Dunfermline PSYV Secure Over £32,000 in Funding for Filmmaking Programme
Police in Dunfermline have secured more than £32,000 in funding to help youth volunteers undertake a year-long screen education programme.
The project will see the Dunfermline Police Scotland Youth Volunteers develop a range of filmmaking skills to generate content on criminal, social and wellbeing issues affecting diverse communities.
In total, 20 young people aged between 13 and 18 are involved
Practical workshops, led by creative professionals, began in January 2023, enable young people to explore and learn essential skills in film production, collaborating with specialists, peers and those with protected characteristics
The main objective for the programme is to deliver a screen education programme that will allow young people to develop their own creative voice and learn technical approaches to filmmaking.
Dunfermline PSYV Co-Ordinator, PC Scott Morgan explored various funding options for the project in late 2022 and as a result of positive discussions with a number of organisations, £32,398 was secured.
Screen Scotland provided £16,278 to finance the creative education package as well as paying for local filmmaker Adam Stanley to help mentor the participants in the filmmaking process.
Fife Council Dunfermline Area Committee gave £7,000, while the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust and Cashback for Communities both donated £4,560 towards the purchase of equipment for the project.
Fife College has also supported the programme by enrolling all youth volunteers as part-time students providing accredited learning opportunities and free use of their Media Space facility at the Halbeath Campus on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. This has given the young filmmakers access to ICT equipment and editing software to make professional looking content.
All of the finished content will initially be published on the PSYV social media pages, with opportunities to establish a designated YouTube channel being explored for future content.
PC Scott Morgan said: “The decision to get this project off the ground was to allow our PSYV members to collaborate with other peers and groups impacted by various social themes to generate film content that is relevant, relatable and shareable.
“Creative practitioners will offer the participants step-by-step professional instruction to nurture their creativity whilst enhancing their filmmaking craft and research skills across pre-production, production and post-production.
“Practical workshops will form the primary engagement and learning experience offered to the PSYV, who will learn about the creative aspects of filmmaking.
“Although some films we have or will create target a certain demographic, our young filmmakers will widen their reach by promoting their safety messages and associated support provisions through volunteering and proactive broadcasts to the public via social media, school talks, community safety stalls, targeted closed groups and existing partnership networks.
“None of this would have been possible without the vital funding we have received from Screen Scotland, Fife Council Dunfermline Area Committee, the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust and Cashback for Communities. Their generous donations have helped us secure all the specialist equipment we require, as well as the mentoring support of Adam Stanley.
“I am also grateful to Fife College for the use of their media suite, which ensures the post-production process is executed to the highest standard.”
Councillor James Calder, Convener of the City of Dunfermline Area Committee, said “We were only too pleased to be able to support this project which is ensuring more young people are contributing to the community.
“It's providing the community with a fantastic and diverse portfolio of video material, local to the area. Once experienced we hope they’ll be able to offer their film production capabilities to other local groups, charities, agencies, and event organisers."
