Make-up artist Nick Nicolaou and Alex Proyas.
Alex Proyas has named his new film studio in Sydney’s inner west Heretic Foundation, symbolising his new approach to filmmaking.
“I want to smash the mold and build a new system to enable indie Aussie filmmakers,” says the director of The Crow, Dark City, I, Robot and Gods of Egypt.
“It’s soup to nuts production – everything from prep to shoot to post, edit, VFX, sound track lay and mix and colour grade.”
Located in Alexandria, the studio will house his new short film Mask of the Evil Apparition, which stars Bonnie Ferguson as Olivia, a young woman lost in a nocturnal, dreamlike city.
Dean Kyrwood will portray twin psychic brothers who try to help her find her way home as she is pursued by a shadowy cult known as The Mysterious Ones.
The latest addition to the cast is Alex King, who will play Sandra, a young woman with a passion for disguise and mind games.
Shooting will start in late February or early March and the short will premiere on Proyas’ YouTube channel Mystery Clock.
The facility includes a 5x10x5.5m high green screen, fully remote-operated lighting truss, numerous floor stand lights, Black Magic BMPC6K camera kit, kitchen, make-up area, staging and camera station on the first level, edit room/meeting area/VFX workstations, and initially two and then up to four dedicated sound track lay and mix rooms.
That’s stage one, with motion-capture and virtual set tech to come later this year. There will be an official launch in mid-to-late March.
On Facebook Proyas posted: “It’s my studio… though I want it to be YOUR studio too. Let’s make our damn movies! Nothing can stop us now!”
