Mad Men: product displacement
Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner visited Australia, and he told Miguel Gonzalez that working with brands and gaining creative independence in the tv industry can be absolute madness.
Has there ever been a more perfect setting for product placement, than a period series set at a fictional Madison Avenue advertising agency – Sterling Cooper – in the early 1960s? After all, brands and ads are the characters’ bread and butter, and the retro feel can generate a certain enjoyment of what in any other show could be considered shameless or unnecessary product placement. When the series protagonist Don Draper talks about Lucky Strike, he’s not selling cigarettes to his 21st century audience; he’s doing his job. It doesn’t get more necessary than that. Read more »
AIDC 2010 preview: small world, big challenges
The Australian International Documentary Conference reaches for global production efforts and foresees new distribution schemes. Cesar Albarran Torres spoke with three international figures who will help make this a ‘smaller world’ for docos.
Under the premise that ours “is a small world after all” the AIDC, that annual get-together of professionals of the factual content industry, is set to take place at the Hilton Adelaide next week, where documentary filmmakers, broadcasters and key decision-makers will gather in order to find ways of getting things done in the globalised and ever-changing scenario of the genre. Read more »
John Hillcoat at the end of The Road
For Australian director John Hillcoat, adapting Cormac McCarthy’s 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Road to the screen came with expectations from all corners. He told Paul Hayes that this is the end of the world as you don’t know it.
Filming a beloved novel is a tricky situation at the best of times. It is one of popular culture’s more perplexing ironies that cinema audiences are far more upset at the idea of a filmmaker changing the plot or character details of a well-known book than they do about changing events from real history. Read more »
Daybreakers: true [Aussie] blood
Australian horror gets a fresh transfusion with the release of Daybreakers, a big budget film designed with a global audience firmly in mind. Paul Hayes writes.
Futuristic vampire films are not the most popular genre among Australian filmmakers, but twins Michael and Peter Spierig are not your typical directors either.
The Spierigs found international success with their first film, the self-funded ‘credit card’ zombie flick, Undead. Read more »
Studios: a space for creation
Change is afoot in studio-land. Not only are new studio complexes popping up around the country, but clients are now expecting more services than ever from a space and its curators. Laine Lister writes.
Until now, many producers have been content to hire a sound stage fitted with the bare necessities to shoot a project. Read more »
Griff the Invisible: birth of a superhero
Superheroes were the flavour of the decade that just ended, so it was about time Australia had its own. Griff the Invisible will prove that we can – and should – produce high concept projects.
At last year’s SPAA Conference, Packed to the Rafters creator Bevan Lee said local audiences were unable to believe high concept, fantasy or science fiction stories could happen in Australia, Read more »
Exhibition: alternative content invades Australian screens
It’s not often that Andre Rieu, Iron Maiden and New York’s Metropolitan Opera descend on regional Australia to perform a strong of live shows, but our cinemas are helping to lure them. Laine Lister writes.
Gaming: convergence is inevitable
From Pong to Assassins Creed II, games have evolved into a business and art form that is starting to merge with the traditional screen media. Miguel Gonzalez found filmmakers should start playing if they want to win.
“Computer Game: Approx $80, almost guaranteed entertainment, at least 30 hours fun. 2 Hollywood blockbuster dates: approx $80 (plus the rest), 5 hours of ‘fun’. Computer game wins every time.”
Rise of the Middle East
It’s nearly impossible to overstate the impact of the Middle East as a content creation hothouse when, at a time of scant funding, the region is pumping money into the film and TV world. Laine Lister writes.
Shaking off its date and pearl farming ancestry Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich capital of the United Arab Emirates has broken upon the entertainment world’s financial woes like a great wave. Read more »
Score composers: a bittersweet melody
Composers are among the most passionate people in the industry, but they also have bills to pay. Miguel Gonzalez spoke with five established composers about the issues that are making noise in their sector.
Screen practitioners spare no efforts to ensure their project looks the best it possibly can, but according to sound post-production houses, the aural component of their work seems to be an afterthought, with diminishing resources allocated to this aspect. This problem is also reflected in the music domain. Read more »