Sunday, February 25, 2007

It's a cryptid world

Thankfully the weather in Dunedin has come right for a couple of days, just in time for Pip and myself to hunker down in the bunker-like editing suite and start meshing together a few sequences.

However, I am still finding time to indulge in the odd distraction like listening to one-day cricket (go the black caps) and reading the odd blog. So it came as somewhat of a surprise to learn that our wee film project is being mentioned elsewhere on the net.

The following website dedicated to all things cryptozoology features news of our film. Please read about it here. As if that isn't freaky enough, a big cat expert in Great Britain has been emailing me a whole host of useful information related to tracking urban big cats. His name is Danny Nineham and he authors a very interesting website.

However, in the interest of balance there are others who totally discredit the work of Mr Nineham. The following report details efforts by Canadian trappers to prove/disprove the theory that there are big cats in the United Kingdom.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Sacrilege and SUVs

This blog is proving harder than ever to keep updated as my feet very rarely sit in front of my trusty laptop in Dunedin.

The last week has been spent conducting a couple of interviews for the film in Auckland and then taking five days to travel around the wonderful far north. I have posted a couple of photos below from the last trip into Mid-Canterbury and some of you may notice a hand that looks like it is attached to my arm holding a can of C.D. No, I haven't given up on my beloved Emersons but when in Rome and all that..

Now, as many of you may know, I'm not a fan of S.U.Vs .However, I have to admit that during our film trip thus far we have witnessed them being used properly and in the hands of some very skilled operators (thanks David and Al). They have a purpose and place and dropping off the kids at school is not it. The term 'cafe tractors' springs to mind after trying to negotiate Auckland streets clogged with monster SUVs that have never seen some mud let alone a rocky hillside. But, there is an even bigger menace on the road that is driving us insane, the 'people movers'. I can't count the amount of times that travelling up and down the country that we have been cut-off and slowed down by these silly looking mini-buses. It would appear that they come factory fitted with neither rear view mirrors or indicators.

On a slightly more positive note, I'm regretting that we aren't filming in Christchurch this weekend as Dramfest 07 is taking place. Tickets are already sold out, but it looks like a fantastic event, big ups to those folk that appreciate Kiwi tastes don't stop at Speights and Jack Daniels.

Actually getting some air, can you see the front wheel off the ground!

A land transport sign that we spotted driving through the inland scenic route!

Drinking the local amber with David Wightman on Winterslow Station


Trying to kick start the bike, where is that damn electric ignition!