Woodenhead
Encyclopedia
Woodenhead is the name of a 2003 New Zealand
film directed by Florian Habicht
.
The film is a dark fairy tale
in the style of the Brothers Grimm
, and is based around the life of a dump-hand called Gert and a mute
princess called Plum. The two wander into the forest with a donkey and mysterious things start to happen. The film explores the dark sexual material in this mythic context.
The film is unusual in that the sound and music were recorded before the film was shot, and does not match the visuals. It is in crisp black and white and was shot in the Northland Region. The voices of the main two characters are musicians Steve Abel
and Mardi Potter and the actors are Nicholas Butler (NZ) and Teresa Peters.
The film was shown in the 2003 Auckland
, Wellington
and Melbourne
international film festivals and has been released on DVD.
Florian Habicht has also made a film called Kaikohe Demolition, a loving look at the demolition derby
in his hometown Kaikohe
, and Rubbings from a Live Man, an intimate documentary about New Zealand actor, writer and director Warwick Broadhead.
fly into a stadium and tell him that the band lip-synched their music, apparently unaware that this is common knowledge. They then tell him to make a film where the sound is recorded before the visuals.
While it would have been hard to resist such a disarming directive, Habicht realised there were also some definite advantages in making a low-budget film in this way. It enabled him to focus separately on the visual and aural components of the film, allowing him, for example, to cast people who had the look he wanted but who weren't necessarily trained as actors. With a limited amount of money to spend on the film (around $30,000), Habicht also realised that he could achieve much higher quality results by taking care of the sound in a recording studio, rather than on location. He didn't need to take a sound recordist with him on the shoot, and normal concerns such as traffic noise were a non-issue.
Furthermore, this style of filmmaking suited the filmmaker's intuitive style perfectly, giving the film a surreal, otherworldly feel. As well as being out of literally out of synch, he also accentuated the oddness by mismatching the soundtrack with what you see - often you'll find sweet and innocent dialogue accompanying grotesque and sometimes violent visuals or a South Island kea screeching on a North Auckland road. He also enjoyed giving the actors voices that were incongruous with the way they looked.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
film directed by Florian Habicht
Florian Habicht
Florian Habicht is a New Zealand film director. Florian was born in 1975 in Berlin, Germany. He moved to New Zealand, with his family to the Bay of Islands, at the age of eight. He went to high school in Kerikeri before attending the University of Auckland's Elam Art school, and graduating in...
.
The film is a dark fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
in the style of the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...
, and is based around the life of a dump-hand called Gert and a mute
Speech disorder
Speech disorders or speech impediments are a type of communication disorders where 'normal' speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute.-Classification:...
princess called Plum. The two wander into the forest with a donkey and mysterious things start to happen. The film explores the dark sexual material in this mythic context.
The film is unusual in that the sound and music were recorded before the film was shot, and does not match the visuals. It is in crisp black and white and was shot in the Northland Region. The voices of the main two characters are musicians Steve Abel
Steve Abel
Steve Abel is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and environmental activist.Abel contributed his song Hospice For Destitute Lovers to the art noir feature film Woodenhead...
and Mardi Potter and the actors are Nicholas Butler (NZ) and Teresa Peters.
The film was shown in the 2003 Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
international film festivals and has been released on DVD.
Florian Habicht has also made a film called Kaikohe Demolition, a loving look at the demolition derby
Demolition derby
Demolition derby is a motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another...
in his hometown Kaikohe
Kaikohe
Kaikohe is the central service area for the Far North District of New Zealand, about 260 km from Auckland, situated on State Highway 12 at...
, and Rubbings from a Live Man, an intimate documentary about New Zealand actor, writer and director Warwick Broadhead.
Trivia
Habicht states on the DVD that the film was inspired by a dream in which two angels appearing as Milli VanilliMilli Vanilli
Milli Vanilli was a pop/dance music project formed by Frank Farian in Germany in 1988, visually fronted by Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. The group's debut album achieved international success and earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist on Feb. 21, 1990. Milli Vanilli became one of the most...
fly into a stadium and tell him that the band lip-synched their music, apparently unaware that this is common knowledge. They then tell him to make a film where the sound is recorded before the visuals.
While it would have been hard to resist such a disarming directive, Habicht realised there were also some definite advantages in making a low-budget film in this way. It enabled him to focus separately on the visual and aural components of the film, allowing him, for example, to cast people who had the look he wanted but who weren't necessarily trained as actors. With a limited amount of money to spend on the film (around $30,000), Habicht also realised that he could achieve much higher quality results by taking care of the sound in a recording studio, rather than on location. He didn't need to take a sound recordist with him on the shoot, and normal concerns such as traffic noise were a non-issue.
Furthermore, this style of filmmaking suited the filmmaker's intuitive style perfectly, giving the film a surreal, otherworldly feel. As well as being out of literally out of synch, he also accentuated the oddness by mismatching the soundtrack with what you see - often you'll find sweet and innocent dialogue accompanying grotesque and sometimes violent visuals or a South Island kea screeching on a North Auckland road. He also enjoyed giving the actors voices that were incongruous with the way they looked.
External links
- Official site
- Woodenhead Music Video plus photos and info on NZ On ScreenNZ On ScreenNZ On Screen is an online showcase of archival New Zealand television and film. The website is fully funded by NZ On Air and provides free worldwide access to NZ-produced television, film and music videos. Content is streamed and the webpages provide authoritative background information.The site...