Due to air on January 8, 2012 this will change the way you think about "Boat People", junkies, dealers, police, politicians and Asians. It certainly made me rethink a lot of my preconceptions!
But enough of the philosophical… Shot by the enormously talented Jay Hanrahan (whom I have managed to spend most days along side since June) this epic was captured on a combination of Red One, HD Varicam and Canon 5D using prime lenses, tilt shift and amazing lighting setups to produce some of the most beautiful sequences I have yet seen.
All the interviews were shot inside the old turbine room of the Casula Powerhouse, now an art exhibition space, in what is probably the most challenging acoustic environment I have ever battled (not to mention freezing cold!). Right beside the main Southern rail line with Freight and commuter trains, a level crossing, commuter station and road works made for a constant cacophony of external noises. The internals were bare concrete walls, metal roller doors and 3 story ceilings which makes for a wonderfully hollow and echoey environment. Judicious use of some floor rugs and super close positioning of a directional cardioid overcame the acoustic battles but in most cases it was Trains 1 - Chris 0
Still we managed to work around the timetable and capture some amazing and revelatory stories of Australia's very colourful and not too distant past.
Technically I captured all the sounds using my Zaxcom TRX900 with record functionality and wirelessly supplied the Red two channels of digital audio through the QRX100, whilst feeding timecode back to myself wirelessly and supplying a wireless feed of audio through my Zaxcom IFB. In many cases a second camera was shooting cutaway angles and I fed audio to and from this as well, probably the most amount of gear I have employed for a single mic setup!
Actuality was shot around the streets of Cabramatta and I utilised my wireless camera links to stay "out of the way" of the busy street environment, once again backing up all audio through my on board recorder and feeding the camera simultaneously. The beauty of the Zaxcom setup allows me to only roll audio when it sees incoming code from the camera making logging of audio files a breeze. My Zaxcom IFB even has a timecode visual display so producers don't have to hover near the camera for timecode information.
I also took the opportunity to capture a library of stereo atmospheres from the area to fill the multitude of 50FPS sequences being employed. It was great to be out and untethered amongst the sights, sounds and smells but especially the sounds of this amazing area! I enjoyed the experience so much I will take my lovely Rode NT4 back out into the field over summer and start collecting a library of atmospheres for myself.
It was a great test for all of my new equipment and I was thrilled with the results. I have since ordered two Zaxcom TRX900LTH 125 mW transmitters with another QRX100 receiver. This will give me not only another two radio mics but also the ability to record directly with the talent in case of any radio glitches and with 125 mW transmission power I will have twice the reach of normal radio mics! Hopefully these units will arrive from the States in the next few weeks so I can get them out into the field and capture some great sounds!
So set your alarms for 8.30pm January 8, 2012 SBS, I can't wait to see and hear the finished product of this amazing project.
