Peter Blake
Peter Blake introduced more local content to popular music shows Ready to Roll and Radio with Pictures at a time when covers of overseas songs were the norm. The longtime musician began in television via 1970s music programme; Grunt Machine, and ended up in charge of a stable of shows. He has also composed music for everything from TV One's nightly News theme to drama Shark in the Park.
Jack Body
Jack Body, OMNZ, composed for everything from gamelan orchestras to the Kronos Quartet, and was a leading figure in awakening local interest in Asian and Pacific music. His soundtrack work ranged across children’s tales, te reo dramas and nature films. His collaborations with director Vincent Ward include classic film Vigil, and (with John Gibson), 2008’s Rain of the Children. Body passed away on 10 May 2015.
Keith Ballantyne
Music has been integral to Kevin Ballantyne’s life since the day he picked up a cornet at age five. The Aucklander has been composing music for 40 years for television, theatre, short films and commercials. Ballantyne wrote music for the iconic Heartland series. His first foray into writing music for the screen was 1977 natural history documentary Red Deer, which won an award at the American Film Festival.
Marc Chesterman
Composer Marc Chesterman has brought his experience of playing drums in bands and sound designing for the theatre, to the screen. Chesterman has worked on a run of films with director Florian Habicht, including composing the soundtrack for Woodenhead and Spookers. He has composed music for Zia Mandviwalla short Eating Sausage, and was sound designer for Rita Angus documentary Lovely Rita.
Brent Hansen
Brent Hansen was a director of iconic 80s music show Radio With Pictures for four years. In 1987 he joined music network MTV in London. By 2003 he had risen to the position of creative president of the entire MTV network outside of America. Hansen finally left MTV in 2006.
Arthur Baysting
Although better known as a songwriter and champion of New Zealand music, Arthur Baysting has also made a number of contributions to the screen. In the 1970s he was a scriptwriter on breakthrough dramas Winners & Losers and Sleeping Dogs, while his white-clad alter ego Neville Purvis graced cabaret stages and a short-lived TV series. Since then he has concentrated on writing songs and screenplays.
Bernie Allen
Bernie Allen, QSM, was a professional musician and teacher before beginning his TV career as musical director of popular 60s show C’mon. He continued on to Happen Inn, followed by a vast number of shows as composer or music director over the next two decades. His score for Hunter’s Gold won an APRA Silver Scroll; his arrangement of ‘Hine E Hine’ accompanied the classic Goodnight Kiwi animation.
Peter Janes
Peter Janes has been capturing images of NZ — and its musicians — for longer than some of his camera assistants have been on the planet. Through Janes' diverse screen career, music forms a major thread. After directing his first music videos as a teen, he went on to helm iconic clips for many Flying Nun bands. Janes has also been director of photography on TV's Jackson’s Wharf and The Topp Twins.
Karyn Hay
As longtime presenter of alternative music show Radio With Pictures, Karyn Hay won fame for daring to speak in her own accent. Since leaving the show in the late 80s, Hay has worked on both sides of the microphone, directing music videos, managing radio station Kiwi FM and writing award-winning novel Emerald Budgies.
Dave Fraser
In the 1970s and 1980s, the multi-talented Dave Fraser brought his multiple musical talents to score everything from features and National Film Unit documentaries to television dramas and commercials. Image credit: Alexander Turnbull Library, 1/2-215042-F (Detail)