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the LaB sydney's Project of Dreams
When renowned Australian director, David Denneen, was one of only
eight world-class directors to be asked to participate in Young
& Rubicam's "Dreams Project' using the latest Sony HD camera, he
turned to internationally renowned and number one Australian colourist,
Ben Eagleton, and the highly experienced HD team at the LaB sydney.
Ben joined the LaB sydney in April 2001 from Rushes, London, where
he was reputedly one of the postproduction industry's top colourists,
and was heavily involved with the beta testing of the C-Reality
telecine. When the LaB purchased Australia's first C-Reality machine
along with a $6 million dollar investment in high-definition and
film capabilities, Ben couldn't wait to jump on board.
David Denneen's four-minute short film is entitled 'The Waltz.'
Screened at the Siegfield Theatre in New York and the DGA in LA,
the film will also be screened in Chicago and San Francisco, at
the Cannes Advertising Festival, and entered in various Australian
short film festivals.
'The Waltz' tells a story of hardship and desire in the drought-stricken
Australian outback. A wife wants a clean car to travel to their
daughter's wedding. Following a protracted quarrel, her husband
relents and begins to wash the car, while his wife begins to cry
and, on cue, it starts to rain. Tears of pain become tears of joy,
as the couple dance in the downpour.
The technical challenge was to shoot on HD cam at 24p, a relatively
unexplored format. The experience of shooting in HD was a new one
for David, and the LaB was able to advise on the benefits and pitfalls
of the medium. HD provides great depth of focus coupled with inexpensive
materials, while also presenting some logistical trials for new
users, such as a lack of speed variation and film sensitivity, and
a limited selection of lenses.
Toby Denneen, editor on the project comments, "Cutting on the Avid
in a 24p project was a pleasure once all the technical differences
were sorted out. George Mackenzie from the LaB and I ran countless
tests to make sure that the EDL's between the Avid and Fire were
lining up correctly. As for the sound side of things, all went just
fine once the order of operations was sorted out."
The shoot for 'The Waltz' took place in the scorching outback heat
in Griffith over three days. At one point the great cast and crew
were challenged by two intense dust storms that caused them to make
a hasty retreat back to shelter. Ironically, while putting the finishing
touches to the last shot of the last day, it started to thunder
in the background and nearly rained, lending further realism to
the narrative.
Credits:
- Production Company- Film Graphics Productions
- Director - David Denneen
- Executive Producers - Mark Lazarus, Anna Fawcett
- Editor - Toby Denneen
- Post production - the LaB sydney
- Producer: George MacKenzie
- Colourist - Ben Eagleton
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