Thedownlowconcept is an Auckland based production company run by Ryan Hutchings, Jarrod Holt and Nigel McCulloch.

Their first TV production was the music quiz show Pop Goes the Weasel. They cemented their TV comedy credentials with the hit show 7 Days, and followed it up with the ‘science for blokes’ series Bigger Better Faster Stronger. In 2011 they will debut their sitcom Hounds.

As well as television, thedownlowconcept have made a number of short films for the 48 Hour Film Festival including the award-winning short Only Son.

In this ScreenTalk interview, the team talks about:

• Becoming best friends at AUT and starting a production company
• Being appalled at their first attempts at creating TV props
• Not really knowing what they were doing producing Pop Goes the Weasel
• How not having much of a budget meant they had to do multiple roles
• That the hit show 7 Days nearly didn’t make it on-screen
• How the press bagged the show before it even screened
• How the genesis of Bigger Better Faster Stronger began with the host’s hoarding ability
• Being disappointed in the ratings for the show, but still loving it
• Their new sitcom Hounds and how it taught them a lot about the TV industry

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

NZ On Screen: Interview, Camera and Editing – Andrew Whiteside