change...

...can be hard.

I know it's been a while; although to be honest, even with all thats been happening, I haven't felt like updating the blog.

Time to catch-up on the last 4 months.

I received an offer to work in a different department (Mo-Cap head-rigs) on a new mega-film after wrapping up on GG, so I booked a flight to brisbane for christmas and left my car/stuff in sydney.

the film lost its funding due to an “escalating” budget. meaning i'd fly to brisbane, see the family, and then fly back to sydney, pack up my life, and drive home...

True to form, Gatsby finished up right before christmas (in interesting circumstances), with a promise of pick-ups in the new year.

I also came to the realisation, that while I enjoy assisting in the collection of sound on dramatic feature sets, it's not something that I want to continue to do for the rest of my professional life.

I'll still Boom Op if offered the chance, but it's also time for a change.

Since I've always enjoyed photography and originally went to film school to become a cam op; I've decided to focus on learning how to Operate a Steadicam.

It combines the physical challenges of boom operating, with the creative framing of photography, and is still in the trio-of-fun (cam/focus/boom) that can give you a nifty natural high if done well (synchronised movements with the actors etc)

step 1 – figure out how to learn.

lets face it, I could be really crap at the skills required. Need to try it out and see how compatible it is
There're a few local courses (usually 2 or 3 days), or I could fly to LA and take a 5-day workshop learning from some of the best in the world... yup – that sounds like fun.

Step 2 – baby steps

buy any available books, and read/research online.

Step 3 – practice

before taking the next available course (late march), I thought it would make sense to buy a “cheap” rig to practice with. If it was of sufficient quality, I could eventually use it to help pay-off the costs...

so I arranged to meet an operator in Melbourne, who was selling a small rig.

Having never worn one before, it was a pretty risky (and expensive) proposition. Still, a flight to melbourne is very cheap compared to taking a workshop or buying a new rig, and discovering that I don't love it to death...

From the 1st second that I strapped on the vest and flew a camera; I knew it's going to be a life-long obsession. If only you could have seen the smile on my face.

Immediately bought the Steadicam Flyer LE, and flew home to brisbane that afternoon.

I've been exploring/testing/practicing every day since...

Other stuff...
SBAC
I'm back at the Story Bridge as a Climb Leader. It's amazing how easy it's been to slide back into professional tour-guiding, and I still get a kick out of the view.

Selling Kelly
Kelly-The-Corolla has served her purpose, and as a cheap-yet-reliable car she's perfect. However I yearn for a slightly larger and newer (dare I say prettier) vehicle, and have found myself another Forester.

Time for some photos

These were taken before the end of last year, and should have gone up then. However I've already explained that I was feeling lazy and am only getting around to it now....

Photo at the head of the post is my view of the "three sisters" in the blue mountains - should give you a rough idea why the film still needs some pick-ups on location...



walking round sydney = random photos





...then look left; and look to the right again.





buildings





skater-kids





skater kids 2





Sydney's botanical gardens





Watsons Bay





lunch





on-set power distribution...





labelling the radio transmitters so my boom op knows the batteries are good to go - procedures are good





Sound mixer working in the SFX-fog





corner stairs in Fox studios stage 2





crew play a lunch-time game of soccer in the 'pit'





my guess... bored camera assistants





insert-set





looking at stage 7





flying home for the holidays





flying north from sydney




waiting at the melbourne airport - pre-steadicam obsession





my "new" old rig





Tri-annual WTF = actual signeage in IKEA...

well that's what happens when I don't post for a few months - it gets all scatter-brained and waffly.

hope everyone's having an awesome time finishing up GG in sydney (and I truly hope that the weather clears-up)

see y'all in a bit, exciting things to come in the next few months...

Cheers,

Ian