In Pursuit of as Sustainable Future
Ōtepoti. The Place of Corners. Also known as the Edinburgh of New Zealand, round every corner there’s Scottish and Māori heritage here in Dunedin.
Old money claimed in the Otago Gold Rush sets our strong Victorian and Edwardian architectural foundations. Larnach Castle, Olveston, Dunedin Law Courts, (Old) Dunedin Prison, The Warehouse Precinct, Dunedin Railway Station, King Edward Technical, University of Otago and the Port Chalmers main street and docks are just a few location nuggets that have adorned the screens.
An Angel at my table, Sylvia, Scarfies, Out of the Blue, Light Between Oceans, Wanted S2, Black Christmas, The Power of the Dog, The Royal Treatment are some Productions to benefit from this charming city.
An earlier slogan of Dunedin “It’s all right here” sums it up when you talk locations. Any Location Scout will agree, whether it’s the architecture or the landscape there’s plenty of opportunity for cinematic splendour. Where else can you shoot vast open beaches, mile upon mile with no one in sight for a lockdown call and you’re more likely to see a giant sea-leopard than paparazzi? But not only are there a diversity of interiors and exteriors on offer they’re in such close proximity you could discard the car and get your environmental freak on with an electric bike to and from sets. Less petrol, less pollution, less time and money.
This is one reason to shoot in Dunedin.
This place breaths creativity and inspiration in and out like vapour on an often cold morning. And yes weather is a BIG conversation when discussing Dunedin with the rest of the country. Yep it’s cold. Yep you’ll need a good lip gloss. Also merino possum wool socks. But you can’t feel cold through the lens of a camera. If we want to talk weather, isn’t it more important to note that Dunedin has a lower rain-fall then most cities in New Zealand? And that the wind will not be blowing ‘C' stands on their sides? It might be bum tingling cold but the sun can still shine through cheating us in the edit that it’s practically balmy out. We guarantee you’ll require less wet weather cover days to keep your shooting schedule on track.
Another reason to shoot in Dunedin.
Over the more recent years shooting in and around Dunedin has continued to grow as interest in the area and its opportunities bring productions to town. However, there continues to be a misconception that are "no crew there” and “you’ll have to bring everyone in.” This statement is not correct. What would be more accurate to say is that up until the latter part of last year no one had had the time to research what crew capacity was at in the region.
The conclusion off the recent study generated by the DCC is a pool of 180 contractors on the Dunedin crew database. Approximately half are factual crew contractors and half are scripted. Quite a few crew cross over departments, giving them multiple skillsets. This number continues to grow as crew return from some of the large scale productions up in the North Island.
There’s also an increase in folk making the move down, whether they’re returning home or starting a new one, as they too watch the industry build momentum here.
The Royal Treatment (a Netflix rom.com) was the first project to come to Dunedin after this study. While it was timely that the information could be shared ahead with powers that be, it was equally fortunate they had a genuine interest to crew locally where possible (Thank you Chloe Smith and Matt Noonan). As a result, 30% crew came out of Dunedin. Prior to this a Production based here would barely make up 10% local crew. Not only that, out of the 28 supporting NZ cast roles, 15 of these were cast from Dunedin, Oamaru and Central Otago.
It’s a big town, small city with a 106,000 residents give or take and 20% of this made up by the student population. Some say “meh, too small”, “too student-y” but students offer ethnic diversity as extras plus additional crewing for larger shoot days. And a smaller population means having local knowledge with such a minimal degree of separation problems can get resolved in a matter of hours. How else are you going to get the aluminium welder in 9pm at night? And someone who knows how to drive a 1925 Buick without stalling to shoot the next morning? There’s always someone who can help.
Dunedin breeds resilient friendly multi-able creatives (also Albatross, Hoihoi, Kakas) … ultimately another reason to shoot here.
Let’s side step a little as while Dunedin warmly welcomes any outside Productions to the city if we are building towards sustainability in this region the focus should shift to the local content creators, storytellers, musicians, businesses that continue to bubble away in their own creative juices.
We could write up an entire article on just NHNZ alone, it needs no introduction. Famous worldwide the Dunedin based production company has produced around 19 documentary films, 1200 hours+ of television, acquiring over 300 international awards. Over the last few months the company went through some restructuring and was recently purchased by Dame Julie Christie. The success to follow sees NHNZ being one of the five applicants to receive the first round of Premium Productions for International Audiences Fund (Te Puna Kairangi Premium Fund). This will bring pre-production to commence on a new season of the underwater wildlife series Our Big Blue Backyard for TVNZ and Love Nature for international audiences.
ARL (Animated Research Limited) cofounded by Sir Ian Taylor (also cofounder of Taylormade Productions) is another multi-award winning Internationally acclaimed production house. ARL produces computer graphics and content over multiple mediums including film, tv, sporting events, educational programs and installations. Mātauranga is one of their latest projects, an online learning platform teachers can integrate into their curriculum. The aim to help tamariki learn from the past to navigate the future with engaging videos and fun activities, to prove that science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) is not something to be afraid of. The Antipodean Albatross was a short film Produced by ARL for Live Ocean and a finalist for the Sylvia Earle Ocean Conservation Award as part of the My Hero Film Festival this year.
Infinitum Studios, a Dunedin based company cofounded by Oliver Compton and Millie Cossou specialising in cinema drone and aerial camera operations have been working on an array of commercials over the past few years. Companies such as BMW, MINI, Mitsubishi and Bombardier Recreational Products have seen their drone services regionally, nationally and internationally.
Theatreworks cofounder Cindy Diver has been providing casting, extras casting and assistance to literally every single Production to shoot in the South Island since 1993. Musicians spawned from the City’s prolific music scene inspire stories to share of loved idols like The Chills: The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Philipps and SIX60 Till the Lights Go Out. The Music scene has not only inspired documentaries but dozens of Music Video shoots and a growing list of local composers.
Jason and Kate Lindsay co-owners of Petriedish (a multi-level shared space offering community and growth) cultivate a space for producers, animators, VFX compositors and non-industry contractors all co-existing under the one roof. Petriedish is regularly used for on screen locations, off screen film facilities, private functions and will soon open up Post Production suites, Foley and other Post services.
Several Drama Production companies reside out of Dunedin have shot Productions previously in the region. R&R Productions Ltd, Creative Producers brought Emmy nominated Wanted S2 to the city a few years back. Punakaiki Productions Producer / Director team Stefan Roesch and Pennie Hunt having successful Domestic and International festival runs for their short films are currently in development for feature length and online series scripts. Another Producer / Director duo Tess Whelan and David Hay of Legal Fiction Films recently completed their 2nd short Canvass. Scripts developments for a Feature are also underway.
Right now domestic projects in development for the city are prospering. Quality story telling is not something we are in short supply of here in Dunedin. Not only are there more scriptwriters and content producers than ever before but with a bigger focus on regional development over the last couple of years there’s more opportunity for funding to reach stories generated this far south.
Because the most sustainable way to continue to build the industry, the businesses and crew is to support the productions and people generating content within Dunedin. We don’t want feast or famine, just a bubbling consistency of various projects to jump between please. It’s not a giant leap, just the next step up. If we can maintain the right amount of balance for incoming Productions and local generated Productions, Dunedin can maintain a sustainable Film and TV industry hub.
