FOREWORD
U
rban Brew Studios has been at the centre of the independent television production sector for the past 25 years now. There have been two decades of programming excellence, technical innovation and a deep commitment to the artistic development of the youth of the country.
Urban Brew Studios has been one of the pillars that allowed top South African producers unparalleled
space and opportunity to develop their talent. It is a skills base that is now recognised throughout the world as being truly superb. Urban Brew Studios has been one of a handful of production houses in the country that was charged with helping the SABC transform by developing programming to reflect the new realities of South Africa, when the first independent Board of the SABC was established. The images on South African television that South Africans see every day now seem natural, but during those early days that genre of programming was totally unknown in our country. Today, nobody blinks an eye at the full cultural integration that has become the daily fare of South African television. There have been many challenges, successes and setbacks, but all of these were taken in their stride by Urban Brew Studios, who not only produced television content for various broadcasters, but also fostered and nurtured talented producers, actors and presenters who have dominated the small screen in the country. Over this time, the organisation has also been at the centre of technological innovation in keeping with the best in the world. Some of its studios feature design work by Walt Disney Studios, one of the world’s leading television producers. The relationship with Walt Disney has enabled Urban Brew to stay ahead of technological developments in the television b casting sector. Urban Brew has been among the independent producers who developed some of the iconic programming that reflected the new South Africa. Some examples include Woza Weekend, YO TV, and Khumbul’ekhaya, which are household names in many homes among young and old television viewers. The organisation has been able to come this far because of its commitment to freedom of creativity and its strategy of providing young people entering the industry a platform to develop their talent. This is a strategy that Urban Brew Studios plans to pursue into the future along with continued technological innovation.
4 URBANATION