Photographer Jae Frew
Jae Frew has been working with Shortland Street and
South Pacific Pictures for many years. You can see his work all
over this site plus in many other publications and places.
We asked him what it's like to be Shortland Street's favourite
"snapper"...
What does your work at Shortland Street entail?
I am the Photographic Stills Photographer for the
production. My job is to supply images of the cast and show
in order to use for the publicity and promotion of Shortland
Street.
These images are seen in magazines, newspapers and on the
net.
How does working on Shortland Street differ from working on other
productions?
Shortland Street is a 'fast turn around' TV production, producing
an episode per day. This means the pace at which the cast and
crew work is a lot faster than other productions that I work
on.
The show is constantly changing, so there are always new people to
meet and photograph on various sets and locations.
How long have you been doing work for Shortland Street now?
I have been working on Shortland Street (off and on) since Kirsty
and Dr Ropata's time - from almost the beginning.
What do you love most about your work?
Meeting new people and working with such a great, supportive crew
and production team. Creating exciting images that best
showcase the episodes and cast of the show.
What's one of the most fun circumstances you've experienced while
working at Shortland Street?
There have been many in the time that I have been with the
show. More recently was when we shot an episode in
Rarotonga.
It was fun being out of the normal pace (although still busy) and
in such beautiful surroundings.
What's the most challenging part of your
job?
Because the show shoots so quickly and there is not a lot of spare
time, I would have to say that getting the right shot in the time
that is available would be have to be the greatest challenge.
What advice could you give people who would like to pursue a
career in your field?
Learn about the industry and the productions you want to work
on. A lot of this work is about relationships and knowing how
to work with lots of different people in different
roles.
We interviewed Jae during the 2009 cast photo shoot. Watch Jae talk about the planning and execution of that photo here.
