Experienced director heads Waiata Awards again

Waiata Maori Awards
Press Release, August 30, 2010

Experienced director heads Waiata Maori Awards for second year

Director Robert Hagen has worked on big music productions for all of the major networks but admits it’s a different kind of entertainment when it comes to producing the National Waiata Maori Awards.

“I think the unique thing is that it is a totally Maori event and so I want to remember this and make sure there is a point of difference to other award shows not just made in New Zealand but around the world.

“The first thing to remember is the sense of occasion one must set up for this event, and you have to be aware of the Maori-ness of the event,” Mr Hagen said

It will be the second year his Arts and Entertainment Productions firm from Lower Hutt have been charged with producing the Waiata Maori Awards at the Hawke’s Bay Opera House in Hastings.

Mr Hagen was at the opera house with the awards executive director Tama Huata recently to begin checking over plans for the set design, the programme and a debrief one what was good, and what wasn’t, from the 2009 show.

“For the set designs we are looking for something that reflects Maori tradition but in a contemporary way and we working with Tama on how we might achieve that.

“Then there’s the slickness of the show. A lot of award shows are very slick and paced-up and that’s something a little alien to the Maori way of doing things,” he said.

Instead, Maori preferred to “take a step back” and exercise respect during a show.

“And I need to be able to find a balance between what happens on stage and how we present that to the television audience, where we do actually increase the pace for the viewing audience but not to the extend that it is a really slick show you would see such as the Oscars,” Mr Hagen said.

“To find that balance is the challenge and that’s where I rely on my experience and my staff involved in the show,” he said.

One of the other challenges is to make sure the content of the show contains the targeted percentage of Maori language content to fulfill requirements from sponsors such as Te Mangai Pahi, the Maori broadcasting funding agency.

“Because it’s for Maori Television one of the driving influences is te reo so we have to be respectful of the language. In this particular show we are aiming in plus-30 per cent up to 69 per cent, made up of spoken word and sung word so we need to get that content in,” he said.

The Maori Language Commission is also keen to see the use of contemporary Maori.

“They are developing the language all the time and the commission is keen to see that in the show, language is quite a big part of it all,” Mr Hagen said.

The Waiata Maori Awards are “very satisfying to work on” when he compares it with other shows he’s worked on such as the TV3 Music and Entertainment and Awards.

“It was a complex show because it not only involved TV but also recording industry awards, the Theatre Operators’ Association and the Aotea Centre, four parties besides myself and of course of they don’t sit well together it’s a extremely difficult show tp produce,” Mr Hagen said.

“This event however, it’s just Tama and I. Tama has a very good handle on all aspects of Maori performance and he’s able to put together a really unique show,” he said.

It was impressed with the talent coming through the awards.

“There are some wonderful Maori musicians out there that mainstream don’t get to hear. It’s definitely growing especially through Maori radio and hopefully this (the awards) will be a vehicle to raise awareness and develop Maori music each year,” Mr Hagen said.

PROFILE:
Name: Robert Hagen, director of Arts and Entertainment Productions in Lower Hutt .
The gig: Will produce the National Waiata Maori Music Awards for the second consecutive year in Hawke’s Bay on September 10.
You know him from: You might not know him as he’s usually the producer or director in charge of all the behind the scenes work for many successful 0 awards and music shows on Television New Zealand, TV3 and C4.

How long have you worked as a producer/director?
I’m getting up to 40 years in the business now and it’s been a pleasure to work here at the Hawke’s Bay Opera House for the Maori music awards.

What makes a successful awards show?
If you look at the Oscars, that have the big expose of a new set each time, all the bells and whistles and the technology of television and I think there is too much technique involved in not enough editorial content. I think with the Maori music awards the most important thing we need to do is foster the content. The recording industry, New Zealand On Air, Te Mangai Paho, Maori Television, all the organisation that use the product (the awards) they can encourage growth in Maori music.

What feedback do you get from colleagues about the Waiata Maori Awards?
Very little because production companies like mine work in isolation now and we are all out looking to put in offers for the same jobs. It’s not ideal because really we need to be bouncing ideas of each other. The way I get around that is I have my own team, the same team each time, lighting director, designer, sound engineer and we bounce ideas of each other.

How much work would you have direct from television networks?
The networks don’t make programmes any more, they buy programmes and screen them, they are about satisfying advertisers, so they look at the programmes that would satisfy an advertiser that wants to reach a certain audience. Maori Television is a but different, a bit like the old national broadcaster and they need to be praised for that.

What is the Hawke’s Bay Opera House like to work in compared to other venues?
This is a wonderful theatre, I’ve worked in a lot of theatres and this one is one of the best. It’s small but it’s functional and has been really well developed. The crew here is first class one of the best crews I have worked with and they are keen to go that extra mile which you wouldn’t get at other places.

Waiata Maori Awards 2010

• The awards will include the Maori Music Expo, September 9 and 10, where modern and traditional musicians and composers will offer their advice and experience in a series of workshops and forums.

• A fashion show will be held on the evening of September 9, mixing live music with work from prominent Hawke’s Bay designers.

• The awards ceremony will be held on the evening of September 10, broadcast by Radio Kahungunu through the iwi station network and by Maori Television.

• A hip-hop dance crew competition will be held on September 12.

ends