Flushed with success as a filmmaker – just ask Kenny!
Shane Jacobson’s eccentric 2006 film about a plumber working with portable toilets was a surprising success. How did he do it? He’s happy to tell you in a workshop at this year’s AACTA Festival on the Gold Coast.
A film about a plumber working for a portable dunny company doesn’t sound like a recipe for a hit film. But back in 2006, a little DIY film called Kenny was a surprise hit and made its star Shane Jacobson a household name.
Jacobson and his brother Clayton made the film together and they’ll be passing on their knowledge and skills at the Screen Careers Expo as part of February’s AACTA Festival on the Gold Coast.
This is the biggest screen festival in Australia, promising five days packed with relaying experiences celebrating the best of film, television and digital media. This week-long celebration (February 5-9) features a diverse lineup of events designed to inspire, entertain and connect, with activities for everyone from industry professionals to pop culture enthusiasts.
And if you have a great idea for a film, the workshop Shane and Clayton Jacobson Present Filmmaking 101 (February 8, 3.30pm), might just be for you.
There’s so much going on at the festival, it’s almost easier to say what’s not happening at its venue, HOTA, at Surfers Paradise.
The annual AACTA Awards (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) will take place on February 7 with a red carpet and plenty of glitz and glamour, but there’s so much more for fans enthusiasts and budding filmmakers.
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The Jacobson brothers’ workshop will reveal how they went from unknown to successful filmmakers, with Shane Jacobson becoming a household name thanks to his amusing and amicable portrayal of Kenny and his adventures servicing portable toilets.
“My brother and I came into the industry with a film that made us known and young filmmakers can see that it can work,” Jacobson says.
“Aspiring” rather than “young” is a better word, as people of all ages are welcome to go along and see if making a film is something they’d like to take a crack at.
“Of course, you can start to make films at any age,” Jacobson agrees. “And there are benefits in being older. It might just be out of curiosity. Some who come along might not want it to be their career, but it’s never too late to come to entertainment.”
The affable Jacobson, who sounds as friendly on the phone as his fictional dunny man Kenny, goes on to explain that the workshop lifts the lid on what it takes to get from an idea to the screen.
Start with a great idea and be prepared to see it through
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“I get stopped everywhere by people who say they’ve got a great idea for a film,” he says. “But you have to know that you might be working 10 years on getting it made, so you have to love it. So many people don’t know the steps.”
With technology evolving at a rapid rate, some of the logistics of shooting a film have changed vastly since 2006.
“I think there are things to make it easier now,” Jacobson says. “Like the camera. You can shoot stuff on your phone but also people have access to cameras in a more affordable way. You can edit on your laptop, which has changed so much from having to book an expensive editing suite. From a technical side, it’s easier.
“But it’s also about getting it to an audience. That part is still as hard as ever. You’ve got to promote it. Back in the old days, you’d go from country town to country town.”
Jacobson says that a film should always have good characters, and even if they’re bad characters, you always have to feel something for them. Budget is obviously something for DIY filmmakers to consider as well, but Jacobson’s encouragement is that even with a low budget there are ways of making a film look and sound good.
“Number one is story, number two story, number three story,” he says. “You might have something like a bad wig in a scene and that will be noticed, so that will take away from the story.”
Presented by Essential Screen Skills, the Screen Careers Expo will also feature information booths about jobs in the screen sector, including games, education booths and several panels with screen industry professionals.
Options range from George Miller (Mad Max) In Conversation with the Philippou Brothers (Talk to Me) to successful YouTubers, The Fairbairns: Multiplatform Storytellers, to technical workshops for skills such as colour grading and make-up.
The festival’s other treats include How To Make Gravy Live in Concert (with Meg Washington, Brendan Maclean and Paul Kelly), Behind the Scream: Leigh Whannell in Conversation (Saw movies) and Meet the Nominees: Actors (featuring actors nominated for the AACTA Awards).
On the Sunday, there’s even a Bluey Colouring-In Station for little artists. What’s not to love?
AACTA Festival, HOTA, Surfers Paradise, February 5-9.
aactafestival.com/program/shane-and-clayton-jacobson-present-filmmaking-101