Youth Media Internship 2013: It's a wrap!

I was the Senior Gallery Educator who planned the Youth Media Internship, helped select the candidates, prepare AUT mentors and gallery staff, and facilitated daily sessions with the interns, providing them with guidance and encouragement while letting them maintain creative control over their projects. I was there from beginning to end. I can honestly say, it was one of the most exhausting – yet most rewarding – programmes I have ever worked on professionally and personally.

Because of this, the screening event that happened last Saturday – where interns, family, friends, teachers and Gallery staff all came to watch the films for the first time – was particularly meaningful. At the screening event, each group introduced their films and got to celebrate together for the first time since the internship ended. Our Director Rhana Devenport spoke and I talked through the process so teachers and family had more context behind the finished products.

Over the seven-day internship I watched these incredible young people gain confidence, interpersonal skills, decision-making skills and take full creative control of their films. All of them brought their own strengths, which translated clearly onto the screen, whether it be editing, illustration, interview or directorial skills. With what was only 38 hours contact time (and of this only 5 hours of filming and 10 of editing), this year’s interns took the project-based learning experience to another level. Needless to say, I became really invested and attached to these young adults, and would like to say again to them, a huge thank you for the passion and energy they brought to the Gallery.

I hope you all enjoy the films as much as we have. Seeing the Gallery through the voice of these interns has been fantastic.

Group one: The Groovsters


Group two: Hinoliee


Group three: The Pickles


Group four: Gender Group


- Selina Anderson, Senior Gallery Educator

Final day of the Youth Media Internship

The Youth Media Interns celebrate the end of the internship at Auckland Art Gallery. Photo: Waimarie Dashper, AUT Media Mentor

The interns were surprised with an extra hour of editing this morning, this came as a major relief as they now had the opportunity to perfect and polish any areas needing work. Once this was finished, we were able to leave the AUT building, and head back over to the Gallery for a final staff viewing session after lunch.

After a couple of humorous skits by the teens acting out their experiences throughout the past week, the staff viewing session took place in the auditorium. Once each group presented their short clip, the staff had a few questions and feedback for them;

Group one: The Groovster’s – ‘What is the value of perceiving art?’ 
By researching this particular question, it really helped them ‘realise the amount of work that goes into conserving art, and the many hours of effort involved’. A staff member asked whether or not anything was surprising, their response being: ‘The amount of attention given, and the different technologies and techniques used.’ The Groovster’s really emphasized how much fun they had, and that they really enjoyed this entire experience.

Group two: Hinoliee – ‘What do children think and feel about art?’
The three girls had their ‘preconceptions and opinions changed around how children perceive and view artwork.’ Two main questions that the staff asked once having viewed their short clip, was whether or not anything surprised them, and what it was like interviewing children: ‘Their answers were interesting as they didn’t have time to think about or really prepare before the interview, in ways they tried to make it into more of a conversation - Some of the children’s answers were really in depth, and they saw many things in the art work which we didn’t even pick up ourselves.’

Group three: The Pickles – ‘What is the importance of viewing original artwork in the flesh?Although The Pickles did not get many questions, they got some really excellent feedback;
‘Sleek editing’
‘The animation helped bring what could have been a dry narrative to life’
‘Great illustrations’

Group four: Gender Group – ‘How does the gender of an artist effect how we view an artwork?’
A discussion took place after their short clip was shown – many of the staff were interested in the raised question. The Gender Group stated that it ‘definitely should be, because it gives you a sense of where the artist is coming from and helps engage with the artwork more.’ They also suggested for the Gallery to experiment and see if this changes how people view art.

Once the questions and feedback session had finished, each of the Interns were presented with a certificate presented by Principal Curator Zara Stanhope, stating that they had successfully completed the seven days at the Auckland Art Gallery.

Overall the feedback from the teens was that they had a wonderful time working with and meeting new people, and that each of them have and will take heaps away from this experience. On behalf of the AUT Mentors I would like to thank Selina Anderson, Vivien Masters and Meg Nicoll for all of their hard work and contribution towards this internship, Nicholas Maw for helping with the social media side of things, the Gallery staff for their help and support with the interviews, the interns for their incredible participation, Clinton Watkins and AUT University for supplying the technical gear, and Trade Aid for their generous donation of chocolate. Without all of the above, the past seven days would have been nowhere near as much of a success!!

- Waimarie Dashper, AUT Media Mentor

The Interns begin editing

Post-production is a major part of any film. Editing takes up a lot of time, which is why we allocated one day for filming and a day and a half for editing. The interns are in at AUT today, using the resources available there.

Today I thought I would introduce the interns, and get their perspective on how this week has gone…

Group One: The Groovesters
Question: 'What is the Value of perceiving art?'

Photo: Waimarie Dashper, AUT Media Mentor

Group 2: Hinoliee
Question: 'What do children think and feel about art?'

Photo: Rachael Short, AUT Media Mentor

Group Three: The Pickles
Question: 'What is the importance of viewing original art work in the flesh?'

Photo: Waimarie Dashper, AUT Media Mentor

 
Group Four: Gender Group
Question: 'How does the gender of an artist effect how view an artwork?'

Photo: Waimarie Dashper, AUT Media Mentor

The overwhelming message from all the groups was how much fun they were having. Being pushed out of one’s comfort zone is never easy but they have all shown maturity these past few days. Yesterday was intense and fast paced and today was no different. I think that the interns where feeling some pressure as even though there isn’t that much time to make everything perfect, there is always a lot involved.

Editing is new to most of the teens, although some have been involved with it before. One girl had experience from being involved in the 48-hour film challenge with her school, even coming third in her category, not bad for a group of high school students!

What myself and the other mentors, both staff and AUT, have been happily surprised with this week is the level of intelligence and thoughtfulness of the teens. The ways that they’re all approaching their films, taking on everything they have been taught, and utilising their skills has been awesome. Even the topics that they have chosen to explore is interesting, their take on situations within the gallery is different from say a staff member’s perspective and we are all excited to see the finished films!

They all agree that this is such a great opportunity and I think it shows. When you actually want to be somewhere, when you are engaged enough in what you are doing, when you are given free reign to create what you like, you approach projects in positive ways. It is different from school, which with its structured lessons and planned timetables – there aren’t many subjects that allow space for self-directed learning.

This internship has given the Interns a taste for what university life can be like, and how technology and creativity can go hand in hand. One girl commented that the internship was exceeding her expectations, and that she hadn’t expected to be given as much freedom as she was. Many of the Interns understood that this internship is more about the process that the product; that their personal growth and experience is equally if not more important than how their films will look.

- Rachael Short, AUT Media Mentor

Youth Media Interns learn some new skills

Storyboarding at the Gallery. Photo: Waimarie Dashper

Sarah Loggie and Jacques Foottit, the two AUT Technical Mentors led a talk today about different types of films, sound, and cinematography. They showed different examples of professional works as well as their own university work.

Being shown references of short films that some of the interns may not have been exposed to before is valuable because it sparks ideas about the different techniques available to actually make a film come to life. The Interns were then shown examples of how to use film techniques in a way that gets your point across to the audience without being boring or using clichés. We also got to see the films that last year’s teens made. It was beneficial for the teens to watch these as they where able to see what worked and what didn’t work in relation to techniques, as well as what can be produced in such a short amount of time.

They also emphasised the importance of having fun and not being too serious, and being playful and professional at the same time. Because the filming time allocated is only one day there are limitations to what can actually be achieved. However, working with these limitations does have a silver lining as it will teach the Interns the value of time management, and they will be able to be very ‘cut throat’ in what they film.

Developing objectives and storyboarding is an important part of any project, especially when creating films. Having come from school where there is normally never such a short amount of time allocated to a project, it has been an interesting initiation for the Interns. They have been asked to come up with interesting questions, strong objectives, plus they’ve been thrown into the mix with strangers. By now we are all very familiar with each other and it is awesome to see the ideas flowing.

AUT Technical Mentor Jacques demonstrating how to use a video camera. Photo: Waimarie Dashper

The teens were asked to come up with an objective in their groups for their films. The purpose of the objective is to create a clear understanding of what each group want to achieve with their films. I spoke to some of the groups about this and asked if they had ever done anything like this before. A few of them had because they take a Media class at school, but most had not.

We then headed over to AUT where Jacques led a technical demonstration on how to use the equipment properly. I think it is fair to say that everyone learnt a lot from this, he is an excellent teacher and the teens all responded well. Having the Media Mentors involved in the project highlights the beauty of the partnership with AUT Co-lab, as they are able to demonstrate skills learnt through their time at AUT. It gives the teens an idea of what areas they could possibly pursue.

We are only into Day Three but the Interns are oozing energy and enthusiasm. Tomorrow filming begins!

- Rachael Short, AUT Media Mentor

Question time for the Youth Media Interns

Youth Media Interns in their new group. Photo: Waimarie Dashper

On the second day of the Youth Media Internship the teens were split into four groups of three, depending on what their goals where from the previous day. Strategically, Selina and Vivien wanted to pair together people whose strengths and weakness would complement each other. As the Interns will all be given a role within their groups, this way, skills will hopefully be evenly distributed and everyone can achieve the personal goals that they have set.

Interns choosing their Values. Photo: Waimarie Dashper

Before we decided on questions, the teams were asked to develop some values to stick to. Honesty, staying open-minded and humour where really popular. We really want to make this week as fun as possible even though it will also be very full-on.

We had the Gallery Education team come in and introduce themselves. Leading on from the messages the staff we met yesterday said, they really emphasised taking a path that you love, staying motivated, and pursuing all the opportunities that come your way. Hearing this again had a positive effect on both the teens and the mentors, as when you are at that deciding stage of what to actually do with your life, being able to see where your interests can lead you is a major help.

Interns devising their question, which they will base their film on. Photo: Waimarie Dashper 

 Question forming took up the majority of the day. I think that the teens have surprised all of the Mentors and Gallery staff involved by the questions they have chosen to answer. After a lot of head scratching and brain straining, all four groups came up with exciting questions.

The four questions are:

• What is the value of preserving art? 
• What do children think and feel about art? 
• What is the importance of viewing original artwork in the flesh? 
• How does the gender of an artist affect how you see the art? 

Exciting times ahead…

- Rachael Short, AUT Media Mentor

Youth Media Internship

Day one for the Youth Media Interns. Photo: Waimarie Dashper, AUT Media Mentor

For the next week and a half, the Auckland Art Gallery and partner AUT has invited 12 young adults, ages 16-18, into the Gallery for an intensive internship centered on all aspects of gallery life. They will be asked to pose a question about an area they find interesting, which will then be answered through the medium of a short 3-minute film. The internship is a chance for the high school students to gain professional knowledge of where an interest in the arts can lead and also practical aspects of university life: teamwork, tight time frames, and the development of new skills.

Gallery Educators Selina Anderson and Vivien Masters will be in charge of the interns and the program, while four AUT students will take on the role of media mentor to the interns, including myself. I am here to document the process. All currently studying towards a Bachelor of Creative Technologies, we are here to help manage the interns, encourage goal development and knowledge of technical skills, as well as documenting the entire process.

The internship kicked-off with a quick introduction, read through of the program and a tour of the behind-the-scenes Gallery spaces. The interns had the opportunity to meet some of the staff members who have kindly agreed to be interviewed in the films, get a feel of the Gallery spaces and an idea of how much work goes into bringing an exhibition to life. A highlight of the tour was the Gallery’s print archive room where we were shown two old prints, and told about the process of conservation.

Enjoying a tour of the Gallery. Photo: Waimarie Dashper, AUT Media Mentor

From meeting various members of the Gallery staff, there seemed to be clear messages of do what you love, stay persistent and don’t let other people stop you from perusing your interests. All of the interns come from different backgrounds but are in similar situations; what to do after the safety of school is over? Where can my interests in art lead me? These messages were positive as they came from people who had already faces prejudice towards the art fields and who have over come them.

After a yummy lunch, goal setting and team building took up the majority of the afternoon. Everyone chose at least three goals, highlighting areas to improve on and ways to develop new skills. Most of the teens haven’t worked with any aspects of film before so a lot of the goals centered on this, and all of the teens seemed to be extremely motivated and excited about this project. We chose the groups from the goal sheets, placing together people who had different goals from what they wanted to gain from this experience that can lead into different roles within the group being filled (e.g. development of technical film making skills, leadership, or research and idea developments).

Goal setting and team building. Photo: Waimarie Dashper, AUT Media Mentor

‘This internship is a way for the Gallery to interact with the ‘youth’ audience in Auckland, an area that has always been hard to engage’, Meg Nicoll, the Community Learning Coordinator, says. It is an exciting response to this problem, not only because it allows teens access into Gallery spaces normally hidden from the public view but also due to the involvement of AUT. The teens are at that point in life where they’re starting to think about what they want to study or do at university. By inviting mentors from AUT the interns have access to first hand information on university life. They will be working closely with these mentors, who will help them to develop and produce their films, from the ideas stage to the editing.

The internship will run from the 15–22 July, concluding with a screening of the raw films for Gallery staff next Tuesday. Post-internship, there will be a screening which family and friends are invited to come and view the polished films.

- Rachael Short, AUT Media Mentor