Gary Scott – from Kiwi culture to cults
Producer/director Gary Scott has spent time in the newsroom, the museum, and on location. Trained as an historian and journalist, Scott has been producing with Wellington company Gibson Group for a decade – though he began his screen career as an assignment editor, in the stressful world of primetime TV news. Alongside his TV work at Gibson Group, Scott also helps the company develop multi-media experiences for museums.
In this ScreenTalk interview, Scott talks about:
- How TV producing involves mediating between art and commerce
- Starting off
- Working on one of his earliest directing projects, documentary Flight 703: about a 1995 air crash in which survivor William McGrory played a key role in guiding emergency services to the downed plane
- “Career highlight” Here to Stay, and how the show explored stories about NZ’s social history, including the roots of Kiwi humour and stoicism
- Working as part of the producing team on a trio of police shows: Undercover (about undercover police), Line of Fire (the armed offenders squad), and NZ Detectives, soon to begin its second series.
- How the stresses of producing can be a sign you have got something wrong in the mix
- Dealing with the Church of Scientology for doco How to Spot a Cult
- The differences between producing and directing for TV
This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence
NZ ON SCREEN 2012