Quiet Times in Wellington

Like a character in a dodgy horror movie, I'm going to say that Wellington is quiet... too quiet.

With no cameras rolling in Miramar right now, and the feature film After The Party wrapped, there's only a few smaller projects around, with the normal run of corporates, a few TVC’s and in-house work for councils and government departments.

Luckily, being Wellington, there is always a supply of these, but they are nothing like enough to sustain a workforce from a feature film.

This week at Crew Wellington we have taken calls from people in tears about the state of the local industry. Our friends at Screen Wellington tell us that TVCs and films are coming, but details are scarce.

The really bright spots in town are the ongoing drama series and documentary productions, many of which fly right under the radar, being shot by young crews on tight budgets all around the city and suburbs.

Until there is certainty about the tax regime that international productions will encounter in New Zealand, this may be the state of Wellington for the next few months.

Plus, we are heading into winter, and that is traditionally a time when people try not to spend too much time down here in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. I don't know why. It's no secret to anyone who lives here that winter isn't the worst season in Wellington at all. That fresh southerly and the breakers ripping into the south coast just clean the place up nicely for spring and summer. But I guess you have to live here to know that.

Anyway, we have capacity spare at the moment - and some of the greatest crew members in the motu without enough to do. Let's hope that doesn't last too long.

In the meantime, what a great time to update your CV on Crew Wellington.

All best,

GT