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: belly dancers, Bianca Fallon Media Makeup, Digital Productions, Jason Dorday Photographer, Mytax.co.nz, 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, Mytax.co.nz, Quentin Bright, tax, 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 Jason and I made is for the 2012 Minotti range at ECC.  It really is fabulous stuff; if you’ve managed to squirrel away a bit in the savings account this year, I suggest you adorn the home with Minotti.

Tags: Design, ECC Lighting & Furniture, Mike Thorburn, Minotti 2012 | Add comment »

These are two very nice ranges currently at ECC.

Mike Thorburn, the Managing Director, tells you all about them in the video so I don’t have to.

Superbly shot and edited by Jason.

Tags: Design, ECC Lighting & Furniture, Eichholtz, Graypants, Mike Thorburn | Add comment »

Quite a sumptuous range, Visionnaire. Beautiful fabrics and finishings.

This is another in the series of videos Jason and I made for ECC Lighting & Furniture this year.

Tags: Davey Lighting, Design, ECC Lighting & Furniture, furniture, Mike Thorburn | Add comment »

We’ve been making a few videos for ECC Lighting & Furniture this year. They’re always a lot of fun.

This video is for Minotti – a superb Italian range. This particular video showcases the 2011 Minotti range. I wouldn’t mind an item or two for Christmas.

Beautifully shot by Jason Dorday.

Tags: ECC Lighting & Furniture, furniture, lighting, Mike Thorburn, Minotti | Add comment »

This video for Mytax.co.nz shows what happens when you apply for a tax refund online

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

Mike Thorburn of ECC Lighting & Furniture introduces the new Davey Lighting and Original BTC ranges.

Tags: Davey Lighting, ECC Lighting & Furniture, lighting, Original BTC | Add comment »