Director & Editor Jack Woon: How I Got Started in the Industry
I made my first film when I was about 8. I hijacked my dad’s chonky Hi-8 home video camera, hit record, stopped, then hit record again. I could make people vanish!
In my first year of high school, I made a Star Wars parody about the ozone hole for a social studies project. The ozone molecules did a trench run and blew up the chlorine Death Star and the universe rejoiced. My teacher screened it in the school’s little theatre where I got a standing ovation. 25 years later, I’m still idiotically chasing that rush.
My addiction followed me to university where I formed a film club with the dream of making a feature film. After about a year and a half of begging people for favours (what I believed the role of a director truly was), abusing student loan funds for late-night shoots in between lectures, and editing in my bedroom, we put up posters and sold tickets like drug dealers around campus. (Incidentally, one foolish stranger who handed me cash on the street was Hweiling from a few blog posts earlier). We managed two full houses at the Academy Cinema.
Rocking the Aaton Super 16mm camera for the short film ‘Venture’ / Photo: Supplied
That cheesy Bollywood-inspired musical rom-com was the turning point for me. Word got out that this kid could finish what he started. I met some of my dearest friends and mentors because of that reputation. One of them was Steven Chow, who gave me my first paid gig, assisting him on Kōrero Mai. Not long after that, my name got put forward for an Online Editor job. I didn’t tell anyone that I’d never worked as an Offline Editor before. It turned out just fine – I had already suffered through years of Avid clunkiness and had even begun to love it.
Left: Timeline for NHNZ doco, Right: Jack’s Edit Suit at NHNZ / Photos: Supplied
After each gig, I faced unemployment and contemplated changing careers. But at the last moment, there would be a call or email, buying a lifeline of another few weeks or months. I’m constantly amazed that I’m still even in this industry.
I went from editing at TVNZ on FRESH, to NHNZ Dunedin where I worked not only as an editor but also writing and directing factual programmes at an international scale. I had stints in China and India, as well as time in Samoa with my ‘film family,’ Stallone and Abba-Rose Vaiaoga-Ioasa. As their editor and camera assist on Three Wise Cousins and Take Home Pay, I got a front-row view of how they make feature films #forthepeople. Covid hit and I directed live streams for Tourism New Zealand’s Chinese market, directed/edited TVNZ food show Sik Fan Lah! and became a drone pilot. That lifeline continues even now, as I start my next job editing season 7 of Ahikāroa.
Shooting ‘Sik Fan Lah!’ (Left: rugged shoot in Wellington, Right: shooting Sam Low’s meal) / Photos: Supplied
Yes, I edit – it’s how I get fed. But I never saw myself as an editor. I also love writing and directing – it’s just hard to make a living that way. Good editors are forever in demand (we fix things), while directors just cause problems (half joking). The latest problem I’ve caused is an NZFC kung fu short film, Let’s Settle This!, which may just top my Ozone Depletion Trilogy. I can’t wait to share it with you all.
I reckon this blog should be called ‘How I’m Always Starting In This Industry.’ Everyday feels like step one, not knowing if there will be a step two, but at least I’m buff as because of all the treading water I’ve been doing. But I guess if I look back, there are plenty of mountains that I’ve crossed.
If there’s something to take away from my rambling journey, it’s that starting is the easiest part. What’s hard is finishing.
About Jack Woon
Jack Woon is a Kiwi-Malaysian filmmaker with two decades of experience in escaping boxes and labels. He enjoys practising his diverse skills as a director, writer, editor, cinematographer, drone pilot, engineer and coffee maker – anything to do with sharing his love for unique visual stories. As a cross-cultural nerd, he has worked on Samoan comedy feature films (Three Wise Cousins, Take Home Pay), Kiwi shows (Teine Sā: The Ancient Ones, SIS, Ahikaroa) and directed factual TV in China and India for National Geographic, Discovery and Tencent Video. He wrote, directed and edited Sik Fan Lah!, a Chinese food series, which rated in the top 10 of locally funded shows. He has put his love for food and kung fu together into an NZFC short film, Let’s Settle This!, now beginning its festival run.
How I Got Started in the Industry is a guest blog series from the Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand (DEGANZ). Our members reflect on how they made their way into assistant editing, editing, and directing—with no two stories the same. They offer advice for those starting out. Get in touch with admin@deganz.co.nz if you’re a member and would like to share your story.
Last updated on 9 April 2025
