Leeton, NSW Oct 2013
CHALLENGE:
The Change Media team will work with the Leeton Shire in the second collaborative workshop about binge drinking, as part of the Leeton Shire Council’s Bidgee Binge campaign, supported by the Australian Government. The aim for the 4-day workshop is to co-create another 30-45-sec TV commercial with young people from the region, to raise awareness about the issues around excessive alcohol consumption.
The workshop is part two of our two year collaboration with the Leeton Shire Council and Western Riverina Arts to respond to the culturally acceptance of binge drinking. Last year’s collaboration created a powerful media message to be screened on WIN TV to an audience of over 72,000 people in the Riverina. The Change Media team also produced a funky 15-min behind-the-scenes documentary and a 2-min web-only version of the TV commercial, which you can watch, right now! Don’t be That Guy – click the links above to start watching!
PARTNERS: Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative; Leeton Shire Council and its Bidgee Binge Project, supported by the Australian Government; Western Riverina Arts and Leeton’s Roxy Theatre; Tallstoreez Productionz.
Don’t be That Guy
Click the link to watch - Don’t be That Guy – 45 sec TVC.
If your device can’t play the clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
Click the link to watch - Don’t be That Guy – Extended Version.
If your device can’t play the clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
Click the link to watch - Don’t be That Guy – Behind the Scenes Documentary TVC.
If your device can’t play the clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
OUTCOMES:
During part 1 of this 2-year collaboration, we worked with 15 participants aged 12-16 years] to develop a creative concept for a effective TV commercial, including an engaging narrative, catch phrase / slogans, storyboards and visual style. All participants trained in acting techniques, basic camera work, screen language, editing, and were part of running and managing a professional shoot alongside our Change Media crew. We used our new Canon 5D Markiii HDSLR kit for the first time, with amazing cinematic results. And on top of that, the behind-the-scenes documentary was mostly shot by three 12-year old participants, who had a keen eye for bloopers!
SCREENINGS & AWARDS: Stay tuned for updates! The TVC will launch on WIN TV on the Channel 9 network across the NSW Riverina region early this summer.
IMPACT & FEEDBACK:
We went through an amazing process with the youth team, looking at the best examples of alcohol-awareness videos globally, with the ambitious aim to match them during a 4-day workshop… The ongoing discussions on what binge drinking is, how it affects people and why people do it, was an incredible experience to be part of. The team co-created all aspects of the narrative with us and went through enormous efforts during a full day shoot of 30-odd scene set ups. We were very impressed with the professionalism of the teenagers – thanks again for sharing! We recorded some of the contributions during interviews and daily feedback sessions, as part of our performative evaluation, check out the amazing ‘Don’t be That Guy – behind-the-scenes’ documentary!
Leeton, NSW Sep 2012
CHALLENGE:
The Change Media team traveled to Leeton Shire for a collaborative workshop about binge drinking, as part of the Leeton Shire Council’s Bidgee Binge campaign, supported by the Australian Government. The aim for the 4-day workshop was to co-create a 45-sec TV commercial with 15 young people from the region, to raise awareness about the issues around excessive alcohol consumption.
The workshop formed part of a two year collaboration with the Leeton Shire Council and Western Riverina Arts to respond to the culturally acceptance of binge drinking. This year’s collaboration created a powerful media message to be screened on WIN TV this summer to an audience of over 72,000 people in the Riverina. The Change Media team also produced a funky 15-min behind-the-scenes documentary and a 2-min web-only version of the TV commercial, which you can watch, right now! Don’t be That Guy – click the links above to start watching!
PARTNERS: Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative; Leeton Shire Council and its Bidgee Binge Project, supported by the Australian Government; Western Riverina Arts and Leeton’s Roxy Theatre; Tallstoreez Productionz.
Don’t be That Guy
Click the link to watch - Don’t be That Guy – 45 sec TVC.
If your device can’t play the clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
Click the link to watch - Don’t be That Guy – Extended Version.
If your device can’t play the clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
Click the link to watch - Don’t be That Guy – Behind the Scenes Documentary TVC.
If your device can’t play the clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
OUTCOMES:
During part 1 of this 2-year collaboration, we worked with 15 participants aged 12-16 years] to develop a creative concept for a effective TV commercial, including an engaging narrative, catch phrase / slogans, storyboards and visual style. All participants trained in acting techniques, basic camera work, screen language, editing, and were part of running and managing a professional shoot alongside our Change Media crew. We used our new Canon 5D Markiii HDSLR kit for the first time, with amazing cinematic results. And on top of that, the behind-the-scenes documentary was mostly shot by three 12-year old participants, who had a keen eye for bloopers!
SCREENINGS & AWARDS: Stay tuned for updates! The TVC will launch on WIN TV on the Channel 9 network across the NSW Riverina region early this summer.
IMPACT & FEEDBACK:
We went through an amazing process with the youth team, looking at the best examples of alcohol-awareness videos globally, with the ambitious aim to match them during a 4-day workshop… The ongoing discussions on what binge drinking is, how it affects people and why people do it, was an incredible experience to be part of. The team co-created all aspects of the narrative with us and went through enormous efforts during a full day shoot of 30-odd scene set ups. We were very impressed with the professionalism of the teenagers – thanks again for sharing! We recorded some of the contributions during interviews and daily feedback sessions, as part of our performative evaluation, check out the amazing ‘Don’t be That Guy – behind-the-scenes’ documentary!
Karoonda SA, Aug 2007
CHALLENGE: The Karoonda community commissioned the Hero Project team to work with a group of local youth to produce a documentary about the impact of drink driving on small rural towns.
PARTNERS: Arts SA Health Promotion Through the Arts; Country Arts SA; Karoonda Area School; Murray Mallee Community Education Network Inc; Mallee Health Service Inc; Tallstoreez Productionz; Apple Australia
Film: 9 Steps to Become a Successful Underage Drinker

Click on the image above or the link to watch - 9 Steps to Become a Successful Underage Drinker.
If your device can’t play the clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
A fabulous discussion starter about underage drinking: ‘9 Steps to Become a Successful Underage Drinker’ is a comedic take on ‘how-to’ videos and drug education with a high impact ending that will have your students talking for days. Goose bumps guaranteed!
OUTCOMES: Initially the group discussed interviewing the local police officer and locals to create a documentary about the issue. When the Hero Project team asked if they would watch this film, they admitted they find ‘educational’ videos boring. So their task was to make a film they would watch. After lengthy debate from the young people and adults in the room, the Hero mentors suggested the team work with a satirical reversal to get the message across. They brainstormed all the stories ‘everyone shares about their youthful exploits’, and so the conversation began… The team drafted the 9 steps in the first session and then shot them over several sessions working with the Hero mentors. It was fantastic to work with the youth team and the Karoonda community, who all pitched in to support the project, from offering locations, making props and acting in the film.
Using humour and a satirical reversal this film drives a serious punch and comes with an urgently needed resource pack to support teachers and youth workers to tackle the issues of underage drinking.

