Coorong, SA Dec 2012 – Feb 2013
CHALLENGE:
The Change Media team partnered with the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority in association with the SA Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources to produce a collaborative community-driven documentary about the Ngarrindjeri lands and waters and The Living Murray Initiative’s ICON sites during a four day capacity building workshop in Dec 2012 and edit process in Jan-Feb 2013 with the Ngarrindjeri Media Team.
FUNDING PARTNERS: Indigenous Cultural Support, Office for the Arts, Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport; Australia Council for the Arts; Arts SA; Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority; Tallstoreez Productionz.
Produced in association with the South Australian Government Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, and the Murray Darling Basin Authority.
Flow – Life Giving Lands and Waters
Click the link to watch – Flow – Life Giving Lands and Waters
If your device can’t play the clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
OUTCOMES:
Our crew worked with 12 scientists selected by DEWNR and the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority, to address a series of issues about managing the River Murray, the Lower Lakes and the Coorong. Over 4 days we investigate the different western scientific and economic approaches, in comparison with Ngarrindjeri knowledge and cultural practice shared by their elders, and find out how both sides can work together for a better understanding of the fragile environment of the Ngarrindjeri lands and waters.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS:
The 26min documentary is available on DVD now. DEWNR will use it for screenings at community events such as the World Wetlands Day, distribute copies to the Murray Darling Basin Authority and other organizations, and they also planning a joint launch together with the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority. Stay tuned for updates!
IMPACT & FEEDBACK:
The film has already triggered some interesting responses, a researcher from Flinders University said the film sets a new benchmark for collaborations between Indigenous communities and government departments, especially on the contentious issue of water and land management and related cultural rights.
We also have been asked to co-present Flow at the World Indigenous Network conference in Darwin in May 2013.
The Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority will use the documentary also as part of their Native Title claim, as it provides supporting evidence of their ongoing cultural connection to their land and waters. If our work can make a contribution on this level, then may be not all is lost…
Camp Coorong, SA, June 2012
CHALLENGE: The Change Media Team was commissioned by the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority to document the ceremonies for the Ngarrindjeri Yarluwar Ruwe Partnership Program held on June 7 2012.
Our team conducted interviews with SA Government Minister Caica, Associate Professor Daryle Rigney, Dean of Indigenous Strategy and Engagement, Flinders University and Chair of the Ngarrindjeri Enterprises Pty Ltd.
PARTNERS: Indigenous Cultural Support, Office for the Arts, Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport; Indigenous Coordination Centre SA; Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative; Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority; Tallstoreez Productionz
Ngarrindjeri Yarluwar Ruwe Partnership
Video will be available soon.
OUTCOMES:
Additional interviews including Ellen Trevorrow, Simone Ulalka Tur and Steve Hemming, Australian Studies Flinders University. Chair of Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority Reseach, Policy and Planning Unit.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS: Stay tuned for updates!
IMPACT & FEEDBACK:
Camp Coorong, SA, May 2012
CHALLENGE: The Change Media Team ran a 4-day workshop with 6 Ngarrindjeri Working on Country and Heritage Rangers to edit the documentation of the inaugural Indigenous rangers Working on Country Forum, held in April 16-20 2012.
During the 4-day post-production workshop, the Ngarrindjeri rangers trained in how to media manage footage, create a relevant and engaging story line from multiple events and edit them into a 10-minute video.
The workshop also covered basics in post production workflow.
PARTNERS: Indigenous Cultural Support, Office for the Arts, Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport; Indigenous Coordination Centre SA; Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative; Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority; Ngarrindjeri Land & Progress Association; Ngarrindjeri Ruwe Contracting; Ngopamuldi Aboriginal Corporation Raukkan; Tallstoreez Productionz
Edit for Working on Country Forum 2012
Click on the image above or the link to watch - Indigenous Working on Country Forum 2012.
If your device can’t play the clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
The team also created s new peer-produced training video, that will form part of our Indigenous Media Training online resource and will be uploaded by end of May 2012 on our online training tool kit.
Click on the link to watch - Laurie explains how to transfer your footage from SD card to Final Cut – Working on Country.
Click on the link to watch more training clips here.
OUTCOMES:
The edit workshop enabled the Ngarrindjeri team to use latest technology in digital video production, working with SD card HD cameras and record instant training videos about their newly learned skills.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS: Stay tuned for updates!
IMPACT & FEEDBACK:
As a result of the successful edit – the Department of Sustainability was thrilled with the documentary and wants to show it to the Minister!!! – the team is now discussing to take part in Uncle Moogy’s trip to Sydney end of May, to launch the Yuki [the bark canoe] on the Darling Harbour as part of an Indigenous water craft forum held at the Australian Maritime Museum May 30-June 1.
We are also negotiating with the Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority to invest into professional equipment for the three teams in Murray Bridge, Meningie and Raukkan, to fast track the Ngarrindjeri trainees and enable them to access high-end gear on a weekly basis.
We are confident that if the teams get appropriate support and continue their training with the same enthusiasm they have shown so far, they will be able within the next year to produce their own media and take on professional work.
Read the rest of this page and add your comments »
Calperum, WoC Forum, April 2012
CHALLENGE: The Change Media team spent five days at the end of April at the inaugural southern Working on Country Forum at Calperum Station just outside of Renmark, SA. The Forum was a national meeting of minds for Indigenous rangers to improve their skills and to make (or maintain) national relationships. Over 120 rangers from SA, NSW, TAS and VIC, gathered to learn about the unique challenges faced by their counterparts, with significance to traditional culture and maintaining our lands and waters.
Change Media was there to document every step of the way, from canoeing, quad bike safety, water quality monitoring, to basket weaving and digital media workshops, and you couldn’t turn a corner at Calperum Station, without seeing the roving media teams gathering pixels.
During the 5-day production the Ngarrindjeri media team trainees learned how to document a major event and take supporting roles in two hands-on training workshops.
They learned advanced skills in film narrative, interview, camera and event coverage techniques.
PARTNERS: This Change Media project was funded through the Australian Government, Indigenous Cultural Support, Office for the Arts, Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport; and the Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative; supported by the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities; Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority; Indigenous Coordination Centre SA; Ngarrindjeri Land & Progress Association; Ngarrindjeri Ruwe Contracting; Ngopamuldi Aboriginal Corporation Raukkan; Australian Landscape Trust; Tallstoreez Productionz
Working on Country Forum 2012
Click on the image above or the link to watch – Indigenous Working on Country Forum 2012.
If your device can’t play the clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
OUTCOMES:
Change Media founders Jennifer Lyons-Reid and Carl Kuddell ran two 3-hour workshops during the five-day event, to demonstrate hands-on how the rangers and their organizations can use digital media and set-up small media initiatives in their communities. It became clear to the participants they can share important stories and knowledge for future generations, with some excited rangers even rallying for funding to start their own productions!
Meanwhile, the Change Media trainers and Ngarrindjeri media trainees managed the pressure of covering an event, (dozens of parallel activities you can only shoot once, noisy generators, and sand in your camera’s focus wheel, to name a few!). To increase the challenge, the team also agreed to shoot and collate footage for the Department of Sustainability media kit, (including interviews, overlay and photos) to be delivered midway through the forum.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS: Stay tuned for updates!
IMPACT & FEEDBACK:
During the edit workshop in May 1-4 at Camp Coorong, the Ngarrindjeri trainees said that shooting a documentary about the Working on Country forum gave them a deeper understanding of Working on Country, as they had to engage with the workshops and knowledge shared on a different level, as media makers and as WoC rangers.
It was brilliant on the job training, from scheduling interviews and events, shooting on the fly, ferrying media from the on-the-field camera teams to HQ editors, to upload, edit and export in under 2 days – short of building a time machine they couldn’t have been more effective…
Camp Coorong, SA, February 2012
CHALLENGE: The Change Media Team conducted 4x 1-day workshops with 10 Ngarrindjeri women at the Ngarrindjeri Land and Progress Association.
During the introduction workshop at Camp Coorong, community members learned basic skills in film narrative and camera techniques.
PARTNERS: Indigenous Cultural Support, Office for the Arts, Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport; Indigenous Coordination Centre SA; Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative; Ngarrindjeri Land & Progress Association; Tallstoreez Productionz
Ngarrindjeri women’s workshop
The team worked on several peer-produced training videos and documentaries, that will form part of our Indigenous Media Training online resource.
Click on the link to watch their training clips here.
OUTCOMES:
The project covered storytelling and camera techniques. The participants reviewed the rough cut edits currently in post production, which were on hold after one the team leaders suffered an aneurism [she is in recovery now]. The review enabled the team to provide feedback and suggestions for the scope and vision of the overall project.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS: Stay tuned for updates! This film will be used as training and induction tool for projects in the Coorong and also features as part of our online training resource.
IMPACT & FEEDBACK: We ran this workshop after receiving strong expressions of interest from Ngarrindjeri women and their elder, Ellen Trevorrow, to learn basic digital media skills and be able to record their cultural practices on their own.
November 2011, Change Media’s Christie Walk – A Piece of Eco-City wins at the MyHero International Film Festival in Los Angeles
Christie Walk – A Piece OF Eco-City, our collaboration with the inner-city eco-housing community of Christie Walk in Adelaide, has won the first prize in the community film category at the 2011 International MyHero Film Festival in the community films category! Well done everyone – it was a pleasure to working with you all on the sustainability resource kit!
Change Media worked with members of the Christie Walk eco-housing project and Urban Ecology Australia to document and produce an exceptional resource about Christie Walk as an example of sustainable urban development.
Over 4 days Change Media delivered training in digital media and created two inspiring documentaries about one of the only inner-city eco-housing projects in the world.
Congratulations to everyone involved in making this project happen!
And a big thanks to our partners on this project: Arts SA Partnerships for Healthy Communities; Urban Ecology Australia; Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board; CSR Hebel; Tallstoreez Productionz
Murray Bridge, SA, June-July 2011
CHALLENGE: The Change Media Team conducted 4x 1-day workshops with Ngarrindjeri Caring For Country and Heritage Rangers at the Ngarrindjeri Ruwe Contracting Depot.
During the production in Murray Bridge, Raukkan and Meningie members of the Ngarrindjeri Ruwe and the Raukkan Caring for Country organizations learned skills in film narrative, interview and editing techniques.
PARTNERS: Indigenous Cultural Support, Office for the Arts, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; Indigenous Coordination Centre SA; Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative; Arts SA Partnerships for Healthy Communities; Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority; Ngarrindjeri Land & Progress Association; Ngarrindjeri Ruwe Contracting; Ngopamuldi Aboriginal Corporation Raukkan; Ngarrindjeri Heritage Committee; Tallstoreez Productionz
Ngarrindjeri Ruwe – Working On Country
Click on the image above or the link to watch - Ngarrindjeri Ruwe – Working On Country.
If your device can’t play the clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
The team also made several peer-produced training videos, that form part of our Indigenous Media Training online resource.
Click on the link to watch their training clips here.
OUTCOMES:
The project covered storytelling and camera techniques, shooting on traditional heritage locations, interview and event coverage techniques and editing. The resulting 10min film, Ngarrindjeri Ruwe – Working On Country, is available online and will be used by NRC staff for training, recruiting and PR. This project built on the success of the workshops in the last two years.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS: Stay tuned for updates! This film will be used as training and induction tool for Caring For Country projects in the Coorong and also features as part of our online training resource.
IMPACT & FEEDBACK: We have retained several young members from our first groups at Camp Coorong, Meningie, and Talk Kin Jeri in Millicent/Murray Bridge, while gaining new participants from Raukkan and Murray Bridge. All of the team have recorded their own training videos and had hands-on task during the production, including production skills ranging from organizing the shoots, securing interviews with elders and representatives, storytelling, creating digital storyboards, presenting on screen, camera and sound work, uploading and file management, to editing and music production.
Tuesday July 05, 2011, South East Aboriginal Focus Group wins SA NAIDOC Awards for Yuki project
Congratulations to the South East Aboriginal Focus Group working with us on Moogy’s Yuki – (Moogy’s Bark Canoe) – they have won the South Australian NAIDOC Awards 2011 in the Event category! Well done everyone – it was a pleasure to working with you all on the canoe making project!
This is a fantastic state-wide recognition for the project and a big Thank You for all our supporters, funding partners and communities across the South East, who worked with us over the last year.
Christie Walk, SA, November 2010
CHALLENGE: Change Media worked with members of the Christie Walk eco-housing project and Urban Ecology Australia to document and produce an exceptional resource about Christie Walk as an example of sustainable urban development.
Over 4 days Change Media delivered training in digital media and created two inspiring documentaries about one of the only inner-city eco-housing projects in the world.
PARTNERS: Arts SA Partnerships for Healthy Communities; Urban Ecology Australia; Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board; CSR Hebel; Tallstoreez Productionz
Film: Christie Walk – a piece of ecocity
Click on the image above or the link to watch - Christie Walk – a piece of ecocity – 10min documentary.
If your device can’t play the clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
You can purchase the documentary together with the 35min guided tour on DVD and companion CDROM [with e-book Moving Towards Urban Sustainability] in our online shop and at Urban Ecology Australia.
OUTCOMES:
During the production in Adelaide’s CBD members of the Christie Walk community, alongside experts from Urban Ecology Australia involved in creating Christie Walk, shared their insights into sustainability, biodiversity and community living, and learned skills in film narrative, conducted interviews and took part in the editing. The result is an inspiring educational resource about one of Australia’s leading eco-housing initiatives.
The project was an overwhelming success. The team collected over 15 hours of fantastic footage, photos and interviews, and together with the community decided to make two different films instead of one: a 10 minute promotional short documentary and a 35-min educational documentary following two resident hosts on their guided visitor-tour through the project as they guide a tour group through the project.
Besides taking part in the production, the workshop participants learned skills in media literacy, production management, screen language and visual representation of ecological issues. The educational sustainability resource DVD featuring both films will be available in January 2011 in our online shop and at Urban Ecology Australia.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS:
An official launch is planned for February 2011, please contact Urban Ecology Australia for further details.
The project is nominated as a finalist at the 2011 International MyHero Film Festival in the community films category. Congratulations! Watch this space for future updates [winner to be announced in November 2011] and for screenings near you.
IMPACT & FEEDBACK:
The production process was a lot of fun and our team felt instantly at home at Christie Walk. Working through a host of issues and talking points to be addressed in the documentary, the team decided to document one of the Christie Walk guided tours. The resulting 35 minute documentary offers a great insight into sustainable inner-city living, covering issues of biodiversity, design, eco-building and community development, including a look into one of Adelaide’s first strawbale houses, the advantages of building with Hebel blocks and double-glazed windows, as well as clever garden design and careful recycling practice.
Kalangadoo, SA, July 2010
CHALLENGE: Change Media worked with Ngarrindjeri Elder Major Moogy Sumner to document the making of the first traditional Ngarrindjeri / Boandik tree canoe on Boandik country in over 100 years. This evocative documentary is part of an educational River Redgum DVD combining Caring for Country best practice with transmission of traditional culture.
During the production in Kalangadoo [Big Trees in Water] and Millicent members of the Tal-Kin-Jeri group, Indigenous students and community members from across South East SA learned skills in film narrative, interview & editing techniques and experienced a once-in-a-lifetime event.
PARTNERS: Indigenous Cultural Support DEWHA; Indigenous Coordination Centre SA; Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative; Arts SA Partnerships for Healthy Communities; South East Natural Resource Management Board; South East Aboriginal Focus Group; Aboriginal Sobriety Group; Millicent High School; Tal-Kin-Jeri Performance group; Tallstoreez Productionz
Film: Moogy’s Yuki (Moogy’s Bark Canoe)
Click on the image above or the link to watch - Moogy’s Yuki – 2min trailer for the half hour documentary.
If your device can’t play this clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
You can order your copy of the documentary and River Redgum care DVD here.
We also produced an educational mini-doc with additional Caring for Country interviews:
Click on the link to watch - River Redgum Restoration – a 6min clip, also included on the DVD resource.
If your device can’t play this clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
OUTCOMES:
This project built on the success of the first workshop in May 2010. The peer-produced content will form part of the educational Caring For Country resource DVD, available in September 2010 in our online shop.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS: Major ‘Moogy’ Sumner has won a Hero Award at the 2010 MyHero International Film Festival, as well as the 2nd Prize for Moogy’s Yuki in the community film category, selected from hundreds of entries worldwide. The South East Natural Resources Management Board is supporting Moogy and Cyril to fly over to Los Angeles to represent the project at the awards ceremonies on November 19th and 20th. Congratulations!
The canoe along with the DVD is on display in Millicent and Mt. Gambier and at the OurMob exhibition, Adelaide Festival Centre. The Age and local WIN TV ran stories about the project and we will present the final documentary to ABC or NITV for broadcast.
Check out also our News section for updates on media coverage.
IMPACT & FEEDBACK: The challenge this session was to shoot and edit a documentary for the South East Natural Resource Management Board, including traditional cultural knowledge about caring for river red gums, making a traditional Ngarrindjeri bark canoe. During the second part of the project, we focused on documentation techniques and the educational narrative after the bark was taken off the tree. Ngarrindjeri Elder Major Moogy Sumner demonstrated how to prepare the canoe, spear-making techniques and then launched the historic Ngarrindjeri bark canoe.
Millicent, SA, May 2010
CHALLENGE: The Change Media Team conducted a production workshop with members of the Tal-Kin-Jeri performance group, Indigenous students and community members from across South East SA to train them in film narratives, interview techniques, editing and media management. The aim was to educate students alongside the production of a DVD about River Red Gum Care, which documents the technique of making a traditional Ngarrindjeri bark canoe by Ngarrindjeri Elder Major Sumner.
PARTNERS: Indigenous Cultural Support DEWHA; Indigenous Coordination Centre SA; Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative; Arts SA Partnerships for Healthy Communities; South East Natural Resource Management Board; South East Aboriginal Focus Group; Aboriginal Sobriety Group; Millicent High School; Tal-Kin-Jeri Performance group; Tallstoreez Productionz; Apple Australia
Film: Recording Culture
Click on the link to watch Recording Culture - a 6min peer-produced video, also included on the DVD resource Moogy;s Yuki.
OUTCOMES: The project covered an introduction to working with a client on location, intermediate interview and event coverage techniques and editing. The peer-produced content [the peer-produced film Recording Culture and photo slide show] will form part of the educational Caring For Country River Redgum resource called Moogy’s Yuki, to be delivered August 2010.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS: Please watch this space for updates. The plan is to exhibit the canoe along with the DVD at the OurMob exhibition at the Adelaide Festival Centre and in Millicent and Mt. Gambier. The Age and local WIN TV already ran stories about the project and we envisage to present the final documentary to NITV and ABC for broadcast.
Check out also our News section for updates on media coverage.
IMPACT & FEEDBACK: The challenge this session was to shoot and edit a documentary for the South East Natural Resource Management Board, including traditional cultural knowledge of the caring for rivergum trees, making a traditional Ngarrindjeri canoe and shield out of bark, let by Ngarrindjeri Elder Major Sumner. After a great introduction day with over 20 participants, we focused on documentation techniques and educational narrative. Each team member conducted interviews and was part of the canoe-making shoot.
Camp Coorong, SA, May 2010
CHALLENGE: Change Media ran the fifth production workshop with the Ngarrindjeri Media Team to continue their training in film narratives, interview techniques, editing and train-the-trainer methodology. The workshop focused on the editing of the Murrundi Ruwe Pangari Ringbalin ceremonies, shooting of pick-up and and production of training tutorials.
PARTNERS: Indigenous Cultural Support DEWHA; Indigenous Coordination Centre SA; Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative; Arts SA Partnerships for Healthy Communities; Ngarrindjeri Land & Progress Association; Ngarrindjeri Ruwe Contracting; Tallstoreez Productionz; Apple Australia
Film: Currently in Post Production.
Available end of July, 2010
OUTCOMES: The training covered editing of multi-camera footage, shooting pick-ups on location, conducting interviews and creating peer-training video manuals. New team members entered the team and participated in a peer-training introduction to camera and editing basics. The shooting of pick-ups for the Murrundi documentary took place at the Murray River barrages and in Meningie.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS: Please watch this space for updates.
IMPACT & FEEDBACK: The team’s challenge for this session was to continue the edit of the ambitious river ceremony and water crisis documentary. They also had to train new members and create bite-sized, hands-on peer-learning tutorials, to share their skills and demonstrate their acquired skills. As a direct result of our collaboration, one of the participants has now commenced a part time position as media officer for the RUWE Ngarrindjeri Resource Corporation to document their Caring For Country processes. Her role as media officer will also support her to continue to train with Change Media over the coming years.
Find the full ABC story and radio interviews from Friday March 26th, 2010, here:
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2010/03/24/2854810.htm?site=northandwest
Ngarrindjeri documentary to screen at New York film festival
By Petria Ladgrove (North and West morning show producer)
A documentary about the Ngarrindjeri community’s struggle with dropping water levels in the Lower Lakes system will be screened at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2010.
Listen to Edie Carter’s ABC Radio interview here.
Edie is the Ngarrindjeri media officer at the Ngarrindjeri Land & Progress Association.
Listen to Carl Kuddell’s ABC Radio interview here.
On the ABC News website today, March 26th 2010, as part of our interview with ABC Radio earlier this week:
Indigenous struggle gains US screening
A film documenting the cultural struggles for Indigenous groups due to a shortage of water in the lower lakes and Coorong of South Australia will screen at an international film festival in New York.
The film Nukkan.Kungun.Yunnan explains some of the difficulties faced by the Ngarrindjeri people, including a shortage of reeds for their traditional basket weaving.
Meningie youth worker Edie Carter worked with young people to make the 22-minute film and says it has a role in efforts to retain local culture.
“Because of what’s happening with the drought we need to document our cultural history for our next generation so … our young people can see what we’ve got now and what we had back in the past,” she said.
“What my mum and dad done with me, I can’t do that with my children and it’s very sad.
“So I’m crossing my fingers and if we can make other states aware of what is happening in the lower lakes, especially around Meningie, you know, just hoping and praying that we get that flow back.”
Nukkan.Kungun.Yunnan screens on National Indigenous Television, February 2010
In January 2009 the Ngarrindjeri Youth Media Team formed and in four days they created their first documentary; Nukkan.Kungun.Yunnan, a 22 minute film about the water crisis. Congratulations to the team, their film has had an incredible impact across the globe and within a year it has screened on National Indigenous TV. This is a huge achievement and really demonstrates how we can all make a difference.
Two awards for Nukkan.Kungun.Yunnan at the MyHero International Film Festival 2009
On Nov 16th, Ngarrindjeri elder and community leader Tom Trevorrow was awarded the Special MyHero Award at the International MyHero Film Festival in LA, as part of the Nukkan.Kungun.Yunnan documentary. The film he appears in was produced during a workshop with the newly formed Ngarrindjeri Youth Media Team.
Nukkan.Kungun.Yunnan, won 2nd place in the International MyHero Film Festival’s community film category, selected from hundreds of entries from around the world.
Since then the film has been invited to screen at the International Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York;
it screened during the Key Note opening speech at the Australian Community Broadcasters Conference;
OXFAM Australia has used excerpts of the film to promote their climate change campaign.
Gloucester NSW, April 2009
CHALLENGE: Arts Upper Hunter invited the Hero Project to run a workshop titled ‘Portraits of Place’, to work with locals to create a film about Gloucester. 20 participants from all walks of life decided very quickly they wanted to explore the potential impact of coal mining on their community and environment.
PARTNERS: Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative; Arts SA Partnerships for Healthy Communities; Arts NSW; Arts Upper Hunter Inc; Gloucester City Council Youth Centre; Tallstoreez Productionz; Apple Australia
Film: What’s yours, is Mine..d
Click on the image above or the link to watch - Whats Yours Is Mine…d.
If your device can’t play the clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
Join Eric Ingot as he shows Gloucester their future. With reassuring confidence and panache he identifies the multitude of benefits to enjoy from an open cut mine. “ At Envira-Coal, we dig the future! “
OUTCOMES: The Gloucester team met for the first time at the Council’s youth centre. Within an hour, they had identified their story – the looming open pit coal mine, that is threatening to destroy their beautiful environment. Their biggest challenge: how to make a community film that depicts a possible threat, raises awareness and educates without scaring your audience? They created a satirical pro-mining advertisement, applying spin doctor messages to sell-up potential problems as benefits! The diverse team, aged 14-65, learnt how to script and pace a comedic narrative, storyboard and film on multiple locations. 8 laptops formed a mobile edit unit, with every team producing a different chapter of the story, plus music, titles and GFX.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS:
AWARD WINNER at the International Foster Short Film competition 2009 – congratulations! Forster International Film Festival
IMPACT & FEEDBACK: Their 5min film attracted over 600 hits and many comments on YouTube within the first week of upload by one of the youth team members.
Read the rest of this page and add your comments »
Coorong SA, January 2009
CHALLENGE: The Change Media team were invited to work with the community at Camp Coorong to explore how they could use digital media for social change. 20 Ngarrindjeri community members from Raukkan and Meningie participated in the workshop.
The youth participants had an ambitious vision: they wanted to make a hard-hitting documentary about the water problem AND interview their elders in only four and a half days. To make things even more challenging, a professional TV crew came down from Canberra to document the Change Media process with the Ngarrindjeri team for ABC TV’s Message Stick, at the same time…
PARTNERS: Indigenous Cultural Support DEWHA; Indigenous Coordination Centre SA; Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative; Arts SA Partnerships for Healthy Communities; Ngarrindjeri Land & Progress Association; Ngarrindjeri Ruwe Contracting; Tallstoreez Productionz; Apple Australia
Film: NUKKAN.KUNGUN.YUNNAN
Click on the image above or the link to watch - Nukkan. Kungun. Yunnan – Ngarrindjeri Being Heard.
If your device can’t play this clip, click here to watch it on Vimeo.
Buy your copy of the full documentary DVD with extended Elders interviews here.
This powerful 22 minute documentary presents the real impact the water crisis is having on the Coorong and its people. Driven by Ngarrindjeri youth it examines the effects on Ngarrindjeri culture as well as the damage for all Australians. The question is, what will we do to change it?
OUTCOMES: The Change Media team worked with the community to identify key issues and stories and trained the participants in digital media skills from scripting, storyboards, video and sound recording to editing.
The team conducted over 15 interviews with Ngarrindjeri Elders and youth to create an informative, emotionally charged documentary. After they recorded the interviews with their elders, the team weren’t keen to edit their stories and potentially loose important information or be disrespectful. We demonstrated how to use their footage to create a film and interview assembly clips to produce a multi-layered DVD: with a short, media friendly 5min trailer, a 22-min documentary and a sub menu with the entire interviews with their elders. During the workshop the 22 min rough cut was screened to over 40 community members and elders. One of the participants gained part time employment as a media officer for Caring For Country, at RUWE Ngarrindjeri Resource Corporation, as a direct outcome of the Change Media program.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS:
2010 The project has been selected to screen at the national Communities in Control conference in Melbourne, as part of Change Media’s Kookaburra Award for Best Community Project 2010.
2010 The film has been invited to screen at the International Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York in June 2010.
2010 National Indigenous TV Australia broadcast the 22-min version of the film February 2010.
2009 On Nov 16th, Ngarrindjeri elder and community leader Tom Trevorrow was awarded the Special MyHero Award at the International MyHero Film Festival in LA.
Read the rest of this page and add your comments »
Cherry Gardens SA, November 2008
CHALLENGE: Horse SA commissioned the Hero Project team to work with a group of teenage girls to produce a film about horse and land care. During the workshop the youth team met the challenge head on: in only 3 days they created Horse TV!
PARTNERS: Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnerships Initiative; Arts SA Partnerships for Healthy Communities; Horse SA; Horse Owners of the Southern Mount Lofty Ranges; the Melbourne Water Corporation; the Evironmental Protection Agency; the Adelaide & Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board; Tallstoreez Productionz; Apple Australia
Film: Horse TV
Welcome to Horse TV: This series of funny TV ads and soap spoofs raises awareness about environmental issues around horse ownership and addresses 5 key messages:
Healthy Pastures all year round spells healthy horses
Cheap Cheap Cheap: reduce dust and mud, horses hate cheap pastures
Purer Trough: safe, clean, easy water for your horse that doesn’t impact on creeks and waterways
Silver Service – A Ladies Companion to Classy Compost: Horse manure management 101
Horse CSI: Control your weeds before it is too late…
OUTCOMES: The workshop focused on training teenage girls and in the brainstorming session they decided to create a series of TV Advert spoofs as an upbeat way to share land care messages for horse owners. During the workshop the young filmmakers learnt all basic skills required for video production, including scripting, story-boarding, camera + sound work, acting, directing, editing and music production.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS:
The final film was screened 4 day after the workshop to over 50 people in the Cherry Gardens community hall.
The film was distributed online through the Australian Pony Club to over 10.000 members.
Horse SA have presented it at several conferences.
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Quorn SA, January 2008
CHALLENGE: The Hero Project team worked with 6 students at the Quorn Area School, supported by the Southern Flinders Ranges Health Service, the Quorn Area School, the local council and the Quorn Caravan Park, as a direct result of the 2007 Document Your World competition.
PARTNERS: Arts SA; Country Arts SA Regional Arts Fund; Southern Flinders Ranges Health Service Inc; Quorn Caravan Park; Tallstoreez Productionz, Apple Australia
Film: Every Drop Counts
OUTCOMES: To create a short documentary that addresses environmental concerns arising from the ongoing drought in north SA.
The participants identified a number of relevant interviewees, great locations and found fantastic archival footage about a flood. This was the final production in a series of 4 workshops with the Quorn community; as a result the local school has taken up digital media as part of their curriculum and the community has a great team of young documentarians and upcoming journalists.
SCREENINGS & AWARDS:
The film screened at the Screen Australia outback touring program in Quorn.
IMPACT & FEEDBACK: Their films screened as part of the Screen Australia outback touring program at the Quorn caravan park, to an audience of over 200. Read the rest of this page and add your comments »