Handmade ‘Potheads’ by Kim Jaeger - still from Historia Films

A film by Historia Films, about Melbourne ceramicist Kim Jaeger of ‘Potheads’! (If you have trouble watching this video please view it here)

Today’s is a double-pronged post.  It was supposed to mainly just be about Melbourne artist Kim Jaeger, who makes these friendly little ceramic planters, cheekily named ‘Potheads’!  These little guys have been gaining many fans since Kim first started making them in late 2011, and they’re now stocked at a number of cute Melbourne shops, including Mr Kitly, Third Drawer Down, Craft Victoria and Monk House Design. Of course being handmade, each is one of a kind.

BUT then it seemed remiss not to also mention the very clever pair at Historia Films, who have just launched the sweet little film about Kim which you see above!

Historia Films is a collaboration between Adelaide photographer Mike Smith and Melbourne blogger Laura Quattrocelli, who share a passion for digital media, and all things hand crafted. They formed this little film project with a shared mission to tell the untold stories of artists, designers and creatives behind closed doors.  This film you see above is their second – keep your eyes on their website as more films will be released throughout the year!

First watch the film above, and then read on below for a few questions with Pothead creator Kim Jaeger! -

Tell us a little bit about your background – what did you study and what led you to becoming a ceramicist and eventually launching Potheads?

I originally studied visual arts but I ended up doing my masters in graphic design and new media, working in interactive installations using sound and video. After finishing, I moved overseas to London where I continued to make artwork, but digital interactive installations were a bit harder with no computer over there so I starting taking photographs and drawing in journals, catching and collecting ideas.

After returning from London I made no art. Nothing. I think sometimes artists need to stop in order to keep making work. I lived in Sydney for a year and then moved to Melbourne in 2006. Gradually I started making work again and got involved in artist run spaces in Melbourne, sitting on the board of Seventh Gallery in Fitzroy for two years. In the last five years or so I’ve been working with lots of different mediums: photography, installation, sculpture – I like to mix it up! I first worked with clay four years ago when I took a wheel turning class, but it wasn’t until late 2011 when I took another class in hand-building that Potheads finally came to life (though the idea had been brewing for a few years!).

What process is involved in creating these little clay friends of yours? When constructing these planters do you have any idea what their face is going to look like before you start, and how long does each take to make?

The process of making a Pothead usually starts by putting some music on – so perhaps this subconsciously has something to do with what each face will look like? I usually zone out when I’m doing it, it’s a kind of mediation really, the faces form from the clay. From start to finish it takes about six weeks, from working with the raw clay to the finished glazed object. Ceramics is definitely a lesson in patience!

What’s next for Potheads in 2013?

It’s a really exciting year coming up! I’m currently working on some new collections and commissions in the studio. I also have a show mid year at Craft Victoria where I’m going to be experimenting with new materials that work alongside the clay to create functional objects. I’m really interested in the idea of functionality in an artwork.

Do pop by Kim’s Tumblr page for more pics and info about these slightly mad little functional pieces! 

Kim Jaeger of ‘Potheads’ – still from Historia Films

The Design Files Open House 2012 film, directed and edited by Jessica Leski.

DEAREST readers!  Today I am very excited and a little nervous to share with you a short film about this year’s TDF Open House, staged earlier this month in Melbourne!  Oh Lord, the film is so gorgeous, AND the music is brilliant..!  PLEASE do have a look, and if you like what you see, please share!

Once again this year, we teamed up with my dear friend, documentary film maker Jessica Leski, who directed and edited this film.  No words can describe my love for Jess Leski today.  She is a STAR.  So immensely talented, and so very generous with her time and patience, thankyou SO MUCH Lesk!

Thankyou also to you ALL, dear readers, for your amazing support of this project, for the second year running!  SO MANY of you visited Open House this year.  (I’m already looking for an even bigger house next time!).  Whilst many of you have seen our photos and lots of lovely press coverage, nothing quite beats the moving image to capture the magic and madness of this project!  This year, in addition to the usual ramblings from me, the film includes cameos by a couple of lovely local creatives, notably artist Lucas Grogan and artist / stylist Marsha Golemac – major spunks, the both of them.

IF you have trouble viewing the film above, please pop over and view it on VIMEO!  At full screen, even. (I know, I know, I look exhausted. Hey, it was a big month!).  It goes for 7 minutes.

Thanks also to the EXTREMELY talented local bands who have generously allowed usage of their music for this film. THE MUSIC IN THIS FILM IS SO GOOD!  Please show your support by taking a moment to like these brilliant local bands on Facebook – we heart them a LOT.

Film Crew

Edited and directed by Jessica Leski

Cinematography – Michael Latham and Kitty Green.

Additional Camera – Ash Koek and Jessica Leski

Stills – Brooke Holm

Music by

Hunter Carpenter
huntercarpenter.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/huntercarpenterband

Okashii Na
soundcloud.com/okashii_na
facebook.com/melbourneokashiina

Nearly Oratorio
nearlyoratorio.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/NearlyOratorio

Dirt Farmer
dirtfarmerband.com
dirtfarmerband.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/dirtfarmermusic

I am struggling not to do the whole enormous Open House thankyou list again… to all our amazing staff, friends, husbands, boyfriends, family – you know who you are – THANKYOU!   Massive thanks in particular to our major event sponsors without whom there would be no Open House at all – Jardan, Mini and Marimekko, we salute you!

Slides from Melbhattan, a new animated short film by Oslo Davis

Slides from Melbhattan, a new animated short film by Oslo Davis

I had the great pleasure of meeting OSLO DAVIS yesterday, when he hand delivered a few sweet framed drawings to TDF Open House!  Whilst we did interview Oslo last year, I haven’t met him in person before, and I must say I was a little starstruck – after all Mr Davis is a bit of an enigma!  It was quite odd to finally put a face to the name we all know so well.

Oslo Davis is a familiar name in Melbourne.  He’s one of Melbourne’s busiest and best known cartoonists and illustrators.   As many of you know, Oslo’s ‘Overheard‘ cartoons grace the pages of The Age each week, and his familiar sketchy characters are can often be spotted on a Readings shopping bag.

This week, though, is a particularly big week for Oslo.  He has spent the best part of this year writing and directing his first animated short film, based on his own drawings, with the assistance of a grant from the City of Melbourne.  The film, entitled Melbhattan, launches this Saturday at Rooftop Cinema, and will screen before every Rooftop Cinema screening through December!  Oslo is pretty chuffed that his film will be seen by so many movie-goers at Melbourne’s iconic outdoor cinema – ‘It was such a coup to get this venue’ he says, ‘I can’t think of a more perfect venue to view an animation of Melbourne’.

We asked Oslo a few questions about this epic project! -

Can you tell us a little about Melbhattan – what is it about and what spurred this transition from paper to the silver screen?

Melbhattan is a short film that mimics the opening sequence of images at the start of Woody Allen’s 1979 film Manhattan. I have drawn and animated 61 images of Melbourne that copy the scenes in Allen’s film. For example, in Allen’s film there is an image of a guy looking into a New York bookshop window – in my version a guy looks into a Readings bookshop window.

I’ve always been a big fan of Allen’s work, especially his very ‘New York’ early work. The black and white images that open Manhattan are truly spectacular; it is Woody Allen’s and cinematographer Gordon Willis’ grand love letter to a monumental city.

Many Melbournians see our city as a kind of mini-Manhattan. The architecture on our CBD grid informs this, as does the good natured, cocky attitude that we seem to have in Australia’s creative capital. Melbourians ‘get’ Manhattanites: we relate to (or at least we think we can relate to) the ‘anything’s possible/forget about it’ swagger that New Yorkers have. And where once we went to London, now everyone is drawn to New York.

In the end I hope Melbhattan is viewed as part-homage to, and part-pastiche of, Melbourne.

We all used to make and love flip books as kids – their only downside was that unless you had Walt Disney expertise they took ages to make. With this in mind how long has Melbhattan been in development?

I applied for funding last year and began in earnest to create the work early in 2012. I made a decision early on that I wasn’t going to make Disney-esque animation (mainly because I couldn’t!) so I thought of it as drawing Overheard, with moving parts. While I used computer technology to make the work, I’ve tried to keep it looking like it’s been put together by hand. Viewers are forgiving when it comes to animation – they can interpret an animated sequence even if looks scratchy – so I am banking on this forgiveness with Melbhattan.

Drawings for Melbhattan by Oslo Davis

How did the movie come about and who is involved?

Melbhattan is something I worked on when in between doing commercial work. It has been my year-long side project. The City of Melbourne supported it with an arts grant last year, and Volley Australia helped finance the original music.

Biddy Connor, a local musician and composer who has worked on a lot of short films, wrote an original score for Melbhattan. It was important for me to get original music for Melbhattan because the George Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ in Allen’s film is an essential component in making that movie iconic. Biddy has created a piece that both references Gershwin’s work and has a very Melbourne sound.

If you’re in Melbourne, pop along to catch any film at Rooftop Cinema throughout December and you will be treated to a screening of Melbhattan before your movie starts!

Interstaters, don’t fret, half way though December, Melbhattan will be viewable online at www.melbhattan.com.

AND for the die-hard Oslo Davis groupies out there, you might like to check out the four framed original drawings we have by Oslo at TDF Open House!  Now… all I need is a wall to hang them on…. it’s getting pretty chockers in there!

Drawings for Melbhattan by Oslo Davis

Still frames from Gotye’s Thanks for your Time video clip, directed by Lucy Dyson

First, Second & Third - artwork by Lucy Dyson

Girl – artwork by Lucy Dyson

Lucy Dyson is a Melbourne-born, Berlin-based artist, animator and music video director with an incredible body of work under her belt for someone born in 1981! Since graduating from RMIT in Media Arts in 2005, she has produced, directed and animated a seriously impressive list of music videos for a number of legimately famous people, including Paul Kelly, Gotye, Sarah Blasko, Dan Kelly, Kate Miller-Heidke and Washington. Amazing! Lucy’s marvellous animated films have also screened at many Australian and international film festivals including The Melbourne and Sydney International Film Festivals.

In addition to her commercial film making and animation projects, Lucy has also achieved significant success as a fine artist since 2008.  She has exhibited in numerous group and solo exhibitions in Australia – and in 2010 her work was curated as part of The National Gallery of Victoria’s Stick it! Collage in Australian Art exhibition, featuring collages made in the past seventy years by prominent Australian artists.  Another overachiever in our midst!

Both Lucy’s animations and her artwork have such a unique sense of nostalgia about them, stemming from her fascination with collected images from vintage magazines, children’s books and journals.  My favourite piece of Lucy’s work is her film for Gotye’s Thanks for your Time – I love the way the cut-out characters move in symmetry, layer upon layer, like some kind of quirky character-based kaleidoscope… it’s clever and funny and such a perfect match for the song. (see below!)

In 2008 Lucy received a British Council Realise Your Dream award, and spent two years living and working in London, before moving to Berlin with her partner and creative collaborator Joseph Jensen.  These two clever creatives currently work from their home studio on a great variety of creative projects… they just don’t seem to slow down!  Lucy’s video for Ned Collette (also Melbourne/Berlin based) ‘Long you Lie‘ has just come out, and her second video for Australian singer Kate Miller-Heidke, ‘Ride This Feeling‘ will be out later this month.

Right now though, Lucy’s is MOST excited about a video due for release next month – ‘I directed a clip for UK artist Adam Franklin, for his song ‘I Want You Right Now‘, which will be be out mid June. I am very excited about this one, as it features Jessica Pare from Mad Men – Meagan, Don Draper’s wife!’ – says Lucy!  Ha!  Nice to be reminded, no matter how impressive your CV, everyone gets a little starstruck once in a while!

As you might expect from a technical genius and animation whizz kid, Lucy Dyson has an excellent website / blog and all her work is here on Vimeo for you to admire! Such an impressive catalogue of work for such a young film maker – I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more big things yet from Ms Dyson.

Gotye’s Thanks for your Time video clip, directed by Lucy Dyson

Lucy Dyson at work in her studio in Berlin

Tell us a little about your career background – What path led you to become an artist, animator and music video director? What did you study? How did you get your start?

When I finished high school I really wanted to study fine art painting, but my parents (an artist and high school art teacher) persuaded me to do a BA in Media Arts first, to get some exciting new media/animation skills (it was the year 2000) and instead consider fine art as a post grad option. As it turned out Media Arts was way more concerned with developing artists, rather than formally training animators. This allowed me to specialise in both experimental art animation, and became the perfect way for me to combine animation and visual art.

I started making music videos towards the end of my honours year, just for friends in bands. Those friends then started recommending me to other people, and that’s how I started making music videos. When I’m not making videos I go straight back to my art.

Artwork by Lucy Dyson

You’ve worked with some of this country’s best and well-known musicians including Paul Kelly, Gotye, Sarah Blasko, Dan Kelly and Washington just to name a few. Your films have screened at both the Melbourne and Sydney International Film Festivals, The National Film & Sound Archive, and The Australian Centre for the Moving Image. That’s an impressive list of credentials, but what have been one or two of your favourite projects so far?

In 2009 when I first moved to London I felt a little out of my depth and not very confident about my work. Being in a huge new city was inspiring, and I had lots of ideas for projects I wanted to get started on, but I was having trouble finding my feet. I was also having trouble finding work and took a job in a bookshop. A friend I made at the bookshop was in a really great but relatively unknown band Still Corners, and they needed a video for a song called ‘Wish’ that they were releasing on 7”. I spent the entire (tiny) budget on two rolls of 16mm film, which I double exposed, on purpose. It was a slightly risky experiment but my DoP knew what he was doing and it worked beautifully.

When the video went online it was really well received and the band got signed. It was an exciting time for my friends, but it also felt like a small coup for me and I made a second video for their song ‘Cuckoo’. ‘Cuckoo’ and ‘Wish’ are definitely two of my favorite pieces of work, visually and conceptually they work perfectly with the songs. They also remind me of the highs and lows of living in London, from feeling so uncertain about the city to then not wanting to have to leave.

Still frame from ‘Cuckoo’ by Still Corners, video directed by Lucy Dyson

A lot of illustrators fear animation because of its technological side.  Is this a warranted fear? Do artists hoping to combine their illustrative work with the moving images have to be highly computer literate?  Are you a technical genius or do you outsource this process?

I figure out how to do most things, but what I can’t do I throw at Joseph Jensen, my main collaborator when it comes to animating. He works patiently and tirelessly to animate all the visual malarkey I put together, he’s a very talented character animator. The things I struggle to animate come naturally to him, so we make a good team. At the moment I tend to take care of art directing, compositing and animating backgrounds.

I don’t think you need to be highly computer literate to animate. You can animate without using a computer, but if you know how to use Illustrator or Photoshop you are halfway there. Some animation software is really easy to learn, you just need to know what you want do with it.

Lanu ‘ Fall’ featuring Megan Washington – directed by Lucy Dyson

Can you give us a little insight into your process from concept to finished animation? I.e. From storyboard to moving images what process is involved? How do your clients find you? Do your clients approach you with a specific idea in mind or are you given free reign? How long does the music video production process take?

Most of my clients find me through my work or recommendations from other clients. Sometimes bands or managers will come to me with very specific ideas for a music video. If I’m not feeling it I tend to pass on those projects, however if it’s a great song I’ll offer them an alternative idea. Mostly I am given free reign to come up with something that will work within budget. Sometimes along with the song, I’m given a short brief describing themes my clients want the video to explore, or what they don’t want. I’m enjoying working on a treatment right now that can’t be performance based, or literal or narrative, for me that’s a perfect brief.

After an animated treatment has been submitted and approved, Joe and I start storyboarding and fleshing the treatment out to the song. Once the storyboard is done, Joe starts working on character design and I start developing the world of the animation, selecting the colour palette and designing backgrounds and scenes. We then fill each scene out with still characters and backgrounds and cut the filled-in scenes to the storyboard, creating an animatic.

At this stage the storyboard might change, either creating headaches for us to problem solve or forcing us drop things we thought would work but don’t. We then send the animatic to the client for feedback and then we start animating and bringing the scenes to life. For a 4 minute music video the process can take 6 to 8 weeks to complete.

Still frames from Kate Miller-Heidke’s ‘The Tiger inside will eat the Child‘ – directed by  Lucy Dyson

Which Australian designers, artists or creative people are you loving right now?

I’m finding a couple of other Australian artists based in Berlin inspiring right now, I love Rilla Alexander’s work, and Lily Mae Martin has been documenting her life in Berlin with really wonderful drawings on her blog.

Can you list for us your current top 5 go-to resources (i.e. specific websites, magazines or books) for creative inspiration?

1. Vimeo

2. BBC Radio 4′s Desert Island Discs podcasts, I can work for hours listening to it, to any random episode. One I recently enjoyed was Vidal Sassoon.

3. About six months ago, for 10 euros, I picked up a box full of more than fifty National Geographic magazines from the 60s and 70s. There are small piles of them dispersed around our flat, and since we’ve had no shortage of something interesting to read at hand’s reach, they’re also starting to make their way into my work.

4. I got into the habit of reading The New Yorker regularly and for free when I worked at the bookshop, but in Berlin it’s really expensive, so now I read it online. One of these day I’ll get a postal subscription.

5. Matthew Collings’ Facebook Art School, the British artist and writer conducts art tutorials on his wall, it nearly justifies wasting time on Facebook.

What does a typical day at work involve for you?

Joe and I work from home so we try to keep a routine, or else we end up working all day and night. I work best in the morning so I like to get an early start. We live on the fifth floor and the first thing I see in the morning from bed is the Berlin TV Tower. It sounds cheesy, but it’s a nice reminder that we are in this amazing city doing work that we love and it helps get me up.

Our studio is bright and peaceful. I have two work desks, one for my computer and all its peripherals, and another that is covered in cut outs, storyboard pages, tools, a light box – it’s a mess. On a typical day my chair rolls between the two desks: writing emails, having Skype calls, and doing production stuff, editing, rendering and animation at one desk; and building paper scenes, storyboards, and cutting up magazines for references at the other.

Currently I’m trying to fit in a collage a day for an exhibition I have coming up at Das Gift on June 29, which is infiltrating and beginning to take over my art desk. Joe works all the way over on the other side of the room, animating, editing, acting as technical support, and asking me for any updates from our clients. We have a lot on right now so our typical work day is also a typical work night. Luckily we live in a great neighbourhood, so we don’t need to venture far to take a break and meet with friends.

What’s the best thing about your job?

I get to combine my love of music, film and art.

What would be your dream creative project?

I don’t know if it’s a dream creative project, but it’s something the 15-year-old in me won’t let go of. I would like to work with Beck, I could create album art or a video, or live visuals. I last saw him play in 2003 on his Sea Change tour in Australia, and he had these amazing Jeremy Blake colour field videos projected on stage. I thought it was a very successful collaboration between a visual artist and musician. But I’m not sure if Beck will put out another record, or if his future output will inspire me the way his early work did. Maybe Ween would be a better band to pin my dream creative project hopes to.

What are you looking forward to?

Work wise I’m looking forward to finishing a lot of the projects I have lined up for the next few months, I’m also looking forward to friends and family visiting me this Berlin summer.  Later this year I hope to return home for a several month-long summer visit to Melbourne, that’s what I’m looking forward to most.

Lanu ‘Beautiful Trash’ – directed by Lucy Dyson

Berlin Questions

How did you end up in Berlin?

I moved from Melbourne to London in 2009 after receiving a British Council Realise Your Dream award. I spent two years in London and I would have liked to have stayed longer but my visa ran out. So I moved to Berlin with my boyfriend Joe, it was a good decision, we are able to focus solely on art and animation here, we love it.

Your favourite Berlin neighbourhood and why?

Kreuzberg and Neukölln! I’ve moved between the two neighbourhoods, but I’m currently loving living in Kreuzberg, near Bergmannstrasse, it’s a beautiful neighbourhod and one of the few parts of Berlin that mostly survived the ravages of war. I also love Neukölln, Kreuzberg’s grungy neighbour. Neukölln is a cool neighbourhood to cruise around on your bike in summer, a lot of artists live there, so there is always something new and unexpected to discover.

For instance I recently went to look at a space for a group exhibition, expecting just a back room in a cafe, instead I was lead down basement stairs to a subterranean 1960s disused and untouched two lane bowling alley (the lanes were really narrow). The lights weren’t properly working so I was guided into the space by candle light, then a working light switch was found and the bowling lanes lit up. I was blown away. The space hadn’t been used forever and was intact and completely preserved, the original wood paneling made it smell like a church.

Where would we find you on a typical Sunday morning?

At a trödelmarkt sifting through bottomless piles of old photographs. Or swimming a lazy backstroke and taking in the stunning neoclassical surrounds of the Great Hall Pool at Stadtbad Neukölln. It opened in 1914 and has Corinthian columns, mosaics, a dome ceiling, gargoyles, fountains and Saturday mornings and evenings are reserved for nudists.

Berlin’s best kept secret?

The swingers club I live above, just joking, it’s hardly a secret as its hilariously blatant signage is a huge giveaway. What I really think is one of Berlin’s best kept secrets towers 204 meters over everyone’s heads; the daggy and unassuming cocktail bar at the top of The Fernsehturm (the TV Tower). You have to pay to take the lift up, but you can do laps of the observation deck with an extra strength Long Island Iced Tea in hand. The view is spectacular, as is the late 1960s DDR décor, and the bar is open until midnight. Or make a reservation for coffee and cake at the revolving restaurant one floor up, the view is even better!

Servo - artwork by Lucy Dyson

The Australian Ballet – Health and Lifestyle film by The Apiary.  Music – ‘Bummer’ by Aleks and the Ramps.

Cinematographer Marden Dean with Lily Coates of The Apiary – filming for The Australian Ballet

Tell us a little about your backgrounds – what path led each of you to working in film, and to setting up The Apiary together?

LC : We both came to filmmaking almost accidentally – Gavin had come from a theatre background and I was doing design and illustration when we started at VCA Film & TV. We both wanted to be production designers and then through that realised that we wanted to tell stories as well as making beautiful images.

GY : And be very controlling in how those stories looked visually.  VCA was a bit of an endless film camp. We bonded over a shared distaste for the tech-boy speak that populates a lot of film circles, and also over the many late nights spent converting our student homes into film sets, trawling hard rubbish, visting kinkos at 2am to print out make-shift wallpaper… A lot of big ideas with no money.

Gavin and Lily on location

What were your initial goals when launching The Apiary in 2009 ? Did you sit down and make a plan for the type of work you wanted to do? Or have things unfolded a little more organically?

LC : We came back together after a few years working strange and sometimes unpleasant jobs, and we had this idea that we’d create a collective of creative people making the sort of work we really wanted to make – conceptual films, collaborative work with musicians and artists – it was a bit of a utopian fantasy actually, but it kind of ended up happening, in a round about way.

We did some gratis work for The Australian Ballet and immediately fell in love with the company and its dancers – and the contrast between the serious requirements of this very old-fashioned art form, and the freakishly modern work the dancers were doing at the time with Wayne McGregor, and fortunately they asked us to keep working with them from there.

GY : From working with The Australian Ballet so many other opportunites have arrived. We toured with the company to Japan last year and we have started to move into creating visual work for the company on-stage which is super exciting. After having made a doco on emerging choreographer Alice Topp last year, we worked together again this year and made a ten minute film that was integrated into her latest piece – Scope, at the Sydney Theatre in May. So this has opened up a new bridge between our doco work and theatrical projects, which we are really excited about.

The Apiary made these beautiful video projections which were integrated on stage with choreographer Alice Topp’s work Scope, performed at the Sydney Theatre in May this year.  These stills by Stefan Duscio.

LC : So from working with dance we started to make films on other artists. First with STVDIO, a series on the studios of artists from all disciplines, and more recently a series of web docos profiling Victorian Artists for Arts Victoria.

Gerald Murnane’s Studio – film by The Apiary, produced for STVDIO

The Apiary fills a unique niche within the Melbourne film making community – you focus on independent films about artists and creative people, and have been commissioned by leading cultural organisations including The Australian Ballet, Arts Victoria and the NGV. You seem to successfully avoid making overly commercial work – TVCs or corporates, for instance. Is this a conscious decision? Would you take on a less creative film project if the money was AMAZING!?

LC : To have a job making films with people who are creative and who excite us is pretty special, and it’s unusual I think to make a business of it. It’s obviously been a decision we’ve made to focus on making things that we would want to watch. So… if an AMAZING client came along offering us AMAZING money and asked us to work on something that we felt we could make visually interesting or clever or striking – we’d certainly not tell them to go away!

GY : We work pretty crazy hours, so it’s not so much only wanting to make films about art as realising that if we’re going to be channeling all our crazy energies into something, it should be something we care about.

Stillframes from a film covering design/sculpture partnership Korban/Flaubert.  See the film here.  Commissioned by STVDIO.

Can you give us a bit of an idea of how your creative partnership is structured? Who is responsible for which tasks, and what significant tasks do you outsource to keep everything running smoothly?

GY : Its pretty much 50/50. We do have different styles and approaches and in some of our work you can see it evenly divided, while other times it might tip closer to one end. I do admit I like a good excel spreadsheet so sometimes I do the numbers.

LC : Gavin always does the numbers. Sometimes I think he does them before sleep in lieu of bedtime stories. Though we both direct, and interview, write and film and edit, I prefer shooting. Editing, I’m very finicky and obsessed with detail and I often envy Gavin’s ability to see a project’s ‘big picture’ while I’m ferreting away in the undergrowth. So to speak.

GY : We also have a very talented animator/editor, Aleks, who works with us on projects that require that additional shazam and we also occasionally use a super cinematographers to get the real beauty beauty such as Marden Dean or Stefan Duscio.

LC : Music also is very important to our work. The one thing we have no hope in achieving ourselves is real, beautiful music and we are so fortunate to have found our amazing composer Lisa Illean before Michael Haneke snatched her up.

GY : Yeah that’s something I’m really proud of is that we always use originally composed music in our work.

Which other designers, artists or creative people do you admire?

Theatre maker Romeo Castellucci (amazing)

Conceptual artist Julie Rrap

Visual artist Michael Borremans

Composer Jonny Greenwood

Art Director Nagi Noda (sadly deceased)

Actor and forever muse Isabelle Huppert

Can you each list for us your current top 5 go-to resources for creative inspiration across any media – websites, books, magazines, a combination?

GY

http://ffffound.com/

Metropolis Bookshop

http://videos.antville.org/

Alejandro Jodrowsky collection of work

Polyester Records

LC

http://ffffound.com/

http://bookcoverarchive.com/

The sadly defunct Art World

Fantastic Man

GZA

What does a typical day involve for you?

GY : Hmm there isn’t really a typical day — editing, filming, editing, importing, meetings, writing, sourcing, encoding, grading, editing.. something like that… but in saying that, we have a lovely studio in an old converted school library that’s filled with light in which to do all that editing, editing.

LC : For instance yesterday was made up of filling a photography studio with cabbage, gravel, pineapple rings, dry ice and perfectly plucked clovers on which our model lay – We were shooting a fashion film with Annika Seidel who is launching a new lingerie line Light Years very soon.

The Apiary on set earlier this week, making a fashion film with Annika Seidel for her new lingerie line Light Years

Stillframes from The Apiary’s new fashion film with Annika Seidel

Lily sees stripes on set this week, making their fashion film with Annika Seidel

What would be your dream creative project?

LC : I’m getting a bit itchy to make a written film as opposed to a documentary, but not necessarily a conventional narrative. It would be a dream to collaborate with some of those artists I really admire on a non-doco film.

GY : I’m excited to do something event/installation based that involves film but also live performance. I am also looking to further explore dance on film – I recently saw Pina by Wim Wenders which was amazing.

What are you looking forward to ?

GY : We are off to Europe for a few months next week making some documentaries on expat Australian artists living and working in Europe. Exciting! We are making the series of 5 works for STVDIO across three European cities.

LC : We’ve also got two exciting on-stage commissions with The Australian Ballet next year, one of which will debut at the Lincoln Center in New York, which is terrifying and a great challenge.

We Love Japan : The Australian Ballet in Tokyo – Part one of a three part film series by The Apiary, following The Australian Ballet’s 2010 tour of Japan. Music by Lisa Illean & Alex Badham.

Melbourne Questions –

Your favourite Melbourne neighbourhood and why?

GY : I’ve just moved from Collingwood to East Brunswick so I guess I still love Collingwood

LC : Collingwood for me too. It’s kind of love hate, which makes it feel familial. We’ve recently moved to a studio in the old Sophia Mundi school in Abbotsford (Schoolhouse Studios) and it’s very beautiful around there, all leafy backstreets and piles of produce and aneurysm-level café sua da on Victoria St, so that’s a lovely place too.

A favourite location you’ve filmed at in Melbourne?

LC : Studio 7 & 8 at The Australian Ballet Centre.  It could be a case of brainwashing due to the immersion of the past two years… but so much beauty is in that room. And sweat, and control, and intellect and dedication to an art form that I haven’t witnessed on that level before. And the light is lovely for filming.

What and where was the last great meal you ate in Melbourne?

LC : Beef pho at Pho Hung Vuong 2 on Victoria Street.

GY : The weekend CIBI breakfast plate yum yum

Where would we find you on a typical Saturday morning?

GY : Coburg tip shop (perfect for finding gem furniture and treasures). I actually also went there on my last birthday because I love it so much.

LC : Still in my dressing gown drinking coffee on the balcony otherwise I’d be on my way to the studio.

Melbourne’s best kept secret?

GY : Daiso for Japan memories

Gavin shoots The Australian Ballet in Japan

Greenhouse by Joost film

It is a little known fact that I actually studied film making many moons ago at uni.  But in the 10 years that have passed since then I completely forgot how much freaking effort it is to make a short film.  Agh!  It is a LOT of work and also requires a vast amount of help and favours and the kindness of strangers (and independent musicians).  THANKYOU YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

ANYWAY.  How exciting!  This is the first ever Design Files film!  It is just 5 mins long and documents the fantabulous GREENHOUSE BY JOOST sustainable restaurant currently in the best location money can’t buy on the foreshore at Sydney Harbour (it’s still there for just a few more weeks!)

If you have any trouble viewing the film, or would like to watch it a bit BIGGER, pop over to view it on Vimeo.

Please watch it! Also please forward it on to help spread word of the Greenhouse, because Joost truly is one hell of an inspiring guy and you know, he’s not bad looking either.

Nick Lovell and Eli Wolfe kindly gave permission for us to use their music in the film  – please show your support by visiting their websites!

Quirky characters by Melbourne animator / illustrator Tali Gal-on

Character studies for Tali’s award-winning animated film ‘Lucille’

Lucille from Tali on Vimeo.

Melbourne-based Tali Gal-on is a web designer, animator and super talented illustrator.  She originally studied multimedia – which led her intially to web design, but after a number of years working in this field she went back to uni to pursue a passion for animation at the VCA.   Here she made two fantastic little animated films – ‘Lucille’ and ‘Crooked’ – both of which went on to screen at festivals both here and abroad.  ‘Lucille’ was even nominated for a swag of awards, including Best Animation at the Sydney Film Festival.  Tali’s  husband Matt is a Musician, and makes all the music for her films – ‘it’s rather convenient having a muso in the house… I’m sure he feels the same about me when he needs a new album cover!’ says Tali!

I love Tali’s naive illustration style, and her quirky characters!  Each really does seem to have it’s own unique personality…. my fave is her 3-eyed, mint-flavoured ‘Octogirl’ above – she is awesome!

Tali is pretty busy right now!  She’s currently working part time as a designer / animator at ABC Kids, writing a script for a new animated film, doing some freelance illustration, and has also has recently launched an Etsy shop!  Her shop, called ‘Milk and Cookies’, sells her super cute illustrated prints, greeting cards, and also a gorgeous calendar she has made for 2011.  I really think you need to snap up some of her artwork NOW, because when Tali is the next Tim Burton, I’m guessing she won’t have an Etsy shop anymore, and you will have totally missed your chance :)

Tali has kindly offered one lucky Design Files readers a gorgeous giveaway pack of  illustrated goodies!  The winner will receive a Tali Gal-on print of their choosing, one of her 2011 calendars , and a giftcard 3-pack.

To be in the running, please leave a little comment here today!  The winner will be selected at random and contacted by email tomorrow.  If you subscribe to these posts by email, please don’t reply by email, just pop over to thedesignfiles.net and leave your comment over there!

And don’t forget to Visit Tali’s online shop, folio site and blog to learn a little more about her work!

2011 Calendar by Tali Gal-on

2011 Calendar by Tali Gal-on

I met photographer Narelle Sheean on the last TV series I worked on. We came across each other on set in between takes – I’d be carting some furniture around or tidying up a set, and she’d be lurking behind the camera, poised for the perfect shot of the actors or crew in action. Can’t remember exactly how it came about, but at lunch one day we got chatting and I mentioned the blog… so it was only a matter of time before Narelle made an appearance here!

Narelle’s folio is fantastically diverse – as with many emerging photographers, her spectrum of work is extremely broad, covering film stills to travel shots and wedding photography. She’s been to more weddings than anyone I know(!), but this part of the job doesn’t faze her – she welcomes each new challenge enthusiastically, and says wedding photography has taught her so much about photographing people and emotion, and about the importance of always being ready!

I think my favourite shots (although its so hard to choose!) are the series she took earlier this year documenting a Sudanese beauty pageant in suburban Melbourne (images above).

Thanks so much for your time and for sharing your beautiful work with us Narelle!

film still

Tell me a little about your background – what did you study and what path led you to what you’re doing now?

I grew up watching my brothers draw, paint, make little movies and stop animations.
They influenced me a lot to keep myself amused by being creative.

After doing photography at high school, I did work experience with HWT, Australian Geographic, JWT, photography studios and design agencies. I found it really interesting to have insight on what it is like to have a creative job.

I studied Media at Deakin Uni, which included Photography and Film. At the same time I started doing stills for my brother’s short films and loved being on set watching the DOP’s.

film still

Your work is really varied – from wedding photography to travel photography and film stills. Do you enjoy this variety, or would you prefer to focus on one particular area of expertise?

The most attractive thing about photography for me is its diversity. I really enjoy the variety. This year I have photographed Jewellery, Sudanese beauty pageants, Dating game shows and funerals…You just don’t know what’s next.

I’ve learnt so much from shooting weddings. The lighting conditions and emotions are going up and down and you just have to be ready.

I’d definitely like to do more commercial work, film stills and travel pics.

candid wedding shots

Working for yourself can be really difficult for creative people. What are the challenges you have faced working for yourself – do you struggle with the business side of things, for motivation to get started on a project, or marketing yourself? Do you collaborate with other creatives?

I guess I’m pretty lucky; I do work by myself a lot but have a really great network of other photographers. Mainly people I have assisted on other shoots. They pass on jobs that they can’t do and I try to do the same for them.

I struggle with keeping receipts, tax etc the book work is really boring. I’d like to more collaborative work for sure. Unfortunately it tends to get pushed aside when paid work comes up.

Which photographers, artists or creative people are you inspired by?

Gregory Crewdson, Loretta Lux, Lee Dongwook, Erwin Olaf.

film still

Where else do you find inspiration (books, particular magazines, the net, everyday life?)

The net, magazines and everyday life.

Just keeping a look out for things that catch you eye and then think – why am I looking? Why is that interesting?

What does a typical day at work involve for you?

Battery charge and gear check the day before. Well it’s always a bit different… I may set up a backdrop and lights or be in a studio.

Come home to download Raws and start the culling process.

travel photography

What’s the best thing about your job?

Being my own boss.

And the worst?

Invoicing and waiting to be paid.

What would be your dream project?

Making a film set for a stills project.

film still

What are you looking forward to – professionally or personally?

Buying my own place with a little studio.

Melbourne Questions –

Where is the best gallery in Melbourne to see the work of emerging Australian photographers?

CCP in Fitzroy.

What/where was the last great meal you ate in Melbourne?

Kilim Turkish Restaurant on Victoria Street, Richmond.

Where would we find you on a typical Saturday morning?

Sleeping

romance!

Images from the Hillman Curtis film which documents Stefan Sagmeister’s exhibition in New York
(that ‘Self Confidence’ billboard is made up entirely of bananas!)

Stefan Sagmeister is a supremely talented designer, whose work blurs the distinctions between art and design. He also seems like an incredibly humble, thoughtful and generally nice guy. His ongoing project ‘Things I have learned in my life so far’ is such a simple, powerful idea. In its simplest form, its been described as a ‘typographic project’… but its become more than that.

Stefan’s design studio in New York have transformed these simple sentences into typographic works, from billboards in France to sign-toting inflatable monkeys on the streets of Scotland. People from all walks of life have also contributed their lessons learned on the website. It seems these simple truths have resonated with many, and have in some ways taken on a life of their own.

A reader sent me a link to this amazing little film by Hillman Curtis, which follows the set-up of Stefan’s exhibition in Soho New York, as part of this ongoing project.

There’s something incredible about this little film. The universality and sheer simplicity of Stefan’s life lessons? Stefan’s delicate voice-over, that sounds somehow like the voice of an old friend? Or is it the glimpses of New York reflected in the gallery windows?

They seem elementary, but there’s something in the re-telling these age-old lessons that gives them more meaning…

Worrying solves nothing
Self confidence produces fine results
Helping other people helps me
Having guts always works out for me
Starting a charity is surprisingly easy
Being not truthful always works against me
Everything I do always comes back to me
Money does not make me happy
Trying to look good limits my life

Such lovely ideas to start your week…!

watch the film here
buy the book here

Vision City TVC

Nokia TVC

Jean Yip TVC

Matt Wilson is a Melbourne based freelance film director. He’s highly regarded in ad agency land – he’s worked for many prestigious clients here and internationally… big names like Coke, Pepsi, McDonalds and Nokia, to name a few. His work has taken him to all the corners of the globe – from Melbourne to Mexico, Egypt, America, India, China… the list goes on!

The standout feature of Matt’s work is its unmistakable visual appeal. His creative vision is clear and uncompromising – from the production design, through to the cinematography and final effects in each of his projects. His trademark, though, seems to be his masterful weaving of motion graphics and type into his films. These superimposed elements are seamlessly intertwined with the live action footage, in a way that is rare in TV commercials these days. The result is delicate and thoughtful… not brash and full of branding!

His website is really worth a look… be sure to check out his reel, but also take a look at his photos… beautiful stuff.

BUT before you do that… read his interview! He gives a candid insight into his creative process, his inspirations and the development of his personal style. Also – nice to know coffee making does lead to success in the end!

Thanks Matt!

Tell me a little about your background – what did you study and what path led you to what you’re doing now?

I studied Graphic Design/Photography at Monash then went immediately into a small film production company; it all grew from there….from coffee maker to tvc director! I never formally practiced graphic design but I have kept an interest in design and photography and that’s constantly influenced my work.

What are some of your projects/clients that we might be familiar with?

Projects you might recall here in Australia are Kayser, HWT, Kit Kat, Nutri Grain, Big M, Melbourne Central and Greenpower. Over the years I’ve shot for most of the big advertising agencies in many different countries. The clients you would know are Coke, HBA, Nestle, M&M’s, Kellogg’s, McDonalds, Toshiba, Pepsi, Nokia, VB, Corona, Mazda, Hewlett Packard and Heineken.

How do you approach a brief – what process do you go through when coming up with your initial treatment?

My approach varies a little based on how I am briefed and what style of film it’s proposed to be. Sometimes a brief is restrictive and sometimes it more open, same for all of us I guess?

I receive briefs as scripts, usually including an agency storyboard and sometimes with some other reference. I only write up a treatment after I have spoken with the creative team, it’s a way I can learn what their creative vision is, and what they have gone through to get to this point. I listen to the verbal brief and I’m able to ask questions and get deeper explanations.

I use a notebook everyday and I start a treatment by writing and drawing up my ideas, also importantly I create my own storyboard. I just go for it at this point, it’s stream of conscious, scribbles, hunting and gathering, chopping things up, tearing things out, very organic. Then I simply cross out the dud ideas or leads and circle the things I like and begin to refine them.

I find the time consuming part of doing a treatment is sourcing and creating visual reference. I try to avoid showing the work of others as reference. I prefer to combine things together to illustrate the mood I’m after. In SFX jobs it’s a bit different, I really enjoy piecing the puzzle together so we can get (shoot) the best with a finite budget. Stuff like the possibility of shooting two scenes at one place to avoid moving the crew, and little tricks of the trade. Also stuff like, should I shoot everything in-camera on location or maybe a combination of 3D and in-camera etc. It’s in SFX jobs where my version of the storyboard and matching shot list can become very, very detailed.

My final document with images is written up in Pages and sent out as a PDF.

Your work has a very stylised design aesthetic – how much freedom do you have when determining the ‘look’ of your commercial work? And what factors do you think have determined your style over the years?

I have quite a lot of freedom creating a “look” because this is what my clients are looking for from me; they are not looking for someone weeping after an auto accident, that’s for a different director. I’m the “give me a look” director!

What’s determined my style is my ongoing interest in design and my ability to combine on set experience and knowledge with what can be done in postproduction. When a job calls for graphics I have been very fortunate to collaborate with fantastic designers, I can talk “design-speak” with my team.

One of the recognisable features of a lot of your work is a really interesting use of superimposed text and motion graphics… how do you design these graphic elements? Do you have a clear idea of how these effects will look before shooting, and if so, how does this effect the production design and composition of the shot on shoot day?

Yes I’ll certainly go into a shoot with a very clear idea and I know the capabilities of what can be done in post. It all starts with a pen and paper and the pen and paper method continues throughout each project. When a client needs instant explanation I’ll flip open my book, sit beside them, draw and explain.

I’ll design and suggest a style once I’m comfortable with the overall personality of the project – is it to be bold aggressive type, delicate, fast or slow etc. This appears in my treatment, usually on still images.

When I am into pre-production I lay graphics on the stills I take at the chosen locations (I may have presented with stills from my collection), or ideally I have the designer I’m working with take over and create a test design and animation also over a still image. This way we know how much negative space we’ll use for type and decorative elements, get a feel for texture and importantly how much screen time is required.

Are there any particular designers, artists or creative people you look up to or are inspired by?

There are so many inspiring people! This week it’s Tomokazu Matsuyama, Thomas Campbell, Robert Frank, Guillermo del Toro, Lee Friedlander, Stephen Shore, Bill Henson, Daido Moriyama, William Eggleston, Ed Ruscha, Eugenio Recuenco, Psyop, Shilo, Stardust, Imaginary Forces, David Lynch, Michel Gondry, Steven Soderbergh, Wilco, Devo, The Editors….

Are there any jobs you would turn down?

I’ve knocked back cigarette commercials.

What does a typical day at work involve for you?

There’s no typical day but they all start with coffee.

What are you most proud of professionally?

That I still have ideas flowing and that I’ve successfully collaborated with people from other cultures and passed on knowledge. Also I have evolved as our industry changes and won a few awards along the way. One week I’m proud of a certain job, the next week I’ll hate it!

Where do you find inspiration?

From my son Curtis, wife Joy, from friends, from surfing and music. I find inspiration when I relax, when I take away the pressure of “got to think up something cool right now”. If I distract myself something materialises!

What’s the best thing about your job?

It’s spontaneous. New ideas and ways of thinking, variety, interesting people, travel and when I receive genuine positive acknowledgement and thanks for my work.

And the worst?

Disappointment, exploitation and misinformation.

What would be your dream project?

A sci-fi film or a Radiohead music video.

What are you looking forward to – professionally or personally?

Learning and moving forward, working again with some of the people I have become friends with and enjoy collaborating with.

What’s on your ‘to do’ list this week?

I’m in pre production for a 2 day shoot, I’m working on a number of treatments, I’m helping a photographer with some shots, I have a location survey, my website and reel update is in progress and to see Died Pretty and drink beer.

Melbourne Questions

What/where was the last great meal you ate in Melbourne?

Capellini at Blue Tongue.

Where would we find you on a typical Saturday morning?

Surfing early, then taking my son Curtis to Taekwondo.

Melbourne’s best kept secret?

Albert Park Bookshop.