Production Attachments at IRON SKY helping emerging Queensland practitioners

Screen Queensland’s newest “graduates” of the Production Attachment programme, Joe Frances and Courtney O’Brien-Brown, recently completed their work at New Holland Pictures on the Australia-Finland-Germany co-production Iron Sky with the support of Screen Queensland.

The Production Attachment programme supports Queensland practitioners in their professional and business development through skills transfer between experienced and less experienced practitioners. The programme is designed to allow early-career practitioners to gain credits and          knowledge.

Courtney worked as Assistant Editor with Editor Suresh Ayyar at Village Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast, a role that took her all the way to Helsinki in Finland.

“Suresh relied heavily on her on the technical side of the role, and she consistently delivered,” said New Holland Pictures producer Cathy Overett.

“It was a delight working with Courtney and she was a great asset to the production.”

Her work was so exemplary that Suresh took Courtney with him to Helsinki for the duration of the edit.

“The Production Attachment scheme enabled us to meet that request and give Courtney a variety of opportunities.”

Living and working in Helsinki gave her experience in a different industry environment, working on the production at Post Control.

“I met many producers, projectionists, sound designers and other industry personnel. I learned a lot about European funding models, distribution protocols and post-production facilities,” Courtney said.

With the role of assistant editor changing, exposing them more and more to the shooting period, Courtney feels that the opportunities for assistant editors to learn and develop skills further through the production process are becoming rare.

The opportunity to work on Iron Sky in Finland allowed Courtney to expand her skills beyond those already gained during its production in Queensland, by working closely with the editor during the advanced stages of the editing process.

Joe’s role during the shoot at Village Roadshow Studios was as a camera attachment with DP Mika Orasmaa, camera operator Greg Gilbert, 1st AC Ricky Schamburg, 2nd AC Robbie McKinnon and 3rd AC Lukas Davidson.

“The whole crew were great in encouraging me not to be shy, and showed me how to assert myself on-set as a professional. I also learned a great deal from all of the camera crew about how they got started with their own careers, making connections in the local industry and about the investments I need to make in equipment in order to be seen as a self-sufficient crew member,” Joe said.

“This experience, combined with my previous knowledge of loading magazines for film, means I am now on the way to becoming a professional clapper/loader.”

“We found Joe to be extremely hard working and willing to do anything, which is a great asset to have on a film set,” said producer Cathy Overett.

“He had great communication skills with the Grip and Gaffer department and developed a good working relationship with the two departments. This is essential to become a self-sufficient crew member on large scale productions.”

Screen Queensland wishes Joe and Courtney well in their next career moves.

More information on the Production Attachments programme can be found on the Screen Queensland website at www.screenqueensland.com.au.

 Article by Screen Queensland