Newsletter #9 - What do the experts think? + The GOAT Game of Thrones Episode + Sustainability with Banish
Welcome back to the monthly Machine Studio newsletter. It’s Sam Boneham tapping away at the board here. Let’s get stuck into what’s been happening in the esteemed month of July.
ABA TVC – Scammers Beware
On set for the ABA TVC
We wrapped up production this month on a TVC for the Australian Banking Association through our new client, Visibility. With the creative written by copy legend, Sandy Peacock. The brief was to capture how scammers feel about the new ‘Confirmation of Payee’ technology being rolled out by Australian banks to prevent scammers from doing their dirty work.
To bring this one to life, I wanted to draw on a TV Series from a few years back - Mr. Robot. Especially when it came to the framing of our scammer/villains - leaving heaps of headspace above the characters in order to reflect a sense of pressure weighing down on them as they try to dupe Aussies of their hard-earned. Think frantic keyboard-slamming, swearing (censored, of course), and mounting frustration as these seasoned cyber villains get utterly dunked on by the simple yet effective ‘Confirmation of Payee’ tech.
We leaned heavily into shadowy aesthetics—each scammer framed in isolation, drenched in moody lighting, surrounded by cables, screens, and general hacker clutter. Shout-out to Production Designer, Flora Hadaway, who transformed each set into believably grungy scammer dens in record time.
Flora Hadaway and Nik Damianakis on set
We shot this one on a Sony Burano with Cooke SP3 full-frame lenses - the images look incredible thanks to our DP, Hugh O’Brien, 1st AC Christine Anderson and Gaffer - Nik Damianakis. The edit was smooth as ever with our in-house lead editor Damien Boneham at the helm. His attention to detail and keen sense of timing let the TVC sing in all its glory. I was very stoked that the clients were happy to go with Rimsky Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee as the soundtrack to this one. It’s a classic track and a definite earworm that Damo will probably be happy to part with now that post-production is complete.
Seeing our cast deliver increasingly animated (and unpublishably explicit) performances, only to cut almost everything but their visible meltdown, was one of those uniquely enjoyable directorial experiences. Keep your eyes peeled for it soon—online and free-to-air.
Lottie Dalziel, founder of Banish
Company Profile: Banish
I recently met the creator of Banish, Lottie Dalziel, on a shoot. Banish is a sustainable living, recycling and enviro education company based in Sydney. Their goal is to make sustainable living easy for everyone. I personally can always be improving on my sustainability practices at home and in the office. As I’m typing this I’m going to make a commitment to break the habit of disposable coffee cups. I don’t know when or how they got back into my day-to-day, but they did—embarrassing!
Anyway, back to Lottie, she’s tackling the challenges around sustainability in all sorts of ways. One interesting concept was around the idea that most people think living sustainably is too expensive for the average person. She decided to address that stereotype by writing a book called 365+ Ways to Save the Planet and Your Money at the Same Time, the book “offers you all the best ideas to help you be kind to the earth and your bank account.” Genius!
Glued: What I’m Watching – Revisiting GOT
Brienne of Tarth is played by Gwendoline Christie, and the Hound is played by Rory McCann © HBO
Across July, I dove headfirst back into Westeros, rewatching the entirety of Game of Thrones. Yes, all eight seasons, because why not? On a full rewatch, Season 4 is my favourite. And I’m going to make a massive call and say that the GOATED ep is Season 4, Episode 10 – "The Children."
Brienne and The Hound's brutal battle over Arya is simply epic. The series avoids combining Brienne and Arya as scene partners apart from a sparring session at Winterfell watched on by Littefinger in Season 7 Ep 4 (Which I felt was a little too fan servicey). And rightly so— they are both independent warriors who can seriously kick ass, there’s no real need for them to go on a journey together.
Back to the clash between Brienne and The Hound - there’s something beautiful about the dishonourable Hound defending Arya and therefore stopping Brienne (the most honourable) from fulfilling her duty to the Stark girls. I could probably go on for another 1000 words about the show but here’s another couple of reasons why EP10 SEASON 4 is my favourite:
Tyrion’s confrontation and subsequent murders of Shae and Tywin remain shocking and somehow at the same time fun?
Bran finally reaches the Three-Eyed Raven - which creates the head-scratcher “What the F**K is Bran going to do now?”
Jojen Reed, played by Thomas Brodie-Sangster (the little fella from Love Actually, all grown up) is killed in the struggle to reach the Three-Eyed Raven SOB.
Jon Snow is saved from the clutches of the Wildlings by Stannis Baratheon and the blessed Onion Knight.
It's episodes like this that remind me how rare a show of this calibre really is. Will anything ever hit the same way again? Honestly, not sure. Next up, I'm tackling the book Tales of Dunk and Egg, with an eye on HBO’s adaptation—A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms— I’m a bit of a Thrones junkie.
THERION launches 31 July
Side Quest: THERION Kickstarter Launch – July 31
In other big news, Damien and I are officially launching our graphic novel THERION on Kickstarter this July 31st. This one’s been a labour of love—eight years of world-building, late-night plotting, and Damien meticulously crafting every character and creature in our dark-fantasy world of Davgar.
It all started with a road trip across Mongolia (as you do), where we first dreamt up stories of war, magic, and monstrous beasts roaming forgotten lands. Eight years, countless drafts, and collaborations with incredible artists later (Tahlia Pearce on interiors, Ching Yeh on covers, Amy Chen on illustrations), we’re finally ready to bring Issue 01 to life.
We’ve also released a special behind-the-scenes video on YouTube. It covers the creative process, our inspirations, and the ups and downs of making THERION a reality. Even if graphic novels aren’t your thing, it's a fun glimpse behind the creative curtain.
The Kickstarter campaign kicks off July 31st. There's merch, special editions, and plenty more planned.
Check out the making of video—here—and if you feel inclined, we'd be thrilled to have your support.
That's July wrapped. As always, thanks for reading!
Sam Boneham