About John Hagen Productions

John started his film and television life as a film sound recordist, working at the venerable Avalon Studios in Lower Hutt - which was then home to Televison New Zealand. 16mm film was the main medium for recording news, current affairs, and just about every non-studio or outside broadcast production. It was an era where everyone was learning to make television together, a time when experimentation was often rewarded with interesting and satisfying results.

After a period specialising in drama sound recording and post production sound mixing, John moved on to direct curent affairs television and then documentary. At the same time, in the heady eighties, he was busy producing very high end corporate video material for both government agencies and large multinational corporate companies.

During the 1990s and early 2000s John was based in Wellington, directing major documentary material for Ninox Films and the Gibson Group. He was the original director and co-developer of Mitre10 Dream Home, a successful home renovation series that has spawned a number of international lookalikes. He also directed ten annual series of the award winning and high rating TV One series Location, Location, Location.

In the mid 2000s a move to Auckland created further opportunities, a key one being an ongoing connection with Warner Bros International Production. Significant projects include directing episodes of First Crossings and, in 2015, the opportunity to series produce The New Zealand Home, a Platinum funded seven part series exploring the homes we live in and how they came to be, hosted by award winning architect Ken Crosson and broadcaster Goran Paladin.

Outside of work, John's a keen art collector, totes around a Leica M9 to class up the production stills, and although not competing anymore, still manages to swim, ride, and run a decent distance without getting too puffed. Oh, and his old mate, sound recordist Ken Saville, has just about finished restoring John's 1955 Triumph TR2. Look out!