Ngarrindjeri Media - 2010 May - Millicent SA
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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.
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.
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.
The biggest challenge was to be alert all day and have the cameras ready when the canoe finally came off the tree. The whole team was excited, the youth members were shooting incredible photos and the event became more like a community happening – just as Major Sumner said it would have been in the old days, when western time restrains didn’t matter. After a long days work the canoe came down intact, the Change Media team shot over 20 hours of footage, including interviews with 3 generations of Ngarrindjeri participants, environmental and archeological experts and also recorded footage of the local environment and Penola Conservation Park, to highlight how the South East coastal area would have looked like in pre-colonial times.
The editing workshop had to be reduced to a one day introduction, due to the extended shooting days, but we managed to go through basic video editing and music production – and the team had a look at their footage, to see if it all worked out. All in all this production rates as one of our best projects, though we dearly missed our Ngarrindjeri Media Team members from Meningie and Camp Coorong, who couldn’t attend as their team leader is still in hospital.
Partners
Aboriginal Sobriety Group
Apple
Arts SA Partnerships for Healthy Communities
Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative
Indigenous Coordination Centre SA
Indigenous Cultural Support
Millicent High School
South East Aboriginal Focus Group
South East Natural Resource Management Board
Tal-Kin-Jeri Performance group
