shoni

MeetMarket 2006 is an AIDC and AFC initiative that provides an opportunity for selected teams to meet with international buyers. To enter an idea you need to complete an application form, a synopsis and log line and a one-minute pitch teaser. I’ve decided not to submit an application to Meetmarket, but I’m keen to prepare a one-minute pitch teaser for the documentary I’m producing, as well as my short film. I think that a teaser is a valuable pitching tool when approaching potential funding bodies. I think it’s also a good creative exercise to go through because it’s like a visual synopsis. It requires paring back your vision so that you can effectively capture the essence of the film in one minute or less. It would be particularly useful for my short film concept because visually I can show what has proved to be lengthy and complex to explain in just words.

Recently I went to hear Fiona O’Connel (Vision diVision Productions) speak about the process she went through to secure funding from the AFC for her short film The Road Ahead. When she was invited to attend an interview she took a DVD of visual and audio references that highlighted her vision for the film. Although the material was collated from films and music other than her own and that she didn’t have copyright clearances for, the DVD provided solid examples of how she would achieve the vision for her story.

I’m producing a documentary that highlights key events in Australia’s union movement that have impacted on women and how they participate in work. It culminates to question the future of the union movement in the context of global trends and the proposed local Industrial Relations changes. It aims to stimulate debate about how unions can maintain their relevance in a work culture that is rapidly evolving and increasingly fragmented.

The documentary will identify key turning points in Australia’s labour movement that have impacted on women and how they participate in work. For example women’s suffrage, WWII, eight hour day, and Equal Work for Equal Pay and the rise of and subsequent backlashes against feminism. The Australian Trade Union Archives is a good tool for researching labour history and many of the records are maintained at The University of Melbourne library.

The labour movement both locally and internationally face many similar challenges. The documentary will explore international parallels, comparing the changes the Howard government is making to other countries and highlighting challenges of a globalised economy.

The Take (directed by Avi Lewis) is a film that resonates with similar themes to my own. The documentary follows the organised labour movement of workers reclaiming their factories that were abandoned by their companies during Argentina’s economic collapse. It’s a heartening example how people when united, can overcome the consequences of corporate driven globalisation.

Another interesting film that has been a useful reference is The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (directed by Connie Fields), which tells the story of women workers in the US during WWII. ‘Thanks girls and goodbye’ (directed Margaret Roberts) is a documentary with a similar thread but is about Australian women.

I plan to interview five women, who work in different industries, and who are from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. I’m interested in featuring women from the manufacturing, healthcare, education, construction and service industries. I want to avoid stereotyping people who work in particular industries and will consciously look for women who can share their individual qualities, which distinguish them from people’s pre-conceived impressions. I’m looking to select women who can share experiences from working in industry as well as reflect on the broader culture of work including the future direction of the union movement.

Where possible the women will be filmed in their work setting. Material that is visually and aurally interesting will be used to highlight the industry in which the women work. The story arc will stem from the women’s stories as well as historical references and the current Industrial Relations debate. Each industry that is profiled through the women’s stories will be accompanied by material that places it the broader cultural framework. For example, a woman working in a textile-manufacturing factory may be contrasted with a busy shopping centre where people are purchasing the latest fashions.

The women’s stories will be supported and contrasted by the points of view of key public figures representing governments or unions. Current and archival footage of interviews, public speeches, televised campaigns, photographs, newspaper headlines and radio records will help construct the debate and provide the context for the women’s stories. The aim of the documentary is to be an education tool that stimulates debate and active engagement with the key issues as opposed to presenting conclusive opinions.

Sarah Watt’s short films and more recently her debut feature ‘Look Both Ways’ have been important influences on the development of my own short film. This year at MIFF I saw for the first time her collection of short films. They made a very strong impression on me and I was able to see parallels with my own work. It was a turning point for me because I hadn’t seen any other short films that told the types of stories I was interested in telling.

In some ways it was a relief because the feedback that I’ve had about my own short film has been based on conventional scripting principles. I’ve been advised not to tell the audience what my characters are thinking but to show their internal world through action. However, in Sarah Watt’s film she uses internal dialogue to great effect to reflect the internal realm of her characters. It was reassuring to see that some of my ideas, that some people haven’t been convinced by, can work beautifully on screen. In my short film I’m using hand drawn black and white animation to play out the internal world of my protagonist. It is through these animated sequences that the audience pieces together her past. My protagonist past is the source of her fear and is what drives her actions.

There have been a number of Australian films released this year amongst them The Oyster Farmer, Little Fish, The Proposition and Look Both Ways. All of the films have seen a number of excellent reviews from critics but it was Look Both Ways that really struck a chord with me. It is by far the best Australian film I’ve seen in recent years. Set over a single weekend, Watts skilfully threads her narrative strands together as the lives of her characters intertwine. She combines live action drama with hand drawn animation and voice compositions to reflect the internal psychology of her characters. She explores themes related to today’s climate of fear but combines this with wit and humour to keep it grounded in the reality of ordinary lives of her characters.

The film has a website Look Both Ways website and the Look Both Ways blog is an interesting read with posts from Sarah Watt, William Mcinnes, Barbara Masel, Bridget Ikin. Sarah Watt will be on the director’s panel for the WIFT Director’s Forum later this month. I’d love to meet her to tell her how inspiring I’ve found her work. You never know, perhaps I’ll have an opportunity at the forum.

I am writing a short screenplay about Molly, an aboriginal woman who has to confront her past when her grand daughter, Matilda prepares to leave their small community to attend school.

Molly’s memories echo through their last two days together as she struggles to deal with Matilda leaving. Black and white animated sequences will intersperse the film to illustrate Molly’s memories, piecing together and finally revealing her dark past.

My vision for the animated sequences has been inspired by black and white drawings, which my friend Helena drew for a short story that I wrote a number of years ago. Unfortunately I can’t say that my story did justice to her beautiful illustrations.

Helena Prince 1998.

Screen Tasmania is offering a broad range of funding opportunities to encourage local production. I investigated whether my short film, which is based on Tasmanian history and set on the island’s coast, may fit into their short film category. I called Screen Tasmania and discussed my project with them and they were very encouraging of my story idea. They suggested contacting Zoot Film Tasmania to discuss putting a funding submission together for 2006.

I’m very keen to develop networks with the Tasmanian industry and in the long term I want to be able to contribute to their screen culture and production industry. Perhaps one day set up my own media production company. It’s a very small industry but there are some talented creative practitioners. It’s a reality however, that a lot of young Tasmanians leave to pursue opportunities not available to them on the island. I have four other siblings and only one of them is currently living in Tasmania. My parents also travel between Melbourne and Hobart with properties in both states. I too feel torn for years between Hobart and where ever it is that I’m living.

The idealist in me would love to shoot the film in Tasmania. It somehow feels more convincing to shoot a story where it originated. I can picture the location…the fibro shack with broad verandah and the dirt track that leads down to the beach. The dunes with the marrum grass and the scrubby bushland that extends behind. Having a strong connection to the Tasmanian landscape has influenced my vision for the film, the sense of isolation and remoteness, which is inherent to many Tasmanian beaches and people’s experience of living on an island. This sense can be difficult to recreate on the outskirts of Melbourne.

On the other hand it’s difficult to justify spending a lot of money, time and effort on a short film. The pragmatic part of me thinks that I should just set aside a block of time and get on with it. My friend’s sister has a fibro shack at Sandy Point and she’s offered for me to use it for my shoot. It’s still not local; it’s about 3 1/2 hours from Melbourne so there would still be the logistics of getting there.

I have so many different projects that I work on that I often think perhaps it’s better to put my energy into developing a strong script and teaser for my short film and then approach producers to assist me with the production. Otherwise I risk spreading myself too thin with nothing that I produce being the quality that I aspire too. Over the past year I’ve found myself with my fingers in too many pies and I’m not sure if I can sustain this without compromising the other things that I value like friends and family and getting out of Melbourne and spending time in the bush.

Perhaps this is just an excuse. I really struggle with the perfectionist in me who has a vision but doesn’t yet have the tools or resources to realise it and is reluctant to make something that is compromised. This is a constant challenge for me regardless of what it is that I’m producing. My work always has to meet my own high expectations and get past my own self-critic before I can put it out there. I don’t want to be precious about my work and my short film is supposed to be a small creative project. I’m also searching for possibilities and forget to place boundaries on my work so they keep evolving to much more involved than what they started out as.

My short film compared to my other projects is much more personal and perhaps more creatively fulfilling. I find that my personal projects are always the first to be put on the backburner but then I suppose we have to pay the rent somehow. I’m sure my experience isn’t unique. The reality is that most people don’t have the luxury of focusing on a single creative project. I don’t know where that leaves me. I’ve explored more possibilities and yet haven’t resolved how to move forward with my story.