Features

My Break . . . Ivan O’Mahoney

Series director of Go Back to Where You Came From and Great Southern Land Ivan O’Mahoney on how he got his start.

How did you first get into TV?

I studied international law and had an interest in human rights. After a couple of years in law I got quite frustrated with the fact that I was often representing people who were winning cases because they could afford specialised lawyers. That led me to look for the next step in my career. I went to journalism school at Columbia University. Given that I spent time in the army, I thought I was going to be a war correspondent and be in front of the camera but in the first week we were taught how to use cameras. From that moment I wanted to be behind the camera.

What was your first gig?

From journalism school I landed my first job at CNN in Atlanta. I ended up working as an associate producer on a show called CNN & Time which we did together with Time Magazine. That gradually led to documentary filmmaking and what I’m doing now.

Is having a law degree handy for working in TV?

It’s handy for two reasons. A lot of the stories you touch on in documentary making have legal issues attached to them but it also adds to your ability to survive in what can sometimes be quite a brutal industry.

Was it easy breaking into the Australian television industry?

It wasn’t that easy even though I’d worked with the BBC and made a film for HBO. In order to get traction here I had to decide whether to place myself as a journalist first and foremost or as a documentary filmmaker and that latter industry is much harder to break into.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

For any aspiring documentary maker, it is absolutely vital that you know how to shoot and that you learn how to edit or at least get an understanding of the editing process.

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