Stage 7...

...of Fox Studios Australia.
(ha; and you thought it was going to be a continuation of that whole Stage 3 : performing thing...)

Anyhoo, Stage 7 at Fox; is an old exhibition hall. It’s not specifically designed as a sound-proof Shooting studio. At first glance it has all the regular features - lights and bells, sound-stage roller-doors, a lighting grid, LOTS “o” POWER, etc); One thing that is definitely NOT on the list of regular features is a silence that could let you shoot whispering dialog from a wide camera set-up; especially if it’s blowing a gale outside...

I mention the wind, because it seems as though Stage 7 has a teensy problem... it Hums...

Not an electrical hum, mind you (that would be easy enough to fix...) the BUILDING hums...

My best guess, and remember it IS a guess (since I haven’t been up in the rafters); is that the walls are being moved ever so slightly in the kick-ass-breeze, and the resulting vibrations are travelling into the lighting grid-pipe (rigid), which is transferring into the rigging that holds the space-lights (6 x bulb lighting fixture – very common for ambience lighting from above in sound studios). This vibration manages to hit a frequency that is audible, and you start to get “waves” of humming


Space-lights

I’m making these conclusions, because the noise is most definitely coming from those sections of the lighting grid that are under load, and it only seems to occur with a large gust of wind (that you can also hear whipping over the building’s structure).


Blue-screen is fun.

Anyhoo, as nice as Bowen and Darwin are; it’s good to be back in a major city (even if it is Sydney, with its bat-shit insane roads and traffic. :) )
Here’re are a few shots of the flight from Darwin



For 1000’s of kilometres there’s pretty much NOTHING...



Every-now-and-then, there’s a road or two.



The landscape starts to look like a coastal reef (even though it’s bone dry)


And sometimes it looks like it’s you’re viewing photos from mars...



Back in Sydney for a few weeks... good thing I bought a Sat-Nav system for my car...



Cable patching can be a tricky business...


Time for the regular PHOTO FROM THE ARCHIVES...
In honour of my MISSING one of the most Kick-arse Australian ski-seasons in living memory;

I present...


Artistic-ski-rack-shot circa 2001, Whistler BC, CANADA.

Okey-dokey, I guess that’s it for the moment.
See you all later;
Ian

DARWIN Harbour...

...is BIG.

Seriously, the Tides change by 4m or something ridiculous.

The water is an amazing colour too.

I can’t think of what to write right now as I’m still recovering from a bit of motion sickness. go figure; I’m FINE on the boat for more than 3-days below decks for music-cue-playback, then on the last day, in the late afternoon I start to get VERY wobbly... Had to lie down later on that evenings shoot... still feel a little like I’m rocking (and I’ve been on solid-ground for more than 12 hrs).

Ok more photos

One of the many magical sunsets we bore witness to on the wharf.


Darwin is where the paparazzi came out to play... check out that Lens!


Sunset... rigging... if it weren’t for the motion sickness on the last day/night, I’d think Sailing is pretty cool.


More sunset shooting.

Ok, I fly back to Sydney tomorrow morning.
See ya

Ian

Bye bye Bowen...

...for 50 days you’ve been home. But come this Friday; it’s time for us to go our separate ways.

Don’t worry; it’s not you, it’s me.

I know that we’ve had our little arguments, (your weather, for one);

But remember that you ARE beautiful, and I’ll always think of you fondly.

I’m just not ready for a long-term commitment;

I need to move on and see what the rest of the world has to offer.

Don’t worry; I’ll be back sometime soon.

Thanks for your hospitality, and your friendship.

Yours Truly

Ian.

The first part of our marathon is over: We’re flying to Darwin tomorrow - and hopefully (if the rain hasn’t stopped the building of sets out west)... Kununurra, WA.

It’ll be a little surreal to go from the smallish township of Bowen (no traffic lights), to the bustling northern city of Darwin; but I think that most of us are ready for a change. To be honest; the weather these past 2 weeks has been enough to fray even the calmest of nerves.

We’ve seen rain/torrential rain/mizzle/mist/hazy-rain/showers/cold-snaps/deluges/and trudged our way through quagmires of mud (mostly due to the Dust that we brought in...) In short it hasn’t been fun to drag cables around.

Hey at least I got good use out of my new gum-boots.

There’s no doubt that I will return to Bowen, however it’d be nice to do so during autumn or spring... and for a holiday... not a highly technical filming expedition.

See you all in Darwin.

Latest - From the ARCHIVES


The strange silver ball thingys at Radcliffe place (opposite the Treasury casino), Brisbane


Update: Thursday afternoon 28th June 2007

Well, we’ve finished in Bowen – and boy did we go out with a bang.

It’s no secret that a big part of the film revolves around the bombing of Darwin by Japanese forces. One of the last shots in Bowen involved the destruction of one of our sets by fire.


Safety officer observing the controlled fire.


Another angle


And another

Also; a decision has been made in regards to the rain in WA; which was heavy enough to prevent the set builders from actually GETTING to the location to build the sets!

To allow them time to build; we are returning to Fox Studios in SYDNEY for a few weeks, our triumphant location-filming resuming sometime in August for a month-and-a-bit; before re-returning to Sydney for a larger Studio shoot.

On a sadder note, I lost my rain jacket today, which had faithfully served my precipitation-shedding-needs since its purchase in Vancouver during 2001 – you will be sorely missed (and quickly replaced I’m afraid). The jacket is added to a semi-exclusive-list of equipment I’ve managed to misplace in the last few days, including my new head-torch, and or course – my sanity.

Ok, see you all soon (especially those of you in Sydney).
Ian

Rain sucks...

...no really it does!

fire effects are cool though

Bowen is not weather-friendly at the moment.

We've been shooting in the rain for at least 4 days now (I've lost track of the time...) and now we're shooting on our Sunday, to try and catch-up. Nothing about shooting locations in rain is fun, not the cabling, the rain protection, the clothing, the total lack of sunshine...

here's one from the archives

does this one need an explanation - just a cool shot of a plane and it's jet-stream.


See ya

Ian

Stage 3: Performing...

...though not in the sense that many of you may be thinking.

Back in 2003 while enduring the torturous initiation training at Mt Hotham, we were introduced to the theory of “the 4 stages of seasonal jobs”. I know that it’s not DIRECTLY relatable to film making, but I think it’s close enough – especially when you throw travel; and crew you’ve never worked with, into the mix...

Stage 1 – FORMING; you’re meeting new people, starting a job for the first time (or with new people) - and trying to come to grips with its intricacies. (This is usually the quickest stage – sometimes only lasting a few days)

Stage 2 – STORMING; where you’ve made your group of new friends and are LOVING the time spent with them; you’re getting to grips with your job requirements - things are on the up-and-up, and you’re having heaps of fun.

Stage 3 – PERFORMING; the partying has quietened down a little, and your life is more of a routine. You are more-than-competent at your job, and can do it quickly, and skilfully (needless to say that THIS is the stage that management wants you to get to as fast as possible). This is also the longest phase, lasting MOST of the season.

Stage 4 – MOURNING; the season (remembering that the training was for working on a ski-hill) is drawing to a close, and the realization that you may never see your extremely close friends ever again, rears its ugly head; You’re still really good at your job, but get quite complacent, and things may slip through the cracks...


We’ve been in stage 3 since our first week in BOWEN. If I were a betting man (which I’m not – but that’s a story for another day...) I’d say the reasoning for the Sydney leg; was to get us all up to speed before hitting the road.
Depression can settle in during stage 3; As the slip from Storming, into the routine of Performing occurs; and we were warned to be on the look-out for fellow workers who were a little down.

So I guess it’s natural to be a little forlorn, and home-sick. Doesn’t make it any easier when the job is fairly physical, and the hours long.

It’s important to not fall into the throws of passion at this stage, (ironically it’s by this stage that most everyone is on the prowl...) it’s very tempting, but trust me – it hurts like you wouldn’t believe at the end of stage 4, so be on the look-out for those who are prone to flirting, and avoid them like the inevitable colds and flus that hit around this time of year... or you can buckle-in and just enjoy the ride...

In honour of my homesickness – please enjoy the most recent...

BONUS PHOTO FROM THE ARCHIVES...

Some photos of my hometown, Brisbane.

From the Kangaroo Point Cliffs, South Brisbane.


And a view from the Goodwill Bridge.


Cheers, and hoping that your lives are all moving along at a comfortable pace. (Whatever pace suits you best)
Ian
P.S. we’re on Nights shoots all this week, so apologies in advance if I’m not responsive during the day... I’ll be sleeping as much as possible

Bowen is pretty...

...as you can see from today's photo essay.

Today is the 1st day off that I’ve been able to relax, walk around the town, and drive up to the look outs.




Creek on the way to Flagstaff Hill Cafe & interpretive centre (!?!... it’s a lookout people!)




aforementioned Cafe & information centre (I refuse to call it an interpretative centre) – Flagstaff Hill, Bowen




View of lighthouse from the flagstaff lookout




Stairs up to the local (Queens Beach) Lookout




View from Queens beach lookout – I’m staying at the caravan park (next to the blue roof of the pool at my doorstep, mid-left of the picture)




Closer view of Gray’s bay, which hooks around from Queens Beach.




View from the other side of the lookout; farm-lands and pretty clouds.




Awesome tree at the Flagstaff lookout.



Not much to say about the film this week, things are moving along, and it’s feeling a little more like work; but there are still a few moments each day when I get a kick out of what I’m doing...

Time for a new segment called...

Bonus Photo from the Archives.

May 2001, Toronto, CN tower and unidentified building.


ok, that's about it from me for today - I'm off to enjoy the rest of my weekend.

Ian

Dust...

That is all...

Goodnight

Ian








Just kidding; I can’t leave you all hanging there.
The one thing that I’ll take away from this film, is a firm knowledge of just how much Special FX Dust is required to re-create the dusty streets of a western-style town.

Seriously – I’ve been showering with SOLVOL, just to help get some off.

Wednesday night saw a triumphant QLD state of origin opening game (made strangely satisfying by the presence of so many NSW crew members)

Last night was a party (graciously hosted by our lead actors at the local pub, which straddles our set) with a special musical guest. ‘twas quite fun.

Today was washing, and catching up on anything that can’t be done between the hours of 0500 and 1930 Monday-Saturday, ie: EVERYTHING.

Yes that’s what I said, 5:45 in the morning, until 7:30pm every week day, and the occasional Saturday. Consequently I made more money in overtime this past week than I did from my usual weekly wage. This is good – as I can pay off more of my car loan; and save for the ever-present Ski-trip (Blake, if you’re reading, you’d better be thinking hard about the potential world skiing tour ’08, as it’s all I can think about right now)

Don’t think that I’m just sitting around counting my paycheque; I’m working the hardest I’ve EVER worked on a film (quite possibly, in my life), and it’s absolutely exhausting.

However, I attended a Rushes Screening the other day (or week, I can’t even keep track of the time anymore...) and it re-affirmed my passion for the project. I know that I’m about as low on the creative rung as you can get on this job – but I found it to be truly inspirational. This project is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and something that I hope will be embraced by the public once it’s done.

Ok, now I’m done, see you all later.

Feel free to email (though I'm having internet issues), call (if I'm on set I won't answer, so leave a message), write (just chuck it in the post c/o that bloody movie being shot at bowen...)

Ian

Another angle of the ever-present Bowen wharf



And a more detailed look at dust.

Weekends...

...are never long enough.

Photos of horseshoe bay Bowen

Snorkeling last weekend



see ya
Ian

Blowin' Bowen...

...certainly lived up to it's "un-offical" namesake in the first few days. It was Wet, and VERY windy.

however someone must have done something right, as it all calmed down (and partially dried up) for the first day of shooting.

I'm not going to go into any specifics (mostly 'cause I'm too tired to remember) but the shoot is going well, and the set looks frikken' fantastic. there are numerous web-sites with images of the set (and it's stars), but by the looks of it I haven't managed to make the Backgrounds of any of the photos... yet.

for a nice centralised site - try www.bazthegreat.co.uk as it seems to be run by a fan who collects ALL the links to news.

The Locals in Bowen are all REALLY friendly, and my accommodation is nice.

Special shout-out to Paul Shelly for being kind enough to help transport my Bicycle from Brisbane; I've now got some wheels - yay!

haven't been able to take any photos yet, but I've already picked a few photogenic spots to try when I get the time.

okey-dokey, Time to grab some lunch on my day off...

see ya



charter flight with previously un-heard-of airline

look out world...

here we come.

it's time to bid a cheery farewell to our gracious host-city of Sydney for a few months, whilst we wind our way across the top-end.

although we've been shooting locations for the past 2 weeks, it's time to move into the "REAL" location shooting; far away from our friends and family (...well for the rest of the crew; I've been away for 3 weeks already).

again, I'm unsure of my internet connectivity on the road, so we'll see if I'm able to post any updates.

cheers and see you all soon-ish

Ian



the photo is of a sketch I made from one of my favorite photos, a speed-sign in NZ.

week one is done...

since we've been on night shoots all this first week; we wrapped as the sun came up (I guess it's better than wrapping all the gear out in the dark, which is how it usually goes)

I'm beyond tired; but I think it's worth it.

nothing much to report, other than rain FX are impressive; and unsurprisingly... wet.

bonus photo time.

sometime last week I took a stroll away from the location and stumbled across a tall-ship in the harbour






I know that I keep publishing what appears to be the same photo - but it's just such a good view (and an amazing introduction to shooting in Sydney)




ok, sleepy-time, might catch some art-galleries this arvo; or perhaps a swim in the ocean-baths; so many choices...

see ya

ian

night shoots...

are tiring.

well, duh!

here's my annual 3rd May photos - YES I did actually stick around after we'd finished work thursday morning and take some shots of the sun rising over the pacific.

first up are some photos of a lighthouse.





and now the sunrise (with a boat, and a wicked lens flare)



and finally, an awesome shot of sydney harbour whilst the clouds were rollin'in two days ago



ok, now it's time to change accommodation, and get a few hours sleep before crew call this afternoon.

see ya