
Kia ora tatou
Much thinking is going on right now about the level of local content investment that can be sustained this year: thinking by us, the broadcasters and the Government. While it's clear the belt-tightening isn't over yet, we're still very positive that there will be many new and interesting projects supported in the coming months. The main blessing is the appetite of both audiences and broadcasters for things local - both programmes and music. Many of us recall when this was not so, and celebrate that debates are not now about cultural cringe, but about quality, diversity and affordability. These days local content is a clear asset to any programme schedule.
Whether the latest discussion is about platforms coming and going, new media vs old, mobile vs fixed, iTunes vs the rest, it's what's on the platform that counts. Whether a company thinks of itself as a broadcaster, a digital media company, a producer or a portal, the simple point remains - that creation of local content will always be the key fiscal challenge in the face of cheap, imported content, whose costs have already been met in its country of origin.
That's why NZ On Air was created and that's why we're still here (21 this year!). We are a single-minded, efficient investor in, and advocate for, good things local in a global world.
TV manager Glenn Usmar was up at the Documentary Edge festival last month and was energetically put through the hoops about why we only fund New Zealand documentaries - and why we only fund for broadcast. It's an old argument and the answer is really simple: because the Act tells us local is our focus, and because we are the Broadcasting Commission.
There's never been a shortage of content about other countries. In the early days of NZ On Air we might have been a bit stricter about what "New Zealand" meant, given the shockingly low number of NZ stories screening back then. We've got more flexible since: for instance we've been happy to look at strong overseas stories with a clear New Zealand POV, with direct relevance to our culture, our people or our place in the world. But we'll make no apologies for keeping a prime focus on New Zealandness: that's the job we undertake to serve NZ audiences. We're thinking about diversity in documentary programming at the moment and hope we'll be able to work on some new initiatives later this year.
Music manager Brendan Smyth has also been think-tanking. In his case it's been with the Music Commission, as part of the Commission's excellent initiative for the music sector to collectively assess challenges and opportunities facing them. Brendan is also implementing changes to the Phase Five international scheme as a result of Chris Caddick's excellent review - more details below.
Our Chair Neil Walter, CFO Wayne Verhoeven and I appeared before the Commerce Committee in February as part of Parliament's review of our financial reporting for 2008/09. It was encouraging to see the MPs knowledge of, and engagement with, so many of the broadcast activities we support - from access and student radio, regional television, public radio, mainstream television programming and NZ music. Parliamentarians are busy people and rarely get to access much broadcast content outside news and current affairs. So their awareness and appreciation of the work you all do was heartening. That's not to say members didn't ask us some hard questions though!
It's been busy start to the year for us and the investment decisions outlined later in this newsletter will of course keep many of you busy as well. Congratulations to the creators and broadcast partners of some excellent new local content coming your way soon.
Cheers,
Jane
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Stephen is an Auckland businessman who, as many of you will remember, occupied a range of production and executive positions at TVNZ for over 20 years. We're delighted to welcome Stephen to the team. |
Last year we commissioned consultant Chris Caddick to do an independent review of our Phase Five International New Zealand music promotion programme. Part of his brief was to consult widely within the music industry. In the course of the review he interviewed 50+ industry players - major and indie labels, artists, music lawyers, touring agents, publishers and agencies.
The review will result in some refocussing and re-prioritising of our work. To start with, the 'Phase Five' generic New Zealand music promotion will disappear. We will tighten our focus on airplay outcomes overseas, and we will prioritise Australia in collaboration with local labels and their Australian partners, while maintaining our US college radio campaign.
There are a bunch of downstream changes, some of which will impact immediately, like dropping the Phase Five brand and cutting back on our sampler programme. Other changes will be phased in over the new financial year beginning 01 July 2010, like withdrawing from MIDEM and SXSW and leaving those promotions to our NZ Music Commission friends.
For more information check out the News Story, or read the Caddick Report.
Along with new series of TV One Documentaries and Beyond the Darklands, the Comedy Gala, 48 Hour Film Competition, Smokefree Rockquest and Waiata Maori Music Awards are all lively events that will also be able to be experienced by television audiences over the next few months. Also supported was a feature documentary, Beautiful Machine, which will tell the story of iconic kiwi band Shihad.
Bliss is the latest project to be confirmed for the Platinum Fund. This drama is destined for TV One's Sunday Theatre slot and is to be made by Michele Fantl and Fiona Samuel who made last year's award winning Piece of My Heart.
We're delighted with the quality and range of these projects, few if any of which would have been able to be funded from our contestable pool. NZ On Air will be working with broadcasters over the next couple of months to prioritise appropriate projects for consideration for the remaining funds, some of which are likely to be already in development.
Bliss - a long form prime time drama for TV One. The story of Katherine Mansfield's early years as she leaves New Zealand. Writer/director Fiona Samuel. Producer MF Films. $2,870,080
Tangiwai - a long-form prime time drama for TV One. The story of the Tangiwai train disaster is told through a love story embodying the hope and courage of post-war New Zealand. From the makers of this year's award-winning Sunday Theatre Until Proven Innocent. Producers Donna Malane, Paula Boock. $2,736,740.
Stolen - a prime time telefeature for TV3 also based on a true story. Producers South Pacific Pictures from a script by Tim Balme. $1,678,000.
Q+A 2010 - a 36 x one hour current affairs series for TV One, currently on air. Producer TVNZ: $728,817
The Nation - a 36 x one hour current affairs series for TV3, on air this week. Producer Front Page Productions $1,133,156
Rivers with Craig Potton - a 5 x one hour prime time documentary series for Prime TV in 2010. Stories of five New Zealand rivers through the eyes of one of New Zealand's most respected photographers. Producers South Pacific Pictures. $762,000.
Facing Facts - Tamariki Ora: A New Beginning - a 3 hour prime time special for Māori Television in 2010. An examination of violence towards children in New Zealand, seeking positive strategies to help change. Producers Māori Television, EP Carol Hirschfeld. $328,247.
Canvassing The Treaty a 1½ hour arts documentary for Māori Television. Producer Tumanako Productions $152,489
Four historical docu-dramas for TV One (now in development, after a competitive tender).
The selection process for this series was somewhat longer than anticipated because of the interruption of the holiday season but we were very heartened by the calibre and diversity of the 27 applications received. In line with the original intention of this strand to deliver a range of viewpoints and styles Vital Ingredients looks at New Zealand's ethnic diversity through food. The first series in this strand, Minority Voices, screened over the summer on TV One: congratulations to Julia Parnell from Butobase on delivering a unique insight into the lives of a variety of new New Zealanders.
The RFP sought research providers for a piece of work looking at the impact of mainstream Māori programmes (those primarily in English aimed at a general audience). Nga Matakiirea, comprising Hinewehi Mohi, Stacey Morrison and adjunct professor Scott Morrison, working with Tim Thorpe Consulting, has been awarded the contract. They'll be evaluating progress to date and speaking with key production and broadcast personnel to assess future options for mainstream Māori programmes. We're looking forward to the fruits of their labour.
Obviously Reservoir Hill has set a high benchmark for
projects in this fund (see below) andwe look forward to receiving
your applications.
Download the RFP (PDF36 KB)
Download the application
form (PDF 145 KB)
A NZ On Air-funded digital television collaboration is the first-ever New Zealand nominee in the International Digital Emmy Awards. The interactive online drama Reservoir Hill was created, produced and directed by Thomas Robins and David Stubbs of KHF Media. It was one of the four projects supported by our 2009 Digital Content Partnership Fund allocations and was consistently one of the most viewed shows on TVNZ Ondemand during its eight-week run. Reservoir Hill is up against finalists from Hong Kong, Canada, Finland and the United Kingdom in the Children and Young People category of the awards. It's a fabulous achievement for the team.
Another drama project strutting its stuff on the world stage is Kaitangata Twitch which is a finalist in the prestigious children's television awards Prix Jeunesse, and also a finalist in the Houston Worldfest. Kaitangata Twitch is a family drama from producer Yvonne Mackay of Production Shed TV and is based on a story by Margaret Mahey. The 13 part series is due to screen on Māori Television later this year.
Radio New Zealand for scooping two awards for its website at the inaugural Onyas Awards in February - the NZ web industry's Oscars.
NZ On Screen was one of three Onya finalists in the Most Outstanding Website category. The top honours went to accounting software juggernaut Xero - but we were delighted that NZ On Screen was recognised alongside some world-leading web work. NZ On Screen's top ten viewed titles this month range from Nice One Stu to the Janet Frame collection. Range and diversity indeed!
To the Weta teams for more brilliant work and Oscar recognition for Avatar and District 9
And to local gal made good, expat producer Finola Dwyer for her Oscar nomination for An Education.
The New Zealand music year is off to a great start. Last week, local content on commercial radio was 21.06% and the 2010 calendar year-to-date figure now stands at 21.18%, thanks primarily to Stan Walker, Gin Wigmore and Dane Rumble. NZ On Air might not be able to claim a share of Stan, but Gin and Dane have both come through NZ On Air's new artist discovery programme and both have gone on to secure NZ On Air album funding. Gin Wigmore's three-times Platinum album has delivered three huge radio hits to date and Dane Rumble's album, to be released at the end of the month, has also delivered three. Expect more from these two radio hit-making machines!
New Zealand music content on commercial radio for the December quarter came in at 19.39% (up from 17.76% in the September quarter) and the year-end result for the 2009 calendar year was 19.86%, just under the 20% target. Over 3,500 New Zealand songs registered some airplay in 2009 but the ten most-played NZ songs on NZ radio in 2009 were:
01 All On Our Own - Midnight Youth
02 The Letter - Midnight Youth
03 Always Be Here - Dane Rumble
04 Brother - Smashproof featuring Gin
05 Oh My - Gin
06 Always On My Mind - Tiki Taane
07 Hey Boys & Girls - Evermore
08 My Delirium - Ladyhawke
09 Don't Know What To Do - Dane Rumble
10 My House - Kids of 88
[Source: Radioscope]
Eight of the ten are from NZ On Air-funded albums. The other two - Evermore and Ladyhawke - were funded out of Australia.
We will release a discussion paper shortly on the review findings and invite comments from interested parties before finalising our priorities for the new financial year. Contact Keith Collins or David Ridler if you have any questions.
Flying Nun is synonymous with Kiwi indie music, and with autonomous DIY, bottom-of-the-world creativity. Selected by label founder Roger Shepherd: "A general style may have loosely evolved ... but it was simply due to limited budgets and correspondingly unlimited imaginations." It's a great selection including commentary from industry luminaries, links to documentaries and of course the fabulous videos themselves. Heavenly pop hits indeed. Take a look for yourself.
By now all Access Radio stations should have the new funding template. Please get in touch with Keith Collins if you do not.
The criteria for the 2010/11 funding round have been emailed to
stations within the last week.
Download the new funding
criteria
Download the application
form.
If you have been granted funding, you will need to start the contracting process by filling out a contract initiation form and forwarding it to our Assistant Television Manager. The website has up-to-date contract initiation forms.
There are different forms for Development and Production and if you are an Independent Producer or a Producer/Broadcaster. Please let us know your feedback on the forms if you have any problems, so that we can make the process easier for you.
Please note that the default Drawdown Schedule mentioned on the contract initiation form is an example and only suitable for one-off and short-term productions. Even in these cases we reserve the right to negotiate the drawdown schedule based on your actual cashflow needs. Please submit cashflow forecasts with your contract initiation form so that we can tailor your drawdowns accordingly. NZ On Air needs to ensure that large sums are not paid out unnecessarily in order to manage risk.
Irene started with Radio New Zealand in June 1975. Over the next twenty seven years she worked in a wide range of roles within news, including some reporting and parliamentary gallery experience, then time as an audio sub-editor before becoming Chief Rural Reporter then Rurals Editor, and finishing her time in news as a Bulletin Editor.
In 2002 Irene took up the key role of Accessions Archivist in Christchurch, overseeing the growth of the radio collection. Her knowledge of radio and current events is phenomenal, making her a huge asset to the archive, and to the radio industry. For the past two years she has also been a finalist in the New Zealand Radio Awards.
We wish Irene well for her retirement - she's done a terrific job at Sound Archives and has been a real asset to the radio industry.
The amount of local content hours transmitted last year was fairly stable, a small drop in overall hours being mainly caused by fewer repeats on the smaller channels. Pleasingly most genres had relatively stable output and the level of first-run programmes (a key measure of investment) was also mostly maintained.
mPICS concluded our measures overall were robust and compared well to other broadcast funding agencies. Some modifications were suggested which we are considering.
Download the report (PDF 387 KB)
Television Funding |
||||||
|
Genre |
Programme |
Total Amount Approved |
No. Of Episodes |
Length of Episodes (minutes) |
Production Company |
Channel |
|
Arts/Culture |
48 HOURS TV 2010 |
155,422 |
15 |
30 |
Two Heads |
C4 |
|
Arts/Culture |
WAIATA MAORI MUSIC AWARDS 2010 |
65,000 |
1 |
90 |
Arts & Entertainment Productions Ltd |
MTS |
|
Children |
SMOKEFREE ROCKQUEST 2010 |
300,351 |
6 |
30 |
Visionary Film & TV |
C4 |
|
Comedy |
THE 2010 COMEDY GALA |
132,412 |
1 |
120 |
Satellite Media Group |
TV3 |
|
Documentary |
BEAUTIFUL MACHINE |
160,068 |
1 |
120 |
ION Films |
C4 |
|
Documentary |
BEYOND THE DARKLANDS 4 |
583,929 |
6 |
60 |
Screentime |
TV One |
|
Documentary |
TVONE DOCS 2010 |
1,100,000 |
10 |
60 |
Various |
TV One |
|
Drama |
*BLISS |
2,870,080 |
1 |
120 |
MF Films |
TV One |
|
Drama |
Sunday Drama: BLOOD LINES |
1,376,923 |
1 |
120 |
Screentime |
TV One |
*This programme was supported by the NZ On Air Platinum Fund
The Pakipumeka Working Group has made the following funding decisions for MTS documentaries:
|
Genre |
Programme |
Total Amount Approved |
No. Of Episodes |
Length of Episodes (minutes) |
Production Company |
Channel |
|
Documentary |
BRING BACK BUCK |
156,734 |
1 |
60 |
AKA Productions |
MTS |
|
Documentary |
CHRIS BAILEY |
65,740 |
1 |
60 |
Rongo Productions |
MTS |
|
Documentary |
LINES IN THE SAND |
124,988 |
1 |
60 |
Raukatauri Productions |
MTS |
|
Documentary |
POLYNESIAN PANTHERS |
124,497 |
1 |
60 |
Tumanako Productions |
MTS |
|
Documentary |
POWHIRI: WELCOME OR NOT? |
126,343 |
1 |
60 |
Tumanako Productions |
MTS |
|
Documentary |
SHEAR BLACKS |
126,309 |
1 |
60 |
Mauri Ora Productions |
MTS |
|
Documentary |
THE SCOTSMAN AND THE MAORI |
124,674 |
1 |
60 |
Blue Bach Productions |
MTS |
|
Documentary |
WEEKEND WARRIORS |
134,803 |
1 |
60 |
Kahawai Productions |
MTS |
|
Documentary |
MAORI BOY GENIUS |
TBC |
1 |
60 |
Freckle Films |
MTS |
The TV One Docs Working Group has made the following funding decisions for TV One Documentaries:
|
Genre |
Programme |
Total Amount Approved |
No. Of Episodes |
Length of Episodes (minutes) |
Production Company |
Channel |
|
Documentary |
FINDING MERCY |
110,000 |
1 |
60 |
Spacific Films |
TV One |
|
Documentary |
THE DETECTIVES |
315,000 |
3 |
60 |
The Gibson Group |
TV One |
|
Documentary |
THE LADY KILLERS |
118,151 |
1 |
60 |
Project Melting Pot |
TV One |
|
Documentary |
LOOKING FOR ED'S PLACE |
TBC |
4 |
60 |
Top Shelf Productions |
TV One |
The Inside New Zealand 2010 Working Group has made the following funding decisions for TV3 documentaries:
|
Genre |
Programme |
Total Amount Approved |
No. Of Episodes |
Length of Episodes (minutes) |
Production Company |
Channel |
|
Documentary |
Why Not? |
119,628 |
1 |
60 |
Slavko Martinov |
TV3 |
|
Documentary |
My Friend The Bottle |
132,280 |
1 |
60 |
Top Shelf |
TV3 |
|
Documentary |
Clinical Years |
125,070 |
1 |
60 |
PRN Films |
TV3 |
|
Documentary |
Invisible Forces |
TBC |
1 |
60 |
Sauce Television |
TV3 |
Radio Funding |
||||||
|
Funding Type |
Genre |
Description |
Total Amount Approved |
No. Of Episodes |
Length of Episodes (minutes) |
Channel |
|
NZ Music Programmes Radio |
Music |
THE WORD 2010 |
49,400 |
104 |
5 |
ZM |
|
Radio Programme Production |
Special Interest |
Easter 2010 |
15,000 |
1 |
720 |
NewstalkZB |
Music Funding |
|||
|
Funding Type |
Artist - Project |
Total Amount Approved |
Production Company |
|
NZ Music Albums |
Aaradhna - Album 3 |
50,000 |
Dawn Raid Music |
|
NZ Music Albums |
Black River Drive - Album 1 |
50,000 |
Page One Management |
|
NZ Music Albums |
Erakah - Album 1 |
50,000 |
Illegal Musik |
|
NZ Music Albums |
Frisko - Album 2 |
50,000 |
Dawn Raid Music |
|
NZ Music Albums |
Fur Patrol - Album 4 |
50,000 |
Tardus Music |
|
NZ Music Albums |
Motocade - Album 2 |
50,000 |
Isaac Promotions |
|
NZ Music Albums |
Nathan King - Album 2 |
50,000 |
Hum Records |
|
NZ Music Albums |
Nesian Mystik - Album 4 |
50,000 |
Arch Dynasty |
|
NZ Music Albums |
Solstate - Album 2 |
50,000 |
Isaac Promotions |
|
NZ Music Albums |
Sweet & Irie - Album 2 |
50,000 |
Dawn Raid Music |
|
NZ Music Albums |
The Naked & Famous - Album 1 |
50,000 |
Round Trip Mars |
|
NZ Music New Recordings |
Jayson Norris - Love Someone |
10,000 |
Loop Media |
|
NZ Music New Recordings |
Over The Atlantic - Living In My House |
10,000 |
Page One Management |
|
NZ Music New Recordings |
Ruby Frost - Goodnight |
10,000 |
Universal Music NZ |
|
NZ Music New Recordings |
Shotgun Alley - Give It All Up For Rock |
10,000 |
The Brat Agency |
|
NZ Music New Recordings |
The Jury & The Saints - Help Me Out |
10,000 |
The Jury & The Saints |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Anika Moa - Running Through The Fire |
5,000 |
EMI Music NZ |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Annabel Fay - River |
5,000 |
Siren Records |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Autozamm - Want It, Need It |
5,000 |
Let The People Speak Entertainment |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Black River Drive - 15 Minutes |
5,000 |
Black River Records |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Boh Runga - Would You Give Your Heart |
5,000 |
CRS Records |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Bulletproof feat. Tiki Taane - Soundtrack To... |
5,000 |
Dirty Management |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Computers Want Me Dead - In Your Blood |
5,000 |
Isaac Promotions |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Concord Dawn feat. Rikki Morris - Forever |
5,000 |
Dirty Management |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Dane Rumble - Gonna Be Mine |
5,000 |
Rumble Music |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Derty Sesh - Forever |
5,000 |
Move The Crowd |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Erakah - Tell Me |
5,000 |
Illegal Musik |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Gin Wigmore - Hey Ho |
5,000 |
Universal Music NZ |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Hollie Smith - Mamma |
5,000 |
EMI Music NZ |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Ivy Lies - Never Enough |
5,000 |
Let The People Speak Entertainment |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Katchafire - J. Dubb Remix |
5,000 |
EMI Music NZ |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Kids Of 88 - Downtown |
5,000 |
Dryden Street |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Kidz In Space - FEAR |
5,000 |
Move The Crowd |
|
NZ Music Videos |
King Kapisi feat. The Mint Chicks - Superhuman MC |
5,000 |
Border Music |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Kirsten Morrell - Ghosts |
5,000 |
Warner Music NZ |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Maitreya feat. Awa - Sin City |
5,000 |
Control Freak Music |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Nameless Sons - Forgive/Forget |
5,000 |
Liberation Music (NZ) |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Nathan Haines feat. Kevin Mark Trail - Pathway |
5,000 |
Warner Music NZ |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Nesian Mystik - No. 1 |
5,000 |
Arch Dynasty |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Opensouls - Blind To See |
5,000 |
Dirty Management |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Pieter T feat. Vince Harder - As The World |
5,000 |
Handmade Records |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Salmonella Dub - Walk Into Your Mind |
5,000 |
EMI Music NZ |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Shapeshifter - Lifetime |
5,000 |
Truetone Records |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Steriogram - 6464 |
5,000 |
Let The People Speak Entertainment |
|
NZ Music Videos |
The Jury & The Saints - Brand New |
5,000 |
The Jury & The Saints |
|
NZ Music Videos |
The Naked & Famous - Young Blood |
5,000 |
The Naked & Famous |
|
NZ Music Videos |
The Phoenix Foundation - Buffalo |
5,000 |
The Phoenix Foundation (WGTN) |
|
NZ Music Videos |
The Pink Pound Experience - Easy Come, Easy Go |
5,000 |
PinkPoundExperience |
|
NZ Music Videos |
These Four Walls - Love Song |
5,000 |
Isaac Promotions |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Three Houses Down - Oh It's Good |
5,000 |
EMI Music NZ |
|
NZ Music Videos |
TK feat. Deach - Mr Liar |
5,000 |
TK |
|
NZ Music Videos |
TokyoStreetGang - She Said |
5,000 |
Dirty Management |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Trei with State Of Mind - Thunderbiscuit |
5,000 |
Samurai Distribution |
|
NZ Music Videos |
Young Sid - You |
5,000 |
Move The Crowd |
|
Phase 5 Campaign |
Family Cactus |
2,500 |
Arch Hill Recordings |
|
Phase 5 Campaign |
Rapture Ruckus |
10,000 |
Parachute Music |
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