rusalka johnston's Open Salon Blog

Research for Marysville Documentary

Tue, 8 Sep 2009 04:09:35 -0400

http://www.youtube.com/my_videos

Marysville Research for Documentary on Rebuilding Communities After the Burn.

Good Things

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 07:06:43 -0400

Hi Everyone

Sorry, I havn’t blogged for a long time. I have been in hell, as I have been diagnosed with a frozen shoulder. Simply, that means you can’t even put your undies on without screaming or crying in pain. Anyway, its been a fun journey of isolation, frustration, loneliness, agony, boredom, depression, and thousands of hours of lying on my back watching dramas you cant get either legally or on free-to-air stations in Australia.

So here’s what I recommend for anyone who needs to get over themselves:

Well-written Independent Television Series

Madmen
True Blood
The Shield
Californication
The Wire
Deadwood
Gossip Girl
Skins
Six Feet Under

Strangely enough, as my assistant writes my blog for me, I now realise that all these good shows are in fact about Communities, large, small, wealthy, old, new, urban, literate, illiterate, criminal, and very very human. These stories have kept me from sinking.

Now that I have an assistant, my blogging is going to speed up and we will bring you updates on communities, through images and anecdotes from the countryside.

Essay on my Escape from the Bush fire at Marysville

Wed, 6 May 2009 06:05:21 -0400

Victoria on Fire / Black Saturday

By Rusalka Johnston

A weekend escape to Marysville

I had decided to escape the city with my thirteen-year-old dog Mack, to escape the noise of the St Kilda Festival and enjoy the countryside that I love, for a weekend break. I had decided on Marysville as it is only about 100kms from Melbourne and I knew the area quiet well.

The drive to Marysville

I drove for two hours to Healesville on Friday through intense 37°C heat and dense afternoon traffic to get to the Black Spur. The Black Spur was once an outstandingly beautiful area you used to drive through to get to Marysville. That afternoon The Black Spur was filled with dappled light that drifted through the Mountain Ashes of 50ft to 70ft in height. Lower down below the leafy canopy, the vertically defined tree trunk landscape was soften with the green lace of tree ferns, some as tall as houses. It smelt like Australia - eucalyptus green. It was cooler here and the birds sounded as only Australian birds can, calling out in their contrapuntal tones. It was now, here in the beautiful spur, that I first felt free from the belligerent heat of concrete and noise that was the city that day.

In Marysville I had rented a dog-friendly property called Mon Amour for three days in the township of Marysville. My address was 54 Sunds Rd; the place was a wooden cottage with an expansive verandah, two horses in the back paddock and fragrant bush land adjacent. Mon Amour was the last house on the right of Sunds Road.

I sat and ate my dinner Friday night overlooking Mt Gordon and Woods Lookout. I was so pleased to hear the wind in the tall trees moving through the foliage, to listen to the sounds of the nocturnal creatures in the bush, to be finally free of the relentless pounding of the city and see the stars in the heavens that night. By 3.30pm Saturday afternoon Woods Lookout was the direction the fire was coming from, the direction the dense smoke billowed across the sky. The ridge at Woods Lookout was what separated Marysville township from the fire.

Growing up and living in Australia you get used to the idea of bushfires. City people see them on the television and in the newspapers – at a distance and in the abstract.

I had driven through burnt out landscapes in the past – but regeneration had occurred – young leaves and fresh grasses had sprouted quickly amongst the blackened trunks of trees. I had assumed Marysville would never be touched by fire - it was too green, it was too pretty, and too civilised.

Murchison St Marysville

Saturday Morning 10.30am -12pm

In the morning Marysville was pretty, green and very hot. A dry wind blew amongst the treetops. The shops were quiet and relatively free from tourists, but it was business as usual and in the street the native birds were feeding. In the tourist information centre customers chatted about their plans and I bought some new maps for a walk I planned to take the next day, as it was expected to be only 25°C.

Saturday morning was strikingly hot from the beginning. I had to go to the real estate agent and do some shopping. In each shop I visited, and with each person I met, we talked about the heat. The temperature was supposed to reach 43°C but the temperatures in Victoria had been close to that for over a week and so, so it was just another day to manage yourself and your animals through.

Across the road from the tourist information centre, outside the entrance to the supermarket, two local Mum’s braved the heat as they were fund raising, for $2 a piece, selling sponsorship of plastic Ducks for a silly Duck race, to raise funds for the kindergarten. A young man sat quietly with them on a camping chair while his mother garnered sponsorship - he was to celebrate his eighth birthday that afternoon. I said Happy Birthday and paid my money to the women who said she’d call me if my Duck won the race. I moved on to finish my supply shopping. I took my dog Mack to the creek that ran through the town to cool him down. He plonked himself down in the crystalline stream and I smiled at the beauty and the simplicity of it all.

Marysville 12pm – 4 .30pm

At 54 Sunds Rd I talked with the repairman who had come to fix the glass back door that had fallen off. I sat on the verandah, so pleased to have the space, and joked with him about procrastinating with my Masters work. He introduced me to his horse Ben and we chatted about the little things in life like children, dogs, divorce and marriage. It was really hot and I couldn’t stay outside. I went inside to do research and fell asleep on

When I woke up the atmosphere had completely changed. From the bed I saw that the sky was no longer blue the light had become orange/grey – the light was now dirty and different. I went outside to investigate the difference. Unfortunately, an immense dark cloud had crossed Mt Gordon and the sky had changed from pristine sky blue to be darkened by an enormous mass of charcoal and beer coloured cloud. I watched this mass, curiously not sure if it was the darkening of rain clouds or the result of bush fires – I was uncertain of what the cloud meant because I couldn’t smell fire at this stage.

I had wanted to swim that day, to enjoy the water in the heat. In the morning I had found the Marysville Public Pool, it was adjacent to the Primary School and the oval that I would unexpectedly return to later that day.

Around 4pm on Saturday afternoon the pool was filled with kids playing, Dads with daughters and sons, laughing, giggling, being stupid, throwing balls and splashing about in the aqua blue water. The water was fresh and a relief from the searing heat. I did some laps and enjoyed the space and the ease of the world around me. I contemplated the human need to get on with things – our wish to enjoy life. Lying on my back I continued to look up into the sky - the dirty cloud mass billowed and stretched across the sheet blue sky, darkening the atmosphere. For some reason not easily explained I began to get anxious and fretful.

I did not know what to do in a bush fire. What would I do with the horses? How would I protect Mack? What did I do at the house, watering it would surely not be enough? I asked the young female Lifeguard a local girl if she knew what was going on with the fires, as she was tuning the radio but she couldn’t get reception with Marysville local radio, and therefore didn’t know. I decided I had better return to Mon Amour to look after things, the animals and home as best I could.

At Mon Amour I heard the sound of an alarm through out Marysville on two occasions, but I did not know what it meant. I was worried about the two horses in the back yard. Not knowing what to do but wanting to do something, I watered the brown one down and then the white one named Ben, who hated getting wet and tried to hide from me. I watered their shed and watered the huge gum tree adjacent to it, in the vain hope that what I was doing may help the creatures and tree if the fire roared through.

I briefly went inside, wondering what I could do for the horses if the fire came over us and to put on some clothing. I returned to the kitchen and looked outside, I was surprised and fearful to find some people in the back garden. I thought they were stealing the horses and went out to confront them – calmly. In fact they were saving the horses, and they told me to get out quickly that the fire was coming over the ridge next to me, next to the house. I asked them where I should go, they told me to go to the oval.

I didn’t know these people and I didn’t know if they were being dramatic, I guess I didn’t want to believe them. So I called the local forestry whose number I had inadvertently attained that morning, and rang up to offer my assistance to the community. The woman [who answered] said, “Thank you. But we are OK. Thanks for offering.” I then thought I’d better ask her what I should do in case the fire came through Marysville and she said, “Just stay where you are. The police will come and get you if there is a problem.” I said “Thanks.” And the phone call ended.

Deciding who to listen to – I thought about the fact there were 600 residents in the town and about two policemen. I thought about the fact that nobody in town knew I was there – I was a city person and I’d be low on the list of priorities in the case of a disaster. It was then I decided that I’d trust the people who thought and cared enough about the horses to move them to safer ground rather than the disembodied voice at the end of the phone.

So, I packed my dog’s food and medication and I grabbed my laptop and a blanket and put them in the car. When I went back to the house to get something else the power had been cut. Instead of re-entering the house I went straight to the car and drove away.

The Oval 5pm on

The Marysville oval was the main safety area for the townspeople; cars, vans, trucks, a Winnebago, the horses from my property, dirt bikes, and 4WD’s congregated on it. Spilling from the vehicles were concerned adults and children, it seemed like most people had taken what was most important to them and had brought their children, partners and animals. Owners attended to their dogs and gave their creatures comfort and water. A mixture of cats and chickens filled the back of a woman’s van – she described them as her “furry and feathered children”.

Families, animals, pets and loved ones were filling the oval. As I looked around measuring the scene I was relieved that there was a lake to the left of the sports field.

Water comforted me and offered reassurance against the fires. Sadly, later on I learned that there was an island in the centre of the lake and that the fire had jumped across the water to the island and burned all that was once there.

For me time was now measured by the arrival of cars and the news locals gathered from their mobile phone calls. On the oval mobile phones were used constantly by everyone it was the only way to find out what was going on and the news was frightening, alarming, scary and awful. On the ground rumour and uncertainty contributed to the atmosphere of fear. The fire was coming, but when?

I realised that my family did not know where I was and that my flatmate would probably worry when they heard the news about the fires so I rang Melbourne to tell my flatmate where I was and what was going on in Marysville. I did not want to alarm or worry loved ones but I also did not want to become a statistic or an unknown burden. So I called home and promised to continue to keep in touch like so many others that day.

I spoke with a woman who had driven through fire from Narbethong as she secured her dogs. A woman from the Marysville information centre had tears in her eyes as she ended a phone call to a friend. Someone she knew was trapped in a shed as the fire ravaged their property. Husbands and wives made choices to flee or defend, to separate or stay together, in flash like moments.

The golf course was touted as the safest place to be. No one was prepared for the fire, we didn’t know what to do, or how to be safe. It was all happening very quickly. From the sky dirty debris fell, not embers as feared but the detritus from all that the fire has burnt as the momentum of the fire pushes it forward. Burnt leaves and carbonated life fell from the sky around us. The embers fell soon after I left.

The sky was filling with smoke and I believe we looked up and across to the west and the fire had ignited the bush to the front of us – it had crossed the protective ridge and moved into Marysville from the direction of Narbethong and was here with us, the flames were with us.

It was then that a police car arrived and the Marysville policeman told us it was time to go that we had to evacuate now. We were to head to Alexandra in a convoy. I was close to the front of this convoy as I had parked very close to the entrance of the oval for the very purpose of exiting quickly.

The Evacuation

The smoke from the fires was everywhere now not as dense as it would become but as we left the centre of Marysville the air and the light had become grey with the smoke of fires and burnt life.

We headed out to Alexandra on the main road past the Golf course where there were plenty of cars, past houses, farms and streams to Buxton. At Buxton the police directed traffic moving the cars on towards Taggerty and then towards Alexander. Buxton is very small I always think of it as just a milk bar, a telephone booth, a logger’s pub and a diner cum petrol station.

The pub car park was filled with working 4WD’s, Toyotas with trays and the like. The people seemed mostly to be men and they stood around with what appeared to be calm. The sheer number of vehicles at the Pub three times more than I had ever seen - designated the day as out of the ordinary.

The drive on through Taggerty to Alexandra is about 30kms and was uneventful, but the heat and the haze remained in the air and the land around me. The region was under stress. I was relieved to be away from the flames, and the dense plumes of smoke from the fire at Marysville, Narbethong and Healesville, from the fire that was burning through the forests, the bush and the farms. I was relieved to be away from the fire that was taking so much life in its momentum.

I had no idea where I would stay or what to expect at Alexandra but that seemed irrelevant in comparison to what I had heard and witnessed in Marysville I knew I would and could manage discomfort and dislocation.

Upon entering Alexander I pulled in to the first caravan park where three people who looked like old school bikers stood at the entrance. They were the owners of the business and I told them I had just come from Marysville and that it had been evacuated.

I asked if I could rent a caravan or space but they said no, they were full and had no power and when I said I needed petrol they said I couldn’t get any as the pumps were out because of the power blackout. At that point my anxiety increased I had ¼ of a tank of petrol left and I had to get to god knows where. I hoped it would all work out for me, as I didn’t want to be alone and in my car by the side of the road and without petroI to drive my car with the fires heading towards me.

I asked the three where I could go? What direction I should take? And anything else that might help me find shelter and petrol to get around. They told me to keep going to head towards Eildon that I might find something or somewhere if I kept going. It seemed to me they wanted to be helpful but like everyone else they were dealing with the situation as it unfolded and the day was turning on its head, it seemed as if Victoria was on fire.

As soon as I stopped at the main intersection of Alexandra I knew the trouble was far worse than I had comprehended. I had called out from the car as I slowed at the main intersection and asked questions quickly, are you local? Do you know where my dog and I can stay? The answers were the same. “We are evacuees.”

I headed out of Alexandra there were others cars doing this too and we had about 27kms to cover before we got to the next town called Thornton. The sky was grey with smoke and my thoughts were focused on a place to stay, the night and my concerns about finding petrol.

By the time I got to Thornton the cars behind me were not visible so I slowed to ask a couple beside the road if they were local and thankfully they were. When I told them I had come from Marysville and needed a place to stay with my dog the man suggested I drive on further to Eildon Holiday Resort to find a place to sleep that also accepted dogs. The man said it was about 7kms away on the right and that a Pub fronted it.

This new place became my focus and I was determined to have a place to stay, to establish some security for myself and my dog Mack. To my great relief I quickly found the place and pulled in out the front. Outside stood a man and a woman.

These people turned out to be the owners of the Eildon Holiday Resort, a husband and wife team. Initially when I asked them if I could rent a room they said no, but I pressed on asking them then could I rent a car space and pay to use their toilet? The couple had a mini conference in front of me and the women whose name was Medina agreed to rent me a room. My dog had to stay in the car – but I now had somewhere to rest for the night.

I parked my car and opened the room up. It was boiling hot but it had a shower and a toilet I was just so fortunate.

I returned to the Pub bar where there were a few people. The power was out but a number of people were eating dinner, piles of chips protruded from their plates. I told the bar my story, making light of my city qualities and conveying the irony of my escape from the city. I told them what I knew from being at the oval of the locals saving the horses at 54 Sunds Rd, and of what it was like at Marysville, Buxton and Taggerty. They listened intently.

They asked me if I could cook or what skills I had? As fire volunteers from DSE and CFA were staying the night – Could I pull a beer? Would I cook in the bloody hot kitchen? A lovely friendly woman who worked at the Pub wanted to keep busy and she gladly made me some dinner. Before I had eaten a third of my fish and chips, the news came in that Marysville was gone.

The news about Marysville was both believable and unbelievable. From what I had seen, heard and experienced it wasn’t hard to believe, but was it true? Was the truth being exaggerated? As people say so many things and believe what they wish to.

Then more news came in - that Buxton was gone. It was so hard to comprehend only minutes before I had driven through Buxton past waiting men and I had assumed it was safe – but now it was no more, my memories of it, were now just memories, its features now just charred remains.

Eildon Holiday Resort

On the Pub’s verandah there were a few people waiting and watching. The air around was now completely dense with thick fire smelling smoke. Our world was suspended in a thick blackened blanket that was tinged orange. Your eyes hurt and you knew that you were breathing in death and destruction. It was nothing less than an apocalyptic scene. You could only see a few feet in front of you. There was no horizon, no middle distance; just the thick strangely sweet smelling burnt smoke that coated everything in a dirty residue. We were together in a burnt soup, submerged in the heat and the forthcoming addition of the black darkness of night.

Workers, white 4WD’s pulled in and volunteer fire fighters came in to the pub. Exhausted, these men were quiet and weary. We gave them food and fluids and assisted them as we could. I talked with them in hope that speaking with them, that their burdens and worries might be a little relieved. I didn’t want to intrude nor did I want to leave them alone in their thoughts and worries.

They needed help as they were helping us, and the land, which I learned later that they loved. Without power there was no news except what came in by car or from a mobile and so the firemen brought with them the bigger picture, as well as more uncertainty.

The men were so resilient, but profoundly moved. A young, young man had been fighting the fire all day and couldn’t get hold of his Mother. She had been at their home, a property, when the fire had come. All he wanted was to hear from her. All he wanted was for her to be safe.

The men were distressed by the fact they had to stop fighting the fire for the night. They had been told to stop and rest for the evening because the fire was so large and so strong they would be needed the next day and they needed their strength to fight on. So these men felt frustrated, overwhelmed, and useless in the face of this disaster – but in turn they were resigned to rally their strength and hope for the next day.

They did not know where they would be deployed and would not know till early morning as the fire or fires were on a scale that was vast. The fires were more powerful, faster and more devastating than anyone had ever experienced or imagined. They had taken out so much land and life in the region in a matter of hours; so much of the shire of Murrindindi had burned already that day and it was still burning.

The darkness of night now surrounded us, and the emergency lights gave out after a few hours adding to the tension and uncertainty that surrounded us. Torches were found and we carried on in the darkness, waiting for news, waiting for more information. Suddenly the lights went on and we all went inside. Something approaching normality had returned as the wall mounted flat screen televisions played the news, the bar lights shone and the air conditioning freed us from the dense smoke that had filled our air ways, eyes and skin.

Mack lay on the floor and slept exhausted. Whilst I sat there watching him, a volunteer fireman from Myrtleford who I had been speaking with for sometime said quietly to me, “ I don’t know you but get out get to Mansfield. “ If I were you, get out and go home.”

Thornton – Alexander Sunday

I had set my alarm for 6am I wanted to be up before the real heat of the day set in and somehow I wanted to beat the fire, as it would spread in the heat. I awoke to a world that was frightening, the smoke was thick and dense and everywhere. I was scared by the smoke, by the fact the firemen had gone, by the haze and by the heat – it was horrible to know what it meant, it was horrendous to think about, it was like the world was on fire. I was worried for the creatures in the bush, I watched as the Cockatoos flew around and squawked amongst the gum trees. I wondered what they would do and if they would be ok. We were in a nightmare, in a burning world.

I needed petrol to get around and I didn’t know what to expect, but the fact the power had returned the night before gave me hope. I headed back to Alexandra and thought that I would stop at Thornton to find a public phone box, as my mobile had no coverage in the area. Thornton is very small and quiet, but it was from here in the smoke thickened world that I called Melbourne and told my friend of my plans to head to Alexandra for information and petrol.

Near Alexander I found a petrol station and filled up, to my great relief. However, it was here that I found out that the roads were closed and I would have to stay in the area until it was safe. It was then that I determined that I couldn’t wait out the day on my arse.

I had come away to work on my studies on my career and to be healthy and now I was without that anchor or focus and without my stuff. I asked the locals I was speaking with to direct me to where I could offer my help. I needed to be engaged and useful in this crisis.

In Alexandra, I stopped at the first church I came across as I had been directed by two ladies who worked at the service station that this was a place where I could be of assistance this was my first port of call. The church hall was filled with refugees from the fire. They tuned out to be a church group on tour and they too turned out to be lost and uncertain. Their day was just beginning and they had no idea what it might hold.

A little further down the road I found the school where many people were housed. It was easy to find as the roadside was lined with cars and trucks parked on the pale yellow, dry grass that I profoundly associate with this drought-ridden summer in Victoria. I parked and left Mack in the car and went to the entrance. It was lined with aging Rotarians as they manned a BBQ and passed plates of sizzling meats across to carriers who took the food inside to the evacuees.

This group of greyed and weathered locals were feeding everyone. They cooked wads of bacon and rissoles to place in square white bread. These Rotarians were focused and concerned but at ease in a non-city way that I found immensely reassuring. When I told them I was here to offer my help they did not want it. They suggested I offer my assistance to the organisers inside the shelter. Instead of taking my help they offered me food and handed me their mobile phones when I said I didn’t have coverage, they made phone calls for me when I couldn’t work out what was wrong. I stayed with them while they cracked jokes about the smoke and giving up smoking. I sat with them while they realised the morning shift on the hot plate had basically ended. And I was with them when they began to realise that without something to do, the horrible reality of the situation was all that you were left with. You were left with concern, fear and uncertain with sadness and pain, you left without knowledge adrift in uncertainty – doing something was precious in its relief.

Amidst the chaos of displacement and loss, fright and flight, success, life, love, families, animals, children and dogs there quickly developed a physical cohesion amongst us all as a policeman and another man entered the sight. Our minds coagulated with hope of news and directions, our bodies prickled with anticipation of leadership and knowledge of news and direction. We followed the policeman and the other man into the hall.

Unfortunately, the announcement was brief – all I can recall of a few sentences made by the policeman is, “It’s bad”. Our collective hope was dashed. The waiting would have to continue until later in the day when the CFA would make an announcement. The policeman the epicentre of our attention departed and the milling and registration continued. My search of how to be of use continued; to the local Anglican priest, to the organisers and deliverers of food, to the girls at the registration tables who too were also from Melbourne and told me they had persistently begged to be put to work. Assisting and assistance was at a premium. When no one wanted my assistance, when I realised I would not be put to work, I was at a loss and decided to give unsettled, dislodged and frightened dogs a massage.

In this way I met more people who had had narrow escapes from Buxton and Taggerty. I met people who knew that all their property was gone and that life was now just what they had on. I met people with their homes in tact but their garden had been burnt to a crisp I met people who had no idea of what was left or who was left.

I decided to go into town at some point to see what I could do. In the street I came across a man with a happy open expression on his face, a man who looked healthy, a sixtyish man with a full head of silver hair. He stood out from many people I had spoken to and had seen so I spoke to him and asked him why he looked almost happy. He replied that he was from Marysville everything was gone, burnt by the fire. But in contrast he said, “We have an opportunity to rebuild”. “We can decide to have a consistent and cohesive Marysville and create the town we want - we have the opportunity now”. He’d had found opportunity in the face of adversity.

My time in the township in of Alexandra was spent in a queue for the one and only telephone booth in the centre of town. It was broken – it would not take money and in turn it would not make connections to mobile phones - frustrating. My time was also spent talking to victims of the fire I was trying to ascertain where we stood,

where, I stood, and what was going on?

After four hours of being in Alexandra and after talking to civil authorities, religious leaders, civic groups, locals, Melbournians, families, and survivors, I felt hopeless, useless and afraid. I then had the strongest of feelings deep within me I had to go home. I would go home, I had to have my own bed I had to get away and I would cross the state to do so. I didn’t care how, or how long it took I was going home that day. So with a large degree of guilt and uncertainty but with the utmost determination I decided to get to Benalla and I drove away with Mack in the back seat exhausted.

We drove out into the smoke filled landscape. I did not know if we would be stopped by the authorities or if we would get caught in flames and die in the car. I had gambled on my need to get home and gone against what I had been told and what I knew about the roads being closed. I did not know what to expect from the land around me. All I knew was I wanted the privilege of my home and the certainly and comfort of my bed.

Return to Marysville - Memory and Social Media

Wed, 6 May 2009 05:05:20 -0400

I have been preparing to go back to Marysville for the first time.

I rang the Healesville police to find out if the Black Spur is open as it is the most direct route to Marysville from Melbourne. Which it is - so the drive this time will be direct as opposed to the last time I went back in to the Shire of Murrindindi. The Black Spur being open is a bit scary because the Black Spur was so beautiful the last time I saw it. The Spur marked the end of the city and the start of the my holiday and relief from my everyday life in a dirty grey, polluted city. The Spur was burnt out in the fires and I am worried about seeing the damage the fires have done to the place. The place was transcendent it was, so beautiful, so tall, so green, it smelt so good. The Black Spur was a slice of heaven for me I can still see the light falling through the Mountain Ash and on to the Tree ferns. I can still hear the Bell birds and feel the cool fresh air on my skin - stunning.

The trip will mean that I have to confront a loss. I lost everything I had with me that day that I had brought with me to Marysville, in particular I lost all my Masters work. I will be facing a changed reality and looking at what I ran from.

Talking about running, I watched a 4CORNERS documentary on the ABC last week, the link is on my Blog's front page under links. In the documentary made by a professional team the work included social media files in this case footage filmed by someone on the Marysville oval on February the 7th 2009 using a low resolution digital tool a phone camera I suspect and in this hand held footage, I saw myself - that is my car on the oval and I saw myself drive off when we were told to evacuate. I for some reason don't want to look more closely at the footage and see if I can follow my movements. Seeing the car was confronting enough at this point.

Seeing my Red Volvo - Ketchup was a sad and confronting thing and seeing myself in this way has directly affected my memory of that day. It was fortuitous that Dean Keep gave us a presentation on the digitization of memory. As last week I was confronted by that very digitization of my memory. A personal document generated by someone unknown to me on the oval was broadcast on National television and as as such I saw myself and my actions on my own television in my living room but in someone else's story. This was very different from the memories in my mind. And for the first time I saw what the Oval and Marysville was like 15 minutes after I saw the fire jump the Mountains and head towards us.

Social Media has had a direct relationship with the fires and continues to do so. It is helping me share and connect to others affected by the fires.

I have added a email I sent to the Marysville Newsletter Editor to tell them I am coming up to interview people. I have included this communication as it reflects the issues of scale and geography that I have looked to Tonnies

for understanding and direction and it is in social media and media tools that we can see examples of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft interacting and in flux as both cultures, communities and individuals utilise these technological tools

From: Rusalka Maria JohnstonTo: Cc: Bcc: Rusalka Maria JohnstonDate: 05/05/09 03:46 pmSubject: Marysville visit after getting through Black Saturday and SundayAttachments:

Dear Delice,
I am writing to you as I was staying in Maryville on Saturday the 7th of February at 54 Sunds
Road Rd. I was staying for the weekend at a place called Mon Amour when late in the afternoon some locals came and took the two horses on the property away and took them to the oval to save them from the fires. At the time l spoke with them and they told me to leave the place. Without their words I would have not gone to the oval and escaped the fire.

I firstly went to the oval with my dog Mack and then I fled to Eildon Holiday Resort and I ended up in Alex the next day. On that Saturday and Sunday I met a lot of people and talked to a lot of people caught up in the fires. I spoke with many locals on the oval in Marysville that day in part because I was alone in Marysville with my dog. I have decided to make a documentary about my experience but more importantly about the experiences of other people from Marysville and more.

I came up to Marysville to give my deposition but the town was still a coroner's site and closed. Now I want to come up this weekend and talk to people and take pictures. I do not want to impose nor do I want to disrupt the town but rather I want to capture the re-growth and the regeneration of the Marysville.

I wanted to know if you would consider speaking to me or contribute to the documentary in some way and if you know of other people who would feel Ok about talking with me if so could you please forward this email to them.

I am coming up to Marysville this Saturday the 9th of May with my younger sister Bianca and dog Mack. My contact details are M: 0423 017 210. My other email account is razjohnston@bigpond.com

If you have any questions or advice for me please contact me.

PS. I wrote an article about my experience on Black Saturday and Sunday and if you would like a copy this document I will gladly send it to you.

Yours truly,
Raz Johnston
My contact details are M: 0423 017 210. My other email account is razjohnston@bigpond.com

If you have any questions or advice for me please contact me.

PS. I wrote an article about my experience on Black Saturday and Sunday and if you would like a copy this document I will gladly send it to you.

Yours truly,
Raz Johnston

Transient Space Learning Contract 29th of April 2009

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:04:35 -0400

CONTENT

What is the community you will make your documentary about?

· My documentary will focus on Marysville a town that is in Victoria.

Marysville was decimated by the bush fires that hit the township and surrounding regions on February the 7^th 2009. This day is now known as Black Saturday.

· The township of Marysville will act as a case study for an exploration of community. The nature of community will be explored on two levels the first level is the notion of community as the defined by place; geography, scale and locality and the second level engages with the temporal nature of community – of community grounded in place and time and yet interconnected through shared experience.

I am interested in showing in my documentary how these notions of place and experience are interrelated and connected. I want to explore the relationship between place and experience through the township of Marysville.

·My documentary has a structuring philosophy, that is informed by my personal relationship to the subject as I was present the day of the fires. I was a visitor in Marysville on Black Saturday.

My aim is to create a textured documentary from the voices of the community. Ideally, I want my documentary to generate interaction and build on a sense of community. My work will be an attempt to document, to unveil, discover and to find the community that exists now after the fires.

My aim is to effeciently utilise social media tools to capture a sense of the past: of what Marysville once was or meant and to get a sense of what it has become since the fire burnt the town.

What interesting issues about community and identity will you be able to explore in relation to this community – in relation to the theorists you have read?

I have looked to these theorists to provide a conceptual scheme or framework for my documentary. I have looked to theoretical models to generate a framework of consideration this theoretical framework has assisted me in structuring and focusing on the elements that will be explored in my documentary:

· 1. Ferdinand Tonnies Sociologicial and Cultural Theorist

· 2. Lev Manovich Media Theorist

· 3. Paul Virilio Cultural theorist

· 4. Gerard Delanty Social Theorist

· 5. Dizga Vertov Film maker and Cinema Theorist

· 6. David Marshall Media Theorist

· Ferdinand Tonnies Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft

Tonnies as sociologist studied social formations such as, community and culture, family and society, law and legislation, economies of scale and related this to psychology and behaviour a subsequently Tonnies defines these constructs as expressions of human will. Ferdinand Tonnies defines community through the notions of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft. Gemeinschaft is an encompassing term that has to do with locality and geography of communites generated in and through agriculture and the intimacy of interaction that is generated in smaller, rural areas, whereas Gesellschaft has to do with larger, wider forms such as, the city and economy and how people conduct themselves in a culture of

production within the order of state or a nation.

Tonnies delineates the differences and similarities of community and culture of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft through the lens of time and space via cultural production. As well Tonnies defines the concept of society and cultural practice through production and scale. Tonnies maps the change of societies based on agriculture and agricultural production through to societies based on industry and economics organizations. Stating these differences in economic, social, cultural and psychological terms that relate to his concepts of action as expressed in the idea of; direct will, opportunity and interconnectivity between peoples.

Tonnies characterises Gemeinschaft as social groups, communities based on the local, on the small and on the family, whereas the notion of Gesellschaft encompasses ideas of societies based on large scales, of economies of the metropolis and of the state. Tonnies describes how there is a constant but fluctuating relationship between these two groups and infact communities and societies are a constant mixture of both - that Gemeinshaft and Gesellschaft cultures are notentirely independent of each other.

A very clear example of this interrelation between Gemeinshaft and Gesellschaft that Tonnies describes is demonstrated in a link I have provide in this blog to the ABC Televison 4Corners site.

This site demonstrates definitively the interelationship between the local and the state structuring bodies. The site does this

in the content of the documentary and in the accompanying support material. Marysville is a site that demonstrates on many levels Tonnies ideas of Gemeinschaft and Gescellschaft in regard to Social Media, Emergency Practices and protocols, in information exchange between friends and so on. Thus Tonnies theories are intrinsic to the structung of my documentary content and form.

· Lev Manovich’s The Language of New Media

Manovich comprehensively explores the ordering and structuring nature of the formal elements of digital media via the interface – through the veneer of windows and software applications.

· Paul Viriilo’s War and Cinema-The Logistics of Perception

is another structuring influence as the documentary is being constructed for viewing within and through social soft ware. Virilio argues strongly that media shapes culture and cultural attitudes and indeed forms behaviours.

What theorists will you incorporate into your documentary – summarise the ideas you engage with

· Manovich Lev (2001) The Language of New Media, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The issue of ordering and structuring is a determinant of both the content and the reception of my documentary as my work is an attempt to reveal and define what the Marysville community is after the fires.

· The form of media dictates meaning and then the interaction

· Non linear narratives can be exciting and encourage participation

· Digital media allows for creative and non linear narratives which in turn can generate interaction. In my case study I wish to use social software such as Flikr, You Tube, my Blog and hyperlinks as well as digital tools to record and publish stories and images from the community of Marysville.

· Delanty, G (2003), Community. NY: Routledge

· Community is an idea that is constructed based on social relations

· There is an ongoing question of what a community is and what it look like

· Transformation and community are interlinked

· My documentary will explore the idea of relationships through concepts of experience and place of identity through regeneration and transformation after tragedy

· Virilio Paul, War and Cinema the logistics of perception (1984) Verso, London

Virilio writes about the interrelationship between images, text, perception, individuality, communities, society and their organization.

· Cinematic presentations: sound, moving images, movie houses,

viewing screens and the content of these cinematic devices are inseparable from power, fantasy and the identity of a society and its individuals within it.

It is through the use of cinematic devices, video, photographs, sound track and editing techniques that I will attempt to order and capture what Marysville or the community of Marysville is or has become or thinks of itself. It is through these cinematic devices in the form of social software that I will engage with what was once a clearly geographic community and consider what that community looks like now?

· Vertov Dizga The Man With The Movie Camera, DVD, International Museum of Film and Music (1996)

“ capture fragments of actuality “. Record what is already there – look at what you see

It is important to approach your subject with the view to record what is rather than to construct a narrative or reinforce a point of view.

· Marshall David P (2004) New Media Cultures. London

o Social Software enables interaction and this interaction in turn generates more interaction

o Social software offers the opportunity for viewers to become participants

Why are these theoretical concepts relevant to your project? – How do these particular ideas relate to the community you are documenting?

· Manovich

· The form of media dictates meaning and then the interaction

· Non linear narratives can be exciting and encourage participation

The first idea has led me to realise that each element in my work needs to be complete – and stand as a finished work on its own.

The second point reminds me that the interaction with my blog/ documentary will determined on an individual basis – there will be a number of entrance points for the viewing of the work.

· Delanty

· Community is an idea that is constructed based on social relations

· There is an ongoing question of what a community is and what it look like

· Transformation and community are interlinked

These ideas are guiding principles in my consideration of how to arrive at my finished work and informs my approach to the survivors of the fire. The main difficulty for the project is that the Marysville I visited no longer exists. The question then becomes – How do I find people to talk to ? and how do I do justice to the seriousness of the situation?

Finally Delanty’s ideas influence my concept of my own experience and have the connection I have to Bush fire survivors

· Virilio

Cinematic presentations: sound, moving images, movie houses,

viewing screens and the content of these cinematic devices are inseparable from power, fantasy and the identity of a society and its individuals within it

Virilio’s idea deepens my thought about the fact that my work has power and this power is influential. My work maybe open to interpretation but is also aligned in the, ‘truth and the transparency of vision’. These ideas also invoke awareness on my part that my work is part of a long and strong tradition of:

1. Narration and Narrative Structures

2. Story telling

3. Accounts – creating an account of reality

4. Images and story telling – a dense history

5. Interaction – my work is being made to be transmitted

· Vertov

· “ capture fragments of actuality “

· Record what is already there – look at what you see

Vertov’s direction has reinforced my determination to record and show what I discover and uncover rather than manufacture or define. His words are directions for the content of my documentary and the shape of it.

· Marshall

· Social Software enables interaction and this interaction in turn generates more interaction and so on

· Social software offers the opportunity for viewers to become participants

Marshall’s thoughts have supplied a theoretical ballast for an experience that I wanted to include in my work. I was blown away by the extreme simplicity and et simultaneously the complexity of the Lost Zombies – GRID. This grid structures a level of interaction with the site, the concept to create a documentary itself. The work is so appealing to me and the desire I have for – bush fire victims to be represented in the documentary. My deepest desire is for them to be able to contribute their stories and add to the work in an honest and functional manner.

Lost Zombies, showed me how it can be done and Marshall

states that this ‘feedback’ methodology is valid within the wider communities of academia, business, society and within global online community as a operational device.

How are they relevant to the community and to the documentary project your Blog - provide a critical analysis of these ideas in relation to the community you are documenting

· Manovich – The Formal Mechanism – The interface and the interaction with the interface are a constantly evolving relationship. This relationship is significantly contributes to the qualities that define social software.

· It is the very nature of the interface that demarcates it from other forms of social communication. The documentary project is a direct engagement with social software tools – portable recording devices, file sharing software and so on and these tools decentralise the audience – from cinema or television set to individualise the reception of the work as the viewers can access the documentary in an a ‘persistent’ environment.

· Delanty – Community - The shape and size of communities how is community defined? What are its characteristics? On what scale do communities operate? What happens when small communities are dispersed from their geographical origin? What happens to a community if its geography, environment, infrastructure and economy are decimated? These ideas have shaped the approach I am making to the content and direction of the content in my work

· Vertov – Content - the nature of the content as shaped by the author. In Vertov’s case he talked of the role of the camera person as the recorder and this idea directly plugs in to the role I have designated for myself as the producer, designer, journalist, researcher and as a student. The documentary and the blog are being generated to capture and to collate the found word, belief, feeling, image, sound etc.

· Virilio – Context, Social interaction- Virilio discusses the ongoing and traditional interrelationship between media forms. His particular focus is on moving images and their complex relationship with society and communities. Virilio makes a strong case for the simultaneity of interaction between the mechanism and the mind.

Thus in making my documentary I am in turn shaping how the community ‘feels’, about itself, I am in fact a participant in the communities construction of its own identity and in turn this is a powerful position to be in and this power needs to be rendered gently and thoughtfully.

Ideally, I will engage participants in a constructive enterprise of expression rather than generate fear or shock as in the Four Corners Documentary aired and presented on ABC free to air Monday the 28^th of April at 8.30pm about Marysville.

In this documentary the journalist was front and centre in an investigation of state processes and community concerns. I want take an approach we I as the director and filmmaker are less present in the documentary itself.

I want the social software tools to speak in that the voices of the

community can ‘speak’ through these mechanisms to create and

generate texture via their inherent forms – like the text and

and form of emails and recording of others.

How are you going to introduce these theoretical concepts in terms of the structure of your documentary or the argument you are proposing, how does the theory come in, and where/when?

· The theory and the theorists chosen from the reading lists, lectures and tutorials and from my independent research are an intrinsic part of my work from the beginning to the end. The theorists are the architects of my project and I as the builder and designer are responding to their plans and blueprints and structuring principles.

· Theorists such as Delanty, Manovich, Virilio and Vertov provided structure to the project and helped shape the content of the documentary. Whilst their observations, questions and arguments have determined the course of my research and in turn guided the formal aspects of my blog, my documentary or rather my blogumentary.

What is the structure of the documentary – this could be a short treatment of the way you see your documentary unfolding?

· The structure will be based upon the formal qualities of the blog

Template that is the format which determines the scale of the Blog, the font, the windows for text, the size of the images and so on.

· The template is the framework that orders and structures the content of my Blog and this framework is a direct representation of Manovich’s analysis of the interface and how the interface itself dictates interaction with the information contained within it – the interface is in itself a meaning generator because it dictates how content is shaped and secondly viewed.

· Manovich illustrates that the nature and the form of the window interface is directly plugged into Western cultures visual syntax its modes and codes of expression and exchange, as such, these ideas have been added to by Marshall “the capacity of new media to personalise and customise content transforms the media experience fundamentally” (Marshall, p.22) “Feedback loops”

· Both Manovich and Marshall have assisted me in my planning for the content of my Blog and documentary. That is to say – Manovich’s investigation of the non-linear narrative generated by the windows based interface, in turn, generates the personalisation of the narrative for each viewer and user.

· The viewers personal interaction with the form of information contained in the Blog is an important determinant for the content

of both my Documentary and my Blog. Marshall ideas of personalisation through feedback loops is a significant factor in the determining the projects content and role - http://www.lostzombies.com/ is an example of a degree of interaction that is ideal for my project, in that, the Lost Zombies project is user generated and the viewers are actively encouraged to generate content for the Blog by Lost Zombies.

Importantly, the means and the mechanism for engagement are simple. Lost Zombies is a site that I would like to emulate on a much more humble scale.

· Another influence on the structure and the nature of my documentary is Nick Broomfield’s work – I looked in to Broomfield’s body of work as I am dealing with logistical issues

in relation to Marysville – the diaspora of the populace, cost and time management to go to the site, as well, I have had to face personal feelings in relation to the experience of surviving the fires.

Importantly, I also looked to Broomfield to assist me in an approach to my documentary participants – This is because I am not a Marysville resident – not a member of the community.

So – How could I connect ?– How could I have the right to approach and engage in this very difficult and sensitive subject of fires, community, death, loss, fear and so on?

Broomfield’s documentary about Margaret Thatcher –Tracking Down Maggie, is a documentary about the search for the content it is a documentary about being outside a nexus, a niche community. Tracking Down Maggie is a documentary about generating work from the outside and documenting the investigation itself. This concept and delivery is helpful to my perception of the work I can create and generate in that it creates opportunities out of closed doors. There is now content when there was previously none.

What style is your documentary – you can refer to documentary theory as you know it; if not, discuss how you see the relationship between you the documentary maker and your subject, and how that will influence the work you produce?

· The content of my Documentary will be sincere and respectful of the people who have been affected by the Bush fires. I want to show the human spirit and the beauty of nature in the face of adversity. I want to show the strength inside all of us and to document the manner in which a community can choose to regenerate through the management of loss.

· I want to capture in layers and in textures and use the tools of the blog format as fully as possible, to express the complexity of human nature . To allow others to develop an understanding through dignity and respect. I want to generate an understanding of hope in the face of loss, determination, in the face of hopelessness and pay respect to the vulnerability, the fragility and the delicacy of life.

Examples of other documentaries will be useful -

· There are two documentaries that I found online in the last four weeks that have influenced my considerations and planning for my work.

· The first was Nick Broomfield’s website

http://www.nickbroomfield.com/home.html

His documentary directly related to a question of approach and logistics when it came to trying to create a work about Marysville and the people evacuated from Marysville on Black Saturday.

· Whilst researching social software, in particular relation to Blog content and layout I discovered another documentary that has had a direct influence on my documentary goals.

http://www.lostzombies.com/

· Lost Zombies is a site that contains a documentary and this particular documentary is constructed in a community-based format – using a participation format called the Grid.

· People who are members send in footage or material that is in turn used to construct the documentary – the blog and its managers/designers provide the over arching structure the format for the content. Lost Zombies is an excellent example of a collaborative and incorporative approach to user-generated content that is particularly appealing to me.

I will ask people to generate their own work and add this work into my documentary whether these are simply drawings, voice recordings, photos, texts or something more detailed as in the Lost Zombies this will be decided in the editing stage of the project after all the footage and sound has been captured, chosen and collated for

selection.

TECHNICAL

8. What type of media will your documentary consist of (eg audio files, text, stills, video, animation etc)

My documentary will consist of a collage of: Text, Drawings, Maps, Photographs, Scanned objects, Audio Interviews, Audio sounds, Printed texts, Captured landscape footage, old maps reprinted, possibly, satellite imagery from Google maps and imbedded references to terrain from:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/

I will also include portraits of the people I interview and meet. I want to use stills to create a rhythm in the documentary.

9. Given that your documentary will be published on line, how will you design the production, the design values, the palette, the content, the text font and scale with the images and sounds if used? How will you manage and how do you conceive of the post production values and what of these values will be appropriate – eg image size, frame rate, and copyright?

As a test I uplaoded a documentary about the community of St Kilda to You Tube. I have generated a link through Open Salon, so that my video can be viewed. This was an important process as I encountered several problems along the way - file size, time limits, You Tube associations versus Open Salon requirments etc. It was an invaluable experiment and it was also lovely to publish my previoous documentary so that it can act as a CV for people I approach for my bush fire/ Marysville documentary.

The colour of the documentary will be shaped on complementary colour

principles.

The design of the documentary and blog will based on the template – the window, in which, the information is viewed. The image and file size will be kept small and their size will be determined by the types and numbers of the peripherals used to capture and record sound and images in the creation of the documentary. Then, I will engage with the software used to generate the blogumentary. I will look in to and match its formatting requirements as these requirements will influence the size, scale and structure of my work.

The font for my documentary will Arial as it is clear and contemporaneous. The text will be included on colour theory principles and in relation to the window it is viewed through the imagery is interdependent with the text and they together create a composition which is about meaning and the meaning of the meaning – an example of this approach in my work can be seen within an entry in my Blog installed on the 01.04.09. The bulk of the image is text from a newspaper I choose a font to accompany it, so as, to describe and acknowledge my source as clearly as possible – so that plagiarism is not an issue in my work.

My interviewees will sign a release form and copyright will be adhered to by acknowledging sources and by clear referencing. Or, if copyright is required I will follow the appropriate channels and follow procedures and protocols with the governing or officiating body.

10. What are your skills in making this type of media?

I have limited technical skills, but, I have recorded footage on mini dvd and created images, sounds, and constructed text to, make short films. I have used a range of software applications for these projects because I have worked across Macs and PC platforms and applications. However, this time, I will construct my work on a Mac in entirety and only use the Mac applications I have on my machine – Quicktime, iMovie, GarageBand, iTunes, iPhoto, and more.

I have been utilising my USB contention to download and upload images and sounds from my camera to computer. I also, have enabled Bluetooth for further options in file transfer.

11. Are you enlisting the assistance of anyone or employing a crew for the production of this documentary?

No .

12. Will you need to borrow any equipment from the applied communication technicians? If yes what will you borrow? When will you borrow it?

I have organised to borrow a sound recording device called a H2 ZOOM that Dean Keep recommended and this device is USB capable – to transfer files to my computer.

I have would like to experiment with this tool on the weekend of the 3^rd and 4^th of April, 2009 as a practice run for my project. I have had the appropriate documentation signed for the borrowing of the

SOLID STATE RECORDER KIT – H2 ZOOM from RMIT

PREMISSIONS

13.

The appropriate release forms have been provided by Jenny Weight and Dean Keep. I have a copy of the personal release form that I will use when I interview people for my documentary.

14.

No. I will not be interviewing any minors.

15.

I will negotiate permission on an individual basis and approach Murrindindi Council for permission or permissions to film in fire affected areas if required.

POST – PRODUCTION

16. 17. 18.

My Post – Production will be done on my Mac and this work will be a process of refinement, of tweaking the content as well as adjusting the assemblage of the said content.

The organization of the content of my documentary will be determined by the overarching principle of ‘recording actuality’, and the stylistic considerations of cuts, close ups, dissolves and framing will be dependent on the rhythm of, the images and forms, as well as, on the overall tone of the work.

The imagery and sound needs to be merged in to a construction that is: aligned, arranged and adjusted, so that, it is consistent with the overall meaning and premise of the work. The sound in an important layer in the overall impact of the work.

I have learnt that sound is intrinsic to understanding of and the interaction with, a documentary by the audience. That sound quality is intrinsic to reception, so, my focus will be on manipulating the sound for clarity and for consistency with the intended meaning of the documentary.

In addition, I will experiment with recording and manipulating the sound and footage from my LG Viewty Camera, which makes movies, records sound and has hand writing capability.

PUBLICATION

19.

What social software environment will you publish your documentary to? Because Facebook, You Tube, Ning , Deviant Art, Experience Project and Second Life are interoperable social networking sights that will support and display my blogumentary. I have to make a decision about which ones I prefer. I like to swim against the tide of popularity and there fore will keep away from Facebook. I appreciate You Tube for its ease of access and for its diversity, so, I will use it and I want to use Ning for my documentary because I read an article about social networking platforms and (API’s)by the founder of Ning – it was well written and impressive in it’s clarity for a layman like me, so, I also want to use Ning in my work.

In addition, no one I know, talks about Ning and for some perverse reason this appeals to me and makes me want to experiment with Ning.

20.

Is the media you are creating appropriate for that environment?

Yes

21.

Have you become a member of that environment?

Not to exhibit my work – like all sites that I have come across there are differently layers to the participation you can engage in and hierarchies of membership that determine you access to services, facilities and information. At present I am a member of Open Salon and have started a blog in that space.I will embed my film in You Tube and exhibit my work through a link to You Tube from my Blog.

22.

Have you done a ‘test’ publication?

Not of Video footage as yet, but, I have been testing colours for fonts, and finding out what is scannable and works on screen. I have been composing images and working at ways of including personal touches,

through collection and touch so to that end I used, the scribble tool for this assignment to demarcate my answers to questions in the CONTENT section of this assignment. I have also been recording different sounds with my mobile phone to test for quality and finally, I went to the Shire of Murrindindi to face my fears and to find out if I could even construct a documentary about Marysville. By facing the smell of fire that had haunted and overwhelmed my senses, and by returning to the burnt out landscape and looking around I then went around practicing recording techniques with my camera and car in a very small and tentative manner and in turn by visiting important sights and photographing them I realised I had the ability to document and create a documentary about the fires.

23.

Does the environment stipulate any limits to file size, file types etc?

Yes, all digital environments have requirements for uploading images and sound. For images jpegs are popular and in the case of my blog the image can be no larger that 2MBs. MOV files and VOB files are important for videos and sound can be manipulated and transferred in iTunes in to mpegs.

24.

Are there any competitions or other deadlines that the environment imposes?

No.

LEGAL

25.

Have you got copyright permission for all the content you use?

The planned footage and sound will be generated by me, however, if my idea changes and I require someone else’s material I will apply for the appropriate copyright permissions.

26.

Do you have the appropriate credit list that attributes every work and everyone involved?

I have the beginnings of a list – people I have contacted and places I have visited that I will continue to build upon.

27.

Is there defamation and slander? – None is allowed.

No.

28.

Any other legal issues?

At present there are none that I am aware of, however, if an issue arises I will source relevant assistance and seek out appropriate documentation

RISK ASSESSMENT

29.

What are the most likely things that could go wrong with your project?

My hard drive could crash – so I will back up all that I shoot and create on an external hard drive. My car could break down and I would be severely restricted in my movements and ability to travel in Victoria. Or I could have an income drop and the luxury of travel may not be achievable?

30.

What is your back up plan if these things occur?

In regard to technology I will copy and save everything to an external hard drive.

In regard to my car – I will have to borrow a friends car and in regard to financial hardship, I’ll just find a way to move on and achieve what I need to; I have done it before - very good and kind friends are a bonus and a privilege.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

31.

What date are you showing your rough cut?

We are all showing our rough-cut in week 12 we are now in week 5.

The date of the rough cut showing is 2oth of May 2009

The finshed documentary is to be handed in on the 27th 2009

32.

What is the final date?

Is week 14, June the 9th

33.

When do you intend to start post – production?

As I film and record and assemble I will edit as I go to create an ongoing rough– as each part and aspect of the documentary needs to be complete. I will do a rough sketch of the whole work on the week of 11^th to the 18^th of May to test the flow and the content of the work.

35. Have you booked the technical equipment you need?

At this stage, yes.

36. How do these dates fit in with other deadlines for other subjects?

I have other subjects that have similar due dates and also complex work requirements. How, I am tackling these timelines is, to work consistently and chip away at the body of the work. In terms of the Transient Spaces work requirements, I have made tests in my Blog of ideas for textures in my documentary and I have made inclusions of ‘actuality’ by scanning in to Photoshop – forms and objects that connote and denote space as well as encapsulating my experience of both the bush fires and of the community that surrounded it.

Fore instance, I have scanned in the keys to the house at Marysville – that I thought would still be there the day after the fires. These keys symbolise a great loss for me and also remind me that it is important to live each day fully, as there might not be another certainty to return to.

In formal terms the scanning of the keys works really well they look good themselves the metal works really well with the scanner and they add a sense of dimension another tactile layer to the other information I collaged together in the image for my Blog.

37.

Consider talent availability and production timelines do these schedules match up?

I am not engaging talent in my project.