spirit song - film clip I worked on in 1989 !

My dearest friend performer and healer Karina Hayes sent me this clip today, she is the featured singer and after many years of her living in the US I have happily found her after she married mr golden tonsils   (god bless Google and Facebook)

  

 20 years kinda flies ! so here is a little blast from the past with some updates. 

This is the trailer made for the first film writen and directed by Alex Proyas.( I, Robot, Dark City, The Crow etc )  produced by Meaningful Eye contact. The film, shot on a shoestring in Broken Hill, NSW Australia. Was made with the use of equiptment used for the filming of "kiss the Dirt" film clip Proyas directed for INXS at the same time.

The B&W sequences for which I was Makeup and wardrobe, was shot in a studio on an old tabacco factory site very close to the old Ikea site in Waterloo. It was to be a stark contrast to the extreme colour of the film. 

The remarkable makeup in the film sequence (shown in colour) was the creation of Mathu Anderson  - based in the USA since the filming. you will spy him in early episodes of America's Next Top Model as the resident makeup artist. 

Dean Denim and I have a little cameo doing Rhys Davis's Hair & Makeup - well pretending with much dramatic effect ;-)

And Karina Hayes (now Blakeley)  as our slightly dark angel singing the theme song. Her sweet tones and her extravagant performance graced many a swanky nightclub and giant dance parties of our youth.  Karina was a lead singer in in a hard core experimental band called SPK with the rather imposing Graeme Revell, now one of  Hollywood's most prolific film & TV composers. 

It took me hours to create the costume - not that you see much of it! - the bodice was constructed with rushed ribbon. the long black gloves for contrast and she was wearing my agents heavy metal biker rings (thank you Sally Galwey - she is now a jewelry designer). 

The shoot was a laugh and it is wonderful to see it again - I hope you enjoy it. 

Blumenfeld

whilst on the theme of idols in my youth ...........

I met the grandson of one of the most influential photographers and artists in my life yesterday. Casually over a beer on Waiheke as you do, I almost fell off my chair. 

I had a print of the Eiffel Tower image framed in my room (at a huge investment at the time) as a teenager. When you go back to the masters, you get so much of the foundation of our current photographic trends. 

Revisiting his body of work today I am again humbled by the breakthroughs in photographic imagery this genius made. He died the year I was born.  

Show studio has a collection of his experiments in advertising - the films of Erwin Blumenfeld.

enjoy x

TED Talking

Isaac Mizrahi is a bit of an idol of mine - when in my twenties he was just hilarious, creative and prolific in all the right ways. (As a 80's runway favourite NYC fashion designer in case you are uninitiated) 

He has since had a talk show, designed costumes and done the best diffusion line for Target which set the high low trend in full steam. 

So visiting one of my favourite sites: ted.com I found a familiar voice describing his inspiriation - I urge you all to view it, he is rather a compelling character - Also on the site there is brilliance in the form of some of the words best minds giving inspired talks.  See Isaac here.