Blog Archives
A book to love – The Red Tree
There should be a miniature version of Shaun Tan‘s The Red Tree so that I could keep it in my pocket day-to-day and finally take it all the way to Germany. In Germany I would waylaid random people to glory in the quiet beauty of the book, the sadness and confusion and hope. I would point and smile until they thought I was completely mad. Then I would hold the book tight to my chest, walk a little way, and start again with someone new. I’d also go to museums, libraries and the studio that filmed The Neverending Story, but we have to bring the best bits of home with us.
We’re close to program release but, pst, Shaun Tan is coming.
I’m wearing stripy socks today, as I do most days. That’s not really festival related, but I find it pleasing nevertheless.
Louise
Festival Administrator
It’s Goo Time
Imagine: evening last Tuesday.
I’ve wandered a few tram stops along St Kilda Rd to the JWT offices where I’ve been promised a glimpse into the creative marketing process. After tours and introductions I’ve been lead down to basement level of the building to a dark corner of the carpark.
Waiting for us is a group of people with cameras, costumes and make-up, all busy and intent. Between them lies a still body just beginning to ooze green blood; a man in trench coat and a gun to his side stands with his back to the crowd. I felt like a hardened police officer at a crime scene; all I needed was a cigarette hanging from the corner of my mouth, cooling sour coffee in a styrofoam cup and a look of contempt for the world. Instead I crouched down and tried not to giggle from the pure joy of witnessing the aftermath of my very first alien murder. I’m a simple girl with simple tastes.
JWT have been working extremely hard for us the last few months to create a spankingly impressive marketing campaign for 2009. You’ll be starting to notice the tag Where Stories Meet popping up online as we build closer to the program release. As part of the campaign, they’ve been working towards three core images melding genre; the scene above is Crime Meets Science Fiction. There’s anticipation in the air for the final images; with the program almost finished, these images will be the final touch for the shape of the program. It’s almost full go time! Excitement and queasiness are brought in equal measure. Still, how often do you get to see a dead alien body? We’re a lucky bunch here, I tell you.
Lastly, a few lessons from last Tuesday:
- The JWT board room has a spectacular view of night Melbourne, and is almost as large as our whole office.
- Green blood is part dishwashing detergent (for pooling effect), part green paint (for vibrancy) and a dab of glow-stick fluorescence if the scene is dark enough for the glow.
- Being Financial Manager doesn’t mean you can’t also be a damn fine alien corpse.
- Puppies should always be brought to photo shoots so that we can play with them afterwards.
- I want to experience more situations that involve the phrases ‘I’ve made up the dead guy’ and ‘It’s goo time’.
Louise
Festival Administrator
Brr
It’s been a wee bit nippy over the last few days. Oh Melbourne, you just wouldn’t be you if the weather was predictable.
We have four personal heaters scattered around the office, with a main office heater in one room, which is quite astonishing given that the office isn’t actually that large. There are patches of warmth and cold as you walk between rooms; if I was the superstitious type I’d wonder if we had ghost cooling the air with its presence. Now that gives me an idea, but where am I going to find a plain white sheet before Monday..
I do like the winter months; it gives me a chance to wear my selection of swanky gloves. I’m usually an elbow-length fingerless glove kind of girl (who would of thought it would get that specific) but I’m favouring a pair of black gloves with red skeleton fingers at the moment. It’s taking a bit of adjustment; sure, my fingers are warm, but it’s not nearly as handy when I need nibble digit action for, say typing (or changing songs on my iPod). Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for something special.
Really, one of the reasons I love the next few months in Melbourne, FULL BLOWN FESTIVAL SEASON. Film Festival, MWF, Fringe, Arts Festival > I feel a joyful tear just thinking about it. It’s such an exciting time to be in this city. Summer ain’t got nothin’.
Louise
Festival Administrator
Get Crafty
The last few weeks I seem to have been flittering from art market to craft market like a moth to glowing flame. There’s the Craft Hatch market at City Library each month, where I found my new friend Banana Jeremiah, which, you may have guessed, is a crotched banana on a necklace (it’s so obvious really). I handed out business cards at the Rose St Artist Market, and continue to lament that I can’t attend Craft Cartel‘s monthly meet as the Monday events clash with circus class.
MWF circus snap
For those who were paying attention, yes I have business cards! I feel quite pleased by this. I’m possibly more pleased that I was able to hand out cards to incredible local artists as the Melbourne Writers Festival will be collaborating for the first time this year with Craft Victoria to run Craft Hatch @ MWF, Where Stories Meet Craft, our first ever craft market for text, paper and story based art. Craft Victoria are currently accepting applications from anyone interested in hiring a stall for the market > tell your friends and complete strangers too.
My long weekend will be part Schools Program Giant Mail Out (volunteers ahoy!), part skirt-making co-operative (which means I’ve bought geeky space-printed fabric and my friend will make it into something pretty), part Avenue Q (woo hoo!), and, most importantly, part lounging around on a weekday. Happy Long Weekend to one and all!
Louise
Festival Administrator
Book neglect
I must confess; my consumption of the written word has taken a steady nose-dive of late. I have piles of books at home judging me silently for leaving them unread and unmolested. ‘I’m oh so interesting’ they imply in their stationary state. ‘Just look at my pretty cover!’ (If they could move they’d ruffle their pages like a bird impressing a suitor.) There’s a particularly enticing book on Riot Grrrl culture that’s imprinted itself against my brain, cover all pink and black and ROCK. But too much comedy and too much theatre leave little time for reading. With the winter months almost here I believe there’ll be much more lounging around.
Graffiti art in South Melbourne
Recently the Readings website profiled the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies on their front page (we have a screen capture attached to the office notice board – it was attached by me). Jane Austen with zombies and ninjas makes so much sense now that I’ve seen it done. The author even supplies helpful discussion notes for the classroom. High school English would have been much livelier if Pride and Prejudice was a story of polite society romantic politics versus a gruesome bloodbath of the dead. A friend has lent me her copy. I hold it triumphantly above my head; YES,THIS WILL BE THE BOOK TO READ!
One final note to end this terribly geeky entry – along the way back to the office after my errand run this week I found a message of warning tattooed to a wall in South Melbourne. My computer almost completely controls me already so remember – ‘Fight For Robot Rights Before They Do.’
Louise
Festival Administrator
