thedownlowconcept is a

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...

and creative collective based in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

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 Joshua Joseph Thomson (born September 21, 1977) is an American mixed martial arts podcaster, commentator, analyst and former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2001, Thomson has competed in Bellator MMA, PRIDE, Strikeforce, ...

. 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 demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

7 Days Seven Days or 7 Days may refer to: * Week, an amount of time Film * ''7 Days'' (2010 film) (''Les 7 jours du talion''), Canadian thriller film * ''7 Days'' (2021 film), American romantic comedy film * ''Seven Days'' (1925 film), American silent ...

, based on their news-based radio panel show, ''Off The Wire''. By creating consistent paid television work for a number of

comedians A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dire ...

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 conc ...

48 Hours

thedownlowconcept were the first group to win the New Zealand 48HOURS Film Festival

twice Twice (; Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn: ''To~uwaisu''; commonly stylized as TWICE) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, ...

, 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 The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC; mi, Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga) is a New Zealand government agency formed to assist with creating and promoting New Zealand films. It was established under the New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978 (as amended ...

. ''Only Son ''was later picked up for distribution by the NZFC and was invited to

Fantastic Fest Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, and Tim McCanlies, writer of ''The Iron Giant'' and ''Secondhand ...

in Austin, Texas amongst studio premieres.

Hounds

In 2012 thedownlowconcept produced their first scripted comedy series,

Hounds A hound is a type of dog that assists hunters by tracking or chasing the animal being hunted. Hound may also refer to: * Dog, any dog of the subfamily Caninae Arts and entertainment * ''Hounds'' (TV series), a 2012 television comedy series set ...

. It won Best Comedy at the 2012 New Zealand Film and Television Awards, beating

, making it three years in a row that the company has been nominated in the category, winning it in the previous year for

. 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 banned a music video made by thedownlowconcept for the possibility of breaching the

Broadcasting Standards Authority The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA; mi, Te Mana Whanonga Kaipāho) is a New Zealand Crown entity created by the Broadcasting Act 1989 to develop and uphold standards of broadcasting for radio, free-to-air and pay television. The main ...

code on the exploitation of children. The video was made for the song ''Headlights'' by 11 piece afro soul funk band "The Hot Grits". The video depicted preschoolers 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 Music television is a type of television programming which focuses predominantly on playing music videos from recording artists, usually on dedicated television channels broadcasting on satellite, cable, or Streaming Platforms. Music television ...

channels C4 and

Juice TV Juice TV, previously Juice, originally was a 24-hour music television channel operating from the Auckland suburb of Parnell in New Zealand. The channel closed on 15 May 2015 and relaunched as a 30-minute-long programme on Garage. The channel t ...

, 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, 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

. The dog's name referred to convicted multiple murderers

Mark Lundy Christine Marie Lundy, 38, and her 7-year-old daughter Amber Grace Lundy were murdered in Palmerston North, New Zealand, on 29 August 2000. In February 2001, after a six month investigation, Mark Edward Lundy (then aged 43), Christine's husband, ...

, Scott Watson 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 ''The Nelson Mail'' is a 4-day a week newspaper in Nelson, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. It was founded in 1866 as ''The Nelson Evening Mail''; the first edition was published on 5 March 1866. It absorbed another local paper, '' ...

"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 newspaper ...

. "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 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 was founded in 20 ...

"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 200 ...

, 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 (on ''Only Son'')

Awards

- Best Comedy or Comedy Series - Won - New Zealand Film and Television Awards, 2012

- Best Comedy or Comedy Series - Won - New Zealand Film and Television Awards, 2011

Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger ''Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger'' was a New Zealand science-based reality television series broadcast on TV3. Each episode saw the two hosts, James Coleman and Greg Page, work to produce a "new and improved" version of a household appliance or ...

- 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 RNZ National ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa Ā-Motu), formerly Radio New Zealand National, and known until 2007 as the National Programme or National Radio, is a publicly funded non-commercial New Zealand English-language radio network operat ...

* ''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''

* ''Pop! Goes the Weasel'' Channel Z and

Kiwi FM Kiwi FM (formerly Channel Z) was a New Zealand alternative music radio network. From 1996 to 2005, as Channel Z, it broadcast alternative and local music for a youth-oriented market. From 2005 to 2015, as Kiwi FM, it broadcast predominantly New ...

* ''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 * ''

'' (2012) TV3 * ''

'' (2011) TV3 * ''

'' (2009–present) TV3 * ''Pop! Goes the Weasel'' Series 1 and 2 C4 & TV3

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 "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