JULY 2010, NEW ZEALAND

Thursday 8 July 2010

Friday 9 July 2010

I get a call from John Kirwan. He’s in Auckland too, chilling out a little with his family after coaching Japan in the Pacific Nations Cup. We have a bit of a chat about how life in Tokyo is going for him and how my film on him is going. He wishes me luck for my meeting later that day with DRAFTFCB. They are the advertising company behind JK’s highly successful depression awareness ad campaign in New Zealand. A representative from the Ministry of Mental Health will be in attendance as well. The screening of my drama ‘All Blacks Don’t Cry’ goes well – they’re evidently delighted with the film and, more importantly, the film’s clinical correctness.

I’ve got a meeting with the New Zealand Rugby Union right afterwards at the Heritage Hotel to get briefed on filming the All Blacks game in Wellington the following week. It’s surreal sitting down with the media team and being surrounded by current All Blacks who are bouncing babies on their knees. During our conversation I feel a tall, powerful presence beside me. I turn around and look up into one of the most famous New Zealand faces of all time – Tana Umaga. He introduces himself with a beatific, deeply etched smile. I’m speechless, and can’t even get out the words ‘mate, you’re not the one who needs an introduction!”

That humility is a big part of the All Black manna, and it’s a vital quality for success I believe – whoever you are. I’ve met actors and directors that I look up to and normally the more big time they are the more of this quality they have. It’s the also-rans who exude arrogance and desperation in my experience.

Saturday 10 July

A huge day filming – starting in Auckland’s Papaptoetoe. Alison is a Maori woman I‘ve been following for Cup of Dreams who has had a fascinating journey with rugby. You’ll see it if you check out the film but suffice to say she has taken a beautiful arc. In a documentary you want your characters to arrive somewhere different to where they started. It doesn’t have to be a huge or cataclysmic change, it can be quite subtle but there must be some kind of emotional journey. I think Alison does that in this film. The most touching part is that her son Vettori, 19-months-old but hulkish already, is just so affectionate. He bounces over and gives me a big cuddle when I arrive with my camera, and keeps insisting on me picking him up. He sits on my lap at one point at the family table and tries to feed me some of his BBQ chicken, which I know is a great sign of affection. I can appreciate that it takes a lot to come between a boy and his food.

Sunday 11 July

Road trip from Auckland to Wellington, and it’s pure bliss. I love nothing more than being on the open road – and I’ve got a great task, to capture some of the scenic flavor of this beautiful country. This is one of the great parts about getting towards the pointy end of a documentary – you’ve done a rough cut and you’ve built (hopefully) a solid emotional core and story. Now you can layer on the extras, a bit like a car getting a nice new paint job and a polish. You can’t do it the other way around though – otherwise you get a lot of beautiful but meaningless images. Towns like Taihape, Rotorua, Taupo and Bulls flash by.

Tuesday 13 July

I’m up at six AM to get ready to film an All Blacks training run at Rugby League Park in Wellington’s inner-city suburb of Newtown. It’s a brusque morning and I think I had a bit too much Pinot Noir last night because the longer the morning stretches on the more my head throbs in the cold. I knock back a coffee which only worsens the dull ache, but I know it’s time to switch on and get some great shots. The All Blacks arrive on the training field, which is framed by a cathedral of trees, and it’s good to see the familiar faces of guys like Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Keven Mealamu, Mils Muliaina and Joe Rokocoko.

From a filmmaker’s perspective these training runs are an interesting challenge to get right – it’s a strict policy of turning your camera around when the guys start to run through their tactics and gameplan so you’ve got limited time to nail your shots.

Dan Carter has the most unmistakable gait – he’s languid and elastic, with a permanent swayback, but he throttles along with shocking fleetness when he turns it on.  The All Blacks are deadly serious when it’s game time but they are a bunch of jokers otherwise. Piri Weepu sometimes does a little dance for me when my camera turns to him.

I am always reminded when I am in here – and feeling a little bit like that five-year-old boy who just fell in love with the All Blacks – to keep my cool and keep the bigger plan in mind. I can’t get too overawed. My producer Jonathon Green always says ‘the All Blacks are the object, not the subject of your film.’

July 17 2010

After a quick two-day return to Sydney, I’m in windy Wellington and it’s game day for the All Blacks. In a way, it’s game day for me too. I’ll be filming the team play South Africa tonight. It’s a moment I’ve seemingly been waiting my whole life for. I have to cast aside memories of watching the All Blacks with my Dad as a toddler for fear of being overwhelmed. I’m here to do a job, I remind myself. I wander around Wellington during the afternoon picking up the vibe. The game is all anyone seems to be talking or thinking about. There might be an electric current of anticipation in the air, but externally the town has become rain-raked and bitter overnight. I impulsively buy a pair of gumboots and a windcheater for the game. I’m still in Sydney dress!

Watching the Test through a telephoto lens is something like an out-of-body experience, but I’m covered in goose bumps during the anthems and haka. The South African anthem has a special emotional resonance for me after making Darling!, and often affects me as much as the New Zealand anthem. As always, I have tears in my eyes during both songs. The game is wide open – the All Blacks run the ball at every opportunity. It’s a significant success for their game plan and a coup for my footage.

The All Blacks during the New Zealand anthem.

With the RED ‘A’ camera shooting at 120fps we get plenty of the poetic moments I was looking for, moments that the TV cameras tend to miss. My goal is to capture the elegance and brutality of the game, the beauty and the force. We’re also trying to capture the personality of the players in this operatic and intense environment.

After the game I jump the barricade and shoot handheld as the All Blacks sign autographs and tramp towards the tunnel, exhausted but elated. It’s mission accomplished for them and for my crew too.

I head back to the hotel to back up my footage (a must when you’re shooting on solid state media) then duck out for a couple of drinks in Wellington. I head with an old friend to a bar near Courtenay Place and a dozen of the All Blacks are out in collared shirts and designer jeans having beers and glasses of red wine. The pub crowd is euphoric and there are plenty of high fives for the team.

It’s back to Sydney at 6AM, so I wisely only have a couple. It’s hard to resist at the time given the rush I’m feeling in my veins, along with the whole town, but I’m glad for my decision when I get to the plane, eyes hanging out of my skull, at which point I simply drop into a deep, satisfied blackout.

2 Comments   |   Posted in Blog July 23, 2010

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