Interviewee – Rachel. Student, Acting [course title] (SPEAKING)
Music – A soft, uplifting acoustic guitar melody with a soft string accompaniment plays.
Scenery – The camera pans across a learner speaking expressively to an off-screen audience with his right hand raised. He wears a black puffer jacket, glasses and has a rich tanned complexion and type 3 brown hair with short sides. The camera flashes to a row of three learners on a dark stage; they wear white Venetian full-face masks. The camera cuts to a learner sitting in a chair on stage. Holding a drink in his left hand, he stands and shouts to a learner next to him before they shakes hands forcefully. The camera cuts to a learner sitting on stage. He wears thick-framed black glasses and looks down in sadness as a learner walks towards him determinedly and stops. The camera cuts to a student with pale, rosy skin, dark blonde, type 2 hair and braces. She sits slightly adjacent to the camera and softly smiles as she speaks.
Speaker: Rachel – “I’m Rachel, and I’m studying Acting at Leeds City College…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to Rachel performing on stage with a partner. They sit on the floor with their backs against each other and slowly push themselves closer. Rachel leans and turns to her right, peering around her co-actress nervously. They look around each other before standing. The camera cuts back to Rachel, and she speaks with a subtle Yorkshire Accent.
Music – The instrumental continues.
Speaker: Rachel – “I decided to study at Leeds City College because I liked the equipment and the rooms that they had, and I liked how it was a whole new space. It’d only recently been built, so everything was brand spanking new, and it looked really clean and really nice…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to a theatre suite. A group of learners wearing black T-shirts and tops stand apart. In the centre of the group, two learners speak to each other; one tucks her hair behind her ear. The camera cuts to show two learners sitting on the floor cross legged, frozen in a moment of deep conversation. Another two learners come into view; one moves and freezes into a position as if leaning on a counter; the other looks at him disconcertingly. The camera cuts to a close-up of two students rehearsing an argument. To the right, a learner with a fair, warm complexion and short brown hair speaks aggressively with his hand raised, making pointing gestures towards his partner. She has long dark blonde hair, fair skin and points her finger upwards at him while looking indignant. The camera cuts to the same two actors, now performing on stage in costume. With their faces close to each other, she stares into his eyes before walking off in disgust.
Music – A gentle kick drum adds to the uplifting instrumental.
Speaker: Rachel – “Well, what stood out about this course was the fact that they did loads of different types of acting. It wasn’t just natural or screen or theatre- they did every type, and they also looked at scriptwriting, which is something that I’m interested in. So it covered all bases that I was interested in…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to a dark stage. In the foreground, a learner wearing a white full-face mask holds up a white sign. A group of learners wearing white face masks kneel in front of her. Four maskless students stand between them looking at an off-screen audience. The camera cuts to a front view of the same group to show the masked learners holding two large signs that read “GUILTY” in black text. The camera cuts to two students sitting cross-legged. To the right, a learner with fair, pink-toned skin and brown hair with a fringe looks fondly at the learner to her right. He has warm olive-tanned skin, a short brown beard and a side-swept fringe. He speaks expressively, looking in the distance as she breaks into a smile. The camera cuts to a learner in a rehearsal suite, performing an intense conversation with a partner while a tutor observes.
Music – Toms and hi-hats add vibrance to the instrumental.
Speaker: Rachel – “What I’ve enjoyed the most is definitely the performances and being able to put together so many different pieces from so many different stimuli…”
Scenery – The camera pans across a circle of learners facing each other. They lean in as a learner with short brown hair speaks in heated discussion to a learner opposite them. The camera cuts to a close-up of a learner with deep, tanned skin and black hair in a low ponytail. He lifts his head back and, with a pained expression, deeply exhales before looking down. The camera cuts to a group of learners wearing all black and standing in position. A learner wearing a trench coat darts across the middle and kneels, mimicking shooting a machine gun. The learners all shake and convulse while standing, and two slyly smile. A row of learners stand to the side and watch.
Music – The uplifting instrumental continues.
Speaker: Rachel – “It’s… you get to work on so many different things and so many different topics and cover literally everything in chu-such a short amount of time…”
Scenery – Cut to a theatre suite with students frozen in scene, focused on a brown-haired student with a warm fair complexion standing as if leaning against a bar. The camera cuts and pans across two learners performing on a pink-lit stage with a large screen behind and text that reads “LOVESTRUCK”. A learner with blonde hair speaks while gesturing her hands in a blasé manner to someone off-screen. To her left, a learner looks at her, unimpressed. A third student comes into frame; she has a hand on her hip and smirks. The camera cuts back to Rachel speaking in a pale grey room. There’s a monitor screen in the background.
Music – The instrumental continues. A bass guitar joins.
Speaker: Rachel – “I mean, I only got here in September, and I’ve already covered, like, every topic you could probably think of within this little one, and it’s… yeah, it’s good…”
Scenery – Cut to a close-up of a student with a fair complexion and long brown hair partly covering her face. She holds her right hand over her mouth and cries. A learner with a deep, tanned complexion, glasses and long brown hair sits beside her and looks at her in deep concern. To her left, a learner sits while resting her face on her hand, looking behind in disinterest. They then break out of character, lean back and smile together excitedly. The camera cuts to a learner holding her hands to her face. Her fingers and thumbs are pinched and she appears to be deep in explanation.
Music – The uplifting instrumental continues.
Speaker: Rachel – “So, equipment’s great. The studios are brand new, and they’re really clean, and they’re big, so you don’t feel cramped at all. My group’s quite big, but we never feel like we’re stepping on each other’s toes…”
Scenery – Cut to a spotlit stage with two learners stood speaking to an off-screen audience. A learner with red hair wears a T-shirt that reads “No.1 fan” and gestures enthusiastically towards her co-actor, who stands beside her in a black suit, holding presenter prompt cards. A large screen behind them shows an image of the suit-wearing learner and reads “The Man who Knows Everything”. Two learners stand in front of the screen with their arms crossed, wearing all black and sunglasses like security guards. The camera cuts to the suited learner; he waves his arms as if shooing while a peer is dragged towards the back of the stage by the security duo. The camera cuts to a different angle of the same performance, panning down a row of kneeling learners. A second row stands behind them, and they all wear black clothing and white Venetian face masks
Music – The instrumental continues.
Speaker: Rachel – “I, erm, I know that a few people have been able to borrow Chromebooks from college. I don’t personally because I already have one, but I know that it’s really helpful for them to be able to do their work at home. So especially with the current pandemic, it’s great because they’re not having to be in college all the time. They can do it from home and be safe…”
Scenery – The camera pans across a stage performance. Frozen in scene, couples stand in loving positions. In the centre, three learners sit and look serious as another learner walks in front. The camera cuts to a previously described learner with a short brown beard; he stands and talks with deep emotion to an off-screen camera. The camera cuts to a dark blue-lit stage performance. A circle of students reel back then lean forward while pointing at each other in an argument. A learner stands in the middle with arms outspread. The camera cuts back to the performance with “Lovestruck” on a screen. A learner enthusiastically spins an unengaged partner around and dances in glee as three others look on, amused. The camera cuts to a spotlit stage, with a learner sitting on the floor mimicking playing a game. He leaps up and scrambles away as another learner holds his hands out to show something.
Music – All instruments drop out except for guitars.
Speaker: Rachel – “So, the tutors are great for a number of reasons. They’re casual, they don’t-you don’t feel like you’re being forced to do anything that’s uncomfortable…”
Scenery – Cut to a stage with three learners sitting on a grey sofa. The middle learner condescendingly looks at the learner to her left, who wears glasses and a white T-shirt. A learner approaches them from behind, walking quickly and with determination. The camera cuts to the same performance; the learner in the white T-shirt comforts the middle learner as she cries and looks at a piece of paper. A learner wearing a grey shirt and flat cap approaches the sofa and speaks. The camera cuts back to Rachel.
Music – The instrumental continues, joined by a simple kick drum.
Speaker: Rachel – “They’re not strict, they’ll have a laugh with you- if you want to, and the-they know how to get stuff done when they need to if we’re on a bit of a time crunch…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to a dark stage. A learner wearing a pink apron kneels and sprays a cleaning product on the floor before scrubbing it. The camera zooms out from an audience’s perspective, showing the backs of people’s heads. The learner wearing the pink apron raises his finger and talks angrily to another. The camera cuts to a student with a fair complexion, wearing a grey shirt and flat cap; he peels a potato and looks wistfully into the distance while speaking. Next to him, a learner with a fair complexion and wearing a polka dot apron looks down and smiles softly before turning to him. The camera cuts to a wider view of the performance; two men talk in a scene to the left and three women sit on a sofa in another scene to the right.
Music – The uplifting instrumental returns with added percussion and guitars.
Speaker: Rachel – “But they also know how to be-have a bit of fun and not fa-put pressure on you and…they’re-they’re great. They’re always there to give you information if you need it for at-home tasks. And they’re always on Google hangouts to message you if you need anything, and they get back to you really quickly… so they’re great…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to a dark stage. A learner with brown wavy hair and glasses speaks passionately as another stands with his arms on his hips and an indignant expression. The camera cuts to a spotlit stage; a seated learner in a red basketball vest leans back and uses a remote as a learner approaches him with a can. He speaks and raises his hands to make a “two” sign. The camera cuts to a learner in a trenchcoat kicking someone on the floor, as a learner being held by the person in the basketball vest looks on in horror before being thrown to the ground. The camera cuts to a group sitting around a table looking upset, as a learner with a painted black eye speaks to an off-screen audience. The camera cuts to a student crouching and sadly looking into the distance. Three learners stand behind him; one stands to the side, looking upset.
Music – The full band, uplifting instrumental returns.
Speaker: Rachel – “Well, I have a huge passion for acting as it is, and before, erm, I came to college, I was primarily looking at screen acting, which is a lot more naturalistic, and you don’t really get to experiment much with different, like, types of movement and things…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to the theatre rehearsal suite and a large group of students. In the centre, three students face each other before turning around with different expressions of joy and one concern. The camera cuts to a previously described learner couple, seated cross-legged on the floor in the middle of students frozen-in-place. The student wearing a hairband, speaks to her partner as he looks into the distance.
Music – The instrumental loops and continues.
Speaker: Rachel – “But, coming here has allowed me to experiment with movement and sound and loads of different types of theatre, which is amazing…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to a brightly-lit rehearsal room focusing on a student with short brown hair, a fair complexion, and a black Adidas track jacket. He looks at the learner to his right, who is out of focus, before pausing and looking down in thought. In the background, four learners observe. The camera cuts to the same two students, now performing on a stage lit with warm spotlights. The previously described student laughs and looks up towards the audience as his partner jabs his shoulder in jest and smiles.
Music – The uplifting instrumental continues.
Speaker: Rachel – “And, like, if-when you get to show people that, you just feel like, so amazing cos you’ve come up with this piece that you feel so proud of…”
Scenery – The camera cuts to a lively group of students wearing all-black in the theatre suite. They dance and laugh as if in a club. The camera cuts to the same group, now performing on a dark stage lit with red lighting. They joyously move across and around each other as they dance and some clap. The camera cuts back to Rachel as she smiles enthusiastically.
Music – All instruments drop out. A single piano plays the melody.
Speaker: Rachel – “And it’s just great to see on everyone’s faces, that they’re really happy with your piece.”
Scenery – A white screen with a red footer has large black text across the centre. The text reads, “Applications are open for September 2021. For more information, visit: www.leedscitycollege.ac.uk. Instagram: @creativeartslcc”
Music – The instrumental fades to silence.
