“The west coast is wild, exposed and very dramatic with black sand beaches. This is where Jane Campion shot The Piano and Bethells (Te Henga) beach, in particular, is a very popular filming location. We shot the Samsung “Charge” commercial there with Romain Gavras and SomeSuch & Co (UK),” Grieve said, adding: “The remarkable thing is that these beaches are mostly near deserted but are only 35 minutes from downtown Auckland.”
The Pacific, east coast, he says, is quite different with golden sands and sheltered waters. The many islands feature lots of high-end waterfront homes, which are also popular film locations.
Grieve says that more than 50 volcanic cones give Auckland city a distinctive character. The architecture is generally fairly modern so the streets can pass for pretty much any American or Asian city, but there are pockets of older European style buildings as well. The Council is generally supportive of filming activity and is has been possible to close or control traffic on most city streets for car commercial shoots, with reasonable notice.
“Auckland is also close to some of the best farm land in New Zealand, in the Waikato region. We have shot a lot of commercials for milk and dairy products on farms within an hour of the CBD,” he said.
When it comes to international clients, Grieve says different production service companies tend to have clients come in from different parts of the world.
“I draw a lot of work from Hong Kong and Shanghai but also from London and elsewhere in Europe and the US. It is a long haul from Europe, but we have the advantage of opposite seasons and personally I have found the 12-hour time difference a bonus rather than a problem – we work while they sleep. When the client gets up in the morning we have the answers and have done the costings.”
He says that obviously a lot of work comes to Auckland from Los Angeles as it’s a comfortable overnight flight plus the city has the advantage of speaking the same language with a similar demographic for casting.
Auckland it seems has a pretty good edge over Australia and clients in China and Hong Kong seem to find the New Zealand capital city competitive with prices in their own countries.
“I am told that costs in China have been creeping up and they appreciate our total transparency,” Grieve added.
Some of the spots Big Picture Company worked on in Auckland include Stink directing duo, NeO, shot a campaign for Lipton Iced Tea with Big Pictures at the start of the southern summer.
The commercials were made with adam&eveDDB London and featured an epic cross town journey by two ‘zorbers’ keen to escape soaring temperatures and traffic gridlock to get to the beach and a refreshing bevy. The series were shot over six days in Auckland and on nearby beaches.
Chris Sargent also shot his inspiring commercial for ASICS on locations in the South Island and Auckland in September 2014 for SomeSuch and Co., London, and agency 180 Amsterdam. Locations included Lake Hope (a frozen lake in the Remarkables Mountains near Queenstown), Auckland City’s downtown area, and, the black sand dunes on Auckland’s rugged west coast.
ASICS It's A Big World from Big Pictures Company Limited
Images courtesy of Big Pictures Company
Genre: Scenic