Main Course Films' Dark Noise filming in the Hawkesbury

The Sydney-sider had taken cover from a chilly wind after a morning of shooting in East Kurrajong, in a valley with no phone reception - fitting when you consider the genre of the film: a thriller. Later, they were heading to Windsor to shoot in Bazz's Whine Bar.

Dark Noise is one of the first feature films to shoot since Screen Australia released its new set of production guidelines, post-COVID.

"You can't have as many crew members on site as you normally would, so a lot of people need to multitask," said Ms Clair, who had been operating a boom that day.

Director and writer Clara Chong, and producer and director of photography Ben Allan, prepared the script for the film in 2019, before the coronavirus all but shut down the local film industry.

During lockdown, they repurposed the script to work with the post-COVID climate - a shooting landscape Ms Clair said would be "the new normal" for a lot of film crews from now on.

"They've staggered the schedule, almost into 'quarantine bubbles' - going into production for two weeks, then going back into pre-production for two weeks and then beginning filming again," she said.

A maximum 10 people are allowed on set at once, everyone is temperature-tested, and the schedule is constantly being reworked - most recently to accommodate an actor travelling up from Victoria during the border closure.

It's not the way production would normally run, but Ms Clair said the cast and crew were getting used to the "fluid process".

"We're all understanding that there'll need to be changes and we'll have to adapt. We're not just going with it, but also learning from it - because it will be the upcoming climate and how we produce films for quite some time."

The storyline follows female lead character Abigail 'Jack' McFadden - played by Imogen Sage - who goes in search of her missing father, a frog biologist.

"The film is created around an incredible soundscape, a lot of which can be accessed in the Hawkesbury," Ms Clair said.

"Just being on location there was a cacophony of bird sounds. The lead character Jack is an audio engineer, so the soundscape is integral to the story, with her following the soundscape to try to find her missing father."

The producers chose Hawkesbury for its versatile landscape.

"There are arid, dry areas and also lush forest areas. [We] could embark on a scene in an area that has urban sprawl in the township and also those lush forests. It's a lush place to work in cinematically," Ms Clair said.

Hawkesbury residents watching the film on its release might recognise some of the sounds.

"What will be really fun to look forward to is watching the film in a way we don't normally: it's an aural experience as well as a visual one," Ms Clair said.

While there is no mention in the story that it was shot during a pandemic, the film will reflect the 'new norm'.

"It will represent [the pandemic] in that it is of its time," said Ms Clair.

"While you navigate some of the restrictions like social distancing, it alters the way you tell the story."

Ms Clair plays Jack's mother Cassandra in the film, which also includes Callan Colley as Constable Myangi and Leah Vandenberg as her father's lover Dr Croker. Production is by Main Course Films.