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| IN THIS ISSUE
3 One SA film to feature at TIFF 2016
20
24 Unsung heroes
DIRECTOR SPEAK: Kosta Kalarytis
26
36
Virtual Animation… Really
Drone on
News
TECHNOLOGY News
Behind the scenes
SCREENWRITING
Rupert Dalton celebrates 20-year
Crystal Vision’s Vision 3
on Behind the Scenes ..........................21
REALNESS Screenwriters
milestone with Jasco Group................ 4
Frame System.......................................10
Cutting cords is in the news............... 4 Disney commissions first long-form local series
TSL PAM-IP audio monitor...............10 Sony MCX-500 live
production in SA.................................... 6 TLC’s Next Great Presenter
Avid NEXIS | PRO Team bundles.....11
judges announced.................................. 6 Africa pay TV subscribers
production switcher............................11
ADCETERA A legend and a car brand
Residency report back........................33
Documentary Laughter is cheaper than medicine (and often more effective).................22
of Waterfront Film Studios................34
TELEVISION Unsung heroes......................................24
FESTIVALS & MARKETS
make music together...........................12 Merry go music....................................14
Nollywood at TIFF 2016....................25
than half a million homes..................... 6 Animation SA partners with DISCOP Africa to present
Animation turns tune to fantasy......15 Dunlop Tyres take you anywhere
ANIMATION & EFFECTS
Loeries 2016 wrap-up........................... 8 SA gets first LGBT streaming TV channel............................................... 8 Lagos in focus at TIFF 2016................. 8 Making movies no matter the hurdle.................................. 9
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your imagination will go.....................16 Louder than words..............................17 Hip hop heads back to the hood.....17
FILM Comatose brings the global euthanasia debate home.....................18 Merhawi Meles: On Films about Love..........................19 Director Speak: Kosta Kalarytis.......20
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Aerial Cinematography Drone on...............................................36
to reach 30 million in 2021................. 6 OpenView HD in more
The Animation Lounge......................... 8
STUDIO PRODUCTION FACILITIES The mixed fortunes
BROADCAST TECHNOLOGY UltraHD – the future of TV..............38
Virtual Animation… Really................26
Regulars
Musi & Cuckoo head to France.......28 Oomph! Animation
Production Updates.................... 41 – 43
presents Oongu Loongu....................29 Animation studio helps theatre
Social........................................................... 44
Events.......................................................... 43
production The Firebird take flight....30 Genre Films: Best practice for producing films with visual and special effects................................32
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From the editor
The Team
As we considered the theme of animation as one of the major features for this issue, it appeared obvious that virtual reality – one of the trending topics in the industry this year – would form a major part of our coverage. As Ian Dormer points out in his article on the subject (pages 26-27), VR, assuming that it really takes off and fulfills the potential it currently shows, will undoubtedly transform the way in which we create and consume visual storytelling content, not to mention our modes of social interaction. Of course, VR is not the exclusive domain of the animation sector, as we saw recently in our discussion of Unreal Industries’ and Bladeworks’ coverage of the SAMA Awards. But the animators and effects artists among us will surely be at the forefront of this leap forward, a leap that has long been prophesied and is now finally materialising. I’m sure I’m not the only one fascinated to see where it will take us. A few months ago, the news reached us that Waterfront Studios was undergoing yet another transformation in what has already been a long and eventful history. Cape Town correspondent Andy Stead got to the bottom of the new deal and also took the opportunity to delve into the history of the studio (page 34-35). In our documentary section, we look at the new feature-length biography of South Africa’s king of satire, Pieter-Dirk Uys. Willem Oelofsen’s Nobody’s Died Laughing made quite an impact at the South African premiere at the Durban International Film Festival in June. Screen Africa’s Cera-Jane Catton spoke to the director about how he set out to create a tribute to a man who “made a lifetime commitment to his country using satire to affect change” (page 22-23). Effective pan-African coproduction is a topic that has been close to my heart for a long time, as regular readers will know. I always get excited when I see a project come to fruition through the combined efforts of filmmakers, technicians and performers from more than one African country. Chanelle Ellaya spotlights Comatose, just such a project (page 18). This film is a South African-Nigerian co-production that explores the contentious issue of euthanasia in a tense, Afro-futurist drama. Among other stories in this issue, we have an introduction to Eritrean writer-director Merhawi Meles, a look at the Nigerian films showcased at Toronto this month and an examination in the impressive changes that aerial videography has undergone in the past few years. Until next month… – Warren Holden
Editor
CONTRIBUTORS
Warren Holden is a writer and journalist whose lifelong love of film and television prompted him to study for his BA in Motion Picture Medium at AFDA Johannesburg, specialising in writing and directing. After graduating, he worked for three years in the television industry before following his aptitude for writing into the world of publishing. He then worked for five years as assistant editor on the arts and culture publication Classicfeel, before taking the helm of Screen Africa, where his experiences in the separate streams of motion picture and publishing have finally come together. In addition to his work on Screen Africa, he is also hard at work developing stories for film and television and studying for a second degree in economics and African politics.
Sam Charo is an independent writer, producer and filmmaker based in Nairobi, Kenya. His passion is sharing great stories about the continent with rest of the world.
SCREENAFRICA
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Contributors: Sam Charo Ian Dormer Louise Marsland Andy Stead
Accounts: Helen Loots: accounts@sun-circle.co.za Advertisement Sales: Marianne Schafer: marianne@screenafrica.com Graham Grier: graham@sun-circle.co.za
JOURNALISTS Cera-Jane Catton is a writer and journalist with years of experience in community newspapers, blogging and freelance journalism. She has migrated to Jozi from Durban to join the team at Screen Africa in the hope of sampling lots of free popcorn. Cera has worked in a cache of capacities, often finding herself behind or in front of the cameras, intentionally and less so. She has been a stunt double in two Bollywood movies, has worked in various capacities on a number of natural history documentaries, and other international productions shot in South Africa. She studied journalism and photography and is always eager to learn something new. She speaks up for the voiceless, is a dedicated movie lover and a wannabe doccie maker.
Chanelle Ellaya is a writer and a journalist. She completed her BA Journalism degree at the University of Johannesburg in 2011. While writing is her passion, she has a keen interest in the media in various capacities: In 2012 she co-presented the entertainment and lifestyle show Top Entertainment on TopTV and later that year she was handpicked as part of a panel of five dynamic young Africans to interview Winnie MadikizelaMandela on a youth focused television show called MTV Meets. Chanelle is an avid social networker and a firm believer in the power of social and online networking. Between writing and tweeting, she finds time to feed her love for live music.
Ian Dormer – Born in Zimbabwe, Ian has been in the TV business since the 1980s, having served in various positions at the SABC, M-Net and SuperSport. Ian currently works and resides in New Zealand.
Louise Marsland is a veteran editor and journalist with over 20 years experience in the advertising, media, marketing and communications industries. Based in Cape Town, South Africa, she worked as the editor of AdVantage magazine, as well as Bizcommunity.com. She is currently publishing editor of TRENDAFRiCA.co.za.
Andy Stead is a broadcast industry professional with over 40 years’ experience in both South Africa and the UK, having worked at a number of leading industry organisations including the BBC and Chroma Television. Now retired, he is based in Cape Town.
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South Africa
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SA featuring at TIFF 2016 One SA film will feature at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and one SA filmmaker will attend the TIFF talent lab. Taking place between 8 and 16 September 2016, TIFF is universally regarded as a vital platform for filmmakers to launch their careers. The South African film Vaya has been selected to have its world premiere at TIFF. Vaya is the story of small-towners engrossed by the dangerous world of big city Johannesburg and Soweto. The film stars SA talent and was produced with Akin Omotoso, Rethabile Molatela Mothobi, Harriet Perlman, Robbie Thorpe and Ronnie Apteker with Kabelo Thathe as cinematographer. “The film is a culmination of eight years of passion, dedication and the commitment to tell a unique South African story that resonates with the public. We’re thrilled to present our work to TIFF audiences, but most importantly we cannot wait for our South African consumers to see it. We anticipate that the film will hit local cinemas in 2017,” says director Omotoso, chairperson of the Independent Producers Organisation. Zamo Mkhwanazi is one of only 10 international filmmakers who have been selected to participate in the TIFF talent lab this year. Held annually during the festival, the lab is an artistic development programme. It provides 20 young directors and screenwriters with an intensive learning experience that seeks to further develop their creativity, artistic process, and voice. Mkhwanazi is a filmmaker working between South Africa and Switzerland. She has written more than a hundred hours of aired television on over twenty-five television shows. She is currently developing her first feature, Laundry, a film based on her family’s experiences during apartheid in the 1960s. Along with Vaya, Nigerian flick 93 Days will premiere at TIFF, both films hail from the Johannesburg post production facility
POST PRODUCTION
UNIVERSAL PLATFORM: Behind the scenes on the film Vaya Ladies & Gentlemen Films. They specialise in colour grading, online and deliverables. Final colour finishing is completed on the latest Baselight TWO, supporting 4K and 6K workflows. Their colour suite includes Barco 2K projection and a Doremi digital cinema server, allowing full testing and colour matching for seamless integration between grading suite and cinema. They have had their hands on the box office hits Tell Me Sweet Something which debuted in the US at the Pan African Film Festival, joined by Ayanda and Happiness Is A Four-Letter Word which is screening at Berlinale. Managing director at Ladies & Gentlemen Films, Marc Baleiza, has been
involved in the local and international film and television industries for 14 years. He says, “We are delighted with the announcement of Vaya’s Toronto selection, it is a testament to the vision of the writers, director and producers who have been developing this for several years. We have been privileged to work on this important film based on true events. It is part of an exciting new wave of South African films and we relish the opportunity to showcase Vaya to an international audience.” The Nigerian film 93 Days will too have its world premiere in Toronto and will be released in Nigeria in September 2016. The film stars Danny Glover who has previously worked with director, Steve
Gukas and was attracted to the script, penned by Paul S Rowlston. The film is about the outbreak of Ebola in Nigeria and the efforts of the government and the world health organisation to curb its spread. Baleiza was approached by Gukas to work on his film 93 Days. He says, “At Ladies & Gentlemen we believe in the long term success of our local industry. To that extent, we have worked with both established and aspiring filmmakers.” Adding that “Every project is a challenge to raise the bar and elevate what we do. We have had a phenomenal year so far, and are looking forward to putting out more phenomenal films in the near future.” – Cera-Jane Catton
ANIMATION / DESIGN / VFX / VIRTUAL REALITY
NOW
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NEWS
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ADVERTORIAL
Rupert Dalton celebrates 20-year milestone with Jasco Group Jasco, a provider of end-to-end, best-of breed solutions across the ICT value chain, with a footprint across South Africa, would like to congratulate Rupert Dalton on reaching his 20-year milestone with the group and take this opportunity to commend him on his effort and contributions to the broadcast industry over the last 40 years. Dalton’s nickname “Mr Sony” was earned through his love for the brand and a career that has seen him become a Sony advocate since working with the products from the word go. He got his start at Tedelex in 1975 as a technician fixing television sets. Today he is the sales executive the rest of the Jasco staff turn to when they need to put broadcast solutions together for customers. His dedication and commitment to the industry shines through in everything he does. He is one of Jasco’s most well-liked members and is respected by all who have had the pleasure of working with him. Described as a professional man who likes to have fun when the time is right, Dalton’s fondness of the phrase “never send a boy to do a man’s job” is well-documented. Most notably, he never shies away from a challenge. Such loyalty is rare and Jasco extends its thanks to Rupert Dalton for being a genuine asset to the company and wishes him and his family all the best and a speedy recovery through these trying times.
A MILESTONE: Rupert Dalton with his wife Julie at the celebration of his 20th year with the company
Cutting cords is in the news In mid-2016 cable sporting giant ESPN lost 492 000 subscribers; Comcast and Time Warner Cable have lost 2 per cent of their subscriber base since January. The list goes on and it’s plain to see that pay and cable services are struggling to adjust to the growing trend of cord cutting. Fed up with high prices and programming packages with hundreds of channels viewers just don’t want, cable and satellite customers across the world are booting out their service providers by cutting the cord and sourcing their TV programming via internet services. Nearly a third of all households in the US, for example, subscribe to a streaming TV service, like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu for example and with a growing number of apps available on consols like PS4 and Xbox 360, Blu-ray players, home theatre systems and smart TVs, cord cutters have all the technology available to access for what they want to watch and more importantly when. One of the problems with cutting the cord today is losing access to the variety of news channels on offer. There are very few resources in the streaming world that 4 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2016
can take their place. A company working to address this problem is Haystack TV, offering a personalised news service aimed specifically at cord cutters. Haystack TV is built around technology that gathers news stories from a variety of sources, analyses the information and then personalises the content based on criteria setup by the end user. Haystack
TVs main feature is covering important trending news of the day and draws content from over 150 news organisations like CNN, Fox, BBC, Associated Press and the likes and covers a variety of sectors from world news to business news, technology and science through to entertainment news. The idea for Haystack came from
co-founders Daniel Barreto, previously the chief software architect at Wyse and a teacher at Stanford, along with Ish Harshawat, formerly the mobile architect at Cellfire. Combined, the two have launched products over the years which have reached millions of users on mobile and elsewhere, but what prompted them to begin working on Haystack TV in the first place was a personal frustration. As new cord cutters themselves, they found themselves lacking in options for watching TV news online in a way that mirrored the lean-back experience they were used to from their cable TV days. Haystack then collects key information from social media commentators on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook for example and the software learns to understand what the content is about and who in their subscriber database would be interested in the story. The user initially trains the product by selecting their favourite categories and topics, and as it is used, the service adapts by learning what stories are being watched and which ones are being skipped. At the moment, all the content is selected by algorithms run by servers, not a human in sight to make any choices or decisions – is this a sign of the way our future viewing habits will be decided? – Ian Dormer
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NEWS
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Disney commissions first long-form local series production in SA Disney Africa launches its first local long-form series production in South Africa, Disney Cookabout. The series is a brand new weekly comedic adventure game-show that uses food preparation, cooking and outdoor exploration to showcase local ingredients and a fun-filled approach to healthy eating. Disney Cookabout is inspired by The Walt Disney Company’s long-standing commitment to encourage healthier living, through imaginative and entertaining family content. The show airs every Friday at 15h30 on SABC2.
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Africa pay TV subscribers to reach 30 million in 2021
Penguin Films was commissioned to produce the 26 X 24 minute live action series which will feature some of the best of South Africa’s locally-farmed, wholesome produce, giving a fascinating insight into the food consumers are used to seeing only in supermarkets and on their dining room tables. The show is fronted by home-grown talent including hosts Kirsten Mohamed ‘Chef Kirsten’ and her side-kick ‘Sous Chef’ Mthunzi Ntoyi who travel across the Western Cape with a dynamic group of young ‘cooktestants’, all in search of the freshest ingredients.
TLC’s Next Great Presenter judges announced The search for TLC Entertainment’s (DStv channel 135) next African presenter is well underway as entries closed on 22 August. The line-up of high profile judges will choose the three lucky contestants that will make it through to the final public vote. Featuring a mix of well-known faces, industry experts and a Discovery Networks senior executive, this year’s judging panel includes: actress, MC, radio and TV personality, Thando Thabethe; head of content at Multichoice, Aletta Alberts; editor of ZAlebs.com, Zee Dladla; celebrity publicist and communications strategist, Jarred Doyle and VP of Channels for Discovery Networks CEEMEA, Lee Hobbs. The judges will be tasked with whittling down the twelve semi-finalists to the top three finalists during the Boot Camp stage, which will take place in Cape Town from 19 September to 22 September.
6 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2016
Africa pay TV subscribers will reach 30 million in 2021, up from 16 million in 2015, according to the latest data published by Dataxis. Digital satellite pay TV subscribers for 2021 is expected to arrive at 20 million compared to 8 million for digital terrestrial pay TV subscribers. Dataxis estimates that TV households which stand at 114 million in 2015 will reach 159 million in 2021 and is still too low for the total population in Africa. The low TV penetration rate is attributed to various socio and economic factors that hinder the adoption of television. According to Dataxis research, English-speaking African countries will continue to add pay TV subscribers compared to Francophone Africa. Total pay TV subscribers in Anglophone countries, which is estimated to 10 million in 2015, will double in 2021 compared to 3.5 million subscribers in 2015 for French-speaking countries and is expected to reach 6 million in 2021. Satellite pay TV subscribers accounted for English-speaking countries stands at 8 million in 2015 will reach 12 million in 2021 compared to 2 million in 2015 to arrive at
6.5 million in 2021 for French-speaking countries. MultiChoice remains the dominant pay TV operator, followed by StarTimes and Zuku. On the other hand, for Frenchspeaking countries, satellite pay TV subscribers is also driving the figures with Canal Plus Overseas being the dominant operator. Out of the estimated 3.5 million total analogue and digital pay TV subscribers in 2015, 2.8 million were pay satellite and this figure is forecast to reach at 5 million in 2021. Total pay TV revenue which is estimated to be US$ 4 billion in 2015 is expected to climb to US$ 6 billion in 2021, with pay DTH revenue contributing up to US$ 5 billion. Digital migration, competition and cheaper DTT packages will bring ARPU down in most African countries.
OpenView HD in more than half a million homes Launched last month, the TLC Next Great Presenter competition, is a search to find a talented individual who will win the chance to travel to London and present a brand new series, TLC’s Most Extreme, set to premiere on TLC early next year, plus a one-off special which will air later this year documenting the winner’s story.
OpenView HD surpassed half a million activated households on Tuesday, 23 August. Platco digital’s managing director Patrick Conroy says, “500 000 active OpenView HD set-top boxes is significant because the platform now has at least two million viewers. The more popular channels include e.tv HD, eMovies Plus, DaVinci Learning, Glow TV and our new
addition to the OpenView HD bouquet Trace Sport Stars.” OpenView HD will be celebrating its third birthday in October and will be announcing the launch of a new channel to celebrate this. OpenView HD is the only free digital satellite platform in South Africa, powered by e.tv.
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NEWS
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Animation SA partners with DISCOP Africa to present The Animation Lounge
Loeries 2016 wrap-up Loeries® Creative Week™ Durban 2016 drew to a close on 21 August at the Durban International Convention Centre with a raft of awards honouring the best creative work in the Africa and the Middle East being presented, along with four special awards. A total of 316 awards were handed out over the two nights selected from 3112 entries from 22 countries across the Africa Middle East region. There were eight Grand Prix winners with Nando’s, the big winner of the awards, scooping two.
The full list of Grand Prix winners are:
Animation SA, the non-profit company representing South Africa’s animation industry, is partnering with DISCOP Johannesburg 2016 to present The Animation Lounge, a platform aimed at offering tailored value to delegates in the fields of animation and VFX at the three-day market event. DISCOP, the largest African content market, provides an opportunity for local producers to network with broadcasters, pay-tv platforms, mobile networks, online operators, producers, advertisers, influencers and investors from around
Africa (65%) and beyond (35%). The Animation Lounge will offer a presentation session on the main conference programme, a full day of panel discussions, master classes, and share sessions hosted by representatives from leading international broadcasters, as well as the opportunity to take part in a pitching competition to showcase projects in progress. The 2016 DISCOP event will take place in Johannesburg from 2 to 4 November at the Sandton Convention Centre.
Broadcast Services • Video & IP Connectivity • Studios • SNG • Fibre Services • Data Centres
• Nando’s ‘Global Visual Identity System’ by Sunshine Gun • Tusker Lager’s ‘Team Kenya’ by Net#workBBDO • Channel O’s ‘Youth Day’ by Black River FC • Nando’s ‘Chicken Run’ and ‘Heartfelt Celebration of South African Design’ • KFC’s ‘The Everyman Meal’ by Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg • Saudi Telecom Company – STC, ‘1st Branded Online Entertainment Hub’
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by J.Walter Thomspon KSA • Chicken Licken’s ‘Kung Fu’ by Network BBDO • Ster-Kinekor’s ‘#OpenEyes’ by Fox P2 Of the special awards, the head of Facebook South Africa Nunu NtshingilaNjeke became the first woman inducted into the Loeries® Hall of Fame and Yegs Ramiah, chief executive of Brand at Sanlam and Santam was given the Marketing Leadership and Innovation Award. The Adams and Adams Young Creatives Award went to Katie Mylrea, art director at Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town and Amori Brits, head of design at Shift Joe Public. Suhana Gordhan, creative director at FCB Africa, was named the Loeries’ chairperson, taking over the reins from Neo Mashigo who completes his two-year tenure this year.
SA gets first LGBT streaming TV channel South Africa’s first video-on-demand channel catering specifically to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has been launched, reported Tech Central. PrideTV costs R79 per month, or R790 per year. Subscribers can pay by credit card or use mobile billing to pay for access. The service, which is available to viewers across sub-Saharan Africa, promises a growing library of LGBT movies and TV series. The service is accessible via broadband and can be viewed on smart TVs, desktop computers, laptops, tablets and mobile phones running Android or iOS. PrideTV has 200 content titles at launch across all genres.
Around 65 per cent of the content is gay male focused and 35 per cent deals with lesbian and transgender themes. New content will be loaded onto PrideTV on a regular basis; especially more big-screen classics, new independent releases and TV series. In future, the service intends offering more local content, producing its own original content, like chat shows, as well as streaming live from events like Pride.
Lagos in focus at TIFF 2016
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This year Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) City to City programme will focus on Lagos, Nigeria. The City to City selection is curated by Cameron Bailey, artistic director of TIFF, which takes place from 8 to 18 September 2016. This is the eighth year for the City to City programme, which showcases filmmakers living and working in a selected city, regardless of where their films are set. The City to City: Lagos line-up was announced on 16 August. The programme also includes a TIFF Rising Stars spotlight of two up-and-coming actors from Lagos: OC Ukeje and Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama; as well as an ‘In Conversation With’ segment that will feature Nigerian actor, film producer, and
singer Genevieve Nnaji, and actor, film producer, and director Kunle Afolayan.
The full Lagos City to City screening selection: • The Wedding Party – Kemi Adetiba • 76 – Izu Ojukwu • 93 Days – Steve Gukas • The Arbitration – Niyi Akinmolayan • Green White Green – Abba Makama • Just Not Married – Uduak-Obong Patrick • Okafor’s Law – Omoni Oboli • Oko Ashewo (Taxi Driver) – Daniel Emeke Oriahi
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Making movies no matter the hurdle How not to let a lack of funding hold you back, and make a film on 10 grand? The Blackmagician shot an indie feature film titled Killjoy for R18 000 and their latest offering, the short black comedy film You really outdid yourself this time didn’t you, fool, with R10 000 was completed in May 2016. The Blackmagician intends to create groundbreaking material for the South African audience while building up for an international market, something they have been doing since it was established in 2013. A Johannesburg film studio that produces “gritty and unapologetic films set to celebrate contemporary culture,” according to one of its founders Babili Maseko. He and cofounder Owethu Njotina, both straight out of film school, had a passion for film making and a desire to create their own films and tell their stories through their own voices, which inspired the launch of The Blackmagician. Sans resources from funding to lighting, they instead decided to make a film that looked like it was deliberately shot in that style, with inspiration also being drawn from gangster films. You really outdid yourself this time didn’t you, fool, is about Mandla Sithole (Olis Mavuso) a young naive boxer who gets knocked out in the fourth round of an underground prize fight, which leads to him needing to escape a vicious gun toting loan shark, Msunukanyoko (Luthuli Dlamini) who loaned him money to train for the fight he just lost, all while trying to fix his collapsing relationship with his pregnant girlfriend, Mandisa (Tumi Malefo). The film stars award winning South African actor, Luthuli Dlamini. Practically pro bono Dlamini’s participation emphasises the camaraderie in the growing film industry and the need for more entrepreneurs to start studios and make films and grow the trade. Maseko says he was inspired for this film in a photo shoot he did about a white couple who could not get jobs in the new South Africa because of their age. They were in their late 40s. “There was this
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Your ideas. Illuminated.
particular scene that really inspired the film, here the women refuses to let her husband into the house after another unsuccessful job hunting day. He’s standing out there trying to figure out what is going on with her and it starts to rain. She’s just looking at him through the glass door not letting him in,” says Maseko. Maseko wanted filming to be done in December 2015 but delays meant they shot in March 2016. “Which was a good thing really, because we were able to plan and cast the film properly, had we shot in December we wouldn’t have an actor of Luthuli Dlamini’s calibre to be in the film.” The film was shot over 14 days at The Blackmagician studio in the Joburg CBD. “The film was fairly easy to cast; we used our colleagues at The Madhouse which is an art residence programme within The Blackmagician Studios. We decided, since we have these actors and actresses in the residence programme, why not use them? We partnered them with other actors who are working in the film and television industry like Luthuli Dlamini, Olis Mavuso (The Madhouse art residence programme recruit) and Tumi Malefo.” Maseko says the only casting headache was finding the villain but Dlamini agreed to take an almost 100 per cent pay cut. The film was shot in full HD using a Panasonic GH2 and some old lenses. Maseko is a writer, director and cinematographer. Born in Swaziland, he moved to Johannesburg to begin his creative studies. He has a diploma in Film and TV production which he obtained at City Varsity School of creative arts. Co-founder Njotina is a South African writer, film reviewer and director. He studied film and TV production techniques at City Varsity School of Media And Creative Arts, and majored in scriptwriting and directing. He writes about moral issues, social standards and the complexities of human behaviour, genres that he repeatedly works on are gangster, crime and comedy. – Cera-Jane Catton
GRITTY AND UNAPOLOGETIC: The Blackmagician co-founder Babili Maseko
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Crystal Vision’s Vision 3 Frame System Crystal Vision recently unveiled its Vision frame system along with its core cards essential for any interface system, including up and down converters, synchronisers, fibre optic transmitters and receivers, audio embedders/de-embedders and distribution amplifiers for analogue and digital video and audio. With its ability to work with higher bandwidth signals such as IP and 4K (as well as SDI), benefits offered by the Vision 3 frame include high packing density of up to 20 cards in 3U, numerous outputs and dual syncs distributed from the frame. Four of the 12 Vision cards are distribution amplifiers – an essential part of any interface system and traditionally best sellers amongst the Crystal Vision range. 3GDA-VF is a flexible video distribution amplifier: it can be configured as reclocking or non-reclocking, it will distribute any digital video (3Gb/s, HD and SD) as well as being DVB-ASI compatible, and it is not even limited to video with its ability to distribute MADI (AES10) audio. 3GDA-VF gives more outputs per slot than Crystal Vision has ever offered before: six outputs from a standard single slot rear module (or nine outputs using micro BNCs), and 12 outputs from a double slot rear module. This is Crystal Vision’s most cost-effective 3GDA with signal reporting to date, as well as the first time the company has offered remote monitoring on a MADI DA. Crystal Vision’s 3GDA-VF 3G/HD/SD distribution amplifier, part of the Vision 3 frame system The VDA-VF distribution amplifier has been designed to provide multiple outputs of analogue sources. With the Vision 3 frame including dual syncs distributed to every card, it is anticipated that the role of VDA-VF will UP-DOWN-ATXS-VF each offer a different set of features for different applications largely be to distribute the station reference to the frame itself, with one VDA-VF and budgets, including AFD insertion and reading, audio routing, video and audio able to supply a reference feed to up to 12 Vision frames – with 12 outputs being delays, timecode conversion, teletext and closed captions handling and the most that Crystal Vision has ever offered on an analogue video DA. In addition downstream video synchronisers. to reference distribution VDA-VF can also be used to distribute SD or HD The final two Vision cards to be released in September have been designed for analogue composite video, with its remotely-adjustable features including gain those using embedded audio. adjustments of +/-3dB and clamp. Working with 3Gb/s, HD and SD sources and both AES and analogue audio, There are two Vision cards for the distribution of discrete audio. SYNNER-VF combines a video synchroniser, tracking audio delay, embedder, DADA-VF is an AES audio distribution amplifier, which provides four outputs per de-embedder, audio processor and video proc-amp to simplify system designs channel when configured as a dual channel device or eight outputs when and save engineers money and rack space. In addition to its main function as a configured as single channel. The input can be user selected as reclocking or sophisticated video synchroniser, it can embed and de-embed a mixture of up to non-reclocking, while DADA-VF includes support for 110ohm and 75ohm input two groups of analogue audio and four groups of AES at the same time, making it and output impedance, 32kHz to 192kHz sample rates and word clock distribution. ideal for any signal timing applications where external audio needs to be AADA-VF is a dual channel analogue audio distribution amplifier which can be embedded or de-embedded such as on the station output, station input or before used either in ‘mono’ mode where input 1 goes to all eight outputs, or in ‘stereo’ a studio mixer. mode where inputs 1 and 2 each go to four outputs. With highly robust inputs and For those that don’t need to synchronise, TANDEM10-VF is a dedicated audio outputs, features include audio silence and overvoltage detection and the most embedder/de-embedder with the ability to embed and de-embed a mixture of up extensive gain adjustment Crystal Vision has ever offered, with adjustments over to four groups of AES and two groups of analogue audio at the same time, with its +/- 30dB in 0.5dB increments. useful features including audio and video processing and flexible In addition to distribution amplifiers, fibre optic transmitters and receivers have delay compensation. always been products that Crystal Vision traditionally sells in large quantities for The Vision 3 frame has been designed to handle higher bandwidth signals transporting signals over large distances, and two such cards – the FTX-VF and the including video over IP, and Crystal Vision is currently developing SMPTE FRX-VF – were also among the initial Vision product releases. 2022-based IP gateway products for converting between SDI and IP signals which Leading broadcasters have standardised on the picture quality of the are protocol agnostic, with the software-based approach making it easy to company’s up and down converters, and four of the Vision cards are up/down/ configure them for other agreed protocols. cross converters. UP-DOWN-A-VF, UP-DOWN-ATX-VF, UP-DOWN-AS-VF and Crystal Vision products are distributed in South Africa by Telemedia.
TSL PAM-IP audio monitor Marketed as the first ever audio monitor for uncompressed video over IP, the PAM-IP is the latest variant in the PAM range and is designed to smooth the transition to IP workflow. On top of the existing functionalities of the PAM range the new model adds support for Video over IP (S2022-6), Audio over IP (Dante/AES67) and UHD (4K over 12G-SDI or Quad 3G-SDI). These additional features make it ideally suited as a monitor for use in the tranisition to IP. The design of the PAM-IP allows for video audio and their associated metadata to be monitored from either a traditional SDI source or a S2022-6 IP stream. This suits it well to a hybrid environment where SDI, AES and analogue exists alongside IP-based infrastructure. The PAM-IP can also be used a format converter from Video over IP to SDI and HDMI. This allows one to interface non-IP capable equipment such as monitors and multi-viewers using SDI or HDMI outputs of the PAM-IP. TSL products are distributed in South Africa by Inala Broadcast. 10 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2016
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Sony MCX-500 live production switcher Sony has released its latest multicam switcher designed to enable a single operator or small team to produce a broadcast quality live event. Multiple video inputs include 3G-SDI, HDMI, composite video and dedicated DK. These enable users to mix and match kit as needed for each production.
Features: • Smart controls with configurable LCD touchscreen • Enables mixing between eight video sources plus one dedicated title input • Multi-view monitoring – all sources and outputs on a single display • Advanced titling and effects: Chroma key, transitions and Picture in Picture (PinP) • Facilitates live streaming via ethernet • PC, Mac and Tablet integration • Full HD support • Record direct to SD memory card • Audio mixing of up to five channels, including XLR • Seamless integration with Sony camcorders and PTZ cameras
Avid NEXIS | PRO Team bundles Avid has announced new Avid NEXIS | PRO Team Bundles featuring Avid Storage Suite, Artist Suite and third-party solutions, enabling creative teams to enjoy the benefits of Avid’s unmatched collaborative capabilities and seamless, end-to-end workflows at a very affordable price. Avid also announced that Avid NEXIS | PRO now includes axle Starter media management software free of charge, and a limited-time offer for the standalone Avid NEXIS | PRO. Designed for small workgroups including boutique editorial, corporate media production and educational departments, Avid NEXIS | PRO provides the high-speed performance needed to accelerate workflows. Customers can experience real-time editorial collaboration, work with a variety of Avid and third-party systems, and get the data protection, flexibility, and scalability only Avid can deliver. Avid NEXIS | PRO supports all the top media creation applications, including Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere Pro and Apple Final Cut Pro editing systems. Customers can now purchase NEXIS | PRO Team Bundles that include Avid Media Composer, Avid Pro Tools, Avid Artist | DNxIO, axle Starter and more. These specially priced bundles are now available through Avid resellers. Thanks to the Avid Alliance Partner Program, each Avid NEXIS | PRO purchase now includes a two-user licence for axle Starter media management software, providing simple and powerful capabilities that allow media professionals to efficiently find, share, use/reuse and share media storage on their Avid software-defined storage platform at no additional cost. The Alliance Partner Program offers the closest relationship between Avid and its connectivity partners, forming the basis of an invaluable, multi-year partnership for the most reputed and mission-critical products required by mutual customers. Membership is by invitation only, requires rigorous certification, and gives partners access to the Avid Sales Network, encompassing worldwide distribution, sales, training, promotion and support. Avid’s video editing and storage products and solutions are distributed in South Africa by Jasco.
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A legend and a car brand make music together Storytelling is how great advertising has always evoked emotion for great brands. Call it branded entertainment, content marketing, or character-driven content; if it moves you like the collaboration between music legend Hugh Masekela and Mercedes-Benz, which has produced a hit song, it’s winning marketing.
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s part of an iconic campaign by Mercedes-Benz South Africa to showcase its range of SUVs released in 2015/2016, a series of short films featuring various local celebrities driving around South Africa in the car brand’s new models have been released via social media over the past year. The latest and fifth episode of the six-part series for the campaign, “Find Your Best – #EveryTerrain,” features trumpeter Hugh Masekela and MiCasa frontman, J’Something. Their task: to create a song inspired by their journey through the beauty of South Africa and their own interaction. What has emerged is laden with emotion as Masekela recounts how, when he returned to South Africa after being away so many years, he took a drive through the country to familiarise himself with his heritage. The short film features the stunning scenery of the Garden Route as the two drive their Mercedes-Benz GLS, but also captures the emotion within moving interactions between the two musicians. The result is a song released midAugust that immediately received airplay and accolades on South African radio stations and will feature on Masekela’s next album. The fact that they have a hit on their hands was not part of the plan, says Selvin Govender, marketing director, Mercedes-Benz Cars. But it is the reason they have now thrown some PR behind it.
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J’Something and Hugh Masekela in the fifth episode of the Mercedes GLS campaign
The song “Heaven in You” by Masekela and J’Something, has at its heart, Masekela’s love for his homeland despite his exile during the Apartheid years.
Talented personalities This Mercedes-Benz campaign is a range campaign, whereby all the new model SUVs are showcased during the short films, which are then released via various social media platforms. Each one features two celebs who have 48 hours to produce a “once-of-a-kind creation” which showcases their talents. Says Govender: “The reality/ documentary style offers a candid reflection of a mission to get somewhere, while making something of the experience. These films celebrate our culture and diversity superbly and also showcase the vehicles’ capabilities.” He emphasised that this content direction was credible, character-driven and engaging and compelling to a broader audience. “We’re highlighting the encompassing beauty of our country and bringing home what South Africans love about our lifestyle while we position Mercedes-Benz SUVs as the best on every terrain.” Episode 6 is the last in the campaign and will be released in October, featuring the latest SUV, the GLC Coupe and a concept still in the works. Episode 1 featured songbird Lira and comedian Loyisa Gola creating a Zulu song; Episode 2 was filmed in Namibia at the launch of three SUVs with presenter Lerato Kganyago and fashion designer Craig Jacobs on a 48-hour challenge across the desert; Episode 3 centred on fine dining with Chef Marthinus Ferreira and sport star Mark Boucher on the Wild Coast; and Episode 4 featured lion whisperer Kevin Richardson and filmmaker Adrian Steirn, with a conservation message that went
viral, reaching almost a billion people globally and featuring in the New York Times. J’Something described his road trip with Masekela, saying: “Spending 48 hours with one of my mentors and someone I look up to in the music industry has been the highlight of my career. Listening to Bra Hugh talk about South Africa as his first love, witnessing the beauty he sees in everything – the land, the people, the endless opportunities – and then watching him translate this passion into music was awe-inspiring. “‘Heaven In You’ is more than just a great song; I wanted to write a love letter from Hugh Masekela for South Africa that captured his relationship with the country and the respect, love and gratitude I have for this land. I hope this song will inspire people to love and appreciate every curve of this beautiful country.”
Storytelling In an interview with Screen Africa, Govender says the range campaign came from head office in Germany, but that the storytelling concept putting local celebrities in the SUVs and sending them into some of the most beautiful parts of South Africa, was conceptualised with their local agencies, primarily Net#work BBDO and Gingko Agency, led by Adrian Steirn, who headed up the project. iProspects is the digital agency with OMG handling media buying. Much of what was featured in the final films was story-led and what came out of the interaction between the characters. “Obviously we go through a storyboard of what we want to achieve, but the personalities and on-screen persona is very different and we tried to let it play out and kept it going if it fit the storyline,” says Govender.
“We had no clue we were going to get a hit song out of it. We didn’t ask J to go out there and create a hit song. We wanted him to create a song for Hugh Masekela. J then came to us and said he thought we had a hit there!” Govender says each episode of the campaign focussed on a particular lifestyle aspect that the Merc brand touches on and by distributing the content to the right channels, they hoped to engage with future and prospective customers and invoke a sense of belonging, our heritage and help them find a match in the Merc brand. “But more than that, engaging with the audience with local, authentic, great content, was important. Great content is what people are after. This was the reason we put money behind a campaign that people would relate to. And create a relationship with the brand through easily relatable protagonists,” Govender adds. As far as the numbers go, Govender says the views and consumption of the short episodes of the campaign so far were excellent, and had led to a spike in the awareness of their products, leads and requests for more information. “We are very pleased. The brand loved what it evoked out there in the world. We set ourselves a few KPIs and we are very happy. The brand is the strongest it has been and I like to think it is because we are able to connect with our audience through strong, relevant content, not just content to fill up the digital space.” Govender hopes viewers will find the films inspiring. “The fact that our filmmakers were able to capture the essence of this country, the most amazing scenery… it’s a constant reminder of how great this country is.” – Louise Marsland
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Merry go music
Director Keith Rose, with a polecam, on the KFC commercial
KFC initiates the return of “It’s Finger Lickin’ Good” in its latest TVC featuring the song ‘Good Vibrations’, which turns Church Square in Cape Town’s CBD into an alfresco orchestra.
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n the commercial, the various features of a playground are turned into musical instruments, with each swing, jump and skip supplying a beat or a note in an improvised, orchestrated rendition of the Beach Boys classic. KFC and Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg asked director Keith Rose at Velocity Films to create a TVC that evokes the taste of KFC in a unique and unexpected way. “This advert should celebrate the moments in life that unite us all. It features a full adult size themed play park where families are enjoying a picnic with fun, games and fairground entertainment, including roundabouts and hopscotch,” explains Shannon Gloyne, producer at Velocity. She describes how in the commercial a group of friends craft the elements of the park to produce upbeat music as the people of the park bring the song to life. It was Rose’s vision to remove the park
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from the more traditional green, leafy park environment and to situate it in an urban, inner city area embracing the everyday grit of life, and so, it was built in the CBD. “We see a mundane environment transported in an unexpected but deliberate fashion. We open on a group of friends rigging up the last pieces of equipment and getting into position, together they begin the core of their musical track. The narrative from here is simple, we encounter different groups of people emerging to partake in this event. The musical symphony builds towards a heart-warming ending,” says Gloyne. “We avoided the use of primary colour throughout as this would create a childlike impression which would distract from our bold and authentic vision of a reinvented environment appealing to an older market,” adds Gloyne. The layout of the park is designed to create the impression
of a stage band where each element plays its part. “The gritty qualities we see in street life ultimately provide us with a point of difference,” Gloyne explains. In order to maximise shooting time they shot with five cameras, each on a different rig, making use of crane platforms, rooftops, polecams and Ronin rigs, as well as handheld shooting. Gloyne explains that Church Square is surrounded by high-rise buildings and therefore they did not have access to much natural lighting. “Huge reflectors were placed on a rooftop of one of the adjacent buildings and light was bounced down to the square. This lighting was further enhanced during the postproduction process,” she says. In order to build up the city environment in the background, additional buildings were added in during post-production. “It was also necessary to rotoscope a few of the camera crew out of the top shots,” adds Gloyne. Filming took place over two days at the end of May 2016. The design and manufacture of the park was undertaken by Mary Minty at Artichoke and the stylist was Sylvia van Heerden. Saki Bergh at Left Post Production was the editor and the online VFX were done by Keno Naidoo, Michael Naidoo and Giulio
Galinos at Left Post Production. Terry Simpson at Black Ginger was the colourist. Final mix and sound design was completed with Dave Harris at Freq’ncy. The biggest challenge of the production was finding a track which would be able to work to the beat and percussion created by the musical instruments as developed in the park, and, adds Gloyne, a song which everyone agreed on. “Numerous international and local music searches were undertaken. Once narrowed down to a handful of song options, music rights were investigated, and this was then followed by briefing a group of international and local music producers who compiled pilots,” says Gloyne. After an intensive four-month period, they were able to narrow it down to one pilot. The musician, Markus Wormstorm of Honeymoon Studios, then worked very closely with the director and editor to compile numerous offline edits. “It was tricky; as you changed the music, you had to change the picture, and vice versa. It was difficult to get the pictures to feel good without having finalised music but with repeated music or picture sessions we eventually had a client approved commercial the day of material submission.” – Cera-Jane Catton
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Animation turns tune to fantasy
Still from WONDERboom’s latest music video for Great Escape
WONDERboom have released the first single from their latest album, Great Escape. The band needs no introduction and the song is exactly why they have been an SA treasure for twenty years.
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he animated music video for Great Escape is a sci-fi fairy tale about escaping evil with the one you love. “The video depicts two lovers/ heroes stuck on an alien planet who break free and escape through the galaxy. Action and chase ensues until the twist at the end,” explains WONDERboom frontman Cito. He says Roger Adrian Williams at Rog Kreativ presented the band with just the right treatment for the project. “Classic comic book with Sin-City-style animation to real images. Black and white to give it a vintage yet timeless feel,” he describes. Director, editor and animator, Williams had the vision and the skills to conceptualise, illustrate, direct and edit the video. “We were basically looking to make a video in a way we’ve never done before,” says Cito. The band especially enjoyed not featuring in the video the whole time. “The song’s sound inspired images of adventure and escape,” adds Cito. Williams says “The brief was for an animated music video, centred on some
sort of escape or adventure to visualise the song. We played with many ideas: escaping from some sort of confinement, a prison, war zone, whorehouse, hostage situation… Eventually we decided to go with an epic escape from an alien planet.” The production team consisted of Wiliams and Eleanor Barkes taking the project from concept to execution, including pre and post-production, direction and animation. The band scenes were filmed using a green screen at Phoenix Studios in Johannesburg. Shot in 12 hours in February 2016. The heroes were shot in Cape Town. “It was fun for us to do some acting and not just the usual musical performance stuff,” says Cito. His 19-year-old son acted as the villain aliens that they had to fight against. “So, it was lank fun beating each other up. Using my mic as some hardcore mace-type weapon was silly but appealed to my child inside. It was also cool skateboarding around the studio,” describes Cito. “The whole story acts as a metaphor
for the lyrics of the song, which touches upon ideas of solidarity, love, internal and external conflicts and fighting for what you believe in,” explains Williams. He says they wanted to create a slick, yet classic look and feel for the space adventure, without going very futuristic or over the top with the outer space elements. “We then developed a black and white, illustrated style which had elements of old frame-by-frame or cel animation, rich textures and areas where we composited the live footage of the band, making them morph in and out of their illustrated forms while battling aliens and assisting their friends on their journey,” describes Williams. The video was shot entirely on a Canon DSLRs 7D, 70D and 550D, using prime lenses only, as well as a Sony action camera. “It was all done in studio, and we managed to keep the equipment down to a minimum to get the shots that we needed for the animation,” explains Williams. He says the animation was done at eight frames per second, combining a line drawing illustration style with the green screen footage. “We wanted to give it all a somewhat old-school stop-motion feel, and also really wanted the illustrations of the band and the lead characters to work hard in creating the overall look of the video. It meant creating hundreds of illustrations on an extremely tight deadline. It was then all put together using Photoshop and
After Effects.” Williams describes the biggest challenge as creating the illustrations for the animated sequences. “The slightly lower frame rate of the stop-motion style made the workload a little lighter in that eight illustrations per second were needed, as opposed to 24. It meant working very methodically in creating the line drawings separately, re-doing them in colour (B/W), and then compositing and animating them in the compositions. This had to be done for every shot of every scene,” explains Williams. “Filming the fighting and surfing scenes with the band was fun. It was amazing how hey effortlessly brought their own unique style and moves to the action, whether it was using martial arts moves on aliens or using skateboards to simulate the hoverboard chase through outer space,” says Williams. WONDERboom guitarist Martin Schofield says “Making a good video on no budget, with one main man, we laughed and laughed at ourselves trying to act and Williams being an international martial arts champ had us doing flying kicks, punches and generally being violent with each other, which we don’t normally do.” The new album is due for release by Sheer Music in October. The video was released on 13 July 2016. – Cera-Jane Catton September 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 15
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Dunlop Tyres take you anywhere your imagination will go Henry Ford’s dream of providing every man with an affordable car was based on one simple principle: “The human condition has an uncontrollable need to be somewhere else.” Greg Francois, director of the new Dunlop Tyres Take the Road television commercial says that the spot, in a way, builds on this ideal insofar as no matter your journey Dunlop gives you the confidence to take the road.
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onceptualised by Durban-based advertising agency O’Donoghue and Associates, the TVC presents a number of drivers who, inspired by Dunlop and the confidence its tyres instill, take to the road on a series of incredible, almost inconceivable, journeys. However, rather than just travelling from point A to point B, the drivers transform their bland or familiar immediate environments that they are hoping to escape, into the spectacular world they individually and ideally would like to reach. “Each vehicle, in effect becomes a magic wand that sweeps through these initial settings miraculously transforming them as they drive,” comments Francois. Francois has a strong history with Dunlop as the previous commercial he shot for them ran for a remarkable six years. “There was a lot of upfront trust and we were extremely lucky to have very astute and passionate clients with us during the process.” As a brand, the Dunlop team was willing to take risks narratively and creatively on the Take the Road commercial, and the idea that a tyre
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Take the road… commercial could be emotive and more real was the driving force behind the current TVC. “They took a big leap of faith and I believe that paid off tenfold in the end. They somehow understood that the post production element was going to take the commercial to another level. They trusted that once we had finished shooting, a whole other world would come into play, this was very difficult to visualise,” explains Francois. The brief from the agency was extremely detailed, providing Cape Town-based production house The Joneses – of which Greg is a co-founder – with animated tests that described the kind of effects they were looking for. These elements served as a template on which the finished product was constructed. “Licence was then taken in interpreting an outrageous yet plausible illusion that has defined this campaign,” Francois says. “It is always dangerous for a director to stray from the original brief but given our track record with this client, there was a lot of trust in extending the possibilities of this concept.” A very thorough pre-production process ensured everyone had a fair idea of what to expect. With such an ambitious project the team at The Joneses wanted to exceed expectations, delivering a commercial that is truly breathtaking. Francois says that he envisioned this campaign as “a visual anthem that takes ownership of the road and our insatiable desire to explore.” However, rather than a collection of beautiful driving shots, he imagined a transcendent experience where the rich and emotive qualities that define each destination are revealed in a completely unique manner. “Hollywood has set a remarkable precedent in
creating a world so outrageous yet so realistic the viewer has no choice but to accept this new reality. A city rising out of the desert or a waterfall tumbling down into an urban canyon certainly pushes similar boundaries.” The project was based on the same principle in that an outrageous and explicitly farfetched scenario becomes plausible through the realism in which it was executed. To achieve this augmented reality, elements of live action and computer generated animation were combined in such a way that, although the viewer recognises an extreme distortion of reality, he/she cannot identify what is real and what is digital. “To create a visual anthem this commercial needed an epic look. Extreme aerial perspectives chasing our cast by helicopter offered that big picture feel and gave the animators space for entire cities to rise out of the ground. As this is not a car commercial, emphasis was also placed on the human experience so cutaways of our cast’s reactions to the changing world required rigs mounted in and around the vehicles,” Francois expands. “I try to shoot as much in-camera as possible relying on computer animation to fill in the details and complete a reality that does not exist. In this instance, a number of in-camera special effects were used to bridge real and digital worlds. For example, the technology to animate thousands of tons of water tumbling down the side of a building exists but this sequence needed more for it to be believed. To complete this illusion three tons of water were raised eight meters above the street and dumped next to the vehicle as it drove past. The absolute realism of so much water connecting with the road and
exploding in slow motion gave life to what could have appeared a very synthetic waterfall.” Historically, tyre commercials are known to be masculine and rugged in character, relying on raw performance to sell what is essentially a grudge purchase. This campaign celebrates the wonder and spectacle of both our physical journey and our life’s journey rather than just showcasing rubber on asphalt. “It is this emotion that we believe the viewer will connect with and ultimately be inspired by,” Francois concludes. – Chanelle Ellaya
Key crew: Production Director: Greg Francois Executive producer: Tess Tambourlas DOP: Alard De Smidt Helicopter Pilot: Gert Uys Aerial Cameraman: Chris Lomax Assistant Directors: Tony Tex and Megan Truter Art Director: Simon McLoughlin
Post Production Deliverance Post Offline edit: Ricky Boyd Online: David Oosthuizen Executive producer: Paula Raphael CGI: Lung Animation Post-production supervisor: Arri Reschke Producer: Jean Mortlock
Audio and Final Mix Freq’ncy with Simon Malherbe
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Hip hop heads back to the hood Producer Dave Thompson has worked with artists Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Bob Dylan, Britney Spears, Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Guns ‘n Roses, Jay Z, Nirvana, Pink, Puff Daddy, R Kelly, Toni Braxton, Usher, Whitney Houston and most recently Coopay, a South African artist who has just released the music video for their debut single ‘Trigger Happy Chappy’. Thompson is the co-owner of Boom Studios, a South African record label breaking the mould and nurturing up-and-coming talent. During his 41-year music career he has conceptualised and coordinated promotional and marketing campaigns for the aforementioned artists. “It’s common practice for the artists themselves to pitch ideas which invariably are either way too expensive or impractical – the trick is trying to find an effective compromise – having an artist deliver a convincing performance for a video concept that they’re not convinced about in the first place is a recipe for disaster,” explains Thompson. So effectively the brief for this music video started with him outlining that he wanted
Still from the Coopay music video Trigger Happy Chappy
to stay away from the usual hip hop video clichés about expensive cars, clubs, mansion swimming pools and girls in bikinis. “In addition I asked if they could find a way to incorporate the re-cycling and scrap metal collectors that drag their trolleys across the city each day – in other words some imagery far removed from the world of bling.” The video was produced by Johannesburg based The Moving Billboard Picture Company. It was shot around the Johannesburg CBD: Faraday Taxi rank, Jeppestown, Newtown and the peripheral areas, a site near the old gas works, an area near a refuse dump in Doornfontein and a location near Malvern at the eastern end of Commissioner and Jules Street. DOP Dan Teffo shot the
video on a Sony FS7. “The idea was to use elements that weren’t part of the usual hip-hop culture, which were then refined into a workable storyboard by the director Noma Khumalo, Coopay and team,” says Thompson. Director Khumalo says that Coopay too was looking for a video that would transcend the stereotype about hip hop musicians, one that would allow him to be portrayed as a guy on the streets. “I took the title and created contrasting images of the bling lifestyle – showing him as a beggar, a taxi driver, a vagrant recycler and shop owner,” she explains. A passion project, Khumalo says the video was a play on the title ‘Trigger Happy’ and looks at people finding
various triggers for their happiness despite their environment and circumstances. She says budget was an obstacle, second to shooting in downtown Johannesburg. “Now, elitism aside, downtown is a nightmare if you aren’t prepared. So traffic, spectators and the works were an issue but as filmmakers we are by nature problem solvers. There is one scene we shot where the occupants refused to vacate the area and we ended up incorporating them into the sequence,” describes Khumalo. Using an element of realism, Khumalo explains that they shot at specific times of day in selected locations to achieve the kind of light needed. “This gave us a more naturalistic feel that still allowed a fair amount of latitude in post. Joburg colour temps differ throughout the day, we started at 3h00 and shot into the afternoon,” says Khumalo. She says the locations further restricted their use of light and they used small fillers and poly bounces, using the natural ambient light as much as they could. Edited by Bruce McLaren Lyall, the video certainly transcends all hip hop traditions. It furthermore makes the streets of Jozi stand out as cool parts of the hood. “Music is expressing life with all the boring parts cut out,” says Coopay, and his video certainly does turn the mundane into the mood. – Cera-Jane Catton
Louder than words New Balance (NB) has launched their first global lifestyle creative platform: ‘Numbers speak louder than words.’ Fashioning a fully integrated creative space for NB Lifestyle by fusing together the digital and physical worlds with a shared passion for ingenuity. The first of four SA commercials features the fresh photographer, Dean Petersen from Cape Town. Samantha Wentzel, producer at King James agency, says the campaign pays tribute to New Balance’s unique model numbers of their shoes, and building on that the role numbers play in one’s life, from birth dates, anniversaries and milestones to the date your business went public. “The new campaign reflects the aspiring creative community that New Balance lifestyle appeals to, a group of people who are constantly improving, creating and thinking about the next thing.” Built around the principal that numbers speak louder than words, Wentzel says that while their task was to follow the global template, they wanted to create content videos that were uniquely South African, showcasing the New Balance lifestyle range in an SA context. “We wanted the video to be an authentic representation of who Dean is
and what he does. Dean’s life is all about movement and the video had to reflect his adventurous spirit,” explains Wentzel. The video was shot in and around Cape Town, starting at Disa Park and moving to Salt River station, then the urban skate park and ending at Llandudno beach. This was all done in one day. First Pencil producer Brenda Wilson says that the difficulty in a documentary is portraying the subject as precisely as possible. The video was shot on two Sony a7s’ – one for following Petersen around and one for the time-lapse shots. Justine Calverley, the director, made use of jump cuts, ramps and reverses, and pillar boxing in the final edit. The video features many of Petersen’s pictures. “The only fun thing we managed to chuck in was a shot through a lens to illustrate how an aperture works,” describes Wilson. She says moving between that many locations in one day was a real challenge, but through planning and scouting ahead of time it was made possible. “We moved around with a skeleton crew and just shot and shot and shot,” she says. Adding: “Our models were all such good sports and so was Dean, what a champ. Right at the end of the day we even had Dean’s mom
Still from the New Balance commercial and her dog on set; it was probably the cutest thing ever and we’re pretty sad it never made it into the cut.” Shooting both the sunrise and sunset from two completely different parts of Cape Town in a day, starting in the city and moving to the beach was an experience for the filmmakers involved. The music was sourced by the editor Xander Van Der Westhuizen, using a track from his colleague Joni Blud. Nic Apostoli of Comfort and Fame did the grade and colour correction. The campaign serves to celebrate this year’s anniversaries of the brand: sneaker models 580, 999 and 995 will turn 20 and 30, respectively. The brand will also celebrate its 110th year in 2016. – Cera-Jane Catton
Key crew and companies involved: Editor: Xander Van Der Westhuizen Director: Justine Puren Calverley Producer: Brenda Wilson Grade: Nic Apostoli DOP: Pierre De Villiers Art Director: Moe Kakana Copy Writer: Marcelle du Plessis Creative Directors: Mike Wilson and Cameron Watson Production Company: First Pencil Agency: King James Post production company: Upstairs Post
September 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 17
FILM | South Africa | Nigeria
Comatose brings the global euthanasia debate home
From production house 1Take Media comes Comatose, an Afro-futurism feature film set for theatrical release in early 2017. The film presents an African perspective on the euthanasia debate…
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irector Mickey Madoda Dube – cofounder of 1Take Media with producer Fabian Adeoye Lojede – says that after being left entirely moved by the power of the original play by Nigerian/Canadian Playwright Jude Idada, he and Lojede decided they wanted to turn it into a film for the big screen. “This was four years ago around 2012, so it’s been a bit of a journey, 14 drafts and many challenges trying to raise financing and trying to get an international cast on board.” Comatose follows the battle between two siblings over the life of their ailing mother, who is in a coma. One wants to pull the plug. The other wants to keep her alive. Through it all, the comatose mother can hear everything. In a battle of wills, dark family secrets come to light, relationships are shattered and the true meaning of love is revealed. The doctors have told Nana’s daughter Omowunmi that she will never wake up from the coma. Struggling with piling medical bills, Omowunmi has resigned herself to pulling the plug. Segun – her brother, who has lived in the USA for the past 16 years and never once come back to visit his sickly mother – returns home and refuses to allow his sister to pull the plug. A set of highly charged conflicts occur as Omowunmi and Segun battle for the life and death of their mother. Dube highlights several reasons he and Lojede wanted to tell this story, the first being its unusual narrative “with a pithy subject matter” he says. Euthanasia as a global human dilemma has become increasingly more topical lately with many countries tabling it in parliament as a matter of importance. “Euthanasia and
18 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2016
assisted suicide are only permitted in very few countries in the world, yet it is something that affects millions of people daily as their loved ones remain stuck in comas for long periods and some eventually come out of comas, but many do not… There isn’t a conclusive stand on the issue, and as such it needs lots of discussion and engagement. This interests me as it delves deep into what life means, what death means… I wanted to make a film so rich and layered yet moving and mysterious all at once, throbbing with the energy and talent at our disposal, tackling an issue that is universal but spoken through our voice,” comments Dube. When it came to developing the script for the motion picture version of Comatose, Jude Idada wrote the first two drafts of the screenplay. Thereafter Dube and Lojede went on to write another 12 drafts, tweaking the narrative components until they were satisfied that it would translate well on the silver screen. The story is essentially still the same says Dube, but now that it is no longer a theatre piece, the filmmakers wanted to make sure that it “graduated to being cinematic.” Comments Dube: “We wanted it to be layered. In the play the whole story occurs inside the ward where Nana lies in the coma. While we kept a significant part of the story in the ward, we opened up the world of the film by introducing new characters…This device allowed us to make the film even more universal.” Additionally, the film differs from the play in that the world of the coma that the mother is trapped in is visualised for the audience. “In this world, she moves, she speaks, she reveals things to us that her warring kids will never know. In her world
time stands still and simultaneously hurtles at breakneck speed. Matter shifts and transforms. Reality confronts us with its own fallibility, and we start wondering if what we are watching is real time or delayed, is it material or echoed. Sometimes Nana’s world breaks the wall into ours, affects ours.” Casting for Comatose proved to be a challenge as well as an opportunity according to Dube. From the beginning, the goal was to attach an international cast to the project in an attempt to its chance of reaching international audiences. After negotiations with esteemed international actors including Sean Bean, Rupert Everett, Brendan Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Jim Broadbent and Giancarlo Esposito fell through due to budget constraints, Dube and Lojede decided to select a cast from the diverse talent in South Africa. Isidingo’s Robert Whitehead, veteran performer Mary Thwala, Jacob’s Cross’ Fabian Lojede, Nigerian actress Bimbo Akintola, France’s Aissa Maiga and the seasoned Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Pirates of the Caribbean, Black Sails, 24, Lost) all joined the Comatose cast. The overall driving concept of the film is based on a binary world where reality questions itself: What is and what isn’t. Directorially, creating these dual worlds and a distinction between the two was the driving force for Dube throughout the shooting process. DOP Tai Krige shot the film on the Arri Alexa, occasionally using the Blackmagic as a second camera particularly for Steadicam shots. Dube says that while the Alexa is superior due to its sensor and image quality, it is also superior in its delivery of incredible dynamic range and colour reproduction “and this fits perfectly with our juxtapositions of acute visual dynamism and the monochromatic.” He expands: “What was also going to be very useful for Comatose, over and above the image quality, was the Alexa’s ability for shallow depth of field coupled with its sensitive separation of foreground
and background, factors that fit it perfectly with our concept of dual worlds. The camera allowed us to decide more effectively where to direct the audience’s gaze, and given our probing moving style, this was critical. The Blackmagic also comes close to these qualities and we chose it because it often matches well with the Alexa in these characteristics and in the grade they talk to each other. The Blackmagic also allowed us easier movement due its size and weight where the Alexa could not.” Additionally, these two cameras were selected because the team knew that a high quality image would be crucial for the visual effects needed when creating the comatose world of the mother. “We had shot most of the scenes of Nana in her comatose world in green screen and we would need to create that world around her through compositing and CGI,” adds Dube. Filmed over five weeks in Durban, South Africa as well as in Lagos, Nigeria, Comatose is currently in post-production ahead of its early 2017 release. The film is funded by 1Take Media, the DTI, South Africa’s National Film and Video Foundation, and the KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission as well as a few investors from Nigeria and the UK. Comatose is set to be distributed by UIP in South Africa, by La Vingt-Cinquieme Heure in France and French-speaking territories, and by Film One in Nigeria. The team at 1Take Media is feeling very positive regarding the impending success of the film and the way in which it will contribute to the global euthanasia debate from a pan-African perspective. “I hope the audience takes away the idea that as Africans we can make ambitious films that tell unusual stories in unexpected ways and still be moved emotionally. I hope audiences will engage more with the idea that it is important to demand legislation around issues of euthanasia so that each individual and family are protected against making decisions that will compromise them,” Dube concludes. – Chanelle Ellaya
Eritrea
Merhawi Meles:
| Film
On Films about Love
For the past eight years, Eritrea has been ranked last in Reporters Without Borders press freedom index. The country has been a dictatorship since 1993 after battling for independence from Ethiopia, a war that took 30 years and saw hundreds of thousands of people dead. The tension between the two Horn of Africa states still remains high. In the tiny one-party state, press freedom is a luxury and to date there are at least fifteen journalists who are serving jail terms while others are held incommunicado.
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he country has also imposed a mandatory national military service to be completed by all Eritreans between the ages of 18 and 40, which has caused many to flee the country in search of greener pastures. Some people, however, like filmmaker Merhawi Meles, have chosen to stay and create stories that boldly tell about life in the capital city, Asmara. Meles explores themes like love, betrayal, intimacy and romance. A director and actor, his movies have a sizeable following among the Habesha community, both in Asmara and the diaspora. “Film is a passion that I have always had,” Meles says. “We are natural born story tellers and it takes the eye of a director to fulfill that story.” But what is a great Eritrean story? “We have gone through a lot as Eritreans,” Meles remarks. “Most of us have people living abroad, families we can’t access, siblings who died and our lives have been programmed with loss, so to me a great story is the one that does not deny but confronts these tragedies without prejudice and for me love is greater than hate, peace is better than war and that is why my stories, however basic, are fueled by human relationships.” Shot in intimate close-ups in suburban cafés and empty Asmara streets, his films are constructed with a French New Wave sensibility that draws the viewer deeply into the characters’ worlds. His YouTube film Abzeyelenalu, is a work true to his style; Meles’s lens is a reflective tool that colours his vision with beauty and a sense
of the sanctity of his country and culture. The film is a story about a young man who is head over heels in love with a woman, but rumours have hindered his chances and he has to scheme ways of convincing her of his love. “I like the fact this film has over 200 000 views from all over the world. I am not concerned with who watches it, but the fact that it’s different people from different parts of the world.” Why is that important? “It means everyone is interested in stories from different places and that means we are connected as story tellers and love as a theme goes beyond borders.” At 26, Meles has shot music videos, documentaries and dozens of films that have made him a force to be reckoned with in his home country. He’s recognised as an avid filmmaker who bravely explores human emotions. “He does not fear to tell love stories,” Eritrean TV producer, Yonas Solomon says. “We tend to get shy when it comes to relationships, but he goes beyond that and defines how we live in our bedroom, that’s why his films are loved here.” In a bid to connect with the diaspora, his films are uploaded on a YouTube channel named Love You Erena –LYE, a one of a kind Eritrean online TV whose motto is, ‘Bringing to you Eritrean Documentary, Movies, Comedy, Music Video, Entertainment in High Definition.’ The platform is based in Frankfurt, Germany with coordinating offices in US and Asmara. How about films about freedom of expression and democracy?
BOLD STORYTELLER: Merhawi Meles at work “After consideration and much thought,” Meles says, “we opted to stick with these themes for now, not out of fear but wisdom, to ensure we can survive and practice our art. I want to do as many films as I can that will maximise my creativity as much as it can regardless of any constraints, so that when the time comes for me to do other non love related stories, I won’t have to look back and wish I had done this or that while I had the opportunity.” A passionate auteur, Meles was trained at the Eritrean Institute of Technology, graduating with a diploma in film production in 2011. It was after the graduation that he travelled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and bought his camera gear and went back to Asmara where he began doing films with his friends
as crew. “It was fun I remember, when I started,” he says. “We started as three and now people contact me from all over the world wanting to be a part of my crew and cast.” For now, Eritreans’ homegrown interest in film will be measured by their undying passion to support their own, even in challenging times where art freedom is restricted and creativity is censored. Meles concludes: “A time will come for us to do create other types of films but before that, we will keep doing what we are doing: bringing love stories to the people of Eritrea and the world, hoping to change the mindset of those critics who think this country’s art is dead’. – Sam Charo September 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 19
FILM | Director Speak Kostay tis r Kala
Kosta Kalarytis began his career as a cartoonist and illustrator working for the Mail and Guardian during the late 90s. It was his lifelong passion for film that led to a stint in the animation and television industry, where he specialised in producing promos and movie trailers. He has since directed feature films and documentaries under his production company One Man Band, including Mules, a hard hitting exposé on drug mules in South Africa, and most recently the feature film Dora’s Peace. What is your background and how has this shaped you as a director? I was very passionate about film from a young age so I was always looking for ways to get a foothold in the film industry. With the advent of new technology things changed dramatically and I saw an opportunity to make the leap from cartoons to animation. After a few years of doing animation I made the jump to editing where I specialised in producing promos and movie trailers for television. While working there, I met a fellow colleague, Andrew Herold, who harboured ambitions as a screenwriter. Due to our shared passion for film, we decided to develop our first feature film and after a few years of raising finance, I jumped into the deep end and directed my first feature film, The Company You Keep in 2003. The film starred a few Hollywood actors as well as some locals and although it was set on the Texas Mexican border, it was shot in SA. Having no experience on set whatsoever it was a difficult shoot for me and let’s just say that I paid my school fees on that movie. It took me awhile to recover from that shoot and I spent many years 20 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2016
MORE FOCUSED BY EXPERIENCE: Kosta Kalarytis discussing a scene with actor Paballo Koza and crew on location in Hillbrow editing other people’s feature films until I was ready to direct again. That experience shaped me as a director because it made me become more focused and thus a more confident filmmaker. I realised that you need to prepare well and to oversee every aspect of the production but at the same time collaborate with other artists in order to get your vision across. I also have a strong visual sense due to my artistic background and being a film buff helps as it allows me to draw inspiration from other movies. Describe the moment you decided you wanted to become a director? At the age of about five years old, watching a Sergio Leone spaghetti western in a dingy cinema in Vanderbijlpark where I was born. Of course I didn’t know what a film director was at that time but the strong visual sense of Leone’s films together with Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack made a lasting impression on me. Where do you find inspiration? I’m inspired by other filmmakers including some of my all-time favourite directors like Leone, Peckinpah, Scorsese, the Coen brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson and most recently Nicolas Winding Refn. Do you have any mentors? Yes, plenty. Leone, Peckinpah, Scorsese…LOL. Who in the industry would you really like to work with? I’m really looking forward to working with a multitude of local talent both in front and behind the camera, especially our actors who I don’t think are given enough credit. What are your personal career milestones? Growing up in a small town and finding work in Johannesburg at a young age as an illustrator and cartoonist was a career milestone for me. It gave me the confidence to pursue my creative goals, which finally resulted in a career in the film industry and the production of Dora’s Peace, a film that I’m immensely proud of. Which projects are you currently involved in? I have two completed screenplays that I’m developing
together with my friend and screenwriter, Andrew Herold, who also wrote Dora’s Peace. DO YOU PREFER FILMING or illustrating? I enjoy illustrating and filming equally and because I storyboard a lot on my films it is part of the filmmaking process, so I have the best of both worlds. What has been your FUNNIEST moment on set? Well I have a great sense of humour and it’s better to laugh than cry, especially on a film set when you’re supposed to lead by example. But if I had to choose the most recent one, it would be on the set of Dora’s Peace when one of the villains (who shall remain nameless) was chasing our heroine with a large gun when his pants fell off, but then he twisted his ankle and couldn’t walk anymore and we started losing the light and then it wasn’t so funny anymore. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY FILMMAKER SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE? The ability to win the lotto every week so I can have funds to make countless movies until the day I die. WHAT ARE YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE PARTS OF THE JOB? Eating those awful assorted biscuits and drinking that terrible coffee every day when shooting. I heard they were drinking Chivas and eating Beluga caviar on the set of The Avengers, which was shot partly in Joburg the same time as Dora’s Peace, so until our actors start wearing spandex… If you could produce an African version of a Hollywood classic, what would it be? Taxi Driver. Imagine the chaos. WHEN YOU’RE NOT BUSY DIRECTING HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR DOWN TIME? Well I was a bachelor for 45 years so it was always movies, movies, movies, until I recently married and had a kid so now it’s Teletubbies, Barney, dirty nappies and a few less movies. What or where is your happy place? In the cinema and with my crazy, beautiful family. Compiled by Cera-Jane Catton
Behind the scenes on
Behind the Scenes The Earth Touch web series Behind The Scenes (BTS) looks just there, behind the scenes on the company’s wildlife documentaries. Sharing their insider filmmaking secrets in an ebullient how-to series, from sussing out equipment in action to the tricks in the sound room; tips on the ground to the cutting room. The six-part series offers practical guidelines, in a droll and expedient manner, to make the most of your footage.
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tephen Embleton, news network and online manager at Earth Touch says “This is a fun series to make and put out for people to get a better sense of what goes into natural history filmmaking (and filmmaking in general). And for them to have a better appreciation for the work on our screens.” The series has received close to half a million views with a good public response. “Generally comments and feedback have been ‘mind blowing, didn’t know how they did this,’ and so we are motivated to reveal more behind the scenes,” says Embleton. The first in the series is 3D Rigs At 3000ft, a behind-the-scenes look at a film shoot using a Jet Ranger rigged with gyroscopic stabilised 3D cameras.
SHARING FILMMAKING SECRETS: Behind the scenes on 3D Rigs At 3000ft with the Jet Ranger and camera setup Embleton says the brief was to film BTS while the crew provide a variety of aerials above KwaZulu-Natal from the mountain ranges of the Drakensberg to the estuaries of the coastline. They filmed to as far afield as Hluhluwe and Sodwana Bay. It was to be rough and ready, behind-the-scenes in the field. For this episode Earth Touch worked with Visual Impact and Rocksolid Remotes. As with most of the series the vibe is handmade, drawn and informal; in other words, simple to understand and fun to watch. For this episode they shot on two Arri Alexa cameras, Canon 5D DSLR, using a Libra mount stabiliser. They used no lighting techniques, in the belief that natural light was essential. Edited in Final Cut Pro, custom 3D parallax software by Visual Impact. The key crew involved in the production and post-production included: Embleton on camera, directing and post-edit; Bill Olmsted on heli; Stefan Nell on 3D rig, Brad Maloney on Libra, Shaun de Ponte assisting on convergence; David Birch on final mix, Adriaan Landman on graphics and Benjamin Hewett on production.
The episode covers all aspects of filming in 3D, “To educate people on the technology and what is involved in surviving a helicopter that is possibly at capacity over extreme conditions,” explains Embleton. The second webisode is Drone Testing: Going underwater with hippos, where they show the BTS of a submarine drone rig being constructed, while in the field in the Okavango. This is another rough and ready BTS filmed between Durban and Botswana using nothing but natural lighting. The cameras used on this BTS were a GoPro to film the drone and DSLR for behind-the-scenes. It was completed in Final Cut Pro. The key crew involved in the production and post-production were: Bartjan Hooft on the drone build and BTS filming, and edit; Barry Skinstad as underwater cameraman; Grant Brokensha as underwater cameraman; Chris Stear as underwater cameraman and camera assistant; Richard Boltar as dive operator and boat skipper; Embleton on edit, Birch on final mix, Landman on graffics, and Hewett on production.
| Documentary Effectively Earth Touch teams built a drone to show audiences what Africa’s most dangerous animals get up to underwater, and apparently that was not as easy as they thought it would be. “Navigation via remote, watching crew fine tune the drone and not let water damage the expensive gear inside, get up close to hippos in the Delta, getting the final shot,” says Embleton, was no easy feat. The third in the series is Filming Underwater with an iPhone, in which Earth Touch film crew test out the iPhone’s aquatic filming capabilities. Diving into the sea at Sodwana Bay to get the lowdown on the Patima iPhone 4S underwater housing, and they also give a few tips and tricks for setting up your phone, tackling challenging lighting conditions or no lighting underwater, and then the dos and don’ts of filming ocean life on an iPhone. The next and fourth in the series is Making Of: iPhone Films where Earth Touch crew make a nature documentary with an iPhone. From setting up, to equipment rundowns and a few cheats in between, the webinar describes how one can make the smallest subjects come to life with a phone. The fifth in the series is Holey Foley where audiences get to go backstage behind the soundproof doors and into the world of Earth Touch’s audio experts as they perform the finicky art of Foley. They show exactly what it takes to enhance or recreate nature’s diverse sounds and bring a wildlife documentary to life. The final and sixth in the series is High-speed Camera 101 where an Earth Touch cameraman shows you how to get the best out of a high-speed camera as he travels to a tiny island colonised by birds to show you the magic of the Phantom. “We are always looking at other aspects of filmmaking that we can feature,” says Embleton. “Because we are currently working on VR 360 content, we think this will be one of the next to be featured.” There may be six in the series for now, but there will certainly be more behind-the-scenes to follow. – Cera-Jane Catton
September 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 21
Documentary
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Laughter is cheaper than medicine
(and often more effective)
SATIRE TO AFFECT CHANGE: Pieter-Dirk Uys and Willem Oelofsen
22 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2016
| Documentary
Nobody’s Died Laughing is a theatrical documentary revealing the life and work of performing artist and activist Pieter-Dirk Uys. Uncovering the man behind the prominent persona, a film crew tries to keep up with Uys as he tours SA, the world and on to his home in Darling, Western Cape.
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ilmmaker Willem Oelofsen explains his vision for A Journey with Pieter-Dirk Uys: “This film captures a man and a lifetime commitment to a country by using satire to affect change. I believe audiences will be intrigued to experience more about the man who refuses to be silenced while using the arts as his weapon against discrimination and confronting intolerance.” The film includes interviews with Desmond Tutu, Charlize Theron, FW De Klerk, Janet Suzman, Lizz Meiring, Anna-Mart van der Merwe, Zolani Mahola, Professor David Gere, Sophia Loren, Jonathan Shapiro and many more. It also includes previously unseen archive footage of Tessa Uys and Nelson Mandela. Oelofsen started researching Uys in 2014 and spent time with him in his personal archives in Darling. “In 2015, we simply picked up a camera and started following him around wherever he went: performing in Berlin or the Cape Flats, and watching him teach a roomful of teenagers about safe sex,” describes Oelofsen. “I found it fascinating that after 50 years in the entertainment industry he was still working at the same pace and with the same vigour as when he started.” Oelofsen got to know Pieter-Dirk Uys while he was working at Theatre on the Bay, where Uys was performing a season of his show Adapt or Fly. When Uys mentioned that he was turning 70 in 2015 the idea was sparked for Oelofsen to make a documentary about his life and work. Filming took place over the year of 2015, predominantly during April and August where Oelofsen shadowed Uys.
“The film follows Pieter-Dirk Uys from theatre productions, book signings and Aids education work to corporate shows and time at home, cut into the chronological story. We tell his life geographically, covering aspects from personal life in locations with significance to that part of his life,” describes Oelofsen. The film was shot mostly on the Sony FS7 and Canon 5D for gimble and CableCam shots. “When we used multiple cameras we brought in another Sony FS7, the main consideration for using Sony FS7 was mobility, navigating back-stage and following Pieter-Dirk Uys through diverse locations,” explains Oelofsen. He says the DOP Nic van der Westhuizen used a variety of lenses on the Sony to create a rich cinematic look for the film. Due to an intense travel schedule they kept kit to a minimum, even renting while overseas and keeping it simple with two LED key lights and a cosmo lighting set. For sound during interviews they used a lapel mic on guest speakers and a boom and shotgun mic. “For most of the interviews I also wore a lapel microphone just in case we needed to use the question in the film to establish context, but luckily we only ended up having to use my questions twice in the final cut of the film,” says Oelofsen. The key team who travelled with them to all the international locations and shot the majority of the material in South Africa were Oelofsen, the co-director and editor Geoffrey Butler and DOP Westhuizen. Butler doubled up as technical director as well, with a keen eye for what he wanted to have in the edit.
Final mix and grading was done at Waterfront Film Studios. “It was very important to me from the very beginning to create a layered and textured film to reflect Pieter-Dirk Uys’ life and composer Josh Wynter was part of the process from very early on,” says Oelofsen. “We also had the luxury which allowed Josh to compose for the picture and make a complete soundtrack for the entire film.” Wynter uses different music styles and sounds to reflect the rich tapestry of Uys’ life, the places they visited and the eras they talk about. “Rounding off the music for the film is an absolute kick-ass track by Jack Parow written specifically for the film, called ‘A Rebel Till He’s Dead’,” says Oelofsen. The documentary was filmed around South Africa: in Darling, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Stellenbosch and Grahamstown. “Internationally we did interviews in Los Angeles with Charlize Theron and David Gere, in London we filmed at the Soho Theatre and in Berlin we visited the Jewish Museum with Pieter-Dirk Uys, filmed his performance at the Deutsche Afrika Stiftung and in Geneva we interviewed Sophia Loren,” says Oelofsen. “I think it speaks a great deal about who Pieter-Dirk Uys is, considering that everybody wanted to be a part of this film, some arrangements were a bit more tricky than others; for Charlize I still had to deal with her PR staff, lawyers and Warner Bros. team who set-up a time for us to interview her,” explains Oelofsen. “I also had to fly Sophia Loren’s agent from Rome to join us for the interview in Geneva and had to sort out the release form with him. But timing and scheduling
was probably the trickiest part; you can imagine everybody wants time with Desmond Tutu, so it is a great honour that he made time for us.” Juggling shoots, interviews, and travel plans, Oelofsen has become a master planner. “As the director I had to be very clear about what I wanted to get out of each shoot,” says Oelofsen. “The biggest challenge during post production was media management and consolidation, especially as we used a huge amount of archive footage from a variety of sources.” Kyle Stroebel, colourist at Waterfront Film Studios, says the biggest challenge for him was in the multiple formats of the differing archive footage. “Conforming the multitude of material and then creating cohesion while still staying true to each country visited was the biggest test,” says Stroebel. “Pieter’s life is so colourful and simultaneously dramatic and we mimicked that in the grade. The edit and the way it was shot made achieving the vision quite simple, yet still allowed us to be creative in post. The strength of the Baselight system is in its innovation, and being able to quickly alter between looks which allowed us to keep manipulating the finish all the way until the final steps of the online process.” Uys and Oelofsen attended selected screenings around SA. A film by kykNET films and Vry Films in association with Lion’s Head Productions and Who Projects, it won Best Documentary at the Silwerskermfees, held in August 2016. It is currently in SA cinemas countrywide. – Cera-Jane Catton September 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 23
TELEVISION
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Unsung heroes
A SOUTH AFRICAN WAR: A large portion of filming took place on the original battlegrounds
Production recently wrapped on the three-part historical documentary-drama Black, White and Khaki, which takes a look at the Second Anglo Boer War from the perspective of its unsung heroes.
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eries director Robert Waldron says, “This certainly wasn’t a ‘white man’s war’ as the standpoint of the time tried to make it out to be…Without the participation, willingly or unwillingly, of tens of thousands of black, Indian and coloured South Africans in this war, it simply could not have been fought.” He says that people like Mohandas Ghandi carried stretchers for the British. Sol Plaatje, who was one of the founders of the ANC, was secretary to Baden-Powell during the siege of Mafeking. “These and other stories, which establish and recognise the invaluable role of blacks, coloureds and Indians in this war, are told in the new historical series.” Produced by Gauteng-based Wild Dog Productions, the series remembers and recognises the more than 24 000 Black people who died in concentration camps – records that were only recently
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uncovered reveal that there were concentration camps for Black South Africans as well, and these records also give an idea of the numbers that suffered. “This war was a South African war, and all South Africans took part. There was much courage and suffering by the agter-ryers (support riders), guides, trackers, scouts, trench-diggers, stretcher bearers, blockhouse builders and more that shaped the outcome of the war. It’s time all South Africans were included, and took ownership of this war,” says Waldron. The series shines a spotlight on other forgotten, often uncomfortable, and blatantly overlooked stories of the Anglo Boer War. “Approaching from a new perspective, it shows that this truly was a World War, with 29 nations involved. The New Zealand contingent brought with them Maori soldiers. The Australians brought Aboriginal trackers who were left behind. A group of volunteer Scandinavians helped to save the day at the battle of Magersfontein, and there were Irish brothers fighting each other on both sides,” explains Waldron. The French were present under Count Villebois Marieul, the Italians under the ostentatious leadership of Count Camillo Ricciardi, there were Canadians, a strong German and Netherlands contingent fighting for the Boers, even Russia was involved in a war that saw the largest overseas mobilisation of a British army in its history to that time. Shockingly, there were also women who took up arms and boys as young as twelve. “The series, by taking snapshots of the war, expands these parts into the whole, revealing the forgotten stories and people, and unearths the real structures of the war, and how it was fought.” Waldron and his team, gaining
permission from the MacGregor Museum for the Battle of Magersfontein, the Talana Museum for the Battle of Talana Hill, and the Battle of Spion Kop from Amafa KZN and Heritage KZN, were fortunate to film much of the series at many of the original battlefields, lending to the series a much preferred sense of verisimilitude that filmmakers strive for and audiences search for in period projects. “It was a moving experience to film on the actual battlefields,” says Waldron. “We felt honoured to pay homage this way to the fallen of both sides, and our actors felt it too.” The making of Black, White and Khaki employed the services of three major re-enactment groups, The Dundee Diehards, the Bittereinder Kommando, and the Oranje Vrijstaat Artillerie Corps. “These guys were amazing. Period authentic gear and weapons, enthusiasm and passion for the subject second to none, in depth historical knowledge,” Waldron adds. While it would be virtually impossible for the production to have harnessed the kind of representative numbers of the actual battles, to mimic these numbers the camera crew used up to five camera angles at a time, some with green screen, and Wild Dog’s 3D VFX expert Thelma Roos, multiplied the platoons or commandos where possible. As is to be expected with a project such as Black, White and Khaki, weaponry and artillery explosions were an extreme challenge which Wild Dog overcame by working with licensed blasters for actual dynamite and cordite work. “This was filmed with re-enactors under controlled conditions at a location in the Free State. Other explosions were added with controlled minor explosions and green screen
backdrops, and in the VFX department,” explains Waldron. The series was shot in 4K, and downscaled to HD for broadcast, using up to five 4K cameras at one time. In order to achieve the desired authenticity, period correct wardrobe was supervised, created and supplied by the production’s wardrobe expert Johan Wolfaardt. Twin Mosia, “a black reenactor whose passion for unearthing the facts about the South African War is unbounded,” according to Waldron, assisted in giving perspective for the agter-ryers in the series. “Mosia managed to recruit some enthusiastic black students from Sol Plaatje University as agter-ryers and trench diggers, and the guys were bounding with enthusiasm and energy,” says Waldron. “We also tried to hire cast or extras from the local population in the areas we were shooting in, so that we would bring cash to that rural area, and get them involved in the story.” The series is a wholly South African production, in part funded by a grant from the Department of Trade and Industry. Regarding distribution, Waldron says that Wild Dog Productions is currently in discussion with Channel 4 and BBC in the UK, “and locally with two channels I can’t name yet.” He adds that the series is for licencing and acquisitions, and will not be commissioned. “Licensing, rather than commissioning, is our primary business model – it produces a long slow buck, due to royalties and sale via various broadcast windows, rather than a more short lived fast buck of commissioning, plus you get to retain the rights…and of course, a three-part DVD will be available locally, and I will be giving a talking tour and screening, starting at Sol Plaatje,” he concludes. – Chanelle Ellaya
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Nollywood at TIFF 2016 ‘76
The Arbitration
Green White Green
Taxi Driver
The Wedding Party
Okafor’s Law
93 Days
Just Not Married
Gbenga, played by OC Ukeje and an employee in his company Dara, played by Adesua Etomi embark on an affair. After the affair ends, Dara leaves the company, and proceeds to sue Gbenga, accusing him of rape. An arbitration panel is constituted to find out the truth. The movie also stars Nollywood actors like Sola Fosudo, Ireti Doyle, Somkele Iyamah, Beverly Naya, Gregory Ojefua and more. Green White Green, directed by Abba Makama is perhaps the most creatively ambitious movie from the list. The movie, which stars Ifeanyi Dike Jr has very indie leanings even by Nollywood standards, with its comedic focus on a group of nonconformist Nigerian artistes who haphazardly try their hands at a movie about Nigeria. The movie stars fast rising actor Ifeanyi Dike, Jamal Ibrahim, Meg Otanwa and others. With Taxi Driver, director Daniel Oriahi gives an interesting film noir take on Martin Scorsese’s film of the same name, which starred Robert De Niro. A small-town mechanic turned chauffeur in a crime syndicate is entangled in the troubles of a beautiful sex worker. With its haunting expressionistic view of the Lagos metropolis, the movie has already been warmly received by Nigerian audiences. The movie also stars Ijeoma Grace Agu, along with Odunlade Adekola and Afeez (Saka) Oyetoro. Kemi Adetiba’s The Wedding Party is a comedy revolving around a 24-year-old art gallery owner, played by Adesua Etomi, and an IT entrepreneur played by Nigerian music star Banky W, and their dysfunctional families, who are from different Nigerian tribes. The Wedding Party premieres on the first night of the festival. The Wedding Party also stars Richard Mofe Damijo, Ireti Doyle and others. Hollywood’s Danny Glover joins the cast of 93 days, which stars Bimbo Akintola as Ameyo Stella Adadevoh. Directed by Steve Gukas, this riveting
real-life drama revolves around the heroic health-care workers in Lagos who successfully contained the Ebola outbreak of 2014, with a lot losing their lives in the process. The movie stars Somkele Idhalama and others. Just Not Married is an urban adventure comedy which tells the story of a bright, penniless student trying to escape his life in the slums. He is overwhelmed when his modest illegal caper goes a bit too far. Directed by Uduak-Obong Patrick, the movie stars Judith Audu, Stan Nze, and more Okafor’s Law is directed by actress/ producer Omoni Oboli and focuses on a rake who makes a bet with his friends that he can successfully seduce three ex-girlfriends in six weeks. The movie stars Blossom Chukwujekwu, Ufuoma McDermott, Gabriel Afolayan and others. Amid all the excitement, there are also concerns about the responsibility these movies carry as representatives of today’s Nollywood. Some of the movies selected, for example, had to rush production in order to be able to premiere at TIFF. The Wedding Party and Okafor’s Law only concluded post production in midAugust. There was also a lot of surprise as to why Kunle Afolayan’s CEO did not make the spotlight and will instead be given a minimal industry screening at the Festival. Shaman Momoh of Nollywood site TNS explains that “CEO was not selected because it had already had a prominent international premiere and selection for TIFF wasn’t necessarily going to add much to the film’s profile.” As part of the City to City spotlight, the festival introduced TIFF International Rising Stars from its city spotlight, where two actors from the selected city are chosen to take part in a roster of special acitivities. This year, actors OC Ukeje and Somkele Iyamah-Idhalama are the chosen performers. The 41st Toronto International Film Festival runs from 8 to 18 September 2016. – Oma Areh
The Toronto International Film Festival’s City to City Spotlight this year focuses on the work of Nigerian filmmakers, featuring eight films produced in Lagos.
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nyone who watches Nigerian movies will tell you clearly that there are two Nollywoods, two industries actively thriving in Nigeria’s entertainment space, capturing the hearts and pockets of an audience more than 100 million strong across Africa, the African diaspora and the Caribbean. One is the straight-to-DVD audience which arose two decades ago, an unplanned development set in motion by an electronic marketer who devised a new method to sell off his empty VHS tapes. This would grow into a billiondollar industry birthing different offshoots, with indigenous movies made up of predominantly Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo movies thriving alongside English content, churning out an average of 50 movies per week, a bigger haul in volume than Hollywood. And then there is the other arm; the one that stages Hollywood-style cinema premieres with full marketing plans that involve press conferences, social media marketing, advertising and special partnerships. This Nollywood premieres on average two movies per week and sometimes will make international festival rounds with the goal of gaining some critical international validation. This year, they received some of that recognition from the Toronto International Film Festival’s City to City spotlight which will focus on Lagos this year. The festival artistic director Cameron Bailey explained earlier in the year why Lagos was chosen; “Vital, complex and inspiring, Lagos is entirely unique. The city of Fela Kuti’s music has also given birth to one of the world’s most vibrant
film industries. The 1000 low-budget features Nollywood produces each year generate about $1billion at the box office. Now, from that commercial hotbed, a new generation of filmmakers is emerging to both advance and challenge Nollywood. Bigger budgets, greater artistic ambition – the new cinema of Lagos is bold, exciting, and ready to take its place on the international stage. We’re excited to share the creativity of this remarkable city’s filmmakers with TIFF audiences in September.” When the eight selected films were announced, there was a lot of excitement in the Nigerian blogosphere and social media, with TIFF rising to become the number one trending topic on Twitter. The movies that will feature in TIFF run the gamut from comedy to drama, a biopic and a war drama inspired by true events. ’76 stars Rita Dominic, who has transitioned successfully from Nollywood home video queen to a successful box office actor and producer. In the movie, Dominic plays a heavily pregnant woman whose life crumbles when the news of her husband’s involvement in a botched military coup hits the headlines. The film also stars Ramsey Nouah, and Chidi Mokeme in a gripping drama set against the backdrop of the attempted 1976 military coup against the government of General Murtala Mohammed. Directed by Izu Ojukwu, ’76 is also eligible for selection in the Grolsch People’s Choice award at TIFF. The Arbitration is a legal thriller /drama that revolves around the topic of corporate sexual harassment.
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Photo CREDIT: Oculus Story Studio
Virtual Animation… Really
AN IMMERSIVE JOURNEY: The Gear VR headset in action
Google’s experimental filmmaking lab, Spotlight Stories, recently produced a short animated film called Pearl. The story is set completely in and around a car and produced using Virtual Reality animation. It’s the latest of a growing number of animated films using virtual reality as a production technique and already the industry buzz is that VR animations could well be contenders for Academy Awards next year.
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atching Pearl is an interesting experience; the whole concept of Virtual Reality (VR) is an immersive journey that draws your body into the surreal world around you. VR has the potential to transform storytelling into a more interactive experience for filmmaker and viewer alike. And nearly everyone from content
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providers to techies to animators and academics alike, agree that the rules of narrative engagement are definitely going to change, not to mention social interaction as VR develops. Virtual reality video is still finding its footing, but some of the most high-profile work has been Pixar-style animated efforts — particularly Oculus Story Studio’s short film Henry.
Recently, Baobab Studios put itself forward as a contender. Co-founded by former Zynga VP of games Maureen Fan and Antz and Madagascar co-director Eric Darnell, Baobab released its first film called Invasion! on Samsung’s Milk VR video service. Invasion!, which premiered earlier this year, is an animated short. Most VR films top out at around 10 minutes and Baobab didn’t deviate from this formula. “From a technology viewpoint, tech changes so quickly that by the time we could finish a full length film, the tech would be obsolete,” says Fan. “From an audience perspective, you may not want to put that headset on your head for long periods of time.” Fan says there’s a full slate of VR films on the table that will appear on as many platforms as possible, not just the Gear VR. The company is also working with HTC, which manufactures the Vive VR headset and participated in the funding round, to distribute its work. Besides Oculus Story Studio, there are already a handful of well-known VR film companies, including award-winning studio Vrse and Felix & Paul, which signed a partnership with Oculus earlier this year. Baobab’s $6 million in funding is far from
the only money flowing into VR. Virtual reality camera and filmmaking company Jaunt has raised $65 million, and live streaming app NextVR got $30 million in a deal with Comcast Ventures. Virtual Reality is definitely real and here now that the tech has arrived, the investments are pouring in and the entertainment industry is jumping in. VR was the hot topic at the 20th FMX International Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Transmedia held in Stuttgart, Germany recently. In a snap survey the consensus of young filmmakers who were attending was that they were more interested in the development of VR than in the movies. At the conference it was interesting to hear that Warner and DC are developing Batman: The Animated Series as a Batcave VR experience. Weta Digital, New Zealand’s animation and VFX giant, have agreed to let Epic Games make a real-time demo of its Hobbit assets called A Thief in the Shadows, in which you try to steal Smaug’s Arkenstone from the gold chamber before the dragon kills you. SIGGRAPH is an annual computer graphics show held in the US in July and this year was primarily focused on VR,
Photo CREDIT: Oculus Story Studio
Photo Credit: Google Spotlight Stories
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A scene from Pearl, a short VR animated film by Baobab Studios
Photo CREDIT: Oculus Story Studio
Oculus home page
Invasion
augmented reality (AR) and the gaming market. This year saw the introduction of the VR Storylab, a workshop area dedicated to blending narrative-driven, 360-degree, VR content in a physical lab environment with a crazy mix of art, entertainment, academic, scientific, and experiential VR where the attendees could explore the future of immersive
adventures. SIGGRAPH is also the traditional launching ground of new software packages and whilst the most significant release was that of MAYA 2017, there were a phenomenal number of upgrades to numerous packages offering VR capabilities and support for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. A question asked at the SIGGRAPH
conference opened an interesting discussion thread around the demand for VR content and who was willing to pay for it. There is an interesting trend happening in the Chinese market than probably answers the question. In China, one of the most popular ways to consume electronic entertainment is by visiting an iCafé, or Net Café. These are places where patrons physically stop by to meet others and play games to get absorbed in VR and AR experiences. Some locations charges are based on time, while others are based on the content of the experience, but they all provide an outlet for people to escape into a game or experience of their choosing. One company that’s playing a big role is Shunwang Technology, which operates over 70 000 of the Net Cafés across the country. Most gamers in China cannot afford to pay significant amounts of money to buy games consoles and content. Added to that, most Chinese don’t have the physical room in their cramped houses to set up a gaming area. Until just two years ago, video game consoles like the PlayStation or Xbox were banned in China, but when the ban was lifted the market also introduced VR
technology, which has taken favour over the games boxes and the PC environment. According to recent reports, the VR industry in China is currently worth over US$8 billion. Some companies are even investing in entire theme parks based on VR experiences and Shunwang Technology is at the center of it all, buying as much VR content as they can get their hands on. Virtual Reality is not only providing new possibilities for filmmakers, animators, VFX artists and game developers. The technology is already being used in machining factories with operators virtually controlling dangerous equipment from another room, medical staff examining the inner regions of your colon with a virtual walk through your insides, to Microsoft announcing the imminent release of Windows Holographic on Windows 10 early next year. According to the advertising hype it makes your desktop browsing experience inherently social and collaborative letting you surround yourself in applications from all sides, from within a VR headset. What next? Who knows? – Ian Dormer
September 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 27
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Musi & Cuckoo head to France Tim and Candice Argall of Johannesburgbased animation studio Bugbox Animation recently came to a co-production agreement with French studio Folimage. The agreement, for their original animated children’s series Musi & Cuckoo, marks the first animation coproduction between France and South Africa.
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rédéric Chambon, regional head of Media and Film at the French Institute in South Africa, has in recent years been working hard to forge an SA/France connection in animation. He initiated the Animation du Monde competition at the Annecy Festival which Musi & Cuckoo won in 2015. It was here that the Argall’s met Folimage producer Corinne Destombes who was one of the judges for the competition. Part of the prize was a residency at the Folimage studios in Valence to help develop the series. “They gave a bunch of great notes on the production design and overall concept and as the show started to take shape they got more and more interested,” says Candice, creator, producer and co-writer of the series with Tim who, in addition to co-writing also directs Musi & Cuckoo. Together Bugbox and Folimage are now producing the preschool series Musi & Cuckoo, the story of two animal best friends who run a taxi service in Tubatuba Town. The motto of the show is ‘better together’ – living with those that are different from you. The brainchild of
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BETTER TOGETHER: The folks of Tubatuba Town
Candice, the idea for Musi & Cuckoo grew from her distaste for the behaviour of Johannesburg taxi drivers. “No seriously, they drive me crazy,” she quips, “I tried to imagine a world where taxi drivers were helpful and happy and well, fantasy consumed me and Musi happened. I got so excited thinking I could create a role model. Imagine, youngsters growing up wanting to become taxi drivers because they’re the coolest, nicest citizens around. Doesn’t hurt to dream!” From this Candice constructed a world of lovable African animals that lived and worked alongside each other and needed Musi the hippo’s taxi to get around town. “Musi needed a friend, a wacky side-kick, a female,” Candice says, “Initially she was a pet chicken, but Cuckoo has her own firm place in the community now.” To create the world of Musi & Cuckoo, a technique called cut-out animation was employed. Traditionally, cut-out animation is done by moving physical objects (typically paper) around and photographing these frame by frame. But since Parker and Stone’s South Park the technique has gone digital. “Our primary motivation was economy,” Candice explains. “Two years ago we pitched a 3D
show with fairly high production values and realised the massive gap between the style we were proposing and the funding that we could realistically raise. We iced that idea and moved on. When conceptualising Musi & Cuckoo we studied hit shows in our target market and learned that in most cases, the winning formula was cut-out. Knowing the limitations of the medium, we got to work creating characters and a world that are ‘cut-out friendly’.” As it stands, BugBox has signed a simple memorandum of understanding to allow Folimage to approach French broadcasters with the project. This required the Argalls to give some of their IP rights away. “A lot of thought must go into the value the co-production will bring,” says Candice. “There are so many plusses to working with one of the top French animation studios, so we knew we wanted to do it, but there were small details we had to work out to make everyone happy, particularly our respective governments. It becomes a box-ticking exercise,” she expands. The most obvious benefit for BugBox is the experience and expertise they will gain by working with Folimage, “But finance is another big influencer,”
says Candice. “Government money is essential to closing finance on international productions. Broadcasters worldwide can’t pay what they used to, so everyone looks for national and regional rebates to help find all the necessary pennies.” While Musi & Cuckoo is the first animation co-production between South Africa and France, the two countries do not have an official TV treaty in place so it is important to note that the series is not an official co-production. For those wanting to check out Musi & Cuckoo, Candice says that the plan is to start with traditional broadcasters before moving on to video-on-demand. “e.tv are interested in it, and we have presented it to SABC. We are knocking on local private broadcasters’ doors, but there is little in the way of pre-school take up. We think the series will work in Europe, and are holding thumbs for a French broadcaster to come on board. We are writing with the US and Canada in the back of our minds, just in case we get lucky. Natasje van Niekerk, our script editor, has worked extensively with Canadians and knows how careful you have to be with safety issues. No guns. No fire. No water. No fun. No... Just kidding!” she laughs. – Chanelle Ellaya
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Oomph! Animation presents
Oongu Loongu Created by Cape Townbased studio Oomph! Animation, Oongu Loongu is a magical animal sanctuary and rehabilitation centre for rescued, injured and endangered animals, with the goal of reintroducing them back into the wild, owned and run in similar fashion to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory by the eccentric childlike veterinarian, Papa Joe.
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ach episode revolves around the animal and environmental cases undertaken by Zak, a gifted 10year-old orphan assisted by his two best friends; Boomba, a delusional Hollywood pygmy bear, and Poley, a puberty stricken humanoid Lion, with an array of antagonists challenging their objectives, most notably, Papa Joe’s granddaughter, Shirlee, an ingenious six-year-old socialite aided by her genetically enhanced pet Pekingese dog, Tysin. The show is designed as a 52 x 11” 2D animated children’s comedy series with an educational twist, incorporating factual animal and environmental issues into the story arcs.
Background and Conception Oomph was funded by the NFVF in late 2013 to create a visual marketing kit for an animated TV Series in the form of a five minute animated promo, storyboard, treatment, pilot script, character bible and a full season (52 x 11’) episode synopses. Even though they were granted the maximum amount for the TV Concepts
Market Attendance
MAGICAL ANIMAL SANCTUARY: Oongu Loongu Development Fund of R200 000, it was always going to be an ambitious task to achieve the expected milestone deliverables (as set out in the contract), as an animation budget and production schedule are severely different, (and far more expensive) to that of a live film project, for which this fund (and its allocated budget) was specifically designed. As a newly launched studio, with very limited resources and no sign of any potential work contracts in place (at the time), Oomph, formed by animation veteran Carmen Randall and producer Tariq Khan, seized this opportunity and devised various shortcuts to work within the budgetary constraints by enforcing reduced salary rates, mutli-tasking, training and employing junior creatives (to work under senior supervision), and making use of their personal affiliation to ‘boutique’ post-production studios’ willingness to accommodate us with discounted rates.
Pre-Production When conceptualising the characters and the show itself, one also has to view the show as a marketable product; can these characters work (visually) on multiple platforms: as a toy, video game, t-shirt, smartphone app etc … not only to capitalise on licensing and merchandising, but more so to justify the costs of producing a completed series with a viable marketing and distribution plan in place to present to your potential investors, who’ll most likely view an animated product as a high risk investment. Randall and Khan conceptualised the show and its characters, with Carmen designing them visually, first as rough sketches on paper, then into Adobe Flash CS 5 (Designed & Rigged) into its final
form. They incorporated all possible marketing objectives as well as in-depth character traits, enabling the characters and the overall controlling concept and idea to work within multiple story arcs and mediums. The next step was the script, a challenging prospect, as writing for animation is an acquired skillset (not yet mastered in SA), but also the format: “How do we write a script for a fiveminute promo to sell as an 11 min format? Is it a trailer, or a mini-pilot? How do we showcase the main characters as well as presenting an overall tone and feel of the show to interest potential buyers?” They opted to write a completed 22-minute pilot script (two 11-minute scripts for a 22-min slot), as there was far too much information to process in an eleven-minute episode, after which they would animate a few selected scenes (rather than random abstract visuals) in a five-minute promo, capable of achieving the primary objective of telling a story and thus, selling the characters and the show.
Production and Post-production: In theory, if pre-production is completed efficiently with the animatic perfectly timed, the animation process should be a breeze. While Oomph’s junior animator handled all the prop animation and design efficiently, the lead animator had a far more tedious task to achieve in that of brilliantly executing the technical animation aspect which, due to the shortened production period, drew attention away from the character/ performance animation aspect, forcing Randall to return to the animation chair herself, which diverted more focus towards the animation quality over the direction of the piece.
After visual effects, final mix, edit and packaging, with all NFVF milestones being delivered and approved, Oomph was ready to attend the markets after this four-month long project. In March 2014 they headed to the Rio Content Market (Brazil) as part of the SA Delegation, empowered by the ATFT (Association for Transformation in Film and Television), being the only member representing animation. The aim at Rio was to secure a co-production with a Brazilian counterpart, as their primary and most profitable platform are their pay-per-view networks, which house the most prominent Brazilian channels, and more relevant to us, their rendition (Latin American) of globally recognised channels (Fox, Cartoon Network, Disney etc… ) all of which had an enforced percentage quota requirement for Brazilian produced content, with international co-productions also qualifying. It made as much sense as it didn’t, (the idea) of going via ‘the back door’ into (for instance) Cartoon Network (Latin America) as part of a Brazilian coproduction, while the local pay-per-view network, DStv houses many international kids content channels (including Cartoon Network), yet they don’t acquire or commission any South African produced content for these channels. The main challenge of an international co-production, in the context of what we’re trying to achieve, is the question of I.P ownership as well as whose project gets produced, not to mention the increase in production costs and time schedule. Whoever owns the majority I.P. retains the majority control and stands to benefit more financially. One of many lessons learnt in Rio, was that having the support of any local broadcaster is a huge advantage, as it solidifies your project’s and studio’s credibility going into any market. Oomph! successfully secured a letter of intent from eTV for Oongu Loongu. Fast forward to MIPJunior and MIPCOM (October 2014), where Oongu Loongu was selected as one of five projects from the entire MIPJunior catalog for the MIPJunior International Pitch, a first for any South African studio. Whether they won the pitch or not was irrelevant to them, Khan emphasises, the international recognition of being selected among the world’s best and most prolific studios’ projects was a massive achievement. September 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 29
ANIMATION & EFFECTS
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Animation studio helps theatre production The Firebird take flight Johannesburg-based studio Maan Creative stepped outside of its usual line of animation work for commercials and worked with stage producer Janni Younge on a theatre piece that combined puppetry, dance and animation.
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n a burgeoning and competitive local animation landscape, Maan Creative are carving out an intriguing niche as animators to the live theatre world with a distinct, tactile aesthetic. Headed up by directors Michael Clark and Johan Scheepers, Maan recently completed work on The Firebird, a visceral theatre experience combining puppetry, dance and animation with, on its US leg, accompaniment by a live symphony orchestra. Commissioned by LA’s IMG Artists, The Firebird is the brainchild of producer Younge, formerly of the famous Handspring Puppet Company – renowned for their collaborations with artist William Kentridge, as well as their work on the West End blockbuster War Horse. Having opened with a brief but highly successful run at Artscape in Cape Town, followed by sold-out performances at this year’s National Arts Festival, The Firebird has now embarked on its US tour. The show has attracted shining reviews both locally and abroad: The Philadelphia Inquirer said of the performance at the Mann Centre: “It was a wonderful thing to feel risk in the air once again at the Mann – the essential element of art.” Loosely inspired by Igor Stravinsky’s progressive 1910 ballet of the same name, The Firebird unfolds an abstract narrative drawing on South Africa’s recent history of freedom and conflict, while also evoking a deeper personal conflict between creativity and reason. Themes of restraint and subjugation warring with freedom and self-expression are conveyed simultaneously by the dancers, the otherworldly animal puppets stalking the stage, and by Maan’s animation sequences, projected on a huge white egg suspended over the action. The ambitious sensory smorgasbord climaxes with a great dragon looming over the stage, wings outspread, breathing fire. “This was a challenging, but very rewarding project which helped us realise we want to make this kind of work a focus
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for Maan,” says Michael Clark, who was responsible for creating more than 70 original acrylic artworks that served as key frames for the animation. The sequences were then pieced together in Photoshop, TV Paint and After Effects. “We enjoyed the artistic sensibility that the brief required of us,” says Clark. “We settled on a very painterly style. Rather than aiming for smooth animation, it was most important that our images were evocative and beautiful, and that they lived well with the hand-made aesthetic of the puppets.” This is Maan’s second collaboration with Younge, the first being Ouroboros, a production she staged as winner of The Standard Bank Young Artist for Drama in 2010.
The process It started with Clark spending time in Cape Town with Firebird director Janni Younge to workshop ideas, visuals styles and themes for the animation. The basic brief went something like this: about 15 minutes of 2D animation to complement giant puppets in front of 10 000 people at the Hollywood Bowl. At this stage, the basic narrative of the piece had been laid down – loosely based on the Russian original – and the puppet building was well underway. Younge conceptualised the content of the animation – she had very specific ideas for what she wanted to communicate – while Clarke set about figuring out the style and the best way to execute the animation. Clark and the Maan team eventually settled on the painterly, frame-by-frame style a hybrid of very tactile canvas painting and traditional animation. They felt this aesthetic fitted in well with the hand-crafted feel of the puppets and decided to focus on the quality of the illustration rather than the quality of the movement in the final piece. From there they storyboarded the project in detail before doing a 2D
PAINTERLY STYLE: Behind the scenes at Maan Creative as an animation sequence takes shape
frame-by-frame previs of the whole animation. This previs was used to create the painted key frames and also formed the basis of all of the rest of the animation in Photoshop. Some minor compositing in After Effects and final editing tweaks in Premiere finished off the process.
Technology The technology used was, for the most part, fairly simple. The emphasis was to get a very tactile aesthetic, something that felt real without being interfered with by CG. As such, our most important tech was pencils, paper, canvas, brushes and acrylic. Most of the animation was produced tradigitally with Wacom tablets, TV Paint and Photoshop. We used TV Paint and Photoshop to animate the 2D frame-byframe previs. We then set up a purpose built (and surprisingly low tech) rig that allowed us to project the previs directly onto a canvas where key frames were painted by hand in acrylic and then captured with a DSLR and Dragonframe; sometime as stills, sometimes as sequences. These were then taken back into Photoshop and worked on top of with digital canvas brushes in Photoshop to create the final picture. Minor compositing was then done in After Effects to complete the shots. The video for the live show is then all driven by QLab.
Challenges The biggest challenge was obviously the sheer volume of work. To create 14
minutes of frame-by-frame animation within three months with a team of three to five people was no mean feat, especially when it all had to look like a canvas painting. Maan tried all sorts of things to combat this, from working at 10 or eight frames per second, to hiring extra freelancers. The next major challenge was keeping the look consistent throughout the piece. Because painting as a medium or style is naturally so individualistic it was quite a challenge to keep the look consistent throughout. The solution to this was to have one person do all the physical painting of the keyframes and those images then formed the basis of most of the shots in the piece. Another challenge was simulating paint in Photoshop. The team ended up buying a set of ‘wet media’ brushes for Photoshop and learned to get the best out of them. We also used the AnimDessin plugin for 2D animation in Photoshop. The combination of animation and theatre is not a new one – War Horse, among others, used this conceit – but Clark would like to see the potential of the medium released in new ways. “I think animation has yet to be fully explored or utilised as a medium on stage. It could add a new dimension to a ballet, a live music show, or a traditional play. It can be used to add information or context that is hard to get across through actors or set design, and because it’s completed beforehand, it provides an anchor point for the other variables of a live show.”
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ANIMATION & EFFECTS | OPINION
Genre Films:
Best practice for producing films with visual and special effects Written by Pascal Schmitz and Mayenzeke Baza South African filmmakers have tended to shy away from genre films and films that are heavily dependent on special effects (SFX) and visual effects (VFX) despite the fact that these kinds of films are becoming the staple diet of distributors and VOD platforms in the global market of independent feature films.
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he American Film Market just released a study of low budget breakout films over the past five years and of the three genres that succeeded time and time again, horror was top of the list. Producing a film in the genre category, internationally defined as horror, action, sci-fi and fantasy, means that inevitably you will run into the need to incorporate special effects (SFX) and visual effects (VFX) into your production. For filmmakers going down this route it’s important to understand the difference between SFX and VFX and to know when to apply which one for particular shots, scenes or a character in a film. Special effects, also called mechanical, practical or physical effects, are usually accomplished during the live-action shooting and include the use of mechanised props, scale models, animatronics, pyrotechnics and atmospheric effects such as creating physical wind, rain, fog, snow, clouds, etc. Practical effects are often incorporated into set design and makeup, for example, a set may be built with break-away doors or walls to enhance a fight scene, or prosthetic makeup can be used to make an actor look like a non-human creature. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and computer generated imagery to create environments that look realistic, but would be too dangerous, expensive, impractical, or impossible to capture on film. Visual effects using computer
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generated imagery (CGI) have become more accessible to the independent filmmaker with the introduction of affordable and easy-to-use animation and compositing software. In the development process of genre films, the SFX and VFX suppliers, or ideally partners, should be consulted as early as possible. Once a presentable draft of the script is ready, the producer or filmmaker should have the S&VFX team read the script and tag the scenes and shots that require S&VFX work, and then breakdown their requirements and costs. S&VFX work can seriously impact the production budget envisioned and producers often have to go back and amend elements in order to eliminate extremely expensive S&VFX shots and replace them with a more pragmatic approach, often suggested by the S&VFX suppliers. Producers often make assumptions about S&VFX shots and their costs, only to be eventually informed of the true cost implications, leading to either a compromise in the quality of the S&VFX shots or the need to raise additional finance at a time when it is often impractical to do so. A visual effects supervisor also plays a critical role on set, linking the SFX shots during production and the VFX that will be done in post. Examples of this include measuring lighting that will fall on future inserted CGI elements during the shoot, or creating shadows and physical impressions with green objects to be replaced later with CGI elements.
SFX AND VFX – A SCARY BUSINESS: Mayenzeke Baza In the market place, experienced genre buyers and financiers will also quickly pick up discrepancies between a genre film’s S&VFX requirements in the script and the budget presented in the package. Such disconnects would reflect badly on the producer’s ability to understand and execute the genre and make it difficult to pick-up distribution or attract investment for the project thereafter. Another challenge for first-time genre producers or directors is to convince investors and distributors that they can execute the genre successfully. The best solution for this is a proof of concept that illustrates the look and feel of the film, the director’s ability to execute the genre, and the S&VFX team behind the film’s ability to deliver the FX. Along with a strong script, a proof of concept will almost guarantee pre-sales and strong sales projections that can then trigger other financing like equity and gap financing against unsold territories. Genre films are one of the few types of films that don’t necessarily require high profile cast members to secure pre-sales and there are many cases of independent horror films without stars attached, who’s proof of concepts have attracted pre-sales of up to 60 per cent of the budget. This makes genre films and ideal business venture for South African producers, as we have the talent and technical ability here to pull off world class S&VFX driven films at a reduced cost due to a favourable exchange rate. AAA Entertainment recently approached local company Loco FX for assistance with a “creature feature” about giant mutant rats in Alexander township, by director Zuko Nodada. They secured a partnership with Loco FX that will see
them produce a proof of concept together to unlock international financing and distribution. The proof of concept will be co-developed with AAA Entertainment, Loco FX and the director to achieve the maximum impact within the available budget and ensure that no time or money is wasted in making the sales tool for the film. Having recently attended the Frontieres Market in Montreal, part of Fantasia – one of the biggest genre festivals in the world – AAA Entertainment engaged with financiers, sales companies and distributors who specialise in the independent horror genre. The feedback from the market made it clear that although the concept of the film was exciting for the distributors, the lack of experience of the director in the genre and the lack of knowledge of South African S&VFX capabilities required a proof of concept to bring them on board financially. It is clear then that South African filmmakers can effectively produce and secure funding for genre films, even those heavy on special and visual effects as long as they understand the processes and best practices involved, and have them distributed globally. One thing that is universal in film for sure: scary is scary no matter where you are on the planet. Written by Pascal Schmitz and Mayenzeke Baza, co-founders of AAA Entertainment – a South African based global sales and distribution company that executive produces and develops South African content with the intention of being sold internationally.
REALNESS Screenwriters Residency report back Last December Urucu Media – under the mentorship of Berlinale Talents, in partnership with Nirox Foundation, Durban FilmMart, Restless Talent Management, The French Institute of South Africa and and its Cinémas du Monde initiative, Torino Film Lab, EAVE and World Cinema Fund – announced a call for submissions for REALNESS, a pan-African screenwriter’s residency with an objective to provide Africa’s most promising emerging screenwriters with the time, space and support, both instructive and financial, to cultivate their unique cinematic vision.
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onceptualised by Urucu Media co-founders Elias Ribeiro and John Trengove, the initiative was an answer to the frustration they were feeling regarding the lack of funding avenues for story development in the African film industry. “Our goal was not only to identify and select the best emerging talent in Africa, but also to grant these filmmakers the access they need in order to take the next steps to getting their film made,” says Ribeiro.
The residents After careful evaluation of 175 submitted projects from 29 African countries, the five selected residents (and their projects) were announced in Cannes earlier this year. They are:
Amirah Tajdin from Kenya Tajdin is an artist and filmmaker whose short films have screened at international festivals including Sundance and Cannes Director’s Fortnight. Her project Hawa Hawaii, a dramatic feature film set in the Swahili community of Mombasa, Kenya, follows a Muslim drag queen wedding singer who uses the dying art of Swahili orchestral music and lyrics to mend a deeply fractured relationship with his mother. “I’ve brought the story closer to home and my heart, setting it in my home country of Kenya and more importantly, Mombasa – an island I have a complicated
WRITERS IN RESIDENCE: Wim Steytler, Amirah Tajdin, Sheetal Magan, Hiwot Admasu and Luck Razanajaona relationship with owing to its ancestral hold over my heritage and identity that continues to unravel itself to me,” comments Tajdin. “Hailing from this Swahili background myself, I felt compelled to pen a story set within its sometimes restricting confines yet incredibly rich history.”
Sheetal Magan from South Africa Magan is an emerging South African filmmaker who was recently named one of five Creatives To Watch by the City Press. Her short film Paraya was one of four short films to open the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes this year. During the residency, Magan spent her time developing her first feature film The Day and Night of Brahma – a layered portrait of domestic life that follows a modern Indian couple in pursuit of ordinary desires that develop into intricate conflicts. “I have a genuine desire to see on screen questions that are close to my heart envisioned in the language that I think. For me that means seeing the metaphysical as an inseparable part of what is lived, real and experienced through any aspect of our lives. And so while the struggles of Gita and Sanj are personal, I want to look at them in a very specific way, through the language of the soul,” Magan says.
Hiwot Admasu from Ethiopia Admasu is a filmmaker who, after graduating in Computer Engineering, took up her passion for filmmaking full-time. Her first professional project was the short film New Eyes which went on to screen at numerous international festivals including Venice and Toronto. Admasu’s project, A Fool God, follows 11-year-old Mesi, who in a moment of tragedy, confronts the limitations of her gender within traditional life, compelling her to leave school and explore new ways of being. “My character Mesi says no to her community, she says no to God. She tells them that they all are fools… Society preaches us its rules as if they are a natural governing law and we are forced to believe them and judge ourselves
and others accordingly. For me, gender, race, sexuality, class and religion are the most complex parts of this craziness. Which results the mess our world is in right now,” comments Admasu.
Wim Steytler from South Africa Steytler is a writer and director with a degree in Fine Art. His narrative music video about xenophobic attacks in Johannesburg won him the CFP-E/SHOTS Young Director Award at Festival de Cannes. His film Uitlander is a thriller inspired by true events. The film follows the events of a misfit South African farmer who falls into a Doomsday cult after he meets a mysterious new-age French couple following the death of his best friend. “I went to school with the farmer’s son that befriended this eccentric couple, so I had exclusive access to researching the actual events and interviewing everyone impacted by it. The story itself is stranger than fiction, with all the elements for great psychological thriller,” Steytler says.
Luck Razanajaona from Madagascar Razanajaona is a filmmaker who has participated in a number of prestigious programmes, including Berlinale and La Fabrique des Cinemas du Monde. His film Disco Africa is about a young Malagasy miner who comes to know his father through a stack of West African Afro Beat 45 records from the 70s. The film is about a country corrupted by money and politics where the youth decided to take control of its future. “I come from a very rich but unfortunately badly governed country. This is pretty near what is happening in some African countries. In the 70s, my country was one of the great countries to build a strong Africa,” Razanajaona comments. “For me this film is necessary to give some hope to the African people but also an invitation to return to the atmosphere of post-independence Africa of the 70s where the music was very present in people’s lives and where it was good to live.”
| SCREENWRITING The residency The seven week programme commenced on 16 June with an introductory week at the 2016 Durban FilmMart (DFM). While at DFM, the participants were under the mentorship of Nigerian-British script consultant, Selina Ukwuoma. Along with spending one-on-one time with each participant, Ukwuoma presented master classes and workshops conceived as a meditation on voice, craft, and audience.“ The aspects of storytelling that one has to consider during the development process,” she explains. Additionally Ukwuoma helmed a workshop titled ‘How to sell yourself and your story’ and to end off the week at DFM, she moderated the public presentation of the residents’ projects at Talents Durban Story Junction. “I’m always amazed at the growth of workshop participants in environments like these — the incredible leaps they are able to make in such a short time… The residents were engaged and responsive and, as a result, got the most out of the process,” says Ukwuoma. After the Durban leg, participants moved into their residency space at the Nirox Foundation where they were mentored by Nadja Dumouchel – a freelance script consultant based in Paris. In addition to her master class on dramaturgy, Dumouchel provided both individual and group sessions guiding the participants based on what each one needed. Resident Sheetal Magan says that Dumouchel’s insight into dramaturgy “is like a propeller that both drives and navigates you through the terrain of your story to uncover hidden gems.” “All the residents made great progress…” comments Dumouchel. “For me they represent the future of African cinema, with their different backgrounds, story worlds, rich cultural references and strong minds.”
The next step The most promising projects to materialise from REALNESS will receive funding to participate in the La Fabrique des Cinémas du Monde in Cannes, EAVE Producers’ Workshop and Torino Film Lab Meetings all in 2017. Now that the residency has come to an end, the stages of each participant’s project varies, with some still in the early phase of writing, others perfecting their treatment and one already looking for financing to move into the production stage. One thing they all agree on though: the residency provided them with the invaluable time and guidance necessary to give life to their individual projects. Amirah Tajdin says that the reason for this is because the incubator programme is so well thought out – formed from the direct experiences, setbacks and challenges of fellow African filmmakers who are writing the new narratives of Africa. “That in itself is a huge step forward in finally forming solid building blocks for our industry that are homegrown and free of outside agendas of what Africa is supposed to look like,” she concludes. – Chanelle Ellaya September 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 33
STUDIO PRODUCTION FACILITIES
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The mixed fortunes of Waterfront Film Studios
With the recent announcement by Silverline 360 that they have purchased Waterfront Film Studios at the V and A Waterfront in Cape Town, a look back at the history of this studio complex which has changed hands several times may well be of interest as it tells a rather fascinating tale...
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ow a studio landmark at the V and A the complex was not always so and in fact started life as a bus depot serving the Cape Town area. The transformation into what it is now shows a somewhat beleaguered and sometimes very profitable history. It started as far back as 1997. Well known facilities company The Video Lab – based in Blairgowrie, Randburg – decided on an expansion strategy and set up a small facility in Gardens, Cape Town. Having outgrown these premises and seeing growth potential the decision was made to move to new premises at the V and A Waterfront directly next to the historic Time Bell Tower, built in 1894, and just off Portswood Road. Initially the facility consisted of a Radio Studio, but expanded into a Betacam editing facility
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with a Rank Cintel Telecine and a Quantel – state of the art for the time! It was the only major post production company in Cape Town and garnered much business including the increasing number of overseas filmmakers. “We had been in this locale for about two years,” recounts Mike Smit, MD of Video Lab at the time, “when it became apparent that we needed more space and since there was now a demand to provide studios as well as post-production. “During a drive around I noticed a large building at the entrance to the Waterfront with a ‘To Let’ sign outside. The building had been used by KIC, who manufactured washing machines there. I phoned the letting agent and started negotiations”. The building itself had originally been used by a bus company and all the floors
were sloping in order to facilitate drainage after washing. The interior dimensions were however ideal for studios. In order to secure a lease a presentation had to be made to the Waterfront Company and there were other contenders… “During a visit to look at studios in Australia I met a studio expert named Veronica Sive,” says Smit. “I brought her out to South Africa and together we prepared a pitch which was accepted and we secured a long term lease. “The building was very derelict and had not been occupied for many years. There was also a homeless community living in the locale under the highway and part of the lease agreement was that we would re-house them – which was done. “We renovated the entire structure of some 9000 square metres” says Smith
“We installed a double roof, air conditioning and leveled the floor. We created three studios – two to very high specifications – and one a shooting stage. We also built very comprehensive post production suites capable of handling anything, even that which the overseas market could throw at us. We had a front end film laboratory and we opened our doors as Sasani Studios.” As time progressed, and through several mergers and acquisitions (including the establishment of Condor Cape in 2003) the facility was re-branded as Waterfront Studios. At this time, the facility still benefitted from a booming industry. In 2010 one of the major Waterfront shareholders, MFP, went bust and although there were several options on the table, in 2011 Waterfront Film Studios
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Mike Smit
Steve Harris
SILVERLINING: Waterfront Studios
(WFS) as it was then known went into liquidation. The good news for 2012 was that a purchasing entity came to the table. As of January 2012, Autumn Star Trading 905 (Pty) Ltd trading as Collective Dream purchased the assets of WFS and continued trading much as before. Collective Dream was part of a large family business comprising a group of some 24 companies headed by Sean Else, managing director of Creative Dream. At the time, Else commented: “In our view the traditional post-production facility business model is becoming outdated and unlikely to succeed in the longer term. Our goal is to become a one-stop shop, taking the journey with our clients from conceptualisation, through pre-production, production, post-production, broadcast and distribution. “The conflict between the previous shareholders of WFS really distracted focus from the core business. The sound stages, studios and facilities were a mess. We immediately started a major clean-up
and upgrade of all facilities.” Sadly the dream was not to last. In late 2013 a new joint venture partnership between The BladeWorks, LaserNet, Hilton Treves and Alun Richards acquired the assets of Collective Dream Studios and the partnerships began the process of putting together a specialist services company which would not follow the traditional facilities model. “The reality” says Steve Harris of BladeWorks, “is that when involved in the studio-only business, one becomes entirely dependent upon income from a single source. While my experience with some of the service companies like Film Afrika and Out of Africa was great, my experience of the international companies using their services was not great at all. “The result of contracts being terminated at the last possible moment, or even worse a major international company not arriving at all for a long term contract, was to clarify our view of cash input versus cash output. Each of the partners involved in Waterfront Film Studios have established core businesses
that are owned-operated – none of the partners were prepared to invest further time or money into a business that is dependent upon most of its income being derived from a single source, ie. studio revenues. “I must say that we were blessed in the sense that we became involved in a number of local film and television productions. That aspect of the business was very exciting for me. I can only thank all the local production companies that entrusted us to provide post-production services. Other wonderful experiences included working on international television series like Wallander and Tutankhamun.” Late last year discussions commenced regarding a joint venture in the VFX business with Silverline. Whilst this side of the initial discussions came to nought, it became apparent that Waterfront Film Studios would be an ideal addition to the Silverline stable, mostly because of the extent of the services that Silverline could offer to support and grow the studio revenues On 1 July 2016, Silverline 360 advised
that they had purchased Waterfront Film Studios and thereby added it to the existing stable of companies that include Media Film Service, Searle St Post and Refinery amongst others. “This is the first step in consolidating all the Silverline 360 Cape Town operations to the new premises, including Media Film Service, Searle Street and Movie Mart. Media Film Service is predicted to take occupation of the old Arena building mid-next year,” advises a Silverline 360 spokesman. “Personally” adds Harris, “I will focus mostly on The BladeWorks in Johannesburg. The BladeWorks specialises in post-production of television commercials; under the guidance of Warren Bleksley.” So – another spoke in the wheel of the somewhat chequered history of Waterfront Film Studios. Whilst the acquisition by Silverline 360 is seen as a good thing in the industry – one wonders – what next? – Andy Stead September 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 35
Aerial Cinematography
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Drone on If you are up to watching something really different, do yourself a favour and get onto YouTube and check out 1500 Feet TV Tower. It’s a short two-minute viral piece showing an engineer changing a light bulb at the top of an immensely tall steel structure in the prairies of the USA – subject matter that most might think is incredibly boring but visually this is stunning and beautifully executed.
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he film is a classic illustration of how the field of aerial videography has changed dramatically over the past few years, encompassing three main points I see as major factors affecting the industry today: Increased safety, significantly reduced costs, and the scope for innovation… all thanks to the drone. The film industry is undoubtedly the best place to nurture innovation in new technology, it combines two opposite elements: the technical sector and a community of creatives. Drones are the latest proof of the fast-moving and ever-evolving industry as production companies begin to recognise the vast creative opportunities presented by pilotless aerial cameras. Traditionally, helicopters have been used for wide landscape and pretty aerial shots. However, they have always had high risks in terms of safety. In the US market it is estimated that up to 40 people are killed or seriously injured every year during film productions – most of which are attributed to aerial accidents involving helicopters. A helicopter has a typically limited – expensive – flight time, whereas a tag-team of a couple of drones will enable shorter between-shot delays and no hideous fuel costs. The same shot can be taken over and over again without additional air clearance, saving time and money. Drones are also particularly handy for their size: a helicopter can’t drop into canyons for that adrenaline-boosting sweeping shot. The shadow footprint of a drone is of course also far smaller, so there’s less need for crafty shots or post-production edits to remove a helicopter shadow in the background. You can’t fit a helicopter indoors. Drones are flexible, can fly high or low, and all the levels in-between. Being able to operate indoors and outdoors means it’s completely possible for complex indoor/outdoor shots to be executed – ideas which until recently haven’t been feasible for any production company no matter their budget. And of course, let’s not forget the environment, the drone is much friendlier to mother Earth. Using
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fast-charge batteries, there is no burning of fossil fuels in the flight process, making the carbon footprint tiny in comparison. The growing use of drones is changing the way that movies and TV shows are made, giving consumers a new perspective on the action. Film industry experts say they will open up new possibilities of filmmaking in much the same way that lightweight cameras did in the 1960s and the Steadicam did in the 1970s. In February this year BBC announced that Sir David Attenborough would host the upcoming new factual natural history blue chip production of Planet Earth II. It’s being shot in UHD and the epic scale of this series is said to be second to none and the BBC production team report that this is going to be a visual treat of note thanks to the latest camera stabilisation, remote recording and aerial drone technology that has transformed the way that they do their filming. Until recently in the US, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allowed only public agencies such as fire departments to use drones for such things as tracking wildfires. The agency effectively banned their use for commercial purposes because they were viewed as potential aviation safety hazards and threats to national security. Prodded by the Motion Picture Association of America, the FAA took the first step toward allowing Hollywood to use drones when it granted a waiver requested last year by seven aerial photography companies. Drone proponents hailed the decision, saying it would put the U.S. on a more even footing with other countries where they are legal and used on films such as the James Bond movie Skyfall and Transformers: Age of
| Aerial Cinematography
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS: A scene from the YouTube short 1500 Feet TV Tower
Extinction. Filmmakers contend that drones create more distinctive shots because they can go where manned aircraft can’t – dropping down into narrow spaces such as alleyways and even flying through windows. Under the new FAA rules, drones can be used only on sets that are closed to the public and cannot be operated at night, unlike in South Africa, where Drone Crew have approval for such film operations. Operators in SA must hold a Remote Pilots Licence, Air Services Licence and a Remote Operator Certificate; keep the drones within an unobstructed line of sight and below an altitude of 400 feet. At least two people are required to operate the drones: one to pilot the craft with a controller and a second who operates the camera and acts as spotter to watch the drone in flight. Out of interest, the vertigo inducing footage, mentioned earlier, of the engineer changing the light bulb, was filmed by Prairie Aerial videography, using a DJI Phantom 2 modified for higher performance with Antigravity motors and balanced carbon-fibre props. The camera was a GoPro 3+Black also modified with a 5.4mm rectilinear flat lens with IR filter. The gimbal was a Zenmuse H3-3D and piloted by Joseph and Todd Thorin. I asked Todd how he got away with the FAA 400 feet altitude rule with this project: “Yes, at the time there was
an altitude limit, although I was not fully aware of it. I work as a safety officer for a tower construction and maintenance company and we were actually testing the possibility of using drones for tower safety and inspection,” said Thorin. “I consulted with a licensed fixed wing pilot to see what his no-fly zone around a tower is and then I claimed that space for my drone flight. As the video gained views I was contacted by the FAA and instructed that this was not allowed. With the new FAA Drone regulations taking effect from 1 September here in the US it will now be allowable for a commercial drone to fly to any altitude if within 500’ of a structure” Thorin concluded, “I’m a bit of a rebel. I say, if the regulations are ambiguous or there is a common sense avenue to operate on the frontier go for it and see what happens. I was not too far off on this one because the new regulations now allow what I did. Somebody has to break the trail. I am now a member of a very small group of citizens who has actually received written notice from the FAA to cease commercial operations. They did admit that the video was really cool though!” At the time of writing the film had racked up 6 952 606 views on YouTube and was a finalist in the inaugural Drone Up International Film Festival in Plovdiv, Bulgaria held in late August 2016. – Ian Dormer
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The R&S®AVHE100 produces full-screen pictures by stitching the four quadrants delivered via 3G-SDI cables and compresses them in realtime using the HEVC codec (H.265). The compressed signal is then packaged into an MPEG 2 transport stream and fed to a distribution network
T
he consumer electronics industry has clearly gained the upper hand in the usual chicken-and-egg dispute this time by offering UHD cameras and TVs. Infrastructure suppliers and broadcasters are faced with the challenge of closing the producer / consumer supply gap and creating a marketable UHD ecosystem. This is no easy task, considering that data volumes have exploded due to drastically increased picture resolutions (UHD-1: 3840 × 2160 pixels; UHD-2: 7680 × 4320 pixels) and other improvements such as frame rates up to 120 fps, extended color ranges and more powerful audio formats. The goal, however, by using the HEVC (H.265) next-generation coding standard, is to achieve twice the compression efficiency of MPEG-4 (H.264) currently used in today’s HDTV. As a result, UHDTV programmes can then be broadcast via terrestrial networks. In the spring of 2013,
38 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2016
the Korean Broadcasting System proved that this entirely feasible when it began using a transmitter from Rohde & Schwarz to regularly broadcast a UHD program in the Seoul metropolitan area.
HEVC realtime coder, multiplexer and gateway The compact R&S®AVHE100 headend processes the 4K programme data into a transport stream that can be transmitted. The headend features the latest in high-performance data technology to perform CPU-intensive HEVC encoding in realtime. All of the headend signal flows are IP-based. This is a prerequisite for ensuring high integration density for all functions as well as extensive flexibility in functional structuring to meet individual requirements. The UHDTV signal is fed from a 4K camera, a downstream control unit or a 4K playout server to the headend via four
3G-SDI cables (data rate: 12 Gbit/s). Unlike other solutions on the market that process the four HD image quadrants separately and only stitch them together into a full 4K picture at the end, the R&S®AVHE100 combines the quadrants prior to editing and works with complete 4K images after that. One advantage is potentially better picture quality, since the higher quality of the playout material ensures that the seams between quadrants remain invisible. In contrast, separate processing can lead to unclean interfaces depending on the quality of encoding. System scalability is another benefit of complete image processing; customers only purchase the computing power that they need. A typical configuration, for example, is designed for a 4K signal with 60 frames per second and very good picture quality. The hardware (processor performance) is tailored accordingly. Hardware can simply be added if requirements such as higher frame rates appear.
In conclusion, the R&S®AVHE100 performs the following functions: • Synchronises the four 3G-SDI signals into a single 4K image (stitching) • Carries out color subsampling of incoming UHD signals from 4:2:2 to 4:2:0 in line with ITU UHD-1 • Performs HEVC realtime encoding with 8-bit or 10-bit colour depth • Generates UHDTV multiplex and PSI/SI or PSIP information • Tags T2-MI packets with a timestamp pulled from the GPS signal as required for terrestrial single-frequency network (SFN) broadcasting • Generates a transport stream via IP or ASI that is fed into the transmission network
Minimize complexity, maximize availability. Headends from Rohde & Schwarz. The R&SÂŽAVHE100 encoding and multiplexing platform provides video resolutions up to UHD with 10-bit encoding. It is a flexible, softwarebased system combining state-of-the-art IT technologies with extensive software components, including a market-leading HEVC encoder. Thanks to the Rohde & Schwarz headend solution, your premium content can be enriched by applying HDR. Advanced features like regionalization, video conversion and support of encryption systems are also part of the R&SÂŽAVHE100. See for yourself by visiting www.rohde-schwarz.com/ad/avhe100
Meet us at booth 7.E25
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Those productions in red are newly listed this month Production Updates Order of Information 1. Title 2. Production company 3. Director 4. Genre
IN PRODUCTION 20 and Free X CON Films Dir: Munier Parker Documentary 50/50 Clive Morris Productions Current Affairs 53 EXTRA M-Net Inhouse Productions Dir: Navan Chetty Magazine A BROTHER’S LOVE 1300 Pictures (Pty) Ltd Dir: Elvis Nkosi Feature
BRENT OWENS UNWRAPPED… SOUTH AFRICA Oxyg3n Media Prod: Rebecca Fuller-Campbell TV Series
FACE OF GEMINI Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Series
Bugatti Together Lucky Fish Productions Dir: Raphaël Crombez Commercial
Facility Management Lectures (A4FM) Panache Video Productions Dir/ Prod: Liesel Eiselen Educational
CAINE’S LEGACY Media Navigation Prod/Dir: Dan Akinlolu Short Film
Faith Today Impact Christian Media Prod: Carl Schultz TV Series
CARTE BLANCHE (INSERTS) Modern Times Prod: Sophia Phirippides News
FIVE FINGERS FOR MARSEILLES Be Phat Motel, Game 7 Films, Stage 5 Films, Above the Clouds Prod: Sean Drummond Feature Film
Carte Blanche shorts TIA productions Prod / Dir: Tarryn Lee Crossman News CLAASENS DESIGNS MARKETING VIDEOS Panache Video Productions Prod/Dir: Liesel Eiselen Marketing videos
FOX NEWS CHANNEL Betta Beta Communications Prod/Dir: Tommy Doig News Free State Toursim Indaba Our Time Productions Dir: Jaun de Meillon Corporate
COOL CATS Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Cecil Berry Children’s Show
FRENZY Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Morena Sefatsa Variety
CORTEX MINING FC Hamman Films Prod Man: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video
FRIENDS LIKE THESE Urban Brew Studios Prod: Trishana Singh Game show
COME DINE WITH ME SOUTH AFRICA Rapid Blue Prod: Kee-Leen Irvine Reality
GENERATIONS Morula Pictures Prod: Mfundi Vundla Series
AQUELLE’ MIDMAR MILE 2015 Media Ventures Prod/Dir: Chris Moolman Documentary
CUTTING EDGE SABC News Current Affairs
AFRICA 360 eNews News Head: Patrick Conroy Current affairs
DIAMOND BROKER OF CONGO Bendimir Productions PTY LTD Prod: Dede Tshibangu Documentary
GLAM GURU Homebrew Films Prod/Dir: Paul Venter Actuality TV Series
AFRO CAFÉ SEASON 7 Bonngoe Productions Prod: Pepsi Pokane Music
DIMENSION DATA Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Natalie Varoy Corporate
ArtsCulturex Talent 1000 Championships Michics Global Communications Exec Prod: Mishack Motshweni Series
DINNER DIVAS 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myers Series
A CALENDAR OF EVENTS – MEDUPI & KUSILE Betta Beta Communications Prod: Tommy Doig Documentary A MAN OF HIS OWN PRINCIPALS Sekgopha Productions Prod: Buhle Mofulatsi / Thapelo Hlagala TV movie
Auditor General Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Brad Montgomery/Natalie Varoy Corporate BACKBONE PROJECT Global Access Creative Agency Prod: GA Creative Agency Documentary BEHIND THE DOOR/BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT Deepend Films & Hartiwood Films Exec prod: Paulene Abrey & Paul Kruger Documentary
DISHONEST Inhlakanipho Films Dir: Vusi Nhlapo Feature Film Ditokelo tsa Medupi LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature DIY MET RIAAN Prod: Riaan Venter-Garforth Magazine EARTH BEAT Tekweni TV Productions Prod: Sandra Herrington Series
BINNELAND Stark Films Prod/Dir: Friedrich / Elsje Stark Series
EASTERN MOSAIC Red Carpet Productions Prod: Saira Essa / Mark Corlett Magazine
BLOODLINE: NOW OR NEVER Dual Films Prod/Dir: Darrell Roodt Feature Film
END GAME Fireworx Media/ Tunc Productions Prod: Bridget Pickering Dir: Akin Omotoso/ Thandie Brewer/ Thabang Moleya Feature
BONISANANI Grounded Media Talk Show BRAVO! Homebrew Films Prod/Dir: Paul Venter TV Magazine
EXPRESSO (Season 2) Cardova Prod: Paul van Deventer Series
GOLD DIGGERS SEASON 2 Urban Brew Studios Prod/Dir: Herbert Hadebe TV Series GOOD MORNING AFRICA Planet Image Productions SA Prod/Dir: Wale Akinlabi Magazine GOSPEL GOLD Engage Entertainment Prod: Sthembile Mhlongu Music Got It Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate THE GREATEST THING Noble Pictures Prod: Claudia Noble Feature Film GROEN NAMIBIE 2 Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Wildlife HEAT WAVE Ruby Rocket Media Dir: Eddie Edwards TV Series HECTIC 99 Okuhle Media Prod: Wilna van Schalkwyk Magazine HITACHI POWER AFRICA MEDUPI AND KUSILE Betta Beta Communications Prod/Dir: Tommy Doig Documentary HOUSE CALL Urban Brew Studios Prod: Lawrence Molepo Talk Show
IGNITE Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Reality
ISIDINGO SEASON 19 Endemol South Africa Prod: Pumla Hoppa, Leo Phiri Soap
IHAWU LE SISWE Provoke Entertainment Dir: Sechaba Morojele TV Series
JOBURG TAXI Xcut Studios Prod: Dave Kaminer Documentary
iParent training clips Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate
JOU SHOW Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Talk show
IMIZWILILI Ukhamba Productions Prod: Alfred Mpofu Music
KWELA Homebrew Films Prod/Dir: Paul Venter TV Magazine
INKABA Urban Brew Studios Prod: John Kani Telenovela
KHUMBUL’EKHAYA Urban Brew Studios Prod: Khulile Nxumalo Factual Entertainment
In search of our own Open Window school of film arts Prod: Adriaan De la Rey Documentary
KOKKEDOOR 2 Homebrew films Prod: Jaco Loubser and Paul Venter Cooking reality series September 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 41
PROD U CTION
UP DAT E S PASELLA Tswelopele Productions Dir: Liani Maasdorp / Werner Hefer Magazine
SKEEM SAAM Peu Prod/Dir: Winnie Serite TV Series
Troopship Tragedy (working title) Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Marion Edmunds Documentary
PAWN STARS SOUTH AFRICA Rapid Blue Prod: Kee-Leen Irvine, Ed Worster, Johan Naude and Kat Weatherall Reality
Slender Wonder Doctors Conference Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Prod: Slender Wonder Corporate Video
TRUE LIFE STORIES Endemol Shine Africa Prod/Dir: Victoria Maake Docu-reality Series
PHUNDEKA READING PROGRAMME SummerTime Productions Exec Prod: Phundeka (NGO) Documentary POWER COMBAT ZONE Mixed Motion Entertainment Dir: Dieter Gottert Sport
Unit 3, Harbour Place, 1061 Schooner Road, Laser Park, Honeydew
PROJECT MV Zen Crew Prod: Laura Tarling Music Rands with Sense 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myersin Education REA ONLINE The Torch Studio Prod/Dir: Otsetswe Sedimo Talk Show
KOLLIG Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Magazine
MASHELENG 2 LMOL Production Dir: Jonny Muteba Feature
RHYTHM CITY Quizzical Pictures Prod: Yula Quinn Soapie
KONA The Directors Team (Pty) Ltd Prod/Dir: Laurence Lurie / Cathy Sykes Series
MassTalk Global Access Creative Agency Prod: Brad Montgomery Corporate
RIVONINGO Asi-B Films Prod: Asivhanzi ‘Asi’ Mathaba Children’s Show
MATRICS UPLOADED Educational Improvement and Study Help (EISH) Prod: Lisa Blakeway Educational
ROLLING WITH KELLY KHUMALO Red Pepper Prod: Cecil Barry Reality
KOOLCON CORPORATE VIDEO FiX Post Production/ Marketing AV Marketing Video LATE NITE NEWS ON E.TV Diprente Productions Prod: Tamsin Andersson Series Light Girls South African Unit White Heron Pictures Prod: Themba Sibeko Documentary LIVE Urban Brew Music LIVE AMP Urban Brew Studios Prod: Sjula Dlamini Music Show LIVE LOTTO SHOW Urban Brew Game Show LOVE RUNS OUT Muti Films Prod: Shanna Freedman Feature Film MACHISMO Cheruscopic Productions Prod/Dir: Neil Schell Animation series MAHADI SEASON 2 Urban Brew Studios Prod: Khulile Nxumalo Reality Show MAMELLO SEASON 2 Endemol Shine Africa Prod: Shirley Adonisi TV Drama Series Mandela’s Gun DV8 films Dir: John Irvin Feature Marang Estate: Mixed Used Development Nov/ Dec Our Time Productions Dir: Jaun de Meillon Documentary MASHELENG1 LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature
42 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2016
MOTSWAKO Carol Bouwer Productions Prod: Grant Paul Roy Talk Show MCA Training Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate
ROOTS Ukhamba Communications Prod: Alfred Mpofu Music SAINT AND FREEDOM FIGHTER Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Documentary
M-NET SHORT FILMS Current Affairs Films Prod/ Dir: Jane Thandi Lipman Film
SAKEGESPREK MET THEO VORSTER SEASON 5 Dirk Mostert Camera Production Prod/ Dir: Dirk Mostert Series
MURDER OF A FORMER FIRST LADY Sabido Productions Dir/Prod: Catherine Rice Documentary
SAUBA IMAGOFILM Prod: Tam de Vries Reality TV Series
MUVHANGO Word of Mouth Prod: Pieter Grobbelaar Feature
SCANDAL Ochre Moving Pictures Prod: Romano Gorlei Soapie
MY GENERATION Current Affairs Films Dir: Jane Lipman TV Series
SCHOEMAN BOERDERY – MOOSRIVIER Khaki Productions Prod/Dir: Christelle Parrott / Wynand Dreyer Documentary
My name is Funeka Sabido Productions Dir/Prod: Catherine Rice Documentary MZANSI INSIDER Bonngoe Productions Prod: Pepsi Pokane Magazine NEILL ANTHONY – THE PRIVATE CHEF Okuhle Media Prod: Grant Flynn Cooking Show NET1 – SASSA Betta Beta Communications Prod: Tommy Doig Corporate NEWS NIGHT eNews Prod: Nikiwe Bikitsha Current Affairs Oscar Pistorius Documentary Inserts TIA Productions Dir/ Prod: Tarryn Crossman Documentary
SELIMATHUNZI Sikhoyana Productions Prod: Baby Joe Correira Variety SHIZ NIZ Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Allen Makhubele Variety SHIFT Urban Brew Studios Prod: Bongani Maphumulo Talk show SISTERHOOD Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Andy Leze Variety SIYAKHOLWA – WE BELIEVE X CON Films Dir: Munier Parker Edutainment
Slender Wonder Patient Testimonial Videos Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Corporate Videos SOCCER ZONE SABC Sports Head: Sizwe Nzimande Magazine SODA AND Mayoral Awards Global Access Creative Agency Guy Sclanders Corporate SPRINGBOK STORIES Angel Music Studio Productions Dir: Chrissie Rossouw TV Series STUDY MATE Educational Improvement and Study Help (EISH) Exec Prod: Lisa Blakeway Educational SUIDOOSTER Suidooster Films Prod: Colin Howard Soap
TSHIPE BORWA MANGANESE MINE Betta Beta Communications Prod / Dir: Tommy Doig Documentary TUKUTIKO Celestial Touch Studio Prod/Dir: Clifford B. Okumu TV Drama Vaseline Experience Xcut Studios Dir: Lee Anne Theron 4D AV production VELDKINDERS Kilroy Was Here! Productions Prod: Gideon Breytenbach Documentary Series VILLA ROSA Spectro Productions Dir: Luhann Jansen / Andries van der Merwe/ Leroux Botha/ Isabel Smit Series VLERKSLEEP Homebrew Films Prod/Dir: Ben Heyns Reality TV Series
SUPERSWIMMER Media Ventures Prod/Dir: Chris Moolman TV Series
Volkspele South Africa Grey Cloud Productions Dir:Jacques Brand Prod: Bertie Brink Documentary
THE CHAT ROOM Eclipse Prod: Thokozani Nkosi Talk Show
WARD 22 TIA Productions Prod/Dir: Tarryn Crossman Documentary
THE COMMUNIST REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA Jam TV, Creative South Africa, Nkhanyeti Production Prod: Barthelemy Ngwessam Documentary
WEEKEND AM LIVE SABC News Current Affairs
THE JUSTICE FACTOR eNews Prod: Debbie Meyer Current Affairs THE REAL GOBOZA 10 Urban Brew Studios Prod: Sydney Mekgwe Magazine show The Revolution Betrayed Shadow Films Prod/Dir: David Forbes Documentary THE RUDIMENTALS Periphery Films Prod: Simon Taylor Feature THE TECH REPORT Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Technology Magazine
WIZARD OF ZIM Away From Keyboard Dir: Samora Sekhukhune Documentary WOMB-MAN Bolobathaba Multimedia Prod: Molatelo Mainetje Documentary YILENGELO LAKHO Prod: Nndanganeni Mudau Current Affairs YOTV Urban Brew Studios Prod: Adelaide Joshua Youth show ZOOM IN Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Talk show
IN POST-PRODUCTION
TEMPY PUSHAS SEASON 3 Endemol Shine Africa Prod: Pumla Hopa TV Drama Series
A DIFFERENT COUNTRY Sabido Productions Dir: Lisa Henry Documentary series
TIGER KLOOF – A SYMPHONY IN STONE Box Screen Pictures Prod/Dir: Mpho Dintwa Documentary
A FATAL ENCOUNTER – THE MARLEEN KONINGS STORY Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Johann Abrahams Documentary
TOP BILLING Tswelopele Productions Prod: Patience Stevens Magazine
A Love Letter to Luxor Shadow Films Prod/Dir: David Forbes Short Film
TOP TRAVEL (Season 3) Cardova Prod: Bradley van den Berg Series
A MOTHER’S MADNESS Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Ayesha Ismail Documentary
TOWNSHIP YOGI GreenShoot Films Dir: Peter Matthews Documentary
A STOLEN LIFE – THE SASHA LEIGH CROOK STORY Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Catherine Rice Documentary
P R ODU C T IO N AFROX CO2 PLANT FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video
MURDER ON MILLIONAIRE’S MILE Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Barbara Friedman Documentary
The calling LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature
AFROX FINANCIAL RESULTS FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video
MY SIGHT FOR SORE EYES Enigma Ace Films Prod/Dir: Ryan Kruger Feature Film
THE LAST GREAT TUSKERS NHU Africa Prod: Vyv Simson / Donfrey Meyer Documentary
AFROX RAU INSIGHT FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video
NIGHT OF THE MASSACRE Tshepo Lesedi Projects, Mathope & Izibuko Films Dir: Charles Khuele Documentary
The Message Reel Edge Studios Dir: David Golden TV Drama Series
ALL FOR NOTHING – THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BRUNO BRONN Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Barbara Friedman Documentary
NIGHTCLUB KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Nobathembu Stefane Documentary
THE STORY OF LITTLE FOOT Paul Myburgh Film Prod: Paul Myburgh Documentary
BA SEKWI Vu Prod. Prod/Dir: Jeanne Vu Van Documentary
NOEM MY SKOLLIE Maxi-D Productions Prod: David Max Brown Feature Film
THE TRANSPORTERS Sukuma Media/ Reality Motion Pictures Dir: Bonginhlanhla Ncube Documentary
BEAUTY CONTEST Phoenix TV Productions Prod/Dir: Koketso Sefanyetso Short Film
NORTH WEST KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Ayesha Ismail Documentary
TOWNSHIP TERROR Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Melanie Rice Documentary
CAESAREAN COMPLICATIONS SummerTime Productions Exec Prod: Professor Eckhart Buchmann Documentary
Nyaope Gangsters LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature
TROOPSHIP TRAGEDY Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Marion Edmunds Documentary
PERFECT SHISHEBO Quizzical Pictures Prod: Nthabiseng Mokoena Series
TWEE GRADE VAN MOORD Inverse Films (Pty) Ltd Prod: Barry Strick Feature Film
PLAY MORE GOLF FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Commercials
UNDER THE MOUNTAIN Plexus Films Prod: Miki Redelinghuys,/ Lauren Groenewald Short film
CROSSBOW KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Barbara Friedman Documentary DEBRA DEEL Khaki Productions Prod: Christelle Parrott TV Series FASHION GURU SA Pro Media & Spider – Co Productions Prod/Dir: Dee Vanzyl Reality HAD BETTER DAYS Uniquely Novel Productions Prod/Dir: Deon VD Merwe Feature Film HELL TRIP ACT Animation Films Prod/Dir: Patrick Garcia Feature Film HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARIES: KIMBERLEY: SOUTH AFRICA Spike Productions Prod/Dir: Steve Muller Documentary THE HOCKEY STICK KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Melanie Rice Documentary I AM…CRAIG Away From Keyboard Dir: Samora Sekhukhune Documentary IN THE SHADOWS StreTalk Productions Prod/Dir: Bobby Mokhema Short Film JULIUS HAS A DREAM Creative South Africa, Nkanyethi Productions,Jam TV Prod: Bathelemy Ngwessam Documentary KNYSNA West Five Films Prod/ Dir: Maynard Kraak; Andre Velts Feature Film LINCOLN CLAN Total Recall Media Ltd Dir: Adebanjo Oluseyi TV Series MARIAH’S WORLD ZenHQ Films, SA Production Services Prod/Dir: Jeff Jenkins TV Series THE MIME ARTIST Phoenix TV Productions Prod: Koketso Sefanyetso Short Film
Pushi- Passion LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Series THE QUIET BOY Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Charlene Stanley Corporate ROSA 3 Two Oceans Productions Prod: Giselher Venzke & Bertha Spieker TV Feature SAFE BET Sukuma Media Producer: Nokuthula Sakhile Mguni / Bonginhlanhla Ncube Feature Film SAMURAI KILLER Sabido Productions Dir: Catherine Rice Corporate SECRET PAIN #1 Makoya Entertainment Prod/Dir: Prayer Ndlovu TV Drama
UNSOLVED – THE STORY OF THE CAPE RIPPER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Johann Abrahams Documentary UNTHINKABLE Media Navigation Prod/Dir: Dan Akinlolu Feature Film When I Was Water Shadow Films Dir: David Forbes Documentary XJ-1 Eternal Film Productions Prod: Marius Swanepoel/ Dana Pretorius Feature XTREME OUTDOORS AFRICA Africa InSight Prod: Esah Panyako TV Magazine
Unit C5 RobeRtville Mini FaCtoRies 255 nadine stReet RobeRtville RoodepooRt 1709
SHALLOW GRAVE Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Meggan Raubenheimer Documentary SLENDER WONDER FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video SLENDER WONDER MJ LABS FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video SWARTWATER Quizzical Pictures Prod: Bianca Isaac Dir: John Trengove/ Jozua Malherbe/ Denny Y Miller Series SUPERDAD Two Oceans Productions Prod: Giselher Venzke & Bertha Spieker TV Feature TESSA BEETGE – A Life Interrupted Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Meggan Raubenheimer Documentary
UPD ATES
UPCOMING EVENTS Screen Africa relies on the accuracy of information received and cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions which may occur. E-mail production updates to: online@screenafrica.com
|
SEPTEMBER 27 AUG – 7 Montreal World Film Festival
Montreal www.ffm-montreal.org
8 – 18 Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto www.tiff.net/
9 – 13 IBC 2016
Amsterdam www.ibc.org
15 – 18 The Fifth Annual Jozi Film Festival
Johannesburg www.jozifilmfestival.co.za
OCTOBER 5 – 16
BFI London Film Festival
London www.bfi.org.uk
25 – 3 NOV Tokyo International Film Festival
Tokyo www.tiff-jp.net
28 – 5 NOV Joburg Film Festival
Johannesburg www.joburgfilmfestival.co.za September 2016 | SCREENAFRICA | 43
| Loerie Awards 2016 at the Durban ICC
PHOTOS BY Jethro Snyders
Social
Boity Thulo, Luthando Lootlove Shosha and Khanya Mkangisa
Suhana Gordhan and Donovan Golliath
Jason Goliath, Nicholas Goliath, Kate Goliath and Donovan Goliath
Tabisa Yeni and Moonchild Sanelly
TK Dlamini and Kay Sibiya
Mampho Brescia
Maps Maponyane and Nomzamo Mbatha
It’s showtime with Disney
PHOTOS BY CERA-JANE CATTON
At Disney’s Annual Content Showcase held in Johannesburg, guests were shown the theatrical, home entertainment, TV channels, gaming, franchise and lifestyle highlights coming up from across The Walt Disney Company, including Disney, Disney•Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and ABC Studios. Seen at the showcase were…
Charlotte Archer and Bronwen Auret
Craig Wight and Lauren Airey
Immaculata Segooa and Asithandile Maso
44 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2016
Eloise Scoble and Naadiya Adams
Debashine Thangevelo and Louise McAuliffe
Belinda Kayton and Fiona Brauns
Yaasir Abrahams and Kirsten Theron
Mike Pocock and Peter Crafford
Nikita Camacho and El Broide
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