Building a career

For better or worse, one of the problems with building a career in NZ is that most art is heavily dependent on state subsidies, and the pathways to get those funds are largely privileging a certain path to success. Though I won a few prizes as a musician, most of my path has been so indie and niche that it's not really captured by CNZ grants. My lazy approach to scheduling means that I seldom apply for funding, and the projects typically take years to complete, which also isn't ideal from a state subsidy viewpoint. The Dakumentary has definitely made me a lightning rod for controversy, but it also had the effect of shoving some of my best films in the faces of the old pros. - Most of my success has been in social media - yes, YouTube is one as well - rather than radio plays or Spotify streams. My brother had a genuine hit with Know, but the Ad of The Knight on My Couch was only a turntable hit. However, running that full-length Ad of Portrait of a Knight on social media in early 2020, or whenever it was, was a total success. A few thousand eyeballs, and that was when nobody had seen the film. About 5 people bought the VOD copy in the 2018 release. In hindsight, the trailer was too good. The giggle spots had a bit of mystery to them, while my theory is tons of people checked out the trailer, which was a full rendition of 'Tis You set to a montage, but then either thought that was the film or didn't buy it. The cast album has done well internationally, but it's a small industry. 10,000 plays or so, and that's a chunky proportion of the musicals community. - Then there's the controversy over These Words Are Meant For Someone. A lot of people apparently found my movie shocking and disturbing, but it's all their imaginations: the pictures are just prompts. It's hardly a sex manual, unlike the new piece. That was a commission, though, and I'd rather work for commission than have deadlines. As a film composer, I relish deadlines and working on it with the director; if people are tentative, then pay me bit by bit so that it's easier to fire me and recoup the costs.

- Despite being unemployed, I did pick up other skills that are valuable. Editing is the thing I'm most comfortable doing for a job, as it doesn't end up perverting my creativity the way that making ads would. I'm 50-50 on becoming a proper journalist. I'd say the trans doco is another test to see if I'd be into doing that.