Workshop Series

The New Zealand Film and Video Technicians’ Guild ran the ‘what’s what in visual effects’ workshop in May, in Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown. The workshop is the second of a series of four workshops funded by the New Zealand Film Commission.

VFX supervisor Charlie McClellan ran the workshop with help from cinematographer and Guild president Alun Bollinger. Both shared examples of VFX in practice and candidly explained processes, telling anecdotes from their filmmaking experiences.

The workshop series aims to enhance collaboration and understanding between different departments. It takes a whole crew to make a movie. The dictionary definition of a crew is ‘a group of persons working together.’ From conception to finished product, a filmmaking team must establish a collaborative environment where all crafts connect and work through the filmmaking process together. VFX work requires careful planning and choreography across all departments from pre-production through post with all parts contributing and communicating.

Dunedin Festival of Film and Television Craft weekend, March 23 to 24

The 7th annual Dunedin Festival of Film and Television Craft weekend was produced as a partnership between Sabertooth Films Ltd and the Octagon Short Film Trust. Funding from New Zealand Film Commission, Film Otago Southland and Short Film Otago made the event possible, and kept registration fees at a very reasonable $40 or $45 for the entire weekend.

The organisation committee was Aaron Watson, George Dawes, Joanna Ibell, Zoe Hobson and Scott Mouat.

Speakers from Script to Screen, The Writers’ Guild and The Film Archive helped out, with Aaron speaking on behalf of the Techos’ Guild (thanks Aaron).

Film students from Aoraki Polytechnic, the University of Otago, Otago Polytechnic and the South Island Institute of Technology attended, along with Dunedin and Queenstown film practitioners.

Aaron says the event was an overall success with attendance numbers up (51 registered participants) on previous years, a high calibre of speakers and a great new venue at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. He says there is a vibrant film community in the deep South, and hopes to build on the success of this year’s event in future years.

Programme

Short film screening. The weekend opened with a showcase of some of the best short films produced in Otago and Southland, introduced by the filmmakers. Local short films screened included Lost & Found (short documentary) by director Joey Bania, Fear Tactics (short film) by director Dell McLeod, The Tunnel (short film) by director Joel Garman and Dinner at Sarah’s (short film) by director Andy Rutherford.

The Writers’ Guild’s Steven Gannaway shared information on getting scripts market-ready, how to grab the attention of funders and filmmakers. He challenged participants to think about what they actually want from a script-writing career and how to set about achieving this.

Script to Screen’s screenwriting craft. Writer/director Michael Bennett (Matariki, Kerosene Creek, Cow, Michelle’s Third Novel) presented a workshop about the key points of cinematic storytelling, remaining true to the core of an idea and how to keep an audience engaged on the big screen. Michael’s choice of clips included Jaws, Deliverance, Bridesmaids, Thelma and Louise, Taxi Driver – all films that the majority had seen.

The Film Archive’s national television collection developer Joanna Richards spoke on accessing and depositing material.

Short films – from stage to screen. Director/producer team Jackie van Beek and Aaron Watson discussed the highs and lows of short film projects and making the transition from playwriting to screenwriting.

Visionary drama. Producer Philippa Campbell has worked on a diverse range of film and television projects including Rain (director Christine Jeffs), Black Sheep (director Jonathan King), No.2 (director Toa Fraser) and Jane Campion’s miniseries Top of the Lake. She discussed the distinct vision which attracts her to a project, and what the producer’s job entails in maintaining this throughout the filmmaking process.

NZFC’s short film manager Lisa Chatfield gave an overview of funding available to filmmakers early in their careers, followed by a discussion on how to use self-funded films for career enhancement and how to develop work before applying for funding.

Technicians’ Guild member Aaron Watson explained why following industry work etiquette and safety practices from the beginning of a techos career is needed, and outlined the benefits of Guild membership.

Documentaries. Paul Trotman has established himself as New Zealand’s preeminent medical documentarian producing thought-provoking films about medicine and the health service. He discussed how he takes such a vast and complex topic and brings it to the screen.

Distributing film. Lisa Chatfield, Aaron Watson and Philippa Campbell led a discussion on how to distribute films effectively.