The Techos’ Guild filling film and TV training gaps

The Techos’ Guild filling film and TV training gaps

9 August 2012

The New Zealand Film and Video Technicians’ Guild will help plug industry training gaps for film and television crew with a new series of workshops.

Twelve sessions across Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown will be held with funding from the New Zealand Film Commission. Cinematography, visual effects, safety practices, industry standards, Maori protocol, set design and costume are among topics to be covered. Workshops are craft specific but will be geared toward all crew, aiming to give them a better overall understanding of screen production.

Guild (The Techos’ Guild) executive officer Karla Rodgers says tight shooting schedules and budgets in the mainly freelance-based industry make any training on set difficult. “Freelancers are out there going at it alone,” Rodgers says. “There isn’t a lot of time to think about the bigger picture or career development on the job so it’s great to be able to offer an environment where crew can get together with other crew and learn.”

Rodgers says competition for funding is tough in the industry and she is delighted to have secured some for the workshops. “These workshops are about crew developing both their own skills and also achieving better insight into overall production – it is beneficial for the industry as a whole.”

Workshops Behind the DOP (working with your cinematographer), What’s Real and What’s Not (live actions and visual effects), Let’s Really Understand (the legal and industry requirements of safety, fair work practices and Maori protocol) and Mise En Scene (setting the scene) will each be held in Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown - the Guild’s three branches. Dates and venues are yet to be announced.

The Techos Guild is a non-profit organisation representing the interests of screen-production crew. It began as the New Zealand Motion Picture Academy (NZMPA) in 1977 and runs mostly on membership subscriptions with the help of some funding and sponsorship. It has over 400 members working in production, camera, sound, lighting, grip, makeup, wardrobe, art department, location management, script supervision, onset health/safety, special effects, editing and post production. Award-winning past and present members include costume designer Ngila Dickson and cinematographers Alun Bollinger and Leon Narbey. Bollinger is also the Guild’s president.

The Techos’ Guild’s Safety Code of Practice and The Blue Book have set the standard for working in the New Zealand film industry. The publications underline rules around fair and safe working conditions for film and television workers in New Zealand.

ENDS

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