Sarah

ARTSTART DIARY - Sarah Woods

Western Storylines

Fred Copperwaite and I will spend a week in each location - 5 days, 9.30am to 3pm - with a group of high school students. These kids have been chosen, based on their interest - and their suitability to take part in our workshops. What the kids think they have signed up for seems to vary. A number of them say they thought they were coming to do an "acting workshop", whereas Fred and I were under the impression that we were here to facilitate the kids in making a short documentary based on the theme of Isolation. This has not really been a problem - we have tried to incorporate all ideas as well as extend the isolation theme to include everything and anything about where these kids live that they wish to explore. Fred and I are no techno-wizards. Our backgrounds are in acting and directing (in the theatre as well as TV and film). Our expertise in story telling is what we have to offer here, as well as an understanding of the creative process. We hope to show these kids ways to open their hearts and minds, bodies and voices, to enable them to express what is important to them. We have 2 handi-cams and the results - a short piece from each student - will be edited after Fred and I leave, and then exhibited on the internet.

Coomealla High School

Monday

Our plan was to take it gently for the first day with our group of kids here in Coomealla. We didn't want to over-whelm them with tasks, but rather engage them in a number of discussions that would lead us to the areas we wished to explore together. With Tim and Sandie at Monkey Baa, Fred and I had already created more than a sketch of this workshop, and certainly had lots of material with which to draw out and help develop certain skills within the kids. Nevertheless, we felt that during this first week in Coomealla, a blueprint for the following two weeks would emerge.

We used drama warm-ups and games to get to know each other and demonstrate the importance of working as a team - something we would come back to in relation to working with the camera. We focussed in on the use of the body and the voice; we did activities to open up the imagination and more than anything, give the kids permission to make this workshop THEIR OWN.

We talked about how the location of our homes has a bearing on who we are, who we become. And as we had expected, from the kids' point of view, this 'isolated' life was not necessarily a bad thing. They were opening up to us very quickly and keen to tell us what they LOVE about living where they do. This is at the very heart of what was to come …

Tuesday

First thing Tuesday, we made a big map of the area, stretching from Trentham Cliffs south-east, of Mildura and following the highway north-west, taking in the Murray and Darling Rivers, Gol Gol, Mildura, Buronga, Coomealla, Dareton and Wentworth, pointing the direction further north to Melinda's place in Pomona and west to Keely's rural property. All the kid's homes were placed on the map. In our group discussions, almost all of the kids had chosen a real location - their own "special place" - where they would film their piece. These special places were also placed on the map.

After lunch on Day 2 we hit the streets and surrounds of Dareton (adjacent to Coomealla and where our workshops are held in the Senior Citizens Hall). Fred took one camera and 5 kids: our two Year 10 boys - Jake and Aiden and our three Year 9 girls - Kara, Keely and Melinda. I took a camera and our five Year 8 girls - Laura, Taylah, Molly, Brittany and Tori. We worked through a number of specific camera exercises: interviewing locals, catching some real life moments that we came across, creating abstract tableaux based on specific themes and filming them in a number of contrasting settings. The afternoon was a hands-on experience of using the camera within specific perimeters. We were making the point that ultimately, the kids needed to crystallise their ideas and present them concisely.

By the end of day 2, we had got close to pinning down the specific content of each piece. Fred and I had been reinforcing the idea that whatever they DID or SHOWED in their piece, it should reflect what they THOUGHT and how they FELT about that place. We were also delighted that a number of the kids had come up with very specific shot lists. In the case of some, this detailed planning continued overnight. They were finessing their ideas in preparation for our shoot days.

Wednesday

Days 3 and 4 had been allotted as our shoot days. First thing on Wednesday morning we talked about organization. We returned to the importance of working as a team and created our first CREW for a practice run in the hall. A protocol was set as to how we'd proceed. Each crew would consist of director, DP (director of photography - camera operator), 1ST (1st assistant director, shot list recorder and cast - a simplified version of how it works in the real world of professional film making.

The kids seemed be not only excited but very focussed. So we hit the road.

More to come …