This is a little bit like being back in Middle Earth
It's a majorly epic scale
Compared to the other videos we've done, we've got multiple people, multiple locations
We've got Sir Peter Jackson involved, Weta workshop
What's really neat is that Air New Zealand continues to out do themselves with every new safety video
and they'll always make it fun
This Air New Zealand flight safety video is going to be the most epic of all time
I thought that a lot of the Hobbit films were CGI and just completely faked in computers
and it turns out that it's just the way the South Island looks, it just looks fake
You just stand there and you just are totally surrounded by this enormity of the granduer
I just love it down there, I love filming down there, I love just being there
Flying in to Queenstown is just amazing
Coming through the mountains and you land and around you is just this great wall of mountains
We are in the lovely Queenstown and this morning we're up very early, to start at four o'clock
and put into process the whole prosthetics deparment. All our dwaves and orcs are up first
Compared to the actual filming of the movie, it is like a mini version I suppose
These are the actual armour and weapons that were used in filming the Hobbit
And right now we're putting on the chain mail
Queenstown Hill is my favourite location because we were working with all the orcs and the elves
That was absolutely breathtaking!
and just having the Remarkables, Coronet Peak and all these amazing mountains around you was just surreal
It was quite different sitting down having lunch with the orcs and the hobbits and the elves
You kind of expect a big fight to break out between the two
You just feel like you're in a bit of a dreamland sometimes
Action!
Dean! Give me a ride! Dean O'Gorman! The Hobbit's changed you bro!
It feels incredible to back at Hobbiton. It's become a pretty massive part of my life
I have a long relationship with Air New Zealand
Its the gateway, getting on that plane is so familiar to me, its this gateway to this place that I love so much
Check these out! Blingin'
I think its brilliant that they use their real flight attendants
Nice to be Hobbiton
We pride ourselves on being personable real people onboard
and not only for us its a nice day to get out of the office but also a great opportunity to have the experience
of shooting on location, of meeting different people and seeing how all these bits and pieces are put together
I have met Elijah Wood. He's beautiful
We locked eyes. I'm excited to work with him
We've had rain, we've had hail, we've had snow, we've had wind, freezing
Yeah, its been great!
When seated in Business Premier, sit upright, rest your hands on your thighs and keep your feet firmly on the floor
You know it looked fantastic, it was one of those things that is the reality of being in New Zealand
Whether you're a tourist or a shooting crew, you have to deal with the rain sometimes
Throw on your wet weather gear and tuck in
We're here on the Kawarau River bungy bridge
Working alongside the first commercial bungy operation in the world
There's an element of the unknown. He hasn't done a bungy before and I'm sure there will be first time jitters
I'm just a bit worried I'm going to forget to tuck my chin under and look at the water and break my face
THREE, TWO, ONE, JUMP
Top man
I'm Matt Mueller and I'm with Weta Digital. We're doing the visual effects on this Air New Zealand safety video
You know with visual effects you can do almost anything
That may be doing a sky replacement or adding a Ruskerville rabbit or adding a whole army
There's a lot of people who worked on the Hobbit that are back for more on this shoot
The shots that will be handed over to Weta Digital to take care of start at the bridge
Dan, the actor, drops the ring and so we have to add in a digital ring
because when you drop a real ring they usually don't behave the way you want them too
The scene with Richard Taylor in it was started on Queenstown Hill
with the seat, an orc and a flight attendant with the horn behind him and of course the beautiful landscape
When we got to Wellington we had to shoot Richard Taylor and he'll be shrunk down to fit into the seat
The orc has to put an oxygen mask on Richard Taylor
So there'll also be an element of just the arm reaching in to cover his face and leave the mask
And when its all cut together it should like it was all one big shot at the same time
even though its from four or five different places
I do love it. Yeah, this is a great job. It's fantastic and we get to shoot in beautiful locations all over New Zealand
It's been absolutely fantastic
Today we're here at Monkey Studios in Wellington
recording the flute and the drums for the Air New Zealand safety video
It's sounding great
Really wanted to put a full orchestral feel behind it. It just brings an energy and a life to the music
Putting a real person behind an instrument suddenly the music comes alive
The piece was called the most epic safety video ever, so you kind of have to go there
Well no matter how big, how creative, how epic the video gets
at the end of the day the most important part is the safety
and how we translate those safety messages for our passengers
Air New Zealand have been very supportive to us
You know these movies aren't made by a film company, they're made by a nation of people
Kiwis are the best
I've had some of my best experiences making films here and so much of that had to do with the Kiwi ingenuity
It kind of bound everyone together and it was filled with that sense of the New Zealand spirit
Its A) an advertisement for New Zealand
B) an advertisement for Air New Zealand
and C) a practical way to make people pay attention
Very clever Air New Zealand. Props to you
We've also got actors that love to see their faces on the side of planes too. They get such a big thrill out of that
That's a wrap everyone. I hope you enjoyed it