David Redman and Marc Gracie, producers of Spin Out were very aware that shooting almost entirely outdoors can be the stuff of nightmares. Being at the mercy of the weather and the elements, meant having lots of contingency plans in place. Add to this, moving cast to and from locations in country Victoria meant logistics was just another piece of the puzzle.

Enter travel management gurus Stage and Screen. Find out how they achieved this seamlessly and the producer’s  insights into what makes a great Rom-Com.

It’s hard to imagine anything less romantic than an outback ute muster, which is why the romantic comedy Spin Out is so surprising. Emerging from the dust, fumes and flies, is a heartwarming all-Australian love story produced by Stage and Screen clients Marc Gracie (Stella Rose Productions) and David Redman (Redman Entertainments).

The movie’s charm is the love story at its heart, the knockabout characters and the fact that the movie’s action takes place during one very messy B&S Ball (Editor’s Note: for our overseas clients a B&S Ball is short for Bachelor & Spinster Ball!).

For producer David Redman, the movie was a chance to once again collaborate with veteran director and producer Marc Gracie, on an original script co-directed by Tim Ferguson.

Finding the perfect location for the country scenes, led the cast and crew to Shepparton in Victoria where the shoot took place over four action-packed weeks. Stage and Screen got the cast and crew there, coordinating flights and vehicles for the production. Despite the short time on location; decisive directing, clever tricks, 10 hour days and a banging travel management company, ensured David and the crew delivered a film on a big scale.

According to David, the choice of cast was pivotal and they were lucky to attract a number of young Australian stars, who had both local and international experience.

“Having the right actors, playing the right role meant that we could move quickly through the scenes,” explains David. “We also had the opportunity to use many locals as extras in the large scenes, which was important to give the movie a real authenticity. With sixty percent of the story unfolding during the B&S Ball scene, there were up to 300 people to direct on-screen at any one time.”

SO,  WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIALS FOR A GREAT ROM-COM?

Stage and Screen asked David for a few insights into what makes a movie connect with audiences.

• Obviously, it has to be funny! And that requires great writing, but also good direction. Something can be funny on the page, but it needs to be executed well to be truly funny on the screen. Comedy is the hardest genre to pull off well and you need to get the timing right or it will fall flat.
• A beautiful love story. Plus it helps to set it in a unique world not seen on the screen before – such as Spin Out’s B&S Ball.
• The way it looks is important. But everything has to come together, so that the movie has a sense of joy at its heart. This includes the cast, costumes and the music.
• Music is very important, as it brings an important emotional element to a rom-com. In Spin Out we used original songs, Australian artists and a film score that blurred the lines between the score and the songs.
• Casting people who are believable and who have chemistry is paramount! This is always a gamble because you don’t know if the chemistry will translate to the screen until you are shooting and you see the first rushes. But if you have great actors it certainly helps.

Spin Out was released by Sony Pictures and is now available on DVD and digital.

Image: photo credit Heath McKinley