Tom Finlayson: On Town and Around and much more...

Tom Finlayson is a producer, director and writer who has an impressive track record in New Zealand television. He began his TV career as a reporter on Town and Around, but quickly moved on to news producing, and eventually TV drama production. Finlayson produced the highly acclaimed kidult show Under the Mountain and the successful police drama Mortimer’s Patch, as well as the films Other Halves and The Grasscutter.

In this ScreenTalk, Finlayson talks about:

• His excitement and naivety upon becoming a reporter on Town and Around
• The cynicism behind the wholesome family show Stars on Sunday
• How producing the TV series Under the Mountain was one of his best experiences
• Using mirrors to create in camera effects for the show
• The real reason for shooting Mortimer’s Patch in the countryside
• The courage of director John Laing in picking street kids to act in Other Halves
• The challenge of casting The Grasscutter in Belfast with director Ian Mune

This video was first uploaded on 29 November 2011, and is available under this Creative Commons licence. This licence is limited to use of ScreenTalk interview footage only and does not apply to any video content and photographs from films, television, music videos, web series and commercials used in the interview.

Interview, Camera and Editing – Andrew Whiteside