[MUSIC PLAYING] JASPER: My name’s Jasper, and I completed the poster and promotion design for my IP HSE. In year 11, we had done a mock poster and promo design, which gave me an idea of the directorial vision, the rationale, designing a poster– that became natural to me when completing my real IP. And since I had received a mark that I was satisfied with within year 11, I would then gravitate towards that, naturally, towards my real HSE.
I chose this option because the steps that I’d taken in year 11 became so much fun to do. Playing around on Photoshop, making a rationale, it’s really purely imagination. Whilst other IPs you have to physically make, this you can really play around with and make this IP your own.
The dramatic meaning that I really wanted to communicate was the exposure of the Indigenous Australian diggers in World War One. It was just such a shock to me that I had never thought or considered aboriginals fighting alongside our Australian diggers. It became more of a message that I wanted to communicate.
The dramatic meaning was exposing their stories of racism, discrimination, but also being unified through their uniform. Wearing the uniform may have unified them, fighting alongside what we know as Australian diggers, but once they removed that uniform, then they have to consider what was that for? I’m going back to racism. I’m going back to that harsh reality. So I wanted to communicate that delay.
Originally, I had settled with one text, but over time, I needed to communicate a better idea. My first choice was Death and the Maiden, which I didn’t feel– it was a great text, but I felt that I couldn’t communicate the ideas that I really wanted to with the text type that I had. Then I had to look at the text list again.
Originally, I had a quick glance at the text list, but really developing ideas through all of them, I settled with Black Diggers, as that was something that I felt that I could communicate, and something to learn from as well, and educate potential onlookers that would see this play. I used my logbook to refine and explore my ideas through logging anything that I considered to be worthy of being in my IP. It was great to go back and look at what ideas I did have and see what worked, and see what I could continue, because it’s the ones that I didn’t necessarily like that I ended up using. So actually writing down helps because you’re going to change your IP or your ideas over time, and having that process– that granular process of going back, is something to– is something– should become natural in the IP.
You’re going to be doing that. You’re going to take one step forward and two steps back, but in the end, everything does work.
A major challenge that I faced developing my IP was cultural appropriation. I was really, really worried about maybe causing offense, or being quite– even, in fact, racist with the ideas or images I originally wanted to communicate, such as maybe using symbols. But that could have been taken out of context, or used in a different way that I may have not intended.
So that’s why I chose something a bit more broad, something that any public eye could look at and communicate what their expectations of the play may be. And I overcame that through placing my subject in a World War One digger uniform, as that symbolizes not only their involvement in World War One, but the experiences they faced through the facial expression, the barb wire I’ve incorporated.
Really capturing my idea within one image was pivotal to this whole IP. The structures which assisted in developing my IP was regular IP check-ins, as that gave me an uninfluenced eye in regards to how my IP should look. Because I have my idea of how it should look, but having another person look at it and tell me what they think, or telling me, OK, what works, what doesn’t within my piece of writing? Or you didn’t communicate this effectively.
I couldn’t have done that if I didn’t have a structured, regular IP meeting sessions because my IP wouldn’t have become what it became if I didn’t have people helping me. Because this IP you can’t really do alone. You need external support to help you through this because it can be quite tough at times, but overcoming those challenges through the meetings and really motivating yourself through seeing the end of it really can structure your IP in such a way that you will be more than happy with it by the end.
So the ideas I’ve learnt from my IP is just not to be so fixated on one idea. You’re going to choose a text, and then you’re going to think, OK this one. I’m really, really going to– I like. And I’m really going to finish my IP with a high mark.
But then when you look at how your idea really works, or when you start drafting it, and you’re thinking, OK, this doesn’t work the way that I really wanted it to. So I got to week four and decided Death and the Maiden wasn’t– I couldn’t communicate my idea effectively with. I went back four weeks in time to go and choose Black Diggers and really have a look at what themes it presents, and reading the text, and just finding those ideas that I could communicate with, such as the exposure of these stories, which should become public knowledge.
I feel that looking back at that, I feel like I did my job because, not only am I educated, but anyone who reads Tom Wright’s play has an idea of what he wanted to communicate, and if anyone hypothetically saw my production, what ideas I wanted to communicate through Tom’s work.
Another piece of advice I’d give is to start early, and keep giving drafts in because you need to consider by week six, if you want to go backwards, that’s going to be really tough to catch up on because you’re going to have other subjects to do. Drama isn’t your only subject. Make sure to schedule times with your IP mentor. Make sure to keep up to date with the work. Stay motivated. And, of course, just love drama.
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Content updated 22/9/2020