Finding global perspective as a Filmmaker

Last April I flew from Rio (where my TOPtoTOP footage will be shown at the Rio20+ World Earth Summit) – to Sao Paulo to meet, film & play with World X Cycle. It was an amazing weekend.

I flew back to melbourne (with all my C02 emissions being offset by MyClimate) and finalised post for my short TOPtoTOP doco on Saint Helena Island, before I started preparing for the next major project in Sri Lanka. We just finished filming last week – here’s a sneak peak:

Documentary content is important. The process of making, creating & sharing doc is changing.

I used to struggle to explain the style & intention for my documentary content. The easiest way was to call it “Commercial”.  Then, I heard Director Danny Boyle in the podcast of “127 hours – behind the scenes” say: “…CINEMA IS ABOUT MOMENTUM > emotion, continual change… that compelling momentum of film… that is why I’ve always believed that the purest of film, is actually, an action film…”

That’s it – capturing compelling moments which engage the audience & foster change > enrich perspective, inspire ambition, or simply encourage compassion towards causes, people or events being documented. Action is fun. It’s adventure. It’s inspiring to watch, and it stimulates our drive & energy to achieve our sense of purpose.

Plus it’s fun to edit.

It’s so exciting knowing I’m alongside so many amazing projects on the forefront of branded content & documentary creation, but being there means we have to be prepared to take the most risks. Creating independent, important branded content.

Personally, I want my films to be free & online.

I want to bridge the gap between creativity & commerce. I don’t believe in traditional advertising but am passionate about storytelling & artists collaborating within corporate organisations. I whole-heartedly believe that some of the most creative & adventurous people are the CEOs and business leaders. In my last 3 documentaries I have witnessed young, successful working professionals step outside their office & comfort zone to achieve the seemingly impossible. It’s inspiring.

I am moving to Singapore. I want to live in a multi-cultural society which doesn’t even see itself as multi-cultural, but has evolved naturally into a global community. Between the 7 people I travelled with recently to Sri Lanka, we collectively spoke 18 different languages.

Through my years of travelling, filming and meeting the worlds community – I’m finding our global perspective and sharing it - or perhaps even taking part in building it.

Sail Film Sleep Sail Film Sail Sleep Edit….

In January this year – I flew to Simonstown in South Africa to continue filming the long-form documentary of the TOPtoTOP Global Climate Expedition

All I knew was that from there, we would be sailing to South America – and I should bring my sailing harness.

South Africa was incredible.

We soon set sail, and arrived after 14 days at sea to our first destination; Saint Helena Island. (See my previous post)

The social and environmental situation there is dire. It is one of the last remaining places on earth with such a pristine ecosystem and unique social character. There is development plans underway for the construction of an airport – until that is built, the only way to access this gem is crossing the atlantic ocean. The only chance of preserving some of it’s culture, flora and fauna is for the local “Saints” of the island to take pride and protect.

Financially, they don’t have the resources and the economy is dependant on British Aid. The average annual wage for a Saint is £6000. Their knowledge of the island is unrivalled, and TOPtoTOP is hoping that the international consultants that make the social & environmental decisions will start working closely with the locals to determine their future.

Filming on the island was an absolute privilege. Thank-you so much to all the Saints that made the experience and documentary so special, and to the fellow filmmakers who were also stranded in the magic ~

Around the 17th of March we departed Saint Helena to sail across the ocean to Brazil.

It was quite an epic adventure! One night, in a sudden and huge gust of wind, our huge gennaker sail actually snapped from the halyard and into the ocean!! It was quite an effort to lift the waterlogged sail back onto the yacht… all hands on deck!

You can see a playful video of the children onboard here;

I’m going to seriously miss these kids when I have to leave.

Making documentaries is not a skill which can be trained, but one that must be nourished ~ I hope the experience over the last 5 years filming with TOPtoTOP has enriched my perspective….

“A writer sees the world through their eyes… a journalist sees the world through the eyes of others…”

St Helena – A brief introduction.

Some amazing things about the incredibly remote “St Helena Island” I have so far discovered:

1. There is NO mobile service. At all. VHF radio only.
2. There is no airport – fastest transport is the 5 day voyage via cruiser!
3. The accent is a mix of “cornwall” (UK) and a pirate.
4. They have THEIR OWN CURRENCY! This blew me away – “The St Helina Pound”
5. Most places close at 3pm then open again at 6pm…
6. The main fruit / meat / veg supply comes once a month, also onboard the cruiser.(RMS St Helina)
7. Cable Internet DOES exist – except costs EU$7 per hour.
8. Everyone spends 50-60% of the day saying hello to someone as they walk down the main street. (It took me half an hour to get about 100 meters.)
9. They have BOBBY police men. It’s hilarious.
10. Land-line phone numbers are only 4 digits.
11. Car licence plates are normally 3-4 digits also… the variance of car models is also hilarious!! Love the 3 wheelers.
12. Every building is ancient – all landmarked in history. Lots of the road is cobbled.

It is without question the most extraordinary place I have ever been…

I will try load some photography later on in the week – my EU$14 internet connection is running dry….!!!

Why make documentary?

Very simply put – one of the great needs, maybe certainly one of the greatest needs in our world – is for us to know one another, to know whats really going on in the world around us and to feel a commonality of need and purpose with other people.

People from different walks of life, other nations, other ethnic backgrounds, economic statuses, different philosophies, and religions… we need to find a common bond with the rest of humanity and the documentary allows us to do that.

- Albert Maysles (Director)

Update. Nearing the end of 2011….

“… Every once and a while you come across some filmmakers that actually “get it”. People who are passionate about their craft – and just want to make movies that THEY want to watch. People who want to push boundaries and achieve the seemingly impossible….

As a result, we’re proudly supporting the UK team behind The Underwater Realm. Because without inspiring and passionate people like this – our industry would be really boring….” – Chris Hocking, LateNite Films.

A quick shout out to David from Realm Pictures – for inspiring us all to keep our ambitions ridiculously high. Please make sure you see and support their project “The Underwater Realm” – because if they can pull this off, the future of independent film-making will be changed forever.

The last few months since my update in September have been a bit hectic. Here’s why.

THE TOUR DE TIMOR

This was epic. See my previous blog post to read why.

After coming home from Timor, I was on the road again – this time in rural Victoria and New South Wales! Filming an awesome little roadtrip with the crew from Brasserie Bread in Sydney! They basically needed to transport their “sacred” sourdough starter to a new Melbourne location, and along the way they wanted to visit, film a documentary and discover other Artisan businesses. I loved this – we basically just visited and filmed small family-run businesses sharing amazing food, wine and views….

Once back in Melbourne – it was time for the annual 48 Hour Film Project! SO EXCITED to win an onslaught of awards including Best film!!! Now we all need to prep to to to NEW MEXICO next year in March to compete in the INTERNATIONAL COMP! WOOOO!!!WOO!

This month I FINALLY made it to my favourite meet-up in Melbourne – Doco3000! To my AWESOME surporise, I finally met Cassie De Colling – who directed a wonderful little short film called “Beneath the Boarder”. I stumbled across this project when I was shortlisted for the World Nomad Documantary Scholarship! a few months back. I highly recommend you check it out!!!

I also got the oppertunity to go to some incredible premieres. Most favourably – “On Borrowed Time” by David Bradbury.

This film captured not only the essence of independant film-making in Melbourne, but also the essence of what it really means to be an Artist anywhere in the world. It explores mortality in such a profound way – I haven’t really stopped thinking about this film since I left the cinema.

I caught up with Bradbury a few days later to hear his thoughts on the industry and future direction of documentary films. It was quite sobering to hear that his immaculate film has not yet been picked up for further distribution. Independent digital distribution has never been more important. On that note – it was very exciting to hear that the wonderful distributers of “The Tunnel” movie are soon to launch a new distribution platform! We’ll be watching closely to see how that goes! Check out the article here.

Another Premiere I was able to attend was “Miss Representation” with a panel of speakers;

• Michael Ullmer (Former Deputy CEO, NAB)
• Amanda Sinclair (Foundation Professor / Managment Diversity & Change)
• Janet Matton (Vice President, IBM Aus/NZ)

I found the documentary quite bias – but still worth watching, especially for schools and education programs.

On Cup Eve I filmed an insane gig. It was a little bit hectic. Performers included HAVANA BROWN, MGMC and dj NINO BROWN. Awesome footage.

I also got to attend some pretty insane events – probably the biggest party I went to this year was the NIGHTLIFE EXCHANGE, which has such a cool concept! WE GOT GREECE!

Meanwhile – I continue to find and support inspiring films around the globe. You can keep track of who I’m funding via my profile on both Kickstarter and IndiGoGo.

Huge congrats to the team at Gwapa (“Beautiful”) – who have been spamming everyones about their upcoming indie-film. It looks like it will be something truely gorgeous… can’t wait to see how it turns out!!

Fellow Melbourne film-makers have also been busy – with my good friend Mark heading off to IRAQ !! I noticed yesterday he had also started a crowd-funding campaign on the awesome Pozible site. Check out his campaign!

But as the year is coming to a close – and post-production wraps up – Pre-Production for the next projects begin to simmer….. and nothing is more exciting than the new collaboration with my two partners in crime – the incredible DESH and NINA.

Desh, is the most awesome person I met this year. He can, literally, do anything. He is a rockstar. He runs amazing events – most impressively of all, was THINKinc.

Who would have believed that a ridiculously young 20-something could bring all these guys to our shores!!!! >>

• Niel deGrasse Tyson
• Christopher Hitchens
• Ayaan Hirsi Ali
• Tim Flannery
• Michael Shermer
• Father Bob (!!!)
• Shane Koyczan

and most awesomely of all…. Cristina Rad! Rad.

Yup. Desh is awesome. And next year, Desh, Nina and myself will hopefully be embarking on a pretty cool documentary project to be announced soon.

In between everything else I’ve also been really enjoying working with melbourne production house Suitcase Murphey. I really look up to these guys. Mainly, because as their motto states, they really know how to “Tell Good Stories”.

We’ve been working on the Creative Innovations Conference - which has been really fascinating. Some incredible content.

BUT OF COURSE aside from all of this – since returning back from Cambodia all those months ago – I have been knee deep in post-production for our independent documentary SPINNING DREAMS. THERE IS SO MUCH exciting news from this project that I will be updating you all on this further down the track. Here’s just a few sneak photos from the amazing Singapore event (which itself raised over $10k)

What an insane few months.

Now, as I wrap up and finish the last of 2011 – I need to make some crazy decisions regarding the NEXT few months. Update soon.

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS!!! xx

The Art of FLIGHT

I just watched a film which contains some of the most inspiring editing and cinematography I’ve ever seen… below I have quoted the opening lines from the film, a Documentary; “The Art of Flight”.

—-

It’s funny whats happening to us.

Our lives have become digital -

our friends, now virtual

and everything you could ever want to know

is just a click away.

Experiencing the world through this endless second hand information isn’t enough -

if we want authenticity – we have to initiate it.

—–

DIRECTED AND EDITED (!!!!!) by Curt Morgan.

Want more? Here’s another great blog post on this film…

Reasons Why the Tour De Timor is AWESOME.

I just came back not too long ago from beautiful Timor-Leste filming the 2011 Tour De Timor. It was the third time I’d had the pleasure of visiting the country – next time I’ll be going back there to stay. I just wanted to quickly share a few reasons (there are actually hundreds) why I think the Tour De Timor is, in fact, Awesome.

© Mathew Lynn 2011 (www.matlynn.com.au)

1. It brings together amazing people from around the world who want to challenge themselves and put themselves FARRRRR out of their comfort zone.

2. It’s for PEACE. (This years tagline for the race was “DAME HAHU HUSI HA’U” ~ “Peace Begins with ME”)

3. The local kids are filled with PRIDE as their villages are TRANSFORMED into camp-cities with over 800+ people.

4. The National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre provided medical support for the race to mend the “broken” cyclists – but they also donated medical supplies to every village we stayed at!

5. I met a Timorese girl who broke several bones in her hand on the first day in a crash. She continued cycling anyway and FINISHED the day. She then continued for the next 3 days until she was forced to stop by the medical team. When I asked why she did it in an interview; she replied with: “for the pride of my country”.

6. I met the amazing Julio Costa – a Timorese local who suffers from polio. He completed every stage of the race and got a special mention from the President at the final presentation.

© Mathew Lynn 2011 (www.matlynn.com.au)

7. It brings hope - “Ba Futuru” - (for the future)

8. Everyone wants to quit and leave Timor-Leste after the first day. Everyone wants to live there forever after the last…..

THANKS SO MUCH TO THE AWESOME FOUNDATION MELBOURNE FOR DONATING AU$1000 TOWARDS MY CAMERA REPAIRS AND MELBOURNE FLIGHT! STAYED TUNED FOR THE DOCUMENTARY TO BE RELEASED IN THE COMING YEAR BY JUNGLE-RUN PRODUCTIONS! Exciting times.

Since Cambodia. The beginning of a new journey.

I recently told someone that I don’t think reflection is important – everything is so unstable with what I do, simply pouring the most of everything into the current moment, for me, seems to work out best. Reflecting on past work, or looking forward to upcoming projects, seems to be less productive. Here’s one of my favorite quotes;

• “The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who’ll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you’re sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and somthing else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that’s almost never the case.” ~ Chuck Close

However – for the sake of argument and more than anything else a resource for others out interested in documentaries, film or art in general, I’ve decided to reflect, in dot-point form, what I’ve been doing for the last couple of months since I returned back from filming in Vietnam and Cambodia (July-ish).

I have been pretty intensely busy and excited – for a million reasons.

One of them: WE’VE MOVED INTO LATENITE FILMS HQ! Which is kind of exciting. The office already looks like an indi-filmmakers heaven, and a spankin’ new shipping-container to live out the back for all our film-equipment will be moving in shortly, so we’re a little bit excited. *yay!

Preparing the “Spinning Dreams in Cambodia” doco for the edit has been incredible, and although it’s been a huge task just getting everything transcoded into the AVID, I’ve been loving watching the rushes and re-living our incredible experience to support CfC.

With no Australian-based producer for the concept onboard yet – I worked with our Singapore team creating RedBull and Canon proposals, and managed to already score our AMAZING music rights (to be announced soon!) #indifilmmaking WIN

I have to add a huge shout out to all the support and awesome tweets and feedback I’ve been receiving for our first “Spinning Dreams” on the FairFax Digital network in Aus and NZ! Cheers to FilmVic, SPAAFringe , and especially Ricky Sutton!

Always looking around the world for inspiration – I found and funded an incredible project on indigogo – “Forgotten Slaves – The Comfort Women of the Philippines”, to be directed by Björn Jensen, Germany.

Forgotten Slaves – The Comfort Women of the Philippines (Trailer) from Gingerfootfilms on Vimeo.

Sadly I’ve been missing the incredible Doco3000 events the last few months due to the fact I’ve been interstate or OS. It’s A MUST do for any film-doc interested up’n’comer ~ “Doco3000 brings melbourne based people interested in documentaries together for screenings, feedback, networking and collaborating. [we] meet monthly for our main event 10 x 10 as well as hosting other events.”

Although I did manage to see Doco3000 founder, and talented Melbourne Film-maker Genevieve Bailey at her film premiere of “I AM ELEVEN” – one of the best indi-docs I’ve seen in a loooooong time. Did you manage to check it out at any of the 3 sold out sessions?

I Am Eleven – trailer from I Am Eleven on Vimeo.

After months of docos, meetups and travels, I responsibly caught up on some much-needed mula by working as an AE (assistant editor) at the Butchery and editor with a local agency. Also had a ridiculous amount of awesomeness filming/editing and screening (in one night!) a world first “DigiHunt” event – more info to be released soon!

***Quick shout out to the wicked guys at Inspiration Studios for holding “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Film™ – A Digital Cinema Discussion! Awesome!***

Less responsibly, filming the talented Stuntman “Brett Solomano” do stunts in trucks… Big Trucks… is highly recommended.

(We didn’t get arrested, so that was nice.)

HIGHLIGHT of the last few months has been working with the AOP – (Australian Orangutan Project ) - on their latest campaign video. To be released soon! I am seriously so excited about this – can’t wait to share it with you!!

Fellow sailor and Director of Photography who joined me in Cambodia, Michael Lutman, has also recently completed his feature documentary “Plasticized”, which will be premiering at EFF later in the year. WOO!

I think one the best events (perhaps also experience) I’ve had since returning to Melbourne, among many other things, was attending the ADG conference with speaker David Bradbury - “KEEP THE CAMERA ROLLING NO MATTER WHAT!” – which kind of changed my life. Meeting David, and talking to him about all the places I’ve loved filming – Nepal, Cambodia, Vietnam – was so unbelievably amazing. I bought 7 of his documentaries, and have been devouring and analyzing them ever since.

If you haven’t seen his films – you should. If you haven’t heard of him – you must. I can’t tell you my favorite documentary he’s made – but his first ever film “Frontline” (1981) certainly has stayed with me ever since.

I have to also mention that the Documentary Short Film night at #MIFF was amazing. A wonderful selection of some of the worlds best short docos. LOVE short docs – can’t wait to see more of them online. Loving witnessing the race to see who masters the curation of online content!

Can I also quickly mention a great meet-up I had with talented German Film-maker Nina Spilger who is currently living and looking for production work in Melbourne. We had an inspiring conversation about all things film and doc – watch out world!

But I think all of the events over the last few months have led to one incredibly awesome moment – WINNING THE AWESOME FOUNDATION grant of $1000 to finally fix and repair my cameras for the Tour De Timor. Awesome.

Yup. I’m heading off to Timor-Leste (again!) to film the Tour De Timor (again!). After last year, I couldn’t imagine being able to justify or afford coming back – I broke and lost so much gear last year (the usual way, falling off motorbikes and crashing into things, you know what it’s like…) that I couldn’t justify going this year. And with so many other projects to focus on, like the Spinning Dreams Cambodia project – HOW could I possibly afford to go to Timor-Leste again?

Well, with the awesome foundation encouraging me with their holy awesomeness, I am now in Darwin with my “like-new” camera packed and ready to be broken again! WOO! This time I wont be there with the GoneCyclin team – but instead joining the JungleRun-ners to shoot all coverage of the epic race!

So, tomorrow I fly out into the beautiful city of Dili – and on behalf of the awesome foundation melbourne team – I’ll make sure to be taking plenty of photos, videos and keep everyone updated on the awesomeness!!

Here’s some highlights from last year -

WISH ME LUCK!

~

x

INTRODUCTION TO SPINNING DREAMS CAMBODIA ~

An introduction to our feature length documentary currently in Post-Production. Due to be completed and released for screenings December 2011.

The concept behind the GoneCyclin’ project is to undertake a physically and mentally gruelling challenge to raise awareness for a sustainable social cause and thereby make a positive impact on society.

The GoneCyclin’ team cycled 389km trip from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap on the 19th-26th of June with the objectives to:

Support Cambodia – a young, developing country and democracy emerging out of a violent past
Raise awareness and SGD 50,000 of funds for Carpets for Communities (CfC) – a NGO based in Cambodia –

Inspire young people to take on their own challenges to make a positive impact on society

CHECK IT OUT!

CAMBODIA, VIETNAM, SINGAPORE – POST!

It’s been an EPIC month! Production for SPINNING DREAMS in CAMBODIA is officially WRAPPED!

First, some tech talk.

With the new FCPX release – it’s definately time ONCE AND FOR ALL to convert to AVID Media Composer 5. Although I’m a big fan of both software, Avid has won out to be my software of choice for cutting the 2 Terabytes of footage that we shot during the expedition in Cambodia, Singapore and Vietnam.

I’m thinking about doing a post podcast throughout the process. Instead of ranting and raving about the production, (which was extremely… arrr… eventful… ) I feel that I should be summarising that element of production through the story of Post. After all, I’m a documentary editor, not cinematographer. (Actually, on that note, I found out the the Maysles Brothers actually credited their Editors as Directors. I think for documentary, the editor truly is the director. However, perhaps “directing” simply isn’t a role in Documentary film? But that’s for another discussion..)

Anyway! In regards to the cinematography – luckily I had the talented DP from Lutman Films join me on the expedition, which brought a great cinematic perspective to the documentary! Especially in the interviews, which with a touch of lighting help lift the production value into the realm of Cinema Quality ~

So over the coming weeks and months, I will be updating you about the insane process of trying to convert the footage into a story. A story which is inspiring, motivating, and positive. A story about young, working professionals, stepping outside their comfort zone to take on a challenge and make a positive impact on society. Ok. Sounds simple.

BUT! Umm… how on earth do I do that while at the same time giving a deeper understanding of the cultural history of these places we visited!!!? The positivity only has a deeper meaning and value because of the NEGATIVE context which people need to understand! Having hope and potential is only significant because of the reality that these countries, both Vietnam and Cambodia, have overcome an overwhelmingly haunting past. To understand the immense achievement of the Cambodian people, to be able to get back on their feet and prosper, first we have to comprehend the history.

One article I found very inspiring was an interview with the documentary Director of the film “Brother Number One” Annie Goldson. She explained in the interview;

“…The trick in documentary it seems to me is how to provide historical context without an oversimplification of history while sustaining the narrative momentum of the personal story.”

This is EXACTLY the biggest hurdle I will have to overcome in the editing process!

I have to find a balance between the story of the bike riders and their emotional journey taking on the challenge bike riding over 400kms from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam to Siem Reip, Cambodia and the story of the NGO, “Carpets for Communities” which is working to empower women to break the cycle of poverty. The GoneCyclin team hopes to raise over SGD$50,000+ for Carpets for Communities. ALL OF THIS has to be captured while also not ignoring the historical context of both Vietnam and Cambodia. What an EPIC MISSION!

Wish me luck guys, I’ll need all the help I can get over the next 6 months.

DOCUMENTARY WILL BE SCREENING IN DECEMBER 2011- better get to work!

P.S Fundraiser screenings will be held in Singapore, Ho Chi Minh, Siem Reip, Phnom Penh, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and more cities around the world! If you want to find out more about the GoneCyclin project visit their website!

IN SINGAPORE – OFF TO VIETNAM!

Hey guys!

Just checking in from Singapore! It’s beautiful, sunny and humid ~ perfect weather! Sorry to everyone struggling the cold back in melbourne!

Today I’m off to Vietnam to begin filming SPINNING DREAMS II with the GoneCyclin Initative. Here’s our support team prepping for the project yesterday in Singapore -

The team will be cycling from Vietnam into Cambodia to raise money for Carpets for Communities (CfC) – we’re aiming for SGD$50 000 !! And I’ll be filming the entire time to capture every moment!

Luckily we’ve been out shopping to stock up some last minute equitpment and gear! This time I’ll be partnered with the UBER talented DOP from San Fransisco and Lutman Films – Michael Lutman! He managed to find a creative way to fix a broken RodeVideoMic which we use as a guide track to sync the audio from our lapels; (Shooting on DSLR – we’ll have 2 H4N Zooms and 2 sets of Sennheiser Lapels) >

We’re pretty excited about the team jersy – which features our lovely Latenite logo:

I’m not sure if I’ll be able to update the blog while I’m away – but I’ll definately have some amazing photography and video to share when we return!

The feature film will be finished by November 2011 – with screenings planned for Singapore and Melbourne!

Other online videos will be released over the coming months so stay tuned!

We are also planning for the ONLINE unveiling of “SPINNING DREAMS ~ in the tour de Timor!” – as a 100% non-profit FREE video to watch online! STAY TUNED!

Love you all, wish me and Michael Lutman luck on the back of the motorbike through Vietnam and Cambodia!

Bring it on!

~
j

Update: The Last Few Months

Hey guys!

Sorry I haven’t given you the latest update – however if you’ve been following me on twitter < @Jacqui_Hocking > or facebook recently, you’ll know I’ve been very busy!

This blog post will be short and sweet, because as always, I’m on the road (surprise surprise) so don’t have too much time! But I thought I should fill you in on the latest seeing as I’ve been too hectic to update you all since my screening.

Since our Spinning Dreams Screening – I have been working on the 40 Hour Famine for World Vision! in Timor Leste and Post production here in Melbourne!

I was also Director of Photography on a short film starring Ashley Zuckerman, Directed by the talented Martin Sharpe! (pictured below;)

And was invited to Sydney for the opening night of the Audi German Film Festival!

In February LateNite Films hosted our March to Miami Warehouse Party, I filmed the Sustainable Living Fesitval, and went to the awesome Australian International Documentary Conference! Woah! What a month!

After arriving back from Adelaide, it was back to work on World Vision – and in my spare time managed to attend some Young Editor nights hosted by the ASE.

At AIDC I had the honour of watching an incredible keynote by David Gallo:

I also helped my brother film some Seals for his research at the melbourne Zoo! What a cool job!

Then has some fun with a few random freelance jobs like working on TV show Neighbours, and live VideoHits concert in Melbourne!

I also then shot some really cool events after meeting the team at Inspire9.

Trampoline –

and

Mindful –

The month of May was even more incredible – Editing, Shooting, Planning, Editing… woah. At the moment LateNite Films is currently facilitating about 8 independent documentaries – so I’m sure keeping busy!

You’ll have to wait until my next post to find out whats happening in JUNE! Which is just a tiny bit exciting too…

~

Peace!

j

SPINNING DREAMS – GLOBAL PREMIERE 27.02.2011

Last Saturday Night, on the 26th Feb 2011 – we held the first MELBOURNE screening of SPINNING DREAMS at Shed4 in Docklands.

It was an incredible success! With over 200 attendees, and thousands of dollars raised for Timor Aid, we couldn’t be happier.

The Team at LateNite Films captured the whole event and STREAMED LIVE at our Ustream Channel ; http://www.latenitefilms.com/live_events/

The Feedback for the Documentary “Spinning Dreams” was fantastic! The future of Spinning dreams – a webdoc or online feature – is yet to be decided! So keep tuned!

Thank you so much to the amazingly talented musicians which kept everyone entertained before the screening!!

I couldn’t have asked for anything more, they blew everyone away!

So a BIG Thank you to every one who came to the Premiere and of course donated to TIMOR AID!

I hope everyone at home around the world who watched the LIVE STREAM enjoyed the show!

((We were all impressed how many people arrived by bike!!))

Now ALL STEAMS AHEAD for the NEXT instalment of the Documentary – SPINNING DREAMS part 2 – VIETNAM to CAMBODIA!!

Back to PRE-PRODUCTION for another busy busy year ahead…!

Rolling Stone Awards

HAPPY NEW YEAR – 2011 – BRING IT ON!

photography by the amazingly talented Alana Carlton ~

What an incredible year it has been. Interviews with Presidents, World Highest Mountain with Babies…. India, Nepal, Switzerland, East Timor, Singapore….. and an Australian Tour! Yup. 2010 was a year to be remembered.

But no time to reminisce! 2011 will only get BIGGER AND BETTER!

A second insallment of Spinning Dreams…? Somewhere in a remote country of South East Asia perhaps….? A trip to Africa perhaps…? What about a US produced doco in INDIA….??? The possibilities are endless.

Keep tuned for all my upcoming projects… and watch out for the Spinning Dreams WEB RELEASE and Screening in Melbourne, Australia in February!

Love,

Jacqui Hocking

“….that’s. so. fabulous….” – Singapore Event 2010

On the 26th of November 2010, I was lucky enough to fly and speak in Singapore for an amazing event held on the 28th called “One Night for Timor Leste”

It was held at the stunning “POD” in the National Library Building in Singapore – with a 360degree view of the city! Breathtaking!

(thats for those pics shutterstock, & iStockphoto!)

An evening where everyone experienced the beauty of the young, resilient nation of Timor Leste ~ through art exhibitions, cultural showcases and the screening of our documentary “SPINNING DREAMS” based on the 410km Tour de Timor mountain bike race. The whole event was aimed to raise funds for the women weavers and craft-workers in East Timor. I am proud to say that the Gone Cyclin foundation has managed to raise almost SGD$50 000 for the cause. WOW!

As it was the first screening of the documentary – I was extremely nervous. We filmed the Tour De Timor in late Septemeber – I was in Bali in October – and then the screening was in Novemeber. That meant I needed to complete the edit, the audio mix, and a grade – in a month.

Well – luckily – everyone was completed in time – and the documentary was a huge success!

“…[I've] been telling people about the amazing one-woman-show who shot the doco while balancing two cameras on the back of a motorbike. that’s. so. fabulous. God has blessed you with some amazing gifts! …” ~ Shiao-yin Kuik, Company Director

I’m looking forward to hold a similar event in Melbourne in February 2011!!!!!!!!!!

And along with the melbourne event will be the OFFICIAL WEB-SERIES RELEASE! CANT WAIT TO SEE THE GLOBAL REACTION ONLINE!

I also gave a presentation at the event – which was a wonderful opportunity. It was so inspiring to be able to meet and speak to so many amazing and talented people.

What an incredible event – thank you to everyone who made it possible!

If you somehow missed the trailer for the documentary; check it out here:

UPDATE

After being on Tour for the last month with an amazing crew on a stage show around Australia – this thursday I’ll finally be making my way back to Melbourne. Thanks to everyone on the Tour – it was so much fun! Nothing like a bit of glitter to brighten up your day…

Meanwhile – the edit for “SPINNING DREAMS” is almost complete!

Another fun shoot I’ve worked on recently (above) was shot a sunday on a day off while back in melbourne (between sydney and adelaide in the tour!). The result has caused a lot of controversy in the commercial world – after releasing the clip online – the director wrote on his blog that the spec was done under AU$3000 – with unpaid crew- which ensued an outroar of comments – erupting in a “campaign breif” forum – which leads me to my final thought on the matter:

I’m really proud of us, we are an amazing team. All 30 of us took this onboard over a weekend (actually, just one sunday) to do what we ALL love doing – shooting something cool. The fact we pulled it off – and got something done – is whats special. Putting it all together.. getting it made.. and out.. I think is pretty impressive.

And the end of the day – it’s just about going out there and doing it. We did it.

No-one at our age should ever take themselves too seriously. Just spend each day learning as much as you can – while surrounding yourselves with the best crew, mentors and friends you can find to help support you. I’ve never worked with a more supportive and inspiring team – so thanks guys for an AWESOME shoot

Perth, it’s been fun – now back to melbourne thursday - Next stop? SINGAPORE!!!

SHOTGUN LIVE SCRIPT READ!

I love making films – and I love the entertainment industry - I love how it has so many crossovers – so much about the attitude and mentality of crew; working on either Film, Stage or Music can all intertwine. And, if you HAVE that mentality, you can cross over your skills …(it’s hard to define – but I’m pretty sure the “mentality” is a combination of common sense, competence, and cruis-y-ness – oh! And the capacity to work your ass off!!). The good thing about freelance, is that it gives me the opportunity and freedom to take on different roles, on different projects, on different mediums, with different people. It can be scary – there is no certainty in what you do – no confirmation or stability in your life – but the opportunity to work with these people, with the same mentality – the same attitudes – makes it all worth it. I’m currently working on a 5 week stage show touring around Australia, and the crew here is amazing!

Now, I DO love working on factual film / documentaries most, which is often a solo job at this stage – BUT – doing projects like “Spinning Dreams” really makes me appreciate how inspiring a team of people working with you can be. I think the reason I love film-making – although at times it feels like the opposite – is because I love people. I love challenges. And I love people working together to OVERCOME challenges.

This, to me, is the backbone behind the film and entertainment industry – a TEAM of people – all trying to achieve what is, essentially, deemed impossible.

Not having the money, the inexperience, all all the other HUNDREDS of reasons why you CANT do something – are totally irrelevant if you’re working with people that have that same “crew” attitude.

This has become apparent to me many times since I started work in the field – especially working on “SAKOOZ” – one of LateNites first production, and definately on all my work with the TOPtoTOP Global Climate Expedition.

However – it became crystal clear to me EXACTLY how important and thrilling an amzing team can be, LAST SUNDAY NIGHT!

SHOTGUN (movie.com) – is the FIRST feature film that LateNite Films hopes to lift off the ground. Obviously – I’ve been working hard on other projects, like my documentary “Spinning Dreams”, but the fantastic thing about working under the banner of LateNite – with such an INCREDIBLE team – is that when we need help, we are all there to support eachother in whatever way we can!

This happened last Sunday – when the SHOTGUN feature film script reading event took place! The goal was to STREAM the event LIVE online – and, primarily being an editor – I offered my hand at operating the Vision Switch! (Controlling the 3 camera operators covering the event!)

It was an amazing experience, something I have never tried my hands on – I was extremely proud to be working with such a dedicated team of camera operators, audio mixers, production managers and AMAZING talent!

How often does an event like this happen – with people working just for the love of the project? It was heartwarming –  HECTIC – and extremely fun!

SO THANK-YOU to everyone involved – supporters who watched the stream – and all the boys and girls @ LateNite!!!

(P.S – all these increible photos have been taken by a LateNite Partner and STUNNING photographer – Michelle Leong! > http://www.micapixel.com/ )

FYI:

On Sunday 17th October from 6:00pm to 9:00pm (Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time) we streamed the SHOTGUN! feature film script reading session on the Internet for anyone to access free of charge. The purpose of the read was to see how the actors tackle the latest draft, and also to bring our audience up to speed as to the kind of film we wish to make. It really was a sneak peak into the world of SHOTGUN! well and truly before we have even considered pressing record on any film cameras! From all reports, from the people who attended live, and also the people who watched via the Interner – everyone was both impressed, and had a great time! We have had nothing but amazing and positive feedback – so thank you!

The cast that attended the read included Samuel Johnson (who is attached to the project), Nathan Wentworth, Osamah Sami, Emily O’Brien Brown, Ben Ridgwell, Andre De Vanny, Matylda Buzcko, Brenton Matulick, Liam McInytre, Fabio Motta, Arthure Giamilidis, Nick Colla, Hannah Jones, Lee Beckhurst, Wendy Bos and Amanda Logan.

For more info head to:

http://blog.shotgunmovie.com

You will also be able to tune into future live events by visiting:

http://live.latenitefilms.com

If you havent checkout out the LateNite Films site – you should. But JUST INCASE you don’t have time, I’ve included a brief below;

..established in early 2007 by a team of students studying Film & Television at Swinburne University, LateNite Films has come a long way since it’s initial conception. It was originally set up Chris Hocking, Isaac Egan, Nick Colla and Eloise Loxton during the production of the short film, “Happy Sundaes”, with the intention that any projects developed by the team could be promoted under the same banner.

Over the preceding couple of years many more productions were added to the slate, as several talented people joined the family, and others moved on to do different things. Like most young up-and-coming companies, it took a little while for us to find our feet. What originally started as a bunch of film students essentially thrown together to create some cool short films under the same name, has since evolved into a cutting edge production company with the sole mission of creating top quality media.

We are not a traditional all-in-house production company, in that we don’t always produce, create and market all of our creations under the LateNite banner. We’re all about developing great ideas, and then finding the right people to get them off the paper and onto a screen. As a company, we provide the tools and resources to help our team establish their ideas in a friendly, exciting and manageable environment. We pride ourselves in utilising the very best in technology, in all aspects of production and also have an extensive network of friendly experts to call upon whenever we run into any kind of problem. We’re all about team work, sharing knowledge, having fun, pushing boundaries and just making truly entertaining, ground breaking films! We truly love film, and we honestly devote all our time to telling stories.

Following the lead of industry innovators such as Peter Jackson, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas and Robert Rodriguez the ultimate mission of LateNite Films is to help revive the Australian film industry by bringing together a team of some of the most talented up-and-coming people in the industry, providing them with the tools they need to just get out there and make top quality films. Just like Peter Jackson has created so many amazing opportunities for New Zealand film-makers, we want to get to a point were we can offer the same kind of incredible experiences for like-minded Aussies. We want to bring together the best writers, the best directors, the best actors, visual effect artists, gaffers and runners, throw them together in the same place, and just work as one big team to get Australia back on the map as a country that makes films the world actually wants to see. We love film – and all we want to do is make films that we want to watch!

SPINNING DREAMS

Lucinda and Warrick ~ Bali 2010

I just wanted to thank Lucinda and Warrick for a Stunning night at Villa Atas Ombak in Seminyak, Bali! An incredible experience, with some beautiful footage to work with!

x

Tour De Timor

After a week of filming, cutting, crashing… the Tour De Timor 2010 is oficially over, but the post production of the Long Form doco “Gone Cyclin” has only just begun! With over 10 days of footage – it’s going to be an epic few weeks ahead.

But before I head back down to Melbourne to begin the edit – I’ll be making my way to Bali to collect and consolidate some more footage from another production team that was in Timor.

For now, while I wait patiently for the transcode  - here are some highlights of the trip:

The East Timorese put up a fantastic competition against the world champions! With limited funding, equipment, and training – they still managed to score a place in the Top 10 nearly every day! Everyone should be extremely proud.

A Politician, a President, a Prime Minister, an activist, a freedom fighter –  José Ramos-Horta was present throughout the event, to show his support to the participants. A passionate and devoted man – he should also be extremely proud of his people and country to be able to perform such an incredible feat.

A big thankyou to everyone at TIMOR AID – you’re work is invaluable. And ofcourse, a massive congratulations to the Gone Cyclin team – who managed to make it over the finish line after an INCREDIBLE week cycling over 400 kms through the timorese mountains! Amazing!

I would also love to thank my motorbike driver Toby from Timor – who managed to keep me on my bike while I was filming the team. We only crashed once! Well done!

Our visit to TIMOR AID (one more day before the race!)

The last three days have been stunning. I arrived in Timor, where I met Beth from TIMOR AID. Instead of staying at the hotel booked for me, we drove together 9 hours to the western boarder to one of the poorest villages in Timor; Suai.

The road was incredibly … well… using the term “road” is probably exaggerating. It was exciting – crossing rivers, rocks and over mountains… but I found it difficult to imagine the how anyone on this bike race was going to survive!!! It certainly got me very excited, now I can’t wait to see how it all pans out!!!

After some rice and local veggies, we had a night of well earned rest. (we arrived at about 9pm) The next day, we got up early to go and meet the local women working on Timor Aids “weaving” project. It was incredible! Using natural dyes, the women create beautiful cotton cloths (Tais). I caught some amazing footage, and got a few interviews in the local language of “Tetun”. Next week I will work with TIMOR AID to assist in the translations…

The children in the village, although in extreme poverty, were just so much fun!! They thought the big funny looking white girl was hilarious! I probably spent a bit too much time focusing on the kids – but who wouldn’t? They lit up my spirit! Especially one group of young girls, carrying heavy water for their family, who started to play “hide and seek” with me and laughing hysterically when I showed them their photos. They are the future of Timor; beautiful, prospering and at peace.

Then yesterday, team GONECYCLING arrived!!! I went to film them at the airport, and to my surprise, on the same flight, was none other than the President of Timor Himself! Mr José Ramos-Horta! COOL! It was a big decision whether to follow the president or my team – but in the end the Gonecyclin guys won out on priority. But don’t worry, next week we’re planning on shooting an interview with Jose ~ which will be incredible!!

Thanks to the awesome Media Coodinator for the Tour de Timor,  I was also invited to the Press Conference with President Jose ~ although I gave it a pass to go with the guys back to Timor Lodge!!

Now? It’s Sunday morning – Race starts tomorrow! It’s going to be EPIC! Can’t wait to start shooting. Met up with the main media coverage of the event from Jungle Run Productions (Ubud, Bali) – hoping to coordinate with them today to share some b-roll footage. NICE! Plan is to get some heli shots too, but we’ll see how we go.

@ 5.30 today I have the media briefing, which includes training with my motorbike and driver on how best to film the race and not die falling off!!! Should be really interesting! We’re even doing some rehersals with a few riders to show how it works on the bike. Wooo!

But for now! I’m heading outside to film a beautiful sunrise…. GOOD MORNING TIMOR!

x