thedownlowconcept is a production company and creative

collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an ...

based in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, specializing in producing

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

for film, radio and television. It was formed in 2002 by Jarrod Holt, Ryan Hutchings and Nigel McCulloch, and have since frequently collaborated with actor and comedian Josh Thomson. They are notable for their quirky, irreverent, and sometimes controversial comedic style.

Notable productions

7 Days

In 2009 thedownlowconcept created a popular and award winning comedy

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

7 Days, based on their news-based radio panel show, ''Off The Wire''. By creating consistent paid television work for a number of comedians the show has helped grow the New Zealand comedy scene by showcasing local comic talent to the public, and helping the country outgrow its notorious

cultural cringe Cultural cringe, in cultural studies and social anthropology, is an internalized inferiority complex that causes people in a country to dismiss their own culture as inferior to the cultures of other countries. It is closely related to the concept ...

48 Hours

thedownlowconcept were the first group to win the New Zealand 48HOURS Film Festival twice, with short films ''Brown Peril ''(2007), and ''Only Son'' (2010). All films of the festival are to be conceived, written, shot, edited and delivered in 48 hours, with an unknown random genre, a character, a line of dialogue and a prop, which is revealed at the start of the festival. ''Only Son'' later went on to win Best Screenplay and Best Short Film at the New Zealand Film and Television Awards 2010. It is the only 48 Hour film to ever have featured in the New Zealand Film Awards, let alone win it outright, beating films with government funding from the New Zealand Film Commission. ''Only Son ''was later picked up for distribution by the NZFC and was invited to Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas amongst studio premieres.

Hounds

In 2012 thedownlowconcept produced their first scripted comedy series, Hounds. It won Best Comedy at the 2012 New Zealand Film and Television Awards, beating 7 Days, making it three years in a row that the company has been nominated in the category, winning it in the previous year for 7 Days. Despite the network not renewing the series, it remains one of the most critically acclaimed comedies ever produced in New Zealand.

Controversy

"Headlights" music video

In 2009 New Zealand's national broadcaster

TVNZ , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...

banned a music video made by thedownlowconcept for the possibility of breaching the Broadcasting Standards Authority code on the exploitation of children. The video was made for the song ''Headlights'' by 11 piece afro soul

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

band "The Hot Grits". The video depicted preschoolers

binge drinking Binge drinking, or heavy episodic drinking, is drinking alcoholic beverages with an intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time, but definitions ( see below) vary considerably. Binge drinking ...

milk as if it was alcohol and taking lollies and candy as if they were drugs. Lead vocalist Barnie Duncan said the idea for the video came from the production company, with the intention to "demonstrate the child-like greed with which adults conduct themselves whilst on the road to excess". Despite the removal of the video from circulation from both of TVNZ's networks, the clip was picked up by music television channels C4 and Juice TV, and went on to win the "Best Music Video" award, The Golden Jandal, at the New Zealand 2008 Handle the Jandal music video awards. The video was also the winner of the category of "Best use of exploitative tactics". The only other New Zealand music video that has been banned in the history of TVNZ is by

The Skeptics Skeptics were a New Zealand industrial post-punk band from 1979 to 1990. They became notorious in 1987 for an unusually graphic music video entitled "AFFCO". Early recordings Skeptics' first recording appeared in 1982 on ''The Furtive Four Th ...

, entitled AFFCO. The 1987 clip featured graphic footage of lambs being slaughtered.

Lundybainwatson

In 2012 thedownlowconcept courted controversy again with the naming of a greyhound Lundybainwatson in their series Hounds. The dog's name referred to convicted multiple murderers Mark Lundy,

Scott Watson Ben Smart and Olivia Hope, two young New Zealanders, disappeared in the early hours of the morning on New Year's Day, 1January 1998. The two friends had been celebrating on New Year's Eve at Furneaux Lodge in the Marlborough Sounds with other pa ...

and

David Bain On 20 June 1994, Robin and Margaret Bain and three of their four childrenArawa, Laniet and Stephenwere shot to death in Dunedin, New Zealand. The only suspects were David Cullen Bain, the eldest son and only survivor, and Robin Bain, the father ...

. Bain was later acquitted after spending 13 years in jail following numerous appeals from lawyer

Joe Karam Joseph Francis Karam (born 21 November 1951), also known by the nickname of "Clock", is a New Zealand former representative rugby footballer who played for the All Blacks. After retiring from rugby, he became a businessman. However, he is most ...

resulting in his eventual release from prison in 2009. Before the series aired, promotional material came to the attention of Karam who complained to the network citing bad taste and potentially a defamation lawsuit. The unintentional publicity stunt caused a minor stir when the producers called for suggestions on the ''Hounds'' Facebook page. At the behest of the network the production company re-shot and re-recorded audio in the few scenes where the dog's name was mentioned, renaming the dog Lundy''dixon''watson. Dixon referred to another controversial New Zealand murderer, Antonie Dixon. thedownlowconcept refused to be interviewed on the topic but released this statement, "We named the greyhound character (played by Flossie) after New Zealand's three most well-known, potentially wrongly accused men."

Acclaim

"Auckland-based production company thedownlowconcept are as close to a Kiwi comedy hit factory as currently exists." - Lee Henaghan, The Nelson Mail "Hounds, I believe, is the best Kiwi comedy show ever made." - Chris Schulz,

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

. "Is Hounds the best Kiwi comedy ever? Yes." Chris Philpott,

Stuff.co.nz Stuff is a New Zealand news media website owned by newspaper conglomerate Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd (formerly called Fairfax). It is the most popular news website in New Zealand, with a monthly unique audience of more than 2 million. Stuff w ...

"They are gifted comic writers with great timing which is a rare gift. They have no fat in their work. Every second is great." -

Ant Timpson Ant Timpson (born 21 April 1966) is a New Zealand film producer best known for producing ''The ABCs of Death'' series, '' Turbo Kid'', ''Deathgasm'' and ''The Greasy Strangler''. He founded and hosts the 48Hours film contest. Career In 2003, ...

, Flicks.co.nz "Great performances, terrific writing and beautiful direction". -

Josh Olson Joshua R. Olson is an American screenwriter and podcaster, known for writing the 2005 film ''A History of Violence''. Career Olson wrote and directed the low budget horror film ''Infested'' in 2002. He wrote the screenplay for the 2005 film ' ...

Scoop.co.nz Scoop is a New Zealand Internet news site run by Scoop Media Limited, part of the Scoop Media Cartel. Operational model The website publishes many submitted news and press releases due to their permissive policy. Their website states: "If it's ...

(on ''Only Son'')

Awards

Hounds - Best Comedy or Comedy Series - Won - New Zealand Film and Television Awards, 2012 7 Days - Best Comedy or Comedy Series - Won - New Zealand Film and Television Awards, 2011 Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger - Best Constructed Reality Series - Nominated - New Zealand Film and Television Awards, 2011 7 Days - Best Comedy or Comedy Series - Nominated - New Zealand Film and Television Awards 2010 Only Son - Best Short Film - Won - New Zealand Film and Television Awards, 2010 Only Son - Best Short Film Screenplay - Won - New Zealand Film and Television Awards, 2010

Production credits

Radio

* ''Off the Wire'' Radio New Zealand National * ''The Late Night Adventures of Simon and Miles''

George FM George FM is a New Zealand dance music radio station, owned and operated by MediaWorks from its Hargreaves Street headquarters and relayed on Freeview and radio frequencies around New Zealand. Its seventy-five regular presenters and additional ...

* ''You've Been a Great Audience'' Radio New Zealand National * ''Pop! Goes the Weasel'' Channel Z and Kiwi FM * ''The Cab Ride to Destiny''

RadioWorks MediaWorks New Zealand is a New Zealand-based company specialising in radio, outdoor advertising and interactive media. It is jointly owned by U.S. company Oaktree Capital Management and out-of-home advertising company QMS. It operates nine n ...

* ''Radio Station''

Television

* ''CoverBand'' (2014) TV One * '' Best Bits'' (2013-) TV One * '' Hounds'' (2012)

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso *Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala *Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by EPTV ...

* '' Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger'' (2011)

* '' 7 Days'' (2009–present)

* ''Pop! Goes the Weasel'' Series 1 and 2 C4 &

Film

* ''Gary of the Pacific'' (2017) * ''Brown Peril : The Tim Porch Story'' (2006) - NZ 48 Hour Grand National Winner * ''Water As A Metaphor'' (2008) -

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...

"Reel Life" National Winner * ''Only Son'' (2010) - NZ 48 Hour Grand National Winner * ''Seed'' (2012) - NZ 48 Hour Auckland Finalist

Gallery

Image:popweasel.jpg, Pop! Goes the Weasel Image:brownperil.jpg, Brown Peril : The Tim Porch Story

External links

thedownlowconcept WebsiteThe Public Address group-blogNew Zealand 48 Hour Website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:downlowconcept Film production companies of New Zealand Television production companies of New Zealand Mass media companies established in 2002 Companies based in Auckland Mass media in Auckland 2002 establishments in New Zealand