My Mardi Gras Parade Experience!

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I think Facebook is going into melt down with the notifications, I’ve literally had over 1500 today with people liking pics and lots of beautiful comments I cant keep up with them all it really was an incredible experience and I am so overwhelmed with all the beautiful comments!

 

Now that the dust has settled a little I really don’t know where to begin and I want to tell you all how very proud I am to have had the opportunity to create such an amazing float for this years Mardi Gras it was my 4th float in the 4 years involved in the Parade and I couldn’t have been more happy with the result!

 

I don’t do anything half hearted as you know its all or nothing and I’m pretty sure I succeeded in creating something visually pleasing for all! From the moment we started getting ready at The Oxford Art Factory where the vibe was like no other everyone was so excited and to all get ready together and then walk thru the streets to get to our float was surreal!

People were in awe stopping to take pics and as we hit Hyde Park people came out of the woodwork hehe they loved it! Time flew and we only had a couple of hours to enjoy everyone’s company partying in the Float Pit area before it was time to take off and on our way we went! So overwhelming to say the least…people screaming at us and I’m impressed I didn’t even stack it in my 7 inch heels with a 2 inch platform! To see my whole crew on the parade route all lit up with the biggest smiles had to be one of the best days of my life!

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The costumes were spectacular and the team from Housewives On Fire went above and beyond the call of duty to make us standout! And standout we did! A huge thank you to Max, Dawn and Olivier who designed and created each costume by hand and it wouldn’t have been easy with 115 costumes to make!

 

Here are a few stats about our costumes and what went into them for 115 people!

– cut 1300 strips of plastic,  -frilled1.1 km of cellophane strips
,  -used 6500 rivets,  
-used 1200 batteries
,  -used 720 set of lights,  
- did 240 wrist bands
,  -glued 9000 gems to bling our costumes
,  -glued 400 meters of bling strips,  -90 meters of plastic bone,  
-sewed 8km according to our thread count, -used 120 metres of glitter plastic, -70 meters of thick plastic
, -62 tubes of glue
, 
- made Sophie Monk costume in 1.5 day

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They truly deserve every bit of accolade for the success of my HOT KANDI float because I couldn’t have done it without them!

I’d also like to thank Brown Sugar Airlab. who gave her time and energy into painting 2 lovely ladies for a full body-paint and also the crew from The Makeup Technicians who brought a team of ladies in to help with the body-painting of the whole float crew did an absolutely amazing job with everyone! Also to Johnny Thailand who captured everything on camera I cant wait to see all the pics he has taken they are going to be amazing.

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And to all my Sponsors and everyone that was involved with the float I truly THANK YOU ALL from the bottom of my heart for making the HOT KANDI float a huge success because if you guys weren’t there for me then the float would never have eventuated! I have a huge task of lifting the bar for next years float I know that much! Already have an inbox full of people wanting to come on it! It should be fun asking Mardi Gras if I can extend the limit from 100 to 1000?

LOL 

Trishy Dishy xx

 

 

 

Featured Review by FilmInk

We were recently contacted by FilmInk, Australia’s leading and longest running movie magazine, who wanted to do a featured review on Witness My Journey and in particular Steve Rogers, Director.  We think it’s a great write up, and certainly captures an overall snapshot of the story so far.

Feature Review by Filmink

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FilmInk receives in excess of 700,000 page impressions per month and with over 7000 subscribers, our feature is sure to be noticed!

Count Your Blessings!

This comes to mind when we have something that disrupts our normal life, I know that we can’t control our future, and must realise that everything in our lives is in a constant state of transition. It is important to learn to roll with the punches of life (go with the flow of life) and stay positive. By staying positive we will be better able to handle the low points in life, which will allow us to focus on the many blessings that surround us.

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Early Detection is Best

4 - Version 2Late last night I found out a friend of mine has Breast Cancer and it came as quite a shock to me as she is a fit 32yr old gorgeous girl and has implants (yes don’t think you won’t get the disease because you have implants). She will be going in for surgery tomorrow to remove the breast. I’m just posting this as a warning to all females who think they won’t escape this nasty disease because they think they are too young or it’s not in their family so they wont get it!

Your wrong….anybody at any age can get it so please make sure you check yourself for any lumps or unusual feelings in your breast…. as earlier they find it the better chance you have of removing it and getting on with your life! My friend only found the lump 2 weeks before Xmas and because the cancer is in a few different spots in her breast the best way to get rid of it is to have a Mastectomy and then Chemotherapy.

Just a little heads up ladies! Breast Cancer is a fact of life and early detection does save lives! I’m living proof! Please don’t ignore any signs in your body see a Doctor if you need any questions answered! xx

Technology vs. Traditional

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I think sometimes how different my kids are growing up in this Century where one touch of a button on the computer virtually gets you anything your heart desires and how different I was raised where the computer never existed in fact most things we take for granted today never existed! We were content with the simple things in life back then but it seems in this day and age contentment is hard to find! We are always striving for something bigger and better and get ourselves into more debt just so we can keep up with todays world and chase the dream that material things make us happy! When quite often they might give you a temporary feeling of contentment but never seem to be happy with what we have!

Its a tough old world at times and to be honest its a bit of a worry to know what will happen with the generations to come all i really want is to raise my children in a happy home where they are taught to treat people as they want to be treated and that we are all equal no matter what religion, race or sexual preference one might have. Learn to appreciate what we have and stop worrying about what we dont have and take time to enjoy the simple things in life……

See this is what happens when I cant sleep! My brain works overtime! Lol

“Acceptance”

I just don’t understand this. Parents raise their kids for years, & love them unconditionally…until their child says those two words to their parents…”I’m gay.”

Why does the notion of their child being gay scare parents so bad? It doesn’t mean that their child is any different than who they were the day before. In fact, it shows great strength for a child to come out to their parents. It also shows the desire for support & acceptance from their parents. So why do so many parents choose to turn their backs? It just breaks my heart whenever I hear this has happened to someone.

I have just been speaking to a friend who is just ‘coming out’ of being openly gay to his family and cant believe what they have put him through! They will not accept him being gay he has now left home and they want him to change his name and sign a declaration that he has left the family! They have used physical violence on him and even called a witch doctor to make him snap out of it…. they are basically disowning him because he has told them he is gay! I know many of my gay friends have not “come out” to their families for fear of rejection from them!

I just want to reiterate that I know that not “all” parents are un-accepting of their child’s sexual orientation when they come out. I really hope that the MAJORITY of parents will love & support their kids no matter what. I’m just referring to the ones who chose to disown their kids over something that their kids have no control over.

Disowning one’s own child over their sexual orientation is believing in hatred over love. Hatred may be unfounded and based on stereotypes or religious dogma, but when someone tells another that they will not be loved because of who they are, that love is conditional and is a decision based upon hate and not love.

I can relate to the disowning family bit (because of religious reasons) my family disowned me but why a family cant show unconditional love and love their child no matter what sexual orientation they are I don’t understand!

A Stroll in the Park and a Kamikaze dog!

We were now on the home stretch.  Just one more day/night shoot with Ms. Karr and it was a wrap!  Don’t lose it now, everyone stay focused.  I wanted a couple of shots of Trish walking down Darlinghursts’ Oxford Street and a re-enactment of that first meeting from where this all began, The Colombian.   But first, since Trish lives in a different ‘time zone’ to me, I decided to capture the electric buzz of Sydney by night.  Mark and I jumped in a cab armed with his Canon 5D Mark III, a box of lenses and a seriously absurdly expensive tripod.   It would have been remiss of me to make a film in Sydney and not include its harbour.  It has all been done before of course, but at night?  So while Trish prepared her makeup and hair, we photographed every landmark in a 5k radius.  The Canon 5D proved perfect and we had no trouble matching later in post.

With some truly awesome pictures in the can, we returned to Oxford Street around 10.30pm.  In an attempt to minimize hassles over release forms, we posted a notice on social media for a Trishy Dishy rent-a-crowd and everyone, including Trish, was waiting for our return.  The shoot went brilliantly and we wrapped bang on midnight having captured the insatiable vibe that Trish leaves in her wake wherever she goes.

I told Trish to go home, get a good night sleep and we’d be at her place at 08.30 for the final stroll in the park with her dog Kandi and her husband Johnny.   Too easy!

I knew something was not as it should be the moment I pulled up outside Trish’s.  Mark as usual was already setting up.  I could smell sausages cooking on the BBQ, wafting down the street and I could see their front patio obstructed by large, full, black bin liners.  This was not usual!  Clearly someone had been up at the crack of dawn ensuring the house looked immaculate.  But why … we weren’t shooting at the house!  The ever-chirpy Johnny warmly welcomed us at the door beckoning us towards the rear spotless patio, where enough sausages had been cooking to feed the crew of Ben-Hur.  “Where’s Trish?”  “Want a drink, beer, coffee, tea?”  “Coffee, thanks, where’s Trish?”  In typical Aussie fashion, “all good, she’s just walked in”  “Just walked in!!”  Okay, sure, we were a tad early, it was only 8am but Trish had only just now returned from the previous nights shoot.  I knew right then, if Trish’s head hit that pillow, I was doomed.

Not sure what a bull racing up the stairs in a china shop would actually look like, but I reckon my impersonation wasn’t too far away!  Trish’s head was about to hit that ever-so comfy, beckoning pillow when I yanked it from reach, suggesting, very calmly, that she shower, apply fresh make-up, put on something casual and meet us downstairs as soon as possible, for a nice relaxing walk.

Frankly it was the fresh make-up request which irritated Trish the most.  For she had spent a small fortune hiring a professional make-up artist to apply expensive eyelashes on her for the previous nights shoot which she didn’t now want to take off.  But this of course would have caused me obvious continuity issues.  Fresh make up it was then.

I had mentioned to Johnny, time allowing I’d like to grab a couple of shots of him with the children.  Well … time allowed, in fact it was two hours!

Unlike the good old days of shooting a film from scavenged s16mm or 35mm ends, this was only ‘memory space’ so I decided we may as well set Johnny up, cooking his already overcooked sausages and just let him chat.  One word: awesome!  Johnny talked of how he and Trish had first met, the parties, the breast cancer, the religion, everything.  And it was gold.

FB still#9Not only that, I saved a dollar or two of the catering budget … albeit, lunch was ‘sausage with sauce’ or ‘sausage no sauce!’

 

 

Revitalised, refuelled and gear packed away, Trish bounces down the stairs looking remarkably refreshed.  “C’mon you ****ers, let’s finish this film.”

We’d deliberately chosen a grassed area alongside the harbour wall, with the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.  En-route Trish allowed her dog  Kandi to run free.   It didn’t occur to me to suggest a change of wardrobe.  Why should it?  We’d already done a wardrobe check back at the house and all I required was a shot of Trish and Johnny walking lovingly beside the waters edge.  But I failed to plan for every eventuality!

There we were walking along just chatting about the previous night’s shoot when all of a sudden Trish yells “Kandi” and we all turn to see what appears to be the tail of a dog disappear over a large sandstone wall.  383744_10150567143351948_2089365647_nYes, that was the day Kandi decided to see whether she could swim!  But why not a pond, a swimming pool?  Why did Kandi have to choose the Sydney Harbour?  “She can’t swim” yelled Trish.  “Johnny, you’ll have to jump in after her.”  “Are you kidding me!”  Without even hesitating, Johnny throws himself over the wall and into the cold, deep water below.  He grabs the dog and hands her up to a panicked Trish.  Kandi was fine, shaken, but just fine.  Johnny on the other hand, clambering back over the wall … was completely soaked!   Bloody good swimmer mind, but soaked!!

Now we could have returned to Trish’s for a change of clothing but we were, by now, already some 4 hours behind schedule and Johnny in his customary, cool, calm, collected manner was game to just carry on.  What a sport!  The shot worked well and the only thing anyone might actually notice is that Johnny’s slightly darker than normal jeans!

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A stressful day/nighter but it was indeed a wrap.

Penis Cakes and a Prosthetic Hand.

After 9 months my film’s wrap was in sight. Just a couple of final set up’s and I’d be out of Trish’s hair.  Filming had gone well, so I saw no reason why this should be any different!

It was Trish’s birthday – an excellent opportunity to get her friends on film.  We needed a big birthday cake of course … and Trish being Trish wanted a massive …  Penis cake!  Where the hell was I to get a sponge cake in the shape of a penis?  I tracked down a couple of local bakers. “Hello, I’m Steve Rogers, I’m the director of a film called ‘Witness My Journey’ and I’d like you to bake me a 2ft sponge cake in the shape of an upright penis.  “You want me to bake you an erected penis?”  “Yes, please.”  Needless to say the first baker hung up on me, but the second, clearly having a far better sense of humour, rose to the challenge.  No pun intended!

The cake was delivered to my home and frankly, was outstanding.  It was truly a work of ‘icing’ artistry.

From here, things went downhill.  The taxi journey to the venue was without question one of the most stressful I have ever encountered.  I couldn’t blame the taxi driver as he executed every manoeuvre with perfection.  None of this care however was enough to prevent my penis cake from melting and thus drooping to one side.  Peeping through the top of the box revealed a cake more akin to the Leaning Tower of Pisa than an upright penis!  Leaning we could deal with but then … plop!  “Oh no, please no,”  I could feel one entire side of the cake had collapsed against the side of the cardboard box.  This was not a good sign.

We arrived at the venue, heart pumping.  My wife and I carefully carried the partially-collapsing penis into the foyer where we were immediately met by Trish’s husband, Johnny.  Now Johnny is one of those cool, calm and collected types, but he immediately detected something was not as it should be.   “It’s the cake, it’s collapsing.”  Johnny, a builder by trade, takes one look at the penis, “we need to underpin it.”  Johnny sets off for anything he could use to stabilize the cake, whilst my wife went to buy some icing-mix.   DSC07740

In times like these you don’t need a smart-arse, but there’s always one, and a friend suggested he had the answer “a couple of dozen Viagra tablets should do the trick!  Yes, thank you Tim.

Unfortunately we couldn’t save the penis cake, the damage was too grave, even for Johnny’s building skills!

 

 

 

Thankfully, DP Mark had remained focused on the job in hand and was set up ready to shoot the ‘nurse act’ performed by the very talented and stunning Ms. Tessa Williams.

Now this act involved copious amounts of Ribena, better than fake blood apparently, so a large plastic sheet was placed on the floor to protect the carpet.  My wife who was trying to keep guests from scuffing up the plastic sheet began to enjoy a round of applause, clearly being mistaken for the act.  But where was Tessa?  With a cleared performance area, my wife ran off in search, finding her back stage “you’re on, everyone’s waiting for you” “but where’s my prosthetic hand?”  “You have a prosthetic hand and you’ve lost it?”  “Yes, I can’t go on stage without my hand.”  No, of course not, thought my wife, whilst trying to see in the dark corridor what a handless arm actually looked like.  But then she noticed, Tessa had two arms and two hands!  “No, it’s a prop hand … I’ve lost my prop hand.”  “Can’t you improvise?” asked my wife.  “No, it’s part of the act.”  So, imagine there’s my wife, running around, asking everyone if they happen to have come across a spare hand?  This missing hand was finally located on the back shelf of the bar.

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The act was amazing. Check out the opening scenes of my film, this was the only bit I could get away with.  Wanted to keep this PG!