survive in silence

‘Survive In Silence’

A short film by some Bond University film students. By Chloe Alford

In the early weeks of January, a handful of Bond Film and Television students were offered the opportunity to film a short film at the Screen QLD Studios. For those of you who are unaware, the studios in Brisbane are the third largest film studios in Australia. The studio we filmed in is 3,000 square meters, and was used for productions such as ‘Joe vs Carole’ (2022), ‘Love and Monsters’ (2020) and ‘Aquaman’ (2018). So for our cast and crew, filming in these studios was definitely a pinch me moment. Our cast and crew consisted of 14 members, and we filmed our short film in the studios over two days. Due to the current covid climate at the time, some of the crew members were unable to attend the shoot, but their efforts were key during the film’s pre-production process. As one of the Producers on this project, I am incredibly proud of the cast and crew for their efficient efforts throughout the film’s creation and development stages. With Uma, the other Producer, and I only having two weeks to organise the shoot, we couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to help bring a vision to life. We want to say a special thanks To Darren Fisher, Derek Hall and the Screen Queensland Studios, for providing this wonderful opportunity and supporting our cast and crew throughout the pre-production and production process.

Cast and Crew

CLARK: Agustin Romero QUINN: Angelika Martin JACOBS: James Roobottom

Producer: Chloe Alford Producer: Uma Chaghaghi Screenwriter: Jake Manoussakkis Screenwriter: Patrick Traynor Director: Conor Brown First Assistant Director: Alisha More Script Supervisor: Eloise Bowden Director of Photography: Chloe Alford First Camera Assist: Alisha More Second Camera Assist: Conor Brown Gaffer: James Roobottom Best Boys: Conor Brown & Eloise Bowden Sound Recordist: Loysh Cartmer Boom Operator: Loysh Cartmer Editor: James Roobottom Production Designer: Eloise Bowden BTS Photographer: Loysh Cartmer BTS Photographer: Eloise Bowden

Supervising Director of Photography: Jensen Just Supervising Gaffer: Kai Johnson Supervising Gaffer: Zed McMahon

Photos: Loysh Photography

Jake, one of the film’s Screenwriters, says the writing process “was a great experience” and that he “especially [enjoyed] collaborating with everyone.” He also remarks, “it was awesome to see everyone’s creativity through this whole process.”

The Director, Conor, discusses that he “thoroughly enjoyed working with the incredible crew around” him, and he believes he was “extremely lucky” to work with a “talented” and “passionate crew…allowing [him] to do [his] job as Director” to the best of his ability.

Gus, who played our lead Clark, says that his experience filming at the studios was “absolutely breathtaking,” and his first look at the studio made him think of “the endless possibilities that a film crew could use the space for.”

The film’s First Assistant Director, Alisha, discusses that she still finds it “hard to believe that we were given the opportunity to make a short film in a studio where some amazing feature films and TV shows were made.” And that the experience “of manipulating the space however we wanted was so cool.”

Our Production Designer, Eloise, thought “how am I going to fill an empty warehouse?” After some research she filled the set with “a ton of cardboard boxes, [of] all different sizes, along with clothes, games and sports equipment.” Adding, she is “really pleased how the production design turned out.”

Angie, our lead actress who played Quinn, says “as an actor, it was exciting to work in such a professional environment, and have a taste of what it’s like to film in a studio production.”

Our Sound Recordist and BTS Photographer, Loysh, explains she “enjoyed every moment of setting-up and packing-down the gear in such a huge space” and that she “was amazed at how well our small group were able to bring the whole project together.”