Sally Cunningham

How long have you been in screen production and how did you get started?

I’ve been in screen production since 2005. I did a degree in film and media at the University of Otago from 2001 to 2003 and afterwards I thought I’d better go learn how to actually make stuff. So I did the year-long course at The New Zealand Film and Television School in Wellington and have been working in the industry ever since. It’s a way of life for me. There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.

What genre(s) does your work tend to come from?

Most of my work comes from drama. Be it a short film, TV series or film. There have been bits and pieces of factual, but I tend to enjoy drama projects a lot more. I also teach at The New Zealand Film and Television school periodically.

How easy is it to make a living in this industry/how often do you work outside the screen production industry? If/when you do work elsewhere, what do you do and is it a choice to do so?

I know a lot of people have secondary jobs that they fall back on, luckily I haven’t had to do that yet (I probably should have sometimes though). I think I might go insane in a ‘real’ job. I find it hard to think of anything outside the industry that I would enjoy as much. If I was to do something else, it probably would have to involve the arts in some way.

How does your department work as part of the ‘whole’ that other crew probably don’t realise?

I think, in general, a lot of crew don’t realise what really goes into other departments to make the ‘whole’ work. When I’m working in production, which is what I’m doing 99% of the time, I think people don’t realise the amount of work that goes into the job after hours that we don’t get paid for. We don’t get paid for those 10pm phone calls or those weekend runs to find/return lost equipment. I mean, I love the job, but sometimes you are left thinking how people run their own lives when they aren’t on a job.

How have your rates changed/improved over the years?

I haven’t been in the game for very long in the grand scheme of things, but my rate has certainly improved since my first running job. In the same sort of job over the last few years it hasn’t changed much.

What sort of changes (e.g. in apprentice/newbie crew skill sets, abilities, other areas) have you noticed? Have you noticed any trends?

When I finished film school I remember it being a no-no to say that you were from there, some of my crew were specifically told ‘don’t tell people you went to film school’. I found this odd, as why would it be assumed that film school graduates were sub-par when they are taught by practising industry professionals? Since then I’ve found attitudes have changed a bit. They haven’t come full circle but I notice there is a lot less of the eye rolling if you put a graduate forward for a role. I think it’s still hard for newbies to break into the industry or even established crew to change departments. It’s the catch-22 of you won’t get hired without experience, but how do you get experience if you don’t get hired.

What strengths do you think the New Zealand industry has/ what could contribute to a more sustainable industry?

I think our strength is in our people and our attitude to things. Anything you want done, can be done here and it’s because our industry is filled with innovative, problem-solving people that just get on with the job. I think we could do with a lot more studio space, especially in Wellington. Avalon being sold is just lunacy! Here is a purpose-built facility that gets used time and time again, with everything you need to make a project happen and it’s being thrown away. Ridiculous! I think we need more protection. At the moment there is no accountability for productions that completely take advantage of their crew, ignoring the Blue book or putting pressure on crew to accept a dodgy deal. What do we do? Is it a case of getting basic Blue Book clauses made law? Our standard work day, turnaround or standard overtime for example – things that we wouldn’t have to negotiate time and time again. Is it even possible to make these things law seeing as we’re contractors? I don’t know, but I think it’s something all of us should be talking about. I for one think having some rights in our own industry would make it a healthier one.