day 21 - jack is wrapped

This day was my last day of filming. I felt excited and upset because I would miss the crew and the cast but I was also happy and excited because I would get twelve hours sleep regularly again.

After the last take was finished on this day I was wrapped for the rest of this movie. Then the director came up to me and said "Thank you Jack for all your hard work and effort put into this film". Everybody started to clap. I felt happy, relieved and proud.

Over the whole time I have been on this film I have enjoyed every moment and I have learnt a lot about what some of the crew do and I have gained more experience about acting.

There is still so much I could have written on my blog - there are many crew members I have not interviewed for you and me. Some of them are...
- camera man
- director
- producer
- stand-by props
- make-up
- wardrobe
- lighting
- line producer
- producers assistant
- 1st, 2nd and 3rd AD (assistant director)
- sound recording
- grips and more

Thank you for reading my blog.

Bye

day 20 - second last day

On my second last day I filmed two scenes in a house. The tricky thing about filming in a house is that you have a limited amount of space. This makes it hard to fit all the equipment and the crew in.

After the first scene was finished my Grandma (my Dad's Mum) arrived. She had never been on set before so she found it very exciting and interesting. Having my Grandma on set was exciting for me because I could show her around my green room and show her all the equipment they use in the film. It was also great that she got to see me acting.

We started filming the second scene around 5:30 pm. I finished at 8:15 pm. It took over two hours to film this scene but this scene will go for only about one minute in the movie.

day 19 - lolly day

On Tuesday I had a night shot. A night shot is where you film at night. My call time was 4:45pm - a call time is the time when you are picked up by one of the production runners and driven to Unit Base. My wrap time (the time you finish filming) was 10:00pm. In the scene we filmed, my movie Mum got angry with me. I had to pretend that it was my real Mum getting angry so I could act scared and worried. The Director told me that if I felt scared I could act scared.

Because our agency people from Melbourne (Ian, Emma and Dior) couldn't get up to Sydney and visit me on set they sent me a big basket of lollies and chocolate. I felt so happy to get a suprise when I arrived at my green room today. Thank-you!

Chris - Location Manager

Q: Can you briefly explain what your role is? The role involves;Reading the script then working with the Producer, Director and Production designer to find the most suitable locations for the movie. Then negotiating to get permission to film there. I discuss things and liase with the police, owners of buildings, council and government agencies.
It's about co-ordinating and balancing the needs of the film crew and community where you're filming.

Q: Why is your job important? I'm between the film crew and the real world, connecting the two.

Q: What do you like about your job? Travelling! I travel a lot. I also like photography and being part of a collaborative effort to make a film.

Q: What don't you like about your job? Too much driving, the long hours and if I'm away from home for too long. On one job I was overseas for 8 months.


Q: What qualifications / education do you need? Drivers license, photography, liasing skills and a good understanding of the film making process.

Q: What other movies have you worked on? Wolverine, Narnia, Accidents Happen, and the Qantas TV commercials - I still call Australia home.

Extra Question;
How did you find todays location?
This was interesting. We needed to match some very specific details with the house we are using for the inside shots. So I checked my data base - I have a huge collection of photo's of locations/houses around Sydney but nothing matched. So I got my location scout to look around. Once we found the right location I then liased with the owners of the house to see if they would agree to let us use the external parts of house for the film. They were happy even for us to completely change their front yard. They had a landscaped front garden but we needed to turn it into a plain yard with a big lemon tree. It was quite a change and part of the deal is that we will re-plant and return the garden to it's original state once we have finished filming.

Day 18 - Lemon Tree day

Today was the day when my family came to visit. My grandma, my grandpa and my sisters came on set with me. In one scene I was driving in a car with my auntie Karen and my dad towards our movie house. When we got there we did lines and they filmed from 5 angles. In my breaks I played football, kick to kick with Chris the location manager and Bear my grandpa. I always have Res' homemade ice-cream and today Mia and Roma loved it aswell. When we were finished I took a funny upside-down photo of Mia. I was extra happy because I had my family there. I think everyone had fun on set.

Day 17 - Pizza Day

Today we were above the beach on a hill. We were filming a scene were I got to eat pizza. It was supposed to be a ham and pineapple pizza, but the real pizza was stuck in traffic, so they got Res to bring out some pizza base and they put tomato paste and little bits of pizza base on top to make it look like a pizza. When the real pizza arrived they were on the wide, wide shot - they were filming from about 150m away, maybe even more to get the view. I thought the pretend pizza was tastier than the real pizza because the real pizza was cold!

Unit Manager - Simon

Q: Can you briefly explain what your role is? The unit manager looks after and co-ordinates the logistics and facilities for the cast and crew on set. I work with the Location manager and have 3 unit assistants.
We provide things like the vechiles, green rooms, make-up and wardrobe trucks, mini-buses, lunchspots/tables/chairs/tents, tea and coffee, security, directions and car parking spots.
Once the location manager has negotiated the location, they handball the job to me for all the day to day stuff.

Q: Why is your job important? It's about keeping the smooth process going, to make the film happen and saving time for the production.

Q: What do you like about your job? The variety of places I go to, I work with nice people. I really like the flexibility and variety.

Q: What don't you like about your job? The weather and the hours. It's usual to film a 10 hr day but that means the unit team generally work 14hrs. We start 2 hrs before the crew and up to 2hrs afterwards. Most of us look forward to the break between jobs.

Q: What qualifications / education do you need? Truck license and a flexible,cheerful personality.

Q: What other movies have you worked on? Australia, Mao's Last Dancer, Kangaroo Jack and Matrix 1,2,3.

Day 16 ; Yo-Yo day

Today I did a scene where I had to run outside and kick at things on the ground. It was raining and I felt excited that I got to run around and kick stuff.
The Director and 1st Assitant Director were very good at the yo-yo. Jonathan, the director could do walk-the-dog and rock-the-cradle. Margie, the 1st AD, could do around-the-world really fast!
Today was really fun.

Nurse Katie

Q: Can you briefly explain what your role is? I am employed by the production to look after the health and wellbeing of the cast and crew. It's a requirement of the Childrens Guardian to have a nurse on set to look after children whenever they are working on a film. In Australia I am called the Unit Nurse, in the states they call it Film Medic.

Q: Why is your job important? It's important to have someone to look after everyone on-set. My job changes a lot depending on how many people I need to look out for and how dangerous the locations and stunts are. When I worked on Australia there were 100's of people around all the time!

Q: What do you like about your job? I like being able to see different things every day in different places. And in this environment most people are happy and healthy and that makes a great place to work. It's nice to be able to help people in a setting outside of a hospital. I enjoy facilitating the children having a good time on set also.
It can be exciting when a film is doing stunt work and I enjoy looking after people in dangerous situations and being able to use my first aid and medical skills.
Once we had to air-lift 2 crew from a boat in far North Qld after a poisonous jelly-fish type sting.

Q: What don't you like about your job? Not much, just the long hours, rainy days and standing around in the mud.

Q: What qualifications / education do you need? I need to be a registered nurse and have a University degree in nursing. You also need to have experience in Emergency medicine.

Q: What other movies have you worked on? Peter Pan,Wolverine, X-Men, Australia, and Superman Returns.

Extra question; Has anyone ever broken a bone? Yes, heaps of broken bones like ribs, wrists, arms and legs.
What happens if an actor gets unwell? The 1st AD ( assistant director) will reschedule all the days and angles that can be shot. They try to keep filming and avoid lost days, but if nothing can be changed we will have a day off.

Day 13, 14 and 15

On Day 13 I had my first night shoot. It was different because it started at 6pm and ended at 8.30pm. I am not used to night shoots, they have lunch about 4pm in the afternoon and breakfast at 11am. For now, I am glad I am not on the crew because they don't finish til about midnight.

On day 14 we had a re-shoot of the low loader because there were some technical problems with the people who turn the film into movie. They lost everything we had filmed from that day.

Yesterday, day 15, my call time was at 11.25am and I didn't finish until 8.20pm. We were shooting at my movie house. During the late lunch break at 5pm! I did a little interview with the producer. He asked me some random questions - it was fun because I got to tell it in my own words. I wonder what it would be like to be a producer and get to run interviews with the cast? I think I would like it, it would be a fun job.
I feel tired, but happy and am enjoying this experience.

day 12 - low loader

This is a low loader. A low loader looks like a huge trailer. It is used in movies when they want to make the viewers of the movie feel that the car is being driven when it is actually being towed.




Some of the crew (1st AD, two camermen, 2 focus pullers) were strapped onto the low loader by a harness. This is done for safety so people can't fall off. The director and sound operator, David, were sitting on the tray of the big 4WD that was towing the low loader.


Once we had finished filming this scene I got to jump out of the car and relax. I got out of the car by climbing through the window because the doors can't open when the car is on the low loader.







Do you notice anything interesting / different about this photo? One the left side it looks like a restaurant near the beach, on the right side it is a film studio. The restaurant is actually a film set. They build a film set so they can take out pieces of the restaurant and film from that angle.




As you can see, there is no roof in the restaurant because they need to get the right lighting and the roof isn't even in shot.







Look at this beautiful beach. Doesn't it look so real? This beach is actually just an oversized photo. They use this so that when they are filming inside the set, it looks like you are really at the restaurant.

Boom Operator - Gerry

Q: Can you briefly explain what your role is? The boom operator is responsible for getting all the sound on set back to the sound recorder.

Q: Why is your job important? I have to catch all the dialogue "on mike" ( directly onto the microphone). I need to know the script and follow the dialogue from actor to actor. If something is recorded
" off mike" that is quite a problem ( that means the mike was not in close proximity to the actor delivering their lines). I also deal with obstacles like; avoiding creating boom shadows, hitting lights, the camera and making sure the boom is not "in shot".

Q: What do you like about your job? I like dealing with people. I enjoy working closely with the actors, director and DOP (Director of Photography).

Q: What don't you like about your job? The long hours.

Q: What qualifications / education do you need? NONE! You need to love music and sound. Most sound people come from the music industry.

Q: What other movies have you worked on? Matrix 1, 2 and 3. Dead Calm, Peter Pan, Oscar and Lucinda, Nims Island and Wolverine.

Extra question; Is the boom heavy? No, but during long scenes it can get awkward and heavy. I own my own booms.

Day 11 - Fox studios

Today at Fox Studios we had another big day. The first scene was in a car park - they had filmed many angles before I came into this scene. When I came in, it only took about one hour to do the shots that I was in. Today it was raining all day but it worked out ok for the filming because we were undercover. At about 5 o'clock my mums' best friends came with their newborn baby to visit me on set. It was exciting to have my first visitors on set. Tomorrow I am going home for the first time in 2 weeks - I am excited to sleep in my own bed.

Camera Assistant - Paul

Q: What is the name of your role? Camera Assistant. Or Focus Puller in the UK and 1st AC in the US.

Q: Can you briefly explain what your role is? To keep the scene in focus and assist the camera man with his requirements ie changing lenses, filters and film changes.

Q: Why is your job important? To make a film takes lots of different people doing lots of different jobs and I'm another cog in the wheel.

Q: What do you like about your job? There is always something different on each job and I still find it challenging and interesting. I see things that are different and get to work in amazing places, like up on a mountainside , on a navy ship or in a small school hall.

Q: What don't you like about your job? Night shots in the rain!!

Q: What qualifications / education do you need? We often learn on the job. I came from a Photographic background after completing a photography course.
We are using 35mm film for this movie.
Normal speed camera takes 24 photo's a second. The fastest 35mm camera we have on this set can take 150 frames a second. The fastest digital camera can take 1000's of frames per second. And with digital cameras you can see immediately what you're getting. With 35mm shooting film we need to process it every night. We take cans of film into the lab and do this extra work after a days filming is wrapped.
Overall we still like using 35mm film because about 95% of cinema's in Australia still play 35mm film rather than digital and 35mm is still producing the best quality picture, especially for big screens.

Q: What other movies have you worked on? Matrix, Superman returns, Hey Hey it's Ester and the Blueburger, Wolverine.

Day 10 - Trumpet day

Today in 2 scenes I got to play the trumpet. I had to play some very average notes! In the third scene my movie dad got to pick me up - I think he was suprised at how heavy I am. It was a long and busy day and now I am tired. Tonight I just have time for dinner and then straight to bed.

Day 9 - Banana morning, crazy afternoon

In this photo I am standing in front of the beach. This beach is very narrow -it's called Clovelly Beach. We filmed at this beach for the whole morning





There is always a little monitor so the director (or anybody who needs to watch the filming) can see it as it happens. Everybody who is watching this monitor also gets a set of headphones so they can hear what is going on too. This is me on the monitor playing a PSP on a banana lounge in one of the scenes.






This is what on-set looks like. A lot of people isn't there!!! This is the same scene as the one I mentioned earlier. You can see me on the banana lounge and all the people in the background are actors or crew members. This scene took about 4 hours to shoot and they shot 5 different angles. It takes 10-20 minutes to set up each re-set. Today was super fun!

Extra's casting co-ordinator - Amee

Q: What is the name of your role? Extra's casting co-ordinator

Q: Can you briefly explain what your role is? I'm in charge of hiring all background extra's, background actors, body doubles and stand-ins.

Q: Why is your job important? Because background actors are what make the film look real.

Q: What do you like about your job? Meeting a new group of people every day.

Q: What don't you like about your job? Waking up at 5am in the cold weather!

Q: What qualifications / education do you need? Being a good organiser, people skills, communication and being able to think on your feet to meet the needs of the director.

Q: What other movies have you worked on? Red Planet, Superman, Channel 7 and 10 programs.

day - 8 gloomy day

Hi everyone back on set and having a great time! Thank you everyone for posting a comment. I liked how your bird was sitting on you head Laura! Today we filmed a sad scene. To make it look like I was crying they put fake tears in my eyes. The fake tears were really itchy. It was hard to not scratch them during a take.

clapper loader - matt

Q: What is the name of your role? Clapper Loader or Second Assistant Camera

Q: Can you briefly explain what your role is? Helping Focus Puller on set, building cameras, changing lenses, reloading film for camera

Q: What is a Focus Puller? The focus puller operates the focus on the camera to keep actors in tight / sharp focus.

Q: Why is your job important? To help the smooth running of the camera department

Q: What do you like about your job? Everything (almost)

Q: What don't you like about your job? Poor block throughs (more on this in a later post).

Q: What qualifications / education do you need? Good work attitude. No official qualification - skills come from on-set experience

Q: What is the clapper for? The clapper allows you to sync the film clip with the audio. The camera records pictures only not sound. Sound is recorded by a separate machine

Q: What other movies have you worked on? Tomorrow When the War Began, Wolverine, Australia, Jindabyne

day 7 - sunrise

We arrived at 6:30 am. They start early in the morning so that they can get all the filming done before the end of the day. The photo is taken from inside my movie trailer and looking out at the sunrise.





On set when we had a break dad and I would kick the little green footy [the one really hard to kick] and we did 30 kick to kicks without it touching the ground!





After each take you get a 2 minute break. On my 2 minute breaks I eat BREAD!

production runner - mike

Q: What is the name of your role? Production Runner

Q: Can you briefly explain what your role is? Driving actors to and from set. Providing support to the production office.

Q: Why is your job important? To ensure actors arrive on set on time and safely.

Q: What do you like about your job? Meeting new people every day and visiting places I wouldn't normally see.

Q: What don't you like about your job? Some days the hours are very long and you don't get much time for yourself.

Q: What qualifications / education do you need? Drivers licence, good problem solving skills, good time management and ability to work under pressure. It helps if you have been to film school for an understanding of how the making of a movie works.

food

Some of you have asked about food. On set there is someone called Res. He is a chef. Each day for lunch he will cook us something yummy. He has to cook for about 30 people! For example today he cooked rice, two different curries and steamed vegies. In my opinion the best thing about lunch is the homemade ice-cream. Res also makes sure we have plenty of things for breakfast.

day 6 - watch your langauge

People swear! Crew, Director, Actors, Anybody [even me in some scenes].
I have invented something called a swear book. Anybody who swears when I'm around [if they're not doing their lines] pay me a $1 [ching ching] each time. I keep track by writing their name in the swear book [a little notepad] and put a tally next to their name.

day 5

At the start of every day you need to go to wardrobe. You need to go to wardrobe so they can give you the outfit you are going to wear on set. Next you need to go to makeup so they can do whatever they need to do to your appearance before you go on set.


This is a photo of me in my costume in front of the movie trailers. The tents behind me are where we stop to have lunch.







Quite often the director will come into the scene to compliment us and help us with what we could do better or give a completely new thing/way to do it.






Each week we are going to ask different people who are working on the movie what their job is, do they like it and if so what is it about the job do you like the best. There are so many interesting jobs behind the scenes so we will try and tell you about some.

day 4 - revisited

Today was my first day of filming. When we first arrived the Second A.D. (assistant director) Emma showed us to my movie trailer. A trailer is a place where each actor can relax. It is like a mini caravan with a TV, couch, toilet, fridge, DVD player. There are many trailers - some of which are used by other actors and there is one trailer for wardrobe which is where they check your appearance before you go on set.



My first scene was about me going to school. We filmed that scene in front of my movie school in an old car. The scene took about two hours to film. Filming of the scene takes such as long time because the production team have to film the scene from different angles and distances. Also, for each angle the director might want to film the scene many times. These are known as "takes". On this day the highest number of takes we did for one angle for one scene was 18.



This is a different scene of me being dropped off at school. The black screens are for blocking out the sun.



In this scene they used some special equipment called tracks. You can put the camera on the tracks so it can move. This is used so that actors can be keep in shot whilst they are moving.



This was the last scene of the day and we only had half an hour to film it. The reason we had not much time is that I am only allowed to mostly work 8 hours a day. In special circumstances I can work longer. I had to be off set by 5:15 pm as I had started the day at 07:15 (when most of you kids at school were probably still in bed). In this scene were were having music practice and I was playing the trumpet.

day 4 - massive day

Tired. Huge day. Want to go to bed. Come back tomorrow.

day 3 - rainy day

Today I had to do school work/maths. My Dad is a very hard/strict teacher! Give me Mrs.Hastie any day. I practiced my lines for tomorrow. Tomorrow is my first day of filming and I have to be there by 7:00 am. I won't finish until 5:30 pm. You kids at school are lucky. You are only there from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm and I work nonstop from 7:00 am through 5:30 pm. Bye!

day 2 - wardrobe check

Today Dad and I went to wardrobe check and my movie school is called Clayton Hill Primary school.
Tomorrow I was supposed to film my first scene but due to the bad weather it has been postponed until Thursday. This can be a big problem for the actors and the production team because they have to change everything to a different day. The actors ready on Thursday might have to film on Wednesday.
Stay tuned for tomorrow - Dad said I have to do school work!

day 1 - heading to sydney.

Today was the travel day. At the airport I got a boost smoothie! We got on the plane at 12.15 and arrived in Sydney at 1.40. We caught the cab to the apartment which is just near fox studios. Dad and I caught the bus into the city and saw my uncle at his work. Now the day is almost finished, about to have dinner!

Tomorrow I will have a report about wardrobe check! Stay tuned.