TVC producer Annie Kinnane’s journey to short film presents opportunities for advertisers

Based on an Australian short story by Louise D’Arcy that won The Age Short Story Award in 2009, Flat Daddy is one of only three short film projects to receive production funding from Screen NSW as part of their Emerging Filmmakers Fund (EFF) for 2014.

The ‘flat daddy’ concept originates in the US, where families of soldiers have been using life size cut-outs since the Iraq war to better cope with a serving family member’s prolonged absence. The flat daddies become part of daily life back home, while the father serves his country hundreds of kilometers away.

The premise is both absurd but deeply effecting and it is this tension that this film explores.

Shot over four days against the moody backdrop of Lithgow in the Blue Mountains and starring award-winning actor Kat Stewart, (Offspring, Underbelly, Tangled) Flat Daddy tells the tale of a working-class Australian military family and how their life-size cut-out of their serving husband and father – meant to provide a sense of comfort – instead becomes a source of emotional upheaval.

Senior television commercials producer Annie Kinnane, intrigued by the uniqueness of the flat daddy concept stepped over into the world of drama to produce Flat Daddy with emerging director/writer Matt Holcomb, previously from Melbourne. Completing the 12-minute short as a calling card to get up his first feature, Holcomb brought with him executive producer Al Clark (The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Chopper, The Hard Word, Blessed and Red Hill) and long time collaborator Director of photography Geoffrey Hall ACS (Red Dog, Chopper, Drift, Dirty Deeds) as a further sweetner to secure Kinnane to the project.

Says Kinnane: “It’s a very big decision to do a short film of this calibre. There’s no production company behind us, Matt and I are partners in the production of Flat Daddy, so not only are we sacrificing any commercials earnings during development and production – which is nearly 8 months to date – but there’s also a requirement to make up any shortfall with personal funding. It’s a heavy price to pay mentally and financially, but hopefully the publicity generated during the production and any festivals wins makes it an appealing venture.

“When Matt and I first started talking about doing a short film – it was to secure him a place on one of the big Sydney production companies directorial roster and he was toying with another couple of concepts, which weren’t really floating my boat, but when he mentioned his brother had taken an option on an award-winning short story about a Flat Daddy, I knew people would feel the same intrigue about the idea I did.

“On the surface the idea is about a one-dimensional object  – an imposingly life sized picture of a person and the emotional influence it exerts on the ones who love him – but to me this is a story about self healing. Kate our lead character and her daughter (who could also represent her inner child) come face to face with her greatest fear of losing her husband but the negative emotion underpinning Kate is her lack of self esteem and her willingness to accept second best. The arrival of the flat daddy forces her to assess her current reality and decide if she’s going to continue playing the victim or choose another path. 

“This has been a huge personal journey for me. It was my first venture into getting government funding, the first time I’d completed a Screen Australia budget (there’s an achievement in itself), the first time I’d gone into partnership with a Director on a project, the first time doing a crowd funding project, the first time I had to invest my own money and the first time I had to lean so heavily on my peers and fellow crew technicians to support a project.

“We shot for four days in the Blue Mountains and had a 26-person professional crew half from my crew agency Top Techs with the other half from AusCrew and a bunch of my friends who I managed to talk into helping out along the way. Margot Davies came on board as my production manager – having never done that job before – in between her career move from Senior Account Manager at M&C Saatchi over to Optus. Josh Bryer also from M&C helped me out with invaluable marketing advice for our crowdfunding appeal.

“I’ve often thought professionally produced short films are underrated in the advertising industry and by Agency Creatives not only for the development of producers and directors, but also for the ability for the entire project to be creatively driven. Most of the crew cited as one of the main reasons for donating their time and equipment was for the chance to work on a “creative project” and one that told a meaningful story.

“In the current state of our production industry with too many small players and lack of appreciation for highly experienced production teams, it’s a wonderful opportunity to see a group of 30 people in a room given the time and space to let film magic happen.”

Even the lead actor Kat Stewart said it was so great to have the time to perform a script that was allowed to breathe, as opposed to the rapid-fire acting required on a TV show.

Says Kinnane: “Our film finance was pieced together with a generous grant of $30,000 from Screen NSW’s Emerging Filmmakers Fund; a crowd-funding campaign of $10,000; the “Flat Daddy Dance Party” which raised nearly $4,000; $5,000 from another sponsor (to come) and a chunk of our own money. Otherwise we could not have afforded to make it. I know some directors have invested up to $30,000 of their own money to fund their short. But after this experience I’m wondering if there could there be an opportunity for us to combine the advertising industry and the drama world, to begin pushing up the creativity level and maintain the film making professionalism required in this new realm of heavy consumer content consumption?

“We used to be two different worlds, with production crews that worked in one or the other, but could there be a new agency platform that could help fund the development of strong creative, production teams and stories?  How that looks I’m not sure, maybe a register of companies willing to invest in short films would be worth considering. They could be listed with the target markets they’re after, the likely budget spend and the ideal messaging (elegant product placement is probably the most suitable). If advertisers want more success with telling their brands’ stories, to emotionally impact and influence their audience, then I think it’s time we start thinking outside the box as to how to pool our resources, encourage a higher level of creative development process and provide a source of reliable and realistic funding.”

Flat Daddy is currently in the post phase with mastering expected by mid November. After its completion it will be entered into festivals around the world ideally for a successful 2-year run. During that time, the film can only be seen via personal viewings with the producer or director. www.facebook.com/flatdaddyfilm.