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| IN THIS ISSUE
18 Elements of cinema: mesmerising moves
32
10
Warning! Graphic content
And the nominees are…
20
38 Entering the era of choice
Africa dispossessed
Special Features EQUIPMENT RENTALS
African filmmakers premiere
Canon’s new 5D variants.................. 12
Documentary
short films at 2015 Sundance
Prime Time energy efficient
Fostering their own
Equipment rental:
Film Festival............................................. 6
LED Fresnel.......................................... 12
brand of filmmaking............................ 22
better times ahead?............................ 26
Ekwa Msangi launches
Nates to be powered
Kenyan web series................................. 8
ADCETERA
FESIVALS
by Glow Hire....................................... 27
Lesotho doccie screens
The ‘simple’ life of advertising.......... 13
Africa rising at Berlinale.................... 23
Media Film Service consistently
to teen audience at Berlinale.............. 8
Latest Nissan TVC gets
cultivates new growth........................ 28
A+E Networks sets
the adrenaline pumping..................... 14
Digital Film Service provides
up Johannesburg office.......................... 9
When you go off the beaten
full industry support 24/7................. 29
ANC in favour of encrypted STBs.... 9
track, you’re less likely to
Cam-A-Lot predicts a good year
SA film wins Audience
get stuck in traffic…........................... 15
for the film industry........................... 30
Choice Award at PAFF.......................... 9
Clever editing and art direction
Noeleen Maholwana Sangqu
take centre stage in
ON-AIR GRAPHICS
hangs up her 3Talk shoes..................... 9
new Plascon spot................................ 16
Entering the era of choice................ 38
Warning! Graphic content................ 32
Kodak finalises motion
The One-Woman
picture film agreements
Wildebeest Stampede........................ 16
Filmmakers app-rentice..................... 39
EVS helps drive workflow for Bloomberg Television Africa....... 34
with major Hollywood studios........... 9
Real time broadcast
And the nominees are…................... 10
graphics solutions................................ 34
Clearwater develops content
Video on the go.................................. 36
recommendation app......................... 11 Inala signs distribution
News
agreement with Axon........................ 11
New SABC memorandum
Snell Kahuna 9600
branded ‘a hostile takeover’................ 4
production switcher........................... 12
Kenyan government supports
Arri Alexa Mini.................................... 12
Africans in focus.................................. 24
PRODUCTION FINANCE Eskom-proofing your production.... 31
NEW MEDIA
MUSIC
Film Staying true to the story ................. 17
Making music rights simpler............. 40
Elements of cinema:
AUDIO
mesmerising moves............................ 18
Advancing cinema sound................... 42
Africa dispossessed............................. 20 Director Speak: C.J. Obasi................ 21
Regulars Box Office............................................. 43 Production Updates................44 – 47 Events..................................................... 47
Pan African filmmakers......................... 5
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Television
Social...................................................... 48
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9th annual South African F i l m & T e le v i s i o n A wa r d s
SAFT A S 2015 20 & 22 March 2015 Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand, South Africa
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News
From the editor Coming of age? Award season has come around again. In the same week that the Oscar ceremony took place in Los Angeles, the SAFTA nominations were announced in Johannesburg. The theme for this year’s SAFTAs is ‘Coming of Age’, playing on the idea of 21 years of film and television in democratic South Africa. Last year the theme was 20 years of film and television in a democratic South Africa and I said in my editorial at that time that the 20-year landmark was an opportunity to take stock of the industry and how far we have come in those two decades. Now, as our state and our industry reach official ‘adulthood’, we have another opportunity for collective introspection. When I turned 21 I may have acquired the power to sign legal documents but I hadn’t gathered very much else. I was still a youth with very little clue as to where my life would take me – or even where I thought it was supposed to take me. The same can be said for our post-1994 industry, which shows undeniable signs of maturity while still having a few growing pains yet to experience. If the SAFTAs are anything to go by then it does appear that we are showing signs of continual upward movement and growing self-assurance in three very important areas: quality of work, quantity of output and transformation. But like any outwardly cocky 21-year-old, our industry still has to answer some questions about its identity. Most of the films nominated at the SAFTAs follow a mainstream Hollywood aesthetic and narrative sensibility. Among these are iNumber Number, Hard to Get and Four Corners. They are all stylish and entertaining but display varying degrees of authenticity and narrative substance. Of the three Best Picture nominees, Faan se Trein is really the only one that has a target audience sharply in its sights, understands that audience and knows exactly how to reach it. Afrikaans cinema, of which Faan se Trein is a fine example, still strikes me as the most fully realised that South Africa has to offer. This is despite (or because of) the fact that Afrikaans films seem to exist largely in a cultural and narrative environment untouched by the demographic complexities of modern-day South Africa. Their cultural tunnel vision is their strength. Other films, excellent though they may be, struggle to reach sizeable audiences, either because their cultural relevance is scattered or, in cases where they are well targeted, are distributed on platforms less likely to reach the audiences at which they are aimed. Television is a different story. Here shows of all languages and cultural bents are reaching mass audiences, fine work is being produced and stars are being made. It is here that the transformation of the industry is showing genuine progress. But even here, ethnolinguistic specificity, with some exceptions, seems to be the key to success. I make no claims to be able to do any better than the work I have mentioned above. They are all great films in their own unique ways. I am talking in broad strokes and if my musings count for anything, it is simply to point to the fact that 21 years on, if an authentic, unified South African visual storytelling identity was ever our aim, we are nowhere near that yet. As we head into our 22nd year, we might consider whether unity is even possible in this context and if perhaps we are better off focusing on pushing and celebrating our diversity instead. – Warren Holden
New SABC memorandum branded ‘a hostile takeover’ The latest episode in the ongoing drama surrounding the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) revolved around a revised memorandum of incorporation (MOI) which came to light recently, and appeared to give the minister of communications, Faith Muthambi, sweeping powers over the broadcaster’s board. The measures enacted by the MOI increase direct control over the SABC by the government, reduce the powers of the SABC board to little more than a rubber stamp and make its three top executives more answerable to Minister Muthambi than their own board. As outlined by Gavin Davis, MP, spokesperson on national communications for official opposition party the Democratic Alliance, the new MOI, which replaces the Articles of Association signed in 2011, makes the following (alarming) changes to the running of the SABC: • Ministerial approval will be required for any changes to the governance of the corporation – an area which, according to the Broadcasting Act, is meant to be under the autonomous control of the board. • The minister is empowered to waive the requirement to advertise for any vacancies in the top three executive positions – CEO, COO and CFO. • The minister has the power to approve or reject all proposed candidates for the top three positions. The board previously had the power to decide whether or not to reappoint the CEO, COO or CFO, the minister now has absolute authority over this decision. • The board may only discipline or suspend the CEO, CFO and COO with the minister’s permission. • The minister has the power to recommend the removal of a board member. • The corporation is required to pay all legal fees for any of the directors ‘to defend litigation in any proceedings arising out of the director’s services to the corporation’. Davis described this MO, which, it appears, was signed secretly in September 2014, as a ‘hostile takeover’ by Muthambi and embattled COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng, whose interests are well served by the amendments. In reports published just after the MOI came to light, a spokesperson from the communications department brushed the matter off, saying that “there was nothing untoward” about it. The MOI, stated the department, “…can be changed or supplemented to suit the particular needs of the
SCREENAFRICA Publisher & Managing Editor: Simon Robinson: publisher@screenafrica.com Editor: Warren Holden: editor@screenafrica.com Journalists: Carly Barnes: carly@screenafrica.com Chanelle Ellaya: news@screenafrica.com Contributors: Claire Diao, Andy Stead, Ian Dormer, Louise Marsland, Sam Charo
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SWEEPING POWER: Minister Faith Muthambi company with the proviso that it is consistent with the Companies Act. The MOI may include provisions dealing with matters which the act does not address…” Davis fundamentally disagrees with this statement. “Even if the MOI does comply with the Companies Act, it is in blatant contravention of the Broadcasting Act. It must be remembered that section 13 (11) of the Broadcasting Act gives the SABC board the authority to ‘control the affairs of the Corporation’. This MOI removes that power and places it in the hands of the minister. As such it is unlawful,” he says. This sentiment is mirrored by the SOS: Support Public Broadcasting Coalition, which launched an application in the North Gauteng High Court last year against the SABC and the minister over the manner in which the current top three executives were appointed. Says Sekoetlane Phamodi, the coordinator of the coalition: “Our challenge flows from the Broadcasting Act, which establishes the SABC as an independent public broadcaster, and the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression and information, which the public broadcaster and, in turn, the public it serves, cannot enjoy under this arrangement whereby the
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minister and government have engineered the SABC to be a de facto state broadcaster.” The distinction must be made between a public broadcaster, which is state funded but independent, and a state broadcaster, which is truly state-run. “By inserting herself into the appointment of both executive and no-executive directors, the minister is not only overstating her scope of authority in contravention of the law and the Constitution, but is also transforming the SABC into a state broadcaster enjoined to drive a state agenda whether it be in the interests of the public or not,” Phamodi continues. For an industry already hard hit by the SABC’s woes, this will only make matters worse. “A government controlled SABC
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necessarily means a more closed SABC and that is not an enabling environment that industry professionals are able to work in. If there’s no room for them to produce the hot, topical, controversial content they do… I fear that it’s not just the ‘good story’ that we need to worry about, but the more insidious single story that is emerging about what it means to live in this society,” says Phamodi. On the other hand, new developments in the broadcast sector, Phamodi adds, will lessen the impact of the SABC’s woes on the work of industry professionals. “I think that what’s survived of the industry following the SABC’s devastating financial meltdown has been resilient enough to look elsewhere to keep it viable and sustainable. Especially now, with the advent of DTT so near and new
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broadcasters being licensed, industry professionals will have more opportunities to continue and showcase their work.” Davis sums up his views of his party regarding the ongoing problems at the public broadcaster: “We believe in the value of independent and good quality public broadcasting. This can only happen if the Minister’s power to appoint executive directors of the SABC is removed, and the process to appoint board members is de-politicised. Otherwise, you end up with a board of executive and non-executive directors serving at the behest of the dominant faction of the majority party. This is at the root of all our problems with the SABC over the past decade or so.” Phamodi concludes: “We would have
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come out a whole lot more supportive of the Minister if she had come out with a proposal that said: in keeping with government’s commitment to ensure an independent national public broadcaster, her Ministry was exploring concrete ways of transforming the SABC into a Chapter 9 institution that is ultimately accountable to Parliament and resourcing it adequately to ensure that it meets its mandate not only around content, but also around being the foremost and most trusted broadcasting institution in South Africa.” Requests for comment directed to the SABC were deferred to the office of the Minister of Communications, which, at the time of going to print, had not responded. – Warren Holden
Kenyan government supports Pan African filmmakers From 2 to 5 February 2015, the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI) held a meeting in Nairobi and received a four-year $1 million grant from the Kenyan government. On 4 February 2015, Kenyan Minister of Culture, Sports and the Arts, Dr Hassan Wario announced on behalf of President Uhuru Kenyatta, that the Kenyan government will support the Pan African Filmmakers Organisation (FEPACI) with a grant of US$1 million. “We hope our country will inspire you to find practical solutions to the common challenges and problems that African filmmakers experience in funding, producing and distributing African film on the continent and abroad,” said Wario, according to The Star, a Kenyan newspaper. This support will come in addition to a film school to be opened by the end of the year. This announcement followed a three-day FEPACI meeting attended by filmmakers from various African regions. FEPACI decided to base its secretariat in Kenya and to elect Kenyan filmmaker Jane Munene to run it. This is perhaps a new step forward for the federation created in 1970. It is definitely a remarkable move towards Englishspeaking and economically dynamic countries, considering the organisation’s
INSPIRATION FOR SOLUTIONS: Kenyan Minister of Culture, Sports and the Arts makes the presentation of US$1 million to FEPACI Francophone origins. Created in Tunis during the Carthage International Film Festival, FEPACI was first conducted by the Senegalese filmmaker Aboubacar Samb Makharam. In 1975, in Algiers, African filmmakers adopted a charter to defend culture at large and ‘cinema in particular’. Among their many activities, FEPACI participated in the launching of a cinema school in Ouagadougou (INAFEC) in 1976, an Inter-African Film Distribution Consortium (CIDC) in 1980, a bilingual Pan African film magazine (Ecrans d’Afrique) in 1991 and a book for the centenary of West African cinema in 1995. At a political level, FEPACI has been
granted observer status at the African Union; it took part in the 1978 Maputo Conference to create a common market for film distribution, and triggered, through Benin, the creation of a Pan African fund for cinema and audiovisual, at the 2003 African Union ordinary session in Maputo. In 2008, Gabonese filmmaker Charles Mensah mandated the International Francophonie Organisation to conduct a study about the setting up of the Pan African fund. In 2012, Tunisian filmmaker Ferid Boughedir was nominated to manage the Transitional Orientation Committee. Nevertheless, like many other organisations on the continent, FEPACI
suffered from internal conflicts. The death, in 2011, of its president Mensah, also caused a major upset. In 2013, when a new General Secretary was elected – Malian filmmaker and previously Minister of Culture, Cheik Oumar Sissoko – his first statement was to condemn the way in which the Pan African fund had been managed. At the 2015 Nairobi meeting, the filmmakers claimed that FEPACI will recover the Pan African Fund and that this will be the opportunity to unify all the African stakeholders. But now that FEPACI has a $1 million grant, what will happen next? ‘To be continued,’ as filmmakers say... – Claire Diao
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NIGERIA | SOUTH AFRICA
African filmmakers premiere short films at 2015 Sundance Film Festival Mobolaji Adeolu, a 26-year-old filmmaker from Lagos, Nigeria, and 21-year-old Willem van den Heever from Pretoria, South Africa recently attended the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, which ran from 22 January to 1 February in the US state of Utah. Their films A Will of Iron (Adeolu) and Dropping In (van den Heever) were two of five winning shorts selected to appear as part of an initiative by the Sundance Institute and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. By telling inspirational stories related to overcoming poverty and
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CREATING GLOBAL AWARENESS: Willem van den Heever, Mobolaji Adeolu
hunger the project aims to create global awareness and stimulate constructive conversations around these issues. “I believe it won the challenge due to the main character’s positive energy and how he was able to create a solution by overcoming his challenges of homelessness and poverty. This was part of the theme for the short film challenge,” remarks Adeolu. This is the second film from Adelou, whose first film Hustle on a Mile was a winner in the first edition of the Afrinolly short film competition in the Documentary category. Similarly, van den Heever’s first short film Coffee premiered
at the 2014 National Film Festival for Talented Youth in Seattle, USA and won the Best New Talent award. A Will of Iron is an eight-minute documentary which tells the story of a homeless blacksmith living with his wife and child under the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, Nigeria – the longest bridge in Africa. Adelou says he was inspired by main character Isaac who shows daily determination and optimism despite his living environment. “It is a very inspiring story of resilience in relation to the human spirit, a journey into the world of a man who is so inspired even in the face of dire circumstances,
creating imaginative solutions to overcome his challenges.” Van den Heever’s film Dropping In is inspired by a true story and features a teenage boy living on the streets who is presented with a world of possibilities when a skate park owner introduces him to skateboarding culture. “Not only does it showcase South Africa and our different cultures in a new perspective, but it also shows how something as small and simple as skateboarding can change one person’s life, and how differently one’s life can change when they focus their energy on their dreams and passions,” comments van den Heever. The other Short Film Challenge winners, which were selected from 1 387 submissions from 89 countries, were: Man in the Maze (USA) by Phil Buccellato and Jesse Ash, Isabelle’s Garden (USA) by Jeffrey Palmer and 175 Grams (India) by Bharat Mirle. Both filmmakers say that attending the festival and experiencing audience reactions to their films was a rewarding and valuable experience. “It was a great and a somewhat surreal feeling,” says Van den Heever. “I never would have thought as a kid that at the age of 21, I would have my film premiere at Sundance. But I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity and experience. I also now know I’ve got a few eyes on me, which only motivates me more.” – Carly Barnes
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Ekwa Msangi launches Kenyan web series Ekwa Msangi is no stranger to film and television. The Tanzanian-American grew up in Kenya but she’s currently based in New York. Her initial career started in producing documentaries for clients and then she started doing short films in Nairobi with local national television stations. As of now she is channelling her creative ambitions on writing and directing. Her works include Taharuki (‘Suspense’ in Swahili), a 12-minute short set against the backdrop of the start of Kenya’s post-election violence. It’s about a man and woman from opposing tribes who work for an underground resistance movement to expose a child-trafficking cartel. Something goes wrong, and they’re forced to make tough choices in order to stay alive and complete their mission. “I have been in touch with the basic lives of people in Kenya and this short film was a prequel to a future development project that I am working on called Eastlands, which resonates with what happened in the lives of people in Kenya during that time.” The film was picked up for distribution by Shorts International, Inc. and is
currently in circulation in both North America and Europe. “I have been blessed to do some of the things that young African filmmakers dream and wish about and I am truly humbled,’ she says. ‘Africa is one of the most culturally and artistically enriched reservoirs, There’s so much to be told that we won’t be able to tell all for ages to come.” She recently directed a short comedy entitled Soko Sonko (The Market King) which was commissioned by Focus Features’ Africa First Program. “I have always been drawn to the very basic notion of human existence, the tapestry of its way of life. I have been deeply rooted in the way humanity leads their lives in contrast to their everyday challenges, pain, work, joy and all the inclusivity of man’s quest to live life, that’s what I tap into as a filmmaker.” She has been nominated for Kenya’s Kalasha Awards and Africa Movie Academy Awards. As a female filmmaker she has had her films shown in several world festivals including New York African, Durban International and Pan African Film Festivals. One of Kenya’s television series
RESONATING WITH KENYANS: Ekwa Msangi pioneers, she was involved in the country’s first ever hour-long M-Net series, The Agency, an original drama that she co-wrote, produced and directed. “My years in this field have enabled me to become who I am now and find my own voice,’ she says. ‘In Kenya the time I spent doing television and film was overwhelmingly exciting and the talent that is out there is absolutely amazing.” Ekwa was born in Tanzania but lived in Kenya as a student before heading for the United States, where she received her BFA in Film/TV from Tisch School of the Arts and an MA in African Cinema from Gallatin School of Individualized Study, both at New York University. She now teaches production and cultural studies at the Adjunct Faculty at Tisch School of the Arts. She is also a resident instructor with the African Film Festival where she has completed numerous after-school youth
video-making classes as part of a collaboration with the New York Department of Education. Ekwa is currently doing a web series entitled All My Friends Are Married, a quirky Christian comedy with a blend of dry and physical humour. It highlights the joys, mistakes, hopes and pitfalls of being single and living in New York City. “With tenderness and irony we want to realistically present the story of a woman struggling to survive adulthood from her very imaginative point of view.” She says: “This series captures the intersection where heaven meets earth; where adulthood and dreams force reality. It is here that faith, hope and love collide with bills, delayed promises and fears.” Funding for the project was taken from her savings, with help from friends and independent donors. “I am so excited to have this already running, this year it all starts with a bang, because we will be getting the web series up and running,” Ekwa animatedly states. “If all goes well then we are hoping to have fun and create a following on the internet platform.” The show was shot on an Epic M Red Dragon with a Canon AL Lens Mount. One of Ekwa’s key goals as an artist is to transform the society’s images and relationships with African cultures, and to empower African filmmakers in telling their stories. – Sam Charo
Lesotho doccie screens to teen audience at Berlinale Coming of Age is a film set in the mountains of Lesotho, where a young shepherd and the daughter of a chief are entering the summer before their adulthood. Though living in the same small village, the two lead very different lives and will make very different choices while grappling with the universal pains that plague teenagers anywhere in the world. This is what made the film a good fit for the Generation 14+ section of the Berlinale Film Festival, a part of the festival dedicated to children and teenagers. Aside from being one of the most well attended sections of the festival, it also offers an opportunity for young international audiences and filmmakers to discuss issues expressed in the films as well as share in different perspectives and ideas. The festival ran from 5 to 15 February 2015. Producer Don Edkins of STEPS productions and his son Teboho Edkins, who is also the film’s director, travelled to Berlinale to attend the screening with the film’s two main subjects; Lefa Letsie and Senate Mosothoane. Don comments, “The premiere was truly amazing; it was in a very large cinema with 1 200 seats, which were mostly full. The atmosphere and the response from the audience was incredible, it was such a great screening. The audience at Berlinale responds so well to films, they are interested and ask 8 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2015
GROWING PAINS: Lefa Letsie, Teboho Edkins and Senate Mosothoane questions and generate discussions. It was a very rewarding experience.” Coming of Age was shot between July 2012 and February 2014, requiring Teboho to make trips back and forth to South Africa from his home in Berlin. “I submitted the film in no particular category but the Generations organiser Maryanne Redpath decided she really wanted it because she felt it would resonate with young people,” explains Teboho. “She said it would fit well in the programme and that it would have more of a presence there as it was the only documentary.”
Following the screening, the team participated in a Q&A session, where international audiences were intrigued about the role of women portrayed in the film, which features a female village chief and girls who receive an education, while the boys choose to remain herders. In addition, Don added that the audience appreciated the film’s new kind of African narrative and says, “They enjoyed that it was a film which showed another story or side of Africa. It’s a very normal narrative and normal life being portrayed. It’s not a story about some disaster or heavy subject; it’s just a film
about normal teenagers growing up in a small village.” According to Teboho, this was exactly his intention. “I wanted to let the poetry of the everyday show in my filming with them,” he explained, ”that was imp for me, to make a film which looks at their life without dramatising anything. I could have edited it in a way to push a narrative more but I didn’t. I tried to make a film where I’m just with them in this landscape, in this pre-adulthood time of their lives”. – Carly Barnes
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A+E Networks sets up Johannesburg office A+E Networks is establishing a Johannesburg office as part of the company’s commitment to growing its presence across Africa. Anthea Petersen has been appointed regional director, Africa – A+E Networks’ first hire on the continent. Beginning February 2015, Petersen will be responsible for commercial development and marketing for A+E Networks’ local channel portfolio across Africa. She will also be responsible for opening the new Johannesburg office
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Noeleen Maholwana Sangqu hangs up her 3Talk shoes and building the local team. She will report to Bakori Davis, VP of commercial operations, A+E Networks UK. The appointment follows a period of investment and expansion by A+E Networks’ portfolio in sub-Saharan Africa. Alongside HISTORY and Crime + Investigation, A+E Networks added entertainment channel Lifetime to its portfolio in Africa in 2014, exclusively with Multichoice Africa. Lifetime is now available in over 50 countries across sub-Saharan African, including Angola and Mozambique which have a Portuguese feed.
ANC in favour of encrypted STBs Last January, at its annual strategy meeting, the African National Congress (ANC) confirmed its support for encrypted set-top boxes (STBs). Main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has embraced this decision and believes it will help to speed up the process of digital migration ahead of the June 2015 deadline. Disputes over whether or not STBs should have controlled access have been a major contributing factor towards the delay in migration. Encryption means that an STB, which is required to allow analogue TV sets to receive transmissions when broadcast signals are switched to digital, could be switched off by the broadcaster. The pay-TV business model is reliant on this ability to switch off subscribers who are unable to pay for the service. Implementing control systems would
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mean that a free-to-air broadcaster would also have this ability, allowing it to introduce or convert to a pay-TV model without any risk. Controlled access STBs would have to be manufactured locally, which according to government would encourage job creation and prevent low-cost, poor quality imports from saturating the market. To alleviate consumer concerns relating to the expense of purchasing an STB, which will be higher should it be encrypted, the government has agreed to subsidise five million STBs for low or no-income households.
After 12 years of continuing the country’s conversations every afternoon on SABC3, 3Talk will be coming to an end on 20 April 2015. The show has enjoyed an extraordinary run on South African television and has been fortunate to be a part of viewers’ daily routines for over a decade. After such a long journey with the show, Noeleen Maholwana Sangqu decided a year ago that she would be leaving the show at the end of the current season. “When we started the show, I could never have imagined that we would have such an enduring relationship with our viewers. I have had the most fabulous 12 years on 3Talk. It’s been an amazing adventure which has brought so much fun and meaning into my life, but after a lot of thought, I think it’s time for me to bid farewell,” remarks Noeleen. “SABC3 viewers can expect the channel to keep in line with its lifestyle offering post the last season of 3Talk. The channel will continue to bring viewers
Kodak finalises motion picture film agreements with major Hollywood studios Kodak announced that it has finalised new film supply agreements with all six major Hollywood studios. As part of these agreements, Kodak will continue to provide motion picture film to 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., NBC Universal Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp. and Sony Pictures for their movie and television productions. Kodak has been engaged in broad discussions with prominent filmmakers,
Noeleen Maholwana Sangqu entertaining variety and lifestyle content which will be communicated closer to launch date,” continues Aisha.
studios, independent artists, production companies and film processors to enable film to remain a fundamental medium. Last July, the studios made known their intent to play a key role in leading this industry-wide effort. The agreements announced make it possible for Kodak to continue to manufacture motion picture film while also pursuing new opportunities to leverage film production technologies in growth applications, such as touchscreens for smartphones and tablet computers. This also positions the company to remain the premier supplier of camera negative, intermediate stock for post-production and archival and print film.
SA film wins Audience Choice Award at PAFF Thina Sobabili has won the coveted Audience Choice Award at the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) 2015, which took place from 5 to 16 February in Los Angeles. This film marks the directorial debut of Ernest Nkosi and was made on a shoestring budget. The film is set in South Africa’s biggest
township, where Thulas will do anything to protect his sister Zanele after witnessing her abuse as a child. As a result of this, the two have a very strained relationship. When Zanele falls for the charms of an older man, Thulas is determined to put an end to this relationship.
Emmanuel Nkosinathi Gweva, Busiswe Mtshali, Ernest Nkosi and Thato Dhladla March 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 9
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SAFTAs
www.screenafrica.com
And the nominees are… At a relatively low-key event held at Atlas Studios in Johannesburg on 25 February, the nominees for the 2015 South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTA) were announced. This year’s Best Picture nominees: Four Corners
Faan se Trein
While the theme for last year’s awards was a celebration of 20 years of film and television in democratic South Africa, this year’s campaign plays on the fact that, one year on, the industry is ‘coming of age’. “This year we’re entering a new milestone,” said judging co-chairperson Roberta Durrant, “where we celebrate the past achievements of both the TV and film industries and look to the future growth of the industry. Our industries are receiving recognition both locally and internationally, and the way we are telling our stories has transformed to a new level, giving rise to our theme for this year’s SAFTAs: coming of age.” The SAFTAs are South Africa’s premier film and television awards and take place under the aegis of the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF). The objective of the awards as stated by the NFVF, is to “honour, celebrate and promote the creativity, quality and excellence of South African film and television talent and encourage entrepreneurship and the development of new talent in 10 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2015
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the industry.” The awards are given in more than 80 categories covering various genres of film and television production. Aside from the Best Picture category, possibly the most eagerly awaited category is Best TV Soap. In previous years, this category has been decided by public vote. This is no longer the case this year, the winner being decided by the judges, as with other categories. The nominees in this category are Binnelanders, Isibaya and Rhythm City. These three, along with other popular soapies, such as 7de Laan, and Skeem Saam, are in tight competition for the other categories in the TV Soap drama, making for a tight race. The Best Film nominees would have come as no great surprise to most of guests at the event: Ian Gabriel’s Four Corners, Donovan Marsh’s iNumber Number and Koos Roets’ Faan se Trein. The exact same nominees were named in the Best Director category. For Best Actor in a Lead Role, newcomers Jezriel Skei, who starred in Four Corners, and Pallance
Dladla of Hard to Get are in competition against veteran Willie Esterhuizen from Faan se Trein, and established TV star S’dumo Mtshali, who led the cast in iNumber Number. In contention for Best Actress in a Lead Role are Thishiwe Zuqubu (Hard to Get), Erica Wessels (Alles Wat Mal Is), Elzette Maarschalk (Seun) and Donalee Roberts (Pad na jou Hart). In the cinematography categories, Tom Marais got a total of three nods – twice for Best Achievement in Cinematography for a Feature Film (iNumber Number, Hard to Get) and one for TV Drama (Soul City). As far as editing is concerned, Nicolas Costaras was nominated for both Faan se Trein and Hard to Get, while Donovan Marsh got the nod for his work on iNumber Numberi and Ronelle Loots was recognised for Four Corners. The three Best Film nominees appeared in almost every other category for film, including scriptwriting, production design and costume design. Zee Ntuli’s Hard to Get is another big contender, with
six nominations. In TV Comedy, ZA News: Puppet Nation and Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola are once again in contention several awards, with newcomers Lastborn does the Loeries, Single Guys and Single Gals entering the fray. In TV Drama, Swartwater and Donkerland came up with the lion’s share of nominations. With TV soaps now no longer open to public vote, a new category has been created for viewer participation: Best Presenter. The list includes Thembi Seete, Bonang Matheba, Lungile Radu, Phat Joe and Jeremy Maggs. Voting will take place on social media platforms leading up to the final awards evening on 22 March. For the full list of nominees, visit www.screenafrica.com, www.nfvf.co.za or the SAFTAs Facebook page (www.facebook. com/safilmandtvawards).
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| News
Inala signs distribution agreement with Axon FINDING THE PERFECT SHOW: Cinema room at Clearwater South Africa
Clearwater develops content recommendation app preferences as people use it and introduces new content it thinks the user is going to love. It also considers the immediate context of the viewer (who one is watching with, where, what time, mood and even the weather) before making recommendations. The iPhone version is set to undergo beta testing later this year and, according to its creators, will be an indispensible helper in navigating an ocean of content.
MULTI-DEVICE MONITORING & CONTROL: Axon Cerebrum multi-purpose IO unit designed to be as future-proof as any technology can be in this fast-paced industry. TRACS (Transmission Recording and Compliance System) now features new and improved hardware and an extended range of features for high efficiency and reliability for transmission recording storage and retrieval. Cerebrum is a Windows-based system that simplifies multi-device monitoring and control in a single user interface. Cerebrum forms the brains behind many varied workflows. For more information on Axon’s offerings, contact Inala Broadcast on 011 206 8300.
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A seemingly endless catalogue of movies, series and doccies are fast becoming accessible through streaming, VOD and OTT services. Content discovery and recommendation has become big business and Silicon Valley-based Clearwater Shotbox (a partner of local content marketers, Clearwater) have developed a sophisticated smartphone app designed to help audiences find the perfect show to watch. The app learns about viewer
South African broadcast technology specialist and system integrator Inala Broadcast has secured a Master Distribution Agreement with Dutch-based broadcast engineering company, Axon. The agreement will cover South Africa, while Axon will also be supporting Inala Broadcast System Integration sales and service efforts across the continent. Axon’s products fit into three core categories: Synapse modular AV processing (including multi-viewer, master control and routing), Cerebrum monitoring and control system and TRACS compliance recording. Synapse offers an array of AV processing options within a range of modestly-sized frame options. It enables seamless transition between analogue and digital platforms – up to 3Gb/s. It is scalable, flexible and intuitive and
Mk4 & Mk6... the Ace up your sleeve! www.pro-sales.co.za Broadcast Video, Audio & Lighting Pro-Sales-Cam Gear(1.2H)-Mar15.indd 1
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March 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 11
News
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Snell Kahuna 9600 production switcher Put on show at CABSAT this month, the Kahuna 9600 is the largest switcher in Snell’s new range. It is suited to larger scale 4K and 1080p environments. It supports the most complex productions including multiple studio operations. Along with the advanced 3D DVE it features new 2.5D resize engines, giving more power at the mix/effects (M/E) level. The Kahuna 9600 provides up to 24 M/Es, 48 keyers and 72 key layers which can be shared across multiple studios. It features: • Up to six full M/Es • Eight keyers per M/E • Up to 120 inputs (12 standard, upgrade in groups of 12) • Up to 64 fully assignable outputs • 3D DVE suite of effects with flexible combiners • Large internal clipstore with 20 outputs support eight minutes of uncompressed HD video • RGB colour correction • Programmable outputs • Large external integration capacity with third party equipment such as servers, routers, multi-viewers, audio mixers, robotic cameras and graphics devices • Support fibre inputs and outputs
Arri Alexa Mini
www.screenafrica.com
Canon’s new 5D variants
Canon has introduced two new variants to its line popular DSLR, the 5D. The 5D SR and the 5D S are fitted with the new Canon 50.6 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor, Dual Digic 6 image processors for high image quality and processing speed and a 61-point high density reticular AF array for high precision autofocus. Essentially it appears that there is very little to set the cameras apart from each other but Canon advises that the 5D SR offers sharper images and finer detail by cancelling the effect of the anti-alias filter. Although the cameras can shoot full HD, they are not equipped for 4K, as many Canon enthusiasts expected them to be. Whether these are enough of an improvement on the 5D Mk III to get enthusiasts of the classic DSLR to buy the new models is still open to debate – especially considering that the Mark IV is set for release in a few months. Both cameras include: • Flicker synchronisation • Automatic distortion correction • Bulb timer • Time-lapse facilities, including intervalometer and ability to save an entire series of exposures as an MOV • Fine detail picture control • LCD overlays in viewfinder • An option to capture stills while shooting video • USB 3 interface
Prime Time energy efficient LED Fresnel
The new Alexa Mini, a versatile additional tool in the ARRI Alexa camera range, is designed for specialised shot-making and allows crews to eliminate the complications of working with third-party cameras by keeping everything within a single system. Features: Lightweight carbon housing • Highly integrated, environmentally sealed electronics • Solid titanium PL mount connected directly to sensor mount to ensure stable flange focal distance. Lens mount is interchangable • Enabled for remote control operation • On board monitor • 4:3 sensor • Frame rates: 0.75 to 200 fps • Built-in lens motor controller • High performance in lowlight conditions • Multiple output options: HD, 2K, 4K, UHD 12 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2015
This new Fresnel light produces the equivalent of a 1K traditional Fresnel while pulling only 58W of power. • Produces an even wash of light from side to side • Adjustable from a tight 11-degree beam to a wide 80-degree beam • Comes with Prime Time’s Steady Glide smooth focusing transport • Under-driven diodes to extend diode life and colour balance • CRI over 90 – accurate colour rendition even with UHD TV production • Smooth, versatile on-board dimming • Available in either 3 000 or 5 000 Kelvin colour temperature
Report on the South African commercials industry
The ‘simple’ life of advertising
By Louise Marsland measure is predominantly awards – whilst the client’s success measure is retention and growth.” Abel believes that agencies need to focus more on a value model – as in the value you are adding to your clients – than just on volume: “Do remarkable work, work that changes society, that gets people talking, that changes category convention, that shifts brands and how they are positioned and consumed.” He says that advertising agencies that want to be truly useful, need to look at the full spectrum of marketing tools available to them, not just at ads or pure communication as the solution. In the beautifully designed, glossy hard cover book produced by the agency to celebrate its past five years, Abel is understandably proud of their achievements, given that the rest of the industry thought they were “crazy” and predicted failure. “From day one we adopted a different business model - a single-minded business focus to grow our clients’ top-line and market share measurably through a federation of entrepreneurs, delivering brilliant and imaginative work, irrespective of channel. We are in every sense a full service marketing company that by definition would also be really good at creating ads – given communication is generally a major component of effective marketing. But our starting point is marketing solutions versus ads – and that is a fundamental shift,” he explains. Global recognition and countless local and global creative awards have followed on from their most high profile campaign to date: the launch of the Street Store campaign for The Haven Night Shelter for the homeless in Cape Town – a free pop-up clothing store for the homeless in the street, stocked by donations cleaned, tagged and displayed with dignity. The Street Store has become a global movement, with Street Stores popping up in cities all around the world to clothe the homeless. For more: www.streetstore.org. As for the next five years, Abel wants to be talked about – and acknowledged locally and internationally as a leading communications agency providing innovative marketing, advertising and business solutions to clients predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa.
M&CSaatchi Abel, the advertising agency well known for its tagline: ‘Brutal Simplicity of Thought’ has just turned five years old in South Africa. It is one of a new breed of agencies looking beyond advertising campaigns to providing business solutions for clients. In fact, says chief executive partner and founder, Mike Abel, they don’t do a lot of advertising campaigns for their clients. Of course much of the actual creative advertising they do, also does win the big creative awards, ranking M&CSaatchi Abel as one of South Africa’s leading agencies, both in terms of clients and creative awards. When Abel returned from a stint overseas to set up his new agency back home in South Africa, he was concerned at the disconnect between what advertising agencies were offering and what business consultants were offering. “Our agency model is based more on an ‘Accenture’ model, it is more of a partnership model… solving client problems,” Abel says. It is a global trend now, but in South Africa five years ago, Abel was ahead of the curve. And it has paid off for them. “The South African advertising industry thought we wouldn’t last. They thought that South Africa didn’t need another advertising agency.” Maybe South Africa didn’t need another advertising agency, but that is where Abel and his partners were innovative: they targeted mature brands which needed a new phase of growth and smart solutions to challenge the market, not just clever creative. The agency has grown from 13 people in Cape Town and Johannesburg to 184. Their client list includes Deloitte, Lays, Nedbank, Heineken, Hollard, Rimmel, Flight Centre, Mweb, Pepsi, the DA, and so on. Its partner network, M&C Saatchi is also the fastest growing independent agency network with 22 offices in 1 8 countries. “Clients don’t always need an advertising strategy. We persuaded Takealot.com to buy Mr Delivery and that
Mike Abel was transformative to their business (Takealot and Kalahari.com also recently merged). We look at ‘how we are most useful to our clients’. We don’t do a lot of advertising for our clients actually,” Abel explains. Their offering to clients does include advertising, as well as shopper marketing, digital, content, social, activation, CRM, design and strategy. Ex-Jupiter and FCB managing director, Jerry Mpufane, was appointed group managing director Gauteng to expand business there; and Jason Cumming joined in February as
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managing director of the Africa business to kick-start the agency’s somewhat stalled push into the continent. Abel defines success as being “the agency that the best clients want to work with and the best talent fights to work at,” he tells Screen Africa. “An agency’s success is best measured by its client’s brands performance in the market with resultant organic growth for the agency. The ultimate measure of an agency’s success, is the growth of client brands and bottom line results. Unfortunately the industry’s success
Louise Marsland (@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. Her website is www.TRENDAFRiCA.co.za.
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| Report on the South African commercials industry
Screengrab from the new Nissan Almera commercial
Latest Nissan TVC gets the adrenaline pumping The new Nissan Almera commercial – by production house Egg Films and advertising agency TBWA Hunt Lascaris – is a spectacular visual exaggeration that focuses on a typical father-son moment. The spot, which was shot last December in a container yard in Johannesburg, tells the story of a son seeking his father’s approval through his choice of car. The father is initially unconvinced by the car, 14 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2015
but after taking it for a Jeremy Clarksonesque spin – leaving both his son and the viewer a little shell shocked – he is visibly impressed. Director Slim says that the original brief was somewhat different and less technically involved than the final product but with the same storyline. “After presenting an initial treatment to the client they wanted to up the stakes on the concept and push it further into the global Nissan strategy of ‘Larger Than Life’ – hence ending up with this more exaggerated reality and surreal, tongue-in-cheek concept and narrative,” Slim explains. The majority of the adrenaline inducing stunts were done using a combination of live shot elements with additional compositing and 3D. Visual effects supervisor Christian van der Walt of Sinister Studios was responsible for the digital special effects, “The conceptual process started with a detailed breakdown of requirements from Slim – who illustrated the basics he had in mind
using a toy car. Then we set about the technical work,” says van der Walt. “We began by building a to-scale 3D replica of the car. This was to be used in the final commercial as a visual asset and as a scale replica for planning purposes,” he continues. After all other real world elements were established, van der Walt and his team at Sinister Studios created a scale recreation of Slim’s story using 3D software: “This allowed us to see the complete scenario play out in real-time, allowing us to judge both pace and geography.” “The core animation was then digitally filmed by Slim as one would with real shots of the action by multiple 3D cameras. The shots were then edited together to create our core animatic. This became the foundation for the real shoot and also media to use within the off-line edit as a replacement for shots that would only be created later.” Van der Walt explains that on the day of the actual shoot each post shot was broken down into several stages: “The
camera crew shot the background plate for each of the digital scenes. This would be the foundation for the final shot. We followed this by reference shots of the vehicle itself and other atmospheric plates…Seeing as we could not shoot the vehicle doing these shots for real we used reference shots to ensure that our digital car matched the real one perfectly.” When the final edit was approved 3D replicas of the environments were created and tracked to match the previously shot background plates. “Once all these processes were complete we were able to combine the 3D elements with the shot material…The compositors merged all elements with the additional atmospherics to create the final shots,” he concludes. The car was modeled and animated in XSI Softimage and all final material was composited using Adobe After Effects and Nuke. DOP Willie Nel captured the majority of the spot using the RED, “with a lot of toys,” says Slim. – Chanelle Ellaya
When you go off the beaten track, you’re less likely to get stuck in traffic… “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.” – Mark Twain. In the media and advertising industry, claims to ‘out of the box thinking’ feature on just about every home page. But what about the practical side of actually doing things differently? For example, shooting TV commercials seems to be one arena where the tried and tested methods still pack a big punch. It’s all about big crews, big equipment lists, big budgets – and ultimately, big constraints. The industry mindset is, if you’re going to shoot a commercial, you have to go to Joburg or Cape Town, where the industry network
OPINION
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Behind the scenes of the GetBucks commercial has already forged a well-trodden path. Sure, it’s a lot more comfortable to walk down a beaten track. But it can be a lot more fun to go bushwhacking. Being based in the Eastern Cape was initially something we – a small production company with a big vision – saw as a challenge. But we’ve adopted a mindset of embracing challenges as opportunities to stretch ourselves and forge new paths in the industry. We’ve produced over 40 TV ads – between six and eight a year shot locally in the Eastern Cape. In general, we travel wherever projects need us to go – whether it’s Johannesburg, Chad or Australia. But whenever we get the opportunity to make a shoot work here at home, we
grab it. For one thing, we love working in our own backyard. The Eastern Cape is truly one of the most beautiful and rich resources of South Africa, crammed with a diversity of landscapes, cultures and people. You could be filming a slick urban scene in the morning and a scene in rural Africa in the afternoon. This works in our favour in a big way for both international and local projects. A recent TV ad for GetBucks.com had us shooting a ‘Joburg city scene’ in Port Elizabeth’s CBD – all it took was one establishing shot of Joburg to create the illusion of the Joburg skyline. Filming in a place where there is no established support industry for commercial shoots certainly has its
challenges. But it also has its perks. The best part is, the community is still unjaded by the bad rap that often comes with the film industry, such as the inconvenience of closing down streets, or people who are tired of being abused. Here, everyone is always excited to get on board and be part of something that’s going to be on TV. For our team, every challenge becomes an opportunity to stretch our creativity and resourcefulness. With every project, we forge new skills, discover new relationships, and uncover new solutions that ultimately pave the way to growth. And the best part is, we’re constantly surprised by what we find around the next corner... – Richard Ahlfeldt, Rooftop Productions
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ADCETERA
| Report on the South African commercials industry
Clever editing and art direction take centre stage in new Plascon spot Director Jeana Theron of Johannesburgbased production house Darling directed the new Plascon ’15 year guarantee’ commercial for advertising agency Ireland Davenport. Setting screens alight with a Wes Anderson style burst of colour, the spot follows a young boy on his journey to adulthood, from nursery school to college, documenting all the unusual changes one undergoes over this 15 year period. Theron says that the brief from the agency was to create a fast-paced, vibrant ad that shows that even though so much can change in 15 years, the colour of your wall does not have to. “I was given the invitation to make it as stylised as possible because it was for a paint commercial which is all about colour,”
Still from the new Plascon ad Theron comments. “I stuck to the brief, adding value in the techniques and execution.” A lot of the nuances that needed to be conveyed about the boy’s experiences and age are reflected in the wardrobe and art direction. Theron’s main challenge was in the casting which required finding several actors that shared similar features to depict the main character at different stages of life, “This is also why I gave the main character glasses and a certain hair length for most of his teenage years.” However, it was the pace of the commercial that was the driving force in showing the changes of the young boy in
the right manner, which, in the end came down to clever editing by editor Marcelle Mouton of Deepend Post Production: “The successful edit lies in the collaborative nature of the director and the editor’s approach.” Mouton comments, “Jeana and I worked closely on the technical aspects in both the pre-planning of the job and in post to solve what would be the best way to achieve the pace and strengthen the idea of the story.” Theron explains that she wanted to achieve a vibrant and fast paced feel for the commercial that through the rapid changing of the young boy would highlight, with ease, the fact
that some things in one’s life can remain the same. The spot was shot over two days at the Holy Trinity Catholic School in Rosebank, Johannesburg – a location that Theron carefully selected for its “abundant textures.” DOP Willie Nel shot the ad on the Arri Alexa with prime lenses, “it was locked off so it was very simple in terms of camera language,” says Theron. Producer Saskia Finlayson and art director Wayne Smith made up the remainder of the key crew that brought to life this effervescent TVC. – Chanelle Ellaya
The One-Woman Wildebeest Stampede Two years ago, FoxP2 launched the Dairy Gives You Go campaign for The Dairy Consumer Education Project (DCEP) South Africa. FoxP2 and Plank production house produced the first two TV ads in the series – Dusty, the athlete with too much energy who always false starts, and Stix, the world’s fastest drummer that nobody can play with. The brief this time around was to do a third installment of the Dairy Gives You Go TVC series but with even more vigor. Executive producer Anco Henning comments, “We gave this ad much more scale…thus creating a high energy, fast paced journey for the audience to enjoy.” The latest ad delves into the energetic world of high fashion South African model Loretta Rush, through a mock fashion television exposé: Loretta, the ‘one woman wildebeest stampede’ who turns the fashion world on its head. Loretta doesn’t simply walk the runway, she marches, taking down other models with her, ruining garments and leaving audience members flabbergasted. The question on everyone’s mind is, ‘where does she get the energy?’ Henning explains, “The message of the ad is simple – Dairy gives you go! During the commercial we ask the people she works with, ‘where does she get the energy?’ They don’t know. We ask her, she doesn’t know! Right at the end of the 16 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2015
Loretta Rush – ‘the one woman wildebeest stampede’ ad the viewer sees that she drinks milk before she goes on stage and they realise that milk, in its purest form, has all the nutrients we need for increased energy.” Henning says that in terms of the script
and the scenes Director Peter Pohorsky was allowed much creative freedom: “From the get go Pete’s intention was to pepper the audience with as much energy as possible, building the gags up
to a crescendo.” Pohorsky shot five mock fashion shows, with a few bridging ‘industry interviews’, but kept the focus on the model’s energy causing chaos on the ramp. “In the end, one fashion show hit the cutting floor and only four made it into the final cut,” says Henning. In terms of the look and feel of the commercial, scale and authenticity was of the utmost importance, “To achieve the look we partnered with Gearhouse SA who came up with a brilliant lighting solution and back wall configurations that were easily interchangeable,” Henning comments. DOP Werner Maritz made good use of two Arri Alexas and an additional Blackmagic camera to cover all angles. “We were pressed to shoot everything in one day due to budget. We had to cover as many angles as we could of the performances and stunts to avoid resetting these big scenes too many times.” The commercial was shot at Salt River Studios in Cape Town in a single day, with eight different location setups. The sets were assembled by EPiK Set Construction, while the remainder of the key crew consisted of art director Kezia Eales and editor Kobus Loots from Upstairs Post Production. – Chanelle Ellaya
TANZANIA
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Staying true to the story White Shadow, a film by German director Noaz Deshe, deals with a frightening problem that Tanzanian communities face today.
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n Tanzania, albinos live in fear that they will be hunted like animals for their body parts. Believed by witchdoctors to propagate wealth and good luck, the trade of albino body parts and the terrifying stories as to how they are obtained have in recent years left communities across the country devastated. While doing research before he was due to give a filmmaking workshop there, Berlin director Noaz Deshe came across the subject, and it immediately lit a fire in him. He began crafting the first of many script drafts for his film White Shadow, which offers a glimpse into the life of a young albino boy who lives in fear of being preyed upon. “This is something that was in the ether. It was a story people wanted to tell,” he recalled. Towards the end of 2010 and for most of 2011, Deshe immersed himself in the communities and culture of Tanzania, first with the workshops and later in creating a film which authentically represents local voices. He credits this to the spirit of collaboration, both with the people he encountered and the continent he was in.
WHITE WITH FEAR: Hamisi Bazili in a scene from White Shadow
An employee of the idea “It’s hard to schedule in Africa, you have to embrace the attitude that everything in itself is a gift,” says Deshe, who worked with two villages and three translators to capture the story in its truest form. “You have to learn what the place wants and what it dictates. It will give you way more than you asked for, but you have to let it lead you. You are an employee of the idea; it’s not your movie, you are serving the film,” he added. Careful not to let White Shadow be a product of Western subjectivity, as so many Africans feel their narratives are, Deshe built relationships with the locals involved and constantly checked in with his translators about how his interpretation fared with actual events and stories. The script, which was almost entirely written in Berlin, was rewritten in the workshops with most of the dialogue compiled after and during the casting process. “In those three months preparing and meeting, we shot scenes every day with locals and asked them about their stories, and that was fed into the script. It was such an evolving process, all the time.”
Noaz Deshe and Salum Abdallah
Talent lying in wait The story of White Shadow is told through the eyes of the main character, who moves away from his rural village to live under the shelter of the city where these kinds of attacks are less prevalent. Unknown to Deshe, who did street castings in Tanzania for all the roles in the film, a boy who had lived through a similar tale had been waiting for the opportunity to bring it to the fore. Deshe recalls, “Hamisi Bazili was waiting for us. He came to us and said
‘This is my movie’. We were showing up to make a film that was already in his head. His film. He was so confident and had a song prepared on the whole situation. It was clear from when we first met him that: this is him, this is our main character.” Drawing on the real-life experiences and characters he came across in the intensive casting and workshop process, Deshe cast the film accordingly. “We saw close to 1500 people and we did scenes with each and every one over three months,” he explained. The antagonist is played by the most feared policeman in Dar es Salaam, known to bring people to confession in very unorthodox ways. Some gang members were security guards or former gang members and secret service agents. The priest was played by an exorcist; the witchdoctor was played by a priest. The rehearsal process involved playing games with props and allowing the actors to connect naturally with the emotions of a scene. Deshe was amazed by the talent he was able to uncover and said many of the main characters performed as though they had been trained professionally . Community collaboration Deshe’s will to work closely with locals not only enabled him to stay to true the story; it also diffused any stigmas about him as a foreigner and earned him their trust and support throughout the process. Together they pooled resources; shared in ideas and created or sourced
props, equipment and set elements. “The workshop was an integral part,” he said, “when you make a short film with 50 locals and you make that a good experience for them – something they love, something they can be proud of – it opens many doors. That was a test: If you are able to do that, you’re allowed to do more. And once that happened, I was no longer a tourist.” A few people from Europe assisted on the film, but the vast majority of cast and crew were sourced and upskilled locally. “If you create something through collaboration, then you have people who want to see the film. They consider it their film. We screened it in Tanzania before we screened it anywhere – at the festival in Zanzibar and to the families; they were very happy. They had tears in their eyes and we all hugged. It was a very emotional moment,” recalled Deshe. Following much praise on the international festival circuit, White Shadow releases in Europe and the UK after its premiere at the Institute for Contemporary Art in London on 19 March. Deshe and main actor Hamisi Bazili will take part in Q&As following the screenings. It also releases online on Curzon Home Cinema and BT in March and April. The film is distributed by Aya Distribution and is part of the TIDE Experiment, an initiative by l’ARP in partnership with Europa Distribution. – Carly Barnes March 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 17
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Elements of cinema: mesmerising moves Whether it’s stepping, stomping or the Salsa, movie dance sequences have the ability to transport audiences into a surreal world. Some of the crew members who worked on South Africa’s first dance film Hear Me Move share their thought processes behind scenes such as this one, which are used to create suspense, reveal character and drive narrative.
Scottnes Smith on directing:
Lethabo ‘Boogy’ Maboi on styling:
Paul Modjadji on choreography:
Justus de Jager on cinematography:
As a director I need to make sure that all elements in the film, dance included, serve to tell the story. This scene was about spectacle, so we could go wild making it as visually exciting as possible. In another scene, the antagonist and protagonist do a contemporary dance as they struggle with the truth about their past. This allows the audience to get a glimpse of their interior motives and inner conflict much more clearly than if it had been a dialogue scene. In film, as in life, a character’s actions speak far louder about who they are than their words ever could.
The military style clothes, make-up and accessories used in this scene set the tone for a battle between two dance crews. When styling for a dance film it’s important to consider the movement of the dancers, their wardrobe and the way the two interact. The fabrics need to be durable because the performers can shoot for hours at a time. Making sure costumes are fresh, that they keep continuity throughout the shoot, and that the styles used are still relevant by the film’s release date, requires meticulous housekeeping.
A big consideration to take into account when choreographing a scene for a dance film is the character development within the storyline. Another challenge is the stop-and-go nature of filmmaking – a process which means dancers, who are used to warming up and running a routine once on stage, have to reboot their engines for each new take. Moving around cameras in your dance space can also mean injuries, a challenge I tackle by coaching the dancers to bring out their best in spite of any limitations. You have to ensure that even after a long day on set and 10 takes later each scene is approached with the same energy and commitment.
When shooting a dance sequence, the choreography depicts the energy, angles and cuts which the camera captures. Most dance scenes have a certain symmetry and are arranged to be viewed from the front – this needs to be captured as if from an audience perspective. Once the structure is made visible I like to use tighter shots to enhance the energy and highlight certain characters. Many cameras are suitable for this kind of scene but we opted for a high-end Raw camera with the ability to do higher frame rates, so that we could slow the motion down when needed to highlight certain aspects of the dance.
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| Film
Justus de Jager on lighting: From the outset, the director and I decided to use a colour palette for the dance sequences. We wanted them to have a lot of atmosphere and still be vibrant. Thematically, we needed this to be in contrast with the more subtle palette of the narrative scenes.
CA van Aswegen of Fix Post-Production on editing: A big challenge in editing a movie dance sequence is fighting the urge to over cut the sequence. Even though this adds to the pace and intensity of the sequence, you risk taking away from the choreography and execution. Rather than forcing the pace with too many cuts, it’s more impactful to let certain movements in the choreography play out in full before cutting to a new shot. In this sequence we opted for a very high pace and intensity, but drastically varied that with slow-motion moments. This was to enhance the immediate fascination Muzi has with Khanyi when he sees her dance. – Compiled by Carly Barnes
FIRST STEP INTO DANCE: A scene from Hear me Move
March 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 19
FILM
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RWANDA
NON-TRADITIONAL STORYTELLING: A still from Things of the Aimless Wanderer
Africa dispossessed Rwandan director Kivu Ruhorahoza’s latest film, Things of the Aimless Wanderer, premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in the New Frontiers category, which is dedicated to films that explore non-traditional storytelling. Shot over 18 days in Rwanda, the film offers perspectives on the relationship between Westerners and locals in post-colonial Africa. SCREEN AFRICA: Stylistically, where did you draw inspiration for this film? Kivu Ruhorahoza: Before I started shooting, I decided that the film would look gritty, organic, lush and at times dreamy. It was a conscious choice to avoid a glossy, silky, clean HD type of look. The final look for the forest scenes was supposed to be as close to Warwitch by Kim Nguyen as possible. I wanted rich hallucinogenic colours, the rays of the light to penetrate the thick branches and 20 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2015
give a spiritual feel to the scenes in the forest. For the savannah scenes, I re-watched Nicolas Roeg’s Walkabout – I wanted to avoid that wildlife and nature documentary look. And for all the night scenes, knowing that I didn’t have proper lighting equipment, I decided to go with natural lights, low lit and dark.
stories I’m interested in right now wouldn’t work with fast cuts. Another reason is, for me to have several cuts from various angles, I would need to shoot in a normal environment which I’ve never done. I work with ridiculous budgets – if I can even call them budgets. Many times, I just can’t afford to shoot three takes so I’d rather focus on one take that delivers what I’m trying to say as an artist.
SCREEN AFRICA: What drew you towards the idea of Western influence in Africa? Kivu Ruhorahoza: We live in a world largely designed by the West. The cultural triumph of the West is overwhelming. The Chinese and Indians are impressive with the figures about their GDP and stuff but we will never want to dress like them, talk like them… The validation we want is from the West. Our paranoia is directed at the West because we feel so dispossessed and we don’t even know how to articulate our discomfort. The figure of the foreign news correspondent is particularly disliked around African capitals because he had the monopoly of opinion on us for a really long time. Only now is that monopoly of opinion being threatened and questioned in the comments section of news articles and Twitter. I’m fascinated by the broken communication between those two and I thought it would make a good idea for a film.
SCREEN AFRICA: What was the motivation behind the use of music and soundscapes? Kivu Ruhorahoza: The film is about three points of view that are radically different and I thought it would be interesting to create specific soundscapes for each character and their point of view or their emotional space. At the beginning, for the scenes in the forest, there is a sense of marvel, the conflict has not been established yet and there are just sounds of nature that are slightly manipulated. Then the black guy’s part is all horns and heightened nature sounds that are revealing of his state of mind. The white guy’s part is classical piano which, combined with his visuals and his romanticised view of the young woman, made sense to me, and finally the moody, unsettling electronic tracks for the misunderstood young woman who is battling her own demons.
SCREEN AFRICA: The film features some long uninterrupted takes, a technique reminiscent of Tarkovsky or Tarr. What was your thought process behind this? Kivu Ruhorahoza: I like scrutinising faces, fingers, necks, chests… Or an entire body in a given space. And the
SCREEN AFRICA: The film presents the theme of perceptions and reactions to Westerners in Africa. There is also a theme of the objectification of women. Is there any correlation between these two ideas? Kivu Ruhorahoza: The woman in the film is the object of lust, surveillance,
fascination and violence. The two males in the story feel like they can save her, in their own ways. The foreign news correspondent wants to save her from her reactionary males. In his opinion, she is the typical, mysterious ‘African princess’ that these men can’t appreciate the right way. The local man, who maybe feels side-lined and increasingly irrelevant, wants to save her from the immoral influences, the Western ways of the foreign correspondent, the Things of the Aimless Wanderer… Patriarchy. Both consider her as a weak, decorative little thing that can only be there to validate who they want to be. It’s terribly sad to see men stripping naked women in the streets of Nairobi pretending that they are not dressed the African way. Or men justifying rape because they were provoked by under-dressed women. It’s just so ironic knowing our traditional costumes 30, 40, 50 years ago. I’m not idealistic about male-female relationship in the times of my grandparents but something went terribly wrong in these times of women being ‘emancipated’. SCREEN AFRICA: How was the film funded? Kivu Ruhorahoza: I funded all the production phase myself. I actually bought a camera and all accessories to use for production because there are no rental houses in Kigali. Then my producing partner, Antonio Rui Ribeiro covered post-production. The whole point was to make a film without applying for any grants. It is a particular film, hard to sell on paper and applying for the traditional grants would have meant we’d spend a good three years in development. – Compiled by Carly Barnes
NIGERIA
| FILM
Director Speak asi Ob . J C.
BREAKING INTO THE BUSINESS OF FILM: C.J. Obasi on the set of Ojuju
C.J. Obasi may be a first time feature filmmaker, but with an Africa International Film Festival win already in the bag for his zombie film Ojuju, something tells us he doesn’t regret leaving a nine-to-five IT job behind him… How did you get into the movie business? I still can’t say if I’m really in the movie business yet. I mean, I’m a filmmaker, sure enough. But I just made my first complete feature Ojuju, and even that hasn’t been released to the public yet, as it is still on festival rounds. Previously, I was in the ICT sector working a nine-to-five job, but I wasn’t too happy or fulfilled doing that. I had nightmares about waking up 10 years into the future, with the nice house, and the wagon, and the 2.5 kids, and the cushy job with health insurance, but hating my life. That was enough reason for me to quit and pursue film. Which filmmakers have influenced your work? Over the years many directors have come to influence my work, as well as affect how I view film as an expression. I would say my oldest and strongest influence would be Martin Scorsese. I like how he is such an artist and a film connoisseur, and coming from such a deep and layered background in film, he is able to marry that art with a coolness and a freshness that’s almost always commercial, and yet isn’t. I have always admired David Lynch for being able to articulate dreams and visions through film. Also, Alejandro Jodorowsky for the same reason; as well as for being such a core spiritual and elevating film to that almost God-like medium –
something I will always aspire to as a filmmaker. I would also mention Sam Raimi, being that the first two Evil Dead films were probably my earliest introduction into the horror film genre, back when I was still in nursery school and I would hide behind the walls when my elder siblings were watching late night movies. I’ve also been influenced greatly by Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, Ousmane Sembene, the Coen brothers and Wes Anderson. If you had an unlimited budget, what movie would you make? I would make a trilogy about a character and story I’ve been developing for almost 10 years. It’s a supernatural story involving a man, demons, angels and mythological creatures. Which five film characters would you invite to a dinner party? I would like Ferris Bueller and Stanley Ipkiss (if he brings his Mask) because they would just be the life of the party. Tony Stark because he’s awesome. The Dude because, he is well, The Dude and Sid – Quentin Tarantino’s character in Sleep with Me, for stimulating party conversation. What inspires you? The cliché: everything. Life. People. Conversations. Air. Dreams. Nightmares. Art. Paintings. Films. Books. Animals. Everything. If you could play any famous horror movie character, who would it be? Easy. Jason Voorhees from the Friday the 13th series. Because he’s been to hell and back. And he never speaks. But I’m probably not big enough.
compromise so much of the vision for a reason a simple as: lack of funds. What does the future of film in Africa look like to you? The future of film in Africa is looking really great. I know that in the coming years, we’re going to see very fresh and innovative takes on genre filmmaking from all over the continent; we’re going to play a bigger and more significant part in contributing to world cinema; and we won’t be ignored so much anymore. What projects are you working on now? I’m currently on pre-production for my crimegangster thriller titled O-Town. It’s a part fiction, part semi-autobiographical; as it takes on some of the crime stories I knew and heard growing up in Owerri, a small town in south-eastern Nigeria. What is on your filmmaking bucket list? To film in more countries and continents. Especially African countries. Shoot a film on film, at least once. Make one purely experimental film, with no commercial value whatsoever. What has been your hardest lesson to learn? That the term ‘independent filmmaker’ really means what it says, ‘independent’.
If your life had a soundtrack what songs would be on it? Radiohead – You and Whose Army?, Kid Cudi – My World, Lupe Fiasco – The Coolest, Dropkick Murphy’s – I’m Shipping Off to Boston, Malcolm McLaren – Soweto, and a gazillion others.
How would you describe your directorial style? Are you a tyrant or a teddy bear? I think I’m neither. I believe being a director works better when you’re able to strike that fine line of balance. You can’t really afford to do everything in extremes. You can’t be too nice, and you can’t be too mean either. You run the risk of being taken for granted and disrespected when you’re too nice, or feared and unapproachable when you’re too mean.
What was the best and worst part about making Ojuju? The best part – learning so much and meeting new and dedicated people, who I’ll probably be indebted to for the rest of my life. The worst part – having to
What do you think would most surprise Screen Africa readers about you? I can rap. – Compiled by Carly Barnes March 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 21
Documentary
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Fostering their own brand of filmmaking
WILD AT HEART: Damon and Craig Foster filming
In February, Cape Town theatregoers were treated to a week of astonishing featurelength documentary films at ‘Sense Africa’, a Foster Brothers retrospective presentation. Commencing with the opening night at the Baxter Theatre and thereafter each night at the Labia Theatre, the work of Craig and Damon Foster enthralled audiences with films that examine the relationship between nature and humanity.
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T
he week culminated with the closing night’s highly interesting multimedia presentation which introduced their latest venture The Sea-Change Project. Craig Foster described, with input from his son and an amazing 12-year-old Epiphany StransomFord, some of the inspiring scenes and footage shot in the False Bay area which will form the basis of their new film. The films shown included The Animal Communicator, My Hunter’s Heart, Cosmic Africa, Iceman, The Great Dance, Sharkman, Into the Dragon’s Lair, Touching the Dragon, Nature of Life, Antarctica and Africa Unbottled. It all started some time ago. In the early 1990s the brothers left for New York and travelled extensively. It was a hugely exciting experience culminating in Damon Foster finding work in London as an editor. It was when non-linear editing had just been introduced, and although not experienced in this new form of editing Damon took on the project. “The first job was in West Africa and I was able to convince the company that South Africa was close, and that I was right for the job even though I knew little about computers, and the editing system itself,” say Damon. “We were naïve, but we thought of buying equipment and taking it back to South Africa. Craig was back in South Africa at the time and he had a an idea of doing a film of the San Bushman running this animal down, which no one had actually seen, but it was possible to develop a story around it. So I came back and we got the whole thing going. I think a lot of it was luck in a way, There was conflict between ourselves and the BBC
on an issue of the first person narrative voice – who happened to be black. They edited it with ‘The voice of God’ approach instead. It was naivety in doing it our own way but it worked I guess.” The Fosters were looking for something different, and their first film The Great Dance was a great success, winning all the wildlife awards including Bristol in England and Jackson Hole in the United States. “We put a lot of time and our own money into this project,” says Damon. “We used all sorts of cameras and equipment. We broke a lot of rules and it worked. The timing was right and we were fortunate. “It was always our dream to tell stories about the magical power of wilderness in Africa and the energy and reciprocity of nature and people. The people may be poor, but they have amazing wisdom and seem to know something about everything which we tend to lack in our modern lives. “Craig and I assume multiple roles in the production. We handle almost all areas including scripting, shooting and editing. We tend to have a small crew as this is essential for our genre of films. We also want to break down the hierarchy that can exist. We need the freedom. It’s a challenge to get the energy across. We welcome input and make it a ‘family’ experience. We always show the rushes back at the end of the day as we gain valuable directorial input from the characters. It assists us in ensuring accuracy in scenes that may have been missed without this feedback. “We tend to look for the small stories. We can build a film around this – the strong personal stories. It could be
anyone or anything. A photo of a crocodile for instance can inspire a story. We grew up on the coast, so that was our original focus, and although we have done films about sharks and crocodiles, we have gone much further afield. We strive to be at least 5% better than our competitors. 5% can make 99% difference! They almost always look for a pre-sale. “This was not the case with The Great Dance,” adds Damon, “but it is hard to do the kind of film you would like, and indeed need to make, without finance. We have a very good relationship with the Natural History Unit (NHU) Africa, and they would bring in partners such as National Geographic and Discovery. Every production is unique, each film being its own little animal. The funding is different, it is made differently, the cameras are different, and every aspect is different. “Initially I was a bit concerned that the festival is all about us and our films. Cape Town has incredible wildlife filmmakers who are recognised around the world and so what is different about our films? They focus on wilderness. Most of the world out there is urbanised and see the wilds through their television sets so there is a greater need to understand and appreciate nature. It’s a kind of urban neurosis. Wildlife can enrich and enhance one’s perspective and affords the ability to look at animals differently.” After experiencing the closing night’s Sea Change it was obvious that the festival was successful. A packed audience was enthralled and debate and questions continued well after the presentation concluded. – Andy Stead
SOUTH AFRICA | KENYA | MOROCCO | BURKINA FASO
| FESIVALS
Africa rising at Berlinale From 5 to 15 February 2015, the Berlin Film Festival hosted African movies in its various sections. Among them, Kenyan filmmaker Jim Chuchu and South African producer Steven Markovitz received two awards for Stories of Our Lives – the Jury Award of the Teddy Awards and the Second Audience Award. Berlinale Special Breathe Umphefumlo by Mark Dornford-May (South Africa) Contact: Advantage Entertainment vlokkie@advantage-ent.com
The only African Golden Bear winner, director Mark Dornford-May (U-Carmen eKhayelitsha, 2005) came back with a musical based on Puccini’s opera La Bohème. Starring Pauline Malefane and many Isango Ensemble singers, Breathe Umphefumlo transposes the plot to present day Khayelitsha township near Cape Town. “A lot of the conditions in Paris in the 19th Century are quite similar to conditions which exist now in South Africa in terms of poverty and access to medicine when needed...” explains Dornford-May. Based around national Youth Day (16 June), the movie depicts how a student (Mhlekazi Mosiea) living in a non-heated student residence, falls in love with a girl (Busisiwe Ngejane) suffering from TB. With brilliant cinematography, Breathe Umphefumlo repeats the specificity of U-Carmen, with less of the magical effect the previous movie had on the audience.
Panorama Stories of Our Lives by Jim Chuchu (Kenya) Contact: Big World Cinema steven@bigworld.co.za
recognition!” This is how the Kenyan collective The Nest described their two awards in Berlin. A Kenya/South Africa co-production, Jim Chuchu’s first feature Stories of Our Lives was acclaimed at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2014. The following month, the Kenyan producer George Gachara was arrested for having shot this black-and-white five-short-film compilation on LGBTI issues without state approval. “They cannot take our voices. Difficult times will go away,” said Gachara at that time. While it was banned in Kenya, the South African Film and Publication Board gave it a 10-12 PG rating. Now, exhibitors are running after the filmmakers. Berlin, New York, Istanbul... Who can arrest The Nest?
Necktie Youth by Sibs Shongwe-LaMer (South Africa) Contact: Premium Films kasia.karwan@premium-films.com
Retrospective (brilliantly played by Malek Akhmiss) makes his living by dressing as a woman and dancing on top of a horse-drawn cart. One day, his horse stops in the middle of a procession, refusing to pull the cart any further. Surrounded by loneliness, oppression and violence, he must learn how to live again. “The black-and-white is used to accentuate the fantastical side of the movie,” Lasri says about his third feature and most experimental movie. Shot in Casablanca, The Sea is Behind was produced by Pan Production (Morocco) and Moon & Deal Film (France), with the support of the Arab Fund for Culture and Art (AFAC), the Dubai Enjaaz post-production support and the Fonds francophone de production audiovisuelle du Sud. It had its world premiere in Berlin.
Forum The Siren of Faso Fani When a teenager hangs herself in her parents’ garden and streams the event live, her group of friends tries to avoid the repercussions of the event, indulging their rich, post-apartheid, privileged life through drugs, sex and metaphysical discussions. By depicting in black and white an intimate look on South African society’s quirks, Sibs Shongwe-LaMer’s first feature highly succeeds in presenting a kind of Larry Clark’s Kids coming-of-age in Johannesburg. The film’s producer, Brazilian-born Elias Ribeiro of Urucu Media, announced that the South African theatrical release will take place in March 2016. Its US premiere is set for this spring.
The Sea is Behind by Hicham Lasri (Morocco) Contact: Pan Production merlin.panprod@gmail.com
“From banning, arrest, to this amazing
archives, as well as testimonies, Michel Zongo draws the international community’s attention to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s unfair pressure on the economy at a post-revolutionary time when Burkinabé need to believe in themselves and in their future.
In this film, set during an undefined era, in a colourless world where the water supply is polluted by an unknown ‘bug’, Tarik
by Michel Zongo (Burkina Faso) Contact: Cinédoc Films pierre.cave@cinedoc.fr
Umbango by Tonie van der Merwe (South Africa) Contact: Gravel Road Entertainment Group ben@gravelraodafrica.com
Awarded with a Heroes & Legends Prize at the 2015 Dubai International Film Festival, Tonie van der Merwe moves out of the shadows into the limelight after having produced almost 300 black South African movies under apartheid. Thanks to Gravel Road’s Film Legacy initiative to “locate, acquire, restore and expose African cinematic gems,” this 1989 film, starring the brilliant Innocent ‘Popo’ Gumede, is a humourous Zulu western. Despite the age of the movie, the freshness of its cast at a time where screens were mostly monochromatic is powerful – not to mention historic.
Other films at the 2015 Berlinale:
The second feature of the Burkinabè filmmaker Michel Zongo, The Siren of Faso Fani recounts the prosperous and fallen years of Faso Fani, a national cotton factory. Promoted during Thomas Sankara’s revolutionary government, which claimed that to live as an African “is the only way to live proudly,” the factory gave work to hundreds of dressmakers and sustained the country’s economy until 2001. By using film and video
• Acapella by Islam Safiyyudin Mohamed (Egypt) • Black President by Mpumelelo Mcata (South Africa) • Coming of Age by Teboho Edkins (South Africa) • Mudimbe’s Order of Things by Jean-Pierre Bekolo (Cameroon) • Out on the Streets by Jasmina Metwaly and Philip Rizk (Egypt) • The Boda Boda Thieves by Yes! That’s Us (Uganda) – Claire Diao March 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 23
Television
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Africans in focus Kenyan-born Sophie Ikenye currently presents Focus on Africa on BBC World News. Prior to joining the BBC she did her training and first few years in the industry in her home country, with several years of service at the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation. Screen Africa chatted to her about business, culture and broadcasting in Africa today. Screen Africa: Have you found that your work on Focus on Africa has given you insights into life, culture and business on the continent that you would not otherwise have had? If so, what are these insights? Sophie Ikenye: Yes it has. The Focus on Africa team is composed of a diverse group from various parts of the continent. Business practice across various countries in Africa is different. For example, in Kenya, people are accustomed to starting the day early, whereas in Uganda, people tend to start their day a little later. In Nigeria, trust is key in business practice. These are some of the insights that have influenced how we on Focus on Africa approach business issues. In terms of culture, we have found that West Africans are bold, strong and have a more profound approach to life, whereas East Africans are the more passive and gentler in their mannerisms; this influences how we approach our different sources. Screen Africa: In your experience of interviewing various African leaders, how would you describe the current state or spirit of African leadership? We had the era of the revered independence leaders such as Kenyatta and Nkrumah, and then we had an era of strongmen – both military and civilian – who ruled through patronage, personality cults and sheer force – think Mobutu or Abacha. Now we have a new generation of leaders. How would you sum them up? Sophie Ikenye: African leadership is rapidly changing … Civilians have more of a voice than ever before. Leaders are constantly challenged and some are kept more accountable for their decisionmaking. I find that the new generation of African leaders is more accessible. Today, the Kenyan President is accessible via 24 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2015
mobile phone; the Ghanaian President has often accepted interviews from us on the ground – he is very available to speak to the media. I think the current scope of leadership is trying to demystify their office. Communication has become a tool of choice and power. Screen Africa: African countries are starting to make great leaps in terms of business and technological innovation – the IT revolution in the Great Lakes region is one example. Of the various stories of entrepreneurship, personal achievement and business development, which one(s) have been the most memorable for you and why? Sophie Ikenye: We spoke to a young Ghanaian man whose parents had planned for him to become a banker – many young people are pressurised into entering this industry – but his true love was, believe it or not, leather! He had this fascination for how leather can be deconstructed and reconstructed into beautiful designer shoes. He’d be a banker by day and a cobbler by night – without his parent’s knowledge. He started to become more well-known in his community, when foreigners from the West would purchase his shoes. This became a flourishing business… where buyers in both Europe and the USA started ordering his shoes. This is one of my most memorable stories, as this is a young, African man who took a risk – went against the odds, and refused to conform to the conservative ideals of African culture – followed his heart’s desire, and pursued his chosen career. He has now placed himself on a global platform. This is what I live for! And … I love shoes! Screen Africa: In the world of African arts and culture, what artists, musicians, filmmakers, poets have really impressed you as you have spoken to them for Focus on Africa? Sophie Ikenye: I’ve interviewed the brilliant Nigerian musician Femi Kuti,
INSIGHTS INTO LIFE: Sophie Ikenye who’s the son of the late Fela Kuti. Due to his name, and his father’s reputation across the continent, for him to continue the legacy of his father he has had to overcome constant comparisons to him. Femi has made a name across the continent, across cultural barriers, and has managed to be consistent in his artistry. He not only entertains, but strives to be a tool of social and political transformation, through his music. This has inspired me beyond words. Screen Africa: How did your career progress up to the point when you started work on Focus on Africa? What previous work did you do and how did it prepare you for your current role? Sophie Ikenye: I’ve worked for three big media houses in Kenya, with very different styles of learning and reporting. This really helped me adapt much quicker when I joined BBC World News. Having been a radio news editor for one of the independent radio stations in Kenya, I’ve learnt to challenge my belief system, and constantly aim to reflect communities, rather than impose my own bias. Screen Africa: What stories are you looking forward to covering in the near future? Sophie Ikenye: I am looking forward to extensively covering the 2015 Nigerian elections, with reporters both on the ground and in studio. We’ll be covering how leadership has evolved in Nigeria, the progression of the Niger Delta; we’ll be talking to everyone, from the youth up to the very old, and uncovering the secret behind Nigeria’s consistency in being one of the biggest economic hubs in Africa. Screen Africa: Working within the African broadcasting industry, how have you seen things develop over the past few years? And how do you
see the industry changing over the next few years as more and more channels and platforms enter the market? Sophie Ikenye: Technology has greatly influenced reporting on Africa. Prior to this transformation, people use to get their news on radio and television, but citizens are now being informed on the go. With platforms such as Twitter, Focus on Africa has managed to secure information from areas that are unreachable, or going through crisis, such as remote Liberian villages that have been hard-hit by the Ebola crisis. I foresee that audiences will be at the forefront of decisions that media houses make – channels are forced to adapt to the ever-changing lifestyles, opinions and culture of their communities. Screen Africa: In a more universal sense, how have you observed the work of the journalists and news gatherers changing over the years as technology advances and official regulation of the media undergoes various changes – in some case towards greater liberalisation, in others towards tighter control? Sophie Ikenye: Many people I speak to about this issue believe that media should be allowed to regulate itself – to be its own watch dog, giving itself a sense of responsibility. Some argue that media houses should construct their own board of experienced editors or executives, to monitor messaging going out and how this messaging is received. For example, today media houses critique public broadcasters on a daily basis, without fear. The type of courage is progressive for the continent, and shows that governments are allowing for better lines of communication. – Compiled by Warren Holden
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EQUIPMENT RENTAL
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Equipment rental: better times ahead? Equipment rental houses are at the heart of the industry. Keeping pace with the ever-changing state of technology and forming
ON TOP OF TECHNOLOGY: Some of the more in-demand items on rental houses’ inventory lists at the moment: Sony’s new PXW-FS7 and Arri’s ever popular Alexa
a constant interface
Industry upturn
with a multiplicity of
The outlook offered by South African rental houses a year ago was relatively downbeat. Gear costs were high and difficult to amortise and the stream of work had slowed to little more than a trickle. While the problem of working gear hard enough to make back its cost remains a challenge, the volume of work in the industry seems to have turned around over the past few months. Martin Smookler, managing director of Randburg-based gear renter Nates Audio Visual, notes that there has been a remarkable upsurge in the number of drama shows being commissioned. “Since the start of the year we have
production houses and broadcasters, they are in a better position than most to offer insights into the state of the business as a whole.
quoted on quite a number of drama productions for companies responding to SABC and e.tv briefs,” he says. “So that’s an encouraging sign.” Glen Theron of Cam-A-Lot Rentals, also based in Randburg, observes that the explosion of digital platforms and the fact that technological developments makes the creation of video content easier and easier, means that there is more demand than ever for gear from people outside of the production industry. “The diversity and growth of the industry is definitely on the up. We are finding more people are wanting to create video. Where in the past video was never a consideration it is now almost a necessity; so many corporates are now doing little videos for the web.” Although professional television and film work makes up a sizeable portion of Cam-ALot’s business, Theron says that the increased demand for gear from the amateur and prosumer market is a tremendous asset to the company and also a very interesting measure of the enabling power of advancing technology. Industry veteran Frank Meyburgh, recently returned to South Africa after an 18-month stint in the United Kingdom, was surprised to find that a large number of clients approaching his boutique, Bryanston-based operation, The Magic Lightbox Company, are creating content for social media platforms, rather than the traditional broadcast and film work he has dealt with for so long. Houses of worship are another growth sector for him. On the other end of the spectrum, Media Film Service, probably the country’s largest rental operator, continues to cater to high-budget film and television productions and reports that 2014 was a bumper year, leading to expansion for both itself and its sister company Digital Film Service.
New gear
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Operating a successful gear hire company means always staying on top of technological developments, especially as far as cameras are concerned. Today’s most popular camera could be reduced to museum piece status tomorrow. This is a state of affairs completely unlike the heyday of film, when cameras could be in demand for several years, and it is also a situation that is unlikely to change anytime soon. As far as the hottest products at the moment go, Sony seems to the word on
everybody’s lips. Everyone is asking for the DSLR-style A7S and the FS7 Super 35mm production camera. At the higher end, RED and Arri are still very much in demand, with the RED Dragon and the Arri Alexa showing remarkable staying power considering the ever shifting market. According to Meyburgh, in fact, the market share of these high-end cameras has gone up substantially from a few years ago, when many DOPs and cameramen not employed on big-budget productions would have opted for mid-level gear that could do the job almost as well. Considering the current state of South Africa’s power utility, the demand for generators has also increased. But the standard diesel-driven genny is the bane of many an onset sound recordist, so several kit hire companies are stocking up on silent models.
Owner-operators One thing that continues to affect the way equipment rentals do business is the increasing number of owner-operators in the industry, on both the higher and lower ends of the market. Meyburgh notes that there has been a marked increase in owner-operators since he left the country. For his business model, this does not present too much of a problem as he deals in both sales and rentals, meaning that he can sell operators the camera and also rent them the various accessories or ‘knickknacks’ required. For those businesses that rely entirely upon rentals, however, the proliferation of owner-operators presents a challenge. “It was the entry of the Canon 5D into the market that changed the way rental businesses work,” says Smookler. “Now you also have the A7S and it’s just a phenomenal camera; it’s available at a very reasonable price, it makes the cameraman’s work that much easier and why would he rent it when he can buy it for himself? This puts us in the position where our cameras are not working as hard as they should and the way technology moves nowadays, any camera will only be in demand for about three years before it’s out of date. So that’s all the time you have to let that camera make back its cost.” This does bring into question the sustainability of a business model based on pure rental and aside from the sales/ rental hybrid model proposition, there seem to be few answers as yet. However, while the complexities of fast-moving technology the fierce competition between equipment manufacturers brings a number of challenges for rental houses, these better dealt with in a thriving industry where production creates sufficient demand to keep gear working. The fact that there is an upturn in this area, seemingly driven by freer spending on the part of broadcasters, bodes very well for the year ahead. – Warren Holden
| EQUIPMENT RENTAL
Nates to be powered by Glow Hire The past year has been a pleasing one for Nates, the equipment rental house in Randburg. The core of its business has been built around the Sony FS700s and its flagship Sony F55. “We found these cameras were often in demand for music and corporate videos,” says managing director Martin Smookler. “We have also seen an upsurge, at the beginning of this year in the number of production units coming to us to gear up for drama productions, which is an encouraging sign both for us and for the industry as a whole.” This year, the rental facility’s recently acquired Sony A7Ss are in increasing demand. This mirrorless, lightweight camera, complete with a full 35mm sensor, is part of the new wave of prosumer cameras that seem set to supplant DSLRs as we know them and is fantastic in low-light settings. It comes just ahead of the imminent release of other 35mm digital SLR cameras to be
THE NEW WAVE: Sony A7S
released from Nikon and Canon. In addition to Nates’ business development and equipment acquisitions, Smookler has also announced a major new development in the company: its new strategic partnership with Glow Hire, another rental
facility based in Illovo, Johannesburg. Nates will now be powered and driven by Glow Hire, which, up to now, has predominantly focused on equipment for still photography. “Glow Hire is the largest photographic equipment hire company in Johannesburg and we intend
to leverage off their skills and expertise on the photographic and video side, to further enhance our film gear offerings. There are many synergies that overlap between the two companies and we are all confident that this step will be beneficial to all our clients,” says Smookler. Fundamental to both companies is a strong focus on service that brings clients back again and again, whether they are dealing with the individual hiring a single lens for the weekend or a full-length feature film unit over multiple months. “At the core is always service, service and more service,” says Smookler. “We pride ourselves on our client services, our meticulous attention to detail and our strategic partnerships. We know how stressful productions can be and we aim to take the gear stress out of that equation.” For Glow Hire, the merging of Nates into its operations is a natural progression of its efforts to offer more opportunities to clients to “further develop their creative natures in the ever converging markets of photography and cine-motion.” Glow Hire and Nates Audio Visual are looking forward to a bumper year for their new joint operation and for the industry as a whole.
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Media Film Service consistently cultivates new growth Media Film Service is one of South Africa’s largest and longest running equipment rental facilities catering to the film and television industries. With two branches, one in Cape Town and one in Johannesburg, they service and support both international and local work, as well as providing a base for production work into Africa. A number of exciting developments are taking place that are set to grow its offerings even further.
Developments and upgrades The existing 462-square-meter studio comes with a specialised feature: an exclusive food stylist kitchen designed for the preparation and dressing of food for commercial shoots. Media JHB is planning to expand this facility with an additional, considerably larger studio which will be equipped with plentiful office space, make-up rooms, catering area, 24-hour security, WiFi and a diesel-powered back-up generator. Both studios will be conveniently located next to the gear dispatch areas. Extended studio space is not the only benefit of Media JHB’s expansion. While the current layout has worked fine, the expansion of the studios offered the
opportunity to redesign the existing building layout and equipment warehouse into a more workflow-friendly configuration. Be on the lookout for the exciting tweaks and changes as they take place over the next few months!
Growing inventories As South Africa’s leading rental supplier of Arri equipment, the company continues to build its inventory of the brand’s top-end digital film production cameras – in particular the versatile
Amira, a popular choice among makers of factual films, magazine shows, television commercials, feature films and drama series. Media Film Service acquired a wide variety of anamorphic optics. These include the new Cooke Anamorphic Primes which are complemented by the new range of Angenieux anamorphic zooms, ensuring seamless compatibility for directors of photography in wide screen filmmaking. In the lighting department MFS has added a number of Arri M-Series lights to
Completing
Completing your picture your picture www.mediafilmservice.com www.mediafilmservice.com CAPE TOWN
JOHANNESBURG +27JOHANNESBURG (0) 11 258 5000 17 EASTERN+27 SERVICE SANDTON (0) 11 ROAD, 258 5000
17 EASTERN SERVICE ROAD, SANDTON
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+27CAPE (0) 21 511 3300 TOWN 52 PAARDEN +27 EILAND PAARDEN EILAND (0) 21ROAD, 511 3300 52 PAARDEN EILAND ROAD, PAARDEN EILAND
its stock. The M-series, including the M18, M40 and M90, is a set of daylight lamps that combine the advantages of PAR and Fresnel for maximum light output and lens-less, focusable lamp heads. A range of infrared lighting, as well as new LED redheads and Kinoflo Celebs have also been acquired. Celebs produce soft, wraparound light and reproduce colours with extremely high fidelity on either film or digital. You can be assured of the best equipment and service from this proudly South African company.
| EQUIPMENT RENTAL
Digital Film Service provides full industry support 24/7 Digital Film Service (DFS), located right next to its sister company, Media Film Service in Sandton, is an equipment rental facility that prides itself on offering production solutions to a wide variety of clients ranging from student films to feature film productions. DFS’s competitive pricing structure ensures that they are able to make their services attractive across most budgets. One of the keys to DFS’ success is the fact that it operates seven days a week between 8am and 6pm – which means its staff is not merely on standby over weekends to assist as needed but they actually have their doors open for normal operations on Saturdays and Sundays. In addition, the technical team is always on call after hours for all the facility’s clients.
New premises and all the latest gear In keeping with the expansive mood that prevails within the group, DFS will
Supporting the local industry at competitive pricing
upgrade its premises, fitting out with new, improved gear check bays and client service areas and with direct access to Media’s studios. In addition to placing an emphasis on service and client relationships, Digital Film Service takes a strategic approach to its gear acquisitions to ensure that it is one step ahead of its clients’ needs and that it can offer production crews the largest range of gear possible. The staff strive to stay on top of the latest developments in equipment and add new items to their stock proactively. Among its newest acquisitions are a number of 3-axis gimbals, 4K cameras and a range of the latest LED lights. The industry is fast undergoing a transition to 4K content creation and acquisition. For the most part, this is a costly exercise and not everyone can afford the bigger, cinema-style 4K
cameras currently on the market. With this in mind, DFS concentrates on investing in 4K solutions that are affordable for medium to lower budgets. For example, Sony’s FS7 camera which is currently all the rage particularly among documentary makers.
International suppliers and ENG equipment Digital Film Service, both through its own connections and those of Media Film Service, is able to source equipment from suppliers abroad for special requirements that can’t be met by the company’s local stock. Although this option covers all aspects of production, it is particularly pertinent in an industry sector that DFS has recently started moving into: ENG and multicam setups, and operatives in this area should watch this space!
Although Digital Film Service has the capacity to cater to higher-end productions, it is largely geared towards the independent and smaller budget producer. It supplies and supports local dramas and reality shows of varying budgets and also accommodates film school projects that have minimal funds to work with.
Archiving DFS has offered transfer facilities from the day it first opened its doors, enabling the conversion of materials on formats such as Betacam and U-matic to digital. The company continues this offering and the equipment it holds for this purpose are ideally suited to the increased need currently seen in the industry to archive material in a digital format for current broadcast specs. Alongside these developments, Digital Film Service recently launched its new website, which contains comprehensive information about the gear on offer and its rental rates. Visit the site at: www. digitalfilmservice.co.za.
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Cam-A-Lot predicts a good year for the film industry Randburg-based equipment rental facility Cam-A-Lot forecasts a busy 2015, based on the upturn in business over the past few months. “Business has been good for us but not easy,” says Cam-A-Lot’s Glen Theron. “The beginning of the year is always slower. However, due to the past few steady months, we expect a busy period ahead. It is astonishing to see the rate at which new cameras and equipment are being launched, which makes it an interesting challenge trying to supply all our customers’ needs. However, we do pretty well at keeping up to date with technology and the latest gear requests.” Theron has found that the number and diversity of the projects that Cam-A-Lot has supplied to recently has increased considerably of the past year. “More people are wanting to create video – and not just people in the film and television industries. Many corporates are now doing little videos for the web etc. It’s good to see so many newcomers. Developments in DSLR market has also opened up the wedding video production business, with people now
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having the option to shoot both stills and video on the same camera,” Theron explains. “We also have many corporate video clients and we have done well to add gear to our stock list that will add value to their shoots and make them a little more interesting through the use of sliders, mini jibs, mini dollies and other portable and easy-to-use equipment. It just helps put our clients in good stead with theirs, which of course is very important for us. “In terms of the television industry, we recently finished shooting the fourth season of the ever popular show Proesstraat for kykNet, produced by Richter Medien. We supplied nine HD cameras, switching gear and full video support for this entertaining, top rated show. It is the first time the show has been shot in HD due to the channel’s recent upgrade to that format. It will be on air from 1 April.” As far as new stock acquisitions are concerned, Cam-A-Lot, like most rental houses, have supplied to the high demand for Sony’s lightweight ‘DSLR-like’ camera, the A7S, among other things.
ROLLING FORWARDS: Panther Twister Dolly “The A7S has been among our most recent purchases. The low-light capability of this camera is quite astonishing. Some other new cameras in our inventory is the Sony PXW-X160. This beautiful, midrange camera shoots up to 112MB/s and has a massive25x zoom range and a new built-in variable ND filter. Our new Sony PMW 300s half-inch sensor cameras are superb semi-shoulder mounts with a variety of frame rates and other magic features. But our favourite purchase was undoubtedly the Panther Twister Dolly. It has some amazing features, including four-wheel steering for super mobility,
without changing wheels, the ability to run on tracks or directly on a studio floor. It also has a very handy electronic riser.” While Cam-A-Lot works hard to keep its inventories up to date with client needs, it also engages in an extensive network of cross-hiring from other rental facilities to ensure that it can source gear for its clients at short notice. “It is obviously impossible to have all the gear always requested, so we will do our best to bring in whatever gear we don’t have available. It is critical for us to do our utmost to keep our clients happy,” Theron concludes.
| PRODUCTION FINANCE
Eskom-proofing your production The current national power crisis has a direct impact on the film industry in both obvious and intangible ways that could potentially wreak havoc on deadlines and budgets. These costs can quickly spiral out of control. Every industry in South Africa is faced with the challenge of seemingly spontaneous load shedding but in an environment that blends creativity, precision and daily non-recoverable costs, filmmakers will pay a high price on days of electrical vacuity.
W
hile most producers do not rely on the grid on locations and some sets, they now have to ensure that sufficient dieselgenerated power is supplied to every shoot. Careful planning to ascertain availability and the energy required needs to be undertaken. Lights, fans and either air-conditioning or heaters – dependant on the season – are crucial to filming conditions. Beyond the calculated additional costs of generators and fuel, producers need to be mindful that crew and cast may be paid additional hours to allow them to navigate the adverse effects on traffic to the shoot. Same day location moves over moderate distances may not be possible given the potential gridlock when traffic lights are out. Filming in a large public space, for example an airport or train station, might require additional resources. Even several gennies cannot emulate the vast lighting matrix on a platform or concourse. Despite emergency lighting that might exist, additional grading or post could be necessary to achieve the desired shot. Foreign productions attracted by the favourable exchange rate, diverse locations, expert crew and film credits will
take power outages into consideration. It may not be a deal-breaker but the overall experience of international filmmakers being without electricity during their stay could influence future projects. Surges when power is restored can damage high-end equipment particularly in post-production suites. UPSs and surge protectors need to be installed for the longevity of servers, processors and digital plug-ins. Aside from the inconvenience and scheduling problems that come with load shedding, the budget and risk management side of the production will also be hit. A lack of electricity is no longer considered an unforeseen event, so losses due to outages cannot be covered by an insurance policy. It is now considered pre-existing and an inevitable, ‘scheduled’ peril. “Even if underwriters were prepared to consider losses due to load shedding, this is a risk that would be better managed than transferred to insurers,” says Dani Ettridge, Head of Sport, Recreation & Entertainment Division of Aon South Africa. “Clients are best served guaranteeing their own power than relying on a policy. If a day’s filming is not completed due to load shedding, it is
subject to the same problem again on the pick-up day. Clients and insurers would end up exchanging money back and forth in premiums and claims on a perpetual reshoot day that is never completed.” Even when the risk of losing mains power was relatively low, many crews still had generators on their gear lists. Rental houses have stocked varying sizes of gennies as a matter of course and so this resource is easily available to productions. Even the perennial noise problems have been reduced or eliminated with some of the newer, silent models. Although this constitutes an additional cost for the production, it will certainly be found to be one worth incurring when Eskom throws the switch in mid-shoot. We are not alone. Nepal, Pakistan, Ghana and other countries share South Africa’s predicament in not meeting demand for electricity. Despite extra costs, exasperation and the prevailing challenges, there is no point in Eskom-bashing and playing the blame game. Instead the film industry will have to ‘make a plan’ true to the enduring spirit of this country.
THE SUN’S SHINING IN JOZI STUDIO & PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT RENTAL
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Sunshine Co Jozi 29 Keyes Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg, 2196, South Africa Phone +27 11 447 4861 Mobile +27 82 498 8566 Email craig@sunshineco.co.za
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ON-AIR GRAPHICS
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Warning! Graphic content Ian Dormer recalls the early days of on-air graphics and titling and assesses latter-day technology to determine how far things have come. THEN: M-Net Graphix Van (1988)
Ian Dormer operating the M-Net Graphix Van (1988)
H
ands up who remembers the Chyron ladies at SABC! On many a shift during my time in VT Ops, I remember walking down the extremely long passage to Studio 7 chatting with the vision mixer about the day’s task ahead. Walking in front of us was the Chyron operator clutching an 8” floppy disk. Any tech-geek at that stage would have been jealous, as the newly developed 8” floppy disk drives were not yet available for public purchase, and this was mass storage deluxe – a whopping 360kb worth! The Chyron character generator was used to create lower-third titling and featured up to six loadable fonts with very high video resolution. The display circuits were running so fast (27 ns) that the fastest ICs available were used and had to be hand selected during manufacture as not all samples were up to par. Ever since those days, any graphic lower third created by character generators are fondly referred to as ‘chyrons’, whether the equipment is made by Chyron or not. Lower thirds were about as complicated as on-air graphics got back then and the crude form of titling was all that was available for TV programming and the broadcast of sport. In the late 1980s sport broadcast was a new venture for pay channel M-Net. I had just started working at the station when it was decided that the implementation of a downstream graphics unit was necessary to create a ‘M-Netcentric’ look and feel to the live sport programming they broadcast. Engineers Dave Hagen, Henry Filipe and I spent many an hour knocking together the M-Net Graphix Unit, a converted VW Kombi panel van that plugged into whatever OB unit was being
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used on the day. The technology we used was crude but effective and many ground-breaking techniques for early on-air graphic displays were developed here. From rugby to boxing and tennis, this little van provided the commentators and viewers with statistics and information never seen before in sport. An Amiga 2000 computer was used for creating the graphic content and sponsor bugs and a Quanta QCG 500 character generator for countdown clocks and ‘chyrons’. Running a Magni 4005 video graphics encoder, the Amiga ran entirely downstream of the OB van with a very dodgy sync and burst lock, but the results were the beginnings of a new era in sport broadcasting, something quite ‘super’ in fact!
Two decades later… Times have indeed changed and in stark contrast, NBC Sports’ use of the next-generation Chyron Hego Lyric PRO graphics solution, to create on-air graphics during its telecast of the 49th Super Bowl in February this year, shows just how on-air graphics have evolved. A total of 10 ChyronHego Lyric PRO-equipped Mosaic™ XL graphics systems will be used by the network to enable fast, accurate creation and playout of rich data-driven graphics. “Today’s high-profile live sports telecasts demand both innovation and creativity in drawing viewers into the action,” says Sören Kjellin, chief technology officer, ChyronHego. “In addition to providing performance and reliability in the live production environment, our Lyric PRO solution gives NBC Sports powerful yet easy-to-use
tools that support engaging storytelling and a memorable presentation of popular sports events.” The department responsible for graphic content were housed in three of the 24 OB vans on site and that was just for the NBC content. Fox Sports utilised more than two-dozen Viz Engines, Vizrt’s real-time 3D compositing engine, as well as Viz Trio graphical user control interfaces. Augmented reality graphics powered by Viz Virtual Studio systems working in conjunction with NCam optical camera tracking were used for graphics and effects. In addition, the Viz Libero sports analysis tool was utilised for enhancing play-by-play coverage. Viz Engines drove a Microsoft Perceptive Pixel touch screen for displaying Vizrt’s social TV tools and real-time stats. As you can imagine the results were ‘vizually’ superb; a long cry from the single person design and implement approach from the past. Today, University degreed digital media broadcast designers are employed by TV channels to develop on-air graphic packages that cover everything from sport and news to channel branding and weather graphics. The convergence between television, computers and mobile devices is creating the need for more interactive forms of broadcast graphics. The younger generation are much more engaged, less passive viewers. The internet has certainly played an increased roll in how broadcast news stations structure the manner in which graphics are used to enhance the viewer’s ability to process and absorb complex information and entertainment.
4K and virtual sets The possibilities presented by the development of 4K broadcasting only increases the real estate available for graphic representation. Cable Network News (CNN) led the way in which news programmes used graphics in conjunction with their news stories. Without any apparent or overt aesthetic agenda – CNN created and a look and feel that the entire news world has mimicked. Tickertapes and graphic re-enactment of wars and natural disasters have become the norm in our viewing psyche. News broadcasters were early
adopters of virtual sets, a technology that arrived ahead of its time. When the first systems for broadcasters came on the scene about 16 years ago, they got a very bad rap. So bad, the name was virtually erased from the broadcast vocabulary for over a decade. In the past few years, a combination of events helped to propel virtual sets back into the limelight. The world economic collapse of 2008 put huge economic pressure on broadcasters to cut operating costs and at the same time, changes in the business of broadcasting created the need for additional channels of programming with different sets. Simultaneously, the cost of computing hardware and software fell dramatically. Virtual set technology tumbled in cost as well. Some forecasters predict that in the next 10 years, virtual reality will be in every station around the world – good news for the manufacturers. The major competitors in the virtual studio marketplace today are Orad, Vizrt, Ross Video, Hybrid, Brainstorm, VirtualSetWorks, RT Software and Monarch Innovative Technologies to name a few, and many smaller companies have recently joined the renewed business. David Jorba, executive vice president of operations at Vizrt Americas says today’s virtual set technology is simpler and much easier to use than previous designs. “The hardware keeps getting cheaper and the solutions are getting more and more simple to use,” comments Jorba. “Virtual studio systems are now easier to set-up, there is much better integration with tracking systems and they are far more accurate.” It’s the falling prices, though, that are really driving the market, Jorba said. “Economics are driving more and more stations to virtual sets. Three years ago, we didn’t have any virtual sets in local stations. Today, we have 10 or so and it’s growing fast.”
Social media The speed at which social media has grown has affected the style of presentation in which graphic content is displayed on air. Social media is now an integral part of public service broadcasting and maximising the use of
| ON-AIR GRAPHICS social platforms has become key to many broadcasters. Adding comments or suggestions from viewers expands the interactive nature of programming. German company Carl Konferenz- & Eventtechnik have created a tool which allows producers to integrate social media into their programme presentations. “Our customers were asking us for solutions which would enable the audience to actively participate through text messages Twitter, Facebook and the like,” explains Johannes Heimann, the
company’s CEO. “They wanted us to seamlessly integrate the messages into the media content and as we have been enthusiastic users of the presentation software Ventuz for many years, it made sense to develop a tool which would closely communicate with Ventuz.” The product is called send ON SCREEN, a browser-based application which automatically searches a number of social media sources for hashtags. The search results are then displayed in a
NOW: Inside NBC OB Van (2015) NBC Graphic Vans (2015) management interface, where the producer or host can filter the comments manually and send them out to a Ventuz server via Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds.The results can instantaneously be displayed in real time. It’s viewer interacting with presenter and has gained the name of Social TV; recently described as one of the 10 most important emerging technologies in the history of broadcasting. Broadcast graphics will continue to push the envelope when it comes to producing high quality, visually stunning accompaniments to informational television programming. Computer technology combined with
advancements in digital television capabilities will open up a world of possibilities for talented motion graphic designers who will only be limited by their imagination. The fusion between television and the internet may lead to broadcast graphics incorporating more interactive features allowing viewers to control the stories they want to view as they would on news websites. In any event, broadcast graphics have proven to be an integral part of how television audiences view and process the information they receive and if 4K is truly on the horizon, there’s a lot more to come yet. – Ian Dormer
XPLORE THE UNEXPECTED
C-Cast Xplore is the key to access live production content from anywhere around the world. www.evs.com/XPLORE
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ON-AIR GRAPHICS
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EVS helps drive workflow for Bloomberg Television Africa
EVS, the Belgium-based broadcast solutions provider, was called upon recently to provide content management and playout solutions to a brand new African branch of Bloomberg Television. Based in Lagos, Nigeria, Bloomberg Television Africa is a joint venture between the Bloomberg Media Group and Nigerian content provider Optima Media Group. Set to launch later in 2015, the channel will produce three to four hours of Africa-centred business programming daily, which will be made available to viewers across the continent on Bloomberg’s English-language EMEA feed. The content will provide an African supplement to Bloomberg’s international news. According to EVS’s Felix Trapiello, the company’s XS server and IPDirector physical access manager (PAM) suite are at the heart of the new service’s playout
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entertainment programmes. For MCR workflows, the company’s offering revolves around its playout automation system, ChannelMaker, and a whole suite of applications to perform related activities such as media management, trim, ingest, logging reporting for a complete solution to produce a 24/7 broadcast channel. Recently, one of the most successful projects for the company was the coverage of the European Elections, which involved more than 40 members of wTVision’s staff in six projects, in four countries. The solutions presented ranged from simple graphics on screen to the most sophisticated multi-screen functionalities, with augmented reality graphics controlled by iPads, and virtual graphics. With offices in Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, India and USA, wTVision has plans to extend its international presence in several markets, with a special focus in Latin America, Asia and Africa. In Africa, wTVision has already developed projects in several countries: football leagues in Gabon and Namibia, branding services and the introduction of its new software HorseBetting CG for Phumelela TV channels in South Africa; several CAF main events in the past few years and the All Africa Games coverage
and branding services for TVM in South Africa. Regarding the company’s solutions, wTVision’s CTO Alex Fraser comments: “wTVision is focusing on streamlining PCR and MCR workflows for reduced staff and simplified operations. In the PCR, Studio CG has merged Clip Playout and CG operations into a single operator interface. In the MCR, ChannelMaker counts with many operational assistants to validate media, manage media transfers, report on missing files, simplify playlist management so that the task of the operator is much simplified than previous generations. In Sports, wTVision is interfaced with the most advanced tracking and enhancement technologies to provide state of the art broadcast that appeal to the most demanding viewers. Bridging the gap between television and social media, wTVision has built the tools that allow the online world to seep into today’s shows, bringing feedback and immediacy to conventional programmes and transforming them into powerful communication tools.” Finally, wTVision is constantly brainstorming with its partners and clients to re-imagine today’s broadcasts and help them find the next innovative way to reach their audiences worldwide. – Text supplied by wTVision.
LIVE INGEST, PLAYOUT AND PRODUCTION: EVS’s XS server and IPDirector content management suite facilities. “The XS works in AVC1 and is configured to two outputs (although it is upgradable to a total of 12 channels). It is controlled by IP Director, which is integrated with the Octopus Newsroom Computer System (NRCS). Essentially the journalists make the rundown on Octopus, where they have an EVS plugin that allows them to view the media available and assign it to a slug. That
Real time broadcast graphics solutions wTVision is a company specialising in real-time graphics and playout automation solutions for TV broadcast. The quality of its service is ensured by the company’s vast experience, totalling more than 25 000 live broadcast projects in more than 40 countries. Prepared to cover events from small one-time broadcasts to whole season championships, wTVision offers services to complement the live broadcast of a wide range of events with realtime graphics. Formed in 2001, wTVision is one of the foremost real-time on-air graphics and playout automation players providing solutions for the broadcast industry. The company’s solutions integrate with all major graphics engines on the market, touch devices, virtual solutions, data sources and many other external
media feeds through from the editors who are working on Adobe. Once the editors have finished their news pieces they export them to the XS through the EVS Adobe exporter. It is then played out with the IPDirector playlist, which is in complete sync with Octopus.” XS is a live ingest, playout and production server that allows fast access and distribution of content from multiple
sources. Its open, non-proprietary architecture allows it to be accessed by a multiplicity of third-party tools – hence its interaction here with Octopus and Adobe. In keeping with the demands of today’s broadcasting environment it is fully enabled for dual networking, easily linking traditional broadcast elements with IT. Although it is being used here in AVC-1, it supports a wide range of formats and codecs for all kinds of workflows. IPDirector brings together a package of video production management tools that can be integrated into any workflow. It runs on a Windows-based workstation, is user-friendly and allows all members of the network to instantly access edits, media and metadata. Bloomberg Television Africa looks set to go live in April.
COMPLEMENTING LIVE BROADCAST: Alex Fraser, CTO of wTVision technologies. wTVision provides software, design and branding, consulting, HR outsourcing and live operation services. Today, the company has a solid footing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas and counts more than 200 specialists around the globe. wTVision’s products cover two major areas: real-time graphics and playout automation. Regarding graphics, the company has solutions for sports coverage, live studio programs, election coverage and
Broadcast graphics as easy as 1-2-3
‘In Vidigo Graphics we found such a simple turnkey partner at a price point that no other solution could match’ Anton Cloete Executive Creative Director Don’t Look Down Convergence Agency
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a complete show rundown, with all assigned cameras, media files, graphics which need to be shown, etc.
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ON-AIR GRAPHICS
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STUDIO AUTOMATION | VISUAL RADIO
Video on the go At IBC 2014, VidiGo’s broadcast solutions were among the most talked-about offerings at the exhibition. When the show drew to a close, the Dutchbased company walked away with the IABM Design and Innovation Award for Best System Automation and Control for its Studio Automation solution. Software-based and designed with ease of use as a major priority, Vidigo’s products and solutions have begun to develop a sizeable footprint across the globe.
V
idiGo’s offering consists of a handful of products that can be deployed in varying combinations and targeted solutions: Engine, a complete AV workflow manager; Live, a multicam live production suite; Toolbox, which enables the integration of any web or PC content into the broadcast environment; Graphics, enabling the creation of fast, high-quality graphics during production and broadcast; Social Media Hub, an add-on for Graphics and Live to allow the incorporation of social media into broadcast; Visual Radio, which utilises automation and graphics to add visual elements to radio broadcasts, and the award-winning Studio Automation.
‘Changing the mentality of video production’ Among those production and broadcast operators who are putting VidiGo solutions to good use, is Primedia Broadcasting, the company behind radio 36 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2015
TARGETED SOLUTIONS: Primedia Broadcasting’s control room, driven by Vidigo’s production solutions stations 947, KFM, CapeTalk and 702, as well as the news platform, EWN. At its hub in Sandton, Primedia uses VidiGo to drive its visual radio work on 94.7 and 702, as well as its multi-purpose video studio for its radio brands and EWN. The recent addition of VidiGo to Primedia’s operations has changed the way the company, which is primarily concerned with radio, thinks about the creation of video content. According to Chief Operations Officer Ryan Till, much of what they do with VidiGo would not have been possible four or five years ago. The product has been deployed at the company’s Sandton headquarters in the 94.7 and 702 studios, with three-camera set-ups to capture visuals from the main desks, as well as specially designated interview or performance areas, with simple control rooms where the shows can be produced by single-personoperation thanks to the tools that VidiGo provides. Elsewhere in the building is the newly completed multi-purpose video studio, a compact production space that includes a news desk and two talk show style set-ups. Fully automated, the studio requires no operators on set. It is configured for full single-person operation from the adjacent control room, using templates set up in the VidiGo system. Since the content is created for web and mobile consumption rather than television, the emphasis is on generating and distributing the content as quickly as possible, rather than creating content that is technically perfect. The content is thus mixed live and then uploaded or streamed live. “Technology has enabled us to equip ourselves in a way that we couldn’t have four or five years ago. The costs would just have been too prohibitive then,” says Till. “It has fundamentally changed the mentality of video production in this business. Before VidiGo, our content producers wouldn’t even have worried about how to create live video content because it just wasn’t
an option. Their roles have changed as they move towards this live mentality as they are now able to make things happen fast. It’s the technology that has led us to this point.” The video creation process is heavily dependent on pre-production: the creation of templates in VidiGo, as well as careful planning of the content. Once these are set, operating the system during the show is relatively easy. “Like any live show, you have to pre-produce well,” says Video Production Manager Ruth Edwards. “You need to know what your programme is going to be like during the show, what graphics will be required, what advertisers and sponsors need from a branding and graphics point of view.” Once these are in place, the videographer’s job during the show is essentially to remain watchful and know which button to push, when. The graphics aspect of VidiGo is not only a great resource from an aesthetic and information point of view, it allows producers to add value for clients, through branding and advertising opportunities.
Reduced turnaround times, reduced costs Another user of VidiGo’s solutions is Randburg-based convergence agency Don’t Look Down Productions. The company produces TV content for a number of DStv channels, stages big events with live multicam OB broadcasts and manages digital social media properties for a variety of DStv brands. It makes extensive use of VidiGo’s Graphics and Social Media Hub products, which it acquired in late 2014, for the social-to-TV content it produces. Executive creative director Anton Cloete explains: “We deploy a variety of on-air systems for our social-to-TV productions, ranging from demanding solutions in both monetary and software development needs, to simple turnkey systems that
provide our broadcast clients with display solutions at an affordable price. In VidiGo Graphics we found such a simple turnkey partner at a price point that no other solution could match. The solution is deployed on DStv youth properties, enabling us to produce moderated viewer comments to air from multiple platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as manipulating the tool to produce simple line-ups for the evening’s schedule.” Aside from the price point, Don’t Look Down, like Primedia saw value in the ability that VidiGo provides to create simple templates that make the on-air workflow much simpler. Cloete says: “the VidiGo solution has provided us with a simple composition tool for social-to-TV, enabling us to get simple moderated content to air faster and more costeffectively than ever before. Prior to this solution the lead time in getting our clients on air would be months. This has been reduced to weeks.” Primedia’s experience with VidiGo solutions seems to agree with that of Don’t Look Down. “Presets, formats, templates – these are all very much a part of what VidiGo offers us,” says Till. “You can do basic things quickly. Once your pre-production is in place, you need to be able to literally flick a switch and go. That turnaround that VidiGo has enabled for us is very important.” As these testimonials suggest, VidiGo offers highly cost-effective solutions that ease production workflows, allow for quick turnaround times and help producers create a high-quality product. The solutions are still relatively new to South Africa but if the experience of these users is anything to go by, they seem likely to become a popular choice in the country’s broadcast industry. VidiGo solutions are distributed and serviced in South Africa by Questek Advanced Technologies. For more information call 011 706 0405, or visit www.questek.co.za.
G O L F
D A Y
2 0 1 5
The Annual Screen Africa Golf Day will take place on Tuesday 5 May 2015 at CMR Golf Club in Maraisburg, Roodepoort.
A cocktail party and prize-giving is held at the CMR Clubhouse following the competition, which provides great networking opportunities. Hole sponsorship costs for 2015 stay the same as 2014. Secure your sponsorship and 4-ball by 5 April 2015.
Date:
Tuesday 5 May 2015
Venue:
CMR Golf Course
Sponsorship:
R6 800 (Hole 1)
Halfway House:
R5 250 (all other holes) (Sponsorship is excluding VAT) For your own account
Green Fees:
R270 per player - includes VAT, cocktail snacks and prize giving
Start:
Shotgun Start @ 12pm
Contact: Ellen Oosthuizen Cell: +27 (0)83 268 6868 Fax: +86 (0)86 670 6809 e-mail: ellen.oosthuizen@pixie.co.za
NEW MEDIA
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Entering the era of choice
BOUNTIFUL POTENTIAL: Intel Free Press / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Major players in the African mobile video market weigh in on how producers can capitalise on this new, fast developing distribution channel.
W
ith the continent on the brink of a mobile boom and demand for African content at an all-time high, distribution opportunities and potential revenue channels available to content creators are expanding exponentially. Though industry pioneers will admit that the business is in its infancy and that there is much to learn in the way of monetisation and collaboration, one thing is unanimous: Mobile in Africa has bountiful potential; and there are ample pieces of profit pie waiting to be savoured. Pierre van der Hoven, owner of South African-based Tuluntulu, a free app which streams niche African content via curated and created channels, remarks, “There is an incredible demand for African content and for Africans to tell the African story – not through the eyes of some international reporter, but from sharing their own narratives. The future is bright for content creators; the elephant in the room is monetisation. The industry is in its early stages and so everyone needs to adapt and contribute to its growth.” From a content creator point of view, the message may be to resist sacrificing the potential for long term success in this new medium, by clinging to short term solutions and methodologies soon to be out-of-date. It also means that the definition of ‘quality content’ is being redefined by the end user: proven
38 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2015
demand is the new litmus test. Afrinolly’s Jane Maduegbuna, based in Nigeria, says, “If you feel confident enough about getting an audience for your content, get it out there – even if it’s crazy. I’ve seen crazy sell. I’ve seen some films or videos that have a huge following on YouTube and thought: ‘Seriously, people watch this?’ And they do. Everyone has different likes and tastes and it’s for them to decide what they want to watch.” Though the parameters differ among popular platforms such as iROKOtv, Afrinolly, Tuluntulu and Buni.tv, an established audience or significant, measurable interest is undoubtedly what gets their ears pricked up. Van der Hoven says the kind of content he is looking to acquire should be in line with this. This content could be archive footage or in Standard Definition as long as it has proven viewership or the potential to speak to a niche market as part of a channel. “We don’t have piles of money but we are looking for African content in niches. If you have 60 hours of motorbike scrambling content, that’s fantastic,” he explains. Tuluntulu acquires content with sufficient quality for a channel, by means of a net-revenue share model, based on video traffic and advertiser interest. Van der Hoven adds, “In the future we definitely want to start commissioning content but for now we are mostly interested in talking to content
rights holders.” The issue of rights is another aspect to consider when entering an agreement with mobile platforms. Although registration is not a pre-requisite for subsistence of copyright in a film, Emmie de Kock, managing director of entertainment law firm De Kock Attorneys advises, “Content owners should assess if they are assigning or merely licensing their rights. It is best they also look at remuneration and the scope of use and that they have an attorney review this. Content owners must read the fine print, and all terms and conditions.” As exclusivity is not a primary concern for most platforms, such as Tuluntulu, Afrinolly and Buni.tv, there is no real issue for producers who wish to retain the rights to their works. iROKOtv, which is a subscription-based online streaming platform, has certain exclusive deals with its content contributors as CEO Jason Njoku explains, “With our Nollywood content especially, almost every piece of content is exclusive to iROKOtv.com and this is one of our main selling points.” In most cases iROKOtv acquires content through non-exclusive licence agreements, offering a filmmaker a once-off remuneration which could range between $5000 and $20,000. This again, all depends on demand. “Our purchasing decisions are influenced by our subscribers – we have a team in New York who spend their whole working week poring over viewer data to analyse what was popular (and what wasn’t). At the moment, we only purchase around 12% of the Nollywood films we see – we have a team dedicated to selecting the best content out there, content that we know
our fans will love,” says Njoku. Afrinolly, another free app, has until now mostly curated online African content, but by March/April 2015 will launch Afrinolly Marketplace – a paid-for service which allows filmmakers to keep tabs on their content. “On the new platform users will be able to access the backend and view their content’s traction as well as revenue, and the share between them and Afrinolly.” says Maduegbuna. “We are creating a system where users can upload content themselves for us to review, approve and issue a suitable contract for.” Kenya-based Buni.tv, an online platform and free app which offers content contributors a 50/50 revenue share or in some cases small minimum guarantees, recently launched an embeddable player and affiliate program. This allows content producers an increased stake in profits, explains CEO Marie Lora-Mungai, “Filmmakers can now embed the Buni.tv player directly on their own website. Payment takes place inside the player and Buni.tv continues to support all bandwidth and streaming costs but the filmmaker earns an extra 10% as an affiliate, bringing their share of the revenue to 60%.” Buni. tv is currently looking to license recent, high-quality African content. Among all of the distributers, the apparent common objective is to gather and deliver African content in a way which satisfies the end user, and fairly rewards the content owner. The landscape of mobile video, albeit young and ever-changing, is one which seeks to empower both parties with a new powerful tool: choice. – Carly Barnes
| NEW MEDIA
Filmmakers app-rentice Modern day filmmakers are increasingly turning to apps to enhance their capabilities as creative and efficient movie-makers. In this new Screen Africa segment, we take a look at a few which are widely being used by professionals around the world. Sun Seeker Publisher: ozPDA Compatible devices: iOS, Android Price: US$6.99
How it works: Storyboard Composer HD is a go-to gadget for filmmakers looking to plan the translation of a script into visual language. The app uses location photos or images of rough versions of scenes taken by a user to create an animated story board. Once images are uploaded, the user can order them, drop in animated actor characters and add a number of motions to shots, including dolly, track, zoom and pan. This can then be played back to show what the actual shots might look like. These files can be saved to Cinemek servers and shared online with cast and crew for a period of time or downloaded as a permanent copy. Why this is awesome: This app is handy for those who aren’t the most skilled at drawing as it does not require users to create the images themselves. Storyboarding is an integral part of production, as it allows filmmakers to effectively communicate their creative ideas, manage their time more efficiently on set and ensure that no shots are forgotten or left out.
Light Meter Tools Publisher: WBPhoto Compatible devices: Android Price: US$2.99
MovieSlate
How it works: The Sun Seeker app is a location scouting tool for cinematographers and DOPs. Using GPS and a magnetometer, the app is able to track the path of the sun on any particular date at any location on earth. By holding a device with a camera view up towards the sky, the app is able to plot the sun’s path on the screen, displaying solar directional arrows for each hour of the day. This helps determine how much sunlight is available at a particular spot and for how long. Sun Seeker also offers additional useful information pertaining to sunrise, sunset and culmination times as well as maximum elevation. Why this is awesome: Understanding the nature of sunlight at an outdoor location is a key pre-production process for filmmakers. The ability to determine when and where shadows are going to appear on a subject and when the sun is going to be obstructed in any way is essential in managing shooting time efficiently on set. Furthermore, it instils a confidence in the production team and client that shots will look their best.
Storyboard Composer HD Publisher: Cinemek Inc. Compatible devices: iOS Price: US$29.99
Publisher: PureBlend Software Compatible devices: iOS Price: US$29.99 Available plug-ins: Timecode Sync, Sound Department, MultiCam
How it works: Simply put, MovieSlate is a digital clapperboard and production information logging platform. The app indicates when a take commences and ends, making it easy for an editor to synch up the sound and picture shots in post-production. It also allows users to log production information – shot title, take, director, cinematographer and what the scene is about – which serves to help the editor as well. Filmmakers can make notes during or after a shot, mark where there is good content to include in the edit and record real-time camera data from a particular shot so that these settings can be re-applied for future work. Why this is awesome: Keeping footage organised means the editing process can run a lot smoother and quicker, as an editor doesn’t have to sift through a large number of takes to find the best material. The app exports notes and logs in various file formats so they can be conveniently ingested into a number of postproduction programmes.
How it works: Using a device’s camera and light sensor, the Light Meter Tools app measures exposure, and features both incident light metering and reflected light metering with spot metering. As well as these two meters, the app includes a ‘Sunny Sixteen Calculator’ tool which allows users to manually adjust exposure settings in difficult lighting scenarios and a depth of field calculator. Why this is awesome: Cinematographers and photographers need light meters to work out how bright a certain light is, so that they can set the correct exposure on their cameras and capture shots with sufficient detail in the image’s highlights and shadows. Having an app on hand to execute this task also means one less piece of equipment for filmmakers to carry around.
Using a filmmaking app you think we should know about? Tell us why you think it’s awesome by emailing: carly@screenafrica.com. – Compiled by Carly Barnes
March 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 39
MUSIC
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Making music rights simpler Gallo Music Publishers, a leading holder of local and international music rights for African territories, is putting a number of measures into effect with which they hope to answer the longstanding question of how they can profitably license musical works in the digital age. General Manager Tsholo Moraba explained these developments to Screen Africa.
will enable users to search and license music for broadcast and advertising purposes. You can sample music, you can create playlists and you have full access to our extensive database of production music,” says Moraba.
Pre-cleared library
I
t’s been well over a decade since the digital revolution flipped the music industry on its head. Music is now more easily available, and on more platforms than it has ever been. This presents a major challenge to rights holders because the montisation of the usage of musical works in this everexpanding ‘needle-in-a-haystack’ virtual environment remains a massive obstacle. “The cost of producing content is still the same,” says Tsholo Moraba, general manager of Gallo Music Publishers (GMP). “It’s the vehicles, the modes of consumption that have changed and we, in this industry, have been slow to alter our business and distribution models to keep up and ensure that we can monetise our content and earn the revenue that we and our composers need. In traditional broadcasting and performance you have the appointed rights societies like the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) and the Composers Authors and Publishers Association (CAPASSO) but their regulatory and collective reach doesn’t entirely extend into the digital realm so we have to come up with other ways.” This way of thinking has prompted GMP to initiate a number of new digital business-to-business offerings.
40 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2015
EVER EXPANDING WORLD OF MUSIC: Tsholo Moraba
Production music API GMP, which is best known as the publisher within the Gallo Music Group, boasting 90 years-worth of music by revered South African artists and composers, have now moved into the broadcast music space. They have built up an extensive catalogue of library music, many of which are commissioned works from the likes of SAFTA-winning and Annie nominated composer Bruce Retief (Zambezia and Khumba) among others. It has entered a number of joint ventures with other music rights holders to facilitate licensing. One example is the Urban Rhythm Factory, a partnership with production company Urban Brew. The resulting library will be made available to production companies and advertising agencies through GMP’s new application programme interface (API), Harvest, which is set to go live this month. “This
When it came to tackling the monetisation challenges posed by the digital realm, GMP decided, after watching the online success of a number of its most popular urban and hip hop artists, to launch a pre-cleared catalogue entirely for use on web or mobile platforms. “We decided to focus some of our energies on new media and to find the best possible ways to administrate and collect from those platforms for our writers and composers. In that there is a big opportunity to cater to viral marketing campaigns. We will be launching a packaged, pre-cleared catalogue entirely for digital usage. These are works that can be licensed for use on YouTube or Facebook or other platforms that marketers will want to target with online marketing,” Moraba explains. This is not a product that will cater to consumers, like iTunes. It is primarily targeted at Gallo’s various business-tobusiness partners and clients. “This is a pre-cleared online music usage catalogue, aimed at simplifying the process of acquiring music tracks for use in digital marketing campaigns and corporate videos and so on. Users will be able to go online, search for their track and have synch rights within half an hour,” says Moraba.
Continental expansion GMP is part of the Times Media Group, which added another dimension to the music publisher’s business recently with
the acquisition of some important assets outside of South Africa’s borders. Times bought a 33 percent stake in the Ghana MultiMedia Group, bringing six television broadcasters and six radio stations under its influence. In Kenya, Times invested in the Radio Africa Group. “This makes up about 60 per cent of the Kenyan media market,” Moraba says. “It includes the biggest English-language daily, the biggest weekend paper, six commercial radio stations a licence for terrestrial broadcasting and a licence for satellite broadcasting. This is one of the continent’s best known radio groups.” These acquisitions enable GMP, not only to expand their markets, but better to administer their current ones in other territories on the continent. “Major-label rights holders, most of which are based here, control the rights to a large potion of the Anglo-American repertoire aired in these territories,” says Moraba. “We have had challenges in the past with the collection of licensing fees from broadcasters elsewhere on the continent, because it involves the effective interaction of two or more fee collection societies and somewhere along the line those connections get broken. In Kenya for example there are stations dedicated to country music or to oldies from the 1970s and 80s. They play a lot of the music that would naturally stem from major-label sources but the necessary licence fees often don’t get to us. These new relationships on the ground enable us, moving forward, to facilitate, track and follow the use and payment of rights fees, and in so doing the rewarding of our composers for their creations” “Our aim is to simplify the market, to make access to the music easier and monetisation of our assets more effective,” Moraba concludes. – Warren Holden
Your Favourite Disney Theme Tunes Now Available for Commercial and Broadcast Licensing
Great Classics from Winnie the Pooh, Cars, Lady and the Tramp, Monsters University, Tarzan, Aladdin, Bolt, The Lion King, Dumbo, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Pluto, The Little Mermaid, Bambi, 101 Dalmatians, Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, Pocahontas, Goldilocks, Sleeping Beauty, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Aristocats, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, The Toy Story, Ratatouille, Lilo & Stitch, Wall-e‌ to name but a few!!! www.gallomusicpublishers.co.za Contact MichaelÊ Codd | Tel 011-280-5750 | email michaelec@gallo.co.za
AUDIO
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Advancing cinema sound Screen Africa speaks to Richard Nye, Christie’s Cinema Sales Director for the EMEA region, about Vive Audio, the audio visual solution provider’s DCI cinema audio system. every member of the audience receives the right level and it is wonderfully clear – particularly important of course with dialogue.
CHAMPIONING DIGITAL CINEMA: Richard Nye, Christie Cinema Sales Director, EMEA
R
ichard Nye is an AV sales professional with more than 20 years’ experience. He has overseen the introduction of Christie’s film and digital cinema portfolio to the EMEA region and has championed the introduction of digital cinema in Europe since his direct involvement with the UK Film Council and Arts Alliance Media to deliver the Digital Screen Network, the world’s first large-scale deployment of digital cinema with over 180 screens equipped, in March 2005. Today Christie supports more than 45 000 of its digital projectors worldwide, and about 15 000 of them work in EMEA – with Nye supporting every sale.
Screen Africa: Vive Audio is designed to fit the demands of the DCI audio specs. Can you outline these specifications and how Vive Audio caters to them? Richard Nye: Advances in cinema technology that followed in the wake of the Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI) focused on display, 3D, 4K and High Frame Rate (HFR) – but at the same time they also considered the audio experience. The typical audio system in today’s theatres is based on legacy film-era technologies. Earlier digital audio formats were limited by the available bandwidth of the storage medium (film), limiting the experience to 16- or 18-bit compressed audio; however, the potential of DCI content operates well beyond that limit, in uncompressed linear digital audio formats at 24 bits per sample and up to 96kHz – all packaged together with the visual, sub-title and 42 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2015
metadata into the DCI compliant digital cinema packages (DCP). DCI digital audio offers a big leap in performance quality and the opportunity for exhibitors to have a greater say in the experience they offer to their audiences. There is huge potential to exploit and develop these opportunities. Screen Africa: What are the components of the Vive Audio system? Richard Nye: The Vive Audio line of cinema speakers encompasses screen channel, subwoofer, surround sound and ceiling speakers, as well as CDA Class D amplifiers and SKA-3D audio/video processor, while the IMB-S2 DCIcompliant media block is an additional component of the Christie Vive Audio solution — all part of a complete product range. Screen Africa: What features are found in the Vive Audio system that you would not find in other systems made to DCI standards? Richard Nye: The key element is that it’s based on ribbon technology which gives stunning, clear sound reproduction compared to the usual distortions associated with conventional systems (see below). Additionally, the series also incorporates the industry’s first ceiling line array surround speaker, which is purpose-built for cinema audio applications and directs the sound evenly to all parts of the auditorium. In short, rather than distorted sound which is sometimes too loud, sometimes not,
Screen Africa: What are the functions and features of ribbon driver technology and what benefits does it offer? Richard Nye: Ribbon drivers use a very thin, strong and lightweight metallic film ribbon with circuit traces, suspended between a set of high power neodymium magnets. When alternating current from an amplifier is applied to the ribbon, the ribbon is repelled and attracted by the magnets creating vibration of the ribbon. This generates sound waves. In short these ribbon drivers have wide dispersion and can handle high power and sound output levels. The benefits of ribbon driver technology are best illustrated by comparison with legacy technology, offering many advantages over conventional voice coil/horn design enclosures in terms of reduced output when enclosed in a magnet and operating at high temperatures. There are many other advantages — for instance there are none of the lobing effects associated with horn design. Unlike horns, ribbon drivers use a direct radiator configuration and so are not compressed and then expanded; this reduces distortion. Furthermore, Vive Audio’s use of ribbon drivers in a line source results in a superior cylindrical propagation pattern, which by contrast to the horn, has a very wide horizontal and controller vertical dispersion pattern. This line source design also better maintains sound pressure levels (SPL) which decay at half the rate of a point source system. Vive Audio utilises this speaker system in arrays by stacking multiple identical speaker cabinets to create curved or straight vertical arrays — a principle that has become the standard in professional audio sound reinforcement of live events. In other words, the optimal listening coverage is achieved through the line array set up’s curved combination of speakers — these arrays can focus sound much better than the very ‘undirected’ sound from horn-spread traditional compression drivers — and deliver a greater dynamic range. The overall result is a much more compact speaker cabinet, with better sound dispersion, more consistent and stronger sound pressure levels over longer distances that are not prone to the distortion, reverb and lobing of legacy speakers.
Christie’s Vive Audio cinema sound solution Good cinema sound is not only about loudness and sound quality but also about creating an immersive experience. How is Vive Audio designed to deliver that? Richard Nye: We’ve worked closely with Dolby to not only understand the specifications of Dolby Atmos but also understand the intent from the postproduction community as they create these audio experiences. We believe one of the key benefits of our Vive Audio programme is the development of our single enclosure line array system. With our single enclosure line array speaker, we’re able to address a key challenge in auditorium design, the challenge of coverage. Through our patented wave guide design, we’re able to achieve a wide uniform horizontal dispersion pattern, 90 degrees at 0dBFS with a smooth -6dB roll off out to 120 degrees. In addition, we also have developed our patented coaxial articulated line array to address vertical dispersion. Through this fixed predetermined vertical dispersion pattern, we’re able to focus (control) the audio energy to a known field or direction. As an example, our ceiling speakers (LA3C, LA4C, and LA5C) are a parabolic line array speaker with a 120 degrees. x 120 degrees. dispersion pattern. For overhead speakers such as in Dolby Atmos, the creative intent is to create an atmosphere of sound above the audience, in most cases non-directional. This sensation provides the audience a feeling of envelopment. The benefit of any of our line array speakers is we are able to control the source of audio, determine its direction and, through our articulated design, provide a consistent audio experience from front to back. Screen Africa: Can you comment on the scalability of the system? Richard Nye: Our Vive Audio system was designed with scalability in mind to meet different auditorium designs and audio playback requirements. For example, we’ve developed a series of five stage channel configurations to meet SMPTE SPL requirements for auditoriums up to 82m throw (screen to rear wall). Each stage channel performs at a known maximum through and vertical dispersion to reassure the system designer the audio performance meets the needs of the environment and benefits the listening audience. – Compiled by Warren Holden
| Box Office
Figures supplied by SAFACT
February’s top earners at the local box office blur the lines between fantasy and reality Fifty Shades of Grey
Kingsman: The Secret Service
Director Sam Taylor-Johnson’s much anticipated film based on E. L. James’s trilogy of novels about an unlikely romance between a naïve college student and a handsome, troubled billionaire scooped the top spot at the box office this month. Even though the frisky flick raked in a whopping R14 129 150 in its opening weekend locally, it still received mostly negative reviews on a global scale. Starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson as the improbable lovers, Fifty Shades of Grey garnered R23 571 717 nationally in two weeks since its release.
Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton), whose late father secretly worked for a spy organisation, is seemingly headed for a life in prison due to his felonious behaviour when agent Harry Hart (Colin Firth) recruits him to be a trainee in the secret service. The star studded flick by director Matthew Vaughn, which sees stellar performances by Samuel L Jackson and Michael Caine, brought in R1 224 949 in its second week at local cinemas, bringing total gross national earnings to R3 818 068.
Spongebob Squarepants 2: Sponge Out of Water Director Paul Tibbitt’s quirky animation of Nickelodeon’s loveable yellow scrubber “who lives in a pineapple under the sea” has toddlers and adults alike giggling with glee. The Guardian commented, “It isn’t just the sheer density of jokes that is impressive, but the diversity.” The film earned R1 869 979 in its third week at South African theatres, an 18% drop on the previous weeks earnings, bringing total gross national earnings to R7 574 046 in three weeks.
American Sniper Director Clint Eastwood’s biopic of Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, has received rave reviews both nationally and internationally since its release. Eastwood’s 34th film as a director stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle and Sienna Miller as his wife, the action-packed and truly moving motion picture opened at number three locally, earning R1 771 470 in its opening weekend.
Jupiter Ascending Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski directed and wrote this intergalactic spectacle starring Mila Kunis as lead character Jupiter Jones. Jupiter is destined for greatness, but her reality consists of cleaning other people’s houses. Enter Caine, played by Channing Tatum, a genetically engineered hunter from outer space, who enlightens Jupiter to the destiny that awaits her. The film rounds up the top five at the local box office this month, with total earnings in three weeks sitting at R4 552 076.
Mooirivier Director René van Rooyen’s love story about a clumsy, offbeat young boy and a modern day princess opened to both rave reviews and impressive local box office earnings. Filmed in Potchefstroom, the Afrikaans romantic comedy, from the producers of Klein Karoo, earned R4 042 378 in three weeks since its release.
– Compiled by Chanelle Ellaya
March 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 43
PR ODU CT IO N
UPDATES
FOR FURTHER DETAILS VISIT www.screenafrica.com
Those productions in red are newly listed this month Production Updates Order of Information 1. Title 2. Production company 3. Director 4. Genre
IN DEVELOPMENT 69 BODIES/SHARPEVILLE Tamol Media Prod: Thabang Molibeli Feature 80 MINUTES Periphery Films Dir: Simon Taylor / Julia Taal Feature A Bank in Krugersdorp (working title) Panda Broadcast Prod: Sam Groenewald Feature Film
AFTER MARIKANA – PART 2 OF A TRILOGY Uhuru Productions Prod/Dir: Rehad Desai Documentary ANTHOLOGY Journey, Home & Treasure Prod/Dir: Feizel Mamdoo Feature Are Aganeng/Asakhaneni Michics Global Communications Exec Prod: Mishack Motshweni Talk Show AT THE CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE Zen Crew Prod: Laura Tarling Documentary BREAD AND WATER Periphery Films Dir: Simon Taylor / Julia Taal Feature Documentary BIG LITTLE FRIEND Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker TV movie
CHILDREN OF FAMOUS ACTIVISTS Current Affairs Films Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman Feature
LEKKERKAMPPLEKKE Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Prod: Jarrod de Jong Variety
CINDERELLA Two Oceans Productions Prod: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature
MANCHE, THE AFRICAN SAINT Get the Picture Prod/Dir: Jacky Lourens / Fiona Summers Documentary
Cybervisions Writer:Tawanda Murimirwa Completed Sci-Fi Screenplay
M/A/N/D/E/L/A P.I.M.P Dir/Prod: Daniel P Nxumalo Feature
DE BRAZZAVILLE A JOHANNESBURG Site et Sons Media Productions Feature Film DIE VERHAAL VAN RACHELTJIE DE BEER Nostalgia Productions Prod: Brett Michael Innes Feature Die Vervoerder Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Prod: Jarrod de Jong Feature ENTREPRENEURS Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Magazine ESCAPE Current Affairs Films Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman / Beata Lipman Feature
Est. 1989
Supplying featured artistes and extras for TV – Stills – Corporate Videos – etc. for over 20 years. Artists have tax numbers, we get new faces daily. Contact dom@djssa.com or m@djssa.com Tel. 011 704 1572 – 011 704 4293
EX PATS Current Affrairs Films / French Connection Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman Series FISTS OF FURY P.I.M.P Dir/Prod: Daniel P Nxumalo Feature Future Legends Phoenix Entertainment and Productions Prod: Koketso Sefanyetso TV Magazine Izinyembezi Zami Inhlakanipho Films Dir: Vusi Nhlapo Feature Film HHOLA HHOLA Vuleka Productions Prod: Julie Frederikse Feature High School Modeling Michics Global Communications Exec Prod: Mishack Motshweni Feature HOTEL SONGOLOLO The Media Workshop Dir: Benito Carelsen Series IN THE CASTLE OF MY SKIN Film Fetish Prod: Siphiwe H Sibeko Documentary IN SILENCE & IN TEARS Alternative Cinema Prod: Ikechukwu Omenaihe Feature ISIHLOBO ESIHLE Dogg Bite Entertainment Dir/Prod: Siphiwe Dominic Mpanza Documentary
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44 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2015
KING SEKHUKHUNE / EVERYONE’S LAND Sukuma Media Prod: Leonard Sekhukhune / Bonginhlanhla Ncube Feature Film
IZINJA ZAMI P.I.M.P Dir/Prod: Daniel P Nxumalo Feature JIVA Tamol Media Prod: Thabang Molibeli Feature
M-NET/CARTE BLANCHE CURRENT AFFAIRS FILMS Current Affairs Films Dir/Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman Current Affairs MONDAY MAN Tincup.tv Dir/Prod: Matt Torode Mini Series MOST BEAUTIFUL DAY Two Oceans Productions Prod: Giselher Venzke & Bertha Spieker Cinema Feature Film NONGOLOZA/ THE BLOOD KING AND THE RED DRAGON Current Affairs Films Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman / Mtutuzeli Matshoba Feature Ntomb’khona Sibongokuhle Media and Entertainment Prod/Dir: Sakhile Lushaba Corporate On the spot Karabo Shaun Productions Dir: Gugu Mbatha Film Oscar Pistorius Synergy Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman Documentary PALACE OF THE FAITHLESS White Heron Pictures Dir: Themba Sibeko Feature PASSARES (BIRDISH) White Heron Pictures / Casa De Criacao Cinema Prod: Themba Sibeko Feature Pippie se Towerkombuis Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Prod: Jarrod de Jong Variety Ponte Nostalgia Productions/ Black Irish Productions Prod: Jamie Ramsay/Brett Michael Innes Feature PROTECTION ORDER P.I.M.P Dir/Prod: Daniel P Nxumalo Feature Rachel Weeping Nostalgia Productions Prod: Johan Kruger/ Brett Michael Innes Feature REALITY CHECK Rainbow Pepper Prod/Dir: Helga Palmer Reality Rockville Season 3 Ferguson Films Prod: Bobby Heaney TV Series
THE SAMARITANS Xeinium Productions Dir: Salim Keshavjee Series SARAH GRAHAM: BITTEN 2 Okuhle Media Dir: Chris Lotz Series Sea Monster Triggerfish Animation Studios Dir: Anthony Silverston Animated Feature SEBOKENG MPA (Motswako) Dir: Charls Khuele / Zuko Nodada Feature Sin Bin Diamond Hill / Engage Entertainment / Coco TV Prod: Sisanda Henna / Stephen Lorenzo Documentary SIXOLELE BABA Ndlondlo Productions Dir: Hamilton Dhlamini Feature SOWETO SINDERELLA P.I.M.P Dir/Prod: Daniel P Nxumalo Feature The Dandelion ShootAway Production Prod: Patrick Walton Drama THE DREADED EVIL EYE FROM PAST TO PRESENT AND ACROSS CULTURES Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Documentary The Exchange Engage Entertainment PROD: Stephen Lorenzo Feature THE GIFT Ferguson Films Prod: Shona and Connie Ferguson, Bobby Heaney TV Feature Film THE GREAT KAROO Current Affairs Films/ White Pine Pictures Prod: Jane Lipman Series THE HITCHERS: A GHOST STORY Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Short Film The Mountain of the Night Nostalgia Productions Prod: Herman Mabizela/Brett Michael Innes Feature The Norwegian Brothers (working title) Panda Broadcast Prod: Sam Groenewald Feature Film The Reggies Rush Nostalgia Productions Prod: Brett Michael Innes Feature The Sales Lab Time Frame TV Prod: Vanessa Yelseth, Jasmyn Asvat Series TIENERWERELD Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Prod: Jarrod de Jong Variety UMASHONISA P.I.M.P Dir/Prod: Daniel P Nxumalo Feature WAY TWO ROLL Way To Roll Pictures Dir: Freddie Strauss Feature Welcome To Art Michics Global Communications Exec Prod: Mishack Motshweni TV Series
PRODUCTION Westgate Shopping Mall attack (working title) Media Village Productions Prod: Diane Vermooten Documentary
GAUTENG PROVINCE LEGISLATOR Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Documentary
IN PRE-PRODUCTION ABLAND PROPERTY DEVELOPERS FC Hamman Films Dir: FC Hamman Marketing Video Alex on 7th Xcut Studios Dir: Engelbert Phiri Documentary ATTACHMENT PARENTING Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Insert BIG BROTHER ANGOLA Endemol South Africa Prod: Terja Beney, Llonka Geudes Reality BUSHPILOT – Episode 3 & 4 Two Oceans Productions Prod: Giselher Venzke & Bertha Spieker TV movies CASE Tamol Media Thabang Molibeli Short Film De Brazzaville a Johannesburg Site et sons media productions Dir: Elvis Nkosi Feature Film Die Laaste Ure: Inconnu French Film Festival Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Producer: Jarrod de Jong Short film Domestic Bliss 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myers Advertising Funder Project EL ELJON PROJECTS FC Hamman Films Director: FC Hamman Marketing Video ESPAFRIKA PRESENTS THE CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL 2014 ESPafrika Prod/Dir: Rashid Lombard / Yana Lombard / John Bright Documentary
GENERATION FREE Okuhle Media Dir: Jemima Spring Series GENiAS Khinc Studios Dir: Khalid EL – Jelailati Feature Film HIDDEN HOLOCAUST IN THE DUNES: GENOCIDE IN NAMIBIA Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Series LOVE MORE: POLYAMORY IN SOUTH AFRICA Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Series MARRY ME IN MZANZI Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Series MEGABOERE Khaki Productions Dir: Wynand Dreyer Documentary Series MOMCHICHI Pro Media & Spider – Co Productions Prod/ Dir: Dee Vanzyl Children’s Program PEDAL BENDERS Pro Media & Spider – Co Productions Prod/ Dir: Dee Vanzyl Reality PHOENIX RISING...THE BUSINESS OF STYLE SEASON 2 Phoenix Entertainment and Production Prod/Dir: Koketso Sefanyetso Reality SEATBELT MEDIC FC Hamman Films Dir: FC Hamman Commercial SLENDER WONDER INFORMATION VIDEO Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Information Video SNAP JEI Co Ltd Mauritius/Jujuma Productions SA Prod/Dir: Neil Hetherington Feature
EXTREME CAMPERS Pro Media & Spider – Co Productions Prod/ Dir: Dee Vanzyl Reality
SOCIAL WORKER Tamol Media Thabang Molibeli Short film
FOR GOLD AND GLORY Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Christopher Mason Reality
STICKS+STONES (working title) Fireworx Media/ Tunc Prodcutions Prod: Bridget Pickering Telenovela
U PDAT ES
THE MESSENGER Footprint Media TV Prod: Annalise Van Rensburg Series Unashamedly Ethical Media Village Productions Prod: Diane Vermooten Awards and Gala Evening WHILE YOU WEREN’T LOOKING Out in Africa Dir: Catherine Stewart Feature WHIPLASH Get the Picture Prod/Dir: Jacky Lourens / Meg Rickards Feature WORKERSLIFE NETWORK MARKETING FC Hamman Films Director: FC Hamman Marketing Video
IN PRODUCTION 3 TALK Urban Brew Talk Show 20 and Free X CON Films Dir: Munier Parker Documentary 50/50 Clive Morris Productions Current Affairs
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53 EXTRA M-Net Inhouse Productions Dir: Navan Chetty Magazine
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A BROTHER’S LOVE 1300 Pictures (Pty) Ltd Dir: Elvis Nkosi Feature A CALENDAR OF EVENTS – MEDUPI & KUSILE Betta Beta Communications Prod: Tommy Doig Documentary A MAN OF HIS OWN PRINCIPALS Sekgopha Productions Prod: Buhle Mofulatsi / Thapelo Hlagala TV movie AQUELLE’ MIDMAR MILE 2015 Media Ventures Prod/Dir: Chris Moolman Documentary AFRICA 360 eNews News Head: Patrick Conroy Current affairs
ArtsCulturex Talent 1000 Championships Michics Global Communications Exec Prod: Mishack Motshweni Series Auditor General Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Brad Montgomery/Natalie Varoy Corporate BACKBONE PROJECT Global Access Creative Agency Prod: GA Creative Agency Documentary BIG BROTHER MZANSI Endemol South Africa Prod: Terja Beney, Liza Kleitman Reality BINNELAND Stark Films Prod/Dir: Friedrich / Elsje Stark Series
AFRO CAFÉ SEASON 7 Bonngoe Productions Prod: Pepsi Pokane Music
BRAVO! Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Magazine
www.atlasstudios.co.za
BONISANANI Grounded Media Talk Show Bugatti Together Lucky Fish Productions Dir: Raphaël Crombez Commercial CARTE BLANCHE (INSERTS) Modern Times Prod: Sophia Phirippides News Carte Blanche shorts TIA productions Prod / Dir: Tarryn Lee Crossman News CLAASENS DESIGNS MARKETING VIDEOS Panache Video Productions Prod/Dir: Liesel Eiselen Marketing videos CLASH OF THE CHOIRS Endemol South Africa Prod: Josh Feldman Talent / Reality
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COOL CATS Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Cecil Berry Children’s Show
Ditokelo tsa Medupi LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature
Faith Today Impact Christian Media Prod: Carl Schultz TV Series
KOLLIG Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Magazine
NET1 – SASSA Betta Beta Communications Prod: Tommy Doig Corporate
CORTEX MINING FC Hamman Films Prod Man: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video
DIY MET RIAAN Prod: Riaan Venter-Garforth Magazine
FOX NEWS CHANNEL Betta Beta Communications Prod/Dir: Tommy Doig News
KONA The Directors Team (Pty) Ltd Prod/Dir: Laurence Lurie / Cathy Sykes Series
NEWS NIGHT eNews Prod: Nikiwe Bikitsha Current Affairs
COME DINE WITH ME SOUTH AFRICA Rapid Blue Prod: Kee-Leen Irvine Reality CUTTING EDGE SABC News Current Affairs
EARTH BEAT Tekweni TV Productions Prod: Sandra Herrington Series EASTERN MOSAIC Red Carpet Productions Prod: Saira Essa / Mark Corlett Magazine
Debra Deel Khaki Productions Prod/Dir: Christelle Parrott, Wynand Dreyer Series
END GAME Fireworx Media/ Tunc Productions Prod: Bridget Pickering Dir: Akin Omotoso/ Thandie Brewer/ Thabang Moleya Feature
DIMENSION DATA Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Natalie Varoy Corporate
EXPRESSO (Season 2) Cardova Prod: Paul van Deventer Series
DINNER DIVAS 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myers Series
FACE OF GEMINI Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Series
DISHONEST Inhlakanipho Films Dir: Vusi Nhlapo Feature Film
Facility Management Lectures (A4FM) Panache Video Productions Dir/ Prod: Liesel Eiselen Educational
Unit C5 RobeRtville Mini FaCtoRies 255 nadine stReet RobeRtville RoodepooRt 1709
Free State Toursim Indaba Our Time Productions Dir: Jaun de Meillon Corporate FRENZY Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Morena Sefatsa Variety
LATE NITE NEWS ON E.TV Diprente Productions Prod: Tamsin Andersson Series
GENERATIONS Morula Pictures Prod: Mfundi Vundla Series
Light Girls South African Unit White Heron Pictures Prod: Themba Sibeko Documentary
GOOD MORNING AFRICA Planet Image Productions SA Prod/Dir: Wale Akinlabi Magazine GOSPEL GOLD Engage Entertainment Prod: Sthembile Mhlongu Music Got It Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate
LIVE Urban Brew Music LIVE LOTTO SHOW Urban Brew Game Show Mandela’s Gun DV8 films Dir: John Irvin Feature
GROEN Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Wildlife
Marang Estate: Mixed Used Development Nov/ Dec Our Time Productions Dir: Jaun de Meillon Documentary
HEAT WAVE Ruby Rocket Media Dir: Eddie Edwards TV Series
MASHELENG1 LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature
HECTIC 99 Okuhle Media Prod: Wilna van Schalkwyk Magazine
MASHELENG 2 LMOL Production Dir: Jonny Muteba Feature
HITACHI POWER AFRICA MEDUPI AND KUSILE Betta Beta Communications Prod/Dir: Tommy Doig Documentary
MassTalk Global Access Creative Agency Prod: Brad Montgomery Corporate
HOUSE CALL Izwe Multimedia / Urban Brew Prod: Annalie Potgieter Talk Show
MATRICS UPLOADED Educational Improvement and Study Help (EISH) Prod: Lisa Blakeway Educational
IGNITE Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Reality
MOTSWAKO Carol Bouwer Productions Prod: Grant Paul Roy Talk Show
IHAWU LE SISWE Provoke Entertainment Dir: Sechaba Morojele TV Series
MCA Training Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate
iParent training clips Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate
M-NET SHORT FILMS Current Affairs Films Prod/ Dir: Jane Thandi Lipman Film
IMIZWILILI Ukhamba Productions Prod: Alfred Mpofu Music
MURDER OF A FORMER FIRST LADY Sabido Productions Dir/Prod: Catherine Rice Documentary
INKABA Urban Brew Studios Prod: John Kani Telenovela In search of our own Open Window school of film arts Prod: Adriaan De la Rey Documentary ISIDINGO Endemol South Africa Prod: Pumla Hoppa, Leo Phiri Soap JOU SHOW Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Talkshow comedy KOKKEDOOR 2 Homebrew films Prod: Jaco Loubser and Paul Venter Cooking reality series
46 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2015
KOOLCON CORPORATE VIDEO FiX Post Production/ Marketing AV Marketing Video
MUVHANGO Word of Mouth Prod: Pieter Grobbelaar Feature MY GENERATION Current Affairs Films Dir: Jane Lipman TV Series My name is Funeka Sabido Productions Dir/Prod: Catherine Rice Documentary MZANSI INSIDER Bonngoe Productions Prod: Pepsi Pokane Magazine NEILL ANTHONY – THE PRIVATE CHEF Okuhle Media Prod: Grant Flynn Cooking Show
Oscar Pistorius Documentary Inserts TIA Productions Dir/ Prod: Tarryn Crossman Documentary PASELLA Tswelopele Productions Dir: Liani Maasdorp / Werner Hefer Magazine PAWN STARS SOUTH AFRICA Rapid Blue Prod: Kee-Leen Irvine, Ed Worster, Johan Naude and Kat Weatherall Reality PHUNDEKA READING PROGRAMME SummerTime Productions Exec Prod: Phundeka (NGO) Documentary POWER COMBAT ZONE Mixed Motion Entertainment Dir: Dieter Gottert Sport PROJECT MV Zen Crew Prod: Laura Tarling Music Rands with Sense 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myersin Education RHYTHM CITY Quizzical Pictures Prod: Yula Quinn Soapie RHYTHM CITY INTERACTIVE Quizzical Pictures / e.tv Prod: Viva Liles-Wilkin Interactive Platform Media RIVONINGO Asi-B Films Prod: Asivhanzi ‘Asi’ Mathaba Children’s Show ROLLING WITH KELLY KHUMALO Red Pepper Prod: Cecil Barry Reality ROOTS Ukhamba Communications Prod: Alfred Mpofu Music SAINT AND FREEDOM FIGHTER Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Documentary SA Top Model for a Day Michics Global Communications Exec Prod: Mishack Motshweni TV Series SAKEGESPREK MET THEO VORSTER SEASON 5 Dirk Mostert Camera Production Prod/ Dir: Dirk Mostert Series SAUBA IMAGOFILM Prod: Tam de Vries Reality TV Series Shreds and Dreams Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant TV Series SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM Rapid Blue Prod: Kee-Leen Irvine Global TV Commercial SA’S GOT TALENT Rapid Blue Prod/Dir: Kee-Leen Irvine Talent show SCANDAL Ochre Moving Pictures Prod: Romano Gorlei Soapie
PRODUCTION SCHOEMAN BOERDERY – MOOSRIVIER Khaki Productions Prod/Dir: Christelle Parrott / Wynand Dreyer Documentary
Troopship Tragedy (working title) Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Marion Edmunds Documentary
SELIMATHUNZI Sikhoyana Productions Prod: Baby Joe Correira Variety
TSHIPE BORWA MANGANESE MINE Betta Beta Communications Prod / Dir: Tommy Doig Documentary
SHIZ NIZ Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Allen Makhubele Variety
Vaseline Experience Xcut Studios Dir: Lee Anne Theron 4D AV production
SHIFT Urban Brew Talk show
VILLA ROSA Spectro Productions Dir: Luhann Jansen / Andries van der Merwe/ Leroux Botha/ Isabel Smit Series
SISTERHOOD Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Andy Leze Variety SIYAKHOLWA – WE BELIEVE X CON Films Dir: Munier Parker Edutainment Slender Wonder Doctors Conference Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Prod: Slender Wonder Corporate Video Slender Wonder Patient Testimonial Videos Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Corporate Videos SOCCER ZONE SABC Sports Head: Sizwe Nzimande Magazine SODA AND Mayoral Awards Global Access Creative Agency Guy Sclanders Corporate STUDY MATE Educational Improvement and Study Help (EISH) Exec Prod: Lisa Blakeway Educational SUPERSWIMMER Media Ventures Prod/Dir: Chris Moolman TV Series THE CHAT ROOM Eclipse Prod: Thokozani Nkosi Talk Show THE COMMUNIST REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA Jam TV, Creative South Africa, Nkhanyeti Production Prod: Barthelemy Ngwessam Documentary THE JUSTICE FACTOR eNews Prod: Debbie Meyer Current Affairs THE REAL GOBOZA 7 Urban Brew Entertainment The Revolution Betrayed Shadow Films Prod/Dir: David Forbes Documentary THE RUDIMENTALS Periphery Films Prod: Simon Taylor Feature THE TECH REPORT Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Technology Magazine TOP BILLING Tswelopele Productions Prod: Patience Stevens Magazine TOP TRAVEL (Season 3) Cardova Prod: Bradley van den Berg Series Transnet Financial Results Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Brad Montgomery Corporate
Volkspele South Africa Grey Cloud Productions Dir:Jacques Brand Prod: Bertie Brink Documentary WARD 22 TIA Productions Prod/Dir: Tarryn Crossman Documentary WEEKEND AM LIVE SABC News Current Affairs YILENGELO LAKHO Prod: Nndanganeni Mudau Current Affairs ZOOM IN Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Talk show
IN POST-PRODUCTION A BUSHMAN ODYSSEY Onetime Films Prod: Richard Wicksteed Documentary A DIFFERENT COUNTRY Sabido Productions Dir: Lisa Henry Documentary series A Love Letter to Luxor Shadow Films Prod/Dir: David Forbes Short Film A MOTHER’S MADNESS Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Ayesha Ismail Documentary AFROX CO2 PLANT FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video AFROX FINANCIAL RESULTS FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video AFROX RAU INSIGHT FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video AFROX SHEQ INDUCTION FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Commercial CAESAREAN COMPLICATIONS SummerTime Productions Exec Prod: Professor Eckhart Buchmann Documentary Challenge SOS 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myers Reality Collide Media Village Productions Prod: Ardeen Munnik TV Series CROSSBOW KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Barbara Friedman Documentary
DEBRA DEEL Khaki Productions Prod: Christelle Parrott TV Series FASHION GURU SA Pro Media & Spider – Co Productions Prod/Dir: Dee Vanzyl Reality FORMIDABELE VROUE: CISSY GOOL Khaki Productions Prod/Dir: Christelle Parrott/ Wynand Dreyer Documentary HAD BETTER DAYS Uniquely Novel Productions Prod/Dir: Deon VD Merwe Feature Film THE HOCKEY STICK KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Melanie Rice Documentary HOPE NHU Africa Prod: Vyv Simson / Donfrey Meyer Documentary HOUSE OF ENCOURAGEMENT Panache Video Productions Dir/Prod: Liesel Eiselen Corporate IQILI Impucuzeko Prod: Sharon Kakora Feature Joyous 18 RM Recording Prod: Lindelani Mkhize Other JULIUS HAS A DREAM Creative South Africa, Nkanyethi Productions,Jam TV Prod: Bathelemy Ngwessam Documentary KADARA Media Navigation Prod: Dan Akinlolu/ Biola Karonwi TV Drama Kerels wat Kook Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant Reality TV Series KNYSNA West Five Films Prod/ Dir: Maynard Kraak; Andre Velts Feature Film LINCOLN CLAN Total Recall Media Ltd Dir: Adebanjo Oluseyi TV Series MURDER ON MILLIONAIRE’S MILE Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Barbara Friedman Documentary NIGHT OF THE MASSACRE Tshepo Lesedi Projects, Mathope & Izibuko Films Dir: Charles Khuele Documentary NEW LAND Plexus Films/ Four Corners Media Dir: Kyle O’ Donoghue TV Series
U PDAT ES
UPCOMING EVENTS
|
APRIL 11 – 16
nab show
Las Vegas www.nabshow.com
13 – 16 Miptv
Cannes www.miptv.com
23 – 3 May HOT DOCS
Canada www.hotdocs.ca
28 – 30 TV CONNECT
London www.tvconnectevent.com
MAY 5 Screen Africa Golf Day
Johannesburg www.screenafrica.com
6 – 7 DIGITAL BROADCASTING SUMMIT
12 – 13
Nigeria www.bspmediagroup.com
Broadband & TV Connect Asia 2015
Singapore www.asia.broadbandworldforum.com
13 – 24 Cannes International Film Festival
France www.festival-cannes.com
26 – 27 SatCom Africa
Johannesburg www. terrapinn.com
26 – 28 OTT TV and VOD Summit
Johannesburg www.bspmediagroup.com
Pushi-Passion LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Series
THE LAST GREAT TUSKERS NHU Africa Prod: Vyv Simson / Donfrey Meyer Documentary
ROSA 3 Two Oceans Productions Prod: Giselher Venzke & Bertha Spieker TV Feature
The Message Reel Edge Studios Dir: David Golden TV Drama Series
SAFE BET Sukuma Media Producer: Nokuthula Sakhile Mguni / Bonginhlanhla Ncube Feature Film SHALLOW GRAVE Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Meggan Raubenheimer Documentary SLENDER WONDER FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video SLENDER WONDER MJ LABS FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video SWARTWATER Quizzical Pictures Prod: Bianca Isaac Dir: John Trengove/ Jozua Malherbe/ Denny Y Miller Series SUPERDAD Two Oceans Productions Prod: Giselher Venzke & Bertha Spieker TV Feature SURVIVOR Endemol South Africa Prod: Anton Burggraaf, Josh Feldman Reality
NIGHTCLUB KILLER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Nobathembu Stefane Documentary
TELKOM: BUSINESS INSIGHTS WEBSERIES UZI Films Prod/Dir: Steven Hall Corporate
Nyaope Gangsters LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature
The calling LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature
PERFECT SHISHEBO Quizzical Pictures Prod: Nthabiseng Mokoena Series
THE CODE BREAKER NHU Africa Prod: Vyv Simson / Donfrey Meyer Documentary
PLAY MORE GOLF FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Commercials
THE FAMILY PUZZLE Site et Sons media productions Prod/Dir : Zamo Missie Feature
THE STORY OF LITTLE FOOT Paul Myburgh Film Prod: Paul Myburgh Documentary THE TRANSPORTERS Sukuma Media/ Reality Motion Pictures Dir: Bonginhlanhla Ncube Documentary TROOPSHIP TRAGEDY Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Marion Edmunds Documentary Traffic Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant TV Series UNDER THE MOUNTAIN Plexus Films Prod: Miki Redelinghuys,/ Lauren Groenewald Short film UNSOLVED – THE STORY OF THE CAPE RIPPER Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Johann Abrahams Documentary VKB LANDBOU BEPERK FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video When I Was Water Shadow Films Dir: David Forbes Documentary XJ-1 Eternal Film Productions Prod: Marius Swanepoel/ Dana Pretorius Feature You Deserve It Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant TV Game Show Screen Africa relies on the accuracy of information received and cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions which may occur. E-mail production updates to: online@screenafrica.com
March 2015 | SCREENAFRICA | 47
Social
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Bona Retsang Launch
Guests enjoying the event
Keolebogile Kwaile, Fikile Ka-Nthandi, Linah Mgahu and Mpho Olifant
Lisa Blakeway and Tina Ghelli
Josh La Porte, Sihle Mbathani and Mzwandile Buthelezi
Boka Phoko, Shane Potgieter, Zack Roberts, Nicholas Sun and Brendan Higgo
Love the One you Love Premiere
Brent Thomson, Adam Donnelly and Denton Carstens
Chi Mhende
Shareen Anderson, Dayaan Salie, Chi Mhende and Simon Swart
Jenna Cato Bass
Lisa Henry
Thenji Stemela and Jacques De Villiers
Vusi Zion
Darren Gordon (They), Ashleigh Lambson (Upstairs Post) and Joe Erasmus (Upstairs Post)
Ian Wolvaardt (Black and Burst) and Michaela Wilson (The Upstairs Ludus)
Upstairs Post Ludus Valentines Party
Ashleigh Lambson (Upstairs Post) and Dries Uys (Sinister Studios)
Greg Shaw (Upstairs Post) and Karen MacDonald (Black & Burst)
Julie Maunder (ididthatad) and Mark Ash (Upstairs Post)
PPS Architects’ Paul Sheridan and Luis Prazeres with Jarrod Anderson (PPS Interiors)
48 | SCREENAFRICA | March 2015
Simone Bosman (Ogilvy), Kirsten Clarence (Carbon Films), Julie Maunder (ididthatad) and Bruno Bossi (Carbon Films)
www.kwazulunatalfilm.co.za.
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