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A note from the CEO

Kia ora tatou

The first newsletter for the year and sadly, of course, the first acknowledgement we must make is to our Christchurch colleagues coming to terms with the aftermath of the February earthquake. All of us at NZ On Air were devastated in February at the news, to learn of the CTV disaster, and of the shocking circumstances faced by so many in the wider NZ On Air broadcast and music family. Our Community Broadcasting Manager Keith Collins flew to Christchurch for CTV manager Murray Wood's funeral and our team continues to keep close tabs on events and people there.

For those outside Canterbury I thought it might be helpful to outline what's happened to those in our sector. Most of our stakeholders have premises in the central city. Our deepest sympathies are with the workmates, friends and family of our CTV colleagues who have died. A single pinpoint of light in this darkness was the acceptance by CTV's Ian Cumming of my Facebook friend request a day or two after the quake: social media is a wonderful tracker. We are in contact with CTV's owners as future options for the service are developed.

Radio New Zealand and the Sound Archives staff are safe but will likely be out of their building for some months. RNZ news and technical staff, several homeless, have been doing a wonderful job broadcasting from a motel. TRN and MediaWorks radio personnel are the same; safe and broadcasting brilliantly from mostly temporary premises. While its premises may be closed, Karen, Kapoi and the team at the Sound Archives are still working hard capturing the broadcast material around the earthquake. It will be a remarkable record for future generations.

TVNZ staff are also safe and evacuated, but with buildings severely damaged. Whitebait Studios suffered only minor damage and helped accommodate TVNZ staff. Whitebait's What Now goes to air this Sunday with a special dedication to two of its young crew members who died in the CTV building. For further information see press release here.

Other television production companies, and those in the music and radio communities, are also safe but many have properties with various levels of damage. Plains FM, the access radio station, and RDU, the student radio station, have mainly been off air as their premises are inside the cordon (RDU has had an ingenious temporary broadcast running through an Apple laptop).

And of course so many have suffered severe damage to their homes, some still homeless or without services. That includes NZ On Air's deputy chair Murray Shaw and former deputy chair Edie Moke. On the Stuff website Press journalist and music writer Vicki Anderson, while homeless, has written some extraordinarily moving accounts of the effects on her family.

Our thoughts are now also with the NZ-based Japanese programme makers involved in access radio stations around New Zealand.

NZ On Air salutes the professionalism of all in the Christchurch broadcast and music community during this crisis. Our priorities are with our existing stakeholders: we are reviewing all existing contracts and making adjustments and new arrangements as necessary to provide support and to help the process of rebuilding. Please contact us for help.

 

Kia kaha.

Jane

Jane Wrightson photo

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We were delighted to see in January that NZ Music Manager Brendan Smyth had been recognised in the New Year's Honours list for services to New Zealand music. Next month he'll be at Government House to become a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM). Brendan has been a passionate supporter of and advocate for New Zealand music for even longer than his 21 years service at NZ On Air, and we are thrilled his dedication has been recognised in this way.

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Gina Rogers

We're delighted that Gina Rogers has accepted the role of Senior Communications Advisor. This is a new part-time position which we're sharing 50/50 with the NZ Film Commission. Gina will join us after Easter and will be helping us sharpen up the content of our website and newsletter. She'll also help look after media and industry relations as well as pulling together external documents such as the annual report and SOI.

Gina is a journalist and is currently Deputy Editor of Checkpoint, Radio New Zealand's early evening news and current affairs programme. She's worked as a journalist for RNZ, TVNZ, BBC World, CNBC, and started out at IRN. She has a Bachelor of Broadcast Communications  from the NZ Broadcasting School and also a BA. She's looking forward to getting out and about to learn more about the wider filmmaking and independent production world.

 

 

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Also in this newsletter are the results of the March round. We committed just over $9.8m in new production, ranging from the renewal of hit drama series Go Girls, to a major Platinum Fund documentary on the Strongman mine disaster Journey Into Darkness, to children's drama feature Kiwi Flyer.

But, as we have been signaling for some time, requests on our funding have been at very high levels this year. With these March decisions we now only have funding left for planned programme renewals.

This means we are unable to consider significant new projects until the new financial year (deadline 24 June for the August round).

At the June round (deadline 21 April) we will be considering applications arising from the RFPs for the Maori Innovation Fund and the Digital Content Partnership Fund along with programme renewals.

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Along with the entire film and television industry we note with considerable sadness the passing of Graeme Tetley. Not only a gifted screenwriter, his script assessments were firm, fair and generous. Some will remember his daughter Emma (now Emma Harty, living in Ireland but set to return to NZ in May) worked at NZ On Air in the late 1990s as an integral part of the TV team. Our thoughts are with Emma, Jonty and the family. It's been a rough start to the year for the sector: we also note with sadness the passing of Frank Whitten and Rob Jackways.

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Everyone Lies

Digital Content Partnership Fund online drama, Reservoir Hill: Everyone Lies, has emulated its Emmy award winning predecessor by being nominated in this year's International Digital Emmy Awards.  Congratulations to Thomas Robins and David Stubbs. Fingers crossed for two in a row. 

Reservoir Hill: Everyone Lies has also been nominated as a finalist in the New York Film and Television Awards, along with Outrageous Fortune, Go Girls and Stolen.

 

 

NZ On Air-supported documentaries I Am the River, Donated to Science, Dirty Bloody Hippies and Is She or Isn't He? recently screened as part of the Documentary Edge Festival.  I Am the River and Donated to Science both won awards -- 

I Am the River - Best New Zealand Feature Documentary; Best NZ Cinematography and Best NZ Editing

Donated to Science - Best NZ Director (Paul Trotman)

Untouchable Girls - Topp Twins was also co-winner of the Outstanding Contribution to the NZ Documentary Industry award

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This round gave us an opportunity to build on previous successes. New investments were made in a fourth series of the very successful TV2 drama Go Girls; a second series for returning comedies A Night At the Classic and WannaBen for TV One and TV3 respectively; and a second series  of the popular TV3 arts series The Secret Lives of Dancers.

We have also taken a minority investment position (with the NZFC) in children's drama Kiwi Flyer, made by Tony Simpson's Christchurch-based Torrent Films and set in Nelson.

Go Girls

And we're backing Style Pasifika again, the extraordinary homage to Pacific Island design creativity.

See the full list of Contestable Fund decisions for March at the end of this newsletter

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Two Platinum Fund projects were supported in this round. Docudrama Journey Into Darkness will be a compelling and timely retelling of the 1967 Strongman Mine explosion and subsequent Commission of Enquiry.  This project will be produced for TV3 by Paula McTaggart (A Bigger Picture) with Gaylene Preston executive producing and directing.  We're also backing a natural history special for TV One entitled Primeval New Zealand: Where Wild Meets Weird to be made by Dunedin's award-winning Natural History New Zealand.

What really happened

Congratulations to the Eyeworks' cast and crew of the Platinum Fund Waitangi Day special What Really Happened - Waitangi. The drama received widespread praise for its entertaining and informative depiction of the events surrounding the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.  Reviewer Diana Wichtel referred to it as an 'instant classic' in her review in The Listener.  

  

 

 

Other Platinum projects intended for 2011 broadcast include Q+A (which started on 20 March), The Nation (starting on 2 April), the dramas Bliss (recently completed) and Tangiwai (currently in post production).

More recently funded dramas Underbelly, Billy and Rage are in various stages of pre-production.  

The historical docudramas The Golden Hour, Cancerman and Ice Captain are finishing their shoots or in post production.  

Documentary series Descent from Disaster and Wild Coasts are at early stages of pre-production. The documentary special The Hunt for the Pink and White Terraces is in post production.

A reminder that the expressions of interest for the four documentary projects comprising the strand The Story close on 31 March. See the RFP here.

A full list of Platinum projects supported this financial year is here

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Applications for 2011/12 contestable programme funding are due on April 21 for the June meeting. The criteria are available here.  

We have streamlined our budgeting and reporting system for this year, so please check the application materials carefully.

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We're pleased to report that access radio stations have delivered 5% more first run, locally produced priority section 36c content in the October to December 2010 quarter than for the same period in 2009. Well done to all the hard-working access radio teams around the country.

We have advised access radio managers that the annual funding applications for 2011/12 should come to the August meeting instead of June. A longer broadcast period will allow us to assess performance against the new criteria.

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568 applications were received for this month's music video, new recordings and album funding rounds. Ten new recordings grants, six album investments and 32 music video grants were allocated to a broad range of artists and projects. See the end of this newsletter for details.

We have now closed the new recordings  and album schemes. We will have a final music video round in June as planned (deadline 21 April). Details of our new music funding scheme are being finalised in April and will be released in May. Keep an eye on kiwihits.co.nz for news - we're getting excited about the new opportunities opening up.

The 168 albums completed since the scheme launched in 2000, have delivered 523 radio singles, of which 492 have been radio hits.  That is an impressive 94% radio hits strike rate.  The scheme delivered significant albums by artists like Bic Runga, betchadupa, Shihad, Blindspott, P-Money, Brooke Fraser, Katchafire, Opshop, Tiki Taane, Cut Off Your Hands and Shapeshifter. There's a few more in the pipeline too.
 

 

Brook


The New Recording Artist scheme also launched in 2000 was essentially a new artist discovery programme and in its ten-year lifetime, gave more than 350 new artists a break at radio.  Many who came through the New Recording Artist scheme went on to be household names.  It's where we first heard Nesian Mystik, Gin Wigmore, Goodnight Nurse, The Checks, Kimbra, Motocade, Dukes and Dane Rumble.  Big songs like Goldenhorse's Maybe Tomorrow, Brooke Fraser's first single, Better, Steriogram's iconic Walkie Talkie Man and Midnight Youth's huge hit, The Letter, were supported through the New Recording Artists scheme.

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NZ On Air's new NZ music funding scheme, building on these successes, will be based on funding the recording of single tracks, with music videos to back up their release. We'll be looking to add to our success on commercial radio with an improvement to diversity of funded music.
 
Much of what NZ On Air does in the music space will change.  Between now and 1 July, when the new policies and programmes come into effect, we will be making a series of announcements about how things will work.
 
The next announcement in April will be advertising three full-time jobs in NZ On Air's Auckland promotions office - a Broadcast Promotions job and a Repertoire job, replacing two contract positions, and a New Media role which will be a one-year contract.
 
In mid-May we'll announce details about the funding schemes' criteria. Finally, we hope to confirm some new media initiatives in June.
 
Keep an eye on www.kiwihits.co.nz for details.

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The national music sales charts for the week of 14 March made great reading for New Zealand music.  The biggest selling single, the biggest selling album and the biggest selling compilation were all local titles.

Debuting at #1 on the Top 40 Singles Chart was Love, Love, Love, the first single from one-man-band, Avalanche City.  The song was on Kiwi Hit Disc 133 in December 2010 and comes with an NZ On Air-funded music video.  Love, Love, Love is currently the most-played New Zealand song on New Zealand radio, as well as being the biggest-selling single, and is also being used by TV2 as the channel's promo.

Tiki Tane

Over on the Top 40 Albums Chart, the #1 slot was taken by Tiki Taane with his second album, In The World Of Light, the follow up to his platinum-selling debut, Past Present Future.  NZ On Air invested in both albums.

And completing the New Zealand trifecta, the Pasifika Volume 2 collection was #1 on the Top 10 Compilations chart.

 

 

 

 

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The Naked & Famous are getting a lot of attention in the US and the UK at the moment.  

Young Blood, the band's first single from their NZ On Air part-funded debut album, Passive Me, Aggressive You, got to #8 on the CMJ college radio airplay charts in America in January this year and was the fourth most-added song on US alternative radio in the week of 15 February.   The song is now climbing the Mediabase Alt Airplay chart in the US and at the time of writing was #23 on the Top 50.

The Passive Me, Aggressive You album has now been released in the US and the UK and at the time of writing was #7 on the iTunes Store Top 10 Albums in both the US and the UK and in Ireland.  It was the #2 biggest-seller on the iTunes Store Top 10 Alternative Albums Chart in the US, #3 in the UK and Ireland and #4 in Canada.

NZ On Air is contributing to the band's international radio promotion campaign.

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5pm Monday invoice deadline

A reminder that our invoice payment day has changed to Thursday. The deadline for receipt of invoices and reports is 5pm Monday.

To avoid delays in invoice payments:

  • Check your cost report before sending;
  • Read the small print in the side column of the drawdown schedule.  This lists the contractual requirements of each drawdown;
  • Check that each invoice is a new number - not one previously used;
  • We cannot hand amend an invoice.   If there are multi-drawdowns on one invoice and there is a problem with one of the drawdowns or the cost report, the producer will be contacted to fix the problem and send a revised invoice.   We recommend using one invoice per drawdown, particularly with the first and second drawdowns.

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Television Funding Decisions

Genre

Programme

Total Amount Approved

No. Of Episodes

Length of Episodes (minutes)

 

Production Company

Channel

Arts/Culture

STYLE PASIFIKA 2011

155,842

1.0

60.0

 

Drum Productions

TV One

Arts/Culture

THE SECRET LIVES OF DANCERS 2

662,804

8.0

30.0

 

Eyeworks New Zealand Film & TV Drama

TV3

Arts/Culture

WAIATA MAORI MUSIC AWARDS 2011

67,500

1.0

90.0

 

Arts & Entertainment Productions

MTS

Children

SMOKEFREE ROCKQUEST 2011

301,361

6.0

30.0

 

Visionary Film & TV

FOUR

Children's Drama

KIWI FLYER

190,000

1.0

120.0

 

Torrent Films

FOUR

Comedy

A NIGHT AT THE CLASSIC series 2

595,175

8.0

30.0

 

Two Heads

TV One

Comedy

COMEDY JAM 2011

126,830

2.0

60.0

 

Satellite Media Group

TV 2

Comedy

WANNA-BEn Series 2

594,310

8.0

30.0

 

Yoink Productions

TV3

Comedy

WOULD I LIE TO YOU?

248,325

16.0

30.0

 

TVWorks

TV3

Drama

GO GIRLS series 4

6,825,000

13.0

60.0

 

South Pacific Pictures

TV 2

Documentary

* JOURNEY INTO DARKNESS

884,782

1.0

90.0

 

A Bigger Picture

TV3

Documentary

* PRIMEVAL NEW ZEALAND - WHERE WILD MEETS WEIRD

270,554

1.0

60.0

 

Natural History NZ

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

AFA KASI - THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

131,809

1.0

60.0

 

Tumanako Productions

MTS

Documentary

HE RANGI TAHI

126,682

1.0

60.0

 

Monsoon Pictures International

MTS

Documentary

HENARE O'KEEFE: TE TUATANGATA

111,734

1.0

60.0

 

Notable Pictures

MTS

Documentary

IHIMAERA

98,700

1.0

60.0

 

Charlotte Yates Productions

MTS

Documentary

KA MATE THE HAKA THE LEGEND

167,000

1.0

60.0

 

Maramena

MTS

Documentary

RHODES  - ACTOR SINGER

120,544

1.0

60.0

 

Arts & Entertainment Productions

MTS

Documentary

THE GREEN CHAIN

125,000

1.0

60.0

 

Scottie Douglas Productions

MTS

Documentary

TUPAIA'S ENDEAVOUR

118,762

1.0

60.0

 

Island Productions Aotearoa

MTS

Documentary

WEIGHT OF THE NATION

124,967

1.0

60.0

 

Paua Productions

MTS

Documentary

THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING

124,800

1.0

60.0

 

Tawera Productions

MTS

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

THE FAMILY BEANSPROUT

105,288

1.0

60.0

 

Iguana Films

TV3

Radio Funding Decisions

 

Funding Type

Description

Total Amount Approved

No. Of Episodes

Length of Episodes (minutes)

 

Channel

 

Radio Programme Production

Lumsden

20,800

13.0

3.0

 

Radio Sport

 

Radio Programme Production

Easter 2011

15,000

1.0

720.0

 

NewstalkZB

 

Music Funding Decisions

Funding Type

Description

Total Amount Approved

No. Of Episodes

Length of Episodes (minutes)

 

Production Company

Channel

NZ Music Programmes Radio

Homegrown to June 2011

26,630

26.0

60.0

 

Rhema Broadcasting

Radio Rhema

NZ Music Programmes TV

Decent Exposure

90,000

1950.0

5.0

 

TVWorks

FOUR

NZ Music Programmes TV

Drew & Shannon Live - NZ music content

160,000

200.0

20.0

 

TVWorks

FOUR

Funding Type

Artist - Project

Total Amount Approved

Production Company

 

NZ Music Albums

Black River Drive - Album 2

upto 50,000

Black River Records

 

NZ Music Albums

K. One - Album 1

upto 50,000

Illegal Musik

 

NZ Music Albums

Kids Of 88 - Album 2

upto 50,000

Dryden Street

 

NZ Music Albums

Pieter T - Album 2

upto 50,000

Handmade Records

 

NZ Music Albums

Shapeshifter - Album 5

upto 50,000

Truetone Records

 

NZ Music Albums

The Datsuns - Album 5

upto 28,190

Hellsquad Records

 

NZ Music Albums

Tiki - Album 2

upto 50,000

Dirty Management

 

NZ Music International

David Dallas - Big Time/USA

upto 18,600

Dirty Management

 

NZ Music International

Jackie Bristow - Freedom/USA

upto 2,000

Jackie Bristow

 

NZ Music International

Kimbra - Settle Down/Australia

upto 20,000

Paul Ellis Publicity

 

NZ Music International

Ladi6 - Bang Bang/Australia

upto 6,000

SLR

 

NZ Music International

Six60 - Rise Up/Australia

upto 3,900

Massive Entertainment

 

NZ Music International

Street Chant - Means/Australia

upto 18,000

Arch Hill Recordings

 

NZ Music New Recordings

1995 - Nowhere Slow

10,000

Isaac Promotions

 

NZ Music New Recordings

Chris Cope - World Without You

10,000

Chris Cope

 

NZ Music New Recordings

Janine Foster - These Big Tears

10,000

Janine Foster

 

NZ Music New Recordings

Jesse Sheehan - Grandma's Cookies

10,000

The Family Of Actors

 

NZ Music New Recordings

Junica - Living In My House

4,000

Page One Management

 

NZ Music New Recordings

Leno Lovecraft - Princess

10,000

A Low Hum

 

NZ Music New Recordings

Lydia Cole - Love and Loss and Love

10,000

CRS Records

 

NZ Music New Recordings

Mel Parsons - I Won't Let You Down

10,000

Cape Road Recordings

 

NZ Music New Recordings

Ruby Frost - Smoke & Mirrors

10,000

Universal Music NZ

 

NZ Music New Recordings

The Good Fun - Karaoke

10,000

The Good Fun

 

NZ Music New Recordings

Tyson Tyler - Go Hard

10,000

Illegal Musik

 

NZ Music Videos

A Hori Buzz - Turnaround

5,000

Loop Media

 

NZ Music Videos

Anna Coddington - Free

5,000

Isaac Promotions

 

NZ Music Videos

Avalanche City - Slowly Over Me

5,000

Avalanche City

 

NZ Music Videos

Barnaby Weir - I'm Coming Home

5,000

EMI Music NZ

 

NZ Music Videos

Bulletproof feat Jessie G - Dub Me Crazy

5,000

Dirty Management

 

NZ Music Videos

Dear Time's Waste - And So I Was Returning

5,000

Isaac Promotions

 

NZ Music Videos

DJ Sir-vere ft J Williams, JR etc - Major Flavours

5,000

Illegal Musik

 

NZ Music Videos

Dukes - Secrets

5,000

Play Nicely

 

NZ Music Videos

Family Cactus - Fields & Fields

5,000

Sony Music Entertainment

 

NZ Music Videos

Flip Grater - I Am Gone

5,000

Maiden Records

 

NZ Music Videos

Glass Owls - Griffin Boy

5,000

Isaac Promotions

 

NZ Music Videos

Home Brew - Remember That

5,000

Home Brew Crew

 

NZ Music Videos

Inverse Order - 15:04

5,000

Isaac Promotions

 

NZ Music Videos

J Williams - Got You Where I Want You

5,000

Illegal Musik

 

NZ Music Videos

Jayson Norris - The End

5,000

Loop Media

 

NZ Music Videos

K. One - She's A Killer

5,000

Illegal Musik

 

NZ Music Videos

Kimbra - Cameo Lover

5,000

Forum 5

 

NZ Music Videos

Ladi6 - Like Water

5,000

Question Music

 

NZ Music Videos

Little Bark - Party

5,000

Little Bark

 

NZ Music Videos

Luke Thompson - Water

5,000

Luke Thompson

 

NZ Music Videos

Massad - Waiting

5,000

Massadmusic

 

NZ Music Videos

Motocade - Hollywood Girls

5,000

Isaac Promotions

 

NZ Music Videos

Opshop - Love Will Always Win

5,000

Opshop Music

 

NZ Music Videos

PNC - That Kinda Guy

5,000

Dirty Management

 

NZ Music Videos

Ruby Frost - Odyssey

5,000

Universal Music NZ

 

NZ Music Videos

Shotgun Alley - Eventually

5,000

Hark Music

 

NZ Music Videos

The Adults - One Million Ways

5,000

Warner Music New Zealand

 

NZ Music Videos

The Earlybirds - Homegrown song

5,000

The Earlybirds Music & Publishing

 

NZ Music Videos

The Jury & The Saints feat Stan Walker - Patience

5,000

The Jury & The Saints

 

NZ Music Videos

The Rabble - The Journey

5,000

Filthy Lucre Enterprises

 

NZ Music Videos

Tiki Taane & Crushington - Light Years Away

5,000

Dirty Dub

 

NZ Music Videos

Vince Harder - Hands Up

5,000

Illegal Musik

 

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