GAME by Daniel Belton and Good Company

Game game (1), n. pastime; spell of play; sporting contest; jest; animals, birds, &c. hunted for sport or food. a. spirited. v.i. gamble. game (2), a. (of leg, &c.) crippled.

A man works with miniature holographic figures over a high tech game tablet to unlock new levels of understanding. Here, movement is the basic datum: it is about balance and the physics of space.

When the game is decoded the man undergoes internal ‘rewiring’ at a molecular level: we see him morph into a new reformed version of himself.

As he walks out of the film we can be suprised that his heavy limp is gone; that he now walks freely and easily. Through the act of playing the game, and the game playing him, he has been radically changed. We met this man at the beginning of the film with a physical disability, and we leave him cured; seemingly unaware that he ever had one.

Our work focusses on the relationship between human movement and moving image, both when it is produced as a result of a choreography for the camera, and when it is produced by the filmmaker's look on movement.

We look for the possibility to experiment and to extend - we want to push the art form in new directions. This film draws inspiration from early silent movie icons such as Buster Keaton and Charles Chaplin. There is something about the emotive comedy of the body that is so appealing - before technology connected speech to film. Our process combines early film techniques with the latest digital technology. The result is an old cinematic look spiked with complex 3D animation and special effects.

Game Film Credits:

Director, Designer: Daniel Belton
Producer: Jacdaniel with Piaz Olgazzi
Man: Richard Huber
Holographic Figures: Daniel Belton (Dance and Choreography)
Bar Maid: Donnine Harrison
Cinematography: Jac Grenfell
Camera Units: Kano, Peter Belton, Piaz Olgazzi
Sonic Composition: Jac Grenfell and Daniel Belton
Sound to Film Mastering: John Stewart with dBel
Lighting: Pilaf Olaf with Kano
Post Production House: Jacdaniel
Lab: John Stewart
Animation Special FX: John Stewart, Francois Jacques
Film Editors: Daniel Belton with Jac Grenfell
Art Dept: Peter Belton, Nigel Jenkins, Daniel Belton, Osraz Densky, Francois Jacques
Modelling and Carpenters: Peter Belton, Nigel Jenkins, Uni Gorilla, Osraz Densky, Francois Jacques, Wood Solutions
Set Design: Uni Gorilla with John Stewart
Warbrobe: ADUKI (Juliet Fay)
Make up: Diamond Don
Tech Advisors: Nigel Jenkins, Simon Belton
Creative Consultants: Richard Huber, William Johnston, Nyj Jenkins
Concept: Daniel Belton and Good Company

unders: Screen Innovation Production Fund (NZ), The Dunedin City Council (NZ), The Community Trust of Otago (NZ), Good Company Arts.