Historic look just right for making ad

Quinn's arcade in Waimate made the ideal location for filming a TV commercial yesterday. Photo by...
Quinn's arcade in Waimate made the ideal location for filming a TV commercial yesterday. Photo by Andrew Ashton.

The 108-year-old Quinn's Arcade building in Waimate was yesterday transformed into a 1950s construction site as part of a Japanese television commercial production shoot.

The film crew said they were so impressed with the welcome and scenery in both North Otago and South Canterbury, they will probably return to film for other clients.

Following a 10-day set-up, New Zealand film company Curious Films spent yesterday filming the facade of the 1906 arcade for a high-profile commercial to advertise a brand of energy drink on Japanese television.

Location scout Clayton Tikao said the building was perfect for what was needed.

''The director from Japan saw this building. We scouted Oamaru, Dunedin, Timaru and every other town in between, and when he saw this building he said: 'That's it'.''

He said the 65-member crew included 25 Japanese film workers and was a ''medium- to large-scale'' production.

About 30 New Zealand actors in the commercial were locals from Timaru, Waimate and Oamaru, but he said the actors were not the only thing sourced from the local area.

''We have had crew staying in several hotels in Waimate, and a lot of our props we have sourced from Waimate; security from Oamaru.''

He said the main benefits of filming in Waimate had been the way the crew had been welcomed by locals and the Waimate District Council.

''Without their help, it could have been the difference between us coming and not coming.''

- andrew.ashton@odt.co.nz

Add a Comment