Location scouting in Toolleen	Mel's handy work creating a dilapidated look	Luke discussing the script with Grant and Eddy	Grant Carter waiting patiently during setup
Nick Godkin making final adjustments	Grant getting wired up	Leharna Black as Rosie	Ian Dart covering the "behind the scenes" action

The community of Toolleen lies on a cross road intersection about 40 minutes east of Bendigo and two hours drive from Melbourne. It’s a small community and the cornerstone is basically its pub. I travelled for 3 months across entire Victoria looking for an isolated pub, a location would fit the script specifications and that would be accessible for crew and cast. Easier said than done, with people referring me to this side of the map and others recollecting a spot they’ve seen on that side of the map. Eventually I was steered in the direction of Toolleen, and what a find it was. Immediately I sensed that this could work in terms of story and logistically it would be possible on the budget I had to work with. The next hurdle was getting permission and obtaining all areas access to an establishment without creating a massive impact on their opening hours and way of life.	Toolleen pub character courtesy of Mel	Jamie Unicomb
	Eddy Jager going through script	Nick Hallam testing gravity

Finding the end frame

Kurt and Grant

Home made dolly, accidents included

What's over there?

Peek-a-boo!	Smile Eddy	I approached the owner, Jim Webb and shared with him what we proposed to do and expected the boot. Instead, he was up for it. Great! We finally found our Pub and scheduled 4 days of production there. The inside and outside would both be utilized, and it will require dressing the entire pub to have a more dilapidated feel to it. In stepped the production designer Mel Mahony … she visited the pub a few times, with measuring tape at hand, little note book and a mind racing a thousand miles to make sure that she covered all aspects of the scenes and the characters who will inhabit the new surroundings. Mel worked non-stop for weeks prior to filming getting all kinds of oddities and rare artefacts, even creating most of them from scratch. The Beast (The Ford F100 truck) doubled up as production vehicle and packed to capacity, set off to Toolleen on the 31 st of July. Most of the crew travelled up to Toolleen on that day as well, thus we were ready to start first thing Monday morning … with not a worry in sight. Mel was dressing the set and it was looking spectacular … the Beast made it up to the pub and all the crew were accounted for. Locked, cocked and ready to rock!!! We will be sleeping peaceful tonight!
The elusive Mel finally captured on film	Butting heads
Rosie looks impressed	Leharna amusing the crew
Captivated Grant	Storyteller Eddy

However… The next day … early in the morning I received a phone call that the Beast is as dead as a doornail due to some extreme cold weather in the country. Some part was frozen solid… great here we go … the first scenes required Jamie as Neal waking up in the Beast. So the crew are now meandering here and there while the RACV (Royal Automobile Club of Victoria) had been joined and dispatched in order rescue the Beast and get it to set. We at least had the opportunity to capture and film some great nature shots… it’s for this concept I have to juxta-position Neal’s character with that of nature.

Beast broken down again

Figuring out car mounts

What's that smell?

Fleeting Mel during operation cleanup

Finally the Beast arrives and we set off shooting at a frantic pace to try and regain our schedule. What a start to principal photography. The evening events took another turn for the worst when after arduous set-up in pitch darkness to shoot some evening scenes, the lighting failed and we shelved the scenes for another night …

Joel Higham assisting DOP Nick Hallam	James Strebinos and Kurt playing in the dirt	The neck break pace we set out for ourselves carried on for four solid days and nights. Days were spent shooting exteriors of the pub with Grant Carter and then we moved inside to cover the majority of the story telling between the Jim and Mark characters. The Beast always kept us on our toes … one night we started doing some pick up shots and the truck ran out of gas plus the radiator got damaged. The result a nice little exercise in fitness as 4 guys were pushing the truck back to the pub over a distance of close to 2 km. I just remembered looking up at the magnificent sky and wondering … wow there sure are pretty stars … and what a lovely workout it was so late at night. Yes we laugh now … but it was a different story that night.
Vanessa Hallam Assistant Director	Everybody's kung fu fighting ...	Oh Eddy you joker	Shazzam! Take that!

During the final day of production at Toolleen pub, there were moments of pure method to madness … The pub is opening and the patrons are trying to enter, a window shatters and is repaired while we are filming, actors are pushed to the edge and we are shooting completely out of sequence and demanding performances within one take, shooting schedules kept being reduced and eventually tossed out the window (not the broken one), the Beast keeps breaking down and then becomes available at the last minute … and yet when one shouts ACTION all that just seems to hover in mid-air and crew and cast would just evoke pure magic until the CUT and then chaos takes over again. I do not know how the cast managed being placed under extreme stress and yet they just did their job. The same could be said for an incredible crew who worked so hard under difficult conditions, always ready to run and get another shot while there is light, always ready to dress the set at ungodly hours of the morning and to clean up after 18 hour days.	Oops.. can we go for take 2?	Oh that's better
	What are you kids up to?	Come everyone pile in!
	Tiffany keeping a low profile	Helena checking make up continuity
	Eddy Jager	Eddy and Grant
	So how far behind are we?	Bronson - the local pub dog

But the most amazing part of shooting at the Toolleen pub was the people. I have always considered Australians as the friendliest people in the world … honestly. But the amount of assistance we got from the entire community at Toolleen was just beyond belief and trust me … we invaded their entire world. Jim was helping Mel dirty up his own pub, Chrissy constantly running drinks outside to allow us to finish up inside, the rest of the community helping out by providing us with extra props and relocating vehicles and patiently waiting for us to finish up. It is so refreshing to be embraced by a community where you ask so much of them! Were it not for the generous people at Toolleen pub we would not have a film … and they always said yes with a smile.

The Toolleen Crew lives to shoot another day