Draft 2 PhD Introduction - ResearchSpace@Auckland

156
“it was part of the environment […]. We used to see it quite a lot, so we used it”. 519
This proved to be a difficult image to capture. The herons would congregate around the
water troughs for the cattle, which were invariably in the middle of a fence line. Ward
and Narbey set up a situation where Narbey would get as close to one of the herons as
possible, and using a zoom lens, would start the camera rolling, waving to Ward to
indicate that he was ready. Ward was on the other side of the trough and would come
running towards the trough to frighten the bird so it would fly, hopefully in Narbey’s
direction. It was difficult to ensure there was enough film in the magazine, and once the
bird flew off, it was very hard to keep it in the sight of the long lens. Contrary to
Bollinger’s belief that Ward wanted to include a shot of the bird because it was part of
the environment, Narbey believes that Ward wanted to film the heron in reference to the
Maori belief of the white heron taking the spirits back to Spirits Bay. 520
David Coulson started editing the film, but since it was shot over a long period of time
and Coulson had other commitments, most of the editing was done by Christine
Lancaster. The pace of the editing in the film is relatively slow - a result of Ward
consciously trying to match the subject’s rhythm with that of the film. Ward
deliberately repeated some actions, such as Puhi giving Niki his pills, in order to
emphasise their ritualistic nature. “By filming the pill sequence in several different
ways, I attempted to show variety within seeming repetition […]. It is the small
gestures, actions and reactions that set up and define their relationship [Ward’s italics].
Ritual is an important part of that relationship”. 521 There were problems with editing
due to lack of continuity, with Puhi wearing different clothes or with shorter hair, but
these are hardly noticeable in the final version of the film. As Bollinger comments:
“Once you’re in the editing room and it’s got a flow on, it’s amazing what you can get
away with actually, in terms of continuity, if it flows right”. 522
The process of getting the film completed was beset with problems, not the least of
which were financial. Although Ward was able to get funding for the film from the
Education Department, the Arts Council and the Film Commission, he commented in an
interview for Photo and Audio: “I don’t wish to disclose the budget, but I will say it’s a
low budget film. It has been very difficult and I’ve had no wage. The film could never
519 Lynette Read, interview with Leon Narbey, 29 January 2002.
520 Lynette Read, interview with Leon Narbey, 29 January 2002.
521 Ward, “A Documented Account of the Making of In Spring One Plants Alone,” Section on Approach.
522 Lynette Read, interview with Alun Bollinger, 3 December 1998.