Our online film project, portraitmode.org, has reached another milestone, with its 50th portrait going up this week. Baltimore based electronic musician Dan Deacon was our latest subject. Dan provides a wonderful 'full-circle' moment for Urtext - his performance in 2009 at our old studio on Grenfell Street was perhaps the venue's most memorable night.
Portrait Mode was winner of the 2011 SA Screen Award for Innovation in Digital Media.
In November and December, Urtext Films, in conjunction with Clemenger BBDO (Adelaide & Sydney) embarked on a major project - to create 32 web videos for Mitsubishi Motors Australia, taking potential customers through the many features of their 'Diamond Advantage' program, that includes Capped Price Servicing, an excellent warranty program, and genuine servicing and parts.
The campaign was created entirely using real-life Mitsubishi workers. After all, who knows the product better than those who work with it every day? The project follows on from a year filled with Urtext specialising in 'real-world' talent, including campaigns for Elders, Adelaide City Council, SA Water, and the Cancer Council. Our videos are now live on Mitsubishi's website @ www.mitsubishi-motors.com.au/diamond-advantage .
Over the coming month a number of TV Commercials are being created from these web videos. We find it a great example of our content finding continued life long after the original brief has been fulfilled.
Urtext is producing a TVC for a national restaurant chain and we need featured extras:
ROLES AVAILABLE: Males, 14-40 years old Females, 18-40 years old Children (boys and girls), 7-10 years old Family (Mum, Dad, 2 x kids) Waitress, 18-23 years old (must be able to carry 4 plates)
DATES If cast, you must be available for either:
Thurs Jan 5th, 2011 or Tues Jan 10th, 2011
PAY Featured extras will be paid a flat rate of $40 per hour, with a minimum 4 hour call. Unpaid background extra roles also available for those wanting to gain some on-set experience.
INTERESTED? Please contact
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with the following details:
- a recent headshot - your name, age, address, contact phone number and your availability.
Like usual, a long gap between updates is usually a good indication that we're keeping very busy.
And September/October has been no exception. We are currently wrapping up post-production on some large scale web campaigns for Mitsubishi Motors (via Clemenger BBDO) and Cancer Council, and we are about to start on a film project with University College London (via Lightbulb Digital).
Our Austrade film which took us to Queensland for a day's shooting is finishing up, and we also travelled to Melbourne with Josh from Collect Magazine in order to start taking Portrait Mode national.
Aurora's still going strong on YouTube, as well as our music video for local band Tracer, as the Tracer boys tear it up on their European tour. Regular Urtext collaborators Mayfield are also on their European tour, off the back of recording their new album. We also wish our resident composer Chris Larkin the best of luck as he heads off to the US in search of fame and glory.
A couple of Rosie's films - 15/Love, The Devil & The Deep Blue Sea and The Beards' music video have all been nominated for awards in the inaugural Barossa Valley Film Festival. So grab a glass of wine and head down to the Barossa if you want to see them play amongst some great local and international films.
We've got some exciting projects coming up for November, so stay tuned for some cool updates.
Matt's released a new showreel of his commercial directing work, incorporating some recently completed projects.
There is an emphasis on the work that Matt's been doing with 'real life' subjects, in particular his interviewing work. Give us an email at
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if you would like a DVD copy of the showreel. And head over to matthewsalleh.com to see more of his work.
Local Adelaide band 'Tracer' recently teamed up with Matt and Rosie to film their first music video, for the first single 'Too Much' off their first album 'Spaces in Between'. The video's launch comes as the band head off to Europe for a three month tour.
Directed by Matt, produced by Rosie, with Mike Tessari and Chris Kellett as camera assistants and Leigh Kenyon on audio playback.
Last night we premiered our new music video 'Eyes', made for the SightForAll charity group, at the AP Bond gallery on Magill Road. With about 130 in attendance, the clip, featuring local indigineous artist 'Caper', was a great success. Here's a little info on the organisation and the event:
SightforAll, in conjunction with the Aboriginal Health Council of SA, the My Eye Health Program and the Adelaide Football Club, is working hard to fight eye disease in the outback communities of South Australia. Blindness rates in Aboriginal adults are six times the mainstream rates and so eye health education is critical in preventing visual loss from conditions such as diabetes and trachoma.
Our goal is to raise awareness of the prevention and treatment of eye disease in a way that is effective and culturally appropriate.
‘Eyes on the Outback’ will celebrate the launch of our musical video ‘Eyes’, highlighting the concerning problem of eye disease amongst Aboriginal people. Written and performed by indigenous hip-hop artist Colin Darcy (a.k.a. Caper) and produced and filmed by Urtext Film productions, the video features Aboriginal players from the Adelaide Crows and Port Power and will be broadcast widely through the outback communities.
