I had hoped to produce an extensive and exhaustive blog post on this project but I just don’t have enough time. Something shorter will have to suffice for now.
Main thought: I love this project.
I worked for many years as an RE teacher and this project reflects a number core-convictions that I had developed over that time. The Religious Education Council of England and Wales asked me to create a short film based on their research that would provide an accessible hook into deeper material that they had produced. Similar to the approach I took with Emma’s story, I spent time interviewing people close to the subject material and then forming something that sought to convey the essence of their perspective in an inviting way. When Professor Trevor Cooling officially launched this piece at the Strictly RE conference (at the end of January 2022) I was so happy with the response from delegates. The REC official page can be found here.
The paradigm shift represented in this film feels really important to me - throughout my time as an RE teacher I sought to try and find examples of real people and help students to form authentic and compassionate responses as I attempted to model it myself. Everything I love about cultural engagement seems to eventually find its way back to this idea of exploring small and personally meaningful details with an open-minded sense of curiosity.
From a design perspective this project enabled me to develop my skills with infographic explainer videos. What you see is a combination of iPad screen capture, Final Cut Pro, Motion and Clip Studio Paint. What you don’t see are years of teaching experience filtered through the many members of the team that produced this - but whether you see it or not is immaterial - I think most people can feel it.