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CAMERAS | COMPILED BY ANDY Stead 

Camera, camera on the dolly 

– which is the best for the lolly? 

The debate regarding 

which camera is the 

best rages on. It is 

often a case of horses 

for courses and a 

myriad of other factors 

regarding conditions, 

locations and available 

facilities. But if budget 

is not an issue and 

the choice of capture 

device is wide open, 

which camera would 

YOU choose to shoot 

on and why? 

The only person able to give 

a valued opinion on this 

issue is the director of 

photography (DOP). 

While most of the general public is 

not aware of which format their 

favourite movie or TV show is shot 

on, it is the critical, knowledgeable 

audience that can differentiate 

between film cameras and the 

various digital formats. 

New film stocks available today 

can give up to eight stops latitude, 

whereas digital can currently only 

reach around five stops. 

How then do digital cameras 

shape up and which do DOPs 

favour? The one defining factor is 

the type of chip / sensor. Most 

digital cameras use either a CCD 

image sensor or a CMOS sensor. 

Both types accomplish the same task 

of capturing light and converting it 

into electrical signals, but they do it 

in different ways. 

Digitalfilms’ Frank Meyburgh 

recently set up a variety of cameras 

and invited DOPs to experiment. 

The results clearly indicate that 

personal choice counts for a lot. 

Cameras covered in this feature 

are: Panasonic AVCCAM Model 

AG-AF101E, Sony PMW-F3K, 

Cannon 5D/7D and Arri Alexa. 

Harmon Cusack 

The Canon 5D is well known in the 

market place and (with all its problems) 

has found favour with the younger 

filmmakers. To me it is a fine stills camera 

and should remain in that niche. 

Ivan Leathers 

I have not worked with the 

Panasonic, which I think 

might work well for TV 

drama, but I am able to 

comment on my experience 

with the Sony PMW-F3 and 

Canon 5D. 

Coupled with the Zeiss 

CP2 full frame primes, the 

Canon is extremely 

functional and can really 

produce great images. On a 

long form project we were 

able to work quite quickly 

and manage some complex focus issues, 

but needed to get used to the large full 

frame depth of field abilities. 

Downloading the cards was never a 

hassle and the workflow was smooth, and 

unlike the 7D, the 5D never had any 

overheating problems. In post-production 

one can see that the images start falling 

apart and the material does not have the 

latitude of the RED One or 35mm film, 

regardless of the large CMOS sensor. But 

then the Canon is not in the same league 

and was designed for the consumer 

market. 

On the set of a commercial recently the 

For its price 

range the 

Panasonic AF 

101E is good 

value for money. 

The standard kit 

is fitted with two 

SDI cards and it 

can come with a 

hard drive 

attachment 

fitted below the 

camera body. 

You have a 

choice of fitting 

Nikon lenses or 

PL mount 

lenses, which for 

me is a bonus. 

The only 

drawback on this 

camera is that if 

you choose to 

use the SDI 

cards, the images 

are recorded using the MPEG4 codec but 

have a colour compression of 4:2:2. For 

the corporate filmmaker this is great value 

for money, with HD punch and well 

worth looking at. 

Sony PMW-F3 was quite impressive, 

especially with a good piece of Angenieux 

glass on the front. But this is essentially a 

camera for a low budget and high 

production value comparable with the 

Canon but with better ergonomics, menu 

options and plug-in manageability. 

With the standard package, the camera 

shoots HD 1920x1080, almost 2k. It 

produced fine images with its Super 35 

CMOS sensor; slightly smaller than that 

of the 5D and that feature combined with 

the PL mount will sell this camera. The 

dynamic range of the camera was fairly 

impressive and our DIT played with the 

The third camera tested was the Sony 

PMW-F3. I call it the baby RED One. It 

employs a Super 35mm equivalent single 

plate CMOS sensor as the imaging 

device. With the exclusive PL mount 

adaptor, various PL mount lenses can be 

used. It has the capability of multiple 

format recording 

It records true HD at 1920X1080 HD 

using MPEG2 Long GOP codec. For the 

audio gurus it records uncompressed 16 

bit-48kHz liner PCM – a major 

breakthrough for a camera this size. 

The PMW-F3 is equipped with ‘hot 

shoes’ enabling you to use the new Cooke 

S4 range of lenses. Depending on your 

shooting conditions this camera can be 

rated from 12 ASA to 3600 ASA. It will 

be around for some time and the price tag 

is very affordable. 

Digital technology is improving but in 

my view film is still the best format to use 

for origination. I have used the Arri D21 

and have had very good results. I just find 

the whole system cumbersome to work 

with. Cables, cables and more cables. 

Set up time now takes longer because you 

have to rely on the digital imaging 

technician (DIT) to confirm 

your take. 

settings and allowed us to get a 

wider exposure latitude when 

we were faced with a full sun 

backlit situation with black 

skin and white garments. 

Our colourist felt the 

latitude of the PMW-F3 

offered more than the 5D/ 

Mk2. We never did get to try 

the Sony / Minolta prime 

lenses that are part of the kit, 

preferring to stay with the 

Optima. Some of the camera’s 

disappointing features are the 

slow-mo ability to 60fps which 

captures images that are not 

full HD and the sensor’s noise level in the 

blue colour spectrum. But against green 

screen, images keyed well. However this 

was working with the camera’s standard 

ability. It can be upgraded to 4:2:2 using 

the AJA ki Pro unit. 

The PMW-F3 is not as robust as the 

second generation RED and from my 

experience nowhere near the professional 

level of the Epic or Alexa. 

Looking ahead five years I would say 

that film is still going to hold its own, but 

the Arri Alexa and the RED Epic are the 

new kids on the block and will probably 

be my cameras of choice. 

20 | SCREENAFRICA | April 2011

011 313 1622 • www.pansolutions.co.za

CAMERAS | 

Dominic Black 

Having shot all of my work over the past 

year on a Canon 7D, I was extremely 

excited by the prospect of getting a look at 

the PMW-F3. When you are used to 

shooting on a large sensor (CMOS) 

camera it’s impossible to go back. The 

concept of how many megabits per second 

is irrelevant. It’s all about controlling your 

depth of field, and that’s what the large 

sensor does. 

Having looked at the Panasonic before 

I really felt that the look is video, even 

though it has a 4/3 sized sensor. While it 

may very well be Panasonic’s best camera 

it just didn’t have a filmic feel to it. Of 

course for the money compared to the 

Sony it will find a home with many 

people. 

Personally I think the Canon 7D has a 

better look. So for me the day at 

digitalfilm was about comparing the 

Canon 5D and 7D versus the PMW-F3. Nikon was just incredible. So I think with 

The build quality of the Sony is excellent. a PL adaptor on and a set of ultra primes 

The three lens options we used at the test the camera will jump to another level 

were all primes – 35/50/85 and they look again. 

the part until you pick them up. The The pictures that come out of this 

casings are made from plastic, so they are camera are simply brilliant – the best I 

lighter than they look. But you really can’t have ever seen from a so called video 

fault the pictures; super sharp with a great camera. Is it better than a 5D? We set 

feel on the focus and t-stop rings. A focus recorded a shot on the 5D and matched 

puller’s dream. The lenses open up to t2. the frame with the PMW-F3. We took 

We tried a Nikon f2 135 prime. That’s them into FCP and started playing 

when you start to see the difference. The around. The difference between the 

reen Africa ad 03-2011 fin p 3/29/11 9:10 AM Page 1 

cameras was negligible. Even when we 

zoomed into the images the differences 

were hard to see. If anything there was 

less depth of field on the PMW-F3. The 

feel of the Sony is very filmic and the 

latitude is wider, which means better 

grading. The ability to get as flat an 

image as possible in the camera is made 

easy by gamma set ups in the menu. In 

fact the grading options available in the 

camera are as good as any camera in the 

market. 

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K 

Images from the PMW-F3 were very 

sharp, yet with a filmic look. Shooting 

with 18db of gain under low light 

conditions gives the camera an even more 

filmic look, adding just a subtle bit of 

grain. If you want more megs (although 

most people will not see the difference) 

then plug in a nano flash or ki pro and 

take advantage of the 422 HDSDI out. 

Would I use an PMW-F3 over a 

Canon? It’s horses for courses. The key is 

your lenses – if you have your own set 

then it doesn’t matter. From an operations 

point of view the PMW-F3 is more like 

what we are used to. From a picture point 

of view it feels and looks very much the 

same. The PMW-F3 is better under low 

light but the Canon gets you into places 

where you need a small footprint. 

I love my Canon 7D. I have directed 

and shot commercials, high end corporate 

videos and music videos with it. I have 

invested in lenses so in the future I will 

just change bodies. But I would definitely 

shoot on the PMW-F3 right now. What 

Canon has done is forced all the other 

players to change their approach. Depth 

of field is what it’s all about. 

So now Panasonic and Sony have 

entered that arena and I guess the ball is 

in Canon’s court. If they release a video 

camera with the 5D specs with a 

recording format better than h264 then I 

think the ball will be back in the court of 

all the other players.

| CAMERAS 

New 

PMW-F3K 

camera now in stock! 

Monitors 

Tripods 

Matte boxes 

Lee Doig 

I shot an extensive test with the new Arri 

Alexa and took it through the Baselight 

grading system at the HD Hub in Cape 

Town with colourist Craig Parker. The 

camera was launched around huge hype 

and is the upgrade of the Arri D21 which 

I had used for most of my commercial 

work last year. The D21 was my camera 

of choice and I had got some amazing 

results with it. So when the Alexa arrived 

I was very keen to get my hands on it. 

What impressed me most about this 

camera is how user friendly it is, with a 

very effective simple menu that is easy to 

navigate and operate. The camera 

addresses all the issues that the D21 had. 

It shoots to an Arri card system that is 

very effective and makes the workflow a 

breeze. The camera is very nicely 

balanced and very compact which is great 

for handheld work. 

We did very extensive tests and 

pushed the camera – high contrast, 

frame rates, shutter, as well as nicely lit set 

ups. We shot all on log C 444 for most of 

the time and the results where 

remarkable. The latitude on the grade 

done at Baselight was close to six stops 

either side. 

What I like most is the creaminess of 

the pictures; very easy on the eye. The 

footage we shot at 60 frames was log C 

422 with great results – nice and smooth 

and a lot of latitude. We pushed the 

camera to the limit with contrast and 

could retrieve an amazing amount of 

information. 

This camera would have to be my 

camera of all time. Very easy to use and 

truly amazing images that I’m sure would 

even impress film diehards. Film will 

always be around but certainly digital is 

the way forward. It’s a hell of a lot 

greener. 

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PROFILE | 

By Karen van Schalkwyk 

Nigerian-born Hakeem Kae-Kazim is well known in the 

South African film industry for his prolific career — and 

he is now a rising star in Hollywood, writes Karen van 

Schalkwyk, who recently chatted to the actor. 

HEART IN AFRICA – Hakeem Kae-Kazim 

We know Hakeem 

Kae-Kazim locally for 

his appearances in TV 

commercials, local 

feature films and for winning numerous 

local and international awards such as a 

Gemini Award for Best Actor in a 

Supporting Role for his performance in 

Human Cargo. 

Today Kae-Kazim is an up-andcoming 

star in Hollywood, having 

appeared in major Hollywood films 

including X-Men Origins: Wolverine and 

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. 

He also starred in the powerful drama 

Hotel Rwanda. On the small screen he has 

been seen in Lost and the award winning 

shows 24, Criminal Minds and Human 

Target. 

Kae-Kazim recently completed his 

latest feature film Black Gold-Struggle for 

the Niger Delta and has received high 

praise for his international work. He was 

recently recognised for his outstanding 

acting career in Malaysia at The African 

Entertainment Awards. In February 2011 

he was announced as a presenter of the 

The Pan African Film Festival. 

On a recent visit to South Africa I 

asked what he ascribes his success to. He 

says: “You need to work really hard at 

your craft. It is a constant journey of self 

discovery. For actors who would like to go 

this route, it is important to work hard 

and work your way up at home first. 

Getting to the top on home soil will 

always put you in a better position when 

venturing out.” 

Kae-Kazim has always wanted to be an 

actor and was classically trained in the 

UK at Bristol Old Vic. Soon after 

graduation he was invited to join the 

Royal Shakespeare Company. “This was 

a great experience and I appeared in plays 

like King Lear with Brian Cox and 

Richard III with Sir Ian McKellen.” 

Hollywood calling 

He is grateful for his early career in South 

Africa. “It was a wonderful time and I 

made lots of great 

friends and worked 

hard. However, 

there came a time 

when I felt it was 

right to extend 

myself and move to 

Hollywood. 

Working there 

meant I could get 

work on an 

international 

playing field and be 

on the world stage. 

“In Hollywood I 

had to start from 

scratch with people 

who did not know 

my work, so the 

challenge was to get 

out there and make 

sure that a new 

audience got to 

know me.” 

Kae-Kazim says 

that working in 

Hollywood is vastly 

different to South 

Africa. “Hollywood 

is a bigger industry 

so naturally there is 

a lot more money 

involved in the productions there.” 

One of his best experiences has been 

coming back to South Africa to shoot the 

24 Redemption two hour special. “It was 

great being in a show of that stature 

having just left South Africa and we 

actually got to shoot in Africa. I loved the 

chance to come back here and I was proud 

to show Kiefer Sutherland and the other 

actors Cape Town. It was amazing to 

watch their faces as I took them to places 

like Mzolis.” 

Working with Johnny Depp in Pirates 

of the Caribbean, Kae-Kazim explains, was 

also a real pleasure. “He is a really lovely 

man and it was a great honour to work 

with him. Wolverine was also great 

because the director, Gavin Hood, is 

South African so we had a lot of fun on 

set and chatted up a storm. Gavin called 

me directly for the role which was really 

fantastic. We had previously worked on 

King Solomon’s Mines.” 

Asked what his ideal role would be, 

Kae-Kazim responds: “I don’t have an 

ideal part as such. I love to play interesting 

roles with depth to them and characters 

that are multi-faceted. I would also 

definitely like to direct at some point. 

Most of the films I like to do have an 

African theme at the heart of them. 

African roots 

“I have very strong roots with Africa and I 

definitely would like to come back to 

shoot a film, Tell Them We’re from Here, 

with my good friend Akin Omotoso, 

once we get the remaining funding in 

place. I am still involved in doing 

productions on the continent. I’ve just 

finished acting in and producing two 

films in Nigeria. The one, Inale, was 

nominated for five African Academy 

Awards.” 

Kae-Kazim is also co-founder of an 

organisation in Hollywood called African 

Artists Association. “There are quite a 

few African and South African actors in 

Hollywood. Our oganisation is based in 

Los Angeles and is a forum for African 

artists living in Hollywood. It enables us 

to exchange ideas and collaborate with 

each other. 

“The most important thing is to follow 

your dreams. Nothing is a given but if you 

work hard you are bound to be 

successful.” 


| TRAINING 

The dynamics of film 

Moving from the 

Tshwinge na Tshwinge was 

television 

inspired by a story from a 

production 

homeless man called Tshabalira 

environment to 

Lebakeng. Uzanenkosi wrote 

the world of short film 

taught South African 

filmmaker Uzanenkosi a 

whole new way of telling a 

story. 

“When you shoot a 

television drama you have to 

the screenplay that centres on a 

15-year-old boy desperately 

trying to fit in with his new 

community. It is a story about 

the abuse of power. 

Compromise 

complete a prescribed 

number of minutes each day, 

so it can be a bit of a 

compromise. But making 

my first ever short film 

Tshingwe na Tshingwe 

(Anything) allowed me to work 

in a more freely creative way. It 

was a great learning curve,” says 

Uzanenkosi. 

NEW ENVIRONMENT – Uzanenkosi (left) on set 

conjunction with the Big Fish School of 

Digital Filmmaking, is a marvelous 

community initiative for previously 

The film was shot late last year 

over three and a half days in 

Everton, which is an hour 

outside of Johannesburg. DOP 

Eran Tahor shot the film on a 

Canon 5D camera. 

Uzanenkosi continues: “Each day 

we lost so much time because of travelling 

to the location that we ran out of money. 

Tshingwe na Tshingwe is the 20-minute 

end product of the 2010 MultiChoice 

Film Talent Incubator (FTI) Grooming 

Exceptional Talent (GET) course, which 

allowed Uzanenkosi to do a short film 

course at an overseas institution of his 

choice. This was the National Film and 

disadvantaged individuals. If you are 

chosen to do the FTI’S advanced course 

(GET), then you come away with a short 

film after finishing the course, which is 

amazing. GET also allows you to choose 

a mentor for your short film and I picked 

Robbie Thorpe of TOM Pictures, he is a 

As I didn’t want to compromise the film, 

I approached MultiChoice Corporate 

Social Investment (CSI) manager 

Itumeleng Letebele and she kindly 

granted us extra funds.” 

Uzanenkosi notes that local crews are 

very willing to assist in making the film 

TV School in Beaconsfield, UK. 

wonderful filmmaker and person,” beyond the limited budget. 

cc7423ND_228x155_Screen-Africa-NOV-2010.qxd:Layout 1 11/10/10 12:18 Page 1 

“The FTI, which is done in 

explains Uzanenkosi. 

Three days of rehearsals helped to build 

a relationship between the actors and 

director. He says: “Some scenes were hard 

to do because it was necessary for the 

actors to embarrass themselves. As a 

director I had to figure out how to make 

them do what I wanted. 

“The short film course in the UK 

taught me to keep a diary of things that I 

learnt every day while directing Tshingwe 

na Tshingwe. Making the film was a 

process of growth for me.” 

Uzanenkosi has always been keen to 

help other previously disadvantaged 

individuals (PDIs) forge their careers. 

Three years ago he created the website 

www.pitchit.co.za, an online market 

where writers can pitch their scripts. 

PRODUCTION CREW: 

Executive Producers: MultiChoice, 

Big Fish School of Digital Filmmaking 

Producer: Robbie Thorpe 

Production Designer: 

Martha Sibanyoni 

Production Manager: 

Kamohelo Mokoena 

Sound: President Kapa 

Off-line Editor: Ziggy Hofmeyr 

Equipment: Media Film Service, 

Digital Films, CJ Photographic Solutions 

Key Cast: Mpho Sebeng, Anele 

Mnguni, Junior Singo, 

Nkhodeni Ramagwede 

Opening new worlds 

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TECHNOLOGYNEWS | 

M-Net’s OB challenge 

With its extensive focus on 

sports and entertainment, 

South African 

pay-TV broadcaster 

M-Net needed a solution that was flexible 

enough to meet the diversity of its wide 

ranging production needs. These range 

from live music concerts through to major 

international golf tournaments, rugby and 

football matches. 

M-Net chose Sony’s HD Outside 

Broadcast (OB) vehicles to help 

viewers experience the excitement of live 

events, while offering the ease and 

convenience of cost-effective and timely 

on site broadcasting. 

Building on its excellent working 

relationship with Sony South Africa, 

M-Net chose the Sony Professional 

Services team for its commitment to 

professional and ongoing local service 

support throughout implementation and 

beyond. With a reputation for innovative 

and tailored solutions, Sony was selected 

as the solution provider for equipment 

supply and systems integration of M-Net’s 

new OB6 HD. Offering flexible OB and 

studio equipment standardisation, the 

solution can also be used with M-Net’s 

already existing Sony kit, including 

cameras, switchers, monitors and VTRs. 

After working with M-Net OB 

management and engineers to devise the 

most effective solution to expand their 

outside broadcast capacity, installation of 

equipment started just before Christmas 

2010. Sony’s overall responsibility as 

systems integrator started with the video, 

audio and control system design through 

to the installation, configuration, testing 

FLEXIBLE TECHNOLOGY – M-Net’s new OB6 HD Mobile Production Unit arrives in Durban 

and commissioning of all video, audio and 

control systems. The equipment selection 

and supply of technical systems is tailored 

for seamless integration with similar 

vehicles to allow extreme expansion of 

facilities for very large event coverage. 

OB6 HD is a 28-camera full HD 

Mobile Production Unit (MPU) and 

includes Sony’s renowned acquisition tool 

the HDC-1500R cameras, HDC-3300R 

super slow motion cameras and newly 

introduced HDC-P1 multi purpose 

compact cameras, all with Canon lenses. 

The vehicle also includes Sony’s best of 

breed post-production equipment, such as 

the MVS-8000G video switcher and top 

spec video monitoring equipment, 

including BVM-L170 Professional 

Master Series reference LCD monitors. 

Recording decks include Sony PDW- 

HD1500, XDCAM HD 422 and 

HDCAM VTR’s. 

Sony’s turnkey solution to M-Net also 

includes a whole range of EVS video 

servers and non-linear production tools, 

Probel video and audio routers, Axon 

digital glue products, Miranda multiviewers, 

Tektronix test and measurement 

equipment, VSM control, Telex RTS 

Communication System and Calrec 

Artemis audio console. 

OB6 HD was scheduled to arrive in 

the country in March and will be used on 

productions from April. 

Post-project support 

Following the delivery of the 

HD OB solution, Sony has been 

helping M-Net adapt to the equipment 

and ensure that they are maximising the 

benefits of the new equipment through 

post project support and comprehensive 

training. 

The process began with a 

comprehensive on site handover and 

system familiarisation training. 

Following that Sony will ensure that 

M-Net’s production and engineering 

teams have full operational and 

maintenance training on 

all products. 

Tapeless HD / SD 

solution goes direct 

Johannesburg based Sasani Studios is bridging 

the gap between studio camera acquisition and 

post-production by recording directly to hard drive 

using the Apple ProRes 422 Codec. 

Sasani Studios is not new to the 

tapeless environment as it designed 

and has run complete tapeless 

turnkey solutions for various 

productions for the past three years. The 

most popular and media intensive 

production was Big Brother Africa, a 24 / 7 

three-month reality show recording 

directly to shared media drive systems. 

According to Sasani’s Neil van 

Heerden, the studio recently integrated a 

tapeless HD / SD solution into its flexible 

studio recording infrastructure. 

He explains: “Our various sized film 

and television broadcast studios, 

supported by our numerous digital studio 

camera chains and digital control rooms, 

can now record directly to separate, 

tapeless, portable hard drives in the Apple 

ProRes 422 codec. This allows for a new 

way of connecting our clients’ production 

and post-production, saving time in 

editing and maintaining the best possible 

quality by recording pristine 10-bit 

ProRes 422 media, which is immediately 

available to edit within Final Cut Studio, 

AVID and other professional editing 

systems.” 

Van Heerden notes that since its 

introduction two years ago, Apple ProRes 

422 has become the codec of choice for 

professional editors. “Our portable hard 

drive recorders are the latest product to 

provide support for ProRes 422 natively in 

hardware, and for the first time deliver 

immediate access to the 10-bit, full raster 

ProRes 422 codec directly from source. 

“Recording directly onto these hard 

drive recorders allows filmmakers, 

broadcasters and video professionals to 

skip the process of re-rendering to an 

editing codec by giving immediate access 

to full raster edit-ready ProRes 422 files. 

Sasani can now record hours of media to a 

removable storage module with built in 

FireWire 800 or to 34mm ExpressCard 

Flash. The hard drive recorder allows for 

real-time monitoring, providing instant 

playback of recorded files at the push of a 

button.” 

The Sasani system records to single or 

multiple ISO feeds simultaneously with 

locked timecode. There is capacity to 

record eight channels of audio on each 

record device. This means that recordings 

on mics or instruments, or various audio 

feeds, can be done on individual 

channels, giving the audio engineer 

complete control over the audio in 

final mix. 

“Clients wanting to utilise our tapeless 

system are required to supply their own 

portable hard drive. At the end of the 

shoot day we will copy the recorded files 

onto the client’s supplied portable drive 

and simultaneously copy the files to a 

Sasani network as a temporary backup 

(safety) until the client has confirmed that 

the footage is in their edit system. Sasani 

either offers the client the option to save 

the files to a proper digital archive system 

for long time storage or we get approval 

from the client to delete the files from our 

system,” explains Van Heerden. 

Sasani has already successfully 

recorded several productions on the 

tapeless system such as Jozi Maboneng and 

Comedy Sho. 


EQUIPMENTMAINTENENCE | 

Mean time 

between 

failure 

By Andy Stead 

With the recent natural disaster in Japan that 

led to the melt down of nuclear reactors 

the question of maintenance of 

other reactors – old and new – 

is under the spotlight. The old 

adage of ‘don’t fix it until it’s 

broken’ no longer cuts it 

and routine maintenance is 

imperative. Not least with 

respect to broadcast and 

semi-professional equipment. 

FINDING A VOLT OF FAULT – 

Ivor Westpfahl of Central Engineering 

Dexter Forbes and Alain Trebo of SBSS 

Armand Claassens of Timbre 

Downtime costs money and can 

potentially lose clients, so how 

do suppliers, facilities houses, 

broadcasters and rental houses 

ensure that their needs are met in this 

regard? 

There was a time when most of the 

larger facilities and broadcasters employed 

trained engineers whose skills included 

repairs to component level. But with the 

increased use of board exchange 

technology and interrogation of 

equipment via the Internet, most 

engineers are employed to ensure that the 

facility continues to run, but do not effect 

board repairs. 

Enter the private engineer. Not 

employed by any specific supplier, facility 

or broadcaster, these unusual beings are 

able to repair, in their own workshops, a 

wide variety of equipment from many 

different suppliers. One such person is 

Ivor Westpfahl of Central Engineering 

based at Stonewedge Office Park in 

Johannesburg. 

“I was at Video Lab for years and I saw 

a gap in the market,” he says. “There was 

a private engineer at that time but he 

emigrated to Australia. He had been an 

authorised Sony dealer, so I figured that I 

could start out on my own and do the 

same thing. 

“Most of my work is on Sony 

equipment but I also handle the 

maintenance and repair of a wide variety 

of equipment including 

Telecines. If the facilities have a fault 

that will require several hours of repair 

they send it to me. This also applies to 

broadcasters M-Net, SABC and e.tv. 

Their resident engineers do whatever is 

required to keep the show going on a day 

to day basis, but they won’t repair to 

component level any longer.” 

Fragile equipment 

Westpfahl says that the amount of repairs 

required in the non-broadcast side of 

equipment is high due to their greater 

fragility. “Take the Sony PD 170, there 

are literally hundreds of them out there. 

These used to be serviced by Sony, but 

now I do this work and I have taken on 

ex-Sony staffer Martin Silver to handle 

these types of repairs.” 

Another such provider of repair 

services, installations, system integration 

modifications and rig building is Timbre 

Broadcast Systems, which based in 

Bryanston. Timbre is an official 

Panasonic Broadcast Workshop and also 

repairs Sony, JVC and most types of 

equipment used in the broadcast industry. 

Says Timbre’s Armand Claassens: 

“Generally the supplier, broadcaster or 

facility does not have their own repair 

workshop facilities and they can’t handle 

the workload – or it takes too long and 

they are unable to follow up with on site 

visits to repair system integration faults. 

“We undertake most repairs to any 

broadcast related equipment as well as 

doing call outs to repair faults on site. The 

need for independents is always going to 

be high and there are very few people able 

to cover the broad spectrum required by 

the industry. For that matter there are 

very few people or companies able to offer 

a complete turnkey solution internally 

within their company. Combined with 

sales, which you get because of offering a 

good aftermarket service, business is 

good.” 

The right stuff 

Westpfahl believes there is probably scope 

for further expansion. “It’s just hard to 

find the right type of guy to expand the 

business. Sitting behind a bench fault 

finding is not everyone’s cup of tea.” 

Dexter Forbes of Specialised 

Broadcast Sales and Services (SBSS), 

based in the Waterfront Studios complex 

in Cape Town, agrees about expansion. 

“We have recently taken on trainee Alain 

Trebo who was previously at Timbre in 

Johannesburg as the workload over the 

past three months has increased 

dramatically,” says Forbes. 

SBSS is a supplier of broadcast 

equipment as well as the only official 

Sony accredited workshop in the Cape 

Town region. They supply answers and 

advice to questions clients may have with 

regards to ever changing technology. 

Some of the major agencies they represent 

and support are Sony, Editshare, 

Steadicam and Digital Rapids to name a 

few. 

“Our core business is to support the 

local television industry with maintenance 

and sales,” says Forbes, “and included in 

our client list is the SABC, e.tv and all 

the major studios and facilities. In fact I 

recently completed a major service to one 

of e.tv’s Sony MSW-M 2000P multi 

format VTRs. 

“The major suppliers it seems decided 

to outsource their repairs and 

maintenance some years ago because 

repairs down to component level (which I 

do) are time consuming and require ‘old’ 

skills. I have been in the business for 31 

years so it’s second nature to me.” 

There seems little doubt that the 

market for the independent maintenance 

engineer is constant and growing. 

Little wonder really when one 

considers the amount of equipment out 

there and the (almost) monthly 

introduction of new technology. A 

growing market indeed. 


Questek installs 

3D 

projection system for Dredd 

| 3D 

By Andy Stead 

Most sci-fi aficionados will 

probably know Judge Dredd 

from the 1995 movie of the 

same name directed by Danny 

Cannon and starring Sylvester Stallone, 

Diane Lane, Rob Schneider, Armand 

Assante and Max von Sydow. The 

character of Judge Dredd however has its 

roots in the weekly British comic book 

2000 AD, where he appeared as long ago 

as 1977. 

The 2011 remake of Judge Dredd, titled 

Dredd, is the first ever stereoscopic 3D 

film shot on location in Africa and it 

wrapped at the Cape Town Film Studios 

in Faure at the end of February. 

Starring Karl Urban (Star Trek) and 

directed by Peter Travis (Vantage Point) 

from a script by Alex Garland (28 Days 

Later), Dredd was shot entirely in 3D and 

was the first production to use the newly 

completed and much vaunted Cape Town 

studio complex. 

Local company Questek Advanced 

Technologies, which designs and installs 

visualisation solutions, played a part in the 

production by installing a Barco Digital 

Cinema Projector DCP 2K 20B and 

Xpand 3D system with 40 active X101 

glasses at the studio. 

Questek’s George van Gils explains: 

“In this particular instance the installation 

was for the 3D production of Dredd at the 

Cape Town Film Studios. The system 

was used to check the dailies and the 

grading on site. As this was all in 3D it 

was important to check the registration 

and other critical features of the 

stereoscopic images. 

“Because this installation was 

essentially to check critical elements of the 

picture as well as the convergence of the 

images it was extremely important to 

ensure that the projector was 100% 

aligned.” 

Obvious choice 

Barco’s DP100 2K Digital 

Cinema Projector is a high-quality 

reference standard within the industry 

and its market leadership in postproduction 

for colour grading and 

Academy screenings for the most 

discriminating audiences in the motion 

picture industry made it the obvious 

choice. 

The DP100 advanced “Communicator 

Software” allows easy projector setup and 

functionality in both 2D and 3D 

applications, as well as sophisticated 2D 

and 3D “macro-control” for easy 

one-button operation, preferred by 

leading exhibitors. 

3D glasses 

X101 glasses are professional quality, 

easy-to-use glasses for 3D cinema, part of 

the the XpanD 3D cinema glasses system 

for creating stereoscopic images based on 

active glasses technology. With this 

technology there are two slightly different 

versions of the same image – the right and 

left eye versions – are shown on the screen 

sequentially and the active glasses separate 

these two images by blocking each eye 

using liquid crystal shutters. 

The human brain then combines 

these images and creates the illusion of a 

third dimension to a viewer. The glasses 

must be synchronised with the image 

presented on the screen which is done via 

IR link. 

The synchronisation signal is fed from 

a digital projector to XpanD system 

which generates IR pulses to be received 

and recognised by the glasses. This 

approach enables best performance, 

including no crosstalk, wide viewing 

angle and immunity to head tilt. 

“We commenced the installation in 

November 2010,” say van Gils “and it was 

in full operation from then until the end 

of February this year.” 

Dredd is scheduled for release 

in 2012. 

“The system was 

used to check the 

dailies and the 

grading on site. As 

this was all in 3D 

it was important 

to check the 

registration and 

other critical 

features of the 

stereoscopic 

images.” 

– George van Gils 

April 2011 | SCREENAFRICA | 29

BROADCAST | 

Community 

television walks 

a rocky road in 

South Africa, as this 

non-profit sector 

struggles with issues 

of sustainability 

across a range of 

areas from licensing 

to finance. 

TAKING TO THE STREETS – Last year supporters of CTV marched on Parliament to demand government support for the station when it was under threat of closure. 

Community TV strives for focus 

By Mike Aldridge 

Mike Aldridge is a media 

practioner with experience in 

television and print media. He holds 

an MA in Cultural and Media 

Studies and has been involved in 

community television since the 

mid-1990s, when he co-organised 

one of the first community TV 

broadcasts at the University of KZN. 

Since then he has been a researcher 

and activist in the field and is 

currently the broadcast manager at 

CTV. He writes in his personal 

capacity. 

Not least of the problems facing 

the community television 

sector is to define quite what 

community television is or 

will be in South Africa, with several 

different operational models in action and 

the possibility of provincial community 

channels now on the cards. 

There are just three community 

stations currently on air, they are Cape 

Town TV (CTV), Soweto TV and 

Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN). Some 

organisations were licensed but have 

fallen by the wayside, while others have 

won licences but are yet to go on air. 

The oldest licensed community 

channel is TBN Africa, which is part of 

the American-based Trinity Broadcast 

Network evangelical empire. Despite its 

presence on terrestrial analogue broadcast 

in the rural Eastern Cape, the channel’s 

programming consists mostly of white 

American evangelical content. 

Soweto TV was the first community 

TV channel to gain a one-year licence and 

it was also the first to gain a ‘permanent’ 

seven-year class licence last year. The 

channel has a controversial management 

agreement with Urban Brew Studios, 

which provides services including 

equipment and training, advertising sales, 

funding and staff deployments at 

managerial level. 

Urban Brew is a subsidiary of the 

JSE-listed Kagiso Media, whose 

chairman, Murphy Morobe, also chairs 

the board of the community channel. 

Comments founding member and 

board secretary Meshak Mosiya: “Urban 

Brew was brought on board to assist in 

terms of capacity, especially around 

broadcasting. The board is responsible for 

programming and content. 

“We believe that if it was not for Urban 

Brew’s partnership we would not have 

succeeded in our intention to become a 

broadcaster and in terms of the viewership 

that we have achieved.” 

Adds Urban Brew MD Danie Ferreira: 

“It is absolutely advisable for community 

TV initiatives to have people with the 

necessary know-how. Attempts at 

community broadcasts with no technical 

capacity have always failed.” 

Implications 

Soweto TV’s relationship with Urban 

Brew has enabled the station to sustain its 

operations and to build an audience of 1.2 

million viewers, within its broadcast 

footprint and through its presence on 

DStv. But not everyone in the community 

TV sector is happy with the implications 

of this relationship. 

Says Karen Thorne, station director at 

CTV: “Certain quarters, in government 

and the private sector, try to create an 

argument that community television 

stations are not sustainable and need to be 

run by commercial operations. They are 

trying to build an argument for the 

commercialisation of community 

television.” 

Thorne believes that the Independent 

Communications Authority of South 

Africa (ICASA) is ultimately to blame for 

this situation because the regulator has 

not enabled local or provincial public or 

private TV channels. “As a result all eyes 

are on community TV with the 

expectation that community TV stations 

are to fill this gap and fulfill the public 

service obligations of a local public 

broadcaster along with commercial 

expectations.” 

She also slates ICASA’s lax licensing 

procedures for community TV. “If 

ICASA took community television 

seriously they would adopt the same 

procedures for community television 

licences as with e.tv – a proper call for 

applications and a proper adjudicating 

process. This would ensure that licences 

were given to entities that truly represent 

the community and have capacity not 

only to run an NGO but also to run a TV 

station.” 

CTV itself braved rough waters last 

year when its application for a seven-year 

licence was initially refused by the 

regulator, resulting in a prolonged tussle 

that forced ICASA’s council to clarify its 

stance on a moratorium on community 

TV licences (due to digital migration 

issues). The station eventually won its 

class licence and boasts a monthly 

viewership of about 1.2 million. 

Meanwhile moves are afoot to set up 

community TV stations in other 

provinces. Platinum TV has recently been 

licensed in the Northern Province and 

Nelson Mandela Bay TV has been 

licensed in Port Elizabeth. Another 

initiative, driven by the Eastern Cape 

Development Corporation, aims to 

establish a province-wide community TV 

initiative there. 

High costs 

A key issue facing community TV 

stations is the ongoing saga of high signal 

distribution costs. 

Says Thorne: “Since the IBA Act of 

1992, successive regulators, and more 

recently signal distributor Sentech, have 

failed to put in place a tariff structure that 

takes into account public, private and 

community broadcasters, despite their 

legislative mandate to do so. 

“We have a ridiculous situation where 

ICASA issues community TV licences 

but the licensee is then either not able to 

get on air or is taken off air for failure to 

pay Sentech. 

“The precedent has already been 

established whereby the Department of 

Communications supports community 

radio transmission costs so there is 

absolutely no reason why this should not 

be extended to community television 

broadcasters due to their non-profit, 

developmental mandate.” 

The next hurdle for community 

TV is the country’s migration to 

digital terrestrial television (DTT) – 

but only time will tell whether this 

will be beneficial for the sector 

or not. 


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RADIO | 

Radio microphones 

– a wireless orgy? 

By Cliff Graham 

There is little to no 

documentation available to 

explain the proper use of 

wireless microphones in South 

Africa, as Nicholas de Kock of Romanza 

Films recently found out. 

Says De Kock: “I’ve had a problem 

trying to find frequency numbers for the 

legal operation of UHF radio mics in 

South Africa. Most sales people can’t 

even tell me the frequency range for the 

equipment they are selling, or otherwise 

no-one seems to be selling equipment in 

the legal range. With online sales taking 

over as well a lot of the equipment is 

coming from the US – it’s like a wireless 

orgy.” 

After spending some time researching 

on the web, De Kock came across 

guidelines from the Independent 


Africa (ICASA) for the 2010 FIFA 

World Cup. But as this was a once-off 

event it did not help his dilemma. 

The official view 

ICASA is governed by the Independent 


Africa Act and the Electronic 

Communications Act (ECA). Its 

mandate, among others, is to regulate 

electronic communications to ensure 

efficient use of the radio frequency (RF) 

spectrum. 

On the subject of radio microphone 

operation in South Africa, ICASA’s Gert 

Visser says: “If you operate in the 486 to 

838 UHF range you should be OK. On 

the UHF waveband, 470 MHz and 862 

MHz are now mainly used for 

broadcasting TV programmes. So 

frequencies between these should be 

clear.” 

The technical advantage to UHF is a 

frequency range that has relatively low 

levels of interference from technical 

equipment. Propagation conditions are 

also good, achieving high ranges and 

effectively penetrating buildings. 

De Kock adds: “I have been getting an 

increased amount of interference 

operating in heavily populated areas 

which has been affecting my production.” 

Visser is aware of the situation. “The 

problem does exist where a local church 

will order mics online, but this will only 

be discovered when they operate them. 

These illegal operators will be dealt with 

FRE-QUING OUT – Nicholas de Kock 

by our inspectors.” (ICASA may seal or 

seize the equipment.) 

Visser continues: “This is strictly 

enforced otherwise interference would be 

rampant. Suppliers and sales companies 

are constantly applying for licences for 

new products, so the fault doesn’t lie 

there. This applies particularly in the 

broadcast and film industries.” 

Radio microphones use very little 

power – from 10 to 50mW (a mobile 

phone uses up to 2W) and can achieve 

ranges of around 100m while retaining 

excellent audio quality, which is sufficient 

for reporting purposes, sports and cultural 

applications. 

Local and foreign entities involved in 

the provisioning of electronic 

communications may apply for exemption 

from standard equipment type approval 

during the hosting of special events. 

On stage, these low power levels can 

still penetrate scenery, be picked up 

backstage and also maintain links with 

receivers without loss of quality when 

artists go out into the audience, as in the 

recent U2 concert. 

For these types of events ICASA issues 

temporary licences that are valid for a 

month. “ICASA will accept test reports 

of the relevant European standards, 

provided the testing has been performed 

at an accredited test facility. Control of 

this is difficult as illegal transactions do 

take place,” notes Visser. 

Analogue to digital 

transmission switchover 

De Kock says he would like to upgrade to 

the new Sennheiser G3 or Sony 

UWP-V1 lapel mics. “However South 

Africa’s digital switchover is also a 

concern even if it is a few years off as I 

would like my equipment to be future 

proof. The digital crossover in the US had 

a big impact on the wireless mic industry.” 

At present analogue technology 

requires a TV channel with a width 

(frequency requirement) of 8MHz to 

transmit TV programmes. 7MHz is 

needed for broadcasting the TV 

programme, leaving a gap of 1MHz used 

primarily by reporters with wireless 

microphones. In digital transmission, 

there will be four TV programmes in one 

frequency range replacing one analogue 

programme. In theory the digital 

frequency requirement for transmitting 

TV programmes is reduced to a quarter of 

that of analogue. 

This ‘saving’ will see 3 / 4 

of the band 

theoretically freed up. These frequencies 

can be given to other services. 

One of the threats is mobile TV 

services broadcast on the DVB-T2-H 

standard, such as DStv Drifta for 

example. These programmes are 

transmitted in the UHF range, which 

is why many programme suppliers who 

until now could only be received on cable 

or satellite are pushing for the UHF 

range. 

Primary services like TV programmes 

have priority in the frequency range they 

are allocated. In the main, wireless 

microphones are a secondary service and 

are therefore of lesser importance when 

frequencies are handed out. 

Another factor is that in the near 

future the technical quality of TV is 

going to be improved from SD 

(Standard Definition) to HDTV (High 

Definition) which requires more 

spectrum. 


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FUNDING | 

| FUNDING 

In the past year a record number of South African films hit the big screen, making it a bumper year for the local film industry. Traditionally some of the biggest hurdles facing filmmakers have been finding the funds to turn their projects 

into reality. Screen Africa asked some industry insiders whether a growing confidence in the local industry is making it easier for local films to get the financing they need. 

Financing 

By Linda Krige 

the local film boom 

The most influential factor that 

encourages the growing number 

of local films is the Department 

of Trade and Industry (DTI) 

Film and Television Production Incentive. 

According to Karin Liebenberg, Director 

of Incentive Administration at the DTI, 

they have seen more filmmakers 

embracing the DTI rebate since they 

lowered the threshold from R25m to 

R2.5m in 2008. “In numbers there’s a big 

shift,” says Liebenberg. 

The growth in the number of films 

approved for rebate since 2008 is 

remarkable. Between June 2004 and 

January 2008 16 South African 

productions and seven co-productions 

were approved. Between February 2008 

and March 2011 this swelled to 93 South 

African productions and 38 coproductions. 

The total amount 

committed for local, foreign and 

co-productions more than doubled from 

R370m to R751m during the same 

period. 

According to Liebenberg they receive 

extremely positive feedback from the 

industry with regard to the impact of the 

rebate. “If it’s administered well it gives 

you the certainty you need to finish your 

production,” says Liebenberg. “It’s a large 

amount of money and it’s working well.” 

What’s not working well, according to 

Liebenberg, is filling the gap of the funds 

not covered by the incentive. “Many 

productions are approved but still can’t 

find the rest of the funding. This is where 

the bigger banks and the IDC need to fill 

the gap.” 

She says there is money to be made in 

movies, but the financial success of a film 

will depend on how suitable it is for local 

audiences. “Not every film will make 

money, but definitely more and more 

films will start making money.” 

The rebate applies to productions with 

a budget of at least R2.5m, and it pays 

back 35% of qualifying production 

expenditure up to R6m, and 25% of 

expenditure above R6m with a maximum 

rebate of R20m. The rebate is paid in 

instalments during the production process 

and this depends upon reaching certain 

milestones. 

Liebenberg also confirms that the DTI 

is in discussions with the Documentary 

Filmmakers Association to make the 

incentive more accessible to documentary 

makers, whose shorter productions and 

lower budgets often disqualify them from 

the rebate. She says while they are willing 

to listen to the concerns of the industry, 

they have to follow a process and address 

capacity problems before a decision can be 

made in this regard. 

Developing new talent 

The National Film and Video Foundation 

(NFVF) provides funding for the 

development and production of 

documentaries, features and short films. 

The head of production and development 

at the NFVF, Clarence Hamilton, says 

an ongoing campaign to secure more 

funding for the industry was more 

focused and urgent last year in the light of 

the collapse of public service broadcaster 

SABC. The NFVF recently announced 

that it will receive an increase in 

government funding over the next three 

years. The extra allocation of money will 

have tripled the NFVF yearly budget by 

the third year. 

According to Hamilton the NFVF 

already funds an increasing amount of 

productions. In September 2010 an 

unprecedented six feature scripts were 

approved for development while seven 

feature films and four documentaries 

were approved for production, in one 

sitting. This was attributed to the strong 

and productive NFVF development 

programme. However this caused some 

frustration, as some productions were 

approved but could only be financed later. 

Hamilton adds that many applications 

that couldn’t be approved due to funding 

issues will be revisited later this year. 

Creating a better 

investment climate 

The NFVF is also part of a group of 

organisations and companies that have 

been in ‘very positive’ discussions with the 

National Treasury about Section 24 F of 

the Income Tax Law. This clause, meant 

to give tax incentives to film owners, was 

notoriously abused in the past leading to 

questions about the integrity of the 

incentive. Therefore the incentive is very 

seldom used. The industry group has 

been lobbying the treasury to make some 

changes to make it more accessible. 

According to Hamilton this will create a 

much better investment climate. 

He also sees more private investors 

getting involved as the industry reputation 

of being a high risk investment starts to 

change. He says there’s a transformation 

in the industry with more filmmakers 

writing movies for audiences, which will 

lead to films making more money. 

Among the projects that recently 

received NFVF funding for either 

development or production are Mama 

Afrika (about the life of Miriam Makeba); 

The Whale Caller; My Zulu Wedding; 

Stockholm, Zululand; Otelo Burning; Skeem; 

Zambezia; and How to Steal 2 Million. 

These projects are currently in different 

stages of development, pre-production 

and production. 

Working towards a 

sustainable industry 

While the Industrial Development 

Corporation (IDC) has come under fire 

for not funding a sufficient amount of 

local productions, IDC Media and 

Motion Pictures Business Unit head 

Basil Ford says much of the criticism has 

been based on hearsay that is: 

“compounded by some disgruntled 

filmmakers whose projects were rejected 

by the IDC.” 

Says Ford: “Critics primarily based 

their income on earning fees through the 

production process without enough 

consideration for recouping capital for the 

IDC.” 

He says this approach is unsustainable. 

The IDC is pleased, says Ford, with its 

process of engagement in the industry, 

and has clarified its criteria and required 

documentation process to the point where 

it has approved funding to a number of 

filmmakers. 

According to Ford the IDC has funded 

16 films over the past three years. This 

was done by providing funding through a 

range of financial products from loans to 

cash flow of pre-sales or gap funding to 

equity investment. “IDC is quite flexible 

in its approach and the type of funding 

will usually depend on the development 

impact of the project and the needs of the 

film.” 

Among the films recently funded by 

the IDC are the Leon Schuster box office 

hit Schuks Tshabalala’s Survival Guide to 

South Africa, Winnie, Zambezia and 

Khumba. 

Ford says there has been a significant 

increase in the number of applications 

from local filmmakers for locally 

developed films, particularly in the more 

commercial genres such as comedy, 

thriller and action films. He says 

applications for funding low budget films 

have also increased over the past three 

years, with a corresponding reduction in 

the applications for high budget 

co-production films. 

“It is also positive that we are getting 

applications from filmmakers who have 

previously not considered funding from 

IDC. Our close working relationship 

with the NFVF has led to many young 

black filmmakers applying for funding 

to the IDC for the first time.” 

More to be done 

Paul Raleigh, director at Film 

Finances, says he’s very pleased to see 

that local films are performing better. 

“However we still need to do a bit more 

to consistently celebrate that magical 

event called ‘net profits’,” says Raleigh. 

Film Finances South Africa helps 

filmmakers by providing investors with a 

Guarantee of Completion, which protects 

them from budget overruns and ensures 

that the film is delivered to the distributer 

or sales agent. The DTI is a beneficiary to 

the Completion Bond and because of this 

they release the rebate funds to the 

production based on predetermined 

milestones. 

Raleigh says these milestone payments 

make access to funding easier, but many 

films produced locally have the same 

investors. He says that to attract new 

funders films need to be commercially 

successful. 

According to Raleigh they go the extra 

mile to assist producers to satisfy the 

requirements of a completion guarantee. 

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“It’s important to remember that we are 

in the business of providing completion 

guarantees and not in the business of not 

providing them,” Raleigh explains. While 

the track record of a producer applying for 

a completion guarantee is important, 

“where the producer is not experienced, 

we put together a team that can 

do the job, and at the same time 

encourage first timers into the industry 

— where sensible — into key positions,” 

says Raleigh. 

Some local films recently serviced by 

Film Finances include Skoonheid, Zama 

Zama, Skeem, Otelo Burning, Winnie, How 

to Steal 2 Million, Spud, Liefling, Smoke 

and Ochre, Platteland and A Million 

Colours. 

for updates on test shoots and the F3 Roadshow. 

“ Technical service provider of the year 2010.” 

34 | SCREENAFRICA | April 2011 

April 2011 | SCREENAFRICA | 35

FILM | 

Distribution: 

By Linda Krige 

a changing landscape 

The growth spurt experienced by 

the South African film industry 

is leading to changes in the local 

distribution landscape. While 

Ster-Kinekor Pictures, Nu Metro Films 

and United International Pictures (UIP) 

have traditionally dominated the 

distribution of both local and 

international releases, independent and 

boutique distributors are now working to 

carve out an increasingly bigger piece of 

local box office income 

for home grown 

filmmakers. 

Helen Kuun, known 

for the role she played in 

supporting the South 

African industry as local 

content head at Ster- 

Kinekor, formed 

Indigenous Film 

Distribution in 2010 to 

help local filmmakers 

get their films distributed 

on a platform suited to 

their content. 

This boutique film 

distributor assists South 

Dan Jawitz 

African and African filmmakers with 

contract negotiations and marketing 

strategy. 

Kuun says there are now more options 

available to local filmmakers, although 

distribution will never be easy and 

requires a lot of resilience. She says as 

films get better, distribution will also 

become smoother. “The fact that there is 

volume in the local industry is changing 

the landscape.” 

She attributes the greater volume to the 

revolution brought about by digital 

filming and editing, and the Department 

of Trade and Industry (DTI) Film and 

Television Production Incentive, or DTI 

rebate. 

Kuun stresses that while theatrical 

release isn’t the best distribution option 

for all films, broadcasting in South Africa 

is expanding and there are now more 

DVD options available. 

Indigenous Films is keen on 

distributing films that are a first of their 

kind, like the local horror movie Night 

Drive. They look for movies that are 

authentic with high production value, 

including basics like a good script and 

story, convincing acting, competent 

directing and professional 

cinematography. However, she says 

quality is often not the only good 

indication of box office success. “In the 

end we have to look at which films are 

financially viable. Ultimately it’s about 

entertainment.” 

Indigenous Films recently released 

Helen Kuun 

Liefling die Movie, Night Drive and 

Paradise Stop, and will also release 

Platteland, How to Steal 2 Million, Mad 

Cow and Visa Vie in the first half of the 

year. 

More support 

for distribution 

Dan Jawitz from Fireworx Media has 

been involved in film distribution and 

marketing for at least 15 years and is 

actively lobbying for distribution in South 

Africa as part of the Independent 

Producers Organisation (IPO) executive 

committee. 

He feels strongly that local films need 

to be protected from non-indigenous 

movies at the local box office. “All 

distributors need to work together so that 

our film landscape isn’t completely 

dominated by overseas films with huge 

marketing budgets,” says Jawitz. 

He proposes a subsidy from 

government to ensure that local films are 

distributed more effectively, similar to the 

DTI rebate that encourages local 

production. “Distribution needs to be 

supported as production has been,” he 

adds. 

Fireworx Media is also not a traditional 

mainstream distribution chain, but 

specialises in straight-to-DVD films and 

broadcast deals. Among the titles 

distributed by Fireworx are the South 

African feature comedy SWOP and 

documentaries such as Reflections on 

Xenophobia and Sea Point Days. 

Debbie McCrum 

Clarence Hamilton 

Jawitz explains that Fireworx is not a 

full distribution chain, but is planning to 

release three feature films in cinemas this 

year, either independently or working 

with Helen Kuun. 

According to Jawitz there are different 

markets for different films, whether 

DVD, Internet, television or theatrical 

release. “Once you establish the audience 

for the film, you can usually find the 

suitable platform.” 

He also emphasises that films need to 

be financially viable, but says distribution 

in South Africa is definitely getting easier. 

“There’s more receptivity from theatres 

and more media support for local films. 

There’s also a bigger choice of distributors 

now, with more independent distributors 

and more successes at the box office.” 

A remaining challenge for distributors, 

according to Jawitz, is that cinema 

audiences are still quite fragmented along 

racial lines, with only few examples such 

as Tsotsi that have successfully crossed 

over. 

Intervention 

Another change in the local distribution 

landscape is the recent involvement of the 

National Film and Video Foundation 

(NFVF) that has traditionally only played 

a role in the development and production 

of films. 

The head of production and 

development at the NFVF, 

Clarence Hamilton, says they noticed 

that many NFVF funded films had very 

short runs at the local box office. Despite 

attempts to sensitise filmmakers to what 

audiences want to see, there were no 

returns at the box office. 

The NFVF decided to intervene by 

using the 2010 film Skin as a distribution 

pilot project. Due to the heavy subject 

matter of the film it was expected to earn 

about R200 000 at the local box office. 

Hamilton says they started thinking 

outside the box and tried to tap into 

audiences not reached by normal 

distribution chains. 

The film accumulated R1m at the 

South African box office. 

According to Hamilton they learned 

valuable lessons from the pilot project and 

will attempt to replicate the success by 

distributing a very different film – the 

psychological thriller Retribution - in 

2011. 

“We’re still experimenting to help our 

films recoup at the local box office,” says 

Hamilton. “We’ve got to get more South 

Africans to see South African films.” 

Mainstream 

Traditional distributors, however, are still 

playing their parts in the South African 

industry. According to Nu Metro Films 

general manager Debbie McCrum they 

are in discussions with many local 

producers to represent their content, not 

only theatrically, but for home 

entertainment and television exploitation. 

In 2011 they will be representing 

Trevor Noah’s new title, Crazy Normal, 

taken from his Goodbye For Now Show 

and will be releasing a single DVD 

version of the Best of The Pure Monate 

Show in June. 

At the cinema Nu Metro recently 

released the critically acclaimed Life, 

Above All and also distributed local films 

Egoli – Afrikaners is Plesierig, Susanna van 

Biljon, I Now Pronounce you Black and 

White and The Race-ist in 2010. 

McCrum says a great success for last 

year was the release of Spud in December 

2010. The film was released across all 

circuits and grossed just under R17m at 

the local box office. 

“It’s very exciting and encouraging to 

see film projects which cover various 

genres in film, from comedy to drama to 

musical, which truly bodes well for the 

future of local content,” says McCrum. 

“It is important to note that the films 

that are successful at the local box office 

are so because they have been made with 

a specific target market in mind – a 

market that the producers of these films 

have carefully targeted not only in 

language but also in culture.”

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