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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
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.
'Grim Furry Tales' - My journey for Artistic Excellence
When I was recalling a personal event that occurred in 2007, I did so easily because I was surrounded by various stimulant that evoked memories of the event. The event I mention is the Montana Wearable Art Awards held in Wellington, New Zealand every September. I have become over the years, a designer contestant entering artistic garments that represent an artistic form, and are brought to life on the performance stage. The evidence that I am apart of this artistic culture is displayed around my home by way of costume replicas, entry badges and garment workbooks. The memory stimuli reflect the good feelings of accomplishment and success that were felt that 2007 awards night, and the restoration of artistic achievement verifying a level of excellence required to achieve success in the competition.
The memory I hold of this event that occurred three years ago, has personal nostalgia combined with a prosthetic memory. The personal memories I hold of this achievement are the private input of ability, time and family involvement. The social historical memory is mediated in the version produced by the World of Wearable Arts company for TV One, to promote their product and present the best spectacle from the live Awards night to sell to and seduce their television audience. In the construction of the short film which retells of my journey in 2007, I have utilized the personal and prosthetic memory to work together to mediate a greater authenticity of my experience. I too felt what was conveyed in the televised version, and much more because I was physically present; I live it.
The short film "Grim Furry Tales - My journey of artistic Excellence" tells of a nostalgia for a past, not a lost past, but a moment in my life that was successful and inspiring. Incorporating the TV footage acts as a social memory, and offers the spectacle and grandeur of a public event that I could not recreate as it occurred. The mediated footage from that night, provides a professional collaboration of technical construction in the editing, and an intensified distortion of the ‘real’ experience; this creates an inviting passage of exceptional feeling. The way the garments on the catwalk are framed up-close, the lighting, camera angles and speeds are a stark contrast to the footage I took in a domestic setting of my home. This amateur footage is complemented with stills taken during construction and on the Awards night. These various media provide a context to place my memory of experience within, although what is presented is an edited version of the total experience of which I can only recall fragments of.
The aesthetic style of my recollection of the events surrounding my experience is one of showing the details of time and effort behind the finished product. The public is presented with a complete garment of excellence, but my back story is presented in a 'flashback' construction as I sit at home recalling the event as I remember it three years on. Showing the creation of the garment details personal struggle and innovative techniques not covered or dealt with in the show that is presented to the public. The clips from the TV show that I intersperse with my personal story create a point of nostalgia to regain the excitement and beauty of the spectacle that is the end product; the sellable experience. This is achieved through the visual representation of the event; the saturation and luminous use of colour, the flow of choreography inducing emotion of beauty and passion along with music which inspires magical and an outer world experience.
Providing the contrast of detail to justify my memory of this important event in my life, was important to me. The collaboration of various media, video, and stills with the audio in dialogue, diagetic and background music creates a time capsule of indulgent escape. This is to be immersed in much like a cinematic experience, where time and movement involve the audience as apart of the experience. I have tried to mimic the emotional reward of entering the competition and the involvement in a high culture event that delivers a spectacular product from a process of intense creation. I have in doing so achieved a recount of a moment in my life that stands as a legacy for my family and friends, about my journey in producing artistic excellence.
