Meet 'Don't Drink and Dive', the 6th team in our student-led collaborative project series
Our 3rd years are leading original collaborative projects
This term, our third-year students are hard at work with a range of collaborative projects, including The Pompeii Project, The Wandering Heath, Re: Collective, For Book’s Sake and Sleepeeps. These student-led projects are part of a new module where they consider the writer’s role as part of a creative eco-system, and literature’s role in the creative economy through working on a collaborative project.
On our sixth interview, we talked to Don’t Drink and Dive about their experience so far.
Describe ‘Don’t Drink and Dive’
‘Don’t Drink and Dive’ is a multimedia project that explores grief through the eyes of a young child, and looks at the dangers of drinking by the sea. Amy Banner, our young child, believes her deceased sister is a mermaid, causing her imagination to bleed into reality. With this project, we’ve aligned ourselves with the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS), specifically their campaign of a similar name, ‘Don’t Drink and Drown’ (purely coincidental!).
Our aim is to spread awareness of drinking by the sea: the Prince Wales Pier in Falmouth is easily accessible at night, with limited resources. On a typical night out, students may venture towards the sea or the marina, and spontaneously opt for a midnight swim – unaware of the cold temperatures, the dangers of underwater currents, and the true effect of alcohol upon the brain. This is not to say they are unprepared – but simply caught up in a moment of euphoria.
We have a physical display planned, after which we will upload our creations onto a blog, accessible to many, and endorsed by RLSS. This way, many people can explore the dangers of the sea as well as read and respond to our work. We will provide feedback forms at our display for visitors to give us any criticisms and/or reactions to our project.
Why did you choose to do this project, and why a multimedia format?
When we were planning our project, we wanted to try different types of literature, such as graphic novels, short stories, etc. We chose a multimedia format because it was enticing and sounded challenging, and we could use our desired types of literature into an interactive display. After deciding on the different levels to our multimedia project, we split them between us so we could use our strengths, as well as seeking personal goals.
What does your project contain, specifically?
There are many pieces involved in our project that work on different levels. We have Amy’s art journal – that depicts life after Valerie, a recorded conversation of Mr Banner and Amy’s headteacher – the latter of which is concerned by Amy’s behaviour, postcards from the family to Valerie as a coping mechanism, messages between concerned friends and parents. The list really goes on!
The idea was to use different levels and entry points to further explore the effects unexpected death has upon others, as well as the dangers of drinking by the sea. We even have a creepy Valerie voice coming through a seemingly harmless radio station, showing the impact that grief is having on Amy.
What are you most excited about?
The exhibit is soon, which is exciting as it’s an opportunity to display everything we have accomplished. We’re looking forward to seeing how people interact and interpret each piece, as the different pieces can affect people in different ways.
We’re also excited to transfer the skills that we have learnt with this project in the future, from radio editing to contacting outside resources and other companies.
What is next for your project?
We have a display in The Lighthouse, Tannachie House, on Thursday 6th December, 6:30–9:00pm.