Māori Production Studio

Role

Deliverables

• -Original short-form brand film (approx. 3 minutes)
• -Narrative script and voice-over treatment
• -Archival selection and re-grade of prior project footage
• -Bilingual title and caption design
• -Social and presentation-format exports
• -Coordinated release across the studio's owned channels

Outcome

Delivered a public-facing celebration of indigenous storytelling that now functions as a brand asset, a tribute to collaborators and indigenous leaders, and a proof asset for proposals and procurement - and a reference piece for the studio's storytelling thesis that holding fast to culture and tikanga is itself the path to success.

Role

Deliverables

• -One completed music video (4:55) through a full cinematic pipeline
• -Direction, cinematography, edit and grade
• -VFX and virtual-production technical support
• -Toi Māori design, set build, lighting and makeup
• -Director-led futuristic Māori worldbuilding

Outcome

Fused waiata, speculative visual storytelling, and toi Māori design into a single screen experience where te ao Māori is felt, seen, and heard in every frame - helping establish a stronger visual language for Māori futurist screen work.

Role

Deliverables

• -5:54 short documentary profile for Te Papa's He Toi Whakairo exhibition
• -Cinematic documentation of Sam Hauwaho's carving process and teaching legacy
• -Exhibition-ready edit tailored to museum visitor flow
• -Integration of archival and contemporary material for intergenerational storytelling
• -Public-facing digital story for exhibition audiences

Outcome

Delivered a cinematography-led portrait that functions as an interpretive layer within the He Toi Whakairo exhibition (2026–2027), recording an active teaching lineage at a moment of transition and strengthening Māui Studios' standing in culturally grounded artist documentaries for museum contexts.

Role

Deliverables

• -Bilingual 2:55 short film (English and te reo Māori)
• -Narrative development weaving mātauranga Māori with earth science
• -On-location and green-screen cinematography (Sony FX6)
• -Edit, grade and delivery for emergency-communication audiences
• -Cultural guidance from pou tikanga and mana whenua

Outcome

Won the EMPA New Zealand Award for Excellence in Emergency Communication 2024 (Readiness and Resilience) - recognised as a benchmark for culturally grounded emergency communication that holds scientific credibility and cultural integrity together.

Role

Deliverables

• -14:12 hero identity film (English and te reo Māori)
• -Creative direction, cinematography (Sony FX6) and POV drone work
• -Motion design, original composition, edit and colour
• -Coordination of mana whenua and community contributors
• -Bilingual long-form documentary delivery

Outcome

Delivered a cinematic multi-voice hero film that placed mana whenua and community at the centre of the identity story - produced as a creative partner within Designworks' wider identity programme, which was recognised with a Best Awards Gold for branding.

Role

Deliverables

• -Live festival-booth concept with large LED display and player controllers
• -Matariki-themed virtual marae built in Fortnite (tukutuku styling, posters, voice and audio, approved character assets)
• -Hybrid play: 2–6 in-person players and up to 50 players online in a single session
• -Cultural quality-assurance review
• -Published Fortnite island (Island Code 4815-1223-7172)

Outcome

Delivered a published, accessible Fortnite island that held the spatial and relational logic of a marae while retaining the playability of Fortnite - a functioning civic activation for Tīrama Mai 2025 that extends beyond the festival as a living digital asset.