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Videocraft is proud to announce its platinum sponsorship of Driving Oz with the Black Dog — an incredibly important year-long campaign to raise money and awareness for Lifeline Australia and mindDog. We have been incredibly lucky to be able to collaborate with our industry partners Sony Australia and Avid Technology to be able to put together a video and photography production package to help Paul and Kirstine and their family document their travels to the remote areas of Australia, raising awareness of these two important organisations.

In deciding to support Driving Oz with the Black Dog, Videocraft's Managing Director, Jeanette Taylor says it was a straightforward decision. "For the team at Videocraft, we can all relate to the Roadley's mission of awareness and the importance of supporting services such as Lifeline Australia and mindDog. Within the production and broadcast industry, we have all seen how the stress of the job can take over, and some of us have had experiences with anxiety or depression. It is important for our industry to have the conversation and be open to help our colleagues through these times." So we have geared up Driving Oz with some key products that will assist them in spreading their message further while travelling around the remote parts of our country. As you can imagine space is limited, so we have put together a specific documentary and photography kit that will allow Paul to not only capture the action of travelling around our beautiful country, but also to gather interviews from the field, record events on the tour and capture the key moments to help build the campaign for their very relevant and important messages.      

So what's in the Driving Oz's case of production gear?

With the assistance of David Green, from Sony Australia's Professional Solutions Division, we were able to come up with a kit specifically chosen to work well in the varied climates and locations the Driving OZ team will travel throughout the year. As well as provide tools that can capture the footage and audio at professional broadcast quality. David and the team at Sony went above and beyond to support the Driving Oz with the Black Dog and to support both Lifeline Australia and mindDog. The Driving Oz production kit includes a Sony PXW-X70 Camcorder, Sony A7II Digital Mirrorless Camera, some 4K Sony Action Cams plus a Sony Digital UWP Wireless Microphone package, Sony Monitoring Headphones, Manfrotto Rolling Travel Case and a copy of the industry's best editing software Avid's Media Composer for post production. The package offers them the best in image and sound acquisition in an unbelievably lightweight and compact size — perfect for the Tetris-style packing required for a family to fit their lives into camper/trailer and car for the next year.   We will be staying up to date with the Roadley family on their adventures and encouraging our network of industry friends to helps us to help them in raising awareness and funds for this important cause. So please share their story, donate to their MyCause page and keep the conversation open around your workplace, community, friends and family.

Why do we need to help Lifeline Australia and MindDog?

Suicide remains the leading cause of death for Australians aged between 15 and 44. The overall suicide rate in 2014 was 12.0 per 100,000 in Australia. This is the highest rate in 10 years. The most recent Australian data (ABS, Causes of Death, 2014) reports deaths due to suicide in 2014 at 2,864. This equates to almost eight deaths by suicide in Australia each day. Most deaths by suicide in Australia are males, accounting for about three-quarters. However, during the past decade, there has been an increase in suicide deaths by females. The suicide rate amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is more than double the national rate. In 2014, suicide accounted for 5.2% of all Indigenous deaths compared to 1.8% for non-Indigenous people. For every death by suicide, it is estimated that as many as 30 people attempt to end their lives. That is approximately 65,300 suicide attempts each year. Lifeline is a national charity providing all Australians experiencing a personal crisis with access to 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services. Somewhere in Australia there is a new call to Lifeline every minute.   mindDog Australia is a not-for-profit organisation that exists to help people procure, train and accredit psychiatric assistance dogs. A mindDog comes in many shapes and sizes, and may look different to other assistance dogs experienced by the public previously. Clients of mindDog are supported to find a suitable dog, train and eventually pass a public access test. Just like other assistance dogs, mindDogs are required access to public spaces in order to fulfill their duties. MEET LUNA Luna is Paul’s Mental Health Assistance Dog, MHAD (also known as a Service Dog). Luna is trained through mindDog Australia. Luna has saved Paul’s life by being there when he is really struggling. Luna senses Paul’s emotional/stress levels and responds when required, without being given a single verbal command. To read more about Luna - read her page on the Driving Oz with the Black Dog website   We also celebrated Kirstine's birthday with the Videocraft Melbourne team, so there was chocolate cake all around!