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| IN THIS ISSUE
32 Durban International Film Festival gears up for its 2018 edition
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22
Encounters South African International Documentary Festival turns 20
29
NEW CAMERA, NEW GLASS
36
The changing face of MAM systems for South African broadcasters
NEWS | Cape Town filmmaker wins inaugural SundanceTV Shorts Competition for South Africa............................................. 3 Realness announces 2018 participants at Cannes Film Festival................................ 4 Cape Town International Film Market & Festival 2018 announces call for entries........................... 4 Encounters South African International Documentary Festival turns 20................. 6
ADCETERA | Tulips and Chimneys brings new Hendrick’s Gin TVC to life...................... 10 Ksazobalit music video looks at the bright side of land reform........... 12 Advertising agencies need to be agile to survive................................ 13
TECHNOLOGY News | Canon introduces four professional camcorders including 4K 50P models..... 8 Introducing MIX from Rosco and DMG Lumière........................... 9
INDUSTRY REVIEW | Let the credits roll on Africa’s greatest opportunity for growth............ 16
FILM | The making of SA crime thriller, Nommer 37.................................... 14
Inside the making of 3D-animated TV series Munki and Trunk
POST-PRODUCTION How the Technology Revolution has carved the Audio-visual Industry over the past 20 years............. 17 OTT & VOD | OPINION A Streaming Revolution – Or Just Another Adjustment?................. 18 Cameras & Accessories | New camera, new glass............................ 22 ARRI, RED, Sony? Local industry pros pick their favourite cameras.......... 26 Revolutionary lenses for the era of high resolution digital cinematography.............................. 28
ANIMATION | Inside the making of 3D-animated TV series Munki and Trunk....................... 36 TELEVISION | Director Speak: Catharine Cooke......... 38 REGULARS |
MEDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT | The changing face of MAM systems for South African broadcasters............... 29
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FESTIVALS & MARKETS | The Race to Premiere: The Folly of Film Festivals........................ 31 Durban International Film Festival gears up for its 2018 edition................... 32 9th Durban FilmMart: Creating Networks, Developing Content and Building the Business of Film in Africa......................... 34
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BET Awards 2018 nominations.............. 39 Marketplace................................................. 40 Upcoming Events....................................... 40
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From the editor
The Team
Welcome to our June issue – it’s hard to believe that we’re already half way through 2018! As always, this is a very busy period for the African film and television industry with filmmakers, directors, producers, distributors and the like, all gearing up to conquer the 2018 festival circuit. In July, we have the annual Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) and the Durban FilmMart (DFM) which sees filmmakers, practitioners and industry experts, from the African continent and abroad, travel to the sunny city of Durban to share their knowledge, hone their skills, participate in the business of film, and of course, check out the latest in African and international film. The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) is also scheduled to take place this July, this year with the inaugural DISCOP Zanzibar running alongside the festival. Then there’s the 20th Encounters South African International Documentary Festival which – at the time or writing – starts tomorrow. And that’s just getting started! Needless to say, the months to come are going to be spent educating and growing, as well as celebrating, the African film and television industry. With this in mind, in this issue we’ve provided our readers with some pre-show coverage of both DIFF and DFM. We also chatted to this year’s Encounters guest festival director, Reggie Khanzi, in our News section. He reflects on Encounters 20 years later and shares his plans for this year’s edition. In our Adcetra section, we get into the making of the new, animated Hendrick’s Gin spot, created by Cape Town-based animation studio, Tulips and Chimneys. If you haven’t yet watched the ad, keep an eye out for it on your television screens or better yet, head over to YouTube and enjoy the ‘undeniably peculiar, utterly delicious’ commercial. Director Ree Treweek and her team nailed the brand’s Victoriana Surrealist aesthetic. Another interesting contribution to the section comes from our media and marketing expert, Louise Marsland, who chatted to Odette van der Haar, newly appointed CEO (effective July) of one of South Africa’s leading advertising agencies, J. Walter Thompson. Van der Haar, who has led the Association for Communication and Advertising for the industry for the past decade, sheds some light on the leading trends currently shaping the advertising industry. This issue also holds our Cameras and Accessories feature. Screen Africa’s tech guru, Ian Dormer, put together a feature titled ‘New Camera, New Glass’ on pages 22 to 24 where he discusses ‘new lens technology’. The section also carries an interesting read from David Cornwell, who finds out what the most popular cameras are with local filmmakers. Until next time! – Chanelle Ellaya
SCREENAFRICA Publisher & Managing Editor: Simon Robinson: publisher@screenafrica.com Editor: Chanelle Ellaya: editor@screenafrica.com Journalists: Gezzy S Sibisi: news@screenafrica.com
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Editor 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. 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.
JOURNALISTS Gezzy S Sibisi is a journalist and photographer with experience in print, broadcast and digital media. Her portfolio of work includes working as a lifestyle reporter as well as contributing business and education articles to The Times, Sowetan and Daily Despatch publications. As a freelancer she has worked on content development for corporate newsletters, community newspapers, blogs and educational websites.
Louise Marsland is an editor, journalist and columnist in the media and marketing communications industry in South Africa, who has been writing about the industry for over two decades as a former editor of publications: AdVantage, Marketing Mix and Bizcommunity.com. She currently writes extensively about industry trends and consumer insight.
Lara Preston is a passionately committed marketer and strategist with a focus in promoting African content and events. Two decades of working across Africa have provided her with insights and experience that she puts to work for the projects she manages. In 2006, Lara founded, and still personally manages, Red Flag Content Relations, a full service below-the-line agency that also focuses on African entertainment and lifestyle brand marketing, strategy, and publicity.
David Cornwell lives in Cape Town, where he writes fiction, films and features for a variety of publications. His debut novel, Like It Matters (Umuzi, 2016), has been long-listed for the 2017 Sunday Times Fiction Award.
Ian Dormer was born in Zimbabwe and 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.
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Cape Town filmmaker wins inaugural SundanceTV Shorts Competition for South Africa
Still from Ian Morgan’s winning short, Good Mourning
We all have a secret hope that when the time comes, our funeral will draw a large crowd of loved ones, who mourn and share heartfelt sentiments about the valuable contribution we made to their lives and the world.
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owever, this is sadly not always the case; when no one is there to mourn your loved one, Ted – the professional mourner – is there to assist. Good Mourning is a dark comedy that looks into the life of a professional mourner who loves his job. However, one day Ted is challenged by a disbeliever, Sandrine, who questions his morals and ethical standpoint, and the conversation takes an unlikely turn. The self-funded short film, created by Ian Morgan, recently won the inaugural SundanceTV Shorts Competition in South Africa and will have its premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in London, which takes place from 31 May to 3 June 2018. Morgan comments: “After coming from advertising, where it has predominantly been about creating beautiful images, the film was originally intended to be a project to prove to myself that I still could direct characters in highly dialogue-driven scenes. To have it selected as the South African SundanceTV winner is a massive honour. It is great to know that there are people out there looking for the type of narratives I create. I love the dark comedy genre, and I think it is a genre that South Africa needs to start exploring more.” Morgan’s journey with SundanceTV
began earlier this year when his pal and the lead actor in his short film, Paul Snodgrass, informed him about the competition. The pair had been entering the film into a number of local and international festivals and thought they’d try their luck with the SundanceTV Shorts Competition. Submissions for the competition were open from 1 March to 15 April 2018 on the South African SundanceTV website. To enter, films had to be submitted by the producer or director of a film, who could provide proof of residency in South Africa. Films were to be no longer than 15
Ian Morgan minutes and had to be delivered with English subtitles if English was not the language spoken in the film. The Jury Prize was judged on a number of criteria, including creativity, entertainment value, original storytelling and production values. The jury was headed by Mike Plante of Sundance Institute and included Harold Gronenthal from SundanceTV Global; Aletta Alberts, executive head of Content and Third Party Channels at MultiChoice; and Helen Kuun of Indigenous Film. Amusingly, Morgan received news of his win via an email, which he accidentally trashed, while busy on his current projects. “As I was super busy in post-production on a few adverts I had directed, I got to work early to check my mails and started deleting the ones that were not job-related. I then stopped and thought to myself did I just see the word SundanceTV. I went into my trash, and
there was the mail that said my film, Good Mourning, was selected. I went into a little bit of a shock. I didn’t even have time to process that there was a prize until my producer said, ‘Hey dude you are going to London’,” he laughs. Commenting on the film, Mike Plante, senior programmer for the Sundance Film Festival and president of the competition jury said: “Good Mourning is funny and compelling yet unexpectedly poignant. It makes great use of a very creative story idea and a pair of immediately engaging characters.” MultiChoice came on board as an exclusive partner for the inaugural Shorts Competition in South Africa and as a result, Good Mourning will be broadcast on SundanceTV (DStv channel 108) later this year. Marketing director at AMC Networks International, Victoria Spitalieri had this to say: “We’re incredibly excited to broadcast Ian Morgan’s film on SundanceTV Global later this year as well as to premiere Good Mourning at an event during the upcoming Sundance Film Festival in London. We’d like to thank all of the South African filmmakers who submitted entries as well as our partners who generously supported this exciting initiative.” “At this point commercials fund my passion for narrative storytelling, and it would be great to be able to make more films in the future. As mentioned I have a number of ideas in the pipeline, but ultimately it all comes down to funding. It is not a case of if it will happen, but more of how soon,” Morgan concludes. – Gezzy S Sibisi
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Realness announces 2018 participants at Cannes Film Festival Realness is a screenwriter’s residency initiative, conceived by Elias Ribeiro and Cait Pansegrouw of Urucu Media, that affords a new generation of filmmakers the opportunity to cultivate their talent as authentic voices in African cinema. Since its inception, Realness has nurtured five African auteurs each year, growing into a prestigious incubator of emerging talent that is recognised throughout the global film community. Now in its third year, the residency has fostered cinematic voices from 12 countries on the continent, including Angola (Fradique Mario Bastos), Senegal (Rama Thiaw) and Kenya (Amirah Tajdin). “There is a reason residencies such as the Sundance Labs and the MacDowell Colony are so sought-after. They offer the
opportunity to withdraw from the world to create without distractions while exchanging ideas with other exciting artists and receiving expert feedback at carefully considered intervals. Elias Ribeiro at Cannes Film Festival Realness brings that opportunity to Africa,” said international script consultant Selina extensive work internationally and my Ukwuoma. “With a pan-African focus, the work locally gives the residents a holistic diversity of Africans is celebrated yet the experience towards developing a particular concerns that we have in world-class script,” added Kau. common come to the fore.” Ukwuoma On 12 May, the five selected projects will join Realness for the third consecutive were annouced at the Cannes Film year, alongside South African-based Festival by Realness co-founder Elias consultant Mmabatho Kau who began Ribeiro: “After an extensive evaluation of her relationship with the residency in 2017 more than 130 projects from 24 countries, and who was recently selected for the it is my greatest pleasure to introduce you Torino Film Lab’s Story Editing to the Realness Residents of 2018; programme. The two will work in tandem, Kantarama Gahigiri from Rwanda, cross-consulting on all five of the selected Matthys Boshoff from South Africa, projects for 2018. “Both Selina and I are Ng’endo Mukii from Kenya, as well as rooted in the African narrative but have Reem Morsi and Mohammed Siam, both an international outlook on story. Selina’s from Egypt.”
The five projects were chosen by an international panel of 16 prolific world cinema stakeholders, including sales agents Thembe Bhebhe and Efuru Flowers (Flourishing Films), Todd Brown (head of international acquisitions for XYZ films) and literary agent David Kayser (Casarotto Ramsay & Associates). “These filmmakers herald an important and exciting new wave of African storytelling by Africans for Africans and the world. The strength of the projects and the talent driving them will benefit hugely from the expertise exposure and incubation that Realness offers and I look forward to seeing them mature. I’ve been introduced to some truly special emerging talent who have the potential to compete on the international stage and shine,” said Kayser. The 2018 Realness residents will move into the Nirox Foundation’s residence and sculpture park in the Cradle of Humankind on 11 June. They will work on their projects over the course of six weeks before participating in Africa’s largest co-production market – The Durban FilmMart. The most promising projects to emerge will be invited to participate in Locarno Filmmakers Academy, EAVE Producers Workshop, La Fabrique Cinéma de l’Institut Français, Torino Film Lab Meeting Event and TIFF Talent Lab, allowing them to progress closer to being realised.
Cape Town International Film Market & Festival 2018 announces call for entries The second annual 2018 Cape Town International Film Market & Festival (CTIFMF) will take place from 9 to 19 October 2018. This year’s edition will build significantly on the successes of last year with an increased focus on collaboration and the celebration of the local, regional, pan-African, and international film industries. The 2018 Cape Town International Film Market & Festival, through a variety of programmes that will be announced in the upcoming months, will endeavour to exponentially grow the distribution of African content across the world. The festival recently announced the official opening of the call for film submissions for its 2018 edition. Filmmakers from all over the world are invited to submit their films in the following categories: feature films, 4 | SCREENAFRICA | June 2018
FILM AWARDS
Cape Town International Film Market & Festival 2017
documentary, animation and short films. The CTIFMF especially encourages producers, directors and scriptwriters from South Africa and Africa as a whole who are creating local/African content to submit high quality entries into competition. This year’s CTIFMF will present an exciting and diverse array of quality films that showcase the immense talent of filmmakers from Africa and the rest of the world.
Only films completed not more than 18 months prior to the Call for Entries of the Cape Town International Film Market & Festival will be considered for competition purposes. Films completed before this time will be eligible for screening in the Panorama Section but not considered for the competition section. Awards in the competition section are as follows:
• • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Grand Prix Best Director Best New Director Best Actor Best Actress Best Script Best Cinematography Best Editing Best Documentary Feature Best Short Film Best Animation Short Film Best South African Feature Film Best South African Short Film Audience Award for Best Film at the Festival
DEADLINES • 10 July: Regular deadline • 31 July: Final deadline • 7 August: Notification date
For more information email info@filmfest.capetown. – Lara Preston
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Encounters South African International Documentary Festival turns 20
Whispering Truth To Power is the opening film at Encounters 2018
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival. The very first edition of the festival successfully ran with just 24 films.
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wo decades and many stories later, this prestigious festival receives over a thousand film entries each year from across the globe, and hosts world-renowned industry speakers as well as hoards of emerging and renowned filmmakers who come together each year to hone their skills, tackle relevant issues and most importantly share the stories that are currently shaping our reality. Reginald ‘Reggie’ Khanzi is this year’s guest festival director. A former director of the Apollo Film Festival in Victoria West in the Northern Cape, Khanzi currently holds the title of project director at the Apollo Development Association. Encounters has a long, successful history with Apollo, having assisted Khanzi and his team with the programming and planning of previous editions. After a seven-year stint in government managing events, Khanzi is once again working in the film festival world and intends on improving the Apollo with the experience he will gain while serving as guest festival director for Encounters this year.
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Khanzi expands: “They [Encounters] have a 20-year track record of providing opportunities for people like me, look what they have done for the status and production of documentary in this country; they’ve worked with four different broadcasters, securing commissions for local filmmakers, promoting their work and their international reputation! We have five international guests who are flying themselves here, paying for themselves nogal, because they want to be here at Encounters! I’ll leave here with a wealth of information, and I’ll have had the opportunity to connect with ‘new’ filmmakers and reconnect with filmmakers that I met all those years ago at the Apollo.” Khanzi says that he started working on this year’s Encounters South African International Documentary Festival in April and has so far viewed countless film entries from local and international filmmakers for the 2018 edition. “A long-list had been drawn up, and I’ve watched about 100 films, sat in meetings discussing the merits of each,
devising a wide-ranging programme looking for tenderness, laughter, sadness, greatness, compassion, intrigue, our current affairs, our history, and a reasonable spread of films from around the world. It’s been hard – some films I really wanted we could not afford, as we’re working on a shoe-string budget, and we had to pass them up. I’ll say it again; it’s sad that Encounters does not have the support it deserves. I hope that it will not be as hard for the Apollo,” he says.
Celebrating Women Filmmakers For the 2018 edition, Khanzi and his team have deliberately selected and scheduled more films made by women, as well as more films about women with ‘The Power of Womanhood’ as this year’s focused theme. This spotlight on women’s issues is driven by the global #metoo campaign, as well as by the need to tackle the issue of male-dominance in the film industry. Over half of the 40 films selected are by female directors, the selected films also
focus on women who have made an indelible mark on history. Notable films in the 2018 line-up include: • The HotDocs Special Jury winner, Whispering Truth to Power, by Shameela Seedat, which chronicles Thuli Madonsela’s final year as our Public Protector. • Xoliswa Sithole’s Standing On Their Shoulders is a powerful relook at the 1956 Women’s March and what it means for women today. • Sisters of the Wilderness, directed by Karin Slater, focuses on the cultural and spiritual journey of five Zulu women who explore the bush for the first time. • In the South African shorts section Hannah Rafkin and Meg Robbins’ In Stitches, as well as Suzanne Moody’s Kill or Die, both tickle the funny bone while raising two very poignant issues – that of vernacular stand-up and the struggles of comedians.
World Premieres With an impressive 70 titles, 43 features and nine world premieres; this year will see seven local filmmakers have their productions screened on the Encounters’ stage for the first time. These world
Reginald Zamuxolo Khanzi is the Encounters 2018 guest festival director
premieres include Michael Cross’s The Fun’s not Over: The James Phillip’s Story; Freedom isn’t free: The Freedom Charter Today by Martin Jansen; Pluck: A film not just about Chicken by Joëlle Chesselet and Lloyd Ross; Rian Hendricks’s Ramothopo: The Centenarian; Sisters of the Wilderness directed by Karin Slater; Paul Myburgh’s The Story of Little Foot; and When Babies Don’t Come by Molatelo Mainetje. Survivors, a film set in Sierra Leone, which tells the extraordinary account of a community’s response to the Ebola outbreak, will also be having its much-anticipated world premiere at Encounters 2018.
Commemorating Nelson Mandela While 20 years is an exceptional milestone for the festival, a greater milestone is the centenary of the father of our nation – Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. “We are pleased to honour uTata by screening the Oscar-nominated Mandela by Jo Mennel and Angus Gibson. It focuses on Mandela’s early education, personal relationships and the activism which led to his 27-year imprisonment for sabotage. Our guest, Sir Nick Stadlen will present Life is Wonderful: Mandela’s Unsung Heroes which celebrates the robust and intricate defence mounted by Bram Fischer and George Bizos,” Khanzi shares.
As always, several workshops and masterclasses will also be taking place during the course of the festival. The HCI Foundation and the City of Cape Town will be partnering in a project to provide transport and tickets for previously disadvantaged individuals, organisations and students. Bertha Movie House at the Isivivana Centre in Khayelitsha has been a long-standing partner of Encounters and will continue to provide free screenings at the centre as well as local transport to and from the screenings. “I commend Encounters for the great work they have done over the years to reach this milestone, still standing and pushing hard. I can only imagine the number of challenges the festival has been through, I am really excited to be part of the team at this juncture and say to all the funders, the board, filmmakers and staff past and present – Halala Encounters Twenty!” Khanzi exclaims. The 2018 Encounters South African International Documentary Festival takes place from 31 May to 10 June 2018 in Cape Town at The Labia Theatre, Cinema Nouveau V&A Waterfront, Bertha Movie House – Isivivana Centre in Khayelitsha, The Bioscope Independent Cinema in Johannesburg, as well as Cinema Nouveau in Rosebank. – Gezzy S Sibisi
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TECHNOLOGY NEWS
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Canon introduces four professional camcorders including 4K 50P models Canon Europe’s 4K 50P, XF405, XF400 and the Full HD XA15 and XA11 delivers first class optics, powerful sensors and a range of versatile features. These professional camcorders are not only compact and lightweight – they are also perfect for a broad range of professional video productions. XF405 and XF400 The XF405 and XF400 are equipped with a newly developed 15x optical zoom lens (35 mm film equivalent: 25.5 mm–382.5 mm), a 1.0-inch CMOS sensor and a Dual DIGIC DV 6 image-processing platform to achieve high-quality 4K/50p images across the entire zoom range. They also offer continuous 100fps recording in Full HD in order to deliver slow motion footage. These advanced features are all integrated in a compact and lightweight body. Thanks to built-in Neutral Density (ND) filters, the XF405 and XF400 can capture striking images with a shallow depth of field – even in adverse lighting conditions. Relay and simultaneous recording are provided via Dual SD card slots, which helps to expand recording times and to create an immediate backup. The XF405 and XF400 support UHD/50P MP4 and XF-AVC format (150Mbps) recording and 100fps continuous slow motion shooting. Low noise and high sensitivity are managed by the combination of a 1.0-Type CMOS sensor and dual DIGIC DV 6 image processors, which deliver high-quality footage with great clarity and detail. Additionally, Wide Dynamic Range (DR) mode enables the user to shoot with 800 per cent wide dynamic range, providing greater detail in the mid to high tones. A newly developed 4K lens, 1.0-Type CMOS sensor and Super UD elements combine in the XF405 and XF400 to minimise chromatic aberration and to provide spectacular image clarity. Both camcorders comprise an ultra-wide 25.5mm, high magnification, 15x optical zoom in 4K. Moreover, 30x Advanced Zoom capability is offered in Full HD mode, without any image deterioration. An advanced 5-Axis Image Stabiliser (IS) ensures stable images are captured in any scenario which involves camera movement. A 0.8x Wide angle and 1.5x tele-converter deliver additional flexibility and coverage in 4K and Full HD.
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XA15 and XA11 The XA15 and XA11 are Full HD camcorders which feature 20x 26.8mm576mm optical zoom lenses to flexibly capture a variety of scenes with superb image quality. A Hi-UD lens supports the reduction of chromatic aberration and drives vivid imaging. Canon’s HD CMOS Sensor and the powerful DIGIC DV4 image processing platform deliver great performance in low light and the ability to capture superb Full HD images in 50P at 35Mbps. Wide DR mode supports the smooth compression of high luminance areas to achieve 600 per cent DR. This makes it possible to shoot with smooth colour gradation and suppressed overexposure. This is applicable to any shooting environment where the difference between light and dark areas is prone to causing overexposure. Flexible image expression is supported by a Slow/Fast Segment function that enables users to select shooting speeds from 0.4x to a maximum of 1,200x. Comprising compact and lightweight bodies, the XA11 and X15 are ideal for high-action shoots when both speed and mobility are essential. Dynamic Mode provides 5-Axis image stabilisation – roll axis, horizontal roll, vertical roll, up-down and left-right – to ensure smooth image capture in various styles of fast-paced shoots.
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Introducing MIX from Rosco and DMG Lumière Rosco and DMG Lumière have launched MIX – a colour LED lighting innovation that will change how filmmakers create coloured light on set. MIX features three different functionality modes: • The white mode offers a wide range of tunable white light from daylight to tungsten, along with precise green/ magenta correction. • The colour mode enables users to adjust colour hue, saturation—with the ability to desaturate colours to either daylight or tungsten—and intensity, including a fine dimming curve. • The gel mode allows users to select a Rosco gel from a vast gel library and even modify the gel’s hue, saturation, and green/magenta shift as needed. The myMIX app allows users to mix, save, and share colours. Users can capture a colour within a mobile phone photo, save the colour and push it wirelessly to the MIX fixture. The app controls MIX fixtures wirelessly and contains all of the onboard control features, along with the ability to name and save colours within project folders, and share colours instantly with colleagues. “With MIX technology we’ve combined Rosco’s 108 years of colour and lighting heritage with DMG Lumière’s LED expertise to introduce colour into our specialised range of LED lighting,” said Nils de Montgrand, vice president of DMG Lumière by Rosco. “This customer-driven innovation will enable our customers to better bring their creative visions to life. We look forward to continuing to develop the advantages that our LED technology can bring to lighting film and television sets.” MIX was designed by technicians to improve on-set workflow, with a simple user interface devoid of complicated menus, and with collaborative features within the myMIX app. A unique set of six LED chips enables users to achieve a wider range of colours. MIX can be controlled onboard or wirelessly through LAN, wired or wireless DMX, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth technology. Mix builds on DMG Lumière’s expertise in LED lighting panels, which have been used to light award-winning films and TV shows including Game of Thrones, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and Jackie. Movievision is the official distributor for DMG and Rosco in South Africa.
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Tulips and Chimneys brings new
It is 5pm after a long day at work and the routine task of travelling home in peak hour traffic leaves one feeling even more exhausted. If only we could escape the ordinary and set out on a journey so unusual and refreshing, that it feels utterly enchanting.
‘U
n deniably peculiar, utterly delicious’ is the tagline for the new Hendrick’s Gin spot – a phrase that Cape Town-based animation studio Tulips and Chimneys brought to life in a visual fantasy that embodies Victorian surrealism and dreams. Director Ree Treweek and her team have been great admirers of the Hendrick’s Gin brand aesthetic over the years and being approached by their company’s UK representatives, Strange
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Beast, to pitch on the campaign was an exciting opportunity and a great achievement for the Tulips and Chimneys brand. “When we first started our company one of our first goals was to craft a campaign for Hendrick’s Gin as we’ve long been admirers of their Victoriana Surrealist aesthetic which is so aligned with our own style and creative ambitions. You can imagine how delighted we were when our representatives in the UK approached us to pitch on the campaign,” says Treweek. After a successful pitch, Tulips and Chimneys worked with American creative agency Quaker City Mercantile (QCM), to create the animated spot for the Scottish brand. The team brainstormed a few ideas which led to the conceptualisation of the spot’s main theme of Escape – an invitation to escape the conventional and embrace the delectable. “The client wanted us to depict how a mundane necessity like commuting could become a fantastic adventure should you go against the stream and approach it in a different way. This concept was so much fun to work with and since the Hendrick’s brand lives in such a surreal space we really had a lot of freedom in terms of how we wanted to tell this story,” explains Treweek. The team reworked Hendrick’s existing
Hendrick’s Gin TCV
animated material which is rooted in Victorian surrealism and 2D animation. “Hendrick’s existing animated material, is beautifully designed, and relies on a particular 2D cut out technique. We decided to work with that and enhance it by incorporating a greater sense of depth between layers so that we can move through space. We focused on producing bespoke 2D animation, rather than puppeteering still images, which differentiated it slightly from previous spots. The combination of all of this with atmospherics and beautifully composited lighting really pushed the mystery and mood of the spot,” Treweek explains. “When compositing, we added a subtle grain to the film. An overall colour grade
using muted blue tones, red highlights and green shadows gave the film a vintage look. We made use of vignettes, dust and scratches, film burn, light leaks and other imperfections common in old film stock. Making use of the depth of field added a ‘real world’ feeling to our shots, and helped us to create a seemingly limitless Hendrick’s environment.” Two main characters stand out in the spot – a gentleman and lady who both make a great transformation during their journey. We follow their journey home, which turns out to be quite the adventure as the different creatures they meet along the way
| ADCETERA
Hendrick’s Gin TVC to life architecture to be characters in the spot... You’ll notice a building that behaves as a clock while others behave as pistons, our lead characters are swallowed by their homes, an alligator and a swordfish. We wanted to add subtle surprises that the viewer would only see on repeat viewing.” Throughout the journey the lead characters follow a mischievous winged Hendrick’s bottle, bringing the two main ingredients, roses and cucumber into the mix. “We weaved their leading botanicals; roses and cucumbers into our designs in such a way that they complimented the environments and the personalities of our characters. We liked the idea that the botanical elements can also be portrayed in such a way that they have personality: a cucumber for instance is dressed in a suit and hops through our cityscape,” explains Treweek. The Escape Hendrick’s Gin ad first aired in early May and has received rave reviews from leading commercial review sites including Ads of the World, Best Ads on TV and Adeeve to name a few. The spot can be viewed on YouTube, Vimeo and on the Tulips and Chimneys website. – Gezzy S Sibisi
“The client wanted us to depict how a mundane necessity like commuting could become a fantastic adventure should you go against the stream and approach it in a different way.
”
– Ree Treeweek
KEY CREW bring wonder, surprise and great delight. “It was important that our two hero characters stood out against the other commuters, so we spent a lot of time crafting the moment when they shed their ‘work skins’. I love the colouring of
our heroine and the string of butterflies that pull her along. They were animated in such a way that they had some interaction with other commuters,” Treweek says. “In our brainstorms we also wanted the environments and
Director: Ree Treweek Executive producer: Nina Pfeiffer Storyboards: Marc Moyniham Illustration: Ben Winfield, Carmen Ziervogel, Elise Wessels and Ree Treweek Animation: Alexis Schofield Compositing: Christian Venter
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June 2018
22-May-18 4:05:24 PM
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ADCETERA
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Ksazobalit music video looks at the bright side of land reform Land reform has been a hot topic in South Africa for some time now. While the subject is often met with fear and uncertainty undercut with hope by many, the Ksazobalit music video gives us a glimpse into what this might look like – when done right.
H
ip-hop artist Cassper Nyovest takes on the role of a successful black farmer living harmoniously with his white neighbour. Director Thabang Kagiso Moleya has developed a good working relationship with Nyovest through the years. The pair recently worked on a KFC commercial together and after hearing the Ksazobalit song, Moleya decided to pitch his idea for the video to Nyovest. Nyovest was completely sold on the unique and impactful message and agreed to the project. Talking about the creative concept, Moleya says that he is often interested in the conversation that South Africa is having and he tries to find ways to lend his voice to it. “This is one of those current and on-going conversations, and I wanted to make a video where people can imagine themselves being land owners and not just having a big celebration on the land but also being prosperous on that land, together.” The video was shot in Hartebeespoort in the North West Province, over two days. Aerial shots make up a large part of the visual, aptly capturing the abundance of land and the beauty of the vast
TECH CHECK EQUIPMENT • Camera: RED Dragon • Lenses: ARRI Master ºPrime lenses
A scene from the Ksazobalit music video
farmland. Nyovest takes on the persona of a proud, wealthy farm owner donning the distinctive khaki attire while carrying out traditional farm errands. Animated farm workers in blue overalls are seen dancing and rhythmically moving in celebration. Television personality and choreographer, Somizi Mhlongo makes an appearance as a truck driver delivering goods at the farm. “I wanted to tell a positive message on the topic of land, from seeing so many negative tweets based on fear and uncertainty, I wanted to explore another side of the coin, which is positive and uplifting where different races break together,” shares Moleya. Besides Mhlongo, other well-known celebrity friends of Nyovest can be seen throughout the video. In another scene when Nyovest hosts a lavish lunch on the farm, the rapper and his mates are seen enjoying a meal outdoors, while his nosy neighbour is spying on them. Nyovest then invites the neighbour over and they all feast together and enjoy each other. Media personality, Pearl Thusi makes a grand entrance in the final scenes. Thusi comes in riding a horse while wearing a striking red, flowy dress. She later holds a triumphant fist up in the air, and the video ends with the words, ‘We Are Ready’ appearing on screen. “I wanted to reflect a future where women are in power, one of the most
striking images is a woman on a horse, so when I pitched the concept to Pearl Thusi, she loved the messaging behind it. Pearl’s red dress, in the video, is symbolic of the bloodshed from the lives lost when the land was taken,” Moleya expresses. The video is shot on the RED Dragon with Arri Master Prime lenses. “I wanted to capture a beautiful summers day. We maximised on early morning and late afternoon sunlight for the epic wide shots, and of course, for the horse riding sequence I wanted a strong back light on that scene, to make it feel dreamlike.” Post-production duties were handled by Upstairs Ludus. The video was strategically released on Freedom Day and received over a million views on YouTube in its first week online, while also skyrocketing to number one on iTunes SA. The music video concept has been highly-praised by several political figures including former Minister of Police, Fikile Mbalula; South African Minister of Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa; and EFF leader Julius Malema. “The response has been amazing. I also set out to tell a narrative which was not just entertaining but impactful, and I am grateful to have had the platform to tell a narrative that made people talk about something important,” Moleya concluded. – Gezzy S Sibisi
The Ksazobalit video was shot on the RED Dragon with Arri Master Prime lenses
KEY CREW Production company: Studio Space Pictures and Seriti Films Director: Thabang Kagiso Moleya Producer: Alessio Bettocchi DOP: Jitem Ramlal Production manager: Shanell Sutra
“I wanted to tell a positive message on the topic of land, from seeing so many negative tweets based on fear and uncertainty, I wanted to explore another side of the coin, which is positive and uplifting where different races break together.” – Thabang Moleya
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Advertising agencies need to be agile to survive A
fter the consolidation of massive advertising networks around the globe in the past decade, now advertising agencies face being swallowed up by management consultancies that can provide the data and real time trend forecasting that marketer’s want, the industry is in crisis and needs to be far more agile than it has been. Creativity is under siege from number crunchers and the breaking up of these global behemoths is being predicted. Van der Haar is looking forward to the “strategic business of reimagining the future of clients’ brands to drive business solutions that deliver on long term impact”. “I’ve been talking a lot about the changed landscape, how the industry is evolving and transforming and how agile agencies need to be to survive this dynamic era. At JWT, I have the opportunity to be part of this new dynamic landscape from in the field and within an organisation that has already begun transforming to meet market demands,” she says.
Impact Van der Haar took over as ACA CEO in 2007, coming from Sentech, where she was in charge of advertising, events and sponsorship. At the ACA, she expanded its membership by 40 per cent, built the APEX Awards into the most sought-after marketing communications award for brands; raised 72 bursaries for the AAA School of Advertising; and fought for the protection of intellectual capital in the pitch process. “I am most proud of the fact that I was able to make a tangible and lasting contribution to the profession I am so deeply in love with, by driving transformation and self-regulation, raising bursaries for deserving young talent, promoting the value of advertising and communications to business success and putting in place a Code of Conduct for tenders and pitches to promote healthy competition, equal opportunity, risk mitigation and protection of agencies’ intellectual property during pitches.” JWT was launched in 1864 and in South Africa in 1928. In the Middle East and Africa, it is one of the leading agency networks (which include J. Walter Thompson Worldwide, Mirum and
| ADCETERA One of South Africa’s leading advertising agencies, J. Walter Thompson (JWT) has appointed Odette van der Haar as CEO, effective July. Van der Haar has led the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) for the industry for the past decade. This is one of the most significant senior appointments in the industry recently. change agent, someone who drives change, embraces change and rises to the challenge that change brings. I hope to contribute to the success of JWT, its talent and its clients in a most meaningful way that will be referenced as best practice for the business.”
Trends
Odette van der Haar Colloquial), with 27 offices in 24 markets. Says Van der Haar on her appointment to JWT: “Who wouldn’t want to join an agency with the mentality of a billiondollar start-up; across-the-board experience to deliver through glocal platforms; innovative DNA and a courageous culture.” Van der Haar is currently completing a degree in marketing communications, with a specialisation in digital marketing. Her first priority of business when taking up the reigns at JWT on 1 July, is getting to know all the agency stakeholders, starting with staff and clients. “I believe good leaders serve. In ‘serving’ the talent they partner, they grow them and with that they grow the business. When you serve, you listen… The purpose of having a vision, a mission, a goal, is to positively impact the development of your organisation (‘serve’ and ‘add value’), and that of your clients’ businesses and brands.” She loves the camaraderie of the advertising industry, saying it is the “best industry in the world” and hopes to keep making an impact. “I will always be a
What motivates her in the industry includes the continued drivers of current innovation: the internet and social media. And while some may claim that “advertising is dead”, she says “only bad advertising is dead”. Advertising is very much alive, and these are the key trends that excite her: • Brand over product: Advertising has become more focused on the brand than the product. • Connect authentically or don’t connect at all: relevance, relevance, relevance. We live in a social media and consumer-run world where brands are welcome to drop by, but only if they ditch the sales pitch and behave like regular people. Consumers want brands to be accessible and accommodating especially when they have a problem and the rest of the time, consumers just want brands to be cool and not hard sell to win over their audience. • Agents for social change: Whilst advertising influences consumer behaviour, it also has the power to shape our aspirations and reinforce values. Social media also prompts companies to move away from delivering monologues to engaging in conversations and in so doing, transforming relationships between brands and consumers, which creates a more human element for brands as they focus on creating conversations about shared values. This values-based advertising is needed and it is very good for profit and gets people talking, but most importantly, generating word-of-mouth.
• Personalised advertising: Shared experiences definitely shape consumer perceptions of products. Opinions and perceptions of products and the enjoyment and value consumers get from it doesn’t just come from personal contact with it. How products are perceived is influenced by what consumers know and feel about a brand. • Social validation and influencer marketing: The psychology behind this trend is one of the most fascinating areas affecting marketing at the moment, given the performance on reach and targeting, digital has added to campaign effectiveness. And one of the intriguing trends to rise out of that is, in our era of post-fake-news, that people are turning to the internet in even greater numbers to form opinions, by finding out the raw, uncut, real-life views of others in real time, within their same value set/interest group/experience/ community/peer tier etc. Of course, the act of seeking out opinions is not new! It’s the speed, and arguably, the depth and breadth of opinions to be minded, that is new. I say arguably, because one of the main criticisms of opinion forming in the digital era is the echo chamber an online platform’s algorithms can create. Never a dull moment in this space. • Omni-channel marketing: Historically, buying decisions were made in-store when products were tangibly evaluated though to physical touch. Online, e-tailing has changed that dramatically. Purchases that used to be a one-stop buy are now decided on well ahead of time after consumers have first interacted with businesses in a variety of ways as a result of omni-channel marketing that provides a seamless purchasing experience across as many channels as possible. “Advertisers are having to navigate treacherous waters in an attempt to win over consumers’ attention and wallets amidst a very dynamic technologicallydriven landscape and against the backlash of advertising clutter. For the most part however, advertising – or shall I say, creative and innovative advertising – is still winning!” – Louise Marsland June 2018
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FILM
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The making of SA crime thriller, Nommer 37 The South African crime thriller, Nommer 37 was first introduced to audiences as a short film in 2014 when it competed in kykNET’s Silwerskermfees short film competition.
“T
he concept was originally one of my colleagues at Gambit Films, Daryne Joshua, and when we wanted to submit it for KykNET’s Silwerskermfees, all of us at Gambit began to work on the story. This is how we work on almost all of our projects. I then co-wrote the script with Daryne and subsequently completed the next few drafts of the short with my co-directing partner, Travis Taute,” shares filmmaker Nosipho Duma. To their great surprise, the film received the most nominations during the 4th annual Silwerskermfees Awards and went on to win the Best Script and Best Director awards. After its successful reign as a short including winning the SAFTAs Best Short Film award in 2016, Duma decided to rework the narrative into a full feature film. “Well, the short film was really proof of concept for the feature in that it was a skeleton. The feature film is fleshed out, and we’ve introduced some new storylines and characters that feed into Randal’s journey. I really also wanted to ground the narrative in Randal and Pam’s turbulent relationship. So I’ve spent a lot of time developing their story. Tonally, I wanted to tell a much darker version of this story,” shares Duma. “It doesn’t explore the same themes or even the same plot after the premise. It’s about a paraplegic named Randal Hendricks, who, being deeply indebted to a sadistic loan shark, embarks on a crazy blackmail scheme when he witnesses his drug lord neighbour committing a crime through the use of binoculars.” South African actor, Irshaad Ally plays the role of Randal Hendricks, a depressed and bitter young man whose life gets twisted upside down when the deal goes wrong. Another local favourite, Danny Ross, plays Emmie, the sadistic loan shark.
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Randal lives with his supportive and devoted girlfriend Pam, played by Monique Rockman, who in good faith decides to buy Randal a pair of binoculars. “It was really important to me that this story was about Randal and Pam, a story of their broken yet worth-fightingfor love. I wanted to create a sense of hope for Randal’s redemption. Randal is a man in despair and feels stuck in his life, in his world and in the wheelchair, while Pam is hopeful and optimistic. I went about working on layering these through art direction, symbolism and narratively, we experience the story almost completely inside Randal’s apartment. He feels stuck, so we feel stuck and therefore begin to empathise and root for his survival,” Duma expands. Randal, feeling stuck and isolated from the real world, uses his new gift as an opportunity to spy on his neighbours, and soon finds himself witnessing a deadly crime being committed by a dangerous gang lord known as Lawyer, played by David Manuel. “From the beginning of my discussions with the DOP, Zenn van Zyl, and my editor, Simon Beesley, we knew that the film’s visual DNA would shift as Randal’s world tumbled further into chaos…So the choice was to use a lot of wide shots and observe Randal from a distance,” explains Duma. “There’s a lack of movement that creates frustration, similar to Randal’s own frustration. But when he receives the binoculars and finds his way to the window, he begins to have a sense of purpose. As that happens, our visual style changes and we can allow him to dictate our movements. As he moves, we as the camera can move. Instead of observing him, we are coming into his space and gaining control. We go from all of these high angles and wide shots to tighter shots, where we’re in his face and almost in his mind.” When Randal finds himself as the only
Writer and director Nosipho Duma talking to lead character Irshaad Ally
“The short film was really proof of concept for the feature in that it was a skeleton. The feature film is fleshed out, and we’ve introduced some new storylines and characters that feed into Randal’s journey. – Nosipho Duma
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Film
TECH CHECK EQUIPMENT • Camera: Arri Alexa Mini
witness to a high-stakes, top crime case, he confides in his well-connected pal, Warren played by Ephraim Gordon. The pair sees this as an opportunity to solve Randal’s money problems and plot an ill-advised blackmail scheme. The scheme does not go as planned and Randal ends up in even more trouble as he finds himself caught between Emmie, Lawyer and detective Gail February (Sandi Schultz), who enters Randal’s world in search of her missing partner. Nommer 37 was shot using the Arri Alexa Mini with anamorphic lenses. The film was shot over four and a half weeks, beginning in April 2016. “Because we were shooting in such confined spaces, we needed a relatively smaller-sized camera and grips that would still allow us to compete on an international level. So, we shot on the ARRI Alexa Mini. We needed to do it that way. We divided the
film into acts according to Randal’s journey and decided that our lensing would change with each. We also mostly used anamorphic lenses so that we could make Randal feel much smaller in his space – reflecting his state of mind, especially at the start of the film.” Heading up post-production duties was editor and co-owner of Gambit Films, Simon Beesley. Visual Effects were done by Jason Human at Altered States, with the original score composed by James Matthes and Daniel Matthee at Pressure Cooker Studios. Post sound was handled by Sound and Motion Studios and the film was graded at Refinery Post Production. Nommer 37 has made history by becoming the first South African film to have a world premiere at the South by Southwest Conference and Festival (SXSW) in Texas, United States, during
March this year. “It was also selected for the Windy City Horrorama and had its market screening at Cannes where several sales were made. It has been selected for the Sydney Film Festival as well as the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival, which will take place in July,” added Duma. Nommer 37 recently had its local premiere on 21 May at Cape Town’s Tygervalley Centre. The film will release in America later this year. “Nommer 37 was sold to Dark Star Pictures for North American distribution and will be out in cinemas in the States starting with L.A. and New York over our Spring season. This acquisition, as well as others to follow, is an affirmation that we’re on the right path. I can’t even begin to share how humbling and encouraging that is. I’m eternally grateful,” concluded Duma. – Gezzy S Sibisi
“Because we were shooting in such confined spaces, we needed a relatively smaller-sized camera and grips that would still allow us to compete on an international level. So, we shot on the ARRI Alexa Mini.”
KEY CREW Writer/Director: Nosipho Dumisa Producers: Bradley Joshua and Benjamin Overmeyer D.O.P.: Zenn van Zyl, SASC Editor: Simon Beesley Sound supervisors: James Olivier, Simon Ratcliffe, and Richard West
June 2018
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INDUSTRY REVIEW
| OPINION
Let the credits roll on Africa’s greatest opportunity for growth On Monday, 29 January 2018, the world of film changed forever with the release of Black Panther, which played its part in making the inevitable happen. Hollywood will never be the same again. And neither will film on our continent.
Written by Rafiq Samsodien, executive chairman, Cape Town International Film Market & Festival
T
he global box-office blockbuster that Black Panther became within just the next 30 days is almost as unreal as the idea of a black superhero emanating from Africa. In week five of its release, the South African box-office record of R101 million ($8.5 million) was eclipsed, out of a global $1.4 billion in revenue. We remain a small, yet vital support actor. But the planet has a new script and Africa is the source for a plethora of storylines. Ironically, the film industry of South Africa, despite its 123-year history, still finds itself in a malady of fractured inefficiency where a tiny few rule the flow of capital, the means of production and the resultant imagery of reality. This is a reflection of the broader South African context whether in culture or commerce. But the Black Panther phenomenon heralds an African dawn of both hope and black excellence, and the real chance for South Africa to lose its historical shackles in the form of the current industry leadership over the next decade. What is needed to reverse our falling share price is an approach that asks: “What box?”. What is needed is an approach that transcends the so-called box entirely. The responsibility rests with black people in the film industry to rise to the occasion of a new horizon across the pond, far beyond the existing, egobattling turf. The time for such courageous hearts and minds is now. In a reimagined entertainment and media value-chain the god-like warrior that is Shaka Zulu resonates across ages alongside the unorthodox golfing genius that is Papwa Sewgolum, in the South African pantheon of greats. By taking control of these narratives we are able to rewrite the social and economic injustices of the past through the stories that were never told through our lens. By controlling the narratives and telling our own stories, we are celebrating the African story and
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Rafiq Samsodien immortalising our own ‘Black Panthers’. In this way, we can draw a parallel between the ‘Black Panther’ and these icons. They are our superheroes, our living legends, so let us tell that story. Transformation, skills development and sustainable job creation are the key drivers of South Africa’s National Development Plan 2030 (NDP2030) and are the local benchmarks for ensuring a globally competitive country in the global space. In the spirit of this vision for 2030, our traditional competence as the service provider to the developed world’s film needs a complete reinvention to reposition our value proposition. The South African film industry must realise its true potential to that of a fully integrated 360 degree participant in the global space – from story to script to film.
Thanks to the Black Panther phenomenon, there is a new narrative unlocking new markets and creating opportunities for everyone to benefit from, empowering the youth and building verticals to drive growth to a real film economy. There is an urgent need for us to focus on the size of the South African share of the global film economy and where we should be over the next five years. According to the 2017 industry report by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), the South African film industry generates R12 billion. With a re-imagined industry the projections are that this could be quadrupled in revenue value. The disparity between the emerging and established filmmaker remains
unresolved, which has always left a huge gap for growth in the middle. But very little has been done to bridge this divide and many generally choose to sit back and wait for someone to champion the cause. A few gallantly take up the challenge. But the perception of policy and provincial borders is the general argument for the barriers for this exponential growth to succeed. With a cautious and conservative approach over time, we will lose even more momentum while other markets are more bullish in their approach. The time for change is now. We need to adopt a more collaborative spirit to drive opportunities into realities so that big and small operators can all thrive. Our advantage is market access to 1.2 billion people on the continent. The Cape Town International Film Market and Festival is a validation of our commitment to ensuring we build an excellent platform for people to develop the necessary skills and knowledge capital to work and thrive across borders. This event focuses on the critical value chain of the film industry; the drivers who provide an invaluable transport service to visiting and local talent and crews, the carpenters, set builders and painters, some of the world’s most experienced technical crew, and even the local clothing industry, with more than 200 000 textile workers who can produce awe-inspiring costumes to scale. Then there is the incredible talent in our midst – filmmakers, actors, scriptwriters – an untapped source of home-grown talent ready to be discovered. We currently find ourselves in a time and place that is plagued with cultural ignorance, intolerance and high rates of unemployment. Big business and the government are scrambling for solutions when the spotlight has been shining on it for years. Let Africans write the scripts that will tell stories that will challenge these intolerances and also create thousands of jobs – one pixel at a time.
ADVERTORIAL
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POST-PRODUCTION
How the Technology Revolution has carved the Audio-visual Industry over the past 20 years At the beginning of the 21st Century the Audio-visual Industry found itself at the crossroads, deciding whether to continue on the safe analogical road or to experiment in the new and unknown digital dimension. It might seem an easy dilemma, but it was not so at that time.
F
ounded in 1993, SGO is a Spanish high-end technology company that explored the digital revolution in its own way and has since acquired decades of experience in developing and integrating professional postproduction solutions. Their award-winning Mistika Technology has achieved market notoriety for developing customised post tools and workflows for many industry leaders. At the start of the millennium, the established practice in post-production workflow was to apply different tools for every particular task. This meant time-consuming migration between various applications and facilities, and therefore highly elevated costs. At that time, SGO had the ingenuity and foresight to realise the potential of the resolution revolution. Coupled with the industry’s digitalisation, SGO developed an integrated solution, Mistika Ultima, the first complete post solution for conforming, colour grading, visual
Likewise, image resolution is constantly evolving. The Tokyo Olympics in 2020 will be captured and broadcast in 8K and the pursuit of a higher resolution is never going to stop. 16K resolution is already being discussed as a future standard, which is why software development is constantly evolving to meet this demand. Another in the line-up of recent technology evolutions which have emerged from market demand is High Dynamic Range (HDR), where both the broadcast and movie sectors have defined the future delivery standards.
VFX: Necessity for revision during online process
effects and finishing, providing tremendous speed and offering real-time performance in one system. SGO has evolved following customer demands ever since. Dual stream, Optical Flow, GPU Acceleration, Stereo 3D Alignment, new Colour Grading Tools, High Frame Rate capabilities, HDR, EDR, 4K and 8K lists the different chapters on the product’s evolutionary path. SGO’s credible and proven technology has been a true game-changer, leading the way in line with the market’s needs, while at the same time Mistika Technology keeps pushing the industry boundaries to provide solutions not just for today but also for the future.
With ever increasing demands the audio-visual industry is craving for more efficient, flexible and powerful solutions, which is why SGO has started to slice parts of its hero-suite Mistika Ultima, to address specific industry needs and develop advanced workflow applications. VFX is an integral and interactive part of any production workflow. Their development happens as a parallel activity to the actual shooting, which makes revision an essential task to be carried out during the online process. This provided solid ground for the development of SGO’s new product Mistika Review, a communication tool providing reliable real-time playback and review of VFX shots or clips, supporting many native file types, resolutions, frame rates and colour spaces. This facilitates efficient and optimised post-production workflows of even the most demanding UHD, 8K, HDR, HFR and VR/360º projects.
Users can change the speed, frame rate, zoom in and out during playback and share notes and suggestions utilising coloured markers with annotations as part of the creative review process, as well as signing off their work with remote sessions.
XR as a new everyday reality Extended Reality (XR) is an umbrella term encapsulating Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR) and everything in between. Although drawing the line between AR and VR experiences can be challenging, it is clear that many of the same underlying technologies will power revolutionary XR experiences. XR is already transforming everyday consumer experiences and many market verticals from industrial manufacturing and healthcare to education, retail and even the arts. Capturing and crafting immersive content requires specialist tools. Mistika VR is an affordable Virtual Reality focused solution for optical flow stitching that achieves speeds quicker than real-time for 4K VR media encoding. One-click stabilisation, Keyframe Animation and Stereo 3D are just some of the many exciting features of Mistika VR. Technology and innovation must be supported by great engineering expertise and continuous development. Without it you cannot be at the forefront of the evolution of the audio-visual sector. Zimele Broadcasting Services (Pty) Ltd is the official distributor for SGO in South Africa.
June 2018
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OTT & VOD
| OPINION
A Streaming Revolution –
Written by Jérôme Vieron, PhD, director of Research & Innovation for ATEME
Or Just Another Adjustment?
Is broadcast technology being driven by raised consumer expectations – or is it the other way around where we are all watching more OTT services because technological advances are enhancing delivery and quality?
A
s much as operators would like to be ahead of the game, it seems likely that consumer demand for anytime, anywhere, any device viewing is setting the agenda. Last year, 12.6 billion hours of content were viewed using OTT services, more than double that of the year before. Yet, one thing is certain; this demand is powering a continuous string of innovations, especially around the issue of streaming. The most recent of these embraces artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse hundreds of thousands of assets before making its recommendations. This development has been shown to save operators around 30 per cent of content delivery costs, while also improving the quality of delivery.
No place for compromise Many operators are now finding that ‘one size fits all’ streaming reduces the quality of the viewing experience, especially when bandwidths are low. In such a fast-moving competitive environment, they can’t afford this compromise. At first, adaptive streaming looked like the answer where the same media file is encoded at a number of different bitrates 18 | SCREENAFRICA | June 2018
producing multiple representations at different qualities. As the quality of an internet connection varies, the stream can switch between different representations to provide a smoother viewing experience. The downside to this is that the bitrate doesn’t match the content complexity. For half the content the bitrate will be too high – and for the other half it will be too low, so the quality of content is never fully optimised.
Smarter use of bitrates Recognising this shortfall, developers have been working on streaming that adjusts the bitrates based on the complexity of content rather than just the internet connection. The result is content adaptive streaming which uses AI to compute all the necessary information, such as motion estimation, to make intelligent allocation decisions. Using a variable bitrate to reach constant quality allows bits to be saved when the complexity drops on slow scenes for example, also using less profiles on easier content. The other difference between adaptive and content adaptive streaming is the chunking. The traditional approach is to keep chunks at fixed lengths. The ecosystem usually requires chunks to start with an I-frame so that profile switches can occur between chunks, but with fixed-size chunks this implies arbitrary
Many operators are now finding that ‘one size fits all’ streaming reduces the quality of the viewing experience, especially when bandwidths are low. In such a fast-moving competitive environment, they can’t afford this compromise.
I-frame placement. Therefore, a scene cut before a chunking point results in a major compression inefficiency as the image is encoded twice. Typically though, advertising segments are not usually aligned with a chunking period. This can lead to inaccuracies when using fixed-size chunks. For dynamic advertising insertion, the delivery ecosystem is already aligning chunks on ad borders and so already using variable chunk size. Content adaptive streaming combines a scene cuts detection algorithm in the video encoder with rules to keep chunk size reasonable and minimise drift, in order to prepare the asset for more efficient packaging. This not only brings cost saving benefits due to reduced traffic, storage and other overheads, but also improves the quality of experience for the consumer. The good news is that new content adaptive streaming solutions have been developed with interoperability in mind, so individual parameters such as dynamic chunking can be turned on and off. Operators also have the option to use the specific resolutions they want, even if these appear to be suboptimal to the system. Any advance that saves operator costs at such a level is always welcome. However, whether this is just the beginning of the use of AI within the industry is yet to be seen. It’s clear though that content adaptive streaming is more than just an upgrade of what went before but rather a whole new way of thinking about streaming.
AV-HLC100 Live Production Centre
www.pansolutions.co.za Contact: Sean Loeve Cell: 083 677 4917 Tel: 010 449 0034
BIRD DELEGATE DELEGATE EARLY REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR THE 9TH EDITION OF AFRICA’S PREMIER FILM FINANCE AND CO-PRODUCTION MARKET Delegate opens 2018 Delegate registration registration is openfor for99ththDurban DurbanFilmMart FilmMart – 20-23 July, 2018
D
urban, South Africa: Early Bird delegate registration for Africa’s premier film finance and co-production market, the Durban FilmMart (DFM), is now open. The DFM will take place from 20 to 23 July, forming an integral part of the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) which takes place from 19 to 29 July. Now in its 9th edition, the DFM master classes, programme includes masterclasses, seminars, workshops, labs and networking opportunities for African and international filmmakers to collaborate, share knowledge and benchmark themselves and their work within a global and continental context. Focus areas this year will include discussions and presentations on the evolution of digital distribution development,and and structures and development finance trends shaping the industry.
The programme will also explore the Virtual reality Realityfilmmaking filmmakingand and future of virtual emerging themes and genres. As South Africa prepares to host the BRICS summit in 2018, the Durban FilmMart programme will take a look at co-production with the BRICS countries countries, as well as the impacts of policy on filmmaking and creative expression. Other topics will include financing opportunities in the respective countries and the general state of film across the BRICS cluster. The changing role of women in front and behind the camera will be challenged over the 4 four days. This focus is fuelled days. This focus is fuelled by the global #MeToo campaign, but in SA it began with the creation, almost two begun with the creation almost two years ago ago,of ofSWIFT SWIFT––Sisters SistersWorking Workingin in Film and Television – now a formidable organisation making important changes in the industry. As part of its important work of lobbying and advocacy for
fair representation and equal access for womento tothe thefilm filmindustry, industry,SWIFT SWIFT of women will lead a critical, yet constructive discussion centered centred on onsystemic systemic patriarchal systems that perpetuate inequality and the marginalisation of women. A core component of the DFM is the finance forum in which 16 pre-selected projects from various countries will pitch in sessions with the intention of finding potential sponsors, funders or partners to aid the making of their films. Of these projects, 8 eight are documenare documentaries taries andfiction eight are fiction features. and 8 are features. Two lab programmes are included in the DFM: Jumpstart, is a programme supported by Produire au Sud of Festival des 3 Continents, France for selected emerging filmmakers who will have an opportunity to hone their pitching skills. Cine-FAM-Africa, is an incubator programme led by CaribbeanTales Vicevice-
president President Nicole Brooks, aimed at South African women producers and African women producers living in South Africa with serialized serialised television projects. Early bird registration is open until 4 June 2018. Early bird fees are R1250 (ZAR) for the four day programme, which includes four day’s access to the DFM Industry Programme, access to DFM producers lounge and DFM networking events, 10 tickets to Durban International Film Festival screenings and company information published in the industry manual. After 4 June fees are R1550 for the full programme while daily passes are R450 each (the daily pass does not include tickets to DIFF screenings or access into the opening and closing events). All tickets exclude meals. To register go to www.durbanfilmmart.co.za
DURBAN FILMMART 2018 OFFICIAL PROJECT SELECTION FICTION: 1. Blood & Honey Producer: Mohamed Siam, Guillaume de Seille Director: Mohamed Siam Country: Egypt
3. Nyanga / The Horn Producer: Sue-Ellen Chitunya, Brett Michael Innes Director: Brett Michael Innes Country: Zimbabwe
2. Insila kashaka Producer: Sibongile Nene Director: Brian Khawula, Sibongile Nene Country: South Africa
4. Snake Producer: Paul Egan, Stan Ford Gibson and Mustapha Hendricks Director: Meg Rickards Country: South Africa
5. Streams Producer: Director: Country:
Moufida Fedhila Mehdi Hmili Tunisia
7. Plunderer Producer: Ikechukwu Omenaihe Director: Didi Cheeka Country: Nigeria
6. Mother City Producer: Miki Redelinguys Director: Pearlie Joubert Country: South Africa
8. Porta-Retrato Producer: Aldino Languana, Osvaldo Lupini Bambamba Director: Orlando Mabasso Jr. Country: Mozambique
3. Fitrah: To Be as God Created You Producer: Kelly Scott Director: Richard Finn Gregory Country: South Africa
5. Master’s Plan, The Producer: Hanne Phlypo Director: Yuri Ceuninck Country: Cape Verde
4. How to Steal a Country Producer: Zivia Desai, Rehad Desai Director: Mark Kaplan, Rehad Desai Country: South Africa
6. Mother City Producer: Pearlie Joubert, Miki Redelinguys Director: Pearlie Joubert, Miki Redelinguys Country: South Africa
7. Searching for Kikhia Producer: Desert Power / Christina Carvalho Director: Jihan Kikhia Country: Libya
DOCUMENTARIES: Adeyemi Michael Adeyemi Michael Withheld
2. Cheese Girl Producer: Batana Vundla, Marion Isaacs Director: Milisuthando Bongela Country: South Africa
8. Zinder, The Seeds of Violence Producer: Clara Vuillermoz, Ousmane Samassekou Director: Aicha Macky Country: Niger
JCA JCA2529 2529
1. At Dawn Producer: Director: Country:
SOUTH AFRICA AFRICA SOUTH
Cameras & Accessories
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NEW CAMERA,
Over the years technical advances and electronic development in manufacture has produced some pretty amazing cameras. From the first, three pickup tube colour cameras of the early 1950’s, to today’s high tech full frame sensors, the camera is essentially only as good as the glass in front of it. There are thousands of different lenses out there but none has had as bigger impact in the film and television industry than the zoom lens.
A
lmost 60 years ago, American inventor turned cinematographer Joseph Bailey Walker’s ever active mind developed the Electra-Zoom Lens for RCA, which became standard equipment for TV cameramen the world over back in the 1960’s. Whilst zoom lenses had been used in the cinematic field since the 1920’s, it wasn’t until Walker’s invention hit the scene that zoom lenses became an essential part of television production. His lens, as the name suggests, has a small electric motor that was used to drive two moving components, a front negative 22 | SCREENAFRICA | June 2018
element that moved rapidly whilst the rear positive element moved slowly in the opposite direction giving the system a focal length range from 52mm to 152mm at f3. Much has changed over time when you compare Walker’s Electra-Zoom Lens with Canon’s new UHD-DIGISUPER 66, for example, which possesses a focal length range of 9mm to 600mm, and features a built-in 2x extender that allows users to double the zoom range capabilities of the lens – up to 1200mm on the telephoto end. New lens technology was a big highlight of NAB 2018 and the search for
‘that ideal piece of glass’ was at the top of the list for many of the visiting buyers. There were three standout cameras at NAB, all due for release later in the year. Three different price categories but each one feature-filled and all with amazing lens choices to get the best out of what the cameras are offering.
SONY FS5 Mark II Sony’s new FS5 Mark II camera (also released at NAB 2018) has the same sensor as the original FS5 but Sony has taken the colour science from the Sony Venice to provide better skin tones and a more cinematic look. You would be spoilt for choice when deciding on a lens
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Cameras & Accessories
NEW GLASS suitable for this piece of kit. Starting with Fujinons 18-55mm T2.9, a Cabrio Sony E-Mount Cinema Zoom Lens, it’s a lightweight and compact alternative to other lenses on the market, while still keeping 4K Cabrio quality in an affordable package. The lens is colour matched to other Fujinon lenses such as the HK, ZK, and XK series, which enables smooth intercutting between lenses. The 85mm front enables use with many cine-style matte boxes via use of optional step up rings (rings not included). The lens is lightweight for a cinema zoom that holds focus and aperture throughout the focal length range. It is designed for camera’s with a Sony E-mount, so it has a short flange focal distance, but the lens allows for flange focal distance adjustment so you can fine tune it to the camera you are using the lens on. Another suitable lens for the FS5 Mark II is the Canon 18-80mm T4.4. Based on Canon’s heritage in optical design and performance, the CN-E18-80mm T4.4 L IS KAS S produces exceptionally high quality images. Those using the lens, such as documentary filmmakers, will benefit
from the incredible servo performance which is incorporated on the lens’s body, enabling precise digital zoom operations. Users are able to achieve maximum speed and responsiveness with seamless switching between auto and manual focusing and zoom. For those using a shoulder-style rig or shooting hand-held in demanding positions, the dedicated zoom grip is a perfect accessory – the grip simply attaches to the side of the lens, offering simple integration and zoom management. Of course many will choose the bespoke lens from Sony itself, the E PZ 18-110 mm f/4 G OSS Lens. This powered zoom lens delivers optimum performance in Super 35 mm applications, starting at 18 mm wide-angle and extending through an impressive 6.1x zoom range with a constant F4 maximum aperture. The G Lens optical performance delivers image quality that is suitable for 4K throughout the zoom range. Sony PXW-FS5M2 4K release date is later in the year at a price of US$4749 (body only).
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K After years of asking for a successor to the original Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, Blackmagic have finally given the fans what they’ve been asking for. The Pocket Cinema Camera 4K looks a lot different to the original (it’s definitely bigger in size) and although it might not fit inside your pocket it is still a compact size. The Aussies over at Blackmagic have clearly been listening to what their customers have been wanting as this camera is packed full of some impressive features. The Pocket Cinema Camera 4K shoots at 60fps in 4K and at 120fps in 1080p and has a dynamic range of 13 stops. Slow motion can be recorded in both 12-bit CineDNG Raw and 10-bit Apple ProRes 422 HQ. Blackmagic have really made a point of focusing on the low light capabilities of this camera
with ISO range of 400 – 25,600. Users can load LUTs on to the camera and even plug in a USB-C drive to record directly on to, of note is Samsung’s new T5 USB-C solid state drive, it’s tiny but packs a punch when it comes to speed. Here’s another way Blackmagic’s camera stands out from most interchangeable-lens cameras. When you buy a Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, Panasonic or Pentax camera, you are committed to that
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Cameras & Accessories
company’s lens mount. So, if you buy a Canon camera, you can only use lenses that fit a Canon mount. Likewise for Nikon, Sony and Pentax. Olympus and Panasonic use the same Micro 4/3rds mount, so they’re compatible with each other, but not the others. According to Blackmagic, the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K is compatible with all MFT-mount lenses, which is “extremely flexible and allows for different lens adapters so customers can also use PL, C, EF and other types of lenses from manufacturers such as Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Leica and even Panavision.” In most other cases, a manufacturer introducing a new camera doesn’t say that it’s compatible with other
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manufacturers’ lenses via an adapter. That’s because such adapters generally come with compromises, such as fewer autofocus options. US manufacturer Metabone have exclusively designed a Nikon-G/F to Micro-4/3 mount for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera called the Speed Booster, much to the excitement of many creative directors who love their Nikon lenses. The new Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera is supposed to launch later this year for US$1,295 (body only).
Canon C700 FF Canon has been in the television and video industry for a long time but hasn’t been able to provide a top-tier offering to match the likes of Sony Venice or Arri Alexa – until now that is. The Canon C700 FF (full frame) is their latest offering with brand new sensor technology built in. The C700FF sensor is a different size to the flagship Canon 5D camera, it isn’t as tall but it is wider (38mm x 20mm). This beast of a camera shoots in 5.9K at 60 frames per second and offers 15 stops of dynamic range. As with some of the other Canon cine cameras, the C700FF also comes with a built in 10-stop ND filter. Canon has greatly expanded their EF Cinema Lens offerings. The lineup— which includes the Prime, Zoom, Compact Zoom, CINE-SERVO and COMPACT-SERVO series of lenses—has become very popular for a wide range of users. With the introduction of the CN-E20mm T1.5 L F lens, the lineup now boasts a total of 21 lens models. This expansive line of lenses provides cinematographers with even more options to choose from, which can
support enhanced content creation for a variety of uses and shooting scenarios. The trend with a lot of new cameras that allow internal 4K recording is that they use CF 2.0 cards for storage and that is true for this camera too. The C700 FF embodies a choice of two highperformance codecs for on-board recording –Canon XF-AVC or Apple ProRes. Like other cameras in the 4K Cinema EOS family, the EOS C700 FF uses CFast cards to capture 4K / UHD or 2K / HD. Despite the US$33,000 (body only) price tag, the C700 FF is one of the cheaper full-frame cinema cameras on the market. No matter how cost effective or expensive the camera, the lens industry has always worked hard to provide us with a wide range of suitable glass fit for any filming requirement, and some credit must go to Joseph Bailey Walker who held no less than 20 patents on various camera-related inventions, including the Double Exposure System, the Duomar Lens for both motion picture and television cameras, and the Electra Zoom Lens. Cheers Mr. Walker!
Cameras & Accessories
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ARRI, RED, Sony? Local industry
The common consensus is that the production values of South African films have developed significantly in recent years. We’re seeing a wider variety of shots in a more diverse array of settings, greater experimentation with lowlight shooting and a consistent output of greatlooking films.
B
ut what specific cameras are driving this success? A quick look at the equipment employed by this year’s Oscar-nominated films reveals a heavy bias towards ARRI cameras, and in particular the Alexa series (The Shape of Water, Get Out, Mudbound, Blade Runner 2049, The Darkest Hour), with only Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Phantom Thread (Panavision Panaflex) and Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk (IMAX MKIV) bucking this trend.
Does this preference also hold true for South African filmmakers? When discussing his favourite pieces of equipment, Bruce McLaren-Lyall, senior editor (3D and Post) at The Ergo Company, is passionate about the role of the camera in the process of filmmaking: “When you think about it, the camera is like an actor on set; arguably, the most important actor. And just like if a lead turns in a dud performance, if the camera is not doing its job, it doesn’t matter how 26 | SCREENAFRICA | June 2018
great the script is, or how much potential the film might have had. It won’t connect with the audience.” McLaren-Lyall goes on to explain that, from his position behind the editing desk, the job of evaluating cameras based on the raw footage he receives comes down to a “complex chain of three factors. Lighting and lenses, the camera body and the operator. You can get a sense of the lenses they’ve used and the lighting setup from the footage itself, and I work with footage coming in from different operators from all over the world. It’s a very delicate chemistry between those three factors, but – from my point of view – you tend to see certain camera bodies outperforming the others on a consistent basis.” He is definitive in his appraisal. “The ARRI Alexas are unbeatable. On a consistent basis, the whole series – the XT, the Mini, especially when paired with Panavision lenses – gives beautiful depth, and incredible colour range in all kinds of
lighting situations. You look at the raw footage and you immediately see potential in the grade; you don’t see problems. Other cameras I’ve worked with in post – like the Sony F65s and F55s, and the RED Dragons and the RED Scarlets – produce wonderful images, of course, but we go back to that chemistry between lighting, body and operator, and people just don’t seem to be able to get it as right as often. Maybe that means the ARRIs are more forgiving cameras, are more user-friendly,” he says. “But you can’t argue with the consistency and the quality of the images they produce.” Meanwhile, Warrick Le Seur, one of the founders of Bounceboard Productions and a South African Society of Cinematographers award-nominated DoP, says, “I find that I always have a
tendency to drift towards the RED range of cameras when given the choice. I think it’s the lightweight, compact bodies and easily-navigated touch screen menu that appeal to me. Although, there is also the ARRI Mini, which is an amazing camera – providing the user with ARRI’s incomparable colour science in a compact body – but I think by the time it came out I was already deep into my love for the REDs. I prefer to work on a lighter camera that won’t break my back at the end of the day but can still give me the image quality I desire, and this is where the RED brains excel for me. My ideal camera needs to be able to fit into every corner I find myself shoved into, as well as to easily switch from tripod, to gimbal, to crane or even to drone.” Le Seur goes on to say that,
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Cameras & Accessories
pros pick their favourite cameras
“Resolution is also an important aspect for me. I feel that so much is done in post these days, allowing that extra resolution for some play in the post-production room can help a lot, especially during VFX. This is where the 6K capabilities of the RED Dragon, or the 8K of the Helium and Monstro sensors, really stand out from the rest.” Amy Jephta – a director whose short film Soldaat won the 2017 KykNET Silwerskerm Award, and whose debut feature, Ellen, will hit South African theatres later this year – explains that although she is not particularly “technically minded”, when it comes to selecting equipment, she “likes for film to look like film. There’s something about the material nature of film that works with the style I enjoy: stark naturalism, an almost documentary feel, an organic grain that feels looser and more tactile. Like if you reached out and touched the picture, there would be texture to it. I don’t personally feel that the kind of work
I want to make (intimate, close, emotional) is served by the edge and tight grain of digital. But although every filmmaker would love to, it’s not always possible to shoot on film, so I’m interested in how a cinematographer can achieve the same equivalent look and feel, toning down the sharpness of digital. My short film was shot on an ARRI Alexa Classic fitted with Zeiss Super Speeds, and that got very close to what I wanted to achieve.” With some exciting rumours circulating about camera developments in the second half of 2018 – including new models from Sony and Blackmagic, as well as the release of the RED Hydrogen (a cellphone which promises to display “4V Holographic Video” content, and which will allow users to control RED cameras wirelessly) – it will be interesting to see which cameras remain at the vanguard of South African film production. – David Cornwell
“When you think about it, the camera is like an actor on set; arguably, the most important actor. And just like if a lead turns in a dud performance, if the camera is not doing its job, it doesn’t matter how great the script is, or how much potential the film might have had. It won’t connect with the audience.
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– Bruce McLaren-Lyall
June 2018
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ADVERTORIAL
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the PL mount, which is prevalent on cinema cameras. All lenses in the line-up may also be used on still cameras with the compatible mount for outstanding camera videography. The product line is available in the FF Zoom Line, High Speed Zoom Line and FF High Speed Prime Line. FF Zoom Line is compatible with a full frame (FF) image circle, and the optical performance is ready for high resolution shooting such as 6K – 8K. It provides a rare option for cinematographers since very few lenses can cater for the requirements of the latest digital cinema cameras’ image sensor, which is larger
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28 | SCREENAFRICA | June 2018
than Super 35. This lens is ideal for the latest digital cine cameras. High Speed Zoom Line offers the constant aperture of T2 throughout the zoom range, and the optical performance is ready for high resolution shooting such as 6K – 8K. Furthermore, while offering the highest image quality in its class, the zoom lens is of a compact construction and offers amazing value. The FF High Speed Prime line-up ranges from 14mm to 135mm, and covers T1.5 to T2. The lenses are compatible with full frame, and while they are more compact, they offer superior resolution. With the seven prime lenses from FF High Speed Prime Line, there is no need to change the lighting to shoot a variety of cuts, and it is possible to meet the demands that professional movie creation requires.
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MEDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT
Video assets used to be stored on tapes in a physical library. Basic info written on the tape and a simple MAM system allowed broadcasters to find exact visuals.
The changing face of MAM systems for South African broadcasters From VHS tape libraries with simplistic, but bespoke, in-house cataloguing systems, to digital archives and more comprehensive, but uniform, search and retrieval capabilities, advances in technology have taken Media Asset Management (MAM) systems for South African broadcasters to astounding new heights. How it used to be The tapes had some information written on them, but if the broadcaster wanted to know more details as to the footage, they used their custom-built MAM system. It had basic metadata that gave more information, but “these systems were only hard coded – that is, the vendor would define the storage policy in their software,” explains Shaun Kerr, divisional manager of Broadcast and Multimedia at Protea Electronics (which is Ooyala’s partner for MAM systems in South Africa).
The current landscape With the massive amounts of video media being produced and consumed on a daily basis, broadcasters needed an efficient, quicker system that would enable them to easily find the exact footage they were looking for in their digital archive. Driven by advancements in technology, the current MAM format was born. “MAM must now mirror and support the complexity associated with delivering highly personalised, effectively ‘segment of one’ style content. All of a sudden, you
need to support many more formats, languages, etc. to be able to reach out on a personalised level to an individual user. All of those different renditions must be neatly organised and the complexity associated with managing this has been another factor in the evolution of MAM,” explains Kerr. “The push toward international interoperability of media deliverables across systems, the need for deeper and wider automation to reduce repetitive manual chores and the growth in OTT, VOD and streaming services requiring hundreds if not thousands of different versions for distribution and playback, have all driven innovation and evolution in MAM technology,” adds Colin Wainer, CEO of Inala Broadcast (which is Tedial’s partner for MAM systems in South Africa).
MAM automation Quite a lot of automation happens today during the MAM process, from purely human input previously. For example, artificial intelligence (AI) that recognises scene changes is possible. There’s voice
Video assets have made the move to digital storage on servers. More advanced, comprehensive MAM systems have been created to allow for easier searching. to text technology, enabling search based on each word. Facial recognition, combining AI and machine learning, character recognition including signage and graphics, and even landmark and person sentiment recognition technology is also available.
Proliferation of suppliers The number of suppliers of MAM systems has also increased. Whereas before, bespoke in-house systems were used by each broadcaster, “now broadcast solutions providers have taken on the MAM system to standardise, and to ensure it complies with metadata models approved by the Society of Music Producers and Television Engineers (SMPTE). Nowadays most people choose the metadata model first and then a solution that goes around it,” says Colin Stoltz, account manager at Jasco Broadcast Solutions.
Major suppliers in South Africa include Avid, and Viz, as well as non-traditional broadcast suppliers including IT giants like Oracle, and IBM. “At NAB this year, there were over 1 700 vendors exhibiting, each trying to sell some product, system or service to support media companies somewhere in the content lifecycle. If we filter this list down to companies that offer ‘media asset management’ solutions, then this list still exceeds 250 companies,” comments Kerr.
Integration of multiple systems Whereas before the MAM system was only linked to the source device, now systems across the broadcasters’ operations are all interconnected. “Workflow has progressed to full orchestration, where an entire operation is linked to the MAM as the central director of media collection, preparation and distribution: This connects the
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Video assets have made the move to digital storage on servers. More advanced, comprehensive MAM systems have been created to allow for easier searching.
back-office tools such as traffic and content management solutions with the library of assets and the outputs for monetisation, such as a linear playout channel, VOD pitches or Blue Ray authoring. The key changes supporting these enhancements are the viability of scalable business process workflow engines and Restful APIs to better connect disparate tools,” says Wainer.
The importance of enriching the data While all these changes have taken place, one element has remained constant throughout, the importance of enriching the data in the MAM system. “Everyone has a pot full of files. But they are only an asset if you can find what you’re looking for in that pot. Otherwise, it’s just a file. If you don’t have enough metadata describing that file, then you may as well just delete them,” emphasises Stoltz. Nowadays this is done via user input and/or automation systems.
The future of MAM systems Further advances in technology will have the biggest impact on MAM systems going forward. “More cloud storage, more intelligence, more automation,” comments Paul Divall, managing director of the Intelligent Technologies division at Jasco Broadcast Solutions. “Not AI for the sake of the new, but actual smart functions that take advantage of the new metadata engines to multiply outputs and increase the human capabilities. Cloud systems and
innovation to enhance speed of deployment and delivery, with access from anywhere and the ability to manage capacity on a per-project basis,” adds Wainer.
A bright future The importance of MAM systems, especially as media companies continue to consolidate, cannot be stressed enough. “The ability to manage operations and workflows across multiple sites and in fact automate functions across geographical boundaries, or even around the globe, lets today’s managers effectively manage costs, bandwidth and capacity as systems migrate to cloud infrastructure,” he concludes.
SA MAMs vs. global MAMs Unlike some technology, where South Africa lags behind global markets, the MAM systems being sold in the country, and used by most SA broadcasters, are on par with those used in international markets. The implementation by some broadcasters of the advanced MAM system may be lacking, due to funding constraints or the requirements and the desired outcomes of the individual broadcaster, but it is available to them if they choose. A difference though, is that SA broadcasters are not yet making use of the advanced AI and machine learning technologies that are available, which some international broadcasters are already utilising.
“The push toward international interoperability of media deliverables across systems, the need for deeper and wider automation to reduce repetitive manual chores and the growth in OTT, VOD and streaming services requiring hundreds if not thousands of different versions for distribution and playback, have all driven innovation and evolution in 30 | SCREENAFRICA | June 2018
MAM technology.
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– Colin Wainer
OPINION
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FESTIVALS & MARKETS
The Race to Premiere: The Folly of Film Festivals As we approach film festival season in South Africa, festivals including the Durban International Film Festival, The Cape Town International Film Market and Festival, Encounters, The Jozi Film Festival, and others will all start to announce their programming selections – and in the process try to best position themselves to secure whatever world or African film premieres that they can.
W
ithin the global network of festivals, a hierarchy exists amongst high-profile events, especially those in Europe or North America, and the currency of status for many of these events is premieres and celebrity. The more world premieres they can host and the more celebrities that walk the red carpet, the more attention, and subsequently the more funding and sponsors these festivals can secure. More and more festivals in Africa are buying into this globalised strategy, equating premieres and stars with status and funding, however, there is an inherent folly in this approach, especially when dealing with African produced films. It is still the case that the majority of high-profile African films premiere in Europe or North America, not at any African festival. The sheer economic and
marketing benefits of a major international festival premiere outside of Africa simply outweigh the desire of a filmmaker to premiere the film in their home country. So film festivals across Africa are vying for the second-place spot of an African premiere – and with only so many high profile African films released each year, the competition to secure the first African screening grows every year. I have heard many film festival programmers state that they won’t accept certain films into competition if they do not receive the African premiere, putting filmmakers in the awkward position of having to choose amongst an array of equally placed festivals across the continent. There is yet to be one film festival in Africa that can guarantee exponentially more media and economic
returns than another, so how is a filmmaker to choose? This narrow-minded approach, I believe, is detrimental to both filmmakers and film festivals in Africa, whose mandate should be more than just to be the most high-profile festival on the continent. The filmmaking and filmviewing cultures in Africa are widely divergent, and even more so in relation to their Western counterparts. Across most of Africa, and for many people, film festivals are one of the only ways where people are able to gather to watch films together, and with the possibility of the filmmaker in attendance. Film festivals globally have become alternative distribution mechanisms for many types of independent films, and within Africa, film festivals have long played this role, due to the lack of comprehensive cinema networks across Africa. Even in countries whose urban centres do have cinemas and multiplexes, for the most part – with the exception of Ethiopia and a handful of other locations – African films never make it to these screens, or if they do it is for exceptionally limited runs. With this context in mind, film festivals in Africa often talk of audience development alongside any mandate to support and promote filmmakers. In fact, audience development is a key role of film festivals across the continent, and one of the best ways to grow audiences and to support filmmakers is to screen African-produced stories and content.
Often, the film festival is the only place for audiences to experience African stories, and certainly, the only place where they can often meet and engage with the filmmaker. It is therefore imperative, in my view, for film festivals in Africa to feature as many quality African films as possible. Whether a film has had its world premiere in Europe, and/or its African premiere elsewhere, film festivals in Africa should actively and enthusiastically promote quality content that can resonate with local audiences, and in doing so, help to promote the filmmakers and to drive the development of audiences. In fact, I would argue further, that instead of competing with each other for the premiere of films, and for a perceived status within the festival network hierarchy, film festivals across South Africa, and across the continent should cooperate and support each other. While this might seem a naïve point of view given the scarce resources available for film festivals, I do believe that in certain areas, and specifically in programming African content, that film festivals can and should do everything possible collectively to support the industry and provide local audiences with as much quality African content as possible. Let’s see how this plays out in festivals throughout the year…. Watch this space. – Lara Preston
June 2018
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DIFF 2018
| ADVERTORIAL
Durban International Film Festival gears up for its 2018 edition This year, the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), the leading event of its kind on the African continent, is once again bringing film-lovers and filmmakers from across the globe to the city of Durban for a feast of the latest and greatest that cinema has to offer, from 19 to 29 July.
“W
e are in a time of diversity, where women, racial minorities and LGBTI communities who have traditionally been underrepresented in film are having their voices brought to the fore,” says Chipo Zhou, DIFF festival manager. “Referencing this global narrative, the films in this year’s festival will reflect these new voices as much as possible. Having said that, we have had a tough time selecting from the over 2000 submissions received. It is always a bittersweet process for the team, who have had to cut this number to 200.” “Nelson Mandela once said “Fools multiply when wise men are silent”, and with recent revelations on the exploitation of women in the industry, the DIFF is rallying behind the #itsnotokay movement,” reports
Zhou. “We will show public service announcements prior to each screening that have been created by SWIFT (Sisters Working in Film and Television) – the South African based NPO that works to protect and advance the cause of women in South African film and television. This is part of our contribution to the reimaging of the South African film industry. We will also screen a selection of Nelson Mandela films as a special focus, in commemoration of his centenary birthday celebrations.” “African cinema, including the work of female directors, is exploding with the broadening of themes and cinematic styles. There is a celebration of the development of new thematic, universal and aesthetic interpretive perspectives and our selection this year is testament to this,” enthuses Zhou.
The festival will showcase 100 fiction and documentary feature length films and a wide selection of short films and documentaries. Twenty-five films from the BRICS programme, hosted by the National Department of Arts and Culture in partnership with the National Film and Video Foundation, will run parallel to the DIFF and the Durban FilmMart (DFM). The Durban FilmMart enters its ninth iteration in 2018 and will yet again offer a robust industry programme that is not only abreast with industry trends but aims to project beyond them. The DFM, taking place from 20 to 23 July, is a premier film industry market platform and continues to attract an extensive global network yet is firmly grounded on the African continent. This year, the DIFF and the Durban FilmMart have worked closely to synergise content with the appointment of well-known curator Russel Hlongwane to bring a joint vision to light. The DIFF Industry Programme, which is targeted at emerging filmmakers and the general public interested in learning more about film, will provide an overview of the value chain in the film industry. This is a public programme pitched at entry level filmmakers. The programme also assumes its official title, Isiphethu, an
isiZulu word meaning springs. The adoption of this title is informed by the need for the industry programme to establish an identity within and alongside the DFM. Both the Durban FilmMart and the Isiphethu Hub will have a strong focus on developing documentary filmmaking with targeted workshops and master classes – by several highly acclaimed international industry practitioners – taking place. The educational Talents Durban, in partnership with Berlinale Talents, turns 11 this year, having attracted over 250 applications from 30 countries throughout the African continent. This year, a total of nineteen, very promising Talents Durban participants were carefully selected by an independent, international, woman-led Talents Durban alumnae selection committee. After vigilant consideration the committee selected three film critics to join Talent Press, four animation directors, six directors and six screenwriters. “We look forward to our 39th edition, ahead of what we hope will be a significant 40th celebration in 2019,” says Zhou. “With about 600 filmmakers in attendance the public can look forward to a feast of film and some fascinating insights into the world of cinema.”
DIFF 39 durban
THE
TH
international 19-29 JULY
20-23 JULY
full house
20-24 JULY
DIFF
film festival
FESTIVALS & MARKETS
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9th Durban FilmMart:
Creating Networks, Developing Content and Building the Business of Film in Africa
“T
he 2018 edition of Durban FilmMart offers some exciting opportunities through a diverse programme of master classes, seminars and events, for African filmmakers to build business networks, explore collaborations, develop content, benchmark their creative and production work in line with international trends, and look for investment and business opportunities,” says Toni Monty, head of the Durban Film Office. “But what underpins the DFM, is the focus on developing the industry in Africa, whilst drawing on local African and international expertise.” “There are a number of lead speakers presenting at this year’s DFM,” says Russel Hlongwane, curator of the DFM and DIFF industry programme. “This year’s programme promises to stretch the mindsets of industry players, providing them with innovation and new thinking,
34 | SCREENAFRICA | June 2018
One of Africa’s premier film industry events, the Durban FilmMart (DFM), a joint programme of the eThekwini Municipality’s Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) has ramped up its offerings to delegates for its 9th edition, which takes place from 20 to 23 July. coupled with opportunities to engage with successful and respected thought-leaders.” Some of these key speakers include, amongst others, Dayo Ogunyemi, Lagos-based creative entrepreneur, investor and founder of 234 Media, which makes principal and private investments in the media, entertainment and technology sectors in Africa; Stephen Follows, a leading trainer and thoughtleader in how storytelling can be used to change hearts and minds, and data researcher in the film industry, whose work has been featured in the New York Times, The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Mirror, The Evening Standard, Newsweek, The News Statesman, AV Club and Indiewire; and LA-based Peter Russell, a screenwriter and a long-time story doctor in
Hollywood whose clients include Imagine, HBO, Participant, Viacom, CBS Television and many more. After a decade of experience in music, finance, law and consulting in New York, Dayo Ogunyemi moved to Lagos to help restructure Nollywood, Nigeria’s film industry. Over the past 15 years, Ogunyemi has worked in the media, entertainment and technology spaces in all three regions of sub- Saharan Africa. Through a 234 Media investment, Ogunyemi built and operated East Africa’s then largest cinema chain and an affiliated film distribution company, through which he acquired and released independent/arthouse films including Djo Munga’s Viva Riva, Michel Hazanavicius’s The Artist and Kevin McDonald’s Bob Marley biopic. Under 234 Media’s Studio Africa
banner, Ogunyemi serves as producer for films by leading and emerging African directors and has participated in the Cannes Producers Network and Cinefondation Atelier programmes. He served as a founding board member of the African Film Academy, organiser of the African Movie Academy Awards; and on the board of the UN Economic Commission for Africa’s Information Society Initiative. At DFM, Ogunyemi will present a session entitled Africa through the Lens. Stephen Follows, who will present a session entitled A Bird’s-Eye View of Global Industry Trends, has acted as an industry consultant and guest on the BBC Radio 4 series The Business of Film. He has created UK-wide campaigns for major charities including Scope and Unicef, and has taught at the National Film and
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Television School (NFTS), Met Film School, Filmbase, and on behalf of the BFI, the BBC and the British Council. Follows’ scriptwriting has, won Virgin Media Shorts, the Reed Film Competition and IVCA awards; been nominated at the British Independent Film Awards, Viral Video Awards, and the LA Movie Awards; been long-listed for a BAFTA; and championed by Mike Newell, James King, Stephen Fry, The Daily Telegraph and Le Monde. Follows has produced over 100 short films and two features. He has produced corporate video work for a wide variety of clients ranging from computer game giants (Bethesda), technology giants (Nokia Siemens Networks) and sporting giants (Jonny Wilkinson). UCLA lecturer and screenwriter, Peter Russell is also a long-time story doctor in Hollywood whose clients include Imagine, HBO, Participant, Viacom, CBS Television and many more. Russell is in high demand for his legendary seminars and master classes on film and TV story. In 2017 he sold two television pilots – a crime procedural and a biographical mini-series. Russell’s charismatic speaking style won him UCLA Teacher of the Year in 2009. He ghostwrites for both new and established film and television writers and producers. Russell privately consults with producers and writers on film and TV story from treatments to pilots and full story development. At the DFM he will
present a workshop on writing for television series. Other topics covered include Aesthetics of African Cinema, Matriarchs in Filmmaking led by South African Women in Film and Television (SWIFT), Are there any Sacred Cows in Filmmaking? a discussion led by the South African Screen Federation, Co-Production Treaties – Treat or Trifle?, Copyright vs Copyleft, The Medium is the Message: Animation, Getting to the Heart of your Documentary, BRICS SA Forum: Distribution Strategies within BRICS Countries and Women Led Film. “Besides these sessions, filmmakers will have plenty of opportunities to network with peers at the various sessions as well as the more casual social functions where often creative ideas and collaborations have their birthplace” says Hlongwane. Once again this year, the National Film and Video Foundation will present workshops and discussions on policies and local industry trends, and will also host a number of networking sessions. Filmmakers from 16 pre-selected African film projects will have the opportunity to pitch their film projects to leading financiers, broadcasters as well as other potential funders and investors at the DFM’s finance forum. Eight documentaries and eight feature fiction films in development will be mentored by experts and given an opportunity to pitch to various panels. This gives them an
opportunity to craft their projects even further, working towards getting their films made and distributed. In 2017 CaribbeanTales and the DFM joined forces to produce the CaribbeanTales’ CTI Accelerator: CineFAM – Africa with the aim of supporting projects by African women. This accelerator aims specifically to build capacity and creative leadership among women of colour who are underrepresented in leadership roles. In 2018, the second edition of this hugely successful programme will focus on facilitating productions under the South Africa-Canada official coproduction agreement. Supporting the development of emerging filmmakers, the DFM through Produire au Sud, Nantes, will conduct a writers workshop with script consultants, Sari Turgeman and Jeremie Du bois, for its “Jumpstart” projects. This Jumpstart programme bridges the gap for emerging filmmakers to go from self-funding projects to investment/ funded ones. Running parallel to the DFM, and supported by experts and visiting speakers, is the Durban International Film Festival’s open industry programme, Isiphethu, aimed at introducing entry level, emerging filmmakers, micro-budget filmmakers as well as interested members of the public to the inner-workings of the world of cinema. Manager of the DIFF, Chipo Zhou says,
FESTIVALS & MARKETS
“Our strategy for Isiphethu, in terms of industry growth, is to support filmmakers in developing content. But it is also about supporting the development of the quality of content, which may ordinarily be impacted on by smaller budgets... We want to be able to offer these filmmakers opportunities to incubate projects, be mentored by experts, network with seasoned and experienced peers, and be included in the overall vision of the DIFF and DFM, to grow quality African content. In short to include this sector of the industry into the greater industry fold.” “Central to the objectives of the Durban FilmMart is just how we can encourage African filmmakers to look within to collaborate, finance and develop content,” says Toni Monty. “We are very excited to see so many DFM alumni projects that have come to fruition, doing very well on the various local and international festival and cinema circuits, and many with good distribution deals: these include films like Rafiki, Inexba: The Wound, Alison, Tessa, and Five Fingers for Marseilles to name a few. This is exactly what the strategy was when the DFO and DIFF created the DFM nine years ago, and it is heartening to see the long term value it provides for the African film industry.” The 9th Durban FilmMart takes place in Durban, at the Tsogo Sun Elangeni from 20 to 23 July 2018, during the 39th edition of the Durban International Film Festival.
June 2018
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ANIMATION
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Inside the making of TV series Munki and Sunrise Productions is a Cape Town-based computer animation company known for its popular production, Jungle Beat, a 3D-animated series that has been shown in over 180 countries around the world.
W
ith the international success gained from the show, Jungle Beat creator Brent Dawes decided to create a spin-off series titled Munki and Trunk, with director Sam Wilson at the helm. “For years, the Sunrise shows were all written and directed by Brent Dawes... As the company expanded, they needed another writer and director who 36 | SCREENAFRICA | June 2018
understood Brent’s style, so they brought me in. I worked with Brent writing Munki and Trunk, and I took over directing the series when Brent went on to new Sunrise projects,” shares Wilson. Much like Jungle Beat, Munki and Trunk is a dialogue-free, 3D-animated television series catering for kids aged 4 to 7. The show features various animals and is centred on the unusual friendship
between an energetic monkey and an endearing elephant, aptly called Munki and Trunk. “The series actually started out as Season 4 of Jungle Beat. After we began production, we realised that we were limiting ourselves, because every Jungle Beat episode has only one character. To make the show really appealing, we knew we had to have multiple characters, and
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3D-animated
Trunk
ANIMATION
“We wanted to create a world that viewers could really immerse themselves in. So we have characters with detailed fur, visual effects, and complex lighting and rendering. It’s not photorealistic, but it’s much closer than almost any other animated TV series.
”
– Sam Wilson
TECH CHECK
show their personalities and quirks and give them real friendships and make a real world. So we took two of our most beloved characters and turned their relationship into the heart of the show.” Munki is described as a vine-swinging force of nature; he is impulsive and full of energy. He is also always hungry for bananas as well as awesome adventures with his best friend, Trunk. Trunk, on the other hand is a lovable, optimistic, big-hearted elephant who
loves to play and support all her jungle buddies. “The biggest discussion we had at the start of the show was around the friendship between Munki and Trunk. We were working with some very experienced writers from the UK, and they were pushing for some conflict between the two characters because conflict is the heart of all drama. To his credit, Brent insisted that Munki and Trunk would never fight. Whatever the world threw at them, whatever misunderstandings they had, the two main characters would stay firm friends. I think that was the right decision because it became the anchor of the show. Munki and Trunk is about friendship, and having someone around that you can always trust,” Wilson explains. Munki and Trunk was created and animated using Autodesk Maya. Fur, dust and liquid effects were done in Houdini and rendered using Mantra. “We wanted to create a world that viewers could really immerse themselves in. So we have characters with detailed fur, visual effects, and complex lighting and rendering. It’s not photorealistic, but it’s much closer than almost any other animated TV series,” says Wilson who also credits their unique camera angles and lighting set-ups in effectively capturing the story. “We also have an in-house recording studio, so we were able to create a detailed foley for every episode, which really helped the immersion,” he adds. It took Wilson and his team just over two years to complete the series. “The biggest overall challenge was the mammoth scale of the project, and
catching all the necessary fixes and aesthetic tweaks within the tight production schedule.” Overall, Wilson describes producing the series as a labour of love that he is truly proud of and hopes that it shines through to all young viewers and their parents. “The series has been an epic production. Look at any episode, and you can see how much work we’ve put into every detail, and because we care so much, we’ve had to make tough decisions. We re-animated two completed episodes because although they were funny, they didn’t have the sweetness and the heart we were looking for. But it’s been worth it. The highlight of the production for me was working with so many talented and dedicated people, at both Sunrise and our production partners Infinite Frameworks,” Wilson shares. Tasania Parsadh from Nickelodeon saw a clip of the show while on a studio tour at Sunrise Productions during the first Cape Town International Animation Festival. She immediately fell in love with the concept and remained in touch with the Sunrise Productions team. Since then, NickToons has clinched a deal with the production and made Munki and Trunk, Sunrise Productions’ first South African animation acquisition. The series consists of 52 episodes, which run for seven minutes each. The first episode aired on 2 April, and the show has since been screened across Africa. “So far, Munki and Trunk has been shown in around 30 territories, including across North Africa, which is fantastic news, and now that the full series is complete we’re expecting it to spread a lot further,” Wilson concluded. – Gezzy S Sibisi
Munki and Trunk was created and animated using Autodesk Maya.
KEY CREW Director: Sam Wilson Producers: Tim Keller and Matt Brown Executive producers: Phil Cunningham, Jacqui Cunningham, Hugo Day, Rupert Day Animation directors: Greg Murray and Denis Deegan Sound designer: Matthew Gair
June 2018
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SCREENAFRICA
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TELEVISION
|
Director Speak
rine a h t Ca ooke C
We caught up with iNumber Number director Catharine Cooke, who took home the Golden Horn for Best Achievement in Directing in a TV Drama at the 2018 South African Film & Television Awards… What is your background and how has this shaped you as a filmmaker? I was the youngest of four sisters and a laat-lammetjie, so I spent a lot of time on my own and therefore developed a robust imagination to fill my world with stories to entertain myself. I think this strong sense of imagination and storytelling has really helped me to lift the writers’ creation off paper and breathe life into their work. My acting background has especially been helpful to me as a director, as I feel actors can trust me to respect and hold their vulnerability safe in front of the camera. My work in theatre and my years as an assistant director also taught me to have discipline on my sets. How did you find yourself working in television? It wasn’t so much a plan as an organic process of finding out what I really loved and what I was good at, as well as avoiding a 9–5 office job. So thank goodness I found this platform to bring stories to life and work with other crazy creative minds. iNumber Number took home the SAFTA – what was that like for you? The crew and actors did such a great job and of course it was an absolute delight having our directing team recognised by the industry and our peers. We don’t really think that getting acknowledged is important, but taking those steps up onto the stage and having that moment was truly wonderful and inspiring. What kind of content do you like creating and why? Any content, romance, comedy to drama, as long as the story is worth telling, the script is well-written and I have talented actors to work with (that haven’t been plucked from the bowels of Instagram hype). What more could I ask for? 38 | SCREENAFRICA | June 2018
Catharine Cooke
What are you currently working on? I’m currently working on a show for DStv called The River, which has been very well received by audiences since airing.
And your biggest highlight thus far? Working on a BBC TV show called Jamillah and Aladdin.
What inspires you creatively? Good books, theatre, listening to people’s life stories, listening to music, listening to my imagination running wild... In other words, I find inspiration anywhere I can.
Where is your dream shoot location? One with no cars, no aeroplanes, no dogs barking, no lawn mowers and preferably where the light looks golden most of the day.
Who are your local mentors? I am fortunate to be surrounded by other very talented filmmakers that I am lucky enough to call my friends. We share ideas and encourage each other. I am mentored by them all. However, the very talented Donavan Marsh (iNumber Number), who is currently finishing work on Hunter Killer with Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman, was my first and most influential mentor. I learned so much working with him and felt very encouraged by his belief in me.
Three all-time favourite films? Ok, now that’s like asking me to name my favourite child! But here are three of my favourite movies, although not necessarily my top three: The Big Lebowski. Blade Runner (1982). 12 Angry Men.
Top three favourite directors? Coen brothers. Steven Spielberg. Ridley Scott What’s been your biggest career challenge to date? Unfortunately, part and parcel of the South African film and television industry is the lack of time and budget, so instead of aiming for greatness, we merely achieve mediocrity. We have very talented filmmakers in this country, with a great passion for this industry and I believe this lack of time and budget should be a challenge for ALL of us.
Any advice for emerging filmmakers? Don’t let fear of failure ever stop you from pursuing your passion. You are not alone on set; you are surrounded by other professionals that are more than willing to help you realise your vision and who share the same passion. Learn anything and everything about your profession, because your knowledge will be your strength and your skills your weapon. If you weren’t a filmmaker you would be... I would still be searching... And of course still avoiding a 9–5 office job. I love what I do. It’s hard to think of doing something else.
Director Speak
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COMMERCIALS | SOCIAL
BET Awards 2018 nominations The 2018 BET Awards nominee announcement was held at The Capital Moloko in Sandton. Seen there were… PHOTOS courtesy BET
Name
Tshego Mosupye
Farieda “Pharoahfi” Metsileng
Mokgadi Seab
Emmanuel Tjiya
DJ SABBY
TAGLINE: Caption
Intro
Sandal GQ Ntshingila and Fathima Beckmann
Sarah Kapay
Rhode Marshall and Helen Herimbi
Behim Xolo
Question Answer – Compiled by Martie Bester
Phil Mphela
Sydney Mekgwe
Distruction Boyz, Monde Twala, Cassper Nyovest and Alex Okosi
June June 2018 2018
SCREENAFRICA | | 39 39 | | SCREENAFRICA
M ar k etp l ace
UPCOMING EVENTS JUNE 31 MAY – 10 Encounters South African International Documentary Festival Cape Town 11 – 16
Annecy International
Animation Film Festival Annecy, France
JULY 7 – 15
Zanzibar International
Film Festival Zanzibar 11 – 13 DISCOP Zanzibar Zanzibar 16 – 18 Nature, Environment & Wildlife Filmmakers Congress Durban 19 – 29
Durban International
Film Festival Durban 20 – 23 Durban FilmMart Durban
Broadcast Brands To Africa
Master Dealer Africa Tel: +27 (0) 762569255 info@mdafrica.com
www.masterdealerafrica.com 40 | SCREENAFRICA | June 2018
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