Title: My Pen Pal from Andromeda

Treatment

We open in the bedroom, decorated with quirky trinkets and posters. On the bed are piles of beautifully handwritten letters. Sam, a young woman of a geeky nature, is reading over them, looking visibly nervous. A knock on her door. Her housemate enters and asks if today’s the day.  Sam nods. The housemate looks at her sympathetically and takes a seat on the bed next to Sam. Sam is worried that Xanthe, her penpal, is going to come all this way and be disappointed. Her housemate gestures at all the letters and assures her that Xanthe already knows that Sam is a loser, but nevertheless likes her enough to do an intergalactic visit.. Sam is strangely comforted.

Sam now stands in an open field, the sky is bright blue and the grass is lush. Sam looks at the coordinates on the letter and looks around at the emptiness. A stop motion UFO appears from the sky and flies down to the field. A green alien woman, donning a metallic dress and futuristic helmet walks up to Sam. Sam is now miraculously holding a sign with Xanthe’s name, like the ones you see at the airport. Xanthe smiles excitedly and runs to Sam, hugging her. Sam stammers out the question, are you hungry? Sam lays out a blanket and they sit down to eat  an “Australian style” picnic: iced vovos, cheese, crackers, footy franks, chicken crimpies, dip and tiny teddies. They talk about Xanthe’s long trip, human food vs Alien food and what the itinerary is for today.

A fun montage, accompanied by music, ensues as the two women go sightseeing through the city, op-shop, browse records, and use a photobooth. Xanthe is in awe of it all, experiencing culture shock but also falling in love with Melbourne.  Their last stop is an art gallery. In the gallery, as they look at the same painting, their hands timidly touch.

Returning to the open field, the sun sets as the two women stand face to face. The UFO is nearby, awaiting Xanthe. Xanthe expresses how much fun she had, Sam asks if she can stay longer, Xanthe says she can’t. But she’d like to visit again. Sam says today was the most fun she’s ever had in her life, and that she’ll miss her. They look at each other in nervous silence. Xanthe quickly grabs Sam’s face and kisses her, running away to the UFO before Sam can react. We see Sam wave the UFO goodbye, disappearing into the sky with a twinkle. Sam collapses to the ground, hand on her heart. She has fallen hard. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out their photo together, tears welling in her eyes. She smiles and whispers to herself that she’d like to visit again.

We jump forward in time. Sam is on her bed again, adding the final touches to her colourful scrapbook. The two pages are dedicated to her day with Xanthe. It includes the Photo Booth pictures, tickets, stickers, receipts etc. Sam looks down at her work with pride and closes the book. Suddenly she hears her doorbell ring and smiles with excitement, rushing off to answer it. We can guess who may be visiting again. 

THE END.

Why I’m excited to create this project and my goals for it

I want this film to appeal to those that enjoy certain genres e.g. Sc-Fi, Romance and comedy however still be able to attract people that just want to see Melbourne and their local cafe or vintage store on their screen. I’d hope that it would resonate and have a positive reception from the queer community and just generally impress those passionate about filmmaking, fashion and design. I want this film to create conversation around what is Australian culture post-colonialism? Do we really have one? What would we show to an alien visitor in just one day to represent what our country and more specifically the city of Melbourne is all about?

The film is a love story and so having the opportunity to guide on-screen chemistry and develop the two character’s relationship over the course of the film would be a great challenge as a director. I want to create a queer, quirky romance film, a piece of work that doesn’t adhere to what is currently the trend in Aus cinema; depressing dramas or comical caricatures of our outback.

Pathway to audience

I would want to create a social media account, specifically Instagram as it has a wide reach and appeals to the targeted demographic: 13-35 years. This account would include details about the cast and crew and document the pre-production, production and post-production process through BTS footage, photos and interviews. The film would be posted to YouTube and Vimeo to allow for easy accessibility and a wide audience reach. I’d aim to promote the film on my personal social accounts as well as potentially creating some fun movie posters to put up around RMIT and other areas of Melbourne, with a QR code to watch the film. When the film is finished and released, I would be interested in creating a website for the film, including information and links for where to watch the film, the film’s socials, BTS Footage and photos, inclusion of the plot, directors’ rationale and testimonies from the cast and crew. I’d also attach an email as a way for people to reach out about possibly distributing the film or having it featured at film festivals and screenings.

In regard to film festivals, the ones I feel my film’s content best suit are:

• RIFF: A film festival for RMITV members
•  Melbourne Queer Film Festival
•  Melbourne Short Film Festival
• Melbourne Women in Film Festival
•  ReelGood Film Festival
•  St Kilda Film Festival 
• Potentially the Melbourne Science Fiction Film Festival

Initial Research

Creating something risk-taking, dynamic and independent from government funding e.g. Screen Australia, VicScreen: Motion In Art (2023) The Worst Film Industry in the World, YouTube, Accessed 6 March 2025.

“Films are not content. Cinema is a church. These artistic endeavors enrich us, build our minds, and grow our worlds. They are not chicken feed to churn through as we move towards inevitable death. They make life worth living, and when we watch them together, communing in the dark, we become stronger, connected in shared experiences. Great filmmaking can birth us into the foyer, blinking at our new world, babes changed by the brilliance of light, sound, and that little thing called empathy”. Peirce A (2025) 2024: A Hard Year for Australian Films, the Curb, Accessed 6 March 2025. 2024: A Hard Year for Australian Films – The Curb | Film and Culture

Representation on-screen and off-screen: Vrajlal A (2021) Meet The Women That Are Unapologetically Making Their Mark On Australia’s Film Industry, Refinery29.com, Accessed 13 March 2025. The Women Making Their Mark On Australian Film Industry

Exploring the tropes and style of the quirky genre: MacDowell J (2010) ‘Notes on quirky,’ Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism, vol. 1, pp. 1–16. Accessed 22 March 2025  http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/film/movie/contents/notes_on_quirky.pdf

The visual style 

Visually, I’ve been inspired by films such as Asteroid City (2023), Girl asleep (2015), Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and Juno (2007). These films utilise character, colour, craftiness and overt staging to create a fantastical and almost other-worldly version of real life, which is quite relevant to my film’s premise. I want to lean into the visual art side of filmmaking through costume and makeup, the colour grade of the film, prop making/set dressing in order to create a mise-en-scene that feels eclectic, nostalgic and with a distinct “Australian-ness”.  I want the Australian audience to be drawn into the film’s aesthetic, seeing either themselves represented on screen or their city being depicted beautifully. 

Sound design is such an important part of a film, so I’d like to have a library of sounds curated throughout the pre-production and production, able to accurately reflect the sounds of Melbourne; tram dings, coffee making, native birds and local conversation and music. I want to aurally immerse the viewer through the perspective of an alien tourist, hearing unfamiliar noises in a new world for the first time. I’d love to collaborate with a local Melbourne band to use a song of theirs or to have a song commissioned for the film. I want the soundtrack to accompany the two women as they have fun exploring the city together, sweet and upbeat, becoming more tender and slower as the film draws to a close, when they have to part ways.

Write about what drew you to this studio? What you think this studio is and what are you interested in exploring?

This studio begs the question, what changes need to be made within the Australian film industry to ensure that we are creating films that Australians want to see? Jennifer Kent, director of The Babadook 2014, states that “Australians hardly ever get excited about their own [movies]” and I reluctantly relate. The films I see in cinemas, watch on streaming services and engage with both academically e.g. university and socially e.g. LetterBoxd are primarily American. I want to delve into why this is the case, why I feel disconnected from my own country’s films. My goal is to better familiarise myself with what modern Australian cinema has to offer through this studio’s syllabus, rather than dwelling on the classics. The Worst Film Industry in the World 2023, a Youtube video by Motion in Art, suggests that the reason Australian classics such as Mad Max 1979 and Crocodile Dundee 1986 are still highly revered and a piece of national pride is because they took risks. As an aspiring filmmaker in Australia, I want to be proud of our industry, having a role within it rather than having “to go overseas to get recognition”. I’d like to explore within this studio ways to better the Australian feature filmmaking landscape, how it can be more far-reaching, more accessible, more exciting and ambitious and potentially uncovering these solutions through the final collaborative creative project. I’d love the opportunity to direct and write again, working to create something uniquely Australian, creatively risk-taking and fun. I’d like to work on the mistakes I made in my last directing/writing role, improving my organisation in pre-production, problem solving on set and writing believable, impactful dialogue. I also wouldn’t mind stepping outside my comfort zone and possibly dive into a role I’m less familiar with such as editing or cinematography, pushing myself technically and broadening my filmmaking skills. 

Choose TWO of the workshop activities (in class or homework) that we’ve done so far and write a reflective post on each

(1) Week 1 had us in small groups, reading articles related to the Australian filmmaking industry. We looked at a particular article by Andrew F Peirce titled 2024: A Hard Year for Australian Films that delved into the fundamental issues of Australia’s industry. I found it extremely eye opening as I had been blissfully unaware of how our industry operates; who funds productions, how and why certain films receive funding and why there is a serious lack of national pride surrounding Australian films. Seeing how much of an impact the Australian government has over what films are financially supported brings the question of money vs art to the surface. Our filmmaking industry has become a business deal rather than a creative outlet, and it explains why American productions are prioritised over local Australian ones. The risk of losing profit outweighs the potential to create something that would authentically and uniquely connect with Australians. This has resulted in the same style of films being made, made with the intention of bringing in money. Our government is viewing the act of film making as a business, something to profit off and boost the economy and therefore creativity is less prioritised.  They are less likely to view film proposals that take risks, that are dynamic and unique, films that maybe defy what they see as “Australian values”. Seeing these fundamental flaws haven’t made me feel discouraged or depressed about the future of Australian Cinema, but instead inspired me. We know where the issues lie, what barriers are stopping ambitious filmmakers from getting their ideas funded. Our government does not prioritise local cinema and the films that are given funding and support fit into the narrow box of what is believed to be financially successful e.g. Animal movies, Outback Movies, Superhero Movies. A change needs to come from within. As Peirce said “the onus isn’t on Australian audiences to seek out Australian films”. The industry itself “needs to break through the algorithm of our continued existence to put Australian films in front of faces” (Peirce 2025).

(2) In week 2, we were tasked with creating a short documentary, using the equipment we’ll eventually be using for our final major work. I found it surprisingly challenging to come up with a topic of discussion that was engaging, personal and able to be successfully executed within the class time. Our group landed on the topic of Death; When and how we think we’ll die and what we want to happen to our bodies. A rather grim topic to explore as our culture treats death as something taboo and is often avoided at all costs. Our interviews of each other had a rather comedic tone, which wasn’t necessarily our intent but made sense. When we’re uncomfortable or scared, we resort to humor, as tragedy and comedy are not opposites but rather close friends. We played with lighting in particular, attempting to create a liminal, limbo-like space to mimic the afterlife and create a gothic aesthetic. I really enjoyed experimenting with the camera, deliberately focusing and unfocusing and using the unbalanced light to capture some ethereal looking B-roll that hopefully worked to compliment the interviewee footage. We had some trouble with sound as none of us  were familiar with the wireless lapel mics. Instead, we opted for our phones, using voice memos to record our testimonies. Obviously not ideal for getting the best quality of sound but given the time frame, we had to work quickly. In hindsight, I should’ve asked for guidance on using them as it would’ve benefited me to learn that equipment then, so that it would be less challenging down the road when filming our major. It also would have benefited to venture out into other areas of the uni to record more B-roll as we had limited ourselves to one small area and by the end of class, we were struggling a bit to film enough variety to edit with. After this workshop, I see documentary-making as more of a fun and creative mode of storytelling . With mockumentary as the exception, I’ve always seen the mode of documentary as rather dry, but you truly can make it your own if you’re inspired enough. There’s so much potential for impactful, raw moments and by utilising B-roll, you can create something visually striking and weave a silent narrative alongside the interviews, marrying the reality of people’s lived experiences with the visual art of filmmaking

Video Essay Link: https://vimeo.com/1068067728/dcdf8aef5b?share=copy

1> In what ways do you hope your screenings/exhibited/screened work (whether individual or group produced) engaged its audience and communicated a key concern of the studio?  

Operation Superstar’s strengths lie in the crafty, colourful aesthetic, surreal, other-wordly characters and the fun-loving chemistry between our two main characters. I believe these qualities successfully showed a lot of heart, providing an authentic and in depth look at Melbourne nightlife as well as a delightfully absurd, funny and exciting story for the audience. Hybridising the genres of coming-of-age and comedy, we hoped to tell the story of friendship and being true to yourself, whilst still utilising the comic techniques of comic frame, incongruity, visual humour and satire; entertaining and challenging the toxic culture of individualism that perpetuates exclusion and superficiality. 

2> Imagine you are going to keep working on that media piece (e.g. to screen it somewhere else like a festival, or develop it into a different kind of work, and so on) – what would be the core things you would want to improve and extend and why? 

If I were to continue working on the media artefact, I would want to better develop some of the technical aspects such as sound and lighting. This could be achieved by reshooting certain scenes such as ones with heavy dialogue, recording in a more quiet space to avoid that droning street noise and increasing the lightning darker scenes in order to better see the action and details of each shot. This would hopefully elevate the film’s content and be more comprehensible for the first time viewer. I also would like to possibly reshoot scenes with certain characters in order to make the interactions feel more natural. Due to the tight turn around with the script, the actor playing DJ Ozempic was unfamiliar with his lines, resulting in a rather stiff performance that needed to be heavily edited in post. If we were to look into extending the duration of the film with more content I would want to focus more on the relationship between the two main characters, and establish their strong friendship so that, when they have their big fight, it feels even more impactful and devastating. The inclusion of  more wacky characters and cool locations e.g. clubs, parties, parks would also help to document their epic night out and bring an even more absurd, eclectic tone to the film. 

3> From your studio, reflect on an aspect of two other students/group’s media work on the website in terms of specific insights they produced about a key idea addressed by the studio? 

The short film Trip Up, experiments with the comic theory of benign violation, as it combines the scary experience of an intensely bad trip, with the goofy antics of the characters, the end twist revealing that the disappearance of the character, Milly, and the aggressive Uber Driver where all in their heads. The film also uses incongruity and visual humour with its absurd hallucinatory visuals and kooky characters such as the pirate, whilst also captivating the audience through its cinematography. Their hybridisation of the genre’s adventure and comedy effectively engages with the studio’s idea that comedy has the ability to pair with any and all genres, and can elevate the film’s story. Rogue also successfully addresses the studio’s content. The film’s use of intensifying music, quick cuts, action sequences, and costuming/props establish the genre of the spy/action genre, parodied by the absurd main character, Agent Whyte. The comedy is predominantly seen through this character, inspired by characters such as Mr Bean and Johnny English. Agent Whyte plays with physical comedy and the theory of incongruity, as she goes against social cues and what is considered “normal” e.g. running up escalators and calling a payphone to try and use Google. Satire is also explored, as the film pokes fun at 2024’s current climate and culture, seen with the ridiculously long coffee orders, overly protective vapers and ridiculous Tik Tok dancing.

4> For the other studio website you engaged with, describe a key idea that you think the finished media/studio work communicated with reference to a specific example (i.e. a particular individual/group work)

The studio Visual Blueprinting asks the student to focus on visualising your story not merely as a textual narrative, but as a blueprint for a visual medium. The film COMITIUM explores this, using cinematography to evoke specific emotions and themes. The detail in its striking visuals, lighting and symmetry reflect the group’s effort and reinforces the studios idea of show not tell, with each shot melding together to tell a story without the need for dialogue or context. The film used visual language to communicate with the audience, utilising bare landscapes and bright lighting to establish a dream-like feeling as well as the placement of the hooded figures, paired with eerie music conveying a sense of mystery and an ominous tone. The transition from the field to the character waking up suggests the entire scene prior was a dream, only for it to then be revealed that not everything is as it seems. The film is able to present beautifully constructed tableaus that both tell an intriguing story and keave room for interpretation, whilst having the audience hungry for more.

Reflective Blog Posts

Week 7: https://www.mediafactory.org.au/jazmin-lissarrague/2024/04/26/major-media-blog-post-week-7/

Week 8: https://www.mediafactory.org.au/jazmin-lissarrague/2024/05/05/major-media-blog-post-week-8/

Week 9: https://www.mediafactory.org.au/jazmin-lissarrague/2024/05/12/major-media-blog-post-week-9/

Week 10: https://www.mediafactory.org.au/jazmin-lissarrague/2024/05/18/major-media-blog-post-week-10/

Week 11: https://www.mediafactory.org.au/jazmin-lissarrague/2024/05/24/major-media-blog-post-week-11/

Media Artefact and Reflective Essay: https://www.mediafactory.org.au/jazmin-lissarrague/2024/05/31/comedy-media-art…reflective-essay/

Link to Comedy Media Artefact: https://www.mediafactory.org.au/2024-beyond-a-joke-beyond-a-genre/operation-super-star/

Operation Superstar (2024) tells the story of two young men and their journey through Naarm nightlife and the underground world of DJing, grappling with the struggle to be seen and adored by others. The film integrates the theory of the comic frame; how context, symbolism and structure causes the audience to recognise the scenario as comedic and adjust their consumption of the content accordingly. This is achieved through the quirky, detail driven dialogue, the wacky appearance and behaviour of the side characters e.g. DJ Ozempic and The Ratman, and the bizarre nature of the plot. Whilst our film’s comedy lies in the incongruity, the colourful, the crafty and the downright absurd, space is still given for moments of tenderness and earnesty; hybridising with the genre of coming-of-age. The boys learn about being true to oneself, remaining humble and to live in the moment, as well as the importance of brotherhood and friendship. The characters of Harry and Fergus go through the narrative structure of the hero’s journey, often seen within coming-of-age films. They set forth with a call to adventure, receive help and learn from mentors, are challenged by temptations, experience a rebirth/transformation and then return to once they came. Our media artefact also experiments with the mode of satire. Caron defined satire as possessing the “rhetorical power lies in its potential to change minds, that is, to effect metanoia”; the changing of minds (Caron 2020). The film aims to dismantle and find humour in the self-destructive mindset of individualism and “standing out”, being hyper-aware of how you are perceived and believing you are the centre of the universe. Karikó defines conformity as thinking and doing what others are professing and doing, whilst non-conformity is taking an oppositional position as a response. He states that both are led by the opinion of others, not by one’s own conviction (Karikó 2020). By being non-conformist, you are still determining your interests, aesthetic and attitude based on what is popular. We attempted to highlight this paradoxical relationship through the character of Harry, who ironically wishes to conform amongst the trendy, unattainable “non-conformists”, later witnessing and then condemning the toxic, “douchey” culture that is tied to it.

If given the opportunity to re-approach the media artefact from the beginning, I would want to focus on some of the technical details; spending extra time prioritising the quality of sound and lighting in order to further elevate the film’s content. This could be things such as location scouting more quiet, well-lit spaces and better preparing for night time filming by bringing more lights. I also would want to finish the script earlier in the pre-production process so it could’ve been sent out to the actors and given them a good amount of time to learn their lines and feel comfortable in their role. The actor playing DJ Ozempic was unfamiliar with his lines, ultimately slowing down the overall production as we needed to do multiple re-takes as well as it resulting in a rather stiff performance that needed to be heavily edited in post. If we had more time during pre-production, it would’ve been fantastic to have been approved to film at an authentic club or to have sourced a convincing space to transform into a nightclub. However, we had to work with what was available and whilst it was very convenient to film in Alex’s house, the appearance of the club scenes is not particularly convincing. I could argue however, that in some ways, the hodge-podge nature of the club adds to the charm and message of the film. 

In the beginning of the course, I saw comedy as this elusive concept, something that couldn’t ever be succinctly described or fully understood, but rather felt. And whilst my opinion still stands that comedy is a complex and multi-layered idea, I believe I better understand the theories behind why certain things make people laugh. I was naive in thinking that you are either a “funny” or “unfunny” person, and found myself challenged as I worked in un-familiar forms of comedy, such as silent comedy and satire. I realised comedy is a spectrum, and we all possess strengths and weaknesses in different areas. I also became more aware of the multifaceted nature of comedy, with its ability to slot into any genre and somehow elevate it, bringing out the best of the genre it is hybridising or parodying.

I did find the challenge of creating content independently really valuable as it did help me to push myself and have faith in my own humour, however I do believe that my humor and the quality of the content made has been elevated by working collaboratively. I feel as though I am far more motivated and creative when working in a group and I’ve really enjoyed bouncing off ideas and getting feedback by those around me. It also made it much easier to source talent as we just played the characters ourselves. I will say that it was a lot harder to synthesise multiple people’s ideas into the sketch’s short timeframe, resulting in some tension around who pulls rank. Our week 1 reading touches on the variety of reasons in which people laugh, “because they hear something surprising…they hear something familiar or a funny sound, they’re uncomfortable, they’re frightened or they’re horny…” (Simons 2023). Humour is of course subjective and that can sometimes cause disagreements over what is funny, inappropriate or offensive. There was also some conflict around the divvying up of roles, specifically in the pos-production step of editing the sketch, something that is no problem when working individually, as you are responsible for the entire process and there is no risk of miscommunication or an unequal workload.

References 

Caron, J.E. (2020), “Satire and the problem of comic laughter”, Comedy Studies, 11(2), pp. 171–182.

Karikó, S. (2020). Conformist Mass Society or Non-Conformist Rebellion? What education can do to resolve the conformity – non-conformity dichotomy? International Dialogues on Education, 7(2), 9-.

Simons, S. (2023), “Six Small Essays About Comedy”, Humorism

Voth, B. (2014). Comic Frame. In Encyclopedia of Humor Studies (Vol. 1, pp. 148–150).

Sunday shoot was our longest and most exciting shoot! We learnt from our mistakes on the Wednesday shoot and committed to starting as early as possible to ensure we had ample time for each shot and were able to shoot the group party scenes as soon as the extras arrived on set. Our first couple hours were spent setting up Alex’s living room to look more like a nightclub; taping fabric and newspaper to the walls and blocking out the windows to prevent any natural light from coming in. The “realism” of the club was not necessarily a priority for us due to our establishment of the comic frame. Looking back at the Week 3 reading, the audience uses frames to “view, group, and interpret experiences with reality, determin[ing] the symbolic actions and choices humans make from these experiences’ ‘ (Voth 2014). Because our film’s comic frame is established through our absurdist characters and crafty aesthetic, the rather unconvincing club setting suits the tone and (hopefully) adds to the humour. The boys try so hard to get into this “exclusive” Naarm-core nightclub, only for it to be comically small and dingy. Most of the scenes were set indoors, making it much easier to play around with lighting. Alex was very clever and had coloured cellophane wrapped around the LED Lights to create a strong hue. We used this to mimic the inside of an eclectic club and illuminate the ominous pink neon demon (picture attached). We also were lucky enough to have a smoke machine and worked really well to spread pink and yellow light and create a hazy, dream-like feeling to the footage. 

The final scene was shot outdoors on the street and we faced a couple road-bumps (pun intended). There was some traffic that affected the quality of sound and light sprinkle of rain which meant we were in a bit of a rush to finish. Alternative’s to have avoided this could’ve been to either move to a quieter location or postpone the scene to a later date. however these options would have slowed down our whole production progress and we were all feeling pretty tired by the end of it so decided to go ahead with it.

Overall, the filming process has been such an amazing experience. I’ve learnt so much from working alongside my friends and I really believe we’ve made a great team, bringing our own strengths to the production; Claudia’s artistry, Alex’s leadership, Jaden’s skill and Luci’s organisation. I couldn’t be more grateful to have made something so creative with them!

BTS Photos taken by yours truly:

References

This Monday was Pitching Day and the feedback we received was so validating, with a positive response surrounding the humor and specificity of the dialogue, the feasible/fun timeframe within the film and our exploration of the paradox of conforming by being non-conformist. This all got us all pumped up for our shoot. Wednesday night, we piled our equipment into Saint Bradley’s car and journeyed to Fitzroy. I felt a little uncertain in the beginning as we took a long time setting up and adjusting to the street noise, pedestrians, darkness and general blocking. However, we soon got in the swing of things and began to film more confidently and experimentally (almost documentary style as we took long takes, tracking the characters movements). Watching the jokes we’ve written in the script was really rewarding and so funny to see! The work that went into creating the visual humor of the Rat-man and DJ Ozempic was well worth it and I cannot wait to see how it translates on screen.

My job was lighting, and quite the physical role as I often handheld the light, following closely behind the camera. I used LED Light panels as the main source of light as well as Alex’s bike light that we utilised as a spotlight to draw focus to certain features such as the USB, people’s clothes and the rat’s tails. I also used a strobe light to raise tension during the characters fight scene and to mimic the lighting coming outside of a club. Our biggest challenge was sticking to the time frame, as we ran behind a few times and by the end of the night we decided to push a scene that we were going to shoot to another day in order to finish at a reasonable time. This was expected as it was a shoot-on location situation and our first time shooting as a group. In hindsight, we could’ve brought less equipment which would’ve helped speed up the pack up process and the moving to different settings. I also wished I’d maybe experimented with coloured gels more, making DIY ones to make the lighting more eclectic and unique. On Sunday we are shooting the inside club scenes so I’m aiming to really push myself with the party lights as I want to make the space seem like a genuine club as well as a visually exciting experience for the viewer. I also want to learn from our Wednesday shoot and ensure we are on top of marking every shot with the clapper, taking continuity notes and time managing the shoot so we don’t run behind.

BTS Photos taken by yours truly:

Leading up to our shooting next week we’ve been sourcing props, costumes and finalising the main cast. Our biggest challenge this week has been the search for our two lead characters, which has been us reaching out to friends, acquaintances and people within the uni. We are so close but are still in the waiting process. In the unlikely event that we would fail to find two actors, Alex and I came up with a plan Z, which would be to rewrite our male characters as women and play them ourselves. This is so that we don’t have to postpone our shoot and can leave as much time to edit as possible.

On Wednesday, Alex and Claudia ventured to Fitzroy to source good locations to shoot our “Club Queue” Scene, the boys encounter with the Rat Man and just general spaces for the characters to walk around and explore for the montage scene. They did an excellent job finding spots that suited the quirky, grungy and overall dream-like aesthetic of the show as well as making sure it’s secluded enough so that we aren’t in the way of foot traffic. This will save us so much hassle on the Wednesday!

Link to Scouted Location Pics: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-2je9DoQyhpplRbViDKd_A09_vSKVydK?usp=sharing

Our choice on location for the inside club scenes have been changed around several times as we’ve tried to adapt to our time constraints, availability and just general workload. Initially, we toyed with the idea of filming somewhere like Miscellania, Yah Yahs or Dove Club. However, the process of getting random people to sign release forms and just getting approval from the club owners would be quite a complicated and possibly an impossible process. Then we looked into creating our own event at one of the art studios in the old Nicholson Building and patrons would be notified about filming prior to arriving. However once again, the organisation of said event and the safety precautions that would have needed to be carried out were just too overwhelming and too tight of a turn around. The Black Box at uni was the last suggestion before we settled on filming at Alex’s house, as it better suited our availability and it meant that we could have loud music, props e.g. drinks and dancing without stressing about damaging the uni space or having noise complaints. We will take the time the day before we shoot to set up the space and make it look as club-like as possible e.g. buying black fabric to drape on the walls, renting DJ lights and sourcing extras to make it look packed in. 

Busy week next week but so excited to start production!

Our Monday and Wednesday class time this week was spent establishing the characters and general story of our film, all of us working on the written rules and dialogue within the story. So far, we’ve produced a vomit script that we will continue refining until it’s ready for out shooting days. I believe the comedic aspects will really shine with the absurdist characters and costuming which we’ve quickly established in our early draft. The written rules that will be seen on screen will also bring a light-heartedness and reinforce the satirical nature of the story. I think what we need to work more on is the dialogue between our two protagonists, making sure it feels natural, witty and stays true to their character profiles.

This coming week will be pre-production crunch time; Finalising actors, our locations, equipment, props and costume. Whilst I do feel nervous about the tight turn around, I have full faith in our team to pull it all together and to adapt with any changing of plans or challenges me face.

Speaking of challenges (hehe), I think I’ll biggest one will be finding the perfect but also the most authentic location to shoot our clubbing/party scenes. Working with sound and lighting in the space will definitely require patience and flexibility as well, as it is not a sterile, controlled space. However, because we are hoping to have a strong soundtrack (using local Melbourne artists) and poetic voiceover, I think we will be able to work around this obstacle. I put my hand up to do lighting for the film, and I feel both incredibly excited and rather nervous about the task. I don’t have a ton of experience with lighting, especially artistic/surreal lighting and if we are working with a short timeframe, I see potential issues arising e.g. pulling of the creative vision and taking too long to set up. I do feel as though I have a lot of support and helping hands from the group and would feel comfortable asking for assistance if I feel like I’m struggling. In regard to lighting, I want to explore spotlights, highlighting certain features of the night out e.g. USB’s, High Heels, Clothes, Bloody noses, Kebabs. As well as full body glowing and a general dreamy, ethereal feel to the characters and setting which will hopefully set the surrealist tone of the film.

Lighting Inspo: https://www.pinterest.com.au/jazminlissarrague/night-out-in-naarm/lighting/

Vomit Script: Operation SuperStar

Collaborative Contract:

Our group is aiming for a short film that is technically ambitious, professional looking, visually beautiful and poetic. We all want a HD mark for our work and would love for it to be a standout amongst the class and previous work. We envision our artefact’s ultimate destination to be on YouTube, our portfolios and submitted and hopefully screened at festivals and film competitions; something we’re really proud to show to the world! The level of commitment we want to achieve this will be high; divvying out roles according to our outside commitments and taking time out of uni/off work to shoot, scout locations and write the script. 

We will use Slack as the main form of communication in the group, using it to organise in-person meetings, shoot-days, ask questions and spitball ideas. We all expect each other to check messages and respond within a day. If commitments or issues arise, we will try our best to update each other and be as understanding as possible, things happen! If there’s sickness or people are overwhelmingly busy we will try our best to show up for each other and help out where needed. 

The assigning of roles are still a work in progress but based on our personal interest/strengths and general availability we’ve so far agreed on:

Pre-Production Roles

Writers: Everyone 

Producers: Individual tasks to be divvied up amongst everyone 

Production Roles 

Director: Alex

Directors Assistant: Claudia

Cinematographer: Jaden

Lighting: Jazz

Sound: Luci

Post Production 

Editing: Luci and Alex

Inspiration for project:

From our first brainstorm together, I’ve noticed inspiration from The Hero’s Journey, Edgar Wright (Specifically Scott Pilgrim and The World’s End), Wake in Fright and The Mighty Boosh. We are all interested in a more surrealist storyline, potentially a cyclical ending, with a voiceover throughout. We also want to delve into in an eclectic colour palette, experimental lighting e.g.  Spotlights, strobe lights, neon, high saturation, and varied cinematography e.g. both a professional high-quality camera and a home video style camcorder.

These interests/ examples are in our Pinterest board below!

Pinterest Mood Board: https://pin.it/5Bq3qLXFH