For the first time in history Ramp Gallery is staging a show of puppets and animations. ‘Strings Attached’ opens 5.30pm on Tuesday 7th September, and runs until the 28th Sept. Opening hours are 12 – 4pm, Tuesday – Friday. Ramp Gallery is on Collingwood St.

This exhibition of DIY puppetry and animation features a survey of work by a handful of New Zealand artists, including Dr Lisa Perrott, lecturer from the department of Screen and Media studies at Waikato University, with her unique animation “Highly Strung”; Wellington/Raglan based artist Stuart Shepherd’s kinetic tableau of marionette puppets; post-punk sci-fi stop-motion animations by Wellington artist Mike Heynes, featuring his own brand of budget special effects and pyro technics; Rose Beauchamp’s  beautifully hand crafted shadow puppets melding Asian and European storytelling traditions; Wellington based artist Carlos Wedde’s eclectic animation questioning power structures; film stills from Deborah Puerto Rico, formally of Red Mole Theatre, showing masks as well as  large and small scale hand puppets; animation by renowned Wellington composer Robyn Nathan, and more.

Puppets, in various forms, have always been a medium for storytelling and are evident in all cultures around the world. The lineage of puppetry goes beyond medieval times, and trickles down through the courts and jesters and travelling players of early Europe right through to the avant garde experimentation of the Dada movement. Artists and designers throughout history have applied their skills to the creation of characters and alter egos. Often the puppet assumed the role of the socially subversive and was given license to ridicule authority and social orders in a way that no human critic ever could.

In western culture, puppetry has often been associated with children and has always occupied the lower rungs on the cultural ladder. Puppetry and mask work existed in play and ritualized performance in India and Africa. In ancient China and Japan and South-East Asia puppetry developed into highly stylized story-telling performances and evolved alongside dance and theatre forms.

 In the 1960s New Zealander Len Lye experimented with puppetry, kinetic art, abstraction and animation and in the 70s the traveling N.Z. troupe, Red Mole Theatre, adopted the techniques of puppetry and shadow play to create their cabaret of political satire and surrealism. Peter Jackson and Richard Taylor in early stages of their film making careers worked with puppets on their budget B-schlock horror movie Meet the Feebles. Today puppetry has morphed into all kinds of media from the Vegas styled Cirque de Soleil to Kermit and Miss Piggy on the Muppets.

One of the newest Moving Image tutors in the School of Media Arts is a returning student, passing on his expertise to up-and-coming music video creators in the ‘Celluloid Jukebox’ paper.

Greg Page attended, and, notoriously, failed to pass, Wintec’s Bachelor of Media Arts degree in the ‘90s, after his extensive efforts making music videos for local musicians outweighed his inclination for other final coursework. However, developing his talent in this area proved a worthwhile exercise in the long term. Page soon began to attract attention as a music video director and to date has filmed more than 80 clips (including promos for The Datsuns, The D4, Elemenop, Inchworm and P-Money), and at least as many commercials.

His 1994 short film claymation, Decaff gained a cult audience and received Arts Council funding for general release. Page’s forays into animation attracted the attention of advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi who commissioned him to make a series of claymation commercials for NZ On Air.

 Page currently works at Flying Fish Productions as a television commercial director, and is in development with his second horror feature, The Vent. Page made his first feature film, a supernatural horror called The Locals, in 2003. He is also a painter and has done stints as a drummer in three bands.  In December 2009 Page was sole recipient of the 2010 Film Commission Writer Award.

We asked Greg a few questions about his latest ventures:

What’s one main thing you hope the students learn about making music vids? The main things I can hope to pass on to my students are enthusiasm and drive. Often those two things will surpass any budget.

What’s it like to come back to Wintec as a tutor? The wave of nostalgia was massive on my first day. The building still has the same energy and a class full of eager students is a daunting thing to face. Luckily, over ten years of film industry experience speaks volumes and I think the students appreciate me telling it like it is.

How’s your feature project ‘The Vent’ going? The Vent is currently in a place called ‘Funding limbo’ The script is great and I have producers and investors all around the world keen to get it going, but the changing financial climate makes lining up all those elements difficult. In the meantime I have been writing more film scripts and making my music videos resemble film extracts to stay in shape.

One script is based on this clip:

And this is my latest:

In other news, I’m currently having a go at being on the other side of camera – watch this space!

Over the mid-semester break hundreds of third-year Bachelor of Media Arts students completed 120-hour internships, getting valuable experience in their chosen career. With the help of tutors, students negotiated placements across NZ and overseas, in areas from advertising to filmmaking to design to audio production.

The Internship module is designed to allow students to have direct experience with an industry environment that relates closely to their chosen pathway and also keeps their education relevant to and focused on business practices and expectations. An internship is a more structured form of work experience. Students are encouraged to reflect upon and analyse their experience by keeping a daily journal, constructing a portfolio and presenting a seminar and written report to their peers.

We asked two journalism students about their internships: 

Samantha McPherson during her internship

Samantha McPherson
Internship: Rotorua Daily Post

How was the internship experience for you?

It was fantastic. I had a great time there and didn’t want to come back. I never thought I would enjoy it so much and I was very nervous as I didn’t know what to expect. After doing numerous interviews both phone and in person, my skills had increased in a matter of days. I could write short, sharp and effective copy to a deadline. I achieved a total of 40 published articles, including six front pages, a front page lead, covering national stories and other events happening within the community. I went there with two pages of ideas and I had written about most of them by the time I left.  

What were the main things you learned? By throwing yourself into the deep end and giving yourself the challenge of producing material for a daily publication, you give yourself big shoes to fill. You learn a lot not just about the industry but about yourself and how quickly you can work and rise to that challenge.

Do you feel more prepared for post-Wintec life having done it? Being out in the ‘real working journalism world’ was a big eye opener and I believe it has prepared me for post-Wintec life. [Internship] is a valuable paper that gives you the chance to see whether you like journalism or you don’t. It prepares you for what it is like in the real world after you finish your studies. Although, it is up to you, the individual, to apply yourself and to immerse yourself in a newsroom. If you do this correctly, by showing initiative, determination and giving anything a go, then you will succeed and leave an impressive mark on a potential employee.

The staff at The Daily Post were friendly, helpful and they were easy to approach which made it easier. It took me the first two days to get into the swing of things but as soon as I did this, I was away and was treated as part of the team not a journalism student. Each day I bought fresh ideas to the table and always loaded myself up with more stories to work on – sometimes completing three or four stories a day. I pushed myself and I have no regrets of doing so. The photographers were fantastic to work with and it was a great working environment to be part of. 

What was a highlight for you? There were many highlights for me, but securing a front page national lead story was the biggest one. It was about a proposal involving abortions and although I faced some ethical issues, I still managed to work around these to complete the story.   

Austin King

Internship: Gisborne Herald

Tell us about your internship experience.

AMAZING! Like I said in my “day thirteen journal entry” – if you throw in all the hard work, and push the right buttons, you’ll get more than a chocolate cake and a biscuit at the end of the day.
It’s an understatement to say that I enjoyed it at the Gisborne Herald – I would go back there in a heart beat… and I actually am.

The opportunity you get to be out on the beat, chasing stories, taking the company car out for a spin, meeting people who want to talk to you and who don’t even want to know you is beyond worthwhile.

I think the biggest gain from the internship, for me, was getting to know the people of Gisborne and the ins and outs of the trade. I’m not a Gisborne-ite myself so it was easier for me to adapt to the people and the stories, conduct interviews, talk to people out on the street and ring around without people saying to me “oh, how’s it cuz?”

The highlight was the people in the newsroom. I don’t even think my colleagues – when they go into work – ever really leave their homes, because the vibe in the newsroom is very much “family orientated”. Everyone helps everyone, everyone is a court reporter, everyone basically has editorial influences on the paper and everyone does Maori rounds… to some extent. I cannot say anything went wrong at the Gisborne Herald because nothing ever did (except for my very first complaint on my very first story from the National Manager of G.A.S which I dealt to without losing my temper). The people are beyond cool, they’re ice cold! (That means they’re f***** amazing).

I feel that I’m ready to take up journalism and I’m certainly prepared to “get the get” as my fellow chum, Steve Braunias, so put it, in a spiel on what the trade entailed in a nutshell. 

It’s that time of year again – the countdown is on for SPARK International Festival of Media, Arts and Design, happening in Hamilton from the 9th to 13th August! At Spark, creative speakers from a variety of realms offer specialised presentations and workshops based around their own arts practice, and these are free to attend. The majority of presentations take place in Wintec’s Gallagher Hub Events Room, but a number of events are happening around the city.

Have a look at the Spark schedule pdf online and plan your week now.

Workshops require booking by email. Other events such as exhibitions, forums and screenings punctuate the week – all details are up now on http://www.spark.net.nz. Follow Spark on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with news during the week.

A quick summary of the speakers this year:

Film: Rastko Ćirić (animation/film/music), KHF Media (Wellington production house), Jane Reeves & Kay Ellmers (filmmakers, creators of ‘Canvassing the Treaty’), Jim Marbrook (filmmaker)

Design: Super Nature (design agency), Simon Wade (graphic designer), Rosie Percival and Ruth Friedlander (creators of ‘Martha Goes Green Cookbook’)

Art: Elisabeth Vaneveld (The Big Idea), Lesley Duxbury (printmaking/art theory),

Interior Design: Helen Lennie (Interior Design)

Photography / painting: Rebecca Swan (artist, photographer), Michael Harrison (artist/painter)

Music: Vince Harder (singer/songwriter), Morgan Samuel (audio post-production)

Journalism/public relations: Greer McDonald (social media manager), Mike O’Donnell (Trademe strategist)

Spark also features a variety of events, including ‘Straight from the horse’s mouth’ graduate session (features ‘Martha goes Green’ cookbook team, designer Simon Wade, Greer McDonald and Morgan Samuel), Pecha Kucha night, premiere screening of sitcom project ‘The Couch’. There will be a Video Lounge exhibition at Ramp Gallery, ‘Human Posts’ exhibition at La Mezz gallery, screening of ‘Canvassing the Treaty’ with director/producer Q+A, NZ documentary discussion forum, and a screening/Q+A of Jim Marbrook’s films ‘Jumbo’ and ‘Cap Bocage’, Media Bites, Waikato Museum ‘Understanding the museum machine’, and lots more. Don’t miss it.

Second-placed poem 'Bird's Eye', by Judy McDonald

Media Arts sponsored a poetry competition for National Poetry Day and the results were announced last Friday, 30th July at one of the local  events. The judge was Sue Emms, who runs the creative writing programme at Waiareki Polytechnic and is a published writer.

The winning poem, Ponting’s Genius, which secured $300.00 worth of book vouchers for Meliors Simms, was described by the judge as “ original, taut, great use of words, fabulous last two lines”. Second prize of $200.00 of book vouchers went to Judy MacDonald, for “Bird’s Eye”, which the judge described as “ well-crafted, insightful, lingers in the reader’s thoughts”. And Stephanie Christie who also had the distinction of having four poems on the shortlist, and one poem, “Brush” , very highly commended, received the third prize of $100.00 of book vouchers for her poem, “The Unit”. Also very highly commended, for economic use of language and many layers of meaning, was Media Arts student Kashka Tunstall’s poem “Last Green/Flamingo”. A second year Communication student,  Kashka wins a set of poetry posters from the phantom poster launch.

Read the winning poems:

Ponting’s Genius

Ponting’s  genius was in his cruel portraits

of heroes on their improbable returns.

Emaciated bodies invisible inside the ice armour

of clothes unchanged for many months.

Hollow eyes, blank, bleak, utterly spent;

dirty desperate faces that have looked straight at death

and now gaze without flinching upon the camera.

What is this few more minutes of relief denied, delayed,

after endless weeks of scurvied sledging on frostbitten feet.

Never has a photographer been less loved by his subjects

than Ponting, pointing his slow Edwardian shutter

at men on the verge of respite,

men looking over his shoulder towards warmth and safety,

already smelling the cocoa and toast of their fantasies.

Men still to be cut out of frozen solid garments

whose health will never fully recover from the ordeal

they have only just survived.

The death in those heroes’ stares

is murderous.

Meliors Simms

The Unit

Privacy can turn to

privation of the heart

and you forget how to get

together the courage

to negotiate daily

with these warm, chaotic

inscrutable others.

Alone, your stories

make a strict sense

and all flavours

can be mixed

to go with bitterness.

Stephanie Christie

Last Green/ Flamingo

I want to be different.

A letter, a ‘b’ that could could transition

easily into a ‘d’ by simply turning the perspective upon itself. 

I want to be

interchangeable,

but not androgynous. 

Unique, 

not bland. 

I wish to be a pink

flamingo, 

an ornate rocking chair

that needs no explanation but fits 

into place perfectly.

I want to be the last green leaf when autumn comes,

the leaf that hears all the others crunching under feet,  

disintegrating into nothingness,

and delights 

at her own 

slow,

abnormal 

development.

Kashka Tunstall

A group of Media Arts students from Wintec have been busy producing a pilot episode for what could become the first Waikato-based TV sitcom. The sitcom is called The Couch, and described as a comedy of errors set in a casting agency. The premiere screening of the pilot is set for 12pm, August 9th, during the SPARK Festival of Media, Arts and Design, offering the first opportunity for many to see the finished episode. This screening is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a discussion with cast, crew and friends of the project.

The project has been driven by students and staff from the School of Media Arts’ Moving Image department, with support from local actors’ group Urban Vineyard Collective and a number of performers from around the community. Filming was completed in May.

The Couch is the brainchild of Moving Image tutors John Mandelberg and Joe Citizen, who had been researching the viability of producing a regional television sitcom. Citizen told the Waikato Times that The Couch was about providing a real project for the students. “It’s so students have a vehicle to demonstrate their skills – it’s something they can take to an employer.” Third-year student Chase ten Hove is lighting director on The Couch and said it had already provided him with invaluable experience and given him contacts with industry professionals.

Wintec has incorporated a multi-camera project into the Bachelor of Media Arts (Moving Image) coursework for the past five years, including projects like ‘Show Me The Money’ two years ago – a ‘Dragon’s Den’-style programme involving local business leaders – and live-streamed arts debate ‘Aspire’ in 2009. However, The Couch is the most logistically challenging production to date. A large main set with two rooms was built in the Wintec Moving Image studio, and several sequences were based in external locations – a carpark, Dora’s café, and one ambitious dance sequence in Hamilton’s Garden Place.

The project was shot on high definition video, using a multi-camera technique frequently used by industry production companies and allowing for fast turnaround of content. Students within the School of Media Arts from disciplines outside moving image have also benefitted. Post-production audio students working under sound tutor Bjorn Arntsen and moving graphics students working under graphic design tutor Mark Liu were also involved.

Moving Image lecturer John Mandelberg said he was pleased with the progress made on the 30-minute pilot episode, and that the students had learned a great detail through the production process.

Now that filming and editing is complete, the object will be to raise funding and support to shoot another 13 episodes as a TV series. Central TV, as well as some other Freeview regional networks, have seen the episode in progress and shown some interest in the further development of the project.

Last year's Beat Street

Media Arts students and graduates from the Moving Image department will again be supporting the Beat Street hip hop event, which celebrates its 10th anniversary on Saturday 17th July.

Beat Street, presented by the Beatz Collective, will be held at The Meteor, 1 Victoria Street, Hamilton and costs $5 on the door. The event will involve artists, live graffiti art and the famous ’3 on 3 bboy/bgirl (breakdance) competition’. On stage this year will be Bella Kalolo and The Soul Symphony, MC Silva, Frankton Zoo, VMT with DJ’s Kerb and Spel to keep the night flowing.

Beat Street 2010 will be streamed to the web by 4_i_productions, and will be crewed by Media Arts students and graduates. As in previous years, the video equipment used is being loaned courtesy of Wintec’s Moving Image department.

The Beat Street initiative was the brainchild of Mike Rarere, who has worked with the Hamilton youth for many years. Beat Street has supported local hip hop and nurtured it throughout the past 10 years

This event aims to support the 4 elements of hip hop in a safe environment for families to enjoy. The bboy/bgirl competition has always drawn interest from around the country and this year it has confirmed entries from Australia. Beat Street has also provided a platform to showcase graffiti art professionals from all around Aotearoa and enable to present some of the best of up and coming NZ hip hop artists.

Over the years the event has featured the likes of Scribe, Nesian Mystik, Ladi6, Opensouls, 4 Corners, P-Money, PNC, David Dallas, Flowz & Raw, and The Wanderers on stage, and well known grafitti crews Triple S and TMD providing the artwork.

Dominion Post staff, including graduate Greer McDonald (2nd from right). Photo: Grahame Cox

Media Arts graduates had a successful evening at the annual Qantas Media Awards on June 11th. 

Greer McDonald (Bachelor of Media Arts – Communication) was a finalist in ‘Junior Newspaper Feature Writer of the Year, finalist in ‘Junior Newspaper Feature Writer – Arts’ and won ‘Junior Newspaper Feature Writer – Sport’ for a feature on ultradistance runner Lisa Tamati. Judges commented that ’McDonald has a lovely turn of phrase and writes with skill and lightness. She captured beautifully the story of this remarkable athlete.’ Click here for a story on Greer and other successful Dominion Post workmates. Greer will be a guest at Spark in August. 

Ben Stanley (National Diploma in Journalism) won ‘Best junior Feature Writer (Arts)’ with ‘a story about grass-roots film making told with considerable skill and obvious enjoyment’ and was a finalist in ‘Best Junior Feature Writer - Crime/justice’. Karla Akuhata  (National Diploma in Journalism) was a finalist in ‘Best junior reporter – human relations’. Both Karla and Ben work for the Waikato Times. Natalie Akoorie (Certificate in Media Arts) was nominated with Nicola Boyes for ‘Best newspaper story’, also writing for the Waikato Times –  click here for the Waikato Times story on all their winning staff. 

National Diploma in Journalism graduate Jonathan Marshall, now at the Sunday Star Times, was nominated for ‘Senior reporter – general’. 

Bachelor of Media Arts (Photography) graduates also featured highly. 

Christine Cornege was a finalist in ‘Best portfolio (six photos)’, ‘Best breaking news picture’ and won ‘Best sports picture (junior)’. The judges said many readers would react to such an image, “almost feeling the brunt of the impending impact”. 

Kent Blechynden, working at the Dominion Post won ‘Photography senior – arts’. Judges said, ‘Blechynden’s skill in seeing images and the ability to technically capture them in unusual ways creates a dynamic selection of different, powerful work’. Sandra Mu, now at Getty Images, was a finalist in this category too.

Kent was also a finalist for Photography Senior (Best Lifestyle picture), Photography Senior (portrait); and Photography Senior (object), along with fellow graduate Tom Gasnier (NZ Auto Car Magazine).

Media Arts staff also featured in the awards – Editor-in-Residence Steve Braunias was a finalist in the ‘Best Columnist’ and ‘Humour/satire’ categories for his Sunday Star Times column, and both former Editors-in-Residence Julie Starr and Venetia Sherson were among the judges. 

Read the full list of Qantas Award winners, plus judge comments, here.

Steve O'Sullivan & Wendy Richdale

The annual School of Media Arts Special Awards event, held close to Wintec graduation ceremonies in April, recognises the achievements of top Media Arts students and offers the opportunity for them to celebrate their success with family, friends and staff. Over 45 awards were presented in 2010 over a range of Media Arts subjects, from first year to post-graduate level. Head of School Margi Moore congratulated all recipients and said the awards were  a highlight of the year, made possible by generous support from community and industry sponsors.   

Photographs from the awards are available in a gallery at the bottom of the page. Photos taken by Naomi Williams.

Waikato Times Award for Excellence in Journalism (3rd Year)
Teresa Hattan  

Waikato Times Award for Best National Diploma in Journalism Student
Salina Ghazally  

Waikato Raupatu Trustee Co Ltd Communication Stream Award for Excellence in Communication (1st Year)
Rachel Thomas  

Te Puni Kokiri Excellence in Contextual Studies
Hilary Te Hira  

ESU – Doris Henry Award for Excellence in Writing
Iris Riddell  

King Street Advertising Workshop Award (2rd Year)
Monica Shortt  

Bridget Bisset & Bianca Angel

Gordon Chesterman Award for Excellence in Public Relations/Advertising (3rd Year)
Bianca Angel & Bridget Bisset  

APRA Award [Australasian Performing Right Association] for Excellence in Composition
Dean Millar

Rock Shop Award for Excellence in Music Studies
Anna Morey (Dobbs)  

Rock Shop Award for Excellence in Overall Musicianship
Dean Millar 

Wintec Music Department Award for Excellence in Music Production
Rhys McIntosh  

Apix Award for Excellence in Photography (1st Year)
Ulrike Schaefer  

Stephen O'Toole & Print House Award Winners

Mark Hamilton Award for Excellence in Photography (2nd Year / 1st in Class)
Ryan McCrae

Aarque Award for Excellence in Photography (2nd Year/2nd in Class)
Jamieson Hudson  

PCL Imaging Award for Excellence in Photography (3rd Year)
Claire Goldsworthy  

The Framing Workshop Award for Excellence in Visual Arts – Certificate in Media Arts  
Tiffany Whaanga

Mark One Comics Award for Outstanding Performance in Visual Narrative Project (1st Year)
Ana Stites

Gordon Harris Award – Excellence in Visual Arts (First Year))
Ulrike Schaefer

Gencom Technology JVC Visual Award for Excellence in Visual Exploration (1st Year)
Turanga Kereopa 

Gencom Technology JVC Visual Award for Excellence in Visual Exploration ( 2nd Year)

Joel Comer  

Joel Comer

Images and Sound Award for Excellence in Moving Image (2nd Year)
Simon Kramers

New Zealand Writers Guild Award for Excellence in Moving Image Screen Writing (3rd Year)
Klas Eriksson  

Screen Directors Guild Award for Excellence in Filmmaking (3rd Year)
Klas Eriksson  

Resene Award for Excellence in Painting and Sculpture
Alix Rogerson & Lauren Stewart  

Portfolio Art Hire Award for Excellence in Contemporary Art
Adrienne Grant  

Gordon Harris Award for Excellence in Contemporary Art (3rd Year)
Wendy Richdale  

Claire Goldsworthy & Stef Young

Gordon Harris Award for Excellence in Graphic Design (Illustration)
Kim Deane  

Vivid Images Award for Excellence in Graphic Design (3rd Year)
Angela Parker  

Excellence in Graphic Design (3rd Year)

Kathryn Robertson
Cristie Stevens-Austin  

MagnumMac Award for Excellence in Digital Media (3rd Year)
Melinda Drysdale  

Print House Award of Excellence
Natalie Erceg
Sian Richardson
Leigh Cornwall
Chris Bevan  

Print House Supreme Award - Leigh Cornwall  

Zoom Digital Intermedia Award
Aishia Healey  

Dulux Colour Award – Interior Design – Second Year
Louise Hooper  

Mollers NZ Ltd Best NZ Inspired Fabric Design suitable for use in the soft furnishing industry (Textile Design Students)
Amber Cusack  

Rowena Shirtliff

Sewingtime NZ Ltd Top Year 1 Fashion Student
Jaye Kells  

Sewingtime NZ Ltd Top Year 2 Fashion Student
Rowena Shirtliff  

Stirling Cutting Services Top Student using PAD software
Tamara Mitchell  

Bernina Sewing Centre Best All Round Year One Student
Julia Crickett  

Design Engine Architects Ltd Eco Design Award
Lisa Gray  

Dora’s Cafe Powered by Dora’s – Dedication to Study Award for Year 1 student
Hope Kerr-Bell  

Artspost Galleries and Shop Award for Outstanding Academic Record
Sam Nickalls  

Wintec Research, Development and Transfer Award for Best Research Investigation
Pranesh Lal  

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Kirsty Armstrong, a part-time journalism tutor at Media Arts, is one of four directors involved in new TV series ‘I Know A Sheila Like That…’, currently screening on Maori Television. The series offers an in-depth look into the lives of women who are challenging accepted female roles in today’s society and celebrating what it is to be a Māori woman in Aotearoa. We asked Kirsty some questions about the series, which has received a very positive response.

What prompted the idea for ‘I know a Sheila Like that…’ initially?
The idea is producer Lara Northcroft’s. Quite often we like to brainstorm ideas and we were thinking of all the fantastic women we know that are doing extraordinary things and so she put together a proposal along those lines.

How was the process of taking the series from an idea to production/screening?
We are part of a strong team of independent television freelancers based in Rotorua who help each other out on each other’s projects and we’ve all gone through the process before but it’s never an easy one as you don’t know how your proposal will be viewed. We had a bit of bad luck half way through the series with the death of one of our team’s partner so we had some trying times pulling the series together. It all seemed worthwhile though when it was first screened – the family of our first woman was there and bawled their eyes out and the producer mentioned that it was great for her to see it finally on the screen.

Do you have a personal favourite episode/story from the series?
I was one of four directors who worked on this series – I directed Episode One on an undertaker, post-directed an episode on a top international boxer and directed an episode on a woman who lives her life in te ao Maori – she helps run a kura kaupapa Maori, is a leading kapa haka performer, runs a martial arts school based on Maori taiaha and is active in her marae community as well as playing representative sport and being a Mum to three children.

The two women I featured were amazing. They both stand out for different reasons – the first of course was exciting as we were looking at using a different shooting style but also she was such fabulous talent. Erin really opened up to us and her personal story added to the depth of what she does – being a mortician and undertaker is unusual for a woman, particularly a Maori woman – but when her story unfolded it all started to make sense.

Did you find there was an outstanding quality or trait that characterised the women you featured? Did they enjoy seeing the final episodes?
Our undertaker loved it and her parents shed a few tears but my other episodes haven’t been aired yet. All of the women had loving upbringings but in different ways.

From what I’ve heard, feedback seems to have been very positive – what do you think people are particularly responding to?
Many have commented on the name of the series but when it boils down to it I think that’s what people are responding to – that we all know women who are juggling careers, children, family and broader commitments. Some women seem to excel in these fields and we all want to know how!

Can I ask what your next project will be?
We have a couple of things on the boil!

Full episodes of ‘I Know A Sheila Like That…’ can be watched online at Maori Television’s website.

Kirsty has been a freelance director since 2002 and has completed projects including the Qantas award winning programme Marae DIY, a half-hour documentary for TVNZ which was nominated for best documentary in the Asia-Pacific international film awards and an hour-long documentary for MTS.