Of course this week we missed our lectorial for media one as it was a very significant day for all Australians and New Zealander’s past and present, ANZAC Day. I myself braised the cold Melbourne conditions to watch another moving dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance. I released on ANZAC Day to the greater public on YouTube and Facebook the 100 Year Anniversary documentary I created last year for VCE Media: We Will Remember Them 100 Years of ANZAC.

Below is the statement of intent I wrote this day a year ago as I planned a very complex but exciting project which aimed to tell the story of the legacy of ANZAC from many perspectives being from younger and older generations who honour the ANZAC legacy and keep the spirit of ANZAC Day alive.

STATEMENT OF INTENT

FILM: “WE WILL REMEMBER THEM” 100 YEARS OF ANZAC

I intend to make a creative documentary on the commemorative 100 year anniversary of the landing of ANZAC soldiers on the foreign shores of Gallipoli. ANZAC day obviously a significant day in the Australian and New Zealand calendar because it is a day we remember those brave serviceman who fought valiantly for their country in horrendous situations and created a legacy which has defined us and made us more courageous and heroic in the face of the foe. I chose to film a documentary on ANZAC day commorations to showcase the importance of ANZAC day to Australians young and old and emphasise how it will be continued for future generations. I will achieve this by filming the Dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne and identify through interviews what is so significant about ANZAC day and how it will be enhanced and honoured in future. Questions to also put towards the general public including veterans, youth, important Melbournian’s and workers of legacy and the Shine are ‘do you believe the stature of Anzac day was risen and why?’ ‘Why is the importance of honouring the Anzac spirit? And what does Anzac Day mean to you? Those central questions will be put forward along with additional questions depending on the subject being interviewed. I intent to film a wide range of cutaways in conjunction to the overhead dialogue of the interviews. The several cutaways I intend to film include symbolic statues around the shrine and memorials around the city of Melbourne and Victoria, the Anzac Day march, the Melbourne Shire of Remembrance dawn service, symbols and motifs representing key factors involved in the Gallipoli campaign which include beaches, artillery, large canons, uniforms, drops of blood, trenches, barbed wire, bayonets and other symbols of war. The purpose of blanketing the extreme violence and hostiles of war is because the audience range and demographic is pitched at all ages. Instead of reenacting bloody battles I believe through articulating the time before the battle, the eerie silence before the whistle is blown and the guns are fired this will better convey the nervous moments from the landing or before a particular charge at Gallipoli. I am to take a creative documentary approach by engaging the audience by the informative and interesting interviews with intriguing cut away, which are thought provoking. Throughout the writing and developing of ideas I aim to engage the audience in the opening sequence ‘symbols of war’, incredible anecdotes of war and how the legacy will continue for years and years. I aim to present stories and past events which stir up strong emotions and maybe even controversial social ideas regarding Australia’s involvement in war/ and the public’s resilience over terrorist threats and overall heroic stories of individual people or significant events which created the ANZAC spirit and shaped our identities. A major element of documentaries is to cast light on an event or phenomenon to the general public, which is the remarkable untold stories of the ANZAC spirit, which ties in with the event of the centenary commemorations of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli. This will hopefully have a profound effect on the audience, which will persuade, surprise, question, and/or challenge their views.

A part of my film is conducting research, which will help my gauge a better understanding of the ANZAC day opinions from the general public and veterans/ descendants. I will achieve this by talking to people who know about or who are interested in the topic, watching films about the topic (documentaries which already exist), source information library/internet, learn as much as I can about the topic and scope out landscape and pre-interviews based on research. Also an integral part, which I have already begun, is writing an outline/ plan, which gives an idea of the story and the conflict and drama to keep the story alive and engaging. An important part of the project especially if I enter it into film competitions is documentation. I will document where every film clip was taken and the location, the question format for the veterans/ general public/ professional historians and the permission slip so I can include my interviews in my documentary. I believe this documentary is relevant in commemorating the ANZAC’s who fought bravely and sacrificed their lives to safeguard our freedoms starting a century ago on the foreign shores of Gallipoli and throughout many more conflicts the spirit has never died. This important legacy should be never forgotten and in the centenary year of ANZAC I believe it is important I make a film remembering their sacrifice, uncovering the heroic and fascinating stories of their legacy and identifying through the lens that the younger generation is involved in commemorations and they will wave the flag in future. Understandably there is a lot of work and research to be conducted but with such a significant subject on such a significant year I believe it is appropriate to create a documentary presenting how important the ANZAC spirit has been to shaping our countries modern identity.

LEST WE FORGET

Michael Serpell