Me at the drums, enjoying some music making after a busy shoot.
Making ‘Partners in Crime’
'Partners in Crime' is a no-budget comedy/noir feature film that I shot in late 2019. Cast with friends and filmed with no crew, it's a debut film that was designed to teach its director (me!) how to produce a feature film cheaply without sacrificing entertainment value. By performing all behind-camera roles, from writing to camera operation, sound recording, editing and music, I gained valuable experience in many of the crafts required in putting together a film.
But I was aware that a technical exercise does not a fun movie make, so endeavoured to write a story that leant into the style of film noir. This gave me the opportunity to explore the little white lies and suspicions that can pop up in romantic relationships and to exaggerate the consequences through the tropes of the genre. Luckily for me and my shoestring budget, noir films also tend to employ small casts, limited locations, as well as black and white photography - which all helped to keep costs down.
The movie was shot on weekends over two months with an energetic, accommodating, and all-round lovely cast of actors, and it was all kept on schedule & on budget by my calm and collected producing partner on the project, Harry Seward. Once filming wrapped, I locked myself away to do the post-production alone during 2020. While this solo-post production was always the plan, it was made a necessity during Melbourne's marathon COVID-19 lockdowns that persisted through the year.
Performing multiple roles across the entire filmmaking process was an amazing challenge and learning experience that I wouldn’t change for the world, and I was glad to be working on a fairly lighthearted comedy during a lonely period. Now, it's both a joy and a relief to release this picture: delayed but done, with thanks to the wonderful ‘Partners’ team who helped to bring it to life.
Pete Redhead , April 2024