Sky Kids Investigates: World. War. Me.

The news cycle moves at a relentless pace, pursuing world events as they unfold and develop, leaving little or no time to hear from anyone other than the decision makers themselves. And when those decisions involve life and death, it's the people at the sharp end who struggle to be heard, none more so than the children swept up in conflicts they had no part in creating. But it is they, above all, who must suffer the consequences of geopolitical fallout as destruction rains around them, displacing families, disrupting educations, destroying homes, inflicting life-changing injuries and taking the lives of the most innocent. Giving a voice to this forgotten generation and creating room for them to speak, not just to the adult world but to their peers around the world, is what Fresh Start Media set out to achieve with their latest documentary, Sky Kids Investigates: World. War. Me. Bana Alabed, who turned to social media aged 7 to protest against the war in Syria that tore her life apart, has become an outspoken advocate for the rights of children caught up in war. Winner of the 2025 International Children's Peace Prize she presents this 20-minute documentary made by and for children. The stories of kids as far afield as Syria, Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and The Democratic Republic of the Congo are brought to light to show the horrific impact of decisions made, often thousands of miles away, with little or no regard for the devastation they will cause. Sky Post Production worked with long-time collaborators Nicky Cox MBE, Matt Peacock and Marshall Corwin, to produce Sky Kids Investigates: World. War. Me, a story deliberately aimed at children that doesn't speak down to them, yet pulls no punches in showing the devastation wrought by war on the lives of millions.

Rebecca Amarasinghe – Post Producer

We’ve worked with Fresh Start Media for many years now and have a fantastic relationship with them based around creating the very best content for kids that communicates complex topics in interesting and engaging way. We were so proud last year to have supplied full Post Production for the BAFTA-winning special; FYI Investigates: Disability & Me and were delighted to be asked to provide the same for this year’s Sky Kids Investigates: World. War. Me - a 22-minute documentary in HD and 5.1

I put together a team that knows the client well, from Offline and Audio through to Grade and Online, and the whole operation worked brilliantly. Producer/Director Matt Peacock was at his exceptional best working with Mark in the edit but was also mindful of the nature of the footage we were using. We worked together to lessen the effect that this might have on our people, whilst also keeping our eye on creating a documentary that would still have real impact. Tatjana’s Mix ensured that the voices of the children remained the forefront of the story; Ben’s Grade kept the look grounded, binding the whole piece together; whilst Melissa in the Online brought the finishing touches and shepherded this complex story through to TX. The whole craft team worked together with myself and Post Coordinator Rachael Hunt to ensure that no stone remained unturned in the storytelling process so that Matt Peacock could focus on putting every ounce of creative effort into the documentary.

I’m incredibly happy to see Fresh Start Media rewarded with back-to-back BAFTAS for the important work that they do in telling the stories of children that might otherwise not be heard. That's as true this year as it was in 2025. I’m also really proud of the part that Sky Post Production has played in bringing those stories to life and for them to receive recognition at the highest level.

Rachael Hunt – Post Coordinator

Since joining Sky Post Production’s Edit Operations department in 2019, and later moving into Post Bookings in 2020, Fresh Start Media’s FYI Kids Weekly News and FYI Investigates specials have been the projects I’ve been most closely connected with. Over the years, I’ve supported all areas of Post Production - from media management and coordinating schedules to managing bookings and helping Post Producers keep complex workflows running smoothly. It’s been rewarding to grow alongside a series that consistently delivers thoughtful, impactful content. 

In 2024, I stepped into the Post Producer role throughout the year, which was a real career highlight - particularly working on the special Disability and Me which went on to win a BAFTA. Seeing a project with such an important message recognised at that level is something I am very proud to be part of.

Working on World. War. Me. was another real highlight. Nominated for both a BAFTA and an RTS award, the documentary explores the experiences of children affected by armed conflict around the world with honesty and compassion. What makes the Sky Kids Investigates specials especially impactful is that they are presented by children, for children, helping difficult subjects feel clear and engaging for young audiences.

Sky Kids Investigates is fast-paced by nature - turnarounds can be tight, priorities can shift quickly, and staying one step ahead is key to keeping everything moving. As Post Production Coordinator, I worked closely with Post Producer Rebecca Amarasinghe across both the creative and operational sides of post, helping keep everything running smoothly. A big part of the role was staying organised, adaptable and proactive - spotting potential issues early, keeping communication clear across teams, and making sure everyone had what they needed to deliver. I also worked closely with our craft team, Mark, Mel, Ben and Tatjana, who were all brilliant to collaborate with and played a huge part in keeping everything on track. It’s also been great working with Fresh Start Media over the years. Because they were based with us on campus, we naturally built a really strong working relationship, which made collaboration easy and created a real sense of trust across every production.

Mark Sison – Offline Editor

I edited Fresh Start Media’s weekly show for several years, including big news moments like the Russia/Ukraine war and the Israel/Palestine conflict, and during that time I developed close working relationships with the whole team. I was then asked to work on their new projects that had a more specific focus on current affairs, such as FYI Investigates: Bana, a documentary that focused on Bana Alabed who fled her home in Syria because of the conflict there. She then used the power of the internet to spread the horrific truths about the war and has since become a powerful voice for children in warzones, advocating for peace, education, and justice.

I was really pleased to be asked to offline Sky Kids Investigates: World. War. Me. which is also presented by Bana. It’s a 20-minute, anti-war documentary told by children for children who detail how war has impacted their lives, from the effect on their living conditions in makeshift camps to surviving deadly injuries, and their attempts to obtain an education amidst the conflict. It highlights the hope and resilience of these children and their parents and underlines the devastation of war. Fresh Start sourced interviews from different children around the world from countries as disparate as Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gaza. We listened to each child carefully and approached each one with nuance, trying to ensure that each child's story was heard. Despite the different locations war is always the same, so common threads began to show and naturally a narrative started to form. Bana Alabed, our host, helped order these interview fragments with pieces to camera relating her experiences to each child.

The hardest challenge for me was taking these very real and heartbreaking stories of kids affected by war and figuring out how build a narrative for younger audiences without diminishing the horrific truths of war. We would constantly ask questions like 'Is this too much for a young audience?' and 'Are we compromising the story of these kids?' Questions like these kept a clear sense of direction and balance to our edit. Even so, it wasn't easy to listen to these deeply disturbing stories and sometimes it was difficult to leave those stories in the edit suite. Director, Matt Peacock was very good at ensuring that we took breaks and also at encouraging us to use that time to step away from the content.

I'm very proud of the documentary. I think each child featured has had their story told to the best of our abilities. It wasn't an easy edit and at times it was difficult and emotionally challenging. But it is nothing compared to the reality of these victims of war. During the offline I listened to every single one of those interviews repeatedly for many weeks, the same stories over and over again and it never got any easier to hear. I’m delighted that the documentary has been recognised and I hope that, as a result, it gets more eyes on it. The stories of these kids need to be seen and heard. I will remember them for a very long time.

Tatjana Radivoj – Dubbing Mixer

I have worked on numerous FYI Investigates specials including Ukraine’s Children of War, Water Crisis, and Kids Who Vape. I’m always grateful for the opportunity to work on these programmes as they bring very important issues to the forefront and do so very powerfully through the perspectives and voices of children. This was especially the case with World. War. Me. which investigates the devastating impact that war has on children, very powerfully told by children themselves.

The main aim of the mix was to keep the dialogue loud and clear, as there were a lot of different contributors telling emotional and personal stories. There was a lot of voiceover in the programme, both as the main VO and as translation. There were various VO contributors with recordings of varying audio quality, so I used EQ, iZotope and compression to make everything sound smooth and clear. Some of the interviews had a lot of background noise, and Supertone Clear helped me reduce this. I also added SFX throughout such as background atmospheres, wooshes and typing sounds for graphics, as well as war sounds to help the viewer understand the experiences being told. I worked closely with the Director, Matt Peacock, on an in-person signoff session where we collaborated on ideas to get the balance of different elements just right. I really value working on factual news programmes as they tell such meaningful and important stories, and I look forward to working on more FYI and other news programmes in the future.

Ben Whitney – Colourist

Working on Sky Kids Investigates: World. War. Me presented a series of subtle and technical challenges in the grading process, largely due to the breadth of source material and the emotional weight of the subject matter. After viewing the offline and speaking to Producer/Director Matt Peacock, it became clear that the primary task was to balance the various sources of footage so that the final programme felt visually even and immersive. The intention was also to shape the intro section with a subtle look and vignette to grab the viewer's attention from the outset. The footage itself was a mix of archive, drone, phone, and interview material, each bringing its own visual characteristics and inconsistencies. These differences were particularly evident in elements such as sky and grass colour but, most importantly, in skin tones. Some sources appeared flatter or more compressed, while others were more vibrant or contrast heavy. The challenge here was not simply technical correction but a stylistic alignment, matching these disparate sources so that they would sit comfortably alongside one another, while still preserving the authenticity of the archive material. Maintaining this balance was crucial to ensure continuity within scenes and to avoid jarring visual changes that could affect the viewer’s involvement and immersion.

Among the trickiest scenes to resolve were the two interviews filmed outside the UNICEF school tent in Gaza featuring Joud and Lama. This footage was noticeably overexposed, and the skin tones were particularly unnatural, with a pronounced green hue that was immediately distracting. Correcting this required an isolation of the skin tones and careful secondary grading to restore a more natural appearance, all while retaining as much detail as possible from the compromised exposure. Given the serious and emotional nature of the documentary, the grade needed to support the storytelling without becoming intrusive, avoiding overly stylised looks that might detract from the realism of the piece. Instead, the goal was to strike a careful balance between cinematic polish and documentary authenticity, allowing the visuals to feel considered and cohesive while still grounded in reality. This balance was crucial in maintaining emotional flow across the varied footage, ensuring that transitions between scenes and sources felt even to keep the audience's attention. 

The outro section featuring Andrii from Ukraine required a slightly different approach, due to its more dramatic tone and low-light environments. Scenes set in a dark room, illuminated only by a candle or the glow of a television screen required sensitive handling to preserve detail in the shadows while maintaining the intended atmosphere. Managing contrast and colour in these conditions was key to retaining the intimacy and intensity of the moment without losing clarity. Overall, the grading process on this documentary was an exercise in cohesion, bringing together a wide range of visual sources and shaping them into a unified, emotional whole, while respecting both the integrity of the footage and the weight of the stories being told.

Melissa Holton – Online Editor

Finding out I’d be doing the online edit for another Fresh Start special made me genuinely happy. I’ve worked with the Fresh Start team for around six years now, and their programmes are always fascinating, thoughtful, and a pleasure to be part of. Getting to work with Matthew Peacock in the edit suite again was the icing on the cake.

Mark Sison had created a wonderful narrative in the offline, complete with motion graphics, so now I was working with Ben Whitney’s beautifully, graded shots, and Tatjana’s excellent audio mix. My job was to make sure every frame was as polished as possible. As with previous Fresh Start specials the footage came from a huge range of sources. The PTCs with 16‑year‑old refugee Bana Alabed in Turkey and with Tumi in Manchester were filmed to the usual high standard by Matt Botten and Matt Peacock, but other material needed a lot more attention. Some of it wasn’t great quality, but it was the only footage available to illustrate key parts of the story - for example, archive from the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo over the last 30 years, or mobile phone clips. Many of the Getty and phone videos weren’t in 25fps, so I worked with Rachael Hunt, our brilliant coordinator, and the Edit Assistants to get everything ingested and frame‑converted properly. Other clips needed detailed clean‑up: stabilising shots, blurring and tracking faces, fixing blanking errors with resizes. Drone footage often arrives with aliasing issues, and this project was no exception, so I applied a field‑remove effect to sort that out.

I worked closely with Post Producer Rebecca Amarasinghe throughout, keeping her updated on progress and any issues. There was even a moment near the end when, due to political developments in the USA, we thought we might not be able to use the UNICEF footage for legal reasons, and we’d have to re‑edit a significant chunk of the programme. I was on standby to rebuild those sections, but thankfully we were able to keep the material in the final cut.I was thrilled and proud to hear that this programme has now been nominated for a RTS Award and a BAFTA. I’m not surprised; it’s such an important film which gives children in conflict a voice. It brought a tear to my eye the first time I watched it.