Natural History New Zealand

Natural History New Zealand Ltd (NHNZ) is a small New Zealand-based documentary production company that creates more than 60 hours of television programming each year. The themes it explores include the natural world as well as health, science, adventure and people.

NHNZ has filmed above and below every ocean and every continent, including Antarctica - where it has produced more films than any other company. The results have earned NHNZ over 200 international awards, among them Emmy Awards, the industry’s highest accolade, and the prestigious Wildscreen Panda.

In addition to the base in Dunedin, New Zealand, NHNZ has offices in Beijing and Washington DC. It works closely alongside major networks around the world such as Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery Health, TLC, National Geographic Channel, PBS (US), NHK (Japan), France 5 and NDR (Germany). As a result its programmes are seen in more than 200 countries by hundreds of millions of viewers. [ [http://www.nhnz.tv nhnz - welcome ] ]

History

The early years

NHNZ grew out of the Natural History Unit of TVNZ, which had been formed in the late 1970s. The first documentary made was about takahe in Fiordland, called "Project Takahe". A series of four 15minute programmes called "Hidden Places" and which featured various New Zealand habitats, notably Okarito, White Island and near-to Dunedin – Sinclair Wetlands, firmly established the unit. From the outset the programmes made were ambitious. But the programme that captured the attention of international wildlife film-makers was undoubtedly the story of the rescue by Don Merton from the brink of extinction of the New Zealand black robin. Several programmes were made chronicling this success story – "Seven Black Robins", "The Robins Return" and finally "Chatham Island a Black Robin Story". For a more detail about the origins of these early programmes see Morris & Smith [Wild South, Saving New Zealand’s Endangered Birds. Rod Morris & Hal Smith, TVNZ & Century Hutchinson NZ Ltd, Auckland. 1988 ISBN 0-908690-38-X] .

An understandable focus on New Zealand stories continued during the 1980s and early 1990s, with the series Wild South becoming a NZ cultural icon which is still remembered fondly by the public. 1990 saw the production of a series presented by David Bellamy in association with the New Zealand Heritage Foundation called "Moa’s Ark" [Moa’s Ark the Voyage of New Zealand. David Bellamy & Brian Springett. Penguin Books (Viking), Auckland. 1990 ISBN 0-670-83098-4] . This was the first time NHNZ had worked with an international ‘star’.

The early 1990s were not easy times for TVNZ, and levels of production in Dunedin (not just in the natural history unit) were severely curtailed. But the ambitious nature of the documentaries continued – and one of the company’s special areas of expertise was born – Antarctica.

Focus areas

NHNZ has been making documentaries in Antarctica for over twenty years. The first in 1982 featuring the private life of Adelie penguins paved the way for a further 23 titles. "Icebird" and "Under the Ice" were early offshore successes for the company, and were both produced by Neil Harraway whose exploits whilst filming underwater in the frozen sea were the subject of a recent segment in the series "Up Close and Dangerous".

The pair of documentaries "Emperors of Antarctica" and "The Longest Night" chronicled the over-wintering activities of the scientists from Antarctica New Zealand, produced by Max Quinn in 1992, were joined by a third "Solid Water Liquid Rock" produced by Mike Single. This trilogy helped to establish the fruitful and long running relationship with Discovery Channel in the USA. Throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s a string of documentaries were made by both Max and Mike. (They have both given up counting the number of times they have flown down to the ice). An exceptional icy dive team is led by Jeanie Ackley and Ed Jowett. With Mike winning an Emmy for outstanding cinematography for "The Crystal Ocean", and Max’s trilogy "Ice Worlds" which compared and contrasted both polar worlds for National Geographic Channel, cementing NHNZ’s place as a leader of documentary film making in the inhospitable Antarctic.

A second area of deep expertise lies underwater. Two major marine based series "Deep Blue", and "Shark Gordon" were filmed at locations throughout the Pacific. "Shark Gordon" was made for Animal Planet, and featured shark specialist Ian Gordon. Whales have also featured in many documentaries including "The Lost Whales" about southern right whales and the rejuvenation of the population in New Zealand's sub-Antarctic islands; "Killers I have known" about the work of Dr Ingrid Visser, and her investigations into the life and habits of New Zealand orca.

uccessful series

The most successful series NHNZ has made for Animal Planet is "The Most Extreme", for which production spanned five years from 2002 to 2007. The show investigates the top ten animal on any given theme. The forerunner to "The Most Extreme" is "Twisted Tales", two series were produced in 1999 and 2000, here the show took a single animal group like The Frog or The Bat and mixed interesting and intriguing facts.

"Animal Face Off" for primetime Discovery Channel where a hypothetical fight between two species was examined by experts, made a more entertaining show than the previous straightforward blue-chip documentaries with a neutral narration.

The recent "Buggin' with Ruud" series featured New Zealander Ruud Kleinpaste and his energetic on-screen antics with insects and other similarly crawly creatures, returned to some extent to NHNZ's roots as a natural history producer.

Diversification

Like many other medium sized production companies, NHNZ has diversified the portfolio of programmes that it makes. Genres for television broadcast include Health ("Kill or Cure" series); Science ("X=Force the Science of ..." series; "Mega Disaster" series); Adventure ("Adventure Central" series); People ("Tribal Life" series; "The Diva Mummy"). Accompanying home videos (and DVDs) have always been released. Several books have also been published under the auspices of NHNZ.

Other film-makers, television producers, educationalists and similar people have access to NHNZ's resources through NHNZ Images. Footage from the programmes and the outtakes may be purchased - there is an on-line catalogue.

See also

* nature documentary
* wildlife
* natural history

Notes