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    Video activism in the shadow of Wellywood : an exegesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2021) Heynes, Mike
    This creative practice-based research was conducted in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, the home of ground-breaking movie companies Wingnut Films, Weta Workshop, Weta Digital, and Park Road Post. Following the success of director Peter Jackson’s The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, with pioneering special effects led By Richard Taylor, Wellington city has colloquially become known as Wellywood, in honour of our film industry’s connections to Hollywood. Parts of Aotearoa have since been renamed by government tourism agencies and businesses to reflect their use as locations in the films set in the fictional world of Middle Earth. Throughout the course of this research, the “Wellywood” movie industry has faced a range of issues including workers’ rights and workplace harassment and has attracted criticism for its influence on government policy. In the Shadow of Wellywood is an experimentally animated video work satirizing the dominant studio system and its ability to shape our national identity and consumerist desires. This tale of celebrity dreams of stardom turning into nightmares draws upon tropes of action, melodrama, musical, film noir, and road movie genres to locate the narrative within the artificial world of the production studio. In using movie-themed action figures as stand-ins for Hollywood actors, and animating them using rudimentary techniques, the work considers the celebrity cycle and the technological advances of the industry. The artificial setting satirically suggests that we no longer have a national cinema, but one of transplanted culture. In combining analogue and digital video technologies the creative process reflected upon obsolescence, and the place of handmade animation techniques within an increasingly digital environment. In continuing to work with obsolete video technology rather than upgrading to the latest format the research has been conducted with the intention of developing an environmentally sustainable method of studio-based production. This research has identified a gap in the field of video art practice through continuing to use equipment that others no longer want and rejecting the latest movie industry technologies as a mode of critical engagement. This research makes an original contribution to the creative field of video activism through using equipment until it literally wears out and accepting the resulting inconsistencies in production. The creative processes used in the development of the final work explored a methodology of experimentation, collaboration, and iterative testing designed to critique mainstream movie production and distribution systems, and to explore alternatives. Through adapting the situationist principles of détournement, psycho-geography and the dérive, this research demonstrates the continued relevance of Guy Debord’s key text Society of the Spectacle (1967) for re-contextualizing the movie industry as an instance of the spectacle, an artificial capitalist system designed to manipulate the consumer, and for identifying ways to resist and critique it. A series of expanded cinema collaborations with musicians during the developmental stages of the research allowed for testing the concept of a studio backlot and exploring the notion of special effects. The animation studio built for this research drew upon traditions of repurposing established by pre-digital experimental film and expanded cinema artists. The portable micro cinema designed for screening In the Shadow of Wellywood locates the work outside of mainstream networks and within an alternative system of distribution underscoring the project’s positioning as a form of video activism.
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    The structural and personal effects of the swift trust film environment : a thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2013) Ellis, Georgina
    This thesis investigated New Zealand film production workers’ experiences of the ‘swift trust’ environment within the Auckland film and television industry. Previous research has identified swift trust between workers as a crucial mechanism for organising work within project based organisations. This research explored the ways in which working in a swift trust environment affects the personal and social identity of film workers. Semi structured, in-depth interviews were carried out with seven female and four male film production workers. Respondents had all worked successfully within the industry for over ten years and understood both the rewards and drawbacks of freelance film work. Respondents all identified swift trust as a key mechanism for facilitating the organisation of work within their industry. Clear cultural norms ensured workplace behaviours which supported cognitive, relational and motive-based trust mechanisms and facilitated collaboration, creativity and collective problem solving. The swift trust environment was experienced by respondents as personally validating. It had given them a strong sense of individual and social identity as wells as a clear sense of individual and collective purpose. However, all had experienced breakdowns in trust. Respondents recounted early difficulties coping with the extremes of working in an intense, high trust environment followed by the rejection of unemployment. Effects could be substantial and anxiety, depression and burnout was observed during the early years of careers. All respondents had also experienced the breakdown of trust at an organisational level with several suggesting that cultural norms around trust mean that interpersonal conflicts are poorly handled and constructive performance appraisals seldom given within the industry Over time interviewees developed a range of personal and industry focussed coping skills which enabled them to experience a high level of psychological safety and satisfaction from their work. These skills included a rapid ability to judge the trustworthiness of others; development of multiple social identities to soften the transition between work and unemployment and developing work related boundaries. Respondents believed these skills enabled them to thrive in project based freelance work environment and had added to their lives outside the industry. The thesis concludes with suggestions for increasing swift trust by improving performance and relational conflict management skills within the industry. It also suggests that the high trust environment of the film industry is highly rewarding for workers and would benefit more traditional organisations.