Dunedin Film and TV Industry Update

Kia ora from Dunedin! As the first bulletin from 'The Edinburgh of the South', I’d like to give everyone a wee overview of the industry here. My last job was producing a music video for Australian band Boy and Bear in Queenstown. It’s the first single off their second album titled ‘Southern Sun’ (you can check it out on YouTube), it has stunning aerials of Ben Lomond. Director Benn Jae recently shot another video for Australian pop act Max and Bianca at Dunedin’s Larnarch Castle. NHNZ has seen a change in ownership, and continues to be a world leader in factual television. Flagship programme I Survived is still going strong with well over 100 episodes delivered worldwide. Executive producer Craig Meade has recently been in Burma with his team shooting episodes for new show Gem Hunt, which will premiere in the US on the Travel Channel in October. Taylormade/ARL are renowned pioneers of animation and sports graphics. They continue their long association with the America’s Cup this year, and also provide state of the art graphics for cricket, formula one racing, and golf events worldwide. Founder Ian Taylor was named Maori business leader of the year in May. Mark Strickson’s Dunedin based production company 5to9 have been in South Africa filming a series on wildlife crime Wild Life Warzone for Al Jazeera. Local producer Zoe Hobson is in the final stages of postproduction of her Escalator-funded horror-comedy I Survived a Zombie Holocaust, with a release expected later this year. Working for Myth Digital and Brand Agency, Zoe has produced a number of commercials, including for US-based company Delsys (recently partnered with Dunedin company ADInstruments). The commercial was shot with the Phantom camera, involved a gymnast doing some amazing mid-air acrobatics and is part of a large international campaign. Dunedin based organisation Short Film Otago is a regional initiative, funded by the Otago Community Trust that supports emerging filmmakers. They currently have five short films in various stages of production with budgets of up to $10,000. Dunedin filmmakers continue to have great success with the BBC Knowledge Young Filmmaker Awards, with Max Bellamy/Ollie Lucks, Rachael Patching and Joey Bania all being awarded grants for short docos. Very exciting that feature film John Maclean, it is produced by Rachel Gardner, Iain Canning and Emile Sherman. Lastly, congratulations to all the cast and crew of Top of the Lake for their eight Emmy nominations. The South Island continues to produce top-quality content which captivates worldwide audiences!

Aaron Watson, Queenstown branch member (Dunedin)