Media magic
in London
Media can unleash the
passion… I love doing it.
Francesca (19)
Life Routes worked with
Mouth That Roars film
production company and
young people from all over
London to explore their
identity through multimedia.
Through different workshops including
animation, drama, film, music for film
and media installation the young people
learned to share ideas and listen to others,
co-operate and share responsibility, help
and support each other, communicate
their ideas and improve time-keeping.
Using creative thinking and making
informed choices, the young people were
able to use their chosen art form to
develop a strong character and express
and communicate their feelings and
individuality:
‘I have learnt to respect other people’s
ideas more than I used to. I feel
confident to express my feelings and
ideas on a public scale and people
who are watching my profile may
even learn something about my
culture and my identity.’
Shaju (16)
Working with multimedia, young people
learn how to adapt and be flexible, and
with an ever-changing digital world this
is a key skill for future enerations.
Establishing trust and building personal
responsibility is a powerful dynamic.
Once it’s there, young people are more
open to learning and working
co-operatively in a team. The moment
a piece of equipment is handed over to
them may be the first moment they
have ever felt trusted and respected, and
this has the potential to change a whole
person’s being. As 16-year-old Smiya put
it:
‘When we get given the camera it
makes us responsible for it: now, I work
in child care and I don’t think I would
have ever thought I could be responsible
for someone else if I hadn’t had that
experience.’
Multimedia offers access to young
people who are isolated, and is a
vehicle for self-expression for
young people who lack
confidence. For the shy, it is a
vehicle where they can express
themselves without exposing
their identity.
A typical multimedia project
requires young people to:
• use and develop communication
and negotiation skills
• work as part of a team
• take on leadership roles and
responsibility
• acquire new technical skills and make
use of literacy, numeracy and
computing skills.
Young people will also have to make
quick, thoughtful decisions, express
their ideas, think critically about what is
being produced and manage their
emotional response to the
feedback of others. As a result of
their involvement in an inclusive
and creative process, they will
build on their feelings of
self-worth and self-confidence.
* For more information on Mouth
That Roars visit:
www.mouththatroars.com