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Filming costs fall and horror stalks warehouse
The Age, 18th July 2007

FILM director George Miller predicts rapidly advancing technology will "democratise" the expensive, complicated art form he used to create The Man From Snowy River.

In Campbellfield, shooting supernatural horror film Prey, the director said an adaptable location and cheap, high-definition video cameras and stock had powered the $3.5 million production.

"I mean, film. Sixty minutes of 16-millimetre film and processing, typically you're looking at between $5000 and $7000," he said. "The same thing in high-definition is about $20. That's a huge saving."

Helped by tonnes of sand, the Australian outback has been re-created in a chilly warehouse in northern Melbourne's industrial belt. Outdoor shots have been kept to a minimum.

"Accommodation, transport and travel are among your most expensive things," he said, explaining his decision to become the unexpected first tenant of the cavernous warehouse.

Inside, former Neighbours star Natalie Bassingthwaighte is belting a schoolbag with the butt of a shotgun while, nearby, workers lift massive fibreglass "rocks" and construct sets. Stingers' Nicholas Bell and US actor Jesse Johnson, the son of Miami Vice star Don Johnson, have also filmed roles during the five-week shoot, which wraps on Monday.

Miller — not to be confused with Dr George Miller, director of Mad Max and Happy Feet — said the film would be taken to the independent Sundance Film Festival in the US in January, before an expected Australian release in July next year. Prey is the only feature film currently shooting in Victoria.