Mike is a director living in Cambridge NZ. He is the owner of Waitemata Films, a film production company that makes advertising content for agencies and clients. He also works a lot in Australia through various film companies. He’d love to help and encourage more work to be shot in and around the Waikato.
He graduated from Victoria University in Wellington New Zealand with a degree in Theatre and Film. He came out thinking he wanted to act but then realised he also liked to eat…
Mike started his career as a runner. He worked his way up, eventually moving into a stint as one of New Zealand’s busiest casting directors before taking the leap into directing.
Mike’s ability as an actor, and his years of experience as a casting director, has given him the perfect background for his career as a performance/comedy focused director. Mike has enjoyed great success as a director of commercials, working on major campaigns for companies like IGA Supermarkets, Oporto, RAC, Nestle, PepsiCo, AA Insurance, NZ Police, Sanitarium, BP, Dominion Breweries, Fisher & Paykel, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Lotteries, Ford, NIB Insurance along with many, many others.
He directs stories for various media platforms and is just as at home making long format viral content as he is making a traditional 30 sec TV commercial. As well as his commercial work, Mike is very keen to start moving into the world of narrative film making…
Mike loves creating and developing strong characters for storytelling/performance based scripts.
He also quite likes it if they’re funny…
I’ve been in the NZ Film Industry since I left University. I started as a runner for a Film Company in Wellington, before moving into Casting.
I was a Casting Director for many years in Wellington, then Sydney and finally in Auckland. Eventually I made the move into Directing. I started on the roster of Automatic Films before leaving to start my own company Waitemata Films: https://www.waitematafilms.co.nz/
I still own and work through Waitemata Films but I also freelance out to other Film Companies. I work regularly in Australia as a freelance director. I work with many various production companies in Australia.
As the owner of Waitemata FIlms I have also gained vast experience in Producing and First AD’ing along with many other roles in the Industry.
Directing
Producing
Casting
Locations
AD
