The Getting of Wisdom

Confronting family secrets can be difficult but for Hugh van Cuylenburg, it was the key to setting him free. Hugh is known as the founder of the Resilience Project and is co-host of the hit podcast, the Imperfects. For years he’s helped students and sports people learn simple strategies to prepare them for life’s ups and downs, winning fans with his self-deprecating storytelling.

Underpinning Hugh’s work was his own family’s experience with mental illness; his sister Georgia battled an eating disorder from her early teens. Then Hugh hit his own mental health hurdle and he realised he had to untangle his complex relationship with Georgia and make amends.

Watch the powerful film here.

A simple set-up using slithers of natural light to paint several sequences of Georgia, as one of the contributors for an ABC Australian Story film. The half-hour program commissioned a two-camera zoom interview using her unseen apartment as the backdrop. Due to the confined space, a single Fiilex 360P head with a medium-sized softbox was used to key the main interview, with a reflector on a stand used to fill the camera-side of Georgia's face. Her traditional Californian kitchen provided a perfect scene to quickly film some natural b-roll.