NZ on Screen: An Archive of Aotearoa New Zealand Screen Culture
"In 2007 NZ On Air initiated the NZ On Screen project as an integral part of its digital strategy. Since 1989 NZ On Air has funded over 15,000 hours of local television production. Much of this content, as well as thousands more hours supported by broadcasters, film investors and other funding sources, is not easily accessible to the public.
NZ On Screen is unlocking the treasure chest, providing access to the wealth of television, film, music video and new media produced in NZ, along with knowledgeable background information."
(New Zealand on Screen)
Fig.1 Murphy, G. (1981). Goodbye Pork Pie. Aotearoa New Zealand, NZ Film.
Fig.2 Tamahori, L. (1994). Once Were Warriors. Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand Film Commission
Fig.3 Ballantyne, A. (2009). The Strength of Water. Aotearoa New Zealand, NZ Film.
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Hundred Pacer: a contemporary origin myth of a native Taiwanese superhero
"This is my final project for motion graphic design, which is a Flash animation that depicts an 'origin myth' of the self-created hero, Hundred Pacer.
The name Hundred Pacer derived from a kind of very venomous snake that exists in mountain areas of Taiwan called Hundred Pacer snake, and the protagonist, Hundred Pacer, was an ordinary Paiwanese Indigenous girl until her and her father were killed by the mudslide, and the snake God chooses her to revive in passing down the power...
The story was inspired by the Typhoon Morakot happened in August 2009, which killed nearly 500 people and destroyed half of Taiwan at that time."
(Jonghsiang Kwan, 2010)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
The Tailenders: missionary activity and global capitalism
"The Tailenders explores the connections between missionary activity and global capitalism. The Tailenders examines a missionary organization's use of ultra-low-tech audio devices to evangelize indigenous communities facing crises caused by global economic forces.
Joy Ridderhoff founded Gospel Recordings in 1939 in Los Angeles. She remembered how crowds had gathered around gramophones in the Honduran villages where she had worked as a missionary, and decided that rather than compete with this medium, she would use it to preach. The organization that she founded has now produced audio recordings of Bible stories in over 5,000 languages, and aims to record in every language on earth. They distribute these recordings along with hand-wind players in regions with limited access to electricity and media. The Bible stories played by the missionaries are sometimes the first encounter community members have had with recorded sound, and, even more frequently, the first time they have heard their own language recorded. Gospel Recordings calls their target audience 'the Tailenders' because they are the last to be reached by global evangelism.
The missionaries target communities in crisis because they have found that displaced and desperate people are especially receptive to the evangelical recordings. When uprooted from one's home, as in the case of Mexican migrant workers, the sound of one's own language is a comfort. And the audio players are appealing media gadgets. Audiences who might not otherwise be interested in the missionaries' message will listen to the recordings. The Tailenders focuses on how the media objects and messages introduced by the missionaries play a role in larger socioeconomic transformations, such as the move away from subsistence economies toward cash economies based on agricultural and industrial labor.
The film raises questions about how people who receive the recordings understand them. Gospel Recording's project is premised on a belief in the transparency of language to transmit a divinely inspired message. But because the missionaries don't speak the languages, they must enlist bilingual native speakers as translators. There is ample opportunity for mistakes, selectivity, and resistance in the translation. The film explores how meaning changes as it crosses language and culture."
(Adele Horne)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Flagging interest in Nation Branding and National Identity?
"We are a changing, emerging state that no longer seeks inspiration from the present flag. It is part of our history and the role that it has played can be respected. We are moving from a predominantly bicultural society to one that now involves an important component of Pacific island people and also immigrants from Asia.
We must now seek inspiration, visual excitement and stimulus to creativity and excellence from many directions and develop a flag that can be a source of pride to New Zealanders as we continue to impact strongly on the wider world in the many areas of commerce, sport, films, literature, tourism and creative thinking in which we have to strive to excel."
(Ian Prior, 27 February 2004)
Fig.1 New Zealand National flag and state ensign;
Fig.2 Michael Smythe, 'Koru (after Gordon Walters)';
Fig.3 Cameron Sanders;
Fig.4 'Tino Rangatiratanga';
Fig.5 Kyle Lockwood.
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
IDEO & Air New Zealand: rethinking the long-haul travel experience
"To prepare for the launch of its new Boeing 777-300 aircraft in November 2010, Air New Zealand scrutinized its current long-haul offering. The company asked IDEO to rethink the entire experience - from the cabin's layout and equipment, such as the seating in economy and business class, to the in-flight service and entertainment and even their customers' experience inside and beyond the terminal. ...
Together, Air New Zealand and IDEO revamped the airline's equipment, service, and technology strategy. Innovative seats will allow travelers one of two desired experiences: connection and socialization or solitude and retreat. Their reconfigurable design permits each passenger a level of interaction with (or privacy from) others that was previously reserved only for those in first class. In addition to best-in-class video and gaming, in-flight entertainment will allow travelers, Kiwi and foreigner alike, to share their experiences, photos and recommendations with each other, making plans and preserving memories for the life that follows disembarkation. The airline's service strategy, both onboard and on the ground, will shift to celebrate the people, rather than the landscape, of New Zealand - giving crew and passenger alike opportunities to interact and form meaningful connections. Policies and procedures were crafted to give travelers more control of their space, of their time, of meeting their demands and ultimately over having an enjoyable and memorable flight. Creating their own technology platform was essential to delivering on this promise of improved and individualized in-flight experiences at scale. IDEO worked with Air New Zealand to understand what they could do - build, buy, or partner - with a view towards near-term implementation.'"
(IDEO)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
