After many years on this platform, I may finally have something to share. We made a little film. About as indie as you can get. We scraped together some cash (our own), some cast and crew, rehearsed like crazy (it had to be shot over several days), built a set (a crazy idea that might have but didn't work), hired some studio space, and... of course... it went horribly wrong and we had - nothing - nothing but a set to demolish and some awful wounds to lick. And, then, we did it again. This time with different ambitions, a different approach, and definitely minus the set build. And, low and behold, we have been picked up by a number of platforms, and are now in the running for the AACTA Awards (it's an Australian industry thing). So, if you are an AACTA member, or know one, we would love for you to take a look and consider our film for your (or their) vote :-)
O, and here's the link to the page... https://tv.aacta.org/film/magic/
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Nice to meet you, Elvis Joseph. It sounds like your first film went pretty bad (my first script was HORRIBLE), but glad to hear you all did better the second time around. Congratulations on "Magic" being picked up by a number of platforms and running for the AACTA Awards!
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Elvis Joseph - what a motivating story!! Thank you for sharing!! Congratulations on MAGIC seeing so much success. How did your ambitions change in filming from the first try to the second?
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Hi Shellie. Thank you for being so kind. I think my idea for the first shoot wasn't necessarily a bad one, it was simply a little overly ambitious; what, with the resources we had and the lack of experience all round. I love intimate theatre - theatre in the round. I find it very engaging. That is what I was trying to create, a sense of that. So we literally built a round set (as the events take place mostly in one room, with it being a play), with the idea of working from the centre out, floating with the action which was meant to be shot in long takes. Unfortunately, I didn't convey this clearly enough, firstly to myself. In the end, it was an expensive mess, but as my good mentor told me, it was an invaluable learning we had to have, and a humbling I had to have. So we had three choices. Give up and walk away, settle with what we'd shot, or do it all again (and in a sensible manner). We chose the latter.