The Leftovers was such an amazing experience: the scripts were phenomenal. Australia needs more big storytelling – it all stems from the scripts. Locally we find ourselves compromising as our budgets are smaller. We have to look outside for the bigger budgets and it’s a big challenge.

To meet and work with the incredible directors they had was a great experience. And I like working in TV because of the story opportunities and the way the bar is continually being raised.

Each episode of The Leftovers was a very quick turnaround (10 days). It was tough but doable. We needed to secure some amazing locations in a short time frame, so it was challenging, but our offset crews were remarkable and we delivered what was asked of us.

Gene loves coming to work in Australia and I know that one of the most frequent comments is how great our technicians are. We have the ability to get the best out of anything. And Film Victoria are doing a fabulous job in attracting high calibre productions.

Gene brought wisdom and guidance across every aspect of the production. He never took anyone for granted and was genuinely appreciative of the crew and cast. I’d work with Gene again anytime.

The challenge in Australia is the showrunner model. Our writers aren’t as exposed to production as they are in the U.S. It’s important for local writers to want to understand how production works, even in a rudimentary way, for a constructive opinion. This isn’t something that’s been offered in the past, but is now starting to happen.

Bringing everything together to run a well-oiled machine is what I love about my job. You have to have tenacity, be a people person, have a can-do attitude and be able to think laterally – at times outside the pre-conceived norms. And you always have to ask questions.

In this industry, there are automatic assumptions that women will be in the more organisational and creative roles. When more technical roles come up we should encourage the younger females. Say to them, “You can get involved in lighting, gripping and cameras” – should they want to. It’s being able to show young females that it’s not just about the creative stuff, but getting to know the technical side of things and considering it; not being afraid to get involved.