Lights, camera, action in Gisborne
A GROUP of Gisborne teenagers are well on their way to winning a Logie Award, with the first episode of their television show set to air this week.
After 229 days of filming, Public School Profiles will be airing on Friday night, working as a parody on staff and students in state schools.Described by the creators as a sitcom with a little bit of drama, action, and even a little drama, the light-hearted series will consist of six episodes.
Duke Howard is the show’s writer, director, producer,cameraman, editor, and even takes on an acting role as a student, Lawson Fishbourne.
Duke has had an absolute ball creating the series, which was filmed across the Macedon Ranges, with some scenes filmed in Melbourne, at the airport, and even a scene at the beach.
A memorable moment for him was when he was forced to pick up a piece of dog faeces, something he never thought he would have to do.
The project has taken up a lot of Duke’s time, having to edit the program in his own time after hours – but his passion for the series has made it all worthwhile.
“My favourite moment will be when we all sit down together and the show airs, showcasing the result of all of us working together,” Duke said.
John Reardon takes on the role of Phil O’Caroll, the school’s wacky principal, while also being a creator of the show, and working as producer and writer. Doing a lot of wild stunts on camera, John has enjoyed every moment of the production process.
“I’ve loved filming with the boys, the stuff that they have all come up with on the spot has been amazing… it has been a great experience,” he said.
One thing that John hasn’t exactly loved is Duke’s crane shots while filming.
“He’s so particular, it can take up to an hour to get five seconds worth of footage…I hate the crane shots, sometimes they made me want to leave the show,” he joked.
Ethan Brown is Mr Trevlakka, the head of the ‘Education of Department’ (making a mockery of the Department of Education), and is also part of the writing team. While he is normally a really nice person in real life, Ethan’s character was quite aggressive and nasty – a role that he loved playing.
“I’m the bad guy in the series, so I was quite mean,” he said.
“It was great to let loose and pretend that I’m acting, when really, I was being quote serious and saying what I normally wouldn’t say.”
Another fond memory of filming was when Ethan cooked up a friend breakfast consisting of crumpets, ketchup, soy sauce and 100’s and 1000’s – and then eating it.
While Cam Ward helps with writing the script, he also plays the school’s only dancing student, a role that he found to be quite fun and different.
“There were some strange scenes in filming, like me having to grind on people, or grinding against a chair… Duke has a real sick sense of humour and kept coming up with these strange but hilarious things for me to do,” he said.
Jesse Calvert wrote, produced, and starred in the series too, and experienced some crazy moments like having coffee spat in his face. While the show sounds kooky and crazy, the boys assure audiences that there is a lot more to it.
“There are jokes right throughout that really appeal to most audiences, it is all strung together with clever movements, all done as a story,” Duke said.
“We’ve created this school and characters that are so ridiculous, but we never actually acknowledge just how ridiculous it is.”
“It’s the kind of television series that hasn’t been seen before…it is unique and we have made it ours,” Cameron said.
“It is based on real life people, but extraordinarily exaggerated.”
The boys are looking forward to getting together on Friday evening to watch the first episode of their show.
Public School Profiles is set to debut at 8pm on Friday evening (October 10) on Channel 31, or digital 44.
Be sure to tune in to support the young talent in the Macedon Ranges.
Local talent: Gisborne teens John Reardon, Duke Howard, Cam Ward, and Ethan Brown star in Public Schools Profiles, set to air this Friday at 8pm on Channel 31. The show also stars Jesse Calvert.
Source: Ranges Macedon Free Press newspaper, Tuesday October 7, 2014