a collaborative, transmedia work exploring the winds in Wellington, New Zealand

"Wind" is an evolving artwork that combines movement, music, photography, film-making and interactive technology. We are creating something unique that distills the essence of the wind in Wellington, and sharing the evolution of the idea from conception through to completion. Our inspiration is drawn from people around us and the elements that shape us. The finished works will be a movement-based short film, a web experience, and an interactive installation. Watch our progress on this page, and contribute by sharing your thoughts and perspectives.

Process

We are adopting a workshop-based, iterative approach in creating this work combining our individual experiences with inspirations from other inhabitants of Wellington. We'll record as much as possible and post the results on this website, including the results of our workshops and the interviews we undertake. We hope to provide a window into the process of abstraction that takes familiar concepts and dissects them and transforms them into something more elemental and archetypal.

Collaborators

in alphabetical order

Stephen A'Court

Photographer

Stephen A’Court is a full-time professional photographer and over 20 years experience with editorial, corporate and advertising photography, capturing motion everywhere on land, sea and in the air. Even underground. As one of NZ's most accomplished theatre & dance photographers, he has photographed 200 shows for Wellington’s Circa Theatre, worked with the NZ School of Dance for 20 years, as well as other dance and theatre companies, art galleries and individual performers of all sorts. Exhibitions include:
  • Still Dancing a solo show at The New Zealand Portrait Gallery marking the 45th anniversary of the NZ School of Dance. Images from the show are now a part of the Wallace Arts Trust collection.
  • Toi a solo show at Toi Poneke Gallery of Toi Whakaari depicting graduates of the past 40 years.
  • Body a solo show at Toi Poneke Gallery Twentytwo large scale photographs of dancers, in collaboration with choreographer Sarah Foster.
  • Publications include: With A Passion; The Extraordinary Passions of Ordinary New Zealanders. Published 2001. See www.photoboy.photoshelter.com for more details.

    The Balkanistas

    Orchestra

    Represented by Andreas Lepper and Sharon Greally. A large, exuberant ensemble of musicians from Wellington and around the globe, the Balkanistas have stamped their large gypsy footprint firmly on the local music scene. Their sound reflects the diverse influences and energetic melodies of the Balkans. Winners of the People's Choice award to play at WOMAD 2014, Balkanistas have delighted and enchanted audiences everywhere with infectious dance rhythms, and an irresistible blend of gypsy sounds.
    Formed in 2013, and comprising 20 plus members, the Balkanistas’ impressive lineup features accordions, violins, clarinets, brass, percussion, bass, vocals and bouzouki. Balkanistas have featured at the Newtown and Aro Festivals, the Weta Digital Christmas extravaganza, have a regular monthly spot at the iconic Meow, as well as other venues throughout the city. An encounter with the Balkanistas guarantees you a good time, as many of our loyal followers will attest!
    Andreas Lepper is a highly respected, experienced and sought after percussionist. While his musical talent has been incorporated into number of bands of various genres, he has committed himself primarily to the wildly popular Balkanistas for the past two years. His working day is spent tutoring and facilitating a wide range of groups, from primary school children, disabled people and mental health workers to teams from the corporate sector. Andreas is known as a wonderfully enthusiastic teacher who creates fun-filled, cooperative learning environments for 'musically hungry’ people of all ages and backgrounds. Andreas has been an accompanist and tutor for the NZ School of Dance and Toi Whakaari since 1986.
    Sharon Greally has been making and teaching art for over 15 years in NZ and abroad. She has studied painting and sculpture under master teachers such as Tom Bass and Ingrid Morley in Sydney; under Annette Pringle of the Sydney College of Colour and Design; and at the Willoughby Community Art School, Australia. She is currently teaching at Inverlochy Art School in Wellington. Sharon has worked collaboratively with other teachers, notably The Mixing Room – stories from young refugees in New Zealand project at Te Papa. She is a musician, a member of Rose Road and Balkanistas, a creative writer, and a freelance journalist and contributor to Capital Magazine.

    Philip Boltt

    Director

    Philip spent the past eight years as the development supervisor for the motion-capture stage at Weta Digital. He was a key developer of the virtual production workflows used on films such as Avatar, The Adventures of Tintin, The Hobbit Trilogy, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. As a partner in Rodrigo Films, he has handled all the post-production for the company's two short films, Vajazzle and The Silk. During his time working in South Africa he oversaw the post-production of the audio-visual content of the Apartheid museum, edited a number of long-form documentaries, including the Amnesty International Doen Award nominated Nikiwe at IDFA, 2004. He was a founder member of the Johannesburg chapter of animation meetup, AnimationXchange, and lead the first postgraduate, digital arts programme at Wits University to feature motion-capture technology.

    Luke Hanna

    Choreographer

    Luke graduated from the New Zealand School of Dance and joined Black Grace Dance Company, performing a six week tour of North America and Canada in early 2008. He was then selected for the Australian Dance Theatre and performed with The Superstars of Dance in Los Angeles that year and again in 2011, when ADT did an extensive European tour of ‘Be Yourself’ choreographed by Garry Stewart. Luke was a guest dancer on Nowhere Fast choreographed by Ross McCormack and completed a national tour of Night Cafe , choreographed by Gavin Webber. In late 2009 Luke was nominated for the prestigious Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. Luke then returned to New Zealand, performing in the World of Wearable Art 2012 and as part of the New Zealand Dance Company in a three month development period of Rotunda. Luke premiered his new solo “eye” at Auckland’s 2014 Tempo Dance Festival. Recent choreographic credits include new music video Cracks in our Crown for The Black Seeds, Project Born and Tinderbox for the Playground Collective.

    Sean Snyders

    Technologist

    Sean Snyders is a software engineer with a background in machine learning and artificial intelligence. For the past decade, he has applied his skills to a range of 3D environments; from engineering to data visualisation and the latest visual effects at Weta Digital. He has extensive experience in multi-camera setup and calibration, video processing, and realtime technologies. As part of the motion capture team at Weta's world-leading facility, he was an integral part of the virtual stage development, contributing to such award-winning features as Avatar, Tin Tin, Planet of the Apes prequels and The Hobbit trilogy. Sean's passion for the creative side of engineering has lead him to develop research tools that interact with cameras and custom hardware. He recently created a wireless optical motion capture product through his company MotionSynth.

    Contribute

    We are the sum of our experiences. Be part of the work by sharing your thoughts and images. When you tweet , tag us @rodrigofilmsnz and use the hashtag #wellywind. We'll be looking to this stream of public consciousness for inspiration and points of departure. Here is what other people have been saying:

    We'll also be posting updates on our Rodrigo Films facebook page. Like it to get updates on project milestones, and notification of the exhibition dates.