Students film mini-series to explore top issues

Free tertiary education is among the ‘hot topics’ explored in a series of short films launched during the lead up to the general election. Libby Wilson reports.

Political hot topics are being put in the spotlight by a group of Hamilton high school students, through the eyes of characters such as a farmer and an aristocrat.

Dangerzone Films – about 12 Hillcrest High School students and film enthusiasts – have made a mini-series to get young people thinking about topics from education to asset sales.

‘‘We want to make them laugh and we want to make them think,’’ arts captain and co-director Calum Hughes said.

‘‘We wouldn’t want our parents’ generation making decisions about what clothes we wore or what music we listened to. So why would we let that generation make decisions about our country and our politics and our future?’’

The series has seven episodes – one to be released each day leading up to the election – each between three and five minutes long.

They cover issues including the MMP system and tax.

Dangerzone was a politically diverse group with views right across the spectrum but the short clips were apolitical, Hughes said.

‘‘We thought of the idea and then got straight into writing and then have been filming . . . pretty much non-stop.’’

The idea came from a discussion Hughes had with his family about voter apathy, and the group decided to use film to fight it.

‘‘We thought of the idea and then got straight into writing and then have been filming . . . pretty much non-stop,’’ he said.

A combination of prior knowledge, research and connections within the relevant sectors were used to create the films.

One of the focus issues was education, including ‘‘hot topics’’ such as free tertiary education, result-based pay and class sizes.

Scripted views from characters including a housewife and mechanic were used to get the information across, Hughes said.

As well as the writing, research and editing, the group also created infographics and wrote and recorded an original soundtrack.

The filming process had some of their friends talking about election issues and the group hopes to continue the series next year.

‘‘We feel like we’re making a difference,’’ Hughes said. The first film went up on Saturday. Visit Facebook.com/dangerzonefilms for the links.