Side by Side

Life Changes Trust

  • A woman with a pink fringe smiles and looks off-screen to the right. She is wearing a peach and white striped top. A clip-on mic is visible on her t-shirt.
  • Two women hang up photos on a photo wall. The woman on the left is has long brown hair and is reaching up to add a new photo to the background wall. The woman on the right is shorter with pink hair. There is a camera in the foreground.
  • A woman with long blonde hair wearing headphones and a mask standing behind a large black camera. She is smiling.
  • A woman with shoulder length brown hair sitting in front of a wall of photos. Her hands are in her lap and she is smiling off-screen Behind her there is a wall of photos strung up with fairy lights. There is also an industrial light and cables.
  • A woman with long pink nails and blonde hair holds a photo up to the camera, hiding her face. The photo is a stock-image of people jumping. There is text on the photo that reads: Being Aspirational, a film by the Life Changes Trust.

People are experts in their own experiences. But often big decisions are left to people who don’t have real understanding of what’s needed by people on the ground

Life Changes Trust decided to change that with their Young People’s Advisory Group. This volunteer group of young people co-produced grants for care experienced young people like themselves.

So when Life Changes Trust approached us looking for a film celebrating their achievements, we decided there was no better way to tell that story than to have the young people film themselves!

Saffron, Lydia, and Jake – the stars of the film – operated the camera and sound equipment and interviewed the contributors. The final film is 17 minutes long, and covers almost every aspect of the AG’s experience. That includes the good, the bad, and the lessons they’d like to pass on. 

We split the film into five chapters covering key elements of the project with title cards drawn from the photos in the background of the interviews. The simple visual of the photo wall gave us a lot of scope for beautiful shots of teamwork and creativity. And of course, Felicia the Flamingo was the star of the show.

This film was co-produced with members of the YPAG and was made alongside a report by Matter of Focus. You can learn more about the project and the impact of co-production by clicking here.