NZ Crews' Competitive Edge

What is our competitive advantage in NZ? One thing we constantly hear from producers and directors is how fantastic NZ crews are.

Condé Nast magazine has just named Queenstown the third-friendliest city in the world and Auckland the ninth. NZ was the only country to have two cities feature in the top ten of the annual readers’ survey.

While this isn’t specific to our crews, it is most certainly a factor in why they are so well-respected. The easy-going and can-do attitude of Kiwi crews is often commented upon. The fact that they are very talented, competent and professional is the other half of the equation.

We are in the midst of a good winter season with a steady stream of TVCs shooting with a few fairly big ones on the horizon. I think there are three factors contributing to this; a good snow season, the weakening dollar, and our hard-earned reputation for delivering the goods in our unique environment.

Aside from attitude and skill, our crews and equipment have been developed to perform in our harsh environment. A production manager once described her job as “getting what they need where they need when they need”. As a crew member, it’s generally assumed that you will be on set on time with equipment that will function. However, when you have a 5am call time and its minus 10 degrees, achieving this is not necessarily a given. Driving in snow and ice, fitting chains and understanding the effects of the freezing elements on gear are skillsets that have been developed by our crews who are battle-hardened and fit-for-purpose.

Weather is a fickle beast – sometimes it is the lack of cold that can stitch you up. I spoke to a location manager who told me of a recent job that was going to shoot in a paddock frozen hard as concrete the day before. (I think the next part is something that our crews in the 9th-friendliest city can also relate to). There was then an unseasonably warm deluge overnight that turned it into a soft gushy field of mud that was described as being the consistency of chocolate mousse. They carried on, got the shots and once again provided the goods. Rain, sleet or snow – you can count on Kiwi crews.

Kevin Jennings, Queenstown branch member