IN November 2020, Hamilton’s Jason Tully made his way to Sydney to work as the sole prop builder for the independent feature film, Wyrmwood: Apocalypse.
Having previously worked with the film’s writers, the Roache-Turner brothers on their film DaemonRunner, Mr Tully was asked to return as the prop builder for the second instalment of the Wyrmwood films.
Mr Tully, a graphic designer by trade, first started building props seven years ago and developed his skills on the job under his one-man workshop, Wasted Props.
Since he began building props, Mr Tully has worked on commissions and several independent feature-length and short films but said this latest project was the biggest he has worked on to date.
“It was an unbelievable experience,” he said.
“It’s amazing to work with a core group of people that just know what they’re doing.
“Some days were 16 hours but would start in the morning with a meeting with production crew to go over the projects for the day and I was given a timeline of when the props were required for different scenes.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has attracted bigger productions to Australia over the last two years – offering creatives like Mr Tully an unprecedented opportunity to work on large-scale productions on home soil.
Mr Tully said he planned to take full advantage of increased opportunities and recently purchased a truck with plans to create a mobile workshop and place to live while on the job.
“Because of the COVID-19 situation overseas and cost of production here, lots of productions are moving here,” he said.
“As far as I know, I’ll be the only prop builder in Australia with a mobile truck, so I’m hoping to take that and run with it to my advantage.
“Once I’m set up, I’m looking to do this full time – I’ll be looking out for the big productions between Melbourne, Sydney and Queensland.”
One production that has caught his eye is the latest in the Mad Max series, Mad Max Furiosa, which will begin shooting in Broken Hill later this year.
Mr Tully said he hopes to get a gig working on the iconic film.
“That’s my forte, the really gritty dirty style I guess,” he said.
The Hamilton Cinema will host the premiere screening of Wyrmwood: Apocalypse at 8.15 pm on Thursday, February 17.
Mr Tully will attend the event and hold a Q&A about the production before the film begins, which he said was “a classic zombie horror heavily laced with Aussie humour”.
For more information go to hamiltoncinema.com.au.
