Online Heroines

Online Heroines gives a view into the ambitions, struggles, and triumphs of being a New Zealand woman creating video content online; highlighting the systemic, societal, and personal challenges which need to be faced if New Zealand is going to have fair and equal media representation.

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“We’re all feminists so we just hope that what we make is feminist [but] you can’t just be like we’re chill, you actually have to make an effort, which we’re learning about.”

The Candle Wasters is the collective effort of Claris Jacobs, Elsie Bollinger, Minnie Grace, and Sally Bollinger. Together they create web series inspired by the works of William Shakespeare. They have now created and shared three web series. Their first, Nothing Much To Do, was made completely unfunded but the following two (Lovely Little Losers and Bright Summer Night) received funding in the form of Kickstarter and NZ On Air. They're now setting their sights on creating original works with the upcoming Happy Playland and Tragicomic. Follow their progress or get in touch via The Candle Wasters on Youtube or thecandlewasters.tumblr.com

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“I think in order to stand out, you just need to know your voice, and you need to know who you are and be sure of who you are.”

Britney Hazeldine is a lifestyle blogger and YouTuber under the name of 'URBN WILD'. She studied video production and has been blogging for 6 years now. Britney makes videos about style, food, mental health and everything else inbetween, and her vibrant personality has helped her build a tight knit community around her content. Get to know Britney or get in touch via URBN Wild or Twitter.

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“The ability to distribute stuff online has been hugely freeing for creatives. The instant gratification and feedback is what emerging filmmakers need to get better.”

Anna Duckworth is a producer for Candlelit Pictures, creating music videos, and in 2014, the webseries $1 Reserve with The Actor's Program. Anna started making YouTube videos fresh out of high school, and the small but vibrant New Zealand Youtube community spurred her on to study film at university. After studying, she then travelled to New York on a one year work visa, working as a PA on feature films, ended up production co-ordinating on commercials and music videos, but returned to New Zealand to work with Candlelit Pictures. Get to know more about Candlelit Pictures, or get in touch with Anna via: candlelitpictures.co.nz vimeo.com/candlelitpictures or Twitter 

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“It’s the new form of entertainment really, so many more people are flocking to YouTube rather than watching television.”

Kimberley McManus is a Youtuber, running Our Daily Life, who started out creating makeup videos, but now vlogs about her life as a solo mum and reviews of children's products. Kimberley has two kids, Zach and Sadie, and is currently studying to be a midwife. Get to know more about Kimberley, or subscribe to her Youtube channel at Our Daily Life 

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“I have no doubt that online is going to completely take over as the dominant distribution platform for everything. It’s just a matter of time.”

Alix Whittaker left her formal studies to produce full time, and never looked back; co-founding Candlelit Pictures in 2010. Since then, she's gone on to produce over 50 music videos and short films, including Vimeo Staff Pick SheepDogWolf - Glare and was an ART Venture Award 2015 Winner. Get to know more about Candlelit Pictures, or get in touch with Alix via: candlelitpictures.co.nz vimeo.com/candlelitpictures @alixwhittaker

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“52% of feature film producers are female. So they’re like, well done, move on. And I’m like no, tell me where the money split is. There’s a missing statistic here”

Hazel Gibson is a freelance producer, working on commercials, music videos, shorts and feature films. She graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Film, Television and Media Studies. She was a Hamilton city manager for the 48 Hours Filmmaking Competition from 2012-2014 and has worked with The Datsuns, Fat Freddy's Drop, and on Deathgasm and Orphans & Kingdoms. View Hazel's full portfolio at hazelgibson.com

Morgan Leigh Stewart is a freelance producer, with a Master of Arts from the University of Melbourne in screen industry and cinema studies. She's worked on a variety of projects, especially low-budget ones like Make My Movie winner, Deathgasm and 48Hours Grand Finalist film Interloafer, made with an all-women cast and crew, however has also been a part of Hunt for the Wilderpeople, The Moe Show, and produced music videos for Broods, Anna Coddington, and The Checks. View all of Morgan's work at morgan-stewart.squarespace.com

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“If you have politically alternative ideas, or you try to be radical in some way, it’s a lot easier to just do it online because you don’t need anybody’s approval or permission”

Bea Joblin is a Wellington-based filmmaker who is passionate about women in film and telling stories that vary from the norm. She has so far released two web series, CNT Live and The Hutt Valley Dream Project, which she wrote, directed and produced, and her first feature film is currently in post-production. Find out more about Bea or get in contact via Lady Garden.

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“As long as I’ve got something to say, and the ability to say it and I have at least one or two people who show interest then I’ll keep doing it.”

Tegan Morris is a Youtuber, with her channel Tegan Meets World. Tegan combines the reality of navigating a life with disabilities with interviews and the everyday for her channel. A disabilities advocate and public speaker, Tegan added published author to her list of titles this year with her book, Not Always Lost. You can follow Tegan, in all her adventures, at Tegan Meets World or on Facebook 

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“What matters most to me is connecting with people, is when that subscriber number turns into someone commenting regularly on my videos”

Charli Prangley is a designer and self confessed "side project addict" who runs a YouTube channel among other things. Charli started her channel in 2013 as a way to reach other people interested in design, music and style, and has since spoken on a panel at VidCon, at the 2016 seanwes conference. Charli's videos are a mixture of vlogs, design advice, travel, music, and much more, and she has grown a community of over 30,000 subscribers. Find out more about Charli, or get in touch via Charli Marie TV or Twitter

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Solidarity & Call To Action: Why a black post? - A note from Louise

I’m beyond excited to share my thesis project, Online Heroines. However, as all good students, I’m aware that it’s not a perfect project and there are some things I’d like to address publicly. 

This post is black, to represent the women who were unable to be a part of my project due to fear of the consequences. This was the reason cited as to why some of my participants pulled out and shows that discrimination is certainly on the mind of women working in the film industry, even when publishing online. This is important for me to address as it’s only due to a lack of data that this is evident. 

Another issue I’d like to acknowledge is diversity. While I made a conscious effort to approach a diverse range of women for this project, I also recorded the diversity information of those who did participate:

92% Pākehā (NZ European) | 8% Māori 69% Straight | 15.5% Bisexual | 7.75% Fluid 100% Cis gender | 0% Trans gender | 0% Gender fluid 8% Had a significant disability or illness | 92% Did not

These stats are impacted by the time constraints of creating this as a Master’s project, and the availability of the people I approached, but I also want to acknowledge that for people with intersecting marginalised identities, it can be even harder to speak out. I am looking to do a second round of interviews, in particular, to address this imbalance, and would love to speak to any New Zealand women (or non-binary) filmmakers who don’t see themselves represented adequately in the Online Heroines. 

You can email me at [email protected] or tweet me at @saycheeselouise