Olivier Marcolin is a DOP, an editor and a video journalist. He runs Byron Film Pty Ltd, a production company providing film solutions for a creatively competitive future. With his partner Bryony, he also runs The Pod a Co-Working space in the Byron Art & Industry Estate.
Olivier has worked with many Screenworks members and supported countless local community initiatives as well as facilitated numerous hands-on audio visual workshops in Australia and abroad. We spoke to Olivier about his work and aspirations;
SW: Tell us a bit about what you do in the Screen Industry, your business and how you got started.
OM: Byron Film specialises in corporate and commissioned documentaries. We bring genuine creativity to visual stories, adding credibility and interest. We simply will not deliver a boring story!
SW: What’s the project you have most enjoyed working on, and why?
OM: All the projects that I have worked on have both their magic and creative challenges; I simply don’t start something if I can’t put my heart and soul into it. These hurdles were evident especially at the beginning of my career, when I felt my personal creativity was being judged … (I guess, it is still the same today but it just gets easier over time!)
The two things that I enjoy the most are:
1) Delivering the best images I can
2) Working and collaborating with other video/cinematographers
SW: How long have you been living and working in the Northern Rivers?
OM: I arrived in Byron by train probably about 12 years ago, I left and came back a few times, but I’ve been consistently living here for 5 years now.
Byron Film Pty Ltd is only 2 years old, so it’s a young company, but the name had existed for a while before that. My business partner Oliver Buckworth created the name when he was studying at SAE.
Oliver and I met few years ago when we were both studying at SAE. We collaborated on a number of projects together and then went on to take full management of the Byron Film business and made it the company it is today.
SW: What is important to you in running a successful and creative regional business/ working regionally?
OM: Community! It’s definitively not a very original answer but this is where it’s all at when you live in this region. Without the local filmmakers to adopt me and refer me for jobs, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
People like Brendan Shoebridge (Smiling Dragonfly), Andy Bambach (In Your Face Production), Jonatan & Sebastian (Rest Your Eyes Production) and many more come to mind. Without these people to help with the initiation process, Byron Film would not have started it’s humble establishment in the Northern Rivers.
Regarding inspiration, we operate from the best creative studio in Byron Art & Industrial Estate: The Work Pod. My partner Bryony and I started this project earlier this year – it is a vintage inspired Co-Working space for freelance and startups. We aim to provide the comfy studio environment which we have been dreaming of for years, for our own business and others, to keep growing and actively supporting private & community projects in and around the Byron region.
So come and check out The Work Pod – join us for some delicious free (fresh & French) croissants every Tuesday @ The Work Pod!
SW: Tell us a bit about what you have been working on most recently?
OM: The two major projects we recently delivered with a notable client’s satisfaction, was a 20 minute retrospective documentary for the Rainbow Serpent Festival in rural Victoria, I believe this showcases some of the best work we have done.
Even more recently we handed over to Southern Cross University, 22 interviews and 1 promo video for a pilot program launched by the Australian Department of agriculture to encourage Small Scale Farming Cooperation. The full project was filmed in one day, then edited, reviewed and delivered with in three days.
We worked in collaboration with other local cinematographers & editors (Seb & Jonatan from Rest Your Eyes, Dale Kim @ The Verse, Pancho Colladetti & George Martin, our in-house chief editor).
This project has been one of the most stimulating I have taken part in. The planning, collaboration and the necessity to listen to each other was paramount to achieving such a high volume delivery in such a short amount of time.
And believe it or not, it felt like a breeze in the end. I guess thats what happens when you work with like-minded top operators!
I am attracted to the challenge and the adrenaline of fast paced projects such as these, I have a big thirst for learning, testing boundaries and improving my skill from each new project to the next. Making movies is a great place to be, and I feel very blessed to have the job I have.
SW: Is there anything else that you would like to share with us about you and your work?
OM: The next steps are to take part in even bigger projects and to push our comfort zone even more, to keep learning and supporting local groups, business, filmmakers & editors and maybe getting involved in feature film shoots…any leads are welcome…
Olivier Marcolin aka Noli
