London Philharmonic Orchestra
What happens when you see elephants in your custard, but everyone else is too busy to notice? An interactive musical story for schools and families aimed at children aged 5–7. Wash collaborated with the London Philharmonic Orchestra Education & Community Department to produce a brand new film of storytelling, music and audience participation based on the charming children’s book, Elephants in the Custard.
We had one day to shoot this project, which meant only two three hour sessions with our musicians. Then a short time to build, dress and light our set before racing through the script and music. As a film for young children we needed to keep it bright, fun and interesting. We also had to keep to 2-metre social distancing, which might explain why our table was so big.
The story explores how it feels to worry and the importance of making time to talk to each other. The film, presented by animateur Rachel Leach, is interspersed with music performed by a brass quintet from the LPO and includes a brand new song to sing along with and lots of other fun ways to join in. Elephants in the Custard is available free of charge and comes with resources for Key Stage 1 teachers.