Mojosurf re-vamps Aussie content
What better project can you wish for after 2 months moving every day around dusty South East Asia than a 4 month stint at one of Australia’s most chilled out surf camps?
8 months and 9 countries after producing a film a day for Mojosurf‘s launch adventure in Indonesia (plus a Bali & Beyond hero), the Rat & Dragon team are nestling down at mythical backpacker surf haven Spot X to get their teeth into Mojosurf’s content strategy.
“Due to circumstances beyond our control, I’m alone on this one,” explains director Saxon Yuen, “lucky we are able to schedule 4 months for the complete overhaul. It’s very exciting to be creating a fresh identity for brand as established as Mojosurf.”
Stray Myanmar Maiden Expedition
When faced with the prospect of shooting in a country that is slowly opening up after decades of military rule, the Rat & Dragon team could not have been more excited.
Flying into Mandalay after 6 weeks on production for Stray in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, producer Nicola explains: “Myanmar is at a really interesting turning point, where tourists are for the first time getting a chance to experience communities and destinations previously untouched by the rather formal government run tours.
From a production point of view it’s going to be about balancing our commercial needs with the customer’s experience and impacting the local communities the least. We’ll be working with guides who aren’t used to film crews looking for less traditional kinds of shots, but right from the start, it’s a real privilege to be here.”
Place Cakes – the weird and wonderful
Should you not be aquainted with the phrase “Killing your Darlings”, chances are you are spared deep pain. The film making term refers to material that for no other reason than ensuring the smooth flow of a project, doesn’t make the final cut.
Hours of stunning cinematography never see the light of day, but Rat & Dragon have found a way to honour these little moments. “Place cakes are little snapshots of places, people or experiences that are simply too beautiful to ignore,” explains director Saxon Yuen.
“Sometimes there are so many things that need to fit in a 2 minute commercial, some of the best stories never get told. We have created the Place Cake series to home exactly those weird and wonderful experiences, and we simply can’t find time to edit them all!”
The Landlady reviewed by MJ Simpson
“Lots of fun and a nice little aside among the barrage of features which I have to plough through every month.”
– MJ Simpson, Cult films and the people who make them
With over 35000 hits on youtube since its release on Halloween 2013, The Landlady’s four lodgers have died horrible deaths time and time again, delighting hammer horror audiences worldwide. Co-founder of SFX MJ Simpson gives us his chuckles and opinion, the full review can be found here.
Around the world with a giant game of ‘tag’
Ever wondered what 9 months, 18 countries and 40000km look like in 2 minutes? Rat & Dragon‘s giant game of ‘tag’ shows how it’s done.
“While we were on production for Insider Intel, we had the idea of stringing together all the amazing locations we were shooting in with an overarching creative concept,” explains director Saxon. “Filming tiny elements of a bigger story everywhere we went was confusing at first, but once we were far enough down the line to string a rough edit together, our teams loved it.”
‘Tag’ has now been adapted and bought by STA Travel to showcase their signature ‘Blue Ticket’ product globally.
Stray commissions full South East Asia suite
After the success of Stray Asia’s Vietnam expedition that launched in April 2014, the New Zealand based adventure travel brand has commissioned Rat & Dragon to produce a complete overhaul of their South East Asia marketing content.
“The Vietnam film tapped into a media savvy audience that is genuinely passionate about authentic travel experiences,” explains director Saxon, “so we’re very excited to be asked to capture the real flavours of Stray’s South East Asia network in our upcoming films.”
Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and brand new Stray destination Myanmar are all on the production schedule, as well as an overarching South East Asia hero film. Prepare for film maker heaven.
As you have probably gathered, we are more than stoked on the new video!! Thank you so much. If you ever fancy coming to New Zealand and working on something similar, just shout!
Ellen Pickett, Digital Marketing Manager, Stray Travel Ltd.
The Landlady produced in Notting Hill
Award winning independent film production house Robo Films is proud to announce its newly completed project “The Landlady” starring Marian Elizabeth, Zoe Grisedale, Gina Jones, Sarah-Jane Howard and Bond Girl Caroline Munro.
Shot as a 4 part series of unfortunate events that lead to the demise of 4 tenants, The Landlady will be released on Halloween 2014. “Hammer horror has a large and devoted fan base,” explains associate producer Nicola, “so going for a release on the spookiest day of the year is a no-brainer.” Enjoy, but watch out for zombies.
The Mighty Aussie Road Trip
With 3/4 of the 40000km long Epic Journey completed, the Rat & Dragon team are gearing up to produce the Mighty Aussie Road Trip as their final 10000km leg of overland travel from London to Sydney.
Commissioned by THL, New Zealand’s premier tourism company, the team will shoot 7 films in total of which 4 show separate routes throughout Australia, from crossing the Northern Territory into the heart of the Red Centre and Uluru to the rain forests of Tropical North Queensland to the cosmopolitan bustle of inner city Sydney.
“It’s a huge undertaking and production will last a month,” explains producer Nicola, “which is a short time to cover 10000km of driving and around 40 destinations and activity providers along the way. It’s a challenging project but what a better way to capture Australia than on the road?”
