APIRANA IPO TE MAIPI is one step closer to his dreams of a career in digital media and film after making the move south.
Api's up for the challenge
Two years ago, Apirana Ipo Te Maipi, of Cook Island and Maori heritage, made the decision to move south to Invercargill and study at the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT). Moving from Auckland was not an easy decision for Api. He had no friends or family down there, but after two years he says it has been a great experience.
“I have made good connections throughout the community and I believe Southland is a place that can help in my development of making feature films,” he says.
He was surprised to find out how many students were from outside of Southland, especially in his first year at the Grand Hall of Residence. So there were lots of students like him moving away from home to study, not knowing many people and looking to make friends.
When Api was researching his tertiary study opportunities in 2006, he found that SIT had the Zero Fees scheme which made it very attractive financially for him to study there as he had a family to support while studying. Living in Southland is very cheap compared with the rest of the country.
“I got a two bedroom flat that has been renovated with a heat pump and its only $150 a week,” says Api. Initially after leaving school, Api studied visual arts at tertiary level but he realised his true passion was digital film rather than applied arts. He came to SIT to study the Bachelor of Digital Media, a three year degree that covers a wide range of subjects such as video production and editing, screenwriting, digital animation, web design and business and legal skills.
Api has just completed his second year of study and although it has been hard work he says he has “picked up news skills such as, better lighting ideas, adapting better screen plays, shooting on green screen, using better programmes – it’s been good and next year it gets even better. We have moving cranes, top of line cameras, avid suites – man I can’t wait,” says Api.
Moving to Invercargill and studying at SIT has been a good decision for Api in an academic sense as well. He has always wanted to get a tertiary qualification and the degree at SIT “is a perfect challenge, life isn’t fun without a challenge.”
The classes are small so this means more time one-on-one with the tutors. At SIT they have state of the art equipment and offer both academic and cultural support. The programme is designed to be hands on, it is an applied qualification, and for digital media students like Api this is very important as they need some examples of their work to get noticed in the industry. Api believes the academic side of the degree is necessary but in the end people are remembered for the films they make during study not the essays they have written.
In his final year, Api hopes to get his screenplay made into a film and from there get into film competition where he can compare himself to the best from around country, maybe even the world!
