All Blog Posts

DEGANZ Launches Editor Accreditation

The Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand (DEGANZ) is proud to announce the establishment of the Aotearoa New Zealand Screen Editors (ANZSE) Accreditation for the art of editing. ANZSE Accreditation recognises a master editorโ€ฆ
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2026 Is Upon Us

While there has been a delay in the good weather arriving, itโ€™s now back. At least for the moment where Iโ€™m sitting and writing this. In Auckland. Itโ€™s just one of the positives of the New Year. At the box office: Tinฤ is currentlyโ€ฆ
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So Where Do We Stand?

As we come to the end of 2025, itโ€™s worth taking a look at where the NZ screen sector stands. Global market pressures have been buffeting the New Zealand screen sector for years, and our hair is a little more than tussled. Our industryโ€ฆ
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A Kลrero with Animation Studio Mukpuddy

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As a follow-up to this year's Animation Matchmaking series, DEGANZ's Izzi Hoskyn sat down with Ryan Cooper and Alex Leighton, two-thirds of the team leading Mukpuddy Ltd. Mukpuddy originated from humble beginnings in 2002, starting in a basementโ€ฆ
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People Have the Power

The Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand is both a guild and a union. Weโ€™ve been a union since 2019. The NZ Writers Guild started out as a union in 1976 and Equity New Zealand came into existence as a union in 1944. We threeโ€ฆ
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Thereโ€™s Nothing To Be Scared Of

Today, Thursday 22 October, itโ€™s expected that more than up to 100,000 doctors, nurses, allied health workers, and primary and secondary school teachers will go out on strike. They are seeking better pay and working conditions, and betterโ€ฆ
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A Kลrero with Director of Photography Simon Raby NZCS

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For this iteration of DEGANZ's new blog series, A Kลrero With..., Izzi Hoskyn spoke with Director of Photography Simon Raby NZCS. Simon is a freelance Director/Cinematographer with 45 years of industry experience. He works largely in featureโ€ฆ
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Scraped From the Internet

Iโ€™ve been writing View from the Top almost every two weeks now for the last ten years. With AI such a topical issue, I thought I would task AI to write the blog for me this week to see what it came up with. I gave it one prompt, and hereโ€™sโ€ฆ
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Spare A Thought For Production… But Not at The Expense of Crew

Petrol and diesel are inescapable costs for production. It doesnโ€™t matter if itโ€™s a two-person crew with a director, or a 3-500 crew on an international show; they all need fuel, particularly diesel. Gaffer, grip, and unit trucks,โ€ฆ
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Cheer Up

๏ปฟThe world is awash with bad news at the moment, whether it's the war in the Middle East, the planned shutterings announced by Heinz Watties and McCain in Hawkes Bay, or the lack of domestic and international production in Aotearoa this year. Itโ€™sโ€ฆ
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The Importance of Editing

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I remember the first directorโ€™s training session for TV I attended now many years ago. Our workshop facilitator, John Harris, who went on to establish production company Greenstone, told us that one way to think of directing was like shopping:โ€ฆ
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Cinema Still Has a Place

A couple of weeks ago, thanks to Madman Distribution, I got to watch the Cannes Jury Prize-winning Sirat, a French โ€“ Spanish coproduction helmed by French-born director of Spanish descent, Oliver Laxe. Itโ€™s the sort of auteur arthouseโ€ฆ
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DEGANZ Launches Editor Accreditation

The Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand (DEGANZ) is proud to announce the establishment of the Aotearoa New Zealand Screen Editors (ANZSE) Accreditation for the art of editing. ANZSE Accreditation recognises a master editorโ€ฆ
Read more
View from the Top banner

2026 Is Upon Us

While there has been a delay in the good weather arriving, itโ€™s now back. At least for the moment where Iโ€™m sitting and writing this. In Auckland. Itโ€™s just one of the positives of the New Year. At the box office: Tinฤ is currentlyโ€ฆ
Read more

ANZSE Career Spotlights

Read about the illustrious careers of ANZSE-accredited editors.

Director Wade Shotter: How I Got Started in the Industry

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I was born curious and enjoy figuring out how things work, which is essentially what I still do today as a director. I drew a lot as a kid and wrote and illustrated comics at school. Art was always my focus, so it seemed like a natural progressionโ€ฆ
Read more

Editor Jai Waite: How I Got Started in the Industry

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Editing - Cutting a Path Iโ€™ve been an editor for 17 years โ€“ and the majority of that is in the documentary space. For those that donโ€™t know me, I am also a wheelchair user โ€“ the result of an accident 22 years ago. That hasnโ€™t burdenedโ€ฆ
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Director Chantelle Burgoyne: How I Got Started in the Industry

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Growing up in Auckland in the late 80s and 90s, the idea that filmmaking was in my future seemed like an impossible dream. On my motherโ€™s side I come from an Afakasi German-Samoan family that migrated to NZ in 1965 and my fatherโ€™s sideโ€ฆ
Read more

Editor Shailesh Prajapati: How I Got Started in the Industry

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Go With The Flow My journey in the film, television, and performing arts industries was unplanned. However, my instincts have worked towards goals and dreams with a "Go with the flow" attitude. One day, I visited a dance academy called Darpanaโ€ฆ
Read more

Director Ghazaleh Golbakhsh: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
My family and I fled Iran for Aotearoa in the late 1980s due to war and an oppressive regime. As a six year old I was yelled at by teachers for not understanding English, so I set about reading and writing as much as I could to learn the language.โ€ฆ
Read more

Editor Luka Turjak: How I Got Started in the Industry

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I joined a childrenโ€™s choir just after my 3rd birthday. That was in Yugoslavia, Zagreb, in 1983. Choir defined me as a person. Iโ€™ve learned early on we are all individuals with different needs, wants and perception, so listening is oftenโ€ฆ
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A Kลrero With…

In this guest blog series, we speak to screen professionals to find out more about their job and what most people might not know, including those working in the industry. This blog offers an inside look into different parts of the industry and offers insights into how directors and editors can be successful in the collaborative process of their mahi.

Director Wade Shotter: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
I was born curious and enjoy figuring out how things work, which is essentially what I still do today as a director. I drew a lot as a kid and wrote and illustrated comics at school. Art was always my focus, so it seemed like a natural progressionโ€ฆ
Read more

Editor Jai Waite: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
Editing - Cutting a Path Iโ€™ve been an editor for 17 years โ€“ and the majority of that is in the documentary space. For those that donโ€™t know me, I am also a wheelchair user โ€“ the result of an accident 22 years ago. That hasnโ€™t burdenedโ€ฆ
Read more

Director Chantelle Burgoyne: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
Growing up in Auckland in the late 80s and 90s, the idea that filmmaking was in my future seemed like an impossible dream. On my motherโ€™s side I come from an Afakasi German-Samoan family that migrated to NZ in 1965 and my fatherโ€™s sideโ€ฆ
Read more

Editor Shailesh Prajapati: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
Go With The Flow My journey in the film, television, and performing arts industries was unplanned. However, my instincts have worked towards goals and dreams with a "Go with the flow" attitude. One day, I visited a dance academy called Darpanaโ€ฆ
Read more

Director Ghazaleh Golbakhsh: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
My family and I fled Iran for Aotearoa in the late 1980s due to war and an oppressive regime. As a six year old I was yelled at by teachers for not understanding English, so I set about reading and writing as much as I could to learn the language.โ€ฆ
Read more

Editor Luka Turjak: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
I joined a childrenโ€™s choir just after my 3rd birthday. That was in Yugoslavia, Zagreb, in 1983. Choir defined me as a person. Iโ€™ve learned early on we are all individuals with different needs, wants and perception, so listening is oftenโ€ฆ
Read more

How I Got Started in the Industry

In this guest blog series, our members reflect on how they made their way into assistant editing, editing, and directingโ€”with no two stories the same. They offer advice for those starting out.

Director Wade Shotter: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
I was born curious and enjoy figuring out how things work, which is essentially what I still do today as a director. I drew a lot as a kid and wrote and illustrated comics at school. Art was always my focus, so it seemed like a natural progressionโ€ฆ
Read more

Editor Jai Waite: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
Editing - Cutting a Path Iโ€™ve been an editor for 17 years โ€“ and the majority of that is in the documentary space. For those that donโ€™t know me, I am also a wheelchair user โ€“ the result of an accident 22 years ago. That hasnโ€™t burdenedโ€ฆ
Read more

Director Chantelle Burgoyne: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
Growing up in Auckland in the late 80s and 90s, the idea that filmmaking was in my future seemed like an impossible dream. On my motherโ€™s side I come from an Afakasi German-Samoan family that migrated to NZ in 1965 and my fatherโ€™s sideโ€ฆ
Read more

Editor Shailesh Prajapati: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
Go With The Flow My journey in the film, television, and performing arts industries was unplanned. However, my instincts have worked towards goals and dreams with a "Go with the flow" attitude. One day, I visited a dance academy called Darpanaโ€ฆ
Read more

Director Ghazaleh Golbakhsh: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
My family and I fled Iran for Aotearoa in the late 1980s due to war and an oppressive regime. As a six year old I was yelled at by teachers for not understanding English, so I set about reading and writing as much as I could to learn the language.โ€ฆ
Read more

Editor Luka Turjak: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
I joined a childrenโ€™s choir just after my 3rd birthday. That was in Yugoslavia, Zagreb, in 1983. Choir defined me as a person. Iโ€™ve learned early on we are all individuals with different needs, wants and perception, so listening is oftenโ€ฆ
Read more

Director Wade Shotter: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
I was born curious and enjoy figuring out how things work, which is essentially what I still do today as a director. I drew a lot as a kid and wrote and illustrated comics at school. Art was always my focus, so it seemed like a natural progressionโ€ฆ
Read more

Editor Jai Waite: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
Editing - Cutting a Path Iโ€™ve been an editor for 17 years โ€“ and the majority of that is in the documentary space. For those that donโ€™t know me, I am also a wheelchair user โ€“ the result of an accident 22 years ago. That hasnโ€™t burdenedโ€ฆ
Read more

Director Chantelle Burgoyne: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
Growing up in Auckland in the late 80s and 90s, the idea that filmmaking was in my future seemed like an impossible dream. On my motherโ€™s side I come from an Afakasi German-Samoan family that migrated to NZ in 1965 and my fatherโ€™s sideโ€ฆ
Read more

Editor Shailesh Prajapati: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
Go With The Flow My journey in the film, television, and performing arts industries was unplanned. However, my instincts have worked towards goals and dreams with a "Go with the flow" attitude. One day, I visited a dance academy called Darpanaโ€ฆ
Read more

Director Ghazaleh Golbakhsh: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
My family and I fled Iran for Aotearoa in the late 1980s due to war and an oppressive regime. As a six year old I was yelled at by teachers for not understanding English, so I set about reading and writing as much as I could to learn the language.โ€ฆ
Read more

Editor Luka Turjak: How I Got Started in the Industry

,
I joined a childrenโ€™s choir just after my 3rd birthday. That was in Yugoslavia, Zagreb, in 1983. Choir defined me as a person. Iโ€™ve learned early on we are all individuals with different needs, wants and perception, so listening is oftenโ€ฆ
Read more