2012 Cockatoo Island Film Festival launches cinema release and online trailer via Engine

Zitserman and fellow deputy executive director and co-creative director Stavros Kazantzidis approached Engine after its search for a production partner and recommendations from some of Sydney's best-known cinematographers and directors led them to the creative house's CEO, Calvin Gardiner ACS.

Says Zitserman: "Stavros came up with what can only be described as a hugely ambitious concept for the festival trailer but the first problem was finding a great DOP and production house who could make it happen. We spoke to some of our industry's greats including Geoff Burton and Bruce Beresford and three names kept coming up, Calvin Gardiner, Engine and Tony Gardiner. So we went and met with them."

Zitserman and Kazantzidis presented Calvin Gardiner with a partnership offer that he accepted and then immediately called his team into action.

Says Gardiner: "To call the project ambitious was a bit of an understatement. We sat down with the team at Engine and asked how we could do it and who was prepared to go the extra mile in order to achieve it as these projects are always a labour of love. Not only did everyone say yes but the level of excitement was palpable. At Engine we are committed to helping the local film industry whenever and wherever we can so it was all systems go."

The Engine team sat with Zitserman, Kazantzidis and DOP Tony Gardiner to work on the storyboard, script and treatment with both Gardiners scoping locations for a shoot that was fast becoming more of a short film than a trailer. With time of the essence the production got underway and every in-house department at Engine was utilised including studio, production, design, 2D, 3D, editing, compositing  and post production.

Says Zitserman: "There is an incredible bunch of talented artists at Engine. Honestly, where other creative houses said this couldn't be done, Engine not only said it could but here's some more options. It was amazing to see their process and to work with a top Australian DOP in Tony Gardiner at the same time. They put together a remarkable crew and set of extras numbering over 100 and the results have brought tears to the eyes of those who have watched it both in movie theatres and online."

From the initial brief Engine were responsible for planning  and producing the shoot, titles, design, live action, VFX and post carrying out all the non location work in house at Engine's studio and creative suites.

Says Rebecca Love, Engine producer on the project: "We loved producing this as it was much more of a filmic project and we treated it as such. The first cut came in at 8 minutes and that showed us just how much great footage we had to work with. Honestly it was an enormous amount of work but the team were determined to produce the very best result possible. Our main driving force was finding a solution to such an ambitious project and to create something we, the festival and the whole industry could be proud of."

Such was the interest in the festival that the trailer was given a theatrical release in Hoyts and Dendy cinemas across Australia. The festival also ran competitions for those who saw it posting their reactions on the festival's website.

Says Zitserman: "We honestly had people crying with emotion when they saw the trailer. I really cannot thank Engine enough for their work on this, they just made it so easy for us. Engine are creative, capable and deliver amazing results. Thing is I don't know what to class them as as they are so much more than a post or creative house. Truthfully I guess the best way to describe Engine is filmmakers either current or future. This team of people know the industry, love the industry and support the industry and for that we are all truly grateful."


The 2012 Cockatoo Island Film Festival

The 2012 Cockatoo Island Film Festival runs from 24-28 October on Cockatoo Island in Sydney's Harbour. The festival is expecting an audience of over 40,000 film lovers. 1,000 of those patrons will have the opportunity to camp on-site and immerse themselves fully in this cinema event, which includes nightly red carpet galas, glamorous parties, live music and the inaugural Cockatoo Island Classic yacht race.

Featuring the largest competitive film program in Australia, Cockatoo Island Film Festival is a showcase for foreign and local film productions, connecting the Australian and International screen industry and presenting a comprehensive program of panel discussions, forums and master classes.

Supporting the competitive selection will be premiere screenings of major new releases, classic cinema, a program devoted to young people and children, a special program of low-budget indie works, as well as midnight screenings.


Post Production and VFX: Engine
Executive Producer: Calvin Gardiner
Producer: Rebecca Love
VFX Supervisor: Scotty Wilcox
Editor: George Kacevski
Lead Compositor: Joel Osis
3D Modelling: Shaun Schellings
3D Lighting / Texturing: Max McMullin