Spanner Squad Project Newsletter #6: April Update
What has been happening in the world of The Spanner Squad?
Connections
So nice to connect with Shaelene Hancock from LifeFlight Australia, who has some amazing connections through her history of philanthropic fundraising. LifeFlight benefits so much from Shaelene’s work.
The Spanner Squad can’t really expect philanthropic contributions of the kind that keeps LifeFlight in the air! But Shaelene has plenty of ideas about partnerships, collaborations, angel investment, and even wide-ranging fundraising efforts like crowdfunding.
Another recent connection has been Beth Hall, who is an expert in organisational culture and workforce capability. I look forward to more discussions with Beth. If we aim to portray The Spanner Squad in (compared to now) an ideal aviation culture — what does that really mean? And what are some steps to getting there?
Spanner Squad Mini-Scenes
As we don’t have any meaningful funding yet, we are still working cheaply and trying to strategise developing material that can contribute to promotional activities and generate interest in the product, while also producing re-usable digital assets for future use.
We have also realised that if we publish animation snippets to YouTube, we won’t need 10-minute episodes. We want the material to be fast and snappy.
Even building a whole minute — or multiple minutes — of animation would be great, but it is something we will work towards over time. We have decided that a series of mini-scenes will guide the work of our animation interns for the next phase of character and scenery development.
From each mini-scene, we define the characters and environments needed to populate the scene. We can then allocate time and effort to creating those assets. This means that if we have an intern for only 100 hours of work, they can still apply their creativity to achieve something meaningful — and something that will definitely contribute to the final product.
Here are the mini-scenes we are working on, and the stories behind them. These scenes have been deliberately chosen to provide a visual overview of many Spanner Squad themes, and to be funny (or poignant) and visually appealing. As the mini-scenes are built, the characters and environments will become social media posts and other promotional assets.
Scene Outlines
1. Gecko at Waterhole — Transforming into Simon’s Tattoo
The outline of the gecko transforming onto Simon’s arm as a tattoo. Part of the Spanner Squad’s future is attracting young indigenous people to the industry, as well as young women. This scene embeds the Kalkatungu culture into Simon’s back story, making him a character visible to other indigenous kids and to young people in regional areas.
2. Catwa in the Roof of the Hangar
Catwa looks down at the aircraft and people below. A lot of Spanner Squad feedback has been very positive about the idea of a hangar cat that is cute but gets into mischief. It’s not exactly realistic, but will be an attractive addition — and the cat will be a protagonist for all sorts of unusual things happening. This mini-scene creates a striking point-of-view from high up in the hangar roof, looking down at the action below.
3. Noriko in Her Workshop, Looking at the Group Photo
This mini-scene has already been written into the story of Leo’s First Day. An overarching theme of the Spanner Squad is tracking Leo — a young apprentice — from his very first day on the job, showing his mentoring (primarily from Elly), through to becoming a qualified technician. On Leo’s first day, the group gather for a photo. They are (predictably) disturbed by a ruckus from the cat, but eventually an acceptable photo is taken, printed out, and given a prominent place on Noriko’s massive corkboard.
4. Noriko and Catwa Fishing at the End of the Runway
Another favourite idea from the feedback we’ve received. Part of Noriko’s back story is that she grew up in a coastal town in Japan, where she and her grandfather often went fishing together. Fishing is an act of remembrance for Noriko, and she daydreams about her grandfather as she fishes.
5. Elly and Leo Walk Across the Hangar Toward the Aircraft
Elly and Leo walking towards the big jet shows the scale of the aircraft and a view that many people never see — into the cargo hold and alongside the landing gear.
6. K-Pop Celebrities Disembark Their Chartered Aircraft
Tapping into current social trends and the interests of younger girls. The celebrities dodge the crowd and paparazzi at the passenger terminal, and their plane taxis to outside the hangar. The Squad are allowed to take some photos and meet the group, who hand out souvenirs. Amelia, Maria, and Hue succumb to being star-struck, while Simon and Caveman pretend to ignore the fuss.
7. Aircraft Despatch at the Terminal Gate
Another aspect of engineering work: troubleshooting at the operational sharp end. In this mini-scene, the aerobridge breaks down. After all passengers are on board, Elly and Caveman team up — brain and brawn — to get the aircraft pushed back on time.
8. Hue Outside Her Family Shop, Gazing at the Sky
Hue and her family represent the hard-working South-East Asian immigrant family. Hue spends a lot of time working at her parents’ shop, but she is also a smart member of The Spanner Squad and an aviation fanatic. When she’s not working, she sometimes sits outside the shop, where she can see the airport runway and aircraft up in the sky on their SID departure.
9. Catwa in the Baggage X-Ray Machine
Another light-hearted scene involving the cat. Catwa falls from an unknown height in the hangar and limps away — everyone is distressed that she may have done some serious damage. The Squad decide to run the cat through the baggage x-ray machine at the passenger terminal, and send the image to Hue’s uncle, who is Head of Radiology at a big city hospital.
10. Mt Isa Airport
Dusty, remote, quiet. A contrast to the big city airport. Simon visits the airport to see the hangar where he first started working in the aviation industry. A touchstone for regional kids who dream of working in the industry, but don’t know how to go about it.
Feedback
We thrive on your feedback, so keep it coming!
Thank you to everyone who has contributed feedback on the project so far. As members of the Advisory Board, this is the most valuable thing you can give us — your opinion on what you think is interesting, and what needs rethinking.
Tell us your stories: what drew you to the industry, and what the constraints have been. What would you like to see in place to make it easier for the next generation of young women?
Some recent comments from people joining the Advisory Board:
- “Thank you for the opportunity! I am really excited to lend a hand and share my thoughts. I’m very grateful.”
- “I love the Spanner Squad concept — it’s representation that I would’ve loved to have seen when I was a kid. What do I need to do to join the advisory board?”
- “I’ve submitted an expression of interest on the Spanner Squad website and filled in my details. I’m really excited about the initiative and would love to be involved.”