Four months in...

I'm four months into 2018 and I realise I haven't really been saying too much on this little blog/website of mine. Maybe it's because things have been moving so quickly, I haven't really been able to pause and reflect. 

Today I have that opportunity.

I'm lucky enough to be one of the newish (new was in Feb!) interns at Channel 31 Melbourne. I've learnt so much in my time there so far, skills I hadn't really even tried to pick up before. I can now edit with confidence, light a small space with confidence and supervise or even use a camera with confidence.

The old me would say "oh that's not really what I'm good at", and let someone else do it. But now I am eager to learn anything that lands in my lap. 

It has meant my writing went on the back burner for a little bit. However, I am now taking part in the Dirty Thirty poetry challenge, also known as National Poetry Writing Month. I've written a poem for all ten days of April so far, and have tried to keep as close to the prompt as possible. It's been fantastic to be apart of a great community where all the poets are supportive, but you are also able to keep yourself accountable for reading and writing.

If you're a poet or writer, I strongly recommend you get amongst it!

Anyway, that's all from me for now.

xxmk

That's Not Me

Last night I saw a lovely Aussie indie film That's Not Me at Kino Cinemas. I highly recommend it for anyone who is working in the film and television industry (because there are so many characters that I recognised from my day to day life) but I also recommend it if you love going to the movies. It's so heartfelt and beautiful. I even had the luck of meeting writer/actor  Alice Foulcher  when we came out of the cinema. 

There's something in the zeitgeist at the moment in Australian film and tv - there are a few things I've seen where the premise is someone struggling in the industry. I was even apart of the process of making a webseries HActresses  (which launched on Monday) which deals with two women trying to get a big break. There was another web series launched at Melbourne WebFest  which dealt with similar themes. I even wrote a few short webisodes about two housemates struggling as writers and directors (yet to be produced as other projects got in the way).

But what I find that is incredible about the Australian industry, is that even though we are small and very interconnected, when similar ideas pop up - there are hundreds of things that also make them unique.

That's Not Me  got me thinking about why I want to act, why I want to write and why I want to direct films. At first I thought it was because my Aunty gifted me this little star when I was three years old...

My little Hollywood star - so I don't need a real one ;)

... but delving deeper it's because the process of  making a film or episode is like being a cog in a big machine. No matter how long or short your stay on set, everyone has an important role to play and when the machine is up and running, it's a fantastic thing to be apart of. You spend so much time together and there is always something to learn from someone, even if it's not something you thought you'd be interested in.

The team behind HActresses  - photo by Sarah Walker 

Every set, every project, every director, actor, writer, gaffer, soundie, cinematographer, set designer, makeup artist, extra, set, continuity, producer, art designer, manger  has something different and new to bring to the table. No set is the same and gosh, that's why I love it so much.  You are constantly prepared for and expecting the unexpected. I've learnt so much on big productions that I was able to bring that experience to smaller productions, and then in turn, bring the experience of smaller productions to bigger ones again.

Little old me, chatting with my DP Nick Kerr on the set of No Matter What,  a short I wrote and directed.   Photo by Stephen Loats.

I can't wait to get into the editing process for my short film No Matter What,  it will be another new experience for me.  

This blog post unintentionally turned into a love letter to the industry, rather than a short and sweet analysis of it. Whoops. Back to the usual stoic responses to life soon... 

xxmk 

Double checking the footage with the cast and crew of No Matter What. Photo by Stephen Loats