Remembering Industry Legends

Hi all,

And welcome to issue 81 of NZTECHO. I’m sad to report that we could have featured four obituaries in this issue, with the deaths of Debbie Sinton, Penny Cooper, George Wilson, and, just last week as I write, Anthony (Ants) Faifai.

There has not been time for Debbie, Penny, and Ant’s closest people to be writing, so we are deferring a full obituary for them until our next issue. By which time it will be Spring, with all perspective and reckoning a change of season can bring. But for this issue, thank you to everyone who has contributed, as always. And especially thank you Josh Dunn for contributing a thoughtful and fulsome tribute to his friend George Wilson.

Debbie, Penny, George, and Ants were all very different people, but I reckon they had in common the one trait that all film people share: We love our independence just as much as we love being a part of crew. Maybe you will disagree, but I think it’s those opposing instincts that set us (and contractors and freelancers in all professions) apart.

Peter Parnham’s piece in this issue on the report on the Film Industry Working Group’s recommendations, and why we are a Guild, and not a Union also touches on our essential bloody-mindedness.

Penny Tucker’s perspective on the same group and report is also a great read. Penny isn’t a film worker, but she cuts to the heart of what the group needed to achieve and how it got there is fascinating.

And Waka Attewell’s article on what it took to get The UnderTow onto a stage, and to then make a feature film of the piece speaks clearly to what it is that makes us unique. Nobody who wasn’t working with an absolute passion and belief for the project could have found the energy to make the effort.

But passion and belief are never enough. Technique, skill, equipment, and experience are essential. And the less money you have, the more of all of the above you’re going to need.

In our next issue, we’ll be running a piece on internships, and the importance of the productions which can afford to offer internships being asked to do so. We have some pretty good film schools in this country, but everyone who works in film knows there’s only one place you really learn how to do the job, and that is on the job.

That’s all for now. We hope you enjoy issue 81. A lot of people have worked hard – and often unpaid – to get it to you. We can never thank you enough.

Graeme Tuckett and the NZTECHO crew.