Lights, camera, action

Last month we launched a new short film showcasing the value of our support workforce. Hannah Rooney’s team feature in the film and during the pandemic she took on the role of film-maker.

She shares her experience:

Early March saw us um-ing and ah-ing about whether filming would go ahead for the CSP’s ‘Think Differently’ campaign, but it did. We were pleased. Job done. Our support worker Fay, the star of the show, was relieved it was completed.  

Then what happened happened. The next few weeks and months were the blur that we’ve all experienced. I can’t even recall how it came to pass that we were asked to do some more filming, but we thought it an opportunity to further showcase the impact that support workers can have within physiotherapy teams. 

Luckily my dad is a photographer so I have an okay eye for photos, but making a film was a long way from getting an Instagram-worthy photo. There were many emails with the media company about what shots they wanted and how I should go about getting them. I’ve learnt about changing iphone settings to achieve super quality videos, how to frame shots, do close ups and that there are fancy plug-in microphones for smart phones. 

Being in a room with just my colleagues in front of me and a complicated video/phone set up so we could be interviewed remotely, on the hottest day of the year and with a group of noisy seagulls outside, led to a hilarious but interesting couple of hours, which was light relief after the relentless pressures we’d been under.  

We are immensely proud of what we and the other teams around the country have managed to achieve. Thanks to some wonderful editing the film is a testament to the hard graft and pride of support workers up and down the country, without whom our services would be lost.’  

Watch the film titled 'Thinking differently about support workers' here.

• Hannah Rooney is in-hospital therapy lead and neuro-physiotherapist at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust