Almost two dozen volunteers helped Dubbo-based Paroo Productions' artistic director Sally Hopkins make the film, set to be entered in festivals.

High temperatures and long hours did not prevent the keen filmmakers from enjoying the five-day experience on a property outside of Wellington.

"One of the joys to come out of it is that many people involved in the film now want to make or write their own," said Ms Hopkins, writer and director of Elysian Fields.

"People who didn't know each other became good friends. It was great to see."

Ms Hopkins said no job was too big or small for the cast and crew, some of them taking on more than one role.

"Connor Coman-Sargeant was our stills photographer and an actor in the film and he did a great job," Ms Hopkins said.

"James Eddy, who is a teacher, had a part in the film and during breaks would be teaching all the kids in the film."

Elysian Fields tells the story of a vineyard workforce that is not as happy as it appears.

"Everything may not be heaven on earth as the name (of the film) suggests," Ms Hopkins said.

Future audiences can expect drama, comedy, love and a "little bit of horror".

A well-earned sleep-in followed the filming that included stints as long as 14 hours.

Currently, Peter Aland is editing the 12-minute film.

The serious business of making a quality film did not deter the cast and crew from having fun with Ms Hopkins among the jokesters.

"Assistant director Greg Pritchard is a vegan and I am a vegetarian and there were many meal scenes in this film," she said.

"We would redo the take again and again and so the meat would be passed around and around the table and everyone would be sick to death of the smell of it.

"Greg and I joked that Elysian Fields was actually a vegetarian training camp and that we had got our evil way to stop everyone eating meat."