Partner Testimonials

James Armitage, Regional Coordinator, SA Indigenous Policy & Service Delivery Branch

Australian Government, Attorney-General’s Department,  July 2009

The 10×14 Bricks DVD not only provides an account of crime prevention strategies from the ‘world of the young offender’

but has provided the Department with an ideal medium and resource for new recruits and graduates who are wanting to

work with Indigenous young offenders and the juvenile justice system. The DVD has great potential to be used as a tool

for the Department’s induction process when new recruits commence working in the Indigenous Justice arena.

Sally Chance, Artistic Director

Australian Festival for Young People 2007

The appeal of the project and resource for me lies in the legacy of skills development that is built into young people’s documentary making. Techniques of video production are developed through professional development for teachers and hands-on training for young people, alongside concept development, which needs to be the primary motivation for making a film.

Alex Kelly, Producer, BigHart Npartji Npartji; Alice Springs, 2006

I have known Carl and Jennifer and their work for several years and regard them as very passionate and hard working filmmakers. That they are making these valuable skills easily accessible to educators is exciting.

In addition to the opportunity to gain media skills the process of telling stories through film has been very positive. I have seen this model employed in other cultural community development projects with fantastic outcomes.

There are few resources and opportunities in remote communities and the energy that tallstoreez team brings is invaluable.

Graham Cox, Department of Education SA

Policy and Program Officer, Arts Learning Outcomes & Curriculum Group, 2006

Students are powerful teachers of each other and the student-devised examples of documentary film making practice, which the resource features, will be a strong motivating aspect along with the practical activities for teachers.

Directing the Hero Within has considerable potential to advance media literacy and support engagement in digital storytelling and is aligned with several recommendations made by Thinker in Residence Peter Wintonick’s in his report Southern Screens: Southern Stories.

I feel that teachers across Australia and beyond will welcome Directing the Hero Within as a useful and practical guide to filmmaking and youth empowerment.

Peta Pash, Department of Education SA

TAFE SA Statewide Program Leader Creative & IT Industries, 2006

I have followed the development of the Hero Project and its resource with interest over the past years. tallstoreez productionz have impressed me with their passion and commitment to empowering young people to make films and tell their own stories. I strongly recommend their unique approach to link empowerment, youth health and innovative digital arts education.

From the South Australian Office for Youth website, 2006

The Directing a Hero Within project has allowed young people to express themselves and their thoughts about their community in a new medium,” Minister for Youth Caica said.

A training DVD, produced as part of the project earlier this month, won a national Australian Teacher of Media (ATOM) Award for the best instructional/training resource, which is a testament to the quality and sense of collaboration the project engendered.

Edie Carter, Media Officer Ngarrindjeri Land & Progress Association Feb 2010

Hi Carl;

OMG cant believe Nukkan.Kungun.Yunnan was screened on NITV yeah

thank you guys so much for making this happen really appreciate

everything you have done with ngarrindjeri media in the last year

Over the moon at the moment!!

Thank you jennifer and felix so much…

My family was so happy to see that it can be done from this small country town

nukkan edie

Brett Spilsbury, General Manager Riverland Youth Theatre, Nov 2009

Hi Carl

Thanks for the email. I have had excellent reports back about the weekend.

Regards

Brett Spilsbury

Serena Shaddick  Living Juicy Media, Esperance WA Nov 2009

Thank you for getting back to me so promptly Carl!

You’ve created a great project!

Serena Shaddick, Esperance WA, Nov 2009

Hello! A while ago I purchased from your website the Directing The Hero Within DVD and Info Kit, which I found to be most useful.

Some years ago I completed studies in Filmmaking and upon coming back to my rural and regional community to be with my farming partner, I had been asked by some community groups and schools to give some ‘lessons’ on media making.

Even though I do occasional media consulting, I was not confident in teaching the knowledge I had to others – as I didn’t know where to begin.

Your resources helped with this. Thank you. Now there are some in my town who have the basic skills required to tell their own stories and express themselves with ‘new media’. My most memorial workshop was with a local indigenous school of about 17 participants where the students created 3 stories. A horror, a comedy and a drama.

Serena

Marisa Santosa, Propel Youth Arts workshop participant, Perth Oct 2009

“I came away realizing that there are issues that I care about and want to explore, and stories I want to tell. I learnt that the point isn’t necessarily to walk away from something that isn’t working, but to identify what is not working and take the necessary measures. Thank you Propel for such a wonderful workshop!”

Andi Ng, Prople Youth Arts workshop participant, Perth, October 2009

I really enjoyed Prop Fest! Meeting some awesome people and being a part of the crew was great.

Most of all, it left me feeling inspired in pursuing my interests in the arts.

Lyndon Fernandez, Propel Youth Arts WA participant, Perth Oct 2009

The best part of Prop Fest was the chance to work with people you don’t know, and somehow we all mashed really well in four days! And everyone’s got some amazing skills to share – you couldn’t have picked a better team.

Karina, workshop participant, Perth Oct 2009

Hi jen. Thanks for the prop fest workshop. It changed my life, seeing that the process of making a movie really is quite simple.
Thanks,

Karina

Susie Skinner, Artistic Director

D’faces of youth arts, Whyalla SA, Oct 2009

Hi there Carl

Maddie, Dan and I say THANKS to you and the team

We finally got the process going by buying an external hard drive as Felix suggested

The mac didn’t seem to have any room to save anything at all so we are saving directly onto the hard drive

Thanks again for your invaluable support

Dfaces

Bridget Nicholson, Regional Arts Development Officer

Arts Upper Hunter Inc, August 2009

Great to hear from you! We are having great response re films. The Dungog ‘On The Move’ received second place in a competition run by the Department of State and Regional Development called ’my town is special coz’.  We are not really sure what this means at the moment but are hoping that we can get some assistance through this for our media centre. [...]

The Gloucester one has also won a prize at the Foster Short Film competition! The Dungog one was also entered in the Wollombi Short Film Festival and although it didn’t win a prize they rang mea few times to tell me how good it was and how near it was to winning a prize!!!

Tricia Thwaites, Youth Worker, Families SA

Whyalla, June 2009

Hi! Yes we did receive the copy of 10 x 14 Bricks , thank you.

We used it only a few weeks ago in our Victim Awareness Program and found it to be quite a useful resource for our youth to watch. It gave our clients a bit of an insight into detention centres & the possible outcome awaiting some.

Overall…. we found it to be informative and interesting, although we were a little disappointed it didn’t show more of Cavan itself e.g . education block/recreational activities.

Well done to all those involved!

Cheers J

Jeremy Head, Youth Pathways Officer

Whyalla SA, June 2009

To all the guys at Tall Storeez.

What can I say? Thank-you Thank-you Thank-you.  What an amazing experience we had earlier this month.  To see the kids workshop their ideas with you and then become actual pieces of work in only 3 days.

The relationships that you built up so quickly was amazing and the patience that you showed is fantastic.  I cannot believe the level of talent that we have here in Whyalla and the way that you encouraged it out of the kids.

I am looking forward to working with you all again soon and am willing to support you in anyway possible.

Again Thank-you so much for the experience and excitement.

All the best for your future projects and look forward to working with you again

Thom Burns, Coordinator Interdisciplinary Science & ICT

Australian Science and Mathematics School,  June 2009

Thanks so much for the support provided. It was a great experience which will enhance the production.

Jim Edson, Coordinator, ICT Across the Curriculum and Whole School ICT Management

Charles Campbell Secondary School,  June 2009

Hi Carl. It was really wonderful to have your input today. Having a fresh pair of eyes and ears assisted greatly in clarifying the direction and your experience has been invaluable to the project.

Krystina continued working on the edit this afternoon and has largely completed the work. She will fine tune it next week.

This whole process has been very cathartic for Chantelle and an emotionalexperience for all of us who have been part of the film production.

I will cc this to Kym [Kym Nadebaum, DECS New Media Awards coordinator] as he would no doubt be interested to hear how things have been going.

I will pass your email onto Krystina so that she can check the points for the final edit.

Margie Hawkins, Intake Worker

Ozark-Dale County Family Service Center, USA, May 2009

10 X 14 Bricks should be very effective in the classroom of teens and young adults because of its personnal nature and the sincere approach used to relate true stories of actions taken and consequences that resulted in each case.

Each one was genuine and sometimes heart breaking in its sincereity.  Especially impressive was the way in which each story was told from the director’s viewpoint and given a personal side by including family members and friends.

The story told what life was like on a daily basis for each person and what their hopes for the future were.  After each story was told, the viewer was given a chance to see what has happened to each person six months later.  Some of the people in the stories were released and some were still incarcerated. This gives the viewer a true sense of the real life outcomes of people who get into these situations.

One story was entitled “If Only”, and ask the question, what might have been the outcome for this particular individual if only this one incident had not taken place.  This is a question most people have asked themselves at one time or other in their life experiences.  This type of question leads to self-evaluation and can be of help when the next incident presents itself.

All the people who are telling their stories in this film are between the ages of 15 and 19  years old and their stories are true.  Teens and young adults should be able to relate to these stories and to the people telling them.

Gerri Walker, Principal

Youth Education Centre Cavan, March 2009

… an extremely valuable tool to engage youth on issues around values, crime and consequences, drugs, ethics, family and justice. The questions and exercises in the education manual are really helping students tease out and develop coping strategies for themselves. I’ve found its best to work through the stories one at a time, there is so much to learn from each of them. The documentaries in particular triggers so much open discussion around feelings such as anger, hope, fear, and pressure, its actually quite wonderful to see. Its easy to use, and I’d recommend it to anyone working with young people, particularly those young people at risk…

Ben Smith, Coordinator, Cove Youth Service, City of Marion, February 2009

I know some of the young people involved and I’ve never seen them as engaged and motivated as they were with the tall storeez crew, putting in full days, clearly enjoying the opportunity to be creative and build their skills, and staying on till late Friday afternoon after working for a solid week on the film production. The capacity of the tall storeez crew to foster the young peoples’ initiative, and leadership skills, to “lead from behind” was particularly evident. For me as a youth worker it was inspiring and encouraging.

Robyn Thompson, Koorie Education Unit, October 2008

Coordinator, DIDGe – Digital Storytelling Project, Goulburn Ovens TAFE, Shepparton, VIC

Re: the Hero Project at Art in the Heart, Regional Arts Australia national conference Oct 2008:

Hi Carl, 
Thanks for the edit and follow up to your presentation and workshop. I watched the Art at the Heart videos and approve of the editing to “Alice the Journey”. It was a jam-packed session, well worth the effort and a great workshop to be involved in. 
I will check with students to see if they want to be involved in your program for next year. 
Regards, Robyn 



Damien A. Pree, Corrugated Iron Youth Arts, Darwin, NT, October 2008

Re: the Hero Project at Art in the Heart, Regional Arts Australia national conference Oct 2008:

Having taken part in the Hero Project’s two workshops at the Art In the Heart Conference I was massively impressed with the clarity of instruction, the empowerment possibilities and the practical understanding of the issues facing film makers in remote communities. We will presently be purchasing the Hero DVD and I’m holding chats with other orgs up here in Darwin to arrange for the hero project to come here as it would provide much needed inspiration and support to this remote area.

Greg Pritchard, Horsham Cultural Development Officer, VIC

Re: the Hero Project at Art in the Heart, Regional Arts Australia national conference Oct 2008:

Dear Carl and Jennifer. I really enjoyed the workshop, the intensity of it, the collaborative nature [...]. I can imagine that your delivery style, and techniques work very well with youth. 
There were definitely things I learnt during the workshop that I will apply to my work. 
Thanks again for a great experience.

Melissa Ryan
Orana Arts Promotions & Project Officer, NSW, October 2008

Love the Hero Project. The presentation opened my eyes to some great possibilities. We will definitely be visiting your website regularly to check out the updates (and passing onto any budding filmmakers in our region). Film was identified as an area of interest for our community during a survey in late 2007. We are currently working on a film project for next year. We are looking into funding to purchase film equipment. At the Art at the Heart presentation in Alice Springs there was a kit there – can I ask how much this is and do we buy direct from you? Best wishes, Melissa

Sam Long, Murray Bridge, commenting on Pinnaroo Surfer,  2008

Living in a country town I really got with Kade’s idea. I thought Murray Bridge was small until I spent time in Pinnaroo. It’s cool that Kade knew everyone and there are so many great places just down the road, like the water holes or the mongoose nailed to the tree.

It’s just fun to go out and shoot and each time I learnt so much. Carl always had a new angle for me to check out. My main focus was to capture what was in the script or storyboards. I felt confident because I had a mentor at my side the whole time, which meant I could experiment a lot. I’m not bad doing steadycam work so I was keen to try the documentary shots. It’s amazing how much you can miss but when you’re in the zone the camera is in the right place.

The great part is that the Hero Project keep asking me back to do more camera work on other projects so I am really improving my skills.

Kade Richardson, Pinnaroo, SA, December 2007

“Making this film [Pinnaroo Surfer] has definitely changed my life. I want to continue making films and start a media career. Seeing people respond to my ideas is so powerful – all I wanted to say was ‘you can be creative wherever you are, it doesn’t matter where you’re from!” 
[Kade is now starring in a 10-part mini-series based on his film, which screened on ABC TV in early 2009].

Anni Cottle, Youth Education Centre, Cavan Secure Care, February 2009

Hi Jen, Carl and crew, Just a note to thank you for the 10×14 Bricks DVD. You have all done such a wonderful job. Shane has spent some time watching it as I am currently teaching him and some of the others boys have seen bits and pieces. We are grateful for your contribution in working with the boys and look forward to working again with you in the future. Regards, Anni

Kieran, 12, Mount Gambier, SA, 2005

“I hadn’t lived until I participated in the project.”