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This site provides details of the short films I have written, directed and produced since 2008.
Creative Communities New Zealand, have contributed funding toward twelve of these short film projects; see side panel below for more details.
Thank you for viewing..Linda
2011 - Dec., Short 'Le Cupcake'
Creative NZ Funding /Brightspark Pictures/ The Lab/Trinket Box
Writer/Director - Troy Blackman DOP - Finn McGowan
Writer/Producer/ Director - Linda Darby'Chocolate Fish Films'.
Development project for showreel. 4 minutes, dramacom status - in edit
2011 Oct., - Short 'Collision'
Brightspark Pictures/ The Lab
Writers - Linda Darby/ Troy Blackman
Director - Troy Blackman
DOP - Finn McGowan
Producer - Linda Darby for 'Chocolate Fish Films'.
Development project 4 minutes, action/drama status - in edit
2011 Aug., - Short 'Headlights'
Brightspark Pictures/ The Lab
Writers - Linda Darby/Finn McGowan
Producer - Linda Darby for 'Chocolate Fish Films'.
Director - Rahul Parbou
DOP - Finn McGowan
Development project 3 minutes, action/drama status - complete
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2011 - V48 July., - 'On the jetty beneath the willow tree
Production Manager -'Fix it in Post' Writers - Amelia McVinnie, Greg
Director - Ashley Cornall,
Producers - Ashley Cornall, Sam Medary. 7 minutes, Genre; Mystery
Producer - two of six 3 minute episodes were produced as part of film production class from undergraduate film and media studies at University of Auckland. I managed a subteam including a Director, line producer, 1st AD, and writer; making up 'Doubletake Productions'. The finished product previewed at UoA, and youtube. 18 minutes, Sci/Fi drama.
2009 - Short; 'Jellylegs'
Producer/Director - independant film project. Adapted 'Jellylegs' for screen from Elizabeth Pulford's preteen novel of the same name with the rights to do so from Scholastic New Zealand. Funded ($3,000) from Creative New Zealand; creative communities for postproduction and promotion. Screened to various Manukau Primary and Intermediate schools in Manukau area. 20 minutes, adventure preteen drama. Funded CCNZ
2007 - Short; 'The Princess and the Castle' Producer/Director Adapted from the children's book 'The Princess and the Castle' with rights from Random House London. An independant film project part funded ($1000 ) by Creative New Zealand; creative communities for postproduction and promotion. Score by Marcus Fritsch HOD music Rangitoto College. Screened to various Primary schools in Manukau area. 17 minutes, children's adventure/drama. Funded CCNZ
2006 - Short; 'Starcatcher' Producer/Director Adapted from children's stroy 'Lucy the star catcher' The Book Company,Australia. An independant film project sponsored by Edgewater Productions, with Score by Marcus Fritsch HOD music Rangitoto College. Screened to various Kindergarten and Primary schools in Manukau area. 2006 Tropfest entrant. 7 minutes, children's adventure/drama Sponsored Edgewater Prod.
2005 - TVC; TV ONE - Holiday season Producer/Director Christmas seasonal promo '05 to '06 holiday competition (1 or 5 finalists) for TV One and Two peak time filler. Theme 'Doing things together keeps our family strong'. 30 seconds.
While working at 'Computer World' as graphic designer and editor in 2005 I received on of my first paying jobs as a puppeteer for the screen. I got the job as puppeteer through Flying Start Pictures for the music video 'Hands' by the local singer, songwriter Sarah Brown. The Making of the music video took 3 days at the St. James Theatre in Queen Street. At that time I was requested to demonstrate to Sarah how to manipulate the Austrian bought rod puppet of 'Sarah'. How ever I did not get to shoot the puppet and miniature props which I constructed till the following week. This was done at the 'Sweetshop' Agency in Eden Terrace in Auckland. The puppet that was used was clothed to match Sarah in the video in clothing and hair design.
The puppet of Sarah was of porcelain material standing about 28 cm high. The metal control rods were of European design, one from her head for turning with an opposing control bar to operate the arms and legs with a back rod. It was a good learning experience and the tone of the video suited using these traditional methods of puppetry.
In 2007 as a puppeteer and designer I pitched the 8 new Telecom ads called the 'Clever Toy' ads to Saatchi and Saatchi for Flying Start Pictures. I was filmed doing the Ad pitches at several locations around central Auckland, and Ponsonby locations. I reconstructed soft toys for Flying Pictures to look like the finished puppets for the 'real ads' which can be seen in the following ads shown on the TV during the 2006 and 2007 television season. I was the sole puppeteer for the pitches.
Film Production class 311 at University of Auckland; Film Television and Media studies created this 6 episodic drama as the main class assignment. I was one of three producers (working on Ep 1,4) working collaboratively with a team of 15. The following videos are the result of that effort. I will add more info later.
In the summer of 2005 at Waipatiki Beach in Napier; Bay of Plenty I completed my first shortfilm; Starcatcher. It was an adaptation from a book of the same name by Glen Johnston of 'The Book Company' in Australia.
This was my first experience of acquiring rights to use someone else's written material. I had no funding for this project, but was supported by Edgewater Productions at Edgewater College and Alan Vester the Principal, and Markus Fritch who at that time worked in the music department composed the score,Markus is now HOD of music at Rangitoto college.The music, sound and voice overs were recorded at this College recording studio. The film is 7 minutes long, and was entered into Sydney's tropfest short film competition for Jan 2006; the motif was bubbles.
Jacob my oldest son was five years old when I filmed it, he is now ten, and remembers it well.
In the fantasy scene where the mermaid hands the shooting star to Jacob, there was actually two mermaids in the shot, but one Jenifer was on standby futher in the river as can be seen in this shot. It was filmed just after dusk with a back up crew standing on the shore with lights and towels ready.
I shot the film every night for about 6 nights in the hours of 8 to 9 o'clock so that the lighting was round about the same. I got up early before sunrise to catch the sound of the birds, atmos and to film the sunrise which is seen in the time passing transition. I was enjoying my first taste of film making but driving my husband crazy as he thought I was suppose to be on holiday - but I was, I was enjoying it thoroughly.
In 2005 I decided to enter the Television New Zealand competition for the holiday/Christmas season. The requirement was to construct a 30 minute advert reflecting what the holiday season meant to my family, or what we did that made it special for us. This was my first attempt at film making. I'd purchased a Sony HD1020 Camera and the Avid Liquid edit software, I was ready to go. At the time my husband was constructing my new puppet theatre for the christmas season of that year, so this became the starting point for my ad.
One of my Christmas puppet shows 'When santa forgot Christmas' was the show I decided to use as the performance of puppeteering in the tracking shot. The children then mirrored the puppets which they carry on, being dressed in the same costumes, and almost as big as the hand operated 'muppet' puppets. All puppets and costumes were previously constructed by me, which I had used or would use in future puppet work.The large hand puppets had been made in conjunction with tuition from the special effects studio at the cut above in Auckland, which I was receiving tutorship by Tim Wells, who worked under Nori Honda.
With the help of my children and willing neighbours a saturday afternoon turned in a good experience. All the kids from the adjoining houses in our driveway came over and sat patiently while we worked out the tracking shot with our 'dolly'. It was alot of fun, and I was pretty pleased with the results.
The theme of what makes our family strong began to emerge. In the evening after dinner we would all head off for the garage where the theatre was laid out flat ready for the second coat and paint the theatre as a family, the kids loved it. I designed the theatre based on the european design seen in the film 'The sound of Music'. A miniture one was made by myself for David to model the 'real' one on. It was half the height of my original theatre I currently used, and would have a detachable skirt. The two side windows were to offer access for extra puppeteers operating hand and rod puppets. I used latex premade moulding to achieve the filigree detail above and below the stage areas.
Some 50 holes where drilled around the top three edges to give access to coloured lighting effects to frame the threatre. The three panels where hinged off the centre stage panel and folded in on each other for easy manuvering . The top part of the stage sat on the performance table where the 'turn table' set could turn freely in accordance with the cues from the sound track.
Jacob and Lucy are even at this young age comfortable at performing and love working with the puppets, so it made sence to have Jacob speak at the end of the clip, expressing how the experience of working together on the theatre and making the film project had been alot of fun and a memorable event. Jacob concludes with 'doing things together makes my family strong'.
When I received the call from TVNZ that I had been selected as one of the five finalists, I was thrilled. The finished product showed often all over the christmas period expecially during the six o'clock news, and 5.30 news previews. It was amzing to see it with the new music they had layed behind my sound and fixed up a few rogue crossed fields. Our family rceived a TV2 suprise food hamper (huge), 4 deck chairs, CD wallets, pens and other merchandise. So all around our family had a great family memory of an experience we had all put into. We shared some of the food and items with our neighbours as a thankyou.
The Central idea of the 'Jellylegs' short film project, was to have experience in directing, managing a team as Producer and bring an adaptation of a preteen book to the big screen. The film was pitched at a preteen audience to be delivered in the eastern Manukau area. The story is an adaptation of Elizabeth Pulfords story of the same name 'Jellylegs' published by Scholastic New Zealand. The rights were acquired for non-profit release only. This is the first short I directed with a semipro crew.
Thanks to Rising Phoenix Entertainment - Brice Varan, (DOP) and Alan Macyntire and Christine Bull of Owairoa Primary school for allowing me to film with in the school, and use the students as background talent.
