The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Auckland & the North Shore was recently privileged to work alongside Morningside Productions filming a documentary on Multiple Sclerosis for the Open Door Programme.

The team at Morningside were an absolute delight to work with. They were prompt and professional in dealing with any enquiries. There was constant communication between both parties regarding the content and the message that we wanted communicated and how filming was progressing. They gave careful consideration to our thoughts on what we wanted conveyed and they were also able to make suggestions on what could be added to enhance the documentary.

When it came to the actual filming the team were very friendly and accommodating, which is very important when dealing with people with MS. The people who were involved with the film crew felt that they were very understanding and never invasive, making those being filmed totally at ease. During the filming the crew went out of their way to ensure they captured the right images, sometimes filming the same person at a number of different locations and doing different activities.

Each person who was filmed received a rough cut of the documentary and were given every opportunity to make changes if they were not comfortable with the content, which again made them feel at ease about being put in the public eye.

The end result was a positive and insightful view into what living with MS can be like both for the individual and those close to them. Having the opportunity to convey this message to the wider community via Open Door and with the kind support of New Zealand on Air has been very beneficial to our organization and is greatly appreciated.

Nicola Garland (Marketing & Fundraising Coordinator, MS Auckland Region)

Having the opportunity to bring awareness of the needs of those living with secondary breast cancer, and our ability to offer help, was hugely beneficial. By their sensitive yet compelling portrayal of the stories of four of our members, women living with secondary breast cancer, we raised awareness not only of those women who are living with breast cancer to let them know of the availability of our support but also the awareness of the wider community for their need.

During the filming Shirlie Fairbrother and her team at Morningside Productions were extremely professional and even more impressively sensitive to the situation of our members, accommodating their requirements as they managed filming between chemotherapy and clinic appointments and the high level of physical and emotion stresses that the women live with.

The resulting documentary portrayed our organisation, and the women we support, extremely well and the ability to link to this documentary on line has been very valuable.

Jennifer Clark (Executive Director, Sweet Louise)

I have just this moment finished watching the rough cut of y/our ME Doco & feel quite moved – which I didn’t expect. I found it fascinating & emotionally moving watching other ME sufferers/family talk about their experiences too. It’s a bit strange, although I know my experience all too well, it was sad yet validating to see others too. It must be a hard/time worn skill to cut so much material down to one short half hour programme - & time consumptive process too.

Many thanks for your work on the documentary, I & ANZMES committee are thrilled this NZ Doco on ME is being made. Thank you also for your gentle approach to interviewing us & the control you have allowed us too.

Beth (ME Doco)

Alzheimers Auckland Inc applied to Morningside Productions Ltd to be one of the participants in their Open Door Documentary series. The application and selection process was well thought through and after selection, the guidelines and expectations for the documentary production were very clear.

As many of our clients are vulnerable and still reluctant to portray some of the more difficult aspects of dementia, we found Morningside Productions to be extremely professional in their handling of the filming and they always displayed an appropriate level of sensitivity to the situation. This approach in no way compromised the integrity of the documentary and the end result was a very realistic perspective on the challenges of living with dementia.

The feedback we have received since the documentary went to air was extremely positive and it has helped to increase overall awareness of dementia in the community.

Sue Brewster (GENERAL MANAGER Alzheimers Auckland)