Challenging experiences of exclusion and marginalisation: A participatory video project with Amaze and the University of Brighton

Carl Walker

This collaboration was a participatory video project that included a community psychologist from the university and parent service users from Amaze, a Brighton-based charity that supports the parents and carers of children with complex needs. Following an evaluation research project undertaken with Amaze, the group got together and set to work on a film project. Participatory video is a process whereby groups use video to document issues affecting their environment or community and is a useful tool to open communication channels locally, promote dialogue and discussion and set in motion an exchange of ideas and solutions. After initial sessions, we decided to make a film about the experiences of exclusion and marginalisation of many parents with the various professionals that they come into contact with, and how these might be changed. We held 8 morning sessions at Amaze premises to work on a short film together. Following a series of exercises through which participants learned how to use the video equipment, filmed and collectively edited, we produced a 10 minute completed film. We hope to use the completed film to promote awareness and exchange between various different target groups. The process itself was an amazing one to be have been able to be involved in. At times it was challenging as people confronted some very personal experiences but at the same time it was also a great deal of fun. Loosely using Chris Lunch’s guide for participatory video, we went through a range of exercises where people learned to use cameras, frame shots, and create film sequences, and a key learning is that it is almost impossible to do this without laughing a lot. The initial idea for the project was that it would last 8 weeks. In the end it lasted, on and off, 11 months. So, just a little longer then. Some of this was due to finding schedules that everyone could make but most of it was trying to find access to the recording studio and the editing suite as well as the inevitable difficulties of scheduling in the summer. And of course the fact that 8 weeks was horribly unrealistic in the first place.

In the end we think we created a film with a message that is strong, clear and powerful. Moreover for a group of people who had never made a film of this type together before, we are pleased with the final product. We hope now that it can be as useful as we hoped it might be when we sat down to make it. Future plans are to disseminate it as widely as possible in order to reach a wide variety of stakeholders. We hope this includes trainee medical and educational professionals as well as local decision makers and potential funders for the fantastic work that is carried out at Amaze on a day-to-day basis.

What the project did was provide a stark reminder of the vibrancy, excitement and possibilities of collaborative work between community groups, service users and academics. Everyone involved in the project brought different types of expertise, experience and capabilities that would have been absent from a group only consisting of academics. Community university projects have rich potential to produce outcomes both in the process and in the end product that far exceed the individual potential of the constituent participants. So far we now have a wide range of both interest and commitment to use the film n the training of professionals. These include professionals from a range of fields including, educating, nursing, social work, medicine, psychology and Camhs. Although it is at an early stage it appears that the film will be a useful training tool for those who work with the families of children with additional needs. Watch the film: http://youtu.be/Jjhp9GX_-E8