The latest from the post-production suite for "Bunyip"

In the Creature Workshop

In the footsteps of Stan Winston, on the eve of a re-shoot

Here at Team Bunyip, we've spent the last year whipping our footage into some semblance of a creature feature... with one slightly worrying problem... we heard laughter during the creature moments in our test screening last April.

Not the hysterical, fearful tittering of an audience on the verge of a fear-induced hysteria, but more the stifled giggles of a bunch of school kids who've noticed toilet paper stuck to the teacher's shoe.

You may be surprised to discover that this was not quite the response we were going for. Our scary movie was in danger of being - well - not very scary.

So, in the existential malaise following said screening, Miri and Denby girded their loins and went hunting for solutions. The problem wasn't so much that Kirill Nadochiy's design wasn't terrifying (it is), or that Alex-Michael Petty's execution didn't make us tremble in our boots (it does), it was a failing in our original approach. Back in 2012, one of our less celebrated budget-driven decisions was to build only certain parts of our bunyip, and attempt to 'cheat' with lights and camera angles to give the impression of a full creature. While many of our hair-brained plots in 2012 were successful, alas, this one was not.

The result was more reminiscent of Jim Henson than Stan Winston.Read: Muppets more than Aliens.

After many painful hours in the editing suite, Miri, Andy and Denby accepted that the problem could not be resolved without some kind of re-shoot - so we called Alex in LA and he canvassed the town for an SFX house that could bring the entire bunyip suit to life. There were plenty of options, but with a price-tag of about $100,000, we found ourselves back at the drawing board.

With Miri now decidedly preggers in Seattle and our team split by oceans and the commitments of new projects, we hatched a plan to augment the working parts of Arthur the Bunyip with a newly-constructed body in Sydney.

When nobody responded to our ads for SFX expert assistance, the job fell to Denby and newly-crowned Associate Producer Brinley Meyer (who also plays Amy in the film).

Unleashing papier-mache skills that have laid dormant since Grade 2, the girls set about creating a happy ending to the somewhat bemusing tale of Arthur the Bunyip. 

Here are some exclusive BTS shots of our progress to date - and we can't wait to give you the next instalment of this tale after our pickups shoot next weekend.