A record-breaking audience gathered at Auckland’s Q Theatre to enjoy a very special June Writer’s Room with two of New Zealand’s brightest and funniest film makers. Chaired by actor Cliff Curtis, Script to Screen invited multiple Emmy-nominee Jemaine Clement and writer/director Taika Waititi to discuss the co-writing, co-directing and co-starring of their latest collaborative project, What We Do in the Shadows.
What We Do in the Shadows welcomes the audience into the ‘nightly’ lives of three vampires (plus a fourth who hangs out in the basement) sharing a Wellington flat. Like any other flatmates, they argue over the housework and domestic issues, enjoy going out for a spot of nightclubbing (if they are invited in, of course) and some banter with a pack of local werewolves, and must find those who will provide them with the sustenance they need … There is no doubt that this latest outing from one of New Zealand’s best known comedic teams is a real winner.
Jemaine and Taika share a long history of good friendship and creative collaboration dating back to their university days in Wellington when they were ‘… 19 year olds talking about men problems and burgeoning manhood.’
The two saw each other one day in the Victoria University library where it was dislike at first sight. Jemaine said he disliked Taika because he was wearing a reggae hat and hovering around a girl and Taika said, “I hate people with glasses. Jemaine was wearing this tapa cloth shirt. I thought he was one of those intellectuals trying to be ‘down with the brown’.”
Later that day, the two ran into each other again at a Capping Review audition. They watched each other’s performance, liked what they saw, put aside their initial differences and became friends and creative colleagues, developing and performing in a number of shows around Wellington with other like-minded actors.
“No one would hire us to be in their fancy plays so we were stuck in Bats making up our own stuff,” said Taika. “We learned to love rejection.”
The two made lists of all the things they’d like to do … make movies, be vampires … which developed into a list of questions like ‘what happens when you turn into a vampire?’ which then morphed into a short film project completed in 2005 where some of those questions were answered.
The film was based upon about 150 pages of jokes with a storyline running through. “Some scenes were 6/7 pages long so if you go by the ‘one page equals one minute of film’ then we had something that was 150 minutes long. We wanted it to be a natural process so didn’t show the actors any of the pages. We just asked them to turn up and we’d say things like ‘lie down here and we’re going to cover you in blood’.”
Sometimes that approach worked, but often it didn’t. There was always the script to fall back on but handing over a 150-page script wasn’t a happening thing. “We gave the crew a 100-page version,” said Taika. “Eventually we were able to shoot everything in a short amount of time but ended up with about 150 hours of footage. We spent over a year editing it.”
The freedom to improvise has always been integral to their work although Jemaine admitted in the early theatre days it didn’t always go so well. “It could throw you onstage sometimes. There’s been a progression for us. In Eagle vs Shark I wasn’t allowed to memorise anything. With Flight of the Conchords we’d improvise about 15% of the time, writing the scripts in such a way that it was easy to improvise. With Shadows, we progressed from having a little room to improvise to having a lot, so next time we might go back a bit.”
“People say that improvisation is a tool to get around script problems,” said Taika, “or to be used when a scene isn’t working. Good actors will tell you they only do it when they’re trying to figure out a problem. There’s been a change in comedy though. Improvisation has become more important. Some actors can come up with jokes right on the spot.”
What started out in 2005 as a list of questions and an idea of scenes, gradually developed over the next few years. The two kept in touch between projects, exchanging ideas and potential storylines until 2012 when they both decided to sit down and write the script properly. They headed out to a house in the country where they could work without distractions. Boy had taken Taika three years to write, Eagle vs Shark three weeks. Shadows was written in three days and both agree that it was a far better film than it would have been if they written it in 2005.
The audience had been asked to write down questions for the panel to answer so Cliff delved into the question box to ask a few.
‘What makes wellington such a popular vampire spot?’
“It is dark and rainy and cold.”
‘Would you make a sequel?’
“We have been thinking of sequels and spin offs . It’s a natural thing to do. Perhaps ‘What We Do in the Moonlight.’
‘Best prank pulled on set?’
“We were way too serious for pranks.”
‘Did you use authentic archive images or were they recreated by a graphic artist?’
“Most of the archival stuff we did ourselves, putting our own characters into old drawings and photos. Freeman White did the portraits of the film characters.”
‘Who did your marketing campaign?
“Anna Dean and Chris Henry. Anna did all of the online stuff . We also developed a beer called Delicious Neck to help market the film.”
Jemaine and Taika not only write, compose music and make graphic art, but also produce and distribute. When asked about funding the film, Taika said they bypassed the NZ Film Commission. “We weren’t against the NZFC but to get their money you have to go through several rounds with many people who can change every couple of years. One person may like your film and then another comes in and doesn’t. I’m not sure they would have funded us anyway. We had the opportunity to get money easily within a few days from the US so we took that. It was way easier.”
The film’s budget was just under 2 million with ” …. a couple million in favours,” said Jemaine.
Taika said they pitched the idea around Hollywood for three days. “It was depressing. We didn’t really have a story but did get offers from some studios. Making it that way might have been an easier process but we wouldn’t have been able to film here and by deciding not to go that way, we knew that we would get to make it.”
“There’s also that advantage with big budget vs small,” said Jemaine. “With a small project, we can do everything and have creative freedom … but then you can be up all night doing things yourselves whereas with big budgets you have teams of artists doing all the work.”
Cliff invited audience questions and the first asked Jemaine and Taika to describe their process on set for co-writing, co-directing and acting.
“I am difficult and unpredictable,” said Jemaine. ” I don’t know what I’m going to do so just keep the cameras rolling. When I first started acting, I was doing a TV show. The director wanted to make every character ‘likeable’ so I challenged myself to think of what was ‘unlikeable’ in every character because you do need to figure that out.
“Often Taika and I would direct each other with something like, ‘turn it down a little’ because we’d be overacting in certain scenes. We’re used to working with each other, especially when we did theatre together and we didn’t even know you had a to have a director. There were times though when I thought we would have a fist fight.”
Taika said the actors did become confused at times. “I’d say one thing and then Jemaine would say another. We both had versions we wanted so had to find ways to mix and balance those. We would both try to edit together but the reality was that one of us would go away for a month, leaving the other to edit alone, and then come back to work together again. We constantly ran out of money for the pickups and had to put some of our own into it.”
Jemaine said the month spent filming was a lot of fun. “We did find our directing roles eventually. I was more in charge of script ideas and Taika was involved with the technical side of things so it all worked out.”
When asked why they chose to premier at Sundance rather than in New Zealand, Taika said, “The NZ Film Festival is in July, not the best time to premier. We completed the film in December 2013. Sundance is a good festival. If you do well there and get positive reviews than that’s a great start.”
“It’s always good to hear about someone from NZ making good overseas,” said Jemaine, “as opposed to New Zealanders doing well in New Zealand because people aren’t interested in that. We got good reviews at Sundance. Coming back with those made people more confident.”
And the good reviews were helpful for use on the trailer and posters too.
Another question asked the two how they managed to keep things on track, seemingly in the midst of chaos. Jemaine replied that they were very solid on storyline and script from the outset. “We’d identified the dramatic moments … the sad bits … all of the parts that people would follow.”
The two are exceptionally busy with multiple projects on the go. “My kitchen is a mess, the whiteboard is covered in writing,” said Taika. He has commercials to shoot in the next few months and is looking at three scripts with large studios but is putting things to one side at the moment to promote Shadows.
The future is bright for both Jemaine and Taika and who knows what they will get up to next. Until then, Taika left the audience with a simple message:
“Ask your friends to see the film. If each of you can tell ten people to stop watching My Kitchen Rules for one night, that would be very cool.”
Written for Script to Screen by Jane Bissell
“I love mixing my life with art, music, storytelling, acting, exploring, experimenting… I feel very lucky to be a filmmaker. And to share the films I’ve made.” – Florian Habicht
With over 10 years experience and six feature films, writer/director Florian Habicht is continually exploring new ways to tell a story. From fable WOODENHEAD to music documentary PULP, Florian seduces his audience into new worlds, allowing them to fall in love with the beauty that captured his eye.
Join us to hear Florian Habicht talk to Robyn Malcolm about how he has developed his creative process over the years, working intuitively and collaboratively to make his films.
Tuesday 21st April, The Classic, 321 Queen Street. 7pm drinks, 7:30-8:30pm talk. $5 koha appreciated.
Now that we’re back at The Classic, make sure to stick around afterwards for a slice of pizza on us!
“Housebound manages to balance consistent, fantastic comedy with a properly eerie mystery and what should be a star-making turn from lead Morgana O’Reilly.” Samuel Zimmerman, Fangoria
With so many elements to juggle to get a film to shine, it’s a feat when a low-budget first feature gels. Escalator funded horror-comedy Housebound has been hailed as a remarkable accomplishment by US reviewers after its SXSW festival debut earlier this year, where it was praised for freshness of voice, strong performances, carefully handled script, and the perfect dose of NZ’s dry humour.
Join us for a special NZ International Film Festival Writers’ Room with Housebound’s writer, director and editor Gerard Johnstone (The Jaquie Brown Diaries) and producer Luke Sharpe (The Jaquie Brown Diaries) as they talk to filmmaker Jackie Van Beek (Go the Dogs) about the challenges of writing and making this stellar debut feature.
Join us afterwards for some nibbles on us and a drink.
Tues 29 July, The Wintergarden (Civic Theatre), 7pm drinks, 7:30-8:30pm discussion, free.
Note: There will be spoilers!!
Housebound screened at the Civic in Auckland at the New Zealand International Film Festival on Sat 26 July at 9pm.
Join us this month for a Wellington Writers’ Room with Australian director and academic Robert Marchand. Robert will talk to story advisor and acting coach Brita McVeigh about the relationship between filmmakers and actors in the process of character-based improvisation.
Emerging filmmakers can feel bound by the orthodoxy of the filmmaking process. How can writers and directors get to the heart of the story by engaging their actors earlier on in the process? This discussion is aimed at writers and directors, as well as actors.
Join us from 5:30pm for a glass of wine and stay afterwards for a slice of Heaven Woodfire Pizza on us.
Wed 27 August, Nga Taonga Sound and Vision (formerly The Film Archive), 84 Taranaki Street, Wellington, 5:30pm drinks, 6-7pm talk, $5 koha appreciated, includes a glass of wine
Robert Marchand is currently in New Zealand working with co-writer/director team Andrea Bosshard and Shane Loader (Taking the Waewae Express; Hook, Line and Sinker) on their new film The Great Maiden’s Blush. Support their BOOSTED campaign here!
Join us for a discussion delving into the creative process of low budget feature films as experienced by recipients of funding from the NZ Film Commission’s Escalator scheme. This is an opportunity to feed into the NZ Film Commission’s discussion around different options for low budget funding moving forward.
Writer/director Max Currie (Everything We Loved), writer/director Paolo Rotondo (Orphans & Kingdoms), writer/director Gerard Johnstone (Housebound) and writer/director Guy Pigden (I Survived a Zombie Holocaust) talk to producer Tui Ruwhiu about how being part of the scheme shaped and changed their filmmaking process.
The Escalator low budget funding scheme was an initiative of the New Zealand Film Commission which ran from 2010 – 2012. Over three years, eight teams were given production funding of $250,000 to make their first feature film.
Join us afterwards for a slice of pizza on us and a drink.
Tues 2nd September, The Classic, 321 Queen Street, 7pm drinks, 7:30-8:30pm talk, $5 koha appreciated.
Script to Screen presents a one-day filmmaking workshop for the Far North region, Storytelling for the Screen with experienced writer/director Michael Bennett.
Is there a story from your community that you would like to tell through film but don’t know where to start?
Come and join us for a free one-day workshop that will give you the tools you need to take stories from your community and tell them on screen.
This workshop covers short film, short documentary and web series formats, and focuses on making a project on a low budget. The aim of the workshop is to foster local talent and encourage aspiring filmmakers to make their own projects with local content.
The workshop is aimed at all levels, from those with screenwriting and filmmaking experience, to passionate storytellers looking for an introduction on how to develop stories that are cinematic. The workshop is suitable for ages 15+. We also welcome those who work with rangatahi in the Far North region, who would like to learn more about how to inspire their youth to write and make a film project with local content.
When: Sunday 1 February, 9am-5pm
Where: Northtec Rawene Campus, Nimmo St, Hokianga
Cost: The workshop is free. Morning and afternoon tea will be provided. Please bring a plate to share for lunch.
Registration: If you would like to attend please rsvp to Eloise on eloise @ script-to-screen.co.nz or ring the office on 09 360 5400. This workshop is aimed at ages 15+. (The Script to Screen office reopens on 15th January so if you call or email prior to this day and we will reply on our return to confirm your place at the workshop.)
Michael Bennett is a writer/director of Te Arawa descent (Ngati Pikiao, Ngati Wakaue), working extensively within short and feature film, web series, and documentary forms. Michael’s first short film Michelle’s Third Novel accompanied the US gala premiere of Pulp Fiction at the 1994 New York Film Festival. He has since gone on to write and direct internationally award winning shorts Cow and Kerosene Creek. In 2010 he co-wrote and directed the award-winning feature film Matariki which debuted at TIFF. He recently devised and wrote all 20 episodes of popular web series The Factory, and wrote and directed The Confessions of Prisoner T – an in-depth look at the Teina Pora case, of which he is now writing a book, and developing a feature film. As well as working on his own projects, Michael is an experienced script editor.
Day Schedule:
9am – Intro, morning tea
9:30am – 12pm – Morning session: The craft of storytelling in drama, documentary and web series
12 – 1pm – Lunch – please bring a plate
1 – 4pm – Afternoon session : A chance to share your project ideas for discussion and feedback
4-5pm – Ngā Aho Whakaari presents Waka Kiriata – a screening of Māori short films – snacks provided
For our last Writers’ Room of the year we are thrilled to welcome award-winning Australian showrunnner, writer and director, Tony Ayres.
Tony talks to Fiona Samuel about his career as a creative dynamo, and his involvement at the helm of some of the most critically and commercially successful high-end television to come out of Australia (The Slap, Nowhere Boys, Maximum Choppage). Lauded for his skills in story development, Tony delves into the processes behind Australia’s recent high-end television success.
Thurs 30 October, 7pm drinks, 7:30-8:30 session, The Loft (upstairs), Q Theatre, 305 Queen Street.
A full bio for Tony Ayres can be found on the Matchbox Pictures website.
Half-day seminar: Creating Compelling Drama for a Young Audience with Tony Ayres
Tony will also share his expertise and insights on creating compelling and relatable screen drama for young people in a half-day seminar on the morning of Saturday 1 November. Whether you’re writing drama specifically for a young audience or want to develop children and teen characters in your drama, this is an essential session to attend. More details here. We’re proud to be able to deliver this session in partnership with Kids on Screen.
Presented by Kids on Screen and Script to Screen.
“Writing and directing for young audiences has been one of the most challenging, yet gratifying facets of my career. Not only are young audiences today far more savvy in terms of story, but they have a vast plethora of content options to choose from. This is what makes it so rewarding when you get it right.” – Tony Ayres.
Award-winning showrunner, writer and director Tony Ayres will share his expertise and insights on creating compelling and relatable screen drama for young people. Whether you’re writing drama specifically for a young audience or want to develop children and teen characters in your drama, this is an essential session to attend.
This intensive seminar will explore developing ideas into stories and making them relatable to different age groups – from writing authentic characters, to powerful, relevant themes, and crafting compelling drama that hooks the audience.
Tony is currently working on the second season of Australia’s teen drama Nowhere Boys. Series 1 of this award-winning drama series has just been nominated for an Emmy and has won an AACTA, Logie, and a Prix Jeunesse International 2014 Award.
Where: St Columba Centre, 40 Vermont Street, Ponsonby.
When: Saturday November 1st, 9.15 for 9.30 start, 12.30pm finish.
Tickets: $15 concession, $20 full price*
This seminar is brought to you with financial support from the NZ Film Commission.
* concessions available for industry guild members, students, and senior citizens with identification.
Script to Screen, the Screen Directors’ Guild of NZ and Actors’ Equity joined forces to present a very special May Writer’s Room event to explore the relationship between the director and the actor, and how directors can enable performances that brings words to life and create magic onscreen.
Actors Tandi Wright (Nothing Trivial, Out of the Blue), Jarod Rawiri (Harry, Fantail) and Stephen Lovatt (Top of the Lake, Fantail) discussed with MC and director Peter Burger what they have learned about the director/actor relationship and how that relationship has helped engender their best performances.
The evening began with some very fine clips showcasing the considerable acting talents of the panel, followed by a confession from Peter. “When I first started directing, I found working with actors could be intimidating – even talking to them was a challenge. Is there a secret code? What is it you’d like to hear a director say – what do you want from us?”
“Good communication, trust, a love of the craft and the project, an enjoyment of actors and a passion for working with others who want to do a good job too,” said Tandi.
A tall order perhaps? Stephen followed on with the ‘down-home’ advice, “Some manners go a long way too!” For Jarod an important part of his relationship is the director’s willingness to acknowledge the vulnerability of an actor, to be open to this, and have empathy for it.
The rehearsal process provides a ‘getting to know you’ opportunity for both actors and director and can also help to dispel some pre-existing barriers and preconceptions. As a director, Peter said the rehearsal process was not about setting the performance but more about being creative. “It shouldn’t be about getting the perfect performance during rehearsal. I want that for filming. I never ask an actor to put everything into it during rehearsal because they might put too much.”
Jarod wasn’t sure how to manage the rehearsal process when he fronted up for his first dramatic project. “Now my rehearsal time is 80% sitting down and talking about the material and 20% ‘let’s do it!’ For me it’s all about getting to know the director and establishing a language. I like talking with the director about what is happening in each scene, not touching the scene but retaining the idea of what we are trying to do with it, where we are trying to go.”
Tandi felt people can, in general, be intimidated by actors and the rehearsal process provides an opportunity to break down some of those barriers. “That’s when the trust process starts.”
Stephen agreed but said he had experienced rehearsals that ‘devolved into blocking sessions’. “The rehearsal process should be about getting to know each other and defining what we can all bring to the material. If it devolves into blocking, it becomes useless from that perspective.” Some scenes require different approaches in rehearsal, especially those of high emotion or drama, and Stephen prefers to rehearse those differently. “I don’t want to over rehearse the lines because much of the magic is in the words and the emotions those words can trigger. Talking around the ideas behind the words works well for me. Also, you don’t have the same amount of time in film to reach that emotional peak as you have in theatre, so you have to be mindful of that and be able to hit the peak at the right time. ”
After all of the groundwork and hard effort of establishing working relationships, there is a magic moment when the director can say, “That’s gone well!” … or not …. and so much of that outcome depends not only on the actors and director, but the entire crew.
“Feeling the energy of the whole crew in a positive way, everyone going, ‘Yes we can do this’, is so important,” said Jarod. “Nothing is actually said, but I can sense that unity with the crew as opposed to being separate from them.”
Directors are under considerable pressure and stress from multiple sources, especially the constraints of time. Stephen said there is nothing wrong with putting pressure on an actor to ‘get this done now’. “The sun is setting … daylight is leaving … and it’s ‘let’s get this done’. There’s nothing manipulative about it. Everyone on set is concentrating, putting pressure on the actor to make it happen and there’s nothing wrong with that. The actor has signed on to do the job, has seen the call sheet, it’s down to eight minutes and the sun is about to set. As an actor, you’re about to lay it all on the line otherwise we don’t have a show, so when you come to that point, you know you have the best wishes of everyone on set. The weight of that responsibility is a good energy to come from. The actor will do everything in their creative power to deliver the best they can. They knew it was coming, they’ve read the script, they have an honest relationship with the director and the crew so it will happen, but it requires that level of sincerity from all parties.”
When the chips are down, it means alot to Tandi when a director says, ‘Take the time you need.’ “It’s not helpful when the crew is running about like headless chooks so when the director says ‘take what you need’ I really appreciate that. To me, that says, ‘I have confidence in you’. I’m also into a director’s ‘horse whispering’. If I’m in the zone, in character, and the director comes up to me and has a quiet word in my ear, I like that. But I’m such an old trout now that I find it easier to just ask for what I need. If I’m not at the point I need to be, then I’ll ask the director to help me get there.”
Peter said directors should always have a firm respect for the actor, understand that he or she is a professional and can do their job. “The best thing I can do is not hang out in the actor’s face but try to be in tune with them just that little bit more, keep my energy a bit closer to them, be watchful. If I feel like I can be helpful, I’ll try to reinforce in subtle ways, reassure, try to give them a bit of a boost.”
Stephen said developing that creative trust with the director is essential for having such constructive conversations but ‘crossing the line’ into an actor’s creative process is not helpful. “It’s not nice if anyone tries to get involved with your process. That’s nobody’s business. You can ‘over-help’ an actor and that’s not good.”
Avoiding the temptation to become too involved can be a challenge for a director. “Sometimes you’re working with an actor who is a bit inexperienced and is finding it hard to get to a certain place,” said Peter. “That can be tough on set. In rehearsal it’s easier. I tend to bring out stories from my own experience and find that helps to establish the trust by laying out things that are personal to me yet relevant to the story.”
There were many actors in the audience. One commented that having a director who listened to his options, choices and questions was ideal and Peter stressed that the relationship is always one of collaboration. Tandi agreed. “Having that confidence in the director is very important. Being open to your ideas, not feeling threatened by them, that sense of true collaboration and the feeling that you are all working together to make the best thing you can.”
While collaboration is vital to success, a director must be able to clearly define the parameters of their role and that of the actor. Stephen said, “The director has a critical factor operating where they will say to an actor, ‘Thanks for the offer but I understand this story in a larger sense. That is my job whereas yours is to be in character from one moment to the next.’ That not only clarifies but also helps to build confidence and trust because it gives you the sense that the director knows the story they want to tell.”
And a good director will do their homework. “I still find shooting a frightening experience,” said Peter, “and it is the fear that makes me do alot of homework. If an actor has done his or her work well, the only way I can come back with a respectable answer to their question is if I know my end of the job equally well, so I can then say ‘yes, great’ or ‘no and here’s the reason why.’”
When a director has put in the work, Jarod finds that a challenge he enjoys. “If a director knows the material really well, they will challenge us as actors, test us to see if we know the material as well as they do. I like that. Sometimes it makes me think I don’t know the material as well as I need to.”
Tandi expects the same level of commitment from a director that she puts into her own work. “I butt up against a director sometimes, bounce ideas around, it can be a robust process because I am working hard here and I want them to do the same. I want to be able to think, “Yes, I will follow you to the ends of the earth.’”
She could only remember having one ‘stand up row’ with a director where she had felt unsupported on set. “It was a stressful schedule and he only gave me one take on a close up that was part of an important scene. We’re moving so fast … I’m still trying to hit my mark and it’s technical. Afterwards, I said to him that giving me just the one take wasn’t enough to ‘get the gold’ . I said it would be useable but not interesting and I couldn’t tell whether he really had too little time or just didn’t care about my performance and I found that quite gutting. Acting is a very exposing thing and you need to feel that someone has your back out there.”
Jarod recalled a time when he lost confidence in a director and never made it to the set. “A number of the cast walked away. There was an overconfidence with the project. The way the director talked about it gave the impression it was going to be ‘this’ and it just wasn’t real so I thought no, I don’t want to be involved. It’s great to be optimistic and excited about what you’re making, but it has to be real.”
Creating that positive environment of ‘sharing and caring’ is integral to a project’s success and Stephen offered a tip. “I like to assume that everyone there is doing their best to deliver things that are useful to the project, so taking what is offered in the positive spirit intended, even if it’s wildly off the planet, is the way to go. Saying ‘thank you, I appreciate your input here’ is a great way to get the best out of everyone, even if the input is not something you can use. It’s good manners!”
Offering some advice to other directors, Peter said ‘people skills’ and an appreciation of the actor’s craft and the emotional intensity needed from an actor to produce the result asked for are important. “If I say, ‘be more scary’, the actor needs to do that internal work to figure out how to be more scary. So before I give that external direction, ‘be more scary’, I try to put myself into the actor’s shoes, into the shoes of their character. So while I am talking on one level externally, internally I am feeling the character. A classic telltale sign of a newbie director is to say, ‘This is what I want to see coming out of you’ and the actor has to do all the work. Offering an internal motivation can be helpful.”
During question time, the panel was asked if, as actors, they give each other advice?
“Depends on the actors you’re dealing with, “said Stephen. “Some don’t but Tandi and I are old mates so we talk, have that trust in each other and know we are coming from a generous place. I think it’s quite common for Kiwi actors to do this. That’s one thing that makes working in our industry so warm.”
Tandi said that if she feels an actor isn’t serving the scene, she will speak with the director. “That way it becomes a collaborative experience. I would never criticise another actor. Sometimes I think that aspiring directors should have a go at acting because then they would realise how hard it is. Good actors make it look easy but it can be hard to understand how exposing it is and how vulnerable acting can make you feel.”
Do actors ever feel manipulated by the director?
“I don’t mind being manipulated as long as it is done generously,” said Stephen.” I don’t mind being treated harshly as long as it is done honestly.”
“Sometimes I feel a bit manipulative in the blocking scenes,” said Peter. “I block simpler scenes before I go on set. Complex scenes will take more time. As a director you figure out the visual as well as the acting. I might want an actor to stand under an archway because I think it’s a cool shot. If I can present it in such a way that the actor instinctively feels that’s the right place to stand, then that’s good, or I might arrange the chairs in such a way that they go stand under the archway without me having to say anything.”
Stephen said he would stand under the archway as long as the director wasn’t ‘bullshitting’ him. “I will stand under your arch but don’t make me do it at a bullshit point. I’ll do the blocking you want as long as it make sense. There has to be a reason for me to go somewhere in blocking.”
Jarod said he once worked with a director who had a writing background and didn’t understand how to block. “He relied on his DOP to determine the movement which gave us freedom to move however we wanted. It was scary and exciting but I enjoyed it because it gave us the opportunity to feel organic with it.”
“The more I do this job the more I love that it is not like a normal job,” said Tandi. “Actors can be weird and emotional and we should embrace that weird emotional stuff and not be afraid of it. When actors get upset or want a robust discussion about stuff, embrace that emotion because that is why we do that job. It turns into magic onscreen. Embrace it.”
Written for Script to Screen by Jane Bissell
Hillary’s successful ascent of Mt Everest in 1953 is one of NZ’s most important and iconic stories, and in 2013 the story comes to the big screen for the first time. Beyond the Edge, to be released 24 Oct, is NZ’s first 3D film and had record international presales.
What is it about the narrative approach of the filmmakers that turned a well-known historical event into a gripping cinematic tale?
Join writer/director Leanne Pooley (Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls, Shackleton’s Captain) and writer (screen story)/producer Matthew Metcalfe (Giselle, Dean Spanley) as they talk to chair Toa Fraser (Giselle, Dean Spanley) about how they found a way into this iconic story and how the use of 3D played a role in storytelling.
Stay afterwards for a slice of pizza on us and a drink.
Tuesday 29 October, 7pm drinks, 7:30 start, The Classic, 321 Queen Street, $5 koha appreciated.
Click here for more details on screening times for Beyond the Edge