Newsletter #6 - Old things, new things
Hello!
I hope you’re all well and not entirely freaking out that it’s March already. You’ve got Hugh here for the Machine Newsletter this month, and I want to talk about two things close to my heart at present:
One of our newest clients
Severance. I know, I know… I know. It really is that good though (and yes, this is an SEO play)
But before all that, I wanted to let you know again that we have been shipping stickers out left and right, and we only have a few left. DM us if you want a few and keep an eye on our Insta for the next Machine drop. No other reveals in this teaser.
Let’s get into it.
Client Watch™* – Paisano & Daughters
Michael Wholley’s impression of the three new Paisano & Daughters venues on Australia Street Newtown, flanking local favourite Continental Bar & Deli (Supplied)
If you’ve been around Sydney’s dining scene at any point over the last 20 years, you know Paisano & Daughters. It’s one of those names where even if you don’t know, you know. Their reach is everywhere: Porteño, Humble, Continental, Bastardo, and so on. Same team, same dream.
Paisano & Daughters started in 2008 as a tight-knit, family-run venture by brothers-in-law Joe Valore and Elvis Abrahanowicz and their partners. Named after the seven daughters between their families, it quickly became one of the most respected and influential hospitality operations in the country. From flat out reinventing casual fine dining to shaping the way Sydney eats and drinks time and time again, they’ve built nothing short of an empire while holding close the same passion and warmth that made their early venues so beloved. Their portfolio is super varied, spanning restaurants, bars, bakeries, and now in 2025, ever so casually slots in an entirely different business model…
Having been introduced to the inimitable Sarah Doyle of the Paisano family by our friends/clients and major legends Felix and Corinna at Ester Spirits, we heard that the major project of opening three new venues alongside Continental needed some help with stills and video. We hit it off right away going through what was required and interrogating the brief, and kicked off the project soon after.
We got stuck in shooting Continental Deli, Mister Grotto and Flora, initially, and Osteria Mucca is shooting shortly. So it’s safe to say that from the outset we had our work cut out for us covering seven unique spaces and varied offerings in quick succession, squeezing everything into the crazy window between build & menu completion and restaurant opens.
Mister Grotto is the new seafood spot that leans into nostalgic, Italian coastal aesthetics with a menu that delivers in every way, including landing a Delicious cover shot with the stunning buttermilk soft serve with fig compote and honeycomb. It looks incredible and it tastes even better.
But that was just to start. Next door, Flora is bringing big, sun-drenched European energy with a focus on bold produce-driven dishes from lunch to late, and the afternoon sun hitting the facade absolutely begs for bums on seats and Rieslings on tables.
The final stage on the F&B side for the project is Osteria Mucca, which is just about to launch with stunning handmade pasta, old-world charm, and a lot more hype when it opens its doors on Tuesday 11th March.
But the most intriguing move? Paisano & Daughters are now stepping into accommodation. Thing is it makes perfect sense. They’ve built some of the most intimate, experience-driven restaurants in Sydney, so why not extend that same level of detail and hospitality into where people stay?
Their vision was to create a small-scale, elevated accommodation option in the Inner West, but design-forward and deeply connected to the neighbourhood. There’s nothing like that in the area, and from what we’ve seen, they’ve absolutely nailed it yet again with their three new apartments. This step really does feel like a natural evolution from the hospo side of Paisano. It’s thoughtful, warm, and effortlessly stylish.
I’ve also made it very clear that, in the interest of artistic integrity, the photographer should probably stay a few nights to really get acclimated to the space. Purely for the work.
I’m super excited to see everything all completed and published. It has been really exciting watching the gradual rollout of our work as the venues have been opening, but the cherry on the cake will be that sense of completion once all doors are open and the buzz of Continental Deli has finally filled all of the venues and the accommodations upstairs.
Most important I think is the passion, generosity and proper hard work I’ve experienced through this whole process of onboarding Paisano & Daughters. Meeting and chatting with everyone in the team (aka the very literal family) and on the staff has been both a blast and a breeze, and they’re all such gems to be around and work with. I’m legitimately excited to get back there each shoot day.
*Client Watch™ isn’t actually a thing we’re doing, nor is it a trademark. I just really wanted to write about Paisano because they’re great. Tysm.
Severance (the essay you may not need?)
In case you’ve been living under a particularly large, wifi-resistant rock, Severance Season Two is well and truly here, and my usual Friday night plans have taken a rather solid hit. After what felt like an endless wait, the new season is delivering exactly what I was hoping for—actually maybe even more. And this isn’t a new opinion. There are a billion memes to highlight the appeal of the newest season of the hit dystopic series, including some absolutely towelling people for going on about it too much. So, yes I am aware of the hype, but partly because I want to and partly because I promised Alana Dimou I would, here’s me going on about it.
Visually, Severance season 2 is a clinical masterclass. In a decision to keep the image as tidy yet woozy and unsettling as ever, Director of Photography Jessica Lee Gagné sticks with Panavision C Series lenses, which give everything that slightly warped, dreamlike quality. Kind of vintage without feeling too old, kind of crisp without feeling too modern.
Speaking of glass, one of the best visual tricks they’re using (again) is the dolly in, zoom out effect, aka the dolly zoom or Vertigo shot (because Hitchcock was the first to do it). You’ve seen it before—Spielberg used it in Jaws to hammer that sinking realisation moment—but here, it’s used to represent the “innie” to “outie” transition and vice versa, and it get me good. Such a simple technique, but it shifts depth perception in a way that makes the space feel like it’s stretching and collapsing at once. Slap an elevator ‘ding’ on top and you’ve got one of the most clinical and dramatic motifs in contemporary TV, as far as I’m aware. Got me like:
Adam Scott, as expected, is phenomenal. It’s sick seeing him in a dark dramatic role like this, especially knowing that’s what he always wanted to do. He got - sidetracked? - into comedy (Parks and Rec, Step Brothers), but watching Severance reminds me how much range he has. His performance is so measured—so much of it is in the stifled silences, and in the smallest shifts in expression. A far cry from this.
Then there’s Ben Stiller, who is probably the last person I expected to be Executive Producer on something this dark and cerebral, let alone actually directing episodes. He hasn’t even done that much drama in his time, apart from this, this, this and a couple other oldies. And yet, it makes perfect sense. His comedic work has always been precise—his timing, his attention to detail—and he applies that same level of meticulousness here, just in a completely different register. The way certain shots linger just a beat too long, the way tension builds through stillness. It all adds to this creepy unease that sits just under the surface of every scene… Like this but different:
And while it’s not quite horror, there are moments that genuinely catch me off guard. A few perfectly placed jump scares reminiscent of that driving video from the 2000s and suuuuuper subtle shifts in framing all feed into the sense that something’s just slightly off, even in the quietest moments.
This season has proven to be some of the best TV we’ve had in a long time, much like the first. If they keep this up, it’s going to remain a standout for years to come. I for one am absolutely locked in for the pointy end of the season.
Ok this has become a total YAP and I’ve got a call with The Board, so I’ll cap it here.
Stay tuned for Machine Games February when it rolls around…
Catch you on the next one. Byeeeee!
Hugh
