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Broadcast • Film • Commercials • Technology • NEW Media
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www.screenafrica.com VOL 21 – September 2009 R27.00

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Animation pg 34 50/50 Backlash pg 8 Mediatech Africa Report pg 18
SCREENAFRICA
Broadcast • Film • Commercials • Technology • NEW Media
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V
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www.screenafrica.com VOL 21 – September 2009 R27.00
Film slate distribution
In order to minimise the risk
factor in the distribution of
local films, Ster-Kinekor has
decided to commit to the
release of a slate of films by
those companies which have a
proven box office success.
In the past 12 months, Ster-
Extreme
protest
The callous
attitude
adopted by
public
broadcaster
SABC to
the
financial
havoc
wrought
within the
independent
production
Photo by Shaun Harris
Michael Lee – on a
diet of water only
industry by its
non payment of more than
R60m in production fees
and the freezing of new
broadcast commissions has
resulted in an extreme
form of protest by
producer/ director Michael
Lee. The Johannesburgbased
Lee took the
decision to target the
SABC’s abdication of its
responsibility to the
production industry by
going on a hunger protest
on 9 August.
The financial and
– to page 51
Kinekor has released a string
of South African films, many
of which have made good
pickings at the box office. The
films released to date were
Hansie, Mr Bones 2, Jerusalema,
Vaatjie sien sy gat, Finding
Lenny, Tornado and the
Kalahari Horse Whisperer,
White Wedding, Hond se Dinges,
Izulu Lami (My Secret Sky) and
District 9 . Before the end of
the year the following films
will be released – Karate Kallie,
Intonga, The Race-ist, Rainbow
Skellums , Outrageous Skin,
Umalusi, Disgrace and
Fokofpolisiekar.
Helen Kuun, acquisitions
manager: Ster-Kinekor
distribution – Local Content
says that part of the reasoning
behind this move is that it is
critical for local filmmakers to
A clearer picture of the region’s
digital migration progress is
expected to emerge at the
Southern African
Broadcasting Association’s
(SABA) Annual General
Conference, which takes place
from 11 to 14 October in
Maseru, Lesotho. Also under
the spotlight will be
preparations for the 2010
FIFA World Cup in South
Africa, and the 2010 African
Confederations Cup to be held
in Angola.
An interactive presentation
under the topic Making
Mainstream Media More
Relevant in Combating HIV
and AIDS will feature high
be working on their second
and third films. “Most of what
has been available in the last
eight years has been everyone’s
first film. Dv8 is probably the
only exception to that rule.”
One of the first to benefit
from this new Ster-Kinekor
strategy is The Film Factory
with a slate of three films,
Bakgat 2, Night Drive and
Superhelde. Kuun explains that
they proved themselves with
Bakgat!. “Considering the low
budget it proved that the team
can deliver and develop South
African stories that appeal to
the audience it is intended to
reach. They have
demonstrated the passion it
takes to make a film but have
also considered all the business
angles. They have a keen
– to page 51
Regional focus – digital migration
level politicians, HIV/AID
officials and entertainers. This
session will be held in
association with the African
Broadcast Media Partnership
against HIV and AIDS
(ABMP).
In addition, a comprehensive
report of SABA's activities
since the last Conference will
be presented at the AGM. It is
also expected that Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Holdings and
other members will provide
the AGM with relevant
information on the latest
developments in broadcasting
in Zimbabwe.
This year’s Conference will
– to page 51
ON THE STRIP: Preparing to shoot a scene for the new South African feature film,
The Race-ist. See page 3
Big business in comedy
Worldwide, everyone enjoys a
good laugh. In recognition of
this, Nu Metro Cinemas
launched a series of comedy
films in partnership with
comedy management and
events company, Podium.
The Podium Comedy Series is a
series of comedy films that
began screening at all Nu
Metro Cinemas nationwide in
August 2009.
The films feature the best
of South Africa’s local
comedians and top
international acts, with
amongst others Loyiso Gola,
Mel Miller, Trevor Noah,
Riaad Moosa, Kagiso Lediga,
Cedric the Entertainer, Steve
Harvey, Katt Williams and
Dylan Moran.
Ricky Human, business
executive: TV and Home
Entertainment of Nu Metro
Film Distribution, explains
that along with looking at
business opportunities for TV
and Home Entertainment,
“we also look at the
opportunities for theatrical,
and the comedy series fitted
perfectly. It extends the brand
onto other platforms and
exposes local content to a
South African audience.”
Billy Dundee, New
Business manager: Home
Entertainment Nu Metro
Film Distribution adds: “We
have been working with
Podium for a while now. We
started off on The Pure
Monate show. We worked
with them on distributing
their content to find new ways
of accessing different markets.
Theatrical is just the next
step. We believe that it is
going to be successful,
especially in the long run.”
The films will be released
in all Nu Metro’s 23 sites
nationwide. Human explains
that this also makes the
content far more accessible to
other people from different
– to page 51

NEWS
Drama in the township
Johannesburg’s Soweto
township provides the
backdrop for five one-off
dramas being produced by
free-to-air channel, e.tv. Each
a different genre, the dramas
were specifically designed to
tap into the realities,
aspirations and struggles of
township life.
It is South Africa’s township
audiences that are the main
target market for e.tv’s new 45-
minute dramas, the success of
which will inform and dictate
the types of dramas the
commercial broadcaster may
do in the future.
The idea behind the dramas,
according to e.tv producer
Brian Letlhabane, was to recreate
the social and cultural
relevance of black dramas
produced pre-1994, but with
contemporary production
values. “Head of local
programming Zanele
Mthembu and I wanted
something that was inspired
by townships and close to the
reality of the audience. So we
commissioned Vusi Twala of
Seleke Communications,
writer/director of pre-1994
dramas such as Dick Sithole,
Masakeng and Boomspruit, to
write and direct five dramas.
“Vusi stays within the
Photo by Tshegofatso Maake
INFIDELITY AND DECEPTION – A scene from Secret Lovers
township environment and is
able to bring realism to his
stories. I think it’s very
important that each of the
dramas has a moral conclusion,
as South Africa has a wide
inequality gap. Consequently,
our stories show good
triumphing over evil. Vusi has
the right voice and moral
vocabulary to tell these stories.
It’s been great working with
Vusi. He is a real professional.
When we commissioned Vusi
in April, he submitted 10
synopses of which we chose
five. Being in his 50s, Vusi has
lots of life experience to draw
from. He’s very good with
structure and always remains
true to his characters.”
Speaking on the set of Secret
Lovers, an upmarket coffee
shop in Ruimsig, in early
August, Twala told Screen
Africa that his scripts were
inspired by social issues in the
townships, stories he’d heard,
and newspaper articles. “e.tv
gave me a free hand creatively
although Brian Letlhabane
was proactive in script
development. Each story has a
different message. For
example, Mama’s Boy is about
leaving home and being
independent, while Secret
Lovers is about greed,
infidelity and deception.
“There are also different
visual styles for the five stories:
Chasing the Truth, about an
investigative journalist, is very
fast and pacey and contrasts
sharply with the more drawn
out A Good Wife, which is
about love, forgiveness and
ambition. Meanwhile,
Abducted is a tense, dark
thriller.”
Twala began shooting in
July. “This series has had a
very tight deadline as we have
to shoot an episode a week and
we start broadcasting on 5
October in the Monday, 9pm
slot. But I like working under
pressure. It brings out the best
in people and I’m an aggressive
and positive person. I must
express our gratitude to the
people of Orlando, who let us
use their homes and have
totally supported the
production. We’ve had a
strong empowerment element
on this project.”
Assistant director Bongani
Maseko noted that the shoot
had gone very well. “We’re
working on an extremely tight
schedule but have been able to
deliver accordingly. This has
been made possible by the fact
that we have a fantastic crew
and the A-list of acting talent
in South Africa.”
The cast features such iconic
names as Treasure Thsabalala,
Owen Sejake and Magic
Hlatswayo, to name a few.
Twala and Letlhabane did
most of the casting at the
Windybrow Theatre in
Hillbrow and particularly
wanted actors who’d not been
seen recently on soaps. The
cast includes a lot of firsttimers.
Facing
the
dread
disease
A 58-minute documentary
about European perceptions of
HIV/Aids made by South
African filmmaker Daréll
Lourens and German medical
student Nele Jensen recently
premièred in Cape Town. It
has already screened in
London and Switzerland, with
New York, Amsterdam, Paris,
Hamburg and Johannesburg
next on the schedule.
The filmmakers’ challenge
was to create a documentary
that wouldn’t wag its
forefinger at the audience.
And to make audiences think
twice about ‘risk’ and ‘stigmas’
in their own lives.
“Blissfully Lost attempts to
find the balance between
portraying HIV as something
that you don’t want to have,
but that if you do have it,
doesn’t make you any different
from uninfected people. In
other words, not any more
scary, irresponsible or reckless
than them,” explains Lourens
of Cape Town-based
eentweedee produksies cc.
The idea for the
documentary originated in
Kumasi, Ghana when Lourens
was visiting Jensen during the
latter’s medical practical
semester. Jensen had written
her theses on HIV and while
in Ghana had a needle prick
accident with an HIV positive
patient. She had to take PEP
(post-exposition prophylaxis)
to lower the risk of infection.
Lourens continued:
“Suddenly HIV/Aids was right
in our faces. Nele spoke about
it as something that Europeans
see as a disease for junkies and
Africans only. For me it was a
disease never normally
associated with the South
African middle class. I realised
that I too had stigmatised it in
the same way as the rest of the
world. Our perceptions were
very much sculpted by media.”
Deciding to make a film on
the topic, Lourens and Jensen’s
intensive research looked at the
focus of UNAIDS and many
other institutions. They found
the work of Aids activist
Christopher Park to be very
influential.
Filming took place on a
Sony Z1 camera in the UK,
France, Belgium, the
Netherlands and Germany.
Jensen and Lourens
interviewed professionals in
their 20s and 30s who work in
the field, as well as those
infected with HIV. Some
interviewees were selected
quite randomly in different
cities while others were
determined by organisations
and sourced through
Facebook.
German pharmaceutical
company Boehringer/
Ingelheim contributed to part
of the budget but the project
remains independent as
Lourens and Nele retain all
commercial rights to the film.
Their plan is to broadcast the
film in Africa and Europe on
TV and to have independent
screenings, followed by DVD
release to NGOs, the
commercial market and
educational institutions.
The style of the
documentary is described as
bordering between the genres
of a music video and a reality
show. “Most of my previous
work has been music videos,”
explains Lourens. “Nele and I
wanted to create a fast cut style
that reflects modern pop
culture – to become a mirror of
that in itself.”
In terms of feedback to the
documentary, Lourens notes
that Pauline, the infected
protagonist of the film, thinks
it is the truest thing she ever
saw on HIV. “For Nele and I,
this is the biggest compliment
we can get,” says Lourens.
SCREENAFRICA – September 2009

NEWS
Here comes
the race-ist!
The Race-ist is the latest South
African feature film to go into
production. The film is being
shot mainly in Brakpan and
includes a star-studded cast
and some serious motor car
action.
Writer, director and
producer Andrew Wilmot
explains how he initially got
going on the film. “I wrote the
synopsis in about two weeks
and then worked on the script
for about two months. When I
finally had some bucks, I
brought Iain Paton on board to
co-write so the screenplay had
more depth. I think we cooked
up a very nice story.”
The movie is about a young
boy, Lukas, who wants to be
the quarter-mile champion.
Wilmot says that it is about
the underdog making good.
“He grows up with insufficient
resources but achieves his
dream.”
Wilmot explains that the
film is the first part of three
movies with a 13-part series
attached for television. “My
focus on this first part of
Lukas’s story is to introduce
the characters that help him
on his journey. There is
definitely some nice action and
a lot of eye candy with the
girls, cars and stars.”
In terms of raising the
budget for the film, Wilmot
explains that there is a lot of
product placement. “The film
cost a good couple of million
but everything in front of the
camera is sponsored, begged or
borrowed. One scene had
almost 30 Supercars in it.
Another scene had about
1 000 extras with their
vehicles. It is very hard to
establish a value for these
elements. However we never
intended this to be done as a
big or small budget movie.
Our goal was to build the
movie off a backdrop of people
who love and fanatically
support this genre of
motorsport… and boy did they
come out and play.”
Wilmot adds that when they
were looking for the finance,
“we took the idea to anyone
and anything who would give
us the time of day. We’re
talking about eight months of
sometimes four pitches a day
in a very insecure market. The
movie’s backdrop is
Sanctioned, Safe (or Safer)
Quartermile racing, so
branding cars and such is part
and parcel of the backdrop of
our movie.”
Wilmot elaborates that in
this hard time, “companies
generally stick closer to
traditional marketing spends
when they feel that noose. It is
generally the visionaries who
jump aboard, but very
conservatively. The films
sponsors include Big Boss
Auto, EA Games, Play
REVVED UP – Track action in the feature film The Race-ist
Energy Drink, Autostyle
Motorsports, The Rock
Raceway, Neo Africa, La
Petit, Rosetulee, Casbah and
Speed & Sound magazine.”
This is Wilmot’s first
directorial debut. He says the
reason he wants to direct, “is
because I love telling stories.
Film is the best way to do it. I
love movies and go to the
cinema almost every weekend.
Films that make me feel good
without feeling guilty are my
favourite and this is my
objective with The Race-ist.
You can laugh, learn more
about life and walk out feeling
better about yourself and life
in general.”
The film was shot mainly in
Brakpan. Wilmot says that
they loved shooting there. “We
almost moved in. Other
locations were The Rock race
course, Lanseria Airport and
the Nelson Mandela Bridge.
The DOP is Hanro Mohr.
We just really had a great
team working on this film
from the grips, to my AD…
everyone.”
Three-film deal
The Film Factory has signed a
deal with Ster Kinekor
Distribution that will see three
of its films distributed locally
over the next two years. The
films are Bakgat 2, Night Drive
and Superhelde.
James Caroll, one of the
directors of the company and
producer, says that they are
thrilled. “However, even
before we had completed
Bakgat! the Film Factory’s
Danie Bester, CA Van
Aswegen and I knew it was
imperative that we develop a
range of projects that could go
into production this year. We
call this first round of films
The Launch Sequence, as they
are pilot films which will
provide a production model to
work from for the future (and
larger budget) films.”
Carroll says that they are
very clear on the genre and
marketability of the projects.
“We consulted with Ster
Kinekor, who were very
supportive of the slate. It also
makes sense to bundle the
projects together for investors
to better negate their risks.
“Bakgat! was our first step
into the market and got us on
the map. It also enabled us to
approach additional private
investors with workable
numbers. In some ways, it’s
TAKING THE NIGHT DRIVE – Actors Chris Beasley, Corine Du Toit and Brandon Auret
easier to raise a budget for a
slate because it covers a range
of audiences and therefore
minimises the risk for
investors.”
Carroll adds: “We all work
collaboratively and this
extends to finding the finance.
We also have a very good
working relationship with
Andre Frauenstein from
Phoenix Rising Media, who is
doing product placement in
Bagkat 2 and Superhelde.”
The key to a good film that
sells well at the local box
office, Carroll maintains, is
authenticity and knowing your
audience. “With Bakgat! I
think it was a very honest and
endearing portrayal of
Afrikaans youth culture in
South Africa. An audience can
identify and relate to the
characters and the world they
inhabit. The biggest difference
between Bakgat! and Bakgat 2
is the originality of the story.
With Bakgat! we wanted to
test the market and ‘play it
safe’, now that we know the
market exists we are more
focused on telling a wholly
original story.”
Carroll continues: “Henk
Pretorius battled through
various stories until he found
the right one that will resonate
with the audience. It is aimed
at the Afrikaans youth market
but we hope it will cross over
into other cultural groups in
South Africa. As in Bakgat!
Tom Marais will be the DOP,
Danie Bester the producer and
Henk Pretorius is the writer
and director.”
Regarding Night Drive,
Carroll explains how it came
about. “CA and I wanted to
make a horror film set against
the backdrop of a stereotypical
African safari, but with a dark
twist. For too long we have
seen films using the ‘Dark
Continent’ as a setting and the
monsters being animals. Night
Drive changes all this by
making the real monsters
human.”
Carroll elaborates: “We
approached Justin Head and
pitched him the idea. He
basically took the idea and ran
with it. Justin and CA spent
most of the time developing
the outline in order to make it
entertaining and relevant.
Justin did extensive research
and presented us with an
article about how the demand
for human body parts in muti
rituals has resulted in animal
poachers hunting people. This
formed the basis of the story.”
Chris Beasley plays the lead
role of Sean Darwin, ex-cop
turned poacher hunter. Carroll
says that they have assembled
an amazing cast including:
Corine Du Toit (Egoli),
Brandon Auret (Hansie), Leroy
Gopal (Backstage), Gregg
Melville-Smith (Mr Bones/
Bang Bang Club), Clare
Marshall (Run for your Wife,
Feast of the Uninvited), Yule
Masteng (Scandal), Akin
Omotoso (Generations) and
David Sherwood (Shaka Zulu,
King Solomon’s Mines, Hansie).
Trevor Calverley is DOP,
producers are CA Aswegen
and James Carroll and writer/
director Justin Head.
The third film is Superhelde
and Carroll says that they are
also hugely excited about this
project. “It is a story about two
security guards who want to be
superheroes. The core concept
has potential and after
discussions with Michelle
Venter and Henk Pretorius,
the idea started to take form. It
deals with themes like love,
betrayal and friendship. The
movie will be directed by
Morne du Toit, DOP David
Pienaar and produced by
Danie Bester, co-produced by
Lucia Meyer.”
September 2009 – SCREENAFRICA

NEWS
Compiled by Karen van Schalkwyk
the
production business
The worldwide recession
is having a major
impact on the way
producers find financing
and structure their
productions. Screen Africa
speaks to a few producers
and independent
filmmakers about their
views and what some of
the solutions are.
The television and film production
business has not been immune to
the economic slump, which has
witnessed major studios,
international production companies
and broadcasters struggling against
dwindling profits, closures or
retrenchments. It has become necessary
for everyone to re-think their
production strategy in order to cope
with tighter budgets.
Desiree Markgraaff of The Bomb
says that we should look to the
Nigerian model. “Despite low
production values, these films are very
popular over the continent. They are
made for very small budgets and thus it
is easier to break even and the good
ones make a real profit. We have
abundant talent, loads of gear, good
crews: there is no reason why we cannot
take a risk and make a few super low
budget films and see what the direct to
DVD route will offer.”
Johnny Muteba, an independent
filmmaker, maintains that the solution
resides in a coalition: “Raising funds as
a coalition is much easier than doing it
independently, and once a brand is out
there in the market this coalition will
carry much more weight approaching
distributors and investors.”
Mike Rix, independent producer
and filmmaker says his last two films
have been financed through a number
of investors each putting in relatively
small amounts of money, as opposed to
a few investors allocating large amounts
of money. “I did this purely because I
found it easier to sell shares if I wasn’t
asking for huge amounts of cash. I also
found a number of investors online,
which is a resource that local
filmmakers need to make better use of
in my opinion.”
Eugene Snyman, also an
independent filmmaker, maintains
that co-productions are the best option
when putting a project together. “But
there is another obstacle which relates
to who holds the greater share of the
production when tabled or sold. I think
that if finance is the objective, then
gather a group of people who have the
same objective as you do. Each party
should have something to bring to the
table. A coalition is a good solution to
the economic problems we face.”
Hard times
In these hard times, Markgraaf says
that the key aspect of coping and
having to produce content is to find
ways to reduce the production budget.
“I think this is one of the first things to
consider when the economic climate is
tough. One must also consider that by
cutting your budget it may hurt your
film and make it less marketable.
“Look at structuring deals with
equipment and post companies as
equity partners – that is, gear and
facilities in lieu of cash. The same can
be negotiated with key crew. Another
possibility is to get regional funding
within South Africa – local
municipalities, tourism departments,
etc. Also look at international regional
funds, as they often compete
for shoots or post-production in their
region.”
Ross Garland of Rogue Star Films
says that the economic divide has
sharpened the divide between the haves
and have-nots, the blockbusters and the
indies. “This is not all for the worse.
The new media opportunity, which
indie filmmakers have for the most part
been avoiding, like in the music
industry before us, has been brought
sharply to fore. The solutions for indie
filmmakers will lie partly at least in
discovering and embracing new media
models. The industry has begun this
process with a spate of digitally finished
and distributed films.”
Rix adds: “There are always people
with disposable income looking for
investment opportunities. The film
industry worldwide has prospered
during this period of economic
uncertainty, so a lot of individuals are
starting to look at film investment as a
solid opportunity. It is good to see local
films like White Wedding performing at
the box office, as it makes it easier to
sell to investors when there’s a genuine
chance of return on investment.”
Snyman elaborates that the current
downturn in the economy has led to a
decline in value of production levels as
well as a more cautious approach by
producers regarding the type of
production they take on. “When
producers try and raise the finance for a
project it is advisable to first review
production costs and assess the total
value return on investment for their
clients. To put it simply, get the figures
right and mould the production
according to budget.”
New opportunities
Hard times may be difficult to survive
but they can generate new
opportunities, some producers have
discovered. Markgraaff says that the
tide will turn. “This is an ideal time to
develop new material and to be
recruiting, as good people will come
into the market who are not normally
available. The whole world is feeling
the pinch and one has to look at
interesting ways to make films and
explore partnerships.”
Muteba agrees: “This current
situation presents producers with an
opportunity to think creatively and
master the game of doing more with
less and to be self-sufficient.”
Garland believes that funding will be
difficult to secure. “It will remain as
difficult as ever locally. If you can get
hold of soft funding in this
environment, you should. Otherwise
reduce the budget and be innovative,
like the very popular Le Donk at the
Edinburgh Film Festival, which was
shot in six days by Shane Meadows.
Regarding the opportunities, there will
be fewer films in the marketplace so
this will benefit those who do get to
make their films. The fundamental
principles apply, but with much less
competition.”
Rix says that keeping budgets low
will be a priority. “This will also make
it easier to find the funding. Regarding
opportunities, that is a tough one. I
guess there is an opportunity to
continue to make movies for a fraction
of international budgets and hopefully
infiltrate the worldwide market. We
can also attract more international
productions looking for locations that
will save on their budgets.”
Snyman says the current financial
situation does in many respects allow
for growth. “In the past when things
were tough, like-minded people got
together to save and rebuild industries.
This, in my view, is what needs to
happen. As filmmakers we need to save
our industry and not try to create on
our own, but rather do this together.”
South Africa in
perspective
Many producers are struggling to
survive, which could affect the future of
the industry. Markgraaff believes the
challenge is to build and retain a
sustainable industry. “The relationship
between the broadcasters and
production sector is critical. If we do
not get that balance right we will
remain quasi employees to the
broadcasters and not develop a buoyant
sector. Without a solid foundation of
businesses that are bankable we will not
be able to innovate and meet demands/
opportunities that digital convergence
will bring. We must view ourselves as
job creators and not producers pitching
for work. The DTI continues to
support the sector and we must seize
the opportunities.”
Mutaba says it is encouraging to see
more films being produced. “I think
there will be a lot of growth in the
sector over the next couple of years.”
Garland comments: “We will
continue to make five to 10 films a year.
I expect the number of documentaries
will increase as well as micro-budget
digital films. These two categories of
films might shift the new media
landscape and that could change things
more radically for the better, with new
production and distribution models.”
Rix says that things will turn around.
“Local films are on the way up. In my
opinion, producers need to cater to the
commercial market if they want to
grow the industry, and that means
genre movies.”
Snyman comments: “Firstly, South
Africa does not have an industry, only a
dwindling entertainment industry on
the brink of collapse. This is largely due
to bad management and warped ethics.
“We have organisations that were put
in place to help develop the industry
through financial support for producers
and directors. I am saddened by the
performance of these institutions and
their blatant disregard for the wellbeing
of the real filmmakers who want
to showcase their talent. We have a
pool of creative people with nowhere to
exhibit their work. Why should I and
others like me have to go and get our
productions made in Los Angeles or
London? I think a lot of really talented
people will leave, as they feel
unappreciated in their own
country.”
SCREENAFRICA – September 2009

FILM
The audience as intruder
If there was one title that seemed to be on everybody’s lips at the recent
Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), it was Shirley Adams, the first feature film
from Cape Town-based Oliver Hermanus. Shirley Adams went on to win three awards
at the festival – Best South African Film, Best First Feature Film and Best Actress
(Denise Newman).
By Joanna Sterkowicz
CLOSE-UP – Denise Newman as Shirley Adams
CREATING BUZZ – Oliver Hermanus
PRODUCTION CREW
Centropolis Entertainment,
London Film School, Dv8
Executive Producer:
Roland Emmerich
Producers: Jeremy Nathan,
Michelle Wheatley
Director: Oliver Hermanus
Writers: Oliver Hermanus,
Stavros Pamballis
DOP: Jamie Ramsay
Production Designer:
Nick Mostert
Editor: Gareth Fradgley
Make-up: Naeema Clayton
Shot entirely in close-up on a
50mm lens, Shirley Adams is an
intimate portrait of a woman
whose life is falling apart; a
Mitchell’s Plain housewife abandoned
by her husband and whose son is
severely disabled after an act of
gangland violence.
Director and co-writer Oliver
Hermanus’ stylistic decision to show
Shirley’s struggle to hold everything
together in close-up was to underscore
how isolated a character she is. “The
close-ups invade her personal space and
make it chaotic. So the audience feels
uncomfortable and guilty about being
in her house. From a practical point of
view, because of the close-ups, you don’t
really see where the film is shot, a fact
which helped reduce production costs
for locations,” said Hermanus at DIFF,
the day after the film’s première.
The reaction from the screening was
very positive, with the audience
applauding the film’s style and content.
A big talking point has been that there
are lots of sequences with Shirley
shown from the back. “Everyone has a
different view of why I did the back of
the head thing, all of them sort of
valid,” responded Hermanus. “My
reason for doing it isn’t that complicated
– it was a stylistic choice and not a
loaded decision. Shirley is a character
who is extremely private in her house
and doesn’t want the rest of the world
to see that she’s struggling. I wanted
people to crave to see her face.
However, there’s was a fine balance to
make sure that the audience engages
with that and doesn’t become removed.
Luckily, so far they’ve seem to have
been engaged.
“Shirley’s life is falling apart around
her and she is totally focused on caring
for her son because he can’t do anything
for himself. While I was shooting the
film I unconsciously kept leaning my
head while watching the video monitor
to try and see Shirley’s face. I thought
the audience would do the same. The
net effect is that when you do get to see
her face, it has more impact.”
Shirley Adams has been in Hermanus’
head for 10 years, inspired by a story his
sister told him when he was 15 years
old. “My sister was studying
occupational therapy at the time and
dealing with a family that was going
through a similar situation. In my
Masters year at the London Film
School (LFS) I co-wrote the script with
fellow student Stavros Pamballis. The
script has been through about 30 drafts
and I finished it only very recently and
changed the plotline. If I had to shoot it
over, I’d probably change it again.”
Any film-related conversation with
Hermanus (he also took part in a
workshop session at DIFF) reveals him
as intensely film literate. Years of study
have informed this young filmmaker –
a BA in Film & Media Studies at
University of Cape Town during which
time he was offered a scholarship at the
University of California. In 2006
Roland Emmerich (10,000 BC) offered
Hermanus a scholarship to complete
the Masters course at LFS. Emmerich
is executive producer of Shirley Adams
with his Centropolis Entertainment the
major investor. Producers of the film
are Centropolis, LFS and Jeremy
Nathan and Michelle Wheatley of
South African company Dv8. The
R3m budget includes a grant from the
National Film and Video Foundation
of South Africa (NFVF) and the
Department of Trade & Industry
(DTI) rebate.
Casting
Denise Newman, who has delivered
innumerable fine performances on
stage and screen, was suggested by
Nathan to play the lead role. Hermanus
admitted that he was reluctant at first.
“I wasn’t keen simply because she’d
played so many bereaved mothers
before. But I met Denise and she
convinced me – she was desperate to
play this role. Denise was absolutely
fantastic and worked extremely hard.
She is in every frame. It was a hugely
emotional experience for her as we were
shooting two minute long takes.
“Shirley’s son is played by Keenan
Arrison – he and Denise instantly
bonded and became like mother and
son. Keenan is massively talented and
his character is the motivation for the
whole film. He’s very brooding and
commands the screen. Emily Childs
plays the occupational therapist. Cape
Town has fantastic actors. As a director
you have to make sure that the
performances are true and honest. The
actors create characters that live
forever.”
The shoot
Hermanus and DOP Jamie Ramsay
(Triomf, Lullaby) shot on Sony
XDCAM at 2k resolution. “It’s a cost
effective format and was able to fulfil
our stylistic choices,” explained
Hermanus. “And it allowed us to use
35mm prime lenses to ensure depth of
field, as well as shoot dozens of takes. I
think our shooting ratio was about
17:1.”
Ramsay and Hermanus worked very
closely to make the visual style of the
film work. It has an underlit look, with
subdued key lighting and all light
motivated by natural sources. The
strong compositions place Shirley in the
corner, favouring negative space.
“There is lots of visual language in
the film,” continued Hermanus. “The
relationship between a director and his
DOP is like a marriage, so Jamie and I
got ‘married’ on this film. Jamie
operated the camera as well. At the
DIFF screening the audience seemed
blown away by the cinematography.”
The film was shot in November
2008 in four weeks – mostly on
location in a private home in Mitchell’s
Plain, with the rest in Cape Town.
Hermanus considered himself lucky
as he had a crew of “extremely talented
young people”. Because he himself is
young, his mandate was to give young
people a chance. Both production
designer Nick Mostert and make-up
artist Naeema Clayton made their
debuts with this film. Hermanus noted
that the Mitchell’s Plain community
were very supportive of the project.
When asked about the challenges of
making the film, Hermanus responded
with one word: “Everything!” He
continued by saying that it is very hard
to make a film and for a first timer the
pressure is just to complete the film.
Shirley Adams will be released in
January 2010 on the local circuit.
SCREENAFRICA – September 2009

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From the editor
SABC showdown in Parys
The platteland is upset. And when a small town’s people get
annoyed, they don’t sit round dinner party tables like city folk
and yapp, yapp about their complaints. No, they take action, as
is the case with the residents of Parys.
The town of Parys, just over an hour’s drive from
Johannesburg, resides alongside the Vaal River, thus its name
which is derived from the French city on the banks of the Seine.
Like the French, the Parysians are not adverse to a revolution as
you can read about on this page. They have started an effective
online petition to bring back their favourite magazine
programme, 50/50, which they say was canned by public
broadcaster SABC because it dealt with issues which did not
always reflect well on government authorities responsible for
maintaining the balance in the environment. They also threaten
to revolt against the payment of SABC TV licences if the
25-year old programme 50/50 is not reinstated.
The SABC is also confronting protests on its very doorstep.
On our front page, we record the hunger protest undertaken by
producer/director Michael Lee in response to the arrogant
manner in which the public broadcaster has dealt with its R60m
obligations to the production companies and its decision to
freeze commissions, effectively bringing the industry to its
knees.
Besides the industry protest march which took place in June
and ongoing industry press statements damning the SABC for
its callous actions, writers and actors told stories of desperation of
many in the industry in a visually powerful “guerilla action”
which took place outside SABC’s high rise building in Auckland
Park on 27 August.
Distribution comes to the fore
South African distributors have been much criticised by
filmmakers in the past for their lack of support in the screening
of homegrown films. Our two headline news stories reveal that
both Ster-Kinekor and Nu Metro have adopted a creative
approach to distribution and cinema audiences have been
presented with a regular monthly selection of films which
originate in the country and that this is set to be the norm. The
commissioning of a slate of films by Ster-Kinekor from proven
film companies makes good financial sense for both parties.
Close on 10 years ago, Screen Africa presented the first of its
annual focuses on the animation production sector. We are
proud to have been there over the years to record the
development and success of this talented group of South
Africans who have made significant inroads in the world market
with three computer graphic features and four international
television projects in production, as well as setting a higher
animation benchmark for children’s TV shows, music videos
and new media content. We wish those companies who are
participating in MIPJUNIOR in Cannes, France, good sales.
This issue also heralds the success of the trade show
Mediatech Africa with a report back on the products showcased
at the event. For those who are in the market for new production
equipment, this survey will hopefully assist you in your search.
Look out for Screen Africa at the premiere advertising awards
event, the Loeries, and at MIPCOM in Cannes.
Angela van Schalkwyk
IN THE NEWS
50/50 Uproar in Parys
The residents of the small Free State town of Parys are so incensed
at the removal of 50/50 from our screens, that they have started an
online petition. Cliff Graham reports.
SCREENAFRICA
Publishing Editor/Proprietor:
Angela van Schalkwyk,
Sun Circle Publishers (Pty) Ltd
editor@screenafrica.com
Physical address: Block D2 Sasani Studios, 2
Johannesburg Road, Highlands North Ext 6,
Johannesburg
Postal address: PO Box 89271
Lyndhurst 2106
Deputy Editor: Joanna Sterkowicz
joanna@screenafrica.com
Contributors:
Andy Stead, Sonja Hodgen, Cliff Graham,
Karen van Schalkwyk
Sub-Editor:
Mandy Collins
Advertisement Sales:
Marianne Schafer (Manager)
marianne@screenafrica.com
Hermione Ballinger
hermi@screenafrica.com
Antonio Diogo (Website & Directory)
antonio@screenafrica.com
Head of Design:
Trevor Ou Tim
design@screenafrica.com
Editor’s PA: Anusha Dayal
info@screenafrica.com
Subscriptions Manager:
Debbie Heard – DATAFOCUS
Tel: 011 469-1522
debbie@datafocus.co.za
Production Updates:
Anusha Dayal
info@screenafrica.com
Ratings: Enid Venter
enid@ihjohannesburg.co.za
Accounts: Marietjie Esterhuizen
accounts@screenafrica.com
Admin Assistant: Delight Ngwenya
adminsa@screenafrica.com
Advertising, Editorial and
Subscriptions:
Tel: 011 719-4380
Fax: 011 719-4392
TROUBLE IN PARYS – The town of Parys in the Free State
The SABC announced
early in July that it had
decided to can the
popular environmental
magazine programme 50/50.
Launched 25 years ago, 50/50
is the world’s longest-running
environmental series and the
SABC’s longest-running
feature. Thousands of viewers
throughout South Africa, and
especially in the rural areas,
are angered by the removal of
this respected weekly
programme, but one small
town has taken the matter in
hand – the residents of Parys
have started an online petition
to bring 50/50 back. Within a
matter of days of disgruntled
viewers launching the website
www.save5050.co.za, it
carried more than 8 000
signatures.
For most of the townsfolk of
Parys, 50/50 was the highlight
of their weekly viewing,
especially as the programme
dealt with issues that they
could relate to, says De Wet
SCREENAFRICA – September 2009

IN THE NEWS
DISGRUNTLED VIEWERS – De Wet Oliver Jonas Maine Johan Oosthuizen
Oliver. He feels strongly that
the programme was taken off
due to political reasons.
Controversial issues covered
by the show include South
Africa’s water crisis, mining
in the Wakkerstroom
wetlands, dune mining in
Pondoland, at Xolobeni, and
the involvement of a
Vietnamese diplomat in rhino
horn smuggling. The
programme also criticised the
appointment of Buyelwa
Sonjica as Minister of Water
and Environmental Affairs.
Worth watching
“50/50 wasn’t scared to tackle
service delivery issues and
other subjects, and was the
only programme worth
watching for most people in
Parys. Now they are bringing
back old episodes of Maak n’
Las, where half the guests are
now dead. Added to this, the
sound is bad, compared to
today’s standards. I suppose
SABC will now drag out
Nommer Asseblief and other
junk, hoping to keep us
happy.
“Also, what gets my goat, is
the annoying SMSes from the
SABC licensing department,
which assume we will renew
our licence, when we have to
put up with this trash they are
pumping out.” As a result,
Oliver rarely watches TV and
is concerned that his
grandchildren are being
exposed to bad quality
programming that will have
long term effects on their
future.
In addition the TV signal is
bad, so most viewers have had
to resort to DStv, installing
dishes and expensive decoders
to get a clear picture.
Shirley Vermaak of the
Democratic Alliance explains;
“DStv is very expensive,
especially for pensioners who
have decided to retire in Parys.
The bouquet that M-Net
offers is generally for big city
viewers, thus to spend
approximately R2 000 on
upgrading to DStv doesn’t
make sense. In addition, the
violence, sex and constant
repeats don’t justify the
expense. I enjoy watching
cricket, but one needs a
decoder to view this.”
Johan Oosthuizen, a motor
mechanic, is passionate about
rugby, as is the case with most
of the males in Parys. With
rugby broadcasting rights
firmly in M-Net’s hands, he
will go the extra mile to watch
a rugby match in a pub that
has DStv.
Monopoly
“I feel M-Net has a monopoly,
which is wrong. There is not
much to view across all the
channels. My wife and 14-year
old daughter watch 7de Laan,
but there is nothing else of
interest to view. Hence we hire
DVDs to fill the gap. My
having to go to a pub to watch
the Boks play is causing
trauma in the family, as I am
away from home to see what I
feel the national broadcaster
should show. After all, why do
we pay a TV licence?” It’s an
opinion shared by most of the
disgruntled residents.
The only accredited dealer
for DStv installations in Parys,
Quentin Botha, is starting to
feel the pinch of the current
situation; “We used to do an
average of 25 installations a
month, but this has dropped to
nine a month. Also, due to the
economic situation and
content, potential customers
are becoming more difficult.
They want value for money,
and think twice before
committing themselves to
installing DStv. They now
want the full bouquet for the
price of the most basic one.
“To compound the problem,
there are a lot of ‘fly by night’
operators, especially in the
black areas, who install inferior
equipment, which fails after a
month. I often have call-outs
to solve problems, only to find
the cables installed are
rehashed from previous
installations. The M-Net
signal is not the best and varies
from area to area. But apart
from this, the programmes of
the past were more interesting
than the current fare, so people
are
reluctant to fork out R499 for
the full Monty, plus decoder
and dish costs, just to view
something interesting.”
Rural needs
The general view is SABC is
trying to squash the Afrikaner
tradition, not caring for rural
needs. As one lady (who
wished not to be named) put
it: “In a small town like Parys,
we rely on the public
broadcaster to keep us
informed of world events.
Instead we get politics
rammed down our throats,
even when watching Isidingo. I
Quentin Botha
have given up watching
soapies, and rather opt for
Pasella. At least that covers
local community events, and is
of interest to all.” In her view,
Morning Live is totally political
and
does not represent the true
picture of what is happening.
Soccer is not a big issue
among the whites, but has a
huge following with the Black
community, mainly farm
workers whose work load
doesn’t allow for much time to
view programmes. The issue
of costs for a decoder comes
into play, but most go to local
taverns or shebeens that offer
this facility as an attraction for
customers.
As Jonas Maine, a
handyman, says: “We
appreciate the extended
coverage SABC is giving to
soccer over the weekends, as
we cannot afford to travel all
over the country to see these
matches, or pay the price for
the entrance ticket. Until a few
years ago, TV was for whites,
but now we can follow our
favourite team’s progress on a
weekly basis. Sport is our
passion, including rugby, and
we look forward to viewing a
game in the company of
friends on Saturday and
Sunday in a great atmosphere.”
He is looking forward to the
2010 World Cup, even though
Parys won’t be directly
involved in hosting any
matches. As far as DTT
(Digital Terrestrial TV) goes,
he was unaware of what is
happening, but feels this could
be a viable alternative to DStv.
He also felt sad over the
demise of 50/50, as this was
one of the few programmes
that reflected rural events.
Television viewing in rural
towns is limited, as unlike the
urban areas, work and weather
play an important role in the
lifestyle of most of the people
living there. One gets the
impression that this is an area
that’s crying out for attention
in the future.
As Arnold Schoonwinkel of
the DA puts it; “50/50 was one
of the most informative
programmes on TV, but the
clowns at the SABC decided
to stop it.”
September 2009 – SCREENAFRICA

AFRICA
Reports by Joanna Sterkowicz
Doing business in Africa
In theory Africa provides an
expansive, largely untapped market
for suppliers of broadcast
equipment and services. In
practice, doing business on the
continent has its own unique
idiosyncrasies, which require careful
consideration and navigation.
As a company which has been
involved in the setting up of several
African TV stations, broadcast services
supplier Telemedia has found the
biggest problem to be budget. “This
translates to no money for
programming,”
explained CEO
Peter Bretherick
at the recent
Screen Africa
Talent &
Technology
Conference in
Johannesburg.
“In 1977 Swazi TV established an
infant service and asked me how to
produce news programming. So I
suggested that they film their radio
presenters reading the news, which
they did.”
Two years later Telemedia saw an
opportunity in Botswana when
diamond mines were being built.
Bretherick approached the CEO of De
Beers with the idea of TV and three
months later, Telemedia built a TV
station at a mine. Programming
creativity was somewhat stifled as the
station would only hire crew with
degrees, even if they were in
agriculture. Advertising on the station
consisted of writing ads on postcards
and placing them in front of a camera.
Bretherick pointed out that the
failure of many African broadcasters to
pay for programming results in piracy.
“They think nothing of superimposing
their logos on programming from
international broadcasters such as DStv.
Telemedia exports to Africa “by
electronic means”. Bretherick
continued: “Therefore we deliver
something intangible because you can’t
see it. A lot of African broadcasters
don’t feel obligated to pay for
something already broadcast so a policy
of money up front is essential. Even
when you do get paid in Africa it can be
problematic. My son was paid $28 000
in cash for a job in Nigeria and had to
transport it in plastic shopping bags.”
Broadcast equipment house Visual
Impact has supplied camera equipment
to many African countries including
Mozambique, Namibia, Kenya and
Tunisia. Said the company’s Marius
van Straaten: “We often partner with a
South African production company
which then partners with a company on
the ground. It’s essential that we have a
detailed brief and where possible we do
technical recces. The host production
company is very important as anything
can happen in African countries. Over
a year ago a client left our equipment
behind in the Congo and we’ve not
seen it since. In such cases you end up
in a legal situation with the South
African company who is liable for the
equipment.”
Van
Straaten
noted that
the advent of
solid state
technology
has made life
easier but
stressed that
equipment
packaging
needs to be made of thick aluminium
with foam and must be waterproof.
Eighty percent of Visual Impact’s
claims relate to water problems.
“Accurate paperwork, as in carnets, is
essential,” continued Van Straaten.
“Make sure serial numbers are 100%
correct. If the customs person tears out
the wrong page of the carnet it becomes
a nightmare and very difficult to
rectify. It’s advisable to put a surety
down on 50% of value of the
equipment. Also, clients should be
aware of the time things takes in Africa
as there is lots of red tape. On one
occasion our equipment arrived at its
destination after the production had
been and gone.
“Be aware of cultural differences in
Africa. There is a culture of bribery in
some countries and be careful not to
anger anyone. Don’t take pictures as
you could land up in a police station.
There is limited technical support in
some countries so you might want to
take your own soldering iron.”
GlobeCast has been supplying
broadcast and satellite services to Africa
since it opened its Johannesburg office
in 1994, with a Kenyan branch six years
later. Said Melanie Gibb: “Doing
business in
Africa is very
expensive. It’s
not a problem
getting
content into
Africa but
rather getting
content out.
During the
Zimbabwe
elections in March they arrested our
staff and impounded our van. It took
lots of time and legal action to get
them out.”
Zim industry opens up
South Africans have heard daily
news in recent years about the
economic collapse and political
crisis in neighbouring
Zimbabwe and wondered how normal
life could proceed in such challenging
conditions. Representatives from
Harare-based production company
Mighty Movies recently attended the
Mediatech Africa technology trade
show in late July in Johannesburg,
armed with a message of optimism and
hope.
“Yes, we were all affected by the
situation in Zimbabwe but we’re
moving on. So why not the rest of the
world?” stated senior producer
Redemta Gwekwerere.
Production manager Tapiwa
Gandiya added: “The future is looking
very good for our industry now but the
country still suffers from a negative
perception. We’re here to tell you that
Zimbabwe is changing very fast and we
are living proof of that. Mighty Movies
has nothing but optimism for the
future so I encourage everyone in this
sector to look at Zimbabwe for
business. At Mighty Movies we have
highly skilled people and good
infrastructure.”
MIGHTY OPTIMISTIC –
Redemta Gwekwerere and Tapiwa Gandiya
It’s worth noting that while at
Mediatech Africa, the company
purchased a crane, a jib and a dolly.
“We’re also looking at cameras, sound
equipment and a flyaway kit,” said
Gwekwerere, who added that no other
production company in Zimbabwe has
the technological capacity of Mighty
Movies.
In existence since 1986, the company
focuses on corporate and commercial
multimedia work, as well as the supply
of news footage. Clients include the
South African Broadcasting
Corporation (SABC), Reuters, APTN,
ABC New York, Channel 7
(Australia), TV New Zealand, CNN,
Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe, Coca-Cola
Central & Southern Africa,
Swedish International
Development Agency,
National Public Radio
(USA), and a host of South
African production houses
and Zimbabwean
advertising agencies.
“It was mainly the
international work that
kept us going in the tough
times,” noted Gandiya. “As
an accredited company we
have always been allowed to film
everywhere, but inevitably in the
presence of security forces. We recorded
news footage as events unfolded which
we sent to overseas clients. Mighty
Movies never edited or compiled any
news stories itself, nor made any antigovernment
programmes. Survival in
tough times is about creativity and is
dependent on how you structure
agreements with clients.”
Gwekwerere stressed that the
situation since Morgan Tsvangirai took
office as prime minister had improved
in terms of relaxing media restrictions.
“Now journalists and TV crews can
move freely about. People still get
harassed but as long as you are
accredited and know your rights, they
back off. You do have to keep renewing
your accreditation regularly, although at
the moment the industry is between
regulators. It was only in the last two
years that things got very tough in
Zimbabwe.”
In 2002 Mighty Movies was bought
out by African Business
Communications led by Supa
Mandiwanzira and embarked on a
major upgrade, replacing analogue
equipment with digital. Crews shoot on
Sony HDV and Sony DSR cameras
and edit on Final Cut Pro and Adobe
Premier suites. The company has a full
audio studio with voiceover booth.
Mighty Movies has a weekly TV
business programme, Talking business
with Supa, on national broadcaster
Zimbabwe TV. The company has
produced six documentaries for an
NGO called Save the Children
Norway Zimbabwe, which looks at
children in all sectors. A big
international documentary undertaken
by Mighty Movies – Every River has its
People – was shot in Botswana, Angola
and Namibia.
10
SCREENAFRICA – September 2009

PICTURE PERFECT
adcetera
Report on the commercials industry by Sonja Hodgen
A TASTEFUL COMMERCIAL
BY FOGHOUND
Picture Tree’s Alan Irvin
nailed first and second place in
the latest Creative Circle
results for TV and cinema.
Irvin directed the Lexus/
Mark Levinson Sound System
spot, Orchestral Manoeuvres in
the Dark, for Draftfcb Jhb that
won 1 st place, as well as the 2 nd
place winner – Vodacom /
Rugby Player 23+1, also for
Draftfcb Jhb.
Vodacom
The new Scooters Pizza commercial is a tasty offering produced
by Foghound Studios for agency Red Rocket. Directed and lit by
Dom Black, the commercial was shot on the Phantom HD
camera, supervised by Graham Cooke, with styling by Ross
Jameson.
The commercial launches the delicious new thin and crispy
base offered by Scooters, which is beautifully demonstrated by
some extreme slow-motion shots of the pizza being created.
The commercial was conceptualised by Red Rocket creative
director, Craig Morris, who added some Italian flair with rich
colour, a beautiful Italian on-camera artist and evocative track.
The commercial was edited in HD by Alastair Hetherington
with audio mix by Werner Meiring.
The Foghound team demonstrated their ability to get a shoot
together quickly; from creative idea to shoot was only four
working days!
When the shoot ran into unscheduled overtime the Scooters
team, Lee Van Der Walt and Riaan Van Den Berg, kindly treated
the crew to a supper of Scooters pizzas, giving them the
opportunity to try out the new base. And the verdict – delicious!
SENSITIVE
COMMERCIAL
SENSITIVELY
HANDLED
Scooters Pizza
Avbob is the only burial
society that offers free
transportation of the
deceased within South Africa.
Director Nomakomazi of Sub
urban reflects this unique
service offering by portraying
the subject matter in a sensitive
and positive light.
“I was dealing with an
intense subject, death, so it was
important for me to
communicate to the audience
without depressing them. The
message is true to African
culture and emphasises the
importance of coming home
and being welcomed into a
family,’ said Nomakomazi.
Avbob
With the Coming Home
theme, Nomakhomazi
dissected the story into three
arcs. The first is the feeling of
being welcomed into a family.
The second is the waiting for
that loved one to arrive, while
the third arc is the action of
welcoming someone back
home.
The composition is beautiful
and each scene flows into the
other seamlessly.
The team from the Agency
included creative director
Bruce Anderson, art director
Loviso Twala, copywriter
Andile Khambule and
producers Jill Lotriet and
Puseletso Pokane.
Producer Jill Lotriet of The
Agency said, “It was an
absolute pleasure working with
Noma. Her passion and
dedication to her work is
incredible.”
DELICIOUS NEW DIVISION
In July we erroneously called the new sister company to be
launched by Delicious Films, Director Division. The
name is actually Harry & Co. This new division is a
partnership between Pendra Dissell, Liam Johnson and
Nicci Brooker and represents director Marcelle Mouton
with Alison Ellard, her producer.
Within weeks of joining the Delicious team, Mouton
was awarded a Fabric Fresh commercial by Grey
Worldwide, which has now been shortlisted under two
categories for the Loerie Awards.
12
SCREENAFRICA – September 2009

adcetera
THINGS
SMOKING AT
REFINERY
Bookings have been hotting
up at Refinery with the new
Autodesk Smoke suite
operated by Petra Damross.
With extensive international
photography training and
experience, Damross has an
excellent eye for detail and her
energy and enthusiasm for
every project is
unwavering. Her showreel
boasts commercial and
extensive retail work for some
of the country’s best loved
brands and she has worked
with South Africa’s hottest
directors.
In addition to her many
short-form jobs, Damross has
worked on music videos and
on the feature film, White
Lion, a true testament to her
dynamic ability in the
compositor’s suite.
“Petra and the Smoke suite
are the perfect combination,”
comments Tracey Williams,
director of post-production at
Refinery. “Both offer multiple
solutions on every job; there
Refinery team
Adriaan Smuts Ben Horter
Cyril Schumann Helen EItskin
Karabo Matseke Nick Young
Petra Damross Riyahd Cassiem
couldn’t be a better match for
our clients.”
With seven online suites,
including Flint, Smoke and
the very popular Flame suites,
Refinery has attracted top
online artists including Ben
Horter, Karabo Matseke,
Helene Itzkin, Cyril
Schumann and new kid on the
block, Nicholas Young.
Working alongside them are
designers and illustrators
Adriaan Smuts and Riyahd
Cassiem.
Horter comes from a
cameraman and Avid editor
background and operates as a
Flame, Flint and Combustion
artist. Matseke brings his
agency background to his work
as a Flame, Flint and
combustion artist. He brings
passion and four years of
experience to every job. Young
has a background in 3D
animation and visual effects
and now with two years as a
Flame artist and two feature
films on his showreel, this
young artist has set the
groundwork for his future
career.
Itzkin has worked with top
international and local
directors as online editor and
VFX artist and her vast
experience has resulted in a
multi-skilled talent, across a
variety of equipment, but she
has truly found her artistic
space operating in the Flame
and Flint suites at Refinery.
Schumann was one of the first
artists working in postproduction
industry in South
Africa and has vast experience
and some prestigious local and
international awards under his
belt including two VEAP
(Vancouver Effects and
Animation Festival) awards
and has won the SASC Visible
Spectrum Awards’ Post
Production Technician of the
year twice (2003, 2004).
Smuts studied design and art
and is a motion graphics artist
and compositor with an eye for
detailed aesthetics, while
Cassiem offers motion
graphics, compositing, 2D and
3D concept art as well as
storyboards, design and
illustration.
The VFX team at Refinery
is further complemented by
the colourists working in the
Spirit, Lustre and FCP
grading suites, including
Michele Wilson and Alex
May.
BOUFFANT
SIGNS
PIKWANE
Production company
Bouffant has signed
newcomer Jerome
Pikwane to its roster of
directors. Pikwane
studied cinematography at
the New York film
academy along with stints
at the National School of
Arts and AFDA
(Association of Film and
Dramatic Arts), whilst
also working alongside
some of South Africa’s
most established directors.
Commencing his
directing career in 2005
with several VUKA!
Award winners (including
best newcomer), Pikwane
has gone on to work with
brands such as MTN
telecommunications,
Playstation and Metro
FM. Enthusiastic and
versatile, Pikwane sees
himself as part of a
generation of filmmakers
that view South African
pop culture very
differently.
Agency Speak
WHO IS LOUISE
MOKGWATSANE?
An inquisitive, observant, diplomatic,
entrepreneurially-inclined, green-conscious creative
person, currently exploring and moulding her unique
offering to South Africa and the world at large. I’m a
copywriter by craft and hold the position of creative
director at Impact, the BTL department of Draftfcb
Johannesburg.
poster. And lastly, a new perspective. I’m tempted to
add a big budget into the mix, but sometimes small
budgets force you to box smarter.
WHAT PERSONALITY TRAITS MAKE
FOR A GOOD CREATIVE?
Lateral thinking. Solutions thinking. Being on the pulse
of all forms of creativity – “mashing” worked for music.
And inquisitiveness; I have a philosophy for this – try
something new every day.
WHAT IS THE TRICK IN MANAGING CREATIVES?
Allowing creativity to flow but keeping focused on the
business challenge at hand.
WHY ARE YOU IN ADVERTISING?
Growing up, my ideas of what I wanted to be kept
shifting – from being a veterinarian to a marine biologist
to a historian to a librarian (so I could read books all
day). When I got to matric, I had no clue. The buzz
career back in the late 1990s was graphic design. I
wrote to the AAA School of Advertising and they sent
me the entry test for copywriting as well, which I
enjoyed more than the graphic design one (not to
mention the only thing I could draw were stick men and
dogs). So I enrolled to be a copywriter and have never
looked back. My career guidance counsellor never even
mentioned advertising or marketing as career options.
One of the career-guidance-test career options I was
given was a brick layer… go figure!
WHAT HAS BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT OF
YOUR CAREER IN ADVERTISING?
Becoming a creative director at 27.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE CRAZIEST
THING ABOUT THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY?
The fact that creatives don’t have a union. We work the
hardest and get paid the least – unless you have the gift
of the gab and know how to get what you want.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE MOST SANE
THING ABOUT THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY?
Clients.
WHAT ELEMENTS MAKE FOR A GOOD AD?
There are many ways to skin this cat. What does one
mean by a good ad? An award winning ad and/or an ad
that pushes product? But I think there are a few key
ingredients: a client that’s willing to do whatever it
takes. Also, a single-minded big idea that can be applied
to all elements of a campaign from TV to digital to a
WHAT ELEMENTS MAKE FOR A GOOD AGENCY?
The people. Especially the leadership, because ultimately
they set the culture for everyone else.
WHAT KIND OF INPUT DO YOU EXPECT
FROM A PRODUCTION COMPANY?
To lead the process.
WHICH CLIENT OR BRAND WOULD YOU MOST
WANT TO SECURE FOR YOUR AGENCY AND WHY?
Not NASA but Virgin Galactic. Soon it’ll be the new
frontier of advertising. I’ll be there when Draftfcb opens
the first real space agency. Imagine the products space
travellers would need: food-in-a-bag, cola-in-a-bag,
poop-in-a-bag. Real sunglasses. But on a serious note,
though, imagine the crazy technology we’d be
communicating to people through – holograms, space
projections, sleep adverts. Wonderful madness. I can’t
wait!
September 2009 – SCREENAFRICA
13

AWARDS
Where egos dare
CHAIRPERSON – Festus Masekwameng
been open to the rest of Africa and the
Middle East but the majority of entries
still come from South Africa. Of the
regional entries this year, most were
from the Middle East with a
smattering from South Africa’s
neighbouring countries. As Human
points out, the Loeries budget currently
prohibits big spend on regional
marketing. Other factors are small
advertising budgets and the restricted
size of the industry in African
countries. Internationally, the Loeries
have a high profile and are the only
South African awards event to feature
in the ratings of the annual Gunn
Report.
Party time
Since May this year ad agency
creatives around South Africa,
the continent and the Middle
East have been encouraged to
‘Feed Your Ego’ by entering the region’s
most prestigious brand communication
awards, The Loeries. Winners will be
announced during Loeries weekend,
which takes place for the first time ever
in Cape Town, from 24 to 27
September.
With the recession affecting
absolutely everything and everybody at
this time, it’s encouraging to note that
Loerie entries are only down overall by
5%. Consider that entries for this year’s
Cannes International Film Festival
were down a massive 40%.
Loeries CEO Andrew Human
believes that advertising awards are a
good economic measure in a recession.
“In the past few years awareness of the
Loerie Awards from areas outside
traditional advertising has grown. Our
Design category has grown by 10%
while the main Advertising category
went down by 5%. Experiential entries
were down 20%, but some of the drop
is attributable to the fact that we
changed the rules in the TV and Radio
Infomercial category – only clips of two
minutes were eligible. This cut out the
30-second promos, which subsequently
moved to the TV category instead.
There was a significant drop in the
student category – 15%. Our entry fees
stayed the same as last year so maybe
there was a drop in enrolment at
tertiary institutions.
“The main Radio category has 252
entries, TV has 221 entries, Newspaper
195 and Magazine 162. Experiential
has 437 entries, of which 160 fall into
the Digital category. I’m delighted to
say we have 38 websites competing at
the Loeries this year, which is a huge
increase from 2008.”
Four new awards were introduced for
this year’s competition: New Voice
Radio Award (promotes non-English
radio advertising), the Creative Use of
Paper (promotes the use of paper in
LOERIES CEO – Andrew Human
design), the Mobile Advertising Award
and the Internet Advertising Award.
“Media owners subsist on advertising
so they need to attract as much of it as
possible,” continues Human. “Each of
the new awards was created to
encourage advertising in different
mediums. The New Voice Radio
Award has been very successful and
we’ve received 52 entries, mostly in the
African languages as well as a few
Afrikaans ones. Every single entry
submitted on paper is eligible for the
Creative Use of Paper Award. The
Mobile and Internet categories are
small as they are hampered by
unrealistic costs of access with inferior
bandwidth.”
Loeries chairperson Festus
Masekwameng adds: “The new awards
have generated lots of excitement in the
industry. As for this year’s entries in
general, it’s been great to see that some
clients have been consistently brave
with their campaigns. It ‘s also
wonderful to witness some new clients
entering the fray and doing interesting
work, so it’s not all about the same old
brands.
“The Loeries are all about
recognising creative excellence and it’s
good to take time out to pat each other
on the back. I would like to take this
opportunity to congratulate all the
winners in advance. A Loerie award is
very difficult to win. Every single
Loerie recognition – from finalist to
Bronze, Silver and Gold Loerie to
Grand Prix – is a significant
achievement.”
Judging
Over 130 judges, all leading experts in
their fields, judged the 2009 entries,
presided over by international jury
chairmen Jan Jacobs (Johannes
Leonardo, New York), Jim Sutherland
(Hat-trick Design, London) and Matt
Shirtcliffe (Saatchi & Saatchi DGS,
New Zealand). Entries were judged on
innovative concept, bringing new and
fresh thinking, excellent execution,
relevance to the brand, relevance to the
target audience, and relevance to the
chosen medium.
In a first, a period of discussion was
allowed after the first round of judging.
The Loeries committee received very
positive feedback from the juries about
this new innovation, as while it
lengthened the process, it ensured that
second round entries were thoroughly
scrutinised. All work was judged
anonymously.
Says Human: “I think we had a very
high standard of international judges
this year and they will be a hard act to
follow. Jan Jacobs, who is an ex-South
African, was impressed that the work
has become local and is no longer
imitating London like it used to. Both
Jim Sutherland and Matt Shirtcliffe
were very happy with the quality of the
entries.
“Smaller agencies are definitely
beginning to make making more
impact at the Loeries. Last year two out
of four Grand Prix were won by small
agencies – Trigger and Am I
Collective, which only had a single
entry in the whole competition. The
standards are very high this year so
even winning a Bronze Loerie is
nothing to be sneezed at.”
For some years the competition has
Loeries weekend, with the awards
ceremonies taking place on the Friday
and Saturday nights, is akin to a fourday
long party with a myriad of
activities. And this time it’s happening
in Cape Town, with the Loeries Village
situated in Long Street.
Says Masekwameng: “I think people
are really looking forward to
experiencing the awards in Cape Town.
We had a great run in Margate for
many years, but now it’s time for a
change. The Loeries are beginning to
attract more interest from beyond the
advertising industry and I think this
will be reflected in the attendance at
the awards ceremonies.”
At the time of going to press, ticket
sales were above those of last year, with
the Saturday night close to sold out. As
per the Good Hope Centre venue,
seating has grown to 2 500 per night (as
opposed to 2 100 in Margate).
Human was not at liberty to
comment on the actual awards
ceremonies other than to say both
nights will be red carpet events with
lots of VIPs and celebrities. “I can,
however, talk about all the activities
surround the two awards ceremonies.
All the after parties on both nights will
take place in Long Street. Camps Bay
will become a mini Loeries Village for
the weekend and all agencies are urged
to book their parties there. On the
Thursday there will be the Battle of the
Bands, the Chairman’s Party and the
Mayor’s Party.”
Sponsorship of the event, in these
recessionary times, has been difficult
says Human. “Our two main sponsors
are Ads 24 and the SABC – everyone
is aware of the SABC’s difficulties.
Nevertheless the Loeries has kept a
very tight budget, especially seeing as
we decided to keep entry and ticket
prices the same as in 2008. The Loeries
are a bigger event this year, in terms of
the number of seats.
“On the upside, the City of Cape
Town and Cape Town Tourism have
contributed to infrastructure costs.
Gearhouse South Africa being a
sponsor has assisted in technical costs.
Without these partnerships the Loeries
event could not happen.”
14
SCREENAFRICA – September 2009

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TRACKINGTECHNOLOGY PRODUCT NEWS
Good sales at
Mediatech
Eric Wiese of Macro Video reported
superb sales made at the trade show
Mediatech Africa which included a
cash sale to a Zambian producer.
Jaco Jordaan and Johan Jacobs of End
Time Answer, a non profit organisation
collected their Datavideo MS 1000
Mobile Video studio a few days after
the show ended, says Wiese. “Their
unit is a one box solution designed
around the SE-1000 6 Channel HD /
SD SDI Vision Mixer/Switcher which
is going to be used for their ministry.”
Jordaan and Jacobs say they mostly
record music, seminars and sermons
related to Christian matters including
family, health, prophecy and other
moral issues. “Our vision is to provide a
video production service for free (with
no copyright), and this will enable the
Christian hope to be shared by all the
world.
“We bought two Sony Z7 cameras
last year but always borrowed a video
mixer for conference and seminar
recordings. It was time to take a step in
faith and buy an HD mixer. The
Datavideo studio provided all of our
needs in one unit and we could
purchase good quality for a reasonable
price. One of our main requirements
Jaco Jordaan and Johan Jacobs of End Time Answer
was mobile HD mixing and recording
and Datavideo provided us with the
best integrated solution.”
The second unit, a Datavideo HS
800 Mobile Video studio, was
purchased by Stephen Ramogama of
Kgosi Productions, an audio-video
production company which does
productions, satellite radio broadcasts,
documentaries, video capture and
editing.
“We work with all the community
radios in the province and do business
with governmental departments,
district and local municipalities, mines
as well as local businesses. We went to
Mediatech with the intention of
purchasing equipment, and were
impressed by the Datavideo studio
demonstration,” says Ramogama.
“The most astonishing purchase,
however,” adds Wiese, “was the cash
purchase of our compact HS 500 by
Zambian producer Matala Nkhoma
who took the unit off the stand when
the exhibition closed on Saturday
afternoon. It took us all a bit
SIGGRAPH 2009 saw the launch of
Autodesk Softimage 2010 3D
modeling, animation rendering and
compositing software for games, film
and television visual effects.
Softimage 2010 features anoptimised
core architecture, integration of the
Softimage Face Robot facial rigging
and animation toolset, and an expanded
and customisable Interactive Creative
Environment (ICE) system.
“Over the past year, we’ve made
Softimage faster, easier to use and more
powerful,” said Stig Gruman, vice
president, Autodesk Digital
Entertainment Group. “This version
provides integrated solutions for digital
entertainment creation with the
inclusion of Face Robot, scene
complexity management tools
and improved interoperability
with Autodesk Maya, Autodesk
3ds Max and Autodesk
MotionBuilder software.”
Artists have used Softimage to help
create stunning movies, commercials
and video games, including
commercials for BMW, Coca Cola,
by surprise.”
Nkhoma explains: “We are a Lusakabased
company and we came to South
Africa to look at equipment at
Mediatech. We came really to look at
video cameras, but we used all the
money we had on the purchase of the
HS 500. The unit is a video mixer and
audio mixer combined, and we will be
covering events such as seminars,
workshops and church sermons.”
For more information visit
www.macrovideo.co.za
Autodesk integrates Face
Robot into Softimage 2010
Kellogg’s and Monster.com.
Janimation, an award-winning
animation and motion graphics studio,
relied on Softimage to help create
Activision’s latest James Bond-based hit
video game, Quantum of Solace.
Some of the key new features in
Softimage 2010 include:
Accelerated performance – the third
iteration of the Softimage GigaCore
architecture, GigaCore III, helps
deliver superior data handling and
speed improvements. Loading and
saving large scenes and importing
complex character models are faster.
Face Robot – a professional solution
for rigging and animating large
numbers of 3D faces quickly and easily.
It enables the creation of life-like facial
animation at incredible speeds.
Softimage 2010 also features
improved modeling tools, additional
animation and camera functionality,
and an updated Autodesk Crosswalk
toolset for content transfer.
For more information contact
Touchvision or visit
www.autodesk.com/softimage.
New Blackmagic Mini Converters
The three new Mini Converters from
Blackmagic Design, first introduced at
NAB in Las Vegas in April, are now
available and can also be viewed at IBC
this September.
Mini Converter SDI to Audio deembeds
audio from the SDI input out
to either four channels of balanced
analogue audio or eight channels of
AES/EBU digital audio. Audio can be
switched between analogue and digital
audio. SDI input video features a loopthru
output for connection to other SDI
devices.
Mini Converter Audio to SDI allows
embedding of audio into SDI video
connections. SDI loops though, and
four channels of balanced analogue
audio or eight channels of AES/EBU
digital audio can be embedded. Any
audio channel can be selected, and
enabled or disabled. Full sample rate
converters are included on each AES/
EBU audio input.
Both converters feature redundant
SDI connections meaning that if one
SDI connection is interrupted, the
redundant connection activates
immediately. Loop through SDI allows
video daisy chaining with multiple
devices for additional audio channels.
Mini Converter Optical Fiber
converts bi-directionally between SDI
and Optical Fiber cable. It auto
switches between SD, HD and 3 Gb/s
SDI. Optical Fiber provides numerous
advantages with its low cost, its
ability to be installed by electricians,
and its extremely long cable lengths
without compromising transmission
speed.
Using standard LC connectors, cable
runs of 25 km (82,000 feet) can be
achieved in HD and 45 km (147,000
feet) in SD. Previously only available to
the largest broadcasters or largest
facilities, the use of optical fiber opens
the possibility of longer, faster and less
expensive cabling options to smaller
operations.
For more information visit
www.blackmagic-design.com
16
SCREENAFRICA – September 2009