The Black Box

25/09/2020

Only one more sleep until the LAUNCH!

A shorter online version of LOST GOODBYE will be available here from 2pm on Saturday, 26th of September until 17th of October.

To watch the full verion, head to our Youtbe channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-GSJ0CJH2jOM_Jsv0CNVPQ?view_as=subscriber&fbclid=IwAR136DUfBaDd_EThQJ-VkaQ-4fdNKAT_7JdF4FIKxym6YtVbTCwzj01OHmk

24/09/2020

Only two more sleeps until the LAUNCH!

A shorter online version of LOST GOODBYE will be available here from 2pm on Saturday, 26th of September until 17th of October.

To watch the full version, head to our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-GSJ0CJH2jOM_Jsv0CNVPQ?view_as=subscriber

18/09/2020

GOOD NEWS!!

Stuff and other media outlets have started talking about Lost Goodbye (link in the comments).

We are still accepting donations through Give A Little. All donations we receive will go towards boosting the film on Facebook, so that more people get the chance to hear, think, and talk about the End of Life Choice (euthanasia) Referendum.

Check out our page next Saturday, 26th of September to watch the online version of Lost Goodbye.

16/08/2020

**RELEASE POSTPONED TO SEPTEMBER**

7pm Monday (24th of Aug) our new short film LOST GOODBYE will be released on our social media channels to watch until the referendum.

We have brought back our Give A Little page to raise funds to boost the film on Facebook and Instagram. Please DONATE or SHARE the film to get more people thinking and talking about one of the most DIFFICULT ETHICAL QUESTIONS which New Zealand will have to answer at the referendum.

https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-emma-live

13/08/2020

DAY 1 - BTS

Location scout is always a challenge with short film budget. It took us a while to find the main characters’ house that reflects their background.

Little did we know that the streets would be flooded with kids leaving school after 3pm, making it a nightmare for Joey Siasoco, our soundie.

There are no kids on the streets today, but hopefully it won’t be like this for too long. Stay safe, New Zealand!

Photos taken by Isa Lilai, our make-up artist.

15/07/2020

We’re near the final stages of post-production!

Here’s a little behind-the-scenes video that captures all the cast and crew at work (including our art director, Maddy Davidson. She's not just playing around with the VR headset, I promise).

We’ll be releasing other behind-the-scenes photos and videos every week until we’ve released the film.

Lots of love
The Black Box.

03/07/2020

CONGRATULATIONS to Stefan Coetzee, the director of photography of our upcoming short film, for nomination at New Zealand International Film Festival for Best Short Film of 2020 with his latest short film, 'Love is Real!'.

We’re absolutely excited to watch your short film on screen. All the best to you, Stefan, and to Director Calvin Sang and the rest of the cast and crew!

https://www.facebook.com/nzfilmfestival/posts/3316304541715951

25/06/2020

And that’s a WRAP! After almost a year of pre-production we are happy to announce that we have completed principal photography and we have begun editing. Keep an eye on our social media pages for updates including behind the scenes contents!

12/06/2020

2020 hasn't been easy on anyone, but it's become exceedingly hard for our good friend and partner in film-making, Connor's family who found out their mum has stage 4 cancer.

The family has started a fundraiser to cover expenses for a treatment at The Oasis of Hope Hospital in Tijuana, Mexico which offers integrative cancer treatments for the best chance at fighting the cancer.

If you've had someone close to you diagnosed with cancer, you must understand how scary it can be for the patient and their family. Even a small donation would be a big comfort and encouragement to Connor's family.

Our beautiful, young mum Bronagh, has spent her career as a nurse helping others, now she needs your help to fight cancer. - Givealittle is the place to donate and fundraise for causes and charities online.

10/05/2020

Another fun, sleep-deprived weekend of furious filmmaking! Here is our director's cut of the entry for 2020 48 Hours Film Competition. We had 48 hours to write, shoot, edit a 3 minute short film with a genre and elements given at the start of the 48 hours during the lockdown!

Cast:
Peter - Karlton Laing
Andrew the Giraffe - Noah Paul
Real Estate Agent - Donna Botha
Penny the Penguin - Charisse Uy

Crew:
Director: James Yang
Producers: Xin-Ee Beh & James Yang
1st AD: Connor Slattery
Music: Nikau Wi Neera
Sound Design: Keria Paterson
Production Assistant: Jonathon Fong

28/02/2020

LAST DAY OF BOOSTED

Firstly, thank you for all the donations so far. It is really encouraging to see how many people are aware and concerned about the inevitable danger that comes with legalising euthanasia.

If we don’t hit our goal by the end of tomorrow, all the donations on Boosted will be refunded automatically.

However, in the first week of the Boosted campaign, a friend has given us a brilliant idea for a film that would be cheaper to make and shorter, therefore more effective online than the story of ‘Help’.

The sum of the crowdfunding donations and other donations we already have are sufficient to make this short film. I’d like to ask all the ANONYMOUS DONORS to contact us so we can talk to you about the new idea, and ask you to donate to us for the new idea instead of ‘Help’ if you can see how powerfully this new film idea can convey why we should be against euthanasia.

[email protected]

24/02/2020

Third and last week of our Boosted Campaign!

$4,479.9 raised so far!

If we don’t hit our goal by the end of this week, all the donations on Boosted will be refunded automatically.

Also, Rex Realtor has set up a match donation on Boosted, which means that they will donate a dollar for every dollar that you donate up to a $1000.

Even the smallest donation can help us share the risks of the euthanasia law with more Kiwis.

https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/help

19/02/2020

17/02/2020

Thank you to Rex Realtor Ltd for setting up $1000 as a match donation, which means Rex Realtor will donate a dollar for every dollar you donate up to $1000.

Help us reach our goal!

https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/help

15/02/2020

Thank you to everyone who has helped us reach $1,490 with Boosted and Give A Little!

If you agree that people need to know about the dangers of End of Life Choice Act, please help us raise the budget for our short film that will give the audience an emotional experience of what it would be like losing someone they love without any foreknowledge of the euthanasia procedure until the death.

Donate here: https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/help
https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-emma-live

14/02/2020

Thanks to your support and sharing, our ‘6 Things You Didn’t Know About Euthanasia’ video has reached almost 10,000 people on Facebook!

We have uploaded the video on Youtube to reach more people on the issue of the risks of End of Life Choice Act.
https://youtu.be/azajupB_ShI

It only takes a click from you to help others hear about the risks of the Act. Also, please subscribe to our Youtube channel for exclusive Youtube contents!

DON’T FORGET: Our Boosted crowdfunding campaign is running until 29th of February! Every donation gets us closer to creating our short film, ‘Help’, to fight the bill even stronger!
https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/help

**if our crowdfunding target is not met by 1st of March, Boosted will refund all the donations back to the donors**

Did you know these 6 facts about NZ’s euthanasia act? Make sure to share it so that all New Zealanders will be able to make a more informed vote. https://www...

11/02/2020

Will you help New Zealanders live or help them die?

The crowdfunding campaign for our next short film ‘Help’ has finally started on Boosted!
https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/help

We can’t make this happen without your help! Please, help us raise awareness about the dangers of the End of Life Choice Act and euthanasia.

Watch these videos to find out more:
www.facebook.com/theblackboxfilmsnz/videos/196340741482933
https://www.facebook.com/theblackboxfilmsnz/videos/182065043206842/

10/02/2020

Did you know these 6 facts about NZ’s euthanasia act? Make sure to share it so that all New Zealanders will be able to make a more informed vote.

BOOSTED CAMPAIGN LIVE! boosted.org.nz/projects/help

Give A Little: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-emma-live
Online donations: 03-1557-0429378-002 (reference: donation)

Our video about the short film: www.facebook.com/theblackboxfilmsnz/videos/196340741482933

With our emotionally gripping short film, we want New Zealanders to feel and recognize the dangers of the bill that thousands of Kiwi doctors have spoken against, instead of simply assuming that the outcome of over two years of heated debates and disagreements in the parliament is a perfectly safe act. We have the script, we have the crew, and multiple social media channels with vast number of followers that have enthusiastically agreed to distribute our films. Now, all we need is your help, and your voice, to eliminate the possibility of losing someone dear to us as a victim of the End of Life Choice Act.

Written over the course of a single, enlightening overnight experience in hospital, our short film, Help, shows how care and compassion could reduce our need for such an act in Aotearoa.

If you are just as worried and frustrated about how many New Zealanders are still unaware of the dangers of the End of Life Choice Act, please join us in our mission to help the vulnerable live rather than die.

Please note: The project is solely managed and run by The Black Box Crew, and is not an initiative of other organisations that may have shared this or our other videos.
**the referendum date has been announced as 19th of September**

Credits:
Director & producer: James Yang & Xin-Ee Beh
Director of Photography: Aitken Lau
Editor: Alice Phaeng Yeseul
Music: Robyn Bryant
Illustrations: (instagram)

31/01/2020

Note: the protagonist in our film suffers from terminal illness and this Act would not include people based on mental illness alone.

Click here to support: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-emma-live

Will you help New Zealanders live or help them die? That’s a question we will all have to answer at the referendum for The End of Life Choice Act that will take place this year concerning legalisation of euthanasia.

With our emotionally gripping short film, we want New Zealanders to feel and recognize the dangers of the bill that thousands of Kiwi doctors have spoken against, instead of simply assuming that the outcome of over two years of heated debates and disagreements in the parliament is a perfectly safe act. We have the script, the key crew, and social media pages with a total of over 50,000 followers who have enthusiastically agreed to share and promote our project online. Now all we need is your help to eliminate the possibility of losing someone dear to us as a victim of the End of Life Choice Act.

Written over the course of a single, enlightening overnight experience in hospital, our short film, Help, is the proof we need that care and compassion could reduce our need for such an act in Aotearoa.

If you are just as worried and frustrated about how many New Zealanders are still unaware of the dangers of the End of Life Choice Act, please join us in our mission to help the vulnerable live rather than die.

End of Life Choice Act: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2019/0067/latest/DLM7285905.html
Articles on the Act: https://euthanasiadebate.org.nz/

Lifeline: 0800 543 354
Youthline: 0800 376 633
Su***de Helpline: 0508 828 865

Credits:
Director & producer: James Yang & Xin-Ee Beh
Director of Photography: Aitken Lau
Editor: Alice Phaeng Yeseul
Music: Robyn Bryant
Illustrations: (instagram)

The project is solely managed and run by The Black Box Crew, and is not an initiative of other organisations that may have shared this or our other videos.

30/12/2019

Hello everyone! We're still on the search for some characters for our new short film, HELP.

Our new short film, HELP. is a drama. It is about two girls: a straight-A student, Emma, who requests euthanasia on her 18th birthday as a way out of her life of silence against repeated sexual harassment from her teacher for the sake of her grades and reputation; and Danny, the only person who knows about Emma’s plans. In the following two days, Danny battles to change her friend’s mind, and in doing so, she also discovers Emma’s traumatising secrets.

It is a limited budget short film. The intention of the short film is to raise awareness about some of the concerning parts in the bill that people are unaware of through the narrative of an eighteen year old girl who seeks euthanasia without her family’s awareness.

Additionally, the shooting duration of this short film will be for 9 days so actresses playing the main roles will have to be aware of that. Extras with and without lines will only have to shoot for a day or two.

If you're interested, please have a look at our casting call and send an email our way! Thank you

23/12/2019

Our kind of Christmas 🎄

Written, shot, edited in just 48 hours! Here is our Auckland Finalist film for 2019 48 Hour Film Competition with new scores from Nikau Wi Neera.

Nominations: Best Script, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Design.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/QUlsrmS6Pic

Cast:
Masked Man - Karlton Laing
Masked Woman - Charisse Uy
Crew:
Director & Producer: James Yang
Associate Producer: Skyler Jed
Director of Photography: Aitken Lau
Assistant Director: Connor Slattery
On-set Sound Mixer: Jonathon Fong
Editor: Mike Qiu
Music: Nikau Wi Neera

Instagram: www.instagram.com/theblackbox_films/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-GSJ0CJH2jOM_Jsv0CNVPQ

18/12/2019

18/12/2019

Hello! We're looking for actors and actresses for our new short film. Thanks, and have a blessed day!

18/12/2019

15/12/2019

What would you wish for Christmas?

Here's a spec commercial we made for fun showing the wonders of Wish App! Now you can get your friends, family and yourself a little something to celebrate the yuletide this season! Merry Christmas!

Youtube Channel: https://youtu.be/HDejcpWAnI0
Instagram: www.instagram.com/theblackbox_films/

Cast:
Genie - Karlton Laing
Man - Skyler Jed

Crew:
Director & Producer: James Yang
Producer: Xin-Ee Beh
Director of Photography: Aitken Lau
Camera Operator: Benjamin Zambo
Camera Assistant: Ari Jeon
Gaffer: Jonathon Fong
On-set Sound Mixer: Keria Paterson
Boom Operator: David Peterson
Production Assistant: Charisse Uy
Editor: Minseon Kim
VFX artist: Inho Choi
VFX artist: Richard Borg
VFX pre-vis assistant: Vaughn Low
On-set VFX supervisor: Claire Park
Music: Brian Cho
Music: Seohui Jung
Make-up Artist: Kaysey Fairbrother
Make-up Artist: Zara Marychurch
Make-up Artist: Alex Still
Props: Rosaria Yoo