Chronicling 'The Little Death'

First of all we would like to apologise for our blogging hiatus! Leading up to the final weeks of uni for this semester, we've been pretty consumed with finishing off our last assessments and studying for finals, whilst trying to maintain some sort of sleeping pattern. Now that all this is coming to an end, we will hopefully be back to blogging more regularly, or at least until we leave for Europe (19 days!!).

So anyway, around about this time last year, I (Jess) applied for an internship to assist with costumes and wardrobe on the film set of an upcoming Australian film called 'The Little Death', which was to be the directorial debut of actor Josh Lawson ('Thank God You're Here', 'The Campaign', 'Anchorman 2'). A few days later I received a call to say my application was successful and asking if I could come along to 'Hero Frock Hire' the next week to start sourcing costumes. I was in absolute heaven walking into the costume warehouse, as it contained tens of thousands of garments and accessories ranging from mint condition vintage pieces to casual contemporary clothing more suited to our film. I helped out in the warehouse several times over the following fortnight, and I bet I only saw about 10% of the hire stock.

In the pre- production period, myself, and another intern undertook a lot of script deconstruction with the costume designer, Ingrid Weir, and costume supervisor, Elizabeth Franklin, in order to create a cohesive vision between us and across the film's intertwining plots. As an intern, I surprisingly held a lot of responsibility, with duties including: driving costumes and scripts, returning large purchases, assisting with cast fitting, altering costumes and experiencing the workings of a film set.

My time in pre- production and on set was invaluable and an opportunity I am so thankful to have received. 

So I was very excited when I received an invitation to the 'world' premiere of 'The Little Death', which would be the first showing to both the public and the cast at the Sydney Film Festival. We gathered a couple of friends and headed to Event Cinemas on George Street. I had obviously already read the script, so I didn't want to give too much away in terms of plot, and I hope that some of you will also see the film when it hits cinemas in September. So all I'll say is that it is an original, intelligent comedy, that delves into the lives of multiple young, Australian couples and their perverse desires, which results in unexpected twists and turns, leaving the audience in fits of laughter. 

If you would like to keep up with updates about theatrical release and to read a synopsis, please like 'The Little Death's' Facebook and Twitter pages.

Also for more information on the line- up of films being shown at the Sydney Film Festival and to purchase tickets, click here.

 ♫ ♪ Make It To Me- Sam Smith ♫ ♪

Chronicling Art and About

To celebrate the end of Liz’s mid semester exams (and the beginning of our mutual week-long holiday), we decided to explore Sydney’s Art and About Festival. Art and About showcases the talent of our local artists, from children to adults, who express their “private lives in public places” through Sydney’s main thoroughfares. 

Art and About have an extensive array of exhibitions that range from day to night, exclusive to every day and free to paid. Although, the one thing they all have in common, is their amusing and eclectic expressions on the strangest of canvases. The first art display we saw, was “Sydney Life”, a photographic display in Hyde Park where the vast landscapes and diverse community of Sydney were publicised.

The next display we saw, is probably the most iconic one of Art and About 2013, called "Snailovation". This exhibiton included 24 huge neon snails, sliding into Sydney’s most iconic and public spaces. We saw the snails at the Queen Victoria Building, Hyde Park, Pitt Street Mall and Martin Place and they promised to bring a few smiles and embarrassing photos (we decided not to upload). 

The last exhibition we decided to visit, was “Little Sydney Lives” in Hyde Park, featuring 20 images taken by kids under 11 years of age. Not only did this exhibition make us feel extremely subordinate in talent to children half our age, but also brought us great insights into the perspectives of our youngest citizens. 

After all the meandering through Sydney’s streets and parks, we headed back to Pitt Street to stock up on Frozen Yoghurt at Moochi in Westfield. We then headed back through the mall and (typically) stopped to take in the local talent of Sydney’s buskers. Today, Everything After were performing their rendition of Vance Joy’s, Riptide, pulling in copious amounts of people, including ourselves. Their Indie Roots sound and resemblance to a young Mumford and Sons is aided by their quirky use of a Mandolin and good humour. They are definitely worth a listen, with our favourite summery sounding track, Heart and Mind, perfectly matching a day on the beach with Bulmers and friends.

After this long day, we headed back to Hyde Park to unwind by Sydney War Memorial’s Lake of Reflection.