RADz


rADz are a series of short artistic films shown during television ad breaks in the 1990s. They were an idea by Barry Thomas, consummated with two rADz he made with Red Mole in 1991 then a further four series were made from 1997-2001 by New Zealand film makers. Four collections of these "haiku films" were purchased by TV3's TV4 with the proviso that all rADz were nominally paid to be in the ad breaks and that all rADz would be played with credits across the TV schedule, including prime time. Around 60 further films were made in the UK, with and for small communities and later screened on late night BBC Two.

Style

rADz were initially modelled on television adverts in New Zealand - for art versus hawking anything - so were exactly 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 second long. With less televisual constraints in the UK, rADz were more community focused and ranged up to 12 mins duration. "As with much 20th Century art - the quest has seen the redefining of, not only the subject of art but also its means, purpose and modi, finding new 'galleries' and contesting aestheticism, the politics of 'taste' and the status quo.".
Conceptually, rADz fit within the genre of intervention art - intervening into advertising breaks with fresh, stimulating and challenging ideas and narratives. Genres are often humourous, sometimes political, alluring, whimsical and many are green. They tend to express youth culture, concerns, aspirations, vision, beliefs and lifestyles. As such rADz align with the notion of culture jamming, artists expressing skepticism about monolithic markets and media, bureaucracy and even democracy... advancing 'freedom of speech' where such freedoms have been curtailed or siloed into silence.
"rADz interface poetry, art and film with no commercial imperative... using all the tricks and skills of advertising without having to hawk anything" - Barry Thomas.
Commentators have described them as: "standing the whole idea of advertising on its head"... "did I just see that?" "Art dancing in the devil's playground." An early version of tik tok: "you could just have 30 seconds of someone jumping", "You started TikTok"," Anti Ads", "Searing and brilliant - geniale", "A tiny slice of personal propaganda" "getting art in the middle of commercials?", "... subversive", "Imagine a bubblegum card sized piece of televisual media empire that's struck just for you. Chewing on the flavourless pap you had to buy just to win the card you see it's all worth it now. After years of short-lived tasteless sensations on the tube you've got an image you can call your own that won't walk out on you in the morning. TV's a costly business, but now it's payback time because there's a new breed riding on the coattails of this behemoth who won't be told anymore that the price of talking TV is beyond them. Enough generations have learned the jingles, glimpsed the personalities, goggled at the visual short-hand and generally been sold short on reality to realise they've already paid their price. The Pay-back is rADz - that bubblegum card is yours. Throw away the shrink-wrapped, toll free, send-no-money-now world's stick of flavourless, sugar-coated jaw ache away and lay your cards on the table. ". "If there's room for advertising to interrupt art then there's room for art to interrupt advertising" - Barry Thomas.
They arrived at a time at the very beginnings of the internet and digital production era when films had to be brief. The very first digital morphing had just arrived and Yeti Productions wrote its own morphing software, the world's first fully capable capture board that was powerful enough to import a full 25 frames per second video had only just been invented.

Origins

made environmental films, commercials and winning awards so he offered New Zealand's national TV broadcaster - TVNZ, the idea of making short environmental clips to help New Zealanders improve their environmental footprints via mainstream Television by utilizing what were then called "Community Service slots". All broadcasters were bound by law to make these off peak, charitable promotions available to community groups. Thomas had made many with the Hillary Commission - "Women in Sport", Kiwisport", Cancer Society's "Fit Food", "Salvation Army", The Department of Conservation including Dame Whina Cooper and Jacques Cousteau.
Thomas hosted national meetings of all the country's environmental groups - Maruia Society, Doc, Ministry for the Environment, Forest and Bird, Greenpeace, ECO, and following investigation with Len Potts of Colenso Advertising agency, the group settled on TVNZ's Ad Agency - Saatchi and Saatchi to run what became "Earthcare". TVNZ and Saatchi formed the Earthcare Trust inc. and trustees included Sir Edmund Hillary.
1 minute of TVNZ airtime per day during the "Holmes show" was dedicated to Earthcare sponsors and dozens of short clips were made advancing conservation and environmental issues. There was concern about the overall quality of production and accuracy of messaging. The brand also sold around a million dollars of sponsorship to the NZ Lotteries Commission, Fisher and Paykel etc. at a reported $350,000 each. Sponsors received dedicated advertising spots in TVNZ's other off-peak environmental programmes. Revenue was earned from previously unsellable TV dead-time using the good names of the country's green groups. Thomas made Kevin Smith aware of these facts in 1992. All sponsors withdrew and Earthcare was dead in two weeks.
Undaunted, Thomas re-jigged his idea via his art roots and reached out to Red Mole Enterprises to make the first haiku art films. The first two rADz were made under the name "Cheap Spots" in 1992 - a collaboration between Yeti Production Ltd. and Red Mole Enterprizes.
The first two "Book of Life" Cheap Spots aired in November 1991 and even Jenny Holzer was quoted saying "I want the work to look like it belongs on TV, but not to look like a local car ad. The jolt comes from the context".
The name came from the notion that the Cheap spots played in affordable off-peak TV airtime which only cost $68 per screening.
The crew: Barry Thomas - Director/ camera/ edit, Russell Collins Art Director, Alan Brunton, Sally Rodwell scripts and acting, Carlos Wedde acting.

Z Spots

Thomas re-named Cheap Spots as "Z Spots" - as all TVNZ advertising was rated A-Z depending on audience size, expensive to cheap. He loaned his idea to three film makers including Jonathan Brough and Glenn Standring. This became a trademark dispute with the two sides agreeing to settle out of court.

rADz New Zealand 1997-2001

Thomas then re-named them 'rADz' which he trademarked and sought to widen access by successfully applying to the NZ Film Commission and Creative New Zealand's Screen Innovation Fund for what became the first of four successive collections of about 30 rADz each. Each Collection received c. $NZ30,000.
The first grant was in 1996 and the first collection of 31 rADz was made in 1997. Bettina Hollings bought the first collection for the brand new youth oriented TV4.
Thomas negotiated contracts between the film makers, YETI Productions and TV3. He secured nominal payments of $500 per collection from the broadcaster so as to secure the history of having been paid to be in the middle of terrestrial TV ad breaks with art films, "selling nothing but Ideas, originality and art". Secondly Yeti Productions was paid to manage, run competitive tendering throughout the country for film makers and pay them 50% of any sales. rADz received 500 minutes of airtime per collection on TV4 - displayed throughout the schedule including prime time. Each rAD was either 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 seconds duration and every rAD screened with proper film credits. Film makers were each given $500 to make their rADz.
He appointed two fellow adjudicators: film historian Lawrence McDonald and film maker Jane Perkins. Each Collection had its own flyer and a large screening was held to celebrate each collection at the Paramount Theatre in Wellington NZ on completion.
In total around 100 film crews, amounting to hundreds of artists were chosen from always well patronized calls for each collection. Some film makers were seasoned like Paul Maunder and Barry Thomas but the majority were up and coming directors, actors, etc.
In Collection # 2, Thomas announced "I don't care if you shoot it on sellotape, come and make history, make rADz.

Significant contributors to NZ rADz

, Greg Page, Nova Paul, Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, Paul Maunder, Barry Thomas, Rhys Darby, Simon Raby, Peter Salmon, Struan Ashby, Phill Simmonds, Guy Capper, Mary Jane O'Reilly, Greg Page, Nova Paul, Paul Swadel.

Release

Collection # 1 screened an astounding 1,530 minutes in one year amounting to more than 15 feature films. Speaking of the difference between TV adverts and rADz Simon Vita reporting for City Voice Newspaper said that Johanna Sanders' rAD "Healthy Living" about the proposed destruction of inner city Wellington communities from the new urban motorway extension - "That makes worrying about whether your shampoo is going to do the biz kinda irrelevant".

Clermont Ferrand

Jan. 2001 and Jan 2002.
Following the screening of Collection # 2 at the Paramount theatre, The NZ Film Commission's Kathleen Drumm approached Thomas to represent rADz at the next Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France in January 2000. After receiving no funding support and taking the advice from fellow film maker John Reid "It might be time to sell the motorbike" - Thomas joined the party and managed to sell rADz to In-Movies ltd. in London and Sundance TV.

UK rADz

Thomas initially attempted, but failed, to attract televisual outcomes in the UK. All rADz made in the UK followed the same modus operandi. Yeti Productions worked with local groups, funders and each film was workshopped within a short period, co-scripted and film crews were selected depending on the will and passions of the mainly young participants - acting to co-directing. Thomas tended to film most rADz on his Cannon XL1 Mini DV camera and edit all the rADz into a collection that was then screened back to the community in large gatherings. Participation certificates were awarded.
Thomas made 30 rADz in London with In-Movies Ltd. in 2000, co-producing with In-Movies Ltd. and the youthful What-ever Pictures. Including "Vrooom" Clare Palmer and "Big man the drink of heroes"