ADVICE FROM ISOLATION

I recently wrote an article for Screen Australia’s Advice from Isolation series. You can read the full article here.

Brunx, Melbourne.

Heide, Melbourne.

PENGUIN BLOOM COMPLETE

Films start with 'big questions'. Like, "What shall we make a film about?" "Who will be in it?" "What will they say?" and "Where are we going to shoot it?" Etc. And end with 'small questions' like, "What if we lose a couple of frames off that shot?", "Can we make that sunrise a little redder" and "Can I raise the volume of that sound by 2db?". 

All of these questions, the big ones and the small ones are all as important as each other in the end. They all go into making the film. 

However, a lot of energy is spent on things that unbeknownst to you ultimately won't be necessary. You write and shoot scenes thinking they are incredibly important only to have them left on the cutting room floor as they now don't belong in the film. And scenes that don't seem that critical end up becoming crucial moments in the final cut. 

In the beginning, all the details seem essential. You approach every idea and thought not knowing which is going to help the film and which isn't. But somewhere towards the end of the process, all the effort you put in makes the film better. I think this is my favourite part of filmmaking. Because now I finally know what is essential. 

I'm happy to say that all the questions both big and small have been answered on Penguin Bloom. I watched and signed off on the final DCP of film this week. After working on something for over a year and a half straight, it feels weird to think it's now 'complete'. I'm grateful to all the people who helped make Penguin what it is. From the very beginning to the very end. Thank you!

SEARCHING

COLOUR

Spent the last two weeks colour grading Penguin Bloom with Dop Sam Chiplin and colourist Trish Cahill. It’s been an absolute pleasure sitting in the dark and watching the images come to life. After an extended edit (which limped to it’s end through isolation), I had found myself a little disenchanted with the film through familiarity and fatigue. But it was an absolute pleasure to spend time sitting in the dark and watching the images filled with new life and vigour. I felt myself falling back in love with the film all over again.

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X

ISOLATION WALK

AND THIS...

Love this impressionistic short film made by photographer Xavi Bou who spent years shooting flocks of starlings and their synchronised flight patterns. Grouping long exposures in a process known as chronophotography. (I saw this originally on PetaPixel)

I’ve been observing so much bird flight while making Penguin Bloom it’s so great to see this take on such a beautiful process.

SHOOTING / SEARCHING

Post shoot swim in the rock pools at low tide and the cows who watched on from a far.

(Just before the world shut own)

SEARCHING / SCOUTING

Scouting for a TVC shoot coming up next week.

SANTA MONICA

Currently in L.A for a test screening of Penguin Bloom. We are almost there… it’s been a long but enjoyable edit.

REMEMBERING 1st Assistant Director JAMIE LESLIE

Sad to hear about the passing of 1st Assistant Director Jamie Leslie. I made the miniseries Gallipoli with Jamie as my 1st AD in 2015. Although we were different kinds of filmmakers there is no way our incredibly complex production (80 odd days of shooting a WW1 drama, mostly exterior, through extreme heat, cold and torrential rain and mud) would have gone as smoothly nor would I have been able to create the level of work I was aspiring to. 

Jamie taught me so much about the process of filmmaking and helped organise my scattered thoughts on many occasions. He put his heart and soul into making our production (and every production) to be as good as it could be.

In looking back at photos from that time it’s interesting to observe Jamie and the role of the first AD in general. They are integral to film production but rarely at the centre. As you can see Jamie liked to be just off to the side in a position where he could see all the moving parts at once, making sure the dance of the crew was in and on time. I think he was in his element here and I know he loved to watch and be part of that dance of when a crew is up and running and working harmoniously. 

I trusted and respected Jamie so much. He was incredibly patient, wise, loved a good laugh and I’ll always remember his cheeky grin when things were working, just the way he scheduled it! 

Jamie Leslie (left of both pictures) strategically placed on the set of Gallipoli.

THE SEARCH CONTINUES...

 ‘The Search’ was a daily photograph practice where everyday for the last three years I took a photo and posted it under the THE SEARCH menu. The idea and the challenge of ‘The Search’ was all about having to find an image each day and perhaps most importantly not letting ‘perfection’ get in the way of ‘good’. This daily process taught me so much about photography and made me take a lot of photos when I normally wouldn’t have and they were often some of my favourites. Some nights I would be getting ready to go to bed and realise I hadn’t taken a photo and I’d force myself to head out into the streets where I would have to search for an image. Even if the photo itself wasn’t always the best, the process was always satisfying. It became a very special and essential part of my day.

THE SEARCH menu no longer appears above but The Search will continue here always! (and perhaps not daily, but quite regularly). The Search has become a part of my process as a filmmaker.

To kick off the search 2020 here is a selection of photographs tracking some of the crazy weather we have been experiencing in Australia this summer as I drove thousands of kilometres from Melbourne to central N.S.W and back again.

Dust Storms and dry lightening in Tamworth N.S.W.

Dust storm rolling into Cowra, N.S.W.

Bush fire smoke hanging over Melbourne.

Rain in Melbourne the same day as the smoke!