‘Incredibly hard': Behind the scenes of Air NZ’s polarising safety videos
Wednesday, 3 July 2024
It’s little wonder if you feel like Air New Zealand’s safety videos are getting old.
While the airline used to release a new video once, or even twice, a year, it’s been over two years since its last offering, Tiaki & The Guardians, which follows a young man as he travels across Aotearoa in a waka rererangi (flying canoe), learning from Māori guardians how to better care for the country and giving visitors tips on how to do so in the process.
In the interim, Air NZ has been recycling some of its old videos, such as the one which sees a group of local tourism board members argue over which New Zealand attraction should be made the eighth wonder of the world, first screened in 2020.
Air NZ refused to answer questions on when the next video will appear and what travellers can expect from it, with a spokesperson saying “Mum’s the word”.
Veteran Kiwi filmmaker Josh Frizzell, who has directed Air NZ safety videos such as The Search for the 8th Wonder, the Middle Earth-themed An Unexpected Briefing, and A Journey to Safety, which tells the story of a little girl trying to find a lost takahē a forever home, said it can take up to two years just to get the concept right.
“The most time is spent with the advertising agencies coming up with the ideas. They’re not easy as there are so many boxes to tick and so many different partners to please.”
The idea must satisfy Air NZ, civil aviation regulations, and other stakeholders such as Tourism New Zealand, the Department of Conservation, and/or celebrities.
“The entire advertising agency often ends up getting drawn in as Air NZ is such a big client and the safety video can be one of the flagship campaigns of the year for the brand,” Frizzell said. “There is a huge marketing department at Air NZ. They are one of the biggest brands in the country.”
Once the idea is approved, Frizzell said every frame of the video is discussed with the airline and partners.
The actual production process is like shooting a movie, requiring casting, location scouts, studios, lights, crew, editing, principle photography, and multiple meetings.
Videos typically require up to four or five weeks of pre-production, and four or five days to shoot, he said. The edit can take an extra two weeks, and post-production a fortnight or so more.
The biggest challenge for Frizzell as a director is keeping the video entertaining while delivering the requisite safety messages.
“There’s always the beautiful intro, the music, the characters and the set-up of the story to catch the viewer’s attention - all the fun stuff. Then there is the inevitable moment when you have to stop all the fluff and demonstrate how the seatbelt actually works.
“The demonstrations have to be regulation - no jokes or art here. And there are rules around how fast and clear and graphic the demonstrations have to be. So there is always going to be a dip in the fun and energy of the piece as a whole.
“The trick is to sneak the fun in and around these moments and keep it engaging, with a great through-line and pay off at the end, so there is a sense of satisfaction for the viewer.”
Striking the right balance between entertainment and clear instruction is something of a fine art, he said.
“You want to make sure the message has sunk in, because it’s so important. But it also has to look amazing and entertain because everyone is judging them. Everyone. All my work colleagues and the people who hire me, and basically everyone I know is forced to sit there and watch them multiple times.
“This goes for everyone who works on them of course, Air New Zealand included. We are all judged. So we all try and make them as good as they can be.”
Air New Zealand’s safety videos tend to provoke strong reactions from viewers. Kiwis tend to be particularly vocal about them, seeing the national carrier as an ambassador for New Zealand in the skies.
There are those who love the elaborate productions with guest stars, storylines and strong non-safety-related messages, and those who wish they’d stop trying so hard to entertain and just get to the point.
Recent in-flight incidents, such as the Japan Airlines (JAL) emergency at Tokyo’s Haneda airport in January and multiple instances of severe turbulence resulting in injuries and even death, have brought the importance of the safety video back into focus.
In the case of the Tokyo Airlines incident, the crew’s composure and clear instructions combined with the passengers’ high level of cooperation helped ensure everyone disembarked safely. But some experts say the straightforward safety video may also have played a part.
Air New Zealand’s videos have become more serious since its multi-million dollar It’s Kiwi Safety video was so widely derided in 2017 that it was quickly pulled. But it’s hard to imagine the airline ditching the high-production values that have made its videos world-famous entirely.
Indeed, Air NZ chief operational integrity and safety officer Captain David Morgan told Stuff Travel in March that the next video would “deliver something fresh, new, and engaging for our customers”.
US-based aviation analyst Captain John Cox said he thinks Air NZ’s videos are effective and set a high bar for the rest of the industry.
“The idea is to get the necessary safety message across to the passengers in a way that they will listen to it. Air NZ has been very successful in doing that. They have been very creative, with a great result of people listening to the safety message.”
University of Southern Queensland aviation professor Kan Tsui said there is evidence that passengers may ignore safety videos if they find them boring or repetitive, so it is important for airlines to make them attention-grabbing.
“However, airlines need to be aware of the trade-off between entertainment and education. The greater the entertainment value, the poorer the retention of key safety messages among passengers.”
Asked about the feedback he has had from the public about the safety videos he worked on, Frizzell recalled hearing a couple of people chuckle at one of the jokes in the The Search for the Eighth Wonder on a recent trip to Wellington, saying it’s “nice to know it still stands up”.
“One time I was sitting beside a woman on the way to Australia and the takahē video was on. She too laughed at a couple of the gags, then we got talking, as you do, and she asked me what I did, so I told her I made the safety video and she couldn’t believe it.
“So yeah, I love making them. They are a huge brand stamp for Air New Zealand and I am honoured to be part of it. They are iconic. I love working with the Air New Zealand staff and the flight attendants who always act in them, collaborating with the agencies and client, working these projects up and realising their crazy ideas. It's fun. It’s one of the best gigs in town.”
What would you like to see from Air NZ’s next safety video? Share your thoughts in the comments.