Week 8: Channelling Don Draper
Hi and welcome to my blog! Over the 8 weeks of filming, I wrote about my experiences making the awesome television series, Man Up, including some of the amazing guys I got to talk to about what it means to be an Aussie bloke today. It’s been an incredible ride and I can’t wait to share it with you…
I can’t believe it. This is my last blog post. It’s been a hell of a ride, and I’ve learnt so much about myself and all types of Aussie blokes.
This week we filmed meeting with Adam Hunt to hear the script he wrote for the ad. It’s bloody good. I was a bit shocked he included the f-word, but it does the job and we’re going to give it a shot.
We did some casting for the ad at Triple M, and one of the guys who makes our coffee, made the cut! But everyone we spoke to at the office could have been in it – everyone had a story.
With a cast, a script and a visual style, we were ready to get shooting. We brought in Ben to direct the ad and he was so great at bringing out the emotion. After watching the shoot for a bit from the side, I thought I’d give it a go. There’s no point throwing other people in there if you’re not gonna give it a crack. And of course I got emotional very quickly.
After shooting was done, we put a rough cut together to screen for some of the important men that I’ve met throughout this journey. They were all guys that had struck a nerve with me throughout this series. I was thrilled to have them all in the same room to meet each other, too.
There was Rocket from Lifeline, John Harper of Mate Helping Mate, Dave from Mates 4 Mates and Steve from Mates in Construction. I was a little nervous playing the ad to them because I wanted them to know that I’d taken their journey in, I’d learned things and I was trying to help.
I sat next to China and Steve was on my furthest right. It was dark so I didn’t understand how much it had affected them all until we hit the lights. I could see then that Steve was very emotional. They’ve all been through some stuff.
I’m really excited for the rest of Australia to see the ad and I’ll always be grateful for the input of these four special men.
That brings me to the end! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my journey behind the scenes, and I’ll see you when the show premieres.
Make sure you’re getting out there and telling everyone about the show and help get our important message out far and wide – to Man Up is to Speak Up.
