This project was always going to be interesting. How could the participants engage with animation when they could not see it? How would we communicate when they could not hear me?

The 3 individuals who made this film, ‘Right to Dream’ were so committed to learning something new and presenting their own poem to the world in a different way that they overcame all their difficulties. We used tactile grids hidden below any artwork so participants could feel where objects and shapes were. They moved characters around with the grid to guide the direction and distance.

All of the participants were either partially sighted or blind, as well as being deaf or hearing impaired. They are supported by the wonderful organisation Deafblind Scotland who provided a safe space for them to meet and learn and participate in many forms of art.

The group made all their own artwork, from a mixture of tactile and accessible materials such as plasticine, pipe cleaners and fabric. The final film was voiced by Scottish actor Elaine C Smith and enjoyed a warm and joyous screening at Deafblind Scotland’s base in Kirkintilloch.

I did an introduction to the screening, and some of the words are testament to the commitment of the participants.

Alison seemed to have a great understanding of how things should move and also a great spatial awareness. She understood that in animation actions repeat, so making bicycle wheels spin, or clouds move by, or hair blow and the ground travel under them didn't boggle her brain too much! Ian also worked hard and learned how to control timing and speed of complex animated sequences. Ian gets the prize for finishing the most scenes! Francis understood animation straight away by animating a football match with me and I seemed to teach him through some kind of mime.....we hardly spoke! He also made all the characters and backgrounds for part of the film and animated the lot!