Animating Ashington with Walk the Plank
The brief
Commissioned by Northumberland County Council and delivered by Walk the Plank, Animating Ashington set out to connect local people, boost footfall and create moments of delight in the town centre across the seasons. Walk the Plank brought us in to capture the larger events: the performances, participation, reactions and atmosphere.
Our approach
We filmed each event as its own story: the Christmas Toy Procession, Light Nights with its LED drummers, Feast of Fire, One Amazing Day and the Powering the Future parade. We showed the build from daytime into evening, caught performers turning up in unexpected corners of the town, and interviewed members of the community and a local councillor about what the events meant to them.
Thousands turned out for the opening Toy Procession, which ran several times through the afternoon and evening. At Feast of Fire in Hirst Park we added drone footage to show the trail from the sky, and at One Amazing Day we went after the small, spontaneous moments as much as the big acts. Claire wrote up all five events on the blog, films included: the Animating Ashington wrap-up.
Deliverables
An overview film for each event, social teasers, and a subtitled wrap-up film of the whole programme for stakeholders, funders and local audiences.
The result
A complete visual record of the programme for Walk the Plank, its funders and the town.