Local expertise riding high

Queenstown's talent, scenery and professional crews have drawn Zoom Film and Television's award-winning creative director, Mark Toia, back to film a motorbike commercial titled Reunion.

The video, shot in May by the Brisbane-based New Zealander on a farm on Queenstown Hill, showcases the Yamaha WR450F, ridden by four Queenstown locals. When Scott Columb - the 2013 New Zealand MX2 motocross champion - was unavailable to star in the video after a knee operation, his siblings Lachie and Alana Columb took his place.

They have ridden motorbikes since they started school but Alana is now a national downhill mountain biking champion and is at present competing overseas, while Lachie is a New Zealand ATV (all-terrain vehicle) Championship class winner. Joining them was Yamaha ambassador and junior development coach Antony Sproull and local electrician David Coulter.

The video demonstrates the performance of Yamaha's new off-road motorcycle and although there were concerns Alana might not be able to handle the ''big, powerful motorbike'', she more than managed, Mr Toia said.

''When we were chasing her in the helicopter, I was going 'oh my god'. She was flying.''

A remote-controlled gyro-stabilised Shotover F1 camera system was fitted to the nose of a Eurocopter Squirrel helicopter and many of the aerial shots were filmed in one take.

The story follows four friends riding separately, but reconnected by their new motorbikes which they ride to meet up at their favourite scenic spot, and Mr Toia said the riders made it easy for him.

''Everything I asked them to do I knew they were capable of doing.''

He went on to praise the professionalism of the film crews based in Queenstown.

''My love of Queenstown, the whole Otago region is the reason why I keep taking jobs there. Even though it's an expensive place to shoot, it becomes economical when you keep it down to small crews,'' Mr Toia said.

Destination Queenstown chief executive Graham Budd agreed Queenstown offered the perfect formula for Reunion with its ''dramatic and diverse scenery, supporting infrastructure and its local talent and expertise''.

''This new commercial showcases all these attributes and we're delighted that Yamaha chose to shoot here - it's invaluable exposure for both our thriving local film industry and our international profile as a place to visit and experience the great outdoors,'' he said.