THE QUIET BEFORE...

Entering that very precious stage of early pre-production where it's not too busy, there's time to do what you need, to catch up, to think out loud, to listen to music, to watch movies, to leaf through reference books, to shove ideas together, to plan, to suggest, to dream. I've moved into the Gallipoli production office and for the next week or so I'm the only one on my floor. It's so bloody wonderful to have this time and space because very soon it's all going to fill up and disappear... But right now, this is the bit to cherish.

Coming into land last week after a day of casting in Sydney.

'TO OUR GLORIOUS DEAD'

Carved and gilded in granite in Martin Place, Sydney. Glorious dead...

ROSEBUD IS 7

…and innately more happy than she appears in these snaps!

NEXT...

Gallipoli. A 4 x 2 hour drama series produced by John Edwards, Imogen Banks and Robert Connolly, written by Christopher Lee and based on the No 1, best selling book Gallipoli by Les Carlyon which is heralded as the definetive account of the Gallipoli campaign. Les's book is dense with history, highly detailed and spiked with the most beautifully poetic descriptions of the people, the landscape and events of that chaotic and bleak patch of turkish coastline where over a 100 000 men died over the ten month. It's this powerful combination of truth and lyricism which has drawn me to the project with both excitement and fear.

We started early pre-pre-production last year, and will go into official pre-production early 2014, shoot and edit 2014, to air (on Channel 9) 2015, coinciding with the 100th year anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign, April 25th 1915.

I've begun working full time on this over the past few weeks and will finish sometime late next year... crazy times ahead. Stay tuned.

IF NOT HERE, THEN WHERE?

VLAK AND WHITE

Got a ten page photo spread in VLAK magazine which is published out of Prague. I'm thinking very seriously about having a year of black and white...

SUPER HEROES!

This looks good. UPDATE : It's VERY good. See it here...

MORNING WALK

CHOPPED ON THE WEEKEND

IF NOT HERE, THEN WHERE?

TATHRA

Roadtrippin with the family from Sydney to Melbourne via the south coast road...  Stopped for the weekend at one of our favourite places Tathra.

As much as I like Sydney, after five months away  it's SO good to be back in Melbourne!

PICTURE LOCKED

Just locked off the final episode (9) of Puberty Blues series 2. Bittersweet feelings mixed with a deep and very satisfying sigh of relief and exhilaration...

It is finished.

UNDER THE INFLUENCE

It does get better than this... just not very often...

CABIN FEVER

Long days cutting with Dany Cooper (who is awesome!). Ep 7 finished, about to lock off Ep 8. Ep 9 still to go...cabin fever setting in.

WRAPPED

We wrapped shooting Puberty Blues 2 last Wednesday. Spent the last day shooting as a 2nd unit / reduced crew of only about ten or so. It was a perfect way to end a little more relaxed and free than 'main unit'. What we shot wasn't really 2nd unit material, it was actually the last three scenes of the last episode of the series. I woke up the next day with bitter sweet feelings. I love shooting, even when it's stressful and everything seems stacked against you, I can always  look around and see where we are and what we attempting to do and I just get really excited by it all! But it definitely felt like it was time to stop though. I've been away from my family and friends in Melbourne for nearly 5 months and I feel like my time in the world needs to come to an end.

That said I felt a saddness for those wonderful characters I may never get to see again. I may never stand in the Vickers lounge room and watch Judy and Martin bicker or witness Vonny and Ferris fuck with each others minds. I may never sit in Sues bedroom and overhear Sue and Debbies most intimate conversations. I may never get to hang with Gary or Cheryl or laugh stupidly with Roger and Pam.

The characters of Puberty Blues feel so alive to me. I cant help but feel that even though we have packed up the props, dressings, cameras and lights that they are still there in those places, their lives continuing on regardless of whether we are there to capture it or not. I miss them all.