Moon Over Ponsonby

The front page of the local newspaper has a story about the film under the photo above (of Mike Riddell, DOP Tom Burstyn and lead Rawiri Paratene). It's a good piece. The film must be going to happen - I read it in the news. Link here to read.

Getting There

Amazing what can be accomplished in a day, with the right attitude and a good team of people committed to the cause. Every night I wake up with my mind buzzing - a raft of tasks that need to be completed, and conscious of how little time there is left.

But the astonishing thing is that by the end of the day, a huge amount has been achieved, and we are that much closer to getting there. And in this business, getting there is a significant achievement. Film is perhaps the highest form of art collaboration - no way of doing it without real teamwork and interdependence.

And so it is as we draw near the end of the first week of preproduction, that there is a certain sense of satisfaction alongside the constant panic. Also, many small events are convincing us that the mojo is flowing - that there's a sense of rightness and timeliness about this whole project.

Time will tell, but there's a massive amount of soul pouring into this production.

Seeing

It was great to tour round some of the locations with our DOP Tom Burstyn last week. Strange how you see things with new eyes when you're looking alongside a cameraman. The image to the left is of the interior of the church which we'll be using for the funeral scene. Tom could immediately see the beauty and potential of it.

This afternoon I was down at the boarding house (another location), drinking coffee and talking to the owners. They are the very best of people, and in the midst of a million distractions it was good to be with them. We had a wide ranging conversation about all sorts of things, but primarily about allowing people the dignity to be themselves without the constant pressure to be someone else.

There's not only stigma with mental illness - there's the constant attempt by agencies to make people 'better' or 'normal'. It was so wonderful to be in an environment where aroha is the norm, and you're allowed to be mad if you want to be mad. We swapped some stories of the enriching moments we'd experienced by living with people who are 'different'.

Film, like life, is a way of seeing. Cropping the boundaries provides focus and perspective, so that sometimes you are aware of things which have always been there, but become newly evident.

Pre Production

Today marks the start of our official pre-production. Just three weeks left to get ourselves organised for the shoot. It's akin to the mounting of a significant military operation - no good getting part way through and discovering you didn't organise the supply train.

So the busyness increases, the decisions multiply, the demands grow. But so does the excitement and the anticipation. And it's a chance to get to know the team who will be working together to bring this dream to reality.

I was out of my depth some weeks ago, but it hasn't stopped me yet. The idea is to learn from the duck, and keep all the frantic paddling below the surface.

At the end of all this labour, something will be born among us.

We started out on this project to be producers who were open and transparent in our dealings with all. And that has continued to be our guiding star. There's something about integrity and honesty which affects the atmosphere of the whole team. We've also looked for cast and crew who were not only talented but who believed in the story and wanted to be part of it.

This week has been a difficult one in which we've engaged some of the darker aspects of the industry. It's been a challenge to maintain equilibrium and stick to our principles as we were caught up in some issues not of our making. But all credit to the main players who have found a way to get through in the interests of getting the film made.

Yesterday we looked at the camera test images for the Sony EX1 (night shooting, close-ups, depth of field etc) on the big screen, and were delighted to confirm that the data levels were within the ranges necessary for effective post production, and for printing to 35mm at the end of it all. Plus, it looked pretty damned good.

Of course it helps to have a DOP who knows how to play the instrument!

A great deal of buzz for me personally yesterday as we had our first HODs meeting up at the office, and there was the sense of a team on a mission. Everyone there was making some sort of sacrifice to be part of the film, but bringing their professionalism to it.

So. Official pre-production begins Tuesday. Here we go...

Dreams

Today we're doing a test shoot with the camera setup we'll be using for the film. DOP Tom Burstyn is up here to coincide with a couple of days when our lead Rawiri Paratene has some space in his busy schedule. It's something of a tech rehearsal, but it also marks another staging post on the way toward shoot.

Tomorrow will be the first gathering of the clan, with most of the HODs for the film getting together for the first time with the director.

In the midst of the constant problem-solving and fire-fighting which occupies most of my days, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that what seemed impossible not so long ago is actually under way. Our former director Gillies Mackinnon describes the process of filmmaking as 'from dream to shit and (hopefully) back to dream again'.

We're just entering into the shit phase, but hoping to keep the dream in sight as we go forward.

Writing?

It's a salutary lesson for a writer to be a producer. I've done it several times before, though never quite at this level. It does make you appreciate how easy it is to write something which will create headaches for the production team, and how pragmatic writers need to be when it comes to the telling of their story.

Unfortunately one of the side effects of production is that the process becomes all-consuming, leaving little of the unencumbered time that writers need for that final honing of the script. About the only thing I'm writing at the moment is contracts! And even that is just filling in the blanks for the most part.

But now we've taken on a Production Manager (Laina Cheung), I'm hoping that some space may miraculously appear so that I can do my final polish. And of course there will be the inevitable tweaks as we go along and the actors make their own contributions. Now, back to the contracts...

Meet the Director!

There's an old adage that the best position for the writer is to be sleeping with the director. I've taken it to heart. Our new and fabulous director is none other than Rosemary Riddell. We've put together the old team which was so successful with the international play Jerusalem, Jerusalem and took out the Sandcastle Award for Best Short Film at the Moondance Festival in Hollywood, for our short film Cake Tin.

Rosemary is very much an actors' director, with a keen eye for drama and what works on screen. And she brings to this project an intimate knowledge of the story, gleaned from more than ten years of living with its various incarnations. So she was ideally qualified to step into the breach when Gillies Mackinnon needed to pull out.

We're giving her highly experienced people around her to supplement her skills for her first feature, including the veteran Director of Photography Tom Burstyn.

Rosemary is a formidable director, much loved by all those she has worked with over the years. As an actor herself, she understands the importance of quality performances. And in her other life, she's a judge - so it doesn't pay to mess with her!

Doing it Hard

When the NZ Film Commission declined our application for production funding in August, it created a crisis of huge proportions. This was followed shortly afterwards by the news that Screen West Midlands would be unable to process their proposed contribution in time for shooting. Then, with the funding evaporating, our UK director Gillies Mackinnon pulled out. Any sensible producers would have closed the production down.

We came very close to it. On one dark day in September it seemed that the only option was to call it quits. But, as has happened so many times in the tangled history of this project, we found a way through. We made a commitment to make the film using private equity. That meant the complete reinvention of the production from the ground up. A low budget film might look at a budget of NZ$1m. We moved into micro budget territory of just over $300k.

It has meant lots of negotiation with talent and crew. It has meant the producers who have invested time and money over seven years taking no money out of the budget. Likewise the writer and director. It has meant finding work arounds and compromises in all areas. It has meant making a positive out of the negatives, by adopting a philosophy which our DOP Tom Burstyn calls 'Frugal Filmmaking'.

It has also meant the surfacing of huge amounts of goodwill and generosity by the core people, because they believe in this as a film which needs to be made. This is turning out to be a collaboration of artists who love cinema, and are keen not just to get the film completed, but to make a great film which will showcase the best of New Zealand talent and win audiences throughout the world.

So - we're doing it hard, but we're doing it honest!

A Place to Stay

We've got 5 people arriving from the UK, one from Canada, a confused Irishman from the States, and several from out of town to work on the film - all of whom need accommodation in the central Auckland area. Through the generosity of supporters we've managed to find beds for a fair number of them. But we still need more.

If anyone can offer a bed, or even better a furnished flat or house sit in or around the Ponsonby area, please let us know by emailing here. The shoot dates are 16 November to 25 December, so it's a while for house guests. But we promise they'll behave themselves, and they'll get fed on set.

If you know someone who knows someone who knows someone... please chase it up. If anyone has questions, they could ring Mike at 021 2952963.

Meanwhile, the madness continues...

Cast

We've assembled a brilliant cast for the shoot. Above you'll see some of the faces of the main players. Thanks to all the actors for their passion, commitment and belief they're bringing to making this a great film.

Moon Buggy

Meet the Moon Buggy... our slightly used people transporter which will be used for a production vehicle. Cheaper to buy than to lease for a couple of months, and we can sell it again at the end of the shoot to put some money back in the budget.

These are the sort of work arounds that we're needing to achieve on a daily basis in order to make the budget stretch. Vehicles are a real need and expense. Speaking of which, if anyone has a small truck which would be available for loan, can you let us know?

Another need is a camper van or caravan (preferably one with a toilet) which we could borrow for 5 weeks before Christmas - to be used as a changing room/toilet facility during our outdoor shoots. We promise to take very good care!

If you can help with any of this, please write to us here. Many thanks!

Good People

It takes a village to raise a movie!

We are making this film with a shoot budget of just NZ$300k.

Many would think it not possible, but the key to it is having a great team of people who believe in it and are prepared to bring their talents to the project. It's a difficult task to be offering so little reward and yet asking so much from the people who must give their very best if the film is to be successful.

One of the ways we are doing this is by the writer, producers, and director taking no money out of the production budget up front. Instead we're spending those valuable dollars on an excellent cast and crew. Given the producers have spent seven years developing the project at their own expense, this is a way of their expression of faith and confidence in it.

We're trying to assemble a team of the very best people, all of them talented and all of them believing that cinema can be more than an industry churning out a product. But as everyone knows, in the film world "no one knows anything".

Last Call

We're deeply grateful for the private equity investors who are making this film possible. I guess art has always had its patrons, but the high costs of producing films raise the stakes to a new level. We're doing something to address this by doing the shoot in innovative ways, but without our investors we'd be down the tubes.

We've begun to circulate the investment agreement to our donors, and sometime soon we'll need to draw a line under that. So if anyone is sitting on the fence, trying to decide whether to get on board or not, please make the choice now. You can simply email your interest here. We're accepting investments as small as $1,000, and remember there are significant tax breaks, a 10% premium and a share of profits.

Of course there are other ways to contribute. You can simply send donations of any size, and through our charitable trust, Te Tutua Trust, receive a tax receipt for your contribution. Or donate through the link to Givealittle on this blogsite.

It's a movie about the triumph of the little people against the odds, and it's in the small ways that we will make it a great story. Thanks for your help.

Tom Burstyn

We're delighted to have cinematographer Tom Burstyn attached as our DOP. Tom has more than 30 years experience, from his beginnings in his native Canada and including a stint in Hollywood. He eventually washed up in New Zealand as an intentional move to begin a new lifestyle.

Tom comes into the project as much more than just a DOP. He has both a commitment to the story and a philosophy of how to make a great film on limited resources. He will come onto the core production and creative team, and bring his vast experience and passion to the venture. It's a great honour to have him on the team.

Currently in Vancouver, where the film he both directed and shot is opening in the festival, Tom has a commitment to the art of cinema. The film "This Way of Life" has been singled out as one of the must-see screenings in the festival, after sold-out screenings in New Zealand. It is a beautiful and compelling story, one which I can't recommend highly enough.

Keeping Up

In case you hadn't noticed, it's full moon again this weekend! Time for all you dreamers to buy another lotto ticket for The Insatiable Moon, and post it to us at 46 Williams St, Cambridge 3434. The added bonus is that we're up to $22m for Powerball, and I promise we won't need all of that!

Sometimes you think you're not making much progress. And yet, in the last week we have finished auditions, had the draft schedule completed, welcomed our new and fabulous DOP, made offers to all our principal cast, booked airfares for the UK guys who are coming out, and finally got the internet on at the production office! In addition the props list has been drawn up, costuming suggestions completed, and draft investors' contracts sorted.

We're approaching 6 weeks until we start the shoot. Momentum is building. The moon is big and round.