Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

Teacher Notes – The Arts

BACKGROUND Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries is a thirteen x one-hour series based on the novels of Australian author, Kerry Greenwood. Our lady sleuth sashays through the back lanes and jazz clubs of late 1920s Melbourne, fighting injustice with her pearl-handled pistol and her dagger-sharp wit. Leaving a trail of admirers in her wake, our thoroughly modern heroine makes sure she enjoys every moment of her lucky life.

The Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher (pronounced Fry-knee) began life in 1989 as the daring lady detective protagonist of a series of eighteen crime books written by Australian author, Kerry Greenwood. A glamorous and thoroughly modern woman of the late 1920s with an acquired taste for the best – but who also has impeccable working class origins – Phryne was an instant success with readers and still shows no sign of hanging up her pearl-handled pistol or giving up her adventurous love-life for just one man.

Producer Fiona Eagger firmly believes that the tone and wit of the books, which have attracted hundreds of thousands of readers, will translate for the fans. The result is a delightful “whodunit” series combined with a bit of old fashioned fun, taking audiences back in time to a meticulously realised, decorous world – a world of beauty, wit and charm.

Behind the scenes videos take teachers and students to the heart of the Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries production. In these clips, interspersed with illustrative grabs from the television series, author Kerry Greenwood, the producers, director, the steam train drivers, visual effects and production designers discuss their roles and the creative process of the various aspects that blended to become the extraordinary production of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. Of particular interest are the methods employed to overcome the many and varied challenges of filming a period drama series in the streets and parklands of contemporary Melbourne within the confines of the budget. The videos include interviews with:

Series Author – Kerry Greenwood (2:49) Producers – Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox (2:22) Leading Lady – Essie Davies (2:19) Steam Train Experts – Jim Murty and Steve Lumsden (1:40) Set Tour– Kerry Greenwood (3:47) Start-up Director – Tony Tilse (3:04) Visual Effects – Scott Zero (2:26) Art Department – Robert Perkins (3:41) 3rd Assistant Director – Scooter Welbourn

Journalist Graeme Blundell reviewed the series:

The series is characterised by a charming facetiousness of style similar to that of Greenwood's writing. It constantly surprises with its cleverness, and Eagger and Cox's mastery of the crime thriller's tropes ensures continual surprises of plot. When it pauses for breath the show takes us into a decorous world - a world of beauty, wit and charm - elegantly realised by director of photography Roger Lanser and production designer Robert Perkins. Like Miss Fisher herself, the series should leave a long trail of admirers in its wake. Graeme Blundell, The Australian, 18 February 2012

FROM BOOKS TO SCREEN Not surprisingly, Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher books have been optioned on and off for many years. As Greenwood explains, she feels Phryne and the other characters she has created are her children, and she was very particular about both who would be able to do them justice on the screen, as well as accurately capturing the setting of Melbourne as it was in 1928. A stickler for accuracy and attention to detail, Greenwood was also aware of the costs involved in making a historical drama.

To learn more about adapting the books and character of Phryne Fisher to the screen from the series author watch the interview with Kerry Greenwood.

THE PRODUCERS' PERSPECTIVE In the competitive television genre of murder mysteries, so well realised by UK productions of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, Midsummer Murders and numerous other series, producers Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox discuss how they chose the books and character of Phryne Fisher and adapted them to the screen. Steering away from the orthodox murder mystery formula, the producers combine a more natural mix of charming characters in a delightful world with a strong sense of social justice. Working closely with the books’ author, Kerry Greenwood, it was imperative to portray Phryne’s character as defined by the novels and to create an authentic 1928 setting for the fast-paced action scenes. The producers also wanted to incorporate a playful, tongue-in-cheek look at the world while capturing the complex nature of the relationship between the series’ protagonists.

From a television production perspective, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries has it all – intriguing and unique murder mysteries, a strong female character, beautiful costumes and locations, and a great legacy from a very well-loved series of books. The main difference between Phryne and other crime series is the focus on characters. Central to both the books and the television series is a woman who is unconventional and ahead of her time, which gives the genre an unorthodox edge. And, because Phryne champions the underdog, there is more depth than just solving crimes.

Additionally, the books are set in the late 1920s, which was an extraordinary time for Australian women whose lives had been dramatically impacted upon by the Great War. Through the enormous

abc.net.au/phrynefisher devastation of the war and the loss of so many men, women held positions of authority and new opportunities emerged for them.

Many women missed out on partners and marriage and the conventional choices because there just weren’t the men around. However, women like Phryne Fisher embraced the opportunity. Phryne joined the war, driving an ambulance in France. She had a taste of being a woman unhampered by a reliance on men. Unique to this society was the combined effect of delirium at having survived the war and the blissful ignorance of the looming Depression and the Second World War.

Despite the beautiful frocks, magnificent home, snazzy sports car and all the escapist elements of Phryne’s life, Phryne is trying to change the world for people who are in serious trouble. If she’d just been a dilettante – the Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher trying to save the world – rather than someone who grew up with injustice, her character would not have been anywhere near as interesting. Her working class past included a hard life living in poverty on the streets of Collingwood. There, a terrible crime was visited upon her younger sister. When Phryne’s sister’s case was not investigated because she came from a poor family for whom no-one cared, Phryne became driven to resolve the crime for herself. Phryne’s insistence on justice subsequently spread to helping other people in similar plights.

Learn more about the production by watching the interview with producers Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEADING LADY In her interview, Essie Davis, one of Australia's most accomplished actors, talks about her view of Phryne in the production phase and how she approaches portraying Phryne on screen. Watch the interview with Leading Lady Essie Davis discussing Playing Phryne Fisher.

One of Deb and Fiona’s proudest moments was sharing early footage with a delighted Kerry Greenwood. Kerry says that, now, every time she writes a Phryne book, the actress who plays Phryne in the series, Essie Davis, will be front and centre in her mind.

“Kerry was part of the process in our choice of who to play Phryne. Once we had a short list it was important to get Kerry’s input and Kerry was very clear about who her Phryne was and why – there was no question in Kerry or our minds that Essie embodied Phryne,” Fiona says.

Deb Cox said that it was essential for the character to have worldliness and an intelligence to be able to believably portray a woman of Phryne’s history and abilities and, as an actor, have the ability to skate from playfulness to seriousness.

“Essie is very accomplished, she knows her stuff inside out...she’s done a lot of theatre as well as television so she knows how to formalise her work. She has a class to her, a polish to her performance and, in every respect, in her delivery, in the way she accents the work, in her body language in particular, there is a certain grace. Phryne needed to be flamboyant and uninhibited, but always graceful. Essie has pulled that off completely!” Deb says.

abc.net.au/phrynefisher “The other thing that Essie brings is a more personal quality and, in particular, our author Kerry Greenwood was impressed by this when she met her, she brings a certain command to the performance. She’s in charge. You see moments when she is emotionally vulnerable but she’s always in control, she’s not subservient to anyone, unless she chooses to be.”

One of Australia’s most respected and acclaimed film, theatre and television actors since graduating from Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Essie's feature film credits include Girl with a Pearl Earring, and , Code 46, Charlotte’s Web, Isolation, ’s Australia, The Wedding Party, and South Solitary which opened the 2010 Film Festival and for which Essie earned a Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Essie has starred in numerous television series and miniseries including Sweeney Todd (BBC), The Silence, After the Deluge – which earned her an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actress – and Halifax fp: The Spider and the Fly.

In 2011, Essie appeared in two of the most acclaimed programs on Australian television: the highly anticipated Showtime mini-series of Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet directed by Matthew Saville, and The Slap, adapted from the multi-award winning novel by Christos Tsiolkas.

Essie has also gained critical acclaim for her theatre roles. Her performance in London's National Theatre production of earned her an Olivier Award. She was also nominated for awards for her performances in the Broadway run of the National Theatre (London) production of , for her performances in Tot Mom and The School for Scandal, and for her role in for the Melbourne Theatre Company.

Some quotes from Essie Davis: “Who wouldn’t want to play Phryne?! Phryne is this magnificent, witty, vibrant, crazy, reckless kind of super hero who is a great champion for women’s rights and people in less fortunate situations. She really looks after women, but she loves men...she’s a lover and a fighter...and she’s just a fantastic witty, independent capable woman who is extremely wealthy but has come from great poverty so she’s understanding of an enormous cross section of humanity.

“She’s seen the worst of the worst through being through the war, and she’s learned many skills along the way. She speaks many languages, she can drive a sports car and fly a plane and throw a dagger and shoot a gun and dance the tango – she’s pretty adept at most things. And I love the way she bucks the system. Each episode has been a discovery of delight!

“I love the way that the backdrop to each episode is something important socially that was going on at the time, for example, illegal abortion and who is being damaged by that.

“The action part has been my favourite part – Phryne is an incredibly intellectual and witty and dialogue-driven character, but at the same time when I’m leaping across rooftops or flying a plane or speeding along in my Hispano Suiza car I love it, it’s just so much fun, I love it!”

abc.net.au/phrynefisher LOCATION AND SETTINGS A considerable part of the action is set in Phryne's house, an elegant two-storeyed mansion, which is an actual house in the Melbourne suburb of Parkville. While Phryne lives in St Kilda in Kerry Greenwood's novels, the contemporary surroundings put filming there out of the question. The interior was specially constructed in the studio and included the kitchen, the dining room, and Phryne's boudoir and parlour.

Watch Kerry Greenwood's reaction to the realisation of Phryne's house for the screen in her initial production set tour.

“We gathered together an incredibly experienced team of people and really, we’ve given them a great opportunity to show off!” Fiona says. “The delight about doing a period piece is that all the heads of department get to shine – you have to create everything from scratch, the wardrobe has to be designed, the material has to be sourced; the art department has to source materials from the 1920s. It’s a challenge but everyone has risen to the challenge. It is expensive doing period drama, the wardrobe changes, the vehicles, the digital enhancement to get white lines off the road etc., you need to recreate the world in a real way, you have to be very diligent – it brings you back to the craft. We’ve been very fortunate to get real veterans. People with a long history in Australian television who all jumped at the chance to recreate the 1920s.”

For an insight into how the interior settings were constructed, watch the interview with Head of the Art Department, Robert Perkins.

One of the great delights and tremendous challenges of translating the books for the screen was creating the various ‘worlds’ for Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. Kerry Greenwood has set every book in a meticulously researched location or subculture, such as a theatre company, the eastern markets, the Jewish quarter of Melbourne, a travelling circus or the seedy underworld of drug dealing and illegal abortion.

Fiona, Deb and their creative team have just as meticulously translated that to the screen, taking audiences into a stunningly authentic re-creation of various aspects of 1920s Melbourne. The series has been filmed in many of Melbourne’s grand historic houses, in untouched laneways from the era, and in turn-of-the-century city buildings such as the Town Hall and the Treasury building.

THE STEAM TRAIN The classic setting for a murder mystery is one in which the characters are confined to a particular place for a fixed length of time, thus narrowing the number of suspects. Ships and trains are often contenders for murder settings and are much easier to describe in books than to portray on screen. The steam train in particular, with its rhythmic motion, puffs of steam and genteel first class compartments, harks back to an age when travel held a romantic notion of adventure. The beauty and simplicity of the setting belies the amount of work that goes into preparing and maintaining a fully functional original steam train for a few scenes of dramatic action.

For one episode, the team went to the extraordinary length of filming on a fully restored steam train. Hear about the incredible amount of work involved in preparing the steam train for the shoot a presentation from the driver and fireman responsible for operating the train:

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Watch the Steam Train Experts Jim Murty and Steve Lumsden as they discuss how they re-created the 1928 train set.

WARDROBE AND THE ART DEPARTMENT One of the major production values of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries is the attention to wardrobe detail. Costumes are sourced from the 1920s, including the private collection of costume designer Marion Boyce. Some of the costumes have been made by a team of costume makers working to Marion’s exacting brief. Marion’s considerable international career achievements include a nomination for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special in 2007 for The Starter Wife, starring Debra Messing. Marion’s credits include the feature films Crocodile Dundee in LA, Joey, George Miller’s Zeuss and Roxanne, and the television mini-series The Starter Wife, Bastard Boys, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Hercules, Salem’s Lot, Moby Dick and Rose Against the Odds. Marion has worked on many US Movies of The Week and numerous Australian television series.

In the same way the art department, under the leadership of Robert Perkins, has built sets and dressed the locations for each of the worlds with a combination of pieces from the period and pieces specifically constructed. Robert Perkins has worked as a production designer for several decades. His television credits go back to programs such as Rush and Power Without Glory, for which he won a Penguin Award for Best Production Design. More recently, his television credits include the two series of East of Everything, CrashBurn and Ponderosa, and his film credits include Charlotte’s Web, Storm Warning and Malcolm.

Watch Robert Perkins as he gives insight into his part in helping to render the various settings with credibility and historical accuracy.

THE LOOK Most television productions are shot in contemporary settings, because shooting is comparatively uncomplicated. It’s essentially a matter of choosing a location, getting the light and angles right, and then filming. Period settings, however, are an entirely different matter – everything has to be designed from the ground up, even historic houses such as the one used as Phryne’s home. In an age of occupational health and safety, such elements as exit signs and handrails pose additional challenges for the set designers. Directors must consider these and many other vital factors in creating historic settings that are to be filmed in contemporary times. Another important aspect is the art of translating the particular vibe and energy of the book series onto the screen. This involves meticulous research to inform the process. In a thirteen-part series, such as this, with individual episodes shot by a number of different directors, the role of the start-up director is all the more critical.

See the interview with Director Tony Tilse as he discusses the responsibilities of being the series start-up director.

VISUAL EFFECTS AND COMPUTER GENERATED IMAGERY As author Kerry Greenwood’s stories transfer from books to screen, the 1928 setting is meticulously maintained. In this precise rendering of location, digital manipulation of the middle distance and

abc.net.au/phrynefisher background is often required. While such details of settings are mostly defined by the script, some unscripted effects help augment a scene or situation. In the first episode, Phryne arrives in Melbourne by ocean liner, a scene the production team believed impossible to realise. However, this is a classic example of what computer generated imagery (CGI) can deliver.

abc.net.au/phrynefisher Another example is filming on the banks of the Yarra, where contemporary Melbourne and its inhabitants are in full view. With the aid of CGI, shooting can take place, with irrelevant aspects of the background painted out in post-production. Other restrictions, such as those imposed by occupational health and safety requirements, can also be cleverly overcome by the magic of CGI. Again, meticulous research into historical references helps the visual effects team restore their beloved Melbourne into the grand city it was in 1928. Working hand-in-hand with the art department, CGI specialist Scott Zero developed visual effects to re-create the Melbourne of 1928.

With technological innovation helping to save costs for television and feature film production companies, the industry anticipates there will be a greater need for skilled, creative CGI specialists.

Learn more about the integral contribution of CGI to the making of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries from this interview with Scott Zero.

Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries Credits

Starring: Essie Davis, , Hugo Johnstone-Burt, Ashleigh Cummings and Miriam Margolyes Based on the Phryne Fisher mystery series of books by Kerry Greenwood Producers: Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox The Australian Broadcasting Corporation presents an Every Cloud Production “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries”, produced in association with Screen Australia and Film Victoria

© 2011 Every Cloud Productions Pty Ltd, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Film Victoria and Screen Australia

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