Author and media advocate Dot West talks about writing for animation, reflecting on her experiences with children on television and the inspiration behind Little Jay and Big Cuz.
Dot West, also from Little J & Big Kaz
Find this episode of the Screen Australia Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Pocket Casts
Screenwriter and media advocate Dot West received a call from producer Ned Lander saying he was looking for an Indigenous writer to join the writers’ room for a new children’s animated series aimed at younger audiences. I immediately volunteered.
Ms West, a Noongar woman from Western Australia and a passionate advocate for Indigenous media, was inspired to get involved by the opportunity to write Indigenous stories for Indigenous children. The show, “Little J & Big Kaz,” was about 5-year-old Little J and 9-year-old Big Kaz. They live with their nana and explore the world through their backyard fence with their school friends and their trusty old dog. “(As of Season 1) I had a grandson the same age as Little J and a granddaughter the same age as Big Kaz,” West said on the latest episode of the Screen Australia podcast. “So they actually feel like this show was about them.”
The critically acclaimed and multi-award-winning series focuses on Indigenous Australian stories about country, culture and language and was developed in partnership with the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). It just released its fourth season on NITV. Season 4 of Little J & Big Cuz, featuring voice talent such as Deborah Mailman, Miranda Tapsell, Ningali Lawford, Shari Sebbens, and Aaron Faaoso as Beloved Old Dog, also arrives in 2024. Let’s get to the episode.
Throughout the episode, West talks about representing Indigenous experiences on screen for kids, how ACER incorporates the power of language and translation to impact storytelling, and finally, screen content for kids. Share your insights about your thoughts on the condition.
The transition to animation was not without its difficulties for the writer. She shares her insights about writing for animation. The biggest takeaway is that expanding the world of animation requires more than imagination, it’s a process of negotiation and collaboration.
“You only have certain animation items available, and you have to use those animation items to create what the game is (…) Animators say, “This is what we got.” Masu. And if we want something else, we have to discuss it,” she says. “We may want to give everything to this world, but we cannot. We are limited by what has already been created.”
The transition from live-action to animation also requires more detailed information in large print, usually in the action notes in the script for the actors. In many indigenous groups, nonverbal communication includes cues and gestures. Actors can give instructions, but animators need detailed instructions to draw and render movement. So West, along with other Indigenous writers in Little J & Big Kaz’s writers’ room, developed a glossary of sorts to help animators build each character’s range of movement and nonverbal communication. . The same goes for what not to do in terms of body language and how to do things differently. ”
This vibrant collaboration shapes every corner of the writer’s room. The process of community and cultural engagement is visible at every step, from the characters’ actions and gestures to the language and details of the story. “It was a little bit of a struggle to get the story right on the page, so it’s very much a process,” she says. But West appreciates it’s a responsibility. “This is absolutely necessary because as an Indigenous writer, if you get it wrong, it can cost you your life. And it needs to apply across the industry, whether you’re Indigenous or not. There are such protocols and respect that must be followed. ”
And when it comes to languages, the series has been adapted into more than 17 (soon to be 19) indigenous Australian languages. This is a first for Australian television. Mr West believes it is the specific details of these cultural experiences that make the series so popular with audiences across Australia.
According to West, for a culturally specific story to have universal appeal, it must tap into the characters’ curiosity about the world around them and track the curiosity it evokes in young viewers. That’s it. And seeing their games, languages, landscapes and families reflected on screen will inspire children at home and at school.
“It’s so important that our children are represented on screen, (…) that their experiences are represented, that they are shown a reflection of themselves. It’s empowering. And our children need to be empowered, and they need to have a sense of belonging.” ”
Season 4 of Little J & Big Cuz is available to watch now. Watch the full series on ABC iview and NITV.
Check out the Little J & Big Cuz website for resources for parents, careers, and educators.
Subscribe to the Screen Australia podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Pocket Casts
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