while you have light

Something funny about working in film... the editing process takes such a long long while that by the point it really starts to come together, stills start to appear and you (finally!) get to watch the finished thing, so much time has passed that it's pretty much like re-living the magic all over again! (Unless of course you're part of the post production team... in which case you've spent a long time in a small room with people you've developed strong and equal feelings of love and hate for, and are really just hoping to have held onto your sanity.) Lucky for me, costume gal, I'm currently sitting and enjoying the snippets of a short film I worked on at the end of last year, While You Have Light, start to take shape! I hear a viewing is not far off (SO excited) but for now shall we just enjoy some stills?

I had the most fun working on this film. It's a charming little devil - paper cranes come to life, lives are taken over by paper (literally), adventures are had and relationships are explored, developed and mended. Whimsy and heart to the max. Is that all you need in a pleasurable viewing experience or what?

And I got to rip up clothes and splatter them with (fake) blood! I gotta tell ya, that's a therapeutic activity right there.

But of course - it wouldn't have been half the excellent experience if it weren't for the wicked people doing their thing behind and in front of the camera - it's all about who you work with, am I right?

directed by Jenny Crabb / produced by Lauren Cleary / cinematography by Corydon Anderson / written by Chris Ardley / production design by Danae Blennerhassett / hair and make up by Kate Anderson

featuring Kiran Wilson / Meagan Taylor / Clem Littleton

stills by Matthew Casey

Yay movies!

Lisa xx

the burning kiss

About this time last year I was super lucky to work as a wardrobe assistant on a feature film for the first time, The Burning Kiss. Coming straight out of uni it was the biggest production I'd worked on up until that point and it was such a great experience, with a rad group of hard-working, passionate people. And the clothes! Oh boy, the clothes. Wait til you see 'em. But until then, a few teaser photos are beginning to emerge (and they're getting me even more excited to see the final product). I just had to share a few...

Photos by Jesse Collins (bottom image screenshot)

"It's been six long years since the hit and run incident that put disgraced former detective Edmond Bloom in a wheelchair and killed his wife, Juliette. With the killer never identified, Edmond spends his days pouring over clues under the care of his submissive 20 year old daughter, Charlotte, whom he indirectly blames for the accident.

What an achievement it would be if he could catch his wife's killer from the confines of his wheelchair?

On a hot summer's day, a broken and remorseful stranger appears claiming to be the driver of the car six years earlier, begging Edmond for forgiveness or punishment. It seems the killer is revealed; case closed. The problem is, Edmond didn't catch him and there's no way six years of hard detective work were all for nothing. Instead of seeking retribution on the guilty party, he concocts a selfish and dangerous plan involving himself, the stranger and his daughter. Sun-bleached shadows loom over the three as the plan spirals out of control."

Head here for more info and news about the film.

Lisa xx

american graffiti

I tweeted the other week that my initial reaction to watching American Graffiti was anger. It is a right damn shame that I hadn't seen it sooner. IT IS SO GOOD, YOU GUYS. If I'm preaching to the already converted here, I don't care, I'MMA PREACH AWAY.

Get ready for some no-enthusiasm-held-back "reviewing":

THE MUSIC. I don't know what else to say except that it is an example of a perfect movie soundtrack. I actually fell in love with the film before I'd even seen it because someone recommended the soundtrack and it. Is. Perfect. It is perfect. See examples below and then I dare you to not go buy/ download the whole damn thing. THE CARS. This movie is a visual explosion of hot rod goodness. I can't imagine what it must have been like to drive around the streets and be surrounded by so much style. I'm guessing it would have been amazing. THE HAIR. Give people these days more hairspray and pomade, I say! Let's all wreck our hair for the sake of volume, bounce and slickness! THE CLOTHES. THE SLANG. "I said, 'go kiss a duck, marblehead!'" "If brains were dynamite, you couldn't blow your nose." Oh, kids those days.

And you know what I especially liked? It didn't try to glamourise these kids and their lives. Amongst their fine style you can see their pimples, the way their hair's knotting from so much hairspray, the creases in their clothes, and the awkwardness! So much pure adolescent awkwardness. Like how Freaks and Geeks got early 80s high school spot on (supposedly - I wasn't there), American Graffiti gets early 60s small town teenagers what I imagine to be spot fucking on.

So. Who's going to join me in giving up modern technology for a wee while so we can instead spend the nights cruising the streets in our fab rides?

Lisa xx

true directions

Inspiration time. I spent my yesterday watching But I'm a Cheerleader and it was overloaded with style. Hella entertaining but what got me were the barbie dreamhouse vibes, the oversaturated colours, the sweaters and full skirts, the librarian glasses, the old school barrettes and the intense pink and blue palette. Visual feast.

Give it a watch here.

Lisa xx