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We're back with part five of our "Fun Etc" miniseries. We pick up two months from Sophie's first day of principle photography, to find out what's been happening since our last episode. We chat about how she's gone in her second block of shooting, what kind of toll the film has been taking on the rest of her life, and what she sees as the future of this project.  

Welcome to part three of our "Fun Etc" miniseries. Chris stopped by to chat with writer/director Sophie Townsend on their day off on Saturday the 12th of September, after four days of shooting. They discussed what challenges the cast & crew have faced so far, including how to deal with things like kissing, sex, & nudity in a film.  Stay tuned for more updates coming soon!

Welcome to part two of our "Fun Etc" miniseries. Chris stopped by set on their first day of shooting to chat with writer/director Sophie, DP Nathan Barillaro, and AD Jenni Townsend. They went over the challenges they’ve faced so far, the film’s visual style, their approach to coverage & improvisation, and lots more. Stay tuned for more updates coming soon!

Welcome to The Movie Pack's very first miniseries! Over the next few weeks we'll be following the production of the new independent feature film "Fun Etc" from writer/director Sophie Townsend. Sophie is a member of Amalume Films, and has already worked on four feature films - one of which was her directorial debut "Pretty Good Friends". Amalume Films also includes director/cinematographer Tom Swinburne. So if you haven't already, check out our episode with Tom to hear more about Sophie's background and the other films she's worked on so far. We'll be following the production of "Fun Etc" in as much detail as possible over the coming weeks, covering all the logistics & technical details, as well as the highs, lows, and challenges that come with taking on such a big project. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming days!

In this week's episode we chat to Paul Ireland, director, and Damian Hill, writer & star of the new independent feature Pawno.  The film recently screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival and will soon be screening again at Cinefest OZ.

In today's episode we chat to award winning playwright and screenwriter Lally Katz about her debut feature film “Stories I Want To Tell You In Person”, which was adapted from her 2013 one woman show.  "Stories I Want To Tell You In Person" is screening as part of this year's Melbourne International Film Festival. Head on down to ACMI on Sunday the 16th of August to see this gem on the big screen. It will also be screening on ABC on August 20th and 27th at 10pm.

In this episode we chat with Margot Nashabout her incredibly moving new documentary “The Silences”, which is screening as part of this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival. Margot is a Sydney based Screenwriter, Director, and Academic. She initially began her career as an actor for film & TV, before moving on to creating her own works, including the features "Vacant Possession" and "Call Me Mum". "The Silences" is screening at MIFF on Saturday the 8th of August at 4:15pm. So if you can make it, head on down and check out this brilliant documentary!

This episode we chat with Fran Derham and Clare Plueckhahn who make up the directing/producing partnership Cos We Can. They've worked on a range of projects including Horseplay, So It Goes, the award winning feature documentary First Love, as well as commercials for Schweppes, Kmart, and Rip Curl. 

This episode we chat with location manager Drew Rhodes about all the ins and outs of securing and managing locations for film and TV. Drew has worked on a whole bunch of productions from both Australia and the US, including the features Animal Kingdom, My Year Without Sex, & I, Frankenstein, and TV shows The Pacific, It's a Date, House Husbands, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Twentysomething, and Satisfaction.

This week we're excited to bring you our very first live episode, recorded at the St Kilda Film Festival with the one and only Adam Zwar. In addition to our regular audio podcast, we also have a video version you can check out on our website! Adam Zwar is probably the closest we have to a renaissance man here in the Australian film industry. He is a writer/actor/producer, and is co-founder of production company Highwire Films. Adam is perhaps best known for co-creating & starring in the televisions shows Wilfred &Lowdown, as well as the factual Agony series on the ABC. We chat to him about carving out your own niche in a very competitive industry, and the journey he's taken from his first short films, all the way to getting noticed in Hollywood. Thanks again to The St Kilda Film Festival for hosting us and make sure to keep listening till the end to hear Adam answer some questions for the Audience! We will be returning to our fortnightly release for next weeks episode so stay tuned!

We're very pleased to bring you a special surprise episode with Ariel Kleiman, the writer/director of the brand new feature film Partisan, which received a phenomenal reception at the 2015 Sundance film festival and has only just been released here in Australia today. Ariel took us through the process of putting together the film, as well as his thoughts on creating a unique cinematic experience, his directing methodology, working with children & first-time actors, and a whole bunch of other great tips for young filmmakers. Before tackling Partisan, Ariel wrote & directed a number of widely acclaimed short films including Deeper Than Yesterday and Young Love, both of which also did very well at Sundance and a whole bunch of other festivals. Make sure you check out those below, and if you're in Australia head on down to a cinema and catch Partisan on the big screen! You can find participating cinemas at the film's official website.

This week we're excited to have our first non-Australian guest, writer/director Andy Blackburn, who has recently made the move from the UK to LA. He's been working in advertising for eleven years, which formed the basis for his excellent debut feature Being Nice. We delved deep into the nitty gritty details of the film's production, and covered a whole bunch of topics including exactly how he put together such a great film for an incredibly low budget, his directing methodology, working with improvisation, and the respective merits of making commercials, shorts, and longer films. Both Clay & Chris really loved Being Nice, so head on over to VHX where you can watch this great indie flick right now for only a few dollars! 

This week Clay & Chris chat to Eddie Tamir, owner of the Cameo, Classic and Lido Cinemas as well as distribution company Champion Pictures. He is also the current festival director of the Jewish International Film Festival. We had a great discussion about about film distribution in contemporary Australia, the future for cinemas, and how he operates as an independent distributor in Australia. Eddie has a great love of cinema and has worn many hats in the industry. He studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York, autobiographical storytelling for the performing writer under Spalding Gray at the Atlantic Centre for the Arts, and writing/directing at the VCA. Early on, Eddie began looking to revitalise old theaters and cinemas in Melbourne which eventually let him to open the Classic & Cameo cinemas. His newest project, the Lido Cinemas in Hawthorn, is set to launch in late June this year. Points of Discussion:  Building the Lido, how he decided to build it in Hawthorn. Dealing with piracy, and how he engages with his audiences. Screening independent and foreign language films. Engage with local audiences. Rebuilding the old and rundown cinemas of Melbourne for a modern audience. Studying at the Lee Strasberg Institute and the Atlantic Centre for the Arts. The state of Australian Film in Cinemas and why aren’t we going to see Australian Films. Digital distribution & the future of cinemas.

This week we chat with acclaimed director of photography Greg Harrington. Greg has been working in the camera department for almost thirty years and has shot a wide variety of projects. His work ranges from TV shows & narrative films, to music documentaries & concert films for artists like Beyonce, Rage Against The Machine, Katy Perry, Pink, Metallica, Queen, & the king of pop himself Michael Jackson. Greg talks us through his long & illustrious career, starting out as a news camera assistant, all the way through to his move to the L.A. & working on the cult hit comedy series Arrested Development.   Points of Discussion: The role of the DP. Relationship between the DP & Director. Relationship between the DP & Cast. The freelance lifestyle. Hierarchy of the Camera Department. Being pigeonholed. Camera Assisting for the news. Shooting live concerts. Shooting Arrested Development.   Recommendations: GregFargo - TV Series ClayFinding Vivian Maier ChrisHigh Maintenance

This week we chat with AWGIE winning screenwriter Ray Boseley. Ray has worked in almost every facet of the industry: as sound editor for two short films Drive and Compo, directing hit Australian TV series such as Round the Twist and Crash Zone, and writing everything from kids' animations like Sumo Mouse and SheZow to features like Return to Nim's Island. Ray has also written and assisted in the development of the animated series Get Ace, netting him an AWGIE for animation last year. Ray takes us through his entry into screenwriting in Australia and the process of writing for TV. A quick note: This episode was recorded in 2014, because of this the format of the show is slightly different from more current episodes. Since this episode Ray has also started working on Pirate Express.

This week we chat to Australian composer & music producer, Richard Pleasance. Discovering a talent for composing and playing music at a young age, Richard played in several influential Australian bands before forming Boom Crash Opera. Not long after leaving the group he found a place composing music for hit series Sea Change, along with City Homicide,  Emerald Falls, Kenny, and Conspiracy 365. Currently Richard is composing for Freemantle Media's drama TV series, Wentworth. We talk to him about composing music for both Film and TV, the ways directors and producers influence score, and how young composers can find work within the industry. Points of Discussion: Composing music for Film and TV series, and the difference between the two. The process of working with a director and producer as a composer. Working with music supervisors on features, and the important role they play in production. How composers approach making music to fit certain scenes or requirements from producers. As a composer finding work in other areas while pursuing Film and TV.

This week we talk to Australian animator Bernard Derriman, current supervising director of Bob's Burgers. Bernard has been working in animation since the early 90's after starting out as a inbetweener for Disney Australia. He worked on many Disney projects including Bambi 2, Cinderella 2 and Timon & Pumbaa, before moving over to the US to work on shows like Neighbours from Hell, and Hulu original series The Awesomes. We chat to him about the wonderful world of animation and what it's like working for some of the biggest studios in the world. Points of Discussion: Process of making Bob's Burgers. Hitting the milestone of 100 episodes. Directing episodes with the crew split up in different cities. His role of Supervising Director and working with other directors under him. Advice to young animators starting out. The shift in animation from handmade to digital workflow. Working with writers and creators for TV animation. Making the move from Australia to Hollywood, and getting an agent. 2D vs 3D animation.

This week we chat with Melbourne-based director & cinematographer Tom Swinburne from Amalume Films. So far, Tom has shot four microbudget feature films. These include Metaffliction (which you can watch for free online here), and Pretty Good Friends (which is due for a limited theatrical release very shortly). The fourth feature is set to be his directorial debut, and as of the time of the recording he was just about to head over to Indonesia to shoot it. We talk with Tom about deadlines, risk-taking, and the ins & outs of shooting a mumblecore-inspired feature with only one or two crew members.

This week Clay and Chris talk to Deb Fryers about her role as a publicist, producer, and manager.  Deb has worked on a number of classic Australian films including Noise, Charlie and Boots, as well as Clay's feature film Kenny, and she currently runs her own firm Deb Fryers Entertainment.  We had a great discussion on how filmmakers can market their work, including lots of stories behind the release of Kenny, and a few slightly embarrassing moments for Chris.  You can find more info at TheMoviePack.com