Call for Applications – DEGNZ TV Drama Director Attachments on Vegas

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NZ On Air, DEGNZ and Greenstone TV logos

DEGNZ invites applications from directors for two TV Drama Director Attachments with Greenstone TV on the TVNZ 2 drama series Vegas.

Vegas will be produced by Greenstone TV Ltd in collaboration with 10,000 Company and Steambox Film Collective with support from NZ On Air. An action thriller, Vegas follows a young, untested leader who wants to free his people from the curse of methamphetamine, but finds he can’t do it on his own. The story is based on the novel Inside The Black Horse, and will be filmed in Rotorua.

The aim of the attachment programme is to:

  • develop and upskill new television drama directors,
  • contribute to the ongoing production of quality future television drama and
  • provide another training pathway to the limited opportunities currently available.

These attachments are for New Zealand directors who want to move into directing drama for television and already have significant directing experience.

Greenstone TV will train a first step director and a second step director. Each attachment will be present for the duration of the director’s block. Both attachments will attend HOD meetings, will be present for the whole of the director’s prep, receive training on preparation for the shoot, script mark-ups and rehearsals. Each attachment will have time in the edit suite with the director, and will be present for some of the on-line, including the grade and sound mix.

The prep and shoot for both directors will take place in Rotorua. Both attachments will be paid and their accommodation and per diems covered.

First Step Attachment

The successful candidate will attach to lead director Kiel McNaughton and needs to be available for prep and shoot from 21 September to 2 November 2020.

At the full discretion of the director and producer(s), the First Step attachment may be offered the opportunity to direct some scenes within the block.

Second Step Attachment

This Second Step attachment is intended for those directors with significant narrative experience who are ready to make the move into fast-turnaround TV drama, including those who have already done a First Step attachment under the DEGNZ TV Drama Attachment Scheme. The successful candidate will attach to director Mike Smith and needs to be available for prep and shoot from 12 October to 22 November 2020.

At the full discretion of the director and producer(s), the Second Step attachment may be offered the opportunity to direct a full episode within the block.

Eligibility

Applicants must have past dramatic narrative directing experience and a keen interest in television drama.

To be eligible, you MUST:

  1. Be a FULL member of DEGNZ, and
  2. Be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, and
  3. Have either:
    • Two short film credits publicly screened to a paying audience at an NZFC recommended short film festival*, OR
    • Held a position as the first assistant director of a publicly distributed and released feature film or TV drama series, OR
    • Significant experience directing scripted short-form narrative content (short film, webseries or commercials), OR
    • Won an award for a short film at an NZFC recommended film festival*.

*NZFC recommended film festivals

To apply

Please download the application cover sheet and checklist (PDF 126KB), and submit the following in a single PDF by 5PM, Wednesday 26 August 2020 to admin@deganz.co.nz with ‘Vegas Attachment’ in the subject line:

  1. Completed Application Cover Sheet with links to examples of your directing work. You may provide excerpts from longer-form work. NO showreels.
  2. A CV with a bio and filmography
  3. A reference (from a senior screen industry practitioner)
  4. A maximum 1-page letter that tells us why you think you are suitable for the attachment and what you hope to gain from it.

We will ask you to indicate on the cover sheet which attachment you are most interested in applying for. Shortlists will be developed from applicants. An interview may or may not be required.

DEGNZ will notify you as to whether or not your application has been successful at the latest by 7 September, but no further correspondence will be entered into regarding your application and the decision will be final.

Questions?

Please contact us if you have any questions about the attachments or application requirements.


This initiative is made possible with the support of NZ On Air and Greenstone TV Ltd.

Last updated on 20 August 2020

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Assistant & Solo Editors Course

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The Assistant Editor is the heart and engine of Editorial. They coordinate with all other production departments and post houses, and set workflow systems in place that will keep the production running smoothly from the very beginning to the final delivery. Experienced assistants are worth their weight in gold. An Editor working alone without adequate knowledge of technical workflow requirements may become an expensive liability by the end of post.


Call for Applications

Directors & Editors Guild of NZ is pleased to present the Assistant & Solo Editors Course in 2020, a comprehensive course of 4 workshops covering the technical knowledge and skills needed to run all aspects of Editorial through the complete workflow, from pre-production to delivery. The Guild welcomes applications for this course to be held on consecutive Sundays from September 13 to October 4.

The workshops are specifically designed for emerging assistant editors (with at least two productions they’ve assisted or cut), and solo editors working without an assistant (any number of productions) who wish to move into more complex productions. Both drama and documentary (containing archival) will be covered.

The workshops will deal both with key skills considered minimum requirements for setting up a well functioning Editorial – setting up projects, ingesting and full preparation for the editor – and with more advanced skills – setting up systems, workflow meetings, departmental interfacing, VFX, trouble-free handovers and troubleshooting issues when they arise.

These are hands-on workshops moving right through a project workflow, each day of the workshop builds on the skills of the previous day(s) in a cumulative layering of knowledge and skills. Prospective participants will need to commit to the full course.

Up to 14 participants will be selected.

Course Requirements

Both Avid and Premiere practitioners are invited, however, please be aware that the bulk of the workshops will be carried out on Avid Ultimate with some sessions dedicated to Premiere. You will need:

  • a working knowledge of Avid – this is not an Avid tutorial nor a beginners entry course into the industry.
  • Premiere practitioners will also need an Adobe ID to access Premiere on the South Seas system.

Workshop Details

Price: Course offered at discounted rates due to the COVID-19 pandemic (normal non-member price – $360)

DEGNZ Full member – Free
DEGNZ Associate/Student member – $100
Non-member – $200

Lunch and tea/coffee provided

When: Sundays from 9:30am – 4:30pm

13 September
20 September
27 September
4 October

Where: South Seas Film and Television School, 75 Ellice Rd, Glenfield, Auckland

Travel allowances are available – see below.

Our Tutors

Dan Best

DAN BEST has 25 years experience in Film and Television. He spent 14 years working as an Editor, Director and Producer for Television. The last 13 years have been spent working in film as a Post Production Supervisor, Editor, Assistant and VFX Editor, including 1st Assistant Editor on Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin, Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, and more recently as 1st Assistant / VFX Editor on Mortal Engines and Post Production Supervisor on They Shall Not Grow Old. He is currently engaged as VFX Editor on The Lord of the Rings television series. Dan is highly valued as a very experienced Editorial Manager and with these huge and varied productions behind him there is little he has not handled in his career to date.

Dione Chard

DIONE CHARD has worked as an assistant editor and editor in both New Zealand and Canada over the past 12 years. She cut her first feature film Stray in 2017 and more recently she’s cut All or Nothing: A Season with the All Blacks for Amazon and Vai with Brown Sugar Apple Grunt Productions. As an assistant she’s worked on many varied productions from ABC’s Legend of the Seeker to Disney sitcom Mr Young, telefeature Jean and the STARZ series Ash vs Evil Dead.

Supporting Tutors

ANNIE COLLINS – Editor since 1975
ANU WEBSTER – VFX Editor & First Assistant Editor since 2008
BEN SINCLAIR – Sound Designer & Composer since 2000
DAN KIRCHER – Editor since 2008 (Adobe Premiere)
TRISTAN SIMPSON – Conform DMC Supervisor & DCP Specialist since 2008

Questions?

If selected to attend, DEGNZ Full members may apply for financial assistance of up to $1000 incl. GST towards their travel costs, equivalent to up to $250 per workshop.

  • DEGNZ has up to 3 travel allowances available for this course.
  • Applicants must live in New Zealand outside the Auckland region.

For further information and criteria, see here.

Yes, you can still apply if you participated in either/both of the Assistant Editors – Mandatory Skills Workshop or the Assistant Editors – Advanced Skills Workshop.

However, you will need to include in your letter why you think you would benefit from doing this course. The Assistant & Solo Editors Workshops is a revised format, covering most of what was taught in these two earlier workshops.

If you have further questions, please contact us.

To Apply

Application Deadline: 9AM, Wednesday 26 August

STEP 1: Complete the application form below.

STEP 2: Send in one PDF to tema@deganz.co.nz:

  • your CV (with filmography)
  • a brief, maximum 1-page letter that tells us why you would like to participate and what you hope to gain from the workshop.

Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.

 

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This initiative is brought to you with the generous support of the New Zealand Film Commission.

NZFC

Last updated on 4 August 2020

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