Screen Australia Podcast

Nakkiah Lui on getting her start in the screen industry on Black Comedy, writing for stage and screen, staying on track during long development periods, and how a very real fascination with doomsday prepping led to co-creating, co-writing and starring in the new ABC half hour comedy Preppers.

For her first feature documentary Under the Volcano, Australian producer Cody Greenwood needed to licence music for 30 songs from the likes of Elton John, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Duran Duran and more. She breaks down the ins and outs of music licensing and dealing with archival footage, as well as getting that first interview with Sting, working with director Gracie Otto, and advice.

Visit https://www.underthevolcanomovie.com to stream, rent, or buy.

Screen composer Caitlin Yeo talks about her career writing music for film, television and documentary, and how she went about creating the score for the epic four-part SBS series New Gold Mountain – a murder mystery set in the Australian gold rush and told from a Chinese perspective – including working with director Corrie Chen, instrument choice, and breaking down the title music in detail.

Journalist, documentary-maker and presenter Marc Fennell talks about his latest work hosting ABC documentary series The School That Tried to End Racism and more broadly about his career to date, including interviewing techniques, his approach to research, why he always like to have at least two jobs on the go, and how he’s navigated a constantly changing media and screen landscape.

Screenwriter Bevan Lee, who created such TV series as All Saints, Always Greener, Winners & Losers, A Place to Call Home and Packed to the Rafters, talks about creating Amazon Australia’s First Scripted Original Series Back to the Rafters, working with streamers, the power of nostalgia, and his advice for writers.

Screenwriter Jon Bell discusses working on new Channel Seven drama series RFDS, creating a strong sense of place through characters, and his award-winning First Nations psychological horror short, The Moogai, which he wrote and directed and which he’s developing into a feature with Causeway Films.

Michael Lucas on creating, producing and writing on new ABC series The Newsreader, as well as working as a writer more broadly, including learnings from script editing Rosehaven that he took to co-creating Five Bedrooms; paying it forward as a producer; returning to work with directors such as Peter Templeman and Emma Freeman; and advice for writers wanting to break into the industry.

Mithila Gupta talks about her pathway to screenwriting, her process, juggling projects as a freelance writer, how she came to work on Five Bedrooms, and how the writers’ room on Five Bedrooms works – from plotting to writing episodes.

Director Stevie Cruz-Martin discusses moving from features like the 2017 film Pulse, to the fast-paced world of Australian television with the 6 x 10 minute SBS series The Tailings; the importance of rehearsal time especially when working with first-time actors; lighting set-up choices to maximise shooting time; and her collaborative approach with producer Liz Doran, writer and creator Caitlin Richardson, and the rest of the heads of department.

Watch The Tailings Behind the Scenes video here.

Love on the Spectrum director and co-creator Cian O’Clery talks about his unconventional road to documentary making, from being a driver on films like the Matrix sequels, to finding his way into reality television, and then getting his big break in factual TV with Northern Pictures. He also breaks down his approach to Love on the Spectrum, including stylistic choices, how many cameras were used, shooting schedules and more.