Director Justin Scott: How I Got Started in the Industry

I remember being asked in university what I wanted my career to be. Many of my peers were saying Director, Producer or DOP- my answer was Production Assistant (I think I was a bit realistic about what opportunities were available to me leaving university and I’m glad to say I have exceeded my goal!). Deep down I knew I wanted to be a Director and Producer but I knew that goal was going to take time and hard work- and boy did it. 

At the time I was very lucky to be an unpaid intern for Luke Nola of Let’s Get Inventin fame. I would go into his office and scrub, clean and make coffee. Luke still mentions my window-washing skills and I always credit Luke for my start in this industry, as it’s a hard nutshell to crack without someone taking a chance on you.

Thanks to my credit on Luke’s show, I got my first offer as a proper Production Assistant (killing it) working for another Children’s television show Sticky TV for Pickled Possum Production. I will be upfront, it was rough work. 

There were presenters, children, a large farm as a set, farm animals, mud, “poop” and 256 episodes to complete and very little time to do it in.

Justin showing off his flecki skills / Photo: provided

It was a gauntlet run of prop making, people wrangling, unpaid OT, camera logging and all other forms of production shenanigans which I shared with two amazing humans Sheldene Seth and Elizabeth Koroivulaono. Elizabeth has just released an amazing documentary The Forgotten Pacific and Sheldene now does amazing work in the commercial space as a Producer. The three of us still cackle in horror about some of the tasks we had to do and the immense pressure we were under to deliver.

I remember feeling like it was all too much and I would often feel like giving up. The Props Department, which we all referred to as the “backroom”, was a place we would often go to vent, hide or cry. We all believed in and supported each other and I credit this little team as a key to persevering through it all. I think we all credit the large expectations to deliver to our own work ethics now and perhaps to our tenacity and the success we have all achieved.

Behind the scene of a photoshoot / Photo: provided

I do think times have changed–there isn’t this immense expectation of life or death to deliver but also there is a much more positive kaupapa around content creation, how we look after our younger crew members and advocacy for safer sets and conditions. These days in my current roles I always make sure I’m sharing knowledge with younger crew members and building them up. I wish I had people like this when I started and I like to think those I have helped up will do the same to others. If there is anything I can pass on to emerging creatives, it’s that it’s a lot of hard work to achieve the career you want but it’s important to advocate for yourself and know what safe working conditions are.

About Justin Scott

Justin Scott (Ngāpuhi) is a Director and Producer who prides himself in sharing stories from underrepresented communities. As a Queer, Māori, Neurodiverse man living with ADHD, his practice often touches upon stories from these communities and explores intersectionality. Most recently, Justin worked as a director and associate producer for the TVNZ series Four Go Flatting – following four young men with intellectual disabilities tackling flatting and independence for the first time. He has been working as a director for the Sunday morning series Attitude for the past four years, also directing on the company’s children’s show George and Me for HEIHEI, and intersectional series What’s the Disabili-tea for RNZ. Alongside his directing work, Justin has produced numerous short films with a Te Ao Māori focus including He Hekenga Tūhura and HAKA HAHA. Both of these films have had successful international festival runs, with both premiering internationally at the world’s largest Indigenous film festival ImagineNATIVE in Toronto.

How I Got Started in the Industry is a guest blog series from the Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand (DEGANZ). 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. Get in touch with admin@deganz.co.nz if you’re a member and would like to share your story.

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Signs of Life?

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As always, the New Zealand On Air ‘Where Are The Audiences?’ research provides interesting insights into our behaviour when it comes to content on screen. And stimulates interest in what else is affecting our sector.

Broadcasters are possibly breathing a small sigh of relief about TV being second most popular after global video sharing platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.), while TV has the highest reach during traditional peak times (6 – 10:30PM), and the highest engagement with Kiwis consuming over 2-hours a day across all TV formats.

Netflix remains by far the most popular Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) service reaching 38% of New Zealanders, but both consumption and engagement with SVOD have decreased since last year.

In the US, SVODs are now facing high churn rates of subscribers. The high cost of multiple SVOD services is making people rethink their spending. At the same time, the rapid rise of Free Advertising Supported Television (FAST TV) delivered digitally is making them drop their SVOD services. SVOD companies are now starting to bundle in the way that cable channels used to, to help reduce churn.

Linear TV is one of the components of the FAST TV offering, providing traditional broadcasters with hope of a second life. Learn more about FAST TV here.

While we haven’t seen the rise of FAST TV in NZ yet, the cost of multiple SVOD services amidst our cost of living crisis is undoubtedly causing some Kiwis to cut back.

Our broadcasters, however, are still left with trying to figure out how to deal with the haemorrhaging of advertising revenue to the global video sharing and digital platforms.

The Fair Digital News Media Bill, which in part was designed to assist them, has just gone through a further round of review as it passes through Parliament. And the NZ Herald has just written a piece today about the fight (read bullying) that Google is putting up to the Bill to get its way here as it has done in Canada, and is trying to do elsewhere. Read here.

I imagine TVNZ is taking heart from NZ On Air’s research as it identifies its news as being the most trusted source for New Zealanders by a large margin.

A couple of other interesting points gleaned from the research:

  • Older people (40 – 59) are taking over Instagram, just like they did with Facebook
  • The kids (15 – 24) seem less interested in online gaming, and more interested in podcasts.

As in previous years, things are looking a little sad for TVNZ 2 (18 – 49), while TVNZ+ (18 – 54) continues to justify its investment. You do have to wonder when TVNZ is going to bite the bullet, turn TVNZ 2 off and move everything over to Plus.

Overall, NZ On Air’s research indicates to me that things have stabilised somewhat. But we still operate at the vagaries of international screen winds, which are going to keep blowing and buffeting us about as always.

 

Tui Ruwhiu
Executive Director

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A Timely Reminder About SIWA

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We had our first Check-In Tuesdays this past Tuesday and a number of editors were in the Zoom room.

One of the topics that came up was the mandatory clauses in the Screen Industry Workers Act. It seems that many producers are still in breach of the Act, which requires a written contract to be presented to a worker BEFORE they start their contract, with sufficient time for them to consider the terms being discussed, and to negotiate if the worker wishes to do so.

DEGANZ considers one week to be an absolute minimum for a worker to be presented with a contract for consideration. Two weeks should be the standard.

The Screen Industry Workers Act has been in place since the end of December 2022. That’s more than a year and a half ago. For producers to be continuing to break the law by not abiding by the requirements of the Act is no longer acceptable.

Here is what is required under the Act in regard to your individual contract:

Good Faith
All parties negotiating an individual contract, or undergoing collective bargaining, or who are in a work relationship, must act in good faith. This means not misleading or deceiving one another, or doing anything that could mislead or deceive one another.

Contracts In Writing
Engagers (producers/production companies) must ensure your individual contract is in writing.

Before entering a new individual contract, engagers must:

  • give you a copy;
  • give you reasonable time to seek independent advice and tell you that you can seek this advice; and consider any issues you raise in good faith.
  • Once your contract is agreed, engagers must provide you a written copy “as soon as practicable”.

(these same rules apply if they wish to “vary” your contract)

Bullying, Discrimination, or Harassment
Your contract, agreement, or other arrangement, must not prohibit you (or any person acting on your behalf) from raising complaints.

Dispute Resolution
Plus, your contract must contain a clear process for raising and resolving complaints about bullying, discrimination, or harassment.

Health and Safety and Anti-Discrimination
All individual contracts must contain a term saying that both parties will comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act and the Human Rights Act.

Dispute Resolution
Your individual contract must include a clear process for raising and resolving disputes about your contract or workplace relationship. SIWA introduces a default dispute resolution system for resolving such disputes. Your contract must either use this default system, or another system agreed in your contract. If you can’t agree, the default system applies.

Termination Notice Periods and Compensation
Your individual contract must state what these are (if any).

Retaliatory Termination Prohibited
Retaliatory contract termination is prohibited. This means you cannot be terminated for exercising any right or power in your contract, SIWA, or any other Act, and engagers face penalties if they do so.

That includes but is not limited to your rights to:

  • negotiate your contract in good faith; or
  • raise a dispute about your contract or your workplace relationship; or
  • raise a complaint about bullying (or instruct someone to do this on your behalf); or
  • give information or evidence in relation to a complaint made by someone else (We hope this will help to eliminate ‘bystander culture’, improve support for complainants, and encourage everyone to regard harmful behaviours seriously) ; or
  • insist that any other of your rights or powers (conferred by your contract, or any other Act) be adhered to.

For your added support, SIWA gives you the right to ask your worker organisation to act on your behalf for the purposes of resolving a dispute about your individual contract. If you are a DEGANZ member, you can call on us for this support.

If your rights are being breached under the Screen Industry Workers Act, we want to know about it. So please reach out and tell us.

 

Tui Ruwhiu
Executive Director

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Postcard from MIFF

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I’m writing this in my hotel room. I arrived today at lunchtime and got thrown into the fray with the three NZ directors attending the MIFF Accelerator Lab, Awanui Simich-Pene, Vea Mafile’o and Te Waiarangi Ratana, and about 40 Australian directors.

Vea and Te Waiarangi’s shorts ran in the first short programme that screened today. They held their own.

The Australians are also good short filmmakers and they addressed a diverse range of topics and themes, across a variety of genres. I’m looking forward to the second short programme tomorrow,

The wonderful thing about shorts is that they allow true creative expression, one of the things I will mention tomorrow in the panel I’m participating in titled ‘Thinking Long and Hard About Shorts’.

On the walk from the hotel to the cinema where we watched Justin Kerzel’s documentary Ellis Park—a beautifully made, at times very sad, but ultimately uplifting biopic about legendary Australian musician Warren Ellis—I was a little shocked to hear from one of the Australian directors that they don’t receive government support for the production of shorts.

The quality of the Australian shorts I saw was certainly good, so these short filmmakers here have found a way to get their films made. Melbourne City featured in a number of the credits. Good to see a city getting behind their filmmakers.

I shared a cab into the city with Jackie van Beek who while living in Australia made at least five self-funded shorts before she returned home to NZ and got her first NZFC support for a short, then went on to make her debut feature, Inland Road.

It can sometimes seem that we in New Zealand lean too hard on NZFC for support when there are other ways of going about it. The Low-budget filmmaking workshop we ran with directors Michael Duignan, Tom Levesque and Tom Sainsbury showcased how they got their feature films shot on their own bat. I know Michael at least however was able to get post-production support to finish his film from NZFC—the finishing grant NZFC offers is something the Guild would very much like to see continue.

In the brief time I’ve been here it does seem things are tightening up for domestic Australian production, but it is certainly still more buoyant than at home. They have commissioned shows from the streamers and their own networks, while international production is for the moment keeping crew busy, at least here in Melbourne, according to one of the Australian directors I talked to.

I’m sorry to be missing NZIFF but I’m at least getting to see a good number of films while I’m here at MIFF. Next is Australian director Charles Williams’ Inside.

Hope you are all catching some great NZ films at the festival.

 

Tui Ruwhiu

Executive Director

 

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Where’s Feature Doco At?

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It’s encouraging to see NZ feature documentary alive and well, with five docos screening at the New Zealand International Film Festival.

You wouldn’t think so if you went to TVNZ+, though. Not a single NZ documentary feature sits in the ‘Kiwi Films’ strand, and under ‘All Documentary’ I only found one. Yes, there were plenty of NZ single TV docos and factual series. But only one documentary feature? Of course, licence periods could have run out…

It’s not so encouraging when you look at the box office for NZ documentary films in the theatres, either. I went back over the last seven months of the weekly box office records, and the NZ feature docs I did find didn’t do well. But then, comparatively, a good number of NZ narrative films don’t do well at the box office either.

This doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for NZ feature documentary and that it can’t find an audience. It’s the same for NZ narrative feature.

Our myopic fixation on NZ theatrical box office, though, constricts our ability to adapt to the changed environment for documentary (and narrative) globally. And it has changed incredibly dramatically, particularly since COVID. Funders AND documentary makers need to accept this.

As Videomaker Dot Com pointed out in their article on the state of documentary—In a nutshell:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally altered the documentary film industry, with the transition to virtual film festivals and streaming platforms becoming more prominent.
  • The pandemic has led to a redefinition of documentary filmmaking, with changes in production methods, storytelling focus and ethical considerations, emphasizing the resilience and creativity of filmmakers.
  • Despite the increased availability of platforms for documentary viewing, the financial and market constraints, particularly for independent filmmakers, remain significant, highlighting the industry’s ongoing challenges and the necessity of adaptability.

Read the full article here.

The recent success of both a New Zealand documentary director and a New Zealand documentary producer I know tells me that this vital art form is alive and well in New Zealand, both for projects and for careers. I’m also excited by those NZ docos I’m aware of that are in production right now.

It’s a necessity for documentary stories to be told in this world of misinformation, disinformation and corporate spin-doctoring like we’ve never seen before. And while the box office is still being used as a measure of success here, please get out and watch those NZ docos in the theatres. They need your support.

 

Tui Ruwhiu
Executive Director

 

 

 

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