An EV love affair on screen
A Dunedin couple have become so enthralled with electric vehicles they’re documenting the New Zealand EVolution as a “labour of love”.
Paul and Oana Jones are using their film and video expertise to produce Charged As, their work featuring on YouTube covering various aspects of EV progress.
Paul is a visual effects artist and animator and Oana a producer for the Otago Museum planetarium and a 3D artist.
They’ve joined with photographer/television producer Michael Henriquez and composer Luis Rodriguez to interview EVangelists and cover EV events for public broadcast.
The couple came up with the idea after speaking to Auto Court’s Nelson Cottle in Dunedin and realising EVs were taking longer to sell than most other cars because people were uncertain about them.
Charged As aims to give people more information and understanding of EVs so they can make informed decisions about acquiring them, particularly with many now coming on to the used import and second-hand market.
“We’ve been focusing on local ingenuity and found some interesting stories about what people are doing around the community,” Oana says.
The Joneses were early EV adopters – they bought a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV nearly two years ago – because they like the idea of reducing vehicle emissions to help the environment and limit climate change.
“Paul’s interested in conservation and the environment and we wanted to be as sustainable as possible,” Oana says.
“It makes economic and environmental sense.”
The plug-in hybrid combines two electric motors and a petrol engine because the couple needed the extended range, Oana says.
They charge it mainly at home and say it’s good for all of their needs.
The Charged As team all have full-time work so most of the EV coverage is done after hours or when they can spare the time.
Projects have included the South Island section of The Better NZ Trust’s Leading the Charge EV tour of New Zealand – they still have to air that episode – and the Foodstuffs New Zealand electric van fleet launch in Christchurch in August.
They expected to be at the evworld expo on September 9 and planned to cover an International Drive Electric Week attempt in Dunedin on September 10 to break the record for the most EVs in one place.
Oana says with more coverage developing, the group plans to make shorter videos but more often.
“We can look at covering any events, projects – not just cars but EV conversions and charging etc.”
She and Paul have been members of the EV community for some time and are usually aware of what’s happening nationwide.
They hope to gain sponsorship for Charged As so they can devote more time and energy to the project.
And eventually Oana is keen to add a Hyundai Ioniq to their own fleet.
Check out the YouTube channel on the website ChargedAs.com or email contact@chargedas.com for more information.
Join the conversation