Wellington's Call for Action

While I’m writing this, we are a film community at work. Hungry Cities/Mortal Engines/Whatever it’s Called is taking up all the available slack, with literally hundreds of on-set crew having been employed since February/March. And even while that job has been rolling, we have hosted a series of TVC’s, a decent-sized Aussie doco’ with World War 1 historical recreations and a couple of reality-type American productions.

Enquiries for experienced lighting, camera, art and sound crew received at the Crew Wellington office have been met with maniacal laughter and the dull thud of my head pounding into the desktop again.

But, Engines is winding down now. At least for the on-set part of the shoot. Weta Digital will have an army on the job for months yet I imagine.

We are taking calls for crew for TVC’s, but it is looking like the traditional Wellington winter slowdown is here.

Some of our regular crew will drift north to fill in wherever needed in Auckland. Others will be called south for TVC’s and dramas coming to Queenstown and Central Otago. But for the rest of us, the continuing lack of any true long-term filmmaking in Wellington is a massive stumbling block to the city having a truly year-round industry.

We’ve said it before and we will keep on saying it until someone in charge of commissioning TV shows hears us. We have the studios, we have the crew, we have the facilities and we have the most film-friendly local government in New Zealand.

Now come here and make a frickin’ TV series!

Love your work,

Graeme Tuckett, Guild executive committee member