Strathmont disability arts workshops

2012 May - digital storytelling - Strathmont SA

The Change Media team delivered a hands-on workshop with clients and support workers and management staff at the Strathmont Centre for people living with intellectual disability in South Australia.
During the training day on May 21 at Strathmont, clients and staff members of the Disability Services learned skills in film narrative, interview recording and instant video-making techniques using Apple’s Photobooth and iMovie. They learnt how to use iMacs and Probooks’ inbuilt web cameras to record photos and video, apply filters and edit their creations into short films.

This workshop formed part of the ongoing documentary production, following the process, challenges and improvements as clients are moving out of institutional care into houses in the community.

The Change Media team introduced our methodology and showed examples of past projects, including Pinnaroo Surfer, 10×14 Bricks – Stories from youth in lock-up trailer and 10×14 Bricks My Crib – Shane’s story.
The 14 participants, 11 support staff and managers and 3 clients, learned hands-on with HDV cameras, how to set up gear, handheld and tripod work, how to record good interviews, including sound, framing and lighting.

Partners

Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative

Department for Communities and Social Inclusion – Disability Services

Strathmont Centre community

Health Arts Reseach Centre - media training

2012 April - Sydney NSW

Change Media worked with 12 participants, aged 14-63, during a hands-on 2-day workshop at the Sydney North Shore Hospital. Participants included director and staff from the Health and Arts Research Centre, HARC, Glebe community development workers, Burundi community members with refugee background and people living with mental health issues. All engaged with the Change Media production and training methodology, which included a basic intro to equipment and digital media narratives and how to create relevant digital media art works.

All participants trained hands-on in no-nonsense video techniques, including HD camera and sound work on Day 1, a strong focus on recording interviews on Day 2 and how to build engaging narratives, create video messages and artistic documentations. Three main project proposals were developed, alongside mentoring for several individual concepts.

We also developed a scope for a larger partnership with the Health and Arts Research Centre, to create art with people living with dementia, as part of a long term research project. We started to develop creative concepts to support survivors of involuntary ElectroConvulsiveTherapy, ECT, in finding creative ways to address issues around memory loss, the injustice experienced and ways to connect to other electroshock survivors and advocate for changes in the mental health system.

In feedback sessions during both days – from initial expectations, to how the process worked and what possible future collaborations may bring – we discussed our process, costs, time frames and how to engage communities.

The feedback was enthusiastic throughout, people reported that they learned new and relevant skills, confronted and overcame fear of technology and made new connections. Especially moving was the feedback for our ways of challenging perceptions and representations of ‘other’ and life-changing moments for some participants as they developed new ways to cope creatively with very difficult mental health issues. The team decided to meet again with the next 4 weeks and was very interested to run more workshops with us.

Partners

Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative

Health and Arts Research Centre HARC

Ngarrindjeri Media - Women’s Workshop

2012 February - Camp Coorong SA

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.

The team worked on several peer-produced training videos and documentaries, that will form part of our Indigenous Media Training online resource.

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.

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.

Partners

Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative

Indigenous Coordination Centre SA

Indigenous Cultural Support, Office for the Arts, Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport

Ngarrindjeri Land and Progress Association

Ngopamuldi Working on Country

Ngarrindjeri Media - 2012 February - Raukkan SA

Advice: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this website and videos links contains images and voices of people who have died.

The Change Media Team conducted a 4-day workshop with 10 Ngarrindjeri Working on Country and Heritage Rangers at Camp Coorong and in Raukkan at the Ngopamuldi Aboriginal Corporation Raukkan Depot.
During the production in Raukkan and Camp Coorong near Meningie participants learned intermediate to advanced skills in film narrative, interview, camera and editing techniques.

The project covered storytelling and camera techniques, shooting on traditional heritage locations, interview and event coverage techniques and editing. The resulting short film is a follow up on last years’ Ngarrindjeri Ruwe – Working On Country, and is available online and will be used by NRC staff to present at the inaugural Indigenous rangers conference in Renmark, April 2012, and for training, recruiting and PR. This project built on the success of the workshops in the last two years.

We have retained several young members from our first groups at Camp Coorong, Meningie, and Moogy’s Yuki in Millicent/Murray Bridge, while gaining new participants from Raukkan, Tailem Bend 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.

Partners

Australia Council for the Arts Creative Community Partnership Initiative

Indigenous Coordination Centre SA

Indigenous Cultural Support, Office for the Arts, Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport

Ngarrindjeri Heritage Committee

Ngarrindjeri Land and Progress Association

Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority

Ngarrindjeri Ruwe Contracting

Ngopamuldi Aboriginal Corporation