Central to the idea of Working Dog being an auteur is the consistency in collaboration and integration of teamwork within the collective. While their different productions can be described as diverse, the creative integrity and consistency within the Working Dog team has seen certain aspects of their work become familiar, lending to an idea of singular creative force. In their own words,
"Frontline is a totally collaborative project. Four people - Jane Kennedy, Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro and Tom Gleisner - began the writing process together sitting in a room with a whiteboard. Amendments and refinements are then constantly added right up to the moment of taping.
Rob, Jane, Tom and Santo all direct and - with a strong ensemble cast - the actors contribute their own ideas. In addition, having Santo in charge of shooting the series brings a fresh dimension.
Finally, the editing process. We like to think of this as a "final draft" in that changes can - and are- made during this stage. Once again, all four members of the group oversee the editing process."
This continuity in both stories, and comedic style has allowed for Working Dog themselves to become a pre-sold characteristic of any work they do. For example Hannah Petrie has noted that,
"The film's (The Dish) popularity is at least partially due to the distinction of Working Dog�s prior release, The Castle, as well as their television shows. The Castle was recognised for its unique humour and portrayal of the Australian family."
The stories and the humour are the most significant aspect of the Working Dog 'vision', a particular vision of Australia. As Rob Sitch has said,
"I don't care what the world thinks of us, I care what we think of us."
A consistent aspect of Working Dog's productions has been a strong sense of humour, often described as "self-depreciating" and "quirky". The humour can be seen to range from almost slapstick to parody to satire. Frontline is easily the most satirical of the Working Dog productions, taking the unsavory behind the scenes of the Current Affairs show, world as its subject. The two feature films rely on the same quirky, self-depreciating kind of humour, juxtaposed with an uplifting David versus Goliath type narrative, in order to promote what Ross Anthony describes as "a wholesome theme", "Love who you are and fight for the right to be the imperfect you."
Andrew L Urban describes The Dish as,
"Still treading that fine line between ridicule and affectionate caricature of their characters-as they did in the Castle-the Working Dog team has accomplished a miraculous fusion of Big Story with Little Folk."
Some reviewers have said that the ridicule goes too far.Evan Williams of The Australian writes that,
"'The Castle' is out to get laughs, and it gets them the wrong way: by making Darryl and his family into figures of fun. One moment we are asked to sympathise with their plight, in the next to sneer at their naive simple-mindedness...the mixture of realism and wacky satire never really works"
The 'Quirky' cinema therefore can be seen to work against a positive imaging of an Australian identity. Mark Freeman asks, "Where do we stand on films such as 'The Dish', which seem so keen to push a prescribed image of Australia, to reinforce perceptions of our culture and community for a foreign audience? Do we welcome the savy approach to cinema adopted by Working Dog..?"
When Rob Sitch says "I don't care what the world thinks of us, I care what we think of us." It is maybe that self-depreciation and looking at one-self with a slightly critical, or satirical eye is what Sitch is getting at. Working Dog may make fun of or make jokes at the expense of their Australian characters, but in the end these same characters are the ones that pull through against the big guys. As the trailer states, 'The Castle' is "The movie that sticks the finger up the big guys." Of course, Freeman has made a point, that 'The Dish' is packaged for a foreign audience, aswell as being produced for the local Australian market. Maybe this could explain the softening of the satire seen in Frontline, for use in the two feature films. In any case there is an influence imbedded here that is Working Dog, a "savy" approach. Mark Freeman asks at the end of his article,
"Maybe it's time to ask ourselves what direction our national cinema needs to take, and are in fact Working Dog and 'The Dish' simply showing us the way?"