More film work slated for Oamaru and Waitaki

The cameras continue to roll on Oamaru and the Waitaki District.

A number of filming projects are in the works for the region, but most of the companies are keeping tight-lipped.

In March, the Waitaki region's finest produce will be showcased in the television series "Catch and Cook with Adventure Aaron" that will be watched by viewers around the world.

Aaron Carotta has more than 50,000 fans on Facebook and more than 100,000 Twitter followers.

"Catch and Cook with Adventure Aaron" Waitaki footage has the potential to air on American and international television to 120 million households.

Tourism Waitaki general manager Joel Coatsworth said Waitaki was a film-friendly destination and it was something they encouraged to increase exposure.

Most recently, an Australian-based company have been doing some scouting in Oamaru for a thriller film.

It is produced independently by LipkinFilms who say they want to keep the project as local as possible.

"We are intending to make this a local project as much as anything, where I will only be bringing across two or three key crew with the rest of the crew sourced locally," filmmaker Mark Lipkin said.

They were looking at various locations around the South Island and Oamaru played an important part, Mr Lipkin said.

"It has been refreshing to meet such support from the local communities that we have visited, this has only reinforced our interested to shoot in New Zealand," he said.

The film is set in 1974 and based on the Soviet authorities ordering the closure of the deepest drilling project on earth. Eight years later, in a chaotic turn of events, four ex-pats in desperation discover why the site was really closed.

Also coming up is the release of a short film, shot locally, that Oamaruvians can expect to hear more about soon.

A large commercial company is also known to be shooting an advertisement here which is expected to get good national exposure.

"We do promote the location through TRENZ and varying industry bodies. We're definitely pushing what we can do," Mr Coatsworth said.

From a national perspective, The Hobbit "certainly helped" attract attention.

The Hobbit is proposed to be the highest driver of New Zealand tourism for the next two years, just like the Lord of the Rings was, he said.

Oamaru has been a popular option for film scouts hunting for that extra-special destination for years.

"I think we have some quite iconic sites and, like anywhere where something is filmed, it puts you on the map and it drives tourists who see that area," he said.

"The reason film companies want to come here is for the quirky and different factors and that's what drives the visitation as well."

Mr Coatsworth said Tourism Waitaki would continue to promote the region as "film friendly".

As part of the Otago/Southland Film group, Tourism Waitaki strived to make the scouting process easy for companies.

"So when we get requests for images of scenery or locations, I try to respond as quickly as possible and just be film-friendly," marketing and sales co-ordinator Megan Howell said.

"If a street has to close, I'll make sure that all of the retailers and operators are happy for the street to close. It's a bigger picture than just that moment in time.

"They are good, they bring a lot of money to the town."