Tuesday 30 September 2008

Common Wealth?

I recently attended the showing of a 'rough cut' of a video, and am pleased to be able to link to the finished version below. It illustrates local people's hopes and fears about the Commonwealth Games. I think it's a very important and well-considered work, and have put it up here for people to have a look at. Comments would be most welcome. Please pass on the link http://vimeo.com/1605372 to anyone you think would be interested!


Common Wealth? - East End hopes & fears for the 2014 Games from Peter Gerard on Vimeo.

Inner East End – Common Wealth?

This DVD was produced through a partnership with Faith in Community Scotland, Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector (GCVS) and The Village Storytelling Centre in Glasgow. Our plan for this project was to produce an 8 to 10 minute video exploring the aspirations and fears of local people from Glasgow's Inner East End with relation to the upcoming Commonwealth Games in 2014. Many of the local communities in the East End of Glasgow fall within the poorest 5-15%, according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), it is important to us to ensure local people can express their views in relation to the legacy of the games.

We interviewed people from the Inner East End with the aim of covering a range of different backgrounds and experience to express the diversity within the communities. The number of participants was kept low so the video maintains focus and the individuals are able to speak freely.

Approach
The approach to interviews was designed to stimulate free-flowing conversation, hoping to get to the heart of people's feelings about the Games and their dreams and fears for the future of their community. Each interview was conducted in an exterior location relevant to the interviewee and the issues being discussed. Interviews began by showing the subject a video clip of the announcement of the success of the Bid and the excitement of crowds in Glasgow. This "trigger" encouraged those interviewed to react to the clip and begin talking about his or her own feelings.

What Now?
The DVD will act as a ‘discussion starter’ for an event which will bring together both local people and strategic partners to sit together and discuss how people’s hopes can be realised and how their fears can be addressed.

It is hoped that further funding can be secured to re-interview some of those who participated in this DVD, alongside some new faces, as the years roll forward to 2014. This will allow us to monitor progress on the original hopes and fears as well as keep in touch with new ones which will naturally evolve as the games approach. It is also hoped that a similar exercise can be carried out after the games to measure the impact the games have made in the local area.

Directed by Peter Gerard
Interviews & Research by Julie Dawid & Peter Gerard
Camera by Leo Bruges
Editing by Andy Green
Music by Mick Cooke
Story Consultation by Rachel Smillie

2 comments:

Kevin McDonagh said...

I'm surprised that no one has commented on this video. I'd like to pass on some deserved kudos to the film and production crew. A nicely shot and informative film, nicely captures the community. Great content, would like to see more of the same if possible in future.

BellgroveBelle said...

Cheers, your comment is much appreciated!