Behind the Scenes: Which Way is Ireland? It's My Shout: Short Films from Wales

It was a typical summer's day for 2015.

Bangor Pier in June.

It happened to be the first day of shoot for It's My Shout productions,

a film training scheme.

For the next two months, 800 trainees and mentors

would make eight short film dramas for BBC Wales and S4C.

For young people, it's an opportunity to have a taste of the industry.

Um, I'd like to get into acting, yeah, somehow.

I'm not sure if I want to go stage or...

-the TV or anything...

-Yeah.

-..but definitely acting.

The trainees are mentored by well-known actors

from the film and television industry,

and many of the young people have gone on to make their name

in film, television and the West End.

You don't need to be scared. You can go on your own.

Will Thomas believes that this experience is unique.

A growing girl like you shouldn't be afraid to stand on her own two feet.

It is sadly the only growth industry we have in Wales

and I think that it should be

encouraged as much as we can, really, you know,

'and involve young people as much as we can.'

What's the matter with you?

For the last 14 years, It's My Shout has made films

with different communities in all parts of Wales.

It also encourages new directors, producers and writers.

The author of this film, Which Way Is Ireland?,

based it on his own experience.

'This is very much based on'

my experiences with working with, um, Asperger's, autistic people,

um, and their incredible minds and the way that they see the world,

um, and I wanted to see if we... I could capture that, just in a...

'in a split second.'

Well, the thing I like about films and plays is the characters.

I like the, like, what...

how to get into their head and what makes them tick and things like that

and Charlotte's really interesting.

Well, I just try to focus on how she would feel,

like how things affect her.

Everything confuses her, so she doesn't get too emotional

about things, because she doesn't really understand them completely

and it's completely different from acting other characters.

The scheme also encourages trainees behind the camera.

For Will Thomas, it's actually performing with these trainees

that makes him enthusiastic about the future of the industry.

He can see them growing in confidence when they film.

In working this morning, she was a little bit, um...

'shy, you know.

'By the time we finished, at half-past one, two o'clock,'

she was an entirely different performer, you know.

She had sort of found her feet and come out of herself a little,

a little more, you know. It seems to have kind of

enhanced a kind of, um, or encouraged a kind of...

a confidence in them, really, you know,

a confidence in their ability, you know.

Well, it was just... It was so nice talking to them

and, like, cos they've had so much experience and it's just like I...

Not that I eavesdrop, but I can hear them talk to other people

and I'm like, "OK."

-Oh, psycho!

-GIRLS LAUGH

The standard over the years

-has actually crept up and up and up, you know.

-Yeah.

Until now, it's almost on a par with, er, with a kind of, um...

a professional outfit, really, because you've got

so many excellent mentors, you know, camera guys, lighting, sound,

you know, they're people that you've worked with professionally,

you know, and, um, they're now giving their time to, um...

to mentor these young people.

Each film takes three days to shoot

and, as well as playing the star role, Carian enjoyed

the whole experience of making Which Way Is Ireland.

I love meeting all the people and they've had so much experience

already with filming things and it's so nice learning new things and

it's just something I've never done before, it's really interesting.

QUIET CHATTER

During the first day of filming, there was a surprise for Carian.

The crew found out that she was also celebrating her 18th birthday.

# Happy birthday... #

'I didn't tell anyone really that it was my birthday,

'but my tutor told people that it was my birthday,

'so they got me a cake and everything, which was nice.'

-MAN:

-Hip, hip...

-ALL: Hooray!

-MAN:

-Hip, hip...

-ALL: Hooray!

APPLAUSE

The whole experience of working on It's My Shout will actually

stay with you for the rest of your life,

irrespective of what you do with your...your career, you know.

LAUGHTER

CHATTER ON WALKIE-TALKIE

CONVERSATION IN WELSH