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Broadcast • Film • Commercials • Technology • NEW Media<br />
www.screenafrica.com VOL 22 – January 2010 R32.00
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2010 Forecast pg 8 ZA News pg 30 Uganda Industry pg 40<br />
Broadcast • Film • Commercials • Technology • NEW Media<br />
www.screenafrica.com VOL 22 – January 2010 R32.00<br />
‘No’ to film school<br />
The South <strong>Africa</strong>n <strong>Screen</strong><br />
Federation (SASFED), which<br />
represents the interests of most<br />
television and film<br />
organisations, has given a firm<br />
Jozi<br />
co-prod<br />
Jozi Forever is a new film<br />
by writer/director<br />
Michael Raeburn (Jit,<br />
Triomf, Rhodesia<br />
Countdown, The Grass is<br />
Singing) which will go<br />
into production in 2010.<br />
The film is a coproduction<br />
between<br />
Johannesburg based Zing<br />
Entertainment and GH<br />
Films of France. The<br />
producers are Leo Phiri<br />
and Tshepiso Sello, with<br />
executive producer Joel<br />
Phiri (Bunny Chow, Wah<br />
Wah, Max and Mona,<br />
Forgiveness).<br />
The film is a comedy<br />
thriller and is set in the<br />
world of Johannesburg’s<br />
new black middle class.<br />
Raeburn says that the<br />
script came together in a<br />
matter of weeks. “The<br />
story is really a<br />
combination of<br />
contemporary culture<br />
mixed with all the great<br />
ingredients that make for<br />
a great story: love,<br />
betrayal, vengeance and<br />
– to page 47<br />
thumbs down to the<br />
establishment of a national<br />
film school as proposed by the<br />
National Film and Video<br />
Foundation (NFVF) in its<br />
feasibility study. The study<br />
undertaken by the NFVF,<br />
which commenced in 2006,<br />
was presented at the Film<br />
Indaba 2009 held at a lodge<br />
some 50km outside<br />
Johannesburg on 26 and 27<br />
November 2009.<br />
“We DO NOT need<br />
another film school,” said<br />
SASFED’s co-chair<br />
Kgomotso Matsunyane who<br />
presented the federation’s<br />
positioning document on the<br />
industry. “There is no capacity<br />
Looking to 2025<br />
A framework for the<br />
development of the South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>n film and television<br />
industry until 2025 was<br />
launched at the third National<br />
Film and Video Foundation<br />
(NFVF) Indaba held at<br />
Glenburn Lodge in<br />
November. This framework,<br />
in the form of the second<br />
edition of the NFVF Value<br />
Charter, emphasises the<br />
development of the sector<br />
across the entire value chain,<br />
as stipulated in the Standard<br />
Industrial Classification (SIC).<br />
Some Indaba delegates<br />
perusing the Value Charter<br />
document* wondered at its<br />
complexity, while an<br />
established filmmaker<br />
muttered that he didn’t<br />
understand it. The<br />
to absorb new people into the<br />
industry. Professionals have<br />
quit it for greener pastures. We<br />
need to have a sustainable<br />
industry before we can talk<br />
about a film school to feed it.”<br />
SASFED questioned<br />
whether the NFVF had<br />
explored the option of<br />
expanding the Tshwane<br />
University of Technology<br />
(TUT) Film School or the<br />
broadcast training institution<br />
National Electronic Media<br />
Institute of South <strong>Africa</strong><br />
(NEMISA ), a non-profit<br />
organisation under the<br />
auspices of the Department of<br />
Communication.<br />
– to page 47<br />
Department of Arts &<br />
Culture’s (DAC) Lindi<br />
Ndebele-Koka offered the<br />
following explanation: “The<br />
Value Charter is a complicated<br />
document to read but it’s<br />
necessary because it speaks the<br />
language of government.”<br />
Co-chair of the South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>n <strong>Screen</strong> Federation<br />
(SASFED) Kgomotso<br />
Matsunyane said the<br />
Federation agreed in principle<br />
with the document. “However,<br />
we would like clarity on the<br />
practicalities of how it will be<br />
implemented.”<br />
NFVF CEO Eddie Mbalo<br />
made the point that the<br />
industry doesn’t get the<br />
necessary attention it needs<br />
from the state and<br />
– to page 47<br />
DESERT SKIES: Shooting the documentary The Ancient Astronomers of Timbuktu in<br />
Mali. See page 6<br />
A strike against piracy<br />
A new DVD/CD distribution<br />
model launched on 4<br />
December in the<br />
Johannesburg CBD is set to<br />
tap into the massive informal/<br />
commuter market and hopes<br />
to reduce piracy substantially<br />
by selling premium content<br />
through legitimate units at<br />
affordable prices.<br />
The brainchild of<br />
filmmaker Ben Horowitz,<br />
Bliksem has been a year in the<br />
making. Realising early on<br />
that such a project could not<br />
be done in isolation, Horowitz<br />
has secured the support of,<br />
among others, the<br />
Independent Producers<br />
Organisation (IPO), the<br />
Johannesburg Metro Police<br />
Division, the city, the<br />
Department of Trade &<br />
Industry Office of Company<br />
and IP Enforcement, the<br />
South <strong>Africa</strong>n Federation<br />
Against Copyright Theft<br />
(SAFACT), the South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>n Revenue Service<br />
(SARS), the Gauteng Film<br />
Commission (GFC) and the<br />
National Film and Video<br />
Foundation (NFVF), as well<br />
as several filmmakers.<br />
Bliksem’s six-month pilot<br />
project – The Hoek Street<br />
Depot – is a sales outlet<br />
situated in the Trading Spaces<br />
Mall in Hoek Street. There<br />
are currently about 40 DVDs/<br />
CDs in Bliksem’s inventory.<br />
While the focus is on local<br />
language/local content films<br />
and music, Bliksem also sells<br />
international titles.<br />
“Our business model is<br />
based on very conservative<br />
projections,” explains<br />
Horowitz. “Should the pilot<br />
project reach its six-month<br />
target we will expand it to<br />
other cities. An opportunity<br />
in Pretoria has already arisen<br />
and that’s where we are<br />
headed in early 2010.”<br />
– to page 47
NEWS<br />
Triumphs and traumas<br />
of HIV struggle<br />
THE REAL AFRICA –<br />
Carolyn Carew<br />
Born Free Media produces one<br />
of the most successful reality<br />
shows, Imagine Afrika, which<br />
is screened to over 200 million<br />
viewers on the continent. Due<br />
to the phenomenal success of<br />
the series they recently<br />
completed the third series,<br />
which airs on SABC1 on<br />
Wednesday nights.<br />
The target audience is 18-35<br />
years and aims to entertain,<br />
engage and educate by<br />
showing real-life situations.<br />
The series is filmed in<br />
Botswana, Ivory Coast and<br />
Uganda, with production and<br />
post-production in South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>. The series goes inside<br />
the lives of nine dynamic<br />
characters selected for their<br />
compelling and challenging<br />
life circumstances.<br />
Producer Carolyn Carew<br />
explains how the show came<br />
about: “Imagine Afrika is part<br />
of a bigger campaign called,<br />
Imagine the possibility of an HIV<br />
Free Generation, it begins with<br />
YOU. The <strong>Africa</strong>n Broadcast<br />
Media <strong>Part</strong>nership (ABMP)<br />
against HIV was launched in<br />
October 2005, after the UN<br />
held a special assembly on<br />
HIV in December 2002<br />
whereby they call upon all<br />
media across the globe to work<br />
towards forming media<br />
partnerships on all the<br />
continents that would<br />
dedicate themselves to<br />
eradicating HIV.”<br />
Carew says that ABMP is<br />
overseen by a steering<br />
committee of broadcast<br />
executives nominated by the<br />
broader ABMP membership<br />
meeting annually, with<br />
operational and technical<br />
support from the Kaiser<br />
Family Foundation.<br />
“Additional financial support<br />
is provided by the Coca-Cola<br />
(<strong>Africa</strong>) Foundation, the Bill<br />
& Melinda Gates Foundation,<br />
Merck & Co. Inc., the MTN<br />
(South <strong>Africa</strong>) Foundation and<br />
Johnson & Johnson.”<br />
The aim of the series is to<br />
get viewers to explore the<br />
characters’ day-to-day lives,<br />
hopes, challenges and<br />
aspirations. “It is also there to<br />
share in their personal<br />
triumphs and traumas as they<br />
struggle with issues related to<br />
youth lifestyle, vulnerable<br />
children and prevention of<br />
mother-to-child transmission<br />
of HIV,” says Carew.<br />
The series arose from a<br />
public service announcement<br />
under the YOU campaign.<br />
“We selected 12 youths from<br />
across 38 member countries<br />
and placed them in an<br />
environment of reality TV<br />
where they had to engage in<br />
tasks and challenges around<br />
the HIV pandemic on the<br />
continent. We felt that by<br />
having a long running TV<br />
series we could get young<br />
people to display a positive<br />
attitude towards tackling the<br />
pandemic.”<br />
The first two series were<br />
more competitive with three<br />
teams of four contestants each<br />
in three different <strong>Africa</strong>n<br />
countries competing in the<br />
same tasks. “We would send<br />
them their tasks via<br />
e-mail or the Internet, then<br />
along the way they would<br />
receive an SMS on their<br />
cellphones to tell them where<br />
their next place of information<br />
was and who they had to hook<br />
up with. Each episode was<br />
shot over two days and at the<br />
end of each episode they would<br />
Skype or Webex and do a<br />
conference call with a<br />
presenter in Johannesburg.<br />
“With the third series we<br />
decided to go more in-depth<br />
and follow the lives of nine<br />
characters with three previous<br />
contestants as young<br />
i-reporters from Botswana,<br />
Ivory Coast and Uganda.”<br />
Carew concludes that they<br />
have in the past produced<br />
other youth reality shows.<br />
“These have all proved to be<br />
successful in getting young<br />
people to share their lives and<br />
their challenges. We feel<br />
Imagine Afrika is creating a<br />
show where for the first time<br />
young <strong>Africa</strong>ns can come<br />
together and show what it<br />
means to be living in <strong>Africa</strong><br />
with all the triumphs and<br />
challenges.”<br />
Papsak<br />
gets<br />
moving<br />
A new South <strong>Africa</strong>n cartoon<br />
strip character is set to make<br />
his small screen debut in 2010,<br />
when he makes the transition<br />
from print to 2D animation.<br />
Speedy Productions’ Papsak,<br />
which launched in Cape Town<br />
newspaper Die Son on 2<br />
November, will be turned into<br />
a TV series alongside a<br />
training project run by the<br />
Animation Industry<br />
Development Initiative.<br />
“We approached Speedy<br />
Productions’ Tim Mostert to<br />
identify opportunities to create<br />
synergy with his productions<br />
and the training initiative.<br />
Tim’s commitment to<br />
development has enabled the<br />
training project to be aligned<br />
to Papsak,” says Judy Robison<br />
of the Animation Industry<br />
Development Initiative, which<br />
was launched by Animation<br />
South <strong>Africa</strong> and the Cape<br />
Film Commission (CFC),<br />
supported by the Services<br />
Sector Education Training<br />
Authority (SETA).<br />
As part of the Initiative, 15<br />
trainees will learn the basics of<br />
2D animation on Toon<br />
Boom’s Harmony software to<br />
create the Papsak series.<br />
Robison will put out a call for<br />
trainees in the Cape in<br />
February 2010.<br />
In August 2009 Mostert<br />
was asked by Media 24 to<br />
create a comic strip for<br />
Afrikaans Cape coloured<br />
readers of Die Son. “They<br />
literally wanted a coloured<br />
version of my other cartoon<br />
strip character, Speedy, who has<br />
also been turned into an<br />
animated series. So I started<br />
thinking about the guys who<br />
push trolleys full of cardboard<br />
around on busy streets and<br />
wanted to explore a character<br />
who lives on the edge. Then I<br />
decided that a donkey cart<br />
driver might be more<br />
interesting. The coloured guy<br />
would be a little more<br />
marginal than Speedy, but still<br />
interesting and funny. Papsak<br />
was a suitable name as it<br />
sounds funny and has a funny<br />
meaning (ie. someone lazy or<br />
who drinks liberally).”<br />
Mostert describes the gag<br />
structure of Papsak as a bit<br />
more wordy and flowing than<br />
Speedy, because of “the nature<br />
of Afrikaans, the way<br />
coloureds speak Afrikaans and<br />
the laid-back style of the Cape.<br />
In Papsak there's generally a<br />
dialogue between the<br />
characters that ends up with a<br />
funny conclusion. Cartooning<br />
is about observation, so if<br />
you're on the prowl constantly<br />
for the funny side of life, you'll<br />
find it, no matter in what<br />
culture the characters reside.<br />
Feedback on the comic strip so<br />
far has been phenomenal from<br />
every race, gender and age<br />
group.”<br />
Papsak was always planned<br />
as a cross-media project (ie.<br />
print, TV, web) and Mostert<br />
heard about the animation<br />
training project at the same<br />
time he was developing the<br />
strip. “The opportunity<br />
seemed tailor-made. Imagine<br />
coloured kids from the<br />
townships speaking Afrikaans,<br />
learning to animate a coloured<br />
character from the townships<br />
in Afrikaans, and then seeing<br />
their work on TV and mobile.<br />
I think it's amazing, and<br />
certainly unique to the<br />
industry.”<br />
Once Mostert has produced<br />
100 strips, the animators will<br />
have had enough training to<br />
start working on the Papsak<br />
project. “What I want to help<br />
them with is gag timing, gag<br />
structure, character<br />
development, how to cast voice<br />
talent, how to direct an audio<br />
session, storyboarding and<br />
animatics. These are such<br />
specialised skills, and difficult<br />
to master but the animation<br />
will be much, much better for<br />
it. I also want to help them<br />
learn how to craft a TV show,<br />
episode by episode, from their<br />
sketchbooks to final mix.”<br />
Twenty-six, two-minute<br />
episodes of Papsak will be<br />
produced initially.<br />
<br />
SCREENAFRICA – January 2010
NEWS<br />
Film Friendly<br />
Gauteng campaign<br />
ALL EARS – Industry stakeholders at the launch<br />
The Gauteng Film<br />
Commission (GFC) officially<br />
launched its campaign, which<br />
seeks to position Gauteng as a<br />
first choice location for<br />
production companies to<br />
industry representatives and<br />
media, at the Turbine Hall in<br />
Newtown, Johannesburg, on<br />
23 November.<br />
The GFC’s CEO Terry<br />
Tselane, speaking at the<br />
launch said: “The Film<br />
Friendly Gauteng campaign is<br />
aimed at guaranteeing that<br />
Gauteng’s locations are<br />
welcoming and that suppliers<br />
are competitive in their pricing<br />
structures. Through the<br />
campaign we are also hoping<br />
to attract more productions to<br />
the province this summer<br />
season.”<br />
To become campaign<br />
partners, organisations, private<br />
businesses and service<br />
companies are required to<br />
endorse the campaign with a<br />
pledge which includes a<br />
number of commitments,<br />
among others, to encourage<br />
and support film activity in<br />
Gauteng; subscribe to business<br />
practices that are film friendly;<br />
and encourage access to film<br />
locations and facilities.<br />
To date, some 30<br />
organisations, companies and<br />
locations have signed up and<br />
committed to the pledge. The<br />
list includes hotels, car hire<br />
companies, malls, training<br />
Terry Tselane<br />
institutions, studios, suppliers,<br />
production companies,<br />
associations and publishers, to<br />
name but a few.<br />
“We extend the invitation to<br />
the financial community as<br />
well to join the campaign,”<br />
said Tselane. The reality is<br />
that a sustainable film industry<br />
cannot be built solely on<br />
government grants, and we<br />
need your support. I would<br />
like to welcome the support of<br />
the tourism and hospitality<br />
community. According to<br />
research, the local film<br />
industry is a major consumer<br />
of travel, catering, hospitality<br />
and accommodation services,<br />
and I believe that these<br />
amenities, by offering<br />
discounted media and film<br />
rates, will give a significant<br />
boost to the local film<br />
industry“.<br />
Bobby Amm, Executive<br />
Officer of the Commercial<br />
Producers Association (CPA)<br />
also spoke at the launch.<br />
“This is a great initiative. It<br />
will create a brand for film in<br />
the province. It’s pro-active in<br />
terms of suppliers and even the<br />
public, and will engender<br />
recognition for the industry.<br />
As far as I can see the response<br />
from everyone involved thus<br />
far is positive. It’s something<br />
everyone can become involved<br />
in – much like the Proudly<br />
South <strong>Africa</strong>n campaign. The<br />
word needs to be put out there,<br />
and little things like the Film<br />
Friendly bumper sticker must<br />
become common – much like<br />
the ‘Think Bike’ campaign<br />
which had such great success“.<br />
Clint Shaw, sales executive<br />
of Avis Van Rental, who was<br />
at the launch agrees. “I think<br />
it’s a great initiative. For us as a<br />
rental organisation I believe<br />
that when a visiting producer<br />
requires a van rental he will<br />
automatically think Avis<br />
because we are a signatory and<br />
have made the pledge. It’s<br />
mutually beneficial – he will<br />
get the benefits of the pledge<br />
we made, and we will get his<br />
business.”<br />
Feature in Zulu<br />
Dreamlab Media and newly<br />
formed Maverick<br />
Entertainment have joined<br />
forces to produce a Zulu<br />
language feature film,<br />
Impande.<br />
The film is a drama that<br />
revolves around a young man<br />
who makes a series of decisions<br />
that result in tragedy and his<br />
own mental breakdown. The<br />
script was written by renowned<br />
storyteller Gcina Mhlope, and<br />
David Hickson (Beat the<br />
Drum, Killing Wendy) will<br />
direct the film. The film is<br />
scheduled to go into<br />
production at the beginning of<br />
2010 and will be shot on<br />
location in Durban and<br />
KwaMashu. The two leads are<br />
Roland Mqwebu (Umuzi<br />
Wezinsizwa, Shaka Zulu) and<br />
Joseph Shabalala of the<br />
renowned band, Ladysmith<br />
Black Mambazo.<br />
Jeff Rice, producer of the<br />
film and director of Maverick<br />
Entertainment, says that the<br />
production with Dreamlab<br />
Media came about as a result<br />
of knowing Mandle<br />
Ndimande (formerly acting<br />
CEO of the Durban Film<br />
Office), for many years. “We<br />
had spoken about<br />
collaborating for some time<br />
but this was not possible while<br />
he was still at the DFO. We<br />
got together last year and had<br />
a discussion about some<br />
projects that we could do<br />
together and Impande was one<br />
of those. I have also recently<br />
set up Maverick<br />
Entertainment to focus on<br />
developing original content.”<br />
Rice says that the budget for<br />
the film is small. “I do not<br />
want to go into a lot of detail;<br />
suffice to say that it is below<br />
R10m.”<br />
The idea to bring Hickson<br />
on board as a director was<br />
motivated by experience. “We<br />
wanted to work with a solid<br />
South <strong>Africa</strong>n director and<br />
David was approached by<br />
Mandle as a result of his<br />
previous films and his success<br />
with Beat The Drum.”<br />
Regarding challenges, Rice<br />
says that it is about<br />
maintaining momentum.<br />
“Making a film is an<br />
emotional roller-coaster ride<br />
and it is difficult to keep<br />
plugging away when the<br />
actualisation seems so distant.<br />
The other challenge, echoed<br />
by most independent<br />
filmmakers, is the raising of<br />
finance.”<br />
Rice elaborates on the<br />
locations and shooting in<br />
Durban. “We have not locked<br />
down locations, but as the<br />
story is set in KwaMashu we<br />
will be using as many places<br />
within the township as<br />
possible. Durban is home, so<br />
the biggest benefit is being<br />
able to see my family every<br />
night. This is also an<br />
enthusiastic place to film.<br />
From extras to location owners<br />
I find that the people of<br />
Durban are keen to be<br />
involved and help out. It is also<br />
beneficial to have such<br />
amazing support from the<br />
municipal government.”<br />
Rice says the film has an<br />
authentic feel. “We believe we<br />
have penned a story that South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>ns can relate to because<br />
of its realism. It deals with<br />
issues such as greed, peer<br />
pressure, human weakness and<br />
forgiveness. We have taken<br />
bits from news stories and<br />
actual events and adapted<br />
them to fit our story. We feel<br />
that if we make a film that the<br />
local residents support, then it<br />
will also resonate with an<br />
international audience. We feel<br />
we can follow in the success of<br />
amazing films like City of God,<br />
Tsotsi and Slumdog Millionaire.<br />
We will submit the film to<br />
major festivals around the<br />
world.”<br />
Rice explains the title,<br />
which alludes to the theme.<br />
“Impande means root. In our<br />
context, it implies family roots<br />
as well as the root of evil.<br />
Mandle grew up in<br />
KwaMashu and has wanted to<br />
do something in the area for<br />
some time. He conceptualised<br />
the story based on living in the<br />
township and then brought the<br />
late George Sithole on board<br />
to write the first draft. Since<br />
the script was not finalised<br />
when George passed away last<br />
year, we brought on Gcina<br />
Mhlope.”<br />
Rice concludes: “We are also<br />
really excited about working<br />
with the KZN Philharmonic<br />
Orchestra. An original score<br />
will give a luxurious feel to the<br />
soundtrack and it is a stark<br />
contrast to what is typically<br />
associated with townships. For<br />
us Blackhawk Down is the<br />
inspiration for Impande’s<br />
soundtrack. At the end of the<br />
day, this project is a wonderful<br />
collaboration between South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>n filmmakers and<br />
talent.”<br />
January 2010 – SCREENAFRICA
NEWS<br />
Industry speaks in<br />
unity<br />
The implosion of South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>n public broadcaster<br />
SABC, coupled with the<br />
recession, resulted in<br />
a disastrous 2009 for<br />
independent producers,<br />
writers and actors.<br />
These and other issues<br />
challenging the film<br />
and television industry<br />
were raised by the<br />
South <strong>Africa</strong>n <strong>Screen</strong><br />
Federation (SASFED) at<br />
the National Film and<br />
Video Foundation (NFVF)<br />
Indaba held at Glenburn<br />
Lodge in November.<br />
One positive result to emerge<br />
from 2009 was that the<br />
industry unified in the face of<br />
crisis, according to SASFED<br />
chair Kgomotso Matsunyane. “It’s<br />
frustrating for government to deal with<br />
individual voices so SASFED has<br />
heeded President Jacob Zuma’s call<br />
that: ‘Together we can do more’.<br />
SASFED is now the strongest and<br />
most significant grouping in the<br />
industry.”<br />
STANDING TOGETHER – Professor Mbulelo Mzamane, Tumelo Chipfupa, Kgomotso Matsunyane,<br />
Minister Lulu Xingwana and Eddie Mbalo<br />
Speaking in the presence of the<br />
Minister of Arts & Culture Lulu<br />
Xingwana and representatives from the<br />
Department of Trade & Industry<br />
(DTI), Matsunyane pointed out that<br />
SASFED was raising the same issues at<br />
this Indaba as had been discussed for<br />
the past 10 years.<br />
“We understand that part of our job<br />
is to help educate the government,” she<br />
continued, “but our problem is<br />
institutional memory. When one<br />
government regime is replaced by<br />
another, then we have to re-educate the<br />
new one from scratch. So, for how long<br />
do we need to keep educating the<br />
government before we can enjoy the<br />
full benefits of its support?”<br />
On the upside, SASFED was<br />
cognisant of the great strides that had<br />
been made in the doom and gloom of<br />
the current environment. These<br />
included international Co-production<br />
Treaties spearheaded by the<br />
Department of Arts & Culture (DAC)<br />
and the NFVF and enabling greater<br />
access to pre-licensing deals.<br />
“There has been a discernible<br />
increase in local content but we have<br />
issues with how the Independent<br />
Communications Authority of South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong> (ICASA) is monitoring local<br />
content quotas of the three local<br />
broadcasters,” continued Matsunyane.<br />
“We cannot have broadcasters selfmonitoring<br />
as there is too much at risk.<br />
There are also other issues, for example,<br />
sponsored documentaries and whether<br />
they really fall into the documentary<br />
genre.<br />
“To the industry it seems that for<br />
every one step forward, we move a<br />
couple back. We haven’t been able to<br />
engage the private sector for funding<br />
films and TV shows. While the<br />
recession is showing encouraging signs<br />
of coming to an end, the arts and<br />
culture sector is never mentioned by<br />
government as a contributor to the<br />
economy. The industry is never<br />
described as an actual industry. At the<br />
top of everybody’s minds should be an<br />
acknowledgement of the industry and<br />
the safeguarding of culture against<br />
economics. When producers pitch<br />
projects they are always asked whether<br />
their films will make money.”<br />
On the issue of sustainability,<br />
SASFED recognised that the SABC<br />
can’t do it on its own so the question is<br />
how to bring in other broadcasters, not<br />
just to reach the minimum local<br />
content requirements, but to support<br />
the industry. SASFED is looking at<br />
business models around the world<br />
which need to be adapted to South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>’s very unique requirements and<br />
which allow producers to own their<br />
intellectual property. Another key point<br />
is to find a way to get broadcasters to<br />
help producers access the DTI rebate.<br />
On the issue of finance, SASFED<br />
recognises that industry’s inability to<br />
use Section 24f of the Income Tax Act<br />
adversely affects thousands of workers.<br />
This inability also threatens the<br />
survival of ancillary services to the<br />
sector.<br />
Matsunyane highlighted the lack of<br />
training and transformation in the<br />
industry. “Budgets haven’t grown in 10<br />
years so we’ve been unable to train<br />
people. What we need is a culture of<br />
apprenticeships and better access to<br />
Sector Education Training Authority<br />
(SETA) funding. We don’t need<br />
another national film school in addition<br />
to Nemisa. There are not enough<br />
blacks working as editors, DOPs, line<br />
producers and engineers. But<br />
transformation costs. There are also not<br />
enough female directors.”<br />
In closing, Matsunyane posed the<br />
question of how the NFVF Indaba<br />
would help the industry. “SASFED<br />
wants greater clarity on how to partner<br />
with the NFVF and the DAC.<br />
We want tangible results with<br />
clear goals.”<br />
SA feature and doccy figures<br />
Between 1994 and 2008,<br />
according to preliminary<br />
figures released by the National<br />
Film and Video Foundation<br />
(NFVF), 132 feature films have been<br />
produced in South <strong>Africa</strong> and 615<br />
documentaries.<br />
At the recent NFVF Indaba, NFVF<br />
head of Production & Development<br />
Clarence Hamilton pointed out that<br />
this averages out to nine feature films a<br />
year. “However, production has been on<br />
the rise from 2003 compared to<br />
previous years. But the representation<br />
of black directors is quite low at only<br />
15% compared to white directors at<br />
85%. Less than a handful of black<br />
directors made films before 2003 but<br />
the trend is changing.”<br />
The preliminary figures show that<br />
the representation of female directors is<br />
also quite low at only 18% compared to<br />
male directors at 82%. Even lower is<br />
the percentage of black female directors<br />
at 3%, compared to white female<br />
directors at 15%.<br />
“As far as the 615 documentaries are<br />
concerned, this figure averages out to<br />
41 documentaries per year,” continued<br />
Hamilton. “Whites constituted the<br />
highest percentage of directors of<br />
documentaries at 68%, compared to<br />
blacks at 32%. However, the gap<br />
between the number of black and white<br />
directors has been narrowing from<br />
2004, compared to the previous years.<br />
“As for gender distribution, males<br />
constituted the highest percentage of<br />
directors at 61% compared to females at<br />
39%. Representation of black female<br />
directors is still low compared to white<br />
females. For black directors, males<br />
constituted 68%, while females<br />
constituted 32%. White male directors<br />
constituted 57% while white females<br />
constituted 43%.”<br />
Of the 615 documentaries, nine had<br />
a theatrical release, three were shown<br />
on free-to-air channel e.tv, six on pay-<br />
TV channel M-Net and 103 on public<br />
broadcaster SABC. There is no<br />
information regarding the distribution<br />
of the remaining 494 documentaries.<br />
The average box office for South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>n feature films in the specified<br />
period is R2.5m, compared to the<br />
average budget of R24.3m.<br />
Hamilton stressed his belief that the<br />
NFVF was correct in interacting with<br />
filmmakers to make feature films that<br />
the box office responds to, ie. making<br />
films that people want to see.<br />
“However, these are not the only films<br />
we want to support as we need to<br />
remember South <strong>Africa</strong>’s past. But we<br />
can’t sustain the notion of films that<br />
make less than R500 000 at the box<br />
office so we’re engaging with other<br />
parties. The challenge to the industry is<br />
that local films should be the<br />
mainstream at the box office. Local<br />
productions are mainstream on TV so<br />
why not at the cinema? We want South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>ns to see local films because they<br />
tell great stories, not just because they<br />
feel they should be patriotic.<br />
Audiences must be made to feel they<br />
will be missing something if they<br />
choose foreign films over<br />
local ones.”<br />
<br />
SCREENAFRICA – January 2010
Pigment<br />
The story of Sandra Laing, a woman with black skin born to white Afrikaner parents<br />
during South <strong>Africa</strong>’s apartheid era, has haunted British filmmaker Anthony Fabian since he<br />
first heard it in 2000. His biopic of Sandra, Skin, co-produced<br />
with South <strong>Africa</strong>’s Moonlighting Films, took seven years to<br />
make and releases locally on 22 January.<br />
JOURNEY INTO COLOUR – Anthony Fabian and Tony Kgoroge<br />
Having made 19 films in the<br />
short form and documentary<br />
genres, UK-based Anthony<br />
Fabian was seeking a strong<br />
subject for his debut feature film. He<br />
found it while listening to a BBC<br />
programme in 2000 which explored<br />
particular forms of prejudice<br />
experienced by the disabled.<br />
“As BBC broadcaster Peter White,<br />
who’d travelled to Johannesburg to<br />
interview Sandra, said, no-one in their<br />
right mind would consider being black<br />
a disability, except in South <strong>Africa</strong><br />
during apartheid, when the state<br />
‘disabled’ black people through<br />
exclusion and disempowerment.<br />
Sandra’s testimony left me stunned. For<br />
days afterwards, I had a lump in my<br />
throat whenever I thought about it,”<br />
says Fabian.<br />
Believing that Sandra’s story says a<br />
lot about man’s inhumanity to man and<br />
the evils of racism, Fabian was also<br />
fascinated by the complex web of<br />
acceptance, rejection and reconciliation<br />
woven by Sandra and her parents. The<br />
Laing family, after repeated and dehumanising<br />
attempts to have Sandra<br />
classified as white, rejected her when<br />
she fell in love with a black man at<br />
age 15.<br />
“The need to be loved and accepted is<br />
very strong in all of us,” continues<br />
Fabian. “So, too is the search for<br />
identity that lies at the heart of Sandra’s<br />
story.”<br />
Surprisingly, many people have told<br />
Fabian that because apartheid is over,<br />
Sandra’s story is no longer relevant. He<br />
believes that it’s vitally important to<br />
keep history alive to avoid making the<br />
same mistakes in the future<br />
Long haul<br />
The development of the script for Skin<br />
took five years and as many<br />
screenwriters, including Fabian himself.<br />
Wanting to preserve the story’s South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>n authenticity, he commissioned<br />
a first draft from Johannesburg-born<br />
Helena Kriel.<br />
Around this time he also conceived<br />
the notion of selling the publication<br />
rights to Sandra’s story and secured a<br />
book commission from Miramax<br />
Books. Says Fabian: “The writer of the<br />
book, Judith Stone – an American<br />
journalist based in New York – gave an<br />
‘outsider’s perspective’ on the story. The<br />
job of the book and the film is very<br />
different – one being factual, the other<br />
dramatic. When She Was White was<br />
published in April 2007, to excellent<br />
reviews.<br />
“The other happy outcome of the<br />
book’s publication is that the contract I<br />
negotiated gave Sandra a generous<br />
advance and enabled her to buy her first<br />
home, in a peaceful suburb of<br />
Johannesburg. I also encouraged her to<br />
start her own business – a spaza shop in<br />
her converted garage. Her parents were<br />
shopkeepers.”<br />
Other writers involved in the<br />
screenplay were South <strong>Africa</strong>n Johann<br />
Potgieter, American Jessie Keyt and<br />
ultimately, Fabian himself.<br />
Producer Margaret Matheson of<br />
Bard Entertainments and Fabian<br />
persuaded the UK Film Council to<br />
fund a three-week period of casting and<br />
script development workshops in<br />
Johannesburg.<br />
“Moonlighting Films, our South<br />
Alice Krige, Ella Ramangwane and Sam Neill<br />
Alice Krige and Sophie Okonedo<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>n co-producers, arranged the<br />
entire workshop process on the ground,<br />
with their usual panache,” notes Fabian.<br />
“Ninety actors, most of who were cast,<br />
auditioned. This inspired me to write a<br />
workable draft of the script.”<br />
It took a year to attach Oscarnominated<br />
Sophie Okonedo (Hotel<br />
Rwanda, Dirty Pretty Things) as Sandra<br />
and Sam Neill (The Piano, The Horse<br />
Whisperer) and South <strong>Africa</strong>n-born<br />
actress Alice Krige (Chariots of Fire,<br />
Ghost Story) as her parents.<br />
Sales agent Robbie Little pre-sold<br />
the film to seven territories, which<br />
prompted further investors in the form<br />
of, among others, South <strong>Africa</strong>’s<br />
Industrial Development Corporation<br />
(IDC) and National Film and Video<br />
Foundation (NFVF).<br />
First time<br />
None of Fabian’s previous filmmaking<br />
experience prepared him for the<br />
enormity of shooting his debut feature.<br />
“The pressure is far more intense and it<br />
requires a great deal of stamina. We<br />
remained a happy crew and I have<br />
nothing but fond memories of the<br />
experience. <strong>Part</strong> of what made this<br />
possible was the incredible support we<br />
had from Margaret [Matheson] and<br />
my South <strong>Africa</strong>n co-producer,<br />
Genevieve Hofmeyr of Moonlighting<br />
Films. Genevieve has been involved in<br />
the project for nearly nine years. I have<br />
a great deal of respect for her and her<br />
unaffected ‘can do’ attitude inspires all<br />
around her.”<br />
Added to the pressures of a debut<br />
feature was the responsibility of telling<br />
a true story, something Fabian takes<br />
very seriously. “Audiences tend to<br />
believe everything that is on screen,<br />
and feel understandably cheated when<br />
Compiled by Joanna Sterkowicz<br />
they are sold something that isn’t true. I<br />
can honestly say that everything we<br />
knew to be true is in the film –<br />
although dramatic licence was taken<br />
when we could not be certain of certain<br />
facts. I only had Sandra’s side of the<br />
story as both her parents were dead.<br />
Putting the rest together required a<br />
degree of ‘joining the dots’.”<br />
Many people who have seen the film<br />
comment that the period detail is very<br />
accurate (the film starts in the mid-<br />
1960s and ends with South <strong>Africa</strong>’s<br />
first democratic elections in 1994).<br />
“We had a first-rate South <strong>Africa</strong>n<br />
production design team − production<br />
designer Billy Keam and art director,<br />
Darryl Hammer,” says Fabian. “They<br />
worked miracles on a tiny budget and<br />
really devoted themselves to the project,<br />
as did the rest of the crew.”<br />
All the crew was South <strong>Africa</strong>n,<br />
apart from 1st AD Mary Soan,<br />
costume designer Fotini Dimou and<br />
the make-up department.<br />
“I’d heard South <strong>Africa</strong>n crews were<br />
terrific and was certainly not<br />
disappointed. There is a forthright<br />
attitude towards the work, which is<br />
extremely welcome after the whingeing<br />
one often hears in the UK,” comments<br />
Fabian.<br />
Tones<br />
Much of the period look of the film<br />
comes from the lighting and grading.<br />
Shooting on the Viper, Fabian and<br />
DOP Jonathan <strong>Part</strong>ridge favoured<br />
single source lighting for interiors,<br />
inspired by Vermeer.<br />
“We chose a different look for each of<br />
the three periods in the films. For<br />
Sandra’s childhood there is a slightly<br />
desaturated but warm (yellow) glow.<br />
Her young adulthood is harsher, with<br />
more blue and also quite stripped of<br />
colour. The final period – ‘the present’<br />
− is full, ‘modern’ colour. I wanted it to<br />
echo contemporary films as the story<br />
moves through the decades but also<br />
reflect the fact that Sandra’s was a<br />
‘journey into colour’,” says Fabian.<br />
Principal photography took place<br />
from September through November<br />
2007. There were over 50 sets and as<br />
many locations in Hartebeespoort<br />
Dam, Johannesburg and Pretoria.<br />
Feedback<br />
FILM<br />
At the time of going to press Skin had<br />
won 15 awards at film festivals around<br />
the world, seven of which have been<br />
audience awards. In addition, Sophie<br />
Okonedo has been nominated for a<br />
prestigious BIFA (British Independent<br />
Film Award).<br />
Fabian notes that the film has not<br />
had the financial backing of a major<br />
distributor to distribute it as widely as<br />
possible. “However, I still have high<br />
hopes for the film in South <strong>Africa</strong><br />
because, despite the foreign elements,<br />
we have done our utmost to make it<br />
recognisable as a home-grown product<br />
– and the South <strong>Africa</strong>ns who have<br />
seen it so far seem to embrace it<br />
as such.”<br />
January 2010 – SCREENAFRICA
DOCUMENTARY Compiled by Joanna Sterkowicz<br />
Star-gazing<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>’s forgotten past is revealed in a new documentary which explores the ancient<br />
astronomy of Timbuktu. An academic epicentre for 400 years until the Moorish<br />
invasion of the 1590s, Timbuktu’s legacy is one of irreplaceable manuscript archives<br />
which are slowly being eroded by the ravages of time<br />
TALES FROM TIMBUKTU – Sharron Hawkes, Tim Chevallier,<br />
Adama Coulibaly and Guy Spiller<br />
Nine years ago South <strong>Africa</strong>n<br />
editor Sharron Hawkes made<br />
her first trip to Mali and so<br />
began her “long road to<br />
Timbuktu”, one which involved five<br />
years of research and looking for<br />
funding.<br />
“The Ancient Astronomers of Timbuktu<br />
is my first film and I couldn’t have<br />
chosen a more difficult place to film in,<br />
nor a more complex topic,” says<br />
Hawkes. “I’d been editing for years and<br />
wanted to spend less time in front of a<br />
computer in an edit room and get my<br />
teeth into a personal project. My<br />
holiday trip to Mali in December 2001<br />
transpired just after former South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>n President Thabo Mbeki<br />
announced a project to assist the<br />
government of Mali to conserve the<br />
ancient manuscripts of Timbuktu.”<br />
Following her first trip to Mali,<br />
Hawkes kept in contact with the<br />
Ahmed Baba Archives in Timbuktu<br />
and met South <strong>Africa</strong>n conservator<br />
Alexio Motsi. “I knew there was a story<br />
around the conservation of the<br />
manuscripts and the need<br />
for the astronomy research<br />
evolved from there. I went<br />
to Timbuktu in 2004 to<br />
meet with manuscript<br />
owners and subsequently<br />
wrote a proposal for the<br />
content research. South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>n academic Dr<br />
Thebe Medupe added to<br />
this proposal and succeeded<br />
in getting funding from the<br />
Department of Science and<br />
Technology. Prior to this<br />
no astronomy or science<br />
content research had ever been done on<br />
the Timbuktu manuscripts.”<br />
Dr Madupe hired Adama Coulibaly<br />
and Oumar Doumbia from Bamako to<br />
translate the manuscripts from Arabic<br />
to English. This he did with the<br />
assistance of Doctors Petra Schmidl<br />
and Benno Van Dalen – two Islamic<br />
Historical Astronomy researchers from<br />
Frankfurt University. Hawkes worked<br />
through their findings with South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>n director Guy Spiller, who has<br />
experience in making science and<br />
history films, to see what should be<br />
included in the film. They subsequently<br />
interviewed world renowned experts<br />
George Saliba and John Steele in Addis<br />
Ababa.<br />
“It was extremely important that,<br />
unlike previous films about Timbuktu,<br />
our film include actual content from<br />
the manuscripts to show why they<br />
should be studied and conserved,” states<br />
Hawkes. “I have to admit that a large<br />
amount of naivety on my part was<br />
involved in producing the film, along<br />
with a lot of good luck and many years<br />
of hard work.”<br />
Raising money<br />
Most of the funding for the film came<br />
from outside of South <strong>Africa</strong>. Together<br />
with Anne Rogers, who has an interest<br />
in astronomy in <strong>Africa</strong>, Hawkes<br />
contacted a large<br />
number of companies<br />
and foundations<br />
involved with<br />
supporting film,<br />
science, astronomy,<br />
maths education,<br />
computers and <strong>Africa</strong>n<br />
history. It was five years<br />
before they received the<br />
first grant from the<br />
Ford Foundation. A<br />
second grant from Ford<br />
allowed Hawkes and<br />
Spiller to finish filming,<br />
while a grant from the Oppenheimer<br />
Memorial Fund in July 2008 secured<br />
post-production costs. The Norwegian<br />
Government, through Oslo University,<br />
which is involved with funding projects<br />
in Timbuktu, also provided some<br />
funding.<br />
“I did apply to South <strong>Africa</strong>’s<br />
through ancient eyes<br />
Filming a scribe in Timbuktu – Guy Spiller, Robin Harris and Tim Chevallier<br />
National Film and Video Foundation<br />
(NFVF) in 2003 for development and<br />
production funding and received<br />
reference numbers but heard nothing<br />
more,” notes Hawkes. “It’s a pity they<br />
were not involved as the film is largely<br />
about government funded projects.”<br />
Educational angle<br />
A large point in the funding requests<br />
was that the one-hour film be part of a<br />
broader education project<br />
through Section 21<br />
Company Kwezi Media<br />
Projects. The next stage is to<br />
make the film available with<br />
supportive material for<br />
learners and teachers to fit<br />
into a classroom context, in<br />
collaboration with The<br />
<strong>Africa</strong> meets <strong>Africa</strong> Project.<br />
Hawkes intends that the<br />
footage be made available<br />
under a Creative Commons<br />
licence for educational use.<br />
She also hopes to develop a short<br />
planetarium show based on the film<br />
and make all material available in other<br />
parts of <strong>Africa</strong>.<br />
Capturing footage<br />
The filming in Timbuktu – 12 days in<br />
total – took place over two shoots<br />
(December 2006 and September 2008).<br />
Additional shoots took place in Addis<br />
Ababa, Sutherland and Cape Town.<br />
Formats were Digi Beta and high<br />
definition (HD). Crew involved in the<br />
various shoots included cameramen<br />
Tim Chevalier, Dave Aenmey and Nic<br />
Hofmeyer and sound men Henau<br />
Marais, George Ramosime and Robin<br />
Harris.<br />
Like many who have filmed in<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>, Hawkes found the experience<br />
hair-raising. “On the first trip I did to<br />
Timbuktu it took eight hours to drive<br />
from the main tar road along the<br />
180km sandy track to the hippo and<br />
crocodile infested Niger River to cross<br />
on the ferry. The river was low and the<br />
ferry dumped the Landcruiser on an<br />
island two thirds of the way across.<br />
“On the second Timbuktu shoot we<br />
drove from Bamako to Timbuktu in<br />
two Landcruisers, carrying our two<br />
translators, Dr Madupe, the crew and<br />
gear. It took four days from<br />
Johannesburg to Timbuktu and four<br />
days back, all for a six-day shoot. Then<br />
there’s the fear of bandits on the road to<br />
Timbuktu as all foreigners carry money<br />
in Euros. The 50 degree heat is<br />
difficult to work in and then there are<br />
dust storms and swarms of locusts. But,<br />
wasn’t this why I wanted to get out of<br />
the edit room?”<br />
As far as post-production is<br />
concerned, Spiller assembled the<br />
footage during the 2008 filming, Ian<br />
Seymour edited the film for six weeks<br />
in Cape Town and Hawkes and Spiller<br />
jointly did the final 10-week edit in<br />
Johannesburg. Sound was edited by Juli<br />
vanden Berg and mixed by Wilbert<br />
Schubel, with the 5.1 mix by Mark<br />
Phillips. Online post was done at the<br />
HD Hub in Cape Town with music<br />
composed by Milestone Studios.<br />
The Ancient Astronomers of Timbuktu<br />
utilises a considerable amount of<br />
graphics and digital technology to<br />
impart scientific and<br />
technical facts. Stop frame<br />
animation was done using a<br />
Nikon SLR camera onto a<br />
laptop with extra drives in<br />
Timbuktu. Johann<br />
Saaiman from Vinyl did<br />
the graphics in Cape Town<br />
using the HD footage and<br />
the stop frame animation<br />
shots. All the night skies<br />
are accurate constellations<br />
as would be seen from<br />
Timbuktu.<br />
Distribution<br />
Off The Fence has worldwide<br />
distribution rights to the 52-minute<br />
broadcast version of the film.<br />
Hawkes had a successful first<br />
viewing as part of Sci-Bono’s Speak 2 a<br />
Scientist evening. “This was a great<br />
start for the film as I’d like it to show in<br />
as many Science Centres as possible. It<br />
screened at a Southern <strong>Africa</strong>n Science<br />
Centre conference in Sutherland in late<br />
November and will show at the<br />
International Planetarium Society<br />
conference at the Planetarium Science<br />
Centre in Alexandria, Egypt in June<br />
2010.”<br />
Local DVD distribution of the 60-<br />
minute version (with extras and Arabic<br />
and French subtitles) is being handled<br />
by Next Video. It’s also available<br />
through www.astronomeroftimbuktu.<br />
com and www.planetarium.co.za<br />
<br />
SCREENAFRICA – January 2010
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From the editor<br />
Let the year begin<br />
When we enter a new year, it provides an opportunity for reflection<br />
on what has been and what awaits us. Last year at this time, we<br />
looked forward to the third democratic general election in South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong> in which the media had a responsible role to play in the lead<br />
up to this crucial event. We had already seen the political power play<br />
engaged in by the SABC board and management and there was a<br />
call by the ruling party, the <strong>Africa</strong>n National Congress (ANC) for<br />
the removal of the then SABC board which had been appointed<br />
under former president Thabo Mbeki. The new board will take<br />
office early this year.<br />
We knew all was not well with the state of the SABC in 2009 but<br />
we did not foresee the full extent of the crisis which emerged in daily<br />
reports of mismanagement, lack of accountability and a shocking<br />
financial deficit. With no new production commissions offered and<br />
payment to production companies held back, the past year saw the<br />
television industry brought to a standstill and many production<br />
companies close their doors. The bailout of the SABC by the<br />
government will ensure the corporation pays its debts this year. But<br />
the struggle for survival will continue unless the SABC begins<br />
commissioning right away; the industry loosens its dependence on<br />
the SABC as the sole provider of work; and producers are given<br />
ownership of their intellectual property.<br />
At the start of 2009 we wrote about navigating the turbulent times<br />
of tighter production budgets, rising costs, a declining economic<br />
environment and political uncertainty. These remain concerns for<br />
2010. Fortunately most companies have learnt to cope with the<br />
recession by cutting back where necessary.<br />
We were heartened in 2009 by the prediction that as many as two<br />
low budget films would be produced every month based on the low<br />
budget indigenous feature film incentive from the Department of<br />
Trade & Industry (DTI). The new cash flow assistance from the<br />
DTI will ensure that we see this trend continue with a slew of South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>n made and themed films screening throughout the year.<br />
There was already doubt early in 2009 that the ongoing Digital<br />
Terrestrial Television (DTT) trials would ensure the analogue<br />
switch-off would take place at the end of 2011. It had been hoped<br />
that DTT services would reach 50% of the population by the end of<br />
2009 and 95% by the end of 2011. Thus we continue to anticipate<br />
that some DTT services at least will be introduced this year.<br />
The 2010 FIFA World Cup has been assessed as a great boom to<br />
the country and presenting opportunities for the production<br />
industry. It is hard to pinpoint whether we will benefit substantially<br />
from this event. (Our review of the year ahead, in this issue, also<br />
indicates industry uncertainty about the benefits.) Certainly shooting<br />
schedules are bound to be put on hold during the event in June and<br />
July due to pressure on accommodation, transport and locations. But<br />
the tremendous media focus – more than 27 billion people will<br />
watch the event – on South <strong>Africa</strong> is sure to encourage more<br />
international production here in the coming months. The 2010<br />
World Cup has certainly been a big driver for mobile TV<br />
broadcasting with live coverage to be specially produced for mobile<br />
phones.<br />
We bid 2009 an eager farewell. We look forward to an easier and<br />
more rewarding 2010 for all our clients and readers. Thus we raise<br />
our glass to a New Year filled with health, happiness and prosperity.<br />
Angela van Schalkwyk<br />
SCREENAFRICA<br />
Publishing Editor/Proprietor:<br />
Angela van Schalkwyk,<br />
Sun Circle Publishers (Pty) Ltd<br />
editor@screenafrica.com<br />
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Deputy Editor: Joanna Sterkowicz<br />
joanna@screenafrica.com<br />
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Martin Chemhere, Katarina Hedren<br />
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Bumper 2o1o for local feature films<br />
IN THE NEWS<br />
Goodbye dreary 2009.<br />
Hullo hopeful 2010!<br />
Let’s just say that 2009 was a tough old year. Many people are glad to see<br />
the back of it given the global economic financial crisis, bad weather and<br />
ongoing world conflict. What does 2010 herald? <strong>Screen</strong> <strong>Africa</strong> spoke to<br />
various companies in the industry to get their views.<br />
What are your<br />
forecasts for 2010?<br />
Do you think the<br />
economy will<br />
improve and what<br />
will the impact of<br />
the FIFA Soccer<br />
World Cup be?<br />
Jeanne Cupido, marketing<br />
manager of Waterfront<br />
Studios – Post Production<br />
Group: “The ‘false’ economic<br />
upswing due to the World<br />
Cup will result in higher<br />
production figures during<br />
February to May. Production<br />
numbers will go back to 2009<br />
figures, which were 20-25%<br />
down on 2008. All indications<br />
are that the economy will start<br />
to improve by mid-2010<br />
without breaking the bank.<br />
There are opportunities<br />
around the World Cup but<br />
international feature<br />
productions may be affected<br />
by the unavailability of<br />
locations. This will be<br />
offset by commercial<br />
production upswing.”<br />
Kevin Fleischer,<br />
consigliere of Stepping Stone<br />
Pictures – Film Production:<br />
“The World Cup will be a big<br />
thing for South <strong>Africa</strong>. I do<br />
not think, however, that we<br />
will see an increase in<br />
international productions as<br />
they are driven by incentives<br />
and cost of services, and the<br />
South <strong>Africa</strong>n film industry is<br />
falling behind international<br />
competitors.”<br />
Gary King, executive<br />
director of Picture Tree –<br />
Commercials Production<br />
House: “The feeling is that<br />
clients have their budgets to<br />
spend for their financial yearends,<br />
so things are busy right<br />
now. I do, however, foresee a<br />
visible lull, in fact an absolute<br />
dearth of work in May and<br />
June 2010 due to the World<br />
Cup. I think a lot of the<br />
advertising for the World Cup<br />
has already been done.”<br />
Jannie van Wyk, CEO of<br />
Media Film Service –<br />
Equipment Rental Facility:<br />
“My expectations for 2010 are<br />
conservative. As far as the<br />
equipment rental market is<br />
concerned, most of the FIFA<br />
main supplier deals were<br />
awarded to overseas suppliers<br />
who have long-term contracts<br />
and so this equipment will be<br />
imported just before the World<br />
Cup. The main deals do not<br />
affect us at all. I think that<br />
there may be opportunity<br />
derived from smaller<br />
production companies and<br />
broadcasters that come out<br />
with less of an infrastructure.<br />
All the indicators show that<br />
the economy’s tide is turning<br />
and this is a good thing as it is<br />
timed with the World Cup<br />
coming to our shores.<br />
However, what we do not<br />
want to see again is another<br />
2009 winter. There were very<br />
few commercials or features<br />
and this made it a very<br />
difficult period for many<br />
companies and crew.”<br />
Marius van Straaten,<br />
director of Visual Impact –<br />
Equipment Rental Facility:<br />
“I think the economy will<br />
improve, but we must<br />
<br />
SCREENAFRICA – January 2010
IN THE NEWS<br />
anticipate the adrenaline effect<br />
– in other words, a spike in<br />
activity around the World Cup<br />
and then a return to pre-2010<br />
levels and the hangover of<br />
servicing the accumulated<br />
2010 debt. The long-term<br />
benefit will be skills transfer to<br />
the industry. A successful<br />
World Cup can lead to an<br />
increase in the international<br />
community’s belief that we<br />
have the ability to facilitate<br />
large-scale events and<br />
productions.”<br />
Arne Sack, CEO of<br />
Pro-Sales – Professional<br />
Equipment Supplier: “There<br />
will be some sectors that will<br />
regress and that in turn will<br />
affect all related businesses.<br />
On the other side of the<br />
spectrum, there will be an<br />
increase in work. This will be<br />
as a result of the World Cup<br />
but more so because of the<br />
recession. A lot has been put<br />
on hold due to the present<br />
recession. I also believe that if<br />
the rand remains where it is at<br />
the moment more<br />
international productions will<br />
be done locally.”<br />
Chris Hanson, CEO of<br />
Touchvision – Digital Media<br />
Solutions Supplier: “The<br />
cautious nature of 2009 will<br />
continue well into 2010. The<br />
economy will no doubt<br />
improve, but the film and<br />
television industry will be<br />
nursing the 2009 hangover for<br />
some time. The events at<br />
public broadcaster SABC have<br />
made a lot of companies aware<br />
of just how fragile their<br />
businesses can be. A lot of<br />
opportunities in 2010 are<br />
going to hinge on what<br />
happens with pay-TV licencees<br />
OnDigitalMedia and the<br />
remnants of Telkom Media.<br />
The World Cup is going to<br />
have very little positive impact<br />
on the local industry. It is<br />
heavily controlled by FIFA<br />
and Host Broadcast Services<br />
(HBS) and I can’t see them<br />
outsourcing huge amounts of<br />
work to local companies.”<br />
Philip Key, CEO of<br />
Moonlighting Film<br />
Production Services –<br />
International Facilitating:<br />
Indications are that things are<br />
improving. Jobs from<br />
international clients are<br />
confirming at a higher rate<br />
than this time last year. For us,<br />
the World Cup is swings and<br />
roundabouts. We will have to<br />
just weather the overall<br />
situation over the next few<br />
months. On the upside, we’re<br />
getting some work because of<br />
the games (although generally<br />
it’s harder to execute due to the<br />
various shooting and location<br />
restrictions). On the whole, the<br />
industry will benefit from a<br />
vastly improved infrastructure<br />
within Cape Town.<br />
Will we see an<br />
increase in work<br />
and what will<br />
the challenges<br />
be in 2010?<br />
Cupido: “The 2010 World<br />
Cup is an ideal platform to<br />
showcase infrastructure,<br />
locations and crew that South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong> has to offer. It will<br />
influence people to shoot here<br />
but not as many as we had<br />
hoped for. The recession had<br />
far-reaching effects and unless<br />
the exchange rate makes it<br />
worthwhile to shoot here<br />
along with the Department of<br />
Trade & Industry (DTI)<br />
rebate, we will not see a huge<br />
influx of foreign work. 2009<br />
for us was an exciting year as<br />
we worked on the likes of<br />
Atlantis (BBC/Moonlighting),<br />
The Philanthropist (NBC/<br />
Universal), Free Willy 4<br />
(Warner Brothers), Invictus<br />
(Warner Brothers), The<br />
Sinking of the Laconia (Two<br />
Oceans Production) and<br />
Master Harold and the Boys<br />
(Spier Films).”<br />
Fleischer: “2010 will see<br />
more local films and the main<br />
reason for this is the DTI<br />
rebate. There will be 27 local<br />
films in 2010, a great thing.<br />
Also, SABC must get its act<br />
together and its short-term<br />
funding plan into action. We<br />
are far behind our competitors<br />
and an example of this is the<br />
roll-out of broadband. Telkom<br />
is a huge barrier to success.”<br />
Van Wyk: “There are good<br />
opportunities after the World<br />
Cup. However, we need to<br />
deliver a superb event, show<br />
that crime is under control and<br />
that we are a lovely destination<br />
to visit. 2009 was a particularly<br />
difficult year to trade in, but in<br />
Cape Town the season kicked<br />
of with a bang and we are<br />
seeing a lot more interest for<br />
2010 in the feature market. To<br />
sum up – a dreary 2009 but a<br />
hopeful 2010.”<br />
Van Straaten: “Although we<br />
have done well in the current<br />
depressed broadcast market,<br />
we have experienced<br />
tremendous pressure on price<br />
and margins. The SABC crisis<br />
and the general recessionary<br />
environment have affected<br />
demand substantially. Despite<br />
the SABC bailout, it will not<br />
surprise me under these<br />
circumstances to see an<br />
increase of amalgamations in<br />
the broadcast industry and/ or<br />
insolvency in 2010 and<br />
beyond. There will, however,<br />
be an increase in local<br />
independent films. The HD<br />
Hub is also doing very well<br />
and has provided postproduction<br />
services to many<br />
productions, including District<br />
9 in 2009. I think we will have<br />
a better 2010.”<br />
Sack: “We have found that<br />
we will possibly not have a<br />
major increase in sales in 2010<br />
but even if we break even on<br />
2009 sales we will do<br />
exceptionally well. 2010 will<br />
be a good year.”<br />
Hanson: “It will be<br />
interesting to see what<br />
happens after the World Cup.<br />
There is a real danger that the<br />
locals will exploit the<br />
international companies and if<br />
this happens they will not<br />
come back. I think in 2010<br />
there will also be more<br />
emphasis placed on business<br />
partnerships between<br />
international product suppliers,<br />
local resellers and the end<br />
users. The sales cycles have<br />
definitely been longer but the<br />
demand for content hasn’t<br />
dropped significantly so<br />
technology purchases will<br />
remain strong in 2010.<br />
“The survivors are the ones<br />
who adapt to the changes in<br />
the market. I do not think we<br />
should be concentrating on the<br />
World Cup as our Holy Grail,<br />
but rather positioning<br />
ourselves as a global player.<br />
Think big would be my advice<br />
for 2010. There are some<br />
incredible opportunities out<br />
there if we get it right.”<br />
Key: The lead time for<br />
international production<br />
confirmations is fairly short, so<br />
it is hard to predict what will<br />
come in the next six to seven<br />
months but we have a sense<br />
that South <strong>Africa</strong> remains<br />
highly competitive from a<br />
production point of view and<br />
as one of the most desirable<br />
locations. I think more<br />
international work will come<br />
to the country, primarily in<br />
long form and television.<br />
“I think more independent<br />
films will be made largely<br />
helped by the decision of the<br />
Industrial Development<br />
Corporation (IDC) to support<br />
smaller budgets and the DTI’s<br />
decision to lower the subsidy<br />
requirements for local films.<br />
We are still seriously<br />
compromised by an ineffective<br />
local broadcasting<br />
commissions structure. Any<br />
improvement there would be<br />
the most significant and<br />
positive influence for the local<br />
production industry.<br />
“I think we will find that<br />
life after the recession will not<br />
be the same as before. We<br />
need to be on our toes and<br />
look for new opportunities and<br />
move with the times.”<br />
2010 Film<br />
Releases<br />
2010 is gearing up to be a<br />
good year for the South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>n independent film<br />
industry. Close on 30 films<br />
are expected to be released<br />
next year. Herewith a list of<br />
most of the films to be<br />
released:<br />
• Outrageous – Videovision<br />
Acquisition<br />
• Jozi (formerly Stiff) –<br />
Videovision Entertainment /<br />
T.O.M Pictures, directed by<br />
Craig Freimond<br />
• The Race-Ist – The Race-Ist<br />
Film Company<br />
• The Egoli Movie – Franz Marx<br />
Productions<br />
• Violence – DV8<br />
• Shirley Adams – DV8<br />
• White Lion – Peru<br />
Entertainment, producer Kevin<br />
Richardson<br />
• Rubbish van Rooyen – Willie<br />
Esterhuizen, Aardbol Films<br />
• Bakgat 2 – Film Factory<br />
• Night Drive – Film Factory<br />
• A Place Called Descent – DC<br />
Studios, directed by Jahmil<br />
Quebeka<br />
• Foreign Demons – Moments<br />
Entertainment, directed by<br />
Jahmil Quebeka<br />
• Bloedspoor – directed by Deon<br />
Roux<br />
• Everyman's Taxi – Portal Films,<br />
producer Barbara Snell,<br />
directed by Ian Roberts<br />
• Jakkalsdans – produced by<br />
Makadi Productions, directed<br />
by Darrell James Roodt<br />
• Shuks Tshabalala's Survivial Guide<br />
to 2010 – Out of <strong>Africa</strong><br />
• Paradise Road – Stepping Stone<br />
Pictures<br />
• Long Street – Shadowy<br />
Meadows Productions,<br />
directed by Revel Fox<br />
• Jock of the Bushveld – Produced<br />
by Duncan MacNeillie<br />
• Zambezia – Triggerfish<br />
• Bang Bang Club – Out of <strong>Africa</strong><br />
• Themba – Do Productions<br />
• Skin – co-producer<br />
Moonlighting Films<br />
January 2010 – SCREENAFRICA
IN THE NEWS<br />
Positioning the<br />
provinces for 2010<br />
South <strong>Africa</strong> has been waiting with anticipation for 2010. This date on our calendar is as significant as it is historic.<br />
It is the first time that the FIFA World Cup will be held on the <strong>Africa</strong>n continent. Many foreigners will be here for<br />
this historic occasion and the event will be broadcast to millions of people around the world. This makes it is an<br />
ideal time to showcase our talents and <strong>Africa</strong>n pizzazz. <strong>Screen</strong> <strong>Africa</strong> spoke to the Cape Town and Gauteng Film<br />
Commissions and Durban Film Office to get their take on what 2010 holds.<br />
How will the World<br />
Cup impact on industry<br />
development?<br />
Jacques Stoltz, senior marketing<br />
manager at the Gauteng Film<br />
Commission (GFC) says that there is<br />
clear indication that the recession is<br />
lifting. “This bodes well for the local as<br />
well as co-production and service<br />
industries. While we had a slow winter<br />
this year (traditionally our peak season)<br />
so far the summer months have been<br />
unusually busy. If this is sustained into<br />
2010, then it will definitely be a better<br />
year than 2009. There are also a<br />
growing number of enquiries around<br />
the 2010 FIFA World Cup, both in<br />
terms of content demand as well as<br />
location usage.”<br />
Laurence Mitchell, CEO of the<br />
Cape Film Commission (CFC):<br />
“There is no doubt that the World Cup<br />
has had an enormous impact on lifting<br />
us out of the recession: major<br />
construction like airports, roads,<br />
stadiums and broadband roll-out<br />
boosted the infrastructure spend.<br />
These major developments will<br />
contribute to the further development<br />
of the South <strong>Africa</strong>n film industry as<br />
these new facilities will become future<br />
locations for our industry.<br />
“We have positioned Cape Town to<br />
become a broadcast hub in 2010,<br />
focusing on those broadcasters who<br />
want historical landmarks as backdrops<br />
for their presentations. The CFC<br />
successfully facilitated the presence of<br />
the BBC in Cape Town for six weeks<br />
prior to the 2010 World Cup. The<br />
BBC will have its main presentation<br />
studio in Cape Town in 2010.”<br />
“The BBC will televise several shows<br />
a day from Cape Town, including 32<br />
live games and these will be presented<br />
from its studio in the city and give at<br />
least 200 million viewers a view of<br />
Table Mountain, The Waterfront,<br />
Cape Town Stadium and Robben<br />
Island. Following further discussions<br />
the BBC News will be transmitted live<br />
from Cape Town with BBC History<br />
Channel, BBC Radio, BBC <strong>Africa</strong> and<br />
BBC Online Services based in Cape<br />
Town. To this end, the BBC will<br />
procure services from local production<br />
companies, accommodation and other<br />
related broadcast services. We are also<br />
in the process of securing broadcasters’<br />
presence from Australia, Japan, France<br />
and Denmark.”<br />
Toni Monty, acting CEO of the<br />
Durban Film Office (DFO)<br />
maintains that it is difficult to predict<br />
what will happen in 2010. “However,<br />
with South <strong>Africa</strong> and Durban thrust<br />
into the international public eye via the<br />
mass media coverage, as well as the<br />
personal experience of visitors to the<br />
World Cup, the county and the City of<br />
Durban will be showcased in all their<br />
splendour. Combined, all of this will<br />
help in boosting our economy and<br />
enhancing our image internationally.<br />
The ‘return factor’ of people coming<br />
back here after the World Cup and new<br />
visitors coming as a result of watching<br />
the event on TV, will provide our<br />
economy with an additional boost.”<br />
Will more international<br />
productions come to<br />
South <strong>Africa</strong> in 2010?<br />
Stoltz: “With the success of District 9<br />
as well as international releases of South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>-linked productions such as Skin,<br />
The Bang Bang Club, Invictus, Amelia,<br />
etc. scheduled for the next six months, I<br />
think we will sustain global interest.<br />
We are also pleased to note progress<br />
around the signing of co-production<br />
treaties with France and Australia.<br />
Certainly, from a Gauteng perspective<br />
we are aware of a number of<br />
international productions linked to the<br />
province and scheduled for filming in<br />
2010.”<br />
Stoltz says, however, that the<br />
challenge will be to sustain global<br />
interest after 2010. “The media<br />
machine will probably move on to the<br />
next story quite rapidly. However, our<br />
experience is that despite 2010, global<br />
demand for <strong>Africa</strong>n content is on the<br />
increase both from within the continent<br />
and abroad. This should be our key<br />
concern: how do we position ourselves<br />
as a major content exporter to <strong>Africa</strong><br />
and its 900 million people market?”<br />
Mitchell: The World Cup comes<br />
along to your country probably once in<br />
a century. To put it mildly, England last<br />
hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1966.<br />
Given the fact that all eyes of the world<br />
will be on South <strong>Africa</strong>, and in<br />
particular the major international and<br />
national sponsors, we expect an<br />
upsurge in requests and production<br />
coming here. In addition, with a few<br />
hundred accredited broadcasters<br />
attending we are expecting huge<br />
demand for local content. Broadcasters<br />
want to know the local stories and we<br />
have actively encouraged our key<br />
stakeholders to look at their stock<br />
footage and be ready to present this. In<br />
Cape Town we are expecting at least<br />
five major films/series production<br />
within the first three months of 2010<br />
for the UK market.”<br />
Monty: “We believe we will see an<br />
increase in international productions.”<br />
What is the present<br />
situation of business<br />
and what does the<br />
future hold?<br />
Stoltz: “The permit office business has<br />
been slower this year than in the past.<br />
This has been particularly worrying for<br />
commercials and TV. The local<br />
independent film industry is showing<br />
growth and this is mainly due to the<br />
DTI’s revised rebate. We foresee that<br />
the trend towards micro, small and<br />
medium budget films will continue.<br />
We are also hoping that with our Film<br />
Friendly Gauteng campaign we can<br />
secure wider support among suppliers<br />
and locations to ensure that the<br />
province is not only easily accessible as a<br />
filming location but also competitively<br />
priced.<br />
“I believe the key question facing our<br />
industry is the extent to which it will<br />
become competitive as well as more<br />
aggressive in terms of its presence on<br />
the rest of the continent. There are<br />
clear indications that media markets in<br />
<strong>Africa</strong> are showing major growth.<br />
South <strong>Africa</strong>n companies are placed to<br />
diversify their business interests on the<br />
rest of the continent.”<br />
Mitchell: “Just over a year ago the<br />
CFC set off an ambitious strategy to<br />
position Cape Town and the Western<br />
Cape as a globally competitive film<br />
industry destination. This strategy<br />
evolved around a number of key<br />
projects. Some of these included: the<br />
Cape Town locations portal which in<br />
real time provides access to locations<br />
throughout Cape Town and the<br />
Western Cape. We also launched the<br />
Location Guide and have been<br />
instrumental in training and<br />
development initiatives. During our<br />
recent trip to meet with studios in Los<br />
Angeles, Bill Draper, executive vice<br />
president of physical production<br />
worldwide at Warner Bros, expressed<br />
confidence in the local industry when<br />
he spoke in Los Angeles of his pleasant<br />
experience while filming in South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>, as well as the excellent service<br />
and work he encountered from our<br />
crews. I think we are in for growth in<br />
the coming years and we are confident<br />
that we will meet the challenges.”<br />
Monty: “The DFO is playing a<br />
leading role in setting strategy and<br />
direction. The first ever Film Review<br />
was recently completed which looked<br />
critically at the state of the industry, its<br />
contribution to the local economy and<br />
the role it has to play in the future. In<br />
addition, Durban will host <strong>Africa</strong>’s first<br />
co-production market, the Durban<br />
FilmMart, in collaboration with the<br />
Durban International Film Festival<br />
(DIFF). This will be a significant<br />
development towards the City<br />
becoming a hub for the film industry.”<br />
“The DFO is developing the<br />
Producers Lab, a capacity building and<br />
support programme aimed at up-andcoming<br />
Durban producers. The DFO<br />
will partner with SmartXchange, a<br />
technology innovation hub and young<br />
business incubation center, to roll out<br />
the Digital Innovation Programme<br />
(DIP). Under the DIP, producers will<br />
team up with specialist partners from<br />
the ICT field to share information,<br />
identity and deliver opportunities to<br />
new forms of marketing, sales and<br />
distribution with the goal of improving<br />
the film business potential for growth<br />
and investment.”<br />
10<br />
SCREENAFRICA – January 2010
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adcetera Report on the South <strong>Africa</strong>n commercials industry<br />
Buddy – Toyota SA’s<br />
best friend<br />
Toyota<br />
New media tools<br />
relaunch old classic<br />
The production of a new TV commercial for Ogilvy to re-launch<br />
Unilever’s popular Dawn brand was completed towards the end of<br />
2009 by 2.0 Media’s CEO Peter Gird and creative director, Jason<br />
Xenopoulos.<br />
Dawn was originally launched in South <strong>Africa</strong> in the 1960s<br />
and the brand is synonymous with such famous icons as Chanel,<br />
Prada and Gucci.<br />
The 90-second commercial was shot as part of an integrated<br />
campaign, underpinned by a simple viral idea that saw women<br />
cutting off parts of their clothes to reveal more of themselves.<br />
Filmed in one day on location in downtown Johannesburg, the<br />
commercial was shot on 35mm using swing and tilt lenses, and<br />
depicts three female models changing their clothes to reveal more<br />
of their natural beauty.<br />
“The Dawn campaign is a good example of how a TV ad’s<br />
impact can be enhanced via an evolving array of new media tools<br />
that include viral and social marketing. Driven via numerous<br />
outdoor activations at key consumer lifestyle points around the<br />
country, the commercial represents one pillar of our strategy to<br />
launch a broader social movement and get people excited about<br />
embracing the concept of beauty that celebrates the woman rather<br />
than her clothes,” comments Xenopoulos.<br />
Dawn<br />
The wise-cracking dog,<br />
Buddy, has become such a<br />
popular star of Toyota SA’s<br />
commercials that he has<br />
secured his position as the car<br />
manufacturer’s marketing<br />
partner and key ‘spokesman’.<br />
His latest appearance will be<br />
in the new television commercial for Automark, Toyota’s certified<br />
used vehicle brand in South <strong>Africa</strong>.<br />
The new Buddy ad, which broke on 28 November, was created<br />
by Draftfcb Johannesburg’s creative team of GCEO Brett Morris,<br />
James Cloete and Ivor Forrester. The creative talent standing<br />
behind Buddy includes clever direction by Bouffant Productions,<br />
extensive post-production by Sinister Studio and comedian Chris<br />
Forest, the voice of Buddy.<br />
Buddy was developed after Toyota SA and Draftfcb examined<br />
the marketing tactics and actions companies should take to ensure<br />
they weather economic storms. They concluded that when hard<br />
times approach, consumers retreat to familiar places so it made<br />
sense to replace images of aggression with images of togetherness;<br />
and replace fear with humour. It was further decided that when<br />
competitors are cutting back, brands that increase or maintain<br />
advertising exposure can improve market share and return on<br />
investment (ROI) at lower costs than during good economic<br />
times. Finally, it was important to find the right message while<br />
maintaining the brand essence.<br />
The Automark ad is Buddy’s fourth appearance for Toyota in<br />
just three months.<br />
Busy, busy<br />
round-off to 2009<br />
Peugeot<br />
Last year ended on a high note for music and audio service<br />
company Howard Music when it completed the audio final mix<br />
on time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup final draw which took<br />
place in Cape Town on 4 December.<br />
Ministry Of Illusion (MOI), where Howard Music is based,<br />
was commissioned by George Mazarakis of Combined Artists to<br />
conceptualise and generate graphics for the event<br />
Not only does Howard look after the final mix at MOI, he is<br />
also a multiple award-winning composer and is firmly established<br />
as a force in the ever-changing, competitive world of advertising<br />
music.<br />
“We’d like to think that Howard Music is going to enjoy 2010,”<br />
says Howard. “We offer clients a wide spectrum of music and<br />
audio services, and we’re able to produce world-class music and<br />
source the best musicians in South <strong>Africa</strong> for any project. We<br />
even had TKZee finish off their latest album, Coming Home, in<br />
our studios in September.”<br />
Howard composed music for a host of TV and radio<br />
commercials in a wide range of styles in 2009. Campaigns<br />
included: an FNB TVC for MetropolitanRepublic, a Peugeot<br />
TVC for Saatchi & Saatchi, an OMO TV campaign for Lowe<br />
Bull and multiple projects for Creatrix, Y&R, Draftfcb and JWT,<br />
among others.<br />
Smart<br />
work<br />
pays off<br />
Tiger Brands<br />
Beatroute Productions,<br />
the new kid on the video<br />
production block, was<br />
awarded the job of<br />
producing the Buy Smart<br />
TV spots for Draftfcb<br />
Johannesburg’s longstanding<br />
client Tiger<br />
Brands. The Buy Smart<br />
platform allows individual<br />
brands within the Tiger<br />
stable to produce hard<br />
working retail TV spots<br />
within a standardised and<br />
highly competitive budget<br />
parameter.<br />
The Buy Smart concept<br />
provides a pragmatic<br />
framework that allows<br />
each brand to own the<br />
space while achieving an<br />
overall Buy Smart look<br />
and feel from one spot to<br />
the next.<br />
Beatroute’s director<br />
Andrew Cleland and<br />
producer, Dave Kaminer,<br />
have shot six Buy Smart<br />
spots to date, with another<br />
two currently in<br />
production and a full rollout<br />
planned for 2010.<br />
Many of the featured<br />
brands sit with different<br />
ad agencies, making it<br />
even more critical to<br />
ensure consistency across<br />
the Buy Smart platform.<br />
Beatroute has gone the<br />
route of not only<br />
producing but also<br />
managing the creative end<br />
product which has met<br />
with positive feedback<br />
from client and consumer<br />
alike.<br />
12<br />
SCREENAFRICA – January 2010
Whacky script<br />
gets the laughs<br />
LG<br />
Women’s secret<br />
fantasies revealed<br />
The intriguing and surprising secret thought-life of<br />
women was revealed in the new campaign for the relaunch<br />
of the Bournville brand, as well as the launch of its two<br />
new variants (Roasted Almonds and Mint Essence).<br />
Ogilvy Johannesburg strategist Candice Blumenthal<br />
says in trying to position the Bournville brand, the Ogilvy<br />
team was inspired by the rich sensuality of dark chocolate,<br />
which allows the consumers to flirt with their darker side.<br />
“The theme is ‘Deliciously Dark’ in recognition of the<br />
not-too-bitter, not-too-sweet nature of Bournville<br />
chocolate, as well as the delightful make-up of women’s<br />
fantasies.”<br />
The Deliciously Dark campaign involved a series of<br />
three bespoke illustrations by the talented Lithuanianborn<br />
artist Natalie Shau which tap into archetypal<br />
Bournville<br />
With a quirky script by agency Y&R, and Darren ‘Whackhead’<br />
Simpson, the TVC for LG’s ‘whack’ enabled mobile handset was<br />
a laugh from the onset of the shoot, says Picture Tree.<br />
“Getting Whackhead into character was the easy part,” says<br />
Jackie Nel, producer at Picture Tree. “Having a perfectly styled<br />
set and wardrobe really pulled it all together, and Darren just<br />
slipped in and out of character. He was great to work with and<br />
director Oscar Strauss had an easy job making the script come to<br />
life.”<br />
Strauss was called on to deliver a final product with pronounced<br />
colours and beautiful compositions – a la David la Chapelle –<br />
while staying true to the tongue-in-cheek brief from the client.<br />
With Donald Trump, Hugh Hefner and Eminem as inspiration,<br />
make-up guru Adi Cohen and art director Sue Steele had their<br />
work cut out to replicate the awful toupee of Trump, the silky PJs<br />
of Hefner and the over-the-top hip hop style of Eminem,<br />
together with believable backdrops for each scene.<br />
Strauss shot on the new Arriflex D21 HD camera which<br />
delivered unrivalled clarity and colour in the final online pictures.<br />
fantasies women might have. Little Red<br />
Riding Hood explores the ‘good girl<br />
seduced by the bad boy scenario; the<br />
Secretary print execution alludes to the<br />
shy office girl who would like to<br />
dominate her boss, and Bride is centred<br />
around a young bride’s fantasy that her<br />
husband will be her puppet on a string.<br />
Art director, Ian Broekhuizen, says<br />
Ogilvy wanted the work to have a<br />
surreal feel. “Natalie Shau was chosen<br />
for her exquisite ‘pop-surreal’ style that<br />
utilises digital illustration over<br />
photography and visually blurs the lines<br />
between painting and photography, as<br />
well as fantasy and reality.”<br />
The campaign achieved its first<br />
accolade by being awarded first place in<br />
the magazine category by The Creative<br />
Circle (August).<br />
adcetera<br />
Engen flights<br />
first TV ad for<br />
1-Plus brand<br />
Engen<br />
Engen launched its first TV<br />
ad for the 1-Plus retail<br />
convenience stores recently and<br />
by all accounts this marketing<br />
will further enhance the<br />
popularity of these stores.<br />
Interestingly, the company’s<br />
1-Plus network has garnered<br />
much more success than its<br />
market-leading fuel offering,<br />
says Pierre Roodt, Engen’s<br />
retail marketing manager.<br />
Compared with 27% of the<br />
retail fuel market, Engen has<br />
40% of the growing forecourt<br />
convenience market.<br />
In a surprising twist,<br />
convenience turnover exceeded<br />
fuel turnover for the first time<br />
this year, bringing in R4bn<br />
versus the R3.6bn of the latter,<br />
he adds.<br />
The 1-Plus brand was born<br />
two years ago as Engen’s urban<br />
and suburban answer to the<br />
successful 1-Stop highway<br />
service station offering. Its<br />
incredible success can be<br />
attributed to Engen and<br />
partner offerings for every site.<br />
Agency Speak<br />
WHO IS ERIN BROOKS?<br />
I’m a creative director at Draftfcb Johannesburg on the<br />
Vodacom and Lexus accounts. I’ve been in the industry<br />
for 11 years and still don’t know any better.<br />
DEFINE YOUR PERSONALITY:<br />
Passionate, driven, rambunctious and hopelessly<br />
insecure about whether my work is any good.<br />
WHY ARE YOU IN ADVERTISING?<br />
I’m addicted to ideas: having them, making them,<br />
bragging about them and picking them up in pieces off<br />
the boardroom floor.<br />
WHAT HAS BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR<br />
CAREER IN ADVERTISING?<br />
My partner and I won a trip to the Cannes Lions<br />
Advertising Festival in 2007. Thousands of creatives<br />
from around the world coming together to get inspired<br />
– it made this advertising malarkey seem tremendously<br />
important and capable of changing the world.<br />
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE CRAZIEST THING<br />
ABOUT THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY?<br />
We’re all constantly chasing awards in the hope of<br />
bolstering self-worth and salaries, but no one on the<br />
planet can show you the Universal Graph of Greatness<br />
against which we are all judged. But is it art? Who<br />
knows…<br />
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE MOST SANE THING<br />
ABOUT THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY?<br />
If you want sane, go work at a bank.<br />
WHAT ELEMENTS MAKE FOR A GOOD AD?<br />
A single idea. One of my favourites of all time was a<br />
TVC for a weekly news publication. It illustrated what<br />
seven days is to different things. To a fly, seven<br />
generations. To the optimist, seven opportunities. To<br />
meet a deadline, too little. To create the world, enough.<br />
So simple.<br />
WHAT PERSONALITY TRAITS MAKE FOR A GOOD<br />
CREATIVE?<br />
Big sunglasses, apparently.<br />
WHAT IS THE TRICK IN MANAGING CREATIVES?<br />
A well-stocked bar fridge (I’m not kidding) but it also<br />
helps to strike a fine balance between driving the<br />
process and letting them flop around a bit. We’re either<br />
in a frenzy or a stupor, nowhere in between.<br />
WHAT ELEMENTS MAKE FOR A GOOD AGENCY?<br />
An agency headed by a creative is going to be a better<br />
place to work for other creatives. The vision is the<br />
same, the ethics are the same. The place needs to have<br />
a soul and that’s only ever going to come from the top.<br />
WHAT KIND OF INPUT DO YOU EXPECT FROM A<br />
PRODUCTION COMPANY?<br />
Bring something to the table. Take my script and make<br />
it better. I will defer to a director’s experience and<br />
expertise more readily as long as we’re on the same<br />
page. Brief thoroughly, work stuff out, stay 100%<br />
collaborative… because when it gets to offline, we’ll be<br />
sitting on one side of the room while the client sits on<br />
the other, and we’d better be aligned in our thinking and<br />
our process.<br />
WHICH CLIENT OR BRAND WOULD YOU MOST<br />
WANT TO SECURE FOR YOUR AGENCY AND WHY?<br />
A maverick brand with limitless budgets and complete<br />
trust in the creative process… I’m still looking.<br />
January 2010 – SCREENAFRICA<br />
13
AWARDS<br />
Making a difference<br />
By Joanna Sterkowicz<br />
On 25 November pay-TV broadcaster M-Net announced the winners of its VUKA! Awards for Public Service<br />
Announcements (PSAs). Here <strong>Screen</strong> <strong>Africa</strong> looks at the three overall winners in the Professional, Contenders<br />
and Newcomer categories.<br />
The baby in<br />
the basket<br />
PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY – Conflict Diamonds<br />
The truth behind<br />
the sparkle<br />
In a dark and eerie pathology<br />
laboratory, a young boy lies on the slab,<br />
his eyes shockingly wide open in death<br />
as a doctor digs deep into a wound on<br />
his chest. The forceps emerge not with,<br />
as one might expect, a bullet, but<br />
clamping two big, sparkling diamonds.<br />
This striking message about the human<br />
cost of the illegal diamond trade was<br />
produced on behalf of the <strong>Africa</strong>n<br />
Diamond Council.<br />
Winner of the Best Overall PSA in<br />
the Professional category, Conflict<br />
Diamonds was directed by Grant de<br />
Sousa and produced by Warren Meltz,<br />
both of Blue Panther Films. The<br />
creative team behind the concept was<br />
Young & Rubicam Cape Town’s<br />
Clinton Bridgeford (creative director)<br />
and copywriters Emily Veitch, Ismaeel<br />
Chetty and Deanne Longmore.<br />
Conflict Diamonds also scooped Best<br />
Concept, Best Cinematography, Best<br />
Sound Design / Original Music and<br />
Best Editing.<br />
When Young & Rubicam<br />
approached De Sousa with the concept<br />
for Conflict Diamonds he thought it vital<br />
that the visual metaphor not be taken<br />
literally. “The set-up of the storyline<br />
was also important as the audience<br />
must believe they are looking at a bullet<br />
wound.<br />
“I wanted the victim to be younger<br />
than originally envisaged to make the<br />
ad more impactful. We cast for the boy<br />
and the doctor in a Cape township and<br />
they both delivered great performances.<br />
It’s actually very difficult to play dead,<br />
especially when you have to keep your<br />
eyes open.”<br />
De Sousa and Meltz searched for<br />
four weeks to find a suitable location.<br />
“Eventually I said that all I needed was<br />
four walls, white tiles and two extractor<br />
fans. At the last minute someone<br />
suggested we look at an abandoned<br />
abattoir in Maitland. I walked in and<br />
the first thing I saw where white tiles<br />
and two extractor fans – we had found<br />
our location,” explains De Sousa.<br />
The PSA was shot on the Red One<br />
camera by DOP Roy Zetisky, winner<br />
of the Best Cinematography award. It<br />
was De Sousa’s first experience with<br />
this camera. He says: “People who’ve<br />
seen the PSA don’t believe it was shot<br />
on the Red One because it looks like<br />
film, with its gritty, edgy feel.”<br />
De Sousa attributes part of the PSA’s<br />
success to the music track – Adwa by<br />
Gigi. “This amazing song really set the<br />
tone for the film.”<br />
The PSA was shot over one day.<br />
Meltz says: “We had a fantastic crew. I<br />
must single out Roy Zetisky who is very<br />
experienced on the Red One, and art<br />
director Jennifer Blatt, sound engineer<br />
Simon Malherbe and editor Eben Smal<br />
from Priest. We enjoyed generous<br />
support from Media Film Service, Red<br />
One <strong>Africa</strong>, HD Hub and Voodoo<br />
Post.”<br />
Meltz notes that the PSA was<br />
timeous as there has been a lot of recent<br />
media coverage about conflict<br />
diamonds and the war on illegal trade.<br />
Heat<br />
In an ironic twist, creatives Taryn<br />
Scher and Renier Zandberg of Ogilvy<br />
SA unsuccessfully entered their PSA<br />
into an Oxfam competition on<br />
YouTube in the hopes of winning a<br />
prize to Cannes Lions and then went<br />
on to win the VUKA! Contenders<br />
category with the same prize and the<br />
same PSA.<br />
CONTENDERS CATEGORY – It’s Getting Hot in Here<br />
NEWCOMER CATEGORY – Moses<br />
Their humorous PSA on behalf of<br />
Oxfam Global Warming, It’s Getting<br />
Hot in Here, shows a sunny suburban<br />
backyard with a middle aged lady<br />
peeling off clothes from her un-modellike<br />
figure. Just as she starts removing<br />
her panties, the PSA ends with the<br />
tagline, “If it gets any hotter we’re all<br />
going to be sorry”.<br />
Not surprisingly, the PSA won Best<br />
Use of Humour as well as Best Concept<br />
and Best Overall PSA at the VUKAs!<br />
Says Scher: “Oxfam put out a brief<br />
on YouTube for young creatives to<br />
make a PSA to highlight its Global<br />
Warming campaign. Entrants had 48<br />
hours in which to make the PSA. So<br />
we had very little time and literally no<br />
budget at all. We wanted to come up<br />
with a simple idea that would appeal to<br />
young people like us.”<br />
The PSA was directed by Jonty Fine<br />
of Frieze Films. He says: “I just<br />
happened to be having dinner with<br />
Taryn one Saturday night and she<br />
asked if I could direct the shoot the<br />
following day. So I shot and edited (on<br />
my laptop) the film and someone else<br />
did the music, all on the Sunday.<br />
“We used Ogilvy’s mini DV camera<br />
and filmed in the garden at their<br />
Johannesburg office. It was important<br />
to me that the PSA didn’t land up<br />
being mean to the actress.”<br />
Scher adds: “The VUKA!<br />
recognition has been amazing and<br />
unexpected. Now Renier and I hope<br />
that everyone signs the Oxfam petition<br />
against global warming”.<br />
Sweepingly cinematic, Alan<br />
Shelley’s PSA produced for the<br />
St Kizito Children’s Programme<br />
uses the biblical tale of baby<br />
Moses set adrift in a basket on<br />
the River Nile to highlight the<br />
cause of unwanted children.<br />
Moses swept the boards in the<br />
Newcomer category, winning<br />
Best Overall PSA, Best<br />
Direction, Best Script, Best<br />
Cinematography, Best Sound<br />
Design / Original Music and<br />
Best Editing. Shelley was the<br />
scriptwriter, director and editor,<br />
and created the digital visual<br />
effects.<br />
“The idea for Moses came up<br />
when my godmother asked me<br />
to do something for a children’s<br />
charity. Whenever I think of<br />
orphans I automatically think of<br />
Moses. So I started wondering<br />
what would have happened to<br />
Moses if he hadn’t been found.”<br />
In the last shot of the PSA, after<br />
Moses’ mother puts him on the river to<br />
escape slaughter by the Pharaoh,<br />
hundreds of other babies in baskets are<br />
shown floating on the water. The<br />
tagline is “Every child has the potential<br />
for greatness”.<br />
Shelley shot the PSA in 2008 when<br />
he was a final year student at City<br />
Varsity Cape Town. “It took until now<br />
[November 2009] to finish the film.<br />
We had just two days in which to shoot<br />
the PSA, only one of which was with<br />
the baby. Our location was Zandvlei,<br />
near Cape Town.”<br />
Because Shelley only had two cans of<br />
16mm film at his disposal, he did an<br />
animatic (ie. animated storyboard) prior<br />
to shooting to show the camera moves,<br />
focus pulls and the blocking of the<br />
actors.<br />
Moses was shot on City Varsity<br />
equipment and then digitised at<br />
Waterfront Post. Shelley cut on Adobe<br />
Premiere and used After Effects for the<br />
CGI. “For the last shot we used a<br />
particle emitter to replicate the<br />
hundreds of baskets, having only shot<br />
10, which we rotated for change of<br />
perspective.<br />
“I also had to create the foreground<br />
of the river in post-production as there<br />
were no papyrus reeds at the location.<br />
Another visual effect involved<br />
compositing the baby’s hand coming<br />
out of the basket.”<br />
For the full list of VUKA!<br />
Award winners logon to www.<br />
screenafrica.com<br />
14<br />
SCREENAFRICA – January 2010
A One-Handed<br />
Professional-Use<br />
Full-HD Camcorder<br />
*The microphone and XLR<br />
Audio Input Adapter shown in<br />
the photograph are optional.<br />
*Memory card<br />
not included<br />
A Lightweight Body of Just 0.98kg *1<br />
Full-HD Compatible 3MOS System, and Pro Tuning<br />
The AG-HMC41 features a Leica Dicomar 12x optical zoom lens with Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS) and<br />
3.05-megapixel 3MOS image sensors. A pro tuning function gives you ultra-precise control over image<br />
composition.<br />
Pro-Quality Recording and Transfer Capabilities<br />
with Full-HD Images and Advanced Functions<br />
Bundled* with<br />
EDIUS Neo 2<br />
nonlinear editing<br />
software<br />
* Limited time offer. The package<br />
model number are AG-HMC41EU<br />
(PAL model)<br />
SD Memory Card recording doesn't use a drive mechanism like the ones that are used in tape or disc<br />
systems, so it is less susceptive to vibration and shock, and there is no concern about image dropout.<br />
You can record for up to 12 hours* 2 , with no digitizing required after recording, and transfer data to a<br />
computer at ultra-high speeds of up to 22 MB/s* 3 . The AG-HMC41 employs AVCHD (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264)<br />
recording, which supports a high image quality (PH) mode with a maximum bit rate of 24 Mbps.<br />
AVCCAM 3-Year Warranty<br />
Repair Program*<br />
* AG-HMC41 users qualify for a 3-year warranty on repairs.<br />
Visit the website for details:<br />
http://panasonic.biz/sav/pass_e><br />
Enhanced Assist Functions for Professional Uses<br />
The AG-HMC41 features a touch-panel LCD monitor and manual focus, together with a focus assist that<br />
supports Face Detection. It also accommodates a detachable XLR adapter (optional).<br />
Memory Card Camera-Recorder<br />
*4<br />
AG-HMC41<br />
*1: Camcorder only. *2: In HE (extended time) mode using a 32GB SDHC Memory Card. *3: Data transfer speed varies depending on the usage of SD devices. The speed given here is the maximum speed according to Panasonic specifications. *4: Camcorder model number. During<br />
the EDIUS Neo 2 bundle campaign (until March 2010), only the AG-HMC41EU (PAL model) set model number will be marketed. AVCHD and the AVCHD logo are registered trademarks of Panasonic Corporation and Sony Corporation. Videos recorded with an AVCHD camcorder<br />
are not compatible with devices that do not support AVCHD, and cannot be played. For details, please read the instruction manual of the device you are using. Also, there may be instances when the videos will not play even with AVCHD compatible devices. In this case, please play<br />
the video using the camcorder. Some computers may not recognize the SDHC memory card. In that case, use an SDHC card reader. The SDHC logo is a registered trademark. LEICA is a registered trademark of Leica Microsystem IR GmbH. DICOMAR is a registered<br />
trademark of Leica Camera AG. LEICA DICOMAR lenses are manufactured using measurement instruments and a quality assurance system that have been certified by Leica Camera AG based on the company's quality standards. Canopus and EDIUS are registered trademarks<br />
of Thomson Canopus Co., Ltd. Please read the instruction manual prior to use, and follow the instructions carefully. Be sure that the Guarantee is properly filled in at the time of purchase, and keep it in a safe place for storage.
TRACKINGTECHNOLOGY NEWS<br />
Spectrum HD<br />
E-Cinema premieres<br />
Intensity Pro<br />
South <strong>Africa</strong>-based Spectrum established the world’s first<br />
digital cinema advertising network on behalf of CineMARK<br />
a number of years back. With nearly 70% reach of South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>n cinema audiences CineMARK required Spectrum<br />
to develop a countrywide digital playback network for<br />
screening of advertisements and other content.<br />
The process of screening digital advertisements requires<br />
content to be supplied to Spectrum for the HD E-Cinema<br />
network. Content is supplied in a variety of formats, although<br />
mainly from HD tape sources, which are then digitised into<br />
Final Cut Pro suites via HD-SDI through Blackmagic<br />
Design’s DeckLink HD Extreme. The final content is then<br />
encoded and distributed via permanent satellite uplink to the<br />
cinema complexes along with all necessary screening<br />
information. Playback is managed locally at cinema level<br />
according to exhibitor screening schedules.<br />
Ronald Henry, CEO of Spectrum explains, “In designing<br />
the digital playback system we needed a high quality yet cost<br />
effective method of playing out content to the HD E-<br />
Cinema network. The Blackmagic Design software<br />
philosophy and their openly available SDK allowed for quick<br />
integration into our software framework. The Blackmagic<br />
Design Intensity Pro card fits the bill exactly and works<br />
perfectly with our existing playback projectors.”<br />
Blackmagic Design’s Intensity Pro is a 1 Lane PCIe<br />
capture and playback card, designed to work with Mac, PC<br />
or Linux based systems. The product features HDMI<br />
input and output and includes a breakout cable for analogue<br />
video and audio connection.<br />
According to Henry, Spectrum chose Intensity Pro for the<br />
product’s excellent video output. “One of the most important<br />
features of the Intensity Pro card is the extremely high<br />
quality digital and component video connectivity. These are<br />
very important features, as the playback systems display<br />
through high specification commercial video projectors.”<br />
CineMARK’s HD E-Cinema network has also been<br />
successfully used for the exhibition of numerous film<br />
festivals, local and international HD feature movies and<br />
various corporate broadcasts and events.<br />
MHEG-5 selected for<br />
SA digital switchover<br />
The Digital Dzonga Advisory<br />
Council for the digital<br />
switchover in South <strong>Africa</strong> has<br />
selected MHEG-5 as the<br />
interactive TV middleware,<br />
according to an announcement<br />
made by IMPALA, the<br />
International MHEG<br />
Promotion Alliance, towards<br />
the end of 2009.<br />
Following on from a<br />
successful DTT trial that<br />
began last year, the SABC,<br />
South <strong>Africa</strong>'s public<br />
broadcaster, led the process of<br />
developing an MHEG-5<br />
profile for South <strong>Africa</strong> to<br />
meet some of the unique needs<br />
Lawo crystal<br />
consoles for<br />
broadcaster<br />
Italy’s state broadcaster Radio<br />
Televisione Italiana (RAI) has<br />
placed an order for Lawo<br />
consoles, ordering newgeneration<br />
crystal systems for<br />
its newly refurbished CCISS<br />
studio (Coordination and<br />
Information Centre for Road<br />
Safety).<br />
Building, programming and<br />
testing at the ‘new’ CCISS<br />
studio at RAI Production has<br />
been completed, and is<br />
expected to be online at the<br />
end of 2009. CCISS was<br />
established by RAI to provide<br />
road and traffic reports live<br />
around the clock, producing<br />
output for news bulletins that<br />
are taken live and broadcast<br />
over the three RAI radio<br />
channels.<br />
RAI chose the Lawo crystal<br />
digital audio consoles when it<br />
decided to upgrade its CCISS<br />
studio from analogue to<br />
digital.<br />
Much of its manual<br />
analogue patchbay operations<br />
had to be removed and RAI<br />
replaced them with a digital<br />
virtual matrix, fully controlled<br />
by a graphical user interface<br />
(GUI). The installation<br />
comprised a Lawo crystal base<br />
unit with optional SDI<br />
interfaces and an 8-fader<br />
surface, plus a full<br />
of the South <strong>Africa</strong>n market.<br />
The South <strong>Africa</strong>n MHEG-5<br />
profile has now been finalised<br />
and can be obtained from<br />
SABC while the overall<br />
receiver specifications are also<br />
near completion. The MHEG<br />
specification includes a<br />
platform-wide EPG that will<br />
allow consistent listings and on<br />
screen branding. The profile<br />
also includes support for the<br />
delivery of a wide range of<br />
interactive services.<br />
Aldred Dreyer, SABC<br />
technical project manager,<br />
DTT, said: "We selected<br />
MHEG-5 because it is costeffective<br />
with lower royalties<br />
than other middleware<br />
solutions and it is an open<br />
standard and not proprietary<br />
to any one vendor. In addition,<br />
it uses little memory."<br />
The Digital Dzonga<br />
Council is an advisory body<br />
appointed by government in<br />
2008 to oversee South <strong>Africa</strong>'s<br />
migration to digital terrestrial<br />
broadcasting. The Digital<br />
Dzonga Council includes<br />
representatives from both the<br />
public and private sectors.<br />
Council members include<br />
government (Department of<br />
Communications), consumer<br />
groups, broadcasters (SABC,<br />
e.tv, M-Net), manufacturers,<br />
the national signal distributor<br />
(Sentech) and the regulator<br />
(ICASA).<br />
rack-mountable PC running<br />
VisTool Runtime and VisTool<br />
Edit for RAI’s maintenance<br />
department, and a PC<br />
monitor.<br />
Lawo crystal is delivered<br />
with a choice of ready-to-use<br />
configurations for standard<br />
applications, but can be<br />
programmed to handle unique<br />
configurations adapted to<br />
individual user workflows.<br />
Available with four to 16<br />
faders, crystal also features an<br />
integrated matrix of up to 288<br />
I/Os and intelligent<br />
networking with other<br />
consoles and matrices.<br />
Since placing the CCISS<br />
order, RAI has purchased two<br />
more crystal systems for its offair<br />
studio and “Studio<br />
Announcement” suite.<br />
Spescom awarded Digidesign<br />
Pro Tools HD distribution<br />
Spescom Media IT, a leader in<br />
the broadcast integration<br />
market, has been awarded the<br />
rights to distribute<br />
Digidesign's Pro Tools HD in<br />
South <strong>Africa</strong>, as well as reseller<br />
rights for the LE product<br />
range.<br />
Arguably the most powerful<br />
audio editing package globally<br />
and certainly a dominant force<br />
in the South <strong>Africa</strong>n post<br />
production and broadcast<br />
industry, this Digidesign<br />
solution will be an important<br />
tool in the armoury of<br />
Spescom Media IT's newly<br />
launched Audio Division.<br />
Digidesign's Pro Tools are a<br />
part of Avid's audio range of<br />
offerings. It combines<br />
professional hardware and<br />
software to accomplish<br />
everything from composing<br />
music and recording, to<br />
editing and mixing sound for<br />
broadcast and post-production<br />
– all within a single<br />
environment.<br />
Says Sean du Toit, MD of<br />
Spescom Media IT: "The<br />
distribution rights for<br />
Digidesign's professional<br />
(HD) Pro Tools will allow<br />
Spescom Media IT to provide<br />
focused support for the<br />
product. Spescom Media IT is<br />
well qualified to take on this<br />
distributorship with its two<br />
decades of service to the<br />
broadcasting industry, its 15<br />
years of experience as the<br />
leading agent for AVID in<br />
South <strong>Africa</strong>, and a reseller of<br />
Digidesign Pro Tools and LE<br />
product range for the past two<br />
years. After two years of<br />
successful reselling Spescom<br />
Media IT has moved up the<br />
chain from being a reseller<br />
to distributor of<br />
Digidesign."<br />
In addition, a strategic<br />
decision by the company to<br />
create a dedicated Audio<br />
Division will ensure a<br />
comprehensive offering to the<br />
industry, incorporating<br />
supporting products, dedicated<br />
resources and expert support.<br />
Du Toit explains: "Spescom<br />
Media IT has traditionally<br />
served the larger players in the<br />
broadcast industry as an<br />
integrator. Our current<br />
strategy is, however, to service<br />
a broader range of<br />
organisations within the<br />
broadcasting industry<br />
including smaller and larger<br />
players. This is evident with<br />
the release of our R3m TV<br />
station in a box earlier this<br />
year, which is ideal for<br />
community TV stations.<br />
With the launch of our Audio<br />
Division, we will be ensuring<br />
that we can grow our existing<br />
expertise in this niche area,<br />
developing world-class<br />
solutions using best-of-breed<br />
products."<br />
By combining Digidesign<br />
Pro Tools with its existing<br />
Avid brands, Spescom Media<br />
IT will present customers with<br />
greater choice. Says Du Toit:<br />
"Clients interested in post<br />
production systems will now<br />
be able to select the best<br />
solution for their business from<br />
both the Avid and Pro Tools<br />
ranges. By housing both<br />
brands under a single roof, we<br />
further our goal of being a<br />
single point provider of endto-end<br />
broadcasting solution<br />
with the integration expertise<br />
that is lacking in the South<br />
<strong>Africa</strong>n market."<br />
Spescom Media IT will<br />
initially focus on extending its<br />
sales and support resources.<br />
"We will build on the existing<br />
footprint of the product in<br />
South <strong>Africa</strong>, expanding the<br />
number of channel dealers and<br />
resellers of the product," says<br />
Du Toit. "However, we believe<br />
customer service and support<br />
excellence is crucial, and will<br />
focus tightly on ensuring<br />
ongoing enhancement of<br />
product expertise within the<br />
channel."<br />
16<br />
SCREENAFRICA – January 2010