Michelle McGahey APDG & Michael Rumpf

First the good news. The 2019 production slate in Queensland across all platforms has grown during the past year, however, as the calendar year draws to a close, the state could be busier.
From the beginning of 2019 , the Queensland film, television and associated screen media industries have been consistently active. Screen Queensland has been instrumental in drawing larger productions to the state with steady bookings at Village Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast and the new studio complex at Hemmant in Brisbane coming online for productions.

The beginning of the calendar year was busy with completion of Godzilla vs.Kong, helmed by Owen Paterson APDG and Tom Hammock winding up at Village Roadshow Studios in April. Loveland, an Ivan Sen feature, which shot in Brisbane and Hong Kong finished around the same time. Concurrently the US television series Reef Break designed by Nick McCallum was in production, also shooting at Village Roadshow Studios from November 2018 until wrap in July 2019. The US feature Monster Problems helmed by production designer Dan Hennah, began pre-production at the new Screen Queensland studios facility in Hemmant in February, winding up in June. While Monster Problems was starting, Harrow Series 2 designed by Matt Putland APDG was winding down to finish in April. Back on the Gold Coast, Bloody Hell, a genre horror feature designed by Michael Rumpf, ran from February until May. In the north of the state, Total Control designed by Pete Baxter was filming the Queensland components in Mt Isa with a filming period from April through May.

At the same time, the state was busy with another genre feature dealing with a pesky rogue crocodile entitled Black Water Abyss which filmed from May to June in and around Brisbane, art directed by Adam Head.
The second half of the year saw the commencement of Elvis/Graceland at Village Roadshow Studios with Catherine Martin APDG and Karen Murphy. In Brisbane Harrow Series 3, is moving through pre-production and is being designed by Helen O’Loan for Hoodlum. The feature film Great White, another shark attack genre production is shooting from October to November with Adam Head in the design role. The feature film Streamline starring Jason Isaacs and Levi Miller is in production and is being designed by Matt Putland APDG.

As the above production breakdown attests, the overall production slate for Queensland is varied and vibrant with an extensive number of APDG members employed on all of the listed productions.
In news, Tracey Viera has departed Screen Queensland as CEO in August, her position being filled by Kylie Munnich. There is a strong relationship between the APDG and Screen Queensland and this will continue unabated.

Throughout 2019 the Queensland chapter of the APDG has been actively engaging with the wider screen community where practical. As the co-chair of the Queensland APDG, I was asked by Griffith Film School coordinator Andrew Couzens to put together a panel of skilled art department practitioners for a symposium event. This was to introduce the different facets of an art department and the respective roles, to attendees of the recently-conceived Queensland Emerging Screen Talent (QEST) conference. The QEST conference is staged in Brisbane and is presented by the Brisbane International Film Festival in conjunction with the Griffith Film School. The purpose of the event was to expose recent graduates and interested filmmakers to a two-day series of free panels, networking opportunities and workshops dedicated to early career screen practitioners. The conference was on October 8-9. , The APDG was represented at a stand on the Wednesday morning on the Queensland Terrace at the State Library of Queensland and again that afternoon with panellists in an open forum in Cinema B of the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art.

The panellists representing their specific disciplines were Justine Dunn, set decoration; Cornelis Van Den Boogaart, construction management; John Andersen, standby props; and Jason Baird and Sean Genders, special effects make-up and on set delivery, with myself, Michael Rumpf as convenor.

From an APDG point of view, the event was well received with an attendance of about 30 people. The take-away was that there is still great anticipation of early career practitioners becoming producers, DPs, directors or writers. production design, art direction, set decoration, standby props, construction management or special prosthetics make-up are still further down the line as sought-after career paths. This perception needs to change and should be actively addressed as there is already a shortage of artisan skills within the industry. However, the upside of the symposium event and conference was a new liaison being established between the APDG and BIFF as well as further enhancement of the guild’s ties with Griffith Film School.

In summation, we thank Screen Queensland for its ongoing commitment to the screen sector and in particular the film and television industry. We also thank, Village Roadshow Studios president Lynne Benzie for her ongoing support and involvement with the APDG.

We congratulate all APDG members on their nominations for the APDG and ACCTA Awards for 2019.

Michael Rumpf
Michelle McGahey APDG

QUEENSLAND COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRS
Michael Rumpf, Cornelis Van Den Boogaart, Justine Dunn, John Andersen, Sean Genders, Jason Baird to be inserted