Life in lockdown: Teddies in action on zipline at Kauri Point

Four teddy bears and a "random duck" in action on a zipline have become the stars of a series of comedy movie trailers filmed by Kit Wilson and Sue Baker Wilson at their property at Kauri Point in the Western Bay of Plenty.

To date Four Teddies and Duck have had more than 73,000 views on social media and been shared over 600 times.

The couple wanted a novel way of taking part in the We're Not Scared Bear Hunt, which involves people putting teddies in their windows and tagging their location on an interactive map for nearby families to follow during the neighbourhood walks that are allowed during lockdown.

The teddy zip line was a way of participating in the hunt safely, Kit Wilson said.
Their property bounds onto a walkway. The best way to do this was to run a zipline from the house to a flagpole they had at the corner of the section, the couple said.

"Each day we have been putting out a different teddy display.

"People walking past have enjoyed the different themes. For example, we have had a wedding, a tribute to health workers and a Queen's message.

"Adults appreciate these as much as children. If we are out in the garden we run the bears down the zipline."

They have had reminiscences from passers-by about flying foxes and stories associated with peoples' special teddies.

"We have enjoyed watching a grandmother 'facetime' her grandies to show them the zipline teddies."

Kit and Sue said they have connected with local people that they did not know after they viewed the videos online.

"We have been sent a video of a poodle watching the teddy video which has connected ex-Waihi people with current residents."

Both being ex-Katikati College Film Studies teachers they have enjoyed other people providing creative responses that they have shared online.

The four teddies and a duck have become stars of a comedy movie. Photo Kit Wilson.

The videos are put together using a template in iMovie, and anybody with this programme and a phone camera can do the same thing, Kit said.

"The hard part is wrangling the talent. The teddies can be a bit temperamental and the duck was very demanding."

Each video took the best part of a day, from concept to storyboard, filming and editing.

Now that all eyes are on Four Teddies and a Duck, can we expect a sequel?

The couple has already produced one sequel, Duvet Duck: The Duck Who Loved Me.

"People have asked for a sequel about the 'mysterious duck' – but the answer is no, not at this stage."

Anybody can register their bear at www.bearhunt.co.nz