I realized today that it has been exactly 21 days since I last posted here and for this, I am extremely apologetic. I was getting into a really good rhythm during the holidays but since starting uni/working at MIFF/finishing the film/travelling, my life has been one hectic day after another after another. So I decided to fill you in on what's been going on in my life in this little time space which will bring you up to speed on where I am now.
So 21 days ago apparently, I finished up my shifts at MIFF. That's the Melbourne International Film Festival for you non-Aussies, a must see exhibition of Australian and the World's finest shorts, documentaries, feature films and seminars related to the wonderful land of filmmaking. I was working for both MIFF and IF which may sound confusing (and trust me, at times it felt like that), which was both a great experience and an amazing opportunity to network with some of the country's best up and coming producers and directors. IF for those of you again who are unaware, stands for Inside Film, Australia's leading independent film magazine which also hosts the IF Awards each year, an event I will also be attending later this year (November 16 to be exact). Volunteering for both companies allowed me to not only see a whole bunch of films for free but to also meet some of the filmmakers, most importantly, Andrew Kavanagh who created "At The Formal" and Katrina Mathers, producer of the animated short "Nullarbor" which did extremely well at the festival winning the award for Best Animation. I didn't get much of a chance to speak with Katrina as she was on her way out of the screening but Andrew helped me out with my VCA/No-VCA dilemma, repeating what ALL VCA graduates had said which was that without the VCA they would not be at where they are now.
As well as that, MIFF allowed me to witness the unveiling of the highly anticipated series from Matchbox Pictures, "The Slap." I have had my eye on "The Slap" ever since I read the book for the first time all the way back in 2009. It had been a while since I had found a read so engaging and written in such a way that really made the reader feel like they were a part of the story, rather than just the reader. I'm now currently re-reading it and am still finding it to be just as exciting and breathtaking as the first 3 times I read it. As you can imagine, there was tremendous anticipation on my part once I found out the book was being translated into a TV series by Matchbox. When the news was released late last year, I even drafted an email to Matchbox pictures offering my services in any way, shape or form for the set but didn't send it as I knew my life would be too hectic at that time coming back from America and starting up third year. The premiere surpassed my expectations and whilst there were definitely some elements of the book removed, what remained was delightful for the avid fan. Matchbox were extremely successful in capturing the inner monologue of the characters which features so heavily in the book, due in part I feel to the talent of the actors, but credit can also be taken by the directors and scriptwriters. All in all, it was a magically surreal experience and I was even fortunate enough to approach Tony Ayres at the end of the screening (EP of the whole series) to thank him for creating "The Slap." He was extremely grateful for me being such a fan and a lovely guy in general which capped off the night for me immensely.
After the festival, it was time to get serious about uni. We had started a good week before all the other unis for some reason and already, there was a lot going on. First was my production unit which saw me become producer for a short film to be created in conjunction with other people within my class. These students had opted to be selected for particular roles and whilst I have not worked with any of them before, they have certainly proved their stripes thus far. The film has developed extremely well since conception and with the shoot less than 2 weeks away, the nerves are starting to kick in. For more info, check out my next post about how the production is going.
As well as the film, I am studying my final contextual studies unit in the form of Australian Cinema; an online unit title Introduction to Photography (yes it sounds like a cop-out but its actually quite hard!); and finally, a course designed to assist me with my leap into the industry in the form of Media Industries 2, a follow on from last semester's Media Industries 1. Australian Cinema so far has been a little bit of a disappointment as the main focus for this semester is on Indigenous Filmmaking. Now don't take this the wrong way. I have every interest in all forms of filmmaking including Aboriginal filmmaking. It's just that I have a bigger interest in Australian contemporary cinema and Australian cinematic history from the great filmmakers like Peter Weir, George Miller, Jan Chapman etc. Unfortunately, that was not to be this semester but the films we have watched so far have definitely been an enjoyable experience and a great opportunity to be exposed to some new art.
Media Industries, I have to admit, has sat a little further down on my priorites list until recently, with our big seminar due to occur this coming Friday. Hectic. The aim of the course is to prepare students for their entrance into the big wide world of film/TV/advertising/PR whatever tickles your fancy, and the main work for the semester is split between organizing a seminar related to a particular media topic. As I missed the first 2 classes, I had to choose Alternative/Digital media instead of my first preference (Film) however, the group I am working with are really great and motivated and some of the speaker's we have coming to talk are really interesting. The second part to this semester for MI2 is focused on creating your own personal networking report, or rather, an opportunity for you to schmooze others within your field for information related to an interest of your choice. Naturally I chose producing and have already had success in contacting a few people I know in the industry for later interviews and have got quite an extensive list of others who I am interested in interviewing as well.
Other than that, life is just one big snowball growing larger and larger up towards my graduation in December. Its hard to believe that just 3 years ago I began this new cycle of my life and now it is about to end. Whilst I am a little timid about my future prospects, I have to admit I am much more relieved than some of my co-workers. I know exactly what it is that I want to do with my life now and slowly learning how to go about doing just that. It will take time but I know eventually I will become a film and TV producer within this country. Before then though, I have a lot to learn.
For the next 3 months, I will be using this space again to document my experiences at RMIT in my final semester for my production unit and MI2. I will try as much as possible to create other non-RMIT related posts if I have the time but until this short film is wrapped, there is not a lot of that going around. Either way, the work I am producing at RMIT this semester will be extremely interesting to you either way as I will be either reporting on my producing skills, commenting on my success at networking in the industry, or updating you all on new indigenous films I have discovered. Stay tuned and you will be rewarded I promise.
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