Services
	Overview We offer 6 week placements for Pre-Neet individuals (Not in Employment, Education or Training) and whom may be excluded from mainstream education due to a number of factors. During their placement members will take part in a variety of activities specially structured to maximise interaction.  Through the use of computers for audio and video editing they will obtain additional IT skills.  The Drama workshops in particular should help develop communicative skills and boost self confidence. The experience in a whole should promote a feeling of self confidence and belief within the individual, we believe the impact of this will give noticeable improvement on behaviour and social interaction.

In Depth

Digital Music Workshop

The digital music workshops would closely tie in and relate to the song creation, scriptwriting and video workshops in order
to produce an overall cohesive and creative experience for participants with a tangible outcome which can taken away in
CD and DVD form.

For the workshops we will be using Sony Acid 6 software which is a P.C. based digital audio recording and editing package.
The advantage of this particular piece of software is that it can utilise pre-recorded samples as loops which can be dropped
into the mixing window within the software and manipulated. The software is easy to use and to get the grips with the basics
takes only a 10-15 minute tutorial session. Participants could work alone or in pairs (using headphone splitters, which allow
two sets of headphones for one computer).
Using this someone with no experience of playing an instrument can build up a track using drum, bass, guitar, keyboard
samples and so on. Not only this but the software allows participants to record, edit and loop their own voices or playing
which could be as basic as using percussion or simple riffs played on guitar, bass or keyboard.

The resulting music created can be incorporated into the video footage as part of the soundtrack. Participants could read
over the script or initial footage taken based on the script writing workshop and could try to tailor music to fit with a
particular theme or emotion expressed within the scenes.


The workshop would be an hour and a half long with a ten minute break midway. The length of time for each session would
allow participants to get a basic grasp of the software and be creative with it but is short enough to prevent them being
bored or feeling uncomfortable using headphones for an extended period of time.



Video Production Workshop

The video production workshops would relate to and tie in with the song creation, digital music, and drama &
communication workshops. This is in order to be able to produce an overall cohesive and creative experience for
participants with a tangible outcome which can then be taken away in CD and DVD form. This also gives the participant a
goal to work towards, and is reward for efforts.

There are various levels of camera available for the workshops with participants beginning with the most basic video
camera, progressing to a point where using the more advanced professional cameras would be an option, depending on
completion  of the early stages of the workshop, and reaching the level of skill needed to operate such cameras. This level
will be very achievable for participants through good attendance and hard work. We want someone with no video
production experience at all, to be able to come to the workshop and leave with a good base knowledge of the subject, and
realise they are capable of learning new skills if they apply themselves properly. A tutorial would be required to
demonstrate the proper and safe way to use and operate video cameras, to teach the basic techniques of video recording,
and to talk about how you go about planning, preparing and recording a video sequence. The sequence produced by a
participant can be incorporated into the digital music workshop, as the music could provide the soundtrack for the video
sequence, the drama & communication workshop could have helped provide the script or theme for the video sequence to
follow, and the song could have been written in the song creation workshop. So again, the design of the workshops is to be
able to tie them in with each other.

VIDEO PRODUCTION WORKSHOP – BASIC SKILLS TO LEARN
•        Know the basic techniques of video recording
•        Operate video and related equipment
•        Plan, prepare & record a video sequence
•        Comply with regulations & procedures & use safe working practises specified for equipment & work areas



Drama & Communication Workshop

The communication and drama workshops will tie in with the video production as the individuals involved in Get Connected
will perform the skills that they have learned in the communication and drama workshops.  The desired outcome of the
drama and communication workshops is too install a sense of belonging within the individuals involved.  It is important to
give the individuals some essential communication skills through the drama workshops.

For the workshops will use ice breaking games, concentration exercises, memory games and scripted workshops with the
students.  All of these should be great fun, they should teach the individuals to work as part of a team with confidence.

The end product of these workshops will involve scripted work (idea and script work written by the students) performed to
the camera.  Camera work can often seem quite intimidating, but through the increased self confidence this workshop will
provide, after a few sessions participants should have no concerns.



Song Creation Workshop

Like the Digital Music Workshop, we will be working with just six pupils at one time. If the group is too big then the feeling of
the lecture would become too impersonal. The most important factor of this module would to be to keep the pupils
interested in a creative capacity. The general essence of the lecture would be me, the lecturer sat at the front with a guitar
in my hand cajoling the pupils into throwing ideas at me.

The first decision to be made would be to use a major or minor scale and this would usually depend on the subject matter.
For example, if one of the pupils proposed we write a song about the troubles in Iraq, then I would suggest a minor key. If a
pupil proposed a song about Christmas say, then I would suggest a major key. During the next hour or so, I would be
encouraging the class to come up with lyrics for the composition. By the end of each class we would have the general
nucleus of a song with lyrics attributed to all the pupils. Each individual member of the class would go home knowing they
had contributed to the making of a composition and therefore have a better understanding of the make-up of a song.