Nim's Island
2007–2014 · Brisbane · Film, then the Studio
In 2007 I was fortunate enough to be a Leading Hand Painter, in charge of murals and backdrops for the feature film, Nim's Island! It was the most fun I had as a scenic artist since my work with Scenic Studios, in Melbourne at the end of last century...
On Set
It was great to be working on a large scale again, and the people working on the movie were joyful and inventive. I really loved the variety of work that I had to do for the show.
I met Hilary Green on set, who was also a fabulous photographer. We became very good friends until her passing just over a decade later. Here's Hilary pretending that she's back home in San Francisco just before we repainted the drop as a grey background for the island scenes. It had been folded, taken to another studio and re-stretched, so it was dirty. Still one of my favourite backdrops that I painted.
Through the markings and wear on the door, I wanted to express the fear and anxiety that Jodie Foster's character felt about the outside world. So I tried to make the peep-hole seem a little paranoid.. This kind of thought is not consciously picked up by the viewer, but is part of the accumulated effect of the creative process of film making.
Jodie Foster is an exceedingly generous and kind person to work with. She has a reputation for going around the studio and meeting the workers. I was shocked and totally thrilled when she came into the bathroom set while I was working on it, saying how she loved the work! Her character was a writer of children's book's who never left her house, so I wanted to (re)create her fantasy world.
Nim's Island © 2008 Selkie Productions, LLC. All rights reserved. © Walden Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
Return to the Studio
After the joy of working on Nim's, I wanted to go back to the studio and delve into my own work again. I did a couple of other shows, and commercials with my friend, Adam Head, then set up in my current studio...
