Client: Redlands Coast Tourism
Director: Matt Raimondo
Redlands Coast commissioned us to create an authentic character-driven story with a strong emotional element that honours the land’s traditional owners and inspires others to build a deeper connection to Redlands Coast.
Character
The client already had a wonderful character in mind, Delvene Cockatoo-Collins, a renowned local indigenous artist and Redlands Coast ambassador. After talking to Delvene and learning more about her, we agreed that she would be an excellent fit for the project!
Voiceover
Rather than write a script, we decided an interview would provide a more emotional tone that we wanted to achieve in this story. During the sound recording session, Director Matt Raimondo focused on questions that provoked heartfelt responses while diving deep into Delvene’s connection to the country and culture.
Locations & Scheduling
After the interview, we had a good feel for the direction and possible locations for Delvene’s story; however, we also had to balance this with other essential locations significant to the client that showcased more of the region. We had three days to shoot the whole story and decided to split half the time between Delvene’s unique places and half on other destination highlights.
Recce
We recceed as many of the proposed locations as possible to help make essential decisions on scheduling and understanding the best natural light in each place.
Once we agreed on all the locations, we discussed the best filming schedule to ensure we were at all the places at the best time of day with the best natural light!
Additional talent
Although Delvene would be the main feature of the story, we also needed to include other people in the film. To stay within budget, the client sourced the extras through their network of Redlands Coast locals. All the extras featured in the campaign are everyday people, not actors.
Visual Inspiration
Rather than be locked into restrictive and time-consuming storyboards, Director Matt Raimondo and Cinematographer Caleb Ware gathered visual references, developed mood boards and created a shot list that would inspire the decision-making on the shoot. We also left ourselves plenty of freedom to be creative and flexible on the day and go with any challenges that may arise.
Final bookings and call sheets
After a couple of weeks of pre-production, the schedule confirmed, and all the bookings made, it was finally time to start filming!
Crew
Our team was a small yet highly talented crew of 5 consisting of Director Matt Raimondo; DP, Caleb Ware; 1st AC & Drone, Esteban Rivera; 2nd AC & Photographer, Nathan McNeil; and line producer, Tegan Mel.
Directors statement – Matt Raimondo
We had just three days to cover 18 locations spread across several islands and the mainland! Thankfully we were blessed with perfect weather, and I had a fantastic team by my side. Delvene was so lovely to work with and brought a beautiful presence to the screen. Because I had previously met with Delvene for the interview and spoken several times over the phone, we had already developed a good rapport which helped keep a friendly and fun vibe on location.
I had a good idea of the key shots I was looking for at each location. I also had reference images on hand to help communicate with my DP Caleb Ware. From there, we followed our creative intuition to come up with any other compositions inspired by the location or whatever the sun was doing. Everything looked brilliant on-screen with the perfect weather and breathtaking spots, so we shot way more than we needed, which would also come in handy to give us plenty of options in post.
Director of Photography statement – Caleb Ware
As a cinematographer, I try to impart feeling through my work. So when Matt briefed me on connecting people to Redlands Coast, a place where I had grown up, I felt a naturalistic yet almost magical approach would help connect people’s imagination and hearts to the land. Wide angles, time of day, and flowing movements all came together to help us move through these locations and inspire people to get out there and experience all Redlands Coast has to offer.
Equipment
Alexa Mini with Panavision prime lenses.
Bringing the story to life in post-production is always a fascinating part of the process! Our first step was to cut Delvene’s 45min interview into a well-crafted 2min narrative; Our goal was to focus on Delvene’s emotional and most passionate responses rather than try and jam in all the facts and details.
Once the story was feeling good, we started to lay the vision down and see how things looked. From there, we assessed what was (and wasn’t) working, pushed things around a little bit and in the end, completely removed a middle section that wasn’t serving the story!
With a first cut now complete, we were excited to finally present to the client for feedback before moving onto the final processes. We were blown away by the response from the client, and they loved it so much they didn’t want to change a single thing!
We locked the picture down and sent it off to our colourist Angela Cerasi from Peachy Keen Colour to create a beautiful, cinematic and natural finished look.
In the meantime, we also had our sound wizard Adrian Diery mixing and sweetening the audio to make everything sound its absolute best in the final master.
Colour Grade by Peachy Keen Colour (before & after)
The video was developed as part of council’s Reconnect on Redlands Coast campaign to help the tourism industry recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The campaign was viewed more than 2.57 million times and tourism operators reported an increase in both out-of-region visitors and local residents holidaying in other parts of the city.
Stradbroke Island Chamber of Commerce president Col Battersby congratulated council for the vision to develop a world-class video that was helping drive visitors to Redlands Coast, including Minjerribah/North Stradbroke Island.
Above excerpt from: Redlands Coast Bulletin
”It's an incredible video that promotes one of the best places on earth, and the oldest living culture in the world.
Col BattersbyStraddie Chamber of Commerce president
”The team behind the video was amazing - that includes everyone in council's tourism team, the Yulu Burri Ba dancers and all the businesses. The team has beautifully captured what's here!
Delvene Cockatoo-CollinsStar & narrator of video
”Oh my goodness. What an incredible video to share our culture with the world. So beautiful. Because that’s it - our culture is amazing. And right now it’s what the world is craving. Connection. Peace. Stories. Experiences. Back to what’s important. And feeling that sense of belonging. I’m gonna share this over and over!!
”Such a beautiful video showcasing nature at its best with the people who deeply connects to it.
”I watched the whole thing and it made me cry it was so beautiful. A lot of spirit and heart in there, I could feel it!
Winner ‘Best Culture Film’ – Japan International Tourism Film Festival
Caleb Ware – GOLD Cinematography, ACS QLD 2020 ‘Regional Commercial’
In addition to the main video we also created a series of 15sec advertisements
Director/Producer: Matt Raimondo
DP: Caleb Ware
1st AC/Drone: Esteban Rivera
2nd AC: Nathan McNeil
Line Producer: Tegan Mel
Editor: Matt Raimondo
Colourist: Angela Cerasi
Sound Mix: Adrian Diery
Production Company: GoodFolk Films
Ask us anything about this project or drop us some feedback!
