Happy New Year!

admin — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 05:00:19 +0000

One more year begins and we think we are lucky to be in the creative field and have work! A lot of creative minds out there have not been able to get projects off the ground and there is hardly any money going around. Here in New Zealand, government funding is constantly being reviewed-which is fair enough-but that means there is less money for imagination and experimentation. HCM continues to work in the area of migrant storytelling and fringe people but the aim is to bring the people into the mainstream and that is tough. One the one hand is the argument that just telling migrant stories is ghettoising these people but then on the other hand there isn’t enough representation of our people and our stories in the mainstream. Simple courtesies like the correct pronunciation of names is not even a consideration! So, there has to be a two-pronged approach. One is to carry on telling migrant stories and creating capacity within these communities and the other is to keep fighting for space and visibility in the mainstream. Yet at the same time be inclusive and welcoming, engage with mainstream New Zealand, engage with the global community and those pompous elders in the ethnic communities who so cling on to their patriarchal positions. We are lucky we can do it all. (Except the pompous elders who are too boring to put on camera or radio.)

The Asian Radio Show has got funding from New Zealand On Air until the end of June 2011 and we are looking to pitch new ideas, a new concept for the show and more stories for 2011-2012. We now have a Facebook fan page, we are on Twitter and you can listen to us on this website. We are working on podcasts as well as uploading episodes on this amazing live radio site called Flipzu. We love radio at HCM and all of us are radio geeks.

Apart from that, 2010 has been a hard year to break into film and tv. The documentary DANCE BABY DANCE was finally completed but has not been able to get into any festivals. However that is just a start. For a film made without any money, it was completed and that is an achievement. Now we will look for alternative ‘release’ platforms.

The next documentary shall be made with funding. The pitch is almost ready, the budget..well…about U.S.$80,000 and it is on Tibetan art and artists. We shall seek funding from various interest groups, from the internet and other imaginative ways. It is not possible to get any funding from a New Zealand funding body because it not a ‘New Zealand’ film. The way any creative business can survive is to be imaginative and find ways to make things happen instead of complaining. We shall raise the money in stages-development, production, post-production and marketing. Hopefully the internet and social marketing sites will make it easy.

And then there are the short films. Half written, almost written. Perhaps one will have to be done without money…just because…

So that is the challenge for 2011. To finally make an audio-visual piece and get a foot in the film/tv door. Wish us luck. Hard work is just a state of the mind.

Call For Radio Stories

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:10:19 +0000

Press release.

THE ASIAN RADIO SHOW invites all New Zealanders to contribute 2-3 minute stories for the 2010 season running between 6th February and 12th June.

In the spirit of audience participation, interactivity and capacity building, THE ASIAN RADIO SHOW would like all New Zealanders, living in New Zealand and overseas, to send in stories worthy of broadcast on radio.

THE ASIAN RADIO SHOW is the first of its kind, a magazine style show about an Asian perspective of all things New Zealand; a show full of attitude, humour and irreverence, to play on commercial airwaves. Funded by New Zealand On Air, TARS is broadcast every Saturday evening at 7.40pm, just after Pop Goes the Weasel, on RadioLive (100.6FM). It started in August 2008. All the shows are available on-line www.holycowmedia.com/the-asian-radio-show.

For 2010, THE ASIAN RADIO SHOW offers a platform for all New Zealanders to tell stories via the show. You could be a journalism or media student, you could be mashing sound on GarageBand, you could be a homemaker, an accountant, anybody or nobody. You could be of Asian origin and if not then you could want to tell something ‘Asian’ related. It could be quirky, experimental or serious. It could be a love story, an anecdote or a comment on politics. Travel stories are welcome too. As is drama.

• Recordings should preferably be in .wav format.
• The story shall be edited by the crew on the show unless sent broadcast ready.
• Sound can be delivered through a web based drop box.
• Final date for delivery 16th April 2010.

Five of the best stories will be broadcast on the show between May and June 2010. All contributions shall be edited and archived on the Holy Cow Media website.

Email theasianradioshow@holycowmedia.com to run ideas, technical, script, editing, delivery, copyright and any other queries. Please do not send in blind entries.

Meanwhile you can follow us on Twitter @asianradioshow.

If you record on your phone or any other mini device then make sure the recording is clear and clean because it will be in mp3 format which is not very good quality for broadcast on radio. Please do contact us before you start.

Holy Cow Media » The Asian Radio Show

Happy New Year!

Call For Radio Stories