HIDE AND SEEK

HIDE AND SEEK

After returning from the shops, Michelle (mid 30s) is surprisingly greeted by her son Harry (18), who arrives in an astronaut suit. As the two of them reminisce about old times, sharing fond memories and exploring the house, it becomes evident that a lot has changed since they last met 10 years ago. As the night continues, and Michelle finishes her bottle of wine, it becomes apparent that Harry may not be the son that she raised, but the one she wishes she had. Michelle, trying to hold on to the memory of Harry, plays a game of Hide and Seek with him, however, Harry is nowhere to be found.

Producer Biography

Hi! I’m Emma Stephens and I am a Sydney based film producer, specialising in Short Dramas. Within my most recent short film, I was the Producer and 1st AD. I also recently featured as a 1st AD in Lachie Colemans film ‘Fire Starters’.

I have experience in working on Short Dramas, Documentary Shorts, Experimental Films and Sound Scapes, as well as recently Producing a Music Video for an up-and-coming Australian Artist.

I have been working on Hide and Seek for over a year, and have been slowly developing it into the amazing Short Film that it is today.


Please explore the below information for more details on Hide and Seek!

Script Growth and Development

Hide and Seek started when I specialised in Producing in 2023. Initially starting as a Psychological Thriller Feature Film, it has developed drastically since then.

Major Script Changes

The script changes throughout shooting were minimal excluding one scene.

Day 3 was scheduled to have Kit Donnovan, our child actor on set. Although we had confirmed multiple times, 10 hours before he was meant to turn up, his mother notified us that they were only able to be there for 2 hours instead of 4.
Going straight into problem solving mode, I grabbed the crew that we had left on set and ran outside to write and block a whole new replacement scene.
As the DOP filmed me, I ran around the set (see right), writing a brand new scene, acting it out and writing it all down as we go (see below).

4 hours later, we had written and blocked a new scene, with > 15 shots, re-written the whole day schedule (see below), contacted all Cast and Crew for new start times and the change in plans, set up everything for when everyone on set arrived, and further cooked from scratch, Chicken Fajitas for 20 people ready for our lunch break.

Production Portfolio '23

The script that we started with was 3 pages, and all based around the game of Hide and Seek. As I brought in my Director Charlie Hamill we developed the script into the version we know today.

At the start of August, we had majority of our key crew recruited. This allowed the development stages of the production to be extremely collaborative. As I had been working on this idea for a year, I really valued the combination of ideas that were thrown in at this stage. As we started having weekly meetings with crew around this time, it allowed me to really build a professional relationship with them, where as their opinions felt welcomed.

As the idea had been around for a while, we opened up the table for feedback, and built it from there!

Cast and Crew

  • Michelle: Emma Dalton

    Harry (OLD): Jude Tomkins

    Harry (YOUNG): Kit Donovan

  • Director: Charlie Hamill

    1st Assistant Director: Emma Stephens

  • Director of Photography: Luca McDonald

    Camera Operator/Grip: Harry Todd

    1st Camera Assist/Gaffer: Geoff O’Neill

    2nd Cam Assistants (DAY 1):Rosie Marden, Adam Stavros

  • Production Designer: Isabella Hile

    Production Assistant: Carmi Pirola

    Costume Design: Tom Lawrance

  • Sound Designer: William McAndrew

    Composer/Boom Op: Kel Tredinnick

  • Picture Editor: Amelie Downie

    Sound Editor: Luke Schmeal

Location

Shooting all in my family’s home over the three days allowed the crew to have time to visit the set as many times as needed before we called action, and also allowed everyone to transform the set from my family’s home to Michelles Home.

The crew visited the home > 20 times before shoot, where we did reccies, blocking, logistical planning and set design.

The main misfortune of the set was the flight path that frequented above us, and being sandwiched between two major inner-west roads, New-Canterbury and Old-Canterbury Road.

Additionally, on day one of shoot, there was a local graduating class who had marching bands, police escorts and shut down the whole street as we were scheduled to start shooting. Although a downer to the start of the shoot, we made the best of the situation at the time, and utilised it for shots that did not need audio.

Working with Children

  • x3 people on set with WWCC (Isabella Hile, Luca McDonald, Carmi Pirola)

  • Contacted the Office of the Children’s Guardian with all information of the Project

  • Submitted a Online Notification Form 7 Days before Kit was employed

  • Obtained an Authority to Employ Children (see top left)

  • Sent all necessary files, information and forms to Kits Guardian, who I was in constant contact with (see top right)

Production Coordination

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