Technologies of Culture: Digital Feature Filmmaking in New Zealand

Pitts, V. 2011. Technologies of Culture: Digital Feature Filmmaking in New Zealand. New Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary Film. 9 (1), pp. 3-17. https://doi.org/10.1386/ncin.9.1.3_1

TitleTechnologies of Culture: Digital Feature Filmmaking in New Zealand
TypeJournal article
AuthorsPitts, V.
Abstract

This article provides the first overview of contemporary low budget digital cinema in New Zealand, the first decade of which has resulted in a body of fiction films that contest the national cinematic canon in terms of thematic and representational emphases as well as narrative and aesthetic strategies. To investigate the causes and consequences of these departures, the output and methods of New Zealand’s digital feature filmmakers are explored, revealing how shifts in creative processes and increased access to the means of production enabled by low cost, lightweight digital video intersect with the proliferating cultural affiliations of emerging filmmakers to produce change. I thus argue that the very ontology of digital video and associated medium-specific practices are increasingly integral to culturally and aesthetically pluralistic projections in New Zealand cinema. As a consequence, I also argue for public investment in the sector and the alteration of funding policies designed for large-budget productions so that a tier of filmmaking ripe for experimentation and innovation can exist in fruitful dialogue with more mainstream fare.

Keywordslow-budget digital filmmaking
convergence
technology and creativity
New Zealand cinema
small nation cinema
film funding policy
filmmaking process
JournalNew Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary Film
Journal citation9 (1), pp. 3-17
ISSN1474-2756
Year2011
PublisherIntellect
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1386/ncin.9.1.3_1
Web address (URL)https://www.intellectbooks.com/new-cinemas-journal-of-contemporary-film
Publication dates
Published2011

Related outputs

Beyond My Brain
Pitts, V. 2016. Beyond My Brain. United Kingdom

Meeting
Pitts, V. 2016. Meeting.

Character, Performance, Dialogue & Structure: a Comparative Analysis of Improvised & Scripted Filmmaking
Pitts, V. 2015. Character, Performance, Dialogue & Structure: a Comparative Analysis of Improvised & Scripted Filmmaking. Screenwriting Research Network International Conference. Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia 14 - 16 Sep 2012

Contestations of Intercultural Collaboration: the Case of Whale Rider
Pitts, V. 2014. Contestations of Intercultural Collaboration: the Case of Whale Rider. in: Nagib, L. and Jerslev, A. (ed.) Impure Cinema: Intermedial and Intercultural Approaches to Film New York; London I.B. Tauris. pp. 43-65

Lost and Found: Musicality and Screenplay Development
Pitts, V. 2014. Lost and Found: Musicality and Screenplay Development. Screenwriting Research Network International Conference. Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia 14 - 16 Sep 2012

Writing from the Body: Kinesthetics and Entrainment in Collaborative Screenwriting
Pitts, V. 2013. Writing from the Body: Kinesthetics and Entrainment in Collaborative Screenwriting. Journal of Media Practice. 14 (1), pp. 61-78. https://doi.org/10.1386/jmpr.14.1.61_1

Beat: Artist's Statement
Pitts, V. 2013. Beat: Artist's Statement. The Soundtrack Journal. 5 (1), pp. 103-105. https://doi.org/10.1386/st.5.1.73_7

Writing from the body: kinesthetic empathy and screenwriting
Pitts, V. 2012. Writing from the body: kinesthetic empathy and screenwriting. Screenwriting Research Network International Conference. Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia 14 - 16 Sep 2012

Beat
Pitts, V. 2010. Beat. Aotearoa New Zealand

From Process to Product: Intercultural Collaboration in the Making of Whale Rider
Pitts, V. 2010. From Process to Product: Intercultural Collaboration in the Making of Whale Rider. Impure Cinema Conference. University of Leeds 02 - 05 Dec 2010 University of Leeds.

Cross-Cultural Filmmaking in New Zealand National Cinema
Pitts, V. 2008. Cross-Cultural Filmmaking in New Zealand National Cinema. PhD thesis University of Auckland Media, Film and Television

Cross-cultural Filmmaking in Aotearoa New Zealand
Pitts, V. 2007. Cross-cultural Filmmaking in Aotearoa New Zealand . MEDIANZ Conference . Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand 08 - 10 Feb 2007

Intercultural Short Filmmaking in Aotearoa New Zealand
Pitts, V. 2006. Intercultural Short Filmmaking in Aotearoa New Zealand. Metro: Media and Education Magazine. 148, pp. 140-146.

Fleeting Beauty
Pitts, V. 2004. Fleeting Beauty. Aotearoa New Zealand

Form and Politics in Punitive Damage
Pitts, V. 1999. Form and Politics in Punitive Damage. Australian Screen Education. 20/21, pp. 18-23.

From novel to film : Le journal d'un curé de campagne and the art of adaptation
Pitts, V. 1997. From novel to film : Le journal d'un curé de campagne and the art of adaptation. The European Connection. 3, pp. 31-39.

Permalink - https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/qzy57/technologies-of-culture-digital-feature-filmmaking-in-new-zealand


Share this

Usage statistics

93 total views
0 total downloads
These values cover views and downloads from WestminsterResearch and are for the period from September 2nd 2018, when this repository was created.