Producer's Diary - May
This is posted a bit late because I've been away on a fishing
boat, long-lining for tuna north of North Cape. I don't get the
chance to go out and direct many stories - I'm usually too busy in
the office - so it's great to get amongst it.
We were with great people on the boat and we got some very good
footage, but it was quite a tough trip. One of us was seasick for a
while - crew solidarity prevents me from saying who (although it
wasn't me or the sound recordist) But he proved his grittiness by
carrying on with his job regardless.
The tuna story was of our last shoots for the series. As always,
we've been to some great spots over the series and met some
memorable people.
For instance, there was 'dog whisperer' Dave Hutchings - the
classic Kiwi bloke. It screened recently, but rather than describe
the show to those who missed it, I'll rely on a better writer -
Linda Herrick from the New Zealand Herald - who, I think, may have
fallen ever so slightly in love with Dave Here's part of her
review.
"Here was a man with his gumboots firmly on the ground:
understated, modest, quietly humorous. His dogs were there to work.
He might give them a pat at the end of the day - when no one was
watching, he added, cracking the first smile he'd shown so
far.
"He went on to reveal, in a relatively long piece of dialogue, for
him, that someone had once accused him of being unable to hold down
a long-term relationship. Dave had an answer for that piece of
cheek. 'Well, actually, I had a huntaway bitch for 12 years. I was
there when she was conceived and I dug a hole for her when she
died. So there was no foundation for that claim whatsoever,' he
added with another one of those wry, rather delicious smiles"
Our programme about the delightful Borger family and their
free-range egg farm has been the most popular of the series so far.
It was the most-watched programme of the week, with a total
audience of close to 750,000 viewers.
But there are plenty more gems to come - for instance another
interesting fishing story filmed around the east coast of Northland
(but nearer to shore than my tuna story - the crew didn't get
seasick on this one) and later in the series we've got the ultimate
gourmet yarn, about growing truffles.
So do keep watching - our aim each week is to bring a smile to your
face, a lift to your heart - and at the same time show you
something new about our country and its people.
