Brief Explanation

The film is a 2.5 minute history of Australia, told through a lamb barbecue. The commercial opens on the pristine Australian coastline - as the nation’s first people (Indigenous Australians) search for the perfect spot to fire up a barbie, it doesn’t take long for other revellers to join the hosts. The Dutch arrive (dressed in traditional garb), followed by the British (the First Fleet), the French, the Germans, Chinese, Greeks, Italians, Serbians and so on until the beach is filled with a multicultural group of Australians having a giant celebration. Every arrival, from the European settlers to the most recent of Australian migrants, is welcomed to the barbecue, each bringing their own dish and cultural contribution to the celebrations.

Execution

To truly enhance the dry humour and nature of the characters and events which are very much grounded in realism, it was important to create a beautiful, cinematic style to the film. The framing of the film provided a platform to romance the breathtaking epicness of the Australian landscape, and created a grand opus that is worthy of this 60 Millennia Tour through Australian History. The film was shot in a single location using a Steadicam and natural light. This technique gave flexibility when working with an enormous cast of characters, while also creating beautiful visuals that captured the all important details within the film. This attention to detail in direction and cinematic authenticity was essential in ensuring there was cultural sensitivity and historical accuracy within the film and this extended to casting, styling and every element of production design and post design.