What's in A Name?

I’ll confess at the outset—No, don’t get too excited, this will not be world-shakingly revelatory! I was not expecting my last editorial outburst—too strong a word?—my revisiting of an old issue—would provoke the responses it did. But the real surprise was the energy of the discussion that developed at the Auckland AGM.

The history—to briefly recap:

My belief that we must change the Guild’s name if we are to attract a significant increase in membership has arisen from two major areas of my personal experience:

Firstly: I am one of the small group of people who regularly visit film schools to promote our Guild amongst those about to enter the profession—get ‘em young! There I almost invariably find that the tutors have only invited the camera students to our session, because they believe we consist only of “technical people”. Then when we ask the students themselves what they know about our Guild, they answer always: “You’re an association for camera people and the like.” Or words to that effect…

Secondly: Whenever I suggest joining to a non-member crew person on location or in a studio, the most common response is “But I don’t qualify, I’m not a techo.”

And so in every instance, I have to explain yet again that the Guild is for ALL crew people, not just camera, sound, lighting, and grips.

Which leads me to a question that arose at the AGM: Why are we called the Techos’ Guild? Memory is often faulty, but I was around when the Guild was formed…

In the early 80s, a loose monthly gathering in a city pub of all industry people developed into an organization called the “NZ Motion Picture Academy”. Crew, producers, directors, actors, even writers, would come along… Then at one point some producers decided they needed their own organization. But instead of simply establishing another body, they split off from the Academy. Soon a group of crew people decided they needed to do the same. It happened that the bulk of that group were the reputedly most vocal of crew people—the gaffers and grips (plus camera and sound people)—with a smattering of designers, production people, AD’s… When the “Techos” name was proposed, none of us thought to suggest a more wide-ranging appellation. We did not foresee the problem that would later arise.

A number of times over the years, both in Guild meetings and in this magazine, I’ve raised this issue—the widespread misconception that exists out there that the Techos’ Guild is only for so-called “techos”—and the logical inference that this belief is perpetuated by the name we gave ourselves at our inception.

I first expostulated on this topic in NZTECHO in March 2003—over 6 years ago! This was followed by votes on the issue at not one but TWO Auckland AGMs, both of which were almost unanimously in favor of a change. But at the 2004 AGM, it was felt that, rather than a small group making such a momentous decision, the membership should be consulted about what our new name should be. And so, we published a form in the December 2004 issue, inviting suggestions. Replies were few, despite the incentive of movie tickets for the best response!

(I’ve learned over the 7 years I’ve been editing this mag that while many people tell me they read it cover to cover, hardly anyone has time to respond to even a minor challenge—that’s why we no longer give away book prizes, for example.)

However, a small but noticeable preference did emerge for “Screen Crews Association of NZ”—SCANZ for short. Close behind was “Screen Crew Guild of NZ,” followed distantly by “Screen Workers of NZ.” Some people wanted to drop “of NZ.” One preferred the word ‘craft’ to ‘crew.’ Significantly—all responses were in favor of a change.

In October 2005, we reported that President AlBol had concluded his Annual Report with “A New Name—Are We Ready For It?” I summarized the thoughts of members through the past year, the pros and cons, and devised a simple voting form titled: “Vote for What You Want,” offering the three alternatives, with or without the “NZ.” Again, not many responses; but again, a small preference for “SCANZ.”

Someone complained that “SCANZ” was already taken—in another industry. Irrelevant, I say! There are a multitude of name duplications out there, never mind mere acronyms!

However, a couple of dissenting voices did point out the cost of changing letterheads and suchlike; and also that changing the name would mean changing our constitution. Since the constitution was (and still is) in need of drastic revision, it would surely be best to leave a name change until that revision was complete—which of course has never happened—our limited resources being (rightly) channeled to more urgent matters.

In my most cynical moments, my (biased?) perception was that the reactionary forces of conservatism have (unintentionally?) stymied progress on the issue. Feeling that we were witnessing another example of the Great Kiwi Tendency Towards No Decision Without Total Consensus For Fear Of Upsetting Someone, I put my campaign into retreat!

But in the last couple of years, I’ve had many more experiences of the kind I described earlier. Convinced as ever that this is a significant issue for the Guild—surely the more members we can attract, the more effective we can be as an organization, both in numerical and financial terms—I decided on a momentary spur to write that editorial in the last issue.

The end result of the impassioned (certainly on my part!) discussion at the AGM was the suggestion from the Chair to again canvas opinion in NZTECHO—hence these words now.

I’m accepting the invitation, despite being reminded of the words of another member at a previous AGM, in 2005 in fact: “Haven’t we already done that?!!!”

One contra argument that I received recently has made me think a bit: The idea that it’s simply up to us to educate the wider screen industry more effectively!

(Have a look at Annie Frear’s thoughts on the next page.)

But thinking about it… Education of the kind mentioned is exactly what I and others have been engaging in for ages—with not enough impact! Overall, beliefs and misconceptions out there have not changed over the last 6–7 years.

It also occurs to me—changing our name would give us a marvelous opportunity to get people in the wider industry talking about us! The best kind of education there is—Gossip! “Did you know that they’ve changed their name?” “Why?”

Also, “Film & Video…” does make us sound rather out-of-date! “Screen…,” one syllable rather than five, would bring us into Century 21!

Please: Do let us know what you think. Tell us whether you agree with the idea of changing our name.

Then tell us which option you’d prefer—one from those listed below, or a new one altogether.

• Screen Crew Association of NZ?
• Screen Crew Guild of NZ?
• Screen Workers of NZ?
• Screen Craft Guild/Association of NZ?
• A variation of the above?
• Or something Completely Different…?

Phone us—the 0800 number is free! After hours, leave a message… Email us—also free! Or text the Editor on 027-292-7750! Anonymity guaranteed, should you so wish.