Working with the Community
The DFMC team includes several people highly experienced in making films about, for and with children and young people, for charities, education establishments and youth projects and/or running workshops for young people in video making and other life-enriching activities. Some of our team members have worked for several years with young people in other fields such as sport and young peoples' political participation. Please click here to read our Child Protection Policy.

If you are an organisation, charity or educational body and would like to find out how we can help you make a film with or about children or young people, we would be happy to hear from you. You can contact us by clicking here.  
Massi Guelfi and Andrea Farnochhia worked with Mediathirsty at the Anna Fiorentini Theatre & Film School on this project for children.
Hackney Downs Studios and The Russet Café walked in and asked Massi Guelfi and Andrea Farnocchia to join them and work with children to create a 3 min promo for their project “The Wall”. Shot on Canon 5D Mark II, edited in FCP and graded in FCP and Apple Color.



Video Workshops 

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The DFMC's workshops assist people in the community make their own videos and find channels for bringing their videos to audiences through TV, online, and social media. We customize and adapt our workshop methodologies and curriculum according to the particular needs of different organisations who share our values and principles. We are particularly interested in running our workshops in collaboration with schools, universities, Pupil Referral Units, community groups and centres, NEET projects, museums, and Arts Centres. The workshops are designed to help people gain confidence, develop their artistic talents, produce high-quality video products and to engage effectively with new, interactive media platforms. The workshops are absorbing and exciting. They transport participants into the heart of the video-making process. 


Participants get a chance to produce creative videos about their lives, their communities and the wider world they live in. The workshops provide them with a memorable experience and outcomes they will feel proud of. 

Mentoring forms an integral part of our workshops. The mentoring we provide ensures teenagers and young adults who may lack parental support, school support, and the extra-curricular opportunities, get extra help to channel their creativity and thoughts into re-affirmative learning and to develop their communication skills. 

   What we offer
We offer a 6-day intensive Participatory Video Workshop Programme for secondary schools and youth centres as well as full and half day practical, mentored workshops in community video.
Short Workshops

In the shorter workshops, the participants are guided to develop their own projects and ideas which are then videoed by the DFMC and edited into a final video for them. We offer an extension workshop to train the participants to put their films on-line and develop their presentation by adding links, maps, comments, Twitter feeds and more to them. 

Longer Workshops

The longer workshops train and mentor groups of participants through the process of developing a documentary storyboard and turning it into a video. The extra time gives participants fuller control over what to include in the final video(s), and, depending on the facilities, we teach them basic editing skills to edit their own videos. We also train the participants how to post their videos online and make them as interactive as possible. 

We carefully structure our workshops around the prior experience and special interests of participants to include:
  • working methods that stimulate teamwork, interaction and reflection

  • easy to follow instruction on how to record moving images and sound

  • the fundamentals of good digital story telling; choosing themes, developing mood boards, looking at how people are portrayed and the use of language

  • ethical considerations on working within the community

  • mentors who help individual participants articulate their ideas and assist them grasp technical knowledge to help them build up skills and confidence

  • providing a safe environment and friendly atmosphere

  • assistance with reaching out to community members to participate in interviews and film shoots. 

  • providing each participant with a DVD of the final video product(s).

  • discussing ways to use video for advocacy with partners to address challenges identified.

  • organise an end-of-program community screening and other avenues for sharing the video(s) and messages with a wider audience.

Depending on the profile of participants, their past experience and objectives, we may limit the number of people enrolling on a workshop/course to maximise the personal attention we give participants. We also advise on the thematic scope of a workshop to make sure it is fully 'doable'. 

To find out more or make a booking, please get in touch via our contact page. We will reply to all enquiries within two working days. 


Please contact us vis our Contact Page to find out more about our community outreach, or to discuss how
 we can tailor a workshop to meet your requirements and budget.