Making a TV Commercial

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We arrived at NAR at about 6:45am to set up breakfast and coffee for the production crew.  Two trucks were already waiting at the gate - they were early. We opened the gates, the trucks rolled in and with precision the crew started unloading their equipment. It was clear everyone knew what they had to do and time was everything.

The weather wasn't the best, overcast with rain forecast, but they were prepared and quickly set about getting everything ready for filming the animals in one of the outdoor cages. Tents were set up to protect the film crew and equipment from the rain, tarps were thrown over the cage to keep the rain off the animals and handlers, lighting was set up and a green background was placed behind where the animals were to be filmed.

Quickly, filming got under way and one by one the animals were brought out and filmed. For each one they patiently waited to capture that magic moment where the animals had the look that was just right for the commercial. Once they were sure they had captured "that picture" for the animal, it was on to the next. The only break taken was for lunch.

There were some interesting moments, like when the echidna expressed its displeasure at being disturbed and unloaded itself all over the CEO. NAR staff had fed it egg the day before - bad move - bad smell, very, very bad smell. Fortunately smells do not come across on TV, but that smell is permanently etched in the memories of all who were present.

Finally the call - "Its a wrap" - and everyone starts packing the equipment away, just as quickly and efficiently as at the start of the day. But there was one last thing to be done before the day was finished. A bunch of willing volunteers were painted green around their lips and then filmed, bearing their teeth and speaking the script of the commercial. It was now about 5:30pm and with all filming complete they headed off.

It took all day, just to get the images needed to put together 30 seconds of commercial.
Behind the scenes they continued working - a further 6+ weeks of effort, fitted in around their real jobs. First they scrolled through the footage of the day, selecting out those special moments and putting them into sequence, to fit the script written for the commercial. Various actors that came into their offices were invited to contribute to the commercial by providing voices for the script. Backgrounds, appropriate for each animal, were added and then it all headed off to Sydney for the animation. And the teeth? Well, that's pretty obvious when you watch the commercial.

So who are "THEY". THEY are a team of very generous people from the advertising world who volunteered their time to produce the TV Commercial for NAR, at no charge. And this is now the second time such a group has helped NAR in this way.

To all of you - THANK YOU SO VERY VERY MUCH!!

Maggie Speak Dave Wood	Producer Director
Andrew Tinning Drew Ridley	Artistic Director Creative Director
Bruce Flint Colleen Flint	Editors
Justin Braine	Sound Production
Stephen Douglas Kristian Whitlock	Post Producer Flame Artist
Mick McDermott	Director of Photography	TRANSVISION
Melissa Ozich	Camera Assistant
Kelly Harwood	Camera WE
Brooke Marshall	Production Assistant
Jean Vandermieren	Gaffer
Greg Stirling	Grip
Murray Edwards	Art Director
Rita Massari	Makeup	ALLMADEUP
Guy Bessell-Browne	Lighting Equipment
Yvonne Sitko	Falconer