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Speaker 1: And leases.

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Speaker 2: How does it make it in wa to bring the

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Speaker 2: sun and make your start? So continuing our series, sticking

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Speaker 2: with me or make your staff.

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Speaker 3: The West is the place right now to be famous

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Speaker 3: and someone who has got themselves to just that position.

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Speaker 2: Lake Bovell is a TV and film unit manager. Hello Lake,

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Speaker 2: I like welcome, Hello, Hi, So Lake, what is a

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Speaker 2: unit manager?

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Speaker 1: Well, a unit manager is the person that manages the

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Speaker 1: unit for a film and TV production. And a unit

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Speaker 1: is so there's all the trucks, like the mini village

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Speaker 1: that travels alongside set. We've got the costume truck, the

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Speaker 1: hair and makeup trucks, the generator whout power water, the

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Speaker 1: catering area, the supplier truck, the green rooms. All of

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Speaker 1: that is called a unit and that travels alongside set

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Speaker 1: to service the set. So it's a place where everyone

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Speaker 1: can rest off, get their food, snacks, et cetera, et cetera. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: we sort of look after the crew and cast and yeah,

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Speaker 1: so I take care of all of that stuff with

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Speaker 1: the team.

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Speaker 4: Of course, I would say there would be because there's

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Speaker 4: a bigger responsibility.

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Speaker 1: It's quite the wrangling, right, yes, yeah, it is, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: quite a big footprint. It changes every day where we are,

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Speaker 1: the locations like the park up, the ground that we're on,

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Speaker 1: the trees over here. We have to consider all of

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Speaker 1: this stuff when we choose the location for the unit,

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Speaker 1: and then the councils that we're in and all of

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Speaker 1: those like logistical things. Yeah, that's in my brain.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, I betcha yeah, like you said, even changing.

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Speaker 4: So how did you get into this kind of work?

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Speaker 1: I have been doing festivals and events for probably fifteen years,

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Speaker 1: and I then sort of dipped my toe into the

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Speaker 1: comedy world and have done a lot of stage managing

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Speaker 1: and stuff. And a few years ago, Sasha Baron Cohen

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Speaker 1: was in Perth. I don't know if you guys heard

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Speaker 1: about that. Yeah, so yeah, he was sent over here

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Speaker 1: and by his Sydney team and because they couldn't travel

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Speaker 1: over and they're like, who do we know in Perth

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Speaker 1: that could deal with this, Let's send him to Lake.

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Speaker 1: So yeah, I did some stuff with him, like produced

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Speaker 1: and managed and coordinated everything for him that was happening

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Speaker 1: in Perth. And through that we were doing some live

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Speaker 1: stage shows and we had to do some filming so

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Speaker 1: you could change costumes between his characters between Alergy and

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Speaker 1: Bora and so I met some film people through that

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Speaker 1: we hired them to do the little interstitials and then yeah,

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Speaker 1: they called me us probably four months later and we're like, hey,

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Speaker 1: COVID's happening and we need someone to be a COVID coordinator.

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Speaker 1: No one's done this job in wa before, but we

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Speaker 1: reckon you could do it. So I was invited in

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Speaker 1: as a COVID coordinator right and then my now colleague

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Speaker 1: slash Mentor Mike Montague, who is the old school unit

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Speaker 1: manager of Western Australia, it was like, with all your skills,

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Speaker 1: why aren't you in unit? And I was like, what's unit?

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Speaker 1: And yeah? Then I just I was on the next

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Speaker 1: job with him and it's my dream job I did

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Speaker 1: not existed, and I love every second of it.

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Speaker 3: Well, it sounds like coordinate is the key word, because

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Speaker 3: it sounds like if you don't have everything coordinated and

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Speaker 3: ready to go when the cast and so on get there,

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Speaker 3: the whole thing's going to fall over.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. We like the glue of the operation really, Like

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Speaker 1: obviously it's a team that's a production office suit and

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Speaker 1: their first day DS and everyone does scheduling. Everyone's integral

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Speaker 1: to the operation. It's amazing, how like well oiled the

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Speaker 1: machine is. So I'm just one little part of it. Yeah. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's sort of like setting up a festival every day

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Speaker 1: and then packing down a festival and moving to another

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Speaker 1: location doing the same thing. Yeah, love communication, coordination being Yeah,

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Speaker 1: so what would an.

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Speaker 3: Average workday be like, I guess.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Yeah. We usually if we're moving locations, we'll start

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Speaker 1: maybe three hours before step on, which is when the

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Speaker 1: costume and make up people arrive to prepare for the

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Speaker 1: past when they arrive, so we'll drive the trucks to

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Speaker 1: a new location, set up everything. Very physical work. A

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Speaker 1: lot of planning goes into it before we actually land

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Speaker 1: at the location. And then yeah, so get everything ready.

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Speaker 1: Everyone arrives, and that's sort of when we can sort

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Speaker 1: of take a breath, and then lunch, breakfast happens, and

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Speaker 1: then lunch and then everyone goes to set and then

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Speaker 1: lunch and then yeah, the last sort of three or

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Speaker 1: four hours of the day filming, and then we start

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Speaker 1: to pack down and get everything ready to move to

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Speaker 1: the next location. So the days are often maybe twelve hours.

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Speaker 4: Last out parallels with the music industry, you know, with

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Speaker 4: a whole circus moving from place to place.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, exactly.

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Speaker 4: I'm sure it's just part of the job dealing with talent.

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Speaker 4: But what about egotistical talent or cast members that say,

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Speaker 4: there's the acusing and their trailers not they can't find it.

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Speaker 1: What do you do? You know, I haven't come across

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Speaker 1: that at all. Right, In w A, it's like everyone

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Speaker 1: we all work together. Usually there's a few crew members

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Speaker 1: that come in from Sydney and a lot of actors

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Speaker 1: come from all over Australia. But in w A the

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Speaker 1: industry is so small and so nice, like if you're

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Speaker 1: a jerk, you just don't get hired again. Yeah, it's

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Speaker 1: actually amazing. I haven't come across anyone that I that

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Speaker 1: in life.

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Speaker 3: The industry is getting bigger though, by the by the moment.

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Speaker 2: What are some of the projects that you've worked on recently.

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Speaker 1: I've just come off Scrubland season two and now I'm

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Speaker 1: looking forward to that. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, that should

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Speaker 1: be good. Yep, yeah she is, yep, yeah she is brilliant.

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Speaker 1: And now we are on to the twelve season three.

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Speaker 2: Oh oh yes, that's here as well.

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Speaker 4: Seems so quick, doesn't you just finished watching the second one?

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Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, well it takes six to eight months

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Speaker 1: to come out. We fi. Yeah, at the same time.

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Speaker 3: You know, like it's it's sort of York really was

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Speaker 3: the catalyst that got us talking about this and how

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Speaker 3: w Way is becoming such an attractive place to film

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Speaker 3: in because York. I think it was Craig Sylvie, you know,

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Speaker 3: the author of RUD. He described it as seamlessly cinematic.

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Speaker 1: Oh yeah, it's stunning. Yeah, so yeah, yeah, with all

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Speaker 1: the I guess this season's changing as well. You get

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Speaker 1: a lot of variety out there, and it's so close

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Speaker 1: to Perth that yeah, there's just a lot of benefits

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Speaker 1: for filming regionally close by the Perth.

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Speaker 2: Yep.

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Speaker 4: You talk about the importance of your job and you

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Speaker 4: were saying, oh, you just a small part of it,

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Speaker 4: but you're a bit like you know, I've been working

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Speaker 4: with directors like Stevie Kruz Martin. I mean you're so

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Speaker 4: integral to everything going right, aren't you.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I love Stevie. Yeah, yeah, it's just yeah, I

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Speaker 1: don't know how to describe it. Our job so multifaceted. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: it's all about communication, really, making sure everyone's on the

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Speaker 1: same page. Yeah. I pat the.

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Speaker 3: Detail, the fact that you said, I've just come off

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Speaker 3: working on Scrublands and now we're onto the twelve. Season

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Speaker 3: three speaks to obviously both your value in the industry

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Speaker 3: as in charge of the unit, but also it speaks

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Speaker 3: to just how much is happening here. What is your

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Speaker 3: advice for anyone who wants to get into the industry.

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Speaker 1: It's keep yourself available out there, talking to people. A

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Speaker 1: lot of it for you know, but you get to

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Speaker 1: know the people by doing the study and being in

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Speaker 1: the right courses and being in the right workshops that

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Speaker 1: are constantly available. So yeah, it's just talking to people,

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Speaker 1: really having the passion, looking, looking for your own opportunities,

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Speaker 1: and yeah, being a nice person to help you.

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Speaker 3: That is advice for life, absolute whatever you're doing.

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Speaker 4: Like, we now know what a unit manager is. But

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Speaker 4: we were talking yesterday a lot of filmmaking jargon and

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Speaker 4: running through gathers and dollies and groups.

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Speaker 2: But what the hell is the best boy?

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Speaker 1: Our best boy is old language to I see, so.

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Speaker 2: Right, yeah, I'm best credits anymore.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's getting phrased down.

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Speaker 2: Doesn't to I see? Well, Lake, give my love to

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Speaker 2: Sam Neil.

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Speaker 3: That's going to work for you and thanks so much

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Speaker 3: for joining us to talk about what you do and

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Speaker 3: how you got into it, Thinking, interacting you too,