Our unique partnership with the producers of the long-running hit TV series Power Rangers has created an exciting opportunity for talented students to learn first-hand what it takes to work in our region’s billion-dollar screen production industry.
Power Rangers has been filmed in studio and on location in Auckland since 2002, creating jobs and a significant boost to the regional economy. Fifteen seasons to date of the series have been shot in Auckland, with all based at Studio West – a privately owned facility in the industry’s west Auckland heartland.
In the past three seasons, Power Rangers Productions has worked with more than 1000 Auckland vendors – spending more than $100m; in that time, it has contracted more than 1800 on its crew, paying wages of more than $43m.
The pilot skills development and job pathways programme involves 11 trainees and a series of group workshops, and coincided with the start of production on the upcoming season of Power Rangers Beast Morphers.
Jack Mensah, who has now graduated with a Bachelor of Digital Design from Auckland University of Technology (AUT), completed a four-week placement and said: “It was thrilling to have the opportunity to peek behind the curtain, and to gain practical industry knowledge while being part of something so internationally recognised…only a traineeship like this could provide the practical exposure I got. Having made great connections, so many opportunities are now simply a phone call or email away.”
Students from AUT, School of Audio Engineering (SAE), and Unitec are involved in the programme to help produce the type of skilled workers the industry needs and to continue to attract talent to the industry – which often finds it hard to fill vacancies for highly skilled positions.
Our partnership with Power Rangers Productions is for production in 2018 and 2019 for Power Rangers Beast Morphers, which will screen in 2019/2020.
Auckland is by far New Zealand’s dominant region for television production and post production, with $420 million gross revenue in 2017 – 84 per cent of the national total.