NZTECHO Autumn 2023

Staying safe online

What’s on at Avalon?

Industry heroes: NZ Camera Cars

Haere ra, Ans Westra

The Screen Industry Guild Aotearoa New Zealand quarterly

Hi all,

A lot can happen in three months. The last time I sat down to write one of these was a few weeks before Christmas. And since then it seems the country spent a month plunging into one natural disaster after another.

To all our friends and Guild members in Auckland and  Te Tairāwhiti, the first months of 2023 have been a brutal reminder of what the weather can do to us, with only a few days warning, if any time at all.

We hope you are all safe and uninjured and that the damage to your properties and equipment has been minimal. But, we fear that might not be the case for everyone.

As an industry that relies on seasonal weather, exterior work sites and international travel, we are going to be hearing a lot more about the climate and the part we all have to play in it over the next few years and beyond. There are plenty of people who will tell you that as long as the USA, China and India are still burning coal and drilling for oil, then there is nothing practical that we can do to help the crisis. And there are others who will say that it is up to everybody and every industry to do their part - and to lead by example.

But right now, we clean up, rebuild and - hopefullymove forward.

In this issue you'll find a well informed piece on online security, an introduction to the brilliant crew and equipment at NZ Camera Cars, a short piece from the Film Commission to welcome the new CEO, who we will be hearing from properly in our next issue, and one of the best and most thoughtfully written "newbie" profiles you will ever see. Welcome Christopher Stratton. You're off to a flying start.

We also have a piece from Gary Watkins at Avalon Studios, to clarify exactly where that facility is at and what the availability of studio space is in the immediate future. And as always, we have regional wrap ups from all over the motu and pieces from President Brendon Durey and the executive.

Thank for reading. It's always a happy challenge to put NZTECHO together and we hope this issue has some stuff in it that is of use to you, Graeme and Jason.

CONTENTS

GUILD NEWS & VIEWS

2 Behind the scenes Kelly Lucas

4 President’s rave Brendon Durey

INDUSTRY

8 Cyber safety and data protection

TECHOSPHERE

6 Change of ownership for Avalon Studios

16 Introducing ... NZ Camera Cars

17 NZFC announces new CEO

18 In memory of Ans Westra cnzm

20 Regional wrap

25 Newbie: Meet Christopher Stratton

ISSUE 96 AUTUMN 2023

Editor

Graeme Tuckett

Publisher/advertising

Kelly Lucas

Design

Jason Bowden / Anim8a Ltd

Printing

Pressprint Ltd

Contributors

Graeme Tuckett

Gary Watkins

Andreas Mahn

NZ Camera Cars

David Alsop

Advertising Advertising queries, please contact Kelly Lucas on 09 8899522 (always dial 09), info@screenguild.co.nz. For a copy of our ad specs and rate card, please visit our website.

All contents are copyright Screen Industry Guild Aotearoa New Zealand Inc. 2017, unless indicated otherwise. May not be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form without permission.

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Screen Industry Guild Aotearoa New Zealand Inc. ISSN 2703-6111 (Print) ISSN 2703-612X (Online) www.screenguild.co.nz

GOLD STARS & CHOCOLATE FISH

N To Brendon, Sioux, Nick and Christian, for all the continuing hard work, on everything.

Cover photo: Ans Westra cnzm

THE SCENES

Kia ora Screen Guild Whanau,

We're already a quarter of the way through the year, and exciting things are happening here at The Screen Guild! By the time you read this, we will have launched our new website with a host of new initiatives available to you. It has taken a lot of time and planning to put all this together, but we are finally there, and you reap the benefits.

Our focus for 2023 is all things ‘connectivity' we decided that part of that process is to deliver a raft of tools that can make your day-to-day life easier. Here is the list of new features you will find on the website; if you can take a minute to have a look, we welcome any feedback so we can keep enhancing our delivery to you all. This is an ongoing process, and we will add and update your information all year.

First of all our new website features the new tagline 'Better Together' and we are. Here at The Screen Guild, we see our mission to work with all crew and the wider sector to connect with each of you and what your needs are as a contractor. We are your support! In the absence of HR departments in our day-to-day working life, The Screen Guild is here to offer the help you need, from reviewing contracts to answering questions on The Blue Book, offering crew rep support, guiding you to external mental health support, or just helping you work out your rate and other business questions you may have. We also have a newly updated Member Discounts program that provides you with fantastic discounts at an extra 47 businesses around New Zealand.

The website features a ‘Crew Zone’ where all members can access resources that include: Member Discounts, The Blue Book, Rate Cards, Screen Industry Workers Act (SIWA) information, Online Workshops and Training, Crew Rep Resources, and a whole new section containing templates that you can download

and use. Our support contacts cover Mental Health, Bullying and Harassment support. We have also provided quick links to get you from our support webpages direct to the support services you may need to access. You can now read the NZTECHO magazine online, and we have set up an ‘Events’ portal that will include all the latest events you can attend with direct booking links where possible - watch this space for more to come.

With the release of our new website, we would like to bring your attention to the new Blue Book and the industry rate card guides. These initiatives have taken over a year to put together, much of which was undertaken during the last 2022 lockdown. The Blue Book review was undertaken by the guilds sub-committee and in consultation with SPADA and NZAPG. I want to thank Brendon, Sioux, Nick, and Christian for all their time and hard work in finalising this review and consultation and SPADA and NZAPG for working alongside us to update this information. We will have the changes on a separate document on the website, and we see this process taking 3-6 months for productions to implement due to some being in production already.

Next is the highly anticipated Industry Rate Card release. The Rate Card guides are living documents, and we welcome any feedback regarding the published rates by emailing our new ratecards@ screenguild.co.nz email address. Another massive thank you to all the HODs from each department that helped formulate these rates and to the producers who gave their time and feedback. Creating the first rate card together was a mammoth task, and I am grateful to Tracey Sharman (our project manager) for all the attention to detail that went into getting them together. It will be much easier from here to update annually, so feedback is crucial to keeping these as current as possible.

The website has all you need to know about the Screen Industry Workers Act (SIWA). There is a lot of information there, but we

With over 20 years in the film and TV industry, Kelly Lucas is now executive officer for the Techos’ Guild.

Executive Officer Kelly Lucas

BEHIND

will host workshop evenings to cover more and answer any questions you may have.

You will also see a new feature called the ‘Business Toolkit’ under the Workshops and Training heading on the website. The Business Toolkit is a series of 11 online animated videos that we will be releasing over the next couple of months explaining how best to set up a screen industry contracting business. Choosing the Right Business Structure - Part 1 is now online and will be followed shortly by more topics including: working out your rate, getting your invoice right, how to charge your overtime, kit, etc., what you can and can't claim, understanding ACC, GST and Tax and more! We have broken these down into bite-sized animated explainer videos so you can jump in and out of them when you need the information. There is also a Resource Toolkit filled with external information that you may also find helpful. We will be working on other workshops in the future, so if you have any great ideas for workshops you would like to see online, please let us know.

Another note is the Crew Rep Resources. This workshop series is underway, and we will release more information in the coming months.

Last but not least is our exciting new Member Discounts aimed at saving you money all year round. Think about it this way, within just a couple of purchases the discounts you receive will have covered the cost of your annual subscription! The added bonus is that these discounts are available for use within both your business or personal spending. We have our usual discounts available, including Bluebridge and Interislander Cook Strait Ferries, Crombie Lockwood Insurance offer, but now we have an additional 47 suppliers covering hardware, fuel and vehicle, appliances and electrical, office products and supplies, car and equipment hire, hotel and accommodation, food, fashion and more! Phew! We have teamed up with CSC Buying Group who support several

amazing charities. So what you spend goes back to a broader community of not-forprofit organisations, which is a fantastic win-win! So whenever you spend using our new member discount offers, you are also supporting our wider NZ community and many needy causes. What a fantastic win-win!

Plus, we have another VERY exciting discount program coming, so look at the launch of that too!

As you can see, there has been a lot going on, and another big thank you to Tracey Sharman for leading the charge on getting our website up and running. It's been a massive project, and I’m sure you will agree, a very worthwhile one for everyone that is a member.

The ScreenSafe Professional Respect training workshops are back up and running for the wider industry. If you still need to attend a workshop, please look for the next one in your city. This workshop is helping create safer sets for everyone. Check our events for further details.

In signing off today, a shout-out to all our members for your continued support. Please spread the word within our community about all of our work and what we offer all screen sector technicians. The more people we have on board at The Screen Guild, the more we can do to support our community of NZ screen workers, so jump on the 'Better Together' initiative and spread the word about all our new and exciting new Screen Guild offerings!

We know the last few months have been a trying time for many of our screen community who have been effected by floods and cyclone damage. We just want you to know we’re thinking of you. Kia kaha to all our brave screen soldiers battling the after effects, please don't hesitate to get in touch if you need any further support.

Ngā mihi Kelly

PRESIDENT’S RAVE

Greetings fellow guild members and screen industry colleagues. The last quarter of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 has been a productive time for the New Zealand Screen sector in several areas. Broadcast TV and local productions have been busy and buoyant. Offshore productions have been shooting in Wellington and Auckland. The TVC’s have been increasing in their frequency. There has also been some important consultation and changes being made to the screen Incentives/rebates that regardless if we like not or not affect us all.

The incentive rebate review closed its consultation phase in December 2022. Called “The review of Government Investment in the Screen Sector” essentially, it’s a review of the incentive, how it was targeted and how effective it was for attracting the types of productions that work best for NZ. There was discussion about how we encourage more NZ content and also put training and development of NZ crew and creatives into the picture.

The Guild Executive discussed what we felt was best for the guild and provided

feedback on behalf of our members. Whist the consultation finished in December last year the decision from the Government will not come until June this year.

The Screen Workers Act has passed through parliament and is now law. What exactly this means to us all is still essentially still being locked down. Much of the content is already in place for our industry in the Blue Book and the ongoing dialogue that SIG has had with SPADA and the NZAPG over the years. Essentially it looks like many aspects of the conditions we work under in the blue book will be formalised under the new law and we will need to go through a process to work out all the details in the coming year.

International economic headwinds are hitting the world in the wake of Covid, its ongoing economic impacts and the increased inflation internationally that has resulted. Interest rates have been on the rise globally and the increased cost of borrowing will have real ramifications for the screen sector as studios and streaming services trim their budgets and the amount of content, they have lined

Lifeguard & Safety have been working with Production Companies for over 20 years, on projects ranging from music videos & film school shoots, low budget television & features, up to major motion pictures. We can help in the following areas; Safety supervisors, on set medics, hazard identification & mitigation, WorkSafe NZ compliance, marine coordination, water safety, and divers for underwater support.

If it’s the Health & Safety at Work Act 2015 causing you concern, we have been working with ScreenSafe, WorkSafe NZ & several legal companies & consultants to find the best solutions for the Screen Sector. Contact us if you have any questions regarding your next project. Willy Heatley +64 27 451 6002 willy@guard.co.nz • www.guard.co.nz

Guild President Brendon Durey

FILM & TV SAFETY

up to shoot internationally. I’ve heard anecdotally that studios previously booked out long term in the UK and Canada now have space and the period of rampant international production appears to be slowing down.

I’ve also heard from those involved in the NZ studios that forward booking for our studio spaces for the second half of 2023 is the lowest it’s been for a long time. There is concern locally that the uncertainty around the changes to the rebate coupled with the uncertainty about the screen workers act paired up with the global economic headwinds might spell a quiet second half to this year. Here hoping that things start looking better soon. Brendon

Wayne (Westy) Subritzky // 021 134 9209 // nzcameracars@xtra.co.nz // www.nzcameracars.co.nz

Mick Sinclair

We appreciate the support of:

Change of ownership for Avalon Studios, Wellington

Gary Watkins

Avalon Studios has been sold and the new owner has taken over the site from 1 March 2023.

For now it means “business as usual”, Gary Watkins (CEO) and Anita Burnside (Office Manager) remain at Avalon to manage the facility and business for the new owner. The previous owners felt that after 10 years of private ownership of the facility that it was time to review their investment strategies. Prior to April 2013 the facility was owned by TVNZ, they moved all productions away from Wellington at that time which included moving the Lotto Draw to Auckland. Avalon was therefore deemed surplus to TVNZ requirements and the challenge to rebuild the business by the new owners began. The NZ Racing Board after 18 months decided to move their two live racing channels to Auckland also, so the first 2 years of independent ownership was a difficult period.

Over time Avalon was able to attract some significant key tenants to the premises (Kordia, Parliament TV, Maritime NZ Rescue Centre and more recently Memnon – digital archiving operation) for the surplus spaces on level one of the studio building. A number of smaller industry related tenants also moved into Avalon creating a screen production community, including the Whitireia Film School,

Metro Productions, Libertine Pictures, Moments Productions, and many more.

Avalon has continued to attract over the years a run of local film and documentary productions (ie Savage, Daffodils, Catching the Black Widow, Belief: The Janet Moses Story, One Thousand Ropes, Cousins, Coming Home in the Dark, Low Down Dirty Criminals and many more) and TV series (Wellington Paranormal, Thunderbirds UK).

Avalon has also serviced some major international productions including

A24 -X and Pearl films, Mr Corman, Pete's Dragon, Ghost in the Shell, Avatar, Mortal Engines, Blade Runner 2049, Frontiersmen.

Avalon Studios certainly is still open for bookings for screen production space but with only limited studio availability for a few months having recently leased some of the workshop and studios (not all) for Tesla car storage and distribution

due to the current lack of film production enquiry for the current year this decision is a prudent move until screen production activity improves. Avalon still has production office space, makeup, wardrobe and various support rooms and yard space available for hire this year, areas which most local productions predominately utilise.

Part of the Avalon ethos is to support and help new and existing local screen producers, from short films to commercials and features, often providing resources for free or providing investment, this will continue.

So despite a change of ownership the facility and business continues to operate and be part of the screen production industry.

Cyber safety and data protection

Digital and online health and safety

By Andreas Mahn, Feb 2023

Over the last few years we have seen and welcomed the strengthening of provisions for physical and mental health and safety in the film industry. One area that’s lacking are good mechanisms for ensuring we are safe in the digital world.

Many productions have steered away from hard copy paperwork and embraced digital and online solutions. Gone are the days where crew members, on their first day on the job, had to make to way to the production office and fill out what felt like a phone book-sized stack of forms. Instead, the norm is now usually a link in an email, prompting us to fill out those same forms online. And more recently of course we have seen CoViD declaration forms added to that, at times including questions concerning vaccination status but also details about our recent work commitments and movements around the country. Recently this has morphed into a more generic “don’t come to work if you’re unwell!” clause. By and large, the questions asked in those forms and declarations are being asked for good reason in order to provide the production the information needed to

proceed with a project in a safe, legal and organised manner.

Some people will debate whether or not anyone, let alone a production company, should ask about their vaccination status or if we should be vaccinated in the first place. But this not what this article is about.

Collecting all that information and data is vastly beneficial and superior to maintaining hard copies and paper records – in most cases. The fact that we, for example, distribute call sheets in digital form by email, including having the ability to communicate last minute changes has probably saved a forest the size of a small African country alone. However, collecting data and information online, but also communicating digitally comes with challenges, liabilities and responsibilities. Those who communicate electronically and collect data, e.g. the production office, and those who consume that communication and provide data, e.g. crew members clearly benefit from this communication and data collection. But the means of transmitting that data has many pitfalls. Anyone who is using a “free” email

provider such as Gmail should be aware by now that Google in some form or other, will be listening in, in order to use that info to serve you up some topical advertisement eventually. While that is rather harmless and quite literally the price we pay for using a free online service, it becomes more problematic when we consider what information we share and how, or if at all, it gets protected.

So the pitfalls range from being dished up ads, to uncertainty about which info

we share, where it is stored and who has access to it.

Communicating by email using free email services is considered not safe; email traffic is easily spied on. Cloud storage solutions may store sensitive information offshore, i.e. outside the jurisdiction of the NZ legal system. Also the cloud storage provider may read (and learn from) what is stored on their servers. That same provider may shut up shop any time or simply delete data, change their terms of service. It is

now entirely conceivable that a bored overseas billionaire buys up your email provider and checks on your vaccination status.

On the other hand we should expect and demand that productions keep our information and (personal) data safe. Just in the same vein as productions frequently ask us to keep information about them safe – for example by making us sign non-disclosure agreements. In fact it’s obviously in the production's interest that no information in their

context ends up in the wrong hands. It is therefore pertinent that any bit of data and information is treated in the most secure and responsible way – from anyone involved in a project.

The problem is that digital communication and storing data in “the cloud” has become so simple and ubiquitous that we tend to overlook the pitfalls. Providers of what we use as digital communication mechanisms of course make this so simple; it is accessible and useable to the broadest

possible user base. For the Googles and Facebooks of this world this is because we are not their clients but rather their products which they on-sell to their advertising clients. And while many alternatives to email exist, mostly in the form of messenger apps such as WhatsApp, Signal or WeChat it is safe to assume that in fact everyone has and uses email yet only a subset will use any one or more of the messenger apps.

Scenarios

Here are a number of scenarios that are typical of how we share data with productions and where this is problematic.

“Email me your driver’s licence”

Many productions ask me for an image of my drivers license – presumably so they can see evidence that I am in fact entitled to drive a (company hired) car, but also as this is frequently required by car rental companies as part of their rental agreements. So far so good. The

issue is that I’ve sent that image by email, possibly (in fact, frequently) to a production crew member’s private email address. That bears two risks: Someone along the way could get hold an image of my driver’s license and use it in an unauthorised way, e.g. as basis to forge a driver's license or use it instead of their own license to hire a car. They could also use it to steal my identity. Finally, my (email-) contact details end up in that crew members account. If their account gets hacked my details will end up in the wrong hands. I frequently get spam emails from accounts that have either obviously been hacked or where a hacker has at least worked out that whatever name they use as sender in a phishing email is known to me.

Let me be clear, I am not suggesting that any production crew member has ever abused my email (or driver’s license). I am merely flagging that risk. Email accounts get hacked, or it could be the next email recipient who pinches my info, or their employer, who knows. The

point is that the moment I send my info via any unsecure mechanism I totally loose control over what i have sent. Of course I completely understand that for the sake of efficiency I possibly need to accept that risk (If I don’t send that driver’s license it immediately gets a bit more complicated). But I can ask for that risk to be minimised –more on that later.

Personal details

In context with the CoViD pandemic we got used to declaring our vaccination status and have accepted to share test

results, often in connection with our NHI number. Also, questions about known medical issues as well as dietary requirements are now the norm. Again, this is usually done for good reasons so that a production can ensure adequate H&S procedures are in place, and the right food on the lunch table.

The stakes are a bit higher in this scenario; most people would probably object to having their medical issues shared with anyone except those who actually need to know. Our NHI number is another bit of information that could

be used to steal one’s identity, or that can be used to gain access to our medical records.

This, in turn, opens the door to a bad person using this for extortion or simply to embarrass us. But at the heart of it again is the email traffic should any of thatinfo have been send via email. But even if it may have been collected via an online form (such as Google forms, Airtable or similar) it is still not necessarily secure. As a crew member we normally don’t know who has access to that data in the production office: The producer? Production manager? The office runner..? We don’t know if any of these persons have their access removed once the production is over. Or can the runner in 10 years time still look up what details I may have provided at the time.

(Fun exercise: check your own Google drive, or your Dropbox, and look for items that have been shared with you. In my case I have access to documents that were used for projects many years ago, often with interesting details such as contacts, phone numbers etc. I also have shared access to files which simply got reused for other projects, not just the ones I was actually involved in. Or check your spam folder to see which past and present crew members have the greatest offer ever available exclusively to you).

We’re feeding information about us to the data giants where it stays forever.

I’m sort of ok with Google knowing that I can’t eat macadamia nuts, but I don’t think they need to know if I’m married or not (or to whom), what sort of vaccinations I have, where I’ve been in the last few weeks and for what

reason, or what sort of medical issues I might be facing.

Data security

Another aspect of cyber security is that it is not just in a crew member’s interest to have adequate data protection in place but of course also for the production itself. As mentioned earlier, many productions go to great lengths to at least arrange legal protection of their IP, their relationship to crew, as well as a number of other organisational matter by making us sign contracts and NDAs. Often we are also being reminded that we are not allowed to take pictures to share on social media. In other words, productions are already aware that they need to take active steps to ensure nothing of their own data and information ends up in the wrong hands, or can be used against them. Yet contracts and deal memos are also frequently signed or distributed via email and cloud solutions such as Google drive or Airtable. Over the last few years a number to film industry specific solutions have emerged such as Showtools, Studio Binder or MyDaes. Other, more department specific, solutions may exist, but in any case a production would need to be prudent how their information stored with an online service is being used, and stored. These questions spring to mind:

• Where in the world is the data stored?

• How reliable is that service?

• Does it look like it’s been created last century and hasn’t been updated?

• Is it likely to still exist next month,

with the same owner, under the same user agreement?

• What else is the data being used for?

• Is it being analysed for marketing purposes?

• What safety measures are in place?

• What techniques are in place to prevent unauthorized access?

At least one of the film specific service providers, Moneypenny’s MyDaeS, poses a significant security risk, as it stores user passwords in plain text. If you have ever worked on a production using MyDaes you will have noticed this when they send you the welcome email: It contains your password in plain text. Requesting a change of password will send you a new one, also in plain text. This means that anyone at Moneypenny who has access to their database will have full unlimited access to all data stored with them by a production. Since they are sending out passwords in plain text it would be very easy to gain access to someone else's data. Unsecure services like Moneypenny thus have the potential to put a whole production at risk by exposing their and their crew members data.

Making all of a production’s data and communication watertight is not a simple undertaking. Not even the communication between crew members and production office is easy to reign in. Even if a production company chooses to use their own email server (rather than relying on production crew members’ private email accounts), yet I send the image of my driver’s license via my own gmail address that still gives Google the opportunity to harvest that bit of info about me.

Increase cyber safety

So what can we do? There are however a number of steps that can be taken to increase cyber safety and data protection across the board:

Production

• Commit to keep crew members’ data safe, legally, or at least contractually binding. This is not more to ask than a production asking a crew member signing an NDA.

• Consider implementing the roll of a data protection manager, who is in charge of all data collected by a production. They would ensure that all data is kept safe and only disseminated where and when it is needed. They would ensure any data goes offline or is deleted when it is no longer needed.

• If a data protection manager is not doable, declare who (by name or crew role) has access to the data a crew member has provided.

• At the end of a job, tie up the loose ends, i.e. delete what’s no longer needed and remove access for those people who no longer require it. And let the crew members know this has happened.

• Consider communicating via channels that a production has control over, such as their own web and email server, based in NZ.

• Consider using NZ based cloud services and web servers with full disclosure over their protection mechanisms.

• Only ask for info that is actually needed.

• Declare why it is needed.

• Don’t ask for information more than once.

• Provide alternative means of collecting information in case a member is not comfortable sharing any piece of information or data online. E.g. instead of asking a crew member to upload an image of their passport to an insecure server such as MyDaeS, consider if the data protection manager can check and confirm if that crew member is legally allowed to work in NZ or entitled to work on a film commission funded project. This could be done without making any hard- or soft-copies.

• For basic cyber-safety, don’t send any documents in file formats that

are known to be attack vectors for spam or phishing, i.e. don’t send .doc or .xls files. When communicating using 3rd party services such as payroll providers make sure the correct context is evident otherwise recipients (or the email provider itself) may class it as spam.

Crew

Usually there is little options to sharing some of your data. But if you feel too much is being asked talk to production to see if they actually need it (I often find that forms are being reused from other projects which ask for details that do not pertain to the job at hand). Let production know that you’re not comfortable sharing some info.

Ask production to not share any of the data you’ve provided for any other purpose. This may be little more than a token gesture but at least it raises awareness that you take your data serious.

Rather than sending information by email, consider sharing it via a cloud service you trust, or via a mechanism that’s encrypted such as most messenger systems. (WhatsApp counts as a safe messaging option as it is encrypted, and there is no evidence so far (as of Feb 2023) that Meta (Facebook's and WhatsApps’ owner is reading along).

As a last resort, you could consider providing incomplete information though you have to be aware of the consequences if that could be read as you providing false information which may be in breach of your contractual obligations.

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TECHOSPHERE

The New Zealand Film Commission announces new CEO

The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Taima Anne (Annie) Murray (Te Arawa) to the position of Chief Executive Officer for a five-year term.

NZFC Board Chair Alastair Carruthers, in making the announcement today, said “I am delighted that we have found someone of Annie’s calibre to lead the Commission. She has exceptional experience and a deep commitment to stories from the diverse voices of Aotearoa.  I have no doubt she will have a positive impact on filmmakers and the organisation in years to come”.

Since 2020, Annie has been Head of Sky Originals after starting at Sky TV in 2014 as a Senior Commissioner. Prior to this she was Head of External Programming at Māori Television. Annie also serves as Interim Co-Chair of the Toi Mai Workforce Development Council Board, a member of Te Kāhui Ahumahi, and is a member of the Bay of Plenty Regional Skills Leadership Group.  She is also a Trustee of Ngā Taonga.

Annie will take up the CEO role on 19 June 2023, and will relinquish all professional roles by this date to focus full time in the position and ensure no conflict of interest.

Annie’s 23 years’ experience in New Zealand’s screen industry across both content commissioning and production will give her a running start at the NZFC. She has also worked in the public sector with the Broadcasting Commission (NZ On Air), Māori Television and had two stints at TVNZ.  Academically she holds a Master of Education (First Class Hons)

from Waikato University and a Diploma in Bicultural Journalism from Waiariki Institute of Technology.

"I am honoured and humbled by the Board’s decision to entrust me with this opportunity to lead Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga.  The Film Commission’s role is to champion exceptional storytellers to create enduring taonga for Aotearoa.  I have dedicated my career to empowering the stories and storytellers of New Zealand and I am privileged that in this role I can continue to do that," says Annie.

She adds "We have a New Zealand and global audience that wants high impact, authentic and culturally significant screen stories.  New Zealand’s population is becoming more diverse, which creates rich opportunities for screen stories that reflect our many and varied communities.  I look forward to working with the team, the wider screen sector and international partners to explore exciting and new opportunities for the Film Commission now and in the future."

IN MEMORY OF Ans Westra cnzm

Anna Jacoba (Ans) Westra CNZM was a pioneer of documentary photography, and one of the first women to work in this area in Aotearoa New Zealand. Born 26 April 1936 in Leiden, Netherlands, Ans immigrated to New Zealand in 1957 at the age of 21, eventually basing herself in Wellington

Self-taught, Ans spent long periods of time traveling around the country as a full-time freelance documentary photographer committed to observing and candidly documenting New Zealand

life and culture. In 1998 Westra was awarded the Companion of the Order of New Zealand Merit for services to photography.

A major exhibition of her work, Handboek: Ans Westra photographs, opened at the National Library Gallery in 2004 with an accompanying book and film, the exhibition was also shown at major centres around the country before travelling to the Museum voor Volkenkunde in Leiden.

In 2006 a documentary was made about the artist called Ans Westra: Private journeys/public thoughts, and in 2007 she was made an Arts Foundation Icon, an honour bestowed to a living circle of 20 New Zealand artists for their extraordinary lifetime achievements. In 2015 she received an honorary doctorate from Massey University in recognition of her long-standing contribution to New Zealand's visual culture.

Ans has left a remarkable legacy of photographs documenting New Zealand’s most remote areas to street scenes, stock saleyards, rugby games and the Porirua Mongrel Mob. She also photographed around the world including Tonga, Fiji, the Netherlands, the Philippines and New York. Her contribution to debates about how

New Zealanders view themselves and each other is exemplary, and has had a marked and lasting effect on our visual culture.

Ans' style and dedication were immensely influential on generations of cinematographers and documentary makers, in Aotearoa and beyond.

Ans died peacefully at her home in Tirohanga, Wellington, on 26 February 2023.  She is survived by her half-sister, three children and six grandchildren.

David Alsop

REGIONAL WRAP

Take one – Auckland

Well, well, well, Auckland just can't catch a break, can it? The double floods on Anniversary Weekend followed by a cyclone that wiped out a lot of the west coast filming infrastructure. Talk about bad luck! But you know what they say: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. And that's exactly what our kiwi crews have been doing! Despite the challenges, they've been working their magic on the Apple TV Chief of War project and proving why they're the best in the biz, re-searching new locations and making the best of the new landscapes.

Of course, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Our beloved Auckland is facing some serious hurdles when it comes to getting permits and consents for filming. It's frustrating to see our once-favourite locations becoming offlimits and permit applications taking ages to get approved (if at all). But hey, we're a resilient bunch, aren't we? We'll keep fighting for our right to showcase the incredible landscapes, beaches, and ranges that put Auckland on the international stage all those years ago.  A word of advice is to make sure that whenever and wherever you are filming outside anywhere in Auckland or its landscapes or private properties, leave

it better than you found it and make the landowners and stake holders want your crews to come back.

And speaking of fighting, let's not forget the ongoing battle for the Large Screen Production Grant decision. It's been a bit of a nail-biter, but we're confident that our industry will come out on top. And sure, a recession might be looming, but we're not ones to shy away from a challenge.  Lets try and keep the drama in front of the camera instead of behind it as much as possible.

So, what's the takeaway from all of this? Well, we might be in for a slower winter than usual, but that just means it's the perfect time to network and get your admin up to date. Because let's face it, the next onslaught of work is just around the corner (as it always is!). And when it comes, we'll be ready for it, with our kiwi can-do attitude and our ability to make the best out of any situation.

Stay strong, Auckland! We've got this.

Sioux Macdonald, Guild vice president and executive committee member

Take two – Bay of Plenty

Well summer was certainly a wild ride in the Bay of Plenty! We’ve got to say we weren’t loving the rain and our hearts and condolences go out to all the people and places who have been affected by Papatūānuku, we stand with you in these tough times.

We tried to slip into a nice groove after the Christmas/New Year break but it has turned into a giant waterfall of ideas, workshops, podcasts and production heading our way. We are beyond chuffed that the work we are doing is supporting to build a pipeline of productions here in the Bay.

We launched a podcast last year. We invite you to join us as we delve deep into the minds and works of our diverse industry of Kiwi filmmakers from the Bay of Plenty and Beyond. The Film Bay of Plenty Podcast showcases and supports all aspects of the screen industry, marketing our vibrant and culturally rich region of Aotearoa New Zealand, to the world. Have a listen, they are on all your favourite channels - Film Bay of Plenty Podcast.

https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/thefilm-bay-of-plenty-podcast/id1641219082

https://open.spotify.com/ show/35kVdJmMGEbxXclVT4bMha

Recently we facilitated a screenwriting Q & A workshop with Kathryn Burnett and

a post production workshop, See them, Be Them, https://www.stbt.nz/ focussing on the opportunities for rangitahi. We have more in the pipeline plus a couple of networking evenings we are excited about.

Production …. well it's happening, there is a feature film which has started filming in Rotorua called Ka Whawhai

Tonu: Struggle Without End, starring acclaimed actors Cliff Curtis, Temuera Morrison and Miriama Smith and is a coming-of-age drama of two fictional teenagers set alongside real historical events of the Battle of Ōrākau. We have other confirmed productions (international and national) looking to start filming in the near future who will be using some of our skilled local crew and of course our stunning unique locations.

International Women’s Day allowed us to celebrate 11 incredibly talented Bay of Plenty women. They are just a slice of our massive pie of talent. It's feeling like the vibe out there has more commitment to wanting to film in NZ and also taking advantage of the regions. Makes sense really, it’s easy, permitting is a breeze and there are a whole lot of untapped locations ready to be shown to the world! Come and check us out, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Jade Kent and all the crew at Film BOP

Take three – Wellington

Like a character in a dodgy horror movie, I'm going to say that Wellington is quiet... too quiet.

With no cameras rolling in Miramar right now, and the feature film After The Party wrapped, there's only a few smaller projects around, with the normal run of corporates, a few TVC's and in house work for councils and government departments.

Luckily, being Wellington, there is always a supply of these, but they are nothing like enough to sustain a workforce from a feature film.

This week at Crew Wellington we have taken calls from people in tears about the state of the local industry. Our friends at Screen Wellington tell us that TVC's and films are coming, but details are scarce. The really bright spots in town, are the ongoing drama series and documentary productions, many of which fly right under the radar, being shot by young crews on tight budgets all around the city and suburbs.

Until there is certainty about the tax regime that international productions will encounter in New Zealand, this may be the state of Wellington for the next few months.

Plus, we are heading into winter and that is traditionally a time when people try not to spend too much time down here in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. I don't know why. It's no secret to anyone who lives here that winter isn't the worst season in Wellington at all. That fresh southerly and the breakers ripping into the south coast just clean the place up nicely for spring and summer. But I guess you have to live here to know that.

Anyway, we have capacity spare at the moment - and some of the greatest crew members in the motu without enough to do. Let's hope that doesn't last too long. In the meantime, what a great time to update your CV on Crew Wellington.

All best,

GT

Take four – Dunedin

From a forest in Makara …

These past few months have been a bit of a ghost town for Dunners.. Some of us local crew have briefly flown the coop to Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland to build skillsets and pay mortgages.

Some of us remain focused on developing regional content, pitching to commissioners in the hope we get the

next leap of faith and a chance at the funding pot.

All in all we’re ready and chomping for the next green light however it may come.

Bex

Take five – Christchurch

The summer season has been super kind to productions in the region. Lovely and warm and most of all, consistent weather. No ‘smurfy' skies here thank you very much.

The crime thriller Dark City: The Cleaner TV series is well underway with a fantastic crew, and a fantastic script. Welcome to the out-of-towners that have come in for the job. A production of its scale is a pretty big step for the region, but one it has been building towards for the last three years or so. If it continues as smoothly as it started, then it may be a great long term fixture in the region.

Alongside this, two more features are spinning up; Ant Timpson's Bookworm, basing itself in the alpine town of Methven, and keeping in the thriller vibe,

a NZ/AUS co-pro Went Up the Hill. To speak frankly, the long form scene has taken leaps and bounds in this last year, which is wonderful for the local crew to get onto larger projects and for incoming crew to see how great the region is to live and work.

The commercial production space has a slightly different story, with financial journalists writing self-fulfilling prophecies abut a cooling market, companies read these and begin to tighten their purse strings. Inflation doesn’t help anything either. But this industry is a sea of peaks and troughs and we all adapt when needed. I hope you all are staying afloat.

Catch you on set, Zac

Take six – Queenstown

I am writing to you all from the raging South Bar in Christchurch airport. Well, raging if you consider me and the three 18 year olds talking about the diabolical dick that is Harrison from MaFs Australia, S10. Why pay an actor when you can get this natural Joffrey Baratheon for a Happy Meal and a ride home. I have just swung a vehicle up from Nic at Direct Rentals in Queenstown for Dark City in Christchurch. Good luck for the shoot Team Canterbury.

Queenstown has had TVC’s all over the district in February. Sweetshop came down to dangle some folk off a cliff. It was great watching the crane setting up

and then all the expert groups doing their thing. It’s one of my favourite things about film jobs, seeing separate, defined departments come together.

Batch shot an offshore camping company advert in Glenorchy and amongst the reeds in a local’s pond. We were also up Qt Hill on Valentine’s Day, and the weather was amazing. This has been the case here since mid-December. The North Island seemed a lot further away than usual with the news reports and the personal stories the Auckland crew told us about the flooding and slips in January. Gabrielle hit the North Island on this day. The Production proceeded to donate all their

imported props, including tents, clothes, camping equipment, bikes etc to the cyclone fund.

Scoundrel had a 5 day shoot for Specsavers, Canada. We flipped the road rules with the help of Southern Safety

and our brave safety officer, Brendan Kearns. While somehow, Hippi in the Art Dept, found an appropriate V8 ute, with a Canadian looking boat, and canoe, like the magician he is. We shot in Wanaka, Glenorchy and in a few spots on the Tommy Thomson Scenic Drive. It was a big job for DIT James Farrow. He kept Agency online whilst keeping the production on track reviewing and wrangling the extensive footage we shot. He was all over it.

I’ll also take this opportunity to mention “Whew” and “Go Team” for the Ki Studio shoot way back in November. We had a whirlwind of a good time with the shooting of (part of) this Tollywood extravaganza. There were challenges a plenty but the team made it happen.

(https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/ tomahawk-plays-host-indian-film-crew).

Finally, all the best to our North Island crew for the clean up and road ahead. We’re thinking of you.

Kim Godby, Queenstown

NEWBIE PROFILE

Why did you join the film industry? What motivated you to become part of such an uncertain world?!

In all honesty I don't think I even considered the uncertainties or realities of being a freelance contractor when I first hopped on a plane to go study film as a fresh 18 year old leaving small town New Zealand. I finished high school in 2006 having spent the years there mucking around with video cameras, finding a deep affinity with two close friends in our love of movies and just deciding to make our own.

This was in the days of mini DV cameras, we had two between the three of us and had some small success in winning a few local and one national video contests. It seemed a no brainer that we would then go to Wellington for university, become film makers and also very rich and famous. The dream team all quit Victoria University after a year for different courses, splitting up and a decade and a half later, we don't quite have the Oscar dreams fulfilled but one of us is head writer and co-producer for an American show, one is a freelance post production producer in the UK, and I'm still bumbling around designing.

In high school I won a very flash phone with internet and a keyboard for having the best art direction in a student film (Wintec Cut contest) and I'm convinced that it was my decision to give a backyard bride a cauliflower as a bouquet that sealed the deal. This was perhaps the true beginning of my relationship with design, props, and comedy - I was rewarded for dreaming up something strange.

So I guess I'm saying - I had no choice - I loved film, both watching and making, and couldn't see myself being happy in any other career path.

Christopher Stratton has joined the Guild. Welcome!

As for the uncertainty, I don't think I, my careers advisor at high school or my parents were quite sure of the nature of the industry being far from it both literally and figuratively -  Mosgiel. My father does still ask 'and are they paying you for this one?' every time I tell him that I've booked a new job, despite not having done unpaid 'for the portfolio' work for nearly a decade, so I think some awareness has slowly crept into the family. There are times when I've decided to throw in the towel, I had an office job at a TV network for a minute in 2015 scheduling ads, but my friends were all working on a sketch comedy TV series and I really thought that would be more fulfilling even if I struggled with the bills, so I went back to play in that world and have been freelance again ever since (it was actually just across the carpark).

What jobs have been the most inspiring and enjoyable so far? Why?

I would say any of the jobs with my best mate and other set of hands Jess Horan. We met on a job I was first ad/stage manager on (I've lived many years in low budget world and almost every job you have a slash, this was a docuseries about high school drama departments putting on a show). I was apparently rude to her (which I can not recall) but a year later we met againboth in the art department on Head High. We legitimately hit it off this time, and she agreed to jump on board the second series of TVNZ's improvised comedy Educators with me, and then for the last three years we've been on a big ride of low budget jobs where the team was often just her and I, or thankfully other times we have had the luxury of team members, but with Jess and I leading the charge.

The reason I'd say this is enjoyable is the way we work. The jobs we have done together have largely been either no money or no time (or both) but all hope, and we somehow manage to have fun while doing it, and really caring about the work we do and each other.

I'm really strict with myself, and therefore people working with me, that we don't make any

arbitrary decisions, even on the silliest, most "it is what it is we're under the pump" style jobs, if we're putting something on screen it has to make sense character and story wise - not just what is close, cheap and easy and f*ck it it's only TV. That's a really tempting trap to fall into with the fast no money or time jobs but taking that extra moment to pause and think about the character and story is to me - absolutely fundamental (I've worked with some other crew members who didn't find it so....). That is the part that makes the job enjoyable, discovering the world the characters live in, how they see it, and then what we want the audience to know about that character. It can all be communicated so clearly within a frame if the right pieces are put there.

Jess really gets it, and when you work so closely and intensely together handling not just the creative but the logistics you develop all different kinds of shorthand, common knowledge and shared brain to the point where you can absolutely trust each other on both good and bad days. We also don't just work as a duo, and have times apart on different jobs, or when we switch it up and it's me working with Jess on a job she's designing.

I think relationships are core to any job and interpersonal management is something that is in my opinion severely lacking in screen industries. No one ever goes to team leadership courses or HR training like they do in most other industries if you have a management role, and even on these fly by night low budget productions

I take being an 'HOD' seriously. Having had a fair share of bad experiences on several sets and jobs, Jess and I made it a goal to have a really strong sense of being a team and supporting each other, especially when other people join us. This is what for me keeps the work enjoyable, beyond all the things I could say about how much fun it is to nail a character's funny office mug (see EDUCATORS), or the satisfaction of managing to fully dress an empty house with two people and still be carrying in furniture as the first day turns over but have every piece of the character's life make sense (The Pact). I will add - it becomes more enjoyable the more people you have and the ability to share the work - I'm trying hard to not just 'graduate' from those kinds of jobs, but to gently push back and change the way that that has worked so far.

Arts in Directing and Writing for Screen and Theatre, from Unitec in Auckland. That remains my dream job in a sense and I have directed odd bits here and there, but it's important to me that Production Design doesn't become a sideline. It's not just a source of income for me, or something I'm doing "until". I'm deeply passionate about it so a dream for me in that regard would be working with larger budgets, more time, and also designing a film.

As well as someday pulling my own film together as a director/writer, or designing one, in ten years I'd love to be running a little company where I can work on design heavy content while trying to streamline my ten several hectic design studio ideas into a working business.

I'm managing to move more into this sector with some advertising and studio based shoots both in my pocket and others in the future. A lot of the work I have done so far has had limits of location based shooting and on a budget so the ability to really 'design' space to a full extent is still a treat when it is offered up like a talk show pilot i did last year, or the talk show I'm currently designing to be released later this year. I love working in the creative industries in so many different capacities that this question is incredibly difficult. I guess in ten years the main thing I'd like is to be sitting behind my beautiful glass desk in my Prussian blue office full of white leather furniture with a workshop next door and a few jobs on the go. This would be the main change I hope for myself - I'm sick of working from my spare room and garage, it's a bit gutting how expensive it is to have your own little space somewhere to throw props and paint around.

What do you hope and expect your membership of the Guild to do for you, and what can the Guild do for the industry?

What would be your dream job or career path in film? Where would you like to be in another ten years or so?

I left school with the ambition to direct and write, and got myself a lovely certificate saying that I have a Bachelor of Performing and Screen

I joined the guild to try and become a more active member of the film industry community. It sometimes feels like the world I inhabit is very different to the one that others in the industry live in, or that you might think of immediately when you think 'FILM INDUSTRY' in capital letters, the large international jobs, shows with an

army of trucks and workshops and people who get to work on the same show for a long time and with a large number of people. I don't think it needs to feel that way, or feel any different. The idea that there is a collective I can be a member of and go to for guidance, have a copy of the Blue Book, and connect with on a professional and network level opens up the industry to me in ways that I don't think I'd really clocked. I think what the Guild can do for us is to keep us informed and be a central hub for informationthe kind of information we don't go looking for as we're often still just stoked to be a part of the magic part of film making that we forget that it's an industry and we are people with needs and more importantly, rights and livelihoods!

I also joined to try and ascertain an answer to the absolutely burning question - on a shoot where there is no FX budget or line for a person to run it, should the one art department person who is doing a million things already really be the one to hire, pay for and operate a hazer - if it's not their call on when and how and if we should use it? (makes you think...?)

NEW MEMBERS

Join us in giving our new members a warm welcome!

Nathaniel Moody: Auckland – AD

Hamish Bruce: Christchurch – Art

Paul Abbott: Auckland – Lighting

Bridie Campbell: Auckland – Camera

Morne Van Tonder: Auckland – Stunt

Daniel Jackson: Auckland – Stunt

Nathan Hodson: Auckland – Art

Andrew Fabling: Auckland – Sound

Bruno Noonan: Auckland – AD

Laura Schneemann: Auckland – Costume

Julian Herrara: Auckland – Camera

Martin Le Breton: Welllington – Camera

Richard Schuler: Auckland – SFX

Isis De Souza: Auckland – Stunt

Francesca Logan: Christchurch – Camera

CREW REPS

Remember to organise a crew rep on your next production. A crew rep, preferably someone who is familiar with The Blue Book, is the most efficient way to keep the lines of communication open between the producer and the crew.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

President

Brendon Durey

Vice president

Sioux Macdonald 021 969 609

Auckland chair

Christian Gower 021 139 0435

Wellington chair

Sally Cunningham 021 157 6589

Christchurch chair

Wayne Allen 0274 451 113

Queenstown chair

Zac Beckett-Knight 027 427 8252

Treasurer Tyrone Payne

For full committee listing and contact details please email: info@screenguild.co.nz

SCREEN INDUSTRY GUILD AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND OFFICE

Kelly Lucas, executive officer

Jane Scott, accounts officer

Tel: 09 8899522 PO Box 68-294, Wellesley Street, Auckland 1145

info@screenguild.co.nz

editor@screenguild.co.nz

accounts@screenguild.co.nz

www.screenguild.co.nz

facebook.com/NZFVTG

Screen Industry Guild office hours Monday to Friday, 9am to 3.30pm Outside these hours, please leave a phone message or email us.