Behind the Scenes with Roger Maunder and Colleen Power
Funded Under: School Touring Program
Amount Funded: $16,813
Between March 2 and June 3, 2009 filmmaker Roger Maunder and musician Colleen Power visited ten schools in Newfoundland and Labrador to conduct an intensive one-day workshop that gave senior high school students a glimpse behind the scenes of the entertainment industry. Students wrote and recorded a song, then shot a music video to accompany it. The result: ten very distinctive songs and music videos that reflect what it’s like being a teenager growing up in different parts of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Towns and schools visited
 Bay Roberts: Ascension Collegiate
St. John’s: Ecole des Grands-Vents
Eastport: Holy Cross School
Clarenville: Clarenville High
Marystown: Marystown Central High
Milltown: Bay d’Espoir Academy
Placentia: Laval High School
Foxtrap: Queen Elizabeth Regional High School
Bell Island: St. Michael’s Regional High
Glovertown: Glovertown Academy
Artist Contacts: Colleen Power/Roger Maunder
E-mail: behindthescenes2009@yahoo.ca
Watch Laval High School’s (Placentia) video for “Fix the Holes”:
Roger Maunder and Colleen Power on Behind the Scenes – an introduction to songwriting and film….
NLAC: Colleen: did the students start from scratch writing the songs, or did they have something in place when you got there?
Colleen: All the songs were written the morning of the workshop. They were completely written by the students. I was there to guide them and remind them that they had to finish the song and record it by a certain time in order to stay on schedule. I would occasionally suggest words for a rhyme or lyric. I helped out a bit with melodies and recorded the songs. In two instances, I accompanied their songs with music that I wrote on the spot. Most classes played their own instruments. I did some post production on the songs at my studio to make sure they were up to par with the videos.
NLAC: Were there any surprises during this project?
Colleen: The students were so great. It’s not an easy task for someone to write and record a song in one morning. Everyone got their songs written and bed tracks recorded. It was amazing to see what talent came out in the students, given the time constraints. I heard some brilliant singers and lyricists, who no doubt will go on to write and perform in the future. There was just a true interest on their behalf to learn about songwriting and recording, which was very refreshing.
Roger: I can honestly say that every time I walked into the classroom, after the song writing session was complete, I was surprised with what the kids had come up with. Each song was unique and different. This made it a little less daunting when it came to breaking down the song and shooting the video in various locations in one afternoon. The kids these days are so well versed in video shooting, and technology on the whole, that it made my job a little easier. They are the YouTube generation. I knew the kids were tech savvy but some more than others, and I was very surprised at a few that knew how they wanted the video to look and the best way to go about it. It was an eye opener to say the least.
NLAC: What seemed to be the biggest insight the students got about the music/video making process?
Colleen: At the end of the day, a lot of students remarked on how they didn’t realize how much work went into a music video and that it was hard work. Students were interested in different things and participated in different capacities. I could tell that they really enjoyed writing songs about their hometowns and that they are proud of where they are from.
Roger: I agree. It’s not just kids that feel that way. I’ve had the same comment from the teachers and adults in general. It’s not until you go on a set or shoot a film/video that you really realize how much work goes into making it. I think once the song was finished and recorded it was a real thrill for them to make the visuals. The classes were very focused on how they wanted their music portrayed visually and they worked very hard at getting what we could out of what we had around us. Basically, we had the school and its grounds to make the video. I think they did an outstanding job all around.
NLAC: One day is a very short time to write and record a song and then shoot a video - how did you do it? What about editing - who did that?
Roger: There were times when the songwriting process would cut into the video portion of the day but what can you do? You need the song in order to make the video. So as they went in to the songwriting session in the morning I tried to get them to think of the visuals/shots that they would want to accompany each line and hopefully when they finished the song they would have a much better picture of how to put it all together in the afternoon. They also had to choose one box of props from ten boxes presented to them. In the afternoons, we would break the song down into shots, figure out the locations for those shots, go out and shoot the entire music video. The kids had to make a cardboard sheet with the lyrics on it so they could read from it, as they just came up with the song that morning. By the time we got the video completely shot, the afternoon was pretty much done so the editing portion had to be done at home for the most part. That said, the editing was discussed as we shot the video. We knew what shots would be going where in the song. We shot each clip for each particular placement in the song’s video so it was pretty easy to edit it all together.
NLAC: Tell me about working with this techno-savvy generation - how is their experience beneficial to them when it comes to filmmaking?
Roger: There were some kids that really stood out when it came to using the camera or knowing the film lingo. There were a couple of instances where a certain individual was all over it and really knew how they wanted the video to look. This was a big help as it certainly got the class inspired in wanting to make a good video. That said, there were times when some ideas just wouldn’t work. This was mostly to do with effects and doing things that we were just not able to do. For example: we couldn’t do a helicopter shot! It was a great experience to talk about the different techniques used in shooting film/videos and certain rules that you follow. You could tell when they really got it and how it was something that they were going to take away in a positive light and certainly something they would use in their next shoot.
NLAC: As artists, what did you learn from the whole process of working with young people?
Colleen: I discovered that what I originally thought was true. There are many students who are very creatively inclined that would love to participate in workshops like “Behind the Scenes” more often. I believe that this is why the classes excelled in writing their songs and making their music videos. For myself, it was enlightening to see the similarities and differences in the lives of these senior high school students in different parts of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was interesting to learn about their communities and the different expressions, place names, and nicknames for different things and places that the students use.
Roger: I always find it very satisfying to see kids having the opportunity that my generation never had growing up. The ability to work with their friends and to make a music video and write a song is something that they will take away and be able to look back at for years to come. The best part is to know that the kids are actually enjoying themselves learning something new and knowing that they can go on and do this. That it’s something that’s available and that if they put their minds to it that anything is possible. The biggest thing I learned was the enthusiasm that the kids have for the place that they come from. It’s in their heart and soul.
NLAC: Would you do something like this again?
Colleen: Definitely. I would love to go to more different schools in Newfoundland and Labrador, thus, our Behind the Scenes Workshop would result in a collection of music videos from different schools all over Newfoundland and Labrador.
Roger: I would LOVE to do this again. Maybe the next time we could do the west coast of Newfoundland and even go to Labrador. It’s a great opportunity for the kids and a wonderful opportunity for us artists involved.
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