Meet Harriet Hughes

The wonderful Olivia Van Jackson.

A few posts back, I wrote about 2 versions I had penned in regards to the central protagonist. It was the Harriet Hughes/ Carla Vargas conundrum.

I live and shoot in Australia, and whilst we are fortunate enough to have a portion of actors that have come from all parts of the globe. the pool of English actresses is quite small.

What about casting a local then?

I would love to but I have come across local actors and actresses that say I only do Australian accents. Without wanting to be too critical of their tool kit, I find this is like saying I only paint with the colour red. Where is the craft? Where is the range? Yes,of course, the Home and away and other local tv show industry provides work for this particular subset, but that is not the content I am out to make.

So, you advertise and you get a group of would be candidates from the UK and then you find an Oliva Van Jackson. A local actress that can deliver the lines in an RP accent and you say, ahh! here is a chance for somebody to really showcase their craft. Need I look any further!

Her take on the character of Harriet Hughes was what I had envisioned. A public school educated young woman living in modest lodgings in Post war London. Somewhere along the line she had been acquainted with Mr. Thursday at the Department of TImeWar and was given a rare opportunity to become an agent on the case of some rather nefarious and suspicious Traversers posing as Dressmakers.

Olivia came to me with a "Veronica Lake look," which I think we can agree was the ultimate ideal of the time. A beautiful female lead is important for the art I create, I make no apologies for that, but starting off with too much of a glamourous look might not be key to story so we set about, with my dear talented makeup artist of 5 years, Ruby Dolly (Of makeup by Ruby Dolly) to create more of a conventional office girl look.

With Ruby Dolly, from Makeup by Ruby Dolly.

Up until the moment she sat in the makeup chair, it was a coin flip as to what look we should pursue and then Olivia came up with the great idea of "Why not have both?" This will express a transformation, like she has been both seduced by fashionable London and that is moving from postwar officiousness to a more dynamic modern period,

So we did both and I am sure you agree the production is better off for it.

Olivia Van Jackson was an absolute find and a pleasure to work with. Herself a filmmaker, working on a piece with a focus on digital vs traditional filmmaking, I do believe I may also have been a curio to her as I work mostly in the chroma key domain. (My argument has been it is not the green screen studio that is blame for bad modern movies but the poor writing.) Olivia was genuine when she said the script I provided was a good one and worthy of her commitment, and that friends, is what I believe is the answer to the modern dilemma: Don't write shit scripts. No bevy of locations, 70 mm film stock or budget can make up for badly penned screenplays.

I can't speak on behalf of Olivia but I am sure, she respected that although a green screen studio may not be her preferred avenue for filming, she did see a dedicated artist who put in the necessary preparation to ensure a positive and time respecting experience. I am sure the visuals will not disappoint too.

So, I can finish the post by saying I chose the very best Harriet Hughes and may never need to pen a Carla Vargas, because the very person you want is out there, it may just take a little more time to find.

Episode 1: The Dressmakers is in production and will be completed before the end of the year.