CLAPPERBOARD
CLAPPERBOARD UK LTD Introduction by Director , Maureen Sinclair
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Hello , I ’ m Maureen Sinclair , Director of Clapperboard UK Ltd , an award winning , small charitable organisation and film production company . We are delighted to start the New Year off with our new partners Firestyle Magazine as we embrace some exciting new joint initiatives this year . I ’ d like to take this opportunity of introducing myself by giving you some personal and professional background information .
I initially set up the Clapperboard Youth Project in 2004 , whilst heading BAFTA ’ s regional offices . I was fascinated by the professionals , and their roles ‘ behind the scenes ’ in film and television productions , such as ; make-up artists , location managers , set designers , camera work , directing , writing , etc . and was frustrated that young people didn ’ t know about these kind of career opportunities .
My idea was to bring creativity into education and communities across the North West of England through developing exciting education film-making and media initiatives in partnership with other organisations and young people some from deprived areas who display challenging behaviour and / or suffer from mental health and other disabilities . To date , more than 2,000 people between the ages of 7 to 28 have actively participated in our projects , producing award winning short films on issues that affect them ( hate crime , identity , disability , race , gun , and knife crime ) giving them a voice . Our short films have gained recognition regionally , nationally and internationally .
One of the questions I ’ m asked regularly is how did I end up working in the industry of moving image . My career background has been a bit of a fluke ... I went to school in Kirkby and left without hardly any qualifications as I wasn ’ t at all academic . However , I did enjoy a secretarial course provided by the school that I passed with a distinction and these skills came in very useful when I decided to leave Liverpool to travel across Europe in the late 70 ’ s . Eventually , I ended up living in Amsterdam , securing secretarial employment in the legal department of Cinema International Corporation , which was a new company set up by a group of multinational film companies ( Paramount , Universal , MGM etc .) to combat video piracy . It was incredibly innovative and a very new organisation , so I was taken on board and had the most brilliant professional experience . I had a lot of freedom to develop my role and was promoted quickly after setting up a staff Video Library and organising regular screenings as we had the privilege of seeing all the new film releases in the company ’ s private cinema ! I also was able to travel extensively giving me opportunities to mix with other cultures , still one of my great passions .