2nd April 2009

The Arena of Debate takes place on Thursday 2nd April 2009 at 1.30pm and will see the Royal Albert Hall transformed into a huge debating chamber.

Over two thousand students will discuss issues raised in Y Touring’s performance of 'Nobody Lives Forever' with an opportunity to ask questions of some of the world’s leading experts in the field of stem cell research. Students will then decide through an electronic voting system on whether they agree with the motion of the debate. As part of the debate six short films produced by schools will be shown on giant 20 ft square screens that will fill the Royal Albert Hall.

Having hosted a performance of 'Nobody Lives Forever' we would like to encourage you to get involved in the debate at the Royal Albert Hall.

• submit two films, for and against the motion of the debate, one of which may possibly be shown on the day at the Royal Albert Hall
  
• join us at the Royal Albert Hall on Thursday 2nd April to take part in the Arena of Debate.

Submitting 2 short films

Schools must produce two films, one for and one against the motion:

"This house believes it is right to use up to 14 day-old 'embryos' created in laboratory test tubes as a source of stem cells for research into disease"

Film duration: Each film has to be a maximum of 4 minutes each
Film Format: pal 16.9 ratio, as high definition as possible
Playback video format: pal DVD or pal DVcam tape
Playback sound format: Stereo left and right channels
Film fonts and graphics: Open choice - keep picture safe

The final films will be chosen by a panel of experts and stakeholders in stem cell research and television, and the schools will be notified in February.

Useful resources for film making

Short films made on the Continuing Professional Development day on How to story board, Generate ideas

www.filmsforlearning.org – various resources available to download free of charge and discussion forums

Film Making Sheet for students - ideas for what to make and how to make it.

Deadline for all films to be submitted is: Friday 30th January 2009

Please send films to:

Debra Cougill
Learning and Participation
Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore
London
SW7 2AP

Tel: 020 7959 0541
Email: debrac@royalalberthall.com
We will acknowledge all films received within 48 hours of delivery

The Royal Albert Hall Learning and Participation department would like to acknowledge John Robinson and Derek Stubbs for their support of this project.

	For further information about this project, email our Tour Producer David Jackson