Reel hard but worth a shot

Making movies - it's one of the toughest industries to break into, finds Sarah Turner.
Lights, camera - inaction. This catchcry applies to many independent film-makers in Auckland today.
Marketing man Brendon Udy has spent six years struggling to get into the New Zealand film business. Working full-time at Hydrotech Drainage, Mr Udy spends much of his free time working on new projects for the film industry. He dreams of being either a screenwriter or a producer.
"When I come home from work, I'll write for an hour or research film ideas - anything related to film."
Mr Udy and a group of friends have formed a production company, Half Shell Productions, in an effort to be taken seriously by the industry. He and co-writer Bradley Patten intend soon to pitch their 12-episode web series, called Z, to TVNZ. Its plot focuses on two brothers in a zombie-infested New Zealand.
Mr Patten is not yet convinced he'll be able to carve a full-time career for himself in film because, he says, it's so unreliable. "The thing about film is, it's either gonna happen or it's not."
Half Shell Productions gets its only exposure via social networks, such as Facebook, YouTube or Twitter, because there is not enough funding to develop Z or any projects on a larger scale.
"There isn't enough money available in the Government to cater to New Zealand film-makers," says Mr Udy.
Although he would like to make film his full-time job, he understands this is unlikely in the current economic climate. He says he chose to work full-time in marketing because he needed the money. "I don't think there is a right way to make it. The short answer is, it's hard."
Someone who has managed to get one foot on the rung is C. J. Withey. He's a 25-year-old contractor who has worked as a sound assistant on a number of high-profile productions, including Yogi Bear and Spartacus: Blood and Sand.
Hopefuls need to show passion and dedication to the industry to succeed, he believes.
"It's worth it when you make it. There is no other job in the world where you get to work with people from all other degrees of the business."
Let's do coffee
Screen Directors Guild executive director Anna Cahill agrees it's difficult to maintain a career in film in New Zealand as there are too few jobs to go around.
She believes one problem with young film-makers  now is that they don't want to start at the bottom as runners or making coffee - they want to get straight in and start producing content.
The "grizzle factor'' of a runner is what puts some networks off a person, says Ms Cahill. The more they complain, the less likely it is they will make any progress in the business.
"If you are going to make coffee, you need to be the best coffee-maker on set. There may be two people on set with equal talent and the person who is the most positive and easy to deal with is more likely going to make it.''