1. What was one of the most challenging moments you faced while making Thereafter? Did this ‘setback’ change the direction of the final story?

The biggest setback might have been that our camera operator and 1ST AC, unfortunately, had to drop out a day before shooting due to illness. This forced Lucas and myself to swap between camera operating and directing for the length of production. Our location sound recorder, Kyle Davison, also stepped up, doubling as our 1st AC, to get us through. We ended up having a very bare-bones crew as a result, and we all had to try and work a bit harder and faster, but all the planning we had done in pre-production meant we were able to stay on track without losing much – if any – of our vision.

2. What was the biggest inspiration behind Thereafter

There were a few points of inspiration for the film, some personal, and some quite literally being photographs and artworks that we admired and wanted to see move and be brought to life. However, we were really inspired after our last film, Lyrebird, to explore something more surreal and interior to the main character. We wanted to delve right into the headspace of the character and experiment visually with what he was feeling and experiencing, and the idea of trying to ‘go back’ or ‘undo’ the past was something that stuck in our minds as something that could be really interesting both visually and thematically.

3. What message do you want the audience to take away from Thereafter?

I don’t think we want to tell the audience what they should take away from the film. We’d prefer they discover their own message – whatever that may be. However, we will say that we carefully constructed the film in such a way that the audience should be able to complete the picture of what has happened to the characters.

4. How did you film the scene in the ocean?! It’s a fantastic scene, but must’ve been incredibly difficult for all concerned.

For a long time, we expected to use an underwater camera housing to shoot this scene, but in the end, we bought a cheap fish tank and sprayed the glass with water repellant. The camera just fit inside with the wireless focus system and monitor attached. The fish tank floated on the surface, and with a bit of pressure, we were able to dunk it just below the surface to get an underwater shot without water spilling in through the top. It was shot down at Myponga Beach and it was the last scene in the schedule. Our actor, Nick Launchbury, only needed to swim out just far enough to give the illusion of being far out at sea. Lucas and I waded out to about waist height and we shot it in about five minutes after the sunset. We were lucky in that the water was calm and the sky wasn’t overcast; the weather did exactly what we had wanted it to do when we first imagined the scene.