Ande Schurr Ande Schurr is a production sound mixer for feature films, TV productions and commercials. His How Freelancers Can Succeed series was born from the desire to document and share what worked, and didn’t work, as a freelancer. www.schurrsound.com

Creative entrepreneur's journey

Creative director and theatrical production designer Sarah Burren.

Inspired by Cirque du Soleil and large-scale creative experiences, Sarah Burren wants her fusion of interactive theatre and education to go global. She tells Ande Schurr about the five year journey, and attempts to secure funds from local government and corporations, to bring her 'edu-tainment' project Journey to the Deep to the world.   Read More »

Making Facebook Count

Orthogonal by M Jack Muranami.

In his latest tips for How Freelancers Can Succeed, Ande Schurr says Facebook can ignite the fires of your business and help define and develop its culture and spirit. He offers some case studies and encouragement to start devoting more emphasis on social media. Read More »

The Madant Mafia

"Madant is definitely a family. I'm sure all the best production outfits in the world have a very close team at the core of them and Madant is certainly one of those," says Creative Director Troy Sugrue.

By Ande Schurr

There is a saying that blood is thicker than water, that the bonds between family members is stronger than those of friendships. When it comes to building a successful company, the rules change. Colleagues become family. Read More »

Adapting to the market in 2012

By Ande Schurr

Adapting to the market is not a business strategy but an entire overhaul of your work ethic. It means being aware of anything pertinent to your business.

From eyeing the competition, keeping close to clients and tools of your craft, to knowing the latest funding criteria changes. Read More »

Internal Communication

By Ande Schurr

The corporate video market is an industry unto itself. Hundreds of small production companies around New Zealand vie for the job to produce internal videos for medium to large organisations who have grown beyond their ability to have a face-to-face conversation with their employees. Read More »

Freelancer Lessons 2011

Ande Schurr on the set of Russian Snark. "One reason I started the column, 'How Freelancers Can Succeed', is because I wanted to challenge the notion of the artist or technician who lives by the skin of their teeth."

Ande Schurr reviews and wraps-up his columns from 2011 with 12 lessons for freelancers and, as part of our ten year celebrations, considers what The Big Idea means to him.

"One reason I started the column, 'How Freelancers Can Succeed', is because I wanted to challenge the notion of the artist or technician who lives by the skin of their teeth." Read More »

Mistakes Freelancers Make

A freelancer who is looking to remain relevant in their industry must search within themselves from time to time, assessing what they are doing wrong as much as what they are doing right.

In his latest column, Ande Schurr outlines three common mistakes that freelancers make and some tips on how to avoid them. Read More »

Films, Fans and Likes

Lewis Bostock has made it his business to discover how independent film and web producers can make money, or as he puts it, become 'sustainable'. Ande Schurr interviews the freelance web video producer and co-host of web show The Social Life. Read More »

Follow your heart

We can become so consumed with our work that we forget about the things that deep down we yearn to understand, says Ande Schurr in his latest column for freelancers.

"Even more important than keeping our craft sharp and our skills refined, is the need to keep our mind continually growing and stretching." Read More »

The Transmedia Director

Storytelling is one of the oldest art forms for communicating ideas and one of the great adapters to evolving mediums. So are the storytellers, like transmedia director Chris Clark.

He tells Ande Schurr how his role is becoming broader and more collaborative.“Which is great. More clever people with more good ideas! Read More »

Field to Screen

Audio engineers Steve Hartley and Patrick Duncan.

If you're tuning into live coverage of the Rugby World Cup 2011, spare a thought for those working behind the scenes. Ande Schurr talks to one cog in the machine - audio engineers on OB (Outside or Onsite Broadcasts) trucks, delivering live sound from the field to your screen. Read More »

Freelance Lessons Learned

Ande Schurr shares his 'lesson learned' from six years of freelancing and asks you to share yours.

Ande works in the film industry but his lessons apply to many freelancers including; specialising and generalising are two opposite, yet valid, pathways and having a mentor is the fastest way forward. Read More »

The Making of a Film Company

In the middle of the recession, popular director-producer partnership, Mike Oldershaw and Johnny Blick, started up their own company Waitemata Films. Read More »

The cost of jumping ship

We can lose more than our income if we neglect the basics of building a business and jump ship too soon.

Ande Schurr’s latest post for freelancers deals with the importance of specialising in one area before 'chasing the fancy ideas that pop into our heads'. Read More »

Clean location sound

Capturing 100 percent clean location sound is the ideal, especially if shooting lower budget films, but is it always possible? Ande Schurr offers some technical tips and examples from his time on NZ feature films Russian Snark and Timeslow. Read More »

Line Producers talk

Ande Schurr interviews three line producers who have a healthy track record of bringing home international commercials.

They delve deeper into the business of line production, including improving and selling the advantages of filming in New Zealand. Read More »

How to love cold calling

Ande Schurr writes about the common fear of cold calling and how to tame it. He says by using one simple technique, applicable even in finding a date, the once fearful freelancer can start to enjoy cold calls like you are talking to a friend. Read More »

Break bad habits

Ande Schurr suggests a way to break bad business habits by trialling a trick he learnt in a book about monks and Ferraris.

"When we use positive pressure to make the changes we need, we give ourselves a decent chance to achieve it." Read More »

The Blondini boys are back

By Ande Schurr

The Blondini boys are back. From the place film-makers go to when their funded short films don't make the A-list festivals, Jeremy Dumble and Adam Luxton have bounced back with a feature film Last Strike.

The self-funded film took four months to make from script to final shot. There is a kind of revenge in the air... Read More »

A Year of Business Lessons

Ande Schurr highlights a year of business lessons from his 'How Freelancers Can Succeed' columns in 2010 - with advice for freelancers and interviews with colleagues in the film and TV Industry, including an impromptu interview with 'the giant of the industry' Sir Richard Taylor. Read More »

Korean Filmmaking Lessons

Foreign film crews in New Zealand offer local crews a chance to adapt and improve their own skills and methods. When the South Korean drama Athena came down under, Ande Schurr was there to learn some new tricks. Read More »

Filming in Samoa

On the flight back from filming a documentary in Samoa, Ande Schurr interviewed his colleague, cameraman Jason Wetzel, about filming overseas and storytelling.

"You've got to know these key things: who is your target audience? What is your production brief? What do you want to tell and show people on screen? If you don't really know those parameters you're shooting blind." Read More »

Succeeding as a Freelancer

One year ago, Ande Schurr started writing about freelancing and interviewing successful freelancers for The Big Idea. In this post Ande shares what drives him and how he maintains a steady stream of work. Read More »

Richard Taylor - Weta Workshop

Stickability is the ‘glue that has allowed an island nation in the back corner of the world to emerge’, says Weta Workshop's Richard Taylor. It's one of four qualities - along with passion, enthusiasm and talent - that he looks for when hiring, he tells Ande Schurr.

“I'm as passionate today as the day I started our business. I can't wait to walk through the door in the morning." Read More »

The Future of Cinematography

Matt Meikle - Director of Photography (DP) for TV commercials, music videos, short films and documentaries - reveals a mature and considered approach to growing a career.

In this interview with Ande Schurr, Matt talks about weighing the future of his craft, so reliant on technology, with his own ambitions. Read More »

Industry Links: Film & TV

How Freelancers Can Succeed: For whatever reason, sometimes we can feel alienated from the industry we work in.

Ande Schurr recommends joining a community of interest and offers his list of film and TV industry links. Read More »

The Art of Sound Design

By Ande Schurr

Sound Designer Tim Prebble is a great catch for my freelance series. Read More »

Dealing with Competitors

The old adage 'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer' is good advice for freelancers to consider when dealing with competitors, says Ande Schurr. Read More »

The Modern Creative

How Freelancers Can Succeed: Ande Schurr talks to TV presenter and reporter Simon Pound. Read More »

Four Small Steps

How Freelancers Can Succeed: Ande Schurr recommends four steps to increase your productivity. 

When applied, these four small changes can help decrease general sloppiness and make your thinking sharper. Read More »