The camera can be a tool of expression, exploration and communication. But it can also be a tool of manipulation, secrecy and lies.Class 9B at Sunridge Park High don't have to buy a camera – their Media Studies Class just scored one with some pretty fancy editing gear thrown in.

There is initially a lot of excitement, squabbling and competition about who should use it. And most of what gets made is rubbish. But slowly, the students find ways of using the camera which interest them individually. Some make short dramas or comedies and we see them. Some make deeply personal diaries – and we see them too. Some use the camera for spying on others and some use it to fabricate the truth. And some even use it for school projects. We see it all.

In the process, the students find out more about themselves, each other, their friends, their families, the world. Rather than forcing them to look inwards, the camera forces them to look outwards. But Short Cuts is not really about a camera in a school - the camera is merely a conduit, a means for the students to explore their own lives and for us to explore theirs. Short Cuts is really about a group of young people facing all the normal challenges of growing up, in and out of school, but having something that helps them to learn more about the world around them, discover other people's feelings and examine their own.

As an audience we become involved in the process of discovery, in the unravelling story of their lives and in the challenges that this conduit presents. We see their videos and we see them being made. Sometimes the boundaries get blurred.