Graduate Q&A.

Graduate Q&A.

 

Wiremu Te Kani is a graduate of digital video post-production from EIT. He has a few tips for prospective students in the field.
by Chris Bell.

 

How old are you and how did you get into digital video post-production?
I'm 32. I started working in television when I was 25. Mind you, I've met plenty of people who started in the industry fresh out of high-school.

 

What work have you found since you graduated?
I moved to Auckland to find work in television. I worked for Touchdown Television, which makes shows like Treasure Island. I started as a logger, transcribing dialogue from videotapes; and a digitiser, who loads videotapes into an editing computer called Avid. Eventually they made me an online editor, the person who adds graphics to a TV programme. I now work for Maori Television as a promos editor, adding graphic and text to commercials for upcoming programmes. I've also worked as an editor for music programmes like Coke Chartshow, and LIPS (Locked into Pacific Sounds).

 

What kind of person do you need to be to work in post-production?
A glorified miracle-worker! You have to be calm when there's trouble. You have to take direction from others. You have to be an excellent listener, not only to what a client or director is saying, but also to what they're not saying. So nothing too hard!

 

What about the value-for-money you got from the course you did?
Well, I paid my student loan back quickly - that's value-for-money right there. Technology in the television industry is forever changing, but what I learned at EIT ten years ago is still relevant today.

 

How technical and how glamorous is the work?
I find this work can be very technical. You wind up learning about new technologies almost every day and it can be very geeky. As for glamour, you'd have to be working for Weta Digital to get glamour as a 'posty'. If you want glamour, stand in front of the camera, not behind it.

 

What are the opportunities for work?
Locally, Auckland is your best bet. Then Wellington, then Christchurch. If there are local TV stations, don't be afraid to hit them up. If you can show you really want to do this kind of work and you know your stuff, they'll be happy to have you onboard.

 

Do you have any tips for prospective students of post-production?
When you're starting out, getting work can be hard. It took me months to find regular work. The best advice I can give you is not to accept that you don't have what it takes, that you're not qualified or not experienced enough. If you want to be in the TV business, then you will be. That's all there is to it, really.

 

Photo credit: Philip Peacocke.

 

For info on video post production careers see Learning Curve Digital Video Post Production.
For info on video post production courses see Learning Curve Digital Video Post Production Courses.

 

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