How our High School turned to movie-making to replace live performance
Faced with the all-too-familiar pandemic, 25 High School students turned to movie-making as an innovative way to continue and evolve the school’s performing arts programme. Created to a professional standard with help of industry experts, their uplifting film is due to be screened at the Everyman Theatre in Esher, Surrey, later this year.
Recognising the importance of the performing arts, and as a way to ensure students were still able to showcase and develop their drama skills, the film was created as an alternative to the school’s annual musical production. Drama teacher, Georgia Sidell, managed the project.
To support the students, she brought in industry professionals comprising scriptwriter Bethan Leyshon from BBC Wales and award-winning production company, Slick Showreels, whose crew included a full team of cameramen, sound technicians and a director of photography.
Over the course of six weeks, the students chose a prom theme and worked together to create a script, choreograph dances, rehearse, act and film the production. Bethan Leyshon, who spent three weeks getting to know students, helped them develop a script that embedded their own experiences and anecdotes.
Purposely set in a world without COVID-19, camera techniques were used to create a pre-COVID authenticity throughout the film. The majority of the film was shot outdoors, utilising the open and varied spaces of our wonderful 128-acre campus. Louis Russell, director of the Slick Showreels team, held a Q&A session with students covering filmmaking, insider knowledge on the film process, what to look out for on set and how to ease nerves before filming commenced.
On set, the safety of the students, teachers and crew was paramount and the team worked with a COVID-19 advisor to ensure masks were worn, temperatures were checked and all necessary safety restrictions were in place