Where there’s life, there’s noise

WARNING: Cars were hurt in the making of team Kratos’s entry in the VF48Hours filmmaking competition. But the story of a man whose attempts at taking a much-needed holiday are frustrated by random incidents won Kratos first place. The crew was made up of cameraman Jordan Perry, audio editor Clarke Allen, lighting man JK, and Loin Rofe who organised the cars. Actor Jol Sparks (pictured) was the would-be holidaymaker, Matt Rofe played the leaf blower man, Pat Butler was the campground owner while Jonathan Poole, Wayne Ensor, Grant Ensor, and Mike Morrissey added to the bogan scenes. Picture supplied

“The holiday” was the unpromising theme film crew Kratos was given for the VF48Hours filmmaking competition — but the team turned it into cinematic gold and landed first place for the second year in a row.

The Noise of Life is the story of a man who is desperately in need of a holiday and ends up staying at a motor camp. How he gets there and how that plays out, though, is a matter of mayhem.

Cast in the main role, Gisborne drama teacher and Broken movie star, Jol Sparks, plays a man who is pushed close to the edge by the tyranny of small things but finds respite at a motor camp. The motor camp though is populated by noisy bogans.

Before he gets to his much needed, but disrupted, holiday the man is involved in a car crash, a live action sequence team Kratos’s cameraman Jordan Perry filmed with a drone. The aerial camera angle met one of the elements — overhead shot — given to 48Hours film crews at the same time across the country last month.

Wind was another element and this came into play as The Noise of Life’s hapless protagonist stands in his office doorway to examine his insurance papers while talking on the phone to his mum about the need for a break.

“Then someone comes along with a leaf blower and blows the papers away,” says Mr Perry.

Kratos had access to cars suitable for the crash and road rage scenes early in the film. A fire-pit and caravans at Mr Sparks’ property lent itself to the campground. As soon as the would-be holiday-maker arrives at the campground his car door is smashed off by one of the bogans staying there. The car is later set alight.

“We wanted to go with the campervan idea where he is thrown into a crowd of family misfits, multiple bogans and hillbillies,” says Perry.

It is here Kratos included two more required elements — laughter, provided by the rowdy tourists, and a double-take, the protagonist’s reaction to a child who makes inappropriate remarks to his bogan mother. Does our holidaymaker snap? He does not. The story even ends happily. Even better, team Kratos is sure The Noise of Life has a good chance of getting into the national finals.

The 2019 grand final will be held at the Civic Theatre, Auckland, on August 17, where the top 18 films from the 2019 VF48Hours will screen. The line-up includes three wildcards from Sir Peter Jackson.Earlybird tickets are on sale from online booking agency ticketmaster.