Day 4 - Kanowna the short film

Day 4:

The final shoot day.

Another huge day.  We started the day picking up a scene with Chomatsu returning to his brothel, filmed in the corridor set, which was finished that morning.  Once again, Alana our Production Designer did an amazing job!

After this we moved onto the fight scene.  Dustin's character gets shot before the fight breaks out, so we had a squib hit rigged for the moment.  The set-up for this part took a little longer than anticipated, but the result was fantastic.  I didn't to the usual front hit, instead I wanted to see a rear exit wound and in the final shot be see an spray of blood and smoke, which really works.

Once Dustin is hit, Ben (Chomatsu) charges him and the fight begins.  The fight we rehearsed was a brutal, dirty, grappling fight, which when restrained to the corridor of the brothel really added to the intensity.  This was shot handheld, which will add to the ferocity of the moment.  The actors were fantastic, they got down and dirty and it will really show in the end film.  We can see the intensity and intent in their faces and the stakes of life and death.

One of the best shots we filmed in the corridor location we a tracking shot, which follows behind Brown's gun as he stalks up the corridor.  I'd envisioned when I was writing Kanowna and the resulting shot was exactly how I'd pictured it.

We had some extras on set in the afternoon that included my Mum, brother and cousin (a real family affair), the extras helped fill the exterior laundry and the Kanowna town scenes.  It is always a challenge to fill shots with only limited extras and a few didn't show on the day, which didn't help.  You have to make do with what you get and in the end we worked it out and the shots look very populated and real.  My Mum had a featured extra role, she had to tug on Dustin's sleave and point to where Osarno had gone to in the town.  It was so sweet, she rehearsed with Dustin and he really made her feel important.  She got the beats of the scene down and then we shot the scene.  Admittedly I was worried that she may have stage fright once the cameras rolled, but I didn't need to worry.  She did a great job and the scene worked really well.  I think her softness helped Dustin make an acting choice in the end of that scene, which I liked very much.

The day ended out in the middle of a field, picking up a shot of a doll to cut into the Meckering scenes.  With the production finished, I had to wander away from the crew, I was getting a little emotional, which can happen at the end of a shoot.  I haven't been emotional after a shoot for a long time, but I think this one has become personal.

I haven't written a script in a long time and I don't want to be a writer/director, but this story had become a personal one.

A huge, heartfelt thanks to everyone who has been involved thus far.  It was a challenging shoot with sets, costumes, guns, horses, extreme weather locations, fight scenes, squibs and a baby.  Everyone was working for the love of the craft and for the opportunity to be involved in the telling of a unique little Australian story.

I believe we've got a little beauty here, now Michael and I have to nurse it through the post production process and hit the festivals!

I usually don't like to single out people for thanks, but the MVP of the production has to go to our amazing Production Designer, Alana.  She did so much with so little and we love her work!  Thanks so much!