'Everybody In The House Come On And Let Me Hear You Say Old Saint Nick!'
It was the best I could come up with in the moment, but I swear we had the whole crowd up and going with it.
Right after the set we ran out into the alley and shot the video for Christmas No 1. By the time you read this our cockamamie scheme to make three new tracks and three new videos in ten days with a big Christmas show in the middle will be complete.
Sorry for getting you into this Luke.
Photos by Thomas L'Adam.
I meet with the NFSA and You Are Here this Wednesday. Since last time, I’ve pulled together a ‘first draft’. It consists of 14 tracks – the longest is three minutes, the shortest is 10 seconds. Save three ‘set pieces’, all of the music recurs or is revisited at least once over the length of the film.
Presently, it’s all there but refuses to gell. That’s partly because I recorded with whatever came to hand. Some pieces are full midi compositions, mixed in Ableton; others are sung into a dictaphone, an unplugged Fender for accompaniment Just having all the tracks played at the same quality should shore it up. I’m also debating placing it all in the same key, for consistency’s sake.
Originally, I intended the soundtrack to be entirely instrumental. Seeing Harold And Maude this week changed my mind, and I’ve written two songs I’m extremely pleased to include. At this stage, I’m happy with about 70%. I’m prepared for changes once a band becomes involved, but mapping so much out this early gives me time to tweak, substitute, and make peace with tracks before even reaching the rehearsal room.
Vorn was in town from Adelaide for a few shows so we nabbed him and threw him in the car.
As we hit summer, it’s getting too hot to film during the day. I love the vibe of the night shoots, but it means we’re only fulfilling half of our credo to “showcase Canberra musos and landmarks”. Will have to scout for places still identifiable in the dark… or just do loops around Parliament House.
This episode went up a couple of weeks ago. I’m sure I first read about cooking beans over an iron in On The Road.
We’re planning two more episodes before the end of the year – a PSA about hygiene, done in a Mr. T style, and our first international episode, cooking in a campervan in New Zealand. Can’t wait!
Nick suggested we do a Babyfreeze Christmas EP, with videos for each track. It’s so batshit, it might just work. I trialled some visual ideas over the weekend.
Eked out some time today to work on Project Z (we’ll have an official You Are Here event name soon…).
Out of the five hours of material I received, I’ve chosen to work with 1922 silent film Sunshine Sally. Set in Sydney, it’s got engaging characters and a lot of fun, breezy scenes.
Before I can score it, I first have to edit it down. The surviving copy (the one I’m working from) is 60 minutes long, and is missing the entire ending. To work around that AND edit it to 20 minutes has meant a major restructure of the narrative – I’ve done away with the subplots, five main characters (including a love interest), and some cool lifeguard rescue scenes that just weren’t going to fit. As is, with some new intertitles, it should flow nicely.
I’ve also been able to shave a few seconds here and there by topping and tailing scenes. Compared to today, movies of the 20s came into scenes early and left late. Cinematic language was being invented as they went along – we now need far less information to process what’s going on.
It blows my mind that I’ve been given a chance to edit footage from 90 years ago (to the month).
More soon.
I thought I’d write about the process behind an episode of One Pot Punk Rock.
It starts with an idea for a suitable dish – generally one from the repertoire I’ve acquired over the years (though that pool is rapidly depleting – I’m counting on suggestions!). I’ll then research any fun facts or improvements I can make. From there, I write a rough script, adding in gags, ideas for camera angles or fx, and finding the shape of the episode. We didn’t do this for the first couple and it’s part of the reason they ballooned out – we now keep episodes under five minutes. The script is subject to change while filming, but it gives us a head start.
Being a cooking show, we don’t have the luxury of filming out of sequence. As a result, 99% of the episode is filmed in the order you see it. Having to adjust/change lights, lenses and angles, from shot to shot, chews up a lot of time. We start by dressing the set (i.e. cleaning the kitchen), lighting it (we use work-lights pitched at the ceiling, along with some smaller LEDs), and finalising wardrobe (picking the Ramones hoodie off the floordrobe and donning the mask). A typical episode takes around three hours to shoot. Most things need a couple of takes, as I sharpen my performance (and tweak the accent). Some shots have needed eight or more takes, usually when the script is vague, or I have a brainfreeze and can’t move past a certain line.
Filming wrapped, we finally get to eat the spoils. I won’t edit until the following day. A trouble-free editing session takes around three hours (it’s been as high as six for some). I’ll select the best takes and assemble them in my editor, then add in titles, transitions, sound effects, graphics, music and colour grading (a truly dark art which I only now feel I’m getting a grip on). Sourcing music, graphics and sound effects also takes time. Very little changes at this point, though I might cut gags that fell flat, or come up with other cues (the Crunchie graphic in this current episode being an example).
I’ll upload it overnight, and we’re on to the next one!
Nick and I shot this promo for The Last Prom show next week, showcasing their lighter side. We’d wanted to shoot at the same location as the last one, but there was about 12 noisy Ultimate Frisbee games going on. We ended up in the loading dock of the Watson IGA.
Last month I mentioned Project Z – I’m now able to spill the beans.
As part of next March’s You Are Here festival, I’ve been commissioned to compose a soundtrack to a silent film. The final work will be performed in front of the film at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA). It’s an incredible opportunity and I’m mega-excited.
The NFSA has given myself and two other artists access to several 20s and 30s films – each of us will create a 20 minute ‘response’ to the material. I came across the Cineconcert movement in Edinburgh last year, and was fortunate enough to experience several performances. Bikini Machine live-soundtracking Desperado is one of the top five gigs of my life. Ever since, I’ve been enamoured with the concept and looking for a way to do something similar.
My intention is to find a suitable 20 minute segment (or edit together something), compose a soundtrack, and then form a scratch ensemble from members of the Canberra band scene to perform it. Stylistically, I’ll combine electronic and acoustic elements, and at this point, I want to do something bright and summery. Pieces will vary in length as appropriate to mirror the footage – I envisage it will comprise short pieces (5-20 seconds), some longer passages (up to a couple of minutes) and one or two full songs, all matching the mood and themes onscreen. To create an immersive experience, the musicians will be costumed and the stage set to reflect the film.
I took carriage of the films last week, and will spend the next fortnight figuring out what footage to use and brainstorming ideas. Check back – I’ll be blogging as I go…
I’ll admit One Pot Punk Rock is an outré concept.
But it occurred to me that it is not without precedent. Consider:
You got it yet?
Space Ghost Coast To Coast blew my mind when I first saw it. I like to think the seed for One Pot Punk Rock was thus sown subconsciously over a decade ago.
Lick Nuke 