Most of the film is shot on Super 16mm film, however the protagonist, Adele, shoots video on her DV handycam throughout the film – a comment on how she as somebody with intimacy issues mediates her experiences through the camera, and the voyeuristic nature of being a tourist, as well as a way of getting inside her head as a character. Most of the time the footage is diagetic, inherent to the film, as video she or others is clearly shooting as part of the action. At some other particular times we are using DV footage as emotional atmospheres.

Michael Williams, our wonderful DOP, and myself went down to the bay in Melbourne last weekend to capture some sunset over the water and later the moon, both important textures in the film. Speaking of textures, some of the way the DV camera handles the light on water and other parts of the landscape is just beautiful! Who really needs all that resolution, all the time? This is ungraded, raw DV handycam footage.

Some pictures of our expedition…

Michael Williams, DOP, Fine Art Photographer, Beach Lover

Michael Williams, DOP, Fine Art Photographer, Handycam Appreciator

Coastline Settings in Continental Drift

Synopsis

Adele is a young Australian woman struggling to find herself after a break-up. She travels in Croatia in 2001, not long after Yugoslavia was torn apart by war. Staying in an empty hostel by the sea, she meets Antonija and Aleks, whose stories of love and loss reveal some of the painful fractures these conflicts created within families and communities. Contrasts between cultures and experiences mean that Adele becomes a catalysing force, creating change in the lives of people she has these intense, yet brief, encounters with. This moody, romantic drama, set amongst beautiful landscapes, and the rich culture and passionate people of the region, explores the uncanny intimacy that can develop between strangers, and the poignancy of ephemeral romance.

Coastline References for Continental Drift

Production Details

Director: Anna Helme
Producer: Ruth Morris
Shoot Dates: September 2011
Duration: 15mins (approx)
Shooting Format: Super 16mm Film
Location/Studio: Melbourne Metro & Bays

“MAXINE MCQUEEN. WRITER. LIBRARIAN. DILETTANTE. TROUBLE-MAKER.”  That’s how Max likes to think of herself. But in reality, she saves her insouciance for the pages of her zine, and is a total geek when it comes to girls. Shyness is Nice is a short film about a quiet type who gently ponders the philosophy of love, while living in a fantasy world where romance and chaos swirl around her, sweeping her into the arms of cute girls wherever she goes. In reality, she is a shy librarian who thinks she is too awkward to ever find love, but maybe there’s a dork like her out there somewhere..

Max (Emily Goddard) & Frances (Annie Last)

Max (Emily Goddard) & Frances (Annie Last)

Ingrid (Kelli Jean Drinkwater) & Calvin (Zero)

Gerry (Paul Bourke)

Some of the hard-working crew... 1st AC (Rudolf Fitzgerald Leonard) & D.O.P. (Joshua Aylett)

Ghoulbert Taking His Lessons - photo by Mariana Jocic

I finished writing and directing my first film of the year last week. Just got the rushes back, they look great! After working for 15 years with (mostly SD) video, shooting on film (16mm) is a revelation. The Kodak 500T we used looks grainy but gorgeous. I took the opportunity to be a bit more creative directing the camera than I have previously, using more moving shots, creating a very constructed, yet hopefully dynamic, comic feel.

Big thanks to all the cast and crew, who were a joy. A special shout-out goes to Kathy and Matt, who were involved for many weeks prior to the shoot, and had so much great input on so many levels. Big thanks to Paul, for his character whom the film was based upon (which morphed somewhat through the screenwriting process) and to Marian for her original inspiration and ongoing support.

But I’ll save the full credits for the end of the film, when I’ve finished editing it For now, here’s some production stills from the shoot, taken by the lovely and talented photographer and filmmaker Mariana Jocic.

Stephen (Zac Gower) and Elliott (Kevin Newman)

Stephen (Zac Gower) & Goat - Photo by Mariana Jocic

Slasher Kitty - Photo by Mariana Jocic

Director Checks Frame on Bag Cam - Photo by Mariana Jocic

Ghoulbert's Goat - photo by Mariana Jocic

Shadows of Menace - Photo by Mariana Jocic

This program is a survey of recent radical gender/queer and trans video from Australia, curated by Anna Helme and Kelli Jean Drinkwater. “Galactic Sex Wars” rockets us into a futuristic sci-fi world where homos and heteros face off across time and space. “Jorey Corson”, “Ultimate! Dance! Video!” and “Drag Acts” address the performativity of gender, featuring queer and transgender bodies in motion, in masks and moustaches, camping it up in the streets of Berlin, tumbling across an empty sports field at night, inhabiting both the intimate and theatrical. “M.C. G.F.C.” addresses the global fashion crisis, evoking Ru Paul’s “we’re born naked, and the rest is drag”. “With Him of All People” takes a relationship drama into parallel universes of alternate gender. “Procession” is a slice of reality, albeit from a bent perspective, from the Camp Betty weekend of radical sex and politics in 2007, featuring a performative “protest”, aiming to dislocate commonplace demonstration cliches, and generally disrupt the suburbs of Melbourne.

• Galactic Sex Wars (13:54) – Robbie McEwan
• Jorey Corson (4:10) – Corey coda & Jackson monsternighttimepower
• M.C. G.F.C. (4:21) – Anna Helme
• Procession (6:51)- Anna Helme
• Ultimate! Dance! Video! (3:31)- Sarakaka and Holly Fluxx
• With Him of All People (6:24)- Kt spit and Cyd Nova
• Flipbook (0:10)- Robbie McEwan & Anna Helme
• Drag Acts (13:32)- Frances Barrett, Kate Blackmore & Anastasia Zaravinos

"Galactic Sex Wars" - Robbie McEwan

"Jorey Corson" - Corey & Jackson

"Procession" - Anna Helme

"With Him of All People" - Kt Spit & Cyd Nova

"Ultimate! Dance! Video!" - Sara Kaka Harro & Holly Fluxx

"Drag Acts" - Frances Barrett, Kate Blackmore & Anastasia Zaravinos

"M.C. G.F.C." - Anna Helme

"Flipbook" - Robbie McEwan & Anna Helme

Image from Newspaper Mock-Up Prop for "Scrabbled Eggs"

It’s 11:37pm on a Friday night and I’m at home working on my film… must be production time! Yes shooting for “Scrabbled Eggs” starts in less than 2 weeks. This is a digital image I just made to use in a mock-up newspaper that the main character, Missy Spelling-It will be reading whilst sitting in the cafe… More soon!