Raw Material

Descriptor: Free flowing camera shots of the Raw Material building in Brixton, and then we go inside and see shots of the studio equipment and some young people sitting, listening to the music, playing instruments and singing.

Voiceover: Raw material opened its Brixton studio on a former industrial site as a music education charity and production company enabling young people to learn a variety of skills in arts and media

Descriptor: We now meet Tim Brown, Director of Raw Material in his office

Tim: We received Arts Council Lottery funding in 1999 in order to set this centre up here and it was 350 thousand pounds that enabled us to buy the building and all the equipment in it.

Descriptor: More free flow camera shots of the studio being used by the young adults, singing, producing a song from behind a mixing desk, then sitting in a group chatting

Voiceover: Lottery funding has allowed them to purchase the latest technology for its recording studios, mastering facilities, music production and video edit suites, as well as  equipment , the team at raw material also provide mentoring and educational programmes

Descriptor: We return to Tim in his office

Tim Brown: The people that we have working here understand street culture, you know, they're from the same background, so they are able to help these young people develop.

Descriptor: We now meet Simon Gardner, a mentor, with a group of adults in a circle rapping

Simon: I took the role as a mentor, now I'm just assisting in classes, performance techniques, rapping techniques, free styling off the top of their head and you know  just giving them that confidence, trying to bring the best out of them as mc's.

Descriptor: A Song "Future Brixton" written by members of Raw Material plays in the background whilst images of life in the area are shown ie: tower blocks, multi-cultural influences, newspaper cuttings, paintings, smashed windows, and police using their walkie talkies 

Voiceover: The film workshops that raw material gives, a further creative outlet to the students. They have the opportunity to create their own music videos

Descriptor: Tagnana Chambers, one of the students, is walking up the road towards the Raw Material building.

Voiceover: one of the beneficiaries of the Lottery funding is Tagnana Chambers who's been with Raw Material for two years and is one of their most promising students.

Descriptor: We now see Tagnana in one of the studios wearing headphones singing into a microphone, we then return to Tim in his office

Tim: Tagnana, who is 14, is quite clearly really got talent and she really delivers it from her heart. She's involved in the verbal elevation project and that is very much about you know thinking what you're writing in lyrics she calls it "conscious lyrics" that's her words

Descriptor: We return to see Tagnana standing at the microphone wearing headphones rapping.

Descriptor: We now meet Dean Zepherin, Creative Director at Raw Material, wearing a baseball cap, sitting on the stairs.

Dean: She always had a real positive attitude with her lyrics stood out against the other students and she's got a real strong fiery spirit

Descriptor: We return to Tagnana again who is sitting at the computer

Tagnana Chambers, student: if I wasn't coming to raw material then I'd be a whole different person. It's a good opportunity for young people and it's the only studio that does this gives free courses to people for verbal elevation and vocal lessons and keyboard lessons, piano lessons, drum kit lessons and music production it's engaging the mind of the youth

Descriptor: We return to a group of young people who are sitting listening to some of Raw Material's output, writing music and then meet Tim again in his office

Tim: I'd say we were a bit of a haven for young people to come to and develop their creativity and this is a very difficult area it has a lot of social and environmental problems, you know, it's not an easy place to live and we try to provide these young people with a safe and, erm, stimulating environment

Descriptor: We return to the studio where the children are listening to music on the headphones, recording their material. We then meet Dean again still sitting on the stairs

Dean: Our doors are always open for the local community, the talent in the community to come in and present what it is they do and it goes actually beyond the local community, I'd say pan London, people from London actually come in and present what it is they do to us.

Descriptor: We see two artists working together producing their music

Voiceover: Lottery funding benefits the raw internship programme offering bursaries for professional development of emerging talent and allow music producers "Ripper and Timz" a chance to collaborate.

Descriptor: We return to Dean

Dean: They came with two different styles, so where Ripper came in from a rhyme background, Timz came in from a classical trained guitarist's background and R n B and I thought putting these two together will be a great fusion.

Descriptor: We see the two guys sitting in the studio together, the camera pans across the huge mixing desk with all its various mixing and volume controls  

Ripper: It's nice just to be in the building sometimes, you can just get a vibe for what you do. 

Timz: I got vibbed by loads of people here

Ripper: yeah I know

Timz: every year, every time you come to the studio, there's something different going on

Ripper: you get an opinion straight away on your stuff, like the minute your making a beat, someone will come down and say "hey bruv that's bad innit"

Descriptor: More shots of the two guys working in the studio, before meeting Dean again

Dean: we played the material to the industry and give them experience and show them how to network the industry and they've done fantastic and introduced them to the various labels in other territories and from there was able to get them a deal in America

Ripper: raw material is like a right of passage for a lot of people because Estelle came through here, Miss Dynamite came through here, erm, like all talented  people in the UK music industry so I would say for raw material would be quite disappointing not to get funded because it's made a huge impact

Descriptor: we see Simon again sitting in one of the studios with speakers and a plasma screen behind him and various members of Raw, performing their songs, listening to music

Simon: It keeps like most the children off the streets now. I mean like on a Saturday, if they weren't at Raw, they would probably be doing something else getting up to mischief.

Descriptor: We visit Tim again in his office

Tim: It's not just about coming here and doing it for its own sake; they need to develop artistically, creatively and socially.

Timz: If the equipment, if the people as well, l there's a good team and staff here, that whole experience

Tanana: One thing that inspires my music is something that Tupac said he doesn't think he can change the world, but he can spot the rain that will change the world. I want to be the rain that he spots.

Descriptor: We see images of Brixton and its inhabitants whilst the lyrics of "future Brixton" play over the top:

"Brixton, South London SW9 to SW2, we're trying to look for the future, we're trying to show the future because we are the future - Brixton town"