Aug 02, 2011
A bunch of 22 kids are all excited and enthusiastic about using video cameras to conserve and promote the heritage and culture of Hyderabad. These kids from Classes VII and VIII of Geetanjali Devshala School are ready to get their minds and camcorders rolling as part of FilmIt, an initiative by The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach).
FilmIt aims at promoting cultural understanding and concern amongst school children through the exciting experience of making and sharing films. The films will be shown to schoolchildren in the United Kingdom on the Net. Sushanth, Dylan, Meenal, Dilip, Rishbha, Kavya and Sahiti who attended a seminar at Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan seemed the most excited. The kids were taught how to take a close-up, medium and long shots.
The confident Rishbha said there’s nothing difficult about using a camcorder, “All you have to do is press a button.” As the session began, the entire classroom displayed enthusiasm that is only present in kids. They asked questions, suggested ideas and were ready to jump into shooting. While the kids already knew that colour, graphics and music make a film lively, they were told to spend time on planning to avoid crazy editing schedules later.
Themes discussed were water conservation, saving trees, preserving heritage and showcasing the culture of Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh. The team was left in complete awe when some unique ideas flowed like making the trees talk and tell their story, showcasing how Ugadi is celebrated differently in different regions of the state.
Sushanth and Dylan, who asked the maximum number of questions during the workshop, said, “We want to be film-makers when we grow up” in unison. On asking the team what made them choose kids for the project and the apprehensions associated with it, Purnima, a part of the team said, “This is the time when thoughts and ideas can be cultivated the best.” So, was the team scared of broken camcorders and ruined films? Paul Clifford, programme manager (Digital Learning), Museum of London, confesses laughing, “In my entire career where I have been teaching film-making to kids I have never seen kids drop camcorders, only adults do that.”
