16 QMYOU / Creativity & Culture
Alice McKinney and Emma Foster
Student film helps prepare children for hospital
TWO FILM STUDENTS have used their creative talents to help parents prepare their children for a visit to hospital .
Alice McKinney and Emma Foster , third year media students , volunteered to create a specialist film for an Edinburgh based charity . The voluntary sector organisation ‘ What ? Why ? Children in Hospital ’ helps parents and carers prepare their children by reducing the anxiety associated with hospital visits . The charity makes video clips suitable for children and parents so they know what to expect when they go into hospital and answers some questions starting with ‘ what ’ and ‘ why ’ about procedures and treatments .
Dr Marit Boot , from the What ? Why ? Children in Hospital charity , explained : “ A hospital visit can be a very scary time for children , as well as their parents . The need for specific procedures can be difficult for parents to explain , for example most children may not understand why they need a blood test or what happens when a patient goes into an MRI machine . We wanted to make it easier for families to understand what happens in hospital and so our charity website offers a number of useful and informative short video clips which help parents prepare their children for hospital visits and medical procedures .”
She continued : “ We knew that QMU ’ s film students often worked on external projects and we hoped they could use their talents to assist us in developing our film ‘ How do I prepare my child for hospital ?’
“ We attended the University ’ s film screening at Edinburgh ’ s Filmhouse , which showcased an impressive range of work produced by QMU film and media students . We approached the University and were delighted when Alice and Emma agreed to volunteer their time to help us create the new film .
Twenty-four year old Alice McKinney , said : “ We were really pleased to get involved . We were not only helping the charity , the project allowed us to gain experience of dealing with sensitive topics and working with a client . It also helped us build on our existing portfolio of films .”
The students , who have already established their own video production company ‘ Bonnyblink Productions ’, used their summer holidays to carry out the filming and editing for the project . Most of the filming was done on location at the new Glasgow Royal Hospital for Children .
Emma Foster , aged 21 , said : “ We particularly enjoyed meeting and interacting with parents , children and healthcare specialists , and helping to tease out the essential information that would eventually help families going through similar hospital experiences .”
Graham Drysdale , Lecturer in Film at Queen Margaret University , said : “ We have had glowing reports from the charity about the students ’ work . We are extremely pleased at the way Alice and Emma conducted themselves throughout this project – interacting skilfully with parents , children and charity representatives . The girls were only in second year when they worked on the project and the quality and content of their film is very impressive . We are sure it will be a valuable resource to the charity .”
Dr Marit Boot said : “ It was a pleasure working with Emma and Alice and we are grateful that QMU supported this project by lending the essential video production equipment necessary to create the film . ‘ How do I prepare my child for hospital ?’ will be an extremely useful tool in helping parents communicate with their children before hospital visits .” ❒
The video is now available to watch on the charity website :
http :// www . whatwhychildreninhospital . org . uk /
16 QMYOU / Creativity & Culture