Check Out The First Instalment From Last Year's Optus ONE80PROJECT Winners, 'SICK' DIRECTOR'S BLOG

Day One

The shoot kicks off at Lake Paramatta – and we have no freaking idea what’s going on. We didn’t manage to get to the lakeside beforehand so we’re not sure what to expect. The surrounding area is spindly and dry, not quite the lush green we wanted for our Battlecraft world, but we are immediately hoping that perhaps we can bring out more colour in post production.

This is an important scene, a pivotal moment in the drama where our lead character Chris earnestly begs his brother, Conrad, for forgiveness. In one of the very first shots, our Director of Photography Tania Lambert has to shoot an angle from the water – don’t worry though, it’s only an Arri Alexa with Master Prime lenses valued at about $250,000. She’ll be right!

We’re surprised by just how much make up we need. Apparently we’re not as good looking as we thought we were...Christiaan looks like he’s just rolled out of a dumpster, but we’re assured that on screen it looks great. Ian Astridge our First Assistant Director is starting to freak out - we just finished our first scene and we’re already an hour and a half behind. Trust us, it’s not the last time this will happen! We’re realising the difficulty of directing and acting at the same time, and much of the work is left to Ian, as if he didn’t have enough to do already.

Time for a change of location – next stop, Flat Rock in the Blue Mountains!

Connor makes a last minute directorial call and as a result has to get nude, so Leon Krasenstein our awesome costume designer creates a modesty pouch in about ten minutes flat. The wind is blowing a gale, and there is a massive draft blowing at the cliff edge. This scene was originally scripted to be tranquil and reflective, and instead we’re fighting to stay on our feet. The camera is on a jib, and it’s become impossible to lock off our shot, which is going to make things a lot trickier for the effects guys.

Tania’s shooting schedule goes flying into the air and is soon followed by two or three copies of the crew members’ scripts. Is this a sign? Is the man upstairs using divine symbolism to tell us that our story is ‘up in the air’? Only time will tell!

Day Two

We’re deep in Battlecraft territory now, shooting at Glenworth Valley, Peats Ridge. Ken Min Lau, our Production Designer, has started building our Gathering Grounds location and he’s done a terrific job already. There are tents, stalls, flags and odd bits and bobs that make it feel aged.

We’re filming at different spots around Glenworth Valley, it’s really beautiful. So is the long blond hair of our sound recordist, Richard Teag. He’s playing Rapunzel to many an enamored little tick – in fact he gets four ticks in one day. Did we mention that Glenworth Valley is infested with ticks and leeches? And we’re running around barefoot. Note to self, wear Bushmans, and carry salt.

Some of us decided that instead of making the drive up and back from Glenworth Valley every day we’d rather stay in a motel close by. So after we’ve packed up in the dark, about two hours behind schedule, we make our way to the sh*ttiest motel in NSW. The TV provides the option of three channels of static - that’s good though, because we’ve got lines to learn and shot lists to study.

Day Three

We’re back at Glenworth Valley and Connor has to do some stunts. This wouldn’t normally be an issue as Connor is a qualified stunt performer, but he only had his appendix removed two weeks ago during pre-production. We could have moved the physical stuff to the second week of shooting, but the forecast was no good and we’d be without weather cover. So Connor swears under his breath and takes one for the team, while we make the directorial decision not to tell the insurance company about this.

We finally meet all of Conrad’s extended crew; Eva, Morlack and Barraccus. Kerry Blakeman, who’s playing Barracus, looks magnificent with his long flowing hair, glorious beard and massive stature. Our make-up artist Maz has done a magnificent job with Eva, an Elven princess, giving her silvery skin and braided hair.

We shoot a scene in which the Forest Troll stalks around the forest. Alex Juiceman, our troll, is an angel for the make-up guys as he sits there patiently. We get some help from prosthetics legend Gavin Kyle and a couple of his mates, who are all working for free. We couldn’t have made the trolls happen without them! In the end Alex can barely talk because he’s got prosthetics hanging off his face and glue up his nostrils, but he looks fantastic.

It’s time for Connor to do some acrobatics, but he’s badly out of practice and stacks nearly everything. We hope that it will work in the edit, and our First AD Ian promises us that it will. It’s been a long day, we’re running the usual two hours behind and end up heading home in the dark. Later that night, when he gets home, Richard Teag will find a tick behind his ear and a leech in his boot.

'SICK' WILL PREMIERE AT THE OPTUS ONE80PROJECT FESTIVAL IN SYDNEY ON MARCH 18 AND THEN ON THE ONE80 MOBILE SITE.

PLUS, keep your eyes peeled for the pilot when it airs on MTV this April!