Behind the Scenes of 'The Games'

Learn how The Games became a smash hit and one of the world's first mockumentaries, from the series' director, cinematographer and editor.

Take a step back in time and discover how the comedy series The Games (1998–2000), starring the late great John Clarke, became one of the world’s first mockumentaries – and a smash hit for the ABC. Go behind the scenes with the original production team of the first series to talk about the genesis of a comedy classic.

Hosted by Denise Eriksen from Media Mentors. 

Running Free is presented in partnership between ACMI and Media Mentors. 

Bruce Permezel

Bruce Permezel is one of Australia’s foremost television makers. His programmes include critically acclaimed and popular factual TV series screened prime-time on a wide variety of major Australian and international networks. His extensive output ranges from adventure travel (Peking to Paris, Pirate Patrol, DNA Nation), natural history (Croc Country, Chris Humfrey’s Wild Life), lifestyle (Bill's Holiday), comedy (The Games, Hessie’s Shed), documentary and factual (Sporting Nation, Bodyline, Making Australia Great, First Contact Two, Inventions that Changed the World), to observational series (Choir of Hard Knocks, Jail Birds, The Obesity Myth). He recently won an AACTA award for best direction in nonfiction television for Hawke: The Larrikin and the Leader. 

Jenni Meaney

Cinematographer Jenni Meaney spent 12 years at the ABC Sydney working on everything from news to drama. After returning to Melbourne for the next 20 years she focused her attention on filming documentaries, which suited her natural curiosity. She filmed a diverse range of projects all over the world and also filmed two series of the award-winning comedy series The Games. More recently Jenni has worked on multimedia for exhibitions in the cultural sector.

Wayne Hyett

Wayne Hyett's career has spanned nearly years and includes feature films, children’s drama, adult drama series, documentary dramas and  light entertainment for Australian and international audiences. His documentary highlights include Captain Cook: Discovery and Obsession, The First Fagin, Australia on Trial, Kindness of Strangers, Catching Cancer, Vaccines: Calling the Shots, Uranium, Vitamania and the Emmy Award-winning Immortal. His drama credits include the Australian classic, The Castle, The Murray Whelan series, Stingers, The Games, Wicked Science, The Elephant Princess, Pirate Island and The Dr Blake Mysteries. 

In 2004 Wayne was awarded accreditation by the Australian Screen Editors Guild “in recognition of excellence in screen editing and outstanding contribution to Australian screen culture”. In 2012, He established the Post Production company, City Post in Melbourne. Specialising in drama and documentary, City Post has recently completed its fourth 3D IMAX feature documentary.