Temporal setting: Circa 2010
Location notes:
Uninhabited was shot on location at Masthead Island in the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Island is a fictional name that
stands in
for a real island in the Coral Sea in order to protect its location from
tourists and
also to render it a symbolic space that represents the homeland of
Indigenous peoples who were dispossessed by colonial settlement.
“The film was
shot in July and August of 2009 on Masthead Island, on the southern end of
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, 60 km off the mainland. The location was chosen
because of its similarity to the original island which is further out and would
have provided greater logistical difficulties.
Masthead
Island is a Marine National Park, and the film crew had to adhere to strict
environmental guidelines. The island
is totally deserted, without power, water or communications, which made it very
difficult to mount the production. Not only that, but under the environmental
guidelines, no generated power was to be used on the island – providing the
film’s camera and lighting departments with some big challenges.
The crew
camped for the duration of the shoot, using battery power and water shipping in
from a support vessel anchored outside the reef. Meals were often augmented by
what the crew caught during their down time.
The producers
worked with local Park Rangers to ensure that when filming wrapped, the
location was left in its original pristine condition.”(http://www.uninhabitedmovie.com/)
Shooting Locations
Masthead Island/Reef, Central Queensland, Queensland
Shot on location at Masthead Island. The Reef Stonefish (Synanceia Verrucosa), which features in the first and final scenes of Uninhabited, is the most poisonous fish in the ocean. It camouflages itself to look like the reef and uses spines in its dorsal fins to inject toxic venom.
Gallery