Beach cleaning charity blown away by Winchester film about their work

Staff and recent graduates from the University of Winchester’s Film Production course have helped bring to life the work of a charity striving to keep our beaches free of plastic. 

And the charity Final Straw are so pleased with the finished product that they have entered it for the Smileys – the annual charity film awards.  

Lecturer Fiona Poustie came across Final Straw Foundation, based in Emsworth, when she was looking for an organisation willing to be the subject of a short documentary. 

Her aim was to shoot several hours of footage which could be used in film editing exercises for students. 

Fiona, assisted by graduates James Roualt and Marnie Evans and fellow lecturer Paul Carter, shot six hours of film which were cut down to 10 minutes to make Waves, Wind and Waste: A Battle to Save Our Beaches which can now be seen online. 

But nothing is wasted as the entire stock of digital footage will be used and re-used for editing practice as part of the Observational Films module. 

In a documentary for every one minute on screen there is usually another hour of unused footage, explained Fiona. 

The art of the editor is to bring together the key moments within a narrative. 

Fiona is an experienced documentary maker who has worked on fly-on-the-wall TV series such as Ambulance, The Met, and The Route Masters: Running London’s Roads. 

While following the planning and carrying out of a beach clean at Hill Head near Fareham, Fiona found some moments of ‘jeopardy’ to create a more compelling story:   

Will the volunteers who have promised to come turn up? 

Will the 40mph gusts on the shore cause the event to be cancelled? 

Her film also focuses on some of the challenges faced by the beach cleaners such as how to deal with ‘nurdles’ – the millions of tiny plastic beads which wash up on our beaches and mingle with the sand and shingle. 

Final Straw’s press officer Amy Rushton said: “I am so pleased Fiona contacted us – we are really happy with the film. It is so different from something we would have produced. 

“It’s added a bit of drama which we would never have thought to have included but it’s still a really good overview of all the work that goes into running a beach clean. 

“We hope we can do more work in the future with the university and its students.” 

Fiona said: “I’m glad Final Straw liked our film. It’s been a win-win situation. The charity has a product to promote their work, and we have hours of footage that we can use as an editing resource.”