will be crucial for transitioning into the industry after graduation. They will also have excellent professional-standard content in their online portfolios.”
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