Behind the Edit: Pillowtalk Australia's 'Sundays' Campaign

I recently wrapped up the edit for Pillowtalk Australia's summer campaign, 'Sundays,' with the talented team at Stranger Films. Working alongside Director Tony Walsh, we wanted to create a campaign that captured the essence of an Aussie summer afternoon — warmth, relaxation, and those moments of connection that we all treasure. I'm excited to give you a peek behind the scenes on how we brought this campaign to life.

The first major change we made in this commercial rather than other TVCs was that we shifted editorial over to Black Magic Design's Davinci Resolve, and while it came with some limitations in certain cases, the benefits for this kind of lifestyle edit were huge — it saved us time moving from assistant editing over to offline editorial, and turnovers to VFX and colour were simple with the all-in-one pipeline approach. This meant we had more time and headspace to focus on the important things; performance. quality product shots and designing a smooth light pacing for the 30-second commercial. In a campaign like this, where the products need to pop and visuals need to convey that perfect summer vibe, having more time for these final touches made a wealth of difference.

The flexibility of moving this edit over allowed us to implement VFX and colour adjustments on the fly, adapting easily to client feedback. This level of responsiveness helped ensure that each edit was aligned with the vision of director Tony Walsh and the team at Stranger Films had for 'Sundays.' It's always a pleasure to collaborate with such a talented group, and this project was no exception.

Take a look and enjoy the final result!

Helping RCS Australia and Tourism Media Spread the Message of Regenerative Farming

As an editor based in Brisbane, I was lucky enough to work with RCS Australia and Tourism Media on a TV commercial that promotes the importance of regenerative farming. I'm passionate about sustainability and eco-friendliness, and this project was the perfect fit for my skills and values.

Regenerative farming is a method of agriculture that restores degraded soil, promotes biodiversity, and improves ecosystem health. It's a critical step towards a more sustainable future and a greener planet. That's why I was honoured to be a part of this project and help spread the message of regenerative farming to a wider audience.

I provided on-location edit consulting services for this project and worked closely with the client and Tourism Media, the production company, to make sure that their vision was accurately reflected in the final product. We approached the project collaboratively and were able to create a TV commercial that truly captured the spirit of regenerative farming and looked gorgeous to boot!

As a video editor, I bring both technical proficiency and creative vision to every project. I know the editing, VFX and colour grading pipeline inside and out and have the tools and techniques necessary to bring a vision like this to life. I also understand that what is most paramount are the stories we tell and the message that lands in the audience’s lap.

Storytelling and an eye for detail are both essential qualities for a successful commercial edit. I understand that every project is different and I find that each one requires a unique outlook. My goal is to bring my client's vision to life in a way that is both engaging and impactful.

Working on this project with RCS Australia and Tourism Media was an amazing experience. I'm proud to have been a part of a project that promotes the importance of regenerative farming and highlights its role in creating a more sustainable future.

NDIS Carers QLD edit nominated for ASE Award

It is not often as a corporate, commercial and film editor working in Brisbane that you get to edit a project as heartwarming and honest as this one. In 2021 I worked as the offline editor for the agency, Stranger Films, on their commercial project for Carers Queensland and the NDIS.

The story was truly beautiful, following 3 real Australians living with disabilities and their day to day triumphs. It was also very heartwarming to have my editing work recognized on a national level by the Australian Screen Editors. The clip was nominated for an Ellie award alongside 4 other very talented editors and their pieces.

This is my second national nomination with the Australian Screen Editors and I can only hope to work with more amazing stories like the ones on display in this piece.

BMW and QUT Partnership Promo Design

As a commercial editor based in Brisbane with over 10 years of experience in the industry, I am always looking to bring a unique perspective to every project. Recently, I had the opportunity to work with Stranger Films, a Brisbane-based production company, on a promo for a partnership between BMW and QUT's design academy. It was an especially exciting project because the production team was able to acquire a set of high powered lasers, which added an awesome dynamic sci-fi element to the production design.

In the edit, I utilised my skills as a video editor and my experience as a visual effects artist to design glitch like split screen effect that showcases the complexity of the product (the BMW M8) alongside elegant gliding shots that highlight its sophisticated design process.

As with every project, my process starts with understanding the unique story we are trying to tell and how to best serve the needs of the client. I always strive to create content that is not only visually stunning, but also delivers a clear and powerful message. This BMW X QUT promo is now live and I am proud of the creative and technical contributions I made as an editor to the project.

Working on this production was a true highlight of my career so far, and I am always looking for opportunities to push the boundaries and create something truly unique. Whether I am working on a feature drama, commercial, music video, or any other project, my approach is always centred on telling a compelling and impactful story.

Total Pace - Just One More | Music Video Launches

When director Nick Moore approached me to be the editor of his latest and highly stylistic music video, I was ecstatic. The two of us, along with cinematographer Brian Loewe, developed a style that was uniquely “rough around the edges”, giving the audience an overwhelming feeling of being “a little too drunk”. We pulled back from the polish of our usual work together to lean into fast editing, warped pictures and match cutting.

For several weeks leading up to the shoot the director and I tested several styles for our vocals potion of the clip. We decided to emulate a digital version of a SnorriCam. We achieved this through careful camera tracking designed to allow us to manually track the singers face through a tool named Mocha. This along with some edge warping and displacement mapping created a unique and dizzying vibe to those clips (along with lots of intercutting). The whole crew loves this clip and we think this music video is a signpost of more creative experimentation in the future.

Inferno Nominated for an Australian Screen Editors Award

This year I was honored to be nominated for a 2020 Australian Screen Editors Guild National Ellie Award for my work editing Inferno.

I’ve always been extremely proud of the edit we carefully crafted for this short. My director Katherine Chediak Putnam and I worked some very late nights to ensure this short jumped off the screen in every aspect, particularly with elements of stylistic cutting around the many dream sequences. Balanced out with some heavier dramatic scenes based further in reality. The horror genre has been a passion of mine for a while now and it is a delight to work in as an editor.

It was an honor to have Inferno selected from the large number of films edited this year. A big thanks goes out to the entire post team behind the film, I am a strong believer that a production is only as strong as its weakest part, and this film had a very strong team. I look forward to seeing Inferno tour a more international stage as it continues its festival run in the future.

Telly Award for Best Editing in the Online Space

For the last number of years, I have worked closely with the team at Tourism Media to produce, edit and colour grade for the largest travel YouTube channel, Expedia. While editing these videos gives me all sorts of envious wanderlust, the team and I are always trying to push the level of quality to give our audience the most jaw-dropping beauty and informative experiences.


It was awesome to see that the agency threw some of our videos from the Travel Guide series into the ring for the 41st annual Telly Awards. It was even greater to see a number of them picked up bronze, silver and gold awards, including one for Best Editing for our energetic video on Barcelona.


The Telly Awards have been honoring excellence across all screen media since 1979. This year alone receiving 12,000 entries across 5 continents. The event works closely with NABshow, ProductionHUB and IFP, to name a few. Previous winners of the Telly Awards include CBS Interactive, HBO, Comcast, Conde Nast, Team Coco and many many others.

Saturday Night Fever TVC Out Now

Over these last few weeks I’ve been hard at work editing together several Saturday Night Fever TVC’s for the team over at TPR media. The new and upcoming stage production of Saturday Night Fever starts late March 2019 and the team and I had been working with the Gordon Frost Organisation to bring the production to life on-screen.

We used a combination of music video styled pacing and kaleidoscopic effects to drive home a feeling of energy and excited bundled into this mad 30 second delight to the senses. Each shot was a challenge but we worked long and hard to make sure the edit and effects were complimenting each dance sequence and sticking tight to the client’s brief.

Brian Loewe and David Aponas did an amazing job bringing the imagery to life along with Dean Law’s fabulous directing work and Scott Nelson’s skilled guiding hand as executive producer.

You can check out the full television commercial below.

Stray's Official Selection at Nevermore Film Festival

As a freelance Brisbane based editor it is always amazing to see stories that I’ve created get nominated for awards and appear at international festivals. Stray has been making big waves for a short film born from the passion of a number of local Brisbane based filmmakers and with the amazing support of Screen Queensland.

Recently the production saw ‘official selection’ at the 20th Nevermore Film Festival in North Carolina. It’s a fantastic start to 2019 and we only hope these stories and the ones we make in the future continue to be seen and make waves at more screenings in the future.

The Nevermore Film Festival will be highlighting dark fantasy, sci-fi and horror shorts and features from around the world from March 8th to 10th.

For A Good Cause Launches Online!

The editing on For A Good Cause ended some months ago but this is a project that never left the mind. Its comedy and whit are sharp and unlike any other, I’m really excited to see the commissioned launched happening on YouTube with the support of Stranger Films and Screen Queensland.

“What happens when the team tries to “fix” the lack of diversity in a political ad?

A brand new Australian satirical comedy series, ‘For A Good Cause’ follows a digital media agency that creates progressive social change content — but betrays all their values in the process. ”

— Stranger Films

The series stars Becky Lucas, Julian Curtis and Thomas Larkin and follows an editor, Ollie, in a creative agency with a drive for social change as he tries to navigate the act of moral social change but through not-so moral actions. While the director and I were in the edit we knew we had something special, we couldn’t get through a scene without a chuckle and when you’ve seen something as many times as I have to get it just right in the timeline, you usually become quite desensitised to the comedy. With For A Good Cause however I was ecstatic that the comedy really stuck true and our handling of the more socially grey satirical segments was handled with the utmost care and attention while still preserving the original nature of the comedy.

The show was developed by a small but passionate team, each department deserves props for doing such an amazing job and delivering some awesome content that I could craft so effortlessly allowing us to focus on what the comedy series is all about. The whole team is really excited to see the first launch, feel free to check out the first episode below.

Posterboy, Stray & A Picture of Other People honoured for Cinematography.

These three great films were recently recognised in their craft of Cinematography. Two of which I had the pleasure of working as lead editor, one of which I worked as a VFX artist. Cinematographer and all-round visual artist Brian Loewe was recognised by the Australian Cinematography Society (ACS) for his work on these three pieces last week.

Brian puts such dedication and care into his craft and each frame drips with his quality and years of experience. Most of these films are still running through the festival market and each of them appears to be doing quite well gaining selection, nominations and some wins as they move forward.It has been a pleasure to work with him on a number of projects both corporate and narrative over the years. I’m excited to see where his skill takes him next.

Stray Screens at Hollywood Screamfest!

Over these last few months I have been working closely with the team at Sway Pictures to complete the editing and mastering of our new short horror film funded and developed with Screen Queensland

Since the inception of the idea it has been quite a fast turn around, completing the offline edit in only a few weeks. The team and I worked closely with Empire Post who produced the short’s fantastic VFX sequences. The colour grade (completed by our DOP Brian Loewe) is nothing short of spectacular!


Currently the production team is over in LA touring the short at Hollywood Screamfest, it is always a pleasure to see my edit recognised at these awesome festivals.

Tourism Media Takes Home Gold at the 2018 Communicator Awards

A little while ago Tourism Media received word from the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts that our Expedia documentary travel guides would be recognised in the 2018 Communicator Awards. The team at Tourism Media was behind the production each one of these awesome mini docos and i was privileged enough to be the editor for each one.

““The Communicator Awards is the leading international awards program recognizing big ideas in marketing and communications. Founded over two decades ago, The Communicator Awards receives over 6,000 entries from companies and agencies of all sizes, making it one of the largest awards of its kind in the world. “”

— Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts

Our travel guide series is a focus on unique destination around the world, highlighting all things travellers and locals alike love about the destination. We strive for high quality in each video, from the shooting, writing, editing, colour grading and even some touch up VFX to push the envelope of the travel genre.

Tourism Media took home the following awards in one of the best years we’ve had so far!

• Gold - Communicator Award - 2018 - Best Music  - Long Island

• Gold - Communicator Award - 2018 - Best Online Travel Video - Seoul

• Gold - Communicator Award - 2018 - Best Online Travel Video - Long Island

• Gold - Communicator Award - 2018 - Best Online Travel Video - Cape Town

• Silver - Communicator Award - 2018 - Best Music - Cape Town

You can checkout some of the award winning videos below:

Post Production Begins on ‘For A Good Cause’ | Pilot Series

Since the beginning of 2018 the team over at Stranger Films and I have been developing a few select projects for future production. This year we were lucky enough to have Screen Queensland excited to come onboard and help fund our comedy pilot, For A Good Cause!

We are now into the post-production and the editing is coming along very well! It was one of the smoothest shoots we’ve ever seen and the edit has us in stitches with each and every watch through. We are hard at work refining the project to make sure it’s got the polish and comedy chops it needs to stand out for today's comedy savvy audiences

Editing comedy is a unique experience in its own, while we have tackled a few comedy projects before like The Bus Knight, each short is it’s own unique experience and requires us to treat each scene as an individual. That's not to say that we aren’t throwing in some great motifs across the film for some recurring laughs.


Timing is key when it comes to comedy and we are very carefully spacing out our jokes and reactions to give audiences the time they need to breath, laugh and feel every beat that the characters are experiencing. One key thing we learnt with our previous projects is to be very careful not to run too many jokes close to important dialogue, after all, you don’t want to be laughing over a some important exposition.  


For A Good Cause is due to launch in a few months and we are all excited to see what audiences think!

Kegs of Glory Series Launches!

Over the last few months the teams at Tourism Media, Pacific and I have been hard at work, creating, producing, filming, and editing the Kegs of Glory series for launch.

This 10 part series commissioned by Expedia was designed to dive deep into the local craft brewer scene across Brisbane and Melbourne to further their brand with more local and authentic content. Our team crafted each documentary episode around a brewery; highlighting the brewer, community and spotlight on their biggest and best brew.

I was lucky enough to be apart of the filming process, going to each brewery and experiencing the community and passion that each brewer puts into their liquid creation. The series style evolved effortlessly as the project progressed, each day on-set coming up with new ideas on how to better connect and engage the audience.

When we came into post production, our weeks of work and style improvements were put to the test, we decided very early that the style should look “rough” and “authentic” while being quite polished around the edges. We aimed to give off that quality that Expedia desired while giving audiences the authenticity of a local production.

It was an amazing experience to work from start to finish on such an exciting and passionate project. The teams behind the series really helped pull everything together, truly an amazing family of creators.


The Kegs of Glory campaign is still currently running and can be seen via https://www.expedia.com.au/explore/kegs
 

A Picture of Other People Wins Gold at WEFF

Last weekend the West End Film Festival came to a close and this year there was a range of fantastic films on offer. One film in particular that I was lucky enough to work on as Online Editor and Visual Effects Artist managed to take home gold!


A Picture of Other People, a film which follows the story of an emergency call center responder who guides a small child through their call for help. This film was the work of many local artists and filmmakers under the guidance of Director Jason Fitzgerald and fantastic production company, Lonely Sheep Productions.


West End Film Festival is always tough competition, however our film managed to woo the audience and take home Audience Choice award for Best Picture and Judges Panel award for Best Cinematography. This is the 3rd year in a row that we’ve managed to get our work into the official selection of WEFF and each year we are humbled by the support of the local community.

A Picture Of Other People | First Festival Wins

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure to lead visual effects in the post production of Lonely Sheep’s newest film A Picture of Other People. Recently the film hit market and has won its very first awards at the Brisbane Backyard Film Festival.

The film follows an emergency operator who guides a young boy through trying to resuscitate his mother as ambulances rush to the scene. I find the film very impactful and I would not be surprised if it did very well over the next year at different festivals.

At the Brisbane Backyard Film Festival it took home Best Film and Audience Choice Award! In previous years we have also had success with The Bus Knight taking home Audience Choice too.

You can check out the recent awards posting here:

Sendereka Official Selection in MVUIF

Recently a music video that I had the pleasure to edit launched online. Sendereka by Blaq Carrie left post-production and was included as on official selection by the Music Video Underground International Festival. 

This music video is had a nice launch but it is even better to see it make waves on an international stage.

You can checkout Sendereka on the link below.

 

Blaq Carrie’s New Official Music Video Launches

Recently I was the editor for the new music video clip Sendereka and I was excited to see it launch online yesterday through the Australian hip-hop AUD’$ Facebook page.

The production was a visual feast of lens flare and amazing choreography, filmed on location in RedCliffe and editing in our Brisbane studio. We worked hard to give the music video a narrative direction while maintaining its dreamlike suspension of dance and basketball.

Special thanks to Brian Loewe and the team at Musemaker for putting this all together and making it look fantastic. You can check out the music video on Blaq Carrie’s YouTube Channel or over on the facebook page.

Poster Boy Complete! Trailer Launches Online.

With the post production now wrapped on Poster Boy, the production and marketing team at Sway Pictures are hard at work sending off screeners to festivals around the globe. The 25min short has been a pet project for much of the team over these last few months and we are stoked to see it go out into the world.

During the 3 month part-time vision edit, the director and I saw the project develop through its infancy and into a tight and creative cut that mirrors the story themes and delivers audiences directly into the world. Working closely with this creative team has been an amazing experience and we all hope the film lands well.

With the completion of the film, we now also have a fresh new trailer to go along with it. While we cannot link the full film yet the trailer is out now and linked below.