elizabeth duck-chong

Steamed Little Juicy Bun - Kaki King In which I play a little...

Sat, 04 May 2013 17:52:48 +1000

Steamed Little Juicy Bun - Kaki King

In which I play a little bit of music.

So… I kind of made a thing. “Inglorious...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:17:08 +1000

So… I kind of made a thing.

“Inglorious Muppets”

Audio

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 15:02:59 +1000

I’ve been doing some transposing… #CloudAtlas...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 11:28:51 +1100

I’ve been doing some transposing… #CloudAtlas #shittynotationsoftware

Audio

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 23:09:19 +1100

therealkatiewest: chadmichaelward: When people ask me who my...

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:20:39 +1100

therealkatiewest:

chadmichaelward:

When people ask me who my hero is, I easily reply “Katie West”.

Easily.

dreamsoftypography: I’m working on a sci-fi short at the...

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:59:43 +1100

dreamsoftypography:

I’m working on a sci-fi short at the moment, and have been doing a cross between storyboards and concept art for the opening scene, figuring out the feel and pace.

This is my new blog, where I’m going to be looking at and showing some title design. This is just part of the sort of thing I’ll be posting, these ‘paintings’ of concept art and design. I’d really appreciate just a follow, as I won’t be posting much of it on here.

Behind the scenes from the other day! #wedding #horse #bride...

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:52:12 +1100

Behind the scenes from the other day! #wedding #horse #bride with #RebeccaDingPhotography

paris, france.

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:53:12 +1100

paris, france.

I love making test prints. #glossypaper #allthegasms

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:11:44 +1100

I love making test prints. #glossypaper #allthegasms

paris, france.

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 11:18:25 +1100

paris, france.

I’ve not posted very many photos lately. Sometimes moods hit you where all the artistic...

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:47:15 +1100

I’ve not posted very many photos lately. Sometimes moods hit you where all the artistic integrity that used to make you up is sucked dry like marrow, or milkshake through a straw.

Finally some of that warmth is returning to that spot just below my belly button, where I feel comfortable opening up and sharing my art with the world again.

Let’s get this show back on the road, kidlings.

So I made Serenity out of gingerbread. Um. Merry...

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 16:19:13 +1100

So I made Serenity out of gingerbread. Um.

Merry Christmas…

Coldplay’s release discography It may come as no surprise...

Sat, 22 Dec 2012 12:13:19 +1100

Coldplay’s release discography

It may come as no surprise to some of you that I’m a Coldplay fan. In fact, I’m a Coldplay freak. Here’s just a glimpse under the hood - every album, EP and single ever released by the band.

Favourite track, still Crest of Waves (from the Clocks Japanese single). What’s yours?

_{(This isn’t even getting into the live bootlegs, the covers, the demos and goodness knows what else…)}

incipient: I AM SO MAD AT FACEBOOK. SO MAD. WHY IS THE FEMALE...

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 23:00:40 +1100

incipient:

I AM SO MAD AT FACEBOOK. SO MAD. WHY IS THE FEMALE BODY SEXUALISED EVEN WHEN IT IS IN THE MOST INNOCENT AND BEAUTIFUL CONTEXTS? This image is no way sexual, it shows no ‘sexual organs.’Sure, it shows some breast and some nipple but it is the male mind that causes that on a woman to be inherently sensored simply because it may arouse a male and oh, god forbid a male is actually forced to be mature and restrain himself from desire. I don’t understand why images like this, one of my favourite images I’ve taken, should be taken down because it’s deemed inappropriate where as, if it were a male shirtless, a male breast, a male nipple, no one would have an issue. I don’t understand. Why are women taught to be so ashamed of their bodies and things that are natural and cannot be changed? We are all forced to be ashamed of the female beauty and uniqueness as it’s sexual, it’s dirty, it’s wrong, our flesh, our life giving flesh can’t be seen because it’s unclean. We’re unclean. People who say sexism is dead are very wrong, it’s ingrained in the patriarchy and I can’t ever see it going away. If the model imaged above had been wearing a bikini, nearly all the of breast was exposed but only the nipple covered by a small square of fabric, oh that would be considered decent. Women posing in tiny bikinis in sexualised positions, that’s okay, that’s Facebook material but oh no, a picture with artistic integrity? Get it down immediately, think of the children!

Women, reclaim your bodies.

I’m reblogging both this beautiful image and the above comment by the amazing artist because of the importance of this. Seriously. This image is staggeringly wonderful and i hope to one day be half the photographer she is.

Why are my nipples and breasts an issue? Why is this still an issue. Seriously.

So I was at Coldplay in Sydney last night, and kind of took some...

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:38:31 +1100

So I was at Coldplay in Sydney last night, and kind of took some panoramas…

colour grading befores/afters from my 2012 demo reel.

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 13:57:38 +1100

colour grading befores/afters from my 2012 demo reel.

2012 Demo Reel - elizabeth duck-chong finally released. my...

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 11:03:36 +1100

2012 Demo Reel - elizabeth duck-chong

finally released. my life’s work.

There is no doubt that Puberty Blues has a magic to it....

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 10:11:41 +1100

There is no doubt that Puberty Blues has a magic to it. I’ll be the first to admit that the combination of glaring sun, high winds and sand being found upon my person for days doesn’t tempt me in the way that it seems irresistible to so many others, and well, I was born in the early 90’s therefore I’m neither a baby boomer or an affiliate of beach culture, and yet I feel a deep lust for the time and place of the show.

Set in 1970s south Sydney, the show dives into the lives of two girls, Debbie and Sue, and their fulfilled wish to become friends with the popular girls at school by smoking, drinking and eradicating people they used to know in the same sense that they once were.The series is based upon your quintessential 70s teen novel of the same name, and so the ambling teenagers’ plot line doesn’t bring anything new to the table, yet the ambience held throughout the eight episodes is a formidable entity. Additionally, the large focus upon the lives and relationships of the adults in this world is brilliant, and pushes a great show into the realm of the fantastic.

It is a strange thing, to be peering into this unapologetically 70’s world and feeling a longing for a time and place, indeed a sense of nostalgia about it. This is one of the qualities in which the magic of Puberty Blues truly does come out. Everything I’ve been taught, as a child of the early 90s, about the 70’s has been from studying the photography and film of the era, partaking in the cultural revisiting of my parents, looking back at way back when. Even things like my grandfather’s photographs. All of these lend themselves towards the forming in my mind of this special kind of light, this certain way of seeing the world.

This is how filmmakers must think, especially cinematographers. We must visualise a time and a place not in setting, or movement, but by the capturing of light. John Brawley, the DP for Puberty Blues manages to do just this, capturing light that defines a decade and in turn, the way the decade shapes it’s inhabitants. Admittedly I found some of the focus searching annoying, moments such as where the lens would swing around to another character and the focus would take a second to shift and land. It could be seen as a stylistic choice, but for a DP it just seemed like a missed mark. For all my whinging on that, it did not ruin the visual of the show which was beautiful.

And the colour. Possibly the biggest muse of Australian 70s revival is the conjoined colour of a decade, this deep golden brown of fashion, of tanned skin and photography flares on rolls of teenagers’ film. What this series captures best is finding a modern balance between this nostalgic colour, this soaking saturation of golden-ness, and a modern edge. It’s tremendous.

Some elucidation is necessary here, on how healthy nostalgia of this kind happens to be. The show unflinchingly presents the feminist angle of the book and relationships that the girls find themselves in, something that the 1981 film didn’t achieve. At times I found myself horrified at their actions and their reactions, only to realise that these endeavours were a result of the contemporary culture, an highly sexist one. As with any show that attracts a large fan base of younger viewers, there is an habit of fans to become attached to the world in which the characters live, idolising their actions and situations in a very rose-tinted way. Some of the things presented in this show are calling out deeply negative aspects of communities, and missing the point of the commentary can actually make any media dangerous.

Whilst that may be the case, that does not detract from the series itself, which achieves a beautiful and not-at-all subtle social message on the time period of the setting, and of modernity, whilst never letting a message get in the way of the enjoyment that stems from watching the show. It should also be noted that whilst being entirely of a time (Puberty Blues is not subtle about being from the 70s), the show never feels outdated or irrelevant, an impressive feat from the directorial team and due greatly to the lead cast.

There are a large number of moments to look out for. Going to see the drive in film has several very positive and negative moments (for our characters that is, the scene is wonderful) and really brings back that illusionary nostalgia. I myself have been to a drive in theatre a couple of times, but the inaccessibility does make it a think of times past. In addition to this, so many of the night sequences are simply stunning. I’m a sucker for things shot at night in general and Brawley doesn’t let down these scenes.

Additionally, the dialogue in the scene between Debbie and Sue where they’re discussing Gary, and how him and Debbie just sit and talk, is perfect. It portrays two teenage girls in reality, crushing on and experimenting with boys whilst trying to figure out that four letter ‘L’ word, in a moment of sharing happiness. That was simply beautiful to watch. Finally, the scene in which we see Debbie’s family healing is, again, perfect. As they tell each other the thing they love most about each other, Debbie and her mother encounter a moment of true honesty and we happily see the entire series come to a close.

All in all, I’ve now watched the series twice now (and possibly a third time with my partner over the next few weeks) and it still hasn’t let me down. Whilst holding a very leisurely pace, the show never feels dead and though putting forwards several incredibly confronting moments, we never feel that they’re included for the value of shock, and rather that they display the beautiful dichotomy of teenagedom’s innocence and innocence lost. Australian TV has turned out an impressive resumé over the last few years, and Puberty Blues’ producers certainly haven’t fallen short in their previous offerings, but this remains one of the most hauntingly realistic teenage portrayals I’ve seen in a very long while, a true echo of cultures both past and present.

Ree, 2012 - Nikon, skin and acrylic paint. I’ve been...

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:40:37 +1100

Ree, 2012 - Nikon, skin and acrylic paint.

_{I’ve been neglecting this blog lately. I’ve posted nothing of any value. I’ll be changing that.}

_{Starting now.}