FTI News

Interview with Music Director Keith Schofield

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0800

LA based Keith Schofield started his career by directing low budget music videos. Since then, he’s gone on to make spots for McDonald’s, the Minnesota Timberwolves and most recently the highly talked about viral celebrating Diesel’s 30th anniversary, SFW XXX.

Keith’s recent music video for Fatboy Slim’s new project “The BPA” featuring David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal caused a stir not only for it’s full frontal nudity but also helped Keith on to the cover of Creativity’s Directors to Watch, 2008.

Kieth won best International Music Video at the 2008 MVAs for his Supergrass ‘Bad Blood’ video.

FTI spoke to Keith about his work as a music director and got some practical advice on getting your work seen by an online public.

Keith will be speaking at Semi-permanent on Tuesday 13 October More

Why direct music videos?

I was a huge fan of mid-90s MTV; when directors like Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry were reinventing the genre. It stuck with me and I’ve been following it ever since. I always liked the idea of doing a little short film, and “tricking” the audience into watching it by having a cool song underneath.

What is best about the job?

It’s really gratifying to see everything come together. Sometimes it’s on the shoot, sometimes it’s after the first cut.

What seduced you back from commercial shoots?

I love commercials but sometimes certain aspects are out of your hands. On a music video I often have more creative control. Especially since I’m the one coming with the idea.

Plus – it’s fun to do both!

You use found footage and pop culture references to excellent effect, what are your influences and loves?

Off the top of my head…

80s genre films
local furniture commercials
Nintendo culture
Atari history
Kollywood (Tamil) film clips
public television programming
optical illusions
found photos

You started your career making low budget music videos, what did you learn from deck-to-deck editing?

Hahah, well that was a bit before my time. I edited my first video in 2001 on an Avid.

But….. I did a ton of tape-to-tape editing in high school. I found it fun and fast; and actually found the entire non-linear editing process to be rather tedious. However; I couldn’t imagine editing a video now on deck-to-deck. Sounds like hell.

How does shooting a commercial differ from a music video?

Biggest difference is that in commercials you hire actors; who will do whatever you want them to do, are cast to look the part, etc. On a music video; you work for the actor (the artist) and have to make them look good. Commercial actors don’t have any influence on the final cut of a commercial.

WIRED has picked you as one of the next wave of music video directors, making music videos cool again. While detecting a new wave is always somewhat an artifice, what would you say, are the ingredients of this cool in your work and is there something about now that’s contributing to a resurgence of the music clip?

Ingredients of Cool = 2 parts Awesome, 1 part Bodacious, and a pinch of ‘Radical!’

Are the conditions of online viewing (versus broadcast programming) a factor?

People are definitely watching a larger variety of music videos. I definitely credit the Internet (though this was all a year or two before youtube) to getting my work seen.

Where to next? Do you have a plan?

I’d love to do movies! I really want to spend the next year giving a lot more attention to pursuing it.

Do you have any advice for filmmakers just out of film school?

(I’m assuming the question is about someone interested in a career in music videos. If they’re interested in a career in commercials – I actually recommend beginning a career in music videos; because it’s a good way to begin without having to do spec commercials.)

I have very specific advice!! I send it to everyone who contacts me. Here it is:

Find an upbeat band who wants to do a music video, and do it on spec (i.e., you front the costs). Do something fun, funny, provocative or R-rated. Before you come up with a concept (and do come up with one!) ask yourself: what would make anyone want to email this clip to a friend? No one knows who this band is, but what will make them say “holy shit, this no name band did this totally (choose one: funny/crazy/explicit/pop-culture-referencing) video, you HAVE to see this.” Take advantage of the fact that this won’t be playing on MTV – have stuff like nudity, violence, trademarked brands, etc.

Don’t let the band hijack your concept. If you’re paying for it, they can go along with your idea. If they don’t want to compromise, find another band. There are a million of them. Also, make sure your band has a decent quality sounding recording. It doesn’t have to be a mindblowing song, but it should at least sound as good as an average band.

Although I did it later in my career, my E.T. video for Wintergreen took a no-name band, with no label promotion, and got about a million hits online (pre-youtube); press articles, etc. I actually landed my first commercial because the agency loved it so much. We did a similar thing for the ‘how to make meth’ video, which directly lead to my Supergrass video. Budgets were $1200 & $200.

Mistakes people often make on their first videos (myself included) is that they make something that is only enjoyed by fans of the band. Or they do something dark, serious or dramatic. Or they choose their friend’s boring acoustic song, where a fun video seems out of place.

website

Image: Keith Schofield & friend

Warwick Thorton Interview: Get a Story, Bro

Fri, 08 May 2009 00:00:00 +0800

While in Perth for the Talking Pictures preview of Sampson and Delilah, Warwick Thornton spoke to Anomie of FTI about the process of writing, funding and making this landmark Australian feature. He also had some advice for emerging filmmakers.

A: Can you tell us about the journey of getting Sampson and Delilah made?

WT: It takes me a long time to process. If I have an idea, I’ll think about it for two years before I actually write anything. And the reason for this is that I hate writing and I’m mortified at the idea of starting a film and not having an ending. The letting-it-flow kind of writing doesn’t work for me. The beginning, middle and end, all the characters developed: all of that has to happen in my head so that the writing process is just getting it out of my head onto paper. It only takes six or seven days to actually write after that.

A: How was the funding process once you’d written Samson and Delilah?

WT: Incredibly easy. Especially with this film; most of my other films I found the money before I had the producer in place but with this film Kath Shelper [Producer] did it all.

It was one of those situations where the film was written but we weren’t too fussed about making it straight away. I was writing another script and making other films. It wasn’t like I finished writing Sampson and Delilah and then went into some form of development.

We see development as poker. You write scripts but you don’t put them in and try and get funding straight away. That’s because there are a lot of initiatives from everywhere, from ScreenWest or Screen Australia, for example, but it doesn’t mean they’re good initiatives for your film. So for something like Sampson and Delilah, there were a lot of those indie-funding things. We steered very clear of those, just waiting for the right time and place. You see, you’ve got a script and it’s like a trump card. Playing poker, you don’t show all your cards. We think that way. So Sampson and Delilah sat around for at least a year and then suddenly the AFC turned into Screen Australia and they had this shit load of money, and at this time they wanted to fund an indigenous feature before they turned into Screen Australia. And BANG. As soon as we heard that, we put the script in. No one else was ready. They were all caught on the back foot. That’s how it happened. It wasn’t like Sampson and Delilah went into every round of every fund trying to scratch a budget together. That’s how we work. I have a couple of scripts that don’t necessarily need to be funded right now but they’re there, down on paper, and the right fund will come along.

A: Because Sampson and Delilah has a strong vision, are you looking for funding that will allow you to retain that vision?

WT: With Sampson and Delilah you have hardly any dialogue, teenagers in a remote community; a pretty dark film. It’s not a script to take to the FFC because they’re not interested in that kind of story. They’d want to change it: “You can’t make a film where the two lead characters don’t talk.” They think in this kind of way. So we decided early on, no, we don’t want to put the script in to the FFC.

A: You protect the idea.

WT: Absolutely.

A: How was it moving from shorts to making a feature?

WT: We found a way that worked for us for our shorts with small crews. You pay your crews really good money and you earn respect. We found these beautiful people, so we just translated that into a feature film. Rather than spending two days to a week on a shoot, we spend six weeks on the shoot.

The short film Nana was a back story for the Nana of Delilah. I wrote Nana after I’d finished Samson and Delilah and it was just five pages of Delilah growing up with her Nana when she’s five rather than fifteen. Somehow that got funded too so we made that before we made Sampson and Delilah.

Short films are incredibly important if you have something to say but they’re also always a stepping stone. If I wasn’t to make any short films and I tried to make Sampson and Delilah, it would’ve been a really bad film because I wouldn’t have had the experience of learning, of making mistakes, and of doing good things, working out what works and what doesn’t work in the areas of writing, directing, editing. It’s best to make mistakes on short films where the pressure is not as high. It’s a fantastic journey; to do all those short films and hone your skills.

A: So you are using the same crew? You already know how everyone likes to work?

WT: For sure. I believe in that. A lot of first time feature filmmakers who have made shorts and have kept the same DOP and the same editor through the shorts, then suddenly this producer comes along, or suddenly they get this opportunity to make a bigger film, and they piss off all the crew that they originally worked with. They start from scratch and that’s the worst thing you could possibly do. You have these people you have grown with. The cinematographer has become a better cinematographer. The editor has become a better editor. The producer has become a better producer. Suddenly you drop them all for some famous cinematographer and some producer who has made three or four features and it is wrong. It has got a lot to do with funding too because the funding bodies want you to use crew who are more experienced. But the best thing that a funding body can do is keep that team together. They are breaking up a family who have probably done very good things together. There is more at stake but if you believe in the shorts and you believe in the script, then you should believe in the crew – or don’t fund it.

A: You’ve worked on Rachel Perkin’s film as DOP. Is there a community of indigenous filmmakers in Australia supporting each other’s work and careers?

WT: There is and there isn’t. We are so diverse. There are writers and directors and producers who believe in that sort of support: if there’s an up and coming DP, try and get them a job on your film. Then you’ve got other indigenous writers, producers and directors who just don’t give a shit. They’ll just hire the best of the best and it’s survival for them. There are people who want to do it for the cause and then there are people who are trying to work their way to Hollywood.

Those I work with – from make up to costume to focus pulling – are friends, really close friends now. It’s like going on a long weekend with them: having BBQs, making films. It’s a gorgeous way to learn.

A: The POVs in the film, the subjective soundscapes and shots, reminded me as a viewer and as an Australian that everything is subjective and that moments have histories that are unknowable from one point of view.

WT: It was important that the film was about the journey of these kids. It was written so that you never cut away from them and go to some other character somewhere else. Everybody they meet, everything that happens to them, happens to the audience at the same time. We never play with that kind of space. We never cut away to a truck approaching, then back to the kids, so that you know the truck is coming but Sampson and Delilah don’t know the truck is coming. We never muck around like that. You are just going on a walk with these two kids through the community or through Alice Springs and every obstacle, everything that happens to them happens in real time. It hits you just as it hits them. That was really important. It becomes a personal journey rather than a manipulative form of cinema.

The Americans use it a lot: keep the audience two steps in front of the characters so that the audience is comfortable. You’re not asking questions. You know exactly how the film will run. You’re not working. You’re not creating your own perspective. You’re not asking questions about the characters or the film or yourself. You are just numb. The priest in the church: some people say he was bloody useless, some that he was concerned and didn’t know what to do. Fantastic! Completely poles apart concepts of this priest who does nothing but stands there. That’s the way cinema should work. Audiences are not stupid: they can make up their own mind, so let them have a thought.

A: What is next for you?

WT: I have a series for the ABC, a 3 × 1hour documentary series that I’m shooting and directing called Art and Soul which is about contemporary aboriginal art. That will be with Hetti Perkins, Rachel Perkins sister, a curator of the NSW Art Gallery. She’s writing it and I’m directing. That’s going to take about a year and a half. After that I have my wife’s first feature to shoot called Place Between. It’s funded so we’ll make that directly after.

And I’ve just finished a script called Father and the Son; a mega-film! The script is pretty shitty. It’s not finished yet. Got to think for another year or two then do another draft and clean it up. It will be my next feature.

A: It has a beginning, middle and end…?

WT: It’s a fantastic idea. I’m very excited about it. It has all the characters, a beginning, middle and end, a really cool ending, it says a lot about society and it has to be told. It’s just badly written: the dialogue is really clunky; certain characters don’t have any resolution. They pop out from nowhere and then go missing again. I have to interweave those people a lot better. A great idea but just not very well written at the moment. As a writer, you need to finesse, shape, add a bit of salt and pepper; try and create something that flows beautifully and makes sense. Currently, it smells good it just looks like shit.

A: Do you have any advice for emerging filmmakers?

WT: Yes. Would you pay $14 to watch your own movie or story? With a film like Sampson and Delilah I had to ask that of myself. Obviously the answer was yes. I make films that I want to watch. Make films that you actually want to see. Make films for yourself.

Get a story, Bro. That’s really important. And get a fire inside you. You’re giving this to an audience so have you got something to say? Is this film just to prove that you can make films or do you actually have something to say that maybe society can use?

FTI members can purchase tickets to Sampson and Delilah at Luna Cinemas for the discounted price of $9.50 by presenting their membership card.

Crew open up on 'Closed for Winter'

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0800

‘Closed for Winter’ is the new feature film from WASA award winning Director James Bogle. It opens across Australia today and features Natalie Imbruglia in her first leading role.

The ‘Closed for Winter’ experience however is not just limited to the big screen, filmmaker Megan Spencer joined the crew and filmed an extensive behind the scenes documentary of which segments can be seen on the films website. the site also contains an extensive disussion forum.

Megan recently gave us some insight into the development of this cross platform ellement of the production.

Making a ‘behind the scenes’ documentary on a feature film can be challenging at the best of times…

People are BUSY. They have priorities, deadlines to meet, places to be and too many things to do, at once. Most of the crew prefers to work behind the camera not infront of it and – TIME IS MONEY! The last thing anyone wants to do – or has time for – is an earnest interview with an earnest documentary maker shooting a film about their filmmaking efforts.

That was my task on ‘Closed For Winter’, a film about a young woman, Elise (played by Natalie Imbruglia), trying to come to terms with the grief that has plagued her since her sister Frances (Danielle Catanzariti) went missing 20 years before. The silence surrounding the event; the lack of answers, the secrets, the paralysis she feels about living her life, the guilt about being the one left behind, and the painful relationship she and her mother share, a woman equally traumatized by that event.

‘Closed For Winter’ isn’t a documentary, it’s a fiction, but one based very much on the real life experiences of Georgia Blain, the author of the book from which this film is adapted. It’s a story that examines in close up pain, loss and grief; sadness, anger and frustration. Then, the moving on and finally, the letting go. This was the film we – the 40 or so cast and crew – had ahead of us.

We’ve all seen ‘behind the scenes’ docs on DVDs or late-night TV; often they are unremarkable and even worse, monotonous where the same old questions are wheeled out… “What was it like working with the director?” “What attracted you to the project?” with tired old answers to match. The challenge – as it is with any documentary – is to try and make these on-camera exchanges transcend the publicity imperative they serve, to somehow make them meaningful and/or entertaining. Even better to hopefully reveal insight into not only the filmmaking process, but the person making the film. Again not necessarily an easy task when people are too busy to talk, and aren’t always comfortable in front of the camera.

I’m of the mind that people will always have something interesting to say if you ask them an interesting enough question. And each day on the set as we were collectively working to serve the same purpose – to tell this story about a missing person and the hole she left in her sister’s life – “Frances” and “Elise” were becoming increasingly real. They could have been any one of us. All our of jobs meant we had to contemplate this tragic idea closely: what if someone went missing from our own lives? Could we imagine going through such an ordeal? And given the statistics – according to the AFP, around 35 000 people in Australia are reported missing each year, one every 15 minutes – given that so many Australians are touched by this, why is it still such a ‘touchy’ subject to talk about in public?

The irony was not lost on me; Adelaide is seen as the ‘missing persons capital’ of Australia largely due to some very high profile cases that occurred in the 1970s. And we were shooting there with a largely Adelaidian crew… I did 33 interviews with cast and crew for ‘Closed For Winter’. With grips, caterers, techie guys, soundies, composers, money men, actors, directors, safety officers, wardrobe and make up folk, camera blokes and police technical advisors. Of course I asked them the expected questions about their jobs and experiences working on the film. And then one more: Has anyone ever gone missing from your life, or has your life ever been touched indirectly by a missing person?

They answered. All of them. And the results were pretty astonishing. Many had been affected or had thought about it, deeply and often in detail. To not have asked the question seemed a disservice. The repsonses were honest, thoughtful, empathetic; often moving and ultimately brave. To have a conversation that – while painful – could perhaps benefit those who might hear it.

Over the next few weeks you will be able to hear those answers and also, participate in that conversation should you choose. You can use this forum to listen to others and also to share your own thoughts, experiences and stories by posting them on this web forum.

Many thanks to the CFW cast and crew who shared. And I look forward to hearing from you too.

- Megan Spencer, Filmmaker/ CFW forum moderator

Take a look at the ‘Closed for Winter’ forums

Six Questions with Stephen Parry

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0800

FTI Advanced Diploma in Screen student Stephen Parry successfully pitched to become the director of the graduate project, the largest film created during the 6 month training program.

The short film ‘Game On’ allowed the students in the program to demonstrate their new skills that had been built up over a succession of short films productions.

We put the regular six questions to Stephen.

How would you describe your film ‘Game On’?
Short, fun and not to be taken too seriously.

“Game On!” is a comedic short film that follows two men who haven’t caught up since high school. Instinctively they compare their lives to see who has the better one. Taking place in their minds, this small competition is blown out of proportion as they are thrown into a Game show hosted by a 1940s radio announcer. Let the games begin.

When looking at the outlandish sets and crazy costumes, beyond it all the message shows that we all compete about anything and everywhere.

Who else was involved in making the film?
“Game On!” was the Graduate Project for the Film and Television Institute’s Advance Diploma in Screen(Video Production) 2008 Course.

It was Produced by the short films Writer and past student Gregg Johnson. It involved myself and fellow classmates as we collaborated with film makers, Lecturers, actors, extras, friends and families.

Principle Photography took place at the Dusk Lounge in Joondalup, FTI and Essex Street pool hall.

What was the Production process like?
Production was very quick. Taking place during the intense 30 week course I didn’t have time to stop and catch a flick.

Being my directing debut I enjoyed it thoroughly and learnt a whole lot at the same time. Not just from the process but from my colleagues who provided their own experiences.

What filmmakers do you find inspiring?
Born in South Africa I didn’t see my first “Cinema” movie until I was 11, in 2001. Yes I know what you’re thinking. I missed out on a lot of blockbusters on the big screen during the 90s. Well there always was the old trusty VHS player. Thinking back to when you were little what film for your age did you find inspiring? Making you appreciate what was on screen? Well being young and seeing ‘Lord of the Rings’ on the big screen was a amazing experience.
This was one of the first movies which made me truly appreciate the photography that was taking place on screen.

Saying this, watching and meeting Andrew Lesnie on set of ‘Bran Nue Dae’ was truly inspirational.

There are also numerous amount of Directors from a few people you may of heard of, such as Tarrantino, Spielberg, Scorsese, Edward Zwick, David Fincher, James Cameron…the list goes on. The thing I love about film making is every time you head down to the pictures you learn something new.

Understanding the craft I believe gives you a better viewing experience.

What’s next on the cards for you and/or other members of the team?
I will be putting together a Production Company called Sky Blue Productions for current and future productions.

Whilst studying at FTI I met and bonded with fellow student Jason Stringer. Myself and Jason are in developing stages of a docudrama. I can’t say anything at this point so stay tuned.

I will be trying to get on as many sets as possible to learn and recieve experience as I start my journey as a film maker.

What advice would you give to someone about the make their next short film?
Screw the Mariachi-style, Film making is a team effort…

‘Game On’ will be screened to members of the Film and Television Institute at the organisations Annual General Meeting on April 22nd.

Stephen can be cyber stalked on social networking site Twitter or you can become his latest friend on Facebook

Take off your strait jacket

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0800

In late 2008 FTI introduced a brand new professional development program that focussed on allowing artists from inter-disciplinary fields to explore their creative process, contraints and investigate new ways of collaborating in filmmaking.

The ‘No Strait Jacket’ challenged a group of 10 creative souls to try out new ways of working through some radical experiences that are not usually found in a program directed aspiring screenwriters and screen artists.

During the first half of the program new stories were created with the aid of singing, movement, puppets made from balloons and socks, meditation, face painting, life drawing and improvised performance. The one thing the participants did not do was sit down and write.

For Screenwriter Amy Costello participating in the experimental new program provided her with a whole bunch of new ways to stop procrastinating and get started on new creative ideas.

“The program has given me a lot of confidence, and you need a lot of confidence to strip off your straight jacket, waggle your unique and personal ideas around, and yell ‘here I am, everybody!”

The creation of the new program was triggered by filmmaker Peter Greenaway’s speech at the AIDC in February 2008. In a controversial speech that polarized opinions Greenaway declared, cinema to be dead, then mocked and chastised filmmakers for being text driven in a visual medium and then challenged artists to find new ways to create and develop work free of conventions, schedules and timelines. He urged artists to find their way out of the corporate straight jacket.

Shortly after hearing Greenaway’s speech Graeme Watson caught up with experienced television writer Kit Oldfield who had just been appointed Development Manager for Taylor Media. His responsibilities there include finding new and dynamic production ideas and developing ways to assist in the development of creative talents within WA for Producers Sue Taylor and Natalie Bell.

Oldfield, who hadn’t heard Greenaway’s speech, was lamenting the lack of originality in scriptwriting and suggested that a more imaginative approach needs to be taken to assist both established and emerging storytellers and content-makers.

The program is offered as a series of 10 Saturday afternoon sessions, the program does not fit into any of the regular short course, seminar or workshops models usually offered at the Institute.

For Roy Duncanson, participating in the program has provided an opportunity to meet other interesting creative people but also highlighted just how imbedded ‘group think’ is within the screen industry.

“Unfortunately, it has confirmed my thinking on the extent of “paradigm lock” that many of us have about the film and TV industry and just how difficult it is to break free of industry habits and practices.”

FTI’s Professional Development and Training Manager, Graeme Watson agrees that the program has a lot of opportunity to develop further and has the potential to push many boundaries that could be limiting creativity and innovation in the screen industries.

“The real challenge is not only to develop incredible skills in creativity, but also challenge the established methodology of filmmaking and project development. The sessions are incredibly energising both mentally and physically, but I think we’ve only just touched the tip of the iceberg of what might be possible through this program.”

The program is being offered for the second time, and is places are quickly being snapped up.

Find out more about this course

Image Raquel Horwood

Picture This: The Adventures of An Early Career Screenwriter.

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0800

Take the Barossa Valley, known for good food, good wine, rolling hills. Take a bunch of screen writers, known for liking good food, good wine and bugger the rolling hills. An excellent match, in other words. This was the National Screenwriters Conference which ran from 25 to 27 February at the Barossa Valley Resort. Its focus was: Picture This: From Idea to Audience.

For me, the biggest ‘star’ to attending was Darren Star, a TV writer from the US, who is best known for Melrose Place and Sex and the City. I managed to get a place in his master class. We got a complete breakdown of the Sex and the City pilot from the horse’s mouth and this, by itself, made attending the conference worthwhile. The major learning point for me was that in TV series in particular you really need to know your characters before you start. Star spoke of the DNA of characters and how – looking at the pilot – you could see their DNA and how that was sustained throughout the entire series. “In TV you kind of keep telling the same story over and over again. Mostly only the characters maintain interest and retain the audience. They can evolve, but not really deviate,” he said. Writing characters you know well has to come from a familiar and often personal place.

And that the personal is important was clear in most of the sessions. In ”Script to Screen”, Jan Sardi _ told how his personal experience informed the writing of Love’s Brother. Andrew Knight _(Sea Change) related how he changed an entire scene in After the Deluge to reflect something this brother did when dealing with their demented father. Even Mac Gudgeon (Last Ride/Captain Cook) incorporated his neighbour’s habit of playing very loud opera into the re-write of the script for Winds. He freely admits it didn’t actually improve it much, but he was the eighth screenwriter to work on the script, so he felt no pain about it.

That the process of writing a script can be very painful, was movingly related by Andrew Bovell _ as he spoke about writing a Hollywood adaptation of _The Edge of Darkness. The original was a 6 part TV series written by Troy Kennedy Martin in the 80’s set in Thatcher’s Britain (And very much worth a watch if you find it on DVD). At its emotional centre is a father’s grief for his dead daughter, but it is also very much a thriller and its strength is that it uncovered an event that actually happened. To recreate that in a contemporary context as well as setting it in the US (which was a stipulation of the contract) proved to be one of the most soul-destroying things Andrew has ever undertaken, and he was ultimately unsuccessful. That script is in front of the American Writer’s Guild to determine a co-credit. He says that he now knows that working with Hollywood can only happen on their terms and a writer has to learn to accept that. I thought he was immensely generous to share this story with a group of complete strangers.

But that was the thing – nobody was a complete stranger since we were all there with the same interest – to share our stories and to learn. And from my experience – mission accomplished.

Marjolein Towler is business analyst, information designer and a member of the FTI Board.

Photo: (Above:) Kelly Lefever and Darren Star

Six Questions with Pierce Davison

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0800

Pierce Davison worked as Assistant to the animators on Adam Elliot’s latest Animated feature, ‘Mary and Max’, which opens today at Luna Cinemas.

How would you describe ‘Mary and Max’?
It is a beautifully crafted script with solid visuals to back it up. I got teary and emotional after reading the script (as much as a man can get emotional) and Adam Elliot translated the script into the film perfectly. Its brilliant.

Who else was involved in making the film?
There were about 4 Perth Ex-pats in the 50 person crew and all very exceptional. It was like going to a Startrek convention dressed like Spock and 50 other people were all dressed the same, you know its going to be awesome. Being immersed into animation culture for 8months skilled my own work further than was attainable from the internet or books, I can totally make a half inch rotator that locks into a puppet from brass. Awesome.

What was the Production process like?
I’ve never really worked under a director before so I thought it would be weird but Adam is really on the ball with his ideas and style. He spent time with everyone and we all felt important to the process. I assisted the animators which gave me a lot of time to understand their process and how they approach the shots which will improve my own work. The days were long but they zoomed by. I want to do it again.

What’s next on the cards for you?
I am currently doing Nick Shorts with a tight deadline looming which is great and then the final Filmex which is almost ready to start filming. The studio is chock-a-block with castles and forests.

What advice would you give to someone about a career in Animation?
I would say focus on engaging scripts first, quality animating second; and to secretly get annoyed when people say “oh you must be patient”.

Who is your filmmaking idol?
Its the usual idol: Harryhausen. He had such a love for the artform unlike that turncoat Tippet who went to computers which all looked terrible. But if you want the best animation auteur ever – and to see the greatest short film – you can’t go past Don Hertzfelt and “Rejected”.

Image: Pierce Davison

FTI graduates find success at GWN

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0800

Three graduates of the Video Production program at the Film & Television Institute have found success at regional television station GWN.

All three are working as News Camera Operators and Editors for the broadcaster that covers all of Western Australia. Pierre Huembs is based in Kalgoorlie, Andrew Seabourne is in Bunbury, while classmate Karl Carosella covers the Geraldton region.

Pierre tells us that to shoot and edit on a daily basis and then see your work on regional television every night, is a fantastic and satisfying reward.

Pierre explains that typically the cameramen work with a journalist who will source stories from various contacts and organisations,at other times the producer in Bunbury will allocate particular stories to do.

The team cover everything and anything news-worthy, from car accidents and fires to sporting events.

Pierre describes the experience of being a news cameraman,

“We are pretty much on call 24/7, but fortunately not too much happens after hours in the country towns. Quite often Channel 7 will use our footage, or get us to do “pick-ups” for the Perth local news, as GWN and Channel 7 have a close affiliation.”

Pierre explains that no day really feels like work, as they all get to develop their passion on a daily basis and being a news cameraman is never boring. One moment you might be in the office editing, and then next minute rushing to accident.

“News happens very fast, you learn to shoot & light a scene and be creative very quickly in every type of situation”, says Pierre.

“There is no doubt that the skills and knowledge we all learnt at FTI, has enabled us to perform our jobs to a very high standard. Any student wanting to pursue a career in the television/media industry should definitely express interest with GWN in Bunbury. Normally you will spend some time in the country and this tends to make you very resourceful and autonomous.”

Covering the news may not be a career pathway that many aspiring creatvie filmmakers think of but John Seale and Dion Beebe are two famous Cinematographers who started off in the news business.

Stephan Elliot discusses his new film 'Easy Virtue'

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0900

Through ‘The Adventures of Pricilla Queen of the Desert’ Stephan Elliot wrote and directed one of the Australia’s most successful and iconic films. A critical and financial success, it is the high point of the 90’s revival of Australian film. A peak of achievement that is looked back upon with fondness, as an industry laments the continuous failures and disappointments of subsequent years.

Yet the success of ‘The Adventures of Pricilla Queen of the Desert’ did not bring ongoing success to Stephan Elliot, his follow up film ‘Welcome to Woop Woop’ was declared a box office dud and his first overseas film ‘Eye of the Beholder’ garnered little attention.

Elliot forged on in his career, on a New York morning he set off to a meeting to discuss a new film about a giant skyscraper collapsing, he headed to Tribecca to meet actress Hillary Swank, just as the planes flew into the Twin Towers. This project, like many others at the time came to an abrupt halt.

He retreated to France, fulfilling his love of skiing and making films was became something he lost interest in. Then in 2004 he accidently skied off a cliff, shattering his back, pelvis, both legs. The recovery from this near death experience took almost three years and during that time he found a new project that has brought him back to the camera.

‘Easy Virtue’, an updated presentation of a classic Noel Coward play was shot in England and stars Jessica Biel, Colin Firth and Kristen Scott Thomas. It is filled with frivolity and hilarious one-liners that recently sent sneak-peek audiences in Perth into fits of laughter.

The film focuses on The Whittakers, an upper class British family whose eldest son returns home with the unexpected announcement that while abroad, he has married. The family is horrified to discover his new bride is an American.

At first Elliot couldn’t understand why the Producers had thought of him as a Writer and Director for this film, he admits he’s never sat though a period film in his life. Yet that is exactly what they were looking for to bring this antiquated story back to life for a modern audience.

Meeting up with Stephan Elliot in Mount Lawley the morning after the screening I asked him if Noel Coward had much to say to a modern audience,

“Noel Coward, he was cutting edge in his time, and he still is”, proclaims Elliot with great passion, “Drugs, Homosexuality, Alcohol, hatred of the class systems in America and England. Exactly what’s happening in 1928 is exactly what happening now and if that’s not relevance I don’t know what is.”

The film was shot at a rapid pace in just 33 days, using three cameras the Director employed a loose technique which allowed him to change and adapt as the shoot progressed. Elliot notes that the many years he spent as a First Assistant Director before tackling his own films allowed him to see how many different directors worked. He recalls seeing many a Director in a panic when shoots were not going well. He explains his approach,

“You don’t have time to be precise, you can plan a shoot, I use storyboards, but they can lock you in, there’s got to be a B-plan for when there is no time and C-plan too, which is basically just a free for all.”

His approach to getting performances out of actors is also a multi-faceted; he reveals that when you have actors as experienced as Kristen Scott Thomas and the wonderful character actor Pip Torrens, they usually get the performance on the first or second take. While some of the younger and less experienced actors need a few more opportunities to nail the performance. It’s important that you have an awareness of this and make sure the cameras are pointing in the right direction.

Tackling the Noel Coward material is possibly a task that only an Australian Director could take on, it is as if it’s OK for Australians to make fun of both the British and the Americans.

Rewriting the story slightly and updating dialogue to bring the story into a more modern realm was part of the films long development process. Elliot recounts that at first he and co-writer Sheridan Jobbins were reluctant to alter the work of one of Britain’s most acclaimed writers. Eventually they realised that it was essential to soften some of the characters and remove the elements of 1920’s melodrama, if the film was going to work for today’s audience.

‘Easy Virtue’ is an English production and it sees Stephan Elliot joining the growing ranks Australian filmmakers who have gone on to build impressive international careers after their homegrown success. At our meeting we discussed how he had approached his earlier career, the first stepping stones in his journey and what advice he might offer to young filmmakers in Australia today.

It’s almost legendary how Stephan Elliot got his foothold in the Australian film industry through a lot of hard work an incredible amount of bravado.

In the 1980’s a teenage Stephan Elliot began his professional filmmaking career, behind a clunky Beta video camera filming weddings, by the time he was 17 he’d done over 900 weddings, often asking the bride and grooms to walk the aisle several times so he could capture different angles.

‘I knew I wanted to be a Director from when I was seven years old, so that certainly helped’, he notes.

When Stephan finished High School he applied to get into an editing course at a local Sydney Technical College, there were 2000 applicants and only 12 positions. He had lots of practical editing experience but realised that his dyslexia might be a hindrance. So he got a friend to apply too and sit the day of aptitude tests as well. When it came time to put their name on the top of their papers, they wrote down each others names down. Stephan got 95%, he friend got 27%.

Although his Lecturers soon realised that he’d cheated, it didn’t matter – they let him stay in the program, but soon the eager filmmaker was knocking on the doors of production companies.

“They were about to start shooting ‘Mad Max 3’ so I wrote to Producer Terry Hayes and threatened to chain myself to the doors of Kennedy Miller if I didn’t get a job, I went down there one day with the chains to show I was committed.”

I ask if it’s a move he’d recommend to up and coming young filmmakers? His response is direct,

“If you want to work in this industry, it takes pure frickin’ balls, you’ve got nothing, your starting from nowhere, but you got nothing to loose. So what if you get doors slammed in your face, that was it takes.

Throughout the 1980’s Elliot worked as an Assistant Director on a range of projects, formative year that taught him how to make films. In 1991 he made his first feature film ‘Frauds’ starring Phil Collins, Josephine Burns and Hugo Weaving. Though the production was plagued with problems as the financiers went into liquidation, but the film was accepted into competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

His Producer’s asked if he any ideas for other films they could pitch while at Cannes, he had been thinking about a story that was like a Sergio Leone western, but with drag queens. In just 14 days Elliot wrote the script for ‘The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert’.

For a Director who’s films had a great deal of theatricality in them, and given that Priscilla has found a second life on the stage and is soon to open in the West End, I was surprised to see that the theatre is one area that not on his early career resume. Elliot disagrees,

“I don’t think there theatricality in them, there’s flamboyance, lots of music and big colourful things. Movies are about experience, it’s not real life. No offence but I saw a few AFI nominated films last year and there set around kitchen sinks and family dramas, and that’s some people’s cup of tea but it’s not mine.”

“‘Easy Virtue’ could have a gone that way, there’s a straight way of making this film, but it’s not the way I’d make it. I don’t think its theatricality; a low boredom threshold is how I’d look at it.”

I was intrigued to know if the Director of the film that everyone points to as the example of what Australia film should be about had any thoughts on how the local filmmaking industry could break out of its rut?

He contemplates before answering,

“I think basically, you drawn from what your environment is and that’s a good thing, but if the filmmakers come from nice families and nice backgrounds what do they have to draw from? ‘Frauds’ came from a family experience, ‘Priscilla’ came from hanging around the drag scene and seeing these performers who were living walking musicals. All these stories of family life are a bit dull.”

“The only chance you have to get noticed is to stand out. If you’re at the Cannes film festival, you have got 5 minutes to make your career. You have to make a dent. You have get people’s attention.”

‘Easy Virtue’ opens on March 12th across Australia and it’s worth your attention.

FTI thanks Natalie Bell and Taylor Media for their generous assistance with this interview.

Nathan Stone Interview Part Two

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0900

FTI Member Nathan Stone was one of 16 finalists in Tropfest, the world’s biggest short film competition. Hear how his career has taken him from Perth to overseas and back again. This is the second of a two part article.

Animation was an elective subject in Nathan’s Film and Television diploma and his lecturer – who has since worked at Pixar – set Nathan up with work experience at a local company that used Softimage. Nathan made use of the work experience to do some visual FX for a student film. The film won a special FX award and this led to a first job in Melbourne at a fledgling studio.

Speaking about his influences, Nathan admits, “I’ll probably be pretty unpopular for this but early on Michael Bay influenced my shooting style. I’m not so keen on him now but it has to be said that I found his earlier films visually intoxicating. ‘The Rock’ had a big impact on me. The film ‘elite’ is writing me off at this point I’m sure.” Nathan cites Michael Mann, Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott as directors who have inspired him and adds Christopher Nolan to the list as one of the next big directors particularly for his non-linear style of story telling. Nathan aims to make films he would want to watch. He tries to watch all kinds of films from all cultures, saying there’s always something that can be learned form even a “lame RomCom”. “One shot will stand out. File that away.”

Being very confident with the visual side of filmmaking, Nathan is now focusing on story and character – he has been writing a feature over the last year. He sees one of his strengths as being good at visualizing things and then realizing those exact visuals. “You could say I’m a shooter.” Nathan is also very resourceful: none of his films have budgets over $3000 AUS and most far less yet the films look to have high production values. ‘Blue’ was the cheapest at 10Euros. “You have to use what’s available to you. If you’re living somewhere that gets covered in beautiful snow during winter, use it.”

Nathan’s advice to filmmakers is to learn everything so that you don’t have to rely on others, but when you do work with people, make sure you let them know how much you appreciate their assistance. He also adds not to forget those who have done you favours along the way and to never give up. “If you’re really a film maker it’s not even something you think about.”

Nathan makes shorts because they are the most accessible form available. He also thinks video clips are good fun, “There are loads of up and coming bands that would be more than happy to let you make a clip for them. It’s a good way to build up your skills and portfolio.”

“Animation is also more accessible today”, says Nathan. “Ten years ago the only access to 3D animation was on an $80,000 Silicon Graphics machine but now anybody with a decent gaming machine can dabble in 3D and teach themselves enough to get a job. The demand for animators has increased dramatically as well.” However Nathan cautions that the fundamentals of animation are still the most important thing and just buying a good PC doesn’t guarantee a good film.

“There’s no better way to learn than by doing it. Every film I’ve made has taught me different things. Shorts are the best and cheapest format for this kind of learning.”

For Nathan, animation has always just been a day job. He has always had other plans and kept making shorts along the way towards those plans. Working for ‘the man’ does get on his nerves at times but he counters this by taking big chunks of time off to work on his own projects.

Visual Effects Supervision is Nathan’s new day job. The new role is not directly related to Nathan’s future goals but builds towards these goals. “I figure if I try for funding later on it might help to be considered a ‘VFX guy’. A film idea I have in mind is quite VFX dependent so having a VFX background and possibly my own shop would mean I can do it cost effectively and more efficiently which may grease the funding wheels – if they haven’t already blacklisted me for my Bay comment”.

Nathan predicts the challenges of working on ‘Wasted on the Young’ will be stretching the money to get all the VFX required and making sure the VFX are world class. He sees the project as a labour of love deal for everyone involved and is excited to be a part of it. “The film has a lot of potential and I’m just going to try my best to make sure the VFX enhance that potential.”

Read the first part of the interview

Mixing Things Up: Nathan Stone's Filmmaking

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0900

FTI Member Nathan Stone is one of 16 Tropfest finalists competing for prizes worth close to $200,000 this Sunday 22 February. Nathan generously gave his time to speak with FTI and what follows is a two part article on his filmmaking methods, priorities and passions.

Nathan’s Tropfest entry ‘Blue’ is a simple film about a young woman with a secret she is keeping from her partner. “It was very spontaneous film”, according to Nathan. Having landed a VFX Supervisor role on a West Australian independent film, Nathan was due to leave Germany to return home to Perth. “I always wanted to make a film in Germany and utilize the snow. It’s so beautiful and I find it fascinating”. The urgency to make the most of the local landscape increased with Nathan’s impending departure. Waking up after a huge snow dump in Germany just before Christmas, an idea was sparked and Nathan jumped out of bed, asked his girlfriend if she wanted to be in the film and shot it that afternoon. It was cut the following week: ten days from conception to completion.

Nathan has wanted to have a film screen at Tropfest since 1998 and has entered three times prior, including having another 2009 entry in competition; a film with several months worth of post. His fist attempt at Tropfest was in 2001 with a film that was co-written and co-directed with a TAFE friend, Stuart Campbell. It was called ‘Life Without Lucy’ and was a fantasy action spoof about a boy trying to rescue his pet frog from the school bullies, armed with an arsenal of Nerf guns. ‘Life Without Lucy’ made the shortlist but not the finals. ‘The Tooth’ was to be entered into Tropfest 2003 when the theme was ‘rock’ but took about a year longer to finish than anticipated: eighteen months in total. Nathan thinks it would have been very popular but as the film has done very well at other festivals worldwide, says he can’t complain.

Having also dabbled in stop motion and hand drawn animation while studying, Nathan’s focus has been 3D.

I started using Softimage 3.7 way back in 1997 and at some point transitioned over to Maya which I am now very comfortable in. A few projects have required me to use XSI – also good. Being a film maker in the no budget realm means learning a lot of different skills. Things move a lot faster if you don’t have to rely on other people for favours so I tend to learn to do things myself most of the time. I’m familiar with Maya, XSI, Photoshop, Shake, After Effects, Premiere, Final Cut, Avid, Boujou, Dreamweaver, Color, DVD Studio Pro and Notepad.

For Nathan planning is everything. His approach is to always piece the film together in his mind before shooting, storyboarding the whole script. “If I think a scene is going to be tricky I’ll throw an animatic together using the storyboards or I’ll mock up something in 3D.” ‘Late’ (also a Tropfest entry) included a multi car pile up involving a petrol tanker and Nathan made a 3D pre-vis of this scene before hand which proved invaluable.

Like other low budget filmmakers, Nathan does not shoot alternative coverage, instead he knows beforehand how the film will be told and makes sure he has every piece of the puzzle using storyboards. “If everything goes more or less as planned I think you get a result with a much more crafted feel”.

Nathan claims to be more of a visual director but insists that performance is extremely important. His approach is simple: use good actors. This doesn’t mean getting well-known, expensive actors. It means resisting the temptation to put the “10/10 super hotty in your film over the girl who really listens to what you’re saying and actually changes her performance after hearing it”. Nathan has always used message boards, like FTI’s forums, to find actors and has found it easy to get great talent willing to help out on his no budget films.

Nathan shoots mainly on miniDV and now HDV and edits on his MacBook Pro using Final Cut which he says is a seriously good investment if you’re planning on making films on a regular basis. Nathan paces his films to mimic what’s happening in the story. “Cutting is kind of like the heartbeat of the film. If the scene is exciting and suspenseful it feels right to cut things quickly and conversely slow pacing suits more tender and quiet scenes.” Though Nathan also states that it’s whatever feels right. He says he is often tempted, as visual director, to go for perfect shots rather than perfect performance, but that nothing screams low-budget-amateur more than bad acting or bad editing choices, so he always tries to go for performance.

When it comes to music Nathan uses message boards to find composers and has been really lucky to work with some very talented composers. Nathan gives them a general brief and some examples as well as pointing out the parts of the film where the audience should be feeling certain things. “It’s actually a very exciting part of the process when your film comes back with music. A whole other dimension gets added: very exciting”, says Nathan.

Nathan’s advice to other filmmakers is, above all, not to compromise. While it is hard to tell a good friend that you are going to cast someone else because you think they could give a better performance, you have to make that hard decision or you will end up with a muddy version of the film that is in your head. He says, “You’ll regret it every time you watch it”.

Having given a brief version of how he usually makes a film, Nathan explains that ‘Blue’ was a departure from the usual, being experimental, completely spontaneous, with no storyboards and even no script. “‘Blue’ is a completely different style in terms of shots and pacing. Sometimes you just have to try different things, mix things up a bit so you can learn alternatives.”

FTI wishes Nathan the best in this year’s Tropfest and will be watching the competition from the Bohemia Outdoor Cinema with fingers crossed. Gates open at 6:30pm with the films starting at 8:30pm. Head down before hand for FTI’s special ‘Best of the West’ presentation – the best WA Tropfest entries, never before seen! ‘Best of the West’ presentation is indoors at the Port Cineaste Cinema from 4pm – 6pm.

You can watch some of Nathan’s older films here

Send a Friend, Find a Filmmaker

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0900

FTI is currently accepting enrollments for our vocational training programs which commence in March this year and we need your help to spread the word.

If you refer a new filmmaker to us, and they enrol in one of our vocational programs, well give you a $100 voucher to use on Equipment and Facilities, Professional Development here at FTI. Send enough new clients our way and you might almost have financed your next film shoot.

At FTI we don’t have huge advertising budgets to promote our courses, we’d rather make a course cheaper and more affordable. So we appreciate your help in spreading the word.

All the information about our vocational programs is available here

Conditions

New clients will be able to nominate 1 person as their referer.
Discount vouchers will only be issued if the client completes the first five weeks of the training program and do not withdraw prior to the first five weeks.
Discount vouchers are for Equipment and Facilities use or Professional Development programs, vouchers are not acceptabled for consumable items such as tapes, batteries and gaffer tape or books.
Vouchers are not redeemable for cash.
Offer is for the courses commencing in March 2009.

Animators quick to draw

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0900

Earlier this year, just a few months ago, Producer Colin South from Media World, the company behind the hit animated series ‘Dog Star’, ‘Quads’ and ‘The Silver Brumby’ came to FTI and spoke passionately about the needs of the animation industry.

His audience was not students or aspiring filmmakers but the a meeting involving the boards and senior staff of both the Film and Television Institute and ScreenWest.

Amongst the many items South highlighted was the basic need for animators to have outstanding drawing skills. South was not alone, FTI had already recieved similar feedback from many other local and national employers of animators. It would seem as the work of animators became more computerised and digital – the focus on core skills had begun to fall away in many training programs.

Working with experienced Animator Susan Bresnihan the Institute quickly developed a new professional development program to address the skills shortfall. An intensive 8 session program focussing solely on drawing skills.

FTI’s Professional Development and Training Manager Graeme Watson comments,

“The vocational training program here at FTI has always had a strong drawing focus, but many new animators are entering the industry through programs catering to diverse needs including games development, multimedia and web design. The focus of this program is solely on the skills in drawing that come before animation.”

Over the eight weeks the participants have developed skills in drawing quickly, studying anatomy, focussing on perspective and many other essential base skills.

Animator Caspar Zielono comments,

“It’s like we went back to the very beginning of drawing and started all over again, and then we built our skills up to return to the world of animation.”

Classmate Cameron Thompson has also found the course benificial,

“I’ve learnt how to work my way through the frustrations and challenges that i used to encounter.”

The class has been a huge success and has been fully subscribed, surprising the Institute’s Professional Development and Training team who debated if people would be willling to commit to such a long professional development course.

‘Most of the time, filmmakers are asking us if we can do more short seminars or online events, things that take up very little time. This program has been the complete opposite, a long course that requires a serious commitment.” notes Graeme Watson.

Following it’s success on the initial delivery the program is now set to become a regular part of the Institute’s professional development program.

Six Questions with Jenny Plunkett

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0800

Jenny Plunkett recently graduated from the Advanced Diploma in Screen (Video Production) training program at the Film and Television Institute.

Jenny was the recipient of the 2007 Di Coleman Breakthrough Scholarship, which focuses on proving opportunities to allow more women to enter the screen industry. She also recently produced a new promotional advertisement for FTI through the ‘Ad Up’ scheme.

For the final project in the course Jenny successfully pitched to be the film’s producer working alongside Director Andrew Seabourne.

How would you describe your new film ‘Spirits”?
“Spirits” is a quirky tale about a guy who’s inherited an old house, complete with a barrel of 120-year-old Federation Rum. He invites his mates over to share his good fortune, but they get a rude awakening next morning, when they discover what makes the rum so tasty.

Who else was involved in making the film?
“Spirits” was our graduation project at FTI, so it involved everyone in my class. A former FTI student, Gregg Johnson, came on board as gaffer, and we advertised for a professional make-up artist, and found Natalie Watson.

What was the production process like?
Everyone took their roles very professionally and began work immediately from the word go. We all wanted a good result and we knew this could only be achieved by putting 100% effort into it.

Filming was over four days, so scheduling had to be tight to fit into location and actor availability. Overall, the production process went smoothly. We’d worked on a number of films together previously and we worked well as a team.

How did you go about finding the acting talent for your film, was it hard to cast?
We put a casting call out on FTI’s website, as well as local casting agencies, and we had a good response. There’s a lot of actors willing to give up their time providing you act professionally, feed them well, and give them a copy of the film for their show reel.

What’s next on the cards for the member’s of your team?
Everyone’s keen to work on other projects and the training we received at FTI has given us the skills to network and make more films.

*What advice would you give to someone about to embark on making their next film? *
Be organised, professional, courteous and communicate well. Filmmaking’s all about problem solving, so be prepared to solve some problems. Even though it’s hard work, filmmaking should be fun, so don’t forget to enjoy the journey.

The Boom in Broome

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0800

This is the full text of the feature article that appeared in FTI News Volume 12, No.2

The coastal Kimberley town of Broome is renowned for its perfect winter weather, stunning landscapes, its creative community and multicultural heritage. Like the rising tide of tourists that visit the region each year, there’s also been a huge swell in the level of screen productions in Broome in recent times. There are currently four major productions being made in Western Australia’s new filmmaking mecca this year, plus a growing number of local independent productions.

The major drama productions in Broome include a second series of Media World Picture’s award winning prime-time adult drama The Circuit, Northway Production’s 26-part children’s series Trapped, Great Western Entertainment’s 26-part children’s sci-fi international co-production Stormworld, and a feature film of the Jimmy Chi musical Bran Nue Dae made by Blackfella Films.

“The truth is that there’s more drama happening in Broome at the moment than there is in Sydney,” said veteran Australian producer, Bruce Best. “There are more hours of drama being made here than in supposedly the nation’s biggest filmmaking capital.”

Best, of Northway Productions, is currently producing 26 episodes of Trapped for the Seven Network. He first came to Broome in 2001 and made Ocean Star, the 13-part children’s series for the BBC and Channel 10, and has since established a permanent production base in the town.

“When I first came to Broome, I fell in love with it immediately and by the time we’d shot Ocean Star here that winter, I thought, this place is gold. If you’re going to go and work anywhere to get high concept/low budget drama, then go to Broome. It’s got great locations, it’s very user-friendly and you’ve got the weather – that’s a pretty ideal combination.”

Media World Picture’s second series of The Circuit continues the story of the travelling regional magistrate’s court. According to producer Ross Hutchens, the story could possibly have been set in another remote regional centre, but the combination of Broome’s idyllic tropical holiday reputation and its location as the gateway into the Indigenous Kimberley country, worked perfectly with the themes of the drama production. The production is scheduled to start a 10-week production shoot from late September until December, with a crew of about 40 people.

For producer Paul Barron, the choice of Broome as a major location for Stormworld was due to a number of practical environmental factors.“There are lots of reasons. One is the flat water, because we’re doing a lot of work with kids and boats with the cast on water, and we wanted a safe working environment and Broome has shallow and relatively flat water,” he said.“Partly too it was the coastline, the rocky foreshores leading directly onto the beaches, because Stormworld is very much a story about being lost in a desert landscape environment, so we wanted a look that was harsh that looked different. It’s proved to be absolutely the right decision in terms of the look of the show, in that we’ve been able to meld the locations from the various places into one, and so far at least I have to say the combination looks terrific and the overseas buyers, which are the main criteria, say they’re very happy.

“From an overseas perspective they had never seen anything like it, so whenever we showed them photographs of what the coastline looked like up in Broome, they didn’t go ‘Oh, that’s Broome’ or ‘Oh, that’s the Kimberley coastline’, they went ‘I’ve never seen anything like that in my life!

“I think it’s fair to say we’re the biggest WA homegrown drama both in terms of budget and terms of amount of production being done here. We’re doing 26 half-hours with a total budget of $10.6 million. We shot eight weeks in Perth, then we’re six weeks up here, we took a large part of the Australian crew to Singapore for the one-week shoot, and we’re taking a significant number of the WA crew to Canada for that shoot,” he said.

Stormworld has been pre-sold to Channel Nine, the ABC and Disney in Australia, plus it’s been pre-sold to Canada’s popular sci-fi Space Channel. I think that’s an important coup for the WA industry because it’s one of the first shows to get a major North American pre-sale, and what we’re obviously hoping is it leads to other North American sales,” said Barron.

The feature film adaptation of Jimmy Chi’s hit musical Bran Nue Dae, with a cast that includes Ernie Dingo, Ningali Lawford and Geoffrey Rush, alongside local Indigenous actors, is another coup for Broome that is likely to have a strong international impact. It’s a homegrown Broome story based on Jimmy Chi’s own experiences and observances. When first staged in the 1980s and early 90s, the musical was widely acclaimed for its combination of strong music, dance, comedy, Indigenous spirituality and Broome history.
Directed by Rachel Perkins of Blackfella Films and shot by Andrew Lesnie, the film is scheduled for a five-week production shoot in Broome starting in November or December, with two-week shoot in Perth. “We’ve been adapting it for a number of years in collaboration with Jimmy and some of the original members of Kuckles, the band that created a lot of the music,” said Perkins.

“We always wanted the film to reflect the place it came from, because Broome’s such a unique location, so we wanted it to be not only in the place it came from, but also populated with the people that it came from. It’s going to be hot as hell, so that’s really going to put pressure on everybody. The actors will be constantly sweating and the crew will be finding it very difficult, I think.

“In regard to travel and transport, getting the equipment and gear in, even the grips and gaffer trucks that need to come into Broome, they’ll need to travel some thousands of kilometres, so it’s expensive. But we’ve always known that would be the case, because that’s the way that we wanted to do it, to keep the integrity of the origin of the work,” she said.

For Bruce Best, establishing a permanent and sustainable Broome production company requires running a tight and focused production team.“I used to work up in Queensland for some years and they sort of judged their importance by the amount of Winnebagos. Trapped is the complete antithesis of that and that’s why I can take gambles on all the young people,” he said.

“The crew is about 16 all up and four of the five directors are absolutely first time with no screen credits. ScreenWest have been enormously supportive. The crew are all people ScreenWest and the WA government have poured quite a lot of money into over the years, so it’s pretty damn good to see them get their guernsey and I would cheerfully use them all again.

“We cast from all over Australia. After an Australia-wide search, we got two from Broome, which is fantastic, two from Perth, one from Brisbane, one Sydney, one from Melbourne and one from Taree. And it was cast purely on talent. I didn’t have a particular mix in mind, I just had in mind the characters and I cast it on the best actors I can find, which is the other way of making sure it goes quickly.

“We have to deliver high concept on smaller budgets. That’s got to be our niche and that’s what attracts particularly the Europeans, that we can deliver really classy-looking stuff reasonably cheaply. Action-adventure we can do up here because the location suits it. The location is the backdrop of it, the beach, the colour of the water, the red – that is the canvas on which the whole thing is painted. But the drama is really character-driven, which means it’s achievable,” he said.

A new development for Broome’s production industry is the recent establishment of the local family company Wawili Pitjas, the first independent Aboriginal production company in Western Australia, formed by Mitch and Eileen Torres. “We thought, we’ve got all this talent in the family, so why not use it?” said director Mitch Torres.

The new company has been working on a six-part, half-hour Kimberley magazine-style show called Milli Milli Nganka for NITV and Foxtel, plus a language documentary, and is currently in negotiations with the ABC for a historical documentary. “Because we’re locally based and we’re Kimberley family, we know the community already,” Torres said.

“When these other productions come up to this country, they need to take a cultural advisor on board as a crew member, from beginning of shoot to end, it’s imperative. It guarantees that everyone in your crew comes under that person’s care, because some people shoot areas that are not supposed to be seen. “The Circuit always did that and that’s why it was so fantastic and so embraced by the community. It shows in the end product too, that people were willing to work long hours and people wanted to be part of it because they knew it was sanctioned,” she said.

“We never though about doing it any other way,” said Ross Hutchens. “We wanted to work with Goolarri, though we didn’t need a co-production partner, and they helped facilitate the protocols and we wanted to help develop local Indigenous production skills,” he said. The issue of local protocol is important factor for production companies working in the Kimberley and, according to Dot West of Broome-based Goolarri Media, the active engagement of the local Indigenous community is paramount to the success of the productions.

“The Circuit is a very good example of working within the Indigenous community here, from having a traditional Welcome to Country, where all the cast a crew were welcomed to country, and liaising all the way through with local Indigenous people at various points in the production, served very well to ensure that there were no major cultural hiccups,” she said. “We assisted in the facilitation of Media World Pictures working in with Rubibi, the native title group of the region, and also the local culture centre, from checking through any issues that may arise out of the script to ensuring that what was filmed and where it was filmed was okay with the local community.

“What was also very beneficial in the first series was that every crew member and every major cast member of The Circuit went through a cultural awareness program, with one of the directors, Richard Franklin.”

For Bran Nue Dae, which will be based at Goolarri, a Patrons’ committee has been set up which includes representatives from the traditional owners’ group, plus locals who have been involved in the work and leaders in the community, who will be given the script and will have an opportunity for feedback. “Jimmy Chi is born and bred in Broome and he is the creative force of the work. We’ve liaised with the traditional owners’ group that has been formed, and one of Jimmy’s friends, who’s on the traditional owners group, will also be working on the film. So we’re spending a lot of time thinking about that issue and we’ve got a process in place,” Perkins said.

According to Bruce Best, “Broome’s a bit more complicated because of the native title issues, which is not a simple thing. Gaining permission is not always straightforward, because you may get permission from people who say they are the appropriate source, only to come up against something where you find somebody else feels they have a very strong position, and that is an issue. You’ve got to remind yourself it’s their home and you’re asking. You have to not assume that just because you want to do it, that’s okay. That’s just something we’ve got to deal with.”

One of the unique location challenges for Stormworld has been the impact of legendary Kimberley tides that rise up to nine metres, and their effect on production schedules. “Everything about our schedule up here is not being driven by the cast, it’s not being driven by the weather, though obviously all those things are a factor, but eighty percent of the schedule is being driven by tides,” said Barron. Even on the shore you need beach, and on some of the beaches at high tide basically the beach disappears, and you’ve got trucks down there, and the crew down there, so mastering the tides has probably been the biggest issue,” he said.

Accommodation costs and availability during the tourist high season are another major issue facing all production companies on location in Broome, as well as the impact of the busy airport, especially for Northway Productions located nearby. “The sound of the airport has become more of a problem than it was. I’ve moved some things further out this year to places like Roebuck Plains, but it’s not just the airport per se, it’s also the tourist activities like the skydiving and the scenic flights as the tourist numbers increase, which they have enormously over the past five years,” said Best.

According to Patrick Imbert, President of the Broome Chamber of Commerce, “Broome is a town that adapts quickly in supporting new ventures, especially in the creative fields. We have a proud history of film and television production and we are only too happy to keep this tradition alive.”

For Best, the increase of production activity in recent times has helped establish Broome as a regional centre for filmmaking, and there are more industry people beginning to drift north. “I think the quality of life in Broome is a big seller, and you can get people to come here – you never have to offer twice. If you say to a cast person, even quite a senior cast person, ‘I want you to do a relatively small role in Broome for three weeks’, you’re knocked over in the rush!

“It’ll never be like the big boom in Queensland, where a lot of the grips and gaffers, the sort of equipment-heavy people, all moved to Queensland because of Village’s big deep pockets and because of the American approach to filmmaking. But I think the people who move to Broome are filmmakers who want to get back to filmmaking,” he said.

According to Ian Booth, ScreenWest Chief Executive, the outlook for production in Broome is very positive, “The Kimberley, and Broome in particular, has a bright future,” he said. “It’s fair to say that ScreenWest has been involved for some time in developing projects that have been slated to be produced in Broome, including The Circuit, Stormworld, Trapped and Bran Nue Dae, and it’s terrific to see them reach full finance and production. I think they will achieve strong audiences nationally and internationally, and that will generate further interest for projects in Broome.

“We’ve committed to Mad Bastards (the Pigram Brothers’ feature film), and there are a number of projects in active development, from features to adult drama series to documentaries,” Booth said.

The increased production this year is certainly encouraging for the screen industry in Western Australia, but the ramifications for Broome itself may be increased pressure on the laid-back atmosphere of the town.

“I think it’s good for Broome in a lot of ways,” said Perkins about the potential impact of Bran Nue Dae. “But it might put Broome even more on the map whether Broome wants to be or not. On one hand, we’re trying to celebrate Broome and the special nature of its community, and in the same way, you want Broome to be preserved because it is such a special place.”

Virtual Cinema

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0800

This is the full text of the feature article that appeared in FTI News Volume 12, No.2

Skribe is a freelance filmmaker working in virtual worlds. He began studying and working in traditional filmmaking but has eventually moved into working in virtual environments like Second Life.

For those who have never been to a virtual world he describes them by by drawing an analogy with a computer game where instead of having to shoot people you can shop, meet people, have sex, do almost anything you can do in real life. The term machinima means machine animation.

“ I fell in love with film at the age 8. My old man had a Super 8 camera and I started with that. My father sold his film equipment and bought a crappy Beta camera that came with a huge handbag type recorder that you had to lug around. There was no editing suite and you ended up having to edit on camera which was a pain in the arse.

So around 1984, we went on holiday and I ran around Broome trying to get a good shot of what they call the Tata lizard. There was about an hour of that footage that I made the family sit through. We also did take offs of Indiana Jones and fight stuff, that no one else will see.

I did film and television at uni at a point where they had run out of money and everything was quite theoretical. I helped out, crewing on other people’s projects. I’d done some 3D animation stuff on an Amiga. I did stuff with CTV.

I found that filmmaking here doesn’t pay the bills, at least for me. So I’m still filmmaking but doing it in the virtual world using machinima rather than live action. It’s the same skillset. It’s video and you need the same editing skills. When you shoot it is quite different, but need to not cross the line, that kind of basic stuff. You can put the camera wherever you need it to be.

I do most of my stuff in virtual worlds like Second Life. You can create all the sets yourself and then you bring in avatars which are basically other people with a virtual presence. You can dress them up how you like them. Then you basically talk to the actor, tell them what it requires and you shoot them from multiple angles. You’ve got your raw footage, you put it together and sometimes you synch it with audio.

The last thing we did had 15 actors. It was for an New York company that had just got a virtual world presence in Second Life and they built this huge island and they plan rto do training there. They wanted a five minute ad to show what they do there and how they do it. We wanted them to look like they were using the resources on the Island. We told them what things we wanted them to do and then left them to their own devices.

My favourite job has been the CSI New York ad. They did a couple of episodes set in Second Life. To tie into that they did a game within Second Life. Every fortnight you had a new murder to solve and we did the commercial for the game which was shown on their website and apparently on television, too. And that was very, very cool.

I applied to one of the companies that does a lot of stuff on Second Life. The Electric Cheep company. I put my CV in and they contacted me. They built all the sets and they saw my show reel and they hired me.

We had a script which involved promoting their game. We shot the scenes in the script which involved people examining clues and dead bodies etc. We had a pool of actors we could draw upon. I did a nice morph from Gary Sinise into one of the avatars. The game was invented for new users. We had ten avatars or ‘costumes’.

We also did a five minute documentary for American Express who were trying to encourage small business into virtual worlds. There were three documentaries and ours was the third. We went over the benefits of virtual real estate. Some people made millions of actual dollars selling virtual real estate. American Express supplied the script. We shot 130 gig of footage which was 100 hours or so. Then we edited it down.

The benefits are I can do it all myself, but I don’t have to do it all myself. I don’t have to deal with a hundred people to get this vision on the screen and so it’s cheaper. The only down side is that it may not look real. It looks like a piece of animation. Animation isn’t good for everything. That will probably change in the near future as graphics engines get better. Just look at games now, some of them are almost photo-realistic now.

I remember when you would say to someone what’s your email address and they’d give you a blank look. Now everyone has an email address and if you don’t, then you give them the blank look. It’s completely changed. Technology changes and people adapt to it. ”

FTI Di Coleman Scholarship Winner Announced

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0800

Deeva Rani Muir of Leonora has won the 2008 Di Coleman Scholarship to study digital filmmaking at the Film & Television Institute (FTI) in Fremantle.

The annual scholarship provides an opportunity for women to enter the national film & television industry through studying the intensive eight-month Advanced Diploma in Screen (Video Production) course at FTI and is sponsored to the value of $6,500.

This is the sixth year the scholarship has been offered, which is named after FTI’s longest serving staff member, Di Coleman, who completes 31 years of employment at the Institute in 2008.

Ms Muir has been a professional visual artist for the past 15 years and an independent self-taught filmmaker. Born in Sri Lanka and schooled in Malaysia, Ms Muir has lived in Leonora for the past 20 years working closely with the local community.

She is on the Executive Committee of the Tjupan Ngalia Tribal Land Council and has a strong passion for filmmaking, which she uses to document local culture and for a teaching resource.

She is currently moving to Perth to study at FTI and hopes in the future to be able to share her new filmmaking skills with others in the Leonora community.

“I am very excited about the opportunity for me to not only learn more about the medium of filmmaking, but also the opportunity to challenge and expand my potential with the medium,” she said.

“I would like to improve my skills in documenting culture and explore dramatic storytelling. My focus is engaging with all generations, especially youth and I find making films is a way of focussing the whole community to process ideas such as identity, goals and culture,” she said.

The Advanced Diploma in Screen (Video Production) is FTI’s most comprehensive digital filmmaking course that provides hands-on training in all aspects of the film production process taught by practicing industry professionals.

The next course starts on 25 August 2008. Further information

Never missing a chance: Toby Lyhne Profile

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0800

Toby Lyhne has been working hard in 2008, the aspiring Director of Photography has been getting some hands on practical experience in lighting working on two big budget drama series.

Currently based in Melbourne, Toby updates,

“I’ve been working over here in the lighting department on
“Carla Cammetti PD” and “Rush” which are new Cop shows for SBS and Channel 10. It’s great working and adapting to the ways of Victorian crews.”

“It’s been a eye opener to working as a 4th electric, especially as I want to be a DOP and learning the ways of the lighting equipment at a technical point of view is expanding my knowledge of being creative with light. I think it’s the way to step up to shoot.”

Toby first came to FTI has a teenager quickly completing all of the Institute’s school holiday short courses. In 2003 he spent an intensive three weeks during the Christmas break at FTI completing a Certificate II in Multimedia.

While completing High School Lyhne wasted no time, he completed a work experience placement at FTI, made his own short documentary ‘Funkadelic: A junkumentary’ which was nominated for a WA Screen Award and built up his on set experience by volunteering to work on crews for television commercials, short films and live events.

After high school Toby continued his film studies through TAFE and earlier this year moved across to Melbourne to take advantage of the high level of drama production occurring.

Image: Toby Lyhne at FTI in 2004

Dan Puodziunas: Working his way up the ladder

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0800

Dan Puodziunas completed his Advanced Diploma at the Film and Television Institute in 2005 and has slowly been working his way up the production ladder working on a variety of television programs. While his long term goal is to become a Director of Photography, he is taking his time gaining experience in a many different roles and situations.

After completing his course at FTI, Dan got a rare chance to undertake a work experience program at the ABC. Dan spent six weeks working on the television program ‘The Pet Show’.

After relocating to Melbourne Dan landed a contract as a Runner at Roving Enterprises, the production house owned by Rove McManus that makes the programs ‘Rove Live’, as well as ‘Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader’, ‘Before the Game’ and the ‘Aria Awards’. Getting a start in the screen business takes a little bit of time, Puodziunas explains,

“Working a Roving Enterprises was a bit daunting at first, being my first real job in the industry. My job involved lots of random things from office work, to fixing broken doors in the office, to sorting out the filing cabinet. I could see all the boys going out with lights and cameras to shoot sketches with Hamish and Andy and I’m left in the office”

“Gradually though I got a little bit of experience in editing, and a tiny bit of boom and camera work, but you have to realise that those shoes are already filled by other team members.”

“The best thing I learned though was how to put together a television program from the experience of not having the tape of a graphic five minutes before it goes to air to the overall way that you conduct yourself in a professional environment.”

After completing a year at Roving Enterprises Dan has moved on quickly establishing himself as a Camera and Lighting Assistant on programs like SBS’s ‘Salam Café’, ‘Comedy Slapdown’ for FOXTEL and the ABC programs ‘Sunday Arts’ and ‘Spicks and Specks’. Over a Channel Nine Dan’s contributed to a variety of programs including ‘Today’, ‘The Foot Show’ and some NRL games. He’s just completed a three week stint on the Disney Channel kids program ‘As the Bell Rings’ working as a Best Boy.

Dan’s now employed full time by Next Vision Film and Television, a company headed by Andrew Topp who has been Director of Photography for ‘The Adventures of Lano and Woodley’ and ‘Skithouse’. Dan first met Andrew Topp on the production of ‘Rove’ where he was Lighting Director.

“I still dream of becoming a DOP, but at the moment there are lots of technical skills to be learned on the programs I’m working on, right now I’m rushing off to work on the SBS series ‘RockWiz’.

Six Questions with Alex Von Hofmann

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0800

Alex Von Hofmann’s short drama ‘La Serena’ debuted at the Fremantle Outdoor Film Festival earlier this year and is now travelling the short film festival circuit.

How would you describe your film ‘La Serena’?
La Serena is a little hard to place in a particular genre, but I suppose you could call it a fantasy-drama with a mild horror theme.

It is inspired by a couple of the stories in Roald Dahl’s collection of short stories called Kiss Kiss. When I read the collection of stories, the style of story telling really grabbed my imagination and, straight away, I wanted to make a film using the same style. So I wrote La Serena, which is a twist on a couple of Roald Dahl’s stories combined.

It’s a story about a very naive young man who quickly becomes a victim on his first trip out into the real world. It’s a common theme, and it works because everybody can identify with it.

Every parent worries about their child when they first leave home. And everybody becomes a victim, to varying degrees, when they take their first steps out into the world. So it’s not hard to imagine the worst happening, in a strange town which has degenerated and morals have begun to slip.

Who else was involved in making the film?
Between Antony Webb and myself, we held a fair number of the key positions. He Co-Produced ‘La Serena’ with me, was Director of Photography and Editor. Having his support and experience from the time I showed him the first draft has been priceless.

Ben Beverley’s meticulous work on Sound got the film nominated for Best Sound at the WASA’s. Emma Fletcher and Louise Brady worked on Production Design and Art Direction respectively to really give the world life, which I think is one of the great successes of the film. Maziar Lahooti was the Gaffer with Toby Lynne assisting him as Best Boy.

We had a tight schedule and “cosy” locations with numerous light set-ups; Maz handled them like a pro and, between Antony and himself, gave the film a great look and feel. Michelle Smith did the score, playing all the instruments herself and layering them over each other to get a really rich sound.

Aaron McCann was the Assistant Director, and he really had his work cut out for him, keeping the production moving and on time. Annabelle Fouchard did a great job on Continuity.

What was the Production process like?
In one word – hectic. In the end, our locations took us from Northbridge to Bassendeen, 4 or 5 locations in York, back to Applecross and then all the way down to Nanga; over 5 consecutive days.

This crazy schedule was necessary because it was so important to get the locations right to make the world believable and the best locations just happened to be spread out all over the place. On top of that we didn’t have enough money, having been funded by FTI’s OOMPF initiative, to spread the shoot out over more days. So we just ran everywhere.

It was also one of the most incredibly fun things I have ever done. The first day was a bit like a baptism by fire for me. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting into. I had my ideas about how a funded film was made with a good crew and tight schedule. But when I got on location and the running started, I must admit, it took me a while to get my feet.

Then our smoke machine set the damn fire alarm off. I tried to stay calm, but I went a little crazy on the inside. However, within 20 minutes the alarm was off and we were back on schedule. That day was a little wake up call for me, but the shoot flew from that point onward and, although there were hiccups long the way, it’s a credit to the crew that we were able to move quickly and work around them. We got it all done in the end and I’m really proud of what we were able to achieve.

What’s the strangest place you ever stayed in?
I have done a bit of travelling, and mostly on minuscule budgets, so I’ve stayed in a few strange places but there is one that relates to La Serena.

The film is actually named after a little town in Chile. I was there with my girlfriend in 2005, and we checked into one of the cheap bed and breakfasts that we found randomly, as was our custom when arriving in a new town. The owner, Maria – a Chilean woman in her 60’s, greeted us and, for the remainder of our stay, treated us with the most off-putting, insincere, geniality. She may have actually been lovely, once you got to know her, but she gave me the creeps. Honestly, over the 3 days we stayed there, I started to think that she might be planning our demise.

I was not used to feeling so uncomfortable, and I was amazed that a rather unassuming elderly woman could have that effect on me. And it occurred to me that no one from home knew where we were exactly. The last time we had emailed them was a couple towns back and our bus tickets had all been paid with cash. So I started thinking – am I really just going to wait here and hope that she isn’t planning to murder us, like I imagine she is? The answer was – Yes, I can’t be bothered moving and of course she isn’t going to murder us, you’re just being paranoid. And I was right, she didn’t murder us. But it got me thinking and I started writing the first draft of La Serena.

What’s next on the cards for you and member’s of the team?
I have started pre production on the next project, once again producing with Antony Webb. It’s called ‘Tinglewood’ and has LINK funding from ScreenWest. We are working again with almost all of the crew from ‘La Serena’ plus some new faces as this is a bigger production and is going to require some different talents.

‘Tinglewood’ is a creature horror Set in the Tingle Forest in Walpole. It’s about a family that sets up camp deep in the forest for a fun weekend away but when night falls they discover, quite suddenly, that there are other things living in the forest that have different plans for them.

My main aim with this film is to tell a gripping story that will keep the audience on the edge of their seats by effectively, and creatively, using CGI, puppetry, stunts and good, old–fashioned horror story telling. It’s a huge challenge, but that’s why we are doing it.

What advice would you give to someone about the make their next short film?
I don’t really feel that I am in the position to give advice to many people as I’m still learning so much, but I can pass on what I have found to be good advice so far.

Show the script to as many people as you can, and listen to what they say. One thing I have learnt from ‘La Serena’ and ‘Tinglewood’ so far, is that asking for help will get you a long way. Some of the feedback will tell you what is not working and you have to be prepared to see it and make changes if necessary.

It’s easy to feel attached to your original idea, but the things other people bring to it will often make it a lot better. Of course you will usually get equal amounts of bad ideas from the same people, but that’s where your discretion comes in.

I would also say, don’t start off with limitations in mind. Aim for your ultimate imagined film and then work down to what’s possible from there. Try to get what you imagine and people will tell you if your ideas are crazy, or more often than not, a different way to get something close to what you want.