The Year That Was 2012

Reflecting on the achievements of a busy year.

2012 was an exciting year for us, where we turned a corner from working on the business to working in the business. The year saw us launch a series of collaborative films with new partners in Ballarat, Daylesford and Melbourne, views of our fledgling YouTube channel increased tenfold from 260 to 2600, and we moved offices from inner-urban Footscray to regional Ballarat.

 2012 Project Highlights

The year has fled – it’s a long time now since our trip to Deloraine, where time seemed to stand still.

 ANDI

Jary films Don Henry on the ACF rooftop garden for the ANDI video.

The ANDI (Australian National Development Index) project is a civil society initiative which aims to create a better measure of progress. This is a topic we care deeply about, so we partnered with ANDI to produce a promotional film for their web site.

We interviewed some high-profile people for this project, so there were a few anxious moments while we checked and re-checked everything was right. The film was launched in February 2012 and we are happy to announce that since then ANDI has become incorporated, has been funded for a pilot research project and has been in the news.

Watch the ANDI video and read more about the project here.

The Dickens Readings

 Our short documentary exploring the phenomenon of Charles Dickens the performer was launched in late 2011, but viewing rates got a boost in 2012 when our film was featured in a Washington Post blog celebrating the 200^th anniversary of Dickens’s birth. Viewing figures steadily increased as the global #Dickens2012 festival began and the world collectively celebrated Dickens.

You can read Lucinda’s blog entry about the making of the Dickens Readings micro-documentary here.

Living with Climate Change

This was our largest project for 2012. It began as a concept for a series of short documentaries but evolved into a 25 minute sustained piece where Jary really showed his talents as an editor of people’s stories.

The film explored how we can adapt to climate change in Australia through asking migrant communities in Melbourne’s west about their knowledge of climate change and watching their lives of practical sustainability. Commissioned by Brimbank City Council and produced in collaboration with the Daylesford design company Designscope, the film was launched in November at a great event where we got lots of positive feedback. It is housed in its own website.

Watch the video and read more about the project here.

Reflections of Flood Recovery

Photographer Tim Burder takes a portrait of Clunes residents for the Reflections film.

In 2010 extreme floods hit the Victorian townships of Clunes and Creswick, three times. This short film tells the story of flood experience and recovery through the voices of residents and flood recovery support workers, using photographs of events, people and significant objects.

We produced this in collaboration with Designscope for Hepburn Health Services, featuring photography by Daylesford-based Tim Burder. Launched along with its micro website in late 2012, the film has been showcased by ABC Open and lauded by local online viewers.

You can read Lucinda’s blog entry about the behind-the-scenes making of ‘Reflections’ here. Watch the video and read more about the project here.

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