Thedownlowconcept: Quirky television company...

Thedownlowconcept is an Auckland-based production company run by Ryan Hutchings, Jarrod Holt and Nigel McCulloch. Their first TV production was music quiz show Pop Goes the Weasel. They cemented their TV comedy credentials with hit show 7 Days, and followed it up with ‘science for blokes’ series Bigger Better Faster Stronger and acclaimed comedy series Hounds. Thedownlowconcept have also made a number of short films for the 48 Hour Film Festival including the award-winning Only Son.

In this ScreenTalk, the team talks about:

• Becoming best friends at AUT and starting a production company
• Being appalled at their first attempts at creating TV props
• Not really knowing what they were doing producing Pop Goes the Weasel
• How not having much of a budget meant they had to do multiple roles
• Hit show 7 Days almost not making it on screen
• How the press bagged the show before it even debuted
• How the genesis of Bigger Better Faster Stronger began with the host’s hoarding ability
• Being disappointed in the ratings for the show, but still loving it
• Comedy series Hounds, and why it taught them a lot about the TV industry

This video was first uploaded on 17 May 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