CCAS: Animated films workshop on the theme of work

19 February 2017. Published by Alice Posiere.

4 min

Two animated films making workshops (filmed and commented drawings) for electric and gas industry workers on the theme of work.

As part of its cultural activities, the Caisse Centrale d’Activites Sociales (the EDF works council) questions itself about amateur practices. Participatory proposals generally struggle to mobilize, which is why the CCAS is looking for innovative ideas in order to allow its employees to create and express themselves. Italso thinks about the topic of work and thought it could be interesting that her employees also think about it. It is in order to try to answer these problems that this project of film making workshop was born.

A first workshop was set up over two days in May 2016, as part of the Festival of Energies (Soulac-sur-Mer), in a stand open to all. The second workshop took place in December 2016 in a company restaurant in Poitiers, offering employees the opportunity to participate in the workshop before or after the meal.
Thanks to the light frame of the workshop, around fifty films have been produced in quite short times.

The drawing filmed and commented, a simple device for a variety of approaches

This workshop proposes to those who wish to stop for a few moments at a table to make a drawing on the subject of the work. We film their drawing while they are being done, then we record them commenting on their drawing. Image and sound are then gathered to create the film.

This mechanism engages a common experience between the participant and the mediator whose role is crucial since it is a matter of putting the person in confidence so that he or she delivers, in a short time, a personal expression both graphically and verbally.

Then, Benoît Labourdette assembles the image and the sound by modulating the speed of the image so that it corresponds to the time of speech of each one. Although the editing is quite visible, the graphic expression of the participants remains at the heart of the project.

At the end of each creation, the participant transmits his e-mail address so that the film is sent to him and he is able to take ownership and share it.

Project Issues and Outcomes

Initially, the CCAS project was to make a joint film based on several interviews of agents. Benoît Labourdette proposed to them the idea of the commented drawing and insisted that the work of each participant gives rise to a film. Having a wide number of films allows them to be disseminated more simply and widely, in particular because each participant can reclaim his own easily. It is also a way to discover the sensitive and singular approach of each one about the same theme.

The films produced are of great diversity, as well as in the content that is represented than in the way in which it is processed. The single word “work” gives rise to an infinity of propositions, of singular representations. Moreover, everyone’s eye and sensitivity are summoned. Many people, for example, have drawn a spiral, but everyone did it in their own way and said something different.These films make it possible to highlight the diversity of points of view and approaches of each one concerning a same theme, here the work, raising more broadly sociological notions.

Moreover, the principle of this workshop proposes to go beyond the simple graphical representation of an idea. If the final design makes sense, it is more the way of drawing, the gesture of the creator that are valued.This is where audiovisual takes on its full meaning. Keeping track of the process of creating a person helps to highlight his or her path, the movement of his or her thought. This gives rise to a rhythm, but also a narrative.

In a very short time, thanks to a framework centered on the creation, the participant is immediately immersed in the action. Supervision by a filmmaker is essential since it allows to trigger the participation of individuals who would not have done this creation if they had been alone. Simple and concrete, this workshop provides a space for expression and creation that can be mobilized in a short time.

Valorization and perpetuation

Given the great richness of these films, the CCAS continued to support the project. The films were published on its cultural blog as well as on its Facebook page. Articles have been written in the internal newspaper, with the aim of enhancing a visible and quality cultural activity to their agents.

In addition, as part of the Film Festival Filmer le travail in Poitiers, of which the CCAS is a partner, a selection of these films was shown in cinema and a traveling screening was organized on the walls of the city. The amateur productions are then truly valued since they are considered by a film festival as having interest for an audience.

All the films of these workshops are available here:

Movies Selection

Whether the drawings are schematic or more sophisticated, whether a word, an object or a situation, each creation testifies to the diversity of approach of each participant. These films keep track that allows to value creative amateurs and to put us in contact with the sensitivity of many people. Here is a small selection. The first is a selection of films that was shown during a screening in February 2017.

Alice Posiere