Working with creative writing students use their words to tackle youth knife crime

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This year, Cardiff Metropolitan University creative writing students Courtney and Ines joined the team for a work experience placement as part of our programme The Takeaway. Together, they worked on a video for the second phase of the anti-knife crime campaign #NotTheOne for the Violence Prevention Unit and South Wales Police.

After a successful application process, Courtney and Ines joined the work experience placement and were briefed with the task of creating a script. This script would form the basis of a short campaign video depicting a story that aims to persuade young people away from carrying knives.

The young writers’ perspective and ideas have been integral to the creation of the video. ‘The young writers’ perspectives, experience and ideas were integral to bringing a sense of authenticity to the project. 

Thank you to them both for their input into this fantastic campaign. We know they are both destined for great things!

We asked Courtney and Ines to write a bit about their work experience, and here’s what they came back with…

In their own words

“Our experience working with the Blue Stag team on the #NotTheOne campaign has been a rewarding and inspiring one. 

As creative writing students, working on this campaign has amplified our creative journey, teaching us invaluable knowledge of the professional environment. 

On our first day of writing with the team, we had a lot to take in. Whilst going through the impact of the initial launch of the #NotTheOne campaign, we realised how much of a difference we could make. Because of this, we were immediately grateful and proud to be involved in the second phase of the campaign. 

The writing process

From the start we felt inspired, confident that Blue Stag could provide us with the platform and guidance to truly make an impact on lives in South Wales with our writing and ideas. 

We knew the importance of getting this campaign right so that it resonated with our audience the way we needed it to. Both of us realised the seriousness of knife crime and knew the devastating effects it can have on our communities. 

To be successful we knew the video we produced needed to be authentic and connect with our audience, which was the biggest challenge we had to overcome. To do this, we undertook research to understand who is impacted by knife crime across South Wales. We took the knowledge of real-life situations with us to inspire a story reflective of the real world. 

However, we also ensured that this inspiration was used respectfully towards the real-life victims of knife crime. Each step of the way, the Blue Stag team helped us achieve this goal, supporting and guiding our ideas at every meeting. 

What we got out of it

Working on this project made us realise even the smallest details in a project matter. Even details within the screen interface were important to consider. We had to be absolutely certain that everything our audience would see had a reason for being there. 

Opportunities we had during this work experience were above and beyond our expectations. Writing the script was just the beginning. We also had the opportunity to be involved in meetings, hiring actors, even joining a panel at the #NotTheOne launch event.

We both felt completely involved during the whole process of creating the #NotTheOne campaign video and can’t thank Blue Stag enough for giving us this work experience in such a welcoming and supportive environment. 

For us, writing the script for the #NotTheOne campaign was our first professional writing experience. From writing the first draft story boards to creating the final video, we have come so far from where we started. 

Together as a team we have created a video we are truly proud of. 

A video that we hope will change lives.