The sun is beating down on a narrow precipice near Jack’s Point, about 25 minutes outside Queenstown. This is the second of two locations that director Tim McLachlan is using to trick his diving shots in Frosty Man and the BMX Kid. Unable to find a suitable jetty, Tim changed his key location to a [...]

A full moon – indeed a blue moon, I’m reliably informed – has risen over the lake outside my window. It’s been a long day today. Hard to believe it’s only just over a week since the finalists were announced … and tomorrow it starts!
Even though they’re all scrambling to prep for the challenge ahead, [...]

The scenery is beautiful but the sky keeps opening up to dump buckets of water over everything, however nothing can dampen my spirits!
After arriving at the hotel, I was handed a cool package (very James Bond) that contained a video camera, cell phone, Big Break Jacket and two Big Break t -shirts (customized with my [...]

I’m sitting in the Your Big Break production office at The Rees Hotel in Queenstown.
It’s a surreal experience. Try and imagine all the frantic insanity of a typical production office – producers, coordinators, assistants and crew hunched over laptops and/or phones, surrounded by whiteboards with schedules scrawled in different colours and towering stacks of contracts, shot-lists [...]

Why let the five Your Big Break finalists have all the fun? Tomorrow morning I’ll be hopping on a plane to Queenstown to join Tim and Kristi as they prepare to roll cameras on Something Special and Frosty Man and the BMX Kid, the first two Your Big Break films. I’ll be catching up with [...]

Day 2 – My day started out in Auckland with a wonderful tour of Mt. Eden. An amazing spot of great importance to the Maori people. I would definitely like to try to make it back there if I have time on my way back through Auckland.
Then on our way to the airport, we got [...]

29/01/2010
Greetings from Queenstown, NZ!
I had a great problem-soving day today! My DOP, Aaron, arrived early this morning and after a quick hello we headed out to locations to go though my shot-list. The sun was belting down all day which made it hard to focus but we managed to sort everything out after much discussions [...]

WHY PREP?
Right now, two of our finalists – Tim and Kristi – are in preproduction on their Your Big Break films.
Preproduction is an intense time. The shoot is drawing ever closer – everything has to be ready – and most of these decisions ultimately come down to what the director has in mind. Locations have [...]

28/01/2010
I had another productive day today. I headed out to the locations we found yesterday to solidify my new game plan for the shoot. After revisting them again I’m feeling pretty confident that I’ve made the right choices and am on the right track. Tomorrow my DOP, Aaron Morton, arrives to begin preparations with me. [...]

I arrived in Auckland early this morning exhausted but very excited to be here in New Zealand.  The sky was a clear blue and the warmth was a nice contrast to colder temperatures back home in Seattle.  I am fortunate that my husband, Patric, is able to join me on this trip to offer support [...]