ScreenTalk » TVNZ

Finola Dwyer: an education in production

Screen Talker — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:09:17 +0000

Internationally successful Kiwi film producer Finola Dwyer began her career as an editor at the National Film Unit and then moved onto editing and producing at TVNZ. Dwyer migrated over to the film industry and worked as an editor and producer. Some of the memorable New Zealand films she worked on include Came a Hot Friday, Starlight Hotel, and The Quiet Earth. In the 90s, Dwyer moved to the UK where she has made a name for herself producing films such as Backbeat, An Education and Dean Spanley. Her latest project is Quartet, a film directed by Dustin Hoffman.

In this ScreenTalk, Dwyer talks about:

Learning to edit film at the National Film Unit
Editing the classic short film Score with director Arthur Everard
How editing Country Calendar for TV was more stressful than NFU editing
How an unplanned visit to the beach led to Raglan by the Sea
Creating the quirky chat show McCormick Country
Having to re-record the dialogue and soundtrack for The Quiet Earth
How her first producing job on Queen City Rocker was a baptism by fire
Overcoming fear by producing the Beatles biopic Backbeat
Being proud of the film Dean Spanley and its cast and crew
Sharing teenage dating stories while co-producing An Education
How the film struck controversy due to its subject matter
Feeling blessed to be working and continuing to learn in the film industry

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Martin Devlin on playing the game

Screen Talker — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:44:10 +0000

Martin Devlin’s first screen appearance involved playing a policeman in a film shot in Taranaki – he can’t remember the name of it, but is fairly sure it wasn’t a box office hit. Following success as a radio broadcaster, Devlin made his first foray into television on a rugby panel for Sky TV, before hosting sports show House of Football. Since then Devlin has been a familiar face on NZ television, as part of mad cap game show A Game of Two Halves, triumphantly beating Peter Urlich to finish second to last on Dancing with the Stars, and hosting both the Football World Cup and Rugby World Cup 2011 coverage for TV ONE.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Devlin talks about:

His first TV appearance
His favourite memories from House of Football
Why he chose to compete on Dancing with the Stars
His experiences on the show
Behind-the-scenes antics on A Game of Two Halves
How he landed the job hosting coverage of the Football World Cup
His impressions of his role hosting Rugby World Cup 2011 coverage for TV ONE

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence

Tony Holden – Kiwi comedy veteran

Screen Talker — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 16:42:18 +0000

Tony Holden has produced and directed hundreds of hours of NZ television from A Week Of It, Radio with Pictures and Gliding On to Shortland Street, City Life and Dancing with the Stars. Holden’s roles over his 40 year screen career include Head of Production at South Pacific Pictures, General Manager of Commissioning and Production at TVNZ, and CEO of Comedia Pictures.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Holden talks about:

Auditioning and casting Karyn Hay for Radio with Pictures
Learning the art of comic timing
How Gliding On struck a chord with New Zealanders
Shooting live to tape on A Week Of It
The early days working with Billy T James
His emotions producing Billy, the tele-movie about Billy T James
Commissioning at TVNZ
The future of NZ television

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence

Bill Ralston – A lively life in TV news

Screen Talker — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 07:07:47 +0000

Bill Ralston has had a long, varied, and sometimes controversial career in New Zealand media. He joined South Pacific Television as a news reporter in 1979 and went on to become political correspondent for TVNZ in the era of Muldoon and Lange. Moving to TV3, Ralston was the channel’s Political Editor and hosted a current affairs slot on their nightly news bulletin. Ralston joined the Nightline team and later hosted the popular panel discussion show The Ralston Group, then the arts/media series Backch@t. In 2003 he became Head of News and Current Affairs for TVNZ.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Ralston talks about:

Reporting from the midst of a riot during the Springbok Tour of 1981
Learning how to tackle former PM Rob Muldoon in press conferences
The drama of covering the split between former PM David Lange and Roger Douglas
How The Ralston Group was successfully modeled on a similar show in the US
Bringing politics to the art world in the show Backch@t
How a fight with TV executives brought about the demise of the show
Finding it hard going, becoming the Head of TVNZ News and Current Affairs
Being flummoxed by the furore over newsreader Judy Bailey’s salary
Acknowledging that there is no true objectivity in the media

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence

Brian Edwards – TV Current Affairs Legend

Screen Talker — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 02:53:30 +0000

Veteran broadcaster Brian Edwards is an Irish import who made a big impact on New Zealand current affairs television. He was first seen on the 1960s regional programme Town and Around, but soon made a name for himself as a no-nonsense interviewer on Gallery. It was on that show he helped bring about the end of a union dispute with the Post Office while live on air. His bi-weekly TV show Edwards on Saturday followed, and after a controversial start, was a ratings hit. Later, Edwards helped start up the long-running consumer rights TV show Fair Go, and hosted the popular Top of the Morning on Radio New Zealand.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Edwards talks about:

How being on Town and Around saved him from being a miserable academic
Getting a reputation for being an ‘aggressive interviewer’ on Gallery
Creating a political spat after naming SIS agents on the programme
Having a pivotal role in solving the infamous Post Office strike
Insulting just about every sector of society in the first episode of Edwards on Saturday
How Fair Go changed the rules of television by naming and shaming ‘baddies’
Why he thinks the new look Fair Go has lost its community appeal
Not enjoying doing the live show Edwards at Large
Great current affairs now being marginalised on television

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence

Susan Wood – facing the news

Screen Talker — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:23:45 +0000

Susan Wood is one of New Zealand’s most experienced TV news and current affairs presenters. Beginning in print journalism, Wood soon moved to TVNZ news where she stayed for over 20 years. Wood has a number of firsts to her career, including first TVNZ foreign correspondent (Sydney); first host of Midday News; and first host (with Mike Hosking) of TV ONE’s Breakfast. In 2005 Wood sued TVNZ over a plan to cut her salary by 22 per cent – she left the network a year after she won her case.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Wood talks about:

Developing the ‘fine attributes of a thief’ to source footage as TVNZ’s first foreign correspondent
Using her feminine wiles to get interviews with Australian PM Bob Hawke
Feeling terror during her first live interview while filling in on Holmes
How a tiny team of women put out an hour of news a day on Midday News
Co-hosting with Mike Hosking on the first two years of Breakfast
Nerves and tension behind the scenes before the first broadcast
The emotion of interviewing her colleague Angela D’Audney on Today Live when D’Audney was terminally ill
Being up a mountain when told Paul Holmes had left TVNZ and she had just hours to come in and host a new show – Close Up
The incredible competition between three 7pm current affairs programmes
Facing public humiliation and a good deal of heartache when she sued TVNZ over changes to her contract

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Whai Ngata – Māori broadcasting pioneer

Screen Talker — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 21:34:58 +0000

Whai Ngata (Ngāti Porou, Whānau ā Apanui) has had a long and distinguished career in print, television and radio. Beginning as a Māori reporter for the Auckland Star, Ngata moved on to Radio New Zealand in 1975 and over the next few years covered such important Māori stories such as the 1975 Land March led by Dame Whina Cooper, and the Bastion Point occupation and evictions in 1978.

Ngata joined Television New Zealand in 1983, working for Network News. He began reading the news in Māori on Te Karere, and while doing so traveled to the USA to cover the Te Maori exhibition.

Along with Ernie Leonard, Ngata helped set up the Māori Programmes department at TVNZ, and became a pivotal member of the team at Waka Huia. Eventually Ngata became head of the Māori department and was instrumental in creating popular and long-running Māori programmes such as Marae and Mai Time. In his long career, Ngata attended 30 years of Waitangi Day celebrations.

In 2007 Ngata became on Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to broadcasting and television.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Ngata discusses:

The controversy surrounding the launch of Te Karere in the early 80s
Encountering gang members in the Hokianga along with fellow Te Karere newsreader Derek Fox
How saving the Māori language was not the rationale behind the news in Māori
The huge impact the Te Māori exhibition had in America
The difficulty of shooting the sacred exhibits
How Waitangi Day changed in 30 years of covering the event
How he thinks journalists should report on protests
Making the best of not having Māori programming in primetime
The huge success of The New Zealand Wars documentary series
The importance of Māori programming and language to New Zealand

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Tainui Stephens

Screen Talker — Sat, 16 May 2009 23:44:17 +0000

Tainui Stephens (Te Rarawa) is one of our foremost Māori broadcasters. He has worked as a reporter, writer, director, producer and executive producer. His credits include Maori Battalion March to Victory and The New Zealand Wars.

Stephens was a stalwart of TVNZ’s Māori Programmes department in the 1980s and 90s, working on the regular series Koha, Waka Huia, Marae and Mai Time.

In this interview Tainui Stephens discusses:

being raised by his Pākehā mother, and his own personal journey “into my Māoridom”
beginning work at TVNZ Māori Programmes in 1984, and how much he enjoyed his work there
how he loves all the programmes he has worked on over the years
the good that Māori broadcasting can do
the Maori Television Service, its success, and the important role it plays in New Zealand life.

This interview is available on YouTube for distribution via a Creative Commons licence.

Credits: Interview by Monika Ahuriri, camera and direction by Clare O’Leary. Editing by Leo Guerchmann.

Hey, Hey It’s Andy Shaw

Screen Talker — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 20:16:47 +0000

TV executive Andrew Shaw talks candidly to NZ On Screen about more than three decades of experiences in the New Zealand TV industry, from being a teen heartthrob to sitting on top of the heap as network commissioner.

Shaw reflects on:

early days as a presenter, “fluking” a screentest to get the Hey, Hey, It’s Andy gig
his anticipation of his “expiry date” and the deal he brokered to train as a multi-camera live broadcast director; working on shows from Billy T James’ Radio Times to punk music docos, to returning to being in front of the camera to host disco show Star Zone.
his sabbaticals from TVNZ, working for South Pacific Pictures (where he was charged with broadening their slate from drama and film; he introduced the Idol franchise to NZ TV), working as the founding commissioner for Prime TV, and helping launch the Documentary Channel with Richard Driver
his passionate belief in the resilience and importance of network TV as a “gathering place” in the age of the internet
his return to TVNZ and the challenge of balancing “god and mammon” – commercial and public service – that TVNZ has to manage
“the privilege” of working for the public broadcaster, citing the Edmund Hillary Westminster Abbey memorial service as an example of something he wouldn’t get the opportunity to do elsewhere
criticism about programming arts docos at 10.30pm at night. Shaw’s response: “stay awake!”

This interview is available for download and distribution on YouTube.

Credits: Direction and Interview – Clare O’Leary, Camera and Editing – Leo Guerchmann