Led by Vicki Makutu,
Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāti
Pōrou
Blackout Media Ltd is based in Whanganui and has an extremely successful track record in New Zealand video production throughout the North Island and were one of the first (if not, the very first) to be funded by government agency Te Māngai Pāho to produce a purely online webseries ‘Hahana’, which, 6 years later has grown into the biggest Māori youth series/brand in Aotearoa with over 35 million views, 280,000 followers, and reaching audiences of all ages through Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube.
We produce content for television, digital platforms, Social Media, iwi organisations, and businesses wanting to reach more of their audiences in innovative ways.
Vicki Makutu
Company Director
Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kauwhata
Television and Digital Producer/Director/Editor
Vicki has been making videos ever since she can remember, but after High School she went straight on to study at Southseas Film and TV School. The year after, she got a job as an editor for Māori TV's news and current affairs shows, and was asked to help setup the first MTS Wellington news office. After that, she moved back to Auckland to do a 3 year stint at Prime and Sky , which is where she started to see the world turning more to online video. Vicki started Blackout Media to pursue this further and made the first Māori webshow for Facebook 'Hahana' which was and is still the highest rating online Māori webshow in it's 6th season and has since produced hundreds of video for many projects from promotional to television, garnering millions of views across all platforms. Vicki's passion for 'anything Māori' is evident, and she has, and will only work on projects that bring value to our people and has a clear Māori objective. Vicki's forward thinking earned her the title of one of Asia Pacifics 'Innovative 25' from Innovate media and the 2021 Whanganui Business award. She now dedicates half her time to mentoring new Māori content creators and producers.
022 689 4883
Louise Makutu
Associate Producer/Coordinator
Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kauwhata
Louise has over 15 years’ experience in the Community sector, starting as the Youth Coordinator at the Te Takere o Kura-hau-pō youth space where she was creating and implemented initiatives to empower and support rangatahi and whānau in the community, including the first rangatahi radio station in the Manawatu, and the Te Takere Horowhenua/Manawatu roadshow “Listen to the Music”. Louise has been the Production coordinator/Youth mentor for all of the Hahana series, naturally moving most recently, up the ranks to Associate Producer. She co-produced the highly anticipated and 1st ever Reoathon in September 2020, reaching the impressive engagement goal of 1 million social media comments in te reo Māori and has managed and co-ordinated many productions for Blackout Media Ltd including the Careers NZ Oompher series, Tamariki Takeover, Smooth TV, #1Miriona, and more recently The Covid Kōrero Series. Louise has utilised the hands on training at Blackout to pursue opportunities of running her own productions, and has successfully been funded for a new webseries 'Tahua' which sees her producing and directing a show that goes online in July 2020.
Louise is a wonderful part of the Blackout Team and pivotal to its success. She has a Diploma in Music Event Management and a Diploma in Youth Work.
022 359 8926
Shaia Twomey
Te Reo Māori & Tikanga Advisor
Ngāti Raukawa te au ki te Tonga/Te Āti Haunui ā Paparangi / Ngāti Kahungunu ki Te Wairoa / Ngāti Kuia / Ngā Paerangi.
Shaia graduated from Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, Massey University with a Te Aho Tātairangi: Bachelor of Teaching Māori medium and a Diploma in Māori Education.
Shaia is a first language speaker, and it is the only language her and her whānau speak at home. Te Reo Māori and its survival is very important to Shaia which shows through her passion for any project she does. She works closely with the Blackout media whānau where she has translated scripts, been the head of te reo Māori and tikanga on sets and location, and makes sure all content is approved before it goes out to the world. She is understanding of what we as a company is trying to achieve and isn't afraid to correct us (even, if just with a look) when necessary.
Her qualifications in Te Pīnakitanga ki te Reo Kairangi and Te Panekiretanga o te Reo and her most recent ‘Toi Reo Māori’ translation certificate makes her a very valuable asset to the team.
021 0675 461
Benedict Reid
Development Executive
Clan Robertson
Benedict has worked in the arts sector for 25 years, starting in the publishing industry and later in the screen industry holding a variety of management roles with Sky TV, Māori Television and NZ On Air. He has produced and written short films, a low-budget feature, TV documentaries, theatre, stand-up comedy and a young adult novel “Out of Sight”.
Benedict played a core role during the set up phase of Māori Television as an Operations department Team Leader where he first met Vicki. After two years at their Auckland office, he worked with Vicki to set up Māori Television’s Wellington office. He then spend 11 years as part of the NZ On Air funding team. He has been NZ On Air Acting Head of Funding on numerous occasions, including for maternity leave cover. Benedict currently works for Arts Access Aotearoa as a Kaiārahi Kohi Moni, Creative Spaces Funding Advisor. He has been working in the intellectual disability and mental health arts space for some time and was a board member of the Frozen Funds Charitable Trust from 2009 to 2017. He has an MA in script writing from Victoria University’s IIML and a BSc in Biological Science from Auckland University.
021 120 9690
Scarlett-Manaia Te Aramakutu-Morgan-Patea
Presenter
Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kauwhata, Te Arawa, Whanganui
Scarlett has grown up with two parents in the media industry so becoming a part of the industry herself was inevitable. At just 5 years old Scarlett was making her own videos on Youtube. At 8 years old she was the face of Aotearoas 'What's your pepeha' campaign for Māori language week that urged people to share their pepeha on Social media using the hashtag #pepehachallenge and starred in a 'Dream Big' video promoting her hometown of Whanganui.
She then starred in Tamariki Takeover showcasing her favourite thing to do which was to go visit the cuzzies in the beautiful Te Araroa.
And since 2018, she has presented her own show called 'Māori Stuffs Cool' which takes everyday Māori tikanga and deep dives into the meanings behind why Māori do things the way they do. Scarlett is a natural infront of the camera and has a bubbly and cute nature that makes it easy for people to take in what she is presenting. She understands the media world very well and has since started to produce her own content for Tiktok.