Michael Bennett: On writing, directing and cow whispering...

Film and television writer/director Michael Bennett has been involved with some of New Zealand’s favourite TV dramas, including Street Legal, Mercy Peak and Outrageous Fortune. He has written and directed two acclaimed short films – Cow and Kerosene Creek, and penned the feature film Jubilee. In 2010 he directed his first feature - Matariki.

In this ScreenTalk, Bennett talks about:

• Exploring communication without dialogue in the short film Cow
• Borrowing a wet set and props from Xena for the film
• Using a "cow whisperer" on set to control a floating bovine
• Exploring childhood grief in the short film Kerosene Creek
• Using the metaphor of transcendence in the film Matariki
• Managing eight lead characters in an ensemble cast
• Shooting the first scene in one take with two young inexperienced actors
• Learning from every filmic experience and moving on to the next project

This video was first uploaded on 11 January 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