Producer's Diary - Summer 2011-2012
Julian O'Brien
We've had a crew on the road most weeks over summer and we've already shot some great material for our 2012 series - but the unseasonal weather has caused us much more grief than usual.
Our worst week (so far) was the second week of January, when we had four crews out at the same time - in the Far North, Taranaki, inland from Kaikoura and near Gore in Southland.
The Northland crew had to abandon their shoot because of persistent rain. It was already their second attempt on the story - on their first try in December they pulled out just before major flooding closed the roads.
But we won't give up - the story's a good one, it's now nearly finished and the crew will go back again soon to complete it.
Our other three crews were able to get their shoots done that week, although they had to work around the rain at times. The Marlborough crew had to abandon their plan to reach the farm by 4WD because it involved river crossings - and the water was so high that they could hear stones moving on the bottom. They had to travel in by helicopter instead - not cheap, but the only way to get the story done.
We're now deep in post-production - our first half-dozen episodes are nearly ready to go to air and we look forward to bringing you a great new series soon.
