Waste aware movie, ‘Ronnie Rubbish’, premiers at Portree High
The world premiere of the movie made by Highland Council Film Competition winners, Portree High School will take place at The Venue in the High School on Thursday 20th January at 7.00pm. The film will be included in a showcase of recycling projects which the school have been running over the past year. These include paper/bottle recycling, bike recycling, compost manufacture and an eco greenhouse constructed from recycled plastic bottles.
The competition, which was run by the Highland Council Waste Awareness Team last summer, was open to schools and youth groups for young people in the age range 11-16. The brief was to write a script for a short film to raise awareness of the problem of waste in the Highlands. The prize was the opportunity to make their film with a professional film producer. The film is to be used to promote greater waste awareness throughout The Highland Council area.
The winning Portree High School entry was for an animated movie about a character called Ronnie Rubbish who fly-tips, with terrible consequences for the whole community, but who eventually comes to see the error of his ways and becomes a committed recycler.
The film group, known as Room 122 (because they are based in room 122 at the school) are led by pupil support teacher, Greg Dobson. Over the past six months the group has been working with film producer, John McGeoch, of Evanton based Arts in Motion. The group have constructed all the models and props used in the production which last about 12 minutes. The models used in the production will be on display at the Premier and a short documentary on the making of the movie, also filmed by pupils at the High School, will also be shown. There will be musical interludes by pupils from the school bands who provided music for the film soundtrack.
Earlier in the day the film will be previewed to councillors at the TECS Committee meeting in the Council Chamber, Inverness where it is hoped to have a live video link-up to pupils involved in its production.
Councillor John Laing, Chairman of the TECS Committee said: “I was delighted when I heard that Portree High School had won the competition and would have the opportunity to work with a professional film maker. In my role as Chairman I have been lucky to have been involved in a number of projects featuring young people and it always amazes me how creative and hard working they are. They seem to thrive when they are given the chance to learn new skills and I never fail to be impressed with the good ideas they come up with. Getting the Recycling message across to everyone is vital if we are to reduce the amount of waste that currently ends up in landfill sites. I am sure the film will prove to be a great way of doing this to audiences across the whole Highlands in a new and entertaining way.”
On Friday 21st, during the school day, further showings of the movie and documentary will be held at the Venue for pupils at the High School and Portree and MacDiarmid Primary Schools. The film will later be taken out to other schools in the Highlands. It will also be shown at Highland Council Service Points and libraries and it is hoped to arrange some viewings at local cinemas to enable others to enjoy the ‘big screen’ experience.
Deputy Head Teacher Ken MacDonald who is line manager to the SEBD unit based in room 122 said “The animation project allowed us to expand on the animation skills already being utilised in the base, and the input from John McGeoch was invaluable. The project has expanded our capabilities and due to the hard work of all pupils and staff involved we have a very professional film and documentary. Everyone involved in the film has been included as a character in the film and all voices and music are produced by pupils/staff giving it a unique twist. The message of recycling is reinforced throughout the film and it’s done in a medium which youngsters appreciate and understand. The showcase event will highlight all the recycling initiatives been undertaken at Portree High School and give us a platform to show parents and friends what the pupils and staff have achieved so far.”