Revealing what a museum visit looks like from a young person’s perspective
I Can’t See It is an innovative DVD, filmed, edited and produced by young people – so you get an honest account of what a museum visit does (and doesn’t do) for them. It’s the Kids in Museums Manifesto in visual form. We hope I Can’t See It will be used by museums just as the Kids in Museums Manifesto is – as a tool to make the experience more family friendly.
The Project Manager for I Can’t See It was Sam Self. We commissioned Herbert Media, the commercial film production arm of the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum (winners of the 2010 Guardian Family Friendly Museum Award) as the production company. Then, of course, we recruited eight young people aged from 13 to 16. Hamish, Misha, Nav, Philippa, David, Harry, Libby and Claude were the real producers and managers. Here’s Sam’s diary of her seven days in Coventry working with the I Can’t See It team:
Day 1
We spent the first day getting to know one another and Simon (Herbert Media Video), Daz Wood (Herbert Media Audio) and Joe Samson (Herbert Media Volunteer) taught us the basics of film recording and sound equipment. David (below left) is getting to grips with the camera with help from Joe and then we went out to the Cathedrals and tested the equipment. The group were enthusiastic to learn about filming and presenting and enjoyed interviewing each other about their opinions. Turns out the cathedral was rather ‘boring’!
Day 2
We spent the day in the Herbert’s galleries putting our new skills in to practice. We asked the group to think about what they saw and record their likes and dislikes on film. Misha and Philippa walked around the gallery commenting on their likes (canal paraphernalia) and dislikes (Art Since 1900 gallery). Misha commented that “It’s just not right!” to one picture! When asked why, she didn’t seem to know, she just didn’t like it! (below right). I was surprised by some of their choices. That’s what happens when you put young people in control. They don’t always say or do what you expect. It’s great to have such a new perspective on a museum.
Day 3
We were shown editing techniques using the film we’d shot and this really helped us to understand how important it is to hold the mic correctly, line up shots and remember to hold the camera still. By now it was obvious who suited which role. Misha and Libby showed a natural aptitude for presenting and David and Harry were very good at the technical stuff. Claude showed promise at editing and everyone else was really enjoying themselves.
Day 4
Today the real work began as we split into two groups for the final filming. Hamish, Misha, David and Philippa made up Group A and filmed at the Coventry Transport Museum, capturing some fantastic footage. Hamish ran around with the head cam on….unfortunately he forgot to turn it on! Luckily I managed to track him down and filmed him running around trying everything and commenting. He was most upset that he couldn’t get in to any of the cars!
Day 5
Nav, Claude, Libby and Harry filmed at The Herbert today. Harry took firm control of the camera process with help from Simon. Libby and Nav enjoyed shooting their many and varied opinions of what the Herbert has to offer teens. Libby interviewed staff and Claude was a great director as he picked several interesting locations and also approached people in the museum for their views. We got lots of varied comments about the shop and cafe provisions for young people in The Herbert.
Day 6
After a well deserved weekend break (for us all!) we brought the groups back together for the editing process. Sadly Hamish couldn’t join us for this but he contributed lots of excellent footage. We retired to a hot, stuffy editing suit in The Herbert to talk about the key messages they wanted to appear in the film. They made notes of which shots they want to include, and the Herbert will refer to these when creating the final edit.
Day 7
More editing. And the group interviewed me about my involvement for a short segment to go on our web site (I’m going to be a movie star as well as a radio star – watch this space!). We also got them to discuss their thoughts and opinions about both venues together as a conclusion to the film. There were lots of fascinating insights that I wasn’t expecting but I won’t spoil the DVD by revealing them here.
You’ll be able to see the pilot of I Can’t See It soon on this website. If you’re not already on our email list, just email getintouch@kidsinmuseums.org.uk and we’ll let you know when it goes live.
