Canterbury's Screen Evolution

Like everywhere in the country the latest omicron outbreak has seen multiple projects in the Canterbury region get pushed or cancelled. However there hasn't been a shortage of interesting things happening.

WIFT ran an excellent 'LX for Production' workshop which was well attended across the guilds. Going back to LX basics and breaking down the what, where, and most importantly the why of lighting.

The fearless manager of our regional film office, Screen CanterburyNZ, Bree Loverich, is moving on to become the strategic Partnerships and Marketing Manager for the University of Canterbury's new Digital Screen Campus. Bree has been a tireless advocate for the Canterbury Screen industry and took on the difficult role of building up the region's film office essentially from scratch. In those three years she's achieved many things, such as establishing the first regional Screen Incentive in NZ’s history, the unprecedented closure of a New Zealand motorway and has been a focal point for bringing the local industry together.

We're excited for Bree and also especially excited about her new venture at UC's Digital Screen Campus. The DSC is a planned $97 million education and commercial facilities, which will create a screen hub for big budget commercial films, as well as indie productions and games. It will be completed in phases until 2025 and include purpose-built production studio space, editing and visual effect suites, recording spaces, a green screen facility, and a motion capture studio. All of this much needed infrastructure for the region.

Recently Resonate, Cerebral Fix and Pixel collaborated to produce two short films on the campus' VR set. They spent 5 days filming across an Auckland boardroom, Antarctica and Mars and a post apocalyptic Lake Pukaki, all from the comfort of an old lecture theatre. It's great proof that top quality production can be made in Christchurch.

Jessica Todd

Managing Director / Producer

Cable Maiden Productions