SIX LOVERS

Alex Kadamani Interview

2010-12-31T22:27:00.000-08:00

DAY 19 VS THE END OF SHOOTING

2010-11-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

FADE IN:

INT. WILLIAMSTOWN DESK. DAY

On Thursday the 4th November, the Six Lovers crew and some of the cast met for the last shooting day at the Melbourne Actor's Lab in St Kilda, once again courtesy of Peter Kalos, to wrap up a couple of 'bits of scenes' and to do actors' interviews for the DVD extras (yes, we plan way ahead of time!).

Actor KENDALL OSBORNE and Sound Recordist BEN BOMITALI chillin' out before the actors' interviews

It was a bittersweet experience knowing that it might be a while before we get to work together again. We did a voice-over with Ad am Tu rn bull in the role of Walter, and after we re-shoot a section of a scene with Constance Washington in the role of Marilyn because we wanted 'more tears'. Our wonderful Make-Up Artist Teressa Borjesson even bought a 'tear stick' to give our actor that wonderful tear-jerking experience.

Actor CONSTANCE WASHINGTON looking wonderfully teary

Lunch was spent at the Post Office Club Hotel, just around the corner from the Melbourne Actor's Lab, and everyone there was treated to whatever they fancied. I shouldn't have had that light beer because I was uncontrollable for the rest of the afternoon when we returned to the Lab to shoot the actors' interviews.

Lunch at the Post Office Club Hotel

We managed even an interview with myself, even though it was uplanned and unprepared -- be interesting to see what it ends up like. We finished on schedule, and all that is left now is to get the team together for one huge wrap-up party. The question is when and where?

Writer-Director LAURENT BOULANGER has found

a way to ensure actors don't forget their lines

A big thank you to everyone who has helped throughout the day: our wonderful Sound Recordist Ben Bomitali, our ever-reliable Make-Up Artist Teressa Borjesson, Leanne Campbell as Camera Assitant and stills photographer, Georgie Smibert as Production Manager, Joel Mielle as DOP and Producer, and of course all the actors who turned up for this final day of shooting.

The Usual Suspects hiding from the paparazzi

This weekend, Friday-Sunday, I will be in Sydney with Georgie to undertake the Professional Certificate in Executive Screen Production offered by the Victoria Law School and designed in conjunction with the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA), and this will get us in-line with all the paper trail and legal work requirements.

In the meantime, enjoy the first of series of actors' interviews from the Six Lovers cast. First in line is Peter Kalos who discusses his involvement in the film:

Until next time, stay warm and happy.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 18 VS THE WIND

2010-11-02T02:35:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. WILLIAMSTOWN DESK. NIGHT

On Friday the 29th October, cast crew got together for the first time over a month for the last day of outdoor shooting. We were located in the beautiful seaside town of Williamstown, the first exit over the Westgate Bridge, and only ten minutes from the CBD. The forecast was predicted as hot throughout the day, but the wind was something that we could have done without.

Cast and Crew shooting at the ice cream shop

Producer and DOP Joel Mielle framing a shot

We decided to shoot the 'ice cream' scene with Ad am Tu rn bull, in the role of Walter, and Ken Osborne, in the role of Tom, at a take-away place along the Esplanade, not far from the Williamstown Botanical Gardens. The location was perfect because we had access to tables sheltered undercover and food and drinks if required.

Sound Recordist BEN BOMITALI with AHMED

The staff at the take-away place (thank you, Ahmed) were extremely helpful and allowed us to film from the inside of the shop looking outdoors. This of course provided us with a more interesting opportunity than just shooting the scene from the back or the side of the actors.

Actors MUSHU and KEN OSBORNE getting intimate

After lunch, we moved to the Williamstown Botanical Gardens, only a few minutes walk from where we were located, to shoot a scene with Alex Kadamani, in the role of Lorenzo, walking by himself, puzzling over his affair with nearly-married woman Lucia, played by Maria Fernandez. The hot weather meant that we had to deal with melting ice-cream and fast setting and shooting.

Actors KEN OSBORNE and ADAM TURNBULL
discussing a shot with
Writer-Director LAURENT BOULANGER

The highlight of the day was having Mushu, the pug, courtesy of his owner Jacqui. The script calls for a dog to come and eat some of the ice-cream from the ground. This worked, and we did a few takes, but after a few seconds of licking the ice-cream, Mushu decided that he was better off grabbing it and making a run for it.

Actor ADAM TURNBULL and
Make-Up Artist TERESSA BORJESSON

We wrapped up on schedule with a scene involving Ken Osborne, in the role of Tom, entering a cafe bar. The day ended with drinks at the local water whole with a gorgeous view of the sand and the sea.

Our make-up artist for the day was the charming Teressa Borjesson. Ben Bomitali drove all the way from Ballarat in the morning to provide sound recording for the day -- thank you, buddy. Leanne Campbell was camera assistant and provided help with other duties as required,including still photograph, and of course Production Manager Georgie Smibert insured that we were all doing some work instead of socialising all day!

The Shade Team (L to R): actor ALEX KADAMANI, make-up artist TERESSA BORJESSON, writer-director LAURENT BOULANGER, and actor KEN OSBORNE

The next scheduled shoot and final day of filming is on Thursday the 4th November at the Melbourne Actor's Lab in St Kilda, once again courtesy of Peter Kalos.

Actor ALEX KADAMANI strikes a pose

Until then, keep sheltered from this crazy rain we're having.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

Production vs Legal Matters

2010-09-30T03:22:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. WILLIAMSTOWN DESK. NIGHT

The first cut of the film is coming along nicely with already 30 minutes edited -- but, of course, there is still a long way to go.

Kendall Osborne is back from his trip, so we're going to resume the last two days of shooting soon.

Our Production Manager Georgie Smibert is hard at work trying to gather people's availability for the next shooting days.

The hardest thing so far about shooting a film is not shooting -- both Producer/DOP Joel Mielle and I, and undoubtedly the rest of the crew and cast, miss the fun of being on set and actually doing the work. The social aspect is great, but all good things come to an end.

Producer/DOP JOEL MIELLE doing what he does best

Joel and I are aware that once this is all wrapped up, we'll have the business and legal issues to deal with -- paperwork nightmare, but the process is going to be simplified since Georgie and I will be undertaking a Professional Certificate in Executive Screen Production in Sydney in November for two long weekends (with a weekend break in between) -- the course is run by the Victoria Law School and was designed in conjunction with the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA). Hopefully this will arm us to the teeth with legal knowledge and will provide us the necessary resources and professional networking to launch Six Lovers into the world.

GEORGIE SMIBERT, Production Manager
and Film Producer in training

Last week Joel and I were also approached by the Victorian Writers' Centre to be part of a discussion panel running in April 2011 on screenwriting and the industry. Whilst Joel won't be able to make it, I will be attending. I'll keep you informed on when and where it will be taking place for those who would like to attend.

And finally, Encore Magazine article on DSLR featuring Joel Mielle discussing shooting on Six Lovers is now available on the publication's website.

Until then, be good.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

UPDATE

2010-09-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. STUDY. DAY

We have only two days of shooting to go but because of weather problems (the worst floods in nearly a century!) and one of our actors being on leave for a few weeks, we had no choice put to postpone the final shoot for October.

Instead of wasting a whole month, Producer Joel Mielle at Intermedia Arts studios will begin working on the editing process immediately -- it's a long task that will most likely take us until Christmas. With a rough cut in hand, I'll start working on the soundtrack for the film. With 20+ years experience in music and a fully set-up studio (guitars, 24-track digital recorder, keyboard synth, sequencers, samplers, pro mikes and a variety of other tools), I'm up for the challenge.

CONSTANCE WASHINGTON represented by Nickie Sriven Management

Meanwhile, we'll also begin the process of conducting interviews with the actors and crew for what will become the DVD release extra features somewhere in the future. The interviews will also be useful to write up promotional articles for a variety of outlets, mostly magazines and newspapers (in print and online). I will also be discussing the film itself, the idea, and what we've learned during the process of taking up this challenge.

ADAM TURNBULL represented by Now Actors

I've spoken to Joel last week, and we're both ready to move into the pre-production stage of our next feature collaboration "The Jerk Off" (a comedy this time!)-- we will be conduction auditions soon, but the reaction to the new script has been overwhelmingly good with strong interests from Louise Alston of Bunker Productions International (who had it optioned for a year), and Daniel Scharf (Romper Stomper and Metal Skin producer), who offered to represent my work after reading the script. Sibylla Budd has expressed a strong interest in the adult female lead role after reading the script and is willing to discuss her involvement in the project at some stage down the track.

Actors CAMERON DADDO and MARIA FERNANDEZ

In the meantime, don't forget to pick up the September issue of Encore Magazine -- there is an extensive article on DSLR filming, and Joel Mielle and Six Lovers are featured prominently in the text (with promo photo feat. Cameron Daddo and Maria Fernandez). Unfortunately, at this stage, the article is not available online, but we will keep you posted if it does appear eventually.

IF Magazine has also an entry of Six Lovers with the new trailer inserted.

I'll keep you updated of any progress.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

SIX LOVERS TRAILER

2010-08-21T02:45:00.003-07:00

DAY 17 VS RE-SHOOT

2010-08-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

ALEX KADAMANI, GEORGIE SMIBERT and JOEL MIELLE

FADE IN:

INT. OFFICE. DAY

On Sunday the 15th of August, crew and cast met in Craigieburn, far north of Melbourne, to re-shoot a scene with Alex Kadamani, in the role of Lorenzo, and Maria Fernandez, in the role of Lucia. Thanks to Stockland that provided the new location, we re-shot a kitchen/boardroom scene we had originally shot at the The Melbourne Actor's Lab, courtesy of Peter Kalos, on the 18th of June.

Actor MARIA FERNANDEZ trying her hands on the clapper board

Producer and DOP Joel Mielle went through the rushes and informed me that some of the eyelines between Alex and Maria just crossed over the 180-degree rule -- most people wouldn't notice, but we were also not totally satisfied with the setting, so in the end re-shooting the scene was probably the best thing to do.

A tracking shot with the CANON 7D
mounted on the slider

Instead of shooting the whole scene in a kitchen, like the script calls for, we decided on shooting the majority of the scene in the gorgeous boardroom of the Stockland office in Craigieburn. There was some minor lighting adjustments because of the large windows, but in the end, the shots came out nice.

Production Manager GEORGIE SMIBERT on a cookie break

The boardroom table was large, and in fact, after debating this with Joel, we decided to place both actors far from one another -- this is a scene where they are arguing, and the spacial distance re-enforces their psychological state.

DOP/Producer JOEL MIELLE and Writer-Director LAURENT BOULANGER framing a shot, with CHRISTINA GABRIEL

The last few seconds of the scene were shot in the kitchen and hallway of the Stockland office. We wrapped up slightly behind schedule, but overall all went well.

Actor ALEX KADAMANI in the Stockland kitchen

Our make-up artist for the day was the ever-reliable Teressa Borjesson. On sound recording, we had Ben Bomitali, and our camera assistant was Leanne Campbell. Of course, we had Production Manager Georgie Smibert keeping us on our toes for the whole day, and we were also assisted by Christina Gabriel.

Sound Recordist BEN BOMITALI
searching for the prefect sound

We now have two more days of shooting, and it's a wrap.

Laurent Boulanger

Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 16 VS THE SCHOOL KIDS

2010-08-06T22:50:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. STUDY WILLIAMSTOWN. DAY

On the 6th of August we returned to the botanical gardens we shot at the previous week, and the heavy morning rain resulted in me getting a couple of phone calls from crew members to check if the day's shooting was still going ahead. Luckily, we began getting blue sky with no rain an hour before we had to meet on location.

DOP and Producer JOEL MIELLE framing a shot

We had planned to only shoot a single scene on that day, one which involved some confrontation between Walter, played by Ad am Tu rn bull, and Tom, played by Kendall Osborne. Part of the scene involved some 'walking and talking' and some stopping in between. Because we had shot the previous week a scene with Maria Fernandez and Alex Kadamani with the steadycam, we knew that it could be achieved.

Actor ADAM TURNBULL in the role of WALTER

Actor KEN OSBORNE in the role of TOM

Whilst we did get some rain now and then, it was nothing so serious that we had to stop filming. The real challenge was trying to work out how we were going to film with some much noise from some schoolchildren on excurtion at the botanical garden. We finally gave up and decided to have an early lunch.

Camera Assistant LEANNE CAMPBELL
and guest Boommike Operator CHRIS SMITH

The previous week, we had bought everyone lunch from a shop nearby, but that took too much time, so this week Production Manager Georgie Smibert arranged catering for the crew and cast.

Production Manager GEORGIE SMIBERT
and behind-the-scenes Videographer CHRISTINA GABRIEL

The afternoon shoot went almost perfect if not for the constant interruption of some birds singing happily, and one in particular that made it very difficult for the actors to concentrate.

Make-up Artist TERESSA BORJESSON

Make-up for the day was provided by the terrific Teressa Borjesson. Ben Bomitali was our Sound Recordist once again, Leanne Campbell our Camera Assistant, Christina Gabriel our behind-the-scenes Videographer, and we also had assistance from Chris Smith (all the way from Chicago, USA) as the Boommike Operator.

Guest Sound Assistant CHRIS SMITH

We wrapped on the day on schedule, and we'll be returning at the same location next week, this time with a Jack Russell as the star of the day.

Laurent Boulanger

Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 15 VS SUNLIGHT

2010-08-02T03:12:00.000-07:00

ACTORS ALEX KADAMANI AND MARIA FERNANDEZ

FADE IN:

INT. STUDY. NIGHT

The hard part about shooting in the middle of winter is that you never know when you're going to get rain -- and that's even more difficult when you have to shot outdoor scenes.

On Friday the 30th July, we were originally scheduled to shot several outdoor scenes, but because of complications, we ended up deciding on shooting one scene only with Alex Kadamani and Maria Fernandez in the roles of Lorenzo and Lucia -- which was just as well because it ended up taking most of the day.

CAMERA ASSISTANT LEANNE CAMPBELL

Ironically, it wasn't rain we ended up having to worry about, but too much sunshine. The clouds were moving quickly, and the natural light change made it challenging for DOP Joel Mielle to film consistently with the same settings and shutter speed. Production Manager Georgie Smibert ended up providing shade for the actors with the help of an umbrella.

PRODUCTION MANAGER GEORGIE SMIBERT -- THE SHADE MAKER

Producer and DOP Joel Mielle brought in a steady-cam support for our first walking shots and also used one of his favourite tools, the slider.

Joel Mielle preparing for a 'low' shot
with the slider

ACTORS ALEX KADAMANI AND MARIA FERNANDEZ

in the roles of forbidden lovers Lorenzo and Maria

Throughout the day, we were lucky to be assisted by lots of extras who provided a realistic background of people enjoying themselves at the botanical gardens that serve as the backdrop for the scene.

Extras on the set ready for a take

WRITER-DIRECTOR LAURENT BOULANGER
POSING WITH EXTRAS FOR A SOUVENIR PHOTO

The steady-cam shots challenged us with sound and light issues, but after a few takes, we got what we wanted.

CAST AND CREW TAKING A 'WALK-AND-TALK' SHOT

Throughout the day, we were also assisted by Jessica O'Sullivan (Jess), who came on work experience and really enjoyed being part of the team -- including learning everything there is to know about the clapper board!

WORK EXPERIENCE CREW MEMBER JESSICA O'SULLIVAN CALLING A TAKE

Wigs were part of the props we used once again to give the extras the ability to appear more than once in the scene whilst looking totally different.

JESSICA O'SULLIVAN AND LIDIA KONKOL TRYING ON WIGS

We experienced quite a bit of wind on that day, and some shots had to be taken several times for sound quality -- a challenge for our sound recordist Ben Bomitali.

SOUND RECORDIST BEN BOMITALI WAITING
FOR THE WIND TO STOP BLOWING

We wrapped up the day a couple of hours behind schedule, but all went well in terms of locking in the scene.

DOP / PRODUCER JOEL MIELLE FRAMING A SHOT

Once again Lia Beth was our wonderful make-up artist for the day, and we were also assisted by Justine Jones and various other extras, whose performances were very professional.

ACTOR ALEX KADAMANI HAVING WAY TOO MUCH FUN!

On Friday the 6th of August, we are back at the same location for more shots -- and the Thursday after, our first day of shooting with a dog!

Until then, woof woof!

Laurent Boulanger

Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

Mornington Peninsula Leader, 20 Jul 2010. Page 13

2010-07-19T17:28:00.001-07:00

DAY 14 VS THE RAIN

2010-07-17T04:40:00.000-07:00

Actors ROBERT DeNIRO and PETER KALOS chilling out

FADE IN:

INT. STUDY. NIGHT

Rain had been predicted for our 14th July shoot -- luckily, only one scene had to be shot outdoors, whilst the others were indoors.

JOEL MIELLE, MARIA FERNANDEZ and GEORGIE SMIBERT
warming up with a coffee before facing the cold weather

First thing in the morning, cast and crew made their way to the Dava Hotel in Mount Martha -- location was provided courtesy of Vivien Dolk. We experienced some noise problems from the kitchen workers one floor under us as we closed in on the lunch hour, but managed to film the two scenes we had schedules -- one with Ad am Tu rn bull, in the role of Walter, and Kendall Osborne, in the role of Tom, and another with Adam Turnbull and Maria Fernandez, in the role of Lucia.

Actors ADAM TURNBULL and KEN OSBORNE

on set at the Dava Hotel in Mount Martha

When we left the premises, we headed straight to the Cruz Club at The Grand Hotel in Mornington to shot a bar scene with Alex Kadamani, in the role of Lorenzo, and Kendall Osborne, in the role of Tom. Michele Gallagher was our 'beer pulling' technician for the day.

(L to R) JUSTINE JONES, GEORGIE SMIBERT, and 'beer technician' MICHELLE GALLAHER
on location at the Cruz Club.

Actors ALEX KADAMANI and KENDALL OSBORNE
on a shoot at the Cruz Club

By the time we wrapped the scene, the rain outside had become more serious. Our next shot was at the Boyz 4 Breakie in Mornington, courtesy of John. Peter Kalos (who was still recovering from having spent eight days entertaining his long-time friend Rober t D eNiro who was in Melbourne to shot The Killer Elite), in the role of Nathan, and Audrey Lamont, in the role of Samantha, had to ba ttle with the rain and cold for the outdoor scene.

 AUDREY LAMONT in the role of SAMANTHA

 PETER KALOS in the role of NATHAN

James Liotta was back in the role of the waiter, this time in confrontation with Nathan.

Actor JAMES LIOTTA, fighting the weather and the customers!

The noise from the weather and traffic made it difficult to get clean sound and some sound overdubbing will be necessary in post-production.

DOP and Producer JOEL MIELLE ready for a rainy outdoor take

The next two scenes took place inside the Boys 4 Breakie. The first scene was with Maria Fernandez, in the role of Lucia, and Constance Washington, in the role of Marilyn. Both actresses gave an incredibly believable and funny performance. James Liotta appeared as the waiter in both scenes.

(L to R) Sound Recordist BEN BOMITALI, Camera Assistant LEANNE CAMPBELL, with MARIA FERNANDEZ (Lucia) and CONSTANCE WASHINGTON (Marilyn)

I had a discussion with DOP/Producer Joel Mielle about the position and framing of the scene, and after some debate, we ended up taking the shot with Maria and Constance sitting very close to one another -- which ended up looking great on camera and achieved the intimacy I had been hoping for between the two characters.

Ready for a take with PETER KALOS and AUDREY LAMONT
at The Boys 4 Breakie

Manager KATE and JOEL MIELLE

at The Boys 4 Breakie

We wrapped up the day with Peter Kalos, in the role of Nathan, and Audrey Lamont, in the role of Samantha. By 8pm, we were out of the restaurant, which made it a long 12-hour day.

Our make-up artist for the day was the ever-reliable Teressa Borjesson; our sound recordist, Ben Bomitali; and our Camera Assistant, Leanne Campbell. Production Manager Georgie Smibert kept us on our toes as usual, and we were also assisted by Christina Gabriel (aka Chrissy) and Justine Jones, who also doubled as extras (with wigs!) on various scenes.

Sound Recordist BEN BOMITALI letting his hair down!

CHRISTINA GABRIEL (normally a brunette) as a 'blonde' extra courtesy of a wig!

We're now about 85% done with the shoot.

Joel Mielle and I are planning some establishing shots for next week that will take us from Mornington to the centre of Melbourne.

Laurent Boulanger

Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 13 VS THE BIRD

2010-06-27T00:49:00.000-07:00

LEANNE CAMPBELL, CONSTANCE WASHINGTON and JOEL MIELLE

FADE IN:

INT. WILLIAMSTOWN STUDY. NIGHT

On Sunday the 27th June, we began by filming a scene with Constance Washington in the role of Marilyn -- it was quite a intense scene to shot because the part calls for the character to commit suicide with a gun.

CONSTANCE WASHINGTON in the role of Marilyn

Next, we filmed a breakfast scene with Alex Kadamani, in the role of Lorenzo, and Kendall Osborne, in the role of Tom. Location was arranged courtesy of the ever-hard-working Production Manager Georgie Smibert, and our make-up artist for the day was the charming Teressa Borjesson.

Actor ALEX KADAMANI and DOP / Producer JOEL MIELLE framing a shot

We didn't have any problems shooting the 'table' scene, where Lorenzo and Tom are having a discussion about Lorenzo's affair with Lucia, played by Maria Fernandez. We began with an establishing shot and continued with close-ups and reverse shots.

Production Manager, GEORGIE SMIBERT with Actor ALEX KADAMANI and Director LAURENT BOULANGER planning a shot

A final table shot of Kendall (Tom) standing up and walking past the camera resulted in Georgie Smibert falling harmlessly to the floor when she tried to get out of the framing after using the clapper board.

We then moved to the kitchen, which was quite small, and as a result, we decided to shot this 'hand-held'. Teressa Borjesson provided 'fake blood' for Lorenzo's cut hand, and the result was quite believable.

During some of the takes, we had to put up with a bird outside that decided to provide us with an impromptu soundtrack for the film.

Sound Recordist BEN BOMITALI practicing his weightlifting

We wrapped up the day by taking a shot from the outside of the kitchen, through the window -- originally we had the windows opened, but our sound recordist Ben Bomitali informed us that the outside traffic noise was too much, so we re-took the shot with the window closed and the sound recording taped from the inside of the kitchen

We finished one hour behind schedule, but overall the day's shoot generated some great performances from Alex and Kendall, and the reliable camera work of our DOP and Producer Joel Mielle.

Leanne Campbell, our camera assistant, was also around helping on the set. Photos in today's blog are courtesy of Leanne.

The apartment for the day's shoot was provide courtesy of Olivia and Grace Smibert, who welcomed us with open arms and were very excited about being a part of the project.

OLIVIA SMIBERT, GRACE SMIBERT with
Director LAURENT BOULANGER

Next shooting day will be outdoor scenes, if all goes according to plan.

Laurent Boulanger

Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 12 VS THE DINNER

2010-06-20T17:03:00.000-07:00

MARIA FERNANDEZ and JOEL MIELLE on set for the day's shooting

FADE IN:

INT. WILLIAMSTOWN STUDY. DAY

On the 20th of June at 2.00 p.m., we returned to Northcote, the same location we used on the 6th of May to do various love scenes involving Alex Kadamani -- thanks to our dedicated Production Manager Georgie Smibert for arranging the usage of the dining room. The charming and entertaining Lia Beth was our make-up artist for the day.

PETER KALOS, as Nathan, and MARIA FERNANDEZ, as Lucia

It was the first scene in the film that involved four characters having a conversation -- this, of course, is a bit of a challenge for any director. It's clear in the script that the leading character is Lucia, played by Maria Fernandez, so it was important to place her in a position of authority.

The scene takes places towards the end of the story, and by then she has decided to go back to Nathan, played by Peter Kalos, and marry him. As a result, I placed both characters next to one another so that their physical closeness would reflect the new strength of their relationship. I originally wanted Lucia to be central in the establishing shot, but this proved difficult with the way the table was placed in the room.

JOEL MIELLE and LAURENT BOULANGER

After some discussion with Joel Mielle, DOP, we ended up doing both a ceiling shot and a tracking shot to ensure we had enough to choose during editing. This was followed by a variety of two-shots, medium shots and ECU shots.

ADAM TURNBULL in the role of Walter

Walter, played by Adam Turnball, and Samantha, played by Audrey Lamont, were also at the dinner table, and we ended up with an interesting debate between the characters discussing what should be done with the 'recordings' the Interviewer, played by Cameron Daddo, took of them during the past few months.

The main challenge in the shooting of the scene was ensuring that continuity of the food on the table -- once people start eating, it can be quite difficult to ensure that the food is 're-set' when shooting a new angle. This took us quite a bit of time to establish, but we covered a lot of angles to ensure some reliable continuity during editing.

We wrapped up on schedule, and by 8.00 p.m. everyone had left.

Next: some outdoor scenes that are challenging us to scout for appropriate locations.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 11 VS THE MAKE-UP ARTIST

2010-06-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

JOEL MIELLE, Producer and DOP, in action

FADE IN:

INT. WILLIAMSTOWN STUDY. DAY

On Friday the 18th of June, we planned to shoot a scene with Lucia, played by Maria Fernandez, and Lorenzo, played by Alex Kadamani, but none of the make-up artists who worked on the set were available for that day, which means we would have had to re-schedule. Maria stepped forth and said she could do Alex's make-up without a problem so we went ahead with the shoot.

MARIA FERNANDEZ in the role of Lucia

The location was once at The Melbourne Actor's Lab, courtesy of Peter Kalos, and we turned a section of the lab into a kitchen that looks as if it could be the lunchroom of a corporate office. Our wonderful sound recordist Ben Bomitali made a laborious effort to block external sounds and sounds bouncing off the hard-floor.

ALEX KADAMANI, as Nathan
and GEORGIE SMIBERT, Production Manager

The scene didn't take long at all to film, and we wrapped it up by lunchtime. We then proceeded to do some outdoor scenes with Maria and Lorenzo walking around like lovers who enjoyed the company of each other.

Actors ALEX KADAMANI and MARIA FERNANDEZ

By one-thirty we were done, and at three o'clock I had a coffee in Degrave Street in the middle of Melbourne with Louise Alston, director of All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane and the forthcoming Jucy. We discussed her trip to the Cannes Film Festival, where Jucy was screened, and she gave me some good pointers and contacts for what to do with Six Lovers once we finished the post-production.

JOEL MIELLE, ready for another take

The following day, I got a call from Producer / DOP Joel who told me that we would need to re-shoot part of the kitchen scene we has just done the previous day because the eyeline between the two characters was slightly out. He had just watch the dailies and picked it up then.

More kitchen scene to come.

Cast and Crew working hard as usual

One day rest, and then we would return to Northcote for a dinner scene that involved four of the main characters in the film.

Laurent Boulanger

Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 10 VS WHERE IS CAMERON DADDO?

2010-06-07T16:39:00.000-07:00

Clockwise from left
GEORGIE SMIBERT, ALEX KADAMANI, LEANNE CAMPBELL, JOEL MIELLE, CAMERON DADDO, LAURENT BOULANGER,
BEN BOMITALI and MARIA FERNANDEZ

FADE IN:

INT. STUDY. DAY

On Sunday the 6th of June, I had to pick up Cameron Daddo from Melbourne Airport for his shoot the following day at the Melbourne Actor's Lab. The plane landed at 10:00 p.m. on schedule, but Cameron wasn't on board. Turns out that he caught an earlier flight, and the plane he boarded had a damage hydraulic and was delayed for over an hour. He had no means of contacting me other than through email, and when I called him, his phone was switched off because he was in the plane!

CAMERON DADDO and MARIA FERNANDEZ

The next morning, I received a SMS from him just when I was checking my email box. Half an hour later, I picked him up from Port Melbourne and we headed to the Melbourne Actor's Lab.

It was a great filming day. We began by shooting the last scene in the script with Maria Fernandez in the role of Lucia, and Cameron Daddo in the role of the Interviewer. Cameron brought something nice to the character (great intensity) and the voice of the Interviewer was exactly what I had hoped -- confident, relaxed but commanding all at once.

MARIA FERNANDEZ in the role of Lucia

We then shot a couple of scenes -- one with Cameron and Peter Kalos (in the role of Nathan), and one with Cameron and Alex Kadamani (in the role of Lorenzo). The afternoon was spent recording Cameron's voice for the VO parts in the film. Whilst Ben Bomitali recorded the interviews with help from Georgie Smibert, Joel Mielle and Lean Campbell set up a section of the Melbourne Actor's Lab for a promotional photo shoot.

Evaluating a take at the Melbourne Actor's Lab

We had great fun with the photo shoot, and immediately after, Encore Magazine conducted an interview with Cameron by phone for twenty minutes, where he discussed his own career and his involvement in Six Lovers. He spoke highly of the film, and of how the quality of the script got him interested in being involved.

Is that camera turned off yet?
MARIA FERNANDEZ in the role of Lucia

At around six o'clock, we called it a day.

Cameron showed a very strong interest in being involved in our next two film projects. Being also a seasoned performing and recording artist (Vocalist of the Year at the Australian Country Music Awards winner) who has worked with Keith Urban, he was also very excited about writing some songs for the Six Lovers' soundtrack.

A big thanks to Teressa Borjesson for being our make-up artist extraordinaire for the day, and for our charming sound recordist Ben Bomitali for changing his other commitments on the day to accommodate the shoot.

It was a great day for everyone involved.

Laurent Boulanger

Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 9 VS THE POLICE

2010-06-02T22:23:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. STUDY. DAY

The 2nd of June was our busiest and most varied shooting day -- we went from shooting scenes in front of a bus stop, to a cemetery, to a pub, and finally to a restaurant. It was also the first time that we almost had the entire cast for the one single scene.

We began with an outdoor scene set at a bus stop shelter where Lorenzo, played by Alex Kadamani, and Tom, played by Kendall Osborne, are leaving the town they've grown up in. There was a bit of traffic going past the bus shelter, so we had to plan the take between various car engine noises.

Actors ALEX KADAMANI and KENDALL OSBORNE
(photography by Leanne Campbell)

The other challenge on that shoot was that a bus only stopped at the shelter every hour, and if we missed the take, we would have to wait another hour for the next bus. Only a few minutes before the bus arrived, a police car stopped by, and the officers asked what was going on -- they thought that there might have been an accident because of all the cars parked next to the bus shelter, but when we told them we were filming, they moved on without any problem, and we managed to nail the bus shot perfectly.

First outdoor scene for the day - the bus shelter
(photography by Leanne Campbell)

The next scene was a cemetery setting, and it involved most of the cast. Rain had been predicted for Wednesday, but it never eventuated, so we ended up with perfect outdoor shooting weather.

The cast did a wonderful job at looking saddened by the death of one of their friends.

PETER KALOS in the role of Nathan

AUDREY LAMONT in the role of Samantha

ADAM TURNBULL in the role of Walter

MARIA FERNANDEZ in the role of Lucia

BEN BOMITALI, sound recordist and 'extra' mourner

Friends and lovers leaving the funeral

ADAM TURNBULL in the role of Walter
(photography by Leanne Campbell)

Before we left the cemetery, we still had to complete a shot with Adam Turnbull -- the scene takes place a few weeks after the original funeral scenes, and the character of Walter is there to pay respect to his former partner.

Adam gave us a performance that's very likely to end up being one of the most powerful in the film -- one that was captured beautifully by DOP Joel Mielle.

JOEL MIELLE, Producer and DOP
(Photography by Leanne Campbell)

After lunch we filmed a bar scene with Lucia, played by Maria Fernandez, and Samantha, played by Audrey Lamont. The location for the pub was at the Royal Hotel Mornington, courtesy of Morgon.

MARIA FERNANDEZ in the role of Lucia
ROYAL HOTEL MORNINGTON

JOEL MIELLE and Manager Morgon Brett
ROYAL HOTEL MORNINGTON

From 5pm until late, we completed several scenes that involved Lorenzo, played by Alex Kadamani, and his lover Maria, played by Maria Fernandez, and also Samantha, played by Audrey Lamont. James Liotta also made his first appearance as the 'waiter'. The stunning location at The Boyz 4 Breakie was provided courtesy owner John, who also had the pleasure of doing some 'extra' work.

THE BOYZ 4 BREAKIE
provided our fantastic cafe location

MARIA FERNANDEZ (Lucia) and AUDREY LAMONT (Samantha)

Actor JAMES LIOTTA with Director LAURENT BOULANGER

Because we had to shoot several scenes in the one location that took place on different days in the script, for each scene we had to re-organise the table settings and camera angles.

All went well, and with a lot of humour and diligence, we got through all the shots that Production Manager Georgie Smibert has so laboriously organised.

MARIA FERNANDEZ (Lucia) and AUDREY LAMONT (Samantha)

with all our talented extras!

Throughout the day, we also had the pleasure of working with Justine Jones, Jacques Mielle, Lilianne Mielle, Sue Mielle, Meritxell Oliver Frauca, Geoffrey Phillips, Lia Beth and Jean Pierre Correnson, who took the parts of 'extras', and we'd like to thank them for their support.

A big thanks to Leanne Campbell for additional behind-the-scenes photography and filming, and Ben Bomitali and Alex Kadamani for additional behind-the-scenes footage. Thank you also to Lia Beth, our wonderful and very professional make-up artist for the day for being everywhere when needed.

Next shooting day is on Monday the 7th of May, and we have Cameron Daddo travelling from Los Angeles, via Sydney from other engagements, for his role in the film.

Until next time.

Laurent Boulanger

Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 8 VS STAGING AROUND A TABLE

2010-05-31T12:13:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. STUDY. DAY

Our shoot on Sunday the 30th of May was exciting because it was not only the first time we had three actors performing in the one scene, but also because Kendall Osborne, Colin Masters and Nadia Andary gave some memorable performances.

Production Manager GEORGIE SMIBERT
helping with framing a shot

We began with a bedroom scene where Tom, played by Kendall Osborne, is doing some 'lines' and relaxes on his bed only seconds before his father walks into the room and begins a heated argument.

Originally in the script, at the end of the scene, the son throws his bedroom clock at the door when the father leaves the room -- we replaced the clock with a shoe because we had a hard time finding a clock that we could break over and over for the different shots, and because we had to ensure we didn't cause damage to the property we were shooting in.

Actor KENDAL OSBORNE and DOP/Producer JOEL MIELLE

In the afternoon, we had to shoot our first three-person scene since we began production.  The challenge was where to position the actors at a table when the head of the household is the father (played by Collin Masters), but the main character (the one which the scene is focused on) is the son (Tom, played by Ken Osborne).   In real life, the father would have been placed at the head of the table to show his authoritative position, but film is not real life but an imitation of real life.

To make this scene work, the focus of the camera in the master shot had to be on the son, from which all consecutive shots would then be established. The only way to achieve this effectively was to have the son sitting at the end of the table. The psychological advantage was that he also acted as a 'barrier' or 'mediator' against both parents who are arguing about the food on the table. Had the son been sitting to the side, he could not have come between his parents to stop the argument as effectively, and it would also have made the scene difficult to shoot.

(L to R) COLIN MASTERS, LAURENT BOULANGER,
DOMENIC SCHIAVONI, KENDALL OSBORNE and NADIA ANDARY

Once I had decided on the staging at the table in consultation with DOP Joel Mielle, I still had the problem of showing that the father is the head of the household, but I could not use him sitting at the end of the table to achieve this. Instead, I added action at the start of the scene where the father walks into the kitchen, sits at the table, and snatches a bottle of wine from his wife's hands when she's struggling to open it -- this showcases not only his authority right from the start but also his arrogance.

Actor NADIA ANDARY fearfull of her husband

Actors COLIN MASTERS and KENDAL OSBORNE in confrontation

Colin Masters, Kendall Osborne and Nadia Andary gave us charged-up performances that lingered in our minds long after the day's shooting was over.

Camera Assitant LEANNE CAMPBELL

Throughout the day we had the very charming Teressa Borjesson as Make-Up Artist, who made sure all the actors looked their best. Ben Bomitali was our sound recording genius once again, and our wonderful Production Manager Georgie Smibert kept us on our feet despite having to fight a cold and a sore hand from a recent sport injury. And without our talented DOP and Producer Joel Mielle, none of us would be here. We also had help from Leanne Campbell as Camera Assistant.

A big thanks to Domenic Schiavoni for providing location for the day.

Next day of shooting is on Wednesday the 2nd June, and this time we'll have six actors in the one scene to deal with!

Keep you posted on our progress.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers
  
FADE OUT

ST KILDA FILM FESTIVAL

2010-05-25T17:55:00.000-07:00

FADE IN

INT. STUDY. DAY

Cast and Crew of Six Lovers met at the St Kilda Film Festival last night, courtesy of the City of Port Phillip. It was good to catch up with everyone, and it also gave a chance to team members who hadn't really met one another to have a chat.

SIX LOVERS CAST AND CREW AT
THE ST KILDA FILM FESTIVAL

Next shooting day is this Sunday 30th May in Brunswick, with Colin Masters and Nadia Andary performing for the first time since the production began. It the first scene we're going to shot that involves more than two characters at the same time.

On Wednesday the 2nd June, we'll be filming cafe and bar scenes in Mornington and working with actor James Liotta for the first time.

KENDALL OSBORNE and LIA BETH - The Age Newspaper

JAMES LIOTTA, still in shock that he scored a speaking part!

Keep you posted on our progress.

Laurent Boulanger

Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 7 VS THE VOLCANO

2010-05-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

INT. STUDY. DAY

The day's shoot was the first one that took place away from the city of Melbourne and its adjoining suburbs. Crew and cast had to make their way to Mornington, and because of the distance, the call time was appropriately adjusted to 10.30 a.m. 

JEAN PIERRE CORRENSON has no idea what he's in for!

The wonderful bedroom and kitchen locations were provided courtesy of Jean Pierre Correnson, who was extremely generous in terms of letting us move furniture around to accommodate the setting requirements.

DOP JOEL MIELLE with his new toy, the DP1 Slider

DOP and Producer Joel had been waiting an extra four weeks for his Glide Track (a dolly) to shoot these scenes, and he was extremely relieved and excited it had arrived along with a Focus Whip, the long cable attached to the focus puller (see photos). Apparently it was that famous volcano from Iceland that caused a delay with the shipment.

DOP JOEL MIELLE with new red rock Focus Whip attached.

CLOSE UP - 1.5 Metre HD Glide Track -
Working a charm once you get the hang of it.

TERESSA BORJESSON making up  KENDALL OSBORNE

BEN BOMITALI Sound perfectionist!

GEORGIE SMIBERT Production Manager keeping order.

The crew for the day consisted of the ever-reliable Teressa Borjesson as Make-Up Artist, Georgie Smibert as Production Manager, Ben Bomitali as Sound Recordist and behind-the-scenes recorder, Joel Mielle on camera, Leane Campbell as Camera Assistant and behind-the-scenes footages and stills, and, of course, myself as Director.

LEANNE CAMPBELL Camera assistant and much more!

GEORGIE SMIBERT, also handy with a clapper!

We began with the bedroom scenes (and if I am right, the last love scenes in the film), which took us until after lunch. Adam Turnbull, Kendall Osborne and Constance Washington gave a solid performance throughout the shoot.

GEORGIE SMIBERT, ADAM TURNBULL & CONSTANCE WASHINGTON

The afternoon setting was in the kitchen, and the most surprising aspect was how well prepared Adam Turnbull and Constance Washington were -- because of their dedication to the roles and the work they had done the day before, we locked it some incredible scenes. Combined with Joel's great DOP skills and sense of visual composition, the end result exceeded my expectation.

ADAM TURNBULL in the role of WALTER

We finished at 6.30 p.m., exhausted but once again satisfied that we had succesfully shot what we had planned for the day.

Competing with mother nature as the daylight was disappearing.

Joel Mielle, Laurent Boulanger and Georgie Smibert

Production Manager Georgie Smibert has scheduled the next shooting day, and, at this stage, because of actors' and location availability, it looks set for a couple of weeks from now.

It's in the can!

Cast and crew will, however, meet for an exciting night at the Premier of the St Kilda Film Festival, courtesy of the City of Port Phillip, on Tuesday the 25th May. If you happen to be there on the night, we'd love to meet you and have a chat.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 6 VS THE MEAT PIES

2010-05-08T02:38:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. STUDY. NIGHT

The day's shooting was going to be straight-forward: the last interview scenes with Nathan, played by Peter Kalos, and all the interview scenes with Tom, played by Kendall Osborne.

KENDALL OSBORNE in the character of Tom

Once again, we set-up at the Melbourne Actor's Lab, courtesy of Peter Kalos.

LIA BETH, make-up artist extraordinaire for the day

Our make-up artist for the day was Lia Beth, a charming New-York-born professional who showed an incredible passion for what she does and comes highly recommended.

PETER KALOS in the role of Nathan

Peter Kalos wrapped up his scenes just before lunch.

Boom operator Ben Bomitali and I puzzled over the agonising choice of having meat pies for lunch from the frozen section of the supermarket next door. We ended up choosing home-made sandwiches instead, which was just as well we did because when we returned to the Lab, we discovered that there was no microwave! Anyone fancies a frozen pie?

After the break, we had Kendall Osborne doing his interview scenes, and by 2.30 p.m., it was all over -- our shortest day of shooting so far.

Production Manager Georgie Smibert kept us on our toes by scheduling the following week's shoots and consulting with everyone before they had a chance to sneak out the back door.

Keep you posted on what's happening next.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 5 VS CALL OF DUTY

2010-05-08T02:07:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. STUDY. NIGHT

Nearly a month after organising the process of re-casting for the character of Tom, with ten actors auditioning and three of them shortlisted, we ended up offering the part to Kendall Osborne.

ALEX KADAMANI and KENDALL OSBORNE

The process wasn't easy because we had to make sure that the chemistry was right with two of the other characters whom Tom has a relationship with.

We spent Thursday the 6th of May shooting bedroom scenes in Northcote, courtesy of our Production Manager Georgie Smibert, who went beyond the call of duty to secure the location. All of the shots involved the character of Lorenzo, played by Alex Kadamani. After twelve hours of love scenes, Alex was more than ready to call it a day.

ALEX KADAMANI and MARIA FERNANDEZ

Our make-up artist for the day was once again the wonderful Teressa Borjesson, head of make-up within the production team.

The shooting day was interrupted for a couple of hours at lunchtime by an impromptu call of duty at Melbourne Central City Studios from a phone call I received that morning regarding my small contribution in the film-in-production Eye of The Storm.

We resumed shooting at 2 p.m., and Maria Fernandez joined us on the set again and gave her usual flawless performance.

MARIA FERNANDEZ in the role of Lucia

It was also Constance Washington's first major acting scene, a truly memorable one in the film -- this one you will have to wait and see.

CONSTANCE WASHINGTON in the role of Marilyn

We wrapped up at around 9 p.m. from an 8 a.m. start, and we were all exhausted but somewhat satisfied that we managed to get through the shots we had planned, even if the last two felt a little rushed.

DOP and Producer JOEL MIELLE with actors
ALEX KADAMANI and MARIA FERNANDEZ

A good night sleep and back to shooting the following day.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DSLR Report

2010-05-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. PRODUCTION OFFICE. DAY

In the past 12 months, it appears that video DSLR cameras have turned HD video on its head. So what's all the excitement about? It's all about the sensors! Because of the monster-size sensors, we can now achieve almost 35mm film-like quality using the shallow depth of field we've been looking for.

Special Thanks to Zacuto

 For our film SIX LOVERS, I'm using  the Canon 7D, which has an 18 megapixel CMOS sensor and shoots at 24p (23.97)up to 12,800 ISO.  

Now, there are some weaknesses using these cameras, but used smartly you can work around them.  These cameras (Canon 7d and 5D) use a consumer-grade codec (Mpeg4) or also known as H.264, which have a low-consumer bit rate.  The 7D is slightly better in that respect with marginal less compression.  This can limit you post production, but, again, once you understand the limitations, you can certainly work around them and achieve awesome results.  

FULLY-LOADED CANON 7D

1) The camera bodies are quite cheap to purchase, but because they are so light and designed to shoot photo stills, ergonomically you cannot use them out of the box for any serious film making.  You need to pimp them up to function like a proper film or video camera, which will cost you much more than the actual camera itself.

DOP Joel Mielle with the fully-loaded Canon 7D

2) The audio in these cameras have automatic gain, which cannot be used for professional work. You need to record sound using an external recorder or the ZOOM H4N and then syncing your visuals and audio track in post.

CANON 7D MOUNTED

It's back to the old-fashion way of film making using clapper boards.  There are products out there that allow you to work around this, but the electronics in the camera aren't up to scratch, and electronically it can be a little noisy. I wouldn't recommend using internal audio for any professional film making. Viewers can always accept a bad picture, but poor audio simply isn't acceptable in any professional production. 

'SIX LOVERS' CLAPPER BOARD

3) The camera can overheat and either shutdown or start creating a noisy picture if too hot.  I haven't personally experienced this yet because I take every measure to avoid it.  It's also a good idea to use smaller memory cards such as 8 gigs, as this will help by putting in a fresh cool card rather than shooting all day with a 32, 64 or 128 gig card.  Plus for safety reasons, it's great insurance should something malfunction with your card. Best to lose 8 gigs of work than 100 gigs plus of dailies!

4) With such shallow depth of field, the monitor on these cameras cannot possibly be good enough for accurate focusing, therefore you need something like the Zacuto Z-Finder Pro Viewfinder or an external monitor.  If shooting indoors think big!  I use a Sony 32-inch monitor, and I still find it difficult to maintain perfect focus.

Sony 32-inch monitor used for framing and focus

 Because shallow depth is like a new toy,  I find a lot of DSLR users (and I'm also guilty of it!) tend to open up the iris as wide as it goes for maximum depth.  This is fine for some scenes, but when shooting close-up of faces, always try and keep at least the nose and eyes in focus, even the ears.  This process is now so over-used that many DSLR films I see appear blurry.  Actors are continuously moving in and out of the focus point. Unless of course there's a reason for it, viewers will be uncomfortable watching it for too long.  The magic of depth is that you control the exact part of the picture the viewer should be watching.  So lower that ISO and close that iris a little more when shooting CUs of people.

A close-up of actor Peter Kalos with the Canon D7

5) On many occasions, I've also encountered interference from fluro, energy-efficient bulbs or even incandescent lights. They tend to flicker and, depending on the shutter speed, you can record a wavy interference that can spoil your shot. At times it's difficult to pick as it may just look like monitor interference, but it will record as you see it. To avoid this, at times I need to shoot at a shutter speed of 30 (not 30 frames) but 1/30th of a second. You will instantly see the interference disappear. This will limit any interference, although not ideal for fast-action movement as it can cause too much motion blur. If you are shooting any fast action and experience this problem, there's no alternative than using different types of lights. Most professional lights will not create any issues.

More to come soon.

Joel Mielle
DOP and Producer
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

PRODUCTION MANAGER ONBOARD

2010-04-30T17:37:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. STUDY. DAY

It is with great pleasure that we are officially bringing on-board Georgie Smibert as our Production Manager.

GEORGIE SMIBERT Production Manager

Georgie has a wealth of experience in events management and coordinating and producing a variety of events, ranging from large to small, corporate to social, with each event incorporating audio visual and/or live entertainment. She has also studied writing, directing and film and television production at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA).

Georgie is currently busy planning our next two days of shooting.

Joel has locked in a wonderful location in Mornington for the 'cafe' scenes, and we're currently searching for a 'corporate kitchen', or one that could easily look like it is set in a law firm -- if anyone knows such a place, drop Georgie an email.

Joel has just finished work on our first film poster, and here's the results:

SIX LOVERS first promo poster

Meanwhile, I'm busy looking over the next scenes we will be shooting and working out staging and camera angles.

Keep you posted as we keep on moving forth.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 4 VS THE MIRROR

2010-04-27T06:53:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. STUDY. NIGHT

After 13 hours of shooting the previous day, Joel and I woke up tired but still filled with creative and enthusiastic energy.

Crew and cast all appeared by around 9 a.m., and we got ourselves ready for what would be an exciting and challenging day of filming -- love scenes.

JOEL MIELLE -- Producer and DOP

Three of the scenes we planned on shooting that day were in the same bedroom and involved Nathan (Peter Kalos) and Lucia (Maria Fernandez) in bed. Instead of shooting one scene at the time, we decided to shoot the three of them at once.

I told Joel that I wanted a ceiling shot for the love scenes as one of the several angles we would be using and asked if it was possible for him to set this up. Within half an hour, he had the camera mounted on a pole that was attached to a couple of two-meter high tripods and gave us the ceiling shot I had hoped for.

All went well until we got to a 'mirror' scene where the camera POV was the mirror -- because the physical space on screen did not match the physical space in the room, we ended up doing several takes before we could get the eye-lines between the two characters right. Lucia is talking to Nathan through the reflection in the mirror, and that was a little tricky, but in the end, thanks to Joel's incredible ingeniousness and Peter's and Maria's patience, we got a fantastic scene locked in.

We also faced a difficult bathroom scene -- the bathroom was the size of a large walk-in wardrobe, and to get a crew and cast of five in there whilst being aware of the reflection of the mirror was a challenge.

MARIA FERNANDEZ in the role of LUCIA

The day ended at 5 p.m., and that gave us enough time to do some high-resolution publicity photographs with Maria and her 'gun' as seen in the poster above.

DAY 3 AND 4 BEHIND-THE-SCENES

Keep you posted on what's happening next.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 3 VS THE SMALL APARTMENT

2010-04-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. STUDY. DAY

As planned, Joel and I spent Friday afternoon and part of the evening staging the eight scenes we planned on shooting that weekend. The challenge was that some of the rooms we would be shooting in, particularly the master bedroom and bathroom, were much, much smaller than we had anticipated. If we had bothered with a storyboard, it would have gone straight into the garbage disposal unit, so it was just as well we took a more TV-drama approach in terms of planning the shoot -- in other words, get on location, see what's available and use your intelligence, logic and technical knowledge to plan settings and angles.

PETER KALOS in the role of NATHAN

We spent the day shooting 'kitchen' scenes from Nathan and Lucia's apartment. Peter Kalos had enormous fun getting into his character, and I felt it was much better to give him the chance to develop his role as he saw fit -- he brought in some colourful mannerisms and some good comic performances that are not obvious in the script.

Overall, the day turned out quite good because of the efficiency of both the crew and the cast. Whilst we did finish at 10.30 p.m. from an 8.30 a.m. start, by the end of the day we had locked in about 70% of the scenes we had planned on shooting.

BEN BOMITALI, sound recordist extraordinaire,
having way too much fun

Only six hours of sleep and straight into Day 4.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

STAGING VS SCRIPT

2010-04-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. KITCHEN. DAY

With the big weekend shoot of the first scene we are filming that involves a conflict between two dynamic characters in the script, I found myself obliged to look at the script closely and begin a staging process for the scenes selected.

APARTMENT FLOORPLAN

The first scene occurs in a kitchen and involves Lucia, played by Maria Fernandez, and Nathan, played by Peter Kalos, where they argue about their relationship. I'm planning on doing the kitchen table dramatic block as a straight two-character shot with an establishing shot and keeping within the 180-degree rule so as to maintain the camera spacial relationship and eye line between the characters consistent.

TYPICAL LOCATION APARTMENT FOR SHOOT

Joel and I have scheduled Friday afternoon to stage the script on location so that we won't waste time on Saturday when the actors turn up for the day's work -- we'll pretty much have worked out how to stage each scenes and various angles that we will do for each dynamic block. We're going to keep the shots traditional, with medium shots as the start of the conflict, and closing in on the characters as the conflict escalates so that the viewers feel the psychological intensity of the characters' despair.

A lot of how we're going to end up shooting the scenes will depend on the location, and staging is planned for Friday because it will be the only time we'll have to be in the apartment and work for a few hours undisturbed.

This coming weekend shoot also involves a small special effects scene where Lucia cuts her foot on a broken plate, and Nathan cleans and bandages the wound.

It will be a challenging but interesting weekend, which I am very much looking forward to.

Keep you posted on any progress.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

WEEKEND SHOOT VS THE TECHNICAL SIDE

2010-04-20T01:25:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. OFFICE. DAY

This weekend we are shooting our most challenging shoot so far. It's actually the Anzac day long weekend. It will be challenging as we will be filming actual actor interaction requiring many angles and takes. We will be setting up a contemporary apartment to appear as if it's a real place that an actual couple could live in. Because we are aiming for the Euro market, we have to keep in mind that it has to have a Euro touch in the way we decorate it. I'm organising most of the props now. For shooting, I'll be using the Canon 7D with a Redrock Micro deluxe matte-box, follow focus with rods etc. I also have three dim-able tungsten lights with soft boxes for lighting. I want to maintain a fair level of contrast in the way this is lit for a more dramatic affect.

I've just received a field monitor from SmallHD, it's the 8.9 inch DP1x 1280 x 768 resolution with LED backlight. So far it seems pretty amazing, but I'm yet to see its performance through an actual shoot.

I also bought the Hitchcock app from Cinemek through Itunes for my iPhone -- it can create instant story boards in minutes. I really believe this will be an indispensable tool in the making of this film. Far too often a DOP can be restricted by having a blueprinted storyboard restricting any artistic license on the day. This way I can shoot the frames I need and get a real playback of timing and visuals in the palm of my hand. I can also email it to a computer and print it out as a PDF.

Stay tuned for further info.

Joel Mielle
DOP and Producer
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

PREPARATION FOR DAY 3/4 SHOOT

2010-04-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. KITCHEN. DAY

On Tuesday the 13th April, we ran some of the callback auditions for the character of Tom. We only managed two out of the four actors we had chosen for the callback because of the availability of the actors and the availability of Adam Turnbull, who plays the character of Walter. There are some very important scenes between the Tom and Walter characters in the script, and we wanted to make sure that the chemistry was right between the two actors.

Early on in the day, Joel and I scouted around for a suitable apartment to shoot the kitchen and bedroom scenes of Nathan, played by Peter Kalos, and Lucia, played by Maria Fernandez. We zeroed in on a luxury apartment at nearly $300 per night for three nights. The booking has been made for Friday 23rd, Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th. Whilst we do intend to do all the scenes on the two first days, we got ourselves an extra day by default -- you cannot book less than three days for a luxury apartment.

In terms of locking the actors and the crew for that weekend, it had been relatively easy, and it was all confirmed within 12 hours because of everyone's incredible generosity with their time and their willingness to get the project going and completed. We were hoping for a mid-week shoot because of the significant lower cost in leasing an apartment, but the cast and crew were only all available on the Friday and Saturday -- you win some, you lose some, but at the end of the day, we need to keep the momentum going.

Next step is to re-work some of those scenes in consultation with Joel to ensure there are enough establishing shots and scenes that reflect in more depth the desperation and loneliness of Nathan not having his wife, Lucia, around him enough.

I'll keep you posted as we are gearing towards a big weekend of back-to-back shooting.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

RE-CASTING TOM AUDITIONS

2010-04-10T19:52:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. KITCHEN. DAY

On Friday the 9th April, Joel and I scouted around for a good kitchen to do all the scenes with Nathan, played by Peter Kalos, and Maria, played by Maria Fernandez. We didn't like what we saw, and we have now decided that it is probably best to rent an entire apartment do do the scenes -- this way, we can not only do the kitchen scenes, but also as many bedroom scenes from the script as possible.

Friday afternoon, ten actors turned up for the re-casting of Tom auditions, and out of those ten, three of them stood out -- Joel and I agreed to the same ones, so that was easy. It's a tough call because they all bring something different to the role, so we've decided to have a callback and have these actors perform with Adam Turnbull, who plays the character of Walter, and who has a lot of scenes with the character of Tom. We currently negotiating a time and day for the call back.

When Joel and I will meet again this week to look for an apartment, we're also going to have a 'script' meeting to work on a shooting script for the scenes we're going to do next -- mainly those involving the characters of Nathan and Maria.

In terms of planning, at this stage we're aiming at making a trip to L.A. and France in July this year with a 'rough' copy of the film to generate interest in terms of distribution and maybe even film festival screenings.

Keep you posted as we progress.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

CASTING TOM & THE MISSING KITCHEN

2010-04-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. KITCHEN. DAY

Last Thursday when we shot some scenes with Constance Washington, Maria Fernandez and Alex Kadamani at the Melbourne Actor's Lab, courtesy of Peter Kalos, we also squeezed in a couple of auditions of the re-casting of the Tom character -- a few blog entries ago, I mentioned that we needed to re-cast one of the six lovers because Joel and I were concerned about the perceived age difference between the character of Tom and the one of Lorenzo. Both characters are in their early 20's in the script, but the original actor who got the part looked more like mid-20's to late-20's.

This Friday 9th April we're having additional auditions for the role to make sure that we've seen as many people as possible. After advertising widely through Filmnet, Starnow and Dare2Audition, we've had a huge response. Some Sydney-based actors are even flying over to attend the audition and are willing to live in Melbourne for a few months if they get the part. The feedback to the script has been overwhelming, with one prospective actor flying from Adelaide stating, "I loved the script, it has balls. I think it's edgy and a fantastic piece of work."

Anyone has one of these?

We were also aiming at shooting some 'kitchen scenes' this week with Maria Fernandez and Peter Kalos, but we are yet to find a suitable location -- we need a modern kitchen that looks as if it could possible belong to a person on a lawyer's salary. If you know one (a kitchen, not a lawyer!), drop us an email. Joel and I will be scouting around Prahran on Friday morning for the location, but we're open-minded about finding the right kitchen in other suburbs as well.

On a personal note, I'm finding it difficult to be continuously travelling from my home on the Bellarine Coast to Melbourne to get the filming and work done, so in the coming month or so, I will be re-locating to Melbourne for at least the duration of the project, but probably longer.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 2 vs THE MISSING GUN

2010-04-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. KITCHEN. NIGHT

With only five hours of sleep because of having to wait for Peter Kalos to finish his acting class the previous night and hand over the keys to the place, I was the first person to turn up at the Melbourne Actor's Lab for our second day of shooting. In addition to a couple of 'interview' scenes, on that day we also had to shoot the first love scene.

In the script, Lucia, played by Maria Fernandez, is having an affair with Lorenzo, played by Alex Kadamani, and early on in the story there is a scene where they are making love. The scene is really just a background to Nathan's monologue about Lucia, his wife, and what he thinks of her.

My idea was to shoot the love scene like a music video clip, with a lot of close contacts between the two characters. I was aiming for sensuality rather than sexuality. Joel and I had no other pre-conceived plans on how we were going to tackle the scene, but it's in my nature to solve creative problems as they crop up instead of trying to control everything ahead of time -- I think that if you plan everything to the most minute detail, you're cornering yourself into a situation that you're no longer opened to suggestions and alternative creative possibilities.

But first, we had to shoot one interview scene for the character of Marilyn, played by Constance Washington, and one for the character of Lucia. Originally, we planned on shooting the last scene of the script on the day, but we ran into a small problem -- in the last scene, Lucia uses a gun, and none of us had access to a gun. That scene would have to be shot at a later date because we didn't want to compromise and use a toy gun and ruin the quality of what we were trying to achieve. So the missing gun kind of changed the schedule for the day.

We recorded Constance's filmed scene and V.O. scenes in about one hour, and we were way ahead of schedule, which is really not a bad situation for everyone.

Our producer Joel Mielle, sound recordist Ben 'cool man' Bomitali, replacement clapper and hands-on-everything Christina Gabriel, and I had lunch at Balaclava again for lack of finding anywhere else. Whilst we were munching on our ten-dollar burgers, Maria Fernandez called on Joel's mobile phone and told him she was waiting at the door of Melbourne Actor's Lab.

We hurried back and went straight into the filming. Maria knew her lines well, and we had forty minutes to kill to get the bedroom scene ready.

Originally I thought of shooting the scene in one specific corner of the studio, but eventually Joel suggested the other side of the room was better because there was less natural light coming through from outside. And he was right because it was much easier to control the light and the external sound and hence the quality of the shoot overall (very important to a have a good director of photography -- take note if you're planning on producing your own feature).

Shooting a love scene, one imagines, can be nerve-wrecking for the actors, but the tension on the set was diffused with lots of unintentional humour throughout the process -- this is kind of obvious when you see the behind-the-scenes clip for the day.

The challenge was to make the scene romantic and not pornographic -- which is why I had decided earlier on that there would be no frontal nudity or anything that would push the possible ratings to an adult only level.

The set used was not a bedroom, so the challenge was to keep all the shots close in order to avoid recording in the frame anything beyond the bed. Originally, we were going to use a blue background on the mattress, but then we found by accident some fantastic red sheets folded in a carboard box at one corner of the room.

Alex and Maria were extremely well prepared, and the confidence in what they were doing was really re-assuring. When we finished for the day, the result had exceeded my expectation, both in terms of what was saw on camera and the performance of Alex and Maria.

And now it's back to the planning schedule for Day 3 of shooting.

Stay tuned for all the latest updates.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers
FADE OUT

GETTING READY FOR DAY 2

2010-03-29T16:25:00.000-07:00

FADE IN:

INT. STUDY. DAY

We've schedule the second day of shooting for Thursday the 1st April at the Melbourne Actor's Lab, once again courtesy of the wonderful Peter Kalos.

Peter Kalos and Robert De Niro

It's a testing time trying to schedule people on exactly the same day, but we've managed, and on day 2 of the shoot, we'll be filming more interview scenes and the first love scene between Lucia and Lorenzo (played by Maria Fernandez and Alex Kadamani).

This week we had to make a hard decision of re-casting a part because of an 'age' problem. I mentioned in a previous blog entry that Joel and I had a slightly different opinion on the casting of the Tom character, and after further discussion yesterday, we concluded that whilst the original actor who was cast was wonderful in terms of talent, he looks more mid-20s to late-20s than the early 20s we required. This become even more of an issue since Alex Kadamani, who plays the role of Lorenzo, looks early 20s. The original actor who got the part could not make it to the callback for a screen test with Alex, which made our decision even more difficult.

Rather than miscast an important role, we decided to re-advertised for it, this time going straight through Filmnet, StarNow and Dare2Audition. We've also contacted another actor who had originally auditioned for the part, and whom we thought might still be very suitable.

Next step for me is to work on a 'shooting script' for Joel, but I'll be doing this scene-by-scene as we move along. The 'love scene' between Lucia and Lorenzo will be interesting, but I already have some solid ideas in my head.  Keep you posted on any progress.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

DAY 1 vs THE GRAND PRIX

2010-03-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

DIRECTOR/SCRIPTWRITER LAURENT BOULANGER & DOP/PRODUCER JOEL MIELLE

FADE IN:

INT. KITCHEN. DAY

It's the morning after our first day of shooting, and despite some minor problems, everything went perfect. I stayed overnight at St Kilda rather than driving for one hour and half from the Bellarine Coast to be on time at 7.00 a.m. It seems like a great idea at the time, but I ended getting only four hours of sleep because I stayed at Base in St Kilda, a backpacker's hostel, and met some great people (Matt, the young doctor from Perth, Felix from Germany and Christine from Brazil), and we partied at the club for hours. The advantage was that I was so tired on this first day of shooting that I had no energy left to feel anxious -- I used that energy to stay awake and focused.

Our wonderful make-up artist Teresa Borjesson was at the doorsteps of the Melbourne Actor's Lab at 7.00 a.m. sharp, fully loaded with all the equipment and make-up. Our producer/cinematographer/director's assistant Joel Mielle arrived at the same time as I did, and Peter Kalos turned up some five minutes later, so no one was left stranded waiting for others to turn up. We also had the pleasure to work for the day with Jule Garcia, a French exchange student who is enrolled in Screen Studies and Australian History at Melbourne University. He was extremely useful as part of the crew and made our work much easier, and his experience on various French productions meant that he knew what he was doing.

At 7.30, our sound recordist Ben Bomitali, aka 'Cool Man', turned up and was extremely hardworking and professional throughout the day.

BEN BOMITALI, THE SOUND RECORDIST

We began by shifting furniture out of Peter's office and setting up the room for the 'interviewer' scenes. Whilst Joel was busy setting up lights and the camera (Canon 7D fully loaded), I made coffee for the cast and crew and went over some details with Peter, but he was well prepared, and the only question was which top should he be wearing. I consulted with Joel because of the white background we would be shooting against, and we ended up agreeing on a dark shirt.

Shooting began on schedule, but Joel and I never realised that this was also the first day of the Australian Grand Prix and that some workmen downstairs in the building would be drilling and hammering for the next four hours. Whilst the room we worked in was very good at blocking external sounds, sound bleeding from the workmen tools came through a few times, and we had to re-shoot scenes as a result. Eventually, we got it all down and on schedule, and Peter was able to leave and go about his daily business. I had scheduled the actors for far more time that would normally be required because what I have found in the past, when involved in the production of short films as an actor, was that everything that was supposed to take one hour ended up taking two hours. The result was that we had no time to panic, and no actor was left waiting for the actor to finish his scene. It was really a case here of less is more, and it worked wonderfully well.

MARIA FERNANDEZ in the role of LUCIA

During the afternoon, we experienced 'tyre' noise from the Grand Prix not far from where we were shooting, so we ended up having to use mattresses stored at the facility to block the sound. This worked extremely well, but we just couldn't block the sound of the jet planes that flew at regular interval overhead, so we ended up shooting 'in between' the jet acrobatics. You could virtually time when a jet would fly over us every 2-3 minutes, so as soon as a jet passed, we shoot the scene.

All the actors for the day were well prepared, and there was little or no work to really do with them other than a read through or two and shooting the scenes.

THE CURRENT CAST OF SIX LOVERS

By four-thirty, it was a wrap for the day, and the only thing left for Joel and me was to wait for a 7.30 pm meeting with a prospective production assistant Georgie Smibert. We had a drink and a bite to eat in Balaclava, and returned on time to meet Georgie. She seemed genuinely interested in being involved, so we will be in touch with her soon to finalise the details.

Keep you updated on the next day of shooting and what happens until then.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

1st DAY OF SHOOTING UPDATE

2010-03-23T00:45:00.001-07:00

FADE IN

INT. KITCHEN. DAY

It's official -- our first day of shooting is on Friday the 26th March at the Melbourne Actor's Lab in St Kilda courtesy of Peter Kalos.

Firstly, the great news is that we got on board Teresa Borjess on working as make-up artist on our first day, and she's managed to get a team of make-up artists for the duration of the film shoot. Check out her folio and see what incredible work she's capable of doing. You might want to keep her in mind for your own shoot one day.

Call sheets went out yesterday to all the actors who are shooting on day one, and we've given ourselves plenty of time to cover any unforeseen problems. I've finalised a shooting script for Joel who needed it for cinematography planning, and I also fixed all those annoying typos (guilty, I know, I know).

On Friday, we'll be shooting straight to camera interviews, and at this stage, after discussing it with Joel, we decided that using two cameras was a good idea. We'll have some behind-the-scenes footages and photos uploaded on this blog and our Youtube channel.

At this stage we're planning to do the rest of the 'interview' scenes next week and scouting for a suitable location for the shooting of some of Lorenzo's and Lucia's scenes.

That's it for me. I'll keep inform on any progress.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

ACTORS MEET AT LAST

2010-03-20T00:24:00.000-07:00

FADE IN

INT. KITCHEN. NIGHT

Yesterday's get-together with the cast of Six Lovers, myself and Joel was great. For those who made it, we managed to answer as many questions as possible back and forth, and then we went for a bite and drinks at Pause Bar in St Kilda. It was a great evening where we discovered that we all had the same sick sense of humour. We finished at around 10.30 p.m.

Today I've sent via email the contract details and rates of pay to the three actors who couldn't make it yesterday so that they have the same information we provided to the rest of the cast. A new revised copy of the script was also sent to everyone (with more changes to come!).

Joel and I are planning to shoot the first scene next Saturday, and at this stage it will be most likely at the Melbourne Actor's Lab, unless we decide otherwise. Once again, Peter Kalos was incredibly supportive in lending us the place for filming and rehearsals if required.

We'll have some photos and videos of the first cast get-together soon on our Youtube channel.

See our new editorial in Encore Magazine.

Keep you posted on how we're progressing.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

FIRST CAST GET TOGETHER

2010-03-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

FADE IN

INT. STUDY. DAY

I'm trying to organise with Peter Kalos, the actor who will be playing the role of Nathan, usage of his Melbourne Actor's Lab in St Kilda to meet with all the actors on Friday 19th March at 6pm for a Q&A between myself, Joel and all the cast (check out the lab's web page by the way -- looks like a great place for rehearsal and actor training! And you get to 'do it' with the man himself!) I thought that it would be much easier doing it this way rather than having to contact every single person and repeat ourselves over and over. We need to get over the contract details, rates of pay and so on, and also discuss location of shoots, and how far the cast is willing to travel, if at all.

I also feel it's a great idea to get the cast together so that we can begin to build a good working and friendly relationship. We might even go for a drink or a bite to eat afterward right in the middle of funky St Kilda.

Joel and I had a chat this afternoon, and we're scheduling the first day of shooting for Saturday the 27th of March. We're going to shoot some of the straight-to-camera scenes first because only need to have one actor available at the time and minimum crew. At this stage we are yet to decide on the location, but we'll know by the end of this week.

Joel arranged a Twitter account as well, and soon we'll have a top banner with filmnet. The film production is now listed with Film Victoria as in 'pre-production'.

That's it for me.

More as we move along.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

THE CASTING PROCESS

2010-03-11T14:56:00.000-08:00

FADE IN

INT. KITCHEN. DAY

Whilst still casting for some of the parts, I received an email from Cameron confirming that, yes, he wanted to do the part of the Interviewer in Six Lovers. I called Joel and told him the good news. This happened one day after Joel had worked hard on re-vamping the website and placed a teaser of the film that he had edited at Intermedia Arts studio.

The process of casting consisted of having to watch the callback audition recordings, and just like the first auditions we did, Joel and I went our separate ways and decided who we thought was best for the roles. At the end of the day, it came down to both performance, and in some cases, to the chemistry between the two actors.

AUDREY LAMONT and MARIA FERNANDEZ

I had picked Audrey Lamont originally for the part of Samantha because I felt she gave a good performance and brought something different to the character. Two other actresses also gave a solid performance, but at the end, Audrey had the displayed the perfect on-screen chemistry with Maria Fernandez, who was auditioning for the role of Lucia. Both had a southern European background and look about them, and both were of an age that looked as they could possibly be friends. A couple of younger actresses were just as good as Audrey in performance, but because they looked much younger than Maria Fernandez, I felt that the friendship between the two on-screen characters might not seem genuine enough. There’s a scene in the script where Samantha gives advice to Lucia about several issues, including her drinking problem, and a younger person giving advice to an older person didn’t feel right, so we decided to offer the part of Samantha to Audrey.

Peter Kalos and Maria Fernandez

For the role of Nathan and Lucia, both Joel and I knew that Peter Kalos and Maria Fernandez were the right choices. Peter had displayed an approach to the character that was very well prepared, but he also gave it a slight comic twist, which Joel felt would counter-balance slightly the seriousness of the script. There was no doubt in our minds that Peter was very professional at what he did and took his acting extremely seriously.

Maria Fernandez gave a good performance (despite not receiving all the scenes she had to audition for in the callback) and she displayed the right balance of assertiveness, warmth and attractiveness in her character. After all, a young man in his early twenties (the character of Lorenzo) is having an affair with Lucia (the character Maria Fernandez auditioned for), and it had to be visually believable that a young person would in fact fall in love with her, even if she was nearly twice his age. Maria was the only actress who we felt could deliver at all levels. And her great sense of humour indicated to us that she would be a great person to work with as well.

Alex Kadamani was just perfect for the role of Lorenzo – he was prepared, and he delivered a performance that captured the innocence of youth that was required for the role, and as a bonus he looked the part of Lorenzo to a T.

MARIA FERNANDEZ and ALEX KADAMANI

We had a really hard time deciding for the role of Marilyn because we had two outstanding actresses who auditioned for the callback, and who were both extremely professional and well prepared. At the end, we decided to give the part to Constance Washington because of the incredible vulnerability she brought to the character during the callback audition. Her attention to details was captivating, and there was something about the way she delivered those lines and performance that sent a shiver down my spine.

CONSTANCE WASHINGTON and ADAM TURNBULL

During the first audition, Joel and I felt that Adam Turnbull gave us a great performance on camera that made him a clear choice for a callback. And his callback performance sealed our decision to offer him the part. Physically, he was pretty much in par with the character I had written in the script, and in terms of performance he was prepared and also a perfectionist who wanted to nail the scene perfectly right at the audition (can we do this again?).

We walked away at the end of the callback auditions knowing that we had the majority of our cast, subject to their acceptance.

The role of Tom was still up in the air because Joel and I had a slightly different opinion of who the best actor for the role would be, but in time, we knew this would be solved.

Next in the blog, I will discuss the initial steps we took to work towards the first day of shooting.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

THE AUDITION PROCESS

2010-03-11T03:12:00.000-08:00

FADE IN

INT. KITCHEN. NIGHT

It's been a long day, and I've just come back from three-hour production meeting where we had to get down and work out the next steps of the production.

But first, as promised, here's how we went about finding and auditioning actors.

Finding actors to be in your own film can be a nightmare. Many independent first films use friends and family members of the director and producer to get the film made. Joel and I didn’t want to go that way – Six Lovers is a character film and that means that the actors’ performances are the most important aspect of the film. Everything else, you can more or less work around, but you cannot get away with a bad performance, even with a good script and good cinematography.

We took a couple of approaches. The first was to contact some talent agencies that we were familiar with and sent them a cast list of what we were after. The second was to advertise on Filmnet and other audition websites. The response we received was overwhelming to say the least -- so much so that after a week we had to stop taking applications from prospective actors.

We scheduled the first auditions on a single day. The script features the principal characters talking straight to camera throughout several sections of the film, and I told Joel if an actor can’t even talk to a camera, then there is no point in going further with that actor. We agreed to audition the majority of the actors on that single day with talk-to-camera scenes.

Two weeks ago, I booked a room at a university campus close to the city, and Joel and I ran auditions for twelve hours. It was tedious but exciting as well. Overall, the performances were very good and made the choice a little difficult, particularly with the role of Samantha, where we had five or six actresses auditioning for that single role.

Some of the actors were incredibly well prepared, and it was obvious they had done their homework. The ones that stood out were those who knew their lines and were able to get straight into character. Peter Kalos totally floored us with his performance, and how prepared and dedicated he was for the role. We experienced the same quality in terms of performance from Constance Washington, Adam Turnbull and Colin Masters. Some of the other actors were also very well prepared, but quite a few auditioned for the same part, so it was really hard to pick out the best performance or the one most suited to the role without looking back at the recordings.

Should we have done things differently on that day? We should have probably put up signs outside the room and in the foyer of the building where the auditions were held – a few actors got lost, and one turned up quite upset as a result. The lesson was learned, and for the callback auditions two weeks later, we had signs in the foyer and at the door of the audition room.

Joel took a copy of the callback recordings and I took one. We reviewed the auditions separately and made individual lists of whom we thought were best for the roles. Sometimes it wasn’t the performance, but the age of the actor, and whether we felt the chemistry would work with the other actors. When we got our list together, we agreed on about 90% of our selection. Those we were not sure about, we had them come back for the callback with the actors we were sure about.

The second audition was held at the same place but in a much larger room, but this time the audition scenes consisted of each actor having to act with another actor – just because you’re a good solo performer, it doesn’t mean you can act well with others. Once again, we got some actors who were incredibly well prepared and dedicated to the roles they auditioned for. I was mostly surprised by how serious these people were in terms of performing their craft– I have worked on a lot of short films, and what I had experienced on that day was overwhelming.

By the end of the callback auditions, we knew we had most of the cast. We just hadn’t found someone suitable for the Interviewer, which required a voice that was both authoritative and friendly.

And then I remembered Cameron Daddo, whom I had dealings with back and forth over the years with script ideas and basically catching up on what we were up to (I actually met him back a few years ago through his agent because of a script I had written and sent him, and he wanted to produce and star in it, but because the story was Australian-based, it was impossible to get US funding, and the project fell through -- maybe one day). I sent him the Six Lovers script and asked him to consider the part of the Interviewer. Being based in L.A., I knew we couldn’t get Cameron to audition in person, but since I had seen enough of his work over the years, I knew he was more than capable of doing the part.

And then it was three days for reviewing audition tapes and crossing our fingers for a reply from Cameron.

In the next blog entry, I will discuss how we cast the actors, and the little surprises we got in the process.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT

FROM SCRIPT TO PRODUCTION

2010-03-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

FADE IN

INT. KITCHEN. DAY

Welcome to this new blog. Over the next few months Six Lovers will be turned from script to finished feature film. I will keep you informed on the production process as we move along.

But first, let me give you some background of how this script came about, and how it got into production.

I wrote the script in 2009 at the request of Louise Alston of Bunker Productions International. Louise, who produced and directed the feature All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane and the forthcoming feature Jucy, had optioned my comedy script The Jerk Off (this script is currently represented by Daniel Scharf, Romper Stomper and Metal Skin producer) for a year and wanted a script that dealt with ‘love’. Over a one month period, I wrote Six Lovers with the idea of exploring what love meant to many people. At the time, there was a lot of news about privacy on the internet, and how people just revealed the events in their lives to millions of people around the world via social networking and Youtube. I decided to deal with this issue whilst exploring the theme of love.

It took me one month to work on the first draft, and I was working every day on it. I tend to obsess with my projects – once I have my head around an idea, I want to focus on that idea and nothing else.

I sent the work-in-progress to Louise, and when it was done, she told me that ‘it’s the best script I have read in years’. That was the good news. The bad news was that she decided not to go ahead with it because she was after more of a romantic comedy where everything ends happily. Six Lovers was too close to the bone for her, and there were scenes that she felt she wasn’t equipped to direct. Of course, I was somewhat disappointed, but not surprised.

I sent the script around, and I got one novice filmmaker interested and wanting it, but we never agreed on a ‘deal’ because he basically wanted the script for ‘free’ without signing any option for future payment. And he wanted so many changes in the script, I decided to walk away.

I came across Joel Mielle some three years ago through Filmnet.org.au. We kept in touch mainly via email and met once. He was really desperate to find a good script so that he could branch out into short films and feature films instead of been stuck in commercials and TV shows. Late last year, he contacted me and asked me if I had a good script. He was after a short film, but I don’t write short films anymore, so I passed him Six Lovers instead and told him I was interested in making a feature. He came back two days after I sent him the script and said, ‘let’s shoot it’.

Joel and I met over coffee, and we both got excited about the project and decided to produce it ourselves instead of being caught up waiting for months, and in most cases years, for the project to get off the ground. With his knowledge of filmmaking through his company Intermedia Arts, and my background as both a writer and actor (represented by Select Actors management), we knew we could make this work. To date I’ve worked on around twenty short films as an actor, some commercials, training videos, some TV parts, and a talking part with Colin Friels in the feature film Deeper Than Blue. I had worked with enough actors to know how they felt and what their challenges were – so I told Joel that I would be happy to direct the film, and he said, ‘yes’. Of course, having a script going into production was exciting enough, but getting the green light on directing one's own script was fantastic news.

That’s it for me today. In the next entry, I will discuss how we went about the audition and casting process, and how we got some incredibly good actors interested in the script.

Laurent Boulanger
Director/Scriptwriter
of Six Lovers

FADE OUT