The Project producer, Anthony Hawwa was in Corowa last week filming a segment with Peter Norris and his daughter Sophie.
It looked like a normal Thursday afternoon on the Murray River, a father and his daughter casting a line while another man flew his drone in the late afternoon light.
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But this was no ordinary afternoon for Club Corowa chief executive Peter Norris and his daughter Sopie.
The man with the drone was Anthony Hawwa, producer and cameraman for Channel 10’s The Project, one of Australia’s most popular prime time talk shows.
Peter and Sophie were being filmed for a segment to be aired next week.
The subject is Peter’s autobiography, The Bank Robber’s Boy, which tells the story of life on the run, growing up with a father who loved his family no doubt, but was also one of Australia’s most wanted criminals.
The book took two years to write, and Peter said it was a lonely experience at times.
“I’d write for an hour at night, which was about 300-400 words,” he said.
“The quality tended to drop off after a few hundred words, but I was really happy with the end result.”
Within a week of finishing the manuscript, Peter had a publishing offer.
The book was released two months ago and is already on its third reprint with a film script being developed by the book’s editor.
Filming on the Murray River in Corowa.
As Peter’s story began to circulate, it caught the attention of producers at The Project, who love doing stories that are “people centric”.
Anthony has worked at The Project for almost 11 years and has covered some fascinating stories along the way.
“The Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh was interesting because I'd never been to a refugee camp before, let alone for seven days,” he said.
“When the Queen died, that was pretty amazing to experience the outpouring of emotion, but also how people were celebrating her life.
“The American election last year was interesting too; seeing just how divided America is.
“But I'd say Antarctica was the highlight for me; I’d always wanted to go.
“Someone like Peter, who has such an interesting backstory and who has come so far in life, just makes for fascinating storytelling.”
Producer, Anthony Hawwa has worked at The Project for 11 years and covered some of the world’s biggest stories.
After two days of filming, Peter said it was a very eye-opening experience to see just how much time it takes to produce a small segment for television.
“It’s been exciting to have other businesses in town included, and the footy club,” he said.
“It’s good exposure for Corowa on prime-time television.
“Living here we take it for granted how beautiful this place is, until you stop and look at it.”
After filming was complete, the real work began to prepare the segment to go to air.
“The vision will go into a system, then I’ll go through it all and start writing,” Anthony said.
“That will take me probably about a day and a half, then it goes into edit for three days.
“Our editors are really where the magic happens; they make this stuff sing.”
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