Category / Entertainment

by brandsa2018

500 Miles of Music to lift spirits of rural communities doing it tough

Organisers of a travelling country music festival across the Flinders Ranges and Outback are hoping the event will help lift the spirits of locals struggling with the impacts of drought.

The inaugural 500 Miles of Music in July will make its way across four outback locations, Wombat Flat near Eudunda, Quorn, Blinman and William Creek, entertaining locals and visitors as well as travellers on their way to the Big Red Bash, the world’s most remote music festival in Birdsville, the following week.

Award-winning country artists Adam Harvey, Brad Butcher, Aleyce Simmonds, Michaela Jenke and Matt James will perform at each of the 500 Miles events.

The idea for a travelling music festival exclusive to the Far North was born from established foley artist John Simpson who lives in Quorn, where he has managed to maintain an extensive career in the film industry, working on titles such as Mad Max: Fury Road, The Water Diviner, and Les Misérables.

John says he was inspired to bring a big event to his hometown and surrounding outback places as they often miss out on hosting musical or cultural events.

“We kind of miss out in the middle and I just wanted to have something special for Quorn …I guess you always push your own barrel, but it’s a nice place and there are plenty of accommodation and camping spots,” he says.

“We hope to make this happen every year. The Big Red Bash is QLD’s biggest remote music festival, and I really want to this one (500 Miles) to become SA’s big outback music festival, and not just concentrate on one town but many towns so everybody has a bite.”

The future of 500 Miles of Music has been secured through a $19,000 grant by the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal’s Tackling Tough Times Together program. John and his team have also worked hard to secure the support of major sponsors, OZ Minerals, Nitschke Chaff and Freight and Wrights Air.

500 Miles of Music will travel from Wombat Flat to, Quorn, Blinman and William Creek Hotel in the Flinders Ranges. Photo: SATC.

With farmers across the state reporting some of the driest conditions in recent memory, John says an event like 500 Miles of Music could help take their minds off the tough times. He says the event also offers locals an experience on their doorstep rather than requiring them to travel long distances.

“Everyone can have a fun time out and it doesn’t cost a lot of money. A lot of the towns like William Creek for instance, which is surrounded by cattle country, they don’t have anything like this to go to normally. It’s the same with Blinman and all the people around there,” John says.

“If we can keep these people laughing and having a good time, that’s what’s important.”

John worked alongside friends Mike Roberts who runs The Barn at Wombat Flat, one of the venues for the festival, and Rob Baumann to pull the event together. 500 Miles of Music will raise money for cancer charity Mummy’s Wish with 15% of the profits going towards the cause.

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John Simpson inside his remote foley recording studio.

Aside from his main gig as foley artist under Quorn-based business Feet’n’Frames, John also runs a sound equipment business Outback PA Hire which will provide the set up for 500 Miles.

John has lived in the Flinders Ranges town for about 15 years and works from his sound-proofed shed studio on his 300-acre outback property. It’s from this isolated yet serene location that John is able to record and create sounds without interference of traffic and other noises he would find in cities.

He has an extensive list of film credits to his name including recently released Australian romantic comedy Top End Wedding, World War Z, The Great Gatsby, The Hobbit and Diana. John is currently working on I Am Woman, a film about 1970s musician and activist Helen Reddy.

“Because of the internet it doesn’t really matter where I go for my job, but I do like the quietness, it means I can record outside without buses driving past my back door,” John says.

“I’ve lived in cities and worked out of Sydney for many years and it’s just not nice when you go for a break outside and you’re surrounded by smog. It’s much nicer to head out the door and into the country.”

500 Miles of Music will launch at The Barn at Wombat Flat on July 6 (sold out) before heading to the Quorn Oval on July 7. It will then hit the North Blinman Hotel on July 8 before the finale at the William Creek Hotel from July 10–11. Click here to purchase tickets.

Feature image: Oodnadatta Track, Flinders Ranges and Outback, SATC.

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by brandsa2018

Technicolor’s Mill Film recruiting globally for Adelaide studio

Technicolor’s Mill Film Adelaide studio is drawing on local and international talent to build its workforce which is expected to grow to 300 employees by the end of 2019.

The visual effects studio, comprised today of 140 employees including management and operations, is working from a temporary space in Adelaide’s west, and is anticipating a move into its permanent home within the CBD Myer centre by mid-June.

In 2018, Technicolor and its brands – MPC, MR. X, Mikros and Mill Film – worked on 40-plus titles for major studios including A Wrinkle in Time, Predator, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, The New Mutants and 14 episodic projects from Mr. X including new seasons of American Gods, Carnival Rows, Narcos, A Series of Unfortunate Events and Vikings. This is in addition to its film credits related to Jungle Book, Wonder Woman and The Shape of Water.

Mill Film specifically, is focused on providing world-class visual effects for feature film and episodic production markets for major studios and streaming services. The Adelaide studio is expected to grow to 500 employees over five years.

Mill Film Adelaide’s managing director Mark Thorley says the studio is currently actively recruiting for a variety of positions in areas of animation, lighting and environment. The hiring will be a combination of established professionals in the market as well as emerging talent coming out of universities through Technicolor’s Academy.

Mill Film Adelaide’s managing director Mark Thorley.

Mark confirms that the academy has already taken on 40 graduate positions, with a second intake for the one-year paid learning and development program now under way.

“It’s pretty unique from an Australian perspective,” he says. “We pay these individuals from day one and then bring them on the floor once they’ve graduated.”

Mark moved to SA from Queensland to take up his position and says Adelaide’s lifestyle strengths played a part in the company choosing the southern state to expand the brand.

“It’s a great city, in an amazing part of the world, offering the combination of great talent and lifestyle,” he says. “Adelaide is Australia’s best kept secret. We’re thrilled to be here and business is off to a great start. I am incredibly proud of the great work we are doing and can’t wait for the final product to reach audiences everywhere.”

The announcement that Adelaide would welcome a Mill Film studio came in 2018 and was received as a game-changer by the state’s creative industries. The former Labor government also announced its backing of the project with $6 million from the Economic Investment Fund. More than a year later, Mill Film Adelaide has secured its first 12 months’ worth of work.

Mill Film is currently working on Dora The Explorer, an adaption of the popular animation series, and will announce further projects in late 2019, early 2020.

Dora The Explorer is in cinemas from August 2.

“Technicolor is always looking for locations that can offer a new talent pool of skilled VFX artists and therefore we started talking to several state governments before deciding to settle in SA,” Nathan says.

“In addition to (state and federal Post Production, Digital and Visual Effects) rebates, Adelaide offered an opportunity for expansion because of its pool of proven creative talent, access to universities to develop and nurture talent, and the infrastructure already in place for such high-end projects, inclusive of internet infrastructure to allow us to move large amounts of data around,” Nathan says.

“This combined with the lifestyle and quality of life in Adelaide makes it the perfect environment for fostering creativity.”

Nathan Wappet, Technicolor Production Services COO, says the industry is currently experiencing one of its biggest shifts, brought on by an unprecedented demand for content.

“The shift is so massive, it’s changed the definition of what a studio is, with new entrants Netflix, Hulu, Apple, and Amazon Studios setting the bar, and traditional studios announcing their own content distribution platforms,” he says.

“These changes are blurring the line between feature and episodic; short and long form, to the point where quality expectations and production values are the same for all content creators, regardless of distribution platform.

“In the midst of this shift, Technicolor, and its brands are in an unparalleled position to deliver on clients’ and project needs without compromising quality by optimising picture, sound, and visual effects services.”

A scene from ‘Gladiator’ for which Mill Film won an Oscar for visual effects.

Technicolor’s presence in SA is a boost to not only jobs in the state, but the overall local VFX industry, which already home to large VFX house Rising Sun Pictures as well as boutique studio Resin, both of which have an international reach.

Nathan says existing VFX businesses in Adelaide will benefit from Technicolor entering the market as the company often needs to outsource some of its VFX and animation work.

“These studios would be the most likely beneficiaries of any local outsourcing as well as the training and growth of a local artist and technology talent pool. It is a winning proposition for all players,” he says.

Mill Film is anticipating on being a VFX, animation and content production of excellence with hopes of mirroring the success of Technicolor’s MPC Film Montreal studio which grew to more than 1000 people in 2018.

Mill Film’s global managing director Lauren McCallum has a vision for Mill Film to be the most inclusive tier-1 studio in the world, putting talent first and embracing diversity in its work.

“Adelaide helps us achieve this by allowing us to tap in to a talent pool we wouldn’t otherwise have been able to – opening up new pathways in to the industry for even more diverse creatives,” she says.

“The demand for visual effects content has exploded in recent years and we don’t anticipate this will slow down.”

Industry in focus: Creative Industries

Throughout the month of March, the state’s creative industries will be explored as part of I Choose SA.

South Australia is home to a thriving ecosystem of creative businesses and specialists who are delivering world-class works VFX, TV and film production, app development and the VR space. Read more creative industries stories here.

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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by brandsa2018

Local talent behind SA-made film Hotel Mumbai

South Australian-made film Hotel Mumbai has hit cinemas across Australia and overseas, based on incredible events that unfolded at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai during deadly terror attacks in 2008.

Hotel Mumbai is SA director Anthony Maras’ debut feature, filmed partially at Adelaide Studios within the SA Film Corporation, as well as on location in India, in 2016.

The film is based on the real-life events that unfolded at the five-star Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in November 2008, when gunmen stormed the building in a string of attacks carried out across the city over three days, killing 164 people.

Filming started in 2016, with Adelaide Studios transformed to replicate the opulent interior of the luxurious palace hotel, where heroic staff made sacrifices to save their guests.

On set at Adelaide Studios during the filming of Hotel Mumbai.

Anthony Maras, who is well-known for his 2011 short film The Palace, spent a year researching and interviewing survivors and co-wrote the film alongside John Collee. The film stars Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi, Jason Isaacs, and Adelaide actor Tilda Cobham-Hervey and received a standing ovation at its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last year before its Australian premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival.

Julie Ryan who heads Adelaide production company Cyan Films was one of six producers on Hotel Mumbai and says about 230 people were employed during filming and post production, with 66% of them from SA.

Although the Glenside film precinct is a world away from the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Julie says the set was adaptable in replicating the hotel’s interior.

Director Anthony Maras, centre, on set.

“Given the Adelaide Studios were built in the late 1800s – and the Taj was early 1900s – it meant that some of the architecture could match and we could build the sets and utilise things like the window frames and high ceilings,” she says.

“The studios and tenants were extremely adaptable and helpful, particularly the tenants on the second floor who allowed us to film in their corridors outside their offices.

“There are moments in the film where you come out of a corridor in Adelaide and literally walk into a set in Mumbai – and that’s the genius of (production designer) Steven Jones-Evans.”

Completing post-production and assisting in the execution of the seamless transitions between interior scenes in Adelaide and exterior scenes in India, was local company KOJO.

Dev Patel plays Arjun, a brave waiter at the hotel.

KOJO’s post production and VFX team was engaged in post-supervision, picture and sound services and VFX on the film, taking on additional staff to work on the project.

Executive director of KOJO’s post production/visual effects department, Marty Pepper, was Hotel Mumbai’s VFX supervisor and DI colourist.

Marty, whose portfolio of work includes Storm Boy, I Am Mother, and soon-to-be-released Top End Wedding met director Anthony Maras back in 2005 when working on Wolf Creek.

Actor Angus McLaren plays Eddie.

He describes Hotel Mumbai as an “all-consuming project” after being involved from pre-production stages and travelling to India three times during filming.

“It was a very holistic thing, I feel as if I almost lived it (the film) for those years,” he says. “There is an incredible sense of respect in the film (for victims and survivors) and that was led by Anthony.”

KOJO worked on 750 shots in the film, with the company’s entire post-production and VFX team involved “in some shape or form”.

“When we shot at Adelaide Studios the art department was quite incredible in turning the space into a luxurious hotel, and we played a part in how that was all integrated into the scenes in India. Part of the VFX was making sure the light and colour transitioned seamlessly,” Marty says.

Tilda Cobham-Hervey on set.

Hotel Mumbai is one of a string of films recently made in SA, a state which producer Julie Ryan and KOJO’s Marty Pepper both say punches above its weight in the film industry.

Julie notes the representation of SA films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, with four of the six Australian films screened at the event having a connection to SA – I Am Mother, Animals, The Nightingale and Top End Wedding.

“When you look at the recent Sundance Film Festival and add up how many of the Australian films had connections to SA it really does show that we are punching above our weight,” she adds.

Industry in focus: Creative Industries

Throughout the month of March, the state’s creative industries will be explored as part of I Choose SA.

South Australia is home to a thriving ecosystem of creative businesses and specialists who are delivering world-class works VFX, TV and film production, app development and the VR space. Read more creative industries stories here.

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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by brandsa2018

VFX studio Resin reaching new heights as projects soar

Post production rebates, revolutionary high-speed internet networks, and a growing reputation for world class visual effects (VFX) work are just some factors Adelaide studio Resin says is boosting business.

The opportunity to grow at the small VFX studio specialising in long-form series and feature film VFX has prompted the Adelaide born and based Resin to branch out and open offices interstate.

At the end of 2018, Resin expanded with a new business partner to open studios in Melbourne and Brisbane, a huge feat for the relatively small business and its 14 staff and portfolio including the 2019 Storm Boy, Electric Dreams, Red Dog and Netflix series Tidelands.

The business’s founders, VFX supervisor Grant Lovering and VFX producer Lincoln Wogan, say Adelaide is a great location to co-ordinate production between the teams Resin is building in the other studios.

“The expansion opens up access to more projects coming into Australia and will enable more face time with less travel to be with our clients in those locations,” Grant says.

Resin was the primary VFX vendor for the beloved Storm Boy remake, creating a digital double of the famous pelican Mr Percival, along with ocean and storm VFX.

Resin’s VFX producer Lincoln Wogan, left, and VFX supervisor Grant Lovering are Brand South Australia’s latest I Choose SA ambassadors. Photo by JKTP.

“Virtually anything you see on TV, in a series or on film, will have VFX in it,” Lincoln says. “Sometimes it’s as simple as they’ve shot at a particular location and all the signage needs to be removed, to changing a half-built location in a studio set to a dense jungle.

“Sometimes it’s simulating something too dangerous to do practically, but the most common requirement is to fill in the gaps to make the audience believe what is presented to them on screen no matter how unbelievable that may be.”

Despite Resin’s work ending up on small screens and cinemas nationally and worldwide, the business’s founders say Adelaide will remain as the headquarters.

“Fortunately the opportunity to do this work from any location means we don’t need to relocate to Los Angeles,” Lincoln says. “Regular visits make me appreciate Adelaide’s five minute commute to the studio.”

VFX supervisor Grant agrees, adding that the rollout of the city’s Ten Gigabit ultra-fast fibre optic network has been a tremendous benefit, however, it’s the state’s sound training facilities and VFX education courses training the next generation of VFX professionals that is helping grow VFX as an industry in Adelaide.

“For the younger generation that’s coming through now, there are heaps of good (VFX and post production) courses available in SA through our universities and private education institutions,” he says.

“We have great training facilities all around us and we have brilliant physical infrastructure that allows us to compete internationally.”

A shot from TV series Electric Dreams (Sony Studios).

SA’s Post Production, Digital and Visual Effects (PDV) rebate is also making Adelaide an attractive place for large budget international productions.

The offset sees companies receive a 10% rebate on their SA expenditure. Combined with the Federal Government’s PDV offset of 30%, international films can apply for a total combined 40% rebate on expenditure on post production, digital and VFX works on eligible projects.

Resin was born in 2006, with Grant and Lincoln partnering to create a post-production and VFX studio specialising in television advertisements. The work was consistently flowing and in 2010 Resin began working internationally for clients including Disney and Braun over a two to three year period.

Despite the distance between SA, the US and Europe, Resin continued effortlessly to base itself in Adelaide and complete all works from its small studio with about 17 staff at its peak.

But due to an economic downturn in the US and with the Aussie dollar soaring, international work for Resin began to contract and so the business focused itself on more local projects.

Resin’s Lincoln Wogan, left, and Grant Lovering, with the digital double of Storm Boy’s famous pelican Mr Percival.  Photo by JKTP.

By 2015, Resin had completed a few TV and film projects, including film Red Dog, when it became the sole VFX vendor for US series Hunters, with executive producer Gale Anne Hurd of The Walking Dead and Terminator franchises.

“At the end of that project we came away knowing this was our future … we pieced together that production in advertising wasn’t a growing market, shifts were happening,” Grant says.

“We were in the emergence of Netflix and all the other streamers as well so it was quite a good opportunity in the marketplace.”

With an increase in streamed content creating a demand for long-form VFX work, Resin changed its focus to rely solely on TV and film work, joining Ausfilm and focusing itself in LA. That focus led to the opportunity to work on Sony TV series Electric Dreams, an anthology of stories from Philip K Dick (Bladerunner). Resin travelled to Chicago and completed on-set supervision and VFX on two episodes, while also working on The Tick (Sony) and Queen of the South (Fox).

Growth at Resin has been on a healthy upward climb over the past three years. Grant and Lincoln say they are preparing for work to “explode”.

“We’ll need to make a decision about how much we want to grow in the next 12 months with some great projects lining up, it’s that significant,” Grant says.

Grant Lovering and Lincoln Wogan are Brand South Australia’s latest I Choose SA ambassadors for creative industries.

Industry in focus: Creative Industries

Throughout the month of March, the state’s creative industries will be explored as part of I Choose SA.

South Australia is home to a thriving ecosystem of creative businesses and specialists who are delivering world-class works VFX, TV and film production, app development and the VR space. Read more creative industries stories here.

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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by brandsa2018

The man who brought Red Dog, Wolf Creek to our ears

Imagine the world of film with no sound.

The infamous shower scene in 1960 psychological horror film Psycho would be nowhere near as terrifying without that shrieking strings ensemble. Nor would a shark’s fin slicing through the water in Jaws be as daunting without that unnerving musical score.

Without sound, the emotion of films would simply not be.

To veteran South Australian sound designer, mixer, editor and location recordist James Currie, making and recording sounds for film, TV and documentaries has made up more than 40 years of his working life.

Throughout his career he’s helped bring the sounds of some of Australia’s all-time classics to our ears including The Tracker, Wolf Creek, Ten Canoes, Red Dog, and Charlie’s Country. James also worked on the soon-to-be released Hotel Mumbai, shot in Adelaide.

James Currie established his sound career in the early days of the SA Film Corp. Photo by Myles Quist.

“Sound – in the case of horror movies – introduces the audience to a sense or foreboding or fear,” James says. “It’s the bottom end of the music, the high strings. It’s like the shower scene in the famous Hitchcock movie (Psycho). What drives that? The strings. It’s terrifying.”

Currently living in Carrickalinga with wife Olga, James is about to start working on a new film being shot in Adelaide this month featuring Australian actors Jacki Weaver and Jack Thompson, and Oscar-nominated US actor James Cromwell, mostly known for playing the farmer in Babe. The film, Never Too Late, is about four Vietnam veterans who once escaped from a POW camp but are now tasked with breaking out of their nursing home.

The comedy drama is the latest in James Currie’s line of work which has taken him to many corners of the world and has been celebrated at film festivals and awards nights internationally.

James was born in Whyalla in 1947, his father a fitter and turner who one day decided to move the Currie family to Adelaide. Upon leaving school, James thought about being a teacher, meeting with principal of Wattle Park Teacher’s College, beloved children’s author, Colin Thiele, who advised him that his creative and musical pursuits would suffer under the mountain of marking and other school obligations.

James Currie with Aboriginal elder and actor Peter Mingululu on the set of ‘Charlie’s Country’ in 2013.

Teacher’s college was not to be, so in the late ‘60s James attended the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Adelaide, the flute being his principal instrument.

A few years in, he transferred to Flinders University’s film school where he completed a degree with first class honours.
With experience gained at the conservatorium, James knew how to operate tape recorders and had a natural talent and undeniable ear for sound.

The final examiners for his honours degree were department heads at the newly established South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC).

“They said, ‘we need you to come to the film corp to be our film mixer,’ but I knew nothing about it,” James says. “They said, ‘don’t worry, you’ll learn’. In those days you flew by the seat of your pants, and that was how I spent 11 years as a film mixer for the SAFC.”

During this time, James worked on documentaries and says documentary filmmaking gave him the skills needed to eventually transfer into feature film sound.

He progressed to working with prolific Dutch-Australian filmmakers Paul Cox and Rolf de Heer on films including Bad Boy Bubby (de Heer), The Tracker (de Heer), Ten Canoes (de Heer), Dr Plonk, which was interestingly a silent film (de Heer), Charlie’s Country (de Heer), and Force of Destiny (Cox).

James Currie filming in China with SA producer/director Mario Andreacchio.

“Rolf de Heer and Paul Cox, their expectations of a sound person were that you’re involved in the script and go right through to the festival,” James says. “With Rolf, I go off and fiddle with the sound, so it starts with the script right through to when the film is released at film festivals at Venice, Toronto, Cannes, wherever.”

While James has travelled to many corners of SA, the country, and the globe to capture dialogue and sounds on film sets, much of his work is also carried out in a Foley theatre. Foley is the reproduction of sound effects to enhance the vision in the film. Sounds can be as simple as the everyday clicking of high heels and clopping of horse hooves.

“When you shoot a horror movie, you’re getting the bits and pieces of effects and dialogue, all the other stuff is made up,” James says.

“One of the areas where you can make things up specifically and in separation is in a Foley theatre where you’re running a film and you make a sound to go with the picture – that’s part of the sound design.”

James says the oldest trick in the book is clapping coconut shells together to recreate the sound of horse hooves, while horror films such as Wolf Creek use chicken bones to recreate the sound of bones snapping, and knives slicing through melons for other violent motions.

James Currie, top left, on set with sound team Josh Williams and Mike Bakaloff. Photo by Matt Nettheim.

Over the years James has won a swag of national and international film industry awards for his sound work and attended a number of renowned film festivals across the globe.

His most memorable project is film Ten Canoes followed by The Tracker, shot in Arkaroola in the northern Flinders Ranges.

“Ten Canoes was a character-building experience beyond anything I’d ever experienced before or since,” James says. “It was a foreign environment, psychically demanding, different language, diverse culture, intense tropical heat. Living in tents next to a crocodile infested idyllic looking river. At dawn and dusk every bug armed with primeval teeth rose in waves searching for food and feasted upon the slow-moving film crew.”

After building an established and continuing career, James says has a “general admiration” for what SA has to offer and admires the efforts of the SAFC to remain relevant in a forever evolving creative industry.

Industry in focus: Creative Industries

Throughout the month of March, the state’s creative industries will be explored as part of I Choose SA.

South Australia is home to a thriving ecosystem of creative businesses and specialists who are delivering world-class works VFX, TV and film production, app development and the VR space. Read more creative industries stories here.

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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by brandsa2018

Mad March reaches peak as world acts prepare for WOMADelaide

Vibrant explosions of colour and a kaleidoscope of world dance and music are expected to once again add to Adelaide’s busiest time of year as preparations for this long weekend’s WOMADelaide festival enter their final stages.

Thousands of people, including locals and interstate and overseas visitors, will descend on Botanic Park from March 8–11 to enjoy four packed days of world dance, music and art installations from the peak of the day into the late of the night.

Event organisers say they’re expecting similar attendance numbers to last year’s event at 96,000 people in total.

Hundreds of artists from more than 30 countries will work their magic at WOMAD, performing at multiple areas spread throughout the park. Inspirational young soul performer Adrian Eagle, of Adelaide’s northern suburbs, joins this year’s line-up of local talent as does hip hop princess Tkay Maidza and folk talent Timberwolf. Headlining acts include African singer and three-time Grammy winner Angelique Kidjo and Australia’s John Butler Trio.

Aside from artists from across the globe, WOMAD will also attract festivalgoers from far and wide who contribute to the local tourism and hospitality industry during their stay. The event is estimated to generate $14 million in visitor spend each year, while the total economic benefit in terms of incomes is estimated at $16.9 million and 164 FTEs (full time equivalent jobs).

WOMADelaide director Ian Scobie says festival research has shown almost half of the attendees come from outside of SA, with more than 40% also attending at least one other event during their stay.

“I believe it (WOMAD) is the second highest attractor of visitors behind the Adelaide 500 … it’s very efficient from a tourism perspective,” he says.

“Over that long weekend, a high number of visitors are from interstate and we also know from our research that a high portion of them stay an extra day, so they’ll visit wineries, McLaren Vale or Kangaroo Island.

“From a tourism perspective, it (WOMAD) is the hook that brings them in, and they do other things. It’s grown significantly in that regard.”

Photo by Tony Lewis.

While WOMAD is one of Adelaide’s biggest annual events – helping South Australia earn its ‘festival state’ name-tag – the timing of the event comes during the city’s busiest time of year.

Mad March, (and increasingly Mad February), is also a host to the Fringe Festival, Adelaide Festival and Adelaide 500 car race – events which collectively draw hundreds of thousands of people to the city centre.

“I think the key part of WOMAD’s success and why it works in Adelaide is that we’re a unique festival city,” Ian says.

WOMAD festivalgoers can travel around the world in four days, through the spread of art installations, musical acts and dance performances which all draw upon one common thread – unity.

“An event like WOMAD shows people that in the end there is a common humanity that unites everyone, whether you’re an Arab musician from Morocco or Adrian Eagle from the northern suburbs of Adelaide, in the end people are all connected, and they have common human aspirations,” Ian says.

Photo by Badstance.

Aside from the performance lineup, cultural installations such as the Colour of Time are also festival favourites. Explosions of coloured gulal powder will be set off in a tribute to the traditional Indian Holi Festival.

Other attractions include those with a local focus such as the WoMADE design market, supported by I Choose SA and showcasing locally crafted products.

The market comprises about 15 local stalls selling jewellery, homewares, artwork and gifts by SA designers including Julie White, Bluebell Design and Hey Reflect’o.

Still feeling the choose local vibes? Head for the Botanical Gin Bar for a range of SA gins to suit the palate of every gin lover. Coopers, Hills Cider, T Bar and Yalumba Winery are some other names to keep an eye out for.

For more info on WOMAD or to purchase tickets click here.

Feature image is The Colour of Time by Steve Trutwin.

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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by brandsa2018

Cataloguing a history of Adelaide’s quirks and characters

The colour and personality of Adelaide is projected through its people – and veteran local journalist Mike Robinson is capturing tales of our most memorable, though often unlikely characters, in a curious new website.

AdelaideAZ presents an alternative history that currently spans more than 1700 cultural identities and incidents that Michael has been compiling for the past three years, and went live at Adelaideaz.com at the start of this year.

This epic labor of love, funded independently by 70-year-old Mike, ranges from the origins of Humphrey B. Bear to Adelaide’s electric light cricket competition, through to unraveling Outback legends of the Marree Man and the Nullarbor Nymph.

As Mike describes it, the website is designed to present a compendium of Adelaide identities, innovations, incidents, idiosyncrasies and issues – dissecting the point where folklore meets history.

AdelaideAZ publisher Mike Robinson showing his state allegiance.

“These are stories that are dear to us, but tend to be forgotten over time or pass into the annals of myth because they sit outside of a sober history volume,” says Mike. “I think they are important and worth recording because they are the stories of Adelaide Zeitgeists.”

While Mike has long toyed with compiling a history of this type, it only took shape about three years ago, once he began working with South Australian company JABA Multimedia and designing a flexible website platform with that company’s Adrian Adams and Atanas Athanasov that can accommodate mushrooming content growth and versatile possibilities for links between items.

“I think the links at the bottom of stories on AdelaideAZ are crucial to how this website works, because they connect vertical and horizontal threads of Adelaide and SA culture in the context of past, present and future,” says Mike.

“If you’re curious, like I am, and you like to explore, then you get rewarded by following those links.”


Young aviator Charles James Melrose, from a wealthy SA pastoral family, was called “the next (Charles) Lindbergh”. His fame, as a handsome heart throb, rivalled Errol Flynn’s. Melrose set world flying records over three years before dying in a crash at 22. The SA parliament were suspended in respect at his death and 100,000 mourners attended his state funeral procession in Melbourne. Image courtesy State Library of South Australia.

The text explores how a small city is often mistakenly perceived as a backwater, while shining a light on extraordinary content patterns running through a tapestry of 125 A-to-Z categories.

These include Outback, Regions, Sport, Education, Environment, Childhood, Television, Theatre, the wide-ranging Oddities section – and the space to include more, as Mike sees fit.

A fan of history, Mike is familiar with many of these stories through working for more than 40 years in local journalism, having risen from his cadetship at the Port Pirie Recorder to be assistant editor at Messenger newspapers.

He especially came to relish collating vignettes and anecdotes about Adelaide’s weird and wonderful, through writing several popular nom-de-plume columns as Ray Light, Aloysius O’Mahoney for The City Messenger and Bill King for The Sunday Mail.

In fact, Mike’s frustration at the lack of context explained in much modern journalism led him to create the AdelaideAZ website.

The AdelaideAZ homepage.

“All of this information is already there on the internet in some shape or form, but the threads have not been pulled together,” he says. “That’s what I’m doing – providing the links to build a complete story that embraces the whole of our culture.”

The key to his website’s appeal is tight writing. Mike limits each entry to 300 words, and is currently striving to complete about four new entries each day – from Don Dunstan’s effort to hold back a tidal wave from the balcony of the Pier Hotel at Glenelg, to a young Kamahl being hired by Rupert Murdoch to sing at an early News Limited Christmas party.

He has delved deep into the state’s origins and archives to spark ideas for AdelaideAZ inclusions, with some of Mike’s favourite characters including Vaiben Louis Solomon, who was SA Premier for only seven days in 1899; and the Birks family, famous not only for chemist’s shops and a department store (which later merged with Sydney’s David Jones stores), but also for part-funding the creation of a utopian socialist settlement in Paraguay called New Australia in 1893.

William Bragg, Nobel Prize for physics (with his son Lawrence) winner in 1915, was nurtured by, and fully involved in, his life in Adelaide (including marrying Gwen, daughter of South Australia’s polymath genius Charles Todd). His love of sports included lacrosse and he organised and captained the North Adelaide club, pictured at Victoria Park in the 1880s, with Bragg standing third from left. Image courtesy State Library of South Australia.

Mike concedes that there’s still a long way to go with the AdelaideAZ website, suggesting that he’s perhaps only a quarter way through his intended catalogue of stories.

He envisages that the website will be a work in progress for many years to come – and says he’d welcome the input of other volunteers to get this enormous task done.

However, they’d need to adopt the consistent tone of Mike’s gentle, playful humour which is at play throughout the stories, ensuring an entertaining and engaging read through this unique take on local history.

“Yes, the humour is an important part of AdelaideAZ, because being able to have a chuckle at ourselves is an undeniable South Australian characteristic,” says Mike.

“We are quirky – and proud of it.”

Born and raised in the then-bustling railways town of Terowie, J.P. McGowan became a pioneering Hollywood actor, director and occasional screenwriter and producer from 1910. He is the only Australian life member of the Screen Directors Guild (now Directors Guild of America). A feature of his prolific film output was railway-themed serial melodramas, including one that debuted a young John Wayne.

by brandsa2018

Riverland Youth Theatre inspiring communities through the arts

For more than three decades, theatrical productions, workshops and visual arts performances have been played out in Riverland theatres and institutes.

The Riverland Youth Theatre (RYT) is the organisation behind many of the region’s creative and artistic activities, helping to boost confidence in young people and create a more culturally inclusive community.

Based out of the Renmark Institute, the professional youth arts organisation is one of only two in regional South Australia.

RYT general manager Danyon De Buell says the organisation runs an annual program of workshops and major projects and also plays a part in a number of community events.

The Tackerz group are part of Cirkidz, a circus arts class run at RYT.

“Each year more than 4000 people participate in arts projects and activities that RYT is engaged with,” she says.

“RYT participants are aged between 5–26 and come from as far as Blanchetown. We also have a number of young people who come over from the Mallee.

“We offer a number of creative opportunities including styling, makeup, technical support, so it’s not just about acting. We’re constantly amazed at the confidence building that happens.”

RYT was born in 1985 as a participatory organisation for young people, putting on drama productions and hosting workshops and performances by visiting artists in Renmark’s Chaffey Theatre.

In 1995, it became independently incorporated and since then has consistently built its reputation for promoting inclusivity and presenting opportunities for Indigenous and multicultural groups to celebrate culture through the arts.

RYT is involved in Riverland Harmony Day, an annual event celebrating cultural diversity.

RYT relies heavily on philanthropic support and receives donations from local businesses as well as funds raised through the annual RYT gala dinner.

Last year’s gala dinner was attended by well-known ABC radio personality Peter Goers as well as jazz act and former RYT performers, The Casey Brothers.

Danyon says RYT offers a non-competitive and non-threatening environment for young people to build on or develop their skills in creative arts.

“All our work with young people isn’t competitive, although team work is implicit in what we do,” she says. “At no time is any child or young person given negative feedback either. We see friendships form and it breaks down barriers between towns.”

Danyon has been in her current role at RYT since 2014 but was involved with the organisation for some years prior.

RYT’s artistic director is Christopher Bond, a Flinders University and National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) graduate who has directed and workshoped theatre performances at a number of arts education institutions.

A group of Nunga Rhythms young performers and tutors.

Highlights of the 2019 program include TECHDesign, a nighttime light and sound show enabling youth to learn about lighting design and projection.

Professional Indigenous dancer and choreographer Michael Harris will work with young people on Nunga Rhythms, a performance of traditional Indigenous dance and movement.

Six RYT participants will be selected to travel to the Melbourne Fringe and take part in Standby Cue 1: GO!, which involves a behind-the-scenes experience at the major arts festival.

Back at home, RYT will bring colour and culture to the community through its performances and creative presences at annual local events including Riverland Harmony Day, Riverland Field Days, National Youth Week, NAIDOC Week, Renmark Rose Festival and local Christmas pageants.

“RYT gives young people confidence and we make sure all programs and projects are inclusive for all young people including young people with disabilities,” Danyon says.

“RYT isn’t just for Renmark, it’s for the whole of the region.”

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by brandsa2018

Rich talent and education at the heart of our musical city

Adelaide is home to an experienced pool of individuals working on major world-class arts and music festivals, according to the state’s music industry body.

Music SA’s general manager Lisa Bishop says the live music industry also offers many opportunities with boutique music festivals and club nights contributing to a “thriving sector”.

“Our thriving venue-based live music sector offers jobs ranging from, but not limited to, promoters, bookers, merchandisers, sound engineers, tour managers and publicists,” she says.

South Australia is home to a number of major annual music events and festivals including the upcoming Adelaide Fringe (February 15–March 17), WOMADelaide (February 8–11), Superloop Adelaide 500 concerts (February 28–March 3), as well as smaller boutique events such as St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, Handpicked Festival, Stonecutters Festival and Umbrella Festival.

But SA’s music industry not only holds opportunities in industry-based roles – but also jobs in the spotlight. Maggie Collins is the brains behind Brisbane’s BIGSOUND, one of the biggest events on the Aussie music calendar. She says Adelaide is brimming with musical talent.

St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival. Photo: SATC.

“The talent per capita is one of the stand-out elements that comes to mind of the SA music industry,” she says. “It’s inspiring to watch from afar that SA has great quality workers and artist representatives who are lovely to work with on any project.”

Adelaide was designated as Australia’s first and only City of Music in 2015, becoming a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). The network was created in 2004 and currently promotes 116 cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.

Director of the UNSECO Adelaide office, Rebecca Pearce, says Adelaide was recognised as a City of Music because creativity, the arts and music are woven into the city’s fabric and are central to the state’s development.

“It not only looks at our extensive history, but also how far we can grow our urban culture,” she says.

Adelaide has birthed a number of hugely successful talents, including international pop sensation Sia, hip hop trio Hilltop Hoods, pop singer Guy Sebastian, opera’s Greta Bradman, rock legends Cold Chisel, ’90s rock group The Superjesus, and rap queen Tkay Maidza, all of which have established international fan bases.

Adelaide rap queen Tkay Maidza has gone on to achieve massive success.

SA is also known as the festival state, hosting internationally renowned four-day world music festival WOMADelaide, which attracts attendances beyond 86,000, almost half of which travel from outside the state.

The Adelaide Cabaret Festival is the biggest cabaret festival in the world, while the Adelaide Guitar Festival is the most significant of its kind in the southern hemisphere. Adelaide Fringe, Adelaide Festival of Arts and OzAsia all include strong music programs, while our city is also home to the oldest tertiary school in Australia, the Elder Conservatorium founded in 1883.

Music also plays a part in our youth’s future learning, with the State Government throwing its support behind the Music Education Strategy. According to the strategy, music education helps build confidence, promote creativity and assist students to develop emotional and behavioural awareness. Musically trained children perform better and use language more effectively and earlier, it says.

Music SA’s Lisa Bishop says a number of education institutions exist in Adelaide, including the Sia Fuller Institute, SAE Institute, Fresh 92.7 radio station and Music SA itself. Each run a variety of music courses, with Musica Viva – Australia’s oldest independent performing arts organisation – and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra also running workshops.

“There are networking opportunities at free public workshops run by Music SA, Northern Sound System and local councils,” she says. “The Music Development Office also runs a grant program to help people collaborate with other songwriters, as well as set up their own mini music festival or event.”

Triple J breakfast radio presenter Liam Stapleton begun his radio career as a teenager at Fresh 92.7 in Adelaide. He says the city’s community radio sector was a launching pad for him to hone his skills and build on-air experience.

“Without volunteering in community radio, I don’t think I’d be working in radio,” Liam says. “It gave me experience and stacks of time on-air to hone my craft, my craft of talking. It’s harder than it looks.”

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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by brandsa2018

How to make the most of a South Australian summer

There are some things about summer that only Aussies will understand. Thongs sticking to the bitumen, seatbelt burns, cricket taking over the telly and sprinklers on the lawn.

But reside in South Australia in summer and you’ll notice several unique ways we like to spend our days as the thermometer climbs.

From dropping a line off the jetty to crunching through a Giant Twin ice cream and flinging a giant plastic tuna along the Port Lincoln foreshore, here’s 11 of the best ways to make the most of the warmer months in SA.

1. Eat bucketloads of cherries

Arguably the best fruit on earth. Try and eat only a handful and before you know it the whole box is gone and your lips are stained purple. Cherry season is mid-November to mid-January. The Adelaide Hills, Riverland and South East are SA’s cherry growing regions, however, the majority of the crop comes from the Hills’ sub-regions of Montacute, Cherryville (how fitting), Norton Summit, Basket Range, Summertown, Uraidla, Forest Range, Lenswood, Kenton Valley and Gumeracha. If you’re in Mclaren Vale area be sure to stop by Fleurieu Cherries five minutes from Willunga. Although, be quick! The season is nearing its end.

Editor’s note January 17: It’s quite possible that the fattest, roundest cherries (almost the size of small plums) can be found this week at the Adelaide Central Market.

Photo by SATC/Adam Bruzzone.

2. Spend a day at the beach

Pristine, stunning, paradise – these words are overused when it comes to beaches, but there’s no truer description for many of SA’s coastal havens.

Metropolitan beaches Glenelg, Henley Beach, Semaphore, Grange and Brighton are always hives of activity, while Port Noarlunga, Christies Beach, Moana and Maslin are good for those located further south of the city.

While all the cosmopolitan action is at our metro beaches, you’ll find more quiet stretches of sand on Kangaroo Island, along the Yorke and Eyre peninsulas and at Limestone Coast towns of Robe and Beachport.

Top picks include Memory Cove in the Lincoln National Park on the Eyre Peninsula and Cap Clairout near Corny Point on the foot of the Yorkes.

Beachport in the state’s South East. Photo by Mark Fitzpatrick.

3. It’s all about the ice cream 

Whether it’s straight out the tub or on a stick, ice cream is a summer necessity. SA is home to a few of the best makers including local icon Golden North, which has been producing the sweet stuff at Laura in the Mid North for the past 90 years. A true South Aussie would have a tub stashed in the freezer or a box of Giant Twins on hand at all times.

If gelati is more your style, look out for Gelista. These guys are artisan-style, handmade gelato pros, with flavours such as almond and quandong, apple pie, macadamia and Kangaroo Island honey, and wattleseed rocher.

4. Toss a tuna

Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula is home to the famous tuna toss event otherwise known as Tunarama Festival. Held at the Port Lincoln foreshore over the Australia Day long weekend, Tunarama has a long history dating back to 1962.

The highlight of the event is the tuna toss, where competitors hurl a 10kg polyurethane tuna replica as far as they can. The world record is 37.23m set by former Olympic hammer thrower Sean Carlin in 1998.

Tunarama Festival is a great family day out, with a number of other competitions and attractions including the boat building competition, a beach bod competition, the prawn toss, prawn peeling competition, beer keg roll, fireworks, markets and displays.

5. Catch a whopper

Blue swimmer crabs, garfish, squid and Tommy ruff are popular catches from SA jetties. Head to Port Germein on the Yorke Peninsula to find SA’s longest jetty, stretching about 1.5km.

Beach and boat fishing make a good day out and can provide hauls of King George whiting, squid, flathead and snapper (check for specific snapper closures).

Freshwater fish such as callop, redfin and yabbies can be found in the mighty Murray River.

Caurnamont near Mannum on the Murray River. Photo by John Montesi.

6. Check out the silo art

Giant artworks splashed across grain silos can be found in various regional towns across the state. Waikerie in the Riverland is the latest town to welcome the impressive artworks, which include a huge parrot and yabby splashed across the silos. You’ll also find silo art at Coonalpyn, Kimba, Wirrabara and Tumby Bay. Take a road trip!

The Tumby Bay silos. Photo by Robert Lang Photography.

7. Follow the peloton

Australia’s biggest cycling race takes over our streets from January 15 – 20 as the world’s best cyclists whizz through stages in Adelaide, the Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale. The exhilarating race brings thousands of spectators to roadsides to take in the action. The event is also a huge benefit for our economy, with last year’s event injecting $63.7 million into the state.

Tour Down Under cyclists speed along King William Street in 2018. Photo: SATC.

8. Jump into Fringe action

Australia’s largest open access arts festival Adelaide Fringe swings into gear from February 15 – March 17. With it brings some of Australia’s – and the world’s – best comedians, circus performers, musicians and actors. The Garden of Unearthly Delights and Gluttony are central Fringe hubs bustling with colour, lights, good food and a whole lot of entertainment. But other venues are also spread throughout Adelaide and some regional areas in pubs, small performance spaces, theatres, wineries, galleries and town halls.

The crowd at Adelaide Fringe venue hub, Gluttony. Photo by Helen Page.

9. Float down the Torrens on The Popeye 

Long considered a treasured family outing, the Popeye boat that floats along the River Torrens between Elder Park and Adelaide Zoo recently took a new lease on life.

New branding was adopted in 2018 and the Popeye began attracting a new generation of passengers when it introduced gin masterclasses aboard with Prohibition Liquor Co. Popeye also hosts functions, parties and high teas. The original Popeye was launched on the Torrens in 1935 – so it’s a longstanding tradition that every Adelaidean should experience at least once!

High tea aboard The Popeye. Photo: Popeye and Paddle Boats on the Torrens River Facebook.

10. Head to a rooftop bar

There is something about rooftops that make drinks taste better. Sip on a gin and tonic while soaking in the sights from eight storeys high at 2KW Bar and Restaurant on King William Street in the CBD. Another top spot is Hennessy Rooftop Bar at The Mayfair, The Gallery on Waymouth Street and Rocket bar and Rooftop.

If a relaxing Sunday arvo cider is what’s needed, then beer gardens are also good places to be in summer. We’ve done the hard work for you and picked out eight of the best beer gardens here.

Impressive views of Adelaide from 2KW Bar and Restaurant. Photo: SATC.

11. Go brewery browsing

Remember when you cradled a glass of shiraz by the fire last winter? Well, now it’s time to clutch a cold pale ale under the air-con instead.

There is a brewery in just about every region, from Beer Garden Brewing in Port Lincoln to Smiling Samoyed at Myponga, and Lobethal Bierhaus in the Adelaide Hills.

Many of our craft brewers are producing award-winning froths, some with quirky flavours such as oysters, strawberries, cherry, milkshake, and even bacon. Yep, bacon. Don’t forget our longstanding big players. SA is also home to legendary breweries Coopers and West End.

The deck at the Wilkadene Woolshed Brewery in the Riverland overlooks the Murray River.

Visit I Choose SA to meet the people building business and industry in SA, and to find out how your choices make a difference to our state.

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