The story behind one of the most ambitious Australian music docos of all time: Now Sound

I think 2015 was a pivotal year. Courtney Barnett broke out, bands like Dick Diver and Twerps were finally getting recognized overseas and unique sounds like NO ZU and Roland Tings were quickly emerging. It felt like a lot of late ’00s indie sounds from overseas, that had influenced Australia musicians at the time.

Those artists were now in 2015 all hitting their stride at the same time. Think of it like a really strong AFL draft class. And I knew it was strong, because for most of my life I despised Australian music. I blogged for years with 95% international music. But there was so much strong local music in 2015, that I couldn’t even find time for international music.

Then in October I reviewed CMJ in New York City, which is a music conference week. And that week an army of Australian and particularly Melbourne artists invaded NYC, and they stole the show at every event.

All the NYC attendees were gushing and raving about this current crop. A lot of the artists that played that week, also ended up in the documentary including Sui Zhen, Client Liaison, Kirin J Callinan, The Harpoons, Friendships, Sunbeam Sound Machine and Good Morning.

I also happened to be sharing an AirBnb that week with Tobias Willis, the director of Now Sound. We had known each other for a few years through music festivals, but we had never hung out or anything. So this was really the first time hanging out together.

He was following and filming Sunbeam Sound Machine, and I was impressed by his enthusiasm and general appreciation for all kinds of music. It was also very clear that he’s a lovely person and easy to be around for lengthy time periods.

I didn’t text him about the idea until May 2016 after a film at the Human Rights Film Festival, but he quickly replied saying “I’ve been wanting to do this for years”. And that’s when it all began.

Who’s worked on it?

A lot of amazingly generous people. We had a group of highly skilled film friends, who would help us out on shoots.

Usually for an interview Tobias would direct and ask questions, I’d monitor the sound and ask questions that I felt Tobias missed, and we’d always need a 3rd person monitoring the camera. Our film friends were doing us all a favour, none of these were paid, we never had any funding for the first 12 months, so this stage was like building a demo product to convince people we can do this.

I think the encouraging part was that 3rd person always found the interviews interesting, so at least we knew the content wasn’t boring. But outside of filming, we’ve had help with music licensing, graphics, legal advice, PR, people sending us archive footage, even people helping lug our gear around at festivals, all these small things that I’m forever grateful for.

I think people liked the idea that this documentary was unselfish, it wasn’t about Tobias or myself, you barely can tell we exist through the film. It was always about the community at large, and I guess our friends felt like they were also part of that community, whether it was via being a punter or maybe they made music video clips, there’s so many elements to the community.

How has it changed from inception to completion?

I think it originally started with the idea of focusing on all the great music, or at least that was the inspiration, but the more we developed a film arc, and carved away at what made it unique, it was the progressive topics and discussions that became just as important as the music itself.

What exactly has been involved in bringing something like this together?

Well I had to restructure my life entirely. I had to change jobs to become a contractor for a company that had endless amount of shift options (essentially a massive event company). I knew I’d likely have to work all kinds of odd hours to fit around the filming of Now Sound.

It turned my Google calendar into level 100 Tetris. We then built a desk space at my house in Abbotsford for the early stages. Then once we needed to start editing through all the footage, Tobias, Zachary (Banalarama) and myself started renting a room upstairs above LIMB on Johnson Street. Zachary didn’t have anything to do with the project at this point, he was simply working with Tobias on other projects.

Once it was evident that we needed a bigger space for all our equipment and due the consistent filming, Tobias needed to move back into the city from his sharehouse in Belgrave. We found this great shop front on Queens Parade, that could be a working studio downstairs, while Tobias and his Belgrave housemates could all live upstairs.

We spent February and March of 2017 gutting and building the whole studio from scratch. This put a little pause on the documentary too, but it was probably the break we needed, because we had been working really hard for eight months up until this point. Once the studio was up and functional, it allowed Tobias to stay financially a float, because he could then take on other paid video projects, while we also worked on Now Sound, which was still mostly a charity project.

What have been some of the highlights?

I think February 11th 2017 was the most memorable day. I started the afternoon at a journalist friend’s birthday drinks in Carlton, and being surrounded by all these fantastic journalists; I remember feeling extremely inspired and motivated to work super hard this particular day.

I then drove and picked up Tobias and we filmed Cool Room in Abbotsford. We then drove to the closing Mercat event and waited to film the massive line outside grab all those important shots. I then dropped Tobias off home so he could sleep. I went off to Brunswick house party filled with great local DJs, projection visuals, huge party that I danced at sober until 5am.

It was a hot day and night and it just felt like so many great things were happening in Melbourne this particular night. I then went back and woke up Tobias to drove back to the Mercat. We thought we’d only be filming inside until 7am, the usual closing time. But it kept going, and even though I couldn’t feel my legs anymore, I didn’t want it to stop either.

At 10am they finally shut it all down for the final time. It was emotional scene for a lot of people there. But the positive vibe back on street level in the sun with all these great Melbourne artists hugging, taking photos, shaking the security guards hand, everyone smiling and friendly. That day was an unforgettable Melbourne experience.

What were the biggest challenges, and were there any moments you were ready to pack it in?

The first big challenge was convincing people to get in front of the camera. We had to film all the people we knew first, and slowly build up the resumé of names, so we could get the people who didn’t know us, and convince them to trust us.

But then it was definitely financials. I really haven’t been able to buy anything for myself in over two years. All my cash would go directly to fuel, or food for people helping, or better expensive filming equipment. And while some people say “that surely doesn’t cost that much”, it’s more the amount of unpaid hours of work with the combination of not being able to take on paid work due to time clashes.

So it was more the money I wasn’t making, rather than the money I had to spend for 2 years. If we didn’t get $18,000 from Creative Victoria to fund the editing process 12 months in, there’s no way we could’ve afford that whole next editing period.

A good editor costs at least $40+ per hour, so that’s like 450 of editing time. 8 hours in a day is like 56 days of editing. A project like this takes at least 12 months to edit, re-cut, take on feedback, add more footage, flesh out. So we had to do 80% of the editing for free, and that’s without talking about the other 50 different kinds of costs. This is the main reason why nobody has ever successfully made a documentary like this in Australia.

What were you hoping to achieve with it, and did you manage to hit those goals?

I wanted to be proud of it first. But I think broadening the audience of what’s happening in the inner north suburbs of Melbourne was most important aim. From people around Melbourne, to the country, to nationally to overseas, I wanted to overexpose those who have been underexposed for so long.

I wanted to have a time capsule too. Even if the film only reached 100 people in the end, at least I’d have something to show my kids in 20-30 years. Or on the other scale, it would influence privileged communities all around the world to use their privilege to help others, talk about the tough subjects that need talking about. I think we’ve reach the first 2 steps of the plan, which is make something we’re proud of and released to an audience around Melbourne. Now to reach those next 3 steps.

How has the support been for this project, both during its creation, and its release?

The support has been amazing. I think one thing I’ve noticed since it’s come out to the public, is how appreciative the musicians are, that somebody’s gone to the effort to make this important document.

I think musicians feel like they haven’t had much of a voice for a long time, or they’ve really struggled in the free internet era. But it’s not just artists, the labels, the venues, the niche festivals, the organisations, all really appreciate the effort. They all would’ve had their doubts at some stage, but at the end of the day, it’s more important to be in this documentary, than to have missed the boat entirely.

80% of people I emailed and asked to feature, said yes, which is amazing. And those who turned down the offer had a fair reason to be skeptical – we didn’t have a big resumé of examples to show them.

What’s your favourite moment from the film?

I still get a bit emotional during the RVG montage. Not just because the songs lyrics are so strong, relevant to the documentary and could carry any montage we put together, but the combination with such comments from Lauren Taylor (“People say to us, you’re really lucky to have this here”), and Kirin J Callinan (“But I love it too (Melbourne), they care a little bit more and that’s a beautiful thing. It helps find value in what you do”).

And then just the broad montage of music locations, faces, music genre’s and then seeing Gizzfest and showing how far a band from Melbourne (King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard) can go, all the reward from a lot of hard work and seeing 1000s of passionate fans loving them. I actually wanted that section to be the final scene, but then we worked out a better way to round it all out.

What’s next for you and the team?

This current run of screenings in Melbourne throughout September is a main focus at the moment, making sure they all sell out. Then I can pay all the music licensing. At the same time, trying to lock in distributors interstate and internationally. Still trying to lock down more funding a long the way. Really just hustling around the clock. Ticking off all the boxes. Making sure there’s no loose ends moving forward. Short answer is mass distribution.

What message would you have for anyone else with a creative project in mind?

I think make realistic goals you want to archive. Plan everything from the start, calculate ten steps ahead on every decision. Try and create a realistic timeline. Then break down every goal into tiny goals that seem achievable in tiny pieces.

I think track all finances from the start. Make GDrive, make folders for receipts, all documents, be really organised from the get go. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Emails are free. But also ask yourself the question, “will I care about this project in 2 years?”

It’s like property investment; you have to think long term, sleep on the idea a lot before you commit to anything. And then you just have to be crazier than everyone else to pull it off.

Having delved so far into it both before making this film and during, what’s your assessment of the Melbourne/Australian music scenes, and the future of music in this country?

It’s like a healthy veggie garden, the community at the garden is great, but veggies gardens are far more valuable as apartments. I think with the recent news of Hug & Kisses closing, and Melbourne being the only city in Australia with a large crop of world class DJs, I think the vibrancy of the electronic scene will take a big hit over the next 5 years.

The kids will still throw illegal park parties, but the councils really need to understand that not all clubbing is dangerous drug use and sexual assault. A lot of hospitality people or just busy people, often can’t have a social life until 1am on the weekend, and sometimes they just need a place to dance and see their friends. Otherwise they’ll stay home in isolation, and isolation can be very dangerous for a lot of people.

I hope suburbs like Coburg or the warehouse parts of Brunswick get some help, and we get a few more late night music venues. There’s only so much money an Australian artist can make in this country of 25 million people, but hopefully the world continues to value them, and sign them up for tours in the US, Europe, South America, etc.

I think Australia outside of Melbourne is still too reliant on triple j, who are a youth radio station, and play music for the youth. The country needs something just as popular for the 25+, which is always harder to do of course. Then musicians will actually go into the industry believing there’s a future for them. What exactly that is, I’ve been trying to work out for a decade.

Maybe it’s a huge diverse all-Australian YouTube channel, maybe it’s medium scale music venue that live streams every show across the world 7 days a week across Twitch, Twitter, Facebook etc. Maybe it’s a diverse all-Australian music festival lineup that tours the world like a Dream Team tour. Actually that last idea is pretty good.

You’re a fighter/sporting team making your way to the ring/field (pick one): what’s the one song you choose for your entrance?