Production Support Report

Link directors sink their teeth into 'Perished'.

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 08:53:15 +0700

The set was eerily quiet as I approached the location of the latest LINK funded film in production, "Perished", which tells the story of a man who finds himself locked in a shed amidst a zombie outbreak and must learn to confront his fears or face starvation.

As I approached the front door all that could be heard was someone thrashing against a door with all his might. Creeping closer, I see it is actor Wayne Davies, in character. He's yelling and screaming... at a pile of dead zombies!

"Cut" is called and makeup artist Naomi Lynch is straight there with eye wash. "Alright, has anyone got blood in their eyes?" she yells and a zombie extra with a head covered in blood goes to get checked. I get the feeling that this is a usual drill after cut is called, getting rid of stingy fake bloody in eyes, and all is well.. these are some mighty tough zombies. But I can't talk too much about the zombies, I've been sworn to secrecy.

What I can talk about is the makeup. I think Naomi and team have gone to town on this film in terms of blood, cuts, head casts, the works. Naomi was preparing some intestines when I stopped by - some tasty vegetarian intestines!

The set was like a fine tuned machine run by 1st AD Adam Sparnon who was keeping everybody on their toes. The cannon 5D was in use and the footage coming through on the monitor looked amazing.

Co-director Stefan Radanovich has (crazily) given up his entire house as a location/base this film production. Every room in the house is a different department - a makeup/fx room, dressing room, bathroom for zombies to wash off the blood at the end of the day...

There's even a full post production suite where the days rushes are captured and cut by editor Dominic Pierce. I was lucky enough to have a sneak peak at some rushes during my visit - and even at the rough stage it was in, its very impressive work. Having the edit suite just meters away from the shooting certainly has its advantages. In case anything needs to be redone (not that it has) and having the excitement of seeing the film come together, not only in the shoot but in the edit simultaneously, in the same location, is a luxury not often seen on low budget film shoots.

It's their last night of shooting tonight and I wish the team all the best and cant wait to see the results.

SPAA Fringe Recap

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:01:30 +0700

I've just been in Sydney at the SPAA Fringe Conference with Yvette and Graeme. SPAA Fringe is aimed at emerging and independent content producers and provides a range of sessions on industry trends, case studies and an opportunity to hear the direction broadcasters are moving in.

Conference patron Peter Broderick is an international expert in financing and distribution for low budget project. His emphasis is on finding your niche audience - those people who would be so interested in your project, they're willing to pay for it. Whether it be through crowdfunding, subscription or plain old fashioned DVD sales - do you have enough of an audience to create a living from your work? It's something few people think about when making short films, as they are mostly made for festival programmers. But it's a good habit to get into, especially if you're serious about this 'making a living' thing.

Most of the conference was filled with the latest buzzword 'Transmedia'. The term was coined by participatory culture pinup boy Henry Jenkins. According to the Producers Guild of America, a Transmedia project must contain three or more narrative storylines existing within the same fictional universe across at least three platforms. Platforms include broadcast, mobile, online, social media, publishing and cinema.

Once again, the transmedia experience comes down to your audience. Where are they most likely to play? And where can your content create the richest experience for the user? For example, if your content is geographically based, mobile could be a great primary platform.

It's not always about multiple platforms. Your project may be an online only experience. Never before has it been so easy to have your work accessible to the public. However never before has it been so difficult to stand out from the crowd. So here they are again: AUDIENCE. How are you going to get in touch with them? I'm sensing a theme here. Speaking of audience, I have a great idea for a tv show...

Filmmakers in Focus 1: Perished

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:02:32 +0700

We spoke to Aaron McCann and Stefan Radanovich about their upcoming Link funded film 'Perished'.

Filmmakers in Focus Episode 1 from Film & Television Institute WA on Vimeo.

When One Trailer Is Not Enough

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 16:53:17 +0700

Ed Burns has a new film coming out. 'Nice Guy Johnny' is about a guy, Johnny, who is giving up his dream job as a radio talk back host to take on something more stable to please his fiance. His uncle thinks he's way too young to get married, so decides to take him to the Hamptons to have some fun. Johnny wants to have nothing to do with it, until he meets Brooke... Here's the original trailer for the movie: And here are five versions of the trailer where Burns gives homage to some classic film trailers. Can you guess which films he's referencing?

Vimeo Award Finalists

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:16:30 +0700

The Vimeo Awards were held in New York this weekend. Winners are listed here.

The winner of the Best Narrative Short - 'Thrush' by Gabriel Bisset-Smith uses stills to tell the story of a relationship.

Thrush from Gabriel Bisset-Smith on Vimeo.

Sneezies! How a simple idea leads to an effective ad.

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 18:33:54 +0700

How a simple idea, and some slow motion can create a very effective marketing campaign.

Now, where's my pocket pack of tissues??

See the video HERE

Arts Finance FREE Business Workshop

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 22:31:04 +0700

Propel Arts is holding a free business workshop to cover all those nitty gritty tax and GST questions one usually has before starting a project.

Even though this is an arts based workshop, I am sure that the topics covered will flow into film business accounting practices. See more HERE

New York Internship Opportunity

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:51:31 +0700

I just came across this amazing opportunity from Screen Australia.

If you have a couple of great short films under your belt (perhaps an OOMPF, LINK or a HYPERLINK?) then you can apply!

CLICK HERE to find out more from the Screen Australia website.

Gate St High at Supanova

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:35:58 +0700

For those who dont know, GATE STREET HIGH is a production thats happening in the animation centre - people learning animation whilst making an animation. Its about a school whos students are little monsters, literally.

Check out the GATE STREET HIGH BLOG to find out more about the show.

Recently, Gate Street High and FTI had a booth at Supanova. CLICKHERE to see a great video by Adam Harvey which really portrays the beautiful geek vibe there and the FTI staff hard at work!

Perrella and Osborn link Perth comedy scene into short film format

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 10:41:54 +0700

Vincenzo Perrella and Dan Osborn made a very successful viral video in 2009, a comedy called THIS IS PERTH. They have followed this up with a character-based short called IT'S JUST GARY. It premieres on Saturday 19th June as the headlining film in Future Shorts at the Fly By Night in Fremantle.

Phil Jeng Kane interviewed Perrella and Osborn about their new comedy.

PJK: The shorts you made previously were paid for out of your own pocket. How was making IT'S JUST GARY as a funded film a different experience?

VP: We've been used to a two-man approach to everything. But we realised that to be able to put on screen the ideas on a certain scale, you need funding. Many Perth filmmakers realise that LINK funding is an important step in that process.

DO: We had a huge cast and a lot of different locations - we couldn't have done it any other way.

VP: We were told that it couldn't be done on a LINK budget, anyway. (Laughs)

DO: We were told to strip it right back. Have Gary in a room sipping herbal tea.

VP: Many people said write a film with one location and two or three actors.

DO: Very sensible...

VP: To my mind we could achieve a film like that on our own.

DO: So where did the money go?

VP: With some funding behind you people come on board - and many industry professionals are happy to give back. Many of the people we worked with said that. They are happy to give back and help emerging filmmakers. That happened to some extent because of LINK - it legitimises your project a bit.

PJK: You had Richard Mallins as your Director of Photography and Scott Montgomery on sound. How did you find working with people of that calibre?

VP: Richard's stuff is pure class, to be honest. He has a classical filmmaking approach and that's what we wanted for GARY. The story is a classic rise and fall tale.

DO: With Richard we found something that clicked and he has a great sense of humour. And he's very efficient. Scotty is a guy who lives and breathes sound. It was kind of exciting because he'd talk to us on set and give us a little lesson.

VP: Everyday on set was an immersion in the intricacies of sound recording. From the smallest details of the individual mics we were using or boom placement. Again very efficient and clear with what he wants. That kind of efficiency is what we were looking for.

DO: Which brings us to Claire Blake.

VP: She was the first assistant director. She has spent most of her long career working in the UK and Sydney. She happened to be in town for our shoot. Kate Bailey the producer introduced us.

DO: Claire made it happen. That's how we shot it in six days.

VP: It was like a military operation. Claire has years and years of experience which allowed us to strategically achieve the film.

DO: Having those people on board helped us achieve all of that. But it was still a pleasant shoot. Very little stress.

PJK: I believe your producer Kate Bailey was part of making that happen.

VP: Kate is a one of the nicest most thoughtful people I've ever met and she managed to put together an excellent crew. It was a pleasure to work with somebody who cares about other people and wanted to make this film without stepping over anyone. It helped to foster a nice tone on set.

PJK: You direct in a slightly unusual way. Basically both of you direct everything in a sort of 'tandem system'.

VP: We watch the takes together have a quick chat, then one of us talks to the actors. It doesn't matter who. What's good about the system is if you're not 100% sure...

DO: If one of us isn't 100% sure, we know we have to go again.

PJK: You've developed this method of working together over a long time, haven't you?

VP: I met Dan when we made a short film on a course at Uni.

DO: We both ended up living in London at the same time. At that stage we were getting together and throwing ideas around but didn't have a clear focus

VP: We would meet up. We have shared interests in literature, art and film. We're not film "heads" but we like the medium of film very much. We would catch up and see theatre, watch live comedy or discuss novels we were reading and we were always in that (creative) mode. When we got to London we wrote our first script together. Inspired by the comedy and seeing Australians in London.

DO: From there on we focussed on our writing.

VP: What's good about working in partnership is that you rarely hit blocks. We feel you really make that film in the writing processes. If it doesn't work on page there's no point. First and foremost we would consider ourselves writers who direct.

PJK: IT'S JUST GARY is a Who's Who of West Australian Comedy.

DO: There's a great comedy scene in Perth.

VP: It's world class. Some of the comics who have worked in Perth for the last 5 to 10 years and are second to none.

DO: We would watch the BIG HOO HA etc and wonder why they weren't on film. It was great joy - casting this film. Some act in theatre and have a great range. And not all the characters are laugh out loud.

VP: Although Damon Lockwood is naturally funny. You look at him and you're ready to laugh. But he's in enough scenes and has a different types of conflict so he can bring different shading and subtleties to his performance.

DO: I expected a great performance, but he went beyond that. And he's in every scene.

VP: His consistency was amazing - no variation unless we asked for us. He has an innate understanding of how that dialogue is supposed to work.

DO: There are so many great smaller roles in this film that now we're writing something different we going - "how can we fit everyone in again because they're such a joy to work with".

PJK: So what did you learn by making a bigger film?

VP: It was great for our skills. You don't know what it's like to be on a set unless you're on one and when we were in the middle of it...

DO: It was a nice place to be.

VP: It was the best place to be.

DO: You're looking over and there's Richard and there's Scotty and there's Claire Blake ...

VP: Cracking a whip

DO: It was the first opportunity we ever had, where we were only worried about framing and performance.

VP: Usually, I'd be holding a camera. Dan would be rigging a light, holding a microphone...

DO: Wearing a cardigan

VP: It was the first time we could say 'our job is that it's shot properly and the scene is blocked and covered.' It was like a drug. At the end of six days it was very hard to come down. To be in the centre of such an efficient team and for it to be just for six days?

(Laughs.)

PJK: In THIS IS PERTH and THIS IS FREO you appear Dan, but have no lines. In GARY, finally, Dan Osborn Speaks.

DO: With Damon Lockwood.

VP: He saw the opportunity and grabbed it.

PJK It wasn't a plan to have you not speak for a couple of films?

DO: There was no great plan, but it's nice if people go "there he is", I guess.

PJK: It was suggested to me by some in the filmmaking community that you were going to play the part of Gary originally.

DO&VP: Wow.

DO. The rumour mill. I got ousted. (Laughs) People are going to talk and you got to let them.

VP: We originally wrote the role for Damon.

PJK: You're a team, but you've ended up as the face of the films, Dan. Are you going to bring greater pleasure to your fans with a full speech in your next film?

VP: The next short will be his monolog straight to camera

DO: The sky's the limit, really

VP: Dan is also a very fine dancer. So we're putting that into the next short.

PJK: So where do we the public, get to see the World Premiere of IT'S JUST GARY?

VP: It's headlining the Australian launch of the Future Shorts Festival. It always shows exceptional world-class films and it's excellent to have the opportunity for IT'S JUST GARY to be shown locally because it has such a big local cast.

Future Shorts is on at the Fly By Night on Saturday 19th June and is proudly supported by FTI.

A modified form of this interview appears on mrtrivia.net

Got Women?

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 09:36:13 +0700

Every day I see at least one poster for the upcoming Jonah Hill film Get Him To The Greek. I probably won't go to see this film because, well, I've seen the preview and therefore feel like I've already seen it.

Interestingly, this film actually has more than two women in it, but they don't speak to each other. How do I know this? Because I came across the Bechdel Test.

This simple test for films comprises of three criteria:

1. Does the film have more than two women in it?
2. Do they talk to each other?
3. Do they talk to each other about something other than a man?

Some of the films listed on the Bechdel Test site pass these criteria, however only just. For example, Astroboy is listed as passing the test, however it only meets criteria three for this conversation:

Grace: Kora, did you bring me something?

Cora: The perfect Gift for a sweet little girl [hands her a chainsaw] Be careful!

Grace: [heard offscreen] Too late!

Should we be making more films that pass this test? I don't know. Most film marketing reports show that films that have a male central character make more money at the box office. But is this because audiences don't want to watch female centric films or is it that there aren't any good female centric scripts around?

Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder passes the test because Leela joins an eco-feminist group.

Internet Killed the MTV Star

Thu, 27 May 2010 08:58:09 +0700

Not only do I love evolution but I love to hear news of directors, both professional and up-coming, finding the creative work satisfying and getting big audiences. It's just depressing to be working in communicating in sound and image when no one is watching.

This New York Magazine article discusses why a new breed of directors is taking music videos in audacious directions, citing Gaga's star-making "Paparazzi" and "Telephone" as well as Gavras' gory, banned-by-YouTube evocation of M.I.A.'s "Born Free".

"Videos found a new niche that's habitable for them: the Internet," the article quotes Gondry before going on to say, "And, truly, they have evolved, into a much more aggressive species. The online ecosystem is so overpopulated that the more oh-my-God bizarre a video is, the better the chance it will go viral."

Now lets get some stories out about how these artists, both filmmakers and musicians, turned their popularity into income.

'Make it for us who sit in the dark and dream'

Wed, 26 May 2010 14:02:07 +0700

I really love this quote. I first read it in this article.

Production Support now accepting SKYPE calls

Thu, 20 May 2010 12:35:24 +0700

Production Support is now set up for Skype and ready to receive your calls online!

If you are currently using Skype, and would like to contact Production Support this way, please add ftiproduction to your skype contact list.

Of course, we are still contactable via email, the old fashioned phone and in person. Look forward to a Skype call from you soon.

How can bad be so good!? Win tickets to see The Room.

Thu, 06 May 2010 13:42:42 +0700

If you haven't seen The Room - one of the worst movies ever made - do yourself a favour and check it out! Screening over the past few weeks at Luna Cinema in Leederville in the late Saturday night slot, the film is more of an event. I went to the opening night, and I've never experienced anything quite like it. People were laughing out loud, hollering and cheering. There are even interactive things you can do when you watch the film: for example, whenever the character Denny comes in - everyone yells "Hi Denny" and when you see artwork in the background, its bound to be of a spoon - so you are supplied with plastic spoons in which you are encouraged to throw at the screen! Its fun, its rawkous, its cinema like never before!

I dont usually encourage people to see bad films, but this is so bad it needs to be seen to be believed. So have a few bevvies and catch the late night session this Saturday.

FTI is giving away 10 DOUBLE PASSES!

To win either leave a comment on this page, or email me and tell me your favorite line from the film, or if you havent seen it, why you would like to win!

Comment below or email by Friday 5pm for your chance to be on the door this Saturday, May 8th.