Hollings jumps the production fence

By LOUISA CLEAVE

Former television programming supremo Bettina Hollings has switched sides to make shows through her own production company.

Hollings left her position as general manager of TV4 last July to live in New York but has returned to set up her own communications company, Imagination Television.

She has been a programmer for TV2 and director of programming for TV3 and TV4.

"The favourite part of my job as a programmer was collaborating with the creative community over creative development of local production," she said.

"That was certainly a highlight of my job ... and is now something I would like to develop and become practically involved in."

Hollings said she was bitten by the production bug during a total immersion workshop at the New York Film Academy, which involved learning everything from writing and acting to making short films.

Her company will also provide consultancy work on multimedia to television companies and ad agencies.

"Television is going to be at the centre of technological change, and it is already with the Internet and other forms of new media, so it's an exciting time to be back in New Zealand," she said.

"Certainly New York provided me with a very good understanding of how new media can impact on some of the traditional television uses ... how traditional television uses Websites as complementary media to what they're doing."

Hollings said she had been busy writing proposals but she is not revealing too much about her television plans.

"I think I got a few ideas from the States.

"There are really two currencies in New York - cash and ideas. You learn, if you've got a few ideas, that if they're any good they'll have value. I suppose I learnt a bit over there about what could be pretty popular here."

She said television shows where "real people" were the stars - such as Treasure Island - continued to be popular here and dominated the ratings.

"It is a popular form and that's one avenue of things, but there's certainly a whole lot of other ways of looking at things and hopefully there will be an opportunity to bring in new things."