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Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the ways in which collaborative video with young people allows for the re-imagination of place in London. In the ethnographic examples cited here, young people are invited to use the use the sensory and technological processes of participatory filmmaking as a method of 'focusing in' to tune their perceptive faculties towards 'creating place.'

In this paper, I use case studies from my research to understand young peoples' relationship to their physical surroundings, and the ways in which filmmaking projects intercede in or reinforce a sense of belonging or involvement. These projects, funded by state sources, are often conceived in response to the positioning of young peoples' spatial relationships in terms of deviance. From reports on 'territoriality' to fear of 'post-code gangs,' young peoples' movements are prescribed by visible and invisible boundaries which are self-proclaimed, media-fostered and legally enforced, and have inherent consequences for perceptions of safety.