Maria Tran | Actor
Maria Tran
Phone: +61 433 803 449
Reviews
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25.01.2022 Bubble tea straw + baby powder + a producer who knows how to blow on cue
25.01.2022 Feeling like Happy the past two days! Eye of the tiger , focused on deliverables, finished working with a writer with a script for an upcoming ambitious project, looking into new technologies as well as being nombiri (chilled AF), training the team & training myself. Not to mention an offer on gumtree from some random wanting to buy my used undies for $15 (WTF?). Someone needs some ass whippin Ruff! Ruff! *goodnight, in doggy language*
24.01.2022 DATE NIGHT: YOGA WITH HARUKA SUZUKI Thursday night and theres no late night shopping with the Tran Haras, but an hour of yoga with Japanese yoga teacher Haruka Suzuki. Check her videos out : @harukasuzuki__ https://m.youtube.com/c/suzuharuchannel Takashi & I began our yoga journey after spending time at Heart & Soul Retreat for our pre-wedding honeymoon early July . ... Since then, weve dedicated 15mins of morning yoga every single day. The improvements are dramatic & overall I feel my vitality increasing everyday. Some things yoga has taught me: Love & Honour your body Let go of things & habits that dont help you Breathe: Deeply, lovingly & mindfully The present is a gift You can achieve more than you think. After yoga, our bodies were ready to dig into a nourishing vegan dinner & reflect on our current week.
23.01.2022 Recording the music/ sound for Way of The Action Star. I feel like a private investigator tracking some musicians down in the Vietnamese community. Found Phuong & Phong and they came on board our production with not only their traditional sounds but also their boat experience coming to Australia translating through their music. #documentary #vietnam #australia #performingarts
22.01.2022 , :: https://www.smh.com.au//my-mother-the-action-star-20200925 ( , ) Yesterday, (Sat, 4th Oct, 2020) we had a very small screening post online release on the Vox Doc documentary for my short doco I directed " , ".... It came to a surprise to me the many wonderful people who have reached out personally after watching this film and expressing that it was a moving piece and quite unexpected. In all honesty, it was quite unexpected from me as well and I didn't think much of my Mum's journey prior to that (yup, I'm the opposite to all things 'filial piety'....or so I once thought). I grew up thinking she's just tough-as-nails, Asian tiger mum that will whoop your ass if you mess with her type of deal but through this cathartic doco process, revisiting my mum as who she really is, was a really empowering moment, a moment where I can also let go of my 'fears' of the uncertainty of where I'm heading in my artistic and creative endeavours. Back to the screening. It was a small group of creatives who where crewing this project or in some way connected to our network who also are trying to find their own voice, explore their identities and express themselves as actors, writers, filmmakers etc...Shout out to Takashi Hara, Therese Chen, Emily Bui, Adam McPhilbin, Regina Lee, Merryn Elysia, Nancy Trieu for taking part in the project and David Hong, Bobby Le, Quyen Chung, Nova Onas for attending. Big shout outs to Andrew Nguyen for the photos and Nova Onas for some selfies and video.
21.01.2022 Back into Filming:: Green Screen & Video Making with Bi-Lingual Community Educators After working with our health educators in video presenting, we are now ready to film their piece to camera All are first timers in front of the camera. Good opportunity to work with Refugee Health NSW and to show that community presenters are the best at conveying social messaging to their own communities
20.01.2022 EXPRESS LUNCH WITH PRADY! Post casting audition and we managed to finally meet face-to-face with Pradyumna Sathishkumaar. Hes an international student studying to become a vet doctor and has a sideline hustle as a voiceover artist. Thanks to him, Ive been getting some coaching on my American US accent for past auditions. Super thats to Preston Yeung (Takashi Haras voice coach for our feature film Echo 8) for the e-intro. #innerartists #hustlers
19.01.2022 : / One of the joys of what I do as a filmmaker/ performer is to go out there and find local traditional musical talent to bring to life the sound design of my work. I love people and their stories, their journeys to new places and settlement and I'm grateful to come across Ms Phuong & Mr Phong who are keeping the Vietnamese instrument traditions in Australia.... They got to watch some of the rushes and respond through their connection to their instrument. It was a fascinating experience to be part of and see how their interpretations of it. Shout out thanks to Davy Nguyen and co Anh Linh for the contacts. :)
18.01.2022 :: " " Fast 'n' furious & sweat shop style. 7 days ago we shot our film and we have already our first cut.... First time testing out how we work collaboratively and like an production line thanks to Takashi Hara very Japanesey efficient way of work with clear communication, a bunch of meetings, and navigating a group of very talented filmmakers from Western Sydney and drawing their best to this project. Post-Production phase is definitely a bit of production line with 3 editors, hopefully getting closer to picture lock and then onto sound, grading etc...
18.01.2022 Today is my turn doing some editing & SPX. Bloody cuts and shots decided to disappear on me! Editors nightmare
16.01.2022 Way of the Action Star Film shoot. This was genius, we had a shot in mind and had to problem solve how to get a spotlight opening shot that looked like the sun emerging from the darkness. Nancy Trieu has an idea of make an origami paper aperture. I laughed a bit and we gave it a go, and achieved the shot! Thanks to Luke Newnham for the BTS & Rah Sharma for DOP
15.01.2022 :: " " Myself, Associate Producer Takashi Hara & editor Therese Chen had a great opportunity to have senior editor Sally Fryer from Documentary Australia Foundation (DAF) drop by to watch our work-in-progress and give us invaluable insight on her 30 experience as an film editor in Sydney and London. It's been a really heartfelt journey making this short documentary that takes us into a glimpse into my mother's boat exp...erience in Australia. Super thanks to the amazing team that we had for the shoot as well as Kate Hodges & Phillipa Bateman for their trust in us and support. Big shout out to the PYT Fairfield family as well! ----- || || Film editing; the process and art of assembling shots in a sequence. They play such a vital role in the making of the film & the success and failure often lies in their hands. As a versatile filmmaker myself, I push my creative team to be all rounders and editing is a basic fundamental to have. The process of WOTAS is that Therese Chen did an assembly cut, pass it onto Takashi Hara who refines it and adds temp music and then the following day it lands into my hands to make the director's cut and go through further footages to make sure nothing is overlooked. This process is much more enjoyable and avoids film editing fatigue (after you look at a piece of footage for so long, you can't tell if its a good cut anymore). For those of you who might want to get into editing, here's some basic tips on the attributes that you may need to possess: Story is king. Every decision that is made in a clip, edit or transition must serve the story. Cut the unnecessary and know how different shots give a different emotional effect. There are no hard and fast rule book to editing. The best editors feel their edit. Film editors that know that there are other elements at play such as audio, color grades and VFX that will also affect the film's response. Having a basic of this is vital.
15.01.2022 Visited mum today & boy is she super excited about the doco shes about to be part of. 9/10 Vietnamese mum will not be part of any films, photographs or interviews; its sort of reminiscent of their experiences of being interrogated my the police but mumsy overcome it and sees the value of passin down stories while Happy the dog listens intently.
15.01.2022 NO LAUGHIN MATTER Being the subject for Tahminah B Tranquilles Tight 5 Comedy film documentary. Yes my acting career is a slow & painful crawl for clean air and time to give it a bit of life by segwaying into the realm of Stand Up Comedy.... By the end of this year, Ill grow some big balls and get on stage and do something Ive never done before. Cant wait to announce this to my family and have them put it into the 101 creative ways my daughter dishonours the family list.
14.01.2022 Travelling as Black Ninja/ Shredder. Out & about today and heading to Newtown to do some chilled out community yoga & lookin like a killer. How can anyone mess with this look? A couple of people have asked me why I where black most of the time and heres my two reasons: To make troublemakers think twice if they want to mess with and if they do, Ill kick their butt and you wont see any blood stains on my clothes. Jokes... Black is best to cover up any food or drink spillage.
13.01.2022 Date night with @takashi_samurai3. Thanks hun for the celebration tasting menu #tokyolaundry #sydney #enjoylife
13.01.2022 The countdown is on. Shooting on Sat & Sun and bringing together some very exciting people on board. Super grateful for such high calibre super Saiyan producers who are so supportive of the process #doco #longme #mother #wayoftheactionstar
13.01.2022 SATURDAY:: SIDE HOBBY Out of the office today & taking a break from editing. Im not much of a flower type of person but recently Ive picked up a relaxing side hobby of flower arranging and making flower boxes for my friends & family.... I started the day at the Sydney Flower Market and did my flower trimming, pruning and stabbing-flower-into-foam at my makeshift outdoor office at a nice Marrickville park overlooking your typical Aussie football game, the high traffic of sophisticated dogs walking pass and a very vocal Dad on the phone making an angry call to some customer service. Ah... relaxing...solitude & free flowing creating....
12.01.2022 Post photoshoot and had lunch . First time hubby Takashi Hara tried Sesame Seed flavored Fried Ice Cream. That look on his face... @takashi_samurai3
11.01.2022 I've been fast tracking some light renovations on this creative space. Since the pandemic, I've spent a large sum of my hours in this space from filmmaking, creative development and generating more ideas as a creative artist. This space alone has supported not only that but also a bunch of online training workshops that we've been able to facilitate locally to the rest of the world. ... I could not stress how important your space is. There's been mounting evidence that show how space design and organisation affects our way of thinking. I found that the more expansive our sense of surrounding is, the more we can generate original and useful concepts for products, services etc... I think we all have some spaces in our vicinity that we can do up. A quick fresh paint job, introduction of shelves, greenery, and better lighting will do your space some justice. But for the average "Joe/ Jane" let's start off with decluttering (choosing less to improve your well being) what you have so far. ' Reduce your commitments Reconsider your routines Declutter your friendships Start with your desk Declutter your computer Then move on to information Simplify your rooms Tackle the closets
10.01.2022 Family & technology; my sister keeps on sending videos of our younger sister (non-human) Happy and these cloning videos that she makes with my mum. #filmmaking #family #dog
10.01.2022 Day #1 Its a wrap! We shot on such a gorgeous day, moving across three locations & wrapped just before the rain started. Mum was in awe at beauty of the light. Something wonderfully powerful about watching a sunrise, a sense of connection to your higher self that resets the system and leaves your feeling energised for the rest of the day.
10.01.2022 This is my mum. After a good hearty dinner & a 4 hour conversation, she finally unveils her solo action-packed journey to Australia, how I have a great grandparents (mums side) who were Indian and Chinese and grandparents who were part French. So which side of me is Vietnamese? Oh she also told me causally that I was an accident, while giving a lucky Japanese Maneki Neko cat to bring me good fortune & prosperity. o_O Im have no words to describe today. #shocked #asianmum #lucky-cat
10.01.2022 , : On set with my comedy A+ face going on yesterday and for the next 3 days! I’ve been told my thing in acting are of 3 things: Action, Horror & comedies! (My preference is Action comedies, horror genre acting gives me face wrinkles in the long run ). ... Now just because I make you laugh at my silly characters I play and the scenarios I’m put in, doesn’t mean it’s easy business. Comedy acting genre is tough & some would say by far more harder than drama. I find well-written comedy scenes much more dynamic and actors are required to be more nimble & incredibly versatile to hit the right moments at exactly the right way. The actors still have to be incredibly quick on their feet as they dance from moment to moment, building and releasing tension in seconds. Comedy is all about the rhythm, timing and pace and as an actor taking on comedy rolesi It’s your important to identify those things in each and every piece of scripted comedy that you perform. : 2009 - ABC Series My Place as Thi Mai 2014 - Alex Lykos’s theatre show It’s War! 2018 - Ch. 10 comedy series Street Smart 2019 - Ch. 7 comedy series Fat Pizza: Back In Business" To Takashi Hara’s Acting For Mindfulness students; Quyen Chung, Bobby Le, Wongso John, David Hong, Nova Onas, Therese Chen, David Truong and others!
09.01.2022 ... Finally! We get to go away... for a bit. Introducing the HQ Team; Therese Chen & Takashi Hara. These are two people I spend a lot of my time, day-to-day in the company with from working on projects, organising shoots, pitching, grant writing, these two are exceptional team players who have consistency, vision and purpose in themselves and the roles they take at Phoenix Eye. ... I officially started Phoenix Eye in 2017 based on one project and not thinking much of it. I decided to start delegating my filmmaking work to others and eventually found Therese Chen who has since been on board for the past 3 years and our work has kept us going. Despite our differences (in height & spatial relations), we have a common vision; to make female led action films as a staple one day. We are still working on it, project by project get closer to this goal and we definitely have no time in changing directions with our vision. Since then, she started her online collective "Silver Harvest" and has been producing other action shorts on the side. Great job! Takashi Hara is a newcomer to Phoenix Eye for about a year now but he's hit the ground running, skilling up, taking care of shoots, taking up roles & responsibilities that he didn't have before such as teaching, producing, editing & directing. He brings the international perspective, which is an 'eye' on the Asian market, particularly Japan (3rd largest in the world). Phoenix Eye is proud to support his "Acting for Mindfulness" acting classes that aims at skilling up the next generation of emerging culturally diverse actors. Recently he got shortlisted to 'pitch' at the 2020 Mebourne Webfest for "Mugen". Such an achievement for a non native English speaker! Well done! So the 3 ninja musketeers will be on a break. We will spend a little bit of time sharing our visions, thoughts & aspirations as well as some strategic planning on the future of Phoenix Eye; home to over a dozen of Western Sydney talented filmmakers and creative artists.
08.01.2022 POST WEDDING SHOOT @takashi_samurai3 & I did things a little backwards. We had our honeymoon before the wedding and the pre shoot, post wedding. We still got some creatively amazing shots by @mo_photography_au before it starting pouring down rain Thanks Mo & Hani!
08.01.2022 MASSAGE TIME We decide not to go to showgirls tonight but couldnt resist.... Going for a 5 min head massage. Nothing more than that as our strategic planning heads might explode.
08.01.2022 It was a great collaboration with Mo Photography whom we trust in his vision of creativity & experimentation. https://www.starnow.com/mohamzah1
07.01.2022 10 year ago this one of my first acting roles on Australian TV in ABC series My Place. I played 40 year old Thi Mai. Time flies
06.01.2022 Day #2 Way of The Action Star Wrapped. A small but tight crew. Amazed at the amount on cinematic shots we can achieve in such a make shift fabric made black box. We brought in the ocean, rain, dirt & shine!
06.01.2022 One of my favourite women gave me a message today saying hello. This is Iris Faye, 103 years old & still such a wonderful strong soul. I shot a digital story on her a year ago that got launched at Amplify: Womens Stories in Fairfield. She made me really think about our beloved elderly and those living in nursing homes. Particularly those who dont have family that visit. Cant wait to drop by and visit you after COVID.
06.01.2022 Phoenix Eye badasses diggin into our burgers as we reflect 2020 & future directions
06.01.2022 The documentaries have been released online! Check it out: https://www.smh.com.au/voxdocs #documentary #mymothertheactionstar #actionstar #mariatran #jackiechan
05.01.2022 If I wasnt a filmmaker I might have been a K-popstar... not to late to start
04.01.2022 Deadlines & revamping the CV for another grant application. Nostalgia... Ive been making random films since 2007.
04.01.2022 TO ALL CAST & CREW for Vox Docs My Mother, The Action Star Check it out: https://www.smh.com.au/voxdocs #voxdocs #sharkisland #smh #phoenixeye
02.01.2022 DRAMA ACTING CLASS Hitting the ground running. Phoenix Eye is expanding with myself & Takashi on field delivering training and our editors at Phoenix Eye HQ working across 3 projects. My joy is to start the week with classes at Fairfield School of Arts. Such a good feeling facilitating face-to-face and waking up our bodies together. #creativelygrateful
01.01.2022 MUGEN SHORTLISTED MELBOURNE WEBFEST 2020 Congratulations to filmmaker @takashi_samurai3 for his submission getting shortlisted at the Melbourne WEBFEST! Hell be pitching in front of a virtual crowd on Sunday 12.30pm! Www.melbournewebfest.com
01.01.2022 Its been more than 10 years since I went to the beach with my mum #doco #film #mother #phoenixeye
