Audio Spaces: Soundbites From SA’s Top Studios

TheWorkRoom, a Cape Town-based post studio, has worked on shows such as Chernobyl (far right) and Warrior (above). Warrior photography by Graham Bartholomew © Cinemax/HBO,

When it comes to quality sound at every stage of the production process, South Africa definitely isn’t lacking in audio spaces that deliver every time. By Lesley Marchant

South Africa’s audio studios have had a productive year. With streaming giants like Netflix and HBO showing a keen interest in the South African market for new original programming, and more big-budget local shoots than ever before, many of the top studios have not only expanded their staff, but expanded their offerings. International and technological trends are ever-changing, and trying to keep up while still delivering at the highest standard is anything but easy. In fact, it’s resulting in some studios altering their business models.

For Produce Sound in Johannesburg, it’s been a big year of change: the company recently relaunched as a full-service audio agency, with a focus on more – and earlier – involvement in the creative process. Louis Enslin, Owner and Creative Director at Produce Sound, says the rebrand is enabling them to create better, more compelling content. As a result, they’ve picked up more international work and several new local clients through referrals.

“Different sound design techniques, file delivery options, immersive audio and even just brainstorming with clients helps

us to refine a project,” says Enslin. Now, Produce Sound has had projects go from TV execution to radio to podcast, simply because they were able to get involved in the process early on and bounce ideas off other creatives.

TheWorkRoom, a Cape Townbased post studio, has also seen an impressive year of international projects. Director and Production Manager Jenna Lange says 2019 has been considerably busier than previous years. “In the past 12 months, we’ve been given the opportunity to work on wellknown shows such as Chernobyl, Warrior, Raised By Wolves, Doctor Who, Motherland, DC’s Titans

and Black Mirror,” she says.

Pressure Cooker Studios, a Full Service Audio Production House in Cape Town, has been equally busy on projects ranging from feature films (a Syfy reboot of the classic horror flick, Leprechaun) to the Disney XD animated series Supa Strikas to Semblance – Africa’s first-ever game released on the Nintendo Switch console. Clearly, it’s an exciting time. But, as the need for new content, games and media grows, South African post studios are tasked with the difficulty not only of keeping up with international trends, but of staying ahead of the curve in an ever-changing landscape.

Sound and Motion Studios were the audio supplier of Diprente’s Queen Sono.

STREAMING SERVICES AND SOUND

Sound studios in South Africa have been kept busy with a local film industry that’s only growing as streaming services engage in content wars. It’s no secret that global services like Netflix and HBO have their sights set on the South African market, and Showmax continues to produce high-quality original programming. Post studios are feeling the effects. This past year alone, one of Rhapsody Recording’s biggest jobs was a 65-episode series for Netwerk TV, TheWorkRoom did sound mixing for Netflix’s Black Mirror, Sound and Motion Studios has been the audio supplier of Queen Sono and Gambit film’s Blood and Water, while Sound Surfers was the audio supplier for M-Net’s runaway hit, Trackers.

Lange says there’s been a definite increase in content creation, which has resulted in an increased demand for TheWorkRoom’s services. James Matthes, owner, composer and producer at Pressure Cooker Studios, agrees that streaming services and the influx of new local programming have had a noticeable impact on the industry.

SOUND STUDIOS IN SOUTH AFRICA HAVE BEEN KEPT BUSY WITH A LOCAL FILM INDUSTRY THAT’S ONLY GROWING AS STREAMING SERVICES ENGAGE IN CONTENT WARS. IT’S NO SECRET THAT GLOBAL SERVICES LIKE NETFLIX AND HBO HAVE THEIR SIGHTS SET ON THE SOUTH AFRICAN MARKET, AND SHOWMAX CONTINUES TO PRODUCE HIGH-QUALITY ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING.

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Who are we? An independent South African music publishing company representing international and local labels.

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PRESSURE COOKER OPENS NEW STUDIO

After a gruelling 2-year build, Pressure Cooker Studios - a respected music and sound design house specialising in music production for film, television and advertisements - have opened their state of the art facility in the heart of the Cape Town. Home to 12 full time creatives, the facility designed by world-renowned studio designer Martin Pilchner, features two main control rooms which sandwich a main studio proper, a 7.1 post theatre with adjacent ADR booth, five writing rooms and an independent isolation booth. Pressure Cooker have proudly planted a flag in the ground for the local industry with this new home for creativity.

Pressure Cooker Studios’ 7.1 Post Production Theatre (above), and reception entrance (below).

THE KEY TO TRUST? COLLABORATION AND FLEXIBILITY. PRESSURE COOKER STUDIOS REGULARLY MEETS WITH CREATIVES ACROSS INDUSTRIES, AND PRODUCE SOUND’S REBRAND HAS ALLOWED THEM TO PARTNER WITH AN AUSTRALIAN MUSIC HOUSE AND SERVE ON THEIR COMPOSER ROSTER. WITH CONVERSATION AND COMMUNICATION COMES A PROPER UNDERSTANDING OF (AND APPRECIATION FOR) THE CRUCIAL AUDIO SIDE OF MEDIA.

“Not just from the exponential increase in work to be won,” Matthes says, “but also with an awareness towards and standardisation of delivery specifications, production pipelines and studio configurations.”

An increase in work is certainly positive, but it’s also true that streaming giants are very focussed on quantity – and that has the very real possibility of affecting quality. Greg Albert, CEO of Rhapsody Recording in Cape Town, says that in his recent experience, streaming services are expecting a whole lot in very little time. “We can only do what we can do,” he says. “It’s simply not possible to produce highquality sound for a streaming service at a quickened pace, even though that’s effectively what post studios are being asked to do.” And if there’s one thing our local sound industry isn’t willing to compromise on, it’s quality.

Enslin believes our desire for good sound is psychological: “Auditory perceptions can be classified as positive or

negative,” he explains. “If, for example, the audio quality and execution of a simple radio advert is substandard, the listener’s perception of that brand is automatically low quality and substandard.”

Jim Petrak, the Owner, Producer and Head Engineer at Sound Surfers in Johannesburg, says that quality sound production is a collaborative but lengthy process – something that often isn’t realised. “There’s no easy way to go about it,” he says. “It’s a collaboration between good recorders, good mixers, an excellent sound supervisor and a huge team of specialists with high-end skills.”

When a good sound team consists of at least 10 to 15 highly knowledgeable individuals, and production companies don’t fully comprehend the sheer volume of work required, producing quality audio in South Africa can become a monumental

task on a significantly less monumental budget.

SOUNDING OFF ON THE CHALLENGES

South Africa’s studios might make it sound easy, but producing quality audio in South Africa is no small feat. Petrak, Enslin and Lange all cite budget as the major issue. Things are simply getting more expensive. “All of the equipment we use are produced and sold internationally,” says Lange. “Of course we want to be at the forefront of technology, but, with our exchange rate, overheads are incredibly costly to maintain.”

Surprisingly, ageism within the industry also seems to be an issue. Enslin points out that in other countries, older, more experienced editors, directors, musicians and sound designers would be more sought after, because with seniority comes expertise. In South Africa, however, the shift seems to be towards working with peers. Of course, this could also indirectly be related to budgets: younger employees simply cost less – but vital knowledge is at risk of being lost.

“There are several excellent technicians who are a lot older, but their knowledge and skillsets haven’t been passed down to new generations,” says Albert. “It’s entirely possible that three generations of information will be lost, and when that happens, young trainees will lack the skills needed to grow South Africa’s post industry.” And growth is inevitable – in the past 12 months alone, the team at Pressure Cooker Studios has doubled in size to keep up with the demand.

Theoretically, this should be fantastic for our sound studios, but it’s also a reality that brings its own unique struggles. In Matthes’s experience, the biggest

challenge for Pressure Cooker Studios has been trust, with international clients doubting the abilities of the relatively young South African post industry to deliver at the highest level, on time, every time. “The quality of our audio and music is increasing. The more trust we can build with international clients shooting here, the more work will come to our shores,” he says.

The key to trust? Collaboration and flexibility.

Pressure Cooker Studios regularly meets with creatives across industries, and Produce Sound’s rebrand has allowed them to partner with an Australian music house and serve on their composer roster. With conversation and communication comes a proper understanding of (and appreciation for) the crucial audio side of media – and moving forward with this knowledge in mind is setting our studios up for a very productive 2020.

GFC ON THE UP AND UP

Nthabeleng Phora, of the Gauteng Film Commission, shares where the organisation is headed in 2020.

Firstly, tell us briefly about Gauteng Film Commission and what your goals are as an organisation in 2020?

The strategic goals of the GFC were developed as a response to the mandate of Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation (DSACR), objectives of the (NDP), the revised mandate of the Provincial Government, as well as the key macro and micro environment challenges and strategic issues that the Agency should address.

The overarching aim of the GFC is to cultivate, facilitate and enhance an environment that allows the Creative Industries to play a meaningful role in the socio-economic development of Gauteng.

THE GFC RESPONSE TO THE OUTCOMES-BASED APPROACH

As the creative industries form a lever for promotion of social cohesion and nation building, the GFC contributes to the provincial Outcome 14: “To promote social cohesion and nation building”. The GFC also equally considers its critical and clearly targeted role in support of Outcome 4: “Decent work and inclusive economic growth.”

How do festivals and film markets fit into your mandate?

Film festivals and markets form part of the identified priority programmes of the GFC. These assist the GFC to promote its services and projects funded by the entity. GFC uses film festivals and market platforms to address industry challenges and identify growth opportunities for the province. These platforms enable the GFC in identifying gaps where transformation is crucial for the growth of the audio-visual sector. Film festivals and markets are also a practical learning platform for filmmakers to understand the international markets and trends of the global perspective and direction of the audio visual industry globally.

Which projects will the GFC be focusing on in the first quarter of 2020?

For our financial year, it’s the fourth quarter of the year, where we are heading to the end of the fiscal.

Programmes support by GFC in the fourth quarter: • The GFC will fund 2 productions, 2 projects for distribution. • The GFC will support 2

Pretoria’s Union Buildings

audience development initiatives, reaching over 2 000 audiences. The GFC will also be launching the in-house research and post production facility. The facility will be available for aspiring and upcoming filmmakers that seek to complete R&D for

their projects and also use the editing suites for their pilot projects whilst trying to access funds with various funding bodies. The GFC will support 4 training initiatives with accredited institutions. Mentor 5 young filmmakers in this quarter. Support 4 enterprise development initiatives. Host public awareness campaigns in the three regions of Gauteng. Assist with permit facilitation to over 20 productions.

International Film Festivals and markets: • Fund 4 productions, of whom their films are accepted and invited for participation at international film festivals. The film festivals which will be attended by the young filmmakers are Sundance, Berlin International Film Festival, Kidscreen Summit.

Local film festivals GFC will support 2 local film festivals: we are looking forward to the RapidLion South African International Film Festival and Kasi 2 Kasi Queer Film Festival.

Tell us why you have chosen to partner with these events.

The latter is a celebratory and information sharing session aimed at screening films with LGBTQ+ topics, and documentaries that seek to educate, challenge and reflect the lives of this marginalised community in townships. The purpose is to embody the idea of inclusiveness by stimulating conversation and information sharing on issues affecting but also celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. Kasi 2 Kasi Queer cinema is not just be a space where only queer identifying people meet to discuss films and issues that are important to their community, but it’s a space where parents, families and friends or allies will be provided an opportunity to share and learn through participating in film screenings, workshops and discussions. On the other hand, RapidLion Film Festival premieres the world’s highest number of films by filmmakers who were either born in Africa or are members of the African diaspora, providing a platform for all genres and lengths of films in the different sections; from feature films, to documentaries and short films. There will be films from

the rest of the world through BRICS at RapidLion, which will see films from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa compete for Best of BRICS, and In-The-Spotlight, for which an international cinema great will be invited to showcase a body of work.

The projects promote social cohesion and ensuring synergy and seamless integration within communities, both projects provide cultural exchange locally and with BRICS communities the film festivals play a meaningful role in the socio-economic development and transformation in promoting the audio visual sector of Gauteng.

What are your main goals when partnering these projects, and how much success do you derive from the partnerships, particularly when it comes to marketing local Gauteng-based filmmakers and locations?

The GFC is provided with the opportunity to engage with the industry and share strategic direction for province. We understand the challenges faced by new entrants to professionals during workshops, seminars and discussions. We also use film festivals to market our talent, infrastructure and locations, taking pride in the province’s innovation to attract foreign direct investment to ease the business of film and

BY MARKETING OUR TALENT AND LOCATIONS, THE GFC TAKE PRIDE IN THE PROVINCE’S INNOVATION TO ATTRACT FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT TO EASE THE BUSINESS OF FILM TO REMAIN THE WORLD-CLASS HUB FOR THE FILM AND TELEVISION INDUSTRY.

remain a world-class hub for the film and television industry. With all the GFC-supported projects, we aim to improve our industry professionals, promote facilities and existing infrastructure and ensure content creators are able to produce content that serves the interest of the consumer and using various distribution platforms for easy accessibility.

How can filmmakers take hold of the opportunity to attend festivals with GFC?

Film festivals and markets application forms can be accessed on our website. Applications should be submitted at least 5 – 6 weeks prior to the festival or market.

Any last words, or useful information that readers should know?

The GFC is looking forward to 2020, we will continue to support and promote the audio visual industry hoping for an improved contribution to the

GDP. We are happy with the success of the 2019 supported projects and we look forward to engaging with applicants who wish to access our current and additional programmes which were introduced early this year, namely: Script Development, Enterprise Development as well as the Research and Post Production Hub. GFC will make 2020 a year of good and authentic African storytelling.

CONTACT GAUTENG FILM COMMISSION

35 Rissik Street, Johannesburg, 2108, South Africa Tel: +27 11 833 0409 Email: info@gautengfilm.org.za Web: www.gautengfilm.org.za