"Aspie-Friendly, la série": a series of short films to raise awareness about autism at university
Raising awareness of the characteristics of autistic people without intellectual disabilities is the first step towards their social inclusion. People in contact with people with autism are often confused and have difficulty understanding their characteristics, or even attribute negative causes to behaviours that they consider problematic.
There is therefore a need for online training resources that are easily accessible in every sense of the word: free, simple in expression, effective, attractive, engaging, yet scientifically based.
One of the aims of this series is to be able to offer anyone in contact with an∙e person with autistic people without intellectual disabilities resources that he or she can consult quickly, focused on topics appropriate to the needs.
A script written by several hands, to combine scientific rigour and entertainment
The first phase of the work, after the definition of the general objectives of these videos, was to refine the scientific and intellectual contents, to organise them into ten complementary and autonomous units of meaning, and then to define an artistic and scenaristic angle in order to meet our desire for a playful and accessible medium.
The contents of the films from a scientific point of view were defined under the direction of Professor Chambres.
Based on this scientific content, joint work was carried out with Professor Chambres and the project steering committee (Bertrand Monthubert, Ghislain Remy, etc.) on the one hand, and the company Epix studio and Julie Dachez on the other. A users’ committee, made up of autistic students and university staff, was also consulted to ensure that each scenario was understandable, but also that the materials conveyed a positive image of autism.
In the course of this work, elements of film technique were chosen to reinforce the meaning and understanding of the message and to give rhythm to the episodes:
- Structuring the episodes between descriptive sequences of autistic students in a university context and explanatory sequences of the expert’s intervention.
- Use of flashbacks to make the global nature of autism clear, and to lead the viewer to acquire the skills to decipher situations as the viewing progresses.
- Addition of text or motion design to ensure a good understanding of the situations or the explanatory message.
- Addition of a motion design character to intervene with the expert in order to give rhythm to the content and refine the message.
An "Out of the ordinary" shooting
There was an immediate and unanimous consensus on a strong decision: the roles of autistic students would be played by autistic students. This choice was motivated by two observations: on the one hand, in terms of directing actors, we did not want to « play autism » to neurotypical people, and on the other hand, the series seemed to us to gain in legitimacy with the participation of autistic people.
In this perspective, we also chose an autistic person, active in inclusion, to play the role of the expert. This was Hélène Vial, a lecturer at the Université Clermont Auvergne.
Once these choices had been made, a great deal of work was done on the conditions of the filming, to make it as inclusive as possible.
Meetings between Aspie-Friendly’s operational team and Picsprod were set up to train Picsprod’s staff on the specificities of autism, and to define together the modalities of inclusive filming for autistic people.
Meetings between Picsprod, the Aspie-Friendly operational team and the autistic students enabled the students to be trained in the context of filming, and the joint choice of filming arrangements that would be comfortable for everyone.
Throughout the filming, special care was taken to accompany the autistic students:
- Setting up dedicated rest areas
- Awareness-raising for non-autistic extras
- Attention to the sensory conditions of the shooting, in particular the sound level
- Adapted filming schedule
- Predictability of filming (daily information by sending schedules)
- Constant presence of one or more trusted persons, both in the technical team and in the team of actors
- Signposting of filming locations
The filming lasted three weeks, including two weeks for the reconstitution of the university context, on the premises of the Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées.
Some forty extras were mobilised in addition to the five autistic student characters and the expert.
They participated in the "Aspie-Friendly, the series" project
Epix studio: script writing.
Filming and post-production
Director: Hugo Gaignebet and Romain Caraman
Production: Raphaël Piccin
Production manager: Delphine Vaupré
Production assistants: Orane Brame, Maxime Jobert, Margaux Andurand
Sound engineers: Julien Robert, Gauthier Huart
Director of Photography: Hugo Gaignebet, Romain Caraman
Assistant cameramen: Lucas Doubrère, Rose Simon, Brice Cayla
Head of set design : Thibault Muller
Chief editor : Baptiste Garnier
Assistant editor: Lou Bariller
Graphic designer-animator: Théo Girard
Draughtsman-animator: Hugo Foucault
Sound mixing: Julien Robert
Calibration: Hugo Gaignebet
Actors and extras
Hélène Vial
Anthony Mancini
Thomas Chabert
Aubin Delaveau
Marie Voyeaud
Rébecca Lasserre
Audrey Mounoussamy
Paulo Carillo-Rouse
Vanessa Castaillet-Stone
Bertrand Monthubert
Sophie Lasserre
Anna Castaillet-Stone
Marie Lasserre
Tiphaine Yarde
Cara Ryan
Maiko Steward
Emmanuelle Roullin
Tiffany Bonnefoy
Mohamad Subhi
Vincent Dulout
Nicolas Pautal
Orane Brame
Raphaël Piccin
Aymeric Sanchez
Romain Caraman
Maël Lombard
Remi Lombard
Delphine Vaupré
Cléo Lesterps
Amélia Pellicier
Léna Triestram
Luna Montolieu
Maya Rakotonandrasana
Acknowledgements
Thanks to the Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées, and in particular to the staff of the Maison de la Recherche et de la Valorisation de Toulouse, to the association Inpacts 31 and to the Lycée des Arènes for their welcome during the filming, their availability and their support.
A special mention to the members of La Bulle! association, an association of autistic students from the University of Toulouse, faithful partners of Aspie-Friendly!
The institutional and financial partners without whom this project would not have been possible:
And with the support of:
