Education and Workshops
Sessions and workshops that make filmmaking accessible, explorative and fun.
With experience across a range of establishments and settings, one of the areas I value most in my work is the devising and delivery of educational sessions and workshops.
I strive to teach more than point and shoot. Cinematic storytelling is invaluable, and it is best explored in a practical, personal and creative way. Whether I am working with children, teenagers or adults - the same ethos applies:
To teach cinematic language, and give a platform to communicate using that language. To use methods of production to tell stories. To ease away from inhibition and build an environment in which filmmaking can be used as a tool in complete openness and honesty. Whether it is a film about an alien or a documentary about politics - every student and every story deserves a sense of agency and confidence in using film as a medium of expression.
I am available for the devising and/or delivery of sessions, lessons and workshops centred around filmmaking and visual storytelling. Each session is built with unique intentions and activities to meet the demands of the project and the students involved.
The key to these sessions is quite simple, really: I strive to put filmmaking in the hands of the students, and to inspire confidence, openness and enjoyment.
Recent delivery:
.png)
.png){kind=small}
Speak Up: A National Theatre project w/ The Lowry Theatre
Role: Speak Up Artist - Filmmaking and Cinematic Language
Date: February 2023 - Ongoing
Responsibility: Speak Up is a project designed to give students an artistic, creative platform to project the things that they believe need to be heard. My role, as a freelance Speak Up artist, is to devise and deliver filmmaking workshops in numerous Greater Manchester schools, supporting students through the filmmaking process with the endpoint of unique, original films being produced. I have so far worked in five Greater Manchester schools, and look forward to continuing on with Speak Up in the new academic year.
.jpg)
PQA Chester
Role: Film and TV Teacher
Date: March 2022 - Ongoing
Responsibility: Weekly devising and delivery of 6x filmmaking sessions for an average of 140 students between the ages of 6-18 years old. Exploration of all areas of production and regular screenings of completed work. Always putting the creative power and responsibility in the (very, very capable) hands of the students!
.png)
Factory Academy: Broadcast and Film Production B-Tec
Role: Course Tutor / Facilitator
Date: November - December 2022
Responsibility: 5 weeks of devising and delivery of Factor Academy's Broadcast and Film Production course, as part of Manchester International Festival. Full time schedule for 5 weeks, with sessions divided between in-person and online. Wide exploration of all areas of film production, leading towards final student projects and submissions. Students between the ages of 19-30.
Kirklees Youth Alliance: Summer Blast 2022
Role: Filmmaking session devising and delivery
Date: August 2022
Responsibility: 2 weeks devising and delivering drop-in filmmaking sessions for the students of Kirklees Youth Alliance's Summer Blast project. Led fun, engaging snapshot sessions to allow students to explore filmmaking and produce numerous film projects.
"Tom is a fantastic filmmaker, storyteller, and teacher. His energy and enthusiasm for film and storytelling are clear in all of Tom's lessons. The detail and time he takes to ensure every student is engaged and enjoying it is second to none."
Jenny Berrisford, Principal of PQA Chester.
