Neil Emery inspires Young Film Makers
Henley in Arden High School, A Specialist Performing Arts College recently hosted the very first ‘Henley in Arden Community Film Festival, in conjunction with the Henley Community Arts Group. This event was further supported by a number of organisations including the NTI in Birmingham.
The awards evening took place at the Henley in Arden High School in October. 13 films were shown at the event, which included entries from staff, students and members from the Henley in Arden community and beyond. Top prizes were given away including cinema vouchers a DVD camera, and an I pod video which was kindly donated by Neil Emery, Apple Distinguished Educator from the NTI in Birmingham The winning film was by Jamie and Daniel Kirk, who are both pupils at the school. The brothers played all the roles in their 4 minute film, and devised film and edited it themselves.
The school is lucky to have invested in a £10,000 MAC suite that is largely used by the Music department. Neil Emery from NTI came to teach a small number of staff and students how to use the Apple software application iMovie to edit and give the finishing touches to their films. The day’s workshop really helped to lift the quality of films that was produced, and Charlie Meadows one of the students who attended the workshop won one of the runners up prizes, with his film ‘The Great Battle.’ This short film used animation techniques similar to that which is used by the Aardman Animations Group in the ‘Wallace and Gromit’ films and ‘Chicken Run'.
Neil Emery was impressed by the winning film produced by Daniel and Jamie Kirk he commented “The Kirk brothers produced a genuinely funny and competent produced short film that they obviously had fun making. At the heart of good film making is the ability to tell a story and the brothers pulled off that feat with some grace, well done.”
Henley High School were incredibly grateful to the contribution that Neil Emery made to the Henley in Arden Community Film Festival and hope that this partnership with the NTI in Birmingham will continue to grow as the festival develops over the coming years.