Technology and the creative spirit amplify each other in pioneering VCA film City of Echoes

For Senior Lecturer in Film and Television Andrew O’Keefe, the paintings of celebrated Australian artist Jeffrey Smart have always been linked to storytelling.

“I remember being taken by my mum and dad to see my first theatre show at Fairfax Studio in Melbourne,” says Andrew. “The only commissioned work Jeffrey Smart ever made hangs outside in the Arts Centre foyer — an epic, ten-metre-long landscape of shipping containers on a train called Container Train in Landscape. I don’t even remember what play we were seeing, but that painting really captured my imagination.”

Fast forward to today, and Andrew is leading a cross-disciplinary team of Faculty of Fine Arts and Music colleagues, students and alumni to bring the works of Jeffrey Smart to life using cutting-edge virtual production technology in the Faculty’s new LED volume studio.

The project will culminate in a short film called City of Echoes, which combines animation, innovative virtual production effects, live-action dance, music, and the distinctively melancholy visual world of Smart’s paintings to tell a story about the creative spirit triumphing over self-doubt and hopelessness.

“The story starts in a gloomy, sad place — the City of Echoes,” says Andrew. “Two characters who have abandoned their creative dreams — a dancer (played by renowned dancer and Victorian College of the Arts Director Emma Redding) and a trumpeter (played by actor Tony Briggs, creator of the award-wining film The Sapphires) — meet one another, stir a creative spark, and try to escape the city together.”

Andrew explains the story is a metaphor for all creatives who have at one point or another given up on their creative selves, “whether because of the forces of capitalism, a lack of confidence, or self-doubt”.

“Creativity makes life worth living, but being a creative can be difficult. This film is an homage to all creative practitioners and artists, with a message about the importance of creativity and the very real but worthwhile struggle to create things.”

Andrew and the film’s producer, VCA Alumni Stephanie Parsons, worked closely with the Estate of Jeffrey Smart, and with partner institution the National Gallery of Victoria, to secure the rights to use Smart’s iconic paintings in the film, turning the minimalist urban landscapes into 3D digital assets and creating a digital environment that is integrated with live-action performances.

Extensive testing and preliminary filming were carried out in the Faculty’s studio, and the principal film will be shot at partner NantStudios’ virtual production suite at Docklands in Melbourne.

The film’s key crew and creative team are made up almost exclusively of Faculty staff, students and alumni — from the scriptwriters to the costume designers, choreographers, and the jazz musicians working on the score. Also contributing to the score is alum Ross Irwin, trumpeter of Melbourne band The Cat Empire.

“We just have so much amazing creative talent here at the VCA, the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, and in our wider artistic community,” says Andrew.

City of Echoes is one of seven projects currently utilising the Faculty’s state-of-the art LED volume studio. Spanning theatre, film, dance, music performance and new media, all seven projects will be completed, and in some cases exhibited, in 2025.

Andrew says these diverse uses of virtual production technology will position the Faculty well in a rapidly evolving global creative sector.

“The Victorian Government has recently invested tens of millions of dollars to establish Victoria as one of the global centres for the development and production of 3D digital film, games, and other screen content — and we’re an important part of that,” says Andrew.

“It’s a real commitment to virtual production, and our Faculty is right there at the forefront, leading the way.”

While virtual production is increasingly being used in film, television and games, including recent blockbusters Dune and Barbie, it’s still a relatively new technology, particularly in education programs like those offered at VCA Film and Television.

For VCA Film and Television students, the technology allows them to bring their story ideas to life in a learning environment previously unimaginable.

“The imagination and scope of projects that can be achieved in virtual production is far beyond traditional filmmaking methods,” says Andrew. “It allows you to shoot at ‘magic hour’ for days on end, to simulate vehicle travel safely and easily, or, in the case of City of Echoes, to create a life-sized environment with 20 shipping containers, all in one studio.”

“There’s currently a global shortage of 3D virtual environment makers, which has forced us to develop the capability, skill-sets and educational programs required to create virtual worlds. Our Faculty of Fine Arts and Music is really leading in this area, both nationally and internationally.”

As to whether the two lead characters escape the City of Echoes, Andrew says: “I can’t tell you how the film ends —  you’ll have to watch it for yourself to find out. But it has an uplifting message.”

It’s hard to ignore parallels between the themes in City of Echoes and the potential for VCA students and staff to harness the Faculty’s new facilities to realise their creative ideas.

As Jeffrey Smart himself once said: “Everybody gets inspired. We all have these moments. It just depends on whether you've got the ability to seize it”.