Nigel Latta: the psychology behind good television...

Interview – 2015

Nigel Latta is a clinical psychologist and popular TV presenter who has made a range of television shows exploring the human condition. His first foray into television was series Beyond the Darklands, which explored some of New Zealand’s worst crimes and the people behind them. He then hosted three seasons of Politically Incorrect Guides, which variously covered parenting, teenagers and grown-ups. His documentaries have taken him to Antarctica, up in helicopters, and led him to blow up various objects.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Latta talks about:

Discovering TV is "tatty" while filming Beyond the Darklands
Having clear rules around filming the show
Working with producer Mark McNeill to create The Politically Incorrect shows
Finding corporate funding for the documentary After the Quake
Discovering amazing science while filming Surviving Teen Driving
Getting to fly a helicopter and drop a car from a crane being part of his job
Being criticised by journalists for making The Hard Stuff documentaries
Watching whales swim by while visiting Antarctica for for On Thin Ice
How Nigel Blows Stuff Up began as an offhand comment
Getting hypothermia and a sore hip working on the show
Enjoying making television, more than being on it

This video was first uploaded on 21 December 2015, and is available under this Creative Commons licence. This licence is limited to use of ScreenTalk interview footage only and does not apply to any video content and photographs from films, television, music videos, web series and commercials used in the interview.

Interview, Camera and Editing – Andrew Whiteside

I learnt a lot of really useful things making the show, because you go and talk to scientists and researchers spend their time looking at that stuff. And what tends to be the case is that there's amazing science and research going on. They have trouble getting that information out there in a way that's kind of palatable and that the public can understand.
– Nigel Latta on making science and research accessible to the public, through shows like Surviving Teen Driving

Nigel's Full Profile