Young film buffs put in the picture

Apr 11 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal

YOUNG movie makers at a Northumberland school were given a unique insight into the acting and technical skills needed to produce hit TV police show The Bill in a link-up with two industry experts yesterday.

Students at Ashington High School’s Film Club have come in from their Easter holidays to attend a special two-day workshop run by professional actor Ryan Philpott and experienced TV director Nigel Payne.

Ryan has appeared in popular TV shows including The Bill, Rosemary and Thyme and EastEnders while Nigel has directed TV programmes for 25 years, and recently worked as a unit director on The Bill.

Over the past two days they have worked with the Ashington students in sessions aimed at developing the youngsters’ acting and directing skills in preparation for them shooting their own Dr Who-style sci-fi film in a few weeks’ time. The Film Club members have been using a script from a recent episode of The Bill as the basis for the workshops, in which Ryan and Nigel have been showing them how things are done on the actual production set of the Sun Hill drama.

Yesterday the budding Ashington film makers were joined by 20 other students from across Europe who are visiting Wansbeck as part of an Arts Council award project.

Paul Wright, an ICT teacher who set up the school’s Film Club three years ago, said yesterday: “The opportunity to get Ryan and Nigel in came up and we thought it would be a terrific learning curve for the students to have them shown the ropes by real professionals before they make their own film.

“Two years ago members of our Film Club shot an Agatha Christie film and last year it was a Dr Who movie involving the Daleks. In three weeks time the latest members of the club will be starting work on the next film. These workshops have breathed new life into our club.”