All Blog Posts

Director Leanne Pooley: How I Got Started in the Industry

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I am a Film School dropout and my slow but steady trajectory from PA to Director/Producer is the classic example of working my way up from the bottom. In the mid-eighties I was studying at one of the best TV/Film Schools in Toronto, Canada;…
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Editor Rāhera Herewini-Mulligan: How I Got Started in the Industry

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When I was in primary school, I never knew I was Māori, or should I say I never understood what being Māori was. I always thought I was a little bit darker than a lot of the other kids, but that was ok. I was introduced to te reo Māori and…
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Getting Ready

Here at DEGANZ, we are working through an educational and information campaign as part of our work around the Screen Industry Workers Act (SIWA). One of the things we are asking editors, assistant editors, and directors to do for themselves…
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Big Days

This week sees the marking of two significant days on the annual calendar: World Intellectual Property Day and World Day for Safety and Health at Work. Two things close to the heart of DEGANZ. Copyright is an expression of Intellectual Property.…
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The Interminable Wait Is Nearly Over

It was close to a year that the NZ Film Commission was without a permanent CEO. That was resolved when Head of Sky Originals Annie Murray was announced as the new CEO, replacing David Strong. The response from the industry has been overwhelmingly…
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Director Wade Shotter: How I Got Started in the Industry

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I was born curious and enjoy figuring out how things work, which is essentially what I still do today as a director. I drew a lot as a kid and wrote and illustrated comics at school. Art was always my focus, so it seemed like a natural progression…
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The Indigenous Voice

I was fortunate to attend the Māoriland Film Festival on its 10th anniversary yesterday. There were around 200 of us there for the powhiri, including indigenous filmmakers from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands,…
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What An Annus Of A Time It’s Been So Far

If Queen Elisabeth were still alive, she’d be telling us what an annus of a time it’s been so far for Aotearoa New Zealand. Our thoughts at DEGANZ go out to those of our members and all others impacted by the weather events we have experienced…
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Come Together! Right Now!

The current fight to protect employee jobs going on at TVNZ by union E tū highlights the importance of unions in the New Zealand screen industry, and the importance of the Screen Industry Workers Act (SIWA) for screen contractors, who until…
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Editor Cushla Dillon: How I Got Started in the Industry

When I started back in 1986 (my first official job was as Director’s assistant on ‘Starlight Hotel’) the only ‘filmmaking’ courses in NZ were a Masters in Broadcasting at the University of Auckland and a newly established Broadcasting…
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News Blues

Television is the bread and butter of the screen industry. More; What we see on our screens reflects who we are as a nation and its peoples. News and current affairs play a vital role in this, telling us what’s going on in our little…
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A Dismal Failure By All Concerned

The proposal by Warner Bros. Discovery to shut Newshub highlights the dismal failure past and present by successive New Zealand governments, bureaucracy and those in the screen sector to grasp the seismic changes that have flowed through…
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Missing in Action

There’s a coalition government in power now whose focus is on the economy and righting what they see as the wrongs of the government before. I decided to go trawling to see if there was any hope for the arts, culture and heritage or the…
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Still Crazy After All These Years

You’d have thought things might have settled after the COVID years. But, no, it’s still crazy. And what a year it’s been. The long mooted merger of TVNZ and RNZ finally fell over. The $60 million taken away from NZ On Air returned…
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ANZSE Career Spotlights

Read about the illustrious careers of ANZSE-accredited editors.

A Kōrero With…

In this guest blog series, we speak to screen professionals to find out more about their job and what most people might not know, including those working in the industry. This blog offers an inside look into different parts of the industry and offers insights into how directors and editors can be successful in the collaborative process of their mahi.

How I Got Started in the Industry

In this guest blog series, our members reflect on how they made their way into assistant editing, editing, and directing—with no two stories the same. They offer advice for those starting out.