Category: Work & Money

First read-through

February 28, 2011

I got to pretend I was an actress! At least in voice.

Yesterday we had our first read through of our feature extract/short film in the park down the road. I read the lines of the female protagonist which, strangely enough, threw me back to a Year 8 audition for a school play. I played an older woman so I sat and rocked in a chair stroking an imaginary cat while delivering the lines. Where that performance landed me a key role, this read through didn’t quite hit the same high notes. However, it’s Rachael Taylor’s job to deliver the performance in the film, so it doesn’t really matter that my read through tone was a bit off.

The read through allowed us to analyse the characters’ motives, flag bits that didn’t feel right and familiarise ourselves with the script and sequencing. Not only was it interesting and appealing to that 13 version of myself, but it was really helpful for us all to share our thoughts and gain a better understanding of how we can bring it to life in the creative process.

I’m looking forward to more read throughs, and bringing my A game to the next character…or the scene descriptions.

A meeting but not by my definition

February 17, 2011

We had a meeting today to talk about upcoming projects and some administration stuff, however it didn’t quite live up to my expectation of a meeting.

Coming from a bureaucracy where meetings are scheduled in advance, go for the allotted time (never do they finish early for fear of actually doing some work) and usually have an agenda. Well this was nothing like that.

First up, I was the only one out of four to not have a computer. Although I’d asked Gin and J if I needed to bring my computer before we left home, I don’t think they heard me. So instead I rocked up with a good old fashioned pen and notebook while they set up their power sources around the table.

I then proceeded to get almost bored out of my brains while they all sat down and started working away. I had expectations of discussion, debate and direction, but instead it was a little bit of conversation on various topics all at once in no particular order and with others paying attention to their computer and not making eye contact followed by long tracts of silence save for the sound of keys typing.

So I have learned that:

  • I must always take my computer to a meeting, even if I’m only surfing the net at least I’ll fit in
  • I must write the agenda and set the pace if I feel the need for a meeting to be so structured around my preferences
  • When all else fails, kick off your shoes and head for the couch

At least coffee is still a feature of this new style of meeting.

Six years of jobs in Mildura

January 28, 2011

It’s been an industrious six years in Mildura. Given that today is my last day of paid employment, I thought I’d share a few professional highlights, in no particular order.

* Any of the really swish professional looking shots were taken by the great Darren Seiler and the one from today was taken by Kristian Haggblom.

Catch of the Day: Atlantic salmon

January 9, 2011

The restaurant where I work doesn’t have specials. The only items subject to change on any given day are the house dips and the catch of the day.

The other day a repeat customer came in and asked after the catch of the day, the Atlantic salmon. He first asked if it was local, which was easy to answer given our inland location.

He then asked where it came from. Having been a member of Slow Food I understand the importance of food provenance and also eating regionally and seasonally. Now I’m not a fish or seafood expert by any means, but I told him that I assumed it would be Australian and most likely from Tasmania.

The next question was whether it was wild, and I responded that I thought it would be farmed. You see I’ve met people from Tasmania who are involved in aquaculture and fish farming. Plus on one holiday there, I saw the fish farms from a distance.

I offered to check with the chef, which the customer then asked me to do. Unfortunately I didn’t get a particularly forthcoming answer from the chefs. They said “Well where is the Atlantic?”. I pride myself on my geography, so I know that it is the ocean between the Americas and Europe and Africa.

So I went back to the customer, explained the geography lesson I’d received from the kitchen and he was appeased. It was as though he knew that all along and was testing me. I must say I felt a little foolish. But now I just feel foolish because my research shows that I was right in the first place.

Salmon was first introduced to Australia in the 1800s, with eggs arriving on sailing ships, for sport fishing, though it wasn’t particularly successful. Then in the 1960s, eggs from Canada were brought in to the Snowy River Mountain Hydroelectric Scheme lakes, however it was too warm for them to establish a colony.

Tasmania has been farming salmon, Atlantic salmon, since the mid 1980s. Though it may be an introduced species, just because its name is reminiscent of its origin doesn’t mean that’s where the only ones come from. It is not as specific to one region as Parma ham or Champagne.

So eat Atlantic salmon and know that it’s Australian, farmed and good for you.

I found my information about how Sammy the Atlantic Salmon found his way to Australia on these websites:

http://www.australian-aquacultureportal.com/industrygroups/salmon.html

http://www.tasmaniansalmon.com.au/consumer/about/history.html

Bank of Big Sister is no longer lending

January 6, 2011

The Bank of Big Sister has two customers. Two poor credit rating customers by the names of Bro #1 and Bro #2.

This should really come as no surprise as it all started some 20 years ago when Bro #2 took advantage of his kindergarten hours to steal $10 I thought I had cleverly hidden in my room while I was at school. I never saw that $10 again. He also stole from Bro #1, which brought about some fun conversations in Bro #1’s sleep. “Bro #2 give me back my $10” was heard in the wee hours of one evening.

As horrid as my brothers can be, they can also be exceptionally charming and they also know how to press all of big sister’s buttons. They manage to wheedle money out of me by finding the weakest spot and pressing until it caves in. The weakest spot just so happens to be a desire to make things okay for them and to help them get through ‘tough’ times and the pressing usually involves them being extraordinarily nice to me and seemingly very considerate.

Yesterday was a perfect example. Bro #2 called to ask if he could borrow some money, despite his outstanding debt and having just paid 50% of it back three days earlier. My steely exterior was really just the density of steel wool, with plenty of cracks and gaps. He begged that it was for a date with, in a coy voice, “some girl”. Crumble, crumble, crumble went my resolve as I desperately tried to bolster my steely exterior.

“But I just need it to put some fuel in my car,” continued Bro #2, sensing his prey was weakening. The how much started at $50 and went down to $20 as I managed to bite my tongue from responding as quickly as he thought I would.

I asked when I would expect repayment, to which Bro #2 replied “I’ll get Mum to give it to you”. You see my mother manages my brothers’ money, giving them small allowances, while making sure there is money in their account for loan repayments and paying their phone bills online. They have us all twisted around their little fingers, even Other Sister gets hit up for money, despite the fact that the boys probably earn more than her – frugality didn’t get passed on to the male gene in my family.

So, against my better judgement, but with a lecture of “you really need to learn how to budget your money and understand what its value is and what you should be spending it on” my steely exterior crumbled like tin foil and bled plastic money.

My blogging new years resolution

January 1, 2011

With a bit of encouragement from dailypost, I’m pledging to write a blog entry a day for 2011.

It sounds daunting and rather tricky. Yes, I have blogged daily for a whole week now, but my ENFP personality type hasn’t kicked in yet. I like to start things but I get bored after a while. There’s the perfect example of a monthly industry newsletter I created in one of my previous jobs. At first it was great fun, but then it grew tiresome as each month rolled by until it got to the point where I was like, “It doesn’t really matter if it comes out every two months now, does it?” And it was only a two-page email newsletter.

I think my blog activity of the past week can be attributed to an extra helping of available time, and that it’s pretty hot and I just want to stay inside.

Regardless, it’s a noble goal to write something to share with you every single day, so I’m going for it. The saying go hard or go home is resonating with me right now. Be prepared for all manner of content
(including photos and video), but I guess judging from my categories so far, it’s going to be about food, fashion, shopping, music and dancing, travel, cleaning, film and work. That plus the brand new experience that will be me living in LA.

Please stick with me, encourage me if you think I’m falling off the bandwagon and let me know your thoughts via the comments section.

New year, new habits.

On the job, reading scripts

December 30, 2010

I read my first script today. Well not technically the first, but my first script as a PROFESSIONAL in the film industry.

It’s an upcoming project for Yellow Brick Films and it is a horror/thriller, the one I was doing research for a few days ago. We’ve already ascertained that this genre is not my strong suit, but reading a script whilst thinking “how will we make this work, where will we find this location, who will play this character” is very different to seeing the end product with the special effects, clever editing, eerie soundtrack and gruesome visuals all rolled frighteningly together with the intent to make me squeal and squirm.

Being such a novice and with only one previous script read under my belt, my friend Richard Gray’s early version of Summer Coda in 2006, I wasn’t really sure how I should approach the task.

  • Should I just read and read and read my way through the hundred odd pages of Courier New typfaced script or pace my way through it with loo breaks and coffee pit stops?
  • Should I read it onscreen or print it out?
  • Should I make notes, comments and suggestions as I read?
  • Should I proof read it (I am a pretty talented proof reader and usually struggle to hold back proofing urges all the time, particularly when reading restaurant menus) and pick up the typos? 
  • Should I read it while munching on popcorn, just to get in the cinema swing of things?
Reading scripts
Isn't this how they read the scripts in Entourage?

In the end I read it onscreen (common sense and frugality dictated that I wasn’t going to print out 100 pages if I was paying for the ink cartridges). I read it all in one two-hour lounge session on the couch with an already brewed pot of coffee and only small breaks to get some chocolate and respond to a message on Skype from a friend with “Am reading Richie’s script for a horror/thriller right now, otherwise I’d suggest getting on for a chat” and to tell my brother to be quiet because I was working (even though it looked like a big old internet surf session). 

My long-held aversion to the Courier New font was overcome. For some reason it did not bother me one iota, far unlike receiving email replies in that font after my messages in clear and simple Arial. I think that font just works for scripts. So I will accept the industry standard font and embrace it … but only for scripts.

I made some notes as I went, marking down the page numbers with my questions such as “Is this mystery character Amanda I haven’t read about before supposed to be Claire, did she have a name change?” and making  a couple of brief comments. Not even a page though. I mostly immersed myself into the script, cheering on the bad decisions the characters always make in a horror film. Only once did my concentration waver, and I put that down to a crick in my back caused from un-ergonomic posture on the couch.

So now I’m excited. I’m revved up and ready to make a movie, even if it is one that might scare me half to death at the end, or bludgeon me to a bloody pulp in the process.

I’m scared just thinking about it

December 26, 2010

I don’t do scary movies very well. I am big on anticipation so I jump, scream or break out in a petrified sweat before the scary bit even happens. 

The thought of sitting in a darkened cinema being surrounded by frightening sounds, screams and super scary activities makes my skin crawl. Perhaps because I get so swept up into a film that it becomes my reality for a couple of hours is the reason why I don’t like scary movies. I can’t make that delineation between what’s real and what’s not and so I feel like I could be a possible victim in the storyline.

One of the more memorable moments was when I watched Jurassic Park on a school outing to the cinema in Year 9. It was during the scene where the kids are hiding in the kitchen and the raptor is stalking around outside them. The moment the raptor’s head appeared in the round porthole window, I screamed loudly. I was the only person in the cinema screaming. And I got teased mercilessly for that.

So it’s quite ironic that I am researching horror films right now. Just looking at the poster art makes me a little squeamish, so I’m thankful for the bright sunshine and birds chirping outside. Many of the titles are somewhat familiar, but I’ve only watched a handful of them.

So if you’re a horror fan, maybe you could help me out here. What type of scary movies do you like? What are your stand out horror films and why?

A secret new world

December 17, 2010

I’m moving to LA in February. All the way across the Pacific Ocean to the city, to another country.

But before getting to that point, I finished up my high flying, high paying marketing job and went to the Kimberley in remote north western Australia for a holiday and came home doing various bits and pieces to essentially bide my time.

One such random opportunity that presented itself was waitressing. I have never waitressed before. I somehow managed to get to my thirties without having worked at the hospitality coal-face. I have had plenty of experience on the other side of the plate but making the trips between kitchen and table was a whole other world. A whole other world of scary.

My foray into the world of carrying plates, taking orders and smiling sweetly to customers has come about because I want to overcome the fear I had, and I want to challenge myself.

The thing I notice most clearly are during those pre and post shift walks down the main restaurant strip to and from the restaurant. Here are all these others, people I’d never really noticed before, in their head to toe black uniforms. Suddenly I am catapaulted into a whole new world where flat shoes reign and aprons are standard attire. I am one of them, I am a waitress.

I don’t hold back the urge to smile and nod knowingly to these people in the street setting up or clearing away tables. These are the people who’ve seen it all. They’ve been run off their feet as they juggle plates, egos and customers. They scrape plates and set tables. And once they start a shift they don’t stop running.

So as I savour the time honoured hospitality tradition of a knock off drink, I feel like I’ve been initiated into a secret new world. Thank you for coming, I hope you enjoyed your evening.