Is a "rest-day" spent NOT resting...

...still considered a rest day?

After travelling out to 2nd unit on friday, I was forced to have today off (to start shooting tomorrow).

So today was spent driving around to the local “beautiful-places” a.k.a. El-Questro.

Many more photos to come, but in short it’s some of the most beautiful landscape in the world.

Swimming holes are quite chilly in winter (even in the FAR north-west of Australia); but extremely worth the pain.

More info on my life as a 2nd unit sound recordist a little later-on...

I know that I forgot to include a photo from the archives in my last post...

So here’s 2



First up is a shot of New Zealand’s South Island, on the way to Milford Sound in 2004.

And



The local church on my home-street in Brisbane

Ok, more to come soon.

Ian

Kununurra...

... is also pretty.

Much like Bowen before it, we have completely taken over, another gorgeous Australian township.

After arriving on Friday; most of the weekend was spent bumping into every-other crew member in the middle of town. Most were grocery shopping, some were grabbing a bite to eat, strolling around the various art galleries, and just checking out the town in general.

I should clarify my previous post re: the cell phone not working. Telstra neXt Generation phones work EVERYWHERE that we’re staying, and shooting (except for the most remote 2nd unit locations – for which we have access to a satellite phone for emergency situations). MY phone doesn’t work in the city – or out on set. Given that I’m moving off to 2nd Unit on Friday for 2+ weeks of camping, I’m not going to bother getting this issue solved.

On to brighter subjects; My excess luggage arrived today (Sunday), so I picked up my camera before heading off to “bump-in” the sound gear (sometimes we unload the equipment onto the location the day before we start shooting).


The roads out to set (roughly a one hour trip each-way from the township) are pretty good, all things considered; they’re freshly graded, and pretty smooth.


As you can see, there’s just no substitute for Northern Western Australia.


Cattle roam the property (as it’s a working cattle station), so all gates need to be closed behind you, and, as always – the big slow living things get right of way.

The set IS fantastic, the location perfect, and pretty much breath-taking in every way imaginable.

No photos taken... so nothing to show.

After the return trip, we headed off to the local look-out “Kelly knob”




Typical WA landscape


The rock here is so solid, it just oooozes history; very spiritual land.


Every photo doesn’t need a caption, does it?


Anyone able to identify the flower? (it’s pretty common, and blooming in winter)


Even the Graffiti can look photogenic (no it’s not traditional art, just a bunch of kids with paint, as evidenced by the rest of the look-out)


Boom-op and sound-attachment (sponsored by WA film commission) looking over Kununurra


A Boab-tree; this one is massive, and right on the road out of town.


2nd angle of the mighty-boab.

Okey dokey, I’m off to bed now; got a 0400 wake-up for a 0445 departure, for a 0600 start...

UPDATE
Day one is finished - just got home at around 1930 - so not as long as first thought.
too tired to make a major update though.

see ya

Ian

my 3 phone...

...lied to me. It’s not able to roll-back onto the Telstra network; at least not in Kununurra, WA.

That’s right we’re in Kununurra; the 2nd charter flight of crew arrived yesterday after a (slightly delayed) 6+1/2 hr flight from Sydney.

I personally don’t mind the accommodation I’m in (backpacker-style basic-motel-room), but quite a few seem a little miffed at the state of “CAMP AUSTRALIA” – the official name of “Maui world” (the campervan township that’s been set-up to handle the additional number of crew).

I Haven’t seen the set yet, but from what we’re hearing it’s absolutely amazing. Perhaps the extra time spent shooting in Sydney was a blessing in disguise...

My real camera is on the freighter carrying our excess equipment and luggage, so I’m going to hold-off on the photo-taking, until I can do it properly.

I have no idea what to do re: the phone situation. Here’s the dilemma;

Even if I purchase a brand-new phone, it still won’t work out on set – or on 2nd unit’s location (Tent-city); and we’re going to be working 15+hrs a day, 6 days a week any-how.

Getting calls from my number diverted to a new phone is difficult, expensive, and knowing my luck – they’ll screw it up anyway (I have a history of shocking customer service whenever I try to do something that isn’t VERY standard).

I’m thinking I’ll just suck it up and be un-reachable for the next 4 weeks or so...

Other things going on since I last posted.

- Noticed that i-tunes doesn’t recognise my CD burner (no biggie, but I can’t listen to any music I purchased in the car CD player...)

- I continue to be insanely jealous of anyone who was going skiing. Well now I’m crushed that my buddy will be shushing down the various mountains of New Zealand’s south island, and he won’t even be able to leave me a depressing phone message of his skis cutting a trail of destruction through the virgin powder.


In his honour, I present the following...

...PHOTOS FROM THE ARCHIVES

First up is a silhouette of Blake standing on the peak of Whistler Mountain, on the 7th February 2001.
Aka the Wednesday that time forgot...



Those of you who know the story; know that Blake, myself and Chris (an instructor friend of Blakes) went in search of powder snow on our day off, a few weeks since any had actually fallen.

Lured by the promise of a small amount of “fresh-tracks” we headed off down the back-side of Whistler mountain, expecting to re-join a trail known as “Kaibers-run”...

After 4 hours of hiking our way out we stumbled across...

The Praying Foetus.



A statue of snow; that resembled a small unborn-child in praying pose...
This snow-statue, if created naturally; was a freak-occurrence of epic proportions. If some degenerate actually CREATED it... I have no idea what could possess someone to make one of these... stuck halfway down a mountain, lost... it’s too monstrous to contemplate.

So Blake, enjoy the trip; you’ll have to annoy me with your tales and photos upon my return.

See ya, Ian

P.S. the internet is working ok until this coming Friday, when I disappear to 2nd unit.

My mission...

...should I choose to accept it – is to try and compose a witty and thought provoking, whilst still informative, update of the goings-on in my life over the past 2 weeks.

However I feel it would be easier to just show some photos.

Prepare yourself for the “stream-of-consciousness” that is my memory; as I recount

MY BONDI WALK.

Last Sunday (after a massive week which included 2 days booming up to my armpits in water...) I went for a walk to break in my new hiking boots (purchased at great expense, and with relative ease from a great hiking supply store in nearby Bondi Junction – seriously I had only just finished lacing them up and on my third step said “that’s it, they’re perfect, ring em up”).



Anyways back to the recap - I’ve heard that the walk south from Bondi Beach is exceptionally beautiful, so I jumped into the car, and punched “Bondi Beach” into the sat-nav. Thankfully it didn’t try and kill me by sending me up every narrow one-way street in Sydney (like some of the other directions I’ve asked), and I managed to find a reasonable parking spot within walking distance of the major strip.

Coffee was required, obtained, and devoured; as I pondered my next step. ‘twas way too cold for a swim, so I indeed decided to go for a stroll, and take some 147 photos along the way (relax, I’ve condensed them into a nice essay of 12).

First up.

Hero shot BONDI BEACH, Sydney.



...ta da !!

Next up is a shot of the (extremely busy) walking track around the first point south,



One of the things that I’ve come to love about Sydney (as opposed to it’s roads, traffic, and general yuckiness) is the fact that EVERYONE seems to be out and about on the weekends. Seriously I think it's cool that people get out and go for a walk, or have a picnic, or play some form of sport.



It’s at this stage that I should back-track a little and show a few photos of the SURF at Bondi – surely one of the main reasons that it is so damn popular.




Hundreds of them, all braving the weather and doing something that makes them happy...



...and I only choose to photograph one of them... d'oh (please note that after purchasing my hiking boots in record time – I managed to catch a screening of the Simpsons movie – very much worth the 18 yr wait)

Another cool thing about Sydney is the number of “natural baths” that are dotted along the coast.



Here’s the Bondi Beach Bath.

Once we return from up north (WAY north-west) I’m thinking of getting back into the pool/baths/water, as it felt really good ('til it got cold and too hard due to work commitments)

So strolling along (at a pace that was probably causing havoc with the joggers) I’d stumble across little moments in other peoples lives.









Including a nifty little sailing boat swanning it’s way around the head.

My time was running short (I was running out of battery power on the camera), and I headed home, stumbling across a local cat; guarding who-knows-what.



I’ll finish up my photo thingy with a nice silvery shot of the sun reflecting off watery surfaces.



Ok the rest of 'my last 2 weeks'...

- Moved into a new sound stage for the first 3 days (stage 2), then into another (stage 1), then back to the first (stage 7), then the third (stage 1), and finally the first again (stage 7). We’ve been bouncing around the sets like you wouldn’t believe.

- My boomie didn’t want to get sick hopping in and out of the water-tank, so I was thrown into the semi-deep end, and completed a few scenes as boom-op (remembering that I’m normally sound assistant on this production)



Un-named crew person walking on water.

- Fishermans-waders are made out of PVC; and if they’re brand-new, will give off a petrol smell non-stop, all day... resulting in massive headaches – yet you remain bone –dry, and strangely sweaty.

- Wet-suits are a much better option.

- Booming in a water tank is not as much fun as it may seem... (I can now see why our main boom decided against it) since you don’t really want to rest the pole in the water, it’s got be above your head whenever you’re in the tank. Due to the framing you’re more-than-likely going to be using a LONG pole, and that’s got to be extended whilst above your head (even HARDER than it looks). When they add in the wave making FX, you start to sway... and don’t stop for another 10 hrs

- Horses are cool

- Wind-Fans are the bane of a Sound Assistant’s job.

- Coffee is perhaps the best legal drug in the world

- Cycling in the cold is quite refreshing

- The Simpsons movie is well worth seeing

- The film “Zodiac” is oddly riveting.

- The catering on my current project is fantastic (I’ve got to start eating less though)

- I'm insanely jealous of anyone who's been able to go to the snow this winter

- the more I see of this current film, the more I'm convinced it's going to be something very special

OK I think that I’ve bored you all enough, so I’ll finish up this blog with my most recent...

...PHOTO FROM THE ARCHIVES

Silhouette of crew on ALL MY FRIENDS ARE LEAVING BRISBANE – which is co-incidently having it’s WORLD premiere at the Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) tomorrow night...



...just as I’m landing in Kununurra, WA. (many 1000’s of kilometres away)

Ok, going internet-dark for the next few days (possibly weeks) as we move onto location shoot #2.

See ya’ll soon
Ian

ok, so it wasn't witty, or thought-provoking, but at least it had information... sort of...

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