Wellington's Busy Film Scene

In between our usual best/worst ever summer, Wellington is also doing its usual ‘there’s no work/suddenly there’s four TVCs shooting on the same day’ routine.

I got back from New York after being away since November to find the city was still humming along nicely. But with Mortal Engines/Hungry Cities/Squeaky Wheel taking up the bulk of our experienced crew, it does seem a little ironic that’s when every production company in NZ should suddenly decide to come and make TVCs here as well.

We’re not complaining. Crew Wellington has never been busier and that’s just the way we like it. But, for the first time in Crew Welly’s five-year history, this week I had to tell a production that I couldn’t get them some of the people they needed on the days they wanted to shoot. And that was after I had reached out to people we don’t officially represent!

Long may it continue I guess. But, and this is something I say all the time, I honestly reckon it’s time for production companies to open up some sort of better communication channels between themselves, to avoid some of the shooting log-jams that plague us and our sisters and brothers in Auckland and Queenstown.

Graeme Tuckett and Crew Wellington