In just two (seemingly very) short weeks, on October 23rd, all will be revealed as the NZ On Screen site goes live!

The team is working hard to pull all the last details together. It’s looking fantastic, and we are totally looking forward to sharing the site with the world.

Check back soon!

The following position is now open within the NZ On Screen team:

CONTENT DIRECTOR

Are you someone who is:

• knowledgeable …. about television and film in NZ both past and present, and about the internet and working online
• strategic …. can devise and apply a strategy
• enthusiastic ….  about the creation of NZ On Screen - a site that allows the audience to appreciate the history, depth and richness of the NZ screen and music industry
• motivated …. to make things happen, solve problems, get things done
• organised …. know your way around a spreadsheet, can spell database, find files on a computer and follow a plan
• local …. based in Wellington
• looking for a job?

We are looking for someone who is all those things, and who would like to join our team as the Content Director.

_______________________________________

Job Description:

The Content Director will be responsible for the following:

• An accurate, rigorous and diverse selection of content for NZ On Screen: broadcast content is a primary focus, with film, music and other digital content included as it is prioritised.
• The development and execution of a long term content plan that will keep the site relevant and exciting for its audience.
• Facilitation of the NZ On Screen Curatorial Panel meetings and agenda. This panel assesses content on the site and in the pipeline, and establishes planning and priorities for upcoming content on the site.
• Liaison with and reporting to the NZ On Screen trust regarding content planned for the website on a regular basis.
• The Content Director will maintain and evolve the policy guidelines for content on the site, and be responsible for establishing the selection criteria that will be applied throughout the year to new content.

The role will include:

• Creation of a strategy and project plan for ongoing content inclusion in the site, together with the Curatorial Panel, to be approved by the Trust
• Developing a robust process for selection of content in accordance with the priorities agreed with the Trust
• Selection and evaluation of footage for the website
• Liaising with moving image and sound content repositories and content creators (along with other members of the NZ On Screen team) to source and select content. (e.g. The Film Archive, TVNZ Archives, Archives NZ, Te Mangai Paho, Maori Television, TV3/C4, TVNZ, and independent production companies).
• Liaison with the Industry Liaison and Rights Clearance team to initiate contacts and establish contracts with copyright holders
• Working directly with the Editor to select themes and titles for sourcing
• Help to devise marketing and communications opportunities to promote the site
• Ensure that the content plan and selection dovetail with communication and promotional activities for the site

The position is full-time or 80%, starting as soon as possible.

If you’re interested in applying for the position, please send a cover letter and your CV to brenda at nzonscreen.com

Applications close Wednesday 1 October.

[Clare O'Leary, who has been the Content Director thus far, has helped to bring the site to fruition. Clare is now going to run ScreenTalk, the video blog part of the website. We are looking for someone to help us take take the site to the next level.]

NZ On Screen would like to congratulate all the winners in the Qantas Film & Television Awards, 2008.

We would especially like to acknowledge members of our own team who won awards:

• Paul Stanley Ward (NZ On Screen Editor) won Best Screenplay for a Short Film, for The Grafitti of Mr Tupaia, produced by Pop Films
• Makerita Urale (writer for NZ On Screen), was the Director, Children of the Revolution, produced by Front of the Box Productions.

We look forward to profiling many of the winning film and television projects and creative teams on the NZ On Screen site.

Check out more awards and photos on STUFF.

We have succumbed to popular demand and set up an NZ On Screen group on Facebook!

Come join us there

We’re very pleased that NZ On Air has agreed to another year of funding for NZ On Screen.

It’s wonderful that this government agency has the vision and the foresight to support this initiative and to recognise that it is a project that will continue to grow after it has launched!

Thank you NZ On Air.

Our very own editor Paul Ward has been nominated and is a finalist in the “Best Screenplay for a Short Film” category of the Qantas Film and Television Awards, for The Graffiti of Mr Tupaia. The film is also a finalist in two other categories.

See more finalists here.

Way to go Paul!

NZ On Screen is a project funded by NZ On Air through the NZ On Screen Trust. The trustees have been working hard throughout the year to keep the project on track, help establish curatorial guidelines, provide insight and guidance to the team, and oversee progress.

Our Trustees are:

• Edie Moke; Chair
• Roger Horrocks; writer, filmmaker, academic
• Robin Scholes; Producer
• Russell Brown; Web and Media Commentator, Public Address
• Teresa Shreves; Lawyer
• Jane Wrightson; CEO NZ On Air

We would like to acknowledge their support

Every title that is shown on the NZ On Screen site has to have copyright cleared. It turns out that for each title this is a different process. Some straightforward, some needing a lot of communication, conversations, demos and meetings.

Our rights team recently met with Ian Mune to discuss access to Winners & Losers (1976) and Derek (1974). These programmes were produced and directed by Ian Mune and Roger Donaldson - and we’re happy to say, they’re going to be on our site!

Ian Mune, Kim Baker and Catherine Juniot

Monika Ahuriri has been working with the NZ On Screen team as the curator for Maori content on the site. She has been instrumental in selecting titles that have particular significance for Maori and Maori broadcasting. She has also worked alongside the NZ Film Archive to establish iwi clearances for some titles and helped to develop our processes for working with Maori content.

Monika has now decided to move to the big smoke of Auckland, and we are looking for a new person for this position.

If you are interested in being part of the NZ On Screen team on a part time basis, and being involved in:

• selection of titles (particularly those with signficance for Maori) for inclusion in the site
• liaison with copyright holders and iwi to clear titles
• establishing and maintaining guidelines for Maori content throughout the site

and you have a good knowledge of film, television and Maori culture and language (and ideally you are Wellington based) …

Please get in touch! Email [brenda at nzonscreen.com] with your cover letter and CV.

We now have a policy with TVNZ for titles they own and have rights to. As part of our relationship we have been able to access the TVNZ archives. This week I managed to get a sneak peak of some of the titles we have been looking for. It is such an amazing facility at Avalon and their researchers got together a great collection of work for us to assess from our wish list.

Some of the classic shows we are seeking also feature on TVNZ On Demand - NZ On Screen will present a different context around each show with profiles of key cast and crew and discuss their significance to screen history in NZ.

As we seek to clear rights for use from producers, musicians and all the other people who have an interest in work from the past, we are discovering that each title has a life of its own. It’s a massive project, but as we start to uncover some little gems, it results in some great surprises and magic moments along the way.