Sunset Studios: West Auckland Film Studio.

Sunset News...

ZedSpace

I've created myself a new blog. If your keen to check out go to;
http://zedspace.wordpress.com
I intend to post all sorts of stuff on a regular basis. I'm hoping to update this webpage in the future, however the old server is not up to it, so make lots of bookings so we can get a new web server, and a audio rig, and a edit suite and a ... and ... and.....
Z.

2010 and the 'Feedback' shoot

Happy new year to you all! The year is off to a busy start, Great Southern TV just finished shooting scenes for "Feedback" (directed by Matt Heath) at Sunset (check out some photos here, here and here). I'm about to get my teeth into post work for Last Flight, Duncan is still pushing forward with a comedy script (I'm not sure what I can and cant say so I'll say nothing more) and the bookings are coming in for more music videos and FX work. I look forward to hearing from you, 'till then,
Z.

Halloween II

In 2008 we challenged you to spend Halloween night sampling the most horrific (and sometimes just horrifically bad) fright flicks from around the world. And now, it’s that time again!

[Download PDF Invite]

Really looking forward to this years event. Dont forget your beanbag.
Z.

A Busy May

Well it was a fantastic month. Had music vids being shot for Bo Runga, The Checks, Mint Chicks, Iva Lamkum, a TV programme "No Sweat Parenting", and a short film "Last flight" that I'm doing some work on. Also just posted the Band cut edit (Watch here) of the 8 footsativa vid we did over the summer for the song Sleepwalkers (Watch the original vid here). I'll post links to the latest music vids as I get them. A big thank you to all those that have been shooting here (send us pics and links), much appreciated.
Z.

Sunset on TV & other stuff.

Well I have been a bit slack at posting news here. There's a good reason; I've been meaning to update this site to make it easier to post these updates, but I haven't. Okay so its not the best reason.
Some brief news: On Sunday morning Sunset was on the tele! Check it out on youtube. January and February where very busy at Sunset. The Music video we did for 8 Foot Sativa got banned on youtube. Last flight (a short film) will be spending some time shooting at Sunset and I'll be doing a few FX shots and grading it. And finally, something really, really big is in the pipeline but I can't say a word at this stage. Stay tuned,
Z.

A Night of Horror!

We want to find out if you have what it takes to survive six films, twelve hours, of the best, grizzliest, Grand Guignol from around the world. You’re invited to celebrate Halloween with a night of thrills, chills, guts , gore and (since we have two Italian films) diabolical dubbing and frankly laughable special effects. Drop in for a flick or, if you have the guts, stick around for the whole night – savouring the best and worst the genre has to offer (and enjoying a few little surprises along the way). Download the invite (PDF).

Brandspank shoot

24th July 2008, The brandspank crew were in this week shooting a music vid with my favorite toy: a Red. Check out some of the pics here. The greenscreen is getting some good use, so far 4 shoots, 3 of which featured cars. The next project will be to get some green flooring so we can get some keyable longshots. Stay tuned, I'm planning on testing out a AJA ioHD with a Sony EX1, I'll post something about it here. 'Till later
Z.

Mirrah and Mika Shoot Pics

19th June 2008, Well the green screen's getting good use. The opening credits to a Maori TV sports show was shot by Rhys Duncan, and some Unitec students shot a VW van in the studio. Today however I was on set for the Mirrah and Mika Video shoot That took place at Sunset (with a $250k BMW), and also at Mika's own studio. I took a few pics, you can check them out here. Unfortunatly I left before it finished so I don't have photos of the party scene. 'Till next time,
Z.

Green Screen & 48hr Video

Sunday, 8th, June. Well It's been a little while since I've posted some news so here goes. Our entry in the 48 hour film comp went well, we got 1st= for audience fav in our heat and an "A" from the godfather, but we didn't make the AKL final. You can watch it here. Other big news, we installed our green screen yesterday! It's frigin awesome. Maori TV are shooting on it tomorrow. Alls going well and you'll hear more from me soon, till then,
Z.

We're open for Business!

Tuesday, 22nd April. Well the opening went fantastically! Here's some photos taken on the night. We're getting plenty of enquiries and the bookings are starting to come in now which is really nice. The current project for the studio is the green screen which will be 7m x 3.5m, and the edges curve in, which should make it easier to light and shoot on. We've also foolishly entered 48 hours again. All I can say is go team Robunda!
Z.

Official Opening: April 17

Saturday, 15th March. We've set a date for our official opening! On Thursday April 17th @ 6pm we'll be opening our doors for all to see. If your keen to attend send us a RSVP via our contact page or email info@sunsetstudios.co.nz
Thanks to all those that have helped make this happen, without your support we wouldn't be having an opening at all, so come on down and we'll shout you a beer. 'Till next time,
Z.

Available for bookings

Monday, 3rd March. We're now ready to take bookings! After another big weekend we've finished enough to be production ready. We still want to get a lighting grid in place before our official opening (date to be announced soon) but if this isn't an issue for you give us a call, we will be offering special pricing on early bookings. I'm hoping to post a small video tour shot on a Sony EX1 camcorder (very nice machine). 'till next time.
Z.

Laying carpet sux.

Saturday, 23rd February. Well, I've found a trade I'd never want a career in. One piece of advise; Don't cut carpet angry. The offices are finished including the sound absorption in the control room. The walls are almost done, just the mezzanine to be completed. The ceiling should be finished by the end of this weekend (if we can find an extra ladder), and we've started on a lighting grid (huge thanks to Scott at Unirig). There's now a big mural in the mezzanine window, so if you drive past you can clearly see where we are. I'll get some more pics up soon. 'Till later, Z.

So close now.

Wednesday, 30th January. We are getting so close to being finished now. The floor is all painted, was a huge effort. Most of the ceiling is complete. The massive doors are built and ready to be sound proofed (more 50mm panels arriving this afternoon). A little extra paint and carpet (which we have) in the offices and we're done. Oh, if anyone out there knows anything about laying carpet, drop us a line ;-) We were hoping to be done by tomorrow however it may take the weekend to finish up. Hasn't been the most relaxing holiday but it has been very productive. Stay tuned, well let you know when the party's on, or drop us a line and we'll email you an invite. [Some new pics]

Happy New Year.

Wednesday, 9th January. Well we've all had a good break and are now working on the studio again. Since the last post we've spent many hours on the floor. First grinding the concrete, then filling any major holes with resin, and then two days of sanding. On monday we finally got the first coat of paint down and yesterday the second coat, it's looking damn good. I'll take some photos and post them soon. Also in the works is the making of video. After the floor has been given it's final touch's we'll start on sound proofing the roller door, front wall and connecting up the air extractor. Still a bit of work to be done, but it's almost functional now. Can't wait till we're shooting in there (other than the making of video).

Studio Details

Tuesday, 11th December. I've Updated the studio details [here]. I'm sure this should answer a lot of the questions we've been receiving lately. Don't miss the link to lighting packages that we have organized with Cinestuff that should meet most peoples needs. It's looking likely that we will be opening on 31st of January. Pencil it in and if you can think of a reason that would suggest that this isn't a good idea please let me know. If you would like us to email you an invite please drop us a line.

Red Showcase

Monday 26th Nov.
Well I thought I'd post something that wasn't all about sound absorbing panels, metal spikes and paint. Duncan and myself went to see Rocket Rentals Red One camera being demo'd at Image and Sound. WOW! What a cool camera [pic]. Was great to see it in the flesh and the related post production workflow including S&I's Filmlight Suite [pic], damn nice. One can only dream...
Z.

Work Continues...

Wed. 21st November. I've put some new pics up [here]. The main walls are done and we've started putting the ceiling in. Been quite a mission but it's coming along at a good rate. All the new banisters have been fitted and 'spikes' fitted to hold the 25mm Ultratel sound absorbing panels. The Electricians have been in and we now have a 63A 3 phase Cee form power connection.

Sign the Guestbook

Saturday, November 10th:
Remember how websites used to have a guest book? You could say hello and see who else had been there? In fact you could think of it as the predecessor to the blog, Well I figured what a great thing it would be to have one for the Sunset website. Feel free to say hello to the Sunset team by signing the all new guest book here...

Sunset Studios:
The making of.

Tuesday 30th October. [Pics]
Construction is going well. Sound absorbing panels have been fitted to all the main walls. Currently we are trying to sort out the flooring, the ceiling and the electric fittings (incl. house lights). Turns out we have around 60A of 3phase power (cheers Kevin Hester for the advice). And I've updated the construction gallery.

Construction Underway

Sunday 21st October.
The studio is quickly coming together. Has required a lot more cleaning than first anticipated. We have all the exposed surfaces painted black (same colour as the audio absorbing panels). The majority of the hangers (big spikes) that hold the audio panels have be fixed to the walls. Budget is predictably stretched, but the place so far looks great. Looking forward to fitting the panels tomorrow. [pics]

New Website is up!

Welcome to the new website. As you can see this is where you'll find all the latest at Sunset Studios. We plan on posting as often as we can here. Also note that we will put up information about shooting in Henderson including details about others in the film industry and local businesses and services (restaurants, medical, etc). Stay tuned.
Z.

Sunset takes over

We take over our lease on Friday the 19th of October. We're looking forward to it, but it's going to be a lot of work! We're hoping to have it available for bookings by early November. [update: Boy were we wrong!] Any volunteers that are willing to help with the cleanup drop us a email.

Audio Absorption

After a lot of searching we've found a fantastic product for our audio absorption. 50mm coated fiberglass panels will cover the walls with outstanding audio absorbing qualities. Now we just need to figure out how we're going to fit it.