Norah Head Lighthouse

My name is Ineke Kurniawaty and I am a student at Hunter TAFE and the story that I have made is about Graham Carpenter, a volunteer at Norah Head Lighthouse.

He is a very passionate person and we can enjoy a lot of stories from him.

Graham told me that he is the tour coordinator at Norah Head Lighthouse, where he has been volunteering for the past four years, and that he has lived in the area his whole life.

I decided to make this story about the lighthouse after meeting Graham, who seemed to be very into the lighthouse, and he seems to enjoy sharing his knowledge about it.

I thought that would be a good thing to share, and for other people to be able to know and experience the depth of his knowledge.

This is the first time that I have made a ‘real film’ - I am a student of interactive media.

The most surprising thing I saw at the lighthouse was how people, in the olden days, were able to make such beautiful things.

I could see that it takes a lot of effort, a lot of engineering, a lot of knowledge to create.

To show the beauty of the lighthouse, sometimes I would have to go to the lighthouse very early in the morning, such as at 5am before the sunrise, and sometimes at night, to film.

To demonstrate the size and intricacy of the large glass lens, I have used two dimensional plan drawings laid over the video footage to explain the story, which I think work well together to make more impact in the story.

My technical interest in technology and how things work drove my interest in the lighthouse as a subject for the story; I couldn’t believe how people could think of such a thing in the first place, such a simple thing but very useful.

I don’t whether I could cope being a lighthouse keeper, if I had to spend long periods time in a remote location with only very primitive communication tools. I think I would go crazy, I wouldn’t survive that. 

I think that kind of life would need a very strong person, to be able to cope with the solitude, the challenges, and all of the dangers they would need to face suddenly and at any time.

Now my first short film is finished I have been thinking about my next film idea. I will continue to do things around film and animation and designing. Whenever I have a chance to do a film around those things, I would be happy to jump into it.

It’s a privilege to work in the arts and in the media because it’s like the art of the mind. Not everybody can imagine things, but we are given a privilege and the capability to share something with people that is more powerful through visuals, sound and everything else.