Digital content creator Tom Marshall gives a behind-the-scenes perspective on what it's like to run one of our traineeship programmes.
Once upon a time, in the minster town of Rotherham, nine Trainee Creative Producers decided to step where only a few had boldly stepped before…
In February 2023, nine Rotherham 16-to-25-year-olds were invited to Wentworth Woodhouse to begin a 14-week programme in filmmaking and delivering interactive events, under the banner of the Children's Capital of Culture traineeship programme.
Sounds like a lot of fun, right? However, lying in wait was a series of challenges. Not just for the trainees, but for myself and my colleagues too.
There are so many wonderful questions for traineeship hosts to explore during these Children's Capital of Culture programmes ...
Q. How do you create a strong team culture?
Q. How do you nurture creativity?
Q. How do you support young people?
Q. How do you step beyond your comfort zone?
I like to start these traineeship programmes with a scavenger hunt around the house. The trainees solved eight challenges in eight different rooms, and each one is inspired by my personalised list of 8 Creative Qualities: Confidence, Observation, Curiosity, Humility, Mindfulness, Resourcefulness, Energy and Action. I believe these qualities help trainees to reach that special place that many call "creative flow" or "in the zone".
During the scavenger hunt, I watched the trainees tackle puzzle after puzzle, each one slightly more intriguing and stranger than the last. They laughed, they stumbled, they celebrated, and I got to see nine wonderful personalities gradually reveal themselves within the group.
The trainees then came up with ideas for an immersive ‘House of Future Creatives’ event that they would deliver at the end of their traineeship, which they proceeded to pitch to a panel of "dragons" for feedback.
They then entered the first phase of training. This is vital in many ways. We gave the trainees practical lessons in designing, filming and editing content, using a range of resources and techniques, challenging them every single session.
Getting them accustomed to stepping out of their comfort zone was the foundation stage of their training and would prepare them for what was to come. Most of the trainees were used to college projects and entry-level jobs, so I think it is fair to say that none of them truly recognised the scale of their task when they signed up. I'm sure they thought it sounded like a good gig on paper, but surely nobody was going to let a group of 16-to-25-year-olds really take a lead on a huge creative project like this... Well, surprise!
When it finally dawned on them that this wasn't an assisting role, but they were actually leading the creative vision for the House of Future Creatives event, there were a few gasps in the room and a couple of them said, "We can't do that in 14 weeks! That's not possible!"
And being completely honest... They were almost right!
When I first ran this programme back in 2022, it was 24 weeks from start to finish. This time, I had to figure out how to shave off 10 weeks and achieve the same results. I had the support of my leadership team (Steve, Andy and Mya) but it was still a very tall order.
It's the price of doing what you love. The previous programme was one of the most fulfilling things I've done in my career. Even now, I'm still connected with those trainees and I get to watch them do amazing things in their newfound careers. I was determined to achieve that same level of success again, even if I had less time to do it.
I am not going to pretend every day was smooth sailing. There were a few cringe-worthy mistakes – from forgetting to record audio, misplacing important kit, and massively misjudging the need for coats in downpours and below freezing temperatures – but it didn't break the team's morale.
Top tip: caterpillar cake can put a smile back on just about anyone's face. But in all seriousness, the time taken to encourage the team to gel in the first few weeks, and the fun 15-minute icebreakers that we started every session with, really made all the difference. We put the people first, and that can be a really hard thing to do in any organisation with ambitious tasks to complete.
After two months of training in key digital skills, the trainees graduated to becoming fully fledged Creative Producers. The trainer/trainee relationship dissolved, everyone was assigned a role (director, writer, producer, marketer, set designer etc) and we became a single team working towards a shared vision. Because now their training stage was complete, they returned to the planning of the big event: this year's House of Future Creatives.
Their concept was to host an interactive murder mystery event at Wentworth Woodhouse that had a time travel theme ('Knives Out' meets 'Back To The Future'). That sounds pretty amazing, right?
The biggest challenge, despite having a very cool concept, was that we had six weeks left to write a script, find actors, film and edit films, rehearse live acted scenes and design escape room-style puzzles, all while simultaneously marketing the event.
Now, coming up with a half-decent idea shouldn't be under appreciated, but when you compare how many people can come up with a good idea versus how many ever see that idea through to completion, you start to realise how much works goes on in the middle bit.
The Creative Producers had to step up their game. The new role came with increased levels of creative freedom but also a lot of added responsibility. They quickly discovered that they had to take it up another gear. I don't think some of them even knew at the time if they had another gear to shift up into.
I also forgot to mention earlier that this was a part-time, two days a week programme!
Developing an original event concept by committee is not easy, and there is no guarantee of achieving it. Many of the other organisations operating under the Children’s Capital of Culture banner gave their trainees supporting roles on pre-planned project briefs. It's a less risky approach.
In comparison, I offered our team at Wentworth Woodhouse a blank canvas. I honestly believe that is one of the most rewarding opportunities to give someone: the chance to play the way we did as children, and I think it's one of the reasons so many of 2022’s Creative Producers volunteered to come back this year and support the new team.
I've got to give it to this year’s team: they really stepped up. Even when a cast member pulled out last minute they rallied together and found a replacement within 24 hours. I was very impressed.
When the tickets went live for our event, I was shocked to discover that all 300 of them were booked within a matter of days. People were excited to come and check out the team's murder mystery event, entitled 'Scene of the Crime'.
It was a brilliant and emotional night and I'm sure anybody who has spent months working towards a project showcase like this can relate.
The most magical moment was when the Creative Producers walked onto the stage at the very end of the event and bowed to a room of applauding attendees. I was standing in the middle of the room, watching their faces. I knew we had done it. It was the same feeling I had last year. Honestly, there's nothing quite like it.
