Behind the scenes: Meet the Directors
Have you ever watched the opening credits of
Shortland Street and seen the name of the director flash by?
Given their name is right up there at the beginning of the show,
they must have a fairly important role to play in putting the show
together, but just what exactly is that a director does?
Today we look at the all-important role of the Shortland Street
director and find what they do - and who they are.
Directors are responsible for overseeing creative aspects of the
show under the producer.
They often develop the vision for the show and carry the vision
out, deciding how the show should look.
They are responsible for turning the script into a sequence of
shots.
They also direct what tone it should have and what an audience
should gain from the cinematic experience.
Directors are responsible for deciding camera angles, lens effects
and lighting with the help of the Director of Photography, and set
design with the production designer.
They coordinate the actors' moves, or blocking, and also may be
involved in the editing of the final piece.
The director works closely with the cast and crew to shape the
show.
The directors on
Shortland Street hold rigorous
rehearsals in pre-production and quickly again before each
scene.
This process is essential as it tells the director as well as other
key members of the crew (Director of Photography, stunt
choreographer, hair stylist, etc.), how the actors are going to
play the scene, which enables them to make any necessary
adjustments.
The director also plays a key role in post-production.
He or she works with the editor to ensure that the emotions of the
scene and the close ups, mid shots and wide or long shots
appropriately reflect which character is driving the
narrative.
The director also advises on the (colour) grading of the final
images, adding warmth or frigidity to the composition of the shots
to reflect the emotional subtext of the character or
environment.
The director will sometimes participate in the sound mix and
musical composition of the film.
Because
Shortland Street shoots for 48 weeks of
the year, no
one director could perform this task on their
own and so a rotation of directors work together.
Because they work on one week of
Shortland Street
at a time, they must always be aware of what is going on in
storyline from other week's that other directors have shot.
Making sure that tone of the show remains the same and the actors
remain true to their characters over the course of a story arc is
an important aspect of their role.
Whew - the director is one busy person! Meet some of our
amazing directors here:
Geoff Cawthorn
Auckland-based Geoffrey Cawthorn has been directing drama
and documentary for over 15 years, both in Australia and his native
New Zealand.
His first television gig was working in the documentary department
of TVNZ.
There he worked on Crimewatch, and learnt about everything from
shooting and film editing to multi-camera techniques.
In 1989 Cawthorn relocated to Sydney where he worked at SBS as a
director and editor on The Movie Show, and Front Up which became
one of the network's longest running series.
Cawthorn then crossed over into drama, directing Australian staples
like Home and Away, All Saints and Stingers.
His work on ABC/BBC children's series Eugenie Sandler P.I. brought
an AFI nomination.
Cawthorn continued to return to work in New Zealand throughout this
period.
His black comedy Philosophy won the Best Short Film award at the
1999 NZ Film Awards, and screened in a number of international
festivals.
Cawthorn helmed the third Lawless tele-movie Beyond Justice, and
directed the pilot episodes of Rude Awakenings and Mercy
Peak.
He was nominated for best drama director for the later.
Cawthorn was also heavily involved in The Market, filmed on
location in urban Otara and focusing on a Maori and Polynesian
family at war.
Cawthorn continues to have an ongoing connection with long-running
soap
Shortland Street, for which he has directed
many episodes.
He has shown his skills in fantasy by directing for Margaret Mahy
series Maddigan's Quest, The Amazing Extraordinary Friends, and
Xena follow-up Legend of the Seeker.
Laurence Wilson
Laurence has a long a varied career as both a 1st
Assistant Director and then as a Director for a variety shows
around the world.
He trained as a director for
Shortland Street in
1993 and worked there and on other New Zealand television shows for
several years before eventually heading overseas and working
extensively on televisions shows throughout Europe, including
directing stints on shows such well known shows as Eastenders
and Hollyoaks.
Laurence has also worked as a Drama Executive in Europe which saw
him supervising the setting up of new productions and maintaining
creative quality control on existing programmes.
Over the years he has frequently returned to New Zealand to direct
Shortland Street and to help train new directors
on the show.
He has recently returned from a stint directing Neighbours in
Australia to continue his work at South Pacific Pictures.
Katherine McRae
Katherine McRae has been a professional actress since
graduating from the New Zealand Drama School in 1985.
Prior to
Shortland Street her most notable
television role was as one of the The Marching Girls and her
largest film role was co-starring in Send a Gorilla.
The majority of Katherine's acting career has been in the theatre -
performing in plays at Circa, Downstage and Fortune Theatre.
In 1995 she won the best female award for her portrayal of
Thomasina in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia.
Katherine is also a freelance theatre director. In 2003 her
production of Ibsen's An Enemy of the People won six Chapman Tripp
awards including Director and Production of the Year.
Katherine is also involved in script development, teaching,
voice-overs and occasionally script writing.
She was a script writer for Shortland Street for two years in 1996
and 1997 before becoming a member of the cast in early 2006,
playing Brenda Holloway.
Acting is in Katherine's blood - her mother Elizabeth played iconic
Shortland Street receptionist Marjorie
Neilson.
Katherine also had a cameo on
Shortland Street in
1992 playing Marj's long lost daughter Jane Fitzgerald.
After her character Brenda was killed on
Shortland
Street as part of the Joey Henderson serial killer
storyline, Katherine began training as a director for the show and
has worked as part of the directors' rotation ever since.
Now read Part 2 of our Directors' feature
.
