Throughout my life, when I’m lucky enough to get a film into a festival, a certificate like this arrives in the mail. A participation certificate, an award or receipt of in-competition selection into this or that international film festival.

I’m usually indoors when it comes – working on a screenplay. Sometimes it’s arrives in a quiet email. Sometimes it’s a letter which comes with great pizza deals and white good sales. Other times it’s registered mail and I don’t hear the knock (I check my peep-hole regularly but always seem to miss the knock).

This particular certificate is from Germany. It’s nice. Maybe it’s worth a frame. It arrived with a well-produced booklet, stills from A Stone Throw and a short synopsis. I always have to haul out myWorld Atlas to see where the city is. Sometimes I get the country wrong. It’s always interesting to read how other cultures summarise a film you’ve been working on for years. I’m probably in bed – or writing – or web-designing or having a coffee with friends when my films screen.

I work from home – so I’m usually here.

I’m about to shoot Yellow, a no-budget feature film – right here in my house. I’m writing this BLOG on my non-linear editing machine and the finished film will be streamed online to a distribution server in HD quality. I’ve had my eye on several online distributors and I’m watching Telstra (yes, the phone company). By the time Yellow is cut, scored and mixed, I will probably YouTube the film for international festival pre-selection, do a few podcasts for publicity and then walk around the corner to post my Blu-Ray disc for big screen viewing.

Most of this time, I might as well be wearing underpants.

In the Can
Short Film Screenings
Saturday 13th, 8pm Bar 138, 138 Barrack Street Perth

The In-the-Can people offered to donate teh door sales at a local film night. Come along if you’ve nothing to do this Saturday night and you’re in Perth. We’ll probably make enough at the door to pay for batteries, sandwich bread and tape for the Yellow shoot.

I’m really keen to make a no-budget film before I do the budget one. I want a fun, creative, happy experience before I embark on another Kafka-esque procedural nightmare.

Hope to see you there.

This is a picture of us writing. Notice how there’s only one of us at the computer? I’m on a beanbag. Phil does the writing, and for those of you who know me well, I talk. I’m actually taking random photos with my new CanonA430 (I highly recommend it) while Phil taps away.

Lately, we’ve been pleasantly surprised by our work. Twelve years on it looks like we have a worthy mani character (Katy) and a good, solid story.

This is how we got to the screenplay on this particular rewrite:

1. We used the Clare Dobbin Matrix to analyse the existing story
2. We broke the story down into about 16 sequences, tracking our main character
3. We titled each sequence (for main character) and made micro-notes on 3 x 5 cards
4. We discussed the hell out of each sequence from the main character’s story POV
5. We attacked the screenplay scene by scene

It’s taken us about 3 weeks. That’s 2 full days writing per week. It’s nice to be able to say that. Feels like we’ve achieved something.

So far we’re up to page 20 and we haven’t lost sight of our main character, Katy.

My Life otherwise . . .

I get up at 6am, check my Curtin students’ online assignments and queries, do website updates, meet with potential clients, chase existing ones for unpaid invoices, continue working on current client websites, mark student assignments, eat stuff and finally write with Phil until . . . well . . . now roughly. Which gives me 6hrs sleep.

All I want to do is sleeeeeeeep.

I wonder what it would be like to die?

I read somewhere that if humans were immortal, the average age would be about 200 years (based on the number of fatal household accidents alone).

I’ve been working my guts out doing websites all week (day and night) and now I have to mark 50+ online student usability exercises. Ugh!

I got a glimpse of my girlfriend this week. She lives really far away and – as I ride a CRX 1 Flat bar road bike – it takes me a good 2 hours to get there. Especially after riding from Como to teaching Saturday acting classes in Hammersley.

I got to her place late and then had to leave at 5am to get to Freo on time – where my parents were celebrating their 4oth wedding anniversary.

Hi Ma & Da. Congratulations!

Now for the meat of this post. Read carefully:

It’s a nice ride. For every difficult hill, there’s a downward slope. I top around 50kmh (peak at 60kmh) but try to cruise along at around 30kmh to conserve energy. You never know when you might need to sprint. I’m mostly on bike tracks – I don’t like to ride on sand.

My bike has no shocks, so my energy isn’t wasted. I get to feel the ground. Whatever power I have goes straight to the road via my hard Shimano wheels. Just bought a couple of bullbars for handling. I was getting into a physical rut. Now I can fidget as I ride. Move my hands around the bullbars so I don’t stress any body parts. Now I can really ride hard, but with a bit of contrast so I don’t lose perspective. Don’t seize up inside.

I don’t ride fast – just cruise.

On a nice, solid foundation.

You never really know when you’re going to run out of energy. It’s hard to tell which direction the wind will come from. You have to be on guard. Look for the signs. Gauge your ride. Be clear about your goal – and why you are riding, not driving in the first place.

Right, filmmakers?

I ride a bicycle and this is what I see. When you ride a bicycle (as opposed to driving a car) the world changes. Your approach to life changes. My approach to filmmaking changes. The body becomes a metaphor, the road – life – each hill an obstacle.

You are using your own power. You are thousands of years of human technology. You are losing fat, strengthening your muscles, heart, lungs, entire physical wellbeing.Problems dissolve. You de-stress.

Coffee at Just Espresso, Como