Youth Take Over interns premiere documentary film
On Wednesday 1 March, seven interns from Youth Take Over Loddon Campaspe ran an event to premiere their new film, documenting the Minerals Council of Australia’s 2022 Victorian Mine Rescue Competition. Interns invited family and friends to the premiere screening at YoBendigo, which was followed by a panel discussion with the young filmmakers. The launch was also attended by the project client, stakeholders, and supporters of Youth Take Over
The completed film is now live on the Minerals Council of Australia Website: https://minerals.org.au/about/mca-vic/victorian-mine-rescue-competition/
The Victorian Mine Rescue Competition held at Fosterville Gold Mine in November last year gave emergency responders a chance to put their skills to the test. Simulated disasters create a controlled environment for teams of firefighters, SES, and Mine Rescuers to increase their confidence. It also provided an opportunity for a group of Youth Take Over interns to learn the art of filmmaking, step out of their comfort zones, and create a project to boost their resumes.
Youth Take Over offers unique work experience programs for young people aged 25 or under, where teams of up to 10 interns are invited to ‘take over’ a community or industry challenge. The interns are trained by experts to learn about the industry and develop the skills they need to run their Take Over and get experience they can talk about in their next job application.
For this Take Over, the team was tasked with creating a documentary film of the 2022 Victorian Mine Rescue Competition. Project client, Minerals Council of Australia, wanted to use the film to promote the event to future participants and stakeholders.
In the lead-up to the film shoot, the interns learnt about interview techniques, framing, exposure and setting up the camera gear, all in preparation for the big day. Afterwards, they got to pick out the best shots, edit the footage and partake in a careers session to explore future possibilities.
Speaking at the film launch, James Sorahan, Executive Director of the Victoria Division for Minerals Council of Australia, said, "working with YTO to commission a project was a very rewarding experience for our organisation and event."
"Involving young local people to film the Victorian Mine Rescue Competition was an incredibly special addition to the competition in 2022. Participants and sponsors enjoyed talking to young people about their role in mine safety. MCA Victoria was very pleased to work with a professional crew, and offer an opportunity for young people to learn about our industry and hopefully spark their interest in working in mining or emergency services."
This was certainly true for one intern, who shared during a panel discussion following the film screening, “originally I only had one plan for what I wanted to do… when James [Sorahan] came in, he was talking about a lot of diesel mechanics [in the mining industry] and there is so much cool stuff about it that I didn’t know and now I have been looking into it [as a career path].”
Reflecting on their Youth Take Over experience, another intern said "it gives insight to that career, that goal you might want to pursue... Youth Take Over gives you an idea of what it's like and helps you realise, this is definitely what I want to do. It helps you know how to move forward in that pathway."
The completed film, made by the Youth Take Over interns with Chewton-based filmmaker Leonie Van Eyk, is now live on the Minerals Council of Australia website.
Youth Take Over is an initiative of North Central LLEN in partnership with the Loddon Campaspe LLENs and sponsored by the Agnico Eagle Community Partnership Program. Take Overs are happening all over the Loddon Campaspe Region.
