OR: HOW WE MADE A NEW FILM IN A WEEKEND AND HAD THE TIME OF OUR LIVES DOING IT.
A couple of months ago South By Scooter screened at Kino Sydney, I think they liked it because I was invited up there to attend Kino Kabaret - a 32 hour filmmaking challenge. It took me seven months to make South By Scooter. Kino Kabaret asks you to complete an entire film in less than two days. Seriously, less than two days! You don't even get the whole two days!
Last weekend I set off into the unknown. The whole experience was something else. I made a film but, more importantly, I made a ton of new friends. It was such a treat to meet so many wonderful and talented people! When we walked into the studio at Metro Screen on the Saturday morning we had no idea what we would like to make. By the Sunday night screening in Circular Quay we had a finished film.
Emmett Redding joined me as co-writer/co-director/co-everything-else and with the help of our new friends we put together a short film that we're really proud of.
Our film On Ornithology follows an inept birdwatcher as he stumbles into the most important discovery of his career. Production was intense. Along the way we assembled a production line to create paper and crayon feathers (the closest thing to an 'art department I've ever had), fought a grumpy Final Cut Pro (to the death), argued over whose shot of a leaf was better (we ended up using both. I still think mine was awesomer), raced actors schedules and the sunset (we had to recast one of the roles three times), acted in other peoples films, and somehow managed to pull the whole thing off! Emmett was amazing to work with, storyboarding entire sequences in his head and cutting the film despite Final Cut's best efforts to stop him.
So much happened within the space of 32 hours. We were surrounded by a storm of activity at Metro Screen as our fellow filmmakers raced to complete their projects - many of them made more than one film! I worked harder than I've ever worked before to complete just one film in 32 hours, I can't believe others made two or THREE!
The screening at the Justice and Police Museum was crazy. I think there were 29 films! The audience of filmmakers, actors and friends went wild for the finished movies - which were all really fantastic. Such variety! I've never had such fun in a cinema.
For Emmett and I - or "The Melbourne's" as we were called - the weekend was unlike anything we have ever experienced or could have expected. Best. Weekend. Ever. I can't wait to do it all again next year!
Here are some 'behind the scenes' photos. Beware: Spoilers! I'll share the film with you next week.
