New *Elusiv* video

Realising that my original upload of the Elusiv promotional video didn't look that great, I have resized it and changed the codec to match YouTube's suggestions and hey presto it looks and sounds a whole lot better.

Check it out:

The wonders of YouTube-Dunedin Chinese Garden

Making short films to order is one thing, but getting them seen by an audience is the challenge. Having laboured over a short (14 minute) film on the Dunedin Chinese Garden I have decided to let the world see it, albeit in a slightly abridged form . YouTube will only allow 10 minutes so I trimmed it down and hope that it still makes sense. The quality isn't too bad and I hope that something like this will whet the appetite of anyone curious to visit the garden when it opens in Feb / March 2008.

So, here it is:

It itches, looks ridiculous, and we are only halfway

Well, I now sport a ginger moustache that a 14 year old would be proud of. Thankfully I am in a relationship as there is no way I would pull the skin off a rice pudding with this thing sitting on my top lip. I have been blogging out team progress on the official Movember website, check it out.

Follicle fun in Movember

On the back of my last post about Carl Hayman's super-human strength derived from his facial hair, I have decided to start a team at NHNZ for month of Movember. We are known as The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.

Yes, we will be growing and shaping hair on our top lips for men's health. Its a bit of fun and a whole lot of embarrassment, but the upshot is that a good cause will benefit. A good article about the start of Movember appeared in the N.Z Herald.
To sponsor my painful attempt to groom a Frank Zappa tash, then please follow the following link, and use a credit card.

While my ginger slug is growing, I have attached a photo of my favourite comic book character with a moustache.

The Real Reasons We Lost

In the World Cup wash-up I figured it would be pointless adding my two cents worth. Much better to wait for the dust to settle and some up with some reasoned analysis for the dismal All Black performance.

So, I have listened to all the theories thrown about and I would like to start by discounting a couple:

1. The Ref: Yes he was poor, but he wasn't the reason
2. The Coaching Staff: Yes, they didn't coach drop goals or have a plan B but we should have won the game by then anyway.
3. Rotation and Reconditioning: Quite obviously not all the popular with fans, but that fact remains, we had ample depth and plenty of braun, just no brains.

No, the real reasons are as follows:

1. Carl Hayman's Beard

Would you fuck with this man?

The big man is just like Samson, the All Blacks don't lose when he is looking grizzly. What was with the clean shaven look?
I'm not alone in this summation, in fact check out with very good site dedicated to the cult of Haymen's facial hair.

2. Dave Dobbyn

Now, hands up which idiot decided to play "Slice of Heaven" every time the All Blacks ran in a try. Not only is it painful to listen to once, but after the amount of times the ABs heard it trouncing Portugal, Italy and Romania its no wonder they were a little try shy against France.

3. Adidas

Yes, the modern All Blacks are little more than marketing muscles packaged in black Lycra. Not only do they look a little silly in some of the supposed super-dooper jerseys, but the whole campaign backing them was cringe-worthy. What the hell were they thinking digging up sections of dirt from all over New Zealand and taking it to France with them. If you are unsure what I am referring to please read this.

And, it gets worse. Before each game, Richie McCaw would take a handful of specially mixed New Zealand dirt and sprinkle it on the ground where they were playing. What the f..k?

If there is any evidence that Mr McCaw should not be captain it is right there.

Just to make this point loud and clear the poster accompanying this fraught exercise if thoroughly ridiculous. Boycott Adidas now!

Nine go mad on the Breaksea

Some wise person once said to me, who has time to read blogs..let alone write them. Indeed, I have to concur. Blogging of late has been pretty difficult with all the small film making projects I have loaded myself up with. The latest act of self-prostitution involved getting invited to document a 6 day trip aboard the Breaksea Girl around Dusky, Breaksea and Doubtful Sounds.

Too good an opportunity to pass up so I talked nicely to the NHNZ production team I am working with and skipped out of the office with a camera and lost of wet weather gear. The trip was organised by the Caselberg Trust who assembled a group of well known local artists who will deliver a piece of work inspired by the voyage at a function in October next year. Not only was the trip completely spontaneous for me, I was also underdone in my knowledge of the area. From the captivating scenery which never let up, to the weather that was, WET, I engaged in a crash course of knowledge via the well stocked library on board. With captain Lance Shaw at the helm, we visited historic locations such as Astronomers Point, the Endeavour Wreck Site, the site of the first European house in New Zealand, Richard Henry's island and most importantly the site of the first beer brewed in New Zealand.

The artists themsleves were a diverse group with such interesting work. From the manic painting of Wayne Seyb who proved that painting in rain can be a liberating experience to the fascinating line drawings and words of Gregory O'Brien I was both in awe and slightly frustrated at how media shy these people were. Gradually they warmed to my ever present camera and if I ever got bored documenting the never ending waterfalls, storm sequences, seals, dolphins and rainbows I could always turn to Nigel Brown for a good soundbite. With any luck, the images will be an impressive as those etched on my memory.

Simply put, that area of Fiordland is awe-inspiring and I am incredibly fortunate to have seen it.

Well, its now many months later and I have finally loaded the video produced on the trip into YouTube.

Skeptics Conference Christchurch

Along with the various other shameless acts of self-promotion, I have agreed to be one of the guest speakers at this weekends national Skeptics conference. I mean, how many opportunities like that present themselves in a lifetime?



It actually promises to be a very interesting event with speakers tackling everything from magic to shonky health practices. I'm preparing myself for an onslaught of questions that will test my knowledge of all things to do with a Mystery Cat in Canterbury. However, after the better part of 12 months digesting everything I could find on the phenomenom, I'm sure I can talk for 30 minutes on the subject (and hopefully sell some DVDs and t-shirts). Interestingly enough, the poster promoting the event has borrowed a little from our film theme.

Once again the cat has been resurrected in the media with Investigate magazine running another artcile on cat sightings in New Zealand and a piece written by myself about the film making process and some of the aspects that we uncovered. Check it out.

Documentary New Zealand Film Festival

Prints of Darkness has been accepted into the Documentary New Zealand film festival that will be touring the four main centres during September, October and November. Futhermore, it has been nominated as one of the finalists in the New Zealand documentary awards. So, if you still haven't seen this potentially award winning piece of cinema what better way to do it than on the big screen.

The screening details are:
Auckland-Sky City: Sat 27th of September 1.45 p.m.
Dunedin-Hoyts: Sat 13th of October 5 p.m.
Christchurch-Regent Worcester: Sat 27th of October 5 p.m.
Wellington-The Film Archive: Wed 14th of November
Mon 19th of November

Elusiv-"I'm a Man"

On the completion of my Post Graduate Diploma it seemed that me new found celebrity encouraged those around me to come forward with film/dvd projects. One of these is a short film that I put together for Ben Smith (a.k.a Billy Elusiv) and his partner Nicola Reilly who are the brains and brawn behind Elusiv.

I have a couple of pieces of Elusiv clothing and I have to admit, it is pretty cool clobber. After looking at the winter 08 range I put aside some tunes that fit the mood and one of these simply stood out both for myself and the Elusiv team. By French electro-punks Blackstrobe, "I'm a man" is a classic re-interpretation of a Bo Diddley classic.

Check out the video and feel free to post a comment.

A place for carbon obsessed citizens

Well the fact that at least 40 people visit this blog a week has convinced me to keep posting however irregular that might be, hopefully more regular shortly.

Consider this, there are reported to be 6000 blogs in Auckland alone, wow, who is reading all this stuff?

However, I figure if you are going to put aside time to read a blog maybe you need something a bit extra. Well in the interests of keeping topical I have found a neat little game that taps into the trendy climate change debate in a cool way. Its called Faketown. I figure that keeping people in front of their computers playing games has to be the most environmentally sound activity going. No nasty fuel is being consumed and more importantly body energy levels kept to a minimum, hence less food required, and less energy as a result.

Here is a interesting question:
If you walked to the shops to purchase your food with a re-usable bag, your body would expend energy and require kilojoules in the form of food to top up. Here is the thing, would the food required consume more energy in the production process, than that expended by being lazy and driving a small car the same distance?
I'm sure there is an interesting calculation in there somewhere.

Purchase a copy of Prints of Darkness

Finally, the DVD version is ready for sale and the easiest way to sell it is via TradeMe. If you are interested in purchasing a copy please follow this link and bid away. The cost is $15 +$3 p&P nationwide.

Also, the new improved website is up and running complete with a blog function for exchanging information on strange cat sightings or any other interesting details. The website contains a brand new trailer for the film and additional media that can be viewed on all browsers.
Check it out. Hopefully the website forum can become a great resource to keep track of New Zealand big cat sightings.

Chinese Garden

After all the hoopla surrounding the screening of the film and the great reception that we have had, reality has set in. With the high NZ dollar and the uncertain future of making television in New Zealand for the American market, I am still waiting for my 6-month contract to start at NHNZ here in Dunedin. In the meantime I have been trying to keep my hand in with filmmaking and have taken a couple of non-paid projects on to beef up my portfolio. The most significant is the documentary that I am making to publicise the Chinese Garden that is being constructed in Dunedin. A somewhat controversial project I am sure that people will be supportive once they understand how majestic the garden is going to be and how lucky we are to have possibly the most authentic Chinese garden this side of Sydney. My film work has been centred on capturing the garden as it is built, and researching images to show the history of Chinese settlement within the greater Otago region. I am really lucky to be associated with this project and hope that Dunedin people appreciate the asset that the city will soon have. The images featured here are from an artistic impression of what the Dunedin garden will look like.

Prints of Darkness DVD available

At long last, we managed to compromise on the artwork for the DVD packaging. The artwork you see here is just one of the options we were considering but is will not be on the final product. To get a copy of our special DVD version that will have extra media, various format options, and some amusing additional footage then you can contact us and purchase a copy for $15 + Postage.

Email me at ojjj69@yahoo.com and I will take care of it. Will make a great Christmas present.

The Ashburton Aftermath

The trip north to Ash-Vegas or Flash-burton went really well. A great turnout meant the occasion was really special for Pip and myself who had not had a chance to catch up with many of the characters in our film since the summer. Try as I did to recognise and personally thank everybody for their involvement, I just want to add that often the amount of time that people spent with us giving interviews and showing us around didn't amount to time on the screen. We had so many favorite moments and special sequences that didn't make it into the final 24 minutes. However, the benefit of the DVD format will give us the opportunity to release some of that material which we plan to do. We have not set the cost for the DVD yet, but expressions of interest are invited so that we have an idea of how many copies to budget for. Pip and I would also like to thank Francis for being the top bidder in our auction for the Wendy Prior artwork commissioned especially for the film. Photos of the Ashburton premiere can be found by following the following link.

Ashburton Screening Saturday 14th July

This Saturday in Ashburton we are pleased to announce that many of our wonderful cast and helpers will finally be able to see the film. The screening is at the Regent Cinema in Wills St. Three films are on the bill and proceedings will start at 8 p.m. For those who want to join myself and Pip for a drink beforehand we will be at Cactus Jacks restaurant and bar. So far 70 seats have been taken so if you are reading this and want to attend please let either Myself or Pip know how many seats you require.

Prints of Darkness On-Line

Well, the website is finally up and running. It still remains very much an evolving project so feel free to check it out and make any comments that might help me make it better. In the very near furture I will add a sales aspect where DVDs and artwork associated with the film can be purchased. The link to the website is located in the interesting links section.

Film Premiere and Additional Screenings

Well, after months of hard slog we finally had the opportunity to see the finished product on the big screen and share the relief with friends, family and most importantly those who helped with the process. It was a great night and some photographic evidence has surfaced to fill in the blank spots. A link to the film premiere photos is provide to the right.
So, what now. Well, it seems this whole filmmaking lark is never over and we are putting together DVDs that will be on sale shortly, a website that will be up and functioning shortly and finding time to submit the film to the odd film festival.

**Press Release** With the insatiable demand for the film in its natural home, Mid-Canterbury, we have organised a screening for Saturday the of 14th of July at the cinema in Ashburton. We plan to show a couple of films and hopefully catch up with some of the great characters that helped us over the summer. If you are reading this and think you might like to go please leave a comment on this post and we will reserve some seats. The cinema can only hold 115 people so it would be good for us to gauge the level of interest.

Prints of Darkness Takes Campbell Live

After the rush of a successful screening on Saturday night and the positive feedback from the Campbell Live apperance and the Otago Daily Times feature I finally have some time to update the blog.

Pip and myself re working on the DVD version and will be announcing some screenings in Mid-Canterbury shortly. Watch this space.

In the meantime, if you didn't catch the TV apperance I have attached a link to it below. Cheers.

Click here to view.

The 'Prints of Darkness Song'

Turn up your sound and click on the link to download our theme song. Composed and performed for the film by David Harrison. Comments appreciated. Photos of air guitar antics encouraged.

Download Darkness.song.aif

NewsFlash: Prints of Darkness on TV3

Well not quite, but TV3 have interviewed Pip and myself today about the film and big cat sightings in general. It was a lot of fun being on the other side of the camera and it was nice to think that the exposure may well drag a few extra souls along to the Regent to see six quality films on Saturday June the 6th. Get your tickets now, just $3.

If anybody from outside Dunedin would like to come along for the premiere let me know as I have arranged some quality accomodation at a swanky B & B for half price.

The TV3 piece was co-ordinated by Natasha Utting on behalf on the Campbell Live team. It will go to air next Thursday the 7th of June or Friday the 8th. Once we have confirmation of the night I will post it on the blog.