Vlado Krimpl - Storyteller

By Luke Whitford
Vlado Krimpl has been described as the story teller of our generation, branching from feature films to video clips for popular music stars, but his latest masterpiece is an advertisement for “Triple V Radio”.*

Vlado Krimpl doesn’t express a keen interest in radio per se but when asked why he chose to direct the advertisement for Triple V he said he was “interested in directing and filming anything that tells a story”.

I asked Vlado about what we see in the ad. “The advertisement takes place with a man on his way to work listening to Triple V on his iPod. He is listening to the song “So Excited”, also the slogan for the Triple V.

“He gets into the lift and basically goes crazy singing to the song. At the end another employee walks in looking disgruntled at him”.

So many elements working together in perfect harmony to tell the untold story of a man getting excited before he goes to work; Vlado Krimpl truly is the story teller of our generation.

*Note that this information isn't strictly true; it was written for the purposes of an assignment. However, Vlado really did make a mock commercial for Radio Triple V.

The Afterness

By Brody Mendhem

My major is like a music video, the song is “The Hollow” by Coheed and Cambria.

There is a car crash at the beginning and throughout the short film the main character’s friends and family are ignoring him and acting strange. Then the main character over hears his parents fighting over pulling the plug on him or not. It turns out the main character is in a coma and his soul is just walking around and interacting with the world but no one can see him. His parents pull the plug on him and he exits “the Afterness”.

My major is similar to movies like “the sixth sense” and “ghost”.

"Welcome to the Real World, Gamer"

Detail from a storyboard by Kyle Kelleher.

By Kyle Kelleher
The following is the opening scenes from a video being made as part of the Certificate III in media at Bathurst TAFE in central New South Wales, Australia.

INT. INSIDE GAME (MINECRAFT)
From the point of view of STEVE, a Minecraft character, we see him punching a tree to get wood, putting items into place to make tools, and if he died (e.g. falling in lava) he would respawn either near where he started or at the last bed he slept in.

He continues through this continuing cycle throughout the game, up to the time he builds a portal he believes will take him to another realm called the Nether (the real world’s equivalent of hell or hades).

EXT. REAL WORLD. DAY
He wakes up in the real world, afraid of what he sees. Nothing looks like what he’s used to in his pixelated world.

MINECRAFT PLAYER

where am I...? Huh?

What happened to the world?

It looks so strange…

He looks around to see if he can do anything to help him ‘survive’ in this new world, first by going to try and get some wood.

MINECRAFT PLAYER

hm... maybe if I hit this tree

 I can start my new life here

He taps the tree a few times, but nothing happens.

MINECRAFT PLAYER

well that didn’t work...

maybe I’m not hitting

the tree hard enough

He punches the tree really hard, but nothing happens to the tree. His hand is hurt.

MINECRAFT PLAYER

OW F*** THAT HURT!

He looked around and found some sticks and pebbles/rocks, and tries to arrange them on a table in hopes to make a tool such as a pickaxe, but nothing happens.

MINECRAFT PLAYER

maybe I’m doing it wrong…

He kept trying, but eventually gave up and just put the items in his pocket

INT. RANDOM DARK ROOM

He enters a dark room, but has 1 of his sticks out in case of a monster attack.

MINECRAFT PLAYER

It’s really dark in here.

There better not be any

zombies or skeletons in here

… wait what if there’s

a creeper in here?!

 He randomly swings the stick around, hitting random objects.

EXT. DAY

·         He walks around, getting worried

o   Minecraft player: I have to get. But how can I get home? It’s not possible. But there has to be a way. I really miss home (repeat this a few times)

·         He eventually gives up and tries to jump off a ledge to kill himself and hopefully respawn, but neither happens

o   Minecraft player: what? Why can’t I die?  … wait a minute… am I immortal?!

GLOBAL SHORT FILM CHALLENGE RAISES ECO AWARENESS IN 48 HOURS

By Tom Papas

Registrations for the world’s largest environmental film making challenge are now open.


Developed in Australia, the 48 EcoFilm Challenge invites creative and passionate filmmakers from around the world to devote one weekend to making a short environmentally-focused film about one theme crucial to the health of our planet.

The initiative is supported by NRMA Motoring and Services,

“The EcoFilm Fest has been developing in Parramatta over the past two years. This year, we are going global," says festival director Tom Papas. “We've chosen a theme that impacts everyone in everyday life - sustainable transport”.

The official 48 hour time period begins at 7pm on Friday May 24, in each town or city around the world. Each registered entrant receives by email or text message the randomly allocated elements - subject, character, prop and line of dialogue - that must be included in their four to seven minute film. Filmmakers then write, shoot, edit, produce and begin uploading their EcoFilm by 7pm on Sunday, May 26, 2013.

This year’s judging panel is headed by renowned Hollywood producer Andrew Sugerman, who has been involved in the production of many films over the past thirty years. His latest production is Janis Joplin: ‘Get It While You Can’.

Also gracing the judging panel is Ken Stewart, award winning writer-producer-director, former senior creative marketing executive at Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures.

On Friday July 19 the EcoFilm Awards will celebrate global ecodiversity by screening the EcoFilm finalists at the Riverside Theatres in Parramatta, Australia. There are cash prizes of $12,500, including the $3,000 Parramatta Prize awarded to the film that best "Inspires Change". There will also be a cash prize of $5,000 for the world’s "Best NRMA Motoring and Services EcoFilm".

Tom Papas says: ”This is an exciting initiative which encourages filmmakers of all ages to work together to raise awareness of the challenges transport presents, through very the accessible and entertaining medium of film”.

Registrations are strictly limited and are now open to filmmakers until May 24.

48 Hour Festival Inc, trading as EcoFilm Fest, is a not for profit incorporated association in NSW Australia. It operates under an advisory board of local and international members. The 48 EcoFilm Challenge film initiative was developed to promote the role that film can play in raising global awareness through film. Its vision is to bring together audiences to celebrate global ecodiversity through short films in the largest ecofilm focus across the planet.

Visit www.ecofilmfest.org.

Skype: ecofilm.fest

An eye-opening experience - An interview with Ella Wilkinson

Ella Wilkinson (seated, front) with TAFE journalism students Will Tremain (standing, left) Mark Cowan and Stephanie Rouxel. Photo by Tracy Sorensen.

By Will Tremain

Ella Wilkinson studies journalism locally here in Bathurst at Charles Sturt University. In December 2011, she had the opportunity to visit a place that has had much media attention over the last decade, East Timor. On a family vacation, Ella would travel across where she spent time with the President, José Ramos-Horta, a close friend of Ella’s mother as a result of her journalistic career.

This holiday however, became more of an eye-opening experience that inspired Ella. She now shares her mother’s passion of caring for the country and people of East Timor. Being exposed to their way of life and their standard of living had an impact that she says inspired her to help.

After visiting one of the schools, she is now considering returning to East Timor to teach English. When asked about the community’s reaction to having their children educated, she told us that it varies from town to town, and even family to family. For some East Timorese, the nearest school is three hours away, and their family mightn’t even own transport, but for others, education is a definite priority. According to Ella, the kids that do attend school are committed and eager to learn, and when opportunities of extra-curricular activities present themselves, they take to it without hesitation

When asked about the state of the country, she admits there is a lot of work to be done; most areas don’t even have power as a result of the Indonesian invasion years ago. Ella also mentions that there was some political unrest, as the first election since 2006 will take place soon this year. The election in 2006 ran with riots and much protest, so the country is waiting in anticipation to see how this year’s election will run.

In any case, Ella seems set on returning to help the East Timorese she became so fond of in her travels.

“That’s where I want to be” - Ella Wilkinson on East Timor

Ella Wilkinson (inset) and a photo she took of Balibo in East Timor.

By Stephanie Rouxel

In December 2011, Ella Wilkinson travelled to East Timor for an inspirational holiday and came back with new and flourishing ideas about her future and what she wanted to do.

Her mum (Bathurst Deputy Mayor Tracey Carpenter) had made the trip to East Timor before, working there with a group on rebuilding parts of the bordering towns after the Indonesian invasion ended. The family travelled to East Timor for a holiday, but her mum was determined to make something out of their stay – hoping to inspire and encourage them to do something like her.

Ella and her family, cousin Henry, and some of his friends, left on the 31 December 2011. They travelled many different places, making the most out of their holiday

“My favourites I think were Dili - because it was so different to anything I had seen before, Balibo - because of its amazing history, and Jaco Island – an uninhabited island that had magnificent beaches!” Ella explains.

While staying in Aileu, they made a few small trips with the President of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta. The family witnessed some of his meetings and speeches, as Ella’s mother was really good friends with him.

“That’s how we actually started the whole idea of taking a holiday to East Timor,” says Ella. “There aren’t many people who would be wild enough to take a trip to East Timor for the fun of it. We did it because funnily enough, mum knows the president!”

Next they went through Lacluba, the base for the aid project Friends of Laclubar. Ella visited the school which included more than 300 students in the senior school alone, and then to the convent where she was greeted by the children with traditional song and dance performances

Ella says that her favourite part about staying in East Timor, especially the schools, is meeting new people. “I love that everyone has a story, and they most certainly like to tell their stories if you’ll listen,” she laughs.

During the course of her holiday, Ella was inspired just as her mother had hoped, and she definitely wants to travel back to East Timor again when she gets the chance.

“Once I’ve finished my journalism course at CSU I would love to go straight back to East Timor,” explains Ella. “Because over here, everyone says either you can’t get a job or it will be extremely difficult. But over there, they want to give you a job, they want you to teach them things and to learn from you, and they don’t care about your qualification or what you do. That’s where I want to be”.

On time travel

By Trent Sheehan

Good evening! Today I'm going to have a chat to you about time travel and the various ways people have explored the possibility of one day traveling through time, and then the rather humorous appeal of time traveling - the Hollywood take if you will.

But first of all, here is a definition of time travel according to Wikipedia:

Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space, either sending objects (or in some cases just information) backwards in time to some moment before the present, or sending objects forward from the present to the future without the need to experience the intervening period (at least not at the normal rate).

So now that you know the actual definition it is rather self explanatory. Also, many professors have experimented over countless hours on the topic but none more famously than the great Albert Einstien.

According to his theory of relativity a physical universe is defined by the presence of movement, matter and consciousness. The passage of time will differ for objects which move at different velocities through space. So the thought of time travel isn’t that hard to believe when you have collected all the facts.

As we we speak, I bet there are many people still looking into time travel. I personally believe that one day, maybe, it will be possible.

And last of all let's look at the light-heartened way of expressing views on time travel through the cinema. One of the most famous movies, released in 1960, is called The Time Machine. It explores the fear that people had for the subject back in those days. The movie shows weird creatures and a spooky presence.

On the other hand, the movie franchise Back to the Future made time travel sound more appealing and explored its humorous side. Watching the movie made you wish you could go back in time.

So, make up your own mind! I've given you some food for thought so I leave you with it.

Trent Sheehan's Major Work for Cert III Digital Media is a short film about time travel. The photograph of Albert Einstein in 1921 is in the public domain.