Six Questions with Karen Farmer

11 February 2008

by Magnus Reid

Organisation

Karen farmer’s short film ‘Caravan’ screens at the Fremantle Outdoor Film Festival on Friday 15th February alognside feature length documentary ‘Crazy’ Love’.

How would you describe your new film ‘Caravan”?

Caravan is set in a desolate future where the world has turned into a desert. Doyle, Violet and her younger brother Jaspar travel in a wagon pulled by two camels in search of a new water source and find nothing but sand. Now they have to decide what to do next and they don’t all agree.

We call it our family drama in science fiction clothing.

Who else was involved in making the film?

We had a brilliant team of local filmmakers. It was a tough shoot and everyone had really had to bring their A game.

Our DOP was Mark Parish supported by Damien Smith and Dan Gallagher. I will be forever thankful for the beautiful images they captured and now the humble Ute is my new favourite piece of gripping equipment.

Trevor Hope and Aron Dyer were on sound and somehow managed to get crisp clear sound in gale force winds. Lisa Wright was on makeup – she rocked. John Carberry was the production designer. The fabulous Pete Gleeson and Mike Hoath were continuity and 1st AD respectively.

We edited the film in Mark Hamlett’s lounge room and he really pulled the film together. Ash Gibson Greig created a beautiful score that I am in love with.

Richard Mahony worked tirelessly on the post-sound edit mix. We went thru hundreds, possibly thousands of different wind sounds to find the right qualities.

Barish Erogul provided the online, grade and special effects. He was a breathe of fresh air.

Local actor Nathan Coenen played Jaspar. Scott Jackson played Doyle and Lara Tumak who is based in Melbourne is Violet.

What was the production process like?

Tough, amazing and crazy.

I had applied for the FTI LINK Initiative twice before Tenille came on board. I think the Panels just thought I was crazy for wanting to make a science fiction film, in the desert, with camels and a kid on $20 000. Tenille was incredible she loved the script and some how we managed to convince a panel we could pull it off.

We filmed up in Lancelin for 4 days in December 2006. Behind the town they have amazing inland sand dunes that just go on forever.

On the first day we had the worst wind in 30 years. The whole crew just got slapped in the face with sand continuously. Many bits of poly died for the cause. Over the days the wind died down and we managed to get some amazing shots.

My favourite memories are of the whole crew riding on the Ute, filming the camel running behind us and Nathan running after the camel. We became a bit of a tourist trap and in post we constantly found tiny people waving in the background. Post Production took a while but hopefully it was all worth it.

They say never work with children or animals; do you have any tips for working with camels?

Find a great camel person. Chris O’Hora from Calumunnda Camel Farm was wonderful.

Also realise the animals limitations. In an ideal world you would have mega bucks to train an animal for many months beforehand but in reality you probably just get them for the day.

However Henry and Shinta, the two camels we used, did a lot of stuff we never thought possible. We had them running behind moving vehicles and clamouring up huge sand dunes.

Camels are also very gregarious and sensitive. During one particularly intense scene the camels would get upset because they don’t understand it’s acting, so we would have to give them hugs in between takes. They were adorable and a good barometers of performance. The only downside was they refused to pull the wagon but I knew that was a large possibility going in.

Nathan Coenen our resident ‘kid’ had a blast and was both professional and wonderful.

When I was doing research for the film I tried to watch every desert film I could get my hands on. There are literally only a few in the whole world. Deserts are either very hot, freezing or windy. I think they should add deserted to that list. However I would film there again in a heartbeat. Beautiful locations always seem to be the hardest to film in.

What’s next on the cards for your team?

We have a couple of scripts floating around that we have been trying to get funding for. We have a short dark musical ‘The Showponys Sidekick’ that I am very excited about. Tenille has two more shorts in the pipeline also funded through FTI. I’m just writing scripts and looking for work. Did I mention I’m available and cheap!

What advice would you give to someone about to embark on making their next film?

Be passionate and committed. All projects take up large portions of your life so make sure your working on a story that you love, with characters you believe in and identify with.

The script is everything. Have the best script possible before you start shooting. Redraft, redraft, redraft. Be open to everyone’s ideas and ask for help when you need it.

Follow your instincts.

Be prepared and organised. Provide plenty of food and water for your cast and crew. Treat everyone with respect.

Shoot your first shot fast and set the pace for the shoot.

Always have a contingency plan and be prepared to negotiate.

Finally don’t forget to have fun.

To read more interviews with filmmakers click here

Image: Tenille Kennedy and Karen Farmer at the permiere of their short film ‘Caravan’ in 2007.