The aim of DYF is to encourage creative filmwork by students, to enhance the quality of student’s work and to guide and support students through the whole filmmaking process.

In early years DYF supported various student led projects which culminated in various productions for the Poetry/Image/Film project. Students were involved in all aspects including, filming, on screen presentation, and editing. Support was also provided for a range of whole class productions for Devon’s Day at the Dome. Here 15 schools across the county produced a film short about “Our Town Story”. Which were included as part of the multimedia experience that Devon LEA provided at the Millenium dome.

In later years DYF has concentrated on providing a more specific quality support for students own creative ideas by supporting the Scriptwriting Summer School. The summer school provides not only practical support in the planning and scripting stages but also professional technical support throughout the technical stages of filming and editing. It provides hands - on access to professional filming and editing equipment that the students will not find at school level. This allows students to expand their practical technical knowledge. Also the support provides the valuable technical experience of professional staff who advise and teach in the use of this equipment, whilst allowing the students to get the benefit of actually handling this equipment, in a real filming environment.

Productions from the 2003 DYF Screenwriting summer school include "Head Over Heels" which was written and directed by Paisley Rendell of Great Torrington School and "Forgetting" - written and directed by Ella Brookes from Clyst Vale Community College. For the 2004 season Joanne Richards from Exeter University has completed "A Daughter's Destiny", whilst Isabel Rhodes is working on a piece reflecting on the problems of growing up in a rural village. Former student Ella Brookes is also completing another production called "Cut while shaving".

Devon Youth Film script writing summer school

The script writing summer school gives talented students the opportunity to develop a simple idea into a 5 minute screenplay to professional standards.

Students from around the county are asked to submit a half page synopsis of an idea for a short film. The most promising nine ideas are chosen and the students invited to a summer school at the DMEC.

Over two days the students attend an intensive workshop in which they study short film, share ideas with each other, use drama techniques and benefit from individual tuition. They return five days later with a first draft for a screenplay. These are given a dramatic reading (with the other writers as actors) and each screenplay is individually discussed. The final draft is written over the following ten days and submitted. Two screenplays are chosen and these then enter pre-production for the nine month process of producing the two DYF short films.

We know of no other course in the country which offers young people such intensive script development leading to film production. Certainly the feedback we have received from those who have benefited from DYF has suggested that this is a tremendous opportunity, which we hope will continue to move forward with energy and enthusiasm.

DYF Animation

An additional strand of DYF focuses on animation. In part it links with the Exeter Animation Festival. Annually Roger Crompton runs 5 one day animation workshops with a Festival tutor, Dave Johnstone. These provide 5 different Devon schools with the opportunity to devise and record their own 10 second “countdown” sequences which are used before film screenings at the Festival. Other groups come in on an occasional basis during the rest of the year to work with Roger producing their own animations. Particularly successful were two animations from last year (Tiverton High and QECC) based on the work of William Kentridge who has been involved in the Crossings project.

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This video clip is an example of work made by students of South Dartmoor College that explores William Blake's poem.