Goodnight Kiwi (found New Zealand TV animated sequences; 1975-1980): Difference between revisions

From The Lost Media Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
No edit summary
No edit summary
(36 intermediate revisions by 13 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{| style="margin: auto;"
{{InfoboxFound
|[[File:Lmwtan cleanup.png|frameless|300px|link=LMW-tan]]
|title=<center>Original Goodnight Kiwi Sign Offs (1975-1980)
|This article has been tagged as <span style="color:blue">'''Needing work'''</span> due to its lack of organization and clarity.
|image=GNKiwi1975.jpg
|}
|imagecaption=A frame from the start of the 1975 version of the Goodnight Kiwi sign-off. Here, the Kiwi is sitting in his directors' chair.
|status=<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span> (1975 version)<br><br><span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span> (1976-1980 version)
|datefound=14 Sept 2016 (1975 version)<br>04 Nov 2019 (1976-1980 version)
|foundby=TVNZ<br>[[User:Bun39|Bun39]]
}}
During the 1980s and 1990s, New Zealand television stations One and TV2 would sign off every night with a cartoon of a kiwi (New Zealand's national bird) signing off a TV station, turning off his console, exiting the studio and going to sleep in the television station's satellite dish. However, the sign off's history goes further back to the mid-1970s, before One and TV2 would become a part of TVNZ. Sometime around 1975, TV2 management had noticed that Australian TV station ATN-7 had been signing off with a cartoon of a kangaroo putting her baby to bed every night. Amazed at the uniqueness of the sign-off, management decided to hire then 53-year-old Sam Harvey, a former Disney animator, to animate a cartoon of a kiwi doing something similar to its Australian counterpart. The Goodnight Kiwi would become a national icon of New Zealand, being used nightly in their government-run TV network's sign-offs from June 1975 until the last station went fully 24/7 in October 1994.<ref>https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/weekend-rewind-kiwi-animated-classics/TCW5GOW5UC7MLFW4T4L535JQQI/</ref>


{{Template:InfoboxFound
==History==
|title = Original Goodnight Kiwi Sign Offs (1975-1980)
The initial version of the '''''Goodnight Kiwi''''' premiered on TV2 sometime in 1975. In this version, the kiwi was a director. Instead of going to sleep in a satellite dish, the kiwi gets out of his chair, races his cat to a power switch, cuts the power to the studio, exits the studio, and pulls down a shade over the exit door's window that states "Goodnight from TV2". Until it was publicly released in September 2016, it was unknown what happened after Kiwi cut the power to the studio.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYrtyYLBHfQ</ref>
|image = GNKiwi1975.jpg
|imagecaption = A frame from the start of the 1975 version of the Goodnight Kiwi sign-off. Here, the Kiwi is sitting in his directors' chair.
|status = <span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span> (1975 version)<br><br><span style="color:orange;">'''Incomplete'''</span> (1976-1980 version)
|datefound = 15 September 2016 (1975 version)
|foundby = TVNZ<br>[[User:Bun39|Bun39]]}}


When TV2 changed to South Pacific Television in 1976, a new version of the Goodnight Kiwi cartoon was animated. This time, the kiwi was far smaller, and the cat was nowhere to be seen. In this version, the kiwi dusts his television camera, then proceeds to go inside the camera, set his alarm clock, and go to sleep in it. This version was used on South Pacific Television all the way up to 1980.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UTvtimVDGE</ref>


During the 1980s and 1990s, New Zealand television stations One and TV2 would sign off every night with a cartoon of a kiwi (New Zealand's national bird) signing off a TV station, turning off his console, exiting the studio and going to sleep in the television station's satellite dish. However, the sign off's history goes further back to the mid-1970s, before One and TV2 would become a part of TVNZ. Sometime around 1975, TV2 management had noticed that Australian TV station ATN-7 had been signing off with a cartoon of a kangaroo putting her baby to bed every night. Amazed at the uniqueness of the sign off, management decided to hire then 53-year-old Sam Harvey, a former Disney animator, to animate a cartoon of a kiwi doing something similar to its Australian counterpart.
In February 1980, South Pacific Television would once again revert to TV2, which meant the cartoon had to be updated once again. However, unlike the previous two versions, One would also pick up the cartoon to be used for their sign-off. This is the most well-known version of the cartoon and is available on YouTube. Many VHS recordings of the sign-off have been uploaded to YouTube, and TVNZ themselves have uploaded a copy to their On Demand service.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_ROYFktrws</ref>


{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM_CxdO39io|320x240|right|The full 1975 version of the short, uploaded to YouTube by bun39 on his "20thCenturyPictures" account.|frame}}
However, the other two versions of this sign-off were not as fortunate. No full versions of either of these versions were made available for several decades. Clips of the initial TV2 version of the sign-off appeared in an October 1994 episode of news show ''Holmes,'' as well as the 2009 C4 special, ''Rocked the Nation 2: Top 100 Pop Culture Stories''. Clips of the South Pacific Television version of the sign-off also appeared in said Holmes episode.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFPLyOYvmj8</ref>


The initial version of the Goodnight Kiwi premiered on TV2 sometime in 1975. In this version, the kiwi was a director. Instead of going to sleep in a satellite dish, the kiwi gets out of his chair, races his cat to a power switch, cuts the power to the studio, exits the studio, and pulls down a shade over the exit door's window that states "Goodnight from TV2". Until it was publicly released in September 2016, it was unknown what happened after Kiwi cut the power to the studio.
==Status==
[[File:Goodnight_Kiwi_1978.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A black-and-white photograph that was taken in front of a television set during a broadcast of the South Pacific Television version of the Goodnight Kiwi on the night of October 17th, 1978.]]


When TV2 changed to South Pacific Television in 1976, a new version of the Goodnight Kiwi cartoon was animated. This time, the kiwi was far smaller, and the cat was nowhere to be seen. In this version, the kiwi dusts his television camera, then proceeds to go on the camera, set his alarm clock, and go to sleep in it. This version was used on South Pacific Television all the way up to 1980.
For many decades, the likeliness of a fan-recording of the first version of the Goodnight Kiwi was less than likely, as VHS and Betamax would not be released until the late-1970s, and the U-Matic was a rather costly recorder that the average joe couldn't afford. However, a black and white photograph taken from a television set of a 1978 airing of the South Pacific Television version of the cartoon has surfaced online, and the Television New Zealand Archive at Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, one of New Zealand's largest media archives, lists that they have digital copies of all three versions of the Goodnight Kiwi.


In February 1980, South Pacific Television would once again revert to TV2, which meant the cartoon had to be updated once again. However, unlike the previous two version, One would also pick up the cartoon to be used for their sign-off. This is the most well-known version of the cartoon and is available on YouTube. Many VHS recordings of the sign-off have been uploaded to YouTube, and TVNZ themselves have uploaded a copy to their On Demand service.
==Videos==
 
{{Video|perrow  =1
However, the other two versions of this sign-off are not as fortunate. No full versions of either of these versions have been made publicly available since their discontinuations in 1976 and 1980 respectively. Clips of the initial TV2 version of the sign-off appeared in an October 1994 episode of news show ''Holmes,'' as well as the 2009 C4 special, ''Rocked the Nation 2: Top 100 Pop Culture Stories''. Clips of the South Pacific Television version of the sign-off also appeared in said Holmes episode.
  |service1    =youtube
 
  |id1          =nKFtKAZPg8E
[[File:Goodnight_Kiwi_1978.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A black-and-white photograph taken in front of a television set during a broadcast of the South Pacific Television version of the Goodnight Kiwi on the night of October 17th, 1978.]]
  |description1 =Behind the scenes of Goodnight Kiwi (starts at 0:27).
 
}}
The likeliness of a fan recording of the first version of the Goodnight Kiwi is less than likely, as VHS and Betamax would not be released until the late-1970s, and the U-Matic was a rather costly recorded that the average joe couldn't afford. However, a black and white photograph taken from a television set of a 1978 airing of the South Pacific Television version of the cartoon has surfaced online, and the Television New Zealand Archive at Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision lists that they have a 16 mm copy of the sign-off. As of August 2016, Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision also holds a 16 mm copy of the original 1975 TV2 sign off as well.
==References==
 
{{reflist}}
In early-August 2015, Lost Media Wiki user ''bun39'' filed a public request form for a copy of the South Pacific Television version of the sign-off. Several days later, he received an email from Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision stating that they were not authorized to make any copies or publicly release their copy in any way due to the fact that TVNZ still holds the copyright for the sign-off.
 
In late-August 2016, ''bun39'' sent another request to Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision about receiving copies of the Kiwi. Several days later, Ngā Taonga responded with details on how to contact TVNZ to license and acquire archival footage. On September 14, 2016, TVNZ gave ''bun39'' a copy of the original 1975 version of the Goodnight Kiwi, who has now uploaded it to YouTube. ''bun39'' is still undergoing the process of contacting TVNZ directly about acquiring the South Pacific Television version of the sign-off.
 
[[Category:Lost animation]]
[[Category:Lost TV]]
[[Category:Found media]]
[[Category:Found media]]
[[Category:Needing work]]

Revision as of 17:24, 18 October 2020

GNKiwi1975.jpg

A frame from the start of the 1975 version of the Goodnight Kiwi sign-off. Here, the Kiwi is sitting in his directors' chair.

Status: Found (1975 version)

Found (1976-1980 version)

Date found: 14 Sept 2016 (1975 version)
04 Nov 2019 (1976-1980 version)

Found by: TVNZ
Bun39

During the 1980s and 1990s, New Zealand television stations One and TV2 would sign off every night with a cartoon of a kiwi (New Zealand's national bird) signing off a TV station, turning off his console, exiting the studio and going to sleep in the television station's satellite dish. However, the sign off's history goes further back to the mid-1970s, before One and TV2 would become a part of TVNZ. Sometime around 1975, TV2 management had noticed that Australian TV station ATN-7 had been signing off with a cartoon of a kangaroo putting her baby to bed every night. Amazed at the uniqueness of the sign-off, management decided to hire then 53-year-old Sam Harvey, a former Disney animator, to animate a cartoon of a kiwi doing something similar to its Australian counterpart. The Goodnight Kiwi would become a national icon of New Zealand, being used nightly in their government-run TV network's sign-offs from June 1975 until the last station went fully 24/7 in October 1994.[1]

History

The initial version of the Goodnight Kiwi premiered on TV2 sometime in 1975. In this version, the kiwi was a director. Instead of going to sleep in a satellite dish, the kiwi gets out of his chair, races his cat to a power switch, cuts the power to the studio, exits the studio, and pulls down a shade over the exit door's window that states "Goodnight from TV2". Until it was publicly released in September 2016, it was unknown what happened after Kiwi cut the power to the studio.[2]

When TV2 changed to South Pacific Television in 1976, a new version of the Goodnight Kiwi cartoon was animated. This time, the kiwi was far smaller, and the cat was nowhere to be seen. In this version, the kiwi dusts his television camera, then proceeds to go inside the camera, set his alarm clock, and go to sleep in it. This version was used on South Pacific Television all the way up to 1980.[3]

In February 1980, South Pacific Television would once again revert to TV2, which meant the cartoon had to be updated once again. However, unlike the previous two versions, One would also pick up the cartoon to be used for their sign-off. This is the most well-known version of the cartoon and is available on YouTube. Many VHS recordings of the sign-off have been uploaded to YouTube, and TVNZ themselves have uploaded a copy to their On Demand service.[4]

However, the other two versions of this sign-off were not as fortunate. No full versions of either of these versions were made available for several decades. Clips of the initial TV2 version of the sign-off appeared in an October 1994 episode of news show Holmes, as well as the 2009 C4 special, Rocked the Nation 2: Top 100 Pop Culture Stories. Clips of the South Pacific Television version of the sign-off also appeared in said Holmes episode.[5]

Status

A black-and-white photograph that was taken in front of a television set during a broadcast of the South Pacific Television version of the Goodnight Kiwi on the night of October 17th, 1978.

For many decades, the likeliness of a fan-recording of the first version of the Goodnight Kiwi was less than likely, as VHS and Betamax would not be released until the late-1970s, and the U-Matic was a rather costly recorder that the average joe couldn't afford. However, a black and white photograph taken from a television set of a 1978 airing of the South Pacific Television version of the cartoon has surfaced online, and the Television New Zealand Archive at Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, one of New Zealand's largest media archives, lists that they have digital copies of all three versions of the Goodnight Kiwi.

Videos

Behind the scenes of Goodnight Kiwi (starts at 0:27).

References