Windup Bird

The Belly Dancers is the third tv commercial Jason and I made for Mytax.co.nz.

The setting for this one is in Monique’s lounge initially and then the action changes to her dance studio, which is just out the back.

During the planning stages for this series of ads, Jason and I would visit the prospective “talent” in their homes. We’d have a chat and a cuppa and look at their old photos. Including photographs in the commercials gives the ads a back story and, I think, makes them more intriguing. I really love the old photo of a bobby talking to Monique, and the fact that it’s not explained.

We told Monique we’d like two dancers in the ad so she showed us a video of one of the performances she regularly puts on featuring Emily. Straight away we knew Emily was the person we wanted. She and Monique work excellently together and the viewer can tell, straight away, that they have a great friendship.

I love this ad; I love the colours, the photography, the music (we didn’t want to use anything Middle Eastern, too obvious), the editing and the energy.  it’s joyful and entertaining and demonstrates how wonderful it is to receive a decent tax refund!

Credits

Client: Mytax.co.nz

Agency: Windup Bird in association with Jason Dorday Photographer

Talent: Monique Feron & Emily Powell

Voice Over: Quentin Bright

Creative & Art Directors: John Ferriss & Jason Dorday

Copywriter: John Ferriss

DOP: Jason Dorday

Main camera: Jason Dorday

Assistant camera & lighting: Steve Taia

Sound engineers: Andy McBride & Kenny MacDonald

First stage editors: Jason Dorday & John Ferriss

Final cut: Andy McBride

Producer: John Ferriss

Post production: Andy McBride & Steve Taia for Digital Productions

Make-up and hair: Bianca Fallon of Media Makeup

Tags: Bianca Fallon Media Makeup, Digital Productions, Emily Powell, Jason Dorday Photographer, Monique Feron, Mytax.co.nz, Quentin Bright, tax refunds, TV ad | Add comment »

The Ventriloquist is the second in the series of tv ads we made for Mytax.co.nz.

The script and idea is a follow on from the videos we made for them last year, where the announcer (Quentin Bright) is talking directly to the character (Vanessa Scott) at various locations via a laptop. In this case, Quentin is talking from an iPad.  The laptop is on one of the ventriloquist’s knees, the dummy (Johnny) is on the other. This deviates from the videos when Quentin’s voice starts coming out of Johnny’s mouth.

The right dummy was crucial to the ad. We really wanted an old fashioned dummy, so I spent ages tracking Johnny down. Johnny’s look is vital to the feel of the ad.

His owner, John Chapman, also stars in the ad.  He did a great job operating Johnny and was very patient as Jason Dorday shot take after take to get the correct angles for the interplay between the two of them.  John is not a ventriloquist, but he didn’t need to be as the voice is Quentin’s.  He does, however, play the banjo so he played the music for the ad.  It suits it perfectly.

The crew working on The Ventriloquist is the same line up as for The Magician.  Once again, they did an excellent job.

Tags: Jason Dorday Photographer, John Chapman, Mytax.co.nz, Quentin Bright, tax refunds online, tv ads, Vanessa Scott, Ventriloquist, Ventriloquist's dummy | Add comment »

Windup Bird, together with Jason Dorday Photographer, has created a tv campaign for Mytax.co.nz.

There are three commercials in the series: the first, The Magician, went to-air at the beginning of the new tax year, April 1.

Jason and I aimed for a bit of real life crossover in these ads – we wanted to document what people do. Hence Jon’s name as a subtitle and the use of his photos; he is not a hired actor, he really is a magician. This is a direct link to the radio ads I’ve produced for Mytax.co.nz, where I use the audio of real people’s reactions when they find out they’re getting a tax refund.

Jon Zealando gave up his job in the bank when he was 17 and became a full-time magician. He has performed in many different countries, but for the purposes of this ad the action takes place entirely in his lounge. It’s the perfect set, complete with Jon’s knick knacks, old photographs and kiwiana.

Shooting The Magician was great fun. Jon Zealando entertained us with his stories and tricks. He’s also a ventriloquist, so he made the rabbit and various props have their say. We’ve got some brilliant outtakes which I’ll post some time.

We used a small crew. Aside from Jason (DOP) and myself, there was Steve Taia, assistant camera & lighting, and Andy McBride, sound & lighting.

Quentin Bright provides the voice over. He voices all of Mytax.co.nz’s radio ads and the two online videos we made for them last year. He always does a first rate job.

Jason and I did the initial editing, Andy and Steve (for Digital Productions) did the final cut. The audio mix was done by Andy with the final mix handled by Kenny MacDonald (also for Digital Productions).

Tags: advertising, Jason Dorday Photographer, Jon Zealando, magic, Mytax.co.nz, tv | Add comment »

This video features Eclectic, the range of accessories designed by Tom Dixon, as well as his own branded Tom Dixon range of lighting and furniture.

The stools, chairs, light shades and accessories have quite a 60′s feel to the shapes and colours, I think, but re-imagined in a contemporary fashion, so the backing track is evocative of the blues-based  British Invasion music of that decade.  Tom Dixon strikes me as a very British designer, so Jason and I have attempted to reflect that in this video.

But let’s watch it and allow Mike Thorburn to tell us all about the genius for design that is Tom Dixon.

Tags: accessories, Design, ECC Lighting & Furniture, Eclectic by Tom Dixon, furniture, lighting, Mike Thorburn, Tom Dixon | Add comment »

This video features the Italian range of lighting and furniture, Minotti.

This is one of several videos Jason Dorday and I have made for ECC this year.  It’s an enjoyable project; we get to film some of the most wonderful furniture available in the country.

Mike is great in front of the camera and Heather and Matt are wonderful behind the scenes. Actually, you can see Matt’s legs in this vid, he’s doing a walk-past, so he’s sort of in front of the camera, too.

Tags: Design, ECC Lighting & Furniture, furniture, lighting, Minottoi | Add comment »

This is the second video we made for Mytax.co.nz. It follows on from This is How it Works in demonstrating the process of applying for tax refunds online.
Again, it was shot and edited by Jason Dorday and stars Vanessa Scott and Quentin Bright. My dog, Ivan, makes a cameo appearance.
The art gallery scene was filmed at Whitespace, in Grey Lynn, Auckland.

Tags: dog, Mytax.co.nz, tax refunds, Whitespace Art Gallery | Add comment »

This video demonstrates how to go about applying for a refund online with Mytax.co.nz.

I’d been making a few radio ads for them this year and they’re always a lot of fun to make. I try to keep them light-hearted. The main voice I use on their ads is my pal, Quentin. When it came time to make videos, I thought, “Gotta use Q.” And as a good counterpoint, my friend Vanessa stars as the punter accessing the Mytax.co.nz website in order to obtain the gen.

Instead of just having Quentin deliver the info in a straightforward manner, a device was called for. In this case, Q is delivering the guff from a laptop and Vanessa is lugging the laptop around various locations (cafe, park, her home) and getting all the necessary information from my old chum in this manner.

This device makes the video interesting to watch. It’s beautifully filmed and edited by Jason Dorday. And, as per the Mytax.co.nz radio ads, it was immense fun to make.

Tags: Jason Dorday, Mytax.co.nz, Next Door Mt Eden, tax, tax refunds | Add comment »

This clip is for the new Linteloo Furniture range from Amsterdam, available at ECC.

This really is superb furniture. I would’ve been quite happy to have sat on the Linteloo sofa for several more hours, if only I’d taken the new James Lee Burke novel with me!

They have a wee bar/cafe at ECC; it was too early in the day for a glass of wine when we were filming, but they did make us a superb flat white.

Jason Dorday shot this one, too.

Tags: Amsterdam, Fabrics, furniture, Leathers, Linteloo, Showroom, Sofa | Add comment »

I’ve been making radio ads for Mike Thorburn, from ECC Lighting & Furniture, for a couple of years.

This is the first video we’ve made for them, for their lighting ranges from Davey Lighting and Original BTC.

The superb camera work is by Jason Dorday.

Tags: Ceramic lamps, Davey Lighting, ECC Lighting & Furniture, Mike Thorburn, Original BTC, Shipyards | Add comment »

I used to write a household tips column for a quarterly magazine, which meant I spent lots of time experimenting with stuff like getting ballpoint pen stains out of t-shirts (hairspray) and getting the glass in the oven door back to see-through and gleaming (a razor blade).

One subject I never touched on was the many and varied things that can be washed in a dishwasher. Why? Because it would never occur to me to wash my gumboots in my Miele. I clean my boots like the good Lord intended: using the outdoor tap, cold water and an old sponge. Sometimes I rub them with Shout gel first to remove the worst of the stains but cold water gets the mud off.

Know what else goes under the garden tap when they need a wash? Garden tools. Also, pet toys.

The writer of this article on Divine Caroline recommends the dishwasher for all three – as well as baseballs caps, hubcaps and wheel covers.  How did anyone discover this, and why are they admitting to it in public?

I like killing bacteria as much as the next person, but teacups and shoes do not go together, whatever Divine Caroline says.

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