Tuakiritaka: Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka

Tuakiritaka - Identity is a mana-enhancing hero film commissioned to mark the University of Otago's adoption of the identity Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, bringing together the voices of community, mana whenua, and the university to capture what genuine partnership looks like on the journey toward a new institutional identity.

Across its 14:12 runtime, the film brings cinematic scale to a significant institutional moment - from coordinating a karanga on a clifftop, to following Matua Edward through the harbour in a racing waka hou, to sweeping drone sequences across the campus. The result is a celebration of identity grounded in mana whenua values and a shared vision of a community moving forward together.

The challenge was to treat a major identity transition with the depth and care it required: to centre mana whenua voices and values rather than presenting the change as a marketing exercise, and to hold many community perspectives within a single coherent and emotionally resonant film.

• Core Deliverables: A 14:12 hero identity film - creative direction, cinematography (Sony FX6), POV drone work, motion design, original composition, edit and colour
• Contributors: A wide range of kaikōrero and university leads, with mana whenua voices central
• Audience: The university community, mana whenua, prospective students and staff, and the wider public
• Format: Long-form documentary / brand-identity hero film
• Production Context: Commissioned through Designworks as creative production partner on the wider identity programme
• Timeframe: Completed February 2023 · 24-week production
• Service Connection: Film and Cinematography, Motion Design, Original Composition, Cultural storytelling, Editing and Colour

Māui Studios delivered a cinematic, multi-voice hero film that placed mana whenua and community at the centre of the identity story rather than treating the change as a logo reveal. The production balanced ambitious location work - clifftop karanga, a waka hou on the harbour, aerial campus sequences - with intimate kaikōrero perspectives, original composition, and motion design.

The film sat within the wider identity programme led by Designworks, whose branding work was recognised with a Best Awards Gold - context that speaks to the calibre of the programme Māui Studios' hero film contributed to (the award being for the branding rather than the film itself). For Māui Studios, the project demonstrated the ability to lead creative production on a high-profile institutional identity moment.

Intended Outcomes

• Mark the adoption of the Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka identity in a way that centres mana whenua values
• Capture authentic community and mana whenua voices around a shared institutional vision
• Produce a hero film of cinematic quality befitting the significance of the moment
• Model what partnership-led identity storytelling looks like for a large institution

Broader Impact

• Demonstrates how an institutional identity transition can be told as a relationship and partnership story rather than a marketing exercise
• Strengthens Māui Studios' standing as a creative-production partner for education-sector and brand-identity film
• Contributes to a growing body of Māori-led institutional storytelling

• Short-form cutdowns and social edits extending the film's reach
• Companion films profiling individual kaikōrero, programmes, or campus communities
• Ongoing identity and storytelling work as the Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka identity develops
• A repeatable partnership-led model for institutional identity films with other universities and organisations

• University of Otago - Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka. (n.d.). Tuakiritaka. https://tuakiritaka.otago.ac.nz/