Concept
by Ewan Burnett

Written
by Marieke Hardy

The Story
is a 26 half hour drama series about the lives of young people. The Show breaks many of the rules of television. It mixes drama, scripted and unscripted, with pieces to camera and pieces seen by the camera.

Short Cuts, the novel, is published by Harper Collins Publishing

Produced
by Margot McDonald

Directed
by David Swann (Eps 1-5), Elise McCredie (Eps 6-10), Jean-Pierre Mignon (Eps 11-13), Liz Hughes (Eps 14 - 16), Maura Moss (Eps 17 - 21) and Karl Zwicky (Eps 22-26)

Starring
Gemma Bishop, Damien Bodie, Leah de Niese, Alex Tsitsopoulos, Lucia Smyrk, Katie Barnes, Dylan Gray, Joel Gray, Alex Cappelli & Matthew Green

Awards
In 2002, an ATOM (Australian Teachers of Media) Award for Best Children’s TV series

In 2002, an AFI (Australian Film Industry) Award for Best Children's Drama Series

In 2002, Marieke Hardy won an AWGIE (Australian Writer's Guild Award) Award for Best Children's Screen & Radio (Original)

Distributed
by Entertainment Rights plc

Synopsis
The DVC camera is a miracle of technology – it produces broadcast quality pictures but is light enough and easy enough for a child to use. And it's within the price range of many families and schools. It goes where you go, sees what you see – and sometimes it sees a lot more.

The camera can be a tool of expression, exploration and communication. But it can also be a tool of manipulation, secrecy and lies.Class 9B at Sunridge Park High don't have to buy a camera - their Media Studies Class just scored one with some pretty fancy editing gear thrown in.

There is initially a lot of excitement, squabbling and competition about who should use it. And most of what gets made is rubbish. But slowly, the students find ways of using the camera which interest them individually. Some make short dramas or comedies and we see them. Some make deeply personal diaries – and we see them too. Some use the camera for spying on others and some use it to fabricate the truth. And some even use it for school projects. We see it all.

In the process, the students find out more about themselves, each other, their friends, their families, the world. Rather than forcing them to look inwards, the camera forces them to look outwards. But Short Cuts is not really about a camera in a school - the camera is merely a conduit, a means for the students to explore their own lives and for us to explore theirs. Short Cuts is really about a group of young people facing all the normal challenges of growing up, in and out of school, but having something that helps them to learn more about the world around them, discover other people's feelings and examine their own.

As an audience we become involved in the process of discovery, in the unravelling story of their lives and in the challenges that this conduit presents. We see their videos and we see them being made. Sometimes the boundaries get blurred.

Episodes

Press clippings
The Sydney Morning Herald, The guide, Show of the Week, 1-7 April 2002, by Robin Oliver.
'This is great stuff, a delightful, slyly observed piece of work over 26 half hours.

'Thumbs up, and no mistake, to a remarkable young writer, Marieke Hardy.

'The results are often inspired and way above student level, but Hardy's scripts make getting there half the fun.'

The Daily Telegraph, TV Guide, 4 April 2002, by Jenny Dillon
'The Team behind Short Cuts, especially writer Marieke Hardy, have produced an extraordinary effort in this show.

'The writing is sharp and very witty and the issues just the sort to get everyone hot under the collar.'

The Age, Green Guide, 4 April 2002, by Nicole Brady
'It is the media studies class we would all love to be in. Fun, funky, though a bit daggy, too.

'The dramas and melodramas of the kids are cheekily insightful and frequently hilarious.'

The Age, Green Guide, 23 May 2002, by Nicole Brady
'Tucked away in a sleepy Saturday morning slot, this is a little gem of a series.'The scenes are typical of the funny, unsentimental storytelling that is establishing Short Cuts as a cut above the pack.'

The Age, Green Guide , 30 May 2002, by Jim Schembri
'It's the giddy high-energy level that make this teen comedy work so well.

'The performances are terrific, the dialogue laced with cool pop gags and the form is fluid and lively as it cuts from regular coverage to hand-held video camera.

'If somebody could get this quality of direction into a regular sitcom we might just have something there.'