The setting
The film takes place in northern NSW landscape, where mountains, ravines, sheer cliffs, deep forests and huge rocky outcrops dominate the landscape. From deserted back roads where Ben and Nina hitch, to dark caves and endless forests, the action unfolds across extreme landscapes.Actor Vincent Stone, “There were a few surreal Deer Hunter moments up in the mountains at Nundle. We were on this sheer cliff miles from anywhere and an amazing orange sunset formed, like an enormous round 3D ball. It was glowing and suspended in the sky. The Director put Nathan and I on the cliff and we played with various creepy shots, our forms silhouetted by the sunset.”
The Crew
In the tradition of the classic films of the seventies, The Backpacker was shot with a lean crew. The shoot consisted of weeks of trekking up mountains, scrambling along cliff faces and crawling in caves to get an amazing sequence of shots.
Asked about why he didn’t use a bigger crew, Director Dion Martin Boland responded, “Have you seen where we took this film? We were scaling 50 metre high banyan roots clinging to rock faces, with our gear on our back. There’s no way we could have done it with a bigger crew. Small and agile, that’s what we were.”
Thanks to JVC for supplying the fantastic JVC GY201E HDV camera from their Pro range, and Fujinon for providing a superb lens.
