LHTV the way of the future

It’s truly great to see that in this day and age, pupils at Llanishen High are given the opportunity to create their own films and TV programmes.

It was amazing to see that with very limited resources, (a lack of dedicated editing facilities), there is a growing team of resourceful and talented  students with a blend of skills who are capable of producing film-quality work.

Using access to key skills money and donations from private funding, LHTV has a huge potential to deliver not only quality programmes but an engaging and compelling introduction to the world of business management for those involved.

Indeed., having met with Bhavik Patel, Managing Director of LHTV, there is a real sense of purpose and direction (no pun intended at this point!) about  the production team.  A hunger and passion to do something which is at present outside the school curriculum.

So when you do see one of these presentations, give some thought to the work that was done behind the scenes -  the planning; drafting scripts, assembling the cast, set design, the filming; cameras, lighting and sound, post production; the editing, graphics and marketing.

So far you’re perhaps getting the idea of how much time it takes to put all this together.  I haven’t yet mentioned costumes or make-up or props. 

The fact that all of this work is done outside normal school hours makes it all the more  impressive.  It is brilliant and very reassuring, as a parent, to see that enthusiasm like this can be harnessed and encouraged by the school.

Now I’m not sure what the future holds for Bhavik, but his enthusiasm is infectious and it’s incredible to think that he runs this team of about 30 students as a 14 year old.

The whole enterprise is run like a business, as I understand it, so there is a professional edge, with responsibility and accountability in each role.  This has to be an excellent way of engaging students to understand how the ’real business world’ operates and I’m sure that as the months unfold, LHTV will demonstrate just how much they have learned. 

It would be fantastic to learn that from the experience gained at LHTV, we could find the next Steven Speilberg or Ridley Scott and why not?  Ridley may be directing huge blockbuster films such as Gladiator but it’s worth remembering that he started his career making Hovis adverts!