Community Film Unit
We provide film and graphic design to charities and other companies and offer training and development opportunities to young people.
About You
Background Information
First Name
Jonathan
Last Name
Fairey
Twitter URL
Facebook URL
The competition is only open to people between 18-34 years-old and resident in UK, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark or the Netherlands. Does this apply to you
Yes.
Country of residence of entrepreneur
UK
Tell us about your personal background. Why are you passionate about this issue? Making an idea a reality takes innovation, dedication and strong leadership. Do you have the necessary entrepreneurial skills to realize your vision?
I have always been passionate about creative media - music, film and design. I have been involved in all of these field since my early teens. The Community Film Unit was recently formed to make high-quality promotional materials available to the private, public and third sector. The company offers unrivalled training and shadowing opportunities for young people to come and work on professional projects, learning technical and creative skills that significantly boost their employment prospects. The Film Unit also administrates a small grant which makes filmmaking training and promotional filmmaking more affordable and accessible for smaller organisations who are supporting good causes in their communities.
When I graduated from University I was confronted with an incredible bleak climate for employment, and so the Community Film Unit is a solution which aids young people (generally between 14-25 years old) to develop skills and experience in the media field.
In our relatively short history, we have worked with a range of organisations including our local County Council, the NHS and charities which support young, elderly and disabled people in our local community.
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Community Film Unit
Organization Website
Organization Country
United Kingdom, XX, Staines
Country where this project is creating social impact
United Kingdom, XX, Throughout United Kingdom
Is your organization a
For‐profit
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Innovation
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
The Community Film Unit mainly addresses two social issues: we provide training and developmental opportunities for young people, and we provide promotional materials for charities and small community organisations at a fair and affordable price without compromising quality.
Youth unemployment at the UK currently sits at just under 25% - 1 in 4 people, so it's hugely important for people aged under 25 to have access to free training and development opportunities, and at the moment these are incredibly scarce.
Similarly, at a time when economic conditions are forcing many charities and community organisations to save money, many of them are scaling back their investment in self-promotion and marketing.
The Community Film Unit's business model addresses both of these problems.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
The Community Film Unit offers free developmental and training placements to people aged under 25 where they can shadow and receive instruction from senior staff members and work on professional filmmaking projects.
The CFU works primarily for the public and third sector, providing cost-effective film and graphic design materials to help organisations of all sizes promote their existence and achievements, and to communicate information to the public that improves their quality of life.
We also administrate a small grant that provides match funding for filmmaking projects throughout the UK, enabling small charities, youth groups and community organisations to promote themselves on a scale that they would not otherwise be able to afford or justify.
We frequently co-produce films with our client organisations - putting young or vulnerable people at the heart of the filmmaking process where they can gain valuable technical and personal skills and experience.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
One recent project we completed was for an organisation called Employability - they help people with learning disabilities to improve their CV and gain paid employment. We made a film which focused on four success stories for the organisation which they now use to attract new businesses to support the scheme, and encourage others with learning difficulties to take advantage of their service.
As a result of the film we produced, three members of Employability subsequently came for a work experience placement at the Community Film Unit where they learned to operate a broadcast camera, use industry-standard video editing software and record and produce their own music.
We have already been contacted by Employability with a view to make a 'sequel' to this film, to be produced under our supervision by the members of their organisation whom we have previously trained.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Whilst there area range of other opportunities that train young people in filmmaking, we are the only organisation in our region that provides young people the opportunity to work on broadcast-quality, professionally commissioned projects, which is brilliant for their CVs.
Our attitude to co-production distinguishes us from our competitors as it allows our clients a chance to build transferable skills and independently produce their own film resources.
Other community video projects that operate in the same area as us, rather than posing challenges to our growth, can potentially be useful contacts. Small local groups have recently contacted us with a view to getting our help for projects that they don't have the equipment or staff to complete on their own.
Select the stage that best applies to your business
Operating for 1-5 years
This Entry is about (Issues)
Social Impact
What is the social impact you have had to date and how you measure it?
Last year we produced over 4500 DVDs for our clients, and several more products (films and leaflets) which were distributed physically and online. We estimate that around 18000-20000 people saw our work last year.
We also delivered an average of 20-25 hours of developmental opportunities per week for young people, and we also provided long-term opportunities for two apprentices and a university placement student to join us for a year.
We worked with over 40 different organisations to promote their aims and achievements, and whilst it is very difficult to assess the impact of our contribution to their projects (the success of their projects can't be attributed solely to our videos), we have saved these organisations thousands of pounds by providing a quality service at a fair price.
Sustainability
How does your model address financial, social, and environmental sustainability?
Our model encourages financial stability by employing a multi-skilled staff who have experience in a range of creative media disciplines. We also offer opportunities through apprenticeship and placement year schemes, which allow us to reward employees by providing them with real responsibilities and developmental training rather than by paying them an extravagant salary. We save a lot of money by producing almost all of our product in-house, including our own promotional materials and website.
Our model addresses financial and social stability in our client organisations by providing them training and shadowing opportunities which build their own skill sets, and enable them to produce their own promotional film resources. This means they do not have to continually pay for each individual films on an ongoing basis.
The only part of the production process which we do outsource is the printing and duplication of our design products and DVDs. We are committed to finding ethical and environmentally conscious suppliers to meet our clients needs, and we are in the process of establishing working relationships with other social enterprises that work in this field.
Our previous work has included projects which actively promote social development and integration, legislation which gives disabled people more control over their finances, and encourage people to cycle to work rather than drive.
Awareness & learning
How do you see social entrepreneurship contributing to the improvement of developing countries?
Social Entrepreneurship fosters the support of the local community by tackling issues which are important to them, and by believing in community investment and development over lining the pockets of owners and shareholders.
Businesses depend upon investment, but not in a purely financial sense. Only by engaging their local community can businesses secure the time, trust and emotional investment of their immediate clients, which will ultimately determine whether they succeed or fail. Social enterprises benefit enormously from two-way relationships of this nature.
Based on this, Social Entrepreneurship is essential to the improvement of developing countries, as without this relationship to the community underpinning everything the company does, any enterprise will ultimately reach a size where it is more lucrative to move away to a stronger economic centre, leaving their local community to stagnate rather than develop.
What aspects of your stay in Uganda as part of the competition do you think you will find most challenging and rewarding?
Our organisation almost exclusively markets and promotes our products through the internet, so I would relish the opportunity to work in an entirely non-digital environment. I think there will be a lot of strategies that can translate roughly from one environment to the other that I could contribute from my background, and also learn that I can take back to my enterprise.
I am looking forward to the opportunity to live with the farmers, and be inspired by the passion of people who live with their business, having very little boundaries between their lives, and their livelihoods.
The social business knowledge sharing will also be enormously valuable - we have a very unique existence (being based in a youth centre at the heart of a community and balancing professional trade with training young people). I would love to share our experience, and meet others from similarly exciting circumstances to learn about their own achievements.
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 | 15 weeks agoJonathan Fairey updated this Competition Entry. |
| 15 weeks agoJonathan Fairey submitted this idea. |
