My Year in the Wild South

Pie-Full of Truth Part IV.

2007-04-25T22:25:00.000+12:00

I am in a lot of debt. More than US$50,000.

The state of education funding in America is pretty bad. New Zealanders have it a lot better. They get really inexpensive tuition and a weekly student living allowance. Being a foreigner, I have to pay 4 times the cost that a domestic student has to pay. Even so, after the exchange rate my entire course costs only a few thousand dollars more than one semester at Boston University. Unbelievable.

But I had most of my undergrad covered through scholarship and financial aid (thankfully, because I never would have gone otherwise). But I did take out loans for room and board and other expenses. So here is the breakdown of why I am in so much debt.

NHFC is Natural History Filmmaking and Communication. My current schooling. Is it worth it? Only time will tell.

If you are interested, Other Debt is my car back home. There is under $500 left to pay on my auto loan, and it accounts for less than 1% of my total debt.

NZ commercials

2007-04-13T16:46:00.000+12:00

I don't watch a lot of New Zealand TV. I get the basic, national, free broadcast channels(TVOne, TV2, TV3, and C4, plus Prime and Maori TV with very poor reception). Most of the shows I end up seeing are American anyway, but one thing New Zealand is really good at is making commercials. There are a lot of clever, funny ads. There are a lot of bad ones too, but that is to be expected.

Here are a few of my favorites:

First up: an ad promoting domestic travel. It really sums up the country well.

Next are a couple ads for L&P. L&P stands for Lemon and Paeroa. It is a soda made with lemon juice and mineral water from the town of Paeroa. It's an acquired taste.

The first ad is just fun. The second looks at unique fashion phenomena: stubbies.

Lastly there is this great Air New Zealand ad. The final scene was shot at Otago University.

Pie-Full of Truth Part III. Now In 3-D!

2007-04-11T06:54:00.000+12:00

Welcome to the third episode in the Pie-Full of Truth series. So far we've seen I've lived about a third of my projected lifespan and spent about 4/5 of that time in schools. Today we compare how much time I've spent at each institution.

Time Enrolled in Each Alma Mater

I just realized I didn't include a summer course I took at Elmira College, but I suppose that doesn't count because I wasn't matriculated and it was during the time I was enrolled at BU.

Pie-Full of Truth Part II.

2007-04-09T19:48:00.000+12:00

Here is the second installment of my pie-chart fiesta. Today we look at how I've spent my 24 years.

Percent of life spent in school

That is years of my life I've attended school (preschool, kindergarten, grade 1-12, 4 years undergrad, 1 year-in-progress post-grad) and the few years I haven't.

Pie-Full of Truth Part I.

2007-04-08T16:12:00.000+12:00

Here is a new segment I'm going to try for a while. Blogging has gotten boring and tedious, so I've made up some pie-charts about my life. Enjoy the visual insight offered by comparing percentages and relative amounts.

First Up:

Percentage of Average American Male Life Expectancy* Lived

*77.2 Years. Source: The Internets

The What

2007-02-08T21:19:00.000+13:00

I've recently finished reading Dave Eggers' new novel What is the What. It is the story of a Sudanese man who was a refugee of the Sudanese civil war and is now living in America. Calling it a novel is a little confusing because it is a true story told in the voice of the main character, but too many elements of storytelling like dialog and detail have been added to truly call it a biography. Usually this would make it a memoir, but I think the publishers are a little afraid to use that category after the whole James Frey A Million Little Pieces fiasco that happened about a year ago.
What is the What is the life story of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. It recounts his childhood before the war through the attack on his village, his fleeing from one refugee camp to another and then immigrating to America. There are relentless accounts of the tragedies in his life, but in the book humanity is never overshadowed by the crimes against it.

The narrative structure follows Valentino through one day, while he tells his stories to the people he encounters, even though they aren't listening.

The title of the book refers to a Sudanese creation myth. God created a Dinka man and woman (the Dinka are a group of tribes in southern Sudan) and he gave them cattle. The cattle were perfectly suited to their life and would provide all the meat and milk the people could want. But then, and this is the part I love, God said the Dinka could choose between having the cattle or having The What.
I love this part because it is so much like Let's Make a Deal: They were offered a chance to give up a domesticated animal that could be the basis of a civilization and take what's behind curtain number 2.
I don't want to give any more away about the book, but it is a great and moving account of the civil war in Sudan and Darfur and features a cameo by NBA legend Manute Bol.

Strange Transmissions

2007-02-04T20:53:00.000+13:00

The other day I turned on the radio on my alarm clock because I was sick of the music on my computer. I switched it to AM and slowly spun the dial to try to find 1125 Radio Hauraki for some decent classic rock. But as I was searching I tuned in something else. It was old, beyond oldies. The song was a sort of Mexican-influenced love ballad from the 40s or 50s. It was followed by another. I wasn't really into it, and I wanted to keep searching and hopefully get some good music. But I was transfixed, it was like the radio equivalent of a train wreck. I was listening to the most whack station I had ever heard, but I couldn't turn away. I didn't believe it, and I still kind of don't.

I finished what I was doing and turned the radio off. Then today I was folding some laundry and I turned it back on again. This time it was an Irish woman hosting a show of songs that were apparently write-in requests for English and Irish ballads. I think I'm picking up a signal from the past. Commercials or call letters have not been broadcast. I think it's a transmission that was made at least 40 years ago and got beamed into space and has bounced off a distant satellite and is now returning to the wire antenna taped to my bedroom wall. I don't really want to listen to this all the time, but I don't want to change the station for fear that I'll never find it again. I've decided not to listen long or often or investigate any further because I don't want to ruin this wonderful strange station with the mundane truth.

Update 6/2/07: It's gone.

The New Flat

2007-01-28T17:42:00.000+13:00

I have been living in my new flat for almost a month. And despite difficulties paying rent and having the power shut off temporarily, it is going well (the difficulty paying rent is the fault of the bank, not of my own poverty, though that will soon be the difficulty paying the rent).

Meg, Nick, and I moved in on New Years Eve and threw a little flat-warming/New Years Party. Since we are living close to the center of town we left out flat at about 11:30pm to go to The Octagon for the countdown. It was a really good time. After midnight Nick, Meg, and I came home to our new flat and slept in sleeping bags on the couches and floors because none of us had beds.

Now that we all have some more furniture 395B is a great place to live. It is on the other side of town from our old place and it seems a lot more urban.

The real selling point on our place was the patio/balcony. The 3 upstairs bedrooms have sliding glass doors out onto a great tile patio with a BBQ and this fantastic view:

Number 3

2007-01-05T12:31:00.000+13:00

I bought a new car. A 1989 Toyota Corolla hatchback. It is the third Corolla I’ve owned. The first was one I inherited from my mom who had to get a new car after I drove her maroon 89 Carolla sedan into a guardrail. I pulled the dents out and filled it in with copious amounts of bond-o and painted it myself, from then on it was my car. Until my brother came home from college and needed it for work. Later my dad drove that same corolla after I crashed his car into a tree at very low speed.
What happened was, I was turning out of a convient store parking lot and I heard something crack, then I couldn’t steer. Before I even realized that I was out of control I was up on a curb and stopped by a young maple. Getting outside I noticed that practically the whole undercarriage of the vehicle was dragging on the ground. Luckily I wasn’t traveling fast, or I and probably other people would be dead. Anyway, my second corolla, and the first car I ever purchased, was a blue 1990 sedan that I found advertised on the internet and bought for US$1550 from Mexico Auto Sales in Van Nuys California. I still have the “Mexico Auto Sales: You’re Numero Uno with Us” key chain in the shape of a number 1. I drove that shitbox all over LA county for 5 months and sold it, sight unseen, to a girl who was moving to LA to do the same internship program I was on at the time. She sent me a check, I sent her the papers and keys and left the car in the parking structure at the apartment complex for her to find. She paid me $1500. After moving home I broke the streak and bought a 1993 Honda Accord that wasn’t even paid for when I left to go to New Zealand. Now my dad is making my payments on it and my sister is driving it to school and work, but I’ll get it back when I go home. Now I’ve found this red 89 corolla hatchback. It’s a manual (my first) and has 260,000km (161,500mi) on it. But the motor is new and only has 80,000km (50,000mi) on it. It cost me NZ$1350 (US$900) and it runs really well. I'd been thinking about what to name it since I agreed to buy it. Then, driving home with it for the first time, I was thinking I wanted it to have a first and last name. The flatmates and I had just been talking about Kiano Reeves movies a couple days before and it came to me: Johnny Utah. The ex-star-quarterback turned undercover FBI agent/surfer from Point Break. So here you have it, ladies and gentleman I present to you Johnny Utah:

Welcome Back! More Blogging Coming Soon!

2007-01-02T14:38:00.000+13:00

Faithful readers, please accept my apologies for the lack of updates. Know that I am alive and well and that my adventures have continued over these past few months.

Regular Blogging will resume in the near future, hopefully. Stay tuned for the true stories of: My Trip to Australia, My New (albeit 18-year-old) Car, My New Flat, Big News about My Documentary, and of course: General Disregard for the Proper Use of Capitalized Letters!

Interviewing

2006-10-08T11:44:00.000+13:00

In order to practice interviewing people on camera, Paul arranged for us to watch a real doco crew set up and interview Lala Frazer, a founding member of the Yellow-Eyed Penguin Trust. We were all there and ready to go, but our professional interviewer didn't show up. So Paul looks around the room and goes, "Eeny - Meeny - Miney - Mo. Dwayne, you're running the interview, get everything set up." So with the help of the class and the crew, we set up the shot and I got to interview Lala. It was really cool. Here is a comic illustration of what went down (thanks again to kat for the pictures).

Aerial Filming and Creative Light

2006-10-01T14:01:00.000+13:00

Disclaimer: Photos blatantly Stolen From Kat

This week we had another awesome field trip to learn the basics of filming from helicopters and airplanes. I tried to jump right in a learn as much as I could, since I hope to start filming my doco by the end of the month. Yikes.

Here I am harnessed into the chopper, getting a safety briefing

Paul explains shot size and direction while filming out of an open helicopter

Film Team Salute

Last week's lighting practical. This is what it takes for me to be well lit. That's why I prefer to be on the other side of the camera.

Music Video

2006-09-28T08:04:00.000+12:00

True Films

2006-09-27T08:36:00.000+12:00

If you want to see some great documentaries but don't know where to begin, check out this site: True Films.
Kevin Kelly has self-published a book on 100 great "documentaries, educational films, instructional how-to's, and what the British call factuals - a non-fiction visual account."
You can buy a pdf download of the book for $3, but I think all of the film write-ups in the book are on the website, you just have to click through the categories or check the monthly archives.

Lone Wolf

2006-09-18T18:05:00.000+12:00

After meeting with the other 2 unpaired students, I've decided to stick to my guns (so to speak) and make my movie on my own. Am I crazy? Probably. Can I pull it off? Definitely. A three person film could have been great and probably would have meant a better distribution of labor, but could also have been too many influences.

It will mean a lot more work for myself: research, pitch and proposal, shooting script, schedules and budgets (not to mention all the regular coursework that isn't a part of the final film) . . .All on my own. But I love this stuff, so bring it on.

In other news, I finally figured out what my music video is going to be: Thom Yorke's "Analyse" over black and white footage from a metal casting foundry (which I happen to live next to. I'm not entirely sure what they make there, other than a lot of noise and strange smells . . .) I get to do that tomorrow morning. I'll try to put the video up on YouTube when I'm done.

Today's the Day [. . . Or Not]

2006-09-13T10:09:00.000+12:00

UPDATE:Due to unforeseen circumstances there are now only 3 students including myself who have not committed to a partnership. So it comes downs to doing a 3-person film or having one pair and someone going alone.

By the end of class today we will all know who we are working with and what our final film topics will be.
Most of the class (as far as I know) have already found their film buddies. I think I'm one of the few who hasn't paired up with someone. I'll let you know how it all turns out. . .

Music Video Assignment

2006-09-12T13:17:00.000+12:00

I wanted to write a phoney rap song about wildlife filmmaking, but I could only think of one good line:

Those animals are fast, whatcha gonna do?
That penguin's on the move like Mannequin 2

Pitch

2006-09-06T20:39:00.000+12:00

Yesterday we had to pitch our film ideas to the class and our professors and a development executive from NHNZ. Pretty intimidating stuff, but it went well.

I've written about my idea before, so I don't need to go over it again here, but I did want to include a copy of the handout I made:

Photos were taken from Prohunt.co.nz.
Prohunt NZ Ltd is not associated with this project.
The images are used for visual reference only.

Just to prove that I'm not all about killing and guns, I've thrown in a couple pictures of the cutest little seal you ever did see. I took these in Kaikoura last week.

awwwwww

Steve Irwin

2006-09-04T23:49:00.000+12:00

The man known around the world as The Crocodile Hunter died today. He was filming sequence with a Sting Ray for television.

It seems uncouth to write about it in a blog, but I was really struck and saddened by the news of his death. He always seemed like a good man, enthusiastic and entertaining. After seeing him in so many dangerous situations, it doesn't seem possible that he is gone.

He died doing what he loved, but he was only 44 and had a wife and kids.

Steve Irwin, you will be missed.

Getting My Goats

2006-08-25T12:10:00.000+12:00

Thanks to Alastair's contacts at the Auckland Regional Council, I talked to the man who manages the Sentinel Goat Program at The Hunua Ranges Regional Park (Sentinel is the newer name for the Judas Goat Technique, being non-denominational and all). He seems really into the idea of a documentary on the program. Three times a year they close down the park and bring in the Sentinel Conservation Team. If everything works out the documentarians would be considered part of the team and given full access. I'm really stoked. There are other places in New Zealand that also do Sentinel Technique work that are closer to Dunedin (The Hunuas are up near Auckland on the North Island), but look how gorgeous this range is:

The Hunuas

But, even if the Hunuas program doesn't work out, there are other options yet to be explored and everywhere in New Zealand has fantastic scenery.

I'm seeing the potential for this film grow and grow. It gets me energized and excited, and I think it will do the same for others.

Please leave me some comments on whether or not you think this story would make a good film. I think there is a lot of potential for a action-conservation movie with a sting operation aspect to it and hopefully great characters.

In It For The Wild Life

2006-08-22T21:13:00.000+12:00

So by now, most of the other classmates have blogged about our trip to Victory Beach to film Sea Lions and Yellow-Eyed Penguins. It was a really good day, even though there was just 1 sea lion, 1 very ill leopard seal. But there were a bunch of penguins, which was really cool because I've never seen wild penguins before (as is often the case when you spend most of your life in the Northern Hemisphere).
Be sure to check out Kat and Sarah's blogs(Update: check Alastair's too), they have great pictures.

Blog and Ye Shall Receive

2006-08-15T19:19:00.000+12:00

Initially, some members of this class were a bit apprehensive about sharing their doco ideas with the whole interweb. There was a fear that someone will steal our great ideas. Well, I threw my favorite idea out in my last post and the response has been great.

First, Alastair left a comment that not only informed me that the 'Judas Technique' is a New Zealand thing, he gave me a link to a website I hadn't come across in all my Google searches for combinations of "Judas" "Goat" "Technique" and "Helicopter."

Alastair, who is a filmmakers best friend - not only well informed and well connected, but generous with both - also gave me the hook up with a contact at the DOC office that covers Molesworth Station(where the technique has recently been used)and inquired with an acquaintance in Auckland to see if the technique is still being used there.

Next, in today's class Nick mentioned that an idea he is actively perusing has a possible Judas Technique tie in.

I've had the general idea for this documentary in the back of my mind since last October and it's really cool to see some of the pieces start to come together.

So, I say put your big ideas out there. You aren't gonna get any help if no one knows what you have going on, and you can't do it all yourself.

New Podcast Recommendation:

Here's another one from my fave,KCRW: Politics of Culture. Especially check out the episode from Tuesday, 8 August : The Long Tail

Weekly Rundown: Zoo Drinks, Mike Rubbo, Editing

2006-08-12T15:17:00.000+12:00

1. INT. ZOOLOGY TEA ROOM - FRIDAY, 4 AUGUST 2006. 4PM

The Natural History Filmmaking students host the monthly department happy hour. The theme: "Camo & Mo."

cleaning up, camo style

Our 'Zoo Drinks' went well. People seemed to get into the theme on camouflage and fake mustaches. A good time was had by all.

2. INT. NHNZ CONFERENCE ROOM - TUESDAY 8 AUGUST. 10:30AM

I had a meeting with documentary filmmaker Mike Rubbo to discuss film ideas. I'm still not totally inspired by any one topic, but he did like my 'Judas Pig' idea. Here's the basics:
There is a conservation technique for managing or eradicating feral herd animals known as the 'Judas technique' where some animals are captured and radio-tagged, then released. These animals rejoin their herd and people can track them from helicopters in order to cull them. It's kind of a harsh topic, but I think it's really interesting. I first heard about it from a friend who was studying ecology in Ecuador. Apparently they use the technique on goats in the Galapagos. Here is her wonderful description:

They get a goat, paint its horns bright orange (goats are color-blind, and wouldn't notice this), give it a radio collar, and release it on an island. Within about a week, the goat joins a herd. Then they track the goat down from a helicopter and open fire with a machine gun on the herd. This, while a bit brutal, is more effective [than hunting].

I've found a report from a study of the technique's effectiveness on pigs in an area in the central South Island here in New Zealand and I am trying to get in contact with the people to see if they are still using the technique.

3. INT. NHNZ EDITING SUITE - TUESDAY 8 AUGUST. 11:00AM

After meeting with Mike Rubbo, I got a chance to sit in with Warren at NHNZ while he is editing a pilot. I arranged the day before with Chris, the executive producer on the show to do this, since I was going to be going all the way to NHNZ for a half-hour meeting anyway.
It was really cool. The show looks like it's going to be great, plus watching Warren and talking to him about the way he edits was really informative. It makes me want to get back into editing.

I'm Back

2006-08-10T21:28:00.000+12:00

Okay, my Internet connection has been on the fritz for the past couple weeks, so I apologize for not updating as often as I should. First things first, I promised the story of my flatmates and I going to Moeraki a couple weeks ago, and today I will deliver.

Moeraki Boulder Day

"Dunedin is okay, you just don't want to get stuck in a rut here."
- Pip

The Cast:
A - Norwegian. Geology PhD Student
M- American. (Michigan) Political Science Masters Student
N - American. (Ohio, California) Energy Studies Masters Student
Dwayne - that's me
Falcor - Blue 1996 Ford Falcon Station Wagon

Part 1: Sunday Driving, Swimming with Boulders

Three of my flatmates and myself went on a drive up the coast on a cold, bright Sunday to Moeraki beach to look at the boulders. We hung out on the beach, played a little Frisbee, saw some round rocks - all in all, not bad. Then, in the beginning of a series of bad decisions, we jumped in the ocean - well, all but A. We brought swimming trunks and towels, but of course left them in the car and it was too far back to go get them. So we were cold and wet and changed into our dry swim trunks when we got back in the car for the ride home.

Part 2: An Intentional Detour

Back in the car and feeling more alive than ever from the cold ocean, we decided to keep the adventures going, with a trip through Moeraki Township and a detour loop on the way home. In M's atlas I spotted a road that turned off of the main highway, went through the Silver Peaks and turned back onto the highway just before we would get home. Everyone agreed this would be a nice way to extend the afternoon. No one thought twice about taking a rear-wheel drive wagon on "Steep Hill Road."
We Drive for a couple K's up Steep Hill and are having a great time. We reach a certain point where the road is gated and locked. Feeling a little dejected, N turns Falcor around to backtrack to the Highway and take the road more traveled.

Part 3: A River Runs Through It

On our way back, someone notices a road that forks off Steep Hill Road that we didn't notice before. There is a road sign ont he gate that says "Mountain Road." Aewsome, we can keep going. It looks like a much steeper and narrower road than even Steep Hill, but we decide it must be the way to go.
So, we go down and down and wind back and forth. After a while there is a particularly steep part, just before a turn, then back to narrow track. Once we get around that turn, we see the bottom of the hill. And a river is running across the road.
We cant go forward and its too narrow to turn around a station wagon. We can't even back up, the tires just spin in the mud and loose stone.
A opens another gate, off to the side ahead of us and N is able to do a roughly 17-point turn to get us facing back up the hill.
At the steep point past the turn, we get stuck and just spin the tires. M, A, and I get out and try to push. Mud gets sprayed all over As pants.

Part 4: We Run Through a River

Tension is building at this point, so M and I take off down the road to see what we're facing. It turns out to be more of a stream, about 20ft (6m) across, ankle deep. . . and frikkin cold. We check out the road on the other side, it continues in a few directions. Past a run-down old farm building, M is startled by a creeping rooster.
We return to the car and convince N to turn it around and drive throught he water so we can keep going forward and follow Mountain Road back to the Highway. Falcor makes it across the water and up the bank on the other side.

Part 5: Hours Pass, Losing the Light

For the next couple hours we explore several unmarked roads that branch off our 'Mountain Road.' All are dead ends, or aimpassableble to Falcor. N and I have given up on our wagon, and have already begun talking about the flyer we would post to sell it.
A mentions that we only have about an hour of daylight left, and we are all still cold.
Back at the bottom, just past the river there is a small house. N and I get out to ask which way is Mountain Road. There are boots and coat out on the porch (and a set of antlers on the wall), but no one is home.

Part 6: Don't Get Stuck in a Rut

We go down our last road option, and of course we are all really happy about this one. ItÂs flat and straight, this must be the main road. We turn down it and drive for maybe a minute, and everyone in the car gets goes silent as we start to slide. But N drives out of it, and we keep going. Twenty seconds later, we drift closer and closer to the hill to our left and stop. Our left tires are in a small ditch and we are stuck in the mud. There is no getting out of this, and trying would only make it worse.
N has one bar of cell phone reception, which is one more than anyone else, so M uses it to call 111 - New Zealand emergency services. They transfer her to the police who call a tow truck and give him Ns number.
M describes our situation: We are stuck off Mountain Road. No, we donÂt have 4-wheel drive. Yes, we need a tow truck. Mountain Road, itÂs off Steep Hill Road, which is off Highway 1. Yes. ItÂs a ways down and you have to cross a small stream, and then its a hard right.
Something about calling a tow truck makes you feel like a failure at life, which of course we were at that moment.
A short while later, headlights come up the road toward us. It is an SUV, the kind of car that you would want on these roads. The driver is a forty-ish woman who tells us that we are, in fact, on private roads and that she probably could have pulled us out of the ditch, but since we already called the tow truck we should just wait for him.
Who knows how long later, Headlights come down the road. The driver stops and says, you didnt say it was a friggin goat path! I dont know if Ill be able to get out. Confidence gone.
Part 7: Out of the Rut

We all get out of the car while this adventure tow-truck driver pulls our car back onto the road, goes forward, almost skids off the road himself, K-turns his truck around, moves our wagon and turns it around. Okay, Ill meet you at the top.
A across a stream, up a hill, and NZ$150 later we are back on the main road. Tired, cold, and hungry we drive Falcor back home.

The Moral of the Story: I've never been one for morality tales, but I think what I take from this story was best said by fellow blogger The Last Angry Young Man at the end of his fantastic series The Monkey Chow Diaries:

If you only ever act on your good ideas, you probably won't do much at all.
I'm going to have a good idea one day, and I'm going to be ready for it.

So there it is. I tried to keep it brief, but it was an epic day.

The Market

2006-07-25T23:33:00.000+12:00

I'm still revising an account of my borderline-fiasco trip to Moeraki and back on Sunday, stay tuned for that.

But for now, I'd like to talk about a couple of people my class got to meet from NHNZ (that is pronounced N-H-N-Zed, for all my American readers). First, on Thursday we got to speak with an Executive Producer named Phil Boag. He is an American who recently joined NHNZ coming from Discovery Times, a digital cable channel co-pro between Discovery Television and The New York Times (The Times is no longer a partner in the channel, but Discovery still runs it under the same name). He is currently working on a series for Animal Planet called 'Up Close & Dangerous.' We saw a couple episodes at a screening on Friday and it was really cool. TiVo it.

He talked about moving to Hollywood and being a PA and doing runs all over LA, which I can relate to, having been an Intern and a PA at a Music Video and TV Commercial production company in LA my senior year of college ('college' in US English = 'Uni', for all my Kiwi readers).

Next, on Monday, we got to talk to Craig Meade who is Head of Development at NHNZ. He is also originally from America as well, but has been in New Zealand for much longer than Phil or myself. It was really great to be able to hear from these two guys. They both had really good insights and advice in the industry, and both were very open with real invitations to take meetings and talk one-on-one. Craig even said to come to him with pitch ideas first, so he can tell us his perspective as someone who gets treatments all the time. At the very least he can tell us how many people have tried to develop that idea before. Having studied Film and Television and having met a fair amount of people in 'The Business' in LA, I can say that is a huge offer and an opportunity which I plan to take advantage of (or is it '...of which I plan to take advantage?')

[note to readers: please let me know if I sound like an ass for trying to come across as being all hollywood. I promise it is not my intent.]

Anyway, both Phil and Craig stressed the importance of the American Marketplace for the productions of their shows. NHNZ does not make content solely for the local market. America is where the money is, and knowing what trends are going on in the industry is important. Being the only American on the course this year, I've gotten some good-natured ribbing, and heard some pot-shots being taken at America. And that's fine, I'm not offended. Almost all complaints people have are about America controlling the market for what is produced, be it TV, Film, or Books. People in the media here feel hampered because of the stipulations of using American English and Imperial Measurements and not being able to make things that they care about if the US audience doesn't. I sympathize with them, not that I can do anything about it.

I am part of the American market. I'm in a key demo. But being on a lonely island in the South Pacific, it's kind of hard to keep track of what's happening in the Industry. And this is what this whole post was supposed to be about. So, I have a few suggestions for people who want to try and follow current trends in entertainment:

KCRW's The Business - a radio show out of a great public broadcaster in Santa Monica, California. Download the podcast.
KCRW's Martini Shot - A TV writer's take. Great because it's only about 5 minutes long. Again with the podcasting.
The Hollywood Reporter - The definitive Trade Magazine. You can read the first paragraph of stories, and some features in whole, for free. (check out Variety too, you can get a 2-week free trial with each email address you have. Get a new Yahoo address every two week and never pay a subscription fee!)
Desperate Networks - A book chronicling the last 10 or so years in American Network Television. Not really great for producers of nature and wildlife programs, since they are mainly on cable. But it does cover the rise of reality TV, which is, at times, non-fiction. (This book was recommended to me by a former professor and television producer who wrote one of my recommendations for this course. It is good stuff.)

That's all that comes to mind right now (it's past midnight, probably not a good time to blog. . .) but if you can think of any more, please add a comment or e-mail them to me. I'd also love to know about Natural History-specific Industry news.

Hopefully I'll be blogging more often in the future, and therefore may be able to keep the posts a little shorter. Thanks for reading it through to the end.

Intro

2006-07-18T19:08:00.000+12:00

Hello all,

My name is Dwayne, and I am a student in the Postgraduate Diploma in Natural History Filmmaking and Communication at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.

This Blog is will follow my year in the course and document the development of my final film. Enjoy and please leave lots of comments.

-Dwayne