Kassie Watson...

We came, we saw, we got it in the bag!

WHEW! We did it! Saturday was a huge success! We ended up shooting at our B site, Port Waikato, instead of Bethells, but even this turned to our advantage, the dunes staying much drier, with fewer spectators and even better weather.

And the footage we got looks fantastic!

On the downside, the spray we used to simulate a leak in the suit managed to burn Kassie, and even temporarily blind our cameraman - but both of them soldiered on above and beyond the call of duty! Throughout the day everyone kept their sense of humour and resolve. It was a wonderful shoot and a fun day! A huge thanks to everyone involved! YAY!

Progress!

Well, it wasn't our penultimate and long-awaited Bethells shoot, but a few of us popped out in the weekend to mop up some over-shoulder shots and CUs of the transmitter. Not very exciting, you might imagine, but actually it was great to get some more footage finally, and the thrill level was heightened by sneaking onto a construction site in hi-vis gear to get the shots!

In the end, no one was arrested, and we got some good material.

Big thanks to Astrid, who stood in at the last moment to body double the suit - and Zane, David and Adam, who decided a last-moment filming expedition would be a gas! Go team!

Some shots from our shoot!

Kassie's other green screen work...

Our star actor, Kassie Watson, makes an appearance on TV1 Business news here!

WANTED: A leaky spacesuit!

Help! We need some ideas about how to make the spacesuit vent gas!

In the script, a hole in the leg of the astronaut's suit vents a stream of gas after her fall.

Our initial plan was to feed a tube under the suit, leading to the hole and attach the other end of the tube to a powder-based fire extinguisher. HOWEVER, this idea hasn't worked out. The tube gets blocked really quickly and the extinguisher pumps out way too much powder - which additionally is really messy!

What we need it a nice continuous stream of pressurized gas blasting out of the suit - dry ice would be ideal but we've no idea how to make this work. we're also concerned that there might be safety issues with a tube of dry ice running past the actor's thigh.

We intend to supplement the effect with a particle emitter in post, such as can be found in Motion for example, but we would prefer to have a real stream of gas coming out of the suit if possible.

If anyone has any bright ideas about how to make this work - on a budget! - please let us know!

Actor wanted!

As I mentioned, we're after a voice actor to be the newsreader on our movie! If you know someone who might be interested You can see a quick background of the character here and an audition script here.

You can reach Sarah at sarah@lastflightmovie.com. If you could provide us with mp3 files of your audition that would be ideal!

Introducing... our stunt astronaut!

Tomorrow morning, Claire Van Beek will be debuting as our stand-in astronaut for some of our slightly more exciting scenes! Kassie's bad back rules her out for the shots of our astronaut rolling down the dunes at Bethells, but luckily for us, Claire has come to our rescue. Fingers crossed for good weather tomorrow, and I'll post some more shots up soon.

The evolving spacesuit...

Here's the latest shots of the spacesuit... and it's looking cool! Meghan has now handed the bulk of it onto Chris, who is building the helmet, backpack and other hardware for it. After that we'll start artificially aging it, adding dirt, rips and repairs... and then we'll be ready to take it to Mars! ...Or White Island, anyway.

Awesome work, Meghan!!

Suit fitting #4

As you can see, Meghan is adding a clever tightening system down the side of the suit that is going to look ZING, as well as solving some issues with mobility and wrinkling! She's also loosened the suit in the crotch and under the arms, as well as doing work on the thighs, ankles and on the suit neck connector ring - whew!

Suit shot

It's all held together with pins, but little by little the space suit is coming together...

Jo "Earthy"

Reviews for Jo's play here and here.

See Jo in action

See our star, Jo Lees, in her latest play, Grace, starting 15 Sept at the Basement.

EARLY BIRD OFFER: Book before end of business on Friday Sep 12 and get tickets at concession rates + as an extra bonus you'll also go into the draw to win one of two $40 vouchers for the Mezze Bar. The season is short, 7 shows only, so don't miss out. To take up the early bird offer simply mention "The Rebel Alliance special offer" when booking your tickets at THE EDGE® on 09 357 3355

Grace

"Jo Lees expresses her socially dramatic situation with fluid conviction," says the review on Theatreview. Read it here.