Over the last few months Sam Harrison of Open Ground has been working with several schools on making outdoor films. The project involved children exploring their own habitat and then when back in the classroom decide how to make and produce their own film. Sam Harrison joined each school for two days when one day was spent exploring their own landscapes and then acting out their ideas. When Sam Harrison came back for his second visit, schools then had an idea of where their film was going and all Sam had to do was film it. Easier said than done as many of us had wind blowing in our ears and midges eating us alive however we got there and films were cut and edited ready to show!
The hard work all paid off when Oban had its own Oscar night with the showcasing of all the films produced. The Lorn Outdoor Film Festival actually ran over three evenings (18th, 19th and 20th June) in the very plush Oban Phoenix Cinema because it was turning out to be a very popular event. The cinema was fully booked each night!!
Barcaldine and Ardchattan Primary schools worked together on this project. The children spend their first day out in Barcaldine acting out scenes in groups and then the children discussed what was their best bits. Children all had their own ideas and several ‘bits ‘ from each group was put together and an idea was staring to form. Rianna George of P7 wrote the script and the other children helped her tweak it. We then spent our second day filming in the morning and editing in the afternoon. It was a great experience and all the children enjoyed learning how things are captured on film one day and then played on the big screen several weeks later!
On the Thursday night all the films were shown and the judges had to judge! Barcaldine and Ardchattan won The Best Script Oscar and then there was an agonising wait will the judges Sam Martin, Drama teacher of OHS; Donald MacLeod, Education Support Officer (Gaelic)and Bob McCulloch deliberated over who was winning best film. Eventually they announced that Barcaldine and Ardchattan’s film ‘The Enchanted Forest of Barcaldine’ was the overall winner. The prize for this was an ipad and apple tv. Several children were there on the night and accepted their awards and prizes with great delight!!
