Painting White Island Red...

The Whakatane Beacon has done a great write up on us - see the online version here or the pdf here. Apparently we made the front page and appeared again inside. Stills from Lance's amazing looking footage appears throughout.

Don't try this at home, kids...

Introducing... our stunt astronaut!

Tomorrow morning, Claire Van Beek will be debuting as our stand-in astronaut for some of our slightly more exciting scenes! Kassie's bad back rules her out for the shots of our astronaut rolling down the dunes at Bethells, but luckily for us, Claire has come to our rescue. Fingers crossed for good weather tomorrow, and I'll post some more shots up soon.

Announcement

FYI, folks: Kiri Maxwell is taking over as producer while Sarah is away overseas.

She will be organising our dates and locations and all the rest, so don't be surprised if you get an email from her in the next few days!

Sarah will be back in three weeks and resuming her duties then. In the meantime, a BIG THANKS to Kiri for stepping into the breach - she's a living legend!

Here comes the sun...

My body is still aching, my mastery of the English language has deteriorated markedly, and I feel like I could still do with some more sleep, but frankly all the pain was worth it. Great weather, great crew, great acting, great camera work, clear sound, super organised, and an amazing location.

But you know what? I think I’ll just let the images speak for themselves...

Tongariro shoot

Wow.

Just wow.

White Island

It's been a busy few days - so I'll split this into two posts! First up - White Island.

It was pouring with rain when we got up - groan! But by the time we were ferried out to the Island by the awesomely helpful White Island Tours, the weather had at least settled into an uneasy grey overcast. Not quite what we were hoping for - the colours were flattened and duller - but the place still looked amazing.

The day was hard work, and sprinkled with the odd shower, but in the end we got some fabulous shots - particularly using Heath's amazing home-made jib and with the help of Lance's assistant cameraman, Jonathon Drew.

The spacesuit was a real ordeal for Kassie, hot, heavy and claustraphobic, but our actor still managed to pull out the stops whenever the camera started rolling. And the bleak looking Martian landscape that Lance and Jonathon captured looks stunning.

A huge thanks to White Island Tours who gave us a great rate for the boat charter and were friendly and keen to help throughout. These guys were fantastic!

Coming soon...

Big week ahead folks! White Island for a lucky few this week, and next weekend - our big, key shoot at Tongariro!

We'll send out more info soon, but for those of you heading up the mountain with us, I strongly advise that you get a bit of exercise in this week! There will be a lot of walking - up some steep, steep hills!

Also start thinking about some of the provisions you will need - such as sleeping bags, warm clothes and personal gear you might want to take. Just remember - keep it light! We'll leave a lot of it at the cabin, which isn't too far in, but the rest of it will be going up the mountain with you!

Don't worry too much though - the location is AMAZING. You're going to love it.

Stand by for more updates. :-)

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Mars attacks!

A couple of old posters I stumbled across recently...

They are definitely NOT relevant to our movie - beyond their Martian themes - but heck, they are cool!

...It makes me wonder whether we've taken the right approach in Last Flight... maybe this is the direction we should have been heading from the beginning...?

Weather we will or we won't...

STUPID WEATHER!...  More bad weather forecast for tomorrow, so we've got another Saturday off unfortunately! On the up side it gives me time to go over the shot list in more detail and prepare for White Island and Tongariro.

We're also on the look-out for a decent quarry. If you know a spot that would serve as a good cliff for scene 4, let us know!

Meanwhile I'm investigating recipes for blood making... Apparently the best blood is made with:

• Clear syrup
  
• Warm water
  
• Red food coloring
  
• Green food coloring
  
• Flour
  
• Dish-washing liquid
  

Tasty!

Blast off!

On Saturday a few gaps opened up in the clouds and our intrepid little crew set off for Bethells!

The weather remained overcast for most of the morning, but I decided to try shooting anyway, reasoning that the scene we were shooting was supposed to be in low light.

It proved to be tough going, with sprinklings of rain, trouble with the radio mic (which eventually led to us shooting MOS) and visitors to the beach tramping footprints through our pristine backgrounds.

Eventually we had to call it a day - when the sun came out and spoilt our lighting! By that time however we had already gotten most of our shots. And there were some killer shots!

Kassie endured the rigors of the spacesuit without complaint, Lance did some beautiful camerawork and everyone chipped in and kept their sense of humour throughout.

Meanwhile it was great to break through the psychological threshold and actually get this thing started! It was also a valuable experience for the crew prior to our approaching adventure up Tongariro. I can’t wait!

Lost in space.... NO WAY!

Well, things are going a bit slow at the moment, after bad weather and a brief hiatus. However, fingers crossed we will be filming this Saturday! Please keep your eyes peeled for email updates, and unless you hear otherwise we are DEFINITELY going ahead on the 7th.

Meanwhile the props are all complete, the spacesuit is finished, the special effects are ready and the locations have been selected. We are officially on standby for good weather!

Kassie and I have had some excellent rehearsals, and the character of the astronaut is emerging beautifully. I have every confidence in Kassie delivering a shattering performance once the camera is rolling - I can't wait!

The dates in the previous post still stand - and now with autumn closing in - are even more critical than ever. We will also be asking if there are other times any of you are free during the week - a HUGE ask, I know, so be honest with your ability to help out. Rest assured, we are grateful for whatever you can give us!

Stand by for launch, folks... ;-)