On Wednesday, April 3, a minibus packed full of film and audio equipment, students and lecturers travelled from the University of Melbourne to Greater Shepparton Secondary College.
This arrival marked the beginning of the Victorian College of the Arts’ Fast Films program – a whirlwind film-making program wherein students plan, produce and screen a film over just three days.
On Friday, April 5 the completed films made their premiere at the opening night of the Shepparton Festival.
“[The program] is something we do at the VCA for when students are new and they don’t really know each other, haven’t made many films before,” Andrew O’Keefe, lecturer in film and TV at Melbourne University, said.
“It’s not really about the outcome of the film, it’s more about the creativity, the creative process, the students working together and expressing themselves.”
Mr O’Keefe said the unique time constraints of the program forced students to really focus on what made a strong story, an essential skill of all creatives.
“The real skill is working out what is the heart of the story, and what’s extraneous.”
Mr O’Keefe worked together with GSSC’s media teacher Darryl McConnell to bring the program to Shepparton.
It is the first time the program has left the VCA but it proved a great opportunity for students to express themselves creatively and try their hand at making a film using the equipment the VCA provided.
Third-year Melbourne University students Lily Lunder and Felix Tyson, who volunteered to help as mentors for the program, said that they were surprised by the enthusiasm of the students.
“Everyone's got a lot of ideas, I was surprised by the amount of ideas given to us,” Mr Tyson, who is currently studying screenwriting at Melbourne University, said.
The young producers behind film Rosie Needs A Friend also spoke briefly about their film and their experience with the program.
“It’s been pretty fun, [working] with all my classmates and with meeting Andrew, it’s been really fun,” the film’s art director and Year 12 media student Tiffany Jeffris said.
Tiffany described the film as a light-hearted story about two very different girls trying to become friends despite things getting in the way.
“It’s like a friendship love story in a way, but it’s not romantic,” Tiffany said.
The other films that screened on the night included Tongues and Crescendo.