By New Zealand Story
Park Road Post’s international clients already know about New Zealand’s open spaces and raw natural beauty thanks to films such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy. Park Road Post’s general manager, Cameron Harland, explains that being in New Zealand is a benefit for overseas filmmakers.
“When we’re explaining why New Zealand is a great place to produce films, we talk about how our open spaces, away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood, provide the perfect environment in which a filmmaker has the opportunity to realise their full creative potential, without interruption.
“We also tell them about the ease of getting around, the fresh food, great wine, beautiful sights and luxury lodges. These are all factors that play a big part in the overall filming experience our clients embrace,” says Cameron.
The Park Road Post team are a major differentiator for the company on the global stage, with the core of its offering being based around the quality of its people, a can-do attitude and the flexibility to try new things on the journey to creating spectacular films.
“We have a group of passionate, intelligent and committed individuals that all work together to deliver the very best solution for any client. In what can be an incredibly fast-paced, challenging industry, our clients often comment on the caring and dedicated nature of the staff.
“There is no question that Park Road Post is unique in the world because of this Kiwi attitude that makes us easy to work with. Fundamentally this comes from the quality of our people – their passion, determination and commitment to delivering outstanding work, every time, for their client. Our openness also means we have a quality relationship that is deep and honest with our overseas clients,” says Cameron.
Beyond having a passionate and honest team, Park Road Post is world renowned for its creativity and innovation in filmmaking which fans around the world have enjoyed in box office hits such as District 9, King Kong, The Water Horse and of course, The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It’s a crucial part of telling Park Road Post’s story to overseas filmmakers as Cameron explains.
“Park Road Post is known globally for its quality and innovation, and it is still the only post house in the world that has delivered a 3D Higher Frame Rate feature film (The Hobbit Trilogy). We were given the task of developing the workflow to allow for shooting, processing and display of higher frame rate 3D images at a time where options for doing so were incredibly limited. We were also one of the first to embrace the new sound mixing format, Dolby Atmos, again leading the way in film and post production technologies. That kind of innovation and creative problem solving has helped us to build an international profile,” says Cameron.
“While we certainly explain our innovative capabilities to our potential clients, the advantage of being in the film industry is that innovation and developments are clear and obvious for the world to see. Although the average movie-goer may not know much about Park Road Post’s input into leading film innovations, they fall in love with the films and that’s definitely something our clients take notice of and value.