SUMMER SCHOOLS / EDUCATIONAL DOCUMENTARY


The Mirror Circus Film Course has been designed exclusively to facilitate special needs students, but as demonstrated by the initial summer school projects, students of all abilities can benefit from the experience.
The course can be tailored for a variety of abilities whilst achieving the same positive results.

The Mirror Circus have produced several educational films for various summer school projects, autistic schools, Saturday school and other extra curriculum based workshops. They also produce Academic based Films where the students use the classroom as a film studio, presenting the idea as opposed to writing it in a text book. The Mirror Circus have found that this method can often inspire a renewed approach to learning difficult subjects.

The Mirror Circus staff have acquired a vast amount of experience working with special needs students they have developed a good balance between sensitivity, compassion and firmness. These qualities are put too good use when producing films which aim to educate, in the actually process of making the films, as well as at the viewing stage.



BENEFITS


A project based on the Rainbow Centre in west London was particularly successfully as a tool for training purposes, as the film highlights the special relationship that the staff had developed with the children.
The summer schools film have also inspired other students to realise that there is a wide range of exciting opportunities to be taken advantage of on the summer schools.
Seeing is believing and with these films the viewer is shown the excitement, warmth and “good-times” enjoyed by the participants of the activities.
The Saturday schools were able to display the varied activities on offer as we filmed the stuents in mask making, screen painting, basketball, etc



ACADEMIC BASED FILMS


Similar to these out of school activities, CURRICULUM-RELATED PROGRAMME are also a great way of helping students break through the eduction barrier in different ways.

The filming of a classroom related subject like maths or history is sometimes a more convenient way of simulating the special needs student to think more about freely about the subject matter and the implications of that subject.
By making a film production of say the 1940’s, the students can assemble cutting, website information, classroom notes, video footage, all as materiel for the camera.

The Mirror Circus films can inspire a renewed approach to learning difficult subjects.
By challenging the students to share their understanding of a subject through presenting it to the camera, they can relate to learning from a new perspective- For example, creating narrative sketches to explore the subject in an imaginative/ humorous way.
For example a commercial film on Nike or Adidas training shoes, complete with music and graphics can incorporate an understanding of the Nike production philosophy of aerodynamics.
At this stage the teachers could teach the student about aerodynamics in general because the students mind is now stimulated and receptive.

After finally creating title graphics for a film, the students will have produced a programme - fun to make, fun to watch and with knowledge assimilated - giving a sense of pride and achievement within the world of learning.

We suggest the first film be based on personal experience and interests. This helps to develop confidence with the new medium and a sense of responsibility and purpose, to take them onto the more complex and curriculum-based films.