Hi Ron,
We have been in Wyndham and now Kununurra. We finish in the Bungle Bungles.
Our film is called “Satellite Boy,” written and directed by Catriona McKenzie. She and I began talking about the film over three years ago!
We are using an ARRI Alexa, shooting ARRI Raw with a Codex recorder, all are working well in the heat and the dust. Dust… we have had enough!
Equipment from Red Apple is almost brand new, so in excellent nick and well maintained by them in Sydney and here by Focus Puller Gavin Head and second assistant Daniel Walsh. So we have a great camera crew, one electrics Mark McCumber, one grip Greg McKie, one lugger Keith Bichard and no continuity…a first for me!
These guys are all doing an amazing job and it is like the early days of Oz film making to see the entire crew help with a wrap after our few lights and cables have to be put back in the ute.
Our two non-actor indigenous children have no dialogue coach, so they have to be spoon fed, line by line. Overlaps are killing sound, so massive ADR will be required. A very frail David Gulpilil added his wonderful face and presence for the first few days.
I had signed on for eight weeks. We ended up with six. So it has been hard for Catriona to see so many great scenes chucked out. However the crew moral is wonderful and everyone continues to smile. The Art department has been busting their guts to produce some amazing set pieces, ably lead by Production Designer Sam Hobbs.
Hope you like the snap of the local tracking vehicle for our kids’ bike riding scenes. It has a pair of scissors in the ignition and requires a push start to get going. Quite good when underway, however. (Bum on camera left is Focus puller Gavin Head. Bum on camera right is Greg McKie).
Cheers,
Geoffrey
