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NEWS
Local industry
sees Red
Drama series
educates voter
Red Light Studios is a
newcomer to the Cape Town
production scene with
December 2008 marking the
opening of its first two studios.
Its professional team is diverse
and is represented by both
stalwarts of the industry, as
well as individuals from the
business, marketing, hospitality
and sales sectors. One thing
that is common to all, however,
is a shared passion for creating
sustainable solutions to
production challenges in the
local industry.
The team consists of
commercials director Craig
Ferguson, writer and performer
Louw Venter (co-creator of The
Most Amazing Show), Lomo
guru Robin Sprong, studio
manager Gareth Rees and
other executive shareholders
from the technology sector.
Red Light Studios is
committed to facilitating film
NEW DOG ON THE BLOCK – Red Light Studios
help with the production costs
in exchange for branding on
the players’ shirts.”
Power says that it took close
on five years to source the
finance. “Fortunately the comic
has been a very successful
brand, so we were able to
leverage our global sponsorship
with Caltex. We believe that
this is a pioneering branded
content deal as we have not
come across any other animated
projects in the world that have
been financed this way.”
Power adds that they tried
for a number of years to get
broadcaster support, but this
equivalent production values at
budgets that would previously
have only allowed for a high
definition video process. This
has been possible with the
ontroduction of the Red One, a
digital camera that actually
bridged the gap between 35mm
and digital in all ways. As
studio manager Gareth Rees
explains, “Both the high
resolution 4k imaging as well as
variable depth of field creates a
stark contrast between the ‘flat’
images currently observed on
digital features. This allows
directors all the creative
flexibility available on film,
with the added efficiency of
digital post-production.”
Although geared toward the
commercial industry, Red
Light Studios is also heavily
focussed on the promotion and
development of the independent
movie industry. “Our two
200m 2 studios (one of which is
never became a reality.
“Animation is especially
difficult to produce as local
broadcasters are not willing to
invest the amount of money
required to produce world class
animation and therefore
creative financing become a
necessity.”
Once they had the production
finance in place, Power
says that they were able to secure
broadcasters who were
willing to ignore the Caltex
logo on the players’ shirts and
not expect to be paid for granting
this exposure to Caltex. “In
exchange we have a deal with
green screen ready) as well as
the very same camera that
Steven Soderbergh has just
used to shoot his big screen
biopic of the life of Che Guevara
(starring Benicio Del Toro) are
available.”
Over the past few months,
the Red Light technical team
has spent considerable time
with the Red One camera, testing
and fine-tuning a workflow
process from image acquisition
through post. This has culminated
in Red Light being able
to offer clients a smooth, reliable
workflow that allows for
unparalleled control throughout
the filmmaking process –
from the full 2k client monitoring
facility through to
in-camera grading, and on-set
offline assemblies. Clients will
be able to shoot and review full
quality footage on set, while
their rushes will be triple
backed-up immediately after
acquisition.
“It’s basically like
digital celluloid!” says
co-owner Louw Venter
while he views the
crisp new space of
Studio 1 from the
mezzanine viewing
area.
Will the dream of
merging the established
values of 35mm
with the ‘fantasy’ of a
viable digital equivalent
come true? Only
time will tell. But
judging by the confidence
of Red Light’s
creators, the future
looks bright.
broadcasters that involves no
licence fee. The downside is
that we don’t get licence fees or
financial support from the
broadcaster but we are able to
give Caltex the exposure for the
financing of the production.
We managed to secure channels
including SABC2, BTV
(Botswana), ZNBC (Zambia),
Nation TV (Kenya and Uganda),
Caracol TV (Colombia),
RTM (Malaysia) etc.”
Power elaborates: “We want
to get Supa Strikas to the point
where we have a full long
format television series on air
across the world. This is the
CHOOSING THE SHOT – Directors Gerard Mostert and Vusi Dibakwane
SABC Education, in partnership with the Independent
Electoral Commission (IEC) is engaged in an ongoing
national voter education awareness campaign. The latest
project, which hopes to motivate youth and public participation
in the upcoming general elections, is a television drama series,
Khululeka Siyavota.
The series forms part of a larger ID (Identity Document)
Voter Education Campaign which runs across radio, print,
SMS and the web. The campaign urges 16 year-olds to get
their ID books (in order to be able to vote in the future) and 18
year-olds to register to vote. It will address issues of voter
education, the secrecy of your vote, emotional readiness around
voting, the process, ballot papers, etc.
This democracy education drama with comedy focuses on
the happenings in the lives of the extended Zwane family,
their friends and community who live in the Western Cape.
Khululeka Siyavota reminds viewers that they have a voice
with their vote and that each vote has the power to make a
difference. Apathy among the youth is addressed as well as the
alienation and disillusionment of voters. The series also takes
a strong human rights approach with regards to individual and
group rights as underpinned in South Africa’s constitution.
The cornerstones of democracy underpin the content of the
series specifically the right to dignity and equality. Issues of
accountability and transparency of those holding public office
are also examined. Furthermore institutions of democracy
that support the community are brought to the fore.
The overall message in Khululeka Siyavota is that democracy
needs to be nurtured, to be looked after by taking responsibility
and participating in the elections. Although the brand of
Khululeka was first conceived in 1994 before the first
democratic elections in South Africa, this series of Khululeka
reflects a whole new group of characters and setting. Lead
roles are played by Patrick Mofokeng, Tina Jaxa, Anelisa
Phewa, Akhumzi Jezile, Roxanne Blaise and Keeno-Lee
Hector.
This edutainment series is produced by Penguin Films for
SABC Education in consultation with the IEC. It began
broadcasting on SABC 2 on Sunday 4 January at 19h00.
realisation of a dream that we’ve
had for many years. We believe
that as a television property the
characters and brand will
have the opportunity to be
exposed to a larger audience
and therefore attract many
millions of new loyal Supa
fans.”
In order to achieve this,
Power says that they will need
to raise more money to shoot
more episodes. “Fortunately,
we have already begun
production on the next 13
episodes that will bring us up to
a total of 26 half hours. We are
also looking at making a
number of key sales to territories
like Canada, UK, etc. These
markets are vital to the
economics of any successful
animation show. We have also
launched a range of Supa Strikas
clothing in both Mr Price and
Edgars and we hope that this
will add to the revenue stream.
Watch this space!”
January 2009 – SCREENAFRICA