Screen Africa - May 2012

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SA goes to Cannes Twelve feature films, eight documentaries and one short film will comprise the official South African catalogue at the Cannes International Film Festival, which runs in Cannes, France from 16 to 27 May. The catalogue was compiled by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), which hosts the South African Pavilion at Cannes. In addition, the NFVF is enabling a number of filmmakers to go to Cannes.

Says NFVF Communications & Public Affairs manager Naomi Mokhele: “We will host a 45-minute sales event at Cannes on Friday 18 May where the catalogue films will be showcased. Our presentation will demonstrate the high quality of South African product, as well as the diversity of genres, to international

distributors and sales agents.”

NFVF production and development executive Thandeka Zwana adds that all trailers that are ready in time for Cannes will be shown at the event.

“For those projects not yet completed we will present synopses and show clips from the films. Those filmmakers who are attending the festival will be able to respond to questions.

“I must stress that this event is not about the NFVF – it’s about the South African industry. The NFVF’s role is that of gobetween, between South African filmmakers and the international market. We believe that several South African filmmakers are going to Cannes independently of the NFVF,” says Zwana.

New social network for media A new social network for South African media professionals aims to improve collaboration and help the industry become more structured.

“MediaCamp was initiated by the Barnard Business Institute and created in close co-operation with the Writers’ Guild of South Africa (WGSA), especially Natasje van Niekerk, who was kind enough to provide hours of

feedback and insight into the problems that the individual media practitioner faces,” explains Salmon Barnard of the Barnard Business Institute.

“We have many highly skilled media professionals in South Africa, but we need to create greater interaction and communication between the different players in the industry.”

MediaCamp is currently

Mokhele points out that the 2012 Cannes sales event differs from previous ones in that it will, for the first time, be hosted at the South African Pavilion.

“The Pavilion has a prime position at the Palais de Festivals, overlooking the Cannes beachfront and the famous La Croisette promenade.

All our other sales events were held at venues outside the Pavilion such as the Martinez Hotel for example. The idea this year is to bring people to South Africa via our Pavilion.”

Among the feature films in the catalogue are 31 Million Reasons (heist drama, completed); The Adventures of Supermama (action comedy, pre-production); Five Fingers For Marseille (western, preproduction); Blitz Patrollie – to page 4 being tested on the WGSA, but Barnard adds that it will be available to all media practitioners who are members of local media associations or guilds serving the media. “In order to be a member you will be required to join one of our partner associations,” he notes.

He explains that the network is exclusive to keep it professional and maintain a high standard.

“There are various associations, affiliations and guilds that have shown interest in the services that MediaCamp – to page 4

WAR HEROES IN FLIGHT: A scene from the new South African film Angel of the Skies, directed by Chris dos Santos and produced by Welela Studios.

See below

Local film slate completed Johannesburg-based production company Welela Studios is in the process of completing three feature films for release this year, two of which have the potential for international distribution.

Snare is a crime thriller set against the world of rhino poaching while Angel of the Skies, which comprises about 60% computer generated imagery (CGI), is based on the true story of South African Air Force pilots who fought in World War II. Both Snare and Angel of the Skies will be marketed at the Cannes International Film Festival in May. The third film in Welela Films’ slate is the Afrikaanslanguage madcap comedy, Die 100m Leeuloop.

This brings to four the

number of films produced by Welela since late 2010, the remaining film being ‘n Saak van Geloof, which went on theatrical and DVD release last year.

All the films utilised the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) rebate.

“If it weren’t for the dti rebate none of these films would have been possible,” says Welela Studios’ producer, director and writer Diony Kempen. “Welela moved into feature film production when public broadcaster SABC crashed and drastically reduced its local content commissions.

“Our first feature film was the Darrell James Roodt-directed Meisie, which was shot in an experimental way with – to page 4

From the editor

Not all glitz and glam This May issue of Screen Africa is headed for the Cannes International Film Festival, probably the most hyped of all festivals with its constant roll-out of A-list Hollywood stars on the red carpet. But behind all the razzle-dazzle star power there is a serious business element to the market, one that will see the participation of many South Africans.

As reported in our lead front page story, the official South African delegation is led by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), which hosts the SA Pavilion at the Palais des Festivals, as well as a sales event targeted at international sales agents and distributors. Cannes will also see a delegation of filmmakers facilitated by the Cape Film Commission in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry. In addition, several South African filmmakers are travelling independently to Cannes. We trust that our June issue will be able to report on lots of South Africanrelated film deals successfully concluded at Cannes!

Another front page story focuses on a new initiative that should be of great interest to any South African media professional. MediaCamp is a social network which aims to improve collaboration and help the industry become more structured. It was initiated by the Barnard Business Institute and created in close co-operation with the Writers’ Guild of South Africa (WGSA). The network will enable greater interaction and communication between all the different players in the industry.

One of our feature stories this month is about the extraordinary premise for a new South African docu-drama about the Brett Kebble murder, of using the three selfconfessed killers to ‘play’ themselves in the film. 204: Getting Away with Murder (working title) is sure to attract attention for its subject matter and ‘stars’.

As befitting any Cannes-bound issue, there is lots of exciting film news in this issue, from one company’s completed slate of three films in vastly different genres, to a production set against the backdrop of the 1980s Cape jazz scene, to a film based on an Afrikaans school set work.

No film can be completed without an extensive postproduction process. This issue takes an in-depth look at the current state of South Africa’s post-production industry and puts a spotlight on the huge range of world class facilities that are available for local and visiting filmmakers.

Joanna Sterkowicz

Editor: Joanna Sterkowicz: editor@screenafrica.com

Publisher & Managing Editor: Simon Robinson: publisher@screenafrica.com

In-house Journalist: Linda Loubser: news@screenafrica.com

Advertisement Sales: Marianne Schafer: marianne@screenafrica.com Hermione Ballinger: hermi@screenafrica.com

Sub-Editor: Tina Heron Ratings: Enid Venter enid@ihjohannesburg.co.za Head of Design: Trevor Ou Tim: design@screenafrica.com Website & Production Updates: Simba Nyamukachi: online@screenafrica.com Subscriptions: Delight Ngwenya: adminsa@screenafrica.com

2 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

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SPECIAL FEATURES POST-PRODUCTION

SCREENAFRICA

Contributors: Andy Stead, Martin Chemhere, Ian Dormer, Simba Nyamukachi Anton Crone

Contents

Accounts: Marietjie Esterhuizen: accounts@screenafrica.com Front Office: Delight Ngwenya: adminsa@screenafrica.com

Sun Circle Publishers (Pty) Ltd Tel: 011 025-3180 Physical address: Block A, Process House Epsom Downs Office Park 13 Sloane Street, Bryanston, Johannesburg PO Box 559 Fourways North 2086

The gentle art of post-production........................... 22 Post gets busy; Fighting talk...... 24 Searle Street marches on.......... 25 Post on the up; Cutting edge... 26 Diversity rules; Consistency is the word....................................... 27 Strong start for New Service; Sticking to the core...28 Music library expands; The new standard ...................... 29 Music in synch; More bang for your buck............................... 30 Sasani upgrades audio suite...... 31 More than just post-production................... 32

NAB REPORT BACK The great big tech fest; Cinema Camera launched; Live graphics boost; Empowering broadcast news pros; ‘TAP’ping into Thunderbolt connectivity.......... 36 Find your route; Vision goes ‘Beyond’; Weathering the ‘Tempest’....................................... 37 Integrated camcorder and uplink; Protecting content on shared storage;

41

A masterful control solution; Integrated playout system......... 38 Video encoding platform; Next generation ENG............... 39

INDUSTRY

NEWS

Starting an iconic revolution.... 34

SA goes to Cannes; Local film slate completed; New social network for media......................... 1 Celebrating visual storytellers; Sasani upgrades; CFC firsts.......... 3 New academy launched; Doremi and Cannes; Calling all aspiring filmmakers........................................ 6

DOCUMENTARY Kebble’s killers ‘star’ in docudrama........................................ 8 / 9

COMMERCIALS It’s the voice that counts!

Living the high life....................... 12

FILM A beggar’s tale.............................. 14 New film rooted in Cape jazz....................................... 16

TELEVISION The local content game............. 18 A very spicy cook-off................. 20

Director Speak – Rolie Nikiwe................................. 21

CAMERAS BROADCAST The future of broadcast television....................................... 35

AFRICA Spreading its ‘wireless’ footprint across Africa................................. 40 Boxing her way to the top; Assisting Zim film industry – one step at a time....................... 41

STATS South African films and box office stats.................... 42

REGULARS Adcetera............................. 10 / 11 Audience Ratings......................... 43 Vital Stats...................................... 43 Events............................................. 47 Production Updates........... 44 / 45 / 46 /47 Social.............................................. 48

| NEWS

Celebrating visual storytellers Sasani There was a palpable air of excitement as dozens of young filmmakers gathered at the Turbine Hall in Newtown, Johannesburg for the recent DStv Film Talent Celebration short film competition.

When director Sakhumzi Mati heard his film, Ibhayibhile -The Bible, announced as the winner of the best overall production award, he was so excited that he actually jigged his way up to the podium, waving his arms around in delight. Mati had already won the best director award and ended the evening with a combined cash prize of R90 000, which he said would go straight into his next film.

Ibhayibhile is a 10-minute film shot in a Western Cape township. It was produced

by Mati along with Vukile Ngcingwana and Siyabonga Jim At a post-awards interview Mati told Screen Africa that as a Christian, he’d always wanted to make a township film about Christianity.

“My aim was to make a film that everyone could enjoy, even pastors. This is an action film and I think, quite a realistic depiction of township life. When the mother of a young man tells him his life is in the bible, he steals one from a pastor in order to read it. The bible ends up saving his life when it protects his chest during a stabbing incident. He becomes a Christian as a result.

“I live in the township and I wanted to make the film for the community around me. South African audiences are hungry for local stories and feeding themselves with Nollywood films instead. So, I

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TRIUMPHANT – Sakhumzi Mati, Itumeleng Letebele, Vukile Ngcingwana, Feziwe Gontsana and Steven

Markovitz

wanted to feed the audience.”

Co-founder of the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival Steven Markovitz headed the judging panel which comprised filmmakers Teboho Mahlatsi and Kgomotso Matsunyane, as well as independent distributor Helen Kuun and Eve Rantseli of Women of the Sun. According to Markovitz the judging criteria were based on the principles of excellence, originality, innovation and the honest expression of talent.

“The judges reached consensus quite quickly in this competition,” noted Markovitz. “What’s really exciting is that about a third of the films were made by first-timers showing that these youngsters did not sit around waiting for handouts and donations. Another third of the entries were made by students and graduates, with the remainder by more experienced filmmakers.

CFC firsts For the first time the Cape Film Commission (CFC) will take a delegation of eight South African filmmakers to the Cannes International Film Festival (16 to 27 May), in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti).

This follows on from another first, the CFC’s trade mission to the Tribeca Film Festival in New York in April, organised in conjunction with the dti, the South African Consulate General in New York City, the Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Gauteng Film Commission.

Eighteen filmmakers from Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban attended Tribeca through the initiative. The aim of the mission was to assist South African filmmakers in promoting local films to a wider international audience.

Says CFC CEO Denis Lillie: “We feel it is important for South African filmmakers to have access to international

CANNES DO – Denis Lillie

markets through festivals like Cannes and Tribeca. This forms part of the CFC enterprise and trade development initiative.

“For both Tribeca and Cannes we put out a newsletter to our 3 000 members.

Those that responded were given the dti guidelines and those who satisfied them were accepted on the mission. Their air fare, accommodation and delegate passes are funded through our initiative by the dti.”

“We were looking at craft in all departments as well as the director’s ability to get good performances. The winning film shows that the director is ambitious and takes risks. An extra bonus for the judges was the fact that this film came out of a township.” MultiChoice Corporate Social Investment manager Itumeleng Matebele noted that this inaugural DStv Film Talent Celebration attracted 300 entries.

“These filmmakers submitted films on a wide diversity of subjects, ranging from nature conservation to township stories to stories of love. This competition shows that South Africa doesn’t need Nollywood, we’ve got our own talent.

These short films act as filmmakers’ business cards and they will be made accessible to DStv viewers.”

For the full list of DStv Film Talent Celebration winners visit: www. screenafrica.com.

At Cannes the CFC will be based at the South African Pavilion, which is hosted by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF).

“We are arranging a breakfast reception at Cannes in conjunction with the NFVF and another reception together with Cape Town Film Studios,” notes Lillie.

He reports that through the positive interactions at Tribeca the CFC has agreed with the South African consulate in New York to make this an annual trade mission.

“On 20 April the South African Consulate General and the Cape and Gauteng Film Commissions hosted a South African reception at the Tribeca Filmmakers Lounge,” continues Lillie.

“The event was attended by over 150 representatives of the New York film industry, including some of the management of Tribeca and the International Emmys.

“We were all a bit overwhelmed by the response to our delegation. Many have reported that they did good business at Tribeca. Actor Joe Pantaliano (The Sopranos; Momento) was a guest speaker at

Johannesburg based Sasani Studios has purchased six full high definition (HD) Grass Valley LDK 8000 camera chains with stereoscopic 3D capability, as well as a substantial HD routing system to link to the control rooms.

Says Andre Vorster, Sasani Studios senior system engineer: “The camera has the ability to support multiple HD formats natively and incorporates a flexible solution for both fiber and triax connectivity. LDK 8000 HD cameras ensure precise picture matching, rich production values and uncompromised technical quality.”

The LDK 8000 incorporates Grass Valley’s unique HD Dynamic Pixel Management (DPM™+) imaging technology, which features three 9.2 million pixel imagers. By manipulating the imagers at a sub-pixel level, the camera can produce native full resolution images for any HD acquisition format, with a consistent pin-sharp resolution, while offering a very high sensitivity. (See page 31) – Simba Nyamukachi

our local film screening and he, like everyone else, was somewhat taken aback by the scope, depth and breadth of our filmmaking capabilities. It’s clear when you view the pantheon of what is currently in production, from animation through features to music videos and documentaries, that South Africa is a force to be reckoned with on the world filmmaking stage.”

Next year Lillie hopes to take 30 filmmakers to Tribeca and develop an expanded programme.

“This fits in well with the relationship we are developing with the International Emmys here in New York, together with the African American Film Festival and The Africa Channel. We are looking to develop a South Africa Day as part of the African American Festival 2013, which will run a few days before Tribeca.

“I urge filmmakers to register as members of the CFC so they receive newsletters in relation to future trade missions through information@ capefilmcommission.co.za,” concludes Lillie.

May 2012 | SCREENAFRICA | 3

Continued from page 1 | SA goes to Cannes (action comedy, post-production); One Last Look (psychological horror, postproduction); Tok Tokkie (horror, raising finance); The Umbrella Men (heist / caper, pre-production); Otelo Burning (coming of age drama, completed); Combat (live comedy performance, completed); Liefling (musical, completed); and Semi-Soet (romantic comedy, completed).

Documentaries to be showcased include: Asihambi – We Will Not Move; The Dream of Shahrazad; I am…Craig; Wandering Fever; Rollaball; Sobukwe – A Great Soul; and Captor and Captive – The Story of Danger Ashipala and Johan van der Mescht.

“The only short film included in the catalogue is Norman Catherine: A CV,” continues Zwana. “We did not receive many short film submissions but this one is definitely ‘Cannes-worthy’.

“Cannes is very auteur-driven – they tend to look at films where the director’s voice is very prominent, a good South African example being Oliver Hermanus’ Skoonheid, which received lots of buzz at Cannes last year. The Toronto Film Festival, on the other hand, is more audience-driven so films that appeal to audiences, like Tsotsi, tend to do well there.

“The NFVF constantly encourages people to make films so we’re delighted that this year’s catalogue is bigger than

2011. It is also critical to take films to Cannes at the right time as a film only has a lifespan of two years at Cannes. Any longer and it suffers from festival fatigue.”

Networking According to Mokhele, the NFVF will also host a Co-production Forum at Cannes to update its counterparts in treaty countries – Italy, Germany, France, Canada, UK, New Zealand and Australia – on the latest developments in the South African industry.

“This includes news of the lifting of the cap on the Department of Trade & Industry (the dti) rebate. Further, we will discuss the definition of the term ‘South African film’. The Forum will also give South African filmmakers the opportunity to network with treaty countries’ film bodies,” states Mokhele.

This will be the first Cannes Film Festival to be attended by Zama Mkosi, the recently appointed CEO of the NFVF. The DTI hosts the South Africa Pavilion along with the NFVF and the latter’s mother body, the Department of Arts and Culture.

For the second time the NFVF will partner with Brand SA at Cannes to help position local films as a South African product. – Joanna Sterkowicz

GOING ABROAD – The poster of 5 Fingers for Marseilles, one of the South African films to showcase at Cannes

Local film slate completed absolutely no budget. Then we made Jakalhsdans, which did a fairly sizeable box office of around R3m. After that came ’n Saak van Geloof, which was well received and is reaching its true potential on DVD release.”

First of its kind On the subject of Snare, Welela Studios producer and writer Andrew Worsdale maintains that it is the first film of its kind in South Africa.

“There have been lots of spectacular wildlife documentary films shot here, mostly by foreign crew, but there’s never been a locally made crime thriller about rhino poaching. However, Snare is not meant to be a message film – it’s a crime thriller although the anti-poaching stance is intrinsic. The logline for the film is: 4 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

‘Begin to fight back.’”

Kempen notes that the inspiration for Snare was something the team stumbled upon. “We wanted to start making thrillers and happened to interview someone from an anti-poaching unit for one of our TV shows.

“Jaco Botha, Andrew (Worsdale) and I wrote the screenplay for Snare. This project started small but then we realised it was going to be much bigger. It was an

IN THE WILD – A scene from Snare

New social network for media has to offer, however, we have not started formally marketing our service offering to other associations as yet. Any association, affiliation or guild that represents a niche group of individual media practitioners is welcome as partner at MediaCamp.

This is an exclusive service made available free to affiliations and their members, courtesy of our sponsors.”

At the moment MediaCamp is sponsored by Barnard and the Barnard Business Institute, but he notes that, now that they have a proven system in place, they are looking for the right sponsors to come on board.

He believes the social network will benefit the industry by increasing the speed at which media content can be created.

“We hope MediaCamp will create enhanced collaboration resulting in more high quality content.”

“From what I’ve seen the supply and demand in the industry is completely off-scale. We constantly look overseas to get projects up and running because they’ve got the structures and communication networks in place.”

Barnard notes that MediaCamp looks and feels similar to other social communities or networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn. “However, this is a niche network only for media practitioners,” he explains.

“Belonging to MediaCamp will help others see you in a context that will open up possibilities for you as an individual.

Where most other networks assume you need to know someone to have access to them, on MediaCamp you have access to everyone else. You start off being ‘friends’ with everyone, although you can choose to hide your profile from others.”

The project was initiated in 2011 and started an alpha test run in November and December with executive members of the WGSA, after which a systems upgrade extremely difficult shoot because apart from the challenging logistics of the remote location, we would have literally only two minutes to film the rhino once they’d been darted by the game rangers.”

Kempen describes Snare as a small movie about a big issue that has ‘amazing production value’ within this framework.

Shot in anamorphic to capitalise on the panoramic vistas at Bela-Bela, Limpopo, the film was between 20% to 24% more expensive than other Welela films, largely due to the prosthetics required to re-enact poaching scenes. It was also the first film in the Welela slate to be scored. Gio Höhn composed the music.

Snare releases in South Africa by Nu Metro on 21 September.

was done. At the time of going to print they were in the process of inviting all WGSA members to join the next phase.

“Our focus is to increase membership to 5 000,” explains Barnard. “We are also updating the site for mobile components.”

He notes that he has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from MediaCamp members, which has been better than initially expected.

According to WGSA’s Natasje van Niekerk, MediaCamp is ‘just the resource the TV and film industry and media practitioners at large have been waiting for’.

“It’s a space where we can all connect, network and collaborate and it offers crucial resources (we would otherwise never have) to small organisations that serve communities — like being able to stream our Annual General Meetings and open source access to seminars and workshops,” she notes.

Any associations interested in joining MediaCamp can contact Salmon Barnard at 082 865 9901 or email: spbarnard@ gmail.com. – Linda Loubser

Different genres Worsdale explains that writer and director Chris dos Santos approached Welela to produce Angel of the Skies for him. “Chris is an incredibly talented visual effects artist who had written this fascinating script about a real-life South African pilot who was recruited by Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) for World War II duty.

“Angel of the Skies is the name of a bomber airplane that the South African pilots flew. Part of the film was shot at the War Museum in Johannesburg and at the South African Air Force Base at Waterkloof.”

Meanwhile the comedy, Die 100m Leeuloop, which was directed by Kempen and co-produced with Coleske Artists, was conceived and written by Robbie Wessels and his brother Hamilton Wessels, after working with Kempen on ‘n Saak van Geloof and several of his music videos. – Joanna Sterkowicz

NEWS |

New academy launched The Academy of Visual Arts & Media in Cape Town was inaugurated in April this year, following months of negotiations between the Camera Station, Dimension TV and The Broadcast Academy.

Says The Broadcast Academy’s Rob Gray: “These negotiations took place against a background of debate regarding skills shortage within the broadcast and audio visual (AV) industry and inspired the development of specific workshops and courses in broadcast, multimedia, digital filmmaking and AV.

Doremi and Cannes In 2003 when Doremi first installed its servers at the Cannes International Film Festival for the screening of James Cameron’s Ghosts of the Abyss, it established a trusting relationship between Cannes and digital technology. Since then, with the development of innovative technologies for digital cinema, Doremi’s involvement at Cannes has expanded. The company has now reached a prominent position in the festival’s organisation and with the presentation of all films, whether in the Official Selection, or elsewhere.

Previously Doremi servers were used by industry partners working with the festival. Now Doremi has signed a direct partnership with the festival organisation that runs though to 2014. For Cannes 2012 Doremi is supplying around 40 digital cinema players comprising the widely used DCP-2000 digital cinema player for up to 2K resolution and IMB (Integrated Media Block) and ShowVault combination for up to 4K. Says Doremi’s Julien Gévaudan: “Doremi is the clear No.1 provider of digital cinema player technology worldwide and has a market share of approximately 85% in France. The company will take the opportunity of its Cannes presence to organise an on-site event to thank the French operators and its many partners.

“Visitors can also find a wide range of Doremi Cinema solutions at the film market on the booth of our partner, Decipro. These include the latest playout systems as well as Fidelio and Captiview which are designed to enhance the movie experience for the visually and hearing impaired.”

6 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

ON COURSE FOR SUCCESS – Dimension TV’s SNG unit used for uplink courses

“Our approach to training is vis-à-vis direct industry participation and high end broadcast facilities.”

Full time courses will commence in 2013, with two workshops scheduled for July 2012. The workshops are: Satellite Uplink Course for Technical Operators; and Multi-Camera Studio Course for Producers and Directors.

“There is a healthy interest in the other short courses and workshop offerings for this year,” continues Gray. “The Academy is expected to be in full flight by the end of August 2012, with evening courses, workshops and short courses. These are developed from new resources, keeping in line with the Academy’s policy of teaching ‘now technology’ and the latest workflow trends.”

Gray, who is the founder of CityVarsity,

heads up the Academy, supported by partners James Macpherson (Technical) and Neil White of The Camera Station.

Both Gray and Macpherson started their careers at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and are committed to delivering quality training.

The Academy’s courses and workshops concentrate on practical work and the application of necessary theory, using state of the art equipment.

Says Gray: “The facility support and infrastructure is constantly being upgraded, which gives the Academy a massive advantage by virtue of technology sustainability, necessary for the successful placement of students in the industry after training. This has been made possible by the support and sponsorship from

Dimension TV and The Camera Station, with an effective partnership agreement that will ensure a real-life working infrastructure by industry professionals.”

He points out that equipment plays a major role in modern day training, where workflow is driven by technological innovation and in turn calls on specific skill sets.

The facilities include two large studios with fully equipped control rooms and six outside broadcast (OB) units, which include satellite uplink facilities and a photographic studio. The operation is backed up by a Sony accredited technical workshop manned by highly qualified engineers.

Full time courses offered include: Digital Filmmaking, Television Production, Photography, Sound Engineering and Make-Up. Short courses and workshops are a mix of technical, production and operations.

Specialist courses include: EVS in Sports Production; Satellite News Gathering (SNG) and Uplink; and specialist technical courses. Gray believes that these workshops and courses will attract students from the rest of Africa and abroad.

Workshops will also be run in those areas where the AV and broadcast technologies intersect, preparing delegates for InfoComm recognition as well.

The Academy’s main studios and classrooms are located in Killarney Gardens, Milnerton.

Calling all aspiring filmmakers Entries for the SA’s Next Top Filmmaker 2012 competition are now open. This year entrants will be working on a reality / documentary project titled Through The Back Door.

The competition, from General Post in partnership south with Curious Pictures, Endemol and Ochre Moving Pictures, will aim to kick-start the broadcast television career of one aspiring South African filmmaker.

The project can be made in a number of reality / documentary formats or genres.

This includes a celebrity profile, where viewers get a glimpse into the lives and lifestyles of the rich and famous, as seen on Forever Young and Blame It On Fame on Vuzu and MTV Cribs.

Self-improvement shows cover a person or group of people that improve their lives, for example World’s Strictest Parents, Supernanny and Made.

Make-over shows transform a person, space, business or other entity by calling in experts to fix problems – usually a more superficial or visual change than the self-improvement category. Examples are What Not to Wear, Kitchen Nightmares and Restyle Mystyle (SABC2).

In the social experiment genre, people with different values agree to live by each other’s social rules for a brief period of

l post genera

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africa's

aker next top film2012 time and sometimes learn from the experience, for example Culture Swap, Wife Swap and Same Name.

Personality profiles show interesting people — sometimes celebrities — going about their daily lives, as seen on A Day in the Life and Top Shayela (Vuzu).

Scripted reality will feature a person or group of people put into certain situations or given a task while the result is filmed.

The personalities of the subjects drive a lot of the action. Examples are Cream Cartel (Vuzu), Keeping up With the Kardashians and Jersey Shore.

In constructed reality a person or group of people are put in a stressful or difficult situation and the result is filmed, as seen on Intervention and Boiling Point.

Requirements Entrants are required to submit a script, treatment and storyboard according to the

guidelines set out on the General Post website. es Three mo vin g pic tur  finalists will be chosen to produce their projects under the mentorship of Curious Pictures, Endemol and Ochre Media, giving them hands-on experience working in a professional environment and allowing them to make valuable contacts to further their careers in the television and film industry.

The winner will receive a one year paid internship at one of the partner companies, as well as exposure to the industry at large.

Camera, lighting and sound equipment is sponsored by Digitalfilm and wardrobe and accessories by Ikaya.

The offline edits will be done at General Post and the online at The Bladeworks in Bryanston. Final mix for the three finalists will be sponsored by Warren Birley of Fine Tune Audio in Bryanston.

For more information on how to enter and for entry requirements go to: www. generalpost.co.za or www.facebook.com/ generalpost.

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DOCUMENTARY |

Kebble’s killers ‘star’ in docu-drama

By Linda Loubser

CHILLINGLY REAL – Warren Batchelor (with sunglasses) at the location of the murder

A docu-drama about the murder of mining tycoon Brett Kebble and its aftermath carries the distinction of being the first in the world to use the self-confessed killers to re-enact the murder.

T

he docu-drama with the working title 204: Getting Away With Murder is directed by Warren Batchelor of InThaZone Entertainment.

He explains that they started out with a focus on the three hit men who confessed to killing mining tycoon Brett Kebble in an apparent assisted suicide.

Mikey Schultz, Nigel McGurk and Faizel ‘Kappie’ Smith received full indemnity on the murder charges through Section 204 of the Criminal Procedures Act – to which the title of the film alludes – in exchange for testifying for the state.

“I started by interviewing them extensively, but the film suddenly grew a life of its own and we got interviews with all the major players,” Batchelor notes. “It was the most amazing organic process.

We were going in one direction, and then we’d get another interview which would take us on a completely different tangent. We probably broke every rule of documentary making.”

High profile interviews Produced by Batchelor, his partner at InThaZone Tony Miguel and associate producer Anne Power, the docu-drama is privately funded by businessmen and individuals. Production took place between March and November 2011.

The role players and commentators interviewed in the docu-drama include Kebble’s brother Guy and father Roger; former national commissioner of the South African Police Service Jackie Selebi; convicted drug dealer Glenn Agliotti; former head of the National Prosecuting Authority Vusi Pikoli; veteran detective Piet Byleveld; South Africa’s foremost forensic investigator David Klatzow; former Scorpions special investigator Piet Jonker; Kebble’s butler Andrew Minaar and his personal assistant Laura Sham; plus journalist David McKay and criminal legal expert Pierre de Vos. “Schultz, McGurk and Smith’s story

was consistent all the way through. What surprised me was how vehemently the Kebble family disagree with their story.

The Kebbles don’t believe that it was assisted suicide; they believe Brett walked into a trap. That’s why we’re so lucky to have them in the documentary – they bring balance.”

Batchelor notes that his biggest challenge was the fact that he isn’t a journalist. “However, I got better at doing the interviews as I went along. I wasn’t there to crucify them or be sensationalist – just to let them tell their stories without interrupting. Maybe because I wasn’t a journalist they trusted me a lot and opened up to me.”

Real killers The docu-drama has already generated a huge amount of interest because of the

decision to use the real killers along with Kebble and Agliotti look-alikes in the recreation of Kebble’s murder, as well as events before and after the murder.

According to Batchelor they filmed at the exact place in Melrose, Johannesburg where Kebble was killed, using the same make, model and colour of cars and an exact prop replica of the gun that was used.

“I decided to use them for authenticity’s sake,” explains Batchelor “They were the only people who were there that night, who could say what really happened.

There’s no sensationalism involved and there’s no glorifying or romanticising of the killers at all, although we do get to know them as characters in the movie.”

He notes that this has never been done before, because killers usually end up behind bars. “The fact that we’re able to do this is an indictment of the South

“It was the most amazing organic process. We were going in one direction, and then we’d get another interview which would take us on a completely different tangent. We probably broke every rule of documentary making.”

– Warren Batchelor Anne Power, Jackie Selebi and Warren Batchelor 8 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

| DOCUMENTARY

A Brett Kebble look-alike

Tony Miguel

African justice system. Because of 204 they can tell their story and show us exactly what happened that night, according to them. They say it’s like they’ve won the lotto. It’s such a miscarriage of justice that happened, and it is so sad for this country. That’s why this story needs to be told.”

The recreations were filmed by director of photography Douglas McFarlaine on a Panasonic AG-HPX172. “They were shot very carefully, very beautifully and were very well lit – they will be the cinematic side of the docu-drama,” notes Batchelor.

While he acknowledges that it is a controversial idea, it was amplified by a newspaper article which claimed that he paid the three men R1m to appear in the docu-drama. “This was misconstrued from the fact that the killers were paid R1m between them for the actual deed of killing Kebble. We didn’t pay them anything to appear in the docu-drama,”

he emphasises.

They were planning to release directly to DVD to allow for the inclusion of extras and interviews that had to be cut from the 100-minute docu-drama, but were convinced to release in cinemas first.

At the time of going to print they were negotiating a distribution deal with Indigenous Film Distribution.

The film’s original score is being composed by Neil Solomon and Sean Fourie, while Craig Hinds from the band Watershed wrote a theme song.

Batchelor notes that a few final edits still need to be made by in-house editor Robert Haynes before the film is graded, final mixed, and then handed over to the distributors. He believes it will be released at cinemas within the next few months.

They will also explore their options with broadcasters, pay per view and festivals in South Africa and overseas.

He is also planning a feature film on the same subject.

“They were the only people who were there that night, who could say what really happened. There’s no sensationalism involved and there’s no glorifying or romanticising of the killers at all.” – Warren Batchelor

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May 2012 | SCREENAFRICA | 9

AD cetera

Report on the South African commercials industry by Anton Crone

Bringing a bit of goodness Since returning from the UK to take up the executive creative director reigns at Young & Rubicam South Africa, Graham Lang has found that a countrywide tour to film the new campaign for Pick n Pay is a wonderful way to immerse oneself in the goodness of South Africa.

The brief for Pick n Pay’s new corporate ad was to create a film that reconnected all South Africans with the good things that they are involved in from a CSI, economic development and sustainability stand point.

This evolved into Goodness, a fully integrated campaign with various components such as print, point of sale and mini documentaries hosted online.

The campaign kicks off in television as we journey with one of Pick n Pay’s store managers to connect with suppliers around the country and with the good initiatives they are involved in by supporting communities, education and environmental concerns.

Filmed by Jason Fialkov of Egg Films, a tight deadline meant just 14 days of

preparation and five days of recces to shoot locations in Malmesbury, Stanford, Hout Bay, Vryheid, Hoedspruit, Bapsfontein and Soweto.

The ad was shot on the digital Arri Alexa to make the most of real, spontaneous moments. A documentary approach meant there were unknown elements Pick n Pay such as real people, real situations and animals, the trickiest being a few mischievous cheetahs.

One of the cheetahs took a liking to Fialkov’s calf and another fancied camera operator Frank Gardener’s head as a snack. No animals were harmed during the making of this commercial, but some humans were slightly injured.

Despite a whirlwind seven-day shoot around the country, all involved felt a keen sense of the theme.

“Meeting the characters face to face was very inspiring,” says Lang. “What made the difference was that these were real people and real businesses that Pick n Pay has helped and encouraged. To hear

the stories first hand was amazing.

You get an even deeper sense of what each initiative is about when you watch the mini-documentaries online. I hope this campaign inspires other big corporates to do more for developing South African causes.”

the pulse of this city and the spirit of Nigeria’s people.

Says S&S creative director Gavin Whitfield: “Benito’s background shooting award winning documentaries in places like the Brazilian favelas, mafia controlled Napoli and the Bolivian ‘cocaine’ jungles made us confident that he would be able

to ‘roll with the punches’ and handle whatever the experience of shooting in Lagos would produce – something that none of us were completely prepared for.”

S&S had Lagos in mind when conceptualising the ad as the business need came primarily from Nigeria. After filming their last two commercials in Kenya, Whitfield found the Nigerian production was quite a different experience.

“Kenya is far less densely populated and therefore transport and logistics are relatively easy,” he explains. “When it comes to Nigeria, considering that we shot on Lagos Island and anywhere up to three hours distance away on any given day, it was considerably more challenging.

Security was more intense and the sheer scale of what we were trying to achieve meant that everyone involved was pushed to their limits. Having said that, we got it done and the people were extremely friendly and accommodating for the most part.”

Called The Ticket the commercial is a tale of the strong bond between two brothers. The elder journeys from the bustling city to his remote family home where he entices his younger brother with a bus ticket to the capital.

“A boy dreams, but a man does,” says the elder brother, inviting him to return with him and “drink at the table of men”.

“The response to the ad has been terrific,” says Whitfield. “I think it has made a difference that we shot it there.

The story is extremely relevant to Nigerian men and we even finished the film in three different local languages – Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo.”

Shooting in the Manhattan of Africa

Guiness Africa Nigeria’s Lagos Island is the heart of Lagos, a chaotic concentration of business, bureaucracy, corruption, congestion, wealth and depravation. It is essentially the Manhattan of Africa but beats with a pulse that would send a South Side stock jockey crawling for the closest ledge.

10 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

Saatchi & Saatchi (S&S) Cape Town set its latest commercial for Guinness Africa on Lagos Island as well as in the areas on the outskirts of the capital of over 16 million people. They also thought it wise to appoint a director who could handle the knocks, so it was Benito Montorio who was tasked with capturing

AD cetera

Naming the flavour Uprising at Velocity

If you didn’t know what Your Girlfriend got up to when you weren’t around, it was all revealed on the Internet recently; it even made it to mainstream TV. It left many old biddies choking on the lemon in their G&Ts and had fathers answering awkward questions from their kids, longing for the old days of three channels and a censorship board that was verskriklik staunch about preserving our modesty.

But, unlike Olivia Newton John in her music video, Physical, production company Your Girlfriend was only trying to pimp a mysterious new flavour of chewing gum for Stimorol.

Mega Mystery is a flavour without a name and Your Girlfriend has been

feverishly at it with Ogilvy in Cape Town to film the new campaign.

The idea is to inspire viewers to name the flavour. The protagonists of the new commercial share their impressions of the new flavour in a record store. Through a series of finely crafted character changes that sees one protagonist ripping off multiple faces to reveal other characters underneath, they eventually realise the flavour seems like romance to them. This clearly emphasises how close Your Girlfriend and Ogilvy got during this process.

Your Girlfriend explains: “It’s the type of script that creatives tell you about and then we all laugh and imagine how much fun it would be if we actually got to make

Since inception, Velocity has believed in mentoring young South Africans to help develop their talent in all aspects of film production.

Executive producer Peter Carr has long been the driving force behind this and, as an offshoot of their mentorship programme, he and Velocity are focusing on their creative pool of talent with the introduction of Uprising.

This is a collective of aspirant directors who are training under the old school apprentice style, mentored by Velocity directors such as Keith Rose and Greg Gray and Velocity Afrika’s director, Mpho Twala.

Carr is always on the lookout for talent from film schools such as AFDA, the advertising design colleges and beyond.

“They come from different backgrounds and they might be runners on set or film school graduates, but the common thread is that they are people with a passion for commercials,” says Carr.

The aspirant directors are involved in all aspects of the process and exposed to such important factors as presentations and client relationships; all the better to

build their confidence as directors who can meet the demands of the commercial industry today.

When it comes to the shift in media from television to viral and how the Uprising directors are predisposed to this, Carr says: “It’s not about the medium but the generation of great ideas and innovative content. There are no boundaries. They are experimenters; they rebel and do things their own way.”

Their comprehensive work with Velocity helps them understand the political boundaries and how best to fight for that creativity.

Uprising is currently made up of six individuals: Gordon Lindsay; Ryan Isted; Zwele Radebe; Melo; Tristyn Von Berg and Annelize Bosch.

Von Berg’s spot Leila for the Organ Donor foundation received a D&AD nomination and was named a Clio finalist at the time of press.

Isted’s Salvation Army ad was also named a Clio finalist. Radebe had just directed a job for UNICEF with a London agency.

Organ Donor Foundation

Stimorol

ads like that. The draft I was given to treat on worked beautifully and didn’t need any tampering with. It was more a case of myself and the agency adjusting and crafting the moments to make them work as well as they could. In the end I think we succeeded in what we set out to do.”

The public reception to Your Girlfriend’s new ad has ranged from ‘Wow!’ to ‘WTF?’ – but in a good way. All in all, it may inspire clients to stop being verskriklik staunch about preserving their brand’s modesty. We do need to move on after all.

May 2012 | SCREENAFRICA | 11

COMMERCIALS |

It’s the voice that counts!

Voice casting and recording is often the last stage in a television commercial prior to final mix.

W

hen ad agencies and production companies embark on a shoot for a particular product, there are quite a few steps they go through including casting. If the budget allows, a lengthy audition process is undertaken to find a cast that has the perfect look and personality fit for the product.

Once all the elements have been identified the shoot begins, followed by a detailed post-production process. Just before the commercial goes to air, studio time is booked and a voice artist needs to be found.

Says top South African voice artist and

actor Roald Woods (better known as Rob Vega): “Very often familiar and safeoption vocal choices are made to comply with time constraints and last minute deadlines. Voice choice isn’t really treated as that much of a big deal and is regarded like the cheap plastic folder into which you’d put a carefully constructed business proposal. No-one really worries about the folder the proposal comes in do they? And that’s really the point.”

The wrong voice can have a negative effect on great ad copy or stunning visuals. By the same token, a voice is important in determining the full impact of a presentation, commercial or

VOICING FACTS – Roald Woods (aka Rob Vega)

corporate message.

Vega points out that casting a voice isn’t merely about what the voice sounds like.

“It’s also about the artist’s ability to listen to the director and translate instructions into a prescribed vocal delivery. You should also consider whether the voice artist is easy to work with and punctual.

Living the high life, feel the rush

PLAYBOY IN DA HOUSE – Scenes from Awgust Rush’s music video for his song Bunny Jump

T

he motivation behind the music video for Awgust Rush’s new track Bunny Jump stemmed from a desire to highlight South African skill sets and talent to the rest of the world, according to CEO and creative director of INET Media Mohamed Moolla.

“To date the lion’s share of motion picture work in South Africa has gone to large, well established and well funded production companies,” continues Moolla. “My opinion is that a small company like INET Media, with a compact dedicated team, can, will and has made a difference. Supporting skill sets from underprivileged areas is a priority because I strongly feel that the local youth have the most to contribute to the 12 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

industry. We support passion and drive.”

The Bunny Jump music video reflects a day in the life of a playboy, complete with yachts, speedboats, penthouse and pretty, scantily dressed girls. All in all 15 models and 10 extras feature in the video.

“Our budget came in at roughly R60 000, including gear. We managed to achieve a high budget look by calling on our industry affiliates who fully support our vision to create the best visuals without exorbitant production costs. This way we managed to reach this quality at a fraction of the cost usually associated with such high end production. Nothing was sponsored on this video, which makes our achievement even greater,” explains Moolla.

“Other issues to factor in are time constraints, on-the-fly script changes, a plethora of delivery opinions and, of course, microphone technique. There’s a lot going on in the recording booth and not everyone can do it, although there is sometimes a mistaken perception that they can.”

According to Vega a clear distinction must be made between a ‘voice’ and a ‘voice artist’. “This is the difference between what someone sounds like as opposed to what they can do with their voice. Just as not every tall man can play basketball, not every person with a good voice is a voice artist.”

When clients and friends start voicing professional media campaigns, or voice artists are dispensed with in favour of office staff for the sake of budgets, then it’s clear the importance of a voice artist isn’t properly recognised.

“Hiring a voice artist is like buying any product – you get what you pay for. It’s the same as buying a car; more money ensures a smoother ride, a faster drive and better-looking car along with a proven track record,” concludes Vega.

– Andy Stead

A new music video for American hip hop and R&B artist Awgust Rush shot in Cape Town proves that it’s possible to achieve high production values with a low budget.

Mohamed Moolla (second from right) with his crew

Distribution of the video is via social networks such as YouTube, Vimeo and Twitter. It will also air on Channel O, Trace and MTV Base.

Bunny Jump was shot in one day in January on the Arri Alexa with a high speed module and Super Cooke lenses.

Says Moolla: “The Alexa’s 35mm full size sensor produces amazing film-like quality and depth of field. Shooting in S-Log proved amazing for our workflow and the final grade was as beautiful as expected.

“The high speed module allowed us to capture those amazing aerial shots in slo-mo and the use of a gyro provided the rock-solid stability. We chose Super Cooke lenses for their fantastic depth of

field and lens flare that allowed for those beautiful Miami-style shots.”

He describes the shoot as logistically challenging due to time constraints. “Syncing up two high speed boat departures from a public quay, together with chopper lift-off proved to be the least taxing task (joke!). But I had a fantastic crew to help me, including Ebrahim Hajee (director of photography), Roscoe Verceil (digital imaging technician), Khalid Manuel (focus puller) and Tarique Fredericks (grip).

“African music channels Channel O and MTV Base have been hugely impressed and asked me to come up to Joburg to discuss 16 more videos.”

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FILM |

By Linda Loubser New Afrikaans film Lien se Lankstaanskoene, about a high school girl who resorts to begging to support her family, is the second collaboration between Afrikaans pay-TV broadcaster kykNET and Spookasem Films.

STAND OUT HONESTY – Carmen Pretorius as Lien Jooste in Lien se Lankstaanskoene

P

roducer Gustav Kuhn’s Spookasem Films first collaborated with kykNET on the 2010 film Die Ongelooflike Avonture van Hanna Hoekom. Both films are based on Afrikaans books prescribed in South African school curriculums – in the case of Lien se Lankstaanskoene, written by Derick van der Walt.

The book was adapted for the screen by Saartjie Botha and Andre Odendaal was commissioned as director.

Kuhn notes that it is a coming of age story. “Lien Jooste’s (Carmen Pretorius) life falls apart when her father is arrested for fraud and her mother (Franci Swanepoel) develops a drinking problem.

They lose everything and go from being an upstanding, affluent family living in a nice neighbourhood to a broken mess – living in a small flat and struggling to get by. Due to her mother’s drinking, Lien has to take on the role of mother for both her mom and her younger brother Braam (Tiaan Kelderman),” says Kuhn.

Lien unsuccessfully tries to earn money working various jobs and then decides that begging might be an easier option.

“She befriends Roos (Elise Cawood) and Tibbey (Fiks Mahola), two beggars who show her that her life, compared to others, isn’t that bad after all. Through many trials and tribulations she learns to make peace with her circumstances and discovers that friendship, love, and forgiveness can heal many things.”

According to Kuhn the biggest challenge to adapting an award-winning novel is retaining its voice. “The challenge was staying as true to the novel as possible, yet finding its cinematic voice and the balance between the two,” he explains.

14 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

Lead role They also faced a challenge in finding the right actress to play the role of Lien.

“Although Lien’s character in the movie is 17 going on 18, we knew that finding the right person would require a level of maturity able to deal with the various emotions and development of her character.

“We immediately knew Carmen Pretorius, an experienced 21 year old stage actress, could pull this off, while credibly passing as a young lady in her final school year. As a person she has an undeniable truthful quality that we knew would translate to the screen as innocent, yet not oblivious to the challenges and growth process of her character.”

The film also stars Marie Pentz, Angelique Pretorius, Hykie Berg, Jacques Gombault, Fredia Roux, Eben Groenewald and Dirkie Stoltz.

On location Pre-production started in September 2011 and principal photography wrapped on 16 March 2012 after five weeks. The crew shot on locations in Pretoria

including Hoërskool Garsfontein (Garsfontein High School) which Lien attends in her matric year, as well as Centurion.

“The Centurion location was across from the cricket stadium at one of the busiest intersections we could find. The story required that the begging scenes be shot in a natural and workable environment. This was not easy to say the least – there was lots of red tape before we could lock off the location and acquire the necessary permits.”

“Then of course there was the weather to deal with, as with any exterior shoot, as well as getting the traffic department to assist with road closures and dealing with the sometimes not so accommodating general motorists. Last, but not least, we had to recreate a believable accident scene that required more than 20 action vehicles – drivers, cranes, SFX, green screen and a rainmaker.”

Director of Photography (DOP) Justus De Jager shot in HD on a Canon EOS 7D. Kuhn explains: “We chose it primarily because Spookasem Films was the first production company in South Africa to shoot a feature film on this camera, putting us in a position from where we could expand our knowledge and experience in a way that would privilege the technical outcome and benefit the production as a whole.”

“Frank Meyburgh, the owner of Digitalfilm, rigged out the camera with a

matte box, follow through focus, on-board VT, various filters and of course all the lenses the DOP required. He is truly a phenomenal authority on digital cameras and accessories and always willing to help. He also has an excellent support structure in place for whatever technical difficulties one might run into.”

Post-production is being done at FiX-Post Production.

Distribution The film is fully funded by kykNET, which also holds decisive rights to distribution. According to Kuhn both Ster-Kinekor and Nu Metro are collaborating with kykNET on a nationwide cinematic release. Although a release date has not been confirmed yet, Kuhn says it will be before the end of the year.

He believes Lien se Lankstaanskoene will appeal to teenagers and families. “Thanks to its majority young cast it will appeal to younger people, but at the same time its subject matter is very family orientated with serious themes – such as alcoholism and the degenerative influences found within the family next door.”

According to Kuhn it stands out among Afrikaans films because of its honesty. “I firmly believe that Lien has the ability and quality of performance to set a new benchmark with regard to ‘performance’ in a film – especially compared to the performance level the audience has become accustomed to. In my opinion, Lien rates not only as a narrative driven picture, but also as a performance driven one.”

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FILM |

Scheduled to shoot this September, Penguin Films’ feature film Felix is described as ‘Billy Elliot with Sax meets The Buena Vista Social Club on the Cape Flats’.

New film rooted in Cape jazz F

elix is a coming of age, ‘feel good’ film with a strong musical element, according to director and producer Roberta Durrant.

“This delightful story, written by Cape Town-based Shirley Johnston, is a bit reminiscent of Akeelah and the Bee. It’s about a poor but talented teenager from the Gugulethu township who dreams of becoming a jazz musician like his late father. However, Felix’s mother is terrified that he will end up a drunk like his dad.

GOOD FOR A LAUGH – A scene from Chandies

Felix’s life takes a tumultuous turn for the better when he wins a scholarship to study music at an elite school.

“I think that these types of films do find an audience and this one is unique as, although is set in 1998, it reflects through flashbacks the Cape Town Jazz scene of the 1980s. We believe that Felix will cross boundaries and have a broader appeal than the usual South African cinema going audience. It will be mostly in English with some Xhosa or Zulu.”

Johnston’s script has been in 16 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

development for some years and received an excellent review at the Moondance Film Festival 2006, where reader Cynthia Butler described it as: ‘a wonderful story with memorable characters in an exotic setting’. The script also did well at Scriptapalooza in the US. Durrant notes that not only is Johnston a prolific playwright and screenwriter (Montana, Clean Hands, Isidingo, Backstage) but an actress as well. Johnston will work on performances with Durrant during the shoot, which takes place from 29 September to 5 November during the school holidays.

This is Penguin Films’ third feature film after Inside Out and Skilpoppe.

It will be shot by Natalie Haarhof (Montana, Home Affairs) on an Arri Alexa.

The film, which has ‘a typical local South African film budget’ is fully funded by Sabido Investments and utilises the Department of Trade & Industry rebate.

Murray Anderson will create original compositions that will feature in the film.

In April Penguin Films embarked on a nationwide search to cast the lead role of Felix, starting in the Western Cape.

Felix will be distributed in South Africa

by Indigenous Film Distribution in 2013 at a yet to be confirmed date.

Durrant is attending the upcoming Cannes Film Festival as part of the Cape Film Commission delegation. She will

market Felix and try to raise finance for her feature film in development, Natural Justice.

“This is a crime thriller that is based in South African reality and the kind of legal issues we deal with on a daily basis.

We plan to do this as a treaty coproduction as one of our leads is scripted as a foreigner,” she explains.

New sitcoms Penguin Films has a long history in television production and recently completed two 13 x 24-minute sitcoms – Chandies and SIES! for pay-TV broadcaster M-Net’s local content channel, Mzansi Magic.

Durrant continues: “I enjoyed doing these two sitcoms as I’ve not launched a new one since Stokvel 10 years ago. As a new channel Mzansi Magic’s budgets are not very large so we had to find a way to make it work. Both sitcoms were produced together and recorded at Collective Dream (formerly Waterfront Studios) with equipment supplied by SBSS / The Camera Station.”

SIES! is set in the world of an incompetent public service office – Social Impact and Empowerment Strategy (SIES) (pronounced ‘Sies’) – which employs an equally questionable consultancy company to help them do their jobs. It was directed by Durrant and James Ngcobo and goes on air on 6 July at 7pm on Mzanzi Magic (DStv channel 107).

Chandies (a colloquial term for ‘trouble’) is about a naive church community that takes in two inept, desperate conmen who

repay their new family by taking them for a not so joyous ride. It stars Patrick Shai and Darlington Paddido and was directed

by Vusi Dibakwane, with Durrant as creative producer. It is currently on air on Mzansi Magic.

In addition, Penguin Films also produced Kêrels wat Kook (Guys who Cook), a 13 x 24-minute reality series for Afrikaans pay-TV channel kykNET. This cooking / dating show is based on the hit format, Love Bites, developed by SevenOne International.

“The Love Bites format proved successful in Germany, Austria and Greece,” comments Durrant. “Nine guys get the chance to charm three women with their culinary skills. Finally each woman has to decide which guy is worth their salt in the kitchen. The show commenced broadcasting in April in the Thursday 8pm slot.”

Industry recognition At the 2012 South African Film & Television Awards (SAFTAS) held in Midrand in March, Durrant was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

“It was such a great honour to be given the lifetime achievement award for comedy and development in the industry.

To be recognised by my peers and SAFTAS custodian, the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), means a great deal.

“The SAFTAS encourage excellence in the South African film industry and give us something to work towards,” concludes Durrant. – Joanna Sterkowicz

TELEVISION |

The local content game POSITIVE IMPACT – Desiree Markgraaff

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frican broadcasters lack a significant quota of local content on their channels due to limited funds and, in some cases, lack of available production skills. Once the continent migrates to digital terrestrial television (DTT) there will be multiple new channels that will require more content than ever before.

“Local content is much more expensive to produce than licensing overseas programming. However, broadcasters must consider the positive impact that local production has on job creation in a country, especially for people outside the main cities.”

This was according to Desiree Markgraaff, co-chairperson of the Independent Producers Organisation of South Africa (IPO), at the recent Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) Digital Broadcasting Switchover Forum (DBSF) in Johannesburg.

She continued: “African countries are in the process of reaffirming their identities and languages. I regularly travel to Nigeria and Kenya to produce a show called Shuga and it’s sad to see so few locally produced programmes for youth.

Simon Robinson

It’s up to the industry at ground level to make sure that local content gets onto our screens. We need strong regulation to enforce local quotas on DTT platforms.”

Simon Robinson, publisher and managing editor of Screen Africa, added: “The big question everyone in the South African broadcast industry is asking is – what is going to persuade consumers to switch over from analogue television to DTT? As I see it the two big drivers are technology and content.

“Technology will provide viewers with better TV reception and higher resolution images. But it’s important that the content offering be compelling in the DTT era.

So far in South Africa we’ve only had four free-to-air (FTA) channels so I think broadcasters should focus on the poorer communities in the country. They will be amazed by what they can get from DTT once it is implemented.”

Ghana Presenting the Ghanaian view was Cosby Bikpe of Homebase TV. Over a period of a year and a half Homebase TV has put together a purely local content channel.

“It’s been proved that broadcasters in

Africa have had lots of foreign telenovelas forced onto them. Homebase TV does mostly local content. I want to think within the box and look inside the continent for stories. All that is required to produce more local content is enthusiasm.”

Nigeria For the Nigerian Television Authority (NTV), an umbrella grouping of over 70 stations which has entered into a joint venture with DTT provider Star TV, local content also includes programming from the diaspora. Some of the NTA specialist channels include NTA News24, NTA Language and NTA Knowledge.

Said NTA GM Bola Oyeyemi: “NTA has always been at the forefront of local content production. For us good content must be vibrant, exciting and compelling otherwise no-one will purchase DTT STBs. There are 140 million people in Nigeria so we have more than enough basic ingredients to come up with local content.

“We believe in projecting the positives – heritage, culture, arts, inventions, inspiring stories, heroes, laws, business

“It’s up to the industry at ground level to make sure that local content gets onto our screens. We need strong regulation to enforce local quotas on DTT platforms.”

– Desiree Maarkgraaff

18 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

and economy. Nigeria’s Nollywood film industry showed us what we can do.

However, my worry is that foreign audiences watching Nollywood fare might think that Nigeria is nothing but witchcraft.

“Nigeria has a vibrant film and music industry. We’ve found that viewers want to know what is happening around them.

NTA has the people and the skills and we can continue to improve,” noted Oyeyemi.

NTA has an in-house production division but also collaborates with independent producers. “Nigeria has a lot of young producers that we’re tapping into because they’re full of ideas. In turn we provide them with the facilities they need.

We also acquire programming from independent producers.

“The NTA’s strict quality criteria forces producers to raise their standards and in this way we contribute to skills development. We also make a point of getting people involved because our research shows that when people are part of what you do, they perform better,” commented Oyeyemi.

She stressed that funding will always be a problem. “However, like most broadcasters we believe that you will never have enough money. So make the best from the little that you have.

“Last year the government put aside about $2bn for the Nigerian Entertainment Fund. This was a very welcome government intervention.

“I think all African producers need to think outside the box to make exciting programmes,” concluded Oyeyemi.

– Joanna Sterkowicz

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TELEVISION |

A very spicy cook-off THE SPICE PRINCE – Celebrity chef Reza Mahammad

South African production company Rapid Blue has been commissioned by the Food Network to produce the second series of celebrity chef Reza Mahammad’s popular cooking show.

S

hooting on the 10 x 24-minute Reza 2 (title to be confirmed) will take place in July and August in South Africa and East Africa. The Rapid Blue team will move through each region with South African crew, shooting on high definition (HD). Post-production is to take place at the company’s headquarters in Johannesburg.

Rapid Blue executive producer Duncan Irvine approached the UK office of Food Network (owned by Scripps Networks in the US) more than a year ago with suggestions for shows and proposals. It was through these early discussions that the Reza 2 commission evolved.

Says producer Kee-Leen Irvine: “We are so excited about this opportunity to produce a series for Food Network. Apart from the fact that Reza Mahammad is a celebrity chef and one of the UK’s top Indian restaurateurs, he is just such a vibrant, adventurous character.

“We’re thrilled to join Reza on this African adventure as he explores the Indian communities and cuisine of different regions of South Africa, as well as Tanzania and Zanzibar in East Africa.

Reza will meet and cook with local chefs in each episode, while also ensuring that

20 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

he gets some time for a local adventure at each spot.

“Although it can be tricky working in Africa, Rapid Blue has quite a bit of experience working across the African continent with an established presence in both Angola and Nigeria, so hopefully everything will flow smoothly on this production.”

Chef supreme Reza Mahammad was born in England but raised in India. Upon returning to England as a teenager, he took over his father’s restaurant when he was 16 and turned it into today’s The Star of India, one of London’s most acclaimed Indian restaurants. Mahammad learnt his culinary skills alongside some of India’s top chefs and has appeared on Channel 4’s A Place in France, sharing his passion

for Indian food.

In season one of his Food Network show (titled Reza, Spice Prince of India), Mahammad traveled back to India, taking viewers on a journey around Rajasthan’s spectacular royal palaces to discover food traditions and specialties inside and outside the palace walls.

Mahammad has been to South Africa twice over the last four years. “I have very much enjoyed the landscape and the people of South Africa and I’ve feel very privileged to be able to do another series of Reza. I’m very excited about the project.

“In terms of African-Indian cuisine, I expect the style of cooking may be different as well as the produce, which most likely to be indigenous to Africa Tanzania and Zanzibar have Persian and Arab influences in their cuisine so I’m particularly looking forward to going

IN RHYTHM – Kee-Leen and Duncan Irvine with Strictly Come Dancing winners, HHP and Hayley

there as well.”

Says Sue Walton, Food Network UK head of Commissioning and Original Content: “Reza, Spice Prince of India confidently sits alongside Food Network’s other shows in our line-up, matching them in production values while also showcasing new talent to DStv’s South African television audiences.

“Food Network prides itself on offering a combination of credible cooking, new culinary ideas and high-energy entertainment to inspire foodies and non-foodies alike. It is seen in more than 90 million households around the world.”

The broadcast date for Reza 2 on Food Network DStv Channel 185 is still to be confirmed.

Track record Kee-Leen Irvine notes that Rapid Blue has worked with overseas channels for some time now and was last year commissioned by the BBC to produce Come Dine With Me SA, which performed way above expectations.

“We are very fortunate to have developed a solid track record by producing some of South Africa’s best loved entertainment shows, such as Weakest Link, Strictly Come Dancing, So You Think You Can Dance, Who Do You Think You Are and SA’s Got Talent. I think that has gone a long way in establishing Rapid Blue as producers that deliver quality and excellence, as well as being a completely independent boutique production company,” she concludes.

| INDUSTRY

Director Speak Rolie Nikiwe A two-time SAFTA winner for directing the TV series Intersexions, Rolie Nikiwe also directed Tsha Tsha, Score, Hard Copy, A Place Called Home and The Lab. He is the creator and creative director of e.tv soapie Rhythm City. His work on Tsha Tsha, Intersexions and feature film Inside Story has also garnered international acclaim.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TV SHOW (LOCAL OR INTERNATIONAL)?

The American series Boston Legal. Funny and dynamic.

It has to have produced one of the most iconic characters in any series – Denny Crane (played by William Shatner)!

WHERE DO YOU DISPLAY YOUR SAFTA AWARDS?

Depends where I’m hosting. Sometimes by the braai place, sometimes as a centre piece on my dining table and hopefully quite central in conversation too. But whatever the situation, I always make sure that my visitors get a good view.

WHEN YOU’RE NOT BUSY DIRECTING, HOW DO YOU SPEND YOUR DOWN TIME?

WHO WOULD YOU CAST AS YOURSELF IN A TV SERIES?

Talking completely non-constructive nonsense with my boys, watching movies, or just chilling with my seven-month-old daughter, blowing lips.

Like abrrrrrrrrr! That can take the whole day.

That’s a tough one. See I’m deep...

WHAT IS THE STRANGEST SCENE YOU’VE EVER HAD TO DIRECT?

WHO IN THE INDUSTRY WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH?

A ghost scene. I’m going about my blocking as usual until the actor brings to my attention that his character is in fact a ghost, and therefore not really there. My famous response: “Uh... I knew that!”

Anyone who wants to employ me really! Joking!

I’ve already worked with a few I admire – Tim Greene (Skeem), Donovan Marsh (Spud) and Craig Freimond (Material). I’ve always seen them as the directors who are game changers in the industry. I would love to watch Teboho Mahlatsi (Meokgo and the Stickfighter, Portrait of a Young Man Drowning) at work. He has made some of the most brilliant short films to ever come out of the country. I wait eagerly for his first feature film. He is hands down my favourite South African director.

WHICH MEDIUM OF STORYTELLING DO YOU PREFER – FILM OR TV – AND WHY?

If a television series is an essay, a film is a poem.

I love my poems. Films have a lot more scope for artistry. I consider myself an artist, or at worse, I aspire to be one.

IF YOU HAD TO CREATE A NEW SOAP, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?

It would be set up in the township and about the music business. I would call it Rhythm City. Lol! Just a cheeky way of me saying I’ve already created one.

IF THINGS ARE GOING PEAR-SHAPED ON SET, WHAT IS YOUR COPING MECHANISM?

A sense of humour and the philosophy of ‘I’ve seen worse’. Even if it’s not true!

WHAT OR WHERE IS YOUR HAPPY PLACE?

4am on the N1 leaving Joburg for the Eastern or Western Cape. I love driving long distances! Hate driving back though. It always feels longer.

IF YOUR LIFE HAD A SOUNDTRACK, WHAT SONGS WOULD BE ON IT?

It would have to be Nas – Blood of a Slave, Heart of a King! I love hip hop, and even more so when it talks about the plight of the underdog.

WHAT TRULY INSPIRES YOU?

A great idea explodes passion in me.

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF REALITY TV?

Reality TV has become a reality in TV. Deal with it.

They say evolve or die. I’m not dying.

HAVE YOU HAD ANY MENTORS IN YOUR CAREER? IF SO, WHAT IMPACT DID THEY HAVE?

Harriet Gavshon and David Jammy. They taught me that, no matter how good it is, it can always get better.

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT?

I’m working on the development of Intersexions 2 and the promotion of my first feature film, Inside Story.

May 2012 | SCREENAFRICA | 21

POST-PRODUCTION |

It’s a changing world out there and none more so than in the post-production business.

Large facilities that initially set up to cater for productions shot on film, with telecines and Flame suites that cost millions to install and maintain, are challenged by digital origination and new softwarebased post-production technology, which makes barriers of entry lower and caters for the ever increasing demand for budget cuts.

By Andy Stead

Photo suuplied by Tessa Ford Post production

The gentle art of post-production

I

t would seem that film is almost dead.

Estimates show that just one out of every 20 productions is shot on film.

Sad but true. Digital is the ‘now’ and craft is becoming second to price and turnaround. There is little doubt that post-production facilities are evolving, and it’s happening worldwide.

Everything is more accessible these days and this means that the larger facilities are under enormous pressure to compete with the smaller shops which have far fewer overheads; this means that they can service a production at a far lower rate. Clients give agencies far less money than they previously did but expect far more in return. Are we in a race to the bottom perhaps?

As far as larger facilities are concerned it’s not necessarily a matter of losing out, as the established facilities will stand their ground, but there is definitely a swing towards smaller boutique-style edit facilities.

Clients pay larger facilities to ensure that their product’s quality and deliverables are perfect. They pay for the entire functionality of post-production at the highest level, from the assistant editor to the CAR who plays out the final 60 seconds worth of content at the end. It’s quality assurance from beginning to end.

Smaller facilities may not be able to offer this but are nevertheless an important factor in this evolving equation.

22 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

Non-linear changes

using these better than any other system.”

Another element undergoing revolutionary change is non-linear editing. It has long been the case that Apple’s Final Cut Pro (FCP) was the industry benchmark with Avid perhaps considered as the higher end offering and losing out somewhat to FCP. Let’s not forget Lightworks, which went open source in April 2010 and created an awareness about the system and the opportunity for everyone to use it.

In the past year Lightworks has had over 140 000 registered users. Top local editor Tessa Ford is vocal: “We have FCP running on both our edit suites but Lightworks is absolutely our system of our choice. We feel that it is the most advanced and intuitive system available and allows us complete creative freedom.”

It was Scott Brock (Blue Road), an accomplished editor and Thelma Schoonmaker’s first assistant on Casino, The Departed and Gangs of New York, who said: “The most important tools an editor has are his or her eyes and ears. The Lightworks editing surface facilitates

Questionable update The FCP X launch last year was seriously compromised as this ‘massive update‘ turns out to be a quick rewrite from scratch of a 15-year-old programme. As result the update is missing a vast number of features needed to do work and no compatibility with files generated with the previous version of the programme.

This means that all previous work done on FCP has to be thrown out or redone from scratch at immense cost.

Of course Avid, long eclipsed by FCP, is now making a comeback and with the recent launch of Avid Media Composer 6, many editors are switching back to this system. Avid Media Composer 6 also offers an easy way to manage and edit stereoscopic 3D projects with a comprehensive set of tools and workflows.

Talking of 3D and apart from those shooting in this format, is there a requirement for 3D post yet in South Africa? Kirsty Galliard of General Post responds: “A few of our clients are using it

but it’s not mainstream just yet. I would imagine there would need to be a greater penetration of 3D TV sets and broadcasts in this format for it to become a standard.”

Workload Another big issue concerning the post-production sector is whether there is sufficient work to go around. Also, are visiting overseas filmmakers using local facilities?

When BlackGinger opened seven years ago 70% of its work was international.

Now it’s about 30%. This is due in the main to the global recession and the fact that companies are discounting jobs in New York, Chicago and London up to 70% just to keep the jobs at ‘home’.

Cape Town still attracts internationals but it remains a case of ‘shoot and go’.

The logistics of remaining in South Africa for post-production are still against us as international productions find it more beneficial to return to the country of origin for the post, not only for the cost saving benefits but also by the end of a shoot they actually want to go home.

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south afica: +27 21 481 4579 • Follow us on

POST-PRODUCTION |

Fighting talk

Post gets busy General Post is definitely busier than this time last year and ever optimistic that the trend will continue. Interestingly the company is securing a lot of work from North and West Africa.

Says Kirsty Galliard: “As an agency that supplies freelance digital media and post-production personnel to the industry, we seem to play more in the corporate and TV space, but definitely reality is on the up as is corporate work, which has been quieter in the past few years as a result of the recession.

“The increase in work from the rest of Africa is due to the relationships that I’ve spent some time building. I think we could probably get more international work but in our environment directors and producers like to work with people they know, so it’s a case of building relationships more than anything else.”

There definitely seems to be a move towards using more skilled postproduction crew. At one point anyone who could operate Final Cut Pro (FCP) was an editor and cost was the major factor. Recently clients have become more selective about who they will use and require more skilled personnel. Rates are

OPTIMISTIC – Kirsty Galliard

still quite low though.

Galliard continues: “I’ve heard quite well substantiated rumours that Apple is discontinuing the Mac Pro Towers in favour of iMacs,” says Galliard. “If they

do that it will kill FCP edit suites running on Apple as it will make it very difficult to use the various peripherals and cards and will result in less processor power.

This is important when dealing with HD and multi-cam projects. Also FCP X is unimpressive – one of my editors described it as iMovie on steroids.

“Adobe Premiere looks likely to become the next standard. While I think larger facilities may stick to Avid, the cost is prohibitive to smaller facilities because you have to use Avid approved peripherals (as it’s a closed system) and the support is not as good as it could be.

“In contrast the new Premiere Pro allows a lot of flexibility depending on which machine you run it on and what peripherals you use. It’s also easier to use now with a redesigned, simplified and highly customisable interface and support for keyboard shortcuts (a must for professional editors).

Filters and effects can now be applied using layers and masks not unlike photoshop and of course the biggest advantage is that Premiere will take in just about any codec and format. I think 2012 will be an interesting year.”

Randburg-based post-production facility TANK Studios reports that the number of jobs coming through its doors this year is down compared to 2011.

Gary Noble, owner of TANK Studios, believes that the current state of the local market is not as good as last year.

He says: “Our core business ranges from documentaries to corporate videos, music videos, commercials and feature films. At the moment we handle mainly local work but want to attract more international work as well.”

Noble believes that there is great potential for the smaller facilities such as TANK. “I am sure that the larger facilities are sustainable, but on the other hand, I don’t think that the smaller facilities are given enough of a chance to demonstrate their abilities.”

Although Noble is an Avid fan, TANK Studios runs mainly on Apple Final Cut Pro (FCP).

“Avid has always offered a great product and constantly works on improving its offering. I used to think that the Avid system was not as user friendly as FCP, but since the release of FCP X I’m not so sure anymore,” he says.

www.generalpost.co.za

general post editors researchers animators visual effects artists post-producers post-supervisors storyboard artists sound engineers writers directors

bookings@generalpost.co.za 24 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

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| POST-PRODUCTION

Searle Street marches on Since opening in April last year, Searle Street Post Production (SSPP) has had a continuous flow of commercials and features through the facility – a great mixture of both local and international work.

In their first year of business, they have met and exceeded their initial projections and have already doubled in size and launched a separate long form division to keep up with demand.

“We really do have a good mix of work coming through across the spectrum of the different disciplines,” says creative director Heino Henning. “We have also completed a fair amount of international projects.

“Searle Street handled the digital intermediate (DI) on the Dutch feature De Heineken Ontvoering, with Rutger Hauer; supplied digital dailies to the American action film Death Race Inferno; and is currently supplying front-end digital dailies and editorial services for the

EXCEEDING PROJECTIONS – The Searle Street Post Production office and the crew

latest season of the British TV series, Strike Back.

“The much anticipated post-production rebate will help us attract more long form DI work – it should be a game-changer.

On the commercial side Cape Town is still a firm favourite among the international clients – about a third of the commercials we have completed during the last year was for international delivery.”

Focus in the market has certainly shifted to client service and postproduction is constrained by shrinking budgets. Technology is becoming more accessible to smaller facilities, and so the simpler online jobs are starting to move to them.

“There will always be a need for people with our expertise, creativity and experience, which allows us to do the

Online editing and VFX Digital and film dailies Offline editing facilities

more complex jobs,” says Henning. “That being said, we looked at all the options available to meet the increasing demand for cost-effective solutions and have just invested in The Foundry’s HIERO suite in combination with NUKE and Resolve as the best way of facilitating simpler and lower-cost jobs.

“We’re the first South African company to acquire HIERO following its March 2012 release, putting us in good company alongside international market leaders like The Moving Picture Company (MPC), The Mill and Smoke & Mirrors.

“It’s also worth noting that we’ve upgraded our Bones to a Flexxity. Like Bones, this non-linear dailies software solution manages the entire dailies production process, allowing for a quick turnaround, rapid picture and sound

One light & final grading HD and SD duplications On-set DIT and grading

synching, and an integrated colourcorrection toolset.

“It also offers multiple, parallel output channels for painless and on time dailies deliveries, but Flexxity goes further in the way it handles both post and film dailies, providing native support for DPX, R3D, ARRIRAW, Quicktime (including ProRes) and single frame file formats. It also offers stereo colour matching and parallax processing for stereoscopic 3D support.”

There has been a shift to on-set solutions over the traditional off-site facility solution. Facilities are definitely gearing towards offering a pod-like on-set solution, backed up by the support that the technological infrastructure of the facility offers. This allows SSPP to offer clients the peace of mind of secure and stable backups with the convenience of on-set execution.

Searle Street is poised to enter its second year of operation, and there is little doubt, based on the first year’s performance, that it will go from strength to strength.

Cutting edge

POST-PRODUCTION |

Post on the up BUSY WINTER – The Upstairs Post Production crew

For Upstairs Post Production the amount of work this year is similar to 2011 however there is a change in timing trends. Far more work is being shot and edited during the Cape Town winter, with June and July their busiest months for the past two years.

“Lately we seem to be quoting on the same board for several production houses at a time, with more directors pitching on the same boards,” notes Upstairs Post Production’s Greg Shaw. “We recently had one board that was briefed to seven directors. Many of these boards then go into ‘research’ and simply disappear.”

As an offline house Upstairs Post Production has taken the decision to stick to what it does best – TV commercials.

“We are considered one of the best offline facilities in South Africa and our show reel speaks for itself,” says Shaw. “In

26 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

order to stay true to our skills set we only edit high-end short-form work.

“Upstairs has in the past facilitated many offlines for service companies in Cape Town, but the wasted time and costs (cars, hotels, and so on) of keeping the foreign director, producer and agency in South Africa for the offline edit has now become so pricey that it makes the idea far less appealing. It is a great pity that we lose so much of this work due to costs not working out cheaper than doing it back home in their native country.

“We have seen many post-production facilities open in the past few years, places where the editor is now the colourist, animator, audio engineer and online operator. This is not a new concept and it is feasible for low budget work. However, we don’t support this model and believe these Jack-of-all-trades setups will only

Whilst uncertainty exists as to whether workflow has fallen below the historical average, the local postproduction facility market is not in its best shape, believes Steve Harris of Blade Works.

“It’s clear that the average amount invested in jobs has reduced fairly significantly,” claims Harris. “The market has also been affected by a number of international commercials from the big brands being CHANGING SCENE – localised, by adding South African content into Steve Harris commercials produced overseas.

“In addition it remains difficult for South African facilities to attract international post-production work. The cost of foreign directors, producers and agencies remaining in South Africa after the shoot far exceeds any savings in facilities. This situation is exacerbated by the increase in local travel and hotel costs, and the fact that South African production costs are not as competitive as they once were.”

Lately, countries such as Argentina, Australia and the Czech Republic appear to be more cost effective for international clients. Also, the use of video streaming for approvals and viewing has not been as widely accepted as one may like to believe.

“I think it may be a misnomer to believe that the so-called smaller boutiques are increasing in numbers,” Harris continues. “It’s probably more accurate to say that the face of the industry is changing, as are the services traditionally provided by the various component sectors of the industry.

“The sustainability of the huge post-production facility model in the guise that we know it today is unlikely. Changes demanded by the world’s economic situation will force facilities to provide higher production value at ever reducing costs.” have a negative effect on the film industry in the long run, including themselves.

“In the old days the offline house handled the whole post-production workflow, from telecine to final audio.

Now with everything being digital agencies and production houses are taking the reins and going direct. In future

editors may become far more freelance.

“We are being asked more and more to edit on set. The machines are mobile and I have just completed a job that was approved on set. If this is the way of the future then we need to move with the times.”

| POST-PRODUCTION

Diversity rules

Consistency is the word

MARKET SAvVY – Gerd Muller

Commercial post-production specialists Ministry of illusion (MOI) believe that the market is definitely diversifying into a multitude of other areas and that this is a good thing. Whilst television jobs specifically may be a little down on last year, the overall amount of non-television related jobs is growing.

Says MOI’s Gerd Muller: “Clients and

brands are looking to diversify and have their campaigns spread across a genre of new mediums in order to maximise their reach. These are noticeable trends such as an interest for post-production related to stereoscopic 3D end product.”

A cross-section of work in various MOI departments include VFX TV commercial work for clients such as

“Business has been pretty consistent for us,” says Glasshouse editor Angela Whitehouse. “I think our ability to work anywhere has stood us in good stead, as we do as much work in Cape Town as we do at our home base in Johannesburg. We are able to easily and cost effectively work between the two cities.

“Glasshouse also works closely with production companies and agencies which ensures a pretty steady workflow.”

The company is very active in the commercial and corporate sectors but does not believe that South Africa is attracting sufficient international work.

Says Glasshouse producer Cheryl Lessing: “We need to look at our costing and ask ourselves whether we are pricing ourselves out of the market. Everyone knows that South Africa has the skills to

deliver quality work but maybe we need to be more cost competitive to lure overseas filmmakers here.”

As budgets decrease boutique facilities obviously become more attractive because the rates are lower. However, are these boutique facilities able to handle the more high-end jobs where the schedules are tight, without the support system and larger teams available at facilities?

“Boutique facilities have already been doing this for a long time,” comments Lessing, “and they really know their craft.

We always feel we are in safe hands working with them and they are also always willing to negotiate. I think there is room in the market for both boutique and larger facilities.”

Glasshouse is a committed user of Apple’s Final Cut Pro (FCP). “However there is a definite move back to Avid,” says editor Neil Gow. “With the disappointing launch of FCP X, Avid has upped its game in the ever changing high definition (HD) world.”

Engen, Pick n Pay, Nedbank, Outsurance, Standard Bank and a 3D Mercedes production.

“In the motion design arena we have handled the Grazia media launch, Motorola Razr launch, building projection, and Outsurance’s Kinetic

Typography campaign. 3D animation includes the Alcatel One Touch launch and work for Vodacom and Discovery.

MOI has done recent offline work for clients such as Clientele, Edgars and Pick n Pay.

Celebrating years

10

H I G H

E N D

A F F O R D A B L E

Contact Cheryl or Natasha 011 454 4849

M O B I L E

To see our latest work please go to www.ghpp.com

POST-PRODUCTION |

Strong start for new service Visual Impact reports an amazing start to its recently launched new business unit, Digi Labs, which incorporates the central apparatus room (CAR) services of the former HDHub, as well as complete post-production workflow support, whatever the requirements.

Says Digi Labs head Stefan Nell: “We have been servicing all the needs of not only production company clients but of our post-production clients as well.

Current projects range from 3D to features to daily commercials.

“We also recently provided full digital services to M-Net’s reality show, MasterChef SA, supplying a comprehensive workflow from camera to transcoding offlines to final online conforms.

“Our services are designed to support not only the transcoding and data management needs of Visual Impact’s own cameras, but all formats – from Phantom to RED to Alexa to Sony EX to 5D etc.”

Digi Labs is successfully using Assimilate Scratch Lab as well as Scratch 6.1 as the backbone for all its processing

28 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

EXCITED ABOUT FUTURE – Stefan Nell

and transcoding. The facility also supplies and sets up full lab and or editorial workflows on site at any specified location. These include Final Cut Pro (FCP), Avid, Da Vinci Resolve or Scratch systems.

“We are currently upgrading our entire facility and have installed a fibre channel network linking our labs to our Digital Theatre, as well as installing THX standards of calibration to guarantee the fidelity of the images of our clients’ work and deliveries,” notes Nell.

Digi Labs is also in the process of setting up its latest service, digital cinema packages (DCPs).

Nell concludes: “We are extremely

Sticking to the core Riot Post Production maintains that they have received fewer television commercials this year than in previous years; however they note that audio visuals have become more prominent.

“Our core business is still commercials,” says Kate Grosso, who recently completed a number of great KFC commercials that were edited by Willie Saayman.

“Riot’s junior editor, Jeff Larsen, received an Ad of the Month award for his Huggies commercial and I also have a collaborative arrangement with Emily Bussac and Greg Shaw from Upstairs Post to produce them in Johannesburg. I really do enjoy the editors that I am working with as they are all greatly talented.”

Grosso believes that it is the talent at the facilities that counts. “Also,” she says, “how negotiable they are on rates. This is one of the main factors at the moment and a good rate will make the facility

more attractive.

“I think the freelance off-line editor has become more of the trend these days and it is often necessary for the editor to be on the shoot, because of tighter deadlines.

“Riot has both FCP and AVID. I have noticed that AVID has become the more popular editing tool since they upgraded their offerings. Personally I think there is an even split between FCP and AVID, but AVID is gaining popularity again because they remain focused on being an editing tool, whereas FCP does not appear to be Apple’s number one concern at the moment.”

Grosso notes that Riot has not really had the opportunity to work with stereoscopic 3D. “I have quoted on one stereoscopic 3D job but it did not happen. However, we would welcome work of this nature,” she concludes.

excited about the future and committed to providing our clients with cutting edge solutions, regardless of their workflow requirements.”

The other members of the Digi Labs team are Shaun de Ponte, who runs the

Johannesburg operation, facilities co-ordinator Jeanne Prinsloo, Mugamad Ismail who runs the CAR facilities in Cape Town, and Jac Kotze, who heads up the rental department and on set data wrangling for Cape Town.

| POST-PRODUCTION

Music library expands Lalela Music recently provided the score for South African film Otelo Burning, which received a Best Soundtrack nomination at the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), as well as providing new music to the eNews 24-hour news channel on MultiChoice’s DStv platform.

According to Lalela manager Tanya Douman they are very proud of their rapid international expansion since their ‘birth’ three years ago.

“We’re represented by sub-publishers in 37 countries, more than any other South African music company.

Our sub-publishers have taken us on despite the intense competition among the many libraries out there. All of them have commented on the quality of our tracks, and our unique combo of African material and sizzling Hollywood score.”

The company, with a presence in Cape Town and Los Angeles, recently added to the music available in their library with the release of Volume 6. “Our library now numbers 1 650 tracks in 85 albums and features South African composers like Simon “Ghetto Child” Sibanda, Afro-jazz maestro Themba Mkhize, young prodigies Sotho Mafia and Kagiso Pitsong and veterans Murray Anderson, Warrick Swinney and Nicos Vouris.”

Lalela also recently launched a new website, www.lalela. com, powered by the powerful Source Audio engine which is used by music licensing specialists all around the world.

“The focus is on the music, and getting users to tracks for their project easily and quickly,” adds Douman. – Linda Loubser

The new standard The Refinery reports a dramatic decline in projects originating on film. Digital cameras are shooting larger file sizes, so data management is becoming more of a priority going forward.

“High definition (HD) is the new standard,” says The Refinery’s Tracey Williams. “Monitoring of HD with particular emphasis on commercials and feature films is becoming more critical and the artists and the systems they work on are becoming more multi-functional.

“Interestingly, we are doing more work than last year. We have seen a growth in our commercial base – a greater volume of jobs but with much smaller budgets. Since December the commercial industry has been very slow because many brands, producers and creatives have moved around.

“On the foreign feature service side, few jobs came to Johannesburg last year.

The local film market has seen a growth in feature film production.”

Exciting jobs to have come through the facility include Ata Fireworks, Nandos, Omo Children, Manard’s Juicy kaboom, Standard Bank Trapeze, Young Leonardo 1 and 2. Refinery has also completed visual effects (VFX) for a UK television series for Kindle Entertainment and BBC. “European producers definitely prefer to work in Cape Town,” notes Williams.

“They seem to find it attractive.

Johannesburg does however benefit from work from elsewhere in Africa.”

She believes there will always be a place for both large and boutiques facilities.

“Larger local facilities like The Refinery offer a range of creative talents that can cater to individual clients’ needs.

“On the retail side, larger facilities can be more competitive and flexible because of the range of facilities they offer and their ability to turn these projects around.

The industry has been constantly battling the ‘sustainable’ fight as it is forever changing and evolving,” says Williams.

POST-PRODUCTION |

Music in synch

More bang for your buck Cape Town-based animation, visual effects (VFX) and post-production studio BlackGinger believes that the industry is changing at a rapid rate mainly due to budgets, which are way down compared with previous years.

“Offline post-production houses are now doing online work,” says BlackGinger’s Hilton Treves. “The traditional facilities model is no more.

Technology evolves at such a rapid rate and the cost of entry is far lower.”

He points out that South Africa is primarily a commercials driven market as local TV series have very little money, while feature films have no budget for visual effects.

“International features that shoot in South Africa do very little if any post-production in the country. Ninetyfive percent of them are produced under official treaties while South Africa’s post-production rebate is still in the air.

“Our rates used to be 60% less than

30 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

JUST GINGER – Hilton Treves

facilities such as The Mill in London.

We’ve had London-based productions where The Mill has discounted by 50% to keep the job in the UK,” comments Treves.

However, Treves believes South Africa can still give international clients more bang for their buck.

“Even though the international clients are getting better deals they come with conditions. Any deviation from the brief

Synchro Music is an independent South African music publisher whose main source of business is the 31 top International Production Music catalogues they sub-publish in this territory, as well as their own pure South African production music catalogue called African Planit, and an African sound effects library.

“Production music libraries are catalogues of music that are used in TV, radio and corporate productions as background or mood music,” explains creative director Louise Bulley. “We have many genres of this music available in our libraries.

“All the music is available online or offline on a hard drive with a great search engine, which makes it easier for the

editor to find the track or tracks he is looking for and to lay music to each production before the project goes to final mix. This reduces production time as well as the frustration of changing the music before the right piece is found for the scene.

“With the search engine one can limit the search or define it as much as you would like to get the right sound for your production. In other words, one can narrow it down to certain instruments, genres or descriptive moods that you are looking for to suit a scene. You just type in what you are looking for and the search engine does the rest.

“We are very passionate about what we do,” concludes Bulley “and always available to our clients.”

is charged for whereas we tend to have a fixed bid, within reason,” he explains.

BlackGinger has the technology to create and deliver stereoscopic 3D images although there is little call for 3D work in South Africa at this stage. “It’s costly, and for commercials, a bit gimmicky,” says Treves.

He notes that BlackGinger has recently

had ‘some pretty cool projects’ and that Clover was an animator’s dream project.

“We are currently in production on a Polish job for the European Soccer Championships 2012. It’s been a mammoth task. We pitched against the ‘big boys’ in London and New York and one of the reasons we got this gig was because of price.”

| POST-PRODUCTION

Sasani upgrades audio suite

STATE-OF-THE-ART – Mark Yaman, final mix engineer at Sasani Studios, tries out new gear

Sasani Studios (formerly ZSE TV) is known within the industry for having state-of-the-art post-production facilities for both video and audio finishing. In order to stay ahead of the curve Sasani Studios invested heavily in upgrading its infrastructure in 2012.

Currently, the company is upgrading its audio suite by installing an Avid Pro Tools HD 10 Native System with an ICON D-Command ES work surface.

The touch sensitive ICON D-Command ES, which comes seamlessly integrated with Pro Tools, has its own dedicated EQ and dynamics section for easily assignable plugins.

Mark Yaman, Sasani’s final mix engineer, notes that the new audio suite will streamline his workflow and keep Sasani abreast with international standards.

“Pro Tools 10 is also going to be a major game changer in workflow with all its new features such as clip based gain, 32bit floating processing and better delay compensation,” he says. “The new system is of the same calibre as used on big budget Hollywood productions like Avatar, I am Legend and Slumdog Millionaire.”

On the video post-production front, Sasani already has a sophisticated set-up to handle big budget productions. It houses 32 edit suites running on Avid Media Composer 5 and Final Cut Pro 7, both of which support full SD and HD

editing technology.

Eileen Sandrock, Sasani Studios MD, is excited about the company’s current projects and developments.

“We are also working on two e.tv productions, Step Up or Step Out 2 and eKasi: Our Stories,” she enthuses. “In addition, we also welcomed the post-production team from M-Net’s soapie, The Wild, to our fully serviced production offices.”

Sasani Studios is presently gearing up for Big Brother 7, which premières on DStv in May. The production, which runs on Sasani’s tapeless workflow system, requires live 24-hour production for three months recording directly on to shared-media drive systems.

The company is reporting a surge in business from Africa this year.

Sandrock says that the company is conducting standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) transfers from various file formats for broadcast delivery for four productions from Nigeria and Kenya.

“We have exciting HD footage from these two countries that rivals big budget local productions. Tinsel, Jara and 53 Extra from Nigeria and Mashariki (Kenya) are sent to our studios so that we can prepare them for HDCAM delivery for the HD channels on DStv,” concludes Sandrock.

– Simba Nyamukachi

POST-PRODUCTION |

More than just post-production

CREATIVE DRIVE – Rudy Halgryn

Collective Dream Studios notes that there has been a significant drop off in the demand for international commercial work this year. A similar situation applies to the local market.

“It’s even worse now that the large facilities have to compete with the boutique facilities which have smaller overheads,” says senior producer Bevil Schwartz. “The problem with the local market is that the budgets for TV commercials have dropped tremendously. Agencies are now favouring companies that can offer a lot more than just post-production. Collective Dream Studios is one of these companies.”

Gareth Jones, head of Technical Operations, adds: “I think the global economic crisis has forced international companies to try to keep as much work within their own countries as possible. Rebates for international clients have been made more attractive, so it is prudent for those clients to retain as much as possible of their work in their own country.

“In my experience, smaller boutique facilities tend to thrive when international markets, local markets and international budgets decline. When budgets increase, the market stabilises and you then go through a period of consolidation where larger companies may acquire other companies and the smaller companies fall away.

“Boutique facilities cannot offer everything and larger facilities like ours frequently support the smaller facilities when they exceed the limits of their capabilities and have

done for years. The client may not be aware of this, but without larger facilities to depend on for infrastructure, the survival and success of smaller boutiques would be a very different story.”

He notes that the growth of digital imaging has had a major effect on post-production. “Tapeless workflow has also been a major factor. This year’s NAB 2012 Show in Las Vegas was very camera-heavy with new releases from Canon and even Blackmagic. This means even more formats and workflows one must develop with no real standard being applied for digital cinematography.

Post-production facilities must now invest heavily in data storage and methods of tapeless delivery.

“There is also a new impetus from major equipment manufacturers towards software-only solutions with Autodesk, Resolve and now Quantel producing softwareonly versions of their products. Post-production facilities have supported these companies through expensive maintenance fees and subscriptions, as well as the high prices of the equipment itself. Now that the same equipment can be bought for a fraction, concerns are raised.”

International company director Rudy Halgryn concludes: “Collective Dream Studios relies on its creative drive to produce the work. We service, collaborate and produce. Since opening in January, we’ve secured 12 feature films for the next 12 months. It’s going to be really busy from July. That’s when the fun starts.”

CAMERAS |

Starting an iconic revolution

By Ian Dormer

Bolex International has levelled the digital cinema playing field with the announcement of the Bolex D16; the first digital camera licensed from the 200-yearold Swiss company whose 16mm and 8mm cameras dominated the international consumer marketplace from the 1940s to the 1970s.

THE CLASSIC – Bolex H16 camera

Tech specs

THE FOUNDER – Jacques Bogopolsky

ENTERING THE DIGITAL AGE – Bolex D16 camera

S

witzerland, 1927: Russian immigrant Jacques Bogopolsky (aka Jacques Bolsey or Bolsky) designs the Bolex Auto Cine A, a simple low cost home film camera. Joining forces with Paillard & Co in 1930, the newly formed Bolex International begins producing a line of consumer 8mm and 16mm cameras and accessories and by 1941, the Bolex H16 is the most sought after 16mm camera in the world.

No-one today remembers what the letter ‘H’ stands for, but it became synonymous around the globe with a versatile, compact, high-quality camera.

In the years to come it outsold all other 16mm cameras. In 1952 Bolex introduced the world’s first commercially available 3D camera.

Bolex became a benchmark in the amateur filmmaking industry; many of the world’s renowned filmmakers got their start shooting their first films on the family Bolex.

These cameras were particularly 34 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

important for the early development of television news, nature films, documentaries and the avant garde (even risqué) genre. The ruggedness, reliability and accuracy of Bolex technology is so highly regarded today that traditional stop frame animators still use Bolex H16 cameras for their precision work. Plus the 16mm spring-wound Bolex remains a popular introductory camera at film schools.

Evolution In 1970 Paillard sold the Bolex division to Eumig of Vienna. When Eumig went into liquidation in 1981, Bolex was bought by a management team who set up Bolex International. Today the Bolex factory in Switzerland continues to produce new 16mm and Super 16 film cameras and associated products, but these cameras, lenses and accessories are expensive.

With all the history behind the Bolex,

Joe Rubenstein, a maverick director of photography (DOP) of low budget films from Los Angeles and co-founder of Polite in Public inc, one of the most successful photo booth businesses in the world, decided that there was a market for an affordable RAW camera, something that could digitally mimic the heyday look of Super 16, Bolex style.

Rubenstein and fellow filmmaker Elle Schneider spent months with engineering friends designing a prototype and soon had a working model on their hands.

They approached Bolex International with their idea; to produce a low cost digital camera that looked like the H16, produced images similar to it, in a form that was affordable to most aspiring movie makers – all in a pure digital format.

Bolex International, keen on the idea, set a challenge for Rubenstein – he could obtain a licence to use the name and camera body shape but would have to fund the venture himself. In March 2012, Rubenstein posted his idea on the world’s largest creative project crowdfunding internet site, kickstarter.com. Within two days Rubenstein and his team had managed to secure $250 000, a dream was realised and so too was the birth of the Bolex Digital 16.

The D16 concept is based on an interchangeable-lens digital cinema camera that features a large Kodak CCD sensor and produces images with a frame size equivalent to Super 16mm. It shoots 24 raw still photos per second instead of a traditional video stream in RAW Adobe Cinema DNG, TIFF or JPEG image sequences at true 2K (2048x1152), without the rolling shutter or line scan effects found with CMOS sensors. The camera’s large sensor size contributes to better light reception without any need to artificially boost the signal.

With a sleek body design, functional pistol grip and Bolex’s iconic crank, the D16 has a fun look and is easy to use. The crank can be programmed to adjust just about anything in the menu, from volume to focus to frames per second. This feature and the start / stop trigger on the pistol grip makes for a shooting experience that is unique to the Bolex brand. The D16 remarkably captures the look and feel of film at a price that finally makes digital cinema available to filmmakers on any budget.

In the few weeks since funding began there have already been design changes, revamped material lists and improvements all round over the prototype model but the guarantee of a fantastic product remains.

The Bolex D16 is currently available only via kickstarter.com. One hundred cameras were pre-sold in two days and will be shipped around August this year, while Bolex International has plans to provide worldwide sales late in 2013.

So, as one of the first 100 buyers who bought into the project, what do you get?

Well apart from a fantastic camera and accessories with an amazing story behind it, you’ll get an official Digital Bolex T-shirt, silkscreen fine art prints of the newly designed camera and a branded, handcrafted leather camera bag. All this for an amazing low price of only $3 299!

Watch this space…the revolution has begun!

| BROADCAST

The future of broadcast television Twelve international broadcasting bodies including the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) founded the landmark Future of Broadcast Television (FOBTV) initiative at the recent NAB2012 Show in Las Vegas. This was a defining moment for the terrestrial television broadcast industry.

F

rom black and white to colour and from analogue to digital, television technology has undergone revolutionary changes.

In the analogue age, colour television technology was fragmented into three major systems (PAL, NTSC and SECAM, with many subvariations).

In the digital age, the splintering has continued across the globe with multiple, separately developed digital systems.

While television has prospered, it has not been possible for the world to take full advantage of the convenience and economies of scale of a single broadcast standard.

Terrestrial broadcasting is uniquely important because it is wireless (supports receivers that can move); infinitely scalable (point-to-multipoint and one-to-many architecture); local (capable of delivering geographically local content); timely (provides real time and non-real time delivery of content); and flexible (supports free-to-air and subscription services). The attributes of wireless delivery of media content to a potentially unlimited number of receivers makes terrestrial broadcasting a vital technology all over the world. Broadcasting is, in fact, the most spectrum-efficient wireless delivery means for popular real-time and file-based media content.

Today, technological innovation may be able to break down many of the longstanding barriers that have prevented common systems. This could enable removing the gaps between the different television signal formats and transmission systems used around the world. The 21st

century is an era of integration of broadcasting, Internet, and communications, all of which have evolved in parallel.

Consumers are calling for more convenient and user-friendly services and the development of digital technology opens the possibility of cooperation among all the different networks and transmission systems.

Digital TV framework The FOBTV initiative builds on last November’s Future of Broadcast TV Summit, in Shanghai, China, where broadcast leaders formed a framework for the evolution of digital terrestrial television. The new Memorandum of Understanding sets out five objectives for the FOBTV initiative: 1. Develop future ecosystem models for terrestrial broadcasting taking into account business, regulatory and technical environments. The next generation of broadcast television technology has the potential to revolutionise the industry. National and local broadcasters have the expertise to employ this technology to provide high quality entertainment and news content to viewers, both fixed and on the move. The global

development of a next generation system uniting broadcasters around the world should show the commitment of the broadcasting industry to embrace new technologies and leverage interest from global technology developers. The overall ecosystem that supports the television industry however is large, and success in the marketplace will necessitate holistic understanding and treatment of business and regulatory issues and environments, in addition to development of the underlying technologies.

2. Develop requirements for next generation terrestrial broadcast systems. Requirements should reflect the broadcast industry’s commitment to developing necessary technologies to create and deliver new media and information services by taking advantage of future broadcast systems. This will also take into account the need to maximise proper and efficient use of spectrum resources, as well as exchanges and cooperation among communication systems and broadcasting on both a technological and business level.

3. Foster collaboration between digital TV development laboratories. Collaboration will aid in the desire to eliminate broadcasting technological gaps and advances in broadcasting technologies should benefit both developed and developing countries.

4. Recommend major technologies that can be used as the basis for unified new standards. Full exploration of the benefits of common tool sets and interface points in the development of new digital systems and standards that can be globally supported and eventually deployed worldwide will be pursued.

5. Request standardisation of technologies by appropriate organisations, such as DVB, ATSC, ARIB and others. The group’s goal is to form consensus around basic system requirements and common technology platforms as described in the previous points above. FOBTV will request standardisation of selected technologies (layers) by appropriate standards development organisations.

EBU Technology and Development director Lieven Vermaele said: “Terrestrial broadcasting and mobile broadband are both important but neither technology alone will be able to meet future demand for wireless media. We need to innovate using them together, in a complementary way.

“Broadcast can be the backbone as it can deliver the coverage, quality of service and capacity we will increasingly need.

Broadband will extend the range of services and enable access to all categories of user device.”

The other signatories are the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC); Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC); Communications Research Center (CRC); Electronics & Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI); Globo TV Network; IEEE Broadcast Technology Society; National Association of Broadcasters (NAB); National Engineering Research Center of Digital TV of China (NERC-DTV); NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories; Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the Brazilian Society of Television Engineering (SET).

– Ian Dormer May 2012 | SCREENAFRICA | 35

TRACKINGTECHNOLOGY | NAB REPORT BACK

The great big tech fest NAB2012, the premier digital media industry event for video, audio, film and broadcast, took place in Las Vegas in April.

Here is a look at just some of the amazing new technologies that were exhibited.

Cinema Camera launched

Aware of the limitations of video cameras, Blackmagic Design has developed a camera that provides feature film quality in an extremely compact portable design.

The Blackmagic Cinema Camera includes a super wide 13 stops of dynamic range, a large 2.5K sensor, an integrated SSD recorder that has the bandwidth to capture CinemaDNG RAW, ProRes and DNxHD files, integrated capacitive touchscreen LCD for direct metadata entry, standard jack audio connectors and a refrigerated sensor. Also it’s fully compatible with EF and ZF mount lenses.

Says Blackmagic’s Grant Petty: “Our Cinema Camera also includes SDI and Thunderbolt connectors and it comes with a full copy of DaVinci Resolve and UltraScope software. Imagine plugging in your laptop for on set grading and scopes!

“The 13 stops of dynamic range is one of the most important reasons why this camera looks like film. Often people focus on more pixels, but that is just a larger video image. The real way to get film quality is to capture a wide contrast range to retain more detail in the black and white levels of the image. Then once you colour grade the images, it looks amazing. Combined with amazing EF and ZF lenses, the result is a true film look.”

A built-in SSD recorder means you get the recording speed you need to record the full 2.5K RAW sensor data into completely uncompressed CinemaDNG files. This ensures all the detail and quality of the sensor.

Cinema Camera records into CinemaDNG format for RAW files, and DNxHD or ProRes for HD resolution files compatible with Avid Media Composer and Apple Final Cut Pro.

Empowering broadcast news pros Avid announced the debut of Avid Interplay Sphere at NAB. This real-time access solution enables broadcast news professionals to acquire, access, edit and finish stories anytime, from anywhere. Leveraging a cloud-based architecture, Interplay Sphere-enabled applications give contributors the freedom to work in a completely distributed environment that spans multiple locations and time zones.

Dramatically enhancing production effectiveness, Interplay Sphere gives journalists the ability to craft powerful, in-depth stories wherever they’re actually happening – and speed them to air while still maintaining full connectivity with the newsroom operation.

“Consumer enthusiasm for on-demand media services that support multiple viewing platforms is on the rise,” said David Mercer, vice president and principal analyst, Strategy Analytics. “Cloud-enabled applications can help broadcasters meet this increasing demand by making it possible for them to collaborate from remote locations in near real-time to create and distribute stories more efficiently to their viewers, wherever they are and whatever devices they use.”

Avid’s award-winning NewsCutter and Media Composer video editing software are the first applications with distributed production capabilities powered by Interplay Sphere, allowing journalists to access and edit video footage captured at the scene of breaking news along with media files from any other Interplay Sphere-connected location. This effectively extends the boundaries of Avid’s editing technology and workflow capabilities beyond the traditional newsroom to wherever the most important stories are happening, essentially breaking down the walls of the newsroom.

36 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

Live graphics boost At NAB Harris Corporation introduced two breakthrough systems for demanding live broadcast graphics that boost creativity and productivity for on-air broadcast and other video productions across all budgets.

The new Inscriber G8 and TitleOnes AE real-time graphics production systems share a design philosophy that leverages next-generation hardware platforms for advanced graphics processing and increased storage performance – maximising ease of use and operational efficiency. Both support proven, mature graphics production workflows for off-line and on-air graphics creation, graphics template and database management and automation control.

Inscriber G8 is built for high-end graphics creation and provides uncompressed imagery and unprecedented graphics and animation capabilities. It offers real-time creation and execution of the high-calibre, complex 3D graphics and animations that today’s live news, sports and special events demand.

The tool uses an Intel Xeon E5 processor and NVIDIA Quadro 4000 professional graphics processing unit (GPU) to significantly reduce channel hardware density for a greatly reduced footprint (2RU), lower power consumption and improved performance and clip playback scalability.

Inscriber TitleOne AE shares many of Inscriber G8’s sophisticated graphics creation features and real-time single-channel HD/SD or SD-only 2D-in-3D graphics.

TitleOne AE offers excellent price performance for a wide range of applications, with capabilities that exceed those found in its price category.

‘TAP’ping into Thunderbolt connectivity AJA Video Systems used NAB as a platform to announce T-TAP, a very small new bus-powered device that takes advantage of Thunderbolt connectivity for high-quality 10-bit SD, HD and 2K output through SDI and HDMI connections. This new adapter enables a simple, unobtrusive means of getting professional video and audio out of any Thunderbolt-enabled Mac system.

T-TAP provides video professionals an easy setup solution via its simple, single Thunderbolt cable connectivity for both power and data. Offering the ultimate in portability, T-TAP is lightweight and smaller than a standard mobile phone.

T-TAP supports everything from SD to HD to 2K and 3D with pristine 10-bit quality, even over HDMI, and all with eight-channel embedded audio. T-TAP includes AJA’s renowned Mac drivers and software for integrated compatibility with major software packages from Apple, Adobe, Avid and many more.

Said Nick Rashby, president, AJA Video Systems: “T-TAP delivers uncompromised video and audio quality. It tackles a range of media output needs at a very low cost. Packing a lot of power into a remarkably small form factor is what T-TAP is all about.

Features include: 10-bit uncompressed 4:2:2 video and audio output; HD/SD SDI and HDMI connectivity supports simultaneous output at incredible 10-bit quality; 3D support on HDMI for real-time stereoscopic review without requiring additional hardware; full 8-channel embedded audio allows for multi-channel playback; bus-powered via Thunderbolt™ connector so no additional power supply is required; and AJA Mac driver and proven software compatibility.

NAB REPORT BACK | TRACKINGTECHNOLOGY

Find your route MultiDyne Video & Fibre Optic Systems, a premier provider of fibre optic video and audio transports and routing solutions for broadcast and pro A/V applications, expanded its field acquisition product line with the introduction at NAB of the SilverBACK, a cost-effective, compact fiber interface that mounts directly to the back of an ENG/EFP camera.

HD programme video with return HD/SD view finder video, camera control, PL intercom and tally makes the SilverBACK the ideal choice to add to the user’s system for operation over fibre.

The industry-recognised MultiDyne LiGHTBoX field acquisition products provided the impetus to take the next step into camera transport interfaces, according to MultiDyne’s MD Frank Jachetta. “We have always wanted to close the loop and provide camera-mounted fibre transceivers to allow our customers to select the variation of fibre communications they require.”

The SilverBACK can be linked with the dual Neutrik Opticalcon to the LiGHTBoX, the HalfCuBE or a standard 19”, 1RU rack mount panel. The camera mounted transceiver will operate on DC battery power or a local AC power supply.

MultiDyne is represented in South Africa by Zimele Broadcasting Services.

Weathering the ‘Tempest’

Vision goes ‘Beyond’ At NAB Sony unveiled its latest technology innovations building on the success of its ‘Believe Beyond HD’ vision. Customers were reminded how Sony is shaping the future of the industry by putting image quality at the heart of its very latest developments in 3D, 4K, 35mm and OLED. The NEX-FS700 full-HD super slow motion 4K-ready camcorder is the latest in Sony’s line-up of NXCAM interchangeable E-mount camcorders. The new Super 35mm model is designed for high-speed shooting and is capable of capturing footage of up to 960 frames per second. It also features a range of capabilities such as 3G HD-SDI output and built-in ND filters. The NEX-FS700 camcorder uses a new Super 35mm ExmorTM CMOS sensor with a 4K resolution of 4096 x 2160.

Joining the ever popular XDCAM HD422 line-up is the PMW-100, the smallest and lightest camcorder in the XDCAM family. It achieves the best of both worlds, by recording full broadcast quality MPEG HD422 video within a hand-held form factor.

Equipped with a newly developed 1/2.9-inch ‘Exmor’ CMOS sensor, it delivers excellent picture performance and also achieves a minimum illumination of 0.08lx.

As part of Sony’s continuing effort to bring IP technology into the world of video production, Sony has developed the NXL-IP55, a video network unit that can transfer multiple HD image signals, audio signals and control signals over a single network cable.

At NAB Sony announced sales of 10 000 units for its TRIMASTER EL OLED range, of which about 2 000 were sold in Europe in the past year, confirming Sony as the leading OLED manufacturer in the professional AV monitor market.

Clear-Com, a global leader in critical voice communication systems, unlocked the Seamless Roaming capability for its Tempest2400 digital wireless intercom at NAB. Further enhancing one of the most feature-rich and robust system within Clear-Com’s wireless product line, Tempest Seamless Roaming will be most applicable in large mixed facilities that are separated by sizeable distances such as campus buildings, multi-studio environments or outdoor venues.

“With Seamless Roaming, a Tempest2400 wireless BeltStation can cover an extensive area with multiple zones that would not be adequately supported by a single BaseStation installation,” says Craig Fredrickson, Clear-Com’s wireless product manager. “This allows broadcasters to focus on critical production cues rather than changing the settings on their wireless BeltStations when moving within a venue.”

Tempest Seamless Roaming is meant for individuals on the production team who must move freely and wirelessly from a given coverage area to another without interference or dropout of intercom communication. BaseStations are linked together with the newest ZSync (Zero Synchronization) Technology. The ZSync Technology provides a zero sync reference that coordinates the hopping patterns of all connected BaseStations every time the system is powered up, irrespective of random time variation in power up sequences, to provide improved system performance and a seamless wireless experience.

With the Seamless Roaming feature, BeltStation users can migrate between as many as 16 different Tempest2400 BaseStations (coverage areas or zones). Both Seamless Roaming and iSelect Roaming are available to accommodate virtually every application need.

The Tempest2400 is designed with Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) technology.

Clear-Com is represented in South Africa by Jasco Broadcast Solutions.

May 2012 | SCREENAFRICA | 37

TRACKINGTECHNOLOGY |

Integrated camcorder and uplink Panasonic and LiveU (Hackensack, NJ), a pioneer in portable videoover-cellular, have announced a new collaboration to deliver an integrated camcorder and live video uplink solution.

The integrated system utilises the groundbreaking LU40i video uplink device and the new AJ-HPX600 P2 camcorder with planned wireless integration features.

The LU40i will be linked via the camera interface, giving camera operators a real-time indication of LiveU’s transmission status and video transmission quality. With the LU40i and HPX600, a camera operator is able to manage the video uplink while shooting – a must for a one-person remote crew.

Samuel Wasserman, LiveU’s CEO, said, “We’re thrilled that Panasonic, a world-leading camera developer and manufacturer, has partnered with LiveU to develop this next-generation camera uplink solution using our cellular-based technology. We are confident that ‘live cameras’ symbolise the future for broadcasting and online media, and will open up new market segments for live video transmission around the world.”

This integration strengthens LiveU’s ongoing collaboration with Panasonic, following on last September’s announcement at IBC Amsterdam to facilitate HD 3D live mobile broadcasts over cellular networks.

Michael Bergeron, business development manager for Panasonic System Communications Company of North America (PSCNA), said: “We want to deliver solutions for our broadcast customers that evolve with the pace of new technology, and the upgradable HPX600 camcorder platform gives the flexibility to do that. When the operation of the LU40i is integrated with the camera, the complete system provides a high-quality video feed with the easiest remote operation yet.”

Panasonic and LiveU plan to offer the complete camcorder transmission system, and will provide details as the AJ-HPX600 launch approaches.

A masterful control solution Ross Video’s MC1-MK dedicated master control solution proved very popular at NAB. Built to meet the demands of 24/7 operation, the MC1-MK is a dedicated card-based solution that provides complete programme path protection using input bypass relays, protecting the user’s channel output.

The ultra-fast hot swap system allows a single spare MC1-MK card to replace any on-air channel card, and has all of the channel’s parameters automatically recalled to the replacement MC1-MK card.

Intuitive DashBoard operation allows for an easy transition, and brings users up to speed quickly. Simple scaling solutions allow for additional open gear cards. An additional channel can be added with a second MC1-MK, or a variety of additional functions such as loudness processing, Dolby encoding and Nielsen WaterMarking can be added.

Also on the Ross Video stand at NAB was the Inception social media management system. Inception features an innovative plug-in architecture that allows the user to choose when and where stories come from, how material is published and ways to

38 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

Protecting content on shared storage Object Matrix, a leading developer of scalable object based archive systems, announced at NAB the launch of WatchSpot — a new, free, backup application, designed to work in harmony with MatrixStore, its flagship clustered storage product. The combined solution ensures that MatrixStore customers can automate the protection of content on their shared storage to a highly secure near line storage platform.

WatchSpot is a very simple server-based application that watches selected folders on any network file system and automatically mirrors changes to the contents of each folder inside a MatrixStore vault. When changes to the ‘watched’ folder occur WatchSpot copies the new or changed files to the MatrixStore vault. Version 1.0 of WatchSpot runs on Windows operating systems with a Mac OS and Linux version being released later in the year. Object Matrix customers receive the new application for free.

With WatchSpot the user can watch selected folders on any network file system and automatically mirror changes to the MatrixStore vault. The WatchSpot Administration GUI lets you specify which folders to watch, monitor copy jobs in progress and view historical jobs. The contents of the vault can be exported as a list in CSV format.

ObjectMatrix is represented in South Africa by Jasco Broadcast Solutions.

Integrated playout system

At NAB Pixel Power Inc. introduced the new Pixel Power ChannelMaster

integrated playout system, which provides an out-of-the-box solution to bring new channels to air quickly and cost-effectively. ChannelMaster integrates storage, graphics, DVE, audio, subtitling, master control, live feed and long-form video playout within a single dedicated hardware platform.

The system integrates with third party automation and MAM systems and can replace many devices in the traditional playout chain, with no compromise in quality. ChannelMaster may also be controlled by Pixel Power’s own graphics and media management architecture software.

The system fully supports the emerging need for 3D stereoscopic graphics while maintaining a familiar workflow, and allows the re-use of pre-existing graphics templates, reducing the time and cost of launching a 3D channel.

Also at NAB was Pixel Power’s new Gallium integrated, sophisticated and scalable scheduling, asset management and automation system for playout facilities that need automated control of Pixel Power transmission devices, including ChannelMaster.

Pixel Power is represented in South Africa by Zimele Broadcasting Services.

customise the system to work for you. Plug-ins create live running orders or use MOS to load them from the newsroom.

Inception also has plug-ins for many popular social networks like Twitter and Facebook, video hosting sites like YouTube and Brightcove and plug-ins for workflow solutions like scheduling and email approval. Inception can handle multiple feeds for even the biggest organisation.

Ross Video is represented in South Africa by Concilium Technologies.

| TRACKINGTECHNOLOGY

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Ushering in a new era of mobile news gathering the new ProHD ENG cameras from JVC launched at NAB can shoot and deliver news footage faster than ever. These two advanced handheld cameras deliver exceptional imagery and features for news, sports and independent production in an attractive form factor with intuitive user-friendly controls.

The GY-HM600 is a camcorder for next generation newsgathering. Light, versatile and extremely easy to use, this camera is designed for fast paced electronic news gathering (ENG). It offers superb low light performance (F11 at 2000 lux), a long (23x) wide angle autofocus zoom lens and file interoperability from acquisition to air.

The lightweight camera records HD or SD footage in multiple file formats, including native XDCAM EX (.MP4), Final Cut Pro (.MOV), and AVCHD, to non-proprietary SDHC or SDXC media cards. In addition to relay mode for uninterrupted recording, the GY-HM600 allows simultaneous recording to both memory cards for instant back-up or client copy.

Heralding a more efficient ENG workflow, the JVC GY-HM650 ProHD handheld mobile news camera can shoot and deliver news footage faster than ever – ideal for breaking news.

Equipped with dual codecs, it produces full HD files on one memory card while simultaneously creating smaller, web-friendly files (1/4 HD) on a second card. With built-in FTP and Wi-Fi connectivity, the GY-HM650 delivers the footage back to a station without a microwave or satellite connection.

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In direct response to the market’s demand for increased digital media performance in less space, ViewCast Corporation announced at NAB the availability of its new Niagara 9100 series – a sleek, 1RU, ultra high-density / high-performing video encoder platform.

This new video encoder series streams SD and HD video and enables service providers, broadcasters and enterprises to power digital content for existing and new audiences in the mobile, web and IPTV environments.

“An ideal solution for content delivery networks and network service providers seeking to monetise digital media, the Niagara 9100 delivers multiple, simultaneous streams in a variety of formats,” said John Hammock, president and CEO of ViewCast.

Optimised for digital media applications including live streaming / simulcasting, webcasting, mobile TV, archiving / video on demand and IPTV, the Niagara 9100 uses the latest multi-core CPU technology. It can be configured for a variety of video and audio inputs, including HD-SDI, component Y / C, and composite video with balanced, unbalanced, embedded and AES / EBU audio, providing exceptional performance.

“We’ve designed the Niagara 9100 series product line with a common software architecture incorporating high-density boards that are capable of delivering high video encoding capabilities. This approach provides a small footprint and allows for rapid time to market at an excellent performance / price ratio,” explained Adrian Guihat, senior vice president of Product Development and CTO of ViewCast.

A flexible web interface provides remote setup, control and monitoring as well as access to all of the popular industry streaming formats. Workflow can also be optimised via the development of customised solutions with ViewCast’s powerful and accessible Niagara SCX Software Development Kit (SDK).

Viewcast is represented in South Africa by Jasco Broadcast Solutions.

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AFRICA |

Compiled by Martin Chemhere

Radio is the medium to reach the widest audience especially in Africa where people are reacting to new technological forms and devices, according to the World Radio Day conference held in the UK on 13 March.

Photo by Birgitte Jallov

Spreading its ‘wireless’ footprint across Africa

COMMUNITY RADIO – A training session by Empowerhouse

T

his follows on from the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) approval at the 36th General Conference on 3 November 2011 when World Radio Day was launched.

The initial idea for this special day came from the Spanish Academy of Radio four years ago.

UNESCO proclaimed the date as an occasion to draw attention to the unique value of radio and announced that the day ‘raises awareness about the importance of radio, facilitating access to information through radio and enhances networking among broadcasters’.

The conference revealed that since its first broadcast over 100 years ago, radio has proved to be a powerful information source for mobilising social change and a focal point for community life. World Radio Day was celebrated with a variety of practitioners, academics and service providers who met and explored ways in which this traditional platform reaches even the most remote and vulnerable communities – such as in Africa.

“Radio services have transformed in the present times of media convergence, taking up new technological forms, such as broadband, mobiles and tablets.

However, it is said that up to a billion people worldwide still do not have access to radio,” notes UNESCO. Over the years significant attention has been given to revolutions in information communications, including social media, yet it is important to remember that radio is still the world’s most active, localised broadcast technology.

UNESCO promotes radio as a low cost medium, specifically suited to reach remote communities and vulnerable people: the illiterate, the disabled, women, 40 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

youth and the poor, while offering a platform to intervene in public debate, irrespective of one’s educational level.

Radio also has a strong and specific role in emergency communications and disaster relief.

New perspectives, old medium Under the theme New Perspectives on Traditional Radio, World Radio Day explored the new technology and devices now used in radio communication in the developing world and Africa featured strongly in the discussions.

Radio experts, enthusiasts and broadcasters also explored how to improve international cooperation among radio broadcasters and encourage decision makers to create and provide access to information through radio, including community radio.

They touched on challenges of how different technologies – whether a solar powered radio or a mobile phone for audience interaction – can change the way in which radio is used as a platform for engagement. Discussions covered entrepreneurship in radio stations’ business models, obstacles of politicisation, the challenges in staying financially sustainable, as well as access to radio broadcasts.

The main speaker at the event was Guy Berger (director for Freedom of Expression and Media Development at UNESCO). He was joined by Dr Chege Githiora (Chairman of the Centre of African Studies at SOAS); Birgitte Jallov (Empowerhouse/ Panos London); Amy O’Donnell (FrontlineSMS: Radio); Carlos Chirinos (SOAS Radio); and Linje Manyozo (LSE). Lucy Duran

(SOAS, BBC Radio 3, Human Planet) moderated the panel.

World Radio Day was jointly hosted by SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) Radio, FrontlineSMS: Radio, Lifeline Energy and Empowerhouse – all organisations that have carried out extensive work worldwide.

SOAS Radio is an online station and social media enterprise by SOAS at the University of London and works with students, academics and professionals to produce radio programmes, and share research and interests of SOAS with a worldwide audience including Africa.

The station also consults to and provides training for development projects around the world.

Self-powered radio Lifeline Energy improves the quality of life of vulnerable populations by providing renewable energy alternatives to those in need. This includes solar and wind-up prime radios and Lifeplayer MP3s, which are designed for large group listening.

Since 1999 more than 500 000 selfpowered radios have been distributed reaching more than 20 million listeners mainly in Africa.

FrontlineSMS:Radio is a tailored version of FrontlineSMS – a free, open source software which assists with the management of text messages. It uses a laptop or computer connected to a mobile or GSM modem without the need for Internet access.

Empowerhouse assists communities, non-profits, governments and funders with finding integrated solutions to create and strengthen community radio. With 30 years experience, it offers online training, coaching and networks for

sustainable, participatory processes, and carries out evaluation and impact assessments.

African trials FrontlineSMS:Radio is undertaking trials and research in Zambia (with Breeze FM) and Uganda (with Radio Buddu). In Burundi, fundraising is currently ongoing for radio receivers to benefit poor communities who have limited access to electricity; and wind-up, solar-powered radios are preferred.

Uganda’s MAMA FM in Kampala, is one of the country’s first (and few) community radio stations.

MAMA was planned in 1997 and has been on air since 2001. Started by the Uganda Media Women’s Association (UMWA) it focuses on the plight of the underprivileged and minorities and is the first radio station for women in Africa.

In her new book, Empowerment Radio, Birgitte Jallov notes that: “..any small radio station has the potential to become a community radio station, where the empowerment of individuals and the community grows from the power of being in control of the station, taking part in determining an editorial line, broadcasting hours and organisation.

“It is empowering to broadcast in the local language spoken in the way that only this community speaks, with all the cultural and traditional references and sayings which belong here.”

Source: www.worldradioday.org/www. worldradiodaylondon.eventbrite.com

Reports by Martin Chemhere

Boxing her way to the top A new documentary focuses on the life of Ester Phiri, a Zambian female boxing champion.

W

omen on Hold, the first feature documentary by Zambian film director Jessie Chisi, has been in the making for more than three years. It looks at the rags-toriches life of Ester Phiri, who boxed her way out of the slums of Lusaka to world champion status.

The project was selected for the Finance Forum at the 2010 Durban FilmMart, where it was deemed best pitch project and most promising script.

Jessie Chisi

“I hope to complete the film by the end of 2012 and submit it for the international festival circuit,” says Chisi. “We commenced filming in 2009 and the shoot has gone according to schedule, given that we had to be patient along the way. Ester Phiri is a busy person and she would often tire of cameras following her around. So we would wait patiently until she was ready to be filmed.

“Making this film has been a bitter-sweet experience for me. It’s been very hard but has turned me into a strong woman.”

Phiri attained world champion boxing status at a young age – she is only 26 this year. A single mother, Phiri rose out of extreme poverty and STRONG WOMAN – Ester Phiri is the first ever Zambian female boxer. Through her success she has helped to bring about recognition to the plight of female sporting personalities in A woman’s perspective her country and in Africa.

A World Boxing Association (WBA) In her subject the director sees a fighter lightweight champion, Phiri has won who has proved herself to the world but nearly every fight of her career with six remains a gentle, affectionate woman on titles to her belt, including the Women the inside.

International Boxing Federation Super As a female filmmaker, Chisi explains Featherweight world title. why she wanted to tell Phiri’s story: “I

| AFRICA

think women understand their subjects better than men. The film seeks to demystify the notion that women filmmakers aren’t capable of matching or surpassing their male counterparts. This is the reason why this film has an entire female crew barring the producer.”

Women on Hold is produced by Finland’s Helmi Film and Zambia’s Outline 35.

Chisi trained as a director in Finland in 2008 and now alternates between the two countries.

She notes that Zambia’s film industry is still virgin land, abundant with untapped stories and talent. “This is my destiny – to tell stories of how beautiful Africa is and let people know that this amazing continent has loads of wonderful stories and people.”

Chisi’s previous three films are all fictional shorts that she wrote and made in Finland. Unborn is a story about giving birth before one is ready; Good Bye tells of a young man who comes to terms with his mother’s death from cancer; and Every Woman Knows explores the fears that come with love.

Assisting Zim film industry – one step at a time After all the criticism the Zimbabwean government plans to revamp the local film industry, if the recent promises by George Charamba, the Permanent Secretary for Media, Information and Publicity, are anything to go by.

G

eorge Charamba recently told a Film Indaba in Harare that the government, through his ministry, was working hard at putting in place the necessary equipment to enable local filmmakers to tell their stories.

He also stressed what was expected from the Zimbabwe International Film and Television School of Southern Africa (ZIFTESSA) as well as from local filmmakers towards the development of a vibrant Zimbabwe film industry.

During the Indaba local filmmakers raised concerns over a number of aspects around an enabling environment with specific areas like limited access to ZTV, government funding for home grown productions and the right to use equipment at government institutions.

The Minister told the filmmakers that the difficulties they currently face – to get broadcasters to air their productions –

were soon to be a thing of the past; current efforts to migrate from analogue to digital will pave the way for new television channels.

Going digital will open up more opportunities as government wants to allocate some channels just for home grown films. Opportunities also exist for private channels to be taken up by various corporations.

His major concern was that local filmmakers still produce too few films, especially for television, which poses a serious challenge for the new channels to run full local content programming in sufficient quality and quantity.

Critical role The bulk of the ministry’s budget for statutory bodies is directed at Transmedia, a commercial state-owned company that

mainly provides signal distribution services for broadcasters in Zimbabwe. Its role is critical and strategic to provide the required infrastructure to accommodate the needs of the many channels created by digitalisation – possibly 20 channels on one frequency. He also stressed that there is urgent need to amend the Broadcasting Act. The Indaba heard that with these new television channels there will be a need for a levy on foreign films shown on local television channels to raise the requisite revenue for funding local film projects.

On the issue of direct government funding for the film sector, Charamba responded that the authority had provided ZIFTESSA with a budget for the procurement of film equipment and other technical facilities, which will create opportunities for the film sector beyond the needs of students.

Filmmakers were urged to specify (to ZIFTESSA) the type of film equipment that will positively impact the growth of the industry, and which will be affordably accessible.

Responding to the appeal by filmmakers to access 16mm film stock, Charamba said that technology to transfer 16mm film to digital media was now available.

His ministry will produce a comprehensive inventory of 16mm film stock before making it available to filmmakers.

He also denied allegations that government does not have funds. “I refuse to accept that government has no funds for the film sector because I believe that the image of Zimbabwe is for public good for which the government should find resources.”

May 2012 | SCREENAFRICA | 41

STATS |

South African films and box office stats SA has the highest number of screens per capita in Africa but produces less films than Egypt 23 | the number of SA films released locally in 2010 at the box office 22 | the number of SA films released locally in 2011 at the box office 11 | the number of SA films that did less than R1m at the local box office in 2011 11 | the percentage that local films contributed to SA’s gross box office revenue* in 2010 (78% of this was generated by three films) 43 | the percentage of the 2010 revenue generated by SA films at the local box office that was earned by a single film – Shucks Tshabalala’s Survival Guide to South Africa 4.6 | the percentage that SA films contributed to the local gross box office revenue in 2011 (50.5% of this revenue was generated by Afrikaans films) Animation was the highest earning locally produced genre in 2011 41 | the percentage of local films made in Afrikaans in 2011 Horror and thriller were the least profitable locally produced genres in 2011 Musical was the second highest earning locally produced genre in 2011 but one of the least profitable genres in SA’s gross box office revenue Animation and comedy made up 40% of SA’s gross box office revenue in 2011 *Gross box office revenue refers to local and international releases combined NOTE: The above analysis is based on the results of a box office report compiled by the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) 42 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

February 2012 This monthly feature selects prominent local productions and ranks them in terms of audience ratings (ARs). Selected foreign programmes are shown only for comparison.

ARs are weighted over the period of transmission and the number of transmissions during the calendar month. Data is supplied by the South African Advertising Research Foundation and processed by Interactive Market Systems (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd.

Genre AR Soap 7.1 Movi 5.6 Soap 5.3 Soap 5.3 Vari 4.5

M-Net Rank Programme 1 The Town 2 Carte Blanche 3 True Grit 4 Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows 5 Grey’s Anatomy

Date 05/02/2012 19/02/2012 12/02/2012 19/02/2012 06/02/2012

Genre AR Movi 1.4 Actu 1.2 Movi 1.1 Movi 0.8 Dram 0.8

e.tv Rank Programme 1 Rush Hour 3 2 The Medallion 3 Rhythm City 4 The Forbidden Kingdom 5 The Tuxedo

Date 19/02/2012 12/02/2012 06/02/2012 26/02/2012 05/02/2012

Genre AR Movi 13.9 Movi 11.9 Dram 11.0 Movi 10.2 Movi 10.2

Talk

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2.4

2.2

3rd Degree

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4.4

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Soap 18:30 M-F S5

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6.6

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Carte Blanche

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Soap 20:00 M-F S5 1 20.0 19.6

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Isidingo:The Need

Soap 19:30 M-F S5

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2.7

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Rhythm City

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Scandal

Dram 19:30 M-T S4 e 7.4

7.7

Selimathunzi

Vari 18:00 Wed W 1 4.4

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brought to you by

The Collective Dream laboratory in Cape Town and the FILM LAB @ Media Film Service have chosen not to release statistics at this stage.

The Johannesburg FILM Lab is continuing its slow period with no feature work and a minimal number of commercials processed. Bulk printing reveals that 62 features have been printed as well as 1 050 trailers and 1 680 commercials. This is a significant increase over last month with commercials doubling their numbers.

Media Move reports that they did 998 transfers of commercials in March which is also an increase, and Adstream reports 875 commercial deliveries which is again an increase on the previous month. Adstream also reports that they have begun the management and distribution of radio advertisements We would like to thank the Johannesburg laboratory, Media Move and Adstream for the information they have supplied to us.

Screen Africa makes no attempt to identify the title of the production, or

Sun

18:00 Fri

21:00 Thu W W

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9.2

9.8

3

1.4

1.6

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Top foreign shows Days of Our Lives

Soap 17:10 M-F S5

1

4.3

3.7

WWE Wrestling Smackdown

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5.7

The Bold and the Beautiful

Soap 18:30 M-F S5

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3.4

3.6

20:30 W

The above represents a selection of programmes only, and is calculated on the total calendar month’s weighted average of the total audience over all age groups. If you want a particular programme included please contact Enid Venter on +27 (0)11 339-1051 or email enid@ihjoburg.co.za. The purpose of the schedule is to show the types of programmes South African audiences view, and to what extent.

We feature the top five shows viewed for each of the channels.

VitalStats

Vari

Day/s

3 Talk

Start Time

Jan 2012 AR

Date 16/02/2012 18/02/2012 14/02/2012 16/02/2012 01/02/2012

Feb 2012 AR

SABC3 Rank Programme 1 Isidingo: The Need 2 Honey (Mov) 3 Days of Our Lives 4 Isidingo – R 5 The Voice

Channel

Date Genre AR 07/02/2012 Dram 13.4 21/02/2012 Vari 11.8 23/02/2012 Soap 8.1 17/02/2012 Dram 7.8 09/02/2012 News 7.6

Frequency

SABC2 Rank Programme 1 Muvhango 2 Powerball 3 7de Laan 4 Mmampodi 5 State of The Nation Address 2012

Date Genre AR 13/02/2012 Soap 23.0 13/02/2012 Dram 19.1 21/02/2012 Dram 16.4 29/02/2012 Sport 15.0 03/02/2012 Dram 14.0

represents about 145 590 viewers.Key to genres: Actu: Actuality, Docu: Documentary, Dram: Drama, Educ: Education, Maga: Magazine, Musi: Music, News: News, Quiz: Game Show, Real: Real life, Reli: Religion, Sitc: Sitcom, Soap: Soap, Spor: Sport, Vari: Variety, Y.Ent: Youth Entertainment,

Genre

SABC1 Rank Programme 1 Generations 2 Zone 14 3 Montana 4 Soccer Build-Up 5 Untold Stories

The cream of the local productions

Key: Day/s refers to the day or days of the week the programme is transmitted. Frequency refers to how often it is transmitted – D=Daily, W=Weekly, S (followed by a number) indicates a series of that number of episodes. Television Universe estimated at 5.232 million households. One ratings point of all viewers

Name

The top five programmes

| Audience Ratings

Statistics for March 2012 Through the labs: Johannesburg Features 0

Shorts Commercials 0 1

Doccies 16mm 35mm 2 1 1

Commercials submitted to broadcasters via: Media Move: 998

Adstream: 875

the production house or any other information as this is often confidential information – we supply simply the numbers.

We rely on the co-operation of broadcasters, suppliers of commercial material to broadcasters and local film laboratories for information, however at the moment local broadcasters are not forthcoming in providing these vital statistics.

Efforts will continue to be made to build on this statistical data base to improve the accuracy, and should readers have comments or other ideas in terms of statistic gathering, please send an e-mail to web@screenafrica.com. Your comments would be appreciated.

May 2012 | SCREENAFRICA | 43

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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 80 MINUTES

Periphery Films Dir: Simon Taylor / Julia Taal Feature Drama A LION IN THE BEDROOM

Two Oceans Production Prod: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature AMABHUBESI

Inkwasi Television Prod: Bell Curle TV Magazine

Composite

AMKA CORPORATE

Panache Video Productions Exec Prod: Haroon Kalla Corporate At The Creek Without A Paddle

Zen Crew Exec prod: Laura Tarling Documentary BAD MEDICINE

Tin Rage TV Production Dir: Enver Samuel Documentary Bagged

Izithulu Productions Exec Prod: Donovan Mulligan / Mike Westcott Short Film BLAST FROM THE PAST

Sirius Films Prod: Ian Manly Documentary

BODA BODA THIEVES

Yes That’s Us Prod: James Tayler Feature

BREAD AND WATER Unit C5 RobeRtville Mini FaCtoRies 255 nadine stReet RobeRtville RoodepooRt 1709

SCREENAFRICA

Periphery Films Dir: Simon Taylor / Julia Taal Feature Documentary BREAKDOWN

Bollysamo Pictures / Apeiro Productions Prod Man: Carolyn Gregorowski Feature

FOR THE NEW CITY – DANCE ON FILM

SWiTCH / Resonance Bazar Prods: James Tayler / Julia Raynham Film FORSAKEN

DO Productions Prod: Marlow de Mardt / Brigid Olën Feature Genius

Inhlakanipo Films Dir: Dumisani Vusi Nhlapo Short Film GOUE STERRE

Suite People TVP Prod: Bell Curle TV Series GRIZMEK

CHILLI CHICKS

COILED

DO Productions Prod: Marlow de Mardt / Brigid Olën Feature CONSERVATION & BEYOND

SuitePeople TVP Prod: Bell Curle Documentary

do good design south africa

ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION

Gaonakgang Film Productions and Publications Writ: George Phuthiyagae Documentary ESCAPE

Current Affairs Films Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman / Beata Lipman Feature Film

SUPERMAMA

GoogelPlex Productions Dir: Karen van Schalkwyk Feature SWANK!

International Radio Pictures Prod: D Gillard Musical The Black Blonde

Steve Radebe Post Productions Prod:Steve Radebe Feature Film tHE blood kIng and the red dragon

Current Affairs Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman / Mtutuzeli Matshoba Feature

HISTORICAL KIMBERLEY

THE EDGE

IIQ

THE FILM MAKER

IK1 – TOURISTS IN DANGER

The Scores Are In

Spike Productions Prod: Steve Mueller Bsc. Documentary

Sukuma Media Dir: Bonginhlanhla Ncube Feature Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature Inventing Africa

Imageworks Prod: Anthony Irving Documentary

KADU’S JOURNEY

DO Productions Prods: Marlow de Mardt / Brigid Olën Feature DYINGCRACY

Sabstance Productions Producer: Edmund Mhlongo Documentary

DO Productions Prod: Marlow de Mardt / Brigid Olën Feature International Radio Pictures Kit Reynolds TV Series Elle Bolt Productions Prod: Elle Bolt Reality Series

Current Affairs Films Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman Game Show / Entertainment Series VULTURE KILLING FIELDS

SuitePeople TVP Bell Curle Documentary

WAY TO ROLL

Blue Ice Productions Dir:Freddie Strauss Feature WARD 22 AKA SPECIAL OPS

DO Productions Prod: Marlow de Mardt / Brigid Olën Documentary Welcome To The Club

LEARNER TEACHERS

Curious Pictures SABC Comedy Series

Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature

Let Heaven wait

ZERO DIET

Prod:Deon Potgieter Sitcom LION GIRL

DO Productions Prod: Marlow de Mardt / Brigid Olën TV Feature

NEW BEGINNINGZ

Current Affairs Films Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman Feature Film

Current Affairs Films Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman Short Business Features

THE CONSEQUENCE

CHILDREN OF FAMOUS ACTIVISTS

Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature

SHORT BUSINESS FEATURE WITH BBC / ABC

Two Oceans Production Prod: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE

Concept Interaction Producer: Karl Fedderke Educational

44 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

Current Affrairs Films / French Connection Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman Drama series

Lonely Planet

International Radio Pictures, Inc Kit Reynolds TV series

Follow us on

Ex Pats

Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature Sukuma Media Dir: Bonginhanhla Ncube Documentary Nongoloza

Current Affairs Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman Feature Palace of the Faithless

Production Company: White Heron Pictures Dir: Themba Sibeko Feature PASSARES (BIRDISH)

White Heron Pictures / Casa De Criacao Cinema Prod: Themba Sibeko Feature

Two Oceans Production Prod: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature ZEBRAS

DO Productions Dir: Bruce Beresford Feature

PRE-PRODUCTION Elegy: forsaken in South Africa

Market Street Productions Prod: Paul Van Zyl Short film

Holidays for Madmen

Imageworks Prod: Anthony Irving TV Series

IMATU UNION VIDEO

FC Hamman Films Prod Man: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video Mandela

Synergy Films Drama / Documentary

RACHELTJIE DE BEER

MASTERS OF DREAMS

RAF INDUCTION VIDEO

One Last Look

Road Accident Fund Induction

PSALTED

Brett Michael Innes Films Producer: Brett Michael Innes Feature Film Panache Video Productions Prod: Liesel Eiselen Corporate Panache Video Productions Dir: Liesel Eiselen Corporate SEBOKENG

MPA (Motswako) Dir: Charls Khuele / Zuko Nodada Feature

Current Affairs Films / Hambrook Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman Documentary Fireworx Media Pruducer: Dan Jawitz / Philip Roberts Feature Engage Entertainment Exec Prod: Vusi Zion (previously Twala) Variety RATE MY PLATE

International Radio Pictures Exec Prod: Kit Reynolds Community Project

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Si-solutions

Awesome Africa

GNLD AFRICA CONVENTION

TALK OF THE TOWN

THE BAR-ONE MANHUNT 2

Gospel GOLD

The Black Out

barbour and thorne: 60 years strong

GROEN

International Radio Pictures Exec Prod: Kit Reynolds Community Project SuitePeople TV Productions Bell Curle TV Series Dithakeng Projects and Flms Exec Prods: Thabang Nkunyane Short Film

Steplite Films Dir: Jacqui Logie Tv Series

Seven20 Entertainment Prod: Francois Van Wyk Reality

TO CARE FOR YOU ALWAYS

Our Time Productions Dir: Juan de Meilon Corprate Video

TRUE DREAM

Stark Films Dir: Danie Joubert TV Drama

Noble Pictures Prod: Claudia Noble Short Film

BINNELAND

South African Great Movies Production Dir: John Wani Feature

Bonisanani

VKB LANDBOU BEPERK

Firefly Animation Studio Exec Prod: Antony Steel Short Films

FC Hamman Films PM: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video

WOLWEDANS IN die Skemer

The Film Factory Exec Prod: Danie Bester Feature

IN PRODUCTION 3 Talk

Urban Brew Talk Show 3RD DEGREE

e.tv Investigative TV series 50 50

Clive Morris Productions Current Affairs 90 PLEIN STREET III

Born Free Media Exec Prod: Carolyn Carew TV Series A 400 year old bestseller – The King James Version of the Bible

Kagiso TV Talk Show

BOPSY BUNNY

Carte Blanche (inserts)

Red Pepper Exec Prod: Cecil Berry Children’s Show

Lebapi Productions Dir: Daniel Moleabatsi TV Magazine AFRICA 360

eNews News Head: Patrick Conroy Current affairs AFRO CAFÉ SEASON 7

Bonngoe Productions Exec Prod: Pepsi Pokane Music Show

AFRO SHOWBIZ NEWS

SABC News International Exec Prod: Jody-Layne Surtie TVMagazine AFROX AFRICA INSIGHT EPS 4

FC Hamman Films Prod Man: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video AFROX YEAREND RESULT

FC Hamman Films Prod Man: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video Agape

Gabaza Productions Prod: Sarah Ngubeni Magazine Alex: A history from below

Uhuru Productions Dir: Rehad Desai Documentary ALL ACCESS

Homebrew Films Prods: Paul Venter/ Hannes van Wyk / Tammy Anne Fortuin Magazine Show AMBUSH ALLEY

NHU Africa Exec Prod: Vyv Simson / Sophie Vartan Wildlife Documentary ANIMAL COMMUNICATION

NHU Africa Exec Prods: Vyv Simson / Sophie Vartan Wildlife Documentary

ANGUS BUCHAN’S ORDINARY PEOPLE

FC Hamman Films Dir: FC Hamman Feature

Hello Doctor

Prods: Michael Mol Magazine

Izwe Multimedia / Urban Brew Series Prod: Annalie Potgieter Live Medical Talk Show Plexus Films and Lisa Chait Prod: L Groenewald, M Redelinghuys, L Chait Television Series

Inkaba

ABC AMERICA NEWS SPECIAL ON MANDELA

Africa Facts Season 3

Okuhle Media Prod: Wilna van Schalkwyk Magazine Show

The Communist Republic of South Africa

Cooking With Siba

Current Affairs Films Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman Feature News Special

Hectic 99

Imizwilili

Eugene Botha Productions / It’s a Wrap Productions Prod: Eugene Botha Documentary

Prod: Siba Mtongana Variety

Urban Brew Studios Prod: John Kani Telenovela

Endemol South Africa Dirs: Raymond Sargent / Johnny Barbazano Daily TV Drama

Come Dine with Me South Africa

Judge For You Self

DADDY’S MESS

Dzunde Productions Prod: Thandiwe Mashiyane TV Sitcom

Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Variety Show

Red Pepper Prod: Melody Xaba Game Show

Khumbul’ekhaya

Urban Brew Prod: Enel Viljoen Reality

FIRESTONE

Live Lotto Show

Khaki Productions Dir: Wynand Dreyer Documentary

FORMIDABELE VROUE: Rosa Nepgen

Khaki Productions Dir: Wynand Dreyer Documentary

FORMIDABELE VROUE: Rykie van Reenen

Khaki Productions Dir: Wynand Dreyer Documentary Freeway Frog

Firefly Animation Prod: Ant Steel Animation Short FRENZY

Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Palesa Mopeli Variety GENERATIONS

Morula Pictures Exec Prod: Mfundi Vundla Soapie

Av m Pa

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ark Systems

d mite Unli lists

cia onic B ro a d c a s t S p e

Authorised Distributor

www.avmarksystems.co.za

Lepelle Water Safety Induction

Live

FORMIDABELE VROUE: Martie Meiring

Digital - Broadcast & AV Systems Unit 5 Bryanston Gate 170 Curzon Rd, Bryanston South Africa Tel: +27 (11) 463-3167/8 Fax: +27 (11) 463-2534 Email:avmark@icon.co.za

Exec Prod: Rapulana Seiphemo Comedy

EASTERN MOSAIC

Street Smart Creative DOP: Peter Palmer Commercial

Avmark Systems cc

Laugh out Loud

SummerTime Productions Exec prod: Elaine Tribe Corporate

Red Carpet Productions Magazine Programme

C A M E R A S • M O N I T O R S • P L A S M A D I G I TA L M I X E R S • 3 D • P R O J E C T O R S

eNews Current Affairs

Prods: Riaan Venter-Garforth Magazine

DIY Met Riaan

Official Worldwide Olympic Partner

ISIDINGO

Jam Alley

SABC News Current Affairs

real flexibility

Curious Pictures / Discovery Channel Dir: Rolie Nikiwe Feature

CORTEX MINING

Cutting Edge

real IT

real HD

INSIDE STORY

JOU SHOW MET EMO en Wickus

Rapid Blue Prod: Kee-Leen Irvine Reality

Composite

Ukhamba Communications Music

Cool Cats

FC Hamman Films PM: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video

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Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature

Bonngoe Productions Prod: Tumi Rabanye Variety

SWiTCH Dir: James Tayler Commercial

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HEAVEN – Africa

I Am Woman – Leap of Faith

Codesign – commercial spot for furniture designers

MY

Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Wildlife

Child Geniuses

Jam TV, Creative South Africa, Nkhanyeti Production Prod: Barthelemy Ngwessam Documentary

CM

Engage Entertainment Exec Prod: Vusi Zion (previously Twala) Music Show

HOUSE CALL

Club Culture

Y

FC Hamman Films Prod: FC Hamman Corporate Video

Modern Times Prods: Sophia Phirippides / Jon Pienaar Documentary Talent Attack TV / Fuel Media Productions Prod: Paul Llewellyn Documentary Series

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Urban Brew Music Show Urban Brew Game Show

Mad Buddies

Keynote Films Exec Prod: Helena Spring Feature Maggs on Media

eNews Prod: Jeremy Maggs Current Affairs

Million Dollar Race

Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature MK Campus

Homebrew Films Prods: Jaco Loubser / Ben Heyns Student Show Montana 2

Penguin Films Exec Prods: Roberta Durrant Drama Series MOTSWAKO

Carol Bouwer Productions Prod: Vesko Mrdjen Talk Show

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SERVICES INCLUDE FINAL MIX SOUND DESIGN COMPOSING & ARRANGING M U S I CA L D I R E CT I O N FO R C O R P O R AT E E V E N T S ADDRESS M i n i st r y O f I l l u s i o n B lo c k D S to n ewe d g e O f f i ce Pa r k N o 1 We d g ewo o d L i n k R d B r ya n sto n , J h b , 2 0 2 1

C O N TACT w w w. h ow a rd m u s i c . co . z a +27 (0)72 994 9695 +27 (0)11 463 8538 a d a m @ h ow a rd m u s i c . co . z a

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ROCKING FUTURE

THE TRANSPORTERS

Angels Of The Sky

ROER

THERE ARE NO HEROES

Animal Doctor (Working Title)

Summertime Productions Prods: Sean Gardiner / Tanya Vandenberg Educational Video Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Cooking Show Roots

Ukhamba Communications Music Show

SELIMATUNZI

Curious Pictures / Vuzu Prod: Khobi Ledwaba Reality Magazine Series Top 10 at 10

SAKEGESPREK MET THEO VORSTER

Turn It Out

Tswelopele Productions Prod: Phuthi Ngwenya Magazine SHIZ NIZ

Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Allen Makhubele Variety

Bottomline Entertainment / Fix Post Production Michael Modena TV Drama

NIGCOMSAT

SWiTCH Prod: Sarah Wanjiku Muhoho TV Commercial Nomzamo

Tom Pictures / Authentic Images Comedy ONS MENSE

Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Current Affairs OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Plexus Films Prod: Miki Redelinghuys Corporate Film

POPCRU 7TH CONGRESS

FC Hamman Films Prod Man: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Event PASELLA

Tswelopele Productions Insert Dirs: Liani Maasdorp / Werner Hefer

46 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

Religion and the ANC

Eugene Botha Productions / It’s a Wrap Productions Prod: Eugene Botha Documentary RHYTHM CITY

Curious Pictures Prod: Yula Quinn Soapie

RHYTHM CITY INTERACTIVE

Curious Pictures / e.tv Prod: Viva Liles-Wilkin Interactive Platform Media Rivoningo

Asi-B Films Exec Prod: Asivhanzi ‘Asi’ Mathaba Kids

NHU Africa Exec Prods: Vyv Simson / Sophie Vartan Wildlife Documentary HARTLAND

Hong Kong

Soccer zone

Why are We so Angry?

Fuel Media Productions Dir: Scott Smith, Shaft Moropane Documentary Series

IQILI

Why Poverty?

Israel Inside (Working Title)

STUDIO 53

Imani Media Prod: Bruce Townsend TV Series

Media Village Prod: Debbie Matthee Short Film

Fuel Media Productions Dir: Mzilikazi Kumalo Documentary Series

NHU Africa Exec Prods: Vyv Simson / Sophie Vartan Wildlife Documentary

REDI ON MZANSI

NHU Africa Exec Prods: Vyv Simson / Sophie Vartan Wildlife Documentary

Soccer 411

STRANDED

eNews Prods: Nikiwe Bikitsha Current Affairs

Media Village Prod: Diane Vermooten Documentary

SABC News Current Affairs

New Wave Productions Prod: Mishkah Roman-Cassiem Spiritual

News Night

Calafornia: Valley Christian School Transformation

WEEKEND LIVE

Spirit Sundae

Fly on the Wall Prods: Filipa Domingues Corporate

Owami Entertainment Dir: Charles Khuele Short Film

DRAGON’S FEAST 3D

Sony Variety

Red Bull Beat Battle

BUA NNETE

Spectro Productions Dirs: Luhann Jansen / Andries van der Merwe/ Leroux Botha/ Isabel Smit TV Drama

Sony Presents Mgongo

Engage Entertainment Exec Prod: Vusi Zion (previously Twala) Music Show

Diprente Films Prod: Kagiso Lediga Feature

VILLA ROSA

SABCSports Head: Sizwe Nzimande Magazine

Zen Crew Prod: Laura Tarling Music Video

Verraaiers (Traitors)

BLITZ PATROLLIE

SISTERHOOD

Engage Entertainment Exec Prod: Vusi Zion (previously Twala) Magazine

Music Moves Me

Fuel Media Productions Dir: Ben Brewster Dance Reality show

Imageworks Dir: Kerry Negara Documentary

DEAR SISTER

X CON Films Dir: Munier Parker Edutainment

Project MV

Turn It Out

Bitter Root

FC Hamman Films Prod: FC Hamman Corporate Video

Siyakholwa – We Believe

Bonngoe Productions Exec Prod: Pepsi Pokane TV Magazine

NHU Africa Exec Prods: Vyv Simson / Sophie Vartan Wildlife Documentary

Panache Video Productions Prod: Liesel Eiselen Corporate

VKB BRANDING LAUNCH

Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Vuyo Sokupa Variety

NHU Africa Exec Prods: Vyv Simson/ Sophie Vartan Wildlife Documentary Series

TOUCHING THE DRAGON

Bally Cullen Guesthouse Ad

Shoprite Showcase

SummerTime Productions Exec prod: Janine Truter Corporate

MZANSI INSIDER

Fuel Media Dance show

Animal Doctor cc.

Prods: Greg Simpson, Jonty Acton TV Series

CHEETAH DIARIES 2

Urban Brew Talk show

PEACE PARKS

Don’t Look Down Radio/TV Simulcast

CDS-Films Exec Prods: Chris Dos Santos, Andrew MacDonald Feature Film

White Heron Pictures/Film Factory / Bos Bok Ses Films / Spier Films Dir: Paul Eihlers Drama

Shift

Word of Mouth Prod: Pieter Grobbelaar Feature

TOP SHAYELA

Sikhoyana Productions Prod: Baby Joe Correira variety series

Ses’khona

TV Magazine Programme

TOP BILLING

SCANDAL

Dirk Mostert Camera Production Dir: Dirk Mostert Talk Show

MUVHANGO

AFDA Cape Town Dir: Kyle Stevenson Science Fiction

Tswelopele Productions Prod: Patience Stevens TV Magazine

Ochre Moving Pictures Series Prod: Romano Gorlei Daily TV Soap

Composite

Sukuma Media/ Reality Motion Pictures Dir: Bonginhlanhla Ncube Documentary

M-Net Inhouse Productions Insert Dir: Navan Chetty Mag Programme The B-Ball Show

When The World Was Here

STEPS International Exec Prod: Don Edkins Documentary Series Wicket to Wicket

SABC3 Lefa Afrika Magazine

Workers World Series

Cape Town Television Prod: Sharon McKinnon TV Series Xihlovo

Grace Bible Church Religion

SABC Commissioning Ed: Dinah Mahlabegoane Variety

Yilengelo Lakho

The Chat Room

The Bomb Shelter Prod: Angus Gibson Drama

Eclipse Prod: Thokozani Nkosi Talk Show The Cypher

Spoon Fed Generation Lerato Letebele Talk show

Prod: Nndanganeni Mudau Current Affairs Zone 14

POST-PRODUCTION

The Justice Factor

A BUSHMAN ODYSSEY

THE RUDIMENTALS

AFRICA CALLING

eNews Exec Prod: Debbie Meyer Current Affairs Periphery Films Prod: Simon Taylor Feature Documentary

THE STORY OF LITTLE FOOT

Paul Myburgh Film Prod: Paul Myburgh Documentary

The Tech Report

Greenwall Productions Exec Prod: Nicky Greenwall Magazine THE WILD

Magic Factory Dirs: Alex Yazbek, Johnny Barbuzano Soapy TRANSFORMATION STORIES

Media Village Productions Dir: Diane Vermooten Documentary

Onetime Films Prod: Richard Wicksteed Documentary

Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature AFROX CO2 PLANT

FC Hamman Films Prod Man: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video AFROX SHEQ INDUCTION

FC Hamman Films Prod Man: Odette van Jaarsveld Commercial ALL’S FAIR

PianoJ Productions Prod: Pia van Rensburg Short Film AMBASSADOR II

Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature

Media Village Prod: Diane Vermooten Documentary Impucuzeko Prod: Sharon Kakora Feature Imagination Productions / Wayne Kopping Films Dir: Wayne Kopping Documentary Kemang?

lmol Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature Film JULIUS HAS A DREAM

Creative South Africa, Nkanyethi Productions,Jam TV Prod: Bathelemy Ngwessam Documentary Launch of the Academy of Young SA Scientists

Panache Video Productions Prod: Liesel Eiselen Documentary

Lepelle Northern Water

SummerTime Productions Prod: Sean Gardiner Corporate

LIFE UNDER THE FLAG

Lifeundertheflag.Com Prod: Prince Angelo Doyle Documentary LION’S TRACK

Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature MARRY – ANN

Shadow Films Dir: David Forbes Documentary Melodi Jazz Festival 2011

L. Dukashe Productions Dir: Lumko Dukashe Live Concert DvD

National Heritage Council Educational Outreach Programme

Panache Video Productions Exec Prod: Amos Mlaudzi Corporate PERFECT SHISHEBO

Curious Pictures Prod: Nthabiseng Mokoena AFP – Cooking Show

P R O D U C T I O N U P D A T E S PURPLE TOWN

Sukuma Media Dir: Bonginhlanhla Ncube Documentary RESTYLE MY STYLE

Curious Pictures Prod: Anita van Hemert Children’s Programming River of Stones

Prod: Wiseman Mabusela Documentary SA JUNIOR MASTERS

Our Time Productions Dir: Jaun de Meillon Series on SuperSport SCAREDYKAT

Dirty Soul Productions Dir: Kyle Lewis Horror Feature Film SCHOOL E-WASTE INITIATIVE/ DESCO/ INCREDIBLE CONNECTION

Philip Schedler Productions Prod: Philip Schedler Corporate SLENDER WONDER

FC Hamman Films Prod Man: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video South african Field Band Foundation Championships

Panache Video Productions Prod: Liesel Eiselen Documentary STETSON HATS

Fourth Dimension Films / Creative Photo Services Dir: Neil Hermann Corporate

COMPLETE 4PLAY: SEX TIPS FOR GIRLS III

Curious Pictures Prod: Stephane Coetzee Drama AFRICA CALLING

Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature All the president’s ELEPHANTS

NHU Africa Exec Prods: Vyv Simson / Sophie Vartan Wildlife Documentary Afri-Infra Overview 2010

Panache Video Productions Dir: Adele de Klerk Corporate

AFROX AFRICA INSIGHT EPS 3

FC Hamman Films PM: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video

AYESAN – FIGHT TO LOSE

SMS Multimedia Inc Dir: Seyi Specialborn Akanbi Feature

AWOYE – RETRIBUTION

Sms Multimedia Line Prod: Temitope Akanbi Feature CHAMELEON

NHU Africa Exec Prod: Sophie Vartan Wildlife Documentary CHEETAH DIARIES 3

Stolen Time

NHU Africa Exec Prod: Vyv Simson / Sophie Vartan Wildlife Documentary

Tanzanian Investment Opportunities

Child On-Line Protection Week

TASTE OF RAIN

DANGEROUS TRAILS – ELEPHANTS IN THE MINEFIELDS

Prod: Eric Myeni Feature

Benchmark Productions Dir: Dermod Judge Corporate

Luna Films / On Land Productions Prods: Bridget Pickering / Richard Pakleppa Feature Technology Innovation Agency CEO Address

Panache Video Productions Prod: Liesel Eiselen Corporate Technorati

Talent Attack TV / Fuel Media Productions Dir: Maxine Nel Technology Magazine Show The Animal Communicator

NHU Africa Exec Prods: Vyv Simson / Sophie Vartan Wildlife Documentary TREASURE GUARDS

Tandem Communications Exec Prod: Jonas Bauer / Rola Bauer Feature Triple O

Monarchy Prod: Mosibudi Pheeha Feature True Dream ( Revised Version)

South African Great Movies Production Dir: John Wani Feature Film

Vallejo Transformation

Media Village Prod: Diane Vermooten Corporate Vehicle 19

Forefront Media Group / Pictue Tree / The Safran Company Exec Prod: Paul Walker Feature VERITAS

Media Village Prod: Debbie Matthee Documentary WALKING IN VICTOR’S SHOES

Current Affairs Films SA Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman Feature Documentary WELLBODI BIZNES

Plexus Films / Four Corners Media Prod: Miki Redelinghuys Documentary

Imageworks Dir: Anthony Irving TV ad

NHU Africa Exec Prod: Sophie Vartan Wildlife Documentary

Dept of Social Development Congress

FC Hamman Films Prod Man: Odette van Jaarsveld Three-day corporate event DUMISANI FILM TOUR

Creative Pictures / Genius Productions Dir: Vusi Dumisani Nhlapo Documentary ENDANGERED

NHU Africa Exec Prod: Sophie Vartan Wildlife Documentary Series Evocative AfricaVentures of Discovery

Clifton Publications Gerald Cubitt Photographic book publication Food with Friends

Studio Republic Prod: Darren Kerr Talk Show

Free State Balloon Fiesta

Imageworks Prod: Anthony Irving Corporate

GLAMOUR – THE REALITY BEHIND DREAMS

ZG Films Prod: Javed Jafferji Feature GULUVA

BIP Films Dir: BI Phakathi Feature Film IMATU 3 DAY CONGRESS

FC Hamman Films Prod Man: Odette van Jaarsveld Three-day Corporate Event Israel Inside: How a Small Nation Makes a Big Difference

Jerusalemonlineu Prod: Raphael Shore Documentary

JOURNEY INTO WILDERNESS

Tekweni TV Productions Prod: Sandra Herrington Documentary KAN EK SO LEEF

MAY

Ke mo fumane

1 – 5 The Cilect Congress

Cape Town www.cilectcapetown2012.com

KING NAKI

1–6

Harare International Festival of Arts

Matrix, Klas van 2011

3 – 6 The Awareness Film & Arts Festival

Mentalist Martial Arts

7 – 11 INPUT 2012

Liquid Gate Creative Studios Prod: Kobus Swart Music Video StreTalk Productions Bobby Mokhema TV drama Plexus Films Prod: Miki Redelinghuys Documentary Laurie Botha Entertainment Dir: Laurie Botha Reality Panache Video Productions Dir: Ryan Blumenthal Training Mutshenzhe

Dzivha Production Exec Prod: Walter Gumbu Feature Film My Perfect family

Bunt Onion Productions Prod: Rethabile Ramaphakela Comedy National Heritage Council Educational Outreach Programme

Pananche Video Productions Documentary

PASEKA EASTER ELEPHANT

NHU Africa Exec Prods: Vyv Simson / Sophie Vartan Wildlife Documentary PROGRESS

Periphery Films Dir: Simon Taylor Feature Documentary

ZION

Letcosmart Prod: Zibusiso Nkomo Feature

Harare, Zimbabwe www.hifa.co.zw

Los Angeles, CA www.awarenessfestival.org

Sidney, Australia www.inputsydney.com/

16 – 27

Cannes International Film Festival

Cannes, France www.festival-cannes.fr

21 – 24 The TV Show Africa

Johannesburg

www.terrapinn.com/conference/tv-show-africa/ conference.stm 24 – 25

ACT/UJ Arts and Culture Conference

Johannesburg www.act.org.za/resources_press.htm

JUNE 7 – 24 Encounters South African International

Documentary Film Festival

Cape Town / Johannesburg www.encounters.co.za/

Summertime Productions Prod: Sean Gardiner / Tanya Vandenberg Educational Video

08 – 08

An Evening with AMAA

Cape Town www.ama-awards.com/cape-town

SAVING RHINO PHILA

17 – 23

Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

Cannes, France www.canneslions.com

14 – 24

Los Angeles Film Festival

Los Angeles www.lafilmfest.com/

ROCKING FUTURE

NHU Africa Exec Prods: Vyv Simson / Sophie Vartan Wildlife Documentary Sweet Serinity

Our Time Productions Dir: Juan de Meillon Corprate TERMINATRYX – “Midnight” (The Awakening Remix)

20 – 23

TIMELAPSE

JULY

Flamedrop Productions Prods: Paul André Blom, Sonja Ruppersberg Music Video

Team GR8 (for 48 HFP) Writers: Carl Roddam / Deon van der Merwe Short Film THE BETRAYAL

Shakarny Inovations Prod: James Kingston Feature THE MEDUPI WAY

Panache Video Productions Exec Prod: Adele De Klerk Corporate Supreme Launch Video (Joe Public)

Fuel Media Productions Dir: Paul Llewellyn Corporate VISCOUNT DOWN

Msasa Enterprises Dir: Harmon Cusack Feature

WEC PROJECTS CORPORATE VIDEO

PSP Productions Dir: Philip Schedler Corporate

YOUR LOVE NEVER FAILS: FRED DE MEILLON

Our Time Productions Dir: Juan de Meillon Corprate

JOURNEY TO STATE HOUSE

ZG Films Prod: Javed Jafferji Documentary

ZAMA ZAMA

Kokamoya Productions Prod: Bertus van der Walt Feature

Events |

19 – 293

3rd Durban International Film Festival

Durban www.cca.ukzn.ac.za

20 – 23

3rd Durban FilmMart

Durban www.durbanfilmmart.com

20 – 24

5th Talent Campus Durban

Durban

www.cca.ukzn.ac.za 7 – 15 July Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF)

Zanzibar

www.ziff.or.tz

OCTOBER 13 – 21

FCAT Córdoba African Film Festival

Córdoba, Spain

www.fcat.es/FCAT_en/index.php?option=com_ content&view=article&id=94:convocatoria-cine home&catid=1:latest-news 30 – 31 IP&TV ME and North Africa 2012

Dubai http://iptv-mea.com

NOVEMBER 27 – 28

Screen Africa relies on 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

American Black Film Festival

New York http://abff.com/festival/

MY CONTENT

Dubai www.mycontent.ae

May 2012 | SCREENAFRICA | 47

Social | 4play: Sex Tips 4 Girls Season 3 launch

The cast of 4play: Sex Tips 4 Girls – Mbali Maphumulo, Kgomotso Christopher, Tiffany Jones-Barbuzano, Xolile Tshabalala

Keshni Rajoo, Luxury Msiza, Zanele Mthembu and Lufuno Nethengwe from the Local Productions department at e.tv

Phakamani Mvelashe (Drum) with Real Magazine’s Kati Dijane and Molife Kumona and Bulelwa Dayimane (Drum)

Kgomotso Christopher and husband

Mariki van der Walt from Curious Pictures

Matlapulana Ragoasha, Debashine Thangevelo and Monde Twala

Tamba Kondo and Basil Makombe – who make up the traditional musical group Manzinza eMbira, who entertained the guests

Cine Prestige launch at The Zone Rosebank

Andrea Van Wyk (Eye Witness News) and Leigh Van Niekerk (guest)

Buzzing crowd at Cine Prestige

Fiaz Mahomed and Ryan Williams (Ster-Kinekor Theatres)

Fiaz Mahomed (Ster-Kinekor Theatres) and Mabel Mabaso (Good Morning Africa)

Ashraf Garda (SAFM) and Fiaz Mahomed (CEO – SterKinekor Theatres)

Doug Place (Ster-Kinekor Theatres) and Mariska Jakobs (guest)

Lynne Wylie and Doug Place (Ster-Kinekor Theatres)

Vanessa Raju (SANBS), Kim Cox (Cinemark) and Shetal Badal (LG)

DStv Film Talent Celebration

Sizi Keke, Bonang Legwale, Kabelo Molefe, Vuyo Keke, Tsholofelo Moremedi and Kgomotso Molefe

Best Newcomer (A procura de Pancho) – Ross Hillier, Stephen Hitchcock and Christopher Bisset

48 | SCREENAFRICA | May 2012

Advertisers List |

Best Editor (Thandeka Best Cinematography Faku) – Kabelo Molefe (Fortabt Loss of Love) – Michael Matthews

Best Cinematography (Fortabt Loss of Love) – Michael Matthews and Benitha Vlok

Best Newcomer (A procura de Pancho) – Christopher Bisset

Best Production (Ibhayibhile – The Bible) – Vukile Ngcingwana and Sakhumzi Nigel Mati

AJA Video Systems.......................19

IDC..................................................15

Avid..................................................33

Jasco................................. IBC

Avmark Systems ..........................45

Keystone.........................................32

BlackGinger......................................1

Lalela................................................23

Blackmagic Design........................13

Ministry of illusion..........................5

Blade bfx.........................................11

Obeco..............................................37

Case Connection, The.................46

Panasonic.........................IFC

Collective Dream.............FC

Pro-Sales.........................................39

Concilium Technologies...............17

Puma Video ......................44, 45, 46

Digi Labs Visual Impact................28

Riot Post Production...................28

Doremi..............................................9

Sasani Studios................................31

Gauteng Film Commission

Searle Street Post Production...25

(GFC)...............................................43

Sony...................................................7

General Post..................................24

Synchro Music...............................30

Glasshouse Post Production......27

Upstairs Post Production............26

Guillotine........................................30

Vision Cases...................................44

Howard Music...............................45

Zimele........................... OBC

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