Australian Refugee Association - media training - 2010 March - Australian Refugee Association SA
Change Media worked with 15 new arrivals and young refugees as well as ARA / Pt. Adelaide Council staff over 4 days, to train them in film narratives, interview techniques and digital media skills. They created ‘Culture Shock’, a peer-produced, satirical documentary about their lives and the challenges of coming to Australia: Culture Shock
The training covered an introduction to screen narratives, file management and interview & reenactment techniques, documentary shooting and Final Cut editing skills. After an involved debate about the many issues faced by young refugees, the team (comprising of 15 young people from Kongo, Sudan, Bhutan, Belarus, Tanzania and Burundi) decided to use a mix of fun and serious examples of situations they were faced with as new arrivals. The team also created the original soundtrack in Garageband and recorded most of the behind-the-scenes documentations and individual interviews.
The team managed to create engaging stories that raise awareness about issues faced by young refugees living in the Port Adelaide Enfield district and wider Adelaide area. The participants hadn’t worked as a team were able to produce one film together; everybody conducted several shoots, interviews and took part in the edit and music production. By the end of Day 4 the team finished a rough cut of a funny and engaging documentary about appropriate / inappropriate behaviors and other challenges. The whole team agreed on the changes they wanted for the fine cut, for the Change Media team to clean up the edit, add title cards and insert the participants self-made music. We have already been approached by ARA to conduct another project soon, as the participants are keen to build on their new skills.
The workshop was a fantastic introduction to a longer term project planned for 2010-11, to create a social archive and reference video manual for new arrivals to Australia, to enhance cross-cultural understanding and mutual respect. Besides the fantastic 14min film, this DVD also includes rough cut interviews by the participants, which showcase their experiences as new arrivals and demonstrate not only their skills, but also their resilience surviving often horrific journeys. Again, a huge applause to the team – it was a very rewarding collaboration for our trainer team.
Partners
Apple
Arts SA Partnerships for Healthy Communities
Australia Council for the Arts
Australian Refugee Association Inc
City of Port Adelaide Enfield
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