A very wise person once said, 'the only thing required for the perpetuation of evil is for good people to do nothing.' Too often we watch all the war and violence on the news and think to ourselves 'well, there's nothing really I can do. It's not up to me.' One of the greatest enemies to peace is apathy.

This piece aims to invoke those feelings of injustice, not at those situations we see but at our apathy towards them.

If I was to be really honest, I think the only reason I actually made this film is so that I would never have to perform this sketch live anymore. A purpose which sadly failed as I ended up performing it live about three weeks after filming at a creative arts festival. Apathy on the Rise, as both a stage and screen piece, is a script that has gone through several different incarnations over the years. With every different event or reason to perform this piece, the dialogue has changed to fit the theme or the audience. For example, the first time it was performed was for a youth events so the stories included very youthy type subjects, which spoke to a teenaged audience. The last time it was performed prior to filming was for a peace rally where they wanted a very specific community focus so the dialogue made reference to real people and places. But though all these incarnations, the central theme remained, apathy is on the rise. People simply don’t seem to care anymore. The basic level of human concern we have for one another has gone down to the point of near non-existence. This should make us sad. This should make us angry. While this piece should be entertaining, it is firm desire that it does not leave the viewer comfortable.

Again being honest, this piece did not have a great deal of lead up in terms of pre-production. The theme of apathy and social action was coming up in my church and I thought this piece would fit very nicely. However, I have always felt that the reverse effect was always a bit silly when performed live. Also, the opportunity to use the greenscreen to create a real news report feel was a strong incentive to commit this material to film. Deneale, in a real act of dedication and valour, stepped into this piece with no rehearsal and only about a week to memorize the script. The first section proved especially difficult (as it is for me when I perform it live) due the fact that it is deliberately overwritten in that odd stylised way newsreaders have of speaking. The greenscreen effect and motion graphics were one of those occasions where, as a filmmaker, I had to admit that there are some things I am simply not good at. Initially, I did attempt to apply the greenscreen key myself but my efforts made Deneale look like one of those block graphic characters for a really old video game. So like all good directors, I parred it off to someone far more talented than me (yes Ben, I paid you a compliment). It really is the true secret of filmmaking, identify what you’re good at, realise what you’re not, and bring together people who are talented in those areas.