ABOUT ROWENA BAINES
Director, cinematographer, photographer & editor, telling a story that is true to you and your journey.
I am a creative and experienced visual storyteller. My passion is for people and their unique stories. I take time to understand you, ensuring your message is delivered in a way that is true to you and your journey, reflecting not just where you are, but how and why you got there. I work as a one wo-man band, handling all aspects of the filmmaking process and am also invited to direct other people’s films. I live on beautiful Waiheke Island and my work takes me across the Auckland isthmus and beyond.
QUALITY & EXPERTISE
Whether your project is personal or professional, I bring with me the latest equipment and a decade of experience to ensure a high level of presentation allowing me to deliver something we will both be proud of. Ten years ago I completed a Masters degree in Science and Natural History Filmmaking taught in association with NHNZ, the world’s second-largest producer of factual films, however in truth, the animal I find most fascinating is mankind.
MOTIVATION & BACKGROUND
Being a documentary filmmaker provides a window into another’s world, bringing a sense of adventure and discovery into my daily life in a way that travel used to, yet documentary allows me to go deeper. Extended travel taught me to be incredibly independant, flexible, open and patient -skills I bring into my work. My desire to communicate and connect led me to learn several foreign languages fluently, which allows me to work on a wide variety of projects. My day is never the same. My office is the world. There is a sense of freshness and uniqueness to every project I take on and I am fuelled by the buzz of co-creation.
WHY CHOOSE ME?
Hiring a one woman-band has many advantages for clients, as I handle each and every part of the process from pre-production to post production, which keeps the cost down greatly. I can be very flexible if a client needs to re-schedule or shoot with little notice, as we don’t usually need to coordinate a whole film crew unless required. I have creative autonomy over the entire project, meaning my style carries across all aspects of the project and I shoot for the edit, knowing exactly what I will need in post production. The co-creative process in partnership with my client is key and I go above and beyond to do us both proud.
DISCOVERY
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Getting to know you and your project
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Listening to understand your mission, desired outcome and any key messaging.
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Providing a quote based upon the level of production required and your budget
PRE-PRODUCTION
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Crafting a plan of action together - it takes co-creation and energy investment on both sides to ensure I make a film that we are both proud of.
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Researching your target audience, so that the video speaks to them
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Plotting out the story, timeline and production value based around your budget
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Booking locations, additional team members and equipment if needed
PRODUCTION
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Directing you and working together to achieve the best results while filming
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Using the latest equipment to bring high production values to the work
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Allowing the necessary time to capture the magic
POST-PRODUCTION
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You letting go of the reigns and trusting me to craft a compelling and memorable story true to you
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Bringing together all the elements for the story edit - key moments from the interview together with the best footage to push the story forward.
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A rough cut will be supplied and once approved the finished product will be delivered after completion of the final sound mix and colour grade.
Video Process
DISCOVERY
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Getting to know you and/or your project
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Listening to understand your needs and desired outcome
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Providing a quote based upon the level of production and your budget
PRE-PRODUCTION
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Crafting a plan of action together - deciding on location, style, tone, garments and timeline
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Booking locations, additional team members and equipment if needed
PRODUCTION
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Capturing your natural relaxed nature and connection with natural light
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Building a story through a variety of images from the close up details to wide shots
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Using the latest equipment to bring high production values to the work
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Allowing the necessary time to capture the magic
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Using the elements to our advantage resulting in unique shots
POST-PRODUCTION
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A proof sheet will be supplied to select your images from
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Editing the images in Lightroom and Photoshop
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A selection of the best fully edited images will be supplied as high resolution files.
Photography Process
Equipment
I pride myself on owning industry leading equipment for small-production, meaning no additional costs of gear hire unless you need something project-specific.
The Canon R5 is the world’s top photography camera with the best auto-focus eye tracking and image stabilization and enables me to shoot slow-motion in 4K. When matched with an RF lens, it becomes even more responsive and all my lenses allow me to shoot in low light situations, offering a very cinematic shallow depth of field. My top of the range gimbal allows freedom of movement, so I’m not tied to a tripod.
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Canon R5 camera with RF 70-200mm f2.8 lens,
EF 24-70mm f2.8, EF 16mm f2.8 -
2x Canon EOS 5D Mark iii with EF 70-200mm f2.8 lens
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Atamos Ninja V+ monitor
(enabling 11.5hrs straight video recording at 4K and also 8K) -
DJI RS2 Gimbal
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H4N Zoom sound recorder
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Sennheiser & Sony lapel mics
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Rode directional shotgun mic
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Manfrotto fluid head tripod
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4x high speed Alien Bee Studio flashes with soft-box and umbrella
