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LOERIE AWARDS
MONTHLY NEWS ON BROADCAST, FILM, COMMERCIAL, NEW MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY
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VOL 22 – September 2010 R32.00
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CT Film Studios
snares major film
The brand new multimillion
rand Hollywood-style studio
complex, Cape Town Film
Studios (CTFS), officially
opens its doors in September
to host production on Judge
Loss and
gain at
Waterfront
Post-production veteran
Mike Smit’s resignation
as managing director of
Waterfront Studios at the
end of July came as a
surprise to the industry.
Smit started in
television at the SABC in
the early 1970s and went
on to establish the leading
post production facility
Video Lab in Blairgowrie,
Johannesburg. In the
early 1990s he sold Video
Lab to the stock exchange
listed Sasani Group (it
has since delisted).
More than seven years
ago Smit left the
corporate environs of
Sasani and migrated to
Cape Town where he
joined with Dutch-based
chairman and CEO of
Condor International
Rob Meddens, to
establish Condor Cape
the parent company of
– to page 42
Dredd, a 3D live action
international feature film
produced by DNA Films
(Trainspotting, The Beach, The
Last King of Scotland).
CTFS CEO Nico Dekker
says that the studio complex
was not originally scheduled to
be fully operational as early as
September. “So we have been
through quite an intense
process to get ready for Judge
Dredd. A core team from
DNA Films has been here
since 23 August and we’ve
been working around them,
laying cables, putting in roads
and landscaping the backlot.
It’s been a fantastic process and
I’m grateful for the trust that
DNA Films has put in us.
They will use most of the
17 000 square metres we have
available, including our four
sound stages.”
The American co-producer
on Judge Dredd, Michael S
Murphey (supervising
producer on the South African
megahit District 9), says that
DNA Films, like many
European companies, was
interested in exploring South
Africa as a possible location.
“At first they considered
Johannesburg but there were
concerns about where the
studio shoot would take place.
The next logical step was to
investigate Cape Town Film
Studios. I’m not exaggerating
– to page 43
Proposals
flood new
channel
soap; a 13 x 24-min comedy
show; a 13 x 48-min reality
show; and 52 ‘bubblegum
movies’ (movies produced in
the Nollywood style for a
budget of R90 000 each).
All filmmakers
commissioned for the
bubblegum movies will retain
DVD rights to their films for
two years. In addition, Mzansi
Magic will provide scripting
workshops for the selected
film projects. These
workshops will be run by
renowned scriptwriter
Mtutuzeli Matshoba (Yizo
Yizo, Jerusalema, Chikin
Biznis).
Says channel manager
Lebone Maema: “We are very
– to page 43
Mzansi Magic, the blackskewed local content channel
recently launched on DStv by
pay-TV broadcaster M-Net,
has received a huge response to
its first ever commissioning
briefs.
The channel has until 15
November to select new
projects and plans to start
airing new programmes in the
second half of 2011. Genres
included in the briefs are a 13 x
48-min drama series; a daily
VOL 22 – September 2010 R32.00
Photo by Denzil Maragele / SAKE 24
MONTHLY NEWS ON BROADCAST, FILM, COMMERCIAL, NEW MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY
READY FOR ACTION: Cape Town Film Studio’s CEO Nico Dekker
inside Stage 1.
Content development
fund
A South African fund that
develops southern African
content stories for feature
films has been established.
The fund provides finance
and investment in promising
projects.
Aptly named ‘Once Upon a
Story’ (OUAS), the fund
focuses on projects that may
possibly attract foreign and
local finance and have the
potential to sell in local and
international markets.
Key players in OUAS are
fund director Paul Raleigh,
Janine Eser, head of
development and Leigh
Pretorius, project coordinator.
“Paul and I initially
discussed something like
OUAS when we were at the
Oscars together in 2006 for
Tsotsi,” says Eser, script editor
and associate producer on the
Academy Award winning
movie Tsotsi.
“We were enjoying the
heady feeling and it felt great
to be so proud of the film.
There was also a very positive
attitude towards the future of
South African film and
African film in general. But
we were both aware of the
work that had gone into the
Tsotsi screenplay, and felt
concerned how the industry at
home could capitalise on that
success without significant
development funding.“
At the time Eser, who lives
in Los Angeles, was working
in development for a US
company and went on leave to
– to page 43
From the editor
Ad-Land is all a-twitter
in Cape Town
Is that a bird we see under the palms alongside Camps Bay beach? No, it is
a creative with spiky hair, purple vest and orange baggie trousers.
For three days at the start of October, Cape Town will experience the
creativity, wildness and eccentricity of some of the greatest ad agency
talents as they prowl the streets, bars and beaches in anticipation of
bagging a prized Loerie Award.
But while agency bosses and young creatives indulge in rowdy industry
parties in the shadow of the great mountain, all is not well in Ad-Land.
We learn from interviews in this issue that the Loeries is certainly ‘the
biggest event of the year’ for the advertising industry but the number of
entries this year again decreased alongside the downturn in ad spend.
Those who had hoped for a recovery from the two recession-ridden years
are likely to see a continuation in the year ahead of more of the same –
smaller budgets for production and media placement, particularly in
television.
However the essence of this business is creativity and agency
executives remain optimistic about their ability to continue to create Big
Ideas with less.
Dreaded Judge Dredd welcomed
The Cape Town Film Studios will host dark violence, cruel criminality
and paranoia when the 3D live action international feature film Judge
Dredd begins shooting in September. The multi-million dollar film
adaptation of the iconic 2000 AD comic-book character Judge Dredd is a
great coup for the studio and the country.
While South African crew and facility houses have earned praise from
international producers that have shot in the country, a major studio
production adds another dimension to what we can offer. Furthermore it
creates new work and injects capital into the economy. The UK and US
have been hard hit by the global economic downturn and it works in our
favour that we can offer world class film production and post-production
facilities at competitive rates.
Screen Africa regularly covers animation news but once a year we do a
more in-depth focus on this sector of the industry. Our feature story
reveals that animators in South Africa have recognised very early the visual
possibilities of stereoscopic 3D as the perfect vehicle for their form of story
telling. More than that, they have shown that through innovative
production you can achieve 3D magic with small budgets and with a
reduced number of animators working on a project. But what remains
problematic is scarce resources for training and lack of major finance.
C on t e n t s
4
14
31
32
SABC
The state of affairs at public broadcaster SABC has gone from bad to
worse. The SABC chair, Dr Ben Ngubane, and GCEO, Solly Mokoetle,
have persistently ignored and overturned SABC board decisions. Since
May 2010 board meetings have been constantly cancelled leading to a
situation where board members have declared a “vote of no confidence” in
the chair.
Against this backdrop, SABC employees have had to continue with
their daily tasks. Our interview with acting head of the SABC Content
Hub reveals that staff morale has suffered but there remains a genuine
desire to streamline the commissioning process and to rebuild relationships
with production companies. However, without a functioning board and a
turn-around financial and management strategy in place, the independent
production sector will continue to be undermined.
Enjoy your read. – Angela van Schalkwyk
SCREENAFRICA
Editor-in-Chief:
Angela van Schalkwyk: [email protected]
Deputy Editor:
Joanna Sterkowicz: [email protected]
Contributors:
Andy Stead, Karen van Schalkwyk,
Martin Chemhere
Sub-Editor: Tina Heron
Ratings: Enid Venter
[email protected]
Head of Design:
Trevor Ou Tim: [email protected]
Website & Production Updates:
Anusha Dayal: [email protected]
Subscriptions:
Anusha Dayal: [email protected]
Advertisement Sales:
Marianne Schafer: [email protected]
Hermione Ballinger: [email protected]
Accounts:
Marietjie Esterhuizen: [email protected]
Front Office:
Delight Ngwenya: [email protected]
Publisher:
Simon Robinson: [email protected]
Sun Circle Publishers (Pty) Ltd
Tel: 011 719-4380
Fax: 011 719-4392
Physical address: Block D2 Sasani Studios,
2 Johannesburg Road, Highlands North Ext 6,
Johannesburg
Postal address: PO Box 89271 Lyndhurst 2106
SCREENAFRICA – September 2010
22
SPECIAL FEATURES
ANIMATION
New worlds in motion... 32-33
The international stage........... 34
New spin to retail
commercials.............................. 35
Jock meets the 3D future;
Majestic Zambezi in 3D.......... 36
Animation happens to
the best...................................... 37
NEWS
CT Film Studios snares major
film; Loss and gain at Waterfront;
Proposals flood new channel;
Content development fund...... 1
e.tv’s local content drive; Total
re-design of Screen Africa
website; ‘Afriwood’ – a new
African branding.......................... 3
Hopeville takes on big screen;
More film commissions in
southern Africa; Seta – animation
key growth area........................... 4
Regional broadcasting focus; A
DVD on your phone.................. 5
Great memories –
the bioscope.............................. 39
32
BROADCASTING
DISTRIBUTION
Content Hub gears up for
changes.......................................... 6
Distribution in the new world2 8
FESTIVAL
Getting fundamental about film
financing...................................... 29
Condition of being; Nowhere to
go.................................................... 8
BUSINESS
FINANCE
DOCUMENTARY
Quirky, honest doc about Jo’burg
Co-production – way of the
future.......................................... 10
30
AWARDS
All eyes on that bird............... 14
Who is batting for the ATeam?...31
TRACKING TECHNOLOGY
AFRICA
Posting award-winning doc;
Christie takes you on a ride;
AXON performs at World Cup;
Doremi scores with live 3D.. 16
Mauritius goes live with digital1 8
Light years ahead..................... 20
Angolan broadcaster installs
intercom system....................... 21
Seven summits, seven
flights................................... 22-23
Neotel lays it on...................... 24
A new world in 3D................. 26
Resilience of Zimbabweans
captured..................................... 38
The Burkina Faso film industry;
Spearheading African
film training................................ 40
FILM
REGULARS
Adcetera............................ 12-13
Director Speak......................... 14
Tracking Technology Products1 6
Defining Success....................... 42
Audience Ratings...................... 44
Production Update.......... 45-47
Vital Sta’ tis’ tiks....................... 47
Close Up.................................... 48
NEWS
e.tv’s local
content
drive
With the recent launch of the second
season of its drama series eKasi – Our
Stories and a host of other local
programmes, South African
commercial free-to-air channel e.tv
expects to exceed the 45% local content
quota mandated by the Independent
Communications Authority of South
Africa (Icasa).
The current season of eKasi
comprises 13 episodes of one-hour, self
contained dramas, which is more than
double Season 1, which aired last year.
Next year e.tv plans to commission
more episodes of eKasi and will for the
first time put out a general call to action
for authentic local stories.
“Ultimately our vision is to produce
more than 50 episodes of eKasi a year,
which is virtually a movie a week,” says
e.tv’s Channels Division group head
Monde Twala. “I’ll admit that our
budgets aren’t beautiful but we believe
eKasi can create great momentum for
the local industry. We want to train
writers, directors and producers and in
fact there are a number of first-timers
who are getting the opportunity to
produce and tell local stories this
season. Eventually we hope to open an
academy where we can nurture young
talent, writers and directors
“We believe that eKasi is a viable and
sustainable model for the industry. e.tv
is eager to explore models that will
make business sense, create revenue and
ownership opportunities for producers.
In some instances we negotiate and
explore ways to exploit DVD rights
with filmmakers.”
Twala notes that many viewers have
been comparing eKasi to the
Nollywood films they see on pay-TV
channel Africa Magic. “eKasi is one
step ahead because it tells authentic
South African stories. We want to
create local programme brands that
inspire loyalty among viewers. The
television audience today is very
demanding and has lots to choose from
in the multi-channel environment. We
conduct regular research on our key
programmes and continually review our
local content strategy. Our research
shows that viewers love storylines that
reflect their everyday lives so this is our
motivation for eKasi.”
According to Twala e.tv is
committed to high quality local
programming, which is why the
channel has created a technical bible for
eKasi that is tweaked after each season.
The series goes out to 12 African
countries on e.tv Africa and has
generated positive feedback in other
territories such as Ghana and Kenya.
“We are looking for co-production
partners for eKasi,” continues Twala.
“The Gauteng Film Commission
(GFC) supported post-production for
the current season and has indicated a
willingness to be involved in season
three. We have also approached the
Total re-design of
Screen Africa website
DRAMA RULES – Bonga Dlamini in The Foreign
Husband
National Film and Video Foundation
(NFVF) and would like to attract more
regional partners. Our aim is to spread
production of the series, currently
concentrated in Gauteng, to the other
provinces.”
e.tv has just launched its first ever
music show, Club 808, aired on Friday
evenings in prime time and is hopeful
that it will become a flagship
programme.
In another first, e.tv has
commissioned a local version of the hit
international reality format
POPSTARS. Says Twala: “Producers
have often pitched talent search shows
to us but I have a problem with these
shows as they are incomplete. The
audience doesn’t see what happens after
the winner is announced. POPSTARS
on the other hand shows life after
winning, how the winners form a pop
group and record and release an album.”
Also recently launched on e.tv is
Unplugged Joy of Jazz sponsored by
Standard Bank. Twala stresses that the
channel retains final editorial control
on all sponsored programmes.
“Advertiser funded programmes
(AFPs) only work if content is king so
we have strict criteria for them. The
content has to be appealing and
relevant to the market. Last year we put
together a detailed pitching process for
AFPs because we’re bombarded with
proposals. The motive behind
commissioning Unplugged is the
Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival,
which has a strong tie-in with our
middle-aged black viewers.”
e.tv is the only single local channel in
the South African broadcasting
landscape. It currently has a market
share of 13 448 000, second only to
SABC1 with 18 098 000 viewers.
Screen Africa has launched a
re-designed website – www.
screenafrica.com, which also
includes new functionality.
The entirely new look and
feel includes vastly improved
functionality and
navigation. Unchanged
features include the daily
delivery of news under the
key categories of Stop Press,
Africa, Television Film,
Commercials, Business,
Festivals & Awards, Radio,
New Media, Technology
and Training & Events.
The ultimate aim is to run
more breaking news and be
known as the portal for local
and international industry
information.
ScreenAfrica.com uses
the latest drop-down
technology, which provides
for logical groupings to
enable website visitors to
find accurate information
quickly.
The site continues to offer a
comprehensive online directory but it
has been upgraded to allow listed
companies to log in and update their
own details. Companies or individuals
are able to add more service and
product detail to their listings to ensure
more prominence in the directory
search sequences.
The editorial team updates the news
section daily and this is logically
grouped into relevant news sections.
The site also hosts a comprehensive
online archive of industry information
to provide an essential source of
reference.
As part of its service to the industry,
ScreenAfrica.com now offers
companies the opportunity to host
media releases on the site in a special
section as well as market their releases
to the 12 000 weekly readers of the
Screen Africa eNewsletter.
The new site is the most
comprehensive South African website
for information ranging from Film and
‘Afriwood’
– new African branding
There has been a ‘wood’ rush in Africa,
since Nigeria’s film industry was tagged
‘Nollywood’. This has necessitated a
run of similar labelling of African film
industries across the continent. It’s all to
do with marketing, but for Africa
branding alone will not be sufficient,
given that many films are still poorly
produced.
The philosophy that African film
marketing needs a chic name to thrust
it to dizzy heights is being pushed by
FEPACI (Pan African Federation of
Filmmakers), the organisation tasked
with promoting African film
industries. Stephen Chigorimbo,
FEPACI southern region
representative, says this is the way to go
for African film, as it has the potential
to bring shared and valuable branding.
“We have Nollywood, Sollywood,
and Zollywood among many others but
Afriwood is in the making. FEPACI is
already encouraging the name as it
incorporates all these names,” he says.
The idea will be rolled out to the
FEPACI hierarchy and will be
presented at African festivals across the
continent and internationally. Part of
the concept includes the encouragement
of collaboration between African
countries in film, and built in are a
series of African movie launches by
filmmakers representing the continent’s
Production Guides, Industry Reports
and Surveys to Local and International
Events as well as important updates on
current productions in South Africa.
Another helpful tool is for no cost you
can log in your own information on
upcoming events, classified adverts and
updates on productions and comments
on any of the articles on the site.
Later this year, Screen Africa will
launch an equipment buyer’s guide to
allow users to source equipment
accurately and effectively from the local
suppliers and distributors.
“This investment in a new look
ScreenAfrica.com is evidence of Screen
Africa’s commitment to the industry it
serves. Our site visitors and clients now
have an easily navigational website that
is not only informative but also a key
marketing tool in developing the
growth of companies that operate in
the South African and African film,
television, commercials and professional
equipment supply industries,” says
Screen Africa’s publisher, Simon
Robinson.
east, west, central, north and south
regions.
Chigorimbo believes that in future
African film should be packaged under
the Afriwood label as it: “will make
African filmmakers sell their
productions under an easier brand
locally and abroad. The name also
carries value with African identity,
values and renaissance.”
Under the Afriwood banner,
FEPACI southern region also intends
to bring new methods of film
distribution, where they will lobby for
African broadcasters to favour the
airing of African films. A form of
Black Economic Empowerment (BEE)
may even be explored in attempt to
increase African content screened in
Africa.
September 2010 – SCREENAFRICA
NEWS
NEWS
Hopeville takes
on big screen
FINDING EACH OTHER – Lead actors Junior Singo and Themba Ndaba in Hopeville
The popular TV Series Hopeville,
screened on SABC2 in 2009, was the
inspiration for the feature film of the
same name, which was released on 43
digital screens throughout South Africa
on 3 September.
This feel good movie tells the
uplifting story of Amos Manyoni, a
recovering alcoholic, who moves to a
rundown rural town in the hope of a
new life with his alienated son,
Themba.
Hopeville is a co-production between
Heartlines and SABC Education and
is produced by Curious Pictures with
Harriet Gavshon and Mariki van der
Walt as executive producers.
The transition from TV series to
film was straightforward as it was
originally written as a film script, says
Gavshon. “Essentially we recut the
series into the film it was supposed to
be – with new music and narrative
treatment.
“Heartlines intended to cut the series
into a format which would be useful for
their ongoing advocacy work. The film
we made was so compelling that they
decided, in conjunction with the
distributors Humble Pie, to release it
into cinemas as well,” explains
Gavshon. “There is real pleasure in
Seta – animation key
growth area
The Services Seta is on a mission to
uplift animation skills in the South
African film industry.
To this end, it has initiated various
programmes that began in 2008 and
will continue in 2011. The programmes
undertaken are: Drawing for
Animation, Digital Design, Animation
Technical Master Classes, The
National Certificate in 2D Animation,
New Venture Creation in the film
industry and Media Business Skills
programme.
Priscilla David, chamber manager:
events and conference management and
creative industries at the Services Seta,
says that the Seta is committed to skills
development and job creation. “We also
examine where a skills shortage is
hampering the growth of a sector that
could deliver substantial economic
growth and job creation. The Seta is
committed to developing these skills.”
SCREENAFRICA – September 2010
David adds that one of these areas of
potential growth is the animation
sector. “This sector has been identified
by the Cape Film Commission (CFC)
as a key growth area in need
of support. The Skills Supply and
Demand research conducted in 2007,
highlights marketing, sales and
distribution as key skills shortages in
South Africa, which limits local
producers’ ability to market
internationally. Sales and marketing
skills are a main focus for the Services
Seta and once again facilitating the
growth and marketing of a sector
contributes to our job creation and
enterprise development objectives.”
David adds that there is a close link
between animation and other new
media. “There are great opportunities
not only in long-format work
but new media, web design and
post-production. Animation is one of
More film commissions in southern Africa
Film commissions are a key feature of
film industries in the US, Europe and
Australia but in African countries film
commissions are still quite rare.
However in southern Africa there are
encouraging steps forward.
Film commissions create potential to
attract international film productions,
develop a nation’s film industry and
promote tourism with a country.
Zambia and Zimbabwe have toyed
with the idea for a long time and there
are definite plans to move in this
direction and gear up their film sectors
for growth and sustainability.
Filmmaker Mulenga Kapwepwe is
leading the efforts in Zambia for the
establishment of a film commission.
According to Kapwepwe the main
reason for the lack of progress is that
government has no clear vision of how
to handle the issues that affect film
growth and development.
seeing the story play out in one sitting.
We simply tell the main storyline of an
estranged father and son trying to find
each other.”
Themba Ndaba plays the main
character Amos and Junior Singo is his
son, Themba. Some of South Africa’s
top actors also star in the film,
including Desmond Dube, Leleti
Khumalo, Fana Mokoena, Terry Pheto,
Jody Abrahams and Mary Twala.
“Director John Trengove is a huge
talent and I hope that this film gives us
the opportunity to show that,” says
Gavshon.
Earlier this year popular TV series
Egoli ended its long run and was
developed into a full length feature
movie of the same name. Asked
whether Hopeville was part of a new
trend to revamp popular TV series into
full length feature films, Gavshon
agrees that it makes good financial
sense.
“I think there is a trend in creating
multi-purpose entertainment and
storytelling vehicles that can live in
cinema or television, or on the Internet
and mobile mediums. I think it is
important – in an environment where
costs of production are so high – to
make sure that you sweat your assets.
The mini-series did very well on
television but this is an opportunity to
show it to a completely different
audience.”
Hopeville was filmed in the
picturesque town of Waterval Boven in
Mpumalanga. In his search to find the
perfect location art director Karel Flint
visited more than 70 small towns
throughout South Africa, driving more
than 11 000kms on his quest.
Heartlines owns the project along
with SABC Education. This alliance
has a mission to create media with a
purpose – or stories that encourage
people to take positive action and live
out their values, and Hopeville supports
this objective.
the fastest growing sectors of the media
industry around the world and can
create many jobs as demonstrated by
India, Korea and Malaysia. It also
offers South Africa the chance to create
more ‘decent jobs’ because of the
relatively steady nature of the work and
a more controlled working
environment.”
The extension of the DTI’s rebate to
include animation, David says will
create more demand for skilled staff. “If
we continue to invest aggressively in
training and human capital
development across the full spectrum of
the animation industry we can build on
the momentum that already exists. It is
not inconceivable that we could double
the size of the industry every two years
for the next 10 years.”
The Services Seta will be hosting the
internationally acclaimed German
Entertainment Master Class in
November this year in Cape Town.
“This will expose our local industry to
leaders in sales, marketing, distribution,
content creation and technical expertise
from around the globe.”
One of the main objectives is to train
more than 1 000 people in the industry
over the course of three years. “To date
we have 200 learners on a formal skills
programme and qualifications. We
have also exposed at least 250 industry
people to Pixar skills transfer
programmes in Gauteng and the
Western Cape. A further 250 industry
people will attend the International
Entertainment Master Class in
November. The focus has always been a
multi-level one where both entry level,
mid and senior level professionals from
the industry are targeted for
development opportunities.”
Asked how they measure the success
of the training programmes, David
responds: “The training programmes
are still underway. Our success is
measured in numerous ways, the 100
bursary opportunities provided to
previously disadvantaged talent has
been our greatest success and the
placement of over 25 funded interns
into the industry has been a success. At
least 50% of these interns have been
offered full-time employment. Learners
have been given a fantastic opportunity
to work in studios and local and
international productions to date.”
– Karen van Schalkwyk
“Aspects of film fall under three
ministries so coordinating agreed action
in this regard has been difficult. The
Ministry of Information is the main
ministry for this, but all film rebates,
for example, are implemented under the
Ministry of Tourism,” she says. The
third ministry is the Ministry of
Education, Arts and Culture.
Kapwepwe adds that recent films
screened in Zambia reveal that there is
a large and receptive audience for local
films.
According to the Zambian arts
administrator there is clear support
from local filmmakers and television
broadcasters for the creation of a film
commission.
Zambia is currently reviewing
legislation that includes film, says
Kapwepwe. However government first
has to develop a national film policy
that incorporates the establishment of a
film commission. Zambian filmmakers
have recently re-engaged with the
Ministry of Information to start the
process of policy
development. Kapwepwe estimates that
this process may take upwards of a year
or more.
With the Zambian government
showing unprecedented commitment
through their Ministry of Information,
it is a matter of keeping that
commitment alive, she says. Zambia is currently one of five
African countries piloting the Creative
Industries policy development process
through the European Union. The EU
is the country’s strongest ally in the
quest to realise a film commission.
A similar situation exists in
Zimbabwe where the local film sector
has engaged with the government to
put local production on a sound footing.
The country’s Filmmakers Guild is
encouraging all concerned filmmakers
to attend an indaba to shape the future
of our film industry. Supported by the
Ministry of Education, Arts and
Culture, the indaba called the Film
Industry Stakeholders Consultative
Forum, was held on 19 and 20 August
2010 in Harare (the outcome of the
indaba was not known at the time of
going to press).
Only two southern African countries
– Namibia and South Africa – have
film commissions.
In South Africa there are two
provincial commissions, the Gauteng
Film Commission and the Cape Film
Commission, while in Durban the film
body responsible for the sector is the
Durban Film Office. The Namibia
Film Commission was established in
2000 and emulates its neighbour South
Africa.
Botswana media reports that its
government supports a sustainable film
environment that will attract foreign
production. It planned to establish film
incentives but has failed to deliver.
Neither has government acted on an
initiative from last year for the
establishment of a film commission
with an interim board.
The establishment of film
commissions in Africa is being lobbied
by the Pan African Federation of
Filmmakers (FEPACI) whose
mandate is to grow the continent’s film
industry. – Martin Chemhere
A DVD on your phone
Receiving DVD content on your
mobile phone has long been the
promise of several mobile phone
companies. Live TV was not a great
success for many reasons – you could
only watch what was offered and had
no control over the ability to pause, fast
forward or view what you actually
wanted and when you wanted to see it.
All this has changed with the
introduction of TV:On Demand. The
On Demand Group specialisies in
content lifecycle management for
video-on-demand, from acquisition
through full monetisation. They
currently enable the highest quality
services across millions of TVs,
cellphones and broadband connections.
Victor Borges, general manager of
On Demand SA, explains: “We’ve seen
linear mobile TV struggle in so many
territories worldwide, so when
Vodacom invited us to pitch for a new
service we focused on choice,
convenience and control. We looked at
existing mobile TV services available,
which mirror channels already available
on satellite TV. We decided to bring a
different, unique and compelling
offering to the consumer.
“By providing TV:On Demand we
DVD ON DEMAND – Victor Borges
give control and value back to the
consumer. We will be offering popular
TV series such as Sex and the City, The
Sopranos and Entourage, and hundreds
of music videos, which subscribers can
watch on their cellphones whenever
they want. – With complete control to
pause, resume and replay.“
It’s a clever system which can be
viewed on most Vodacom 3G phones.
On Demand is working on those
phones that currently are unable to
receive the content. There is a large
variety of TV series, programmes and
music videos available and the total
library is in the region of 250 000 titles.
Regional broadcasting focus
Ensuring that audiences in the digital era are better served in the diversity
and quality of content is one of the main focuses of the Southern African
Broadcasting Association (SABA) General Conference, which takes place
in Luanda, Angola from 12 to 14 September.
Says SABA secretary general Arlindo Lopes: “Digital migration offers
many challenges for southern African broadcasters in terms of content
production and provision. Once the digital channels become available,
SABA members will have to meet the need for quality content while
continuing to take their viewers’ needs into account.”
The technical aspects of the region’s digital migration will be dealt with
by the SABA Technical Committee that will meet in Luanda on 12
September 2010. It is likely that the South African Department of
Communications’ about-turn on digital terrestrial television standards will
be discussed.
Lopes is hopeful that a clear organisational structure and mandate for
SABA will come out of the General Assembly. “We also hope to devise a
new funding model for the organisation as we have been experiencing
problems with some members defaulting on their subscription fees. The
SABA secretariat also aims to encourage more leadership in the association
and better engagement between members. Also on the agenda is the
hosting of the SABA secretariat. ”
During the conference the official broadcasters of the Africa Cup of
Nations in Angola and the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa will report
back on their coverage of the respective events. The African Union of
Broadcasting (AUB) is expected to present a paper on broadcasting the
World Cup to the continent.
A special meeting of SABA executives was held in Johannesburg earlier
this year to examine the challenges that face the association with regards to
the region’s current political, economic and technological environment. It
was attended by 22 senior executives including 14 director generals from as
many member organisations.
“The key outcome of the meeting is to set up a task team that will
undertake a critical analysis of the association and identify major issues that
need to be addressed,” explains Lopes. “Part of the task team’s remit is to
draft new goals and objectives as well as draw up a charter with a new
organisational structure. The task team will also draft a strategic plan that
can be translated into beneficial activities for our members.”
The I am… international TV co-production is currently being
implemented by SABA and the Afro-Media Pacific Media Partnership
Committee. This is a series of short TV programmes for children that aim
to strengthen cultural diversity and create a better understanding among
children about various cultures and schools of thought.
Says Lopes: “In 2009 about 46 television producers from 28 countries in
Asia, Africa and Arabic countries participated in the project. It was
expected that at least 30 programmes (each of three- to five-minute
duration) would be produced by the end of 2010. However because
contributions from SABA participating members have been very slow the
impact of the co-production is still to be assessed. A progress report will be
presented at the general conference.”
In addition to the SABA Technical Committee meeting on 12
September, three other SABA committee meetings will take place that day
– the Archive Forum, Gender Committee and Regulators Forum.
A meeting of the Afro-Asia-Pacific Media Partnership is also scheduled
for 12 September.
“The programming is streamed into
the phone and does not require Icasa
authorisation,” says Borges. “There are
two server data centres, one is on our
side and we are using servers at
Vodacom Business as well. It’s loaded
onto our server and pushed onto the
Vodacom server. We are also able to
build a data base (in the UK) of what
type of shows people are watching and
how often they watch so we can
establish what is popular and what
is not.
“You have full DVD functionality
on your phone so you can pause, rewind
with all the other functions you would
get on a DVD. If you are watching and
you lose coverage, when you regain
coverage of whatever you are watching,
it will pick up where you left off.
“There is no advertising attached and
the revenue stream is by subscription
only,” says Borges. “We charge R20 a
week or R75 a month and the call
charges are included so that so you
won’t get a large bill for usage at the
end of the month. There are no specific
period contracts, you can subscribe and
un-subscribe whenever you want.
There are special offers running at the
moment that offer a free week or
month with your initial subscription.“
Subscribing is very straight forward.
You can do it instantly via an SMS.
September 2010 – SCREENAFRICA
BROADCAST
Apart from the South African Broadcasting Corporation
(SABC) funding and management crisis of the last two
years, the independent television industry has suffered
from a severe cut back in commissioning briefs. The recent
appointment of Ed Worster to the position of Acting
General Manager of the SABC Content Hub is seen by
producers as a move in the right direction.
TURNING A CORNER – Ed Worster
Content
Hub gears up
for changes
By Karen van Schalkwyk
E
d Worster’s long career in
broadcasting includes time as
general manager at SABC2
where he also gained experience
in the commissioning of local
programmes for the channel.
Earlier this year he took over at the
Content Hub from Charles Owen who
had decided to move. “I stepped into
his rather large shoes for a couple of
months. The objective is to bridge the
gap until new structures have been put
in place at the SABC.”
Given the short term nature of his
appointment, Worster says: “I am not
sure how many changes I will
personally be able to implement, but
the Content Enterprises team, of which
Content Hub is a part, certainly wants
to streamline the commissioning
processes. This should have a positive
impact on our relationship with
producers.
“I am also hoping that we will find
ways to restore morale within a team
that is facing a high level of uncertainty
in the midst of austerity measures at the
SABC.”
SCREENAFRICA – September 2010
On the public broadcaster role of the
SABC, Worster pointed out that it was
governed by the Broadcast Act,
Independent Communications
Authority of South Africa (Icasa)
regulations and the SABC’s own
editorial policies, among others.
“Of course public broadcasting goes
far beyond paying lip service to the
SABC. We are constantly looking at
ways to tell the South African story to
allow the audience to connect with the
content. The SABC has the unique
ability to bring the nation together and
it is our role to reflect a contemporary,
diverse and increasingly united South
Africa.”
One of the biggest challenges facing
the Content Hub, Worster maintains,
is the credibility gap. “The past 18
months have not been easy for the
SABC and the knock-on effect to the
industry has been devastating.
Austerity measures led to the
cancellation of projects, a beleaguered
cash flow and drawn-out processes led
to delays in payments.”
Worster elaborates that
commissioning teams and producers
have been asked to do more with less
(budget): “Tensions ran high. This was
all happening as the SABC faced new
competition in the market and
therefore the organisation was not able
to respond in the best way.”
Worster reiterates that competition is
in the interest of South African
television audiences. “This competition
has also led to a thriving production
industry and the SABC has a role to
play in developing the industry. In spite
of growing competition, the SABC
remains the biggest producer of local
content in South Africa and it is critical
that our relationship with the
independent sector is one of mutual
respect and support for each other.”
New briefs & IP
Worster maintains that the SABC has
turned a corner. “A new set of
commissioning briefs was issued in
June – the first since October 2008.
These briefs are supported by an
approved cash flow, which should give
producers a measure of confidence that
the SABC is ‘back to business’.”
One aspect that will contribute to
producer confidence is that the SABC
will be increasingly involved in
licensing programmes and intellectual
property (IP). “While there are some
challenges relating to the Public
Finance Management Act (PFMA),
we remain open to co-productions.
Apart from being extremely focused on
commissioning processes and ensuring
time-lines are reduced, we are hoping
to encourage more original ideas by
simply being less prescriptive in our
briefs.”
Regarding intellectual property (IP),
Worster explains: “This issue has
dragged on for years – with differing
interpretations of the South African
Copyright Act at the centre of the
debate. Internationally more and more
broadcasters recognise the importance
of allowing producers some, if not all,
of the IP in their work. However, given
the SABC’s development role in the
local industry, the emphasis has been
on full commissioning in which the
SABC – having borne 100% of the cost
– retains 100% of the rights
“This allows SABC to fully exploit
the assets it aggregates, even sharing up
to 25% of net profits with producers.
Given its current funding model the
SABC has effectively created a
commercial broadcaster tasked with
delivering a stringent public mandate,
the retention of copyright has in the
past been viewed as part of the SABC’s
economic reality.”
Worster explains that SABC
management now recognises that they
do not fully exploit content effectively.
“There is a view that the local industry
would be even more empowered should
it be allowed to retain some, if not all,
of the IP in its work. This would be a
bold step for the SABC in the interest
of finally resolving this issue.”
Positive turnaround
One of the biggest issues is time and
transparency. Worster explains: “The
processes are long. The very processes
that were meant to simplify
commissioning, and allow us to
commission independents openly and
fairly, became progressively convoluted
in our response to the PFMA. But
with new technology solutions at the
SABC and by revisiting commissioning
processes this should see a positive
turn-around within the next 12
months.”
One of the biggest pressures is to
remain economically viable. “With the
corporation needing to find 80% of its
revenue from commercial activity, the
pressure on the public broadcasting
content to break even is increasingly
difficult to manage editorially –
particularly in the areas of children,
factual and religion. These are not
necessarily the most attractive genres
for advertisers. This can only be
restored properly once the SABC’s
funding model has been addressed.”
Worster concludes: “We look
forward to doing business with the
industry and with mutual respect we
believe that the relationship can be
restored to benefit the industry and
broadcasting, as well as content.”
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FESTIVAL
The recent Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) showcased a number of exciting new South African films. Here
JOANNA STERKOWICZ reports on KHALO MATABANE’S State of Violence and REHAD DESAI’S
The Battle for Johannesburg.
Condition of being
The new South African film, State of
Violence, had the distinction of being
chosen to open the recent Durban
International Film Festival (DIFF).
Interviewing writer / director Khalo
Matabane about State of Violence during
DIFF wasn’t the easiest task as he
seemed reluctant to talk about the film.
This is fair enough – not all filmmakers
like to gab to the press about their
work. In fact the last time Screen Africa
requested an interview with Matabane
– when he was making his SAFTAaward winning TV series When We
Were Black – he declined stating that he
felt over-exposed to the media.
What did come across in the
interview (punctuated by Matabane’s
frequent receiving and sending SMSs
on his cellphone) is that he loves the
filmmaking process.
“I love being on set – I’m a set addict.
My way of working can be intimidating
and frustrating for co-workers as I don’t
plan much and improvise quite a lot.”
Actual questions posed to Matabane
did not fare very well. Asked when he
shot the film, he replied: “I can’t
remember”. To the more strategic
question of what camera format he used
RAW DRAMA – Presley Chweneyagae and
Khalo Matabane at the DIFF première of State of
Violence
on the film Matabane said: “I’m not
technical, I don’t know.” However at a
later stage he noted that his State of
Violence producer, Jeremy Nathan of
DV8, had advised him to become more
familiar with the technicalities of
cinematography.
Matabane was non-committal about
the DIFF première. “I’m a filmmaker
so I don’t ask for feedback, plus I want
to avoid false answers,” he said with a
shrug. “When you make a film with
the kind of budget we’re forced to work
with in South Africa you need a strong
story, strong characters and great
performances.”
In fact the issue of low budgets came
up frequently in the interview. “I think
my script was too epic for the budget,”
he commented.
State of Violence is a tense and
emotionally raw drama. It’s clear that
Matabane coaxed superb performances
from his two leads, Fana Mokoena
(The Lab) and Presley Chweneyagae
(Tsotsi).
“I always had Presley in mind for the
role of the Bobedi’s brother but I still
made him audition,” said Matabane.
“Fana on the other hand, didn’t
audition. I cast him after he told me
what he thought of my story because it
blew me away. It’s easy for an actor to
do an external performance but Fana
does internal acting – he’s fantastic.”
In State of Violence, the wife of
well-to-do businessman Bobedi is
killed in a seemingly random act of
violence. When Bobedi tracks down
the killer he discovers that the murder
is linked to the darkness of his past.
Nowhere
to go
It was the disdain towards slum
dwellers in Johannesburg’s city centre
that inspired filmmaker Reshad Desai
to question the city’s urban renewal
project, as it prepared to host the recent
2010 Fifa World Cup.
In the new feature length
documentary The Battle for
Johannesburg, Desai appears in the film
as a way of linking the separate stories
together. He talks to Johannesburg
property developers, members of the
Johannesburg City Council and
residents from San Jose, one of the
many slum buildings that mar the city’s
skyline.
As the film reveals there are three
types of ‘bad buildings’ in the city, the
first being the buildings where the
owners don’t comply with health and
safety regulations. Then there are the
slum buildings where landlords refuse
to upgrade their buildings. Lastly there
are the hijacked buildings where the
owners have disappeared and the
buildings are run by thugs who demand
rent from the hapless inhabitants.
SCREENAFRICA – September 2010
WAR CRY – Inner city residents protesting in The Battle for Johannesburg
“I embarked on this film in 2007
when I heard that the notorious Ponte
block of flats in Hillbrow was up for
sale. The developers who bought the
building went on a multi-million
revival programme to convert it into
high-end residential units. Ultimately
the project failed because of an
economic hiccup but it was a sign that
Johannesburg’s urban renewal was
taking off. Meanwhile the city council
was keen to make the city centre look
like a world class Fifa host city. In the
midst of all this are hundreds of
thousands of poverty-stricken people
who are reduced to living in slums,”
said Desai.
In the middle of the film the root of
the problem becomes clear – the failure
of the South African Government to
provide low cost housing and to address
the economic imbalances of apartheid.
The film has a sweeping, big budget
look. Co-producers of the film are
Desai’s Uhuru Productions, Japanese
broadcaster NHK, Iranian satellite
free-to-air station Press TV and the
South African Broadcasting
Corporation (SABC).
Desai noted that the SABC was
supposed to put in about 13% of the
R2m budget and that the film was due
As to where the inspiration for the
film came from, Matabane responded
that he wanted to do a film about
violence. Pressed further he said: “The
film is about history and memory and
asks the question of what happens
when we don’t confront our own past.
It’s about denial.”
Matabane began developing the
project with Nathan and the National
Film and Video Foundation (NFVF)
over four years ago. “I had a great
experience making the film and Jeremy
[Nathan] gave me artistic freedom. The
support I got from him, the NFVF, the
Industrial Development Corporation
(IDC) and the SABC was fantastic. I
felt nurtured and loved by the people I
worked with.
“Every project makes you confront
yourself. Until now people have said my
films (Conversations on a Sunday
Afternoon) are unemotional. My granny
died before I made State of Violence but
it came as a tragic gift because I started
to feel. That’s why this film has turned
out to be so emotional. I think people
will relate to the film as most of us
know what it is like to love and lose
someone.”
to be flighted before the World Cup.
“This did not happen. I still don’t have
a contract from the SABC therefore
Uhuru was forced to cash flow the
production with its own investment,
which created quite a predicament. At
this stage we hope the SABC will
flight the programme in March 2011.”
Uhuru secured pre-sales to
Scandinavian TV stations DR of
Denmark and YLE of Finland. The
Gauteng Film Commission (GFC) and
the National Film and Video
Foundation (NFVF) supported the
project, as did NGO Urban Landmark,
which donated a small grant.
Desai said that on a personal level
The Battle for Johannesburg was a
harrowing film to make. “I had to
confront my own fears when going into
those rat-infested slums and seeing how
these poor people live and how they are
totally abandoned by both city and
state. Then when they get evicted they
literally have no place to live.”
The film was shot on a Sony EX3
camera fitted with a Letus adaptor.
DOPs working on this project over the
years were Frank Lehman from
Germany and locals Nic Hofmeyr and
Jonathan Kovel. Nami Mhlono
recorded sound and the film
was cut by Dutch editor Menno
Boeremma.
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BUSINESS
Co-production –
way of the future
By Karen van Schalkwyk
As economic pressures reduce budgets for big projects, it emerged at a workshop,
held at the French Institute in Johannesburg in August, that co-production finance
presents a new opportunity for both television and film production.
PARTNERSHIP IS KEY – Pierre Merle
Jihan El-Tahri
P
ierre Merle from ARTE
(Association Relative à la
Télévision Européenne) France,
the guest speaker at the
workshop, made it clear that ARTE
does most – if not all its films – as
collaborative co-productions.
“If you want to make high-impact
and big budget films then coproductions are really the way to go
about it. In the current economic
climate co-productions are really the
only way to get the product made.”
Merle also stressed that coproductions open up the market place.
“They mean that your film will be seen
in different territories and that risk and
responsibility are shared among a
number of broadcasters or investors.
ARTE works with countries from all
over the world.”
Co-productions do however have
positive and negative aspects. “The
critical aspect is that you have to
address whatever topic you are dealing
with in a universal way. When dealing
with different co-producers content
ownership can become tricky, however
we maintain that it is up to the
producer to own the content and exploit
that. I would say that structuring
contracts is the most challenging aspect
of co-productions.”
Jihan El-Tahri (Behind the Rainbow,
Cuba: An African Odyssey, House of
Saud) explains that there are several
reasons to go into co-productions.
“Firstly, you get to work with other
countries and your work gets seen
internationally. Also your film does not
have one finance source but several.
Today to do a feature documentary you
must obtain your money from a variety
of sources.
“Normally feature documentaries
will cost between €300 000 to
€400 000 (about R2,9m to R3,9m).
There are really only three main
sources of finance: the BBC, ARTE
and the US. Most of these investors
will only invest €100 000 to €120 000
(R980 000 to R1,2m) so you have to
get other co-producers on board.”
Copyright control
Jeremy Nathan
10
SCREENAFRICA – September 2010
Regarding who controls the rights, ElTahri says: “I always make sure that I
retain my copyright and make sure that
each investor holds only 15% equity in
the project. Broadcasters of course have
rights to territories and distribution but
to control the copyright they always
need my permission.”
Jeremy Nathan of DV8 Films (State
of Violence, Max and Mona, How to Steal
R2million) says that he has a divide and
rule policy. “We always manage to
ensure that no one investor has more
than 25% invested in a project, as this
allows the producers, writer(s) and
director to retain creative control of a
project.
“With regard to intellectual property
(IP) there are two things to consider:
one is IP itself, the other is your
position and participation in the
revenue windfall. We have always
managed to keep our IP. This is one
way to protect the writer, director and
producers in the future of the project.
This is vital and also to have revenue
split over the life span of a film.”
Nathan maintains that entering into
co-productions raises the quality of the
film. “It also means that you collaborate
with people from all over the world and
gain experience in the international
arena. The benefits are that you can get
strong input into the creative aspects of
the film. The more experienced
producers and crew can add massive
value in making the film more widely
accessible.”
Nathan says that the disadvantages
are that projects become more
expensive to co-produce. “International
costs can sometimes be higher than in
South Africa. It also requires a lot more
detailed communication. Different
languages and legal systems can be
problematic.”
Control of content
With regards to the actual practicality
of doing co-productions and the
production process, El-Tahri responds:
“One has to be firm. I was originally
just a director but wanted to be more in
control of the process so became a
director/producer. For me control of the
content is hugely important. I do not
want editorial interference. For instance
on Behind the Rainbow, I asked one of
the co-producing broadcasters to leave
the project as I felt I was being pushed
into a corner that I did not want to be
in. However I must stress it is critical to
stand your ground but also to know
when to compromise. In The House of
Saud, I had over 23 co-producers
working on the film.”
Co-productions provide critical ways
to access film funds according to
El-Tahri. “When you do a coproduction there is a vast array of funds
available to you. One is the European
Media Fund. One of their criteria is
that the film must be shown in four
different language territories in Europe.
These types of opportunities mean that
your film becomes global.”
El-Tahri says that it is critical that
South Africans learn about coproduction and network with the global
community. “I have been doing this for
20 years now. The international
markets and festivals are where you
meet commissioning editors and people
who may be interested in your projects.
Once they know you they can put a
name to a face, which is invaluable in
this industry. SABC should be entering
into more co-productions like they did
with Steps to the Future but so must
independent producers.”
Local broadcasters
lack will
Nathan is pessimistic about local
broadcasters. “I personally doubt that
any of our broadcasters have the will or
the ability among themselves to coproduce. It would be wise for the
SABC to engage in new innovative
ways to co-produce, therefore sharing
the risk and the rewards with both local
producers and international partners.
To our own detriment we have also
excluded African filmmakers from the
continent, while a few producers have
only managed to co-produce by pure
force of will.”
Nathan adds: “I think South Africa
is too isolationist and we lack the
knowledge and skills in this arena. We
must open up to new technology, new
ways of creating content and
distribution platforms. We are gazing
at our own pitiful cash-strapped over
bureaucratic navels, while the rest of
the world is exploring new ways of
digital content.”
El-Tahri concludes: “Co-productions
are crucial but many projects are too
formulaic. The creativity is the
thing that must guide the project.
There is little space left for creativity
these days with imaginative ideas
undermined in search of the winning
formula.”
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ad cetera Report on the South African commercials industry
Superb Loerie entries
A journey of celebration
Oodles of 3D noodles
country’s history – Steve Biko, Joe Slovo or
Oliver Tambo. The ads end with the powerful
line: “A history forgotten is a future lost.”
Coetsee manages to capture the authenticity
and honesty of each interview and is able to
convey the startling reality of each situation in a
way that is both credible and thoughtprovoking. The commercial was produced by
Lorraine Smit.
So backward
The Bomb Shelter was commissioned by
MetropolitanRepublic in Johannesburg to film
an epic road trip to encourage all South Africans
to support and celebrate the 2010 Fifa World
Cup. The Ayoba commercial is one of the
outstanding commercials to be entered in this
year’s Loerie Awards.
Bomb director, Teboho, interpreted the brief
and travelled around the country to involve all
South Africans from all walks of life to unite
and celebrate this once in a lifetime event
together. Bomb producers Gavin Joubert and
Marc Harrison called in their very best team
who set this up in a record time as the deadline
was extremely tight.
Their journey started in a township
overlooking Knysna; moved on to the beaches in
George; then the challenge of closing off a
major mountain pass en route to Ladismith;
chasing after ostriches in Oudshoorn;
choreographing 700 kids in Bellville; and finally
ending with the filming of a staged 500-strong
carnival in Long Street.
In conclusion Teboho, Harrison and Joubert
and the team had one of their most successful
campaigns ever and are extremely grateful for
working with a fantastic creative team from the
agency.
Bouffant’s hilarious spot for client 1st for
Women Insurance won a bronze for Dean
Blumberg at this year’s Cannes Lions
International Awards Festival. Commissioned
by agency Black River FC and produced by
Boris Vossgatter, the ad shows three typical
young guys who attempt to drive to Cape Town
in reverse. The journey takes place uneventfully
and the trio make it to Cape Town only to end
with the car going over the edge of the wellknown road’s end. Another reason why 1st for
Women doesn’t insure men!
Changing life with colour
“Everyone who was involved in the
commercial will never forget the experience. We
now possess forever a little bit of ‘Ayoba’,” says
Joubert.
Lowe Bull Johannesburg created three eyecatching spots for client Medal Paints. Two of
the spots, Bedroom and Cat, were shortlisted at
Cannes this year. The three spots, directed by
Bouffant’s Erik van Wyk and produced by
Melina McDonald, hinge on the simple idea
that colour makes all the difference. This idea is
perfectly portrayed in a subtle and humorous
way. Each spot shows two different executions
of the same situation with the only difference in
each being a colour change. However, the
resulting effect of the colour change is of huge
consequence. For instance Cat shows the impact
that colour can have in your life by showing the
distinct difference between a ginger cat crossing
a cyclist’s path and a black cat crossing the same
cyclist’s path.
Apartheid Museum
Effective dance sequence
Fringe director Chloe Coetsee’s real-life spots
for the Apartheid Museum were shortlisted at
this year’s Cannes Lions International Awards
Festival in the Film Awards category. These ads
also landed the young director a first place in
the Creative Circle Awards for May.
The six 60-second spots pose the question:
Just how familiar is the average South African
student with the recent history of South Africa?
Commissioned by Hunt Lascaris, each ad
involves unsuspecting students who are
approached and asked to identify photographs of
well-known personalities. While they are able to
identify international pop icons and movie stars
with relative ease, not one single student is able
to identify the people who helped shape the
Life Design is the second single to be released off
the Parlotones Stardust Galaxies album (which
12
SCREENAFRICA – September 2010
went Gold after just one week on the shelves).
In order to create the Zoetrope-type effect
where it appears that one person is formed out of
a circle of many people, the team designed a rig
that was able to travel at exactly 23kms per hour
around a 30m diameter circle of similar looking
people dancing the same dance.
“Once the camera reached the desired speed
the people all blended into one creating the
effect that one person was dancing as opposed
to a group of about 37 individuals,” explains
director Erik van Wyk. The commercials were
commissioned by Ogilvy and produced by
Melina McDonald.
The 60” animated commercial Mimee Noodles – The Adventures of
Tortoise X was commissioned by DDB Lagos. Star of the TVC is
a tortoise who one day tastes the noodles and is transformed into a
super hero called Tortoise X. He then sets off on a lifelong
journey to discover the different flavours of Mimee Noodles.
Tortoise X is also required to perform a number of athletic feats
whenever he meets his opponent Kung Fu Rabbit, reminiscent of
‘Kung Fu Panda’.
All characters are 3D interpretations from the existing print
campaign and the environments were designed from scratch.
While the tortoise, rabbit and bird characters were created and
animated in 3D, the environments were a collection of matte
paintings, strategically placed to create the illusion of depth. The
various layers were defocussed to increase this illusion. The whole
piece was composited in After Effects at The Refinery in
Johannesburg.
The Monster Studio team, in the animation department at The
Refinery, consisted of Shannan Taylor, Lynda Ward, Isaac Liu,
Tristan Winslow and Adriaan Smuts. The audio was done in
Nigeria.
Martial Arts sets tone
Below-the-line agency Mick and Nick collaborated with
illustrator Clive Kirk to produce a novel new Look & Listen
gaming ad to entice consumers to choose their own lethal style.
The advertisement is reminiscent of posters you find on the
walls of a dojo in Japan where martial arts techniques are taught
to loyal students aspiring to gain access to the next level.
‘Your hands are lethal, choose your style’ reads the top of the
poster-like ad. Down the side in a font evocative of Far Eastern
lettering runs the word Tatakua, from the Japanese meaning ‘to
fight’. The advertisement invites gaming enthusiasts to take a
closer look, find the hidden meaning, enjoy the visuals and have a
chuckle at the inclusion of console gamepads, says creative
director Nick Liatos.
Champ stamp
on beer
The Carling Man has been epitomised by cowboys,
jazz players and blue-collar workers. This time round
champion Dutch footballer and coach Ruud Gullit
puts his stamp on the new Carling Black Label
television commercial.
The new Carling Black Label television
advertisement was conceived during the 2010 Fifa
World Cup in South Africa. With Gullit in the
country, Ogilvy Cape Town immediately saw the
potential to cast him as the Carling Man, says creative
director Jonathan Lang.
The new TV ad was shot over three days in Cape
Town at Albert Hall in Woodstock and Langa, with
director Ian Gabriel of Giant Films at the helm. The
ad was executive produced by Cindy Gabriel and line
produced by Shireen Hattingh.
The ad, which started flighting towards the end of
August, shows Gullit relaxing with a friend in a lively
bar while watching an energetic game of football. As
Director Speak
Mosese Samatladi Semenya
(Catapult Commercials)
WHAT IS IT ABOUT DIRECTING
THAT APPEALS TO YOU?
I love a challenge and I’m a control
freak – both these characteristics
are deeply embedded in my DNA.
I’m also the son of two famous
recording artistes so it is
important to me that I carve a
niche of my own.
HOW HAS YOUR
BACKGROUND PREPARED
YOU FOR DIRECTING COMMERCIALS?
All my life I have been interested in commercial art –
the ability to draw in large audiences and leave them
feeling appreciative. Everything I have studied and every
project I have worked on has always been a strategic
stepping stone to get me where I am today. I had to not
only understand my subject, but must have lived a piece
of their lives someway, somehow.
DO YOU HAVE ANY MENTORS?
I have many mentors, mostly people around me such as
my family and Glen, John, Re, Richard and Theo – all
from Catapult.
Gullit watches the game, he talks about his
remarkable career and first-hand knowledge of what
makes a champion. It would appear that he has
identified a new champion player but it turns out to be
a champion beer.
WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR CAREER HIGHLIGHTS?
I have worked with the best of the best in the business
so my highlights were just to be a part of greatness and
history. Choose any artist in my repertoire and I will
find the highlight they brought to my life.
WHAT’S THE TRICK TO TELLING A STORY
IN 30 SECONDS?
Research, research and solid preproduction so your client, agency,
cast and crew get where you and
the story are coming from, where
the character is coming from and
where it is going. Respecting your
audience is primary.
WHAT’S THE CLEVEREST
AD YOU’VE EVER SEEN?
I would have to say the
Bridgestone ad from Thailand. The
fact that the director makes you feel for the dogs in the
complex and the dynamic way we’d feel for a human
being is simply genius, in my opinion.
“The new commercial is part of our longterm strategy to renovate Carling Black
Label’s positioning in the marketplace,”
explains Andrea Quaye, Carling Black
Label general manager. The beer was
introduced to South Africans in 1966 but by
the end of the 1980s it hit an all-time
market share low of 2.1% with threats of
complete withdrawal of the beer.
In the 1990s the marketing team began
to work on a working class group identity
which paid off as it eventually became
South Africa’s best selling beer. In 2010,
after a commissioned SAB study, it was
decided to reflect the new South African
man who has made his way up the career
and social ladder and who cares for his
family and acts as role model.
“Gullit is the perfect combination of
player, coach and champion, as well as being a savvy
businessman, father and husband. He plays many
roles, just like the men who enjoy Carling Black
Label,” says Quaye.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST BIZARRE THING
TO HAPPEN TO YOU ON A SHOOT?
It probably isn’t a big deal but I was rather surprised
when a model, who I was working with, wanted a bite
of the apple I was busy eating. So I handed her the halfeaten apple but that was not what she wanted. She
wanted me to bite a piece off and give her the
unchewed piece that had just been in my mouth. Don’t
get me wrong, she was hot, but that was quite gross.
DO YOU HAVE AN ICONIC BRAND FOR WHICH
YOU’D LOVE TO MAKE A COMMERCIAL? WHAT
WOULD BE THE COMMERCIAL BE LIKE?
I have always wanted to do an ad for Levi’s. They really
capture the spirit of the urban warrior like no other. If I
got my hands on one of those ads, Africa would never
be the same.
WHERE IS YOUR DREAM LOCATION AND WHY?
Underwater. It’s a world that I’ve never explored before
and more importantly it’s a stone unturned.
WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE FILMMAKERS?
Slim (local) and Christopher Nolan (international).
WHAT ARE THE COMMON ELEMENTS
OF REALLY BAD ADS?
Stereotyping and a failure to fully understand the
constantly shifting mindset of the target audience.
IS THERE A SECRET TO DEALING WITH
AGENCY CREATIVES AND CLIENTS?
Yeah, be real and be true to yourself. Don’t try to
b***s*** them because it’s insulting.
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF
10 YEARS FROM NOW?
Doing what I love – making films about a positive Africa
and not having to justify or explain that Africa is a
special place that goes beyond the portrayal as a famineravaged place. I also see myself on a beach with my
future grandchildren being happy that their grand-pappy
made a difference.
Punted as ’The biggest event of the year’ the up-coming 2010 Loerie Awards will honour the best brand
communication work in South Africa, Africa and the Middle East. Loeries Festival Weekend takes place in
Cape Town from 1 to 3 October, with thousands of creatives expected to attend the event in the hope of
winning an elusive Loerie trophy.
All eyes on that bird
O
verall the number of entries for
this year’s Loerie Awards are
down 4% for the main
categories, which is largely
attributed to the recession according to
Loerie Awards CEO Andrew Human.
“Under the circumstances it is a good
result and less of a drop in entries than
last year,” explains Human. “For two
consecutive years entry numbers have
dropped. The Loeries are a good
barometer of the South African
economy as it is a gauge of overall
marketing spend. The easiest place for
companies to cut back is on marketing
resulting in less work and reduced
budgets for agencies to enter
competitions.
“However this is not a fait accompli.
Entries for the TV, cinema and print
categories increased, which means there
was growth in traditional media. Radio
entries stayed the same while digital
entries dropped 10%. There was a
significant drop in design entries
because I think that many companies
held off on brand identity projects.
Within the digital category website
entries were down but microsites went
up indicating that large Internet
projects suffered cuts.”
Justin Gomes of Cape Town ad
agency FoxP2 believes that over the
past two recession-ridden years
agencies thought twice about entering
work because of the cost of entries.
“At FoxP2 we’ve never had a big
budget for entering competitions but
the recession hasn’t affected our
number of Loerie entries as it may have
done for the bigger agencies. We have
the same number of entries as last year.
Our philosophy has always been quality
over quantity so we’re circumspect
about which work we enter. Our belief
is that creativity is the most effecitve
business tool for our clients and that it
will result in a return on investment for
them.
“A number of our clients this year
have cut down on TV ads but I think
this was more to do with the recent Fifa
World Cup rather than the recession.
They were worried their new ads would
be drowned in all the World Cup
14
SCREENAFRICA – September 2010
AWARD IN FULL FLIGHT – Andrew Human and Nkwenkwe Nkomo
related ads. But since the tournament
we’ve received more TV briefs than
we’ve had in quite a while.”
Big ideas
Chief creative officer of Draftfcb
South Africa Brett Morris points out
that big budgets don’t make it any easier
to come up with big ideas. “A recession
shouldn’t necessarily affect the level of
creativity. If anything, smaller budgets
should force you to be more creative.
Clients should want to maximise their
budgets, which means the work needs
to have more impact.
“We submitted about the same
number of Loerie entries this year as
last year and therefore have experienced
no growth year-on-year. This is most
likely due to the recession, which is not
about the quality of the work but rather
the amount of work being produced as
budgets shrink.”
Rob McLennan, Net#work BBDO’s
executive creative director, notes that
for quite a while marketing budgets
have been squeezed as there are more
media choices for the same budget.
“Consequently agencies have less
money for production and media
placement in different mediums,
particularly television. So I think we’re
becoming more adept at making
budgets stretch further. Also clients are
much more discerning where they
spend their money and more focused
on measurability and effectiveness.
“Luckily, great ideas don’t necessarily
rely on budget. Sure big budgets help to
make the huge Ben-Hur television
productions starring famous people
with a well-known song thrown in. But
a whole bunch of Cannes Lions Grand
Prix winners have won for very simple,
inexpensive ideas – although the ideas
have been mind-blowing. Possibly the
only area to be really affected by the
recession is television production.”
Loeries ranking system
For the first time the Loerie Awards
committee has introduced a ranking
system.
Says Human: “In the past there was
confusion in the industry about who
was ranked top in terms of Loerie wins.
Until now the Loeries committee
always stayed neutral. The Creative
Circle has its own system of ranking
agencies according to award wins and
this year Cannes Lions introduced a
points system.
“So we thought it would be a good
idea to provide our own tables of the
top brands, top agencies and top
production companies. We’ll list large,
small and medium agencies and show
the top agencies in the advertising,
communication design, experiential
marketing and digital media categories.
I think this will be a valuable resource
for the industry.”
Human notes that some people still
misunderstand the term ‘creative
excellence’, which forms the basis of
Loeries judging criteria. “Creative
excellence is not about visual aesthetics,
it’s about looking at ideas that are
spearheading change and innovation.
Therefore our judges assess the quality
of entries and their relevance to the
brands.”
New awards
A new innovation that is of particular
interest to production companies is that
they can now enter their work produced
for clients outside the region in the craft
categories. “I’m very excited about this
new eligibility criterion as we intend to
showcase crafts as much as possible,”
comments Human.
The Loeries committee is also
delighted at the huge response to its
new Ubuntu Award. “We received just
under 30 entries so it’s a really good
start for this category,” says Human.
“In the future all great brands will need
to make a positive impact on the
community in which they are trading.
All the Ubuntu nominees are listed on
www.theloerieawards.co.za.”
In another new innovation, TV
promos and on-air branding are split
into two categories. The latter has to be
original content while TV promos are
edited compilations of movies.
For the second consecutive year the
Loerie Awards are being held in Cape
Town. The Loeries committee has
made a number of adjustments this year
to ensure a significant improvement in
the overall show as well as all the
technical aspects.
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TRACKINGTECHNOLOGY NEWS
Posting
award-winning doc
In the Name of the Family, director Shelley Saywell’s awardwinning documentary about honour killings in North America,
recently won the Best Canadian Feature Award at Toronto’s Hot
Docs film festival.
Shot primarily on Sony HDCAM, the film incorporates
footage from a variety of sources, including cell phone cameras
and home movies. Fearless Films in Toronto provided complete
finishing services for the project, including online editorial,
compositing, colour grading, titling, closed captioning and
versioning.
Paul Hili and Andrew Mandziuk at Fearless Films took the
lead on post-production. “As is often the case with documentaries,
the challenge was combining the footage and matching colour
spaces and frame rates,” explains Mandziuk. “This film is going
to a lot of different places so we had to prepare for a variety of
different output formats.”
Editor Deborah Palloway did the offline edit on Final Cut Pro.
The material was then ingested into an Avid Symphony.
“I believe the best documentaries are deceptively simple,” says
Saywell at the Toronto office of Bishari Films, who produced the
film. “I’m always going for lean understatement to let the power
of the subject matter speak for itself. I want the film to get out of
the way of the issues of the heart.”
“The different requirements for broadcasters and theatre, soon
evolve into creative decisions,” adds Mandziuk. “For the theatrical
release the director doesn’t want to blur things if she doesn’t have
to, but for legal reasons broadcasters often need to hide
identifying details.
“When you blur someone or black out their eyes that, in itself,
becomes part of the story. There are different ways to hide parts
of the image and as editors we need to be sensitive to the
audience’s emotional response.”
Colour correction is another area where technical and artistic
criteria are merged in support of the story. “Fearless did the first
colour pass when I was not there,” explains Saywell. “When I
went in to look at it, the film was beautiful – too beautiful
actually. I wanted to capture the mood of the story and the subject
matter, which is definitely not beautiful. Colour grading is a bit
like the soundtrack. My films need music in a minor key and it’s
the same with the colour palette. Andrew, Paul and I talked about
that and they really nailed it.”
Review sessions were conducted in Fearless Film’s 12-seater
screening room, which is equipped with a Christie HD
digital projector.
AXON performs at World Cup
Dutch company AXON’s Synapse equipment met the needs of
the various signal processing requirements at six of the 10 Fifa
World Cup stadiums.
AXON’s equipment for the processing of audio and video
signals was used at the Durban, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg/
Ellispark and Pretoria venues and by German facility supplier
Studio Berlin for the Johannesburg Soccer City and Rustenburg
venues.
These six facilities were equipped with a total of 400 AXON
Synapse quad split modules capable of generating 1 500
multiview channels. Other equipment in use were, among others,
the Synapse dual channel down converters, dual channel up
converters, 8-channel audio sample rate converters, distribution
amplifiers and video delays. Over 2.4 billion people worldwide
have been able to see the equipment at work during the opening
match of the tournament. In South Africa, AXON is represented
by AJ Niemeyer and Spescom.
16
SCREENAFRICA – September 2010
Christie takes you on a ride
A Spanish cinema audience was given the
chance to feel the sensation of driving
without leaving their seats when Fiat
dreamed up its newest advertising idea to tie
in with the release of Tim Burton’s latest
movie Alice in Wonderland.
Conceived to
introduce the Fiat
500 convertible in
Spain, the Italian
carmakers came up
with an innovative
cinema
commercial by
using a Christie
Roadster S+20K
projector.
Initially, the
audience
viewed the
same ad for the Fiat 500c as seen on TV.
However the real show started when the
advert ended, the dashboard of the Fiat 500c
appeared on the theatre screen as if the
audience were inside the car, and then a
projection was screened on the cinema’s
ceiling simulating the opening of the car
roof, revealing the sky above the audience’s
head. The public was treated to a 30-second
ride, transmitting the experience and
sensations of driving without leaving their
seats.
This incredible action was a world-first
and combined screen and ceiling projection
to recreate the sensation of driving.
Developed by the companies TheLab003
and MAXUS CICM for Fiat, the advert
was made by Discine.
To create the effect a Christie Roadster
S+20K projector, delivering 20,000 lumens,
was used to project onto the theatre ceiling,
and digital technology for the screen using
software was designed to synchronise both
the screen and ceiling projections.
The Roadster S+20K was located at the front
of the
theatre in
a centred
position,
and at 15
metres from
the ceiling.
The screening
surface covered a
12m x 16m area,
delivering an
aspect ratio of 4:3
at SXGA+
resolution (1400 x
1050). The player used was an Emotique
System with software developed by
TheLab003, conceived to synchronise the
screen and ceiling projections. “This
software was specially designed for this
action with a view to adapting the image and
visually creating a perfect result using
mapping and blending techniques,” explains
Ignacio De Juan-Creix of The Lab003.
The audience, who were not expecting this
commercial, left the theatre with a very
positive impression. “It took them completely
by surprise. At first they thought the movie
was a 3D projection, coming out of the front
screen and covering the theatre,” says Juan
Pina, technical director at Tecnicongress
which supplied the Christie projector. “They
were truly surprised and we achieved our
goal: to get 500 people inside a Fiat 500c!”
Doremi
scores
with
live 3D
Doremi Cinema’s digital
cinema servers were used to
playback Sensio's Live 3D
broadcasts of the 2010 Fifa
World Cup matches around
the world.
The 2010 World Cup held
in South Africa was the firstever global live 3D event.
Sensio was Fifa’s main live 3D
events technology partner and
delivered this groundbreaking
live 3D event to cinemas and
large venues. Sensio's Live 3D
encoding and streaming
technology is already
embedded in all Doremi
DCP-2000 and DCP-2K4
digital cinema servers. Over
1 000 cinema screens
worldwide broadcast
live World Cup
matches.
For those theatres
broadcasting the live World
Cup matches using other
manufacturers’ digital cinema
servers, Doremi suggested its
new Dimension-3D Cine
decoding hardware. This
provided a bridging device to
allow decoding Sensio live 3D
events without the need to
manually reconfigure the
cabling.
In the case where a theatre
wanted to broadcast the World
Cup matches to several screens
at once, Doremi’s multicasting streaming device called
the StreamIt was used.
StreamIt is a broadcast
MPEG2 video streamer
companion device for Doremi
DCP-2000 and DCP-2K4
digital cinema servers. The
StreamIt enables the
streaming of alternative
programming via satellite to
multiple screens live, in 2D
and 3D. Up to four screens can
be streamed simultaneously
allowing for up-to-the-minute
scheduling. Currently
StreamIt only works
with Doremi Cinema
servers.
For more information
contact Zimele Broadcasting
Services