Queenstown’s Welcome to Winter campaign nabs major award

Wednesday, 13 November 2019, 3:59 pm
Press Release: Destination Queenstown

Queenstown, New Zealand (13 November 2019) Destination Queenstown’s Welcome to Winter campaign has picked up a major cinematography award in Australia.

The New South Wales chapter of the Australian Cinematographers Society presented the project’s Director of Photography Cam Batten with a gold award in the Advertising National/International category at its annual Awards for Cinematography this month.

Destination Queenstown brand and marketing manager Diana Mendes worked closely with production company Two Bearded Men to assemble a stellar crew capable of bringing Queenstown’s winter holiday experience to life, and recognition of the campaign at these prestigious awards confirmed this.

“We took on a huge challenge when we set out to create a short film that could do justice to Queenstown’s winter with its majestic landscapes, fantastic activities and fun atmosphere on screen.

The goal was to encapsulate that winter energy and to set ourselves apart from other winter destinations, placing Queenstown at the top of Australians’ travel wish-list. The stunning visuals produced by Cam and the hard-working crew certainly achieved that, and this recognition proves the point.

This is a two-year campaign so it is great to be reminded that the video continues to wow viewers as we get ready to release it to market once again in a few months’ time.”

Cam Batten says working on a campaign for one of the most beautiful regions in the world means bringing together a team who are the best at what they do, and that was key to the project coming together so beautifully.

“When director Allan Hardy and I stepped off the plane in Queenstown, our plans to ‘recce’ for a few days were flipped upside down as the weather loomed during the week ahead. Producers Toby Crawford and Claire Dooney moved mountains to re-arrange our entire shoot schedule and bring the puzzle together again.

“When you need to combine light, wind, balloons, snow, helicopters, water, mud and save enough time to shoot Queenstown's iconic bar scene, that’s a lot of logistics for one week. With a tight knit crew we shot sunrise to moonrise, working with a stellar creative to bring winter to life.

“When I entered the campaign into the NSW ACS Cinematography awards, I knew I was entering into the most competitive category in the country, against exceptionally talented peers. Receiving recognition from the ACS for Cinematography was a thrill and very humbling.”

Most recently Cam has worked with Australian snowboarder Torah Bright and ROXY to produce the brand new IMAX film, Out of Bounds – Journey to Alaska. As a filmmaker and ambassador for winter Cam plans to keep bringing stories to a global audience all the while pushing the boundaries of his film making in incredible environments, bringing them to life, as he has for Queenstown, in ways never seen before.

Previous winners of this award produced work for premium brands such as Lexus, Samsung and David Jones.

Campaign credits:

Director/Cinematographer/Editor: Allan Hardy
Producer: Toby Crawford / Tim Pierce
DOP: Cam Batten
Aerial Cinematography: Peter Thompson
Production Manager: Claire Dooney
Gaffer: Max Catterick
Best Boy: Harrison Macharg
Agency: Young & Shand
Music: Oliver Lyu
Colour/VFX: Joe Lancaster
Sound Design: Caleb Sullivan

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