BEHIND THE SCENES: DIGITAL NATIVES (FUNDED BY BRIGHTER SOUND)

Since January, we have been holding weekly digital content sessions as part of our Digital Natives course, funded by Brighter Sound. Over the ten week project, we invited ten people aged 13 to 25 into the Reform Radio space. Our in-house Content and Marketing team delivered sessions on the likes of social media, content creation, interview techniques, and more. Over the course of the project, our participants put the skills they were learning into practice. To draw Digital Natives to a close, they showcased their work to the group and a selection of industry professionals.

We chatted to Essence, one of our attendees, about her love of content creation and what the group got up to throughout the programme.

Introduce your name, pronouns and what you get up to in your free time.

I’m Essence A and my pronouns are she/her. I like to watch film and TV in my spare time. Following this, I love talking about it with my friends and family about its possible themes or meanings.

If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be? 

Bubbly, creative and optimistic.

What prompted you to get involved with Digital Natives?

I was prompted to get involved with Digital Natives through my placement with the Young Film Collective at HOME. Once I read more about the opportunity and what I’d learn, I immediately wanted to be a part of it.

If you could create any piece of content for yourself or an organisation, who would you want to work with and what content would you produce?

If I were to make digital content for myself, other than making film, I’d probably make a YouTube channel to talk about my favourite films or to vlog the process of me making films. I’d probably want to start a magazine of sorts too, to hold as a space for these conversations to continue. If I were to work with someone else, I’d love to work with Dazed magazine. They’re so cool and visually pleasing. Or I’d work with the film magazine Little White Lies for their unique and niche style of producing film reviews.

What’s your favourite thing about making digital content and why?

With making digital content, you’re able to be creative to the fullest extent and be true to your personal style. You can be who you want to be and reach vast audiences that relate to your unique personality or content. Possibilities are endless with digital content and that’s why I love it. 

If you could interview anyone on-screen, who would it be and why?

I would love to interview Issa Rae if I could. However, I’d love for this to be less of a journalistic interview and more of a conversation over dinner. She is an artist and industry professional that I look up to a lot in my own journey to creating film and TV. I feel like it would be not only a fun time because she’s a funny person, but I’d learn a lot from her many years of experience.

Let’s throw it back to your first day at Reform on the Digital Natives course versus now. Tell us a bit about your first impressions, feelings and emotions in comparison to how you feel now. What has changed?

I didn’t really know what to expect from the first Digital Natives meeting, but I knew it would surround social media content and developing those skills. I feel like I achieved that assumption and learnt more about shooting content, cameras and editing too. Also, I know more about what works and digital trends, and how to work effectively as a team. 

What will you take from Digital Natives moving forward & what are your plans from here onwards?

I’m taking the editing and social media filming tips from this course, using them in future projects and possibly the start of my YouTube channel. I plan on making content, writing film and hopefully directing more in the future.

To find out more about our future projects, reach out to our Engagement team at projects@reformradio.co.uk.