The launch of the Film Bay of Plenty showreel this month is already exciting for international and domestic film producers and directors keen to find new, accessible and friendly places.
The two-minute sizzle reel features stunning mountains, forests, beaches, rivers, and parks, as well as geothermal, industrial, and urban scenes from the Bay City Council’s six districts and territories.
Featured Places of Taup, Rotorua, Kawerau, Whakatane, Ōpōtiki, Western Bay of Plenty, and Tauranga lakes offer thrilling and thrilling diving in an untapped, diverse and cinema-friendly region.
“The pre-production work on the showreel included working with all local councils and Iwi to film in fourteen locations, capturing some of the many highlights of the Bay of Plenty,” said Tracy Hampton, director of Film Bay of Plenty’s. Western Bay and Tauranga, which also produced the showreel.
“The filming included boating in a canyon and using drones to showcase the vast, powerful landscapes.”
Tracy, who is an executive producer with extensive experience in film and television, co-directs Film Bay of Plenty with Jade Kent who is responsible for Eastern Bay, Rotorua and Taupô.
“With remarkable films having already been shot here, we are delighted to continue promoting our locations to international productions, showing our diverse and unique locations,” said Jade, who previously worked for TVNZ, Maori TV, Sky and Al Jazeera.
Film Bay of Plenty, launched in 2016, is a regional film office that connects national and international productions to the team, locations and facilities based in the Bay of Plenty. It also supports the development of emerging film studios.
“Our role for the region and any potential studio is to collaborate and help facilitate a pipeline of work,” explains Jade.
Previously filmed productions in the bay include the TV series Vegas, Shannara, Disney’s Pete’s Dragon, Yogi Bear, Mulan, Runaway Millionaires, Frankie Jean and the Morning Star, Taika Waititi’s Boy, Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Without a Paddle . Muru, which was shot in Taneatua in 2020, is slated for release in 2022.
Film Bay of Plenty’s management team also includes Marketing Manager Elysia Gibb, who has a background in tourism, logistics and marketing, and has worked on feature films such as The Hobbit, Wolverine, Yogi Bear and 10000BC.
The showreel, funded by the NZ Film Commission and filmed by a Bay of Plenty crew, was highly regarded by BOP’s councils and producers.
“Tauranga’s screen sector is enjoying an exciting period of growth, with the board receiving a significant increase in requests from production companies to shoot in some of the great locations we have around Tauranga,” said James Wilson, director of arts and culture of the municipal council of Tauranga.
“Earlier this year, during the long-term plan consultation process, the council received a number of submissions from film practitioners and organizations, advocating for investment in the development of the screen sector. local. In response, city council recently renewed its support for Film Bay of Plenty, which passionately advocates and promotes our city as a “movie-friendly” environment.
“Film Bay of Plenty works in partnership with the council on a number of initiatives, designed to encourage national and international productions to shoot in Tauranga. We know that there are a large number of qualified practitioners and teams based in Tauranga, and that our creative workforce is a real asset to our city in attracting productions to the region, ”said James.
Tihini Grant, founding member of the Rotorua Steambox Film Collective and board member of Film Bay of Plenty, said the showreel also features Bay of Plenty as a place where producers can find all of the studios, sets well-trained film crews. ready to work on new productions.
“As a cinema hub, Film Bay of Plenty operates right across the bay from Taup to Whakatane and potiki and Tauranga ”, explains Tihini.
“We have a training program that we have run twice now, where trainees have first-hand experience in the industry on different productions. The overall vision is to build capacity not only with bricks and mortar, but also in the human resources department.
“We have all worked in the film industry across the country for over 20 years and we want to get film productions here so that we don’t have to travel so far from home. The showreel gives producers a taste of what we have to offer here in the Bay in terms of locations, to get them interested in coming here to film, as well as picking up some of their crews who live locally.
Joël Corbett, director of Taup‘s first production company Corbie Films, says it is essential to attract new productions.
“People probably don’t know how beautiful the area is, so we want to show that,” says Joel, who has done mostly commercial work as a videographer, director and producer, and has worked on the Taupō segment of the showreel.
“It was a combined effort and I think it highlights the strengths of the region. We are small but we are powerful.
As showreel producer Tracy says, her creation is a great example of working with an experienced team.
“It’s always a pleasure to film with a qualified crew,” says Tracy.
“Thanks to the New Zealand Film Commission for its support, this showreel will be promoted on international and national platforms. “
The Bay of Plenty Film showreel can be viewed at https://filmbayofplenty.com
