WELCOME

‘Teach a community to film and they can show the whole world how to fish…’
Change Media is a cultural community building initiative that has evolved from the highly successful Hero Project.
We use digital media to empower communities to skill-up and share their stories across the globe.

Stories brought to life
We emphasize the power of storytelling – and use a bunch of ever-changing digital tools to get those messages out!

When you create and participate in making art, you change.

Making media is a great healing tool: creating art is a celebration of difference and connection; a chance to share stories and interpret the world. Digital video stories are viral, they literally keep the conversation going and can touch many more people.
Click here to read our 2011 opinion paper Get Off My Back – on the use of digital media in Community Arts and Cultural Development  – published by the Australia Council for the Arts  – Community Partnerships.

So we are not just talking about making films; we’re talking about communities creating and sharing their own stories that are relevant to them and then experiencing the power of media. Imagine your story connecting others on the web, at a film festival, on TV, via mobile phone or projected on a public space!
When you witness your story making a difference, you see you can change the world.
But at present many marginalized communities only experience the power of media when an external, privileged film team parachutes in to document local issues or re-tell their stories, from a Media Expert’s view point. We believe this disparity is a crucial element of the colonial language, which keeps marginalized people illiterate and dis-empowered. As long as these film teams don’t train, share and leave capacities behind, we believe this process prolongs existing dependencies, where marginalized communities have to rely on these teams to be heard within the ‘mainstream’.
This is no longer necessary, provided communities claim full control of their creativity and the related business potential, but first they need to gain access to high quality equipment and appropriate skills / long-term training. We believe that most documentaries and their makers remain part of the problem, when it comes to working with communities, as long as these kind of structures are not challenged and changed as part of each and every cross-cultural community engagement.

Media made by, for and about communities is media for change and will change the media landscape.

OUR PROCESS

We work with communities who have identified a clear need.

The process is truly participatory: the media content is made by the community, we are mentors, and as skilled negotiators and brokers we support individuals to feel comfortable and believe in themselves, firstly by addressing what gets in the way and then mapping doable steps for the team. As with most things in life – everything is negotiable, and addressing the power relationships, hidden agendas and expectations is a great way to learn essential production (and life) skills.

Authentic, socially aware community media can send out strong messages, just like a good marketing campaign; but to ensure it truly resonates we explore how the stories will best entertain and connect to the target audience: is it relevant, of high quality, pertinent, emotional, clear, strong, intelligent, funny? And we believe most of our projects are all of the above - you be the judge…

Each collaboration we establish a respectful space for each individual to share their story and discuss the needs of their community.

Our team has a small footprint: it is more important for us to deliver than spend our funds on large overheads and fancy offices. We come from a strong background of social justice and grass roots documentary film making, where you learn to make a lot out of little. By example, we demonstrate how each group can become a professional media team from small beginnings.

We strive for excellence: Community art can be spectacular, as it comes from the heart, although often it is referred to as the poor cousin – if a group is marginalized it doesn’t mean supporters should lower the bench mark for excellence. We have produced award-winning, high-rating TV and we work in community cultural development to show that there is no need to value one over the other – the aim is that our community projects can screen on national TV if the community want that, and it is happening…

We have created a unique hands-on challenge based training methodology – learning through doing & empowering the team to teach their peers.

Our process is a true collaboration: flexible, tailored, strength & need based assessment in negotiation with each community and our funders. Our aim is to remove ourselves as soon as the participants can do it themselves.

Life is complex: it’s not permanent and it’s all we have… So we are playful, reflective, inquisitive, humorous, fast, furious and we try to address the fears in the room so they don’t take over. We believe this approach is essential when we live in a world in crisis.

In summary, our media sound bites:

  • We inspire others to tap into their own power – you can change your world
  • We develop authentic, (tailored, asset & needs based) cross cultural collaborations
  • We provide access to skills & equipment & networks and broker third party funding
  • We are producers and share our entrepreneurial verve & know-how with each community
  • We are a flexible team, with a small footprint; our budgets focus on delivery, not overheads
  • We provide professional digital media training – it is in-depth, hands-on and achievable within a short time
  • We keep it relevant; if you want change then you are the target audience – and the process should be intrinsically fun and appealing
  • We laugh a lot – the film messages are cutting edge and often use humour to resonate globally
  • We aim to remove ourselves from each step once the community can do it alone
  • The community make their own media, for, by and about themselves (not mediated by someone else’s vision / interests)
  • They get their message out
  • They create engaging social change films that are high (TV) quality that audiences rave about it
  • They learn 21st Century digital media skills & get connected
  • They set up a media hub/ micro-business and continue to have a voice
  • They create real jobs in their community and they train others
  • There is a lasting ripple effect – ground level change for each individual, to their friends and family, within their communities, their region and across the world

Change Media is changing the media is changing yourself is changing your world – one incredible story at a time.

If you still think you want to work with us, we would love to hear from you!