Press release from Well Above
Blind Date is the latest film from writer, director, producer Chris Ramos and a collaboration with NAFA Productions. The short film set in a bar explores the search for love by a love-damaged actress, who won’t admit she still yearns for the real thing and must eliminate the opposition to make love work on her terms.
Blind Date came to life as a collaboration between people who were committed to telling a story that had audience appeal combined with a colourful visual style. Central to that idea was finding the right location – a location that not only had to have the right look, but that was also available for filming during reasonable hours. This presented a formidable problem, since most bars are open during daytime and then well into the night and following morning (leaving the only window for filming to be usually from after midnight to about 10am – not a practical or popular option for cast and crew).
Eventually, in Sydney’s most eclectic suburb, Newtown, there was found: ZanziBar, in the heart of vibrant King Street. When Production Designer Jaclyn Amor first saw the opulent Upstairs Lounge at ZanziBar, she exclaimed “I absolutely love it!” and there was no turning back. Fortunately, the Upstairs Lounge offered filming privacy, and was available for a daytime window of a number of consecutive days, which finally made the film shoot possible.
Waiting patiently until a suitable location could be found, were a number of actors. The main roles were played by up-and-coming young actors recently graduated from NIDA. The best way to audition actors is to actually see them at work, and Andrea Demetriades, Don Christopher and Eve Morey were short listed by viewing NIDA graduation plays and post-graduation theatrical performances. Maurizio Degliesposti and Ben Davy-Thorburn were short-listed based on their performances at the many script workshop readings conducted by NAFA Productions.
Blind Date was shot by talented and experienced Cinematographer Paul Kolsky, who recalled: “When I first spoke to (director) Chris Ramos about the visual look of this film, he had a very clear vision in mind. He wanted a style that reflected the late 50’s romantic comedies, with stars like Doris Day and Rock Hudson in films such as Pillow Talk.
"We also watched Down with Love, a recent film made in a similar style starring Ewan McGregor and Renée Zellweger. These films have a bright, colourful feel, where everyone looks fantastic. I was excited to attempt this, especially as my previous film had been the complete opposite – dark and gritty. Chris also felt that this would help Blind Date to stand out – a bright, breezy film providing a welcome respite for audiences in these uncertain economic times.
"To give the versatile JVC ProHD cameras that we used a softer, more film-like appeal, we opted to shoot on 35mm prime lenses through an adaptor. This gave us the lovely shallow depth of field of 35mm film, straightaway getting us into the area we wanted to be. We then lit it as gently as we could, with soft sources surrounding our actors, giving them classic beauty lighting, and make-up further added to the glamour. Finally, an extensive grading process at Chaotic Pictures finished off the idealised look we were after."
Chris Ramos added, “The film began life as a script written for a NIDA course in filmmaking, and was originally filmed as part of the course at the Reg Grundy Studio at NIDA (thereby providing something virtually unprecedented for filmmakers: a dry run of the production). The story allowed a subtle message to be wrapped in feel-good entertainment – movies should have a message, which is best delivered when the film is fun. Real love, even if it’s found in unexpected places, is still real love – rare, precious, and to be respected.
Blind Date was filmed as a professional short film in collaboration with NAFA Productions. NAFA founder and Blind Date producer Tony Chu said, “We assembled the most talented cast and crew possible. Thanks to the amazing creative talent on the film and the wonderful JVC ProHD cameras which never disappoint, the film is lovely to look at, whilst still giving the audience something to think about."