Since our recent delivery of the Compass Point resources we devised, over 600 local children have been busily engaged with the past, present and future of Bude Storm Tower. This only left one piece of the jigsaw to complete… the film telling the story of the Storm Tower, as seen through the eyes of a group of Year 8 students from Budehaven school. We wanted this story to be told in a fun and imaginative way, so we enlisted a group of students as puppeteers and scriptwriters. We’re delighted to share what was produced…
Puppets and creative writing
Students had already worked with our resources as part of their Geography module on coastlines and were keen to bring their knowledge to create a film for their community. We introduced them to the simple rod puppets we had used in previous schools when exploring heritage stories and they created some wild and wonderful versions of the characters pivotal to the history of the Storm Tower. The scriptwriters were helped along with templates, telling the story through a variety of voices. These included George Wightwick the architect, labourers dismantling the first tower and a coastguard who would have used the building as a lookout.
Filming and performance
We just about managed to accommodate the puppeteers as they crouched behind our makeshift stage and performed against the backdrop we had created. Quite a difficult task considering they couldn’t see anything and had to be guided solely by the voices they could hear! They coped magnificently and managed to make sense of the stage markings we had positioned before the day, when we ourselves had practised being puppeteers amidst such laughter.
All students had the opportunity to contribute to the voices that accompanied the puppets and we had some hilarious dialects and conversations despite the many ‘takes’ involved. Sound effects for each scene were plentiful and wholehearted, backed up by musical instruments and found objects which added a depth of atmosphere to the storytelling.
It was a great day and children should be very proud of all their efforts. We hope that this film will engage future generations in their local heritage and celebrate Bude Storm Tower in its new position. The film will be featured on the school website and any future exhibitions as part of the Compass Point Project.
