2020 CAMP RECAP
PHOTOS BY CAMP PHOTOGRAPHER MIRANDASTOKKEL.COM
* please read the following in your most smouldering 70’s radio host voice *
Hey all your lovers out there, you are listening to Lonely Hearts Radio and I am The Count, and I’m counting on you as we count down to ecstasy and film all of the day, and all of the night.
We’ve got Chaka Khan’s ‘Like Sugar’ coming up for you next, so mellow on down and join me on a sweet ride down memory lane as we recap Lonely Hearts Film Camp 2020. Hit it.
DAY 1 // CHECK-IN, WELCOME DRINKS & WELCOME TO COUNTRY CORROBOREE
A hoard of Lonely Hearts arrived at Weddings In The Wilde all hours of the arvo and night, cracking a bevvy on arrival and getting a corny self portrait taken to place inside their fluorescent lanyard. Dogs were snugged, laughs were had, rooms were assigned and dinner was consumed. At 8pm a Welcome To Country corroboree by the local indigenous clan took place and was truly incredible as a group to witness. They began the corroboree by sharing their knowledge of storytelling, how it is passed down through the spoken word only and the importance of each person playing their specific role for the betterment of the group. What a way to kick off our first night of camp.
DAY 2 // KEYNOTE TALKS WITH WHO IS MATT, BOTTLEBRUSH FILMS, AUBURN HOUR
BREAKOUT SESH’S WITH TILL DEATH & MARU FILMS
THE EDUCATION STUFF //
Day 2 was a banger! Matt Johnson kicked off the morning educating us Aussies on all things YouTube & how to stand out from the crowd, Grace from Bottlebrush dived into some post-production hacks & film breakdowns and Nat from The Auburn Hour gave the worlds most extra finance talk that blew many-a-mind (there was a cheerleader outfit involved). Mel from Till Death jumped into the back end of her personal work and Remi from Maru Films gave a live demo of how he approaches a portrait session with a couple. Andrew from Bottlebrush gave a few beginner filmmakers a crash course on cinematography, and that, ladies and gentlemen, was a wrap.
THE NOT-EDUCATION STUFF //
We celebrated the birthday of camper Cassandra with cake, a corny b-day cheer & a beer. Remi found out just how awkward & non-romantic the duo at Bottlebrush really are when placed in front of a camera (sorry Remi). Chef Jake brought in some Anzac cookies mid-talk which was just a noooice moment. The night ended with a screening on the giant blow-up outdoor cinema ft. some high-calibre wedding videography… which was really just the first film each speaker ever created (cue terrible exposure, awkward cuts, illegal music choices & some hilarious uni-days student films). The point? Everyone starts from somewhere, even our lush as speakers.
DAY 3 // KEYNOTE WITH TILL DEATH, BOTTLEBRUSH FILMS, WEDDING FILM SCHOOL
BREAKOUT SESH WITH AUBURN HOUR & HUMDRUM FILMS
THE EDUCATION STUFF //
Day 3 kicked off with Mel from Till Death diving into the importance of personal work and finding your style, Andrew from Bottlebrush gave a run down on our biggest business fuck ups and how to avoid them, and Jason from Wedding Film School created some buzz getting campers to line up in order of pricing (wooord). In other break-out sesh news, Nat from The Auburn Hour gave a live demo in the bush chapel of how she approaches shooting a ceremony, and those dapper lads at Humdrum educated on their corporate work, then whipped out their camera gear much to the pleasure of our campers who swarmed them with much happy, many question.
THE NOT-EDUCATION STUFF //
Mel fell off her chair at the start of her talk (get it guuurl), an expedition deep into the bush to retrieve a lost drone was a huge success (lead by Wade & Matt Johnson, well played Fallen Eagle), Chef Jake brought in tasty little brownies mid-talk, some boys popped a mean manu in the pool and Matt Johnson entered the magical tipi at dark and spoke some words of wisdom. The best part though? We celebrated the first birthday of one Leah Johnson, the worlds most beautiful and adorable Camp Baby there ever was or will be. She ate cake, oh how she ate and nay, destroyed the cake. Matt, Rachel & Kim (Camp Mom) tried to sample it, but it was not to be - the cake was Leah’s to devour, and Leah’s alone. Fin.
Need a new tune? Captain Lonely & Hearts have you covered.
Spin that Beastie, boy.
DAY 4 // KEYNOTE WITH MARU FILMS & HUMDRUM FILMS
BREAKOUT SESH WITH JACKSON GRANT + Q&A WITH OUR FULL SPEAKER PANEL
THE EDUCATION STUFF //
Day 4 - the last education day - let’s do it. Remi started us off with his perspective on storytelling and much needed two-fucks-given approach to making money (what a God - in Remi we trust). Humdrum blew our minds with a peek inside the inner workings of their empire, then Jackson Grant (in a charming matching shorts-to-shirt outfit) enlightened us in the ways of Super 8 in the most extra way possible that only Jackson could achieve. We wrapped with a full panel Q&A with campers asking questions openly and anonymously, and that, my friends, is where the education ends.
THE NOT EDUCATION STUFF //
Jackson did a shoey. Matt Johnson did a shoey. Andrew finally experienced the hell that is attempting to release those bloody confetti bombs (sorry Jackson). Chef Jake continued to deliver the goods with a random crater-sized-bowl of melted chocolate and a bunch of spoons. Jackson Grant gave away two freakin’ Super 8 cameras by sticking two rolls of film under 2 random chairs. Our winning attendees were mildly happy to find the roll under their chair, but shit went wild when Jackson so smoothly asked ‘do either of you own a super 8?’. To a resounding ‘No’ he followed with ‘….well… now you do’, whipping out two Super 8s & bestowing them upon one Mitch & Kelly.
Storm & Jackie scored a noice year subscription to Music Bed, Wade scored a year sub to Studio Ninja, and G & Luke absolutely lost their shit when they realised they’d won A FREAKING BLACK MAGIC POCKET CINEMA CAMERA 6K! It was a thing to behold. Then we all got down to business - prepping the rec room for the Lost In Space Party and donning our best space cadet costumes - see next blog post for that wild one.
DAY 5 // RECOVERY BREKKY & GOODBYES
Rusty. So rusty. I woke up to a lawn mower outside my bedroom window, a sure sign that we’d all overslept and the venue needed us to wake the fuck up and go eat recovery brekky (it worked, and brekky was needed). We had a seedy group photo and the tone was incredible, everyone was on a huge high on that last morning and I’ve never hugged so many humans in my life. So many kind words were said, selfies taken, details exchanged and it’s safe to say camp 2020 was in-bloody-sane. Thank you so much to our first year of Lonely Hearts for taking a chance on our first ever event and for making this one of the best experiences of our lives to date.
Xx Your Captains Lonely & Hearts (Grace + Andrew)
