CLOCKWORK | SHORT FILM
CoJones Productions proudly presents its very first short film, Clockwork.
In collaboration with CSquareMedia and CPictures. Directed and written by Ross Luttrell, "Clockwork" delves into the intricate dynamics of father-son relationships across four generations, all set within the backdrop of a woodworking business.
While dementia serves as an overarching theme, the film explores the concept of creative destruction, intertwining emotional bonds with handcrafted wooden clock boxes. In the 1980s sequences, protagonist Pierre faces a time of change, introducing a conflict between sentimentality and progress. "Clockwork" is a performance-driven, dialogue-focused film that utilizes cross-cutting between time periods and voice-over narration from present-day Pierre.
The Story.
The journey of bringing "Clockwork" to life began when I met Ross Luttrell on another production where I served as the Director of Photography on “The Note”. His vision and script resonated deeply with me, sparking the desire to embark on my own end-to-end production journey, one that I could truly call my own. We believe our first point of call was to find a location to make everything happen.
Our quest for the perfect location led us across the Noosa region. We were in search of a rustic shed reminiscent of a 1930s workshed, a setting integral to our story. Despite the abundance of sheds in the area, finding the perfect one proved challenging. After exploring numerous private properties across the Sunshine Coast, we stumbled upon a shed that, although on its last legs, became the heart of our production.
Preproduction & Planning.
The process of transforming the shed into a suitable set was not without its challenges. We cleared out years of accumulated debris and, to our surprise, discovered that it had been the home to an entire huntsman spider family... After clearing out the space and refurbishing it, we spent two days meticulously planning our shot list. This led us to our next hurdle, finding the right talent and crew to bring this production to life.
Finding the right cast was crucial to bringing Ross's vision to life. With the help of casting director Georgina Sawyer we were able to assemble an all-star cast of local talent from Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. David O’Donogoe, James Hogg, Dylan Stumer, and James Patrick Reed were all brought together by Georgina.
Over the next three months, I meticulously planned and finalised every detail with Ross, from the shot list order to the production documents, catering, and accommodation, ensuring that "Clockwork" would be an absolute success come shooting day, and boy, was it an absolute success.
The Production
The crew was housed up in Noosa for the night for an early 4:30 am start. From there, we began setting up cameras and lights for our first scene of the morning in the shed. It was a bit daunting at first, seeing as the crew had never met each other or worked together before, but everyone performed their individual roles with absolute precision.
We faced a lot of challenges with neighboring homes, flight paths, and road noise affecting audio, but the actors and crew were quickly able to adapt to the fast-paced challenges that were presented. Thanks to our exceptional ADs (Assistant Directors) and ACs (Assistant Camera), Chris Beadnell, Simon Mitchell, Chris Pham, Chris Chung, Sophiya Attari, we were able to swiftly change scenes and keep the production running smoothly.
On Day 2, the camera team and lighting quickly resolved some of the underlying communication issues we had on the first day. We had a much smoother production, calculating our timeframe for setting up cameras and lighting before informing the ADs when we were ready to go. We finished our production at around 8:30 pm, a long day for everyone, but we successfully got all the shots we wanted, ensuring that this film will be amazing come post-production and screening time.
I'm incredibly excited to showcase the final production to everyone. "Clockwork" will be screening in late September 2024.
Special thanks to everyone below for their absolute dedication to making this such a successful production.
Director - Ross Luttrell
Georgina Sawyer - Casting Director
1st Assistant Director - Chris Beadnell
2nd Assistant Director - Simon Mitchell
Camera Operator - Chris Pham
Camera & Gimbal Operator - Chris Chung
2nd Assistant Camera - Sophiya Attari
Sound Mixer/Boom Op - Ben Beveridge
Gaffer - Jake Pace
Prop Master/Set Designer - Janet Luttrell
Construction - Roger Griffin
Caterer - Patrick Adrien
Hair and Makeup - Davina Gilbert
Unit Photographer - Melissa Hoareau
Stay tuned for updates on the screening of "Clockwork"!
