Screen Africa October 2014

rica Discop Af AfricaCom Photo & Film Expo BROADCAST, FILM, TV, COMMERCIALS, NEW MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY NEWS

www.screenafrica.com

VOL 26 – October 2014 R35.00

Production and Post Unified CION is the new 4K/UHD and 2K/HD production camera from AJA. Unite production and post by shooting directly to edit-ready Apple ProRes 4444 at up to 4K 30fps, ProRes 422 at up to 4K 60fps, or output AJA Raw at up to 4K 120fps.

4K sensor with 12 stops of dynamic range Ergonomic and Lightweight, only 6.4 lbs Open Connectivity Network based control via LAN

Find out more at www.aja.com/cion

Touchvision

Tel: + 27 11 886 8572 • www.touchvision.co.za

09-09-14_FP_ScreenAfrica_CION_October_EN.indd 1

9/9/14 4:09 PM

| IN THIS ISSUE

18 Informing, connecting and inspiring African content creators

21

26

Toronto, a new place for African film?

Does digital cinema project the goods?

28

24

Testing the Sony F55 and Gates underwater housing

The Good Lord, Mr Sony and me

Special Features DISCOP Africa PREVIEW Informing, connecting and inspiring African content creators.. 18

Digital Cinema Does digital cinema project the goods?.............................. 26

Photo & Film Expo Africa’s largest photographic expo in focus........................................ 30

News The final dash.......................................... 2 African co-produced film wins People’s Choice Award at TIFF........... 2 Cinema Nouveau launches Short Film Project.................................. 3 Silwerskermfees celebrates talent and culture................................... 3 BBC expands its Africa-focused content......................... 4 SA animation graduate attends Telluride..................................... 4 Gauteng Film Commission appoints new CEO................................ 6 IABM announces Design and Innovation Award winners....................................... 6 Global study suggests that film industry perpetuates discrimination against women............. 6

www.screenafrica.com

Rob Davies announces R1 million incentive programme for emerging black filmmakers................... 6 Generations goes off air............................................... 7 Altech presents new VOD offering.... 7 SA film wins at 168 film festival.......... 7 StarTimes Media a new pay-TV competitor in Kenya.............................. 7 Panasonic AJ-PX800 ultralight 3MOS camcorder................. 8 Grass Valley’s range of 4K/UHD-ready solutions..................... 8 Canon EOS 7D Mk II............................ 8 Vidigo Visual Radio................................. 8 Imagine Communications TV Everywhere end-to-end solution for OTT and IPTV.............. 10 Harman’s Studer Vista V digital console...................................... 10 Sony/ Hawk-eye Intelligent Production for small-scale live sports production....................... 10

ADCETERA Cultivating innovation at PromaxBDA Africa......................... 12 It’s all about Pulse............................... 12 Selling Broken Monsters.................... 13 The advertising industry goes pro bono..................................... 13

facebook.com/screenafrica

Making marketing magic.................... 14 The sweeping changes across Adland....................................... 15 Lights! Camera! Can we move beyond the tv ad?.................... 15

Cameras & Accessories

COMMERCIALS

From Dream to reality...................... 33

DIRECTOR SPEAK: Marc Sidelsky....................................... 16

Film A film of choice................................... 19 Hitchcock on the Cape Flats........... 20 Where film and fashion meet.......... 20 Toronto, a new place for African film?......................... 21 The essential Jinna Mutune............... 22 Mauritius: an island of talent and opportunity....................... 22

DocumentarY Medical doccie shifts UN perspective on essential surgery..... 23

Lighting Television Exploring an edible world................. 34 Up close with Namibia’s Dalton Ashikoto.................................. 36 SuperSport upgrades its OB fleet with EVS XT3..................... 37

Broadcast Technology IBC – a veteran’s report................... 38

Africacom Unpacking AfricaCom 2014.............. 40

NEW MEDIA Staying ahead of the digital curve.... 42

Regulars

CINEMATOGRAPHY The Good Lord, Mr Sony and me.. 24

Post-Production Big plans underway for Kwazi Mojo Sound Studios and Waterfront Film Studios............ 27

@screenafrica

Testing the Sony F55 and Gates underwater housing............... 28 The cameraman’s toolbox................ 32

Box Office............................................. 43 Production Updates................44 – 47 Events..................................................... 47 Social...................................................... 48

za.linkedin.com/in/suncircle

screen_africa

|

From the editor

News

The final dash

African co-produced film wins People’s Choice Award at TIFF

The mad rush towards of the end of 2014 is upon us. It’s that time of year when trade shows, conferences, exhibitions and festivals seem to come thick and fast. No sooner had the Silwerskermfees wrapped than we found ourselves on a plane to Amsterdam for IBC. Upon returning we found the ad industry congregated in Cape Town for Creative Week and the Loeries. Next, over in Abuja, the annual international film festival got underway before Lagos had its turn with the Lights, Camera, Africa Festival. Then, although DISCOP and ProMaxBDA are still a good few weeks away, here we were preparing our previews for those events. And lest we get too comfortable dealing with content and creatives, there’s the Photo and Film Expo and AfricaCom to pull us back into the tech world. You get the idea – it’s a pretty crazy ride from here until the end of the year. Let’s hope it’s enough to prepare us for the exciting times ahead. With digital migration trundling its slow path across the continent and – more importantly for the African market – VOD and mobile platforms popping up everywhere from Johannesburg to Cairo, the content, communications and broadcast technology scenes are going to get very interesting to say the least.

While there is certainly no time to reflect just yet on the mammoth quantities of data bombarding us each day, there are a number of topics here that might offer food for thought. A summit titled 20 Years of Television in South Africa: What Next? at the upcoming DISCOP Africa 2014 is sure to spark some debate around the state of broadcasting in South Africa since the democratic transition. Most importantly, it will provide a platform for robust discussion around the future of the state broadcaster, the implications of digital migration, increasing competition in the pay-TV and free-to-air arenas, and the effect that VOD will have on all of these. As Touchvision’s Chris Hanson observes in his report on IBC, one of the pressing questions among the technically inclined in our industry is whether 4K – undoubtedly a great format for content acquisition and creation, will ever take off as a broadcast format. On the cinema side, Andy Stead looks into how South African theatres and post houses are doing with regard to Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI) standards.

To all those travelling to any of the various events taking place around the world, we hope you have successful and constructive trips and look forward to hearing your stories on your return.

Warren Holden

Sudan

www.screenafrica.com

RECOGNISED AMONGST THE MASTERS: Still from Beats of the Antonov

The documentary Beats of the Antonov was recently presented with the People’s Choice Documentary Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, which ran from 4 to 14 September.

Previous films which have won in this category include The Square by Jehane Noujaim and Artifact by Jared Leto.

Lensed, co-produced and directed by Sudanese filmmaker Hajooj Kuka, the film offers a revealing look into the lives of people living in the Blue Nile and Nuba regions of Sudan, which are threatened by the Khartoum government. In the midst of a civil war, Kuka offers unique insight into how, through cultural expression, Sudanese people living in refugee camps and villages stand together to defy this oppression and preserve hope.

The film is a co-production between Sudanese production company Refugee Club and South African production company Big World Cinema.

Renowned South African filmmaker and Beats of the Antonov co-producer Steven Markovitz says of the win, “It’s an amazing achievement for the filmmaker to have his film recognised at such a high international level, having competed against many master filmmakers. To be recognised like this is really exciting because it highlights the country, the film and the filmmaker in a way which is far beyond our wildest imagination. We are completely thrilled about it.”

Kuka had already spent two years shooting footage in Sudan when he approached Markovitz

with a rough cut of the film. Impressed by what he saw Markovitz officially joined the production and began raising funds for the project in April 2014, while Kuka resumed shooting. Before its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, the film was edited and finished in Cape Town by the team at Upstairs Post, sound designer Barry Donelly and Searle Street Post-Production.

Markovitz says that the featured villagers and refugees were very happy to have their stories told by a local filmmaker and that Kuka was able to offer an authentic perspective on their lives and culture.

“So often our image of these countries is manufactured by what we see in the news which is often in the form of one-minute pieces shot by foreigners,” says Markovitz. “Our perception of Sudan as a country is very limited. We know there’s been a war there and that certain atrocities have been committed but we don’t understand why. This film explores the root of the problem, which is one of identity.”

Future plans for Beats of the Antonov include a run on the international film festival circuit and though negotiations are still underway, Markovitz hopes to secure distribution in as many territories as possible.

“This award is for the community who helped make this film and hopefully it will help the Sudanese people see how beautiful we are. It is a film about love, not war,’’ says Kuka.

– Carly Barnes

SCREENAFRICA Publisher & Managing Editor: Simon Robinson: publisher@screenafrica.com Editor: Warren Holden: editor@screenafrica.com Journalists: Carly Barnes: carly@sun-circle.co.za Chanelle Ellaya: news@screenafrica.com Contributors: Andy Stead; Claire Diao, Sam Charo, Louise Marsland, Chris Hanson, Johan van Tonder, Koos Roets, Gethsemane Mwizabi, Tom Fels, Jerome Cohen

Sub-Editor: Tina Heron Design: Trevor Ou Tim: design@sun-circle.co.za Website & Production Updates: Carly Barnes: carly@sun-circle.co.za Subscriptions: Tina Tserere: data@sun-circle.co.za Delight Ngwenya: admin@sun-circle.co.za Advertisement Sales: Marianne Schafer: marianne@screenafrica.com Lorna MacLeod: lorna@screenafrica.com

Accounts: Natasha Glavovic: accounts@sun-circle.co.za Sun Circle Publishers (Pty) Ltd Tel: 011 025-3180 Physical address: First Floor, Process House Epsom Downs Office Park 13 Sloane Street Bryanston, Johannesburg South Africa Postal address: PO Box 559, Fourways North, 2086

www.screenafrica.com

facebook.com/screenafrica

@screenafrica

za.linkedin.com/in/suncircle

| News

screen_africa

Cinema Nouveau launches Short Film Project From 14 November to 14 December Cinema Nouveau will screen a selection of locally produced short films, which will appear before main feature films, at theatres in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town.

The Short Film Project launched on 25 September and is in partnership with digital media content distribution, management and exhibition company Spectrum and ShortandSweet, a company which specialises in cinematic experiences and short film festivals.

Julia Stephenson, the founder of ShortandSweet, which will be responsible for selecting the short films from entries received, says: “We are dedicated to the exhibition of film as a critical art form in its own right. As such, we are delighted to be involved in this exciting new initiative with Cinema Nouveau and look forward to unearthing some real gems in the short film genre.”

Emerging filmmakers have until 24 October 2014 to submit their original short film, which needs to be less than 10 minutes in length, to be considered for the opportunity. In addition, the films

UNEARTHING GEMS: Thapelo Mokoena

Silwerskermfees celebrates talent and culture The fifth annual Silwerskermfees (Silver Screen Festival), presented by kykNet, the Afrikaans-language platform in pay TV giant M-Net’s bouquet of channels, was held from 27 to 30 August at the Bay Hotel in Camps Bay, Cape Town.

A remarkable array of varied, highquality content was presented during the course of the festival, ranging from light-hearted comedy to weighty drama and documentaries of all persuasions.

The eclectic programme stood as a testament to the cultural diversity that exists within the Afrikaans-speaking world. From the affluent suburbs of Johannesburg to the rich wilderness of the Karoo, to the ganglands of the Cape Flats, the selected films showcased the

many facets of South Africa’s Afrikaans community.

Among the highlights of the festival was the long awaited premiere of Abraham, the semi-autobiographical film by veteran director Jans Rautenbach, who has not released a film for two decades.

Another major talking point was the screening of Glory Game, the documentary about rugby star Joost van

selected to screen will be reviewed by a judging panel that will announce a final selection on 2 February 2015. These shorts will appear on the big screen during Cinema Nouveau’s ‘Oscar’ weekend, a popular event which attracts large audiences. The overall winning director will receive Sony camera equipment valued at R20 000 and will have their film appear at the 2015 Durban International Film Festival (DIFF). The film which receives the Audience Choice Award will also feature at DIFF 2015.

According to Doug Place, marketing executive of Ster-Kinekor Theatres, the project is aimed at fostering and showcasing the talent of local filmmakers, as well as supporting the growing South African industry.

Says Place: “We are constantly amazed by the raw and undiscovered talent that abounds in the South African film industry.

We are confident that this project will provide us with an opportunity to expose original content, in the form of the short film, to a wider cinema audience.”

Director Sunu Gonera, who received international acclaim for his short film

der Westhuizen’s struggle with Motor Neuron Disease. But perhaps most exciting was the latest batch of short films, specially commissioned by kykNet to provide opportunities for young filmmakers.

The festival ended with an awards ceremony which saw the acclaimed romance Die Windpomp walk away with five awards, including Best Director (Etienne Fourie), Best Supporting Actress (Marga van Rooy), Best Original Music Score (Johnny De Ridder), Best Screenplay (Etienne Fourie) and Best Film.

The other award winners include: • •

•

Best short film: Vuil Wasgoed Best director on a short film: Travis Taute and Nosipho Dumisa – Nommer 37 Best actor in a short film: Stian Bam – Tippie

Riding with Sugar, spoke at the Short Film Project launch and highlighted how producing short films could offer valuable exposure and opportunities for burgeoning filmmakers. “For South African filmmakers, this is a great way to get started in the industry. It’s companies like Ster-Kinekor that are really helping us filmmakers make our mark,” he comments.

Thapelo Mokoena, who starred in Riding with Sugar adds: “This is an opportunity for actors as well as small to medium production companies to create their own scripts and produce their own films, which can be developed over a short space of time at an affordable cost.”

Spectrum will assist filmmakers by transferring their films to into a digital format at no cost and will spend an hour assisting them with the post-production process.

Interested filmmakers need to submit an entry form, which is available at Cinema Nouveau theatres and on their website, together with their short film via Dropbox to: shortfilmproject@sterkinekor. com. – Carly Barnes

• • • • • •

• • • • • •

Best actress in a short film: Nicola Hanekom – Tippie Best short film script: Daryne Joshua – Nommer 37 Special award – New Icon: Albert Pretorius Best supporting actor: Marius Weyers – Pad na jou Hart Best actor: Louw Venter – Konfetti Best actress: Anna-Mart van der Merwe – Stuur Groete aan Mannetjies Roux Best editing: Dwaine Faria Carrao – Pad na jou Hart Best non-Afrikaans language film – The Forgotten Kingdom Critics’ choice award: Hollywood in my Huis Audience favourite: Hollywood in my Huis Audience favourite actress: Christia Visser – Hollywood in my Huis Audience favourite actor: Deandre Reiners – Seun

October 2014 | SCREENAFRICA | 3

News

|

www.screenafrica.com

BBC expands its Africa-focused content The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) announced in September that it would be expanding its Africa-focused content with a raft of new programmes that will include news, business and music shows.

This comes very soon after the international broadcaster launched its brand new, state-of-the-art facility in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which has now become the BBC’s centre of operations for Swahili-language content. Clearly the African continent has been identified by the BBC as a major growth market.

According to Jim Egan, CEO of BBC Global News, the corporation is particularly conscious of the astonishing growth of mobile devices as a means for receiving news and entertainment content on the continent. Many of the BBC’s African language news services, he says, have adapted their entire workflow to appeal to audiences now consuming the majority of their content via mobile phone. This is particularly true of the Hausa news office operating out of the Nigerian capital, Abuja, and the Swahili bureaus in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.

However, the possibilities of broadcast are by no means limited to these, with the constant rise of satellite and DTT platforms in Africa.

“We recognise that Africa is one of the fastest developing news markets in the

world, and the way audiences consume news is changing, but it’s essential that the trusted, impartial and world-class journalism, for which the BBC is famous, remains central to the new media landscape. The BBC is listening to its audiences across the continent and responding to the growing appetite for local, relevant content that also provides a fully rounded picture of Africa to our audiences around the world. That is what we hope to offer with this raft of new Africa-focused content, which will complement the extensive range of regular African programmes we already offer,” Egan says.

Egan explains that Africa has a strong legacy with the BBC. “Three African countries feature in the BBC’s top 10 global markets,” he says. “In Nigeria the BBC has a weekly audience of 24 200 000; in Tanzania it is 13 400 000 and in Egypt it is 8 800 000.” The audience was established through radio, which still fetches viewership of around 65 million for the British broadcaster. However, the BBC’s African footprint across newer platforms is increasing dramatically. Egan quotes figures which indicate that the BBC’s African television audience has increased from 25.4 million in 2012 to 32.6 million in 2013. Programmes such as Focus on Africa are particularly popular, reaching 11 million viewers.

DEVELOPING NEWS MARKET: Jim Egan, CEO of BBC Global News

It is in the digital realm, however, that the BBC is experiencing the largest growth. “Weekly visitors to BBC.com have increased from just 1.8 million in 2012 to 4.8 million in 2014. This reflects the rapidly growing African digital audience. Coupled with improving internet provision and increased mobile ownership in this market (it is predicted that there will be 800 million mobile phones in Africa by 2015, the fastest global growth rate) this is an exciting area for the BBC in the future.”

The new programming to be launched includes Africa’s New Entrepreneurs, which according to the promotional material, “introduces audiences to the brains behind some of the continent’s most successful and ingenious business ventures”. African Dream is another entrepreneurship-focused programme, while a new series of African Beats is set

SA animation graduate attends Telluride South African Animation School graduate Gasan Sallies was sponsored by Film Finances Inc. as one of the students to attend Telluride Film Festival’s (TFF) Student Symposium in Colorado, US from 29 August to 1 September. Film Finances also invited students and recent graduates from other countries in which it has offices, sending students from Australia and China to join Sallies as part of the final 50 at the symposium.

The Student Symposium programme has been running for over 20 years and is intended to broaden the knowledge and nurture the imagination of young film enthusiasts by engaging them in workshops, dialogues and screenings with major filmmakers.

Jane Fry, director at Film Finances South Africa, says: “The intention behind Film Finances’ sponsorship of the students and the festival’s Student Symposium is to give back and help introduce up-and-coming filmmakers to established filmmakers and their new films, as well as industry contacts – and one of the world’s most high-quality 4 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

film festivals.”

Sallies applied for the opportunity by submitting a form and lecturer’s recommendation letter, but what set him apart from other entries was his application essay which was based on the theme: ‘If you were sent to the future what film would you take with you and why?’

“Gasan’s passion for filmmaking and his overall enthusiasm came through in his essay,” says Fry, who added: “We sent out applications to as many schools as we could reach.

The LA office and I narrowed down the selection to the top five. Because the programme was smaller and more intimate this year the two professors who ran the programme made the final selection.”

Following screenings and film discussions, participants in the programme had the opportunity

Lerato Mbele, presenter of African Business Report

THE LANGUAGE OF FILM: Gasan Sallies

Sophie Ikenye, presented of Focus on Africa

to showcase the amazing variety of the continent’s musical offerings. The BBC is fully aware of the popularity of football in Africa, hence its annual BBC African Footballer of the Year Competition.

These new programmes will complement well-established, ongoing audience favourites such as Africa Business Report, presented by Lerato Mbele, and Focus on Africa, presented

by Sophie Ikenye.

“Africa is thriving and it is a hot bed for innovation, leading the way in a range of technological developments.

The audience’s growing love of all things digital means that we are increasingly providing programming that spans both TV and online, such as Africa’s New Entrepreneurs and Africa Beats, so our audiences can get relevant content wherever and whenever they want it,” Egan concludes. – Warren Holden

to listen to two renowned guest directors discuss their films in a small and intimate space.

During this time Sallies and the other students could ask questions about their films and their careers.

Sallies remarked: “One of the major writers/directors we got to meet was Francis Ford Coppola who is well known for Apocalypse Now. But we had the opportunity to feast upon the knowledge of so many great directors such as the Dardennes brothers, Xavier Dolan and many more.”

But for Sallies the highlight of his experience was being in a space where “everyone spoke the language of film” which re-ignited his passion, not only in the genre of animation but in directing and writing as well.

“As an aspiring writer/ director, I learnt so much in those few days – more than I have in my entire life time. It truly motivated me to pursue my dream as a filmmaker. I came home fuelled with filmmaking blood and I knew I had to start making it happen.”

– Carly Barnes

facebook.com/screenafrica

@screenafrica

za.linkedin.com/in/suncircle

screen_africa

Lenses and accessories shown are not included

Introducing Blackmagic URSA, the world’s first user upgradeable 4K digital film camera!

Blackmagic URSA is the world’s first high end digital film camera designed to revolutionize workflow on set. Built to handle the ergonomics of large film crews as well as single person use, URSA has everything built in, including a massive 10 inch fold out on set monitor, large user upgradeable Super 35 global shutter 4K image sensor, 12G-SDI and internal dual RAW and ProRes recorders.

Super 35 Size Sensor URSA is a true professional digital film camera with a 4K sensor, global shutter and an incredible 12 stops of dynamic range. The wide dynamic range blows away regular video cameras or even high end broadcast cameras, so you get dramatically better images that look like true digital film.

The extra large Super 35 size allows for creative shallow depth of field shooting plus RAW and ProRes means you get incredible quality!

Dual Recorders Blackmagic URSA features dual recorders so you never need to stop recording to change media.

That’s critical if you are shooting an historical event, important interview or where you just cannot stop shooting! Simply load an empty CFast card into the second recorder and when the current card is full, the recording will continue onto the second card, allowing you to change out the full card and keep shooting!

www.blackmagicdesign.com/sa

*All prices subject to VAT, exchange rate fluctuation and import duties.

User Upgradeable Sensor Blackmagic URSA features a modular camera turret that can be removed by unscrewing 4 simple bolts! The camera turret includes the sensor, lens mount and lens control connections and can be upgraded in the future when new types of sensors are developed.

This means your next camera will be a fraction of the cost of buying a whole new camera! Choose professional PL mount, popular EF mount and more!

Built in On Set Monitoring!

Say goodbye to bulky on set monitors because you get a massive fold out 10 inch screen built into Blackmagic URSA, making it the world’s biggest viewfinder! The screen is super bright and features an ultra wide viewing angle. URSA also includes two extra 5” touch screens on both sides of the camera showing settings such as format, frame rate, shutter angle plus scopes for checking levels, audio and focus!

Blackmagic URSA EF

5,995

US$

*

Blackmagic URSA PL

6,495*

US$

NEWS

|

www.screenafrica.com

Gauteng Film Commission appoints new CEO Mr. Andile Mbeki has been appointed as the CEO of the Gauteng Film Commission (GFC).

Andile Mbeki (45) is an entrepreneur, youth activist and a community leader who has a strong passion for youth development, entrepreneurship and innovation. He has worked for government for 14 years and ventured into business for 10 years. He has also worked extensively in the field of training and development ranging from teaching and lecturing to management of Human Resource Development Processes.

He has served, and continues to serve in various executive and advisory capacities in a number of statutory bodies, NGOs, and public and private sector organisations, including: advisory panel member of the Film and Publication Board; head of the Communications Cluster in the Office of the Presidency of the African National Congress Youth League for two terms; member of the Black Management Forum; and member of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board, among others.

In introducing the new CEO to the GFC staff the MEC of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation Molebatsi Bopape mentioned that Mbeki’s high qualifications and relevance of experience outweighed

Global study suggests that film industry perpetuates discrimination against women

Andile Mbeki other candidates by a huge margin. The MEC further mentioned that Mbeki demonstrated a clear understanding of government policies and the general mandate of the GFC which will assist Gauteng government in terms of relying on the agency to contribute towards the priorities set for the next five years.

IABM announces Design and Innovation Award winners The International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers (IABM) announced the winners of its 2014 Design and Innovation Awards at IBC in Amsterdam, honouring the most outstanding broadcast media industry talent.

This year, the awards celebrate those solutions that offer significant benefits or new opportunities to the broadcast and media industry and recognise achievements across nine different segments.

The winning entries were judged and awarded by a panel of 22 independent specialists chaired by John Ive, Director of Business Development and Technology, IABM. The winning recipients are: • Acquisition and production Trimaran GEORACING • Post-production Quantel – Genetic Engineering 2 • Content and communication infrastructure 6 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

On 22 September 2014, the first-ever global study on female characters in popular films was launched. The study reveals deep-seated discrimination and stereotyping of females by the international film industry.

Commissioned by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media with support from UN Women and The Rockefeller Foundation, the study was conducted by Stacy L Smith (PhD) and her research team at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California.

The report analyses popular films across the most profitable countries and territories internationally, including: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, United States, United Kingdom, as well as UK-US collaborations.

Key findings of the study include: • Only 30.9% of all speaking characters are female.

• A few countries are doing better than the global norm: UK (37.9%), Brazil (37.1%), and South Korea (35.9%).

However, these percentages fall well below population norms of 50%. Two samples fall behind: US/UK hybrid films (23.6%) and Indian films (24.9%) show female characters in less than one-quarter of all speaking roles.

• Females are missing in action/

adventure films. Just 23% of speaking characters in this genre are female.

• Out of a total of 1 452 filmmakers with an identifiable gender, 20.5% were female and 79.5% were male.

Females comprised 7% of directors, 19.7% of writers, and 22.7% of producers across the sample.

• Films with a female director or female writer attached had significantly more girls and women on-screen than those without a female director or writer attached.

• Sexualisation is the standard for female characters globally: girls and women are twice as likely as boys and men to be shown in sexually revealing clothing, partially or fully naked, thin, and five times as likely to be referenced as attractive. Films for younger audiences are less likely to sexualise females than are those films for older audiences.

• Teen females (13-20 years old) are just as likely as young adult females (21-39 years old) to be sexualised.

• Female characters only comprise 22.5% of the global film workforce, whereas male characters form 77.5%.

• Leadership positions pull male; only 13.9% of executives and just 9.5% of high-level politicians were women.

• Across notable professions, male characters outnumbered their female counterparts as attorneys and judges (13 to 1), professors (16 to 1), medical practitioners (5 to 1), and in STEM fields (7 to 1).

Rob Davies announces R1 million incentive programme for emerging black filmmakers NTT Electronics- Robust IP Transmission with NA8000 • Audio Sennheiser – Esfera • Storage Ardis Technologies – DDP Superior Shared Storage Solution • System automation and control VidiGo – Studio Automation • Playout and delivery systems Elemental Technologies – Elemental Delta Video Delivery Platform • Test, quality control and monitoring Cube-Tec – MXF-Legalizer • Services Cambridge Imaging Systems – IMAGEN

On 15 September 2014, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies announced a R1 million incentive programme to support emerging black filmmakers. The objective of the initiative is to nurture these filmmakers to make big productions and contribute towards employment creation.

“The film industry, through various engagements and consultations, indicated that the previous scheme and threshold did not accommodate nor support emerging filmmakers. The dti has now reduced the threshold and upped the incentive in an effort to create many opportunities for people with low-budget productions for television and films. In this way more productions will be supported

than ever before,” said Davies.

The programme will provide financial assistance to qualifying applicants in a form of a rebate of 50% for the first R6 million of the Qualifying South African Production Expenditure (QSAPE) and 25% thereafter for the remainder.

The programme is effective from 1 September 2014 and will be administered over a period of three years until 31 March 2017.

facebook.com/screenafrica

@screenafrica

za.linkedin.com/in/suncircle

screen_africa

| NEWS

Generations goes off air As of 1 October the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) most successful soapie, Generations, will not appear in its programming schedule until December 2014.

The show will be off screen as new episodes are filmed, after 16 actors’ contracts were terminated by MMSV Productions in August 2014.

SABC 1 drama Skeem Saam Season 3 will replace the 20h00 Generations time slot, while the repeat slot on SABC3 at 22h30 will be filled by Muvhango.

The Generations cast

Altech presents new VOD offering

On 19 September Altech Node, a subscription video-on-demand (VOD) service and home-automation device, became available to South Africans.

For a monthly fee of R299 users are able to access TV series, movies, children’s shows, documentaries and sports without requiring a high speed internet connection, as the service works by downloading content from a satellite service. Though Node requires internet

access to unlock shows and movies, content is not streamed as is the case with Apple TV and Roku.

Node uses a satellite to send preloaded content (over 700 hours) to a set-top-box, and it is then stored on a 1TB hard drive. New films can be rented at R25 while older movies can be rented for R15 and Node has advised that 10 to 15% of films and TV series will be replenished monthly. The device is also

3G and WiFi enabled, which means it is able to function as a hotspot.

The box costs R3 499, and includes a free dish and installation. It can be connected to any HDMI-capable screen and as the service uses Intelsat-20, DStv subscribers interested in acquiring the service won’t need a new dish.

Altech has also designed Node to function as a home-automation device allowing users to control various aspects in a home such as audio visual and security products. Accessories, which can be bought from retailers which stock Node, include surveillance cameras, motion sensors, smart plugs, antennas, Wi-Fi boosters, and VoIP phones.

Altech Autopage Cellular, Cell C, Dion Wired, Game, HiFi Corporation, Hirsch’s, Incredible Connection, JetMart, Makro, Pick ‘n Pay Hyper, are among the retailers which stock Node.

SA film wins at 168 film festival

A scene from Tula Tula On 13 September the 168 Film Festival took place at the Aratani Theater in Los Angeles where SA film Tula Tula won the Making of 168 award, Best Sound Design,

Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay Drama, Best International Film, Best Director and tied with Remnant produced by Joe Osborn

for the Audience Favourite award.

The 168 Film Festival showcases the work of thousands of artists from many different countries and draws on its

StarTimes Media a new pay-TV competitor in Kenya

StarTimes Media, a Chinese-owned pay-TV provider, is expanding its African footprint in Kenya with the launch of a satellite TV offering targeted at 80 000 additional subscribers.

Until now StarTimes Media has been broadcasting in Kenya using digital terrestrial technology, which has limited its scope, which – according to figures from the Communications Authority of Kenya – encompasses 272 594 subscribers.

It will now be able to compete more effectively with leading pay-TV providers in the region which include MultiChoice’s DStv and GOtv as well as Zuku.

incubator project, which challenges filmmakers worldwide to pick a Bible scripture according to an allocated theme and from it, shoot and edit a short film in just 168 hours (seven days).

This year’s theme was The Gift. The event is presented by 168 Film, an organisation founded by John David Ware to train and equip filmmakers on how to make God-honouring films.

Directed by Shane Vermooten, Tula Tula is a short film which portrays the predicament of medical doctors in Africa.

Producer, writer and founder of Media Village Productions Diane Vermooten told FilmContact: “We strive to tell African stories with dignity and excellence and this is being recognised around the world.”

October 2014 | SCREENAFRICA | 7

News

|

Technology

www.screenafrica.com

Canon EOS 7D Mk II

Panasonic AJ-PX800 ultralight 3MOS camcorder

Weighing only 2.8kg (main unit), making it the world’s lightest shoulder 2/3 type camera-recorder equipped with 3MOS image sensors, the Panasonic AJ-PX800 will be ready to ship in December 2014.

Designed to improve mobility in news gathering situations, the camera captures both SD and HD and comes with a comprehensive range of codecs including AVC-Intra and the AVC-LongG (50/25/12Mbps) codec set.

Features: • Low rate AVC-proxy file recording to allow support for network operation and offline editing • Slots for two P2 cards, offering dual recording to speed workflow and reduced media costs • LAN, wireless, 4G/ LTE connectivity • To be released alongside the AJ-PG50 portable recorder to allow dual-codec recording

Grass Valley’s range of 4K/UHD-ready solutions Grass Valley recently showcased its range of 4K/UHD-ready solutions, starting with the LDX 4K/UHD system camera, based on standard 2/3” lenses and a new high-bandwidth digital fiber transmission solution, to capture live events without the compromises associated with digital cinema optics.

The LDX 4K/UHD system camera is the first 4K/UHD camera on the market that is developed specifically for sports and large-event live productions. In addition to the new camera, many existing Grass Valley products are ready to support 4K/UHD workflows today such as switching, routing, editing, replay, multiviewer and monitoring technologies. Among the solutions Grass Valley brought to the EMEA market at IBC were: • K2 Dyno Replay System with 4K/UHD pan/zoom directly controlled from K2 Dyno touchscreen application • Kayenne and Karrera Video Production Centre switchers with K-Frame that are 3G ready with full 1080p 50/60 support scalable to 4K/UHD • NVISION 8500 Series routers that deliver frame-accurate 4K/ UHD routing and are central to preparing for the additional bandwidth required by 4K/UHD production • EDIUS 7.4 multiformat nonlinear editing software, which can handle 4K/UHD • Kaleido-Modular-X, a flexible and scalable multiviewer that is natively capable of handling 4K/UHD quad-link sources and seamlessly recombining them into a pixel-perfect image

8 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

One of the most long-awaited releases among DSLR fans has finally happened. The Canon EOS7D Mk II was launched in mid-September and will be shipping in November.

It features an advanced 20.2 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with Dual DIGIC 6 Image Processors. It shoots up to 10 frames per second at ISOs ranging from 100-16000 (expandable to H1: 25600, H2: 51200), has a 65-point, all cross-type auto focus (AF) system and features Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology for Live-View AF and a host of other movie-making features which fit into filmmaking workflows. It has dual card slots for both CF and SD cards, USB 3.0 connectivity and has built-in GPS for easy location tagging, automatically.

Compatible with an ever-expanding collection of EF and EF-S lenses plus a host of EOS accessories, the EOS 7D Mark II will appeal to sports and wildlife photographers as well as filmmakers.

Key features include: • Dual Pixel CMOS AF for smooth, fast and accurate AF • Full HD video with Custom Movie Servo AF, multiple frame rates including Full HD recording at 60p in MOV and MP4 formats and uncompressed HDMI out • Intelligent Viewfinder II which provides approximately 100% field of view • Improved custom controls, built-in intervalometer and bulb timer • Magnesium alloy body with shutter durability up to 200 000 cycles and enhanced dust and weather resistance • EOS Scene Detection System features a new 150 000-pixel/RGB+IR metering sensor for improved precision • Built-in GPS Receiver provides digital compass, records location information (longitude, latitude, elevation and universal coordinated time (UTC)) as EXIF information for geo-tagging images • 3.0-inch Clear View II LCD monitor (approximately 1 040 000 dots)

Vidigo Visual Radio

Karrera Video Production Centre switcher

Vidigo’s Visual Radio solution, which the company showcased heavily at IBC in September, is one of the leaders in the current trend that is transforming radio broadcasting with the integration of video elements into the radio workflows.

The software package is designed to fit into existing workflow and connect with radio automation systems. It creates a fully automated visual radio experience while simultaneously engaging listeners/ viewers on social media networks.

The system allows for varying levels of automation depending on the needs of the producer, allows for a more interactive experience between radio shows and their audiences and requires no additional operator.

Among its features are: • Audio analysis • Automatic scene building based on audio levels • Remote camera control • Video effects • Add interactive graphics • Show ‘now playing’ info • Channel branding • Clip playout • Macros and scripting

15 – 17 July 2015

STAND SALES NOW OPEN

JOHANNESBURG SOUTH AFRICA

Visit WWW.MEDIATECH.CO.ZA for more info

THE DOME @ NORTHGATE

10AM – 6PM I WEDNESDAY TO FRIDAY

Proudly brought to you by Thebe Reed Exhibitions and Sun Circle Publishers

Publishers & Projects

| Technology Imagine Communications TV Everywhere end-to-end solution for OTT and IPTV News

At IBC, Imagine Communications (formerly Harris Broadcast) launched the word’s first complete, end-to-end solution for OTT and IPTV content delivery.

Incorporating several of the company’s existing products, TV Everywhere is offered as the ultimate tool for multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), from ingest to advanced advertised, subscriber billing and multiscreen content delivery networks.

MVPDs, in particular communications service providers, are under severe pressure to provide video content to the multiscreen world, and often must acquire technologies from many vendors to establish a complete TV everywhere offering.

Because of its broad, end-to-end TV everywhere portfolio, Imagine Communications is able to offer a highly dense, scalable and operationally efficient solution to quickly deliver optimised experiences across multiscreen environments.

The solution integrates the company’s SelenioNext™ Adaptive Bit Rate (ABR) transcoding, SelenioEdge™ Media Content Delivery Network (CDN), packaging, encryption, hyper-personal advertising, subscriber billing, ingest, automation and storage. To integrate all components of the TV Everywhere solution together, the company’s next generation Zenium™ workflow manager provides an advanced, underlying, software-based media asset management tool that stitches workflow processes together and provides the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO).

www.screenafrica.com

Harman’s Studer Vista V digital console Presented as an improvement on the Vista X, Harman’s Studer Vista V is a 52-fader console based on the same Quad Star technology as its predecessor the Vista X, but in a more compact footprint ideal for smaller studios, OB trucks and large live productions.

At the heart of the Vista V is the Infinity Core, which uses CPU-based processors to deliver an unprecedented 800+ audio channels with superb sonic quality, and more than 5,000 inputs and outputs. The use of CPU-based processors suggests exciting possibilities for scaling up to even larger channel counts, and for running third-party algorithms. Being able to programme in high-level languages like C++ speeds up the time of implementing new features.

The Vista V also comes replete with VistaMix, Studer’s proprietary automated microphone mixing algorithm, based on gain sharing ideal for simplifying the mixing task at multi-contributor events like game shows, debates, etc. VistaMix removes the need for an operator to manually adjust all the faders all the time, leaving the microphones of talking participants open, while closing the microphones of silent participants in order to reduce spill and background noise. As VistaMix runs directly on the core, no external boxes are needed.

FaderGlow™ combines with assignable channel naming to further reduce stress by illuminating each fader in the colour relating to the relevant Vistonics function, creating an instant overview of console status. Studer’s new Spill Zone feature enables users to line up a group’s contributing channels with the press of just one button. FaderGlow then identifies their affiliation assigning the appropriate illumination.

The Vista V also features a built-in loudness meter. The large-scale bargraph meter monitors every channel from mono to surround, plus a history display of up to the last 50 seconds of audio to capture any annoying clicks and overloads.

Sony/ Hawk-eye Intelligent Production for small-scale live sports production Hawk-Eye and Sony have collaborated to develop a solution that intelligently streamlines the live production workflow and significantly reduces the price of live sports production – without impacting on the quality of the output.

Hawk-Eye’s Intelligent Production service combines automated player-tracking cameras with an IT based software platform to deliver a fully managed live production service, ideal for smaller sports events that struggle to secure broadcast coverage or larger sports events that want to maximise their output across broadcast and digital channels cost effectively.

With a normal internet connection on-site (30MB) cameras can even be controlled from a remote location and output can be configured to deliver live HD SDI to an uplink, or transcoded directly to an internet connection.

The system’s flexible software can be configured for functions that include: • Video capture (max of 12xHD SDI, 4xSuper Motion SDI, or 1xUltra Motion 340 fps per server) • Vision switching • Replay generation • Graphics overlay • Audio mixing • Colour balancing • SD/HD SDI output or transcode directly to the internet • Tally light controls (when manned cameras are used) • Simultaneous camera replay

10 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

facebook.com/screenafrica

@screenafrica

za.linkedin.com/in/suncircle

screen_africa

ADCETERA

| Report on the South African commercials industry

Cultivating innovation at PromaxBDA Africa Today’s world is constantly undergoing creative metamorphosis, not only in the way people consume media but in how they think, behave and interact.

Limitations on how stories and ideas are communicated are slowly dissolving, and in-the-box thinkers and marketers are headed for extinction.

PromaxBDA Africa 2014, which takes place on 21 November at the swanky Maslow Hotel in Sandton, will embrace this new organic landscape of content marketing with the theme ‘Evolution’.

Tim Horwood, chairman of PromaxBDA Africa 2014 explains: “Today with every new media platform and device, where and how our audience receives our stories is constantly changing. So where and how we tell these stories must continue to adapt.”

Similarly, the 2014 awards have evolved to include awards for Best Sponsor / Brand Integration Spot(s); The DStv / M-Net Most Innovative Use of Digital; Best Website Design, Channel Brand of the Year; and Best Radio Promotion.

“We have been enjoying record numbers of entries. Every year it rises as our brand awareness grows in the market,” says Vanessa Sheldrick, PromaxBDA event director. “The Future Award, proudly sponsored by T&W is in

its second year and has doubled in popularity as more media studies at tertiary organisations encourage their students to enter. Aside from a Promax Trophy, this year T&W are offering a one-month internship to the lucky winner.”

This year’s SABC sponsored keynote speaker is Michaela Angela Davis, a multi-talented media legend from the US who has blazed the trail for narratives about identity, beauty, race and gender in media. Drawing on her experience as an image activist, writer, conversationalist, editorial director, feminist, fashionista, community servant and CNN contributor, Davis will offer PromaxBDA Africa attendees a glimpse into her innovative way of thinking. Her first session, ‘Diversity Is So Passé: Enter in The Age of Identity & Intersections’, will explore breaking through traditional mediums in order to bring unique identities and ideas into the collective imagination. Her second session, ‘Women Rocking the World’, will highlight the most influential ‘minority’ group on the planet.

Other thought-leaders who will engage and inspire a dedicated audience of over 350 passionate TV professionals include: Charlie Mawer, executive creative director

Michaela Angela Davis of Red Bee Media, who will conduct a session titled ‘Storyworlds: Bridging the Gap Between Marketing and Content’; Hugo Moss, a designer and motionographer who will deliver a session titled ‘Money isn’t Everything’, Ideas are; Glen Urquhart, group creative director of Foxtel Networks Australia’s LifeStyle channels who will present a session titled ‘Evolve Your Inspiration’; Nicole Velik, founder of The Ideas Bodega, who will

speak in a session titled ‘The Best Of: Idea Generation Masterclass’; and Tim Horwood, creative director at MTV Networks Africa, who will present a session titled ‘World Gold’.

Jens Hertzum, 2014 PromaxBDA New Zealand chairman, says: “Our focus is our greater need, now more than ever, to produce creative work that engages and interacts with our audience as we evolve together.” – Carly Barnes

It’s all about Pulse Hip, hot and happening are words that come to mind when viewing the new MTN Pulse commercial.

Conceptualised by advertising agency MetropolitanRepublic, the spot aims to strike a chord with South African youngsters that subscribe to the urban youth culture currently on the rise in our country and more especially in Johannesburg.

The brief given to executive producer Gavin Joubert of Bomb Commercials was to create a cutting-edge television commercial that captures the underground, futuristic movements happening in downtown Johannesburg.

The commercial takes on the style of a documentary, following young urban influencers, from radio DJs to extreme sportsmen as they show the world what stimulates their pulse. According to Joubert, during the casting process, agents were on the lookout for “the cutting edge of urban youth culture” also known as ‘influencers’: fashionistas, musos, extreme sportsmen and other eccentric go-getters making waves in today’s sub-cultures.

Joubert – who was also the line 12 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

Screen grab from the new MTN Pulse commercial

producer for Oscar-winning film Tsotsi – says that the agency allowed him and director Teboho Mahlatsi significant creative freedom when shooting the advertisement: “Because of the documentary approach we were given a lot of freedom to explore and capture the ‘influencers’ or brand ambassadors’ daily routines and the essence of what inspired them – their pulse.”

The ad was shot primarily on the RED Epic, with some truly impressive extreme biking shots captured by strapped-on Go-Pro cameras. “We wanted to use a

doccie style approach fused with stylised portraiture. It was important to keep the locations and the look and feel real, so lighting was limited in order to keep true to the influencers’ real surroundings,” Joubert explains.

The commercial was shot on 24 July 2014 at the Smoking Pistons Motorcross track, the YFM Radio Station in Hyde Park, in Alberton and some quirky streets in Jozi’s very own urban cultural hub – Maboneng.

Assisting Joubert and director Teboho Mahlatsi in bringing the spot together

were producer Marc Harrison, DOP Alard De Smidt, production designer Dimitri Repanis, line producer Maurice Dingli, first assistant director Barry van Niekerk and stylist Trudi Barklem.

Joubert thinks that the youth of South Africa will identify with the commercial and its target market in particular. “It will resonate with young audiences, especially because it captures those fresh, cutting-edge sub-cultures that are exploding in our cities at the moment.”

– Chanelle Ellaya

| ADCETERA

Selling Broken Monsters Marcelle Mouton has worked with almost everybody in the industry, and she owned her own editing company called Visual Assault, with which she had a successful run editing commercials. “By the time I closed Visual Assault I had cut about 1 500 commercials so I needed a break, I needed something different,” she says.

In November 2013 Mouton joined Johannesburg based Deepend Post, and was eager to start working again and to try her hand at new projects. So when director Marc Sidelsky approached Random House Publishers to shoot a trailer for the new Lauren Beukes book Broken Promises, and asked Mouton to edit the trailer, she jumped at the chance.

A trailer as a means of marketing a book?

A local first!

A trailer for a book?

How can a visual medium market a verbal one? The imagination is subjective, and that’s the beauty of books; every reader conjures up their own imagery while reading. Somehow the use of words to

Screengrab from Broken Monsters trailer sell or promote visual content seems normal but the reverse strikes one as strange.

The trailer features very few specific images that one could tie to a storyline: a gory, bloody heart, a woman’s lips coated in gooey red lipstick, a dark and grimey passage (to name a few). Through the music and grading, along with these specific images, the viewer is given a taste of what to expect from the book, without being shown too much.

The book synopsis served as the only brief Sidelsky received from the publishing house: “The idea was never to slavishly recreate scenes or attempt a literal adaptation of the book, but rather to create a compelling and visceral work that embraces the tonality and the themes of the novel,” says Sidelsky.

“There is imagery that is taken from the book but there is a great deal that isn’t. I

wanted to create something that would intrigue potential readers and prompt them to seek out the book. The point was always to make something that would stimulate the imagination – everyone sees characters differently, I never wanted to prescribe too much,” he explains.

Nightmarish and surreal The trailer leaves one with the feeling of something nightmarish and surreal.

According to Sidelsky, this was what he had intended in his initial treatment, using heavy contrast, single source lighting, and well thought out locations to achieve the effect. “The novel is set in Detroit, known for its grime and broken industrial landscape. Without viewers necessarily knowing this, I thought it was important. I sought out locations with texture and atmosphere. I also shot footage in malls

and on the streets of Toronto to ensure cars were on the correct side of the street and therefore felt authentically North American,” he explains.

To capture the footage, Sidelsky used a Sony F55, a Phantom, a Canon 5D and an iPhone. Along with the footage Sidelsky captured in Canada, shooting took place everywhere from the office storage room, an alley in Braamfontein and even a meat plant.

Mouton edited the footage using Final Cut Pro and Autodesk Smoke, and was given significant creative freedom in post-production: the only brief she received from Sidelsky was that the book was in the horror genre. “Marc and I have been working together for a long time, and he is the kind of director that likes to let you contribute your feel to the project instead of stipulating how or what you should do. So he gave me a lot of creative freedom. I present an initial cut to him and then we work on it together from there,” she comments.

Giving books a chance Sidelsky hopes that this way of marketing books can help publishers get the edge when trying to create awareness for their new releases. “There are so many books laid out in a store. I think this can help books cut through the clutter.”

– Chanelle Ellaya

The advertising industry goes pro bono Countless abandoned and stray animals are rescued by non-profit shelters each year, often resulting in these organisations being overcrowded and struggling financially. The latest television commercial for Ban Animal Trading (BAT) comes as a pro-bono effort on behalf of advertising agency New Found Form and production company Picture Tree.

Emmaneel van der Merwe, executive creative director from design agency New Found Form, conceptualised the campaign which was a relatively collaborative effort according to executive producer Gary King of Picture Tree: “We workshopped some ideas, the creative and director worked together, and then a decision was jointly made on the way forward. A collaborative approach always works best, and because we were doing it for very little money, we had to make decisions based on the available favours. The agency and the client both knew that and we produced this as a team the whole way through.”

The message of the ad is simple: that in the eyes of these animals adopted from shelters, their owners become heroes.

The commercial features a montage of several rescued dogs running with their owners. The dog owner’s heroic status is cleverly portrayed through their golden capes which can be seen through shots

Screengrab from the new BAT commercial taken from the dog’s point of view, in silhouettes, and reflections. One of the most heartwarming aspects of the spot is that it features real people with real adopted dogs, showcasing compassion between owner and animal that cannot be falsified.

Steytler wanted the end result to be highly emotive and engaging, leaving viewers with a positive feel, a complete contrast to the heart wrenching, melancholy advertising that can often be expected from such organisations. The commercial was shot in July at the Nirox

Sculpture Park in Krugersdorp and DOP Peter Tischhauser used a Sony F55 camera to capture the footage, which enabled him to shoot up to 240 frames per second.

“The director wanted the ad to be slick and polished and to have a positive feel about it,” says King. “It was important that it wasn’t another ‘ag shame’ animal public service announcement, but one that punched out the golden hero’s cape and one that made you feel love and warmth rather than sadness. Evoking an emotion is really important in

commercials and this emotion is spot on the brief.”

Giving of their time and services for the cause – along with director Steytler, executive producer King and DOP Tischhauser – were Johnny Mabeba who produced the spot, editor Warwick Allan and music composer Fabian Sing.

Post-production house Mushroom Media produced the final product, while DStv and Primedia Outdoor provided free airtime and space for the campaign to reach the public.

– Chanelle Ellaya October 2014 | SCREENAFRICA | 13

|

Making marketing magic

Photo courtesy: Gallo Images

ADCETERA

Advertising today is about telling stories, emotional connections, entertainment and changing the world.

Yes really. And this was reflected in the work and awards at Loeries 2014.

T

his is the most exciting time to be in the marketing communications industry. Because there are no rules – you get to make it up as you go along and if you are brave, you get to do the work you’ve always wanted. Maybe even change the world.

The central ‘theme’, if you will, of The Loeries Awards this year was that advertising can be great while also doing good, that brands have the power to change the world, to really create meaningful change – and that there has been a tangible shift in consumer perception and rewards for brands that are being seen to do good.

This was the core message from Creative Week in Cape Town last month, the highlights of which included The Loerie Awards 20 to 21 September 2014, and the DStv Seminar of Creativity on 19 September 2014, featuring the international judges and their work, as well as maverick comedian, John Vlismas, who was also MC on both awards nights on the Saturday and Sunday.

Those judges included the Aussie shop responsible for the award winning viral sensation, Australian Metro rail campaign, ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= FceKlVbL2wY). I’ve heard local creatives reference the campaign many times, each time wondering how the agency concerned managed to ‘sell’ the idea to their client.

As Patrick Baron, executive creative director of McCann Australia, and the agency responsible for ‘Dumb Ways’, said: “Fuck the formula!” He believes, in order to be authentic and create diverse work, agencies and marketers can’t stick to a formula. That was why they didn’t attempt to replicate the success of ‘Dumb

14 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

PJ Pereira, chief creative officer and co-founder of Pereira and O’Dell in San Francisco

Ways to Die’ for any other client with animation and a catchy song.

It is all about the content, emphasised PJ Pereira, chief creative officer and co-founder of Pereira and O’Dell in San Francisco. He called his presentation at the Loeries seminar the three ‘rules’ of content (think like a marketer; behave like an entertainer; move like a tech start-up), and then encouraged creatives to break all the rules by experimenting more and taking risks like a tech start-up, testing ideas and moving to market rapidly.

What he was clear on though, was that creative work needs to make an emotional connection with consumers, inspire and touch your heart. His Skype commercials (http://designtaxi.com/ news/358985/Skype-s-Heart-WarmingNew-Ad-Campaign-Brings-FamiliesTogether/?interstital_shown=1) did just that, using real people and real stories to show the power of the connections maintained and created through Skype around the world.

Pereira made the point that brands want people to remember them, not just notice them which is where great work came in, that was brave, entertaining, memorable: “If you want consumers to stay engaged, you need to stay interesting. That is the magic. We need to do the magic together.”

That ‘magic’ was the combination of the technology available today too, said Rob Newlan, Facebook’s head of Europe, Middle East and Africa. He believes the

Rob Newlan, Facebook’s head of Europe, Middle East and Africa

combination of technology and creativity and art and science today is what makes this an unparalleled time to be creative.

“I love my job. We are living in this amazing time to be in marketing, to be creative… [this] accelerating open and connected world. You can feel your work being brought to life,” Newlan told the creative audience which packed Cape Town’s City Hall. “The opportunity is now… to have an idea and bring it to life.”

He urged people to move away from debates on the right ‘thing’ to do, to actual ‘doing’.

Yaw Nsarkoh, Unilever managing director, Nigeria, said business has an opportunity to do well by doing good in Africa in particular, where brands could be crafted for life in communities where they pushed the frontiers.

The key was to understand the “humanity” behind ideas, said Newlan.

There are myriad examples online of people who started careers on YouTube, young people who had come up with world-saving ideas (19-year-old Boyan Slat who figured out how to clean up the plastic in the oceans), entrepreneurs who realised their dreams by just doing it (Elon Musk). Newlan said brands needed to look at examples out there and get

Yaw Nsarkoh, Unilever managing director, Nigeria

involved, like the denim manufacturer which believes it can harness the plastic cleaned out of the oceans to make it into jeans.

He doesn’t believe the creative revolution has happened yet, unlike the technological revolution which is well underway. “Good design is good business. This is a great time to be living.

Look forward. Test the possibilities of what we have. We need to do work that makes a difference to people’s lives: ADDvertising, not advertising,” Newlan concluded.

The Loerie Awards seemed to acknowledge this, with campaigns that won reflecting these new values: of ADDvertising, of entertainment, of campaigns that are about the message, the content. As advertising commentator Sarah Britten (@Anatinus) tweeted: “None of the 4 Grand Prix #Loeries awarded last night were for what you’d understand as advertising in the conventional sense.”

Exactly, there was no ‘formula’.

– Louise Marsland

Opinion

The sweeping changes across Adland

sphere there tends to be two stereotypical mindsets; those that are typically business oriented, contrasted with those that get their drive out of their purely creative pursuits. Some of the acquisitions may therefore spiral pure-play creatives out of their current environments for fear of the corporate beast and how it may restrain their craft.

Others will no doubt be knocking at the door, eager to replace them by forming part of the change and stepping into new spaces as the network evolves.

Ironically the mandate of many of the ad groups is to expand their creative capabilities so network agencies will need

to work hard to retain their top talent.

One thing that will remain unchanged across the industry is that good people are hard to find. Retention plans and agency culture could therefore play a key role in differentiating each business in this settling period.

Finally, for many of the currently trading independents, the breadth of the competitive landscape may seem beyond their competitive reach. My likely assumption is that (bar the already well-established set such as King James and FoxP2) in the short to medium term independents will resort to far more specialised competitive positioning. The anti-network story if you will is; ‘hugely creativity, more agile, channel specific’.

My concern is that at this point they will need more – perhaps to champion niche technologies, innovations or emerging market segments. A smart positioning will go a long way to attract client attention away from the guys that claim to do everything (and well).

Of course with the multiple media reports and endless speculation around new acquisitions, the best thing for all agencies to do now is to focus on their own path. This may mean greater energy placed into agency strategy and vision by the steering team. Getting caught up in all the hype will only serve to distract businesses that, for the most part, were originally established with very specific intent.

video advertising is now set to outgrow commercial TV advertising in the long run and for brands that want to stay current (let’s face it, what brand doesn’t?) online is a space you cannot afford to be quiet in. But with the consumer increasingly keen to be the star of the show, the content required calls for a new kind of specialist – with expertise in creating lived experience that truly has impact and an understanding of how to craft that content to make watching a must for an online consumer. It’s something we at OFFLIMIT are uniquely positioned to do.

Locally there is growing consumption of video content online, but with some fairly significant access issues (especially in lower LSMs), the on-the-ground experience remains crucial – get it right and it’s not just the video that’ll work for you, but the word of mouth from those on the ground. An example for us came in some work we did for Fanta. Challenged to get young people to see play as cool again, OFFLIMIT created an experiential stunt which got young people across South Africa actively involved in Fanta’s world by playing various games.

Measured by the ‘fun-o-meter’, their play unlocked the ultimate reward – a surprise performance by teen favourites in music (for the Cape Town execution, Locnville).

The resulting execution was not just a brand experience for teenagers across the country that had huge impact on the ground, but a YouTube video that has

kept interest and generated a pass-along attitude. The result is a budget stretched that all-important bit further, working harder for the brand.

It’s not as simple as it may look. Plan as much as you want, but with a video of this kind there is always an element of surprise. Shooting guerrilla-style gives an edge to a brand’s message and helps maintain a natural essence while allowing someone else’s opinion of the brand to come to the fore. While the vast majority of people are aware that commercial advertising images are enhanced, online videos that capture real people can be seen to be more authentic if captured correctly. Consumers want to see themselves on centre stage, they want a starring role in their favourite brand’s story – give them that and you can craft a far more compelling brand message for your client.

So how do you measure the success of an online video? Number of hits and depth of engagement helps, but you should also find yourself asking who is watching. What is ‘viral’ for teens may not be so for adults and if you’re only ‘viral’ because you’re funny while the brand’s an afterthought that’s hardly going to help your bottom line. Good content will get you far, but you need an expert if you’re going to execute in a way that adds value to a brand and leaves a consumer not just remembering your video, but the brand within it.

By Tom Fels

– group managing director at Machine Take a look around. In a short year from now the advertising scene will look vastly different, with a multitude of networkaligned agencies making up the bulk of the market value and a vast gap between the real players and those on the up. Or down. For as the landscape shifts and changes, new growth opportunities will sprout, and there will also be many doors closed.

As industry insiders, our noses are kept close to the ground and we acknowledge each acquisition by WPP, Publicis and the like, with varying levels of interest.

However, the statistics have become difficult to ignore; in South Africa alone, over the past year Publicis has completed eight transactions, WPP has new interest in six new agencies, and TBWA has announced their intention to conclude deals with six local agencies in the coming year. That is a total of 20 businesses that have been swept up into the global pool, many of whom will now boast international agency-brands that carry huge gravitas. It also signifies the removal of as many agencies from the

independent sector of the market, many of which by nature are the most competitive and reputable.

What does this mean for clients, talent and the remaining independent agencies?

At first, there may be a period of pure confusion in the client world. The 20 ‘merged’ entities will have new stories to tell, new skill-sets and access to global intellectual property to trade, as well as increased geographical footprints.

However, after an initial barrage of information, clients will likely settle into evaluating prospective agencies as they have always done by quality of creative and technical product, the agency’s ability to be a brand custodian, the level of servicing, chemistry and price. You’d also expect that as procurement gets more sophisticated, more agencies will look to their international counterparts for global best practice and precedent to apply locally. This may be a good move for agencies in an increasingly unequal negotiation landscape.

And what of the people? In the creative

Lights!

Camera! Can we move beyond the tv ad?

By Jerome Cohen – OFFLIMIT

You can’t escape it. You can argue at what rate, but everything is going online.

Television has long been one of the most sought-after advertising mediums and in the ‘90s, for large well-established brands, it was an absolute must-have.

While recent research, including PwC’s Entertainment And Media Outlook 2014-2018 (South Africa – Nigeria – Kenya), shows that television will continue to be crucial in the South African landscape, it also shows a clear change.

In a world in which consumers have more means than ever to filter advertising out of their content consumption habits (PVR, downloading content or YouTube’s famous ‘Skip This Ad’ button), the opportunity for the right content to bring

Jerome Cohen consumers to you has resulted in endless client requests for ‘viral videos’. Creation of an online ad made to share, crafted in a way that should be watched voluntarily by millions.

I began to specialise in the industry 10 years ago when YouTube was beginning to map a course towards a new genre of video advertising, helped along by the spread of high-speed broadband connections globally. Spending on online

| ADCETERA

Tom Fels

October 2014 | SCREENAFRICA | 15

COMMERCIALS

|

Director Speak c Marsk y l e d i S

Within a year of leaving film school, acclaimed commercials director Marc Sidelsky won a Silver Loerie for his first commercial. The same year he was featured on Saatchi and Saatchi’s New Directors showcase at the 2001 Cannes Lions. Going back to his primary school days, when he used his VCR to create montages, visual storytelling has always come naturally to him.

When did you realise you wanted to become a director? Describe the moment if there is one that stands out?

I don’t recall a specific eureka moment; I was making little films with my friends in primary school. My late father used to work for JVC; he was always bringing home new gadgets and video cameras. I remember hooking up two VCRs at home and editing together a movie montage for a school project in Standard 5.

CRAFTING IMAGERY: Marc Sidelsky

Have you always wanted to direct commercials? Why commercials?

My mother was in the advertising industry; I always had exposure to it. Although feature films have always been the end goal, commercials in SA were internationally recognised and possessed budgets. I wanted to learn how to craft imagery at a high level – advertising was the only place locally to gain that skill-set.

Who are your mentors, if any?

My original mentor was Lourens van Rensburg – my first job was as his researcher. I still jokingly call him ‘Papa’.

What inspires you as a storyteller?

I have many interests – I’m not particularly devoted to any specific genre or subject matter. One of the great things about the SA advertising industry is that it is small, so directors can avoid getting pigeonholed. There isn’t enough work to sustain a director to only do ‘post’ work or ‘car’ commercials like the US. Therefore directors can develop varied reels.

What are your top three favourite films and why?

I could never limit it to three. But three films that were important/influential for me are Miller’s Crossing, Time Bandits, and Wall Street. They couldn’t be more different from each other; but I guess they all have very specific visions.

16 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

What has been the highlight of your career as a director to date?

There have been quite a few; being on the Saatchi’s showcase at Cannes, shooting with the amazing American dance troupe Pilobolus, and shooting a campaign with Chuck Norris.

What does the future hold for Marc Sidelsky? Hopes and dreams?

Make some good commercials, films, television…just continue to do more work that I initiate.

Who is your favourite international or local director? Why? There are too many – I go through phases, certain kicks – lately I’ve been loving Sam Peckinpah. He turned cinematic violence into ballet.

What has been your greatest challenge as a director to date?

Working in foreign languages can be tough.

What do you think are some of the defining characteristics of the South African creative industry now? Where would you like to see growth and in what way?

I’m hoping the promise of online advertising can be realised in SA – it will benefit from faster internet and may also hopefully encourage clients to be riskier again – the rewards can be huge. I also feel like there is going to be a wave of interesting features coming – the SA new wave – hopefully. – Chanelle Ellaya

AFRICA'S #1 TV CONTENT AND ADAPTATION RIGHTS MARKET

WE HELP SET-UP MEETINGS BETWEEN QUALIFIED PARTICIPANTS

The most important pan-African TV Formats, TV Series, Documentary and Animation projects pitching competition.

YEARS OF FR

20

EE

DOM

20

DISCOP PREVIEW

|

Informing, connecting and inspiring African content creators participants will be selected to pitch their projects to a viewing audience and panel of seasoned industry judges, who will be looking for stand-out ideas and well thought out pitches.

Serving on the DISCOPRO jury this year are: Marguerite Abouet, Damiano Malchiodi, Peter Gird, Alain Modot, Charles Povey, Gabriel Brendan, Helga Palmer, Molefi Lebone, Michelle Ashley Garforth-Venter, Han Gao, Aletta Alberts, Miki Mori, Ahmadou Bakayoko, Baddy Dega Gnama, Don Edkins, Michel Rodrigue, Justin Scroggie, Joao Ribeiro, Anthony Silverston, Ben Amadasun, Saira Sow, Denise Mwende and Wangeci Murage.

Interactive workshops

AFRICAN CONNECTION: DISCOP Africa 2013

From 5 to 7 November, DISCOP Africa will connect African producers with international brands which increasingly sees the continent as an untapped source of opportunity.

A

n expected 1 500 delegates made up of content distributers, buyers and producers from Africa and international territories will come together to experience Africa’s largest multi-platform content market, conference and networking hub, held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

Patrick Zuchowicki, CEO of Basic Lead, the agency responsible for running the DISCOP markets, says the event’s core focus has remained the same since its inception 30 years ago; to deliver valuable business opportunities to producers.

“At this stage of development in the African marketplace, it is super important to feed the development of new platforms and to have producers and buyers co-operate with each other to sell content,” says Zuchowicki.

“We have a growing number of producers and a growing number of platforms which have emerged since the last DISCOP Africa and in terms of the attending content distributors, there are new global brands which now see Africa as having a very important strategic role within content. We also see more

18 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

attending companies from France as we’ve made a big effort this year to bring together TV stations and platforms from French-speaking Africa.”

As part of this initiative to highlight the fast-growing importance of Frenchspeaking TV content production and distribution industries in Africa, DISCOP Africa 2014 will host the Ivory Coast as its guest country.

South Africa in focus Zuchowicki says the 20 Years of Television in South Africa: What’s Next two-day summit will inform attendees about co-production and distribution of content made in Africa, and spark some vibrant debate around digital migration.

“The intention behind the conference is to create a platform where we can have people with conflicting point of views expressing themselves,” says Zuchowicki, who believes South Africa has a lot of experience and information to offer other countries.

He explains: “We try to bring forth the fact that if you want to do business in Africa, whether from Africa or outside of Africa, you need to better understand

issues not just relating to South Africa but to the overall digital switchover process.”

As Zuchowicki believes there are still many questions which remain unanswered, the conference will allow attendees to hear directly from key players involved in the transition.

Though focussed on these two themes, the conference will include 60 speakers and a mix of topics which developed as a result of key conversations with people in South Africa, Nigeria and French-speaking Africa.

Pitching competition Unlike previous years, the 2014 pitching competition will take place over one day, on Friday 7 November. With all workshops scheduled to run on Wednesday and Thursday, producers can now attend and participate in the competition without missing out on any other valuable sessions.

In addition to the standard documentaries, formats and TV series genres, this year will also include animation projects. “From a product point of view we think this is a genre which could benefit those with a cross-cultural background,” says Zuchowicki. “We also acknowledge that in French-speaking Africa and South Africa there are strong animation companies, with a lot of developing animation producers. When we did a post-mortem survey after last year’s DISCOP, many producers requested an animation category – so that’s what we did.”

In each of the four categories, five

Ensuring young producers have every opportunity to enhance their careers, the DISCOPRO workshops are designed to create an informative and interactive environment between them and mentors already immersed in the industry.

Bringing together 500 producers, writers, commissioning, co-production and programming executives, sales agents and investors, the workshop programme presents a range of relevant subjects. Topics include: writing distribution contracts, video news coverage, branded entertainment, science fiction and cross-media storytelling. Endemol Africa, Rapid Blue, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and the African Sports Network are a few of the many participating DISCOPRO mentors.

Further to this, DISCOP Africa prides itself on initiating and facilitating meetings with producers through its matchmaking programme, a system which has been adapted with the advancement of technology.

Zuchowicki maintains that he evaluates the success of DISCOP not by the number of attending delegates but by the amount of beneficial connections and meetings which take place over the three-day period.

“It’s a very good yardstick for us,” he says, and explains: “The only way to maximise meeting opportunities and to make sure they make sense is to have 12 people dedicated to that support in Johannesburg – making phone calls, validating databases, readjusting agendas. I want to be sure that a young producer, who has never had the opportunity in the past, has a chance to meet with players like MultiChoice Nigeria and Canal Plus.”

For more information about DISCOPRO and DISCOP Africa, visit: www.discopafrica.com. – Carly Barnes

| Film

A film of choice Written and produced by industry newcomer Mbali Nkosi, Two Choices, which premiered earlier this year at the Durban International Film Festival, is an attempt to reach what should be a sizeable captive audience in South Africa, but one which few (if any) other filmmakers have tried to tap into before.

T

he film is a moralistic tale about a and the diaspora, is apparent. It young Soweto woman who chooses seems surprising then that South a life that revolves around outward African producers are not appearance and materialism. creating local content along Should she have made any wrong similar lines – not to make a choices, she is convinced she will always carbon copy, but to present local, have the time to change paths. However, culturally relevant stories in a a fatal accident wipes out any chance of package that has proven to be that and the audience and our heroine attractive to a large number of are taken into the afterlife, where she is domestic consumers. given the chance to see how her life may Armed with her script and have turned out differently. investment funds courtesy of a Before writing the script, Nkosi had had friend, Victor Nqoba Sidambe, no involvement in the industry aside from CEO of Sidas Security Company, a little acting. She had studied accounting Nkosi still lacked the experience and entered a career in that field but her to have the film made. This is love for movies and storytelling abided. where seasoned industry Finally, as Two Choices took shape in professional Eugene Snyman her mind, she decided to take the plunge entered the scene. Over the into the industry. She was driven by the course of the past two decades, belief that her script would fill what she Snyman has worked on many saw as a significant gap in the South local and international African film and television market. “It seems to me that films in South Africa are always either about action or apartheid,” she says. “It’s as if that’s all we have to tell. I wanted to tell a story that could contain lessons for the youth. And the lesson here is: all the time you make choices that affect your life.

Sometimes we think, ‘I can always undo this choice tomorrow’. But the truth is that often you don’t get that second chance. We have no idea how the market will react but I am convinced that there is a market for stories that have elements of Christian ideals FILM PASSION PREVAILS: in them.”

Writer and producer Mbali Nkosi When Nkosi mentions the name of a particular American writer-director, her vision as to how her productions in the disciplines of writing, film can fit in becomes very apparent. directing, music, stunts and effects.

“Just look at Tyler Perry,” she says. “He “When Mbali brought me the script,” knows his market and he sticks to it. This he says, “I could see the passion involved film fits into that Tyler Perry style of and I had a feeling that this passion would storytelling.” carry throughout the production. I’ve There is enough evidence to suggest seen too many producers lose steam and that Nkosi may be onto something. neglect their responsibilities to the Perry’s films, sitcoms and telenovelas are production as work progresses, which screened on South African television means that the whole production suffers. channels every day without fail. The But Mbali was set on her tracks.” market for this kind of family storytelling, Snyman made good use of his with a strong cultural relevance for Africa experience to ensure that the look of the

production exceeded its modest budget.

He and his crew strove to overcome financial and logistic limitations that made for a very challenging shoot. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this industry it’s that if you haven’t got money you improvise – and if you can’t improvise, then don’t even attempt to work in this industry,” Snyman says. “We got through the challenges, we mulled over them, reshot where we had to. We worked hard to mould it into a shape that was acceptable – not to me – but to Mbali.

The director’s job is to get into the writer’s head and say, ‘okay, what exactly did you see here?’ Then you visualise how to execute that and bring it to the table. If budget allows then go for it, if not then you work out what else you can do.

Ultimately you may not be able to achieve the production value that a bigger budget would allow but you can approximate it and, most importantly, you can ensure that you tell the story correctly.”

Although the film is character-driven and not action-based at all, Snyman still had the opportunity to exercise his abilities in stunts and effects when it came to filming the fateful accident on which the narrative turns. The scene involved a collision between a truck and a Mercedes-Benz SLK. Obviously the

budget would never allow for the onscreen demolition of two such expensive props so some good old-fashioned filmmaking trickery would have to be used.

“I discovered that renting an SLK could cost up to R60 000 a day. Eventually, Mbali’s brother offered to lend us his for some of the shots. We made sure that the car did not have a scratch on it. Then I went home after the shoot and plotted out what we would need to do to realise the accident scene. Then I went and built scale models of the truck and of the SLK and we built the entire set in my garage,” Snyman explains.

“Ultimately the film was bliss to work on,” Snyman says. “It really was exciting because it had so many elements.

Nobody has done a story like this before in this country.”

Two Choices stars Connie Chiume, Mutodi Neshehe, the great Jerry Mofokeng and Molebogeng Maswabi.

The film is not going into a standard theatrical distribution run at this point.

Instead it can be viewed on demand by booking tickets directly through Nkosi.

Should enough tickets be booked, the film will be screened at a designated cinema. Enquiries and bookings can be made by emailing mbali@dwgc.co.za.

– Warren Holden October 2014 | SCREENAFRICA | 19

FILM

|

Hitchcock on the Cape Flats One of the big winners among the short films entered into this year’s Silwerskerm Film Festival, held from 27 to 30 August at the Bay Hotel in Camps Bay, Cape Town, was a well-crafted little thriller called Nommer 37 (Number 37) produced by Gambit Films.

The film took two awards out of its five nominations – one for best script and the other for best director. The awards went to three young AFDA graduates who are now among the main creatives for Gambit Films – Daryne Joshua, who won the script accolade, and Travis Taute and Nosipho Dumisa, the co-directors of the film.

Paying homage to the Hitchcock classic Rear Window, Nommer 37 tells the story of Randal (Irshaad Ally), a career criminal recently crippled by an injury sustained during a shady deal gone horribly wrong.

Wheelchair-bound and cooped up in his apartment in a rough Cape Town neighbourhood, with no-one to support him except his devoted girlfriend Pam (Shamilla Miller), Randal is heavily indebted to a ruthless loan shark. With no way of paying the money back, he despairs for himself and Pam. However the gift of a pair of binoculars enables him to watch the shady comings and goings in the apartments across from his, which present him with an opportunity to get his hands on the money he so

desperately needs – but at great risk.

Joshua had been keeping the concept on the back burner for quite some time when the call came from kykNet to pitch a short film project. “Rear Window is one of my favourite films,” he says. “In combination with that I grew up on the Cape Flats and always wished I could do our own version of Rear Window, in a Cape Flats setting with characters I knew and grew up with.”

Although the concept was actually intended for a feature film, Joshua, Dumisa and Taute felt strongly that it would be the best option for the kykNet brief. Interestingly, Dumisa and Taute opted to direct the movie together – an unusual choice in a profession for which monomania is often regarded as a virtue – although there are some precedents throughout the history of the form, for collaborative directing.

“We both knew that we had to agree completely on the vision for the film,” Taute says. “We discussed it and said that if we were going to do this, then we had better get any disagreements out of the way in pre-production. So we hashed everything out, we went over every small detail, we debated the hows and whys.

We both wanted the same thing even if we were coming at it from different angles.”

Dumisa adds: “Yes, the decision

Where film and fashion meet South Africa’s inaugural International Fashion Film Festival took place in Cape Town earlier this year at Crossley & Webb’s Vintage Automobile Studio.

Co-sponsored by German luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, the festival was a celebration of the contemporary arts of fashion and film, bringing together international filmmakers, designers, fashion slaves and film fanatics.

Adrian Lazarus, founder of the Mercedes-Benz Bokeh International Fashion Film Festival and owner of Cape Town-based video production company Mercury Productions, has been photographing fashion for the past 10 years, and has successfully made the transition to shooting fashion films.

“Fashion films originally started off as behind-the-scenes videos. Subsequently, over the years, as DSLR cameras have become more user-friendly for video, as bandwidth speeds have increased and as editing software has become friendlier, on-set photographers are asked more and more to shoot video,” Lazarus explains.

20 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

IN WINNING FASHION: A scene from Steam 1886 If you’ve never seen or heard of a fashion film before, it’s important to establish that these videos are not solely about fashion, and not necessarily about the clothes they showcase. The fashion film is a fresh new take on the commercial, running for three to five minutes, including elements of a traditional television advert but taking a far less obtrusive stance that a commercial would.

Lazarus comments: “The fashion film sells you the essence of the brand…It has got nothing to do with literally selling anything, and everything to do with brand awareness. It is a brand video that

PAYING HOMAGE: Irshaad Ally and Shamilla Miller in Nommer 37 making process of directing is usually a solitary thing but for us as Gambit, we have always collaborated. Everything we do comes down to what we decide together. It was also very good for us to bounce our ideas off each other and challenge each other’s decisions. We had to explain, justify and talk through all of our decisions and that made for a better film.”

DOP Zenn van Zyl shot the picture on an Arri Alexa, the large-sensored beauty that is rapidly becoming the standard for film crews wanting to get as close to a filmic look as possible. Gambit Films’ post-production supervisor Simon Beesley did the editing honours, while producer Benjamin Overmeyer took charge of the production. Combined with strong performances, the efforts of the crew resulted in a polished and entertaining final product.

One does feel, however, that the story

would be better suited to long form.

The slow development necessary to build tension, as per Rear Window, is lacking in the highly compact story. Of course, this was the plan all along and thanks to the attention the festival brought to the film, plans are now underway to create a feature length version of the story, set to go into production in 2015.

On the festival and the platform it provides, Joshua says: “A lot of my stories are based on the Cape Flats and the only way you can really tell those stories is in Afrikaans. Otherwise it loses authenticity – the language is so closely linked to the culture. There is not enough exposure for Afrikaans films about life on the Cape Flats and that’s a shame because there are some really great stories there.

Silwerskermfees is a fantastic platform on which we can bring our stories to the world.” – Warren Holden

celebrates the essence of the brand.”

Fashion heavyweights Karl Lagerfeld, Bruce Webber and David Simms pioneered the fashion film genre, molding it into the essential way to introduce new collections to the world.

These fashion films have become so prolific in recent years, paving the way for a completely new genre of film.

“Hundreds of fashion films are being made every day, some of them are complete rubbish and some of them are really good. I look at the guys making fashion films now like the guys who were making music videos in the 80s – the only rule is that you can’t make it too long because people will switch off. It’s all visual. The better ones have a fantastic, strong narrative but generally they are more visual than narrative,” says Lazarus.

Last year Lazarus’ fashion film, Steam 1886, won the award for Best Art Direction at the International Fashion Film Festival in La Jolla, California. The steampunk-inspired film was co-directed

by Nicky Felbert and had previously also won the Best Costume award at the Miami International Fashion Film Festival.

At the Design Indaba earlier this year, Steam 1886 was named Most Beautiful Object in South Africa for 2014.

“Steam 1886 is a little bit of fantasy which I made up that’s got to do with steam-punk. It is an imagined reality of what would have happened to Victorian fashion and technology if it were still steam driven,” Lazarus explains.

This year, 500 film entries were submitted for the inaugural festival in Cape Town, of which 57 were chosen for the final selection to be shown over two nights at the festival. Thereafter a judging panel made up of 15 film and fashion professionals both local and international, selected the best of the final 15 to win awards.

There were 10 award categories, plus the additional Mercedes-Benz South Africa award – a $5 000 prize.

• BEST ACTRESS: Kim Lysette in Alive • BEST ACTOR: Oliver Baggerman from The Long Road • BEST HAIR: Quimera • BEST MAKE UP: Immortal Game • BEST FASHION: Lovers Game • BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Black Era – Court of the Ants • BEST ART DIRECTION: Arcade by Kirsten Goss • BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Pablo Clemente for Pasos de Sirena • BEST DIRECTOR: Samual A Martin for Alive • BEST PICTURE: Damien Krisi for Urban Hippie • MERCEDES-BENZ AWARD: Ernst Heusser for Wanderlust Fashion films are fast becoming the new form of communication to convey the lifestyle and essence of a brand without going as far as overt forms of advertising and marketing. “Welcome to the new world of communication,” Lazarus concludes. – Chanelle Ellaya

DRC |MOROCCO | KENYA | SENEGAL | SOUTH AFRICA | Sudan

| Film

Toronto, a new place for African film?

From 4 to 14 September 2014, Canada once again hosted the Toronto International Film Festival. With more than 300 selected films, this 39-year-old event is one of the biggest on the worldwide film festival circuit to actively showcase African films.

T

his year, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) welcomed the Association for Transformation in Film and Television (ATFT) delegation from South Africa, as well as nine African films from South African John Trengove’s short The Goat (Berlinale 2014) to Mauritanian Abderrahmane Sissako’s Timbuktu (Cannes, Durban 2014) and Ivoirian Philippe Lacôte’s Run (Cannes 2014). There were also six other movies, including four first features, with one thing in common: the uniqueness of the perspectives of the world that each director demonstrated through their work.

National Diploma

by Dieudo Hamadi – DRC/France – 92min International Sales: Agat Films & Cie

In DRC, Dieudo Hamadi – known for his insightful documentary on the DRC state elections, Atalaku (2013) – chose to follow some high school students of his city, Kisangani, who were dismissed from school, but still continued courses to attain their national diplomas.

“I was walking one day in Kinshasa’s streets when I saw, in a school, a bunch of students wearing uniforms yelling at a teacher who ordered them – whip in the hand – to go back home because they didn’t pay the fees,” recounts Hamada.

Over the course of four months, Hamada and a sound engineer followed his main character Joel through the turmoil of his final exam, criticising the state of affairs where, in one of the world’s most impoverished countries students are required to pay fees that, Hamadi believes, the state ought to cover. “This measure stands out for years – long before I was myself a student – since the government cannot afford teachers’ salaries every month,” explains Hamada.

The Narrow Frame of Midnight

by Tala Hadid – Morocco/UK/France/Qatar – 93min International Sales: Wide Management

Tala Hadid recounts a story about three characters’ journey in The Narrow Frame of Midnight: a Moroccan-Iraqi writer (Khalid Abdalla), searching for his brother, a woman (Marie-Jose Craze) haunted by the memory of her lost child, and a little orphan (Fadwa Boujouane), running away from a man who wants to sell her.

“The image of people from North Africa and the Middle East is dominated by foreigners, says Hadid. “And the dominant image is the one of the fundamentalist. Of course it exists, but I thought it important to show to ourselves that another path is possible.” With a poetic mise en scene and stunning cinematography, Tala Hadid presents a brilliant feature about characters lost in the present between their painful past and uncertain future.

Stories From Our Lives

by The Nest – Kenya – 60min International Sales: Stories Of Our Lives Productions

From Kenya comes the most surprising and powerful feature seen in Toronto.

Stories From Our Lives received a standing ovation after its premiere. The film examines the issues faced by Kenya’s LGBT community. “The starting point was Jamaican poet Staceyann Chin coming to

Kenya to perform a series of events,” explains Jim Chuchu, one of the filmmakers in The Nest collective.

“We were always aware of what was happening in Kenya and we decided to collect LGBT community stories.”

A series of testimonies was collected that were so interesting that George Gachara suggested making a movie.

From lesbians dismissed from school to a gay man running from his homophobic friend, to a black man dating a white man for the first time, with Stories from Our Lives, the Nest create a compelling inner look on a community struggling to live and love freely.

A Single Word

by Khady & Mariama Sylla – Senegal – 63min International Sales: Guiss Guiss Communication

Senegalese writer and producer Khady Sylla, internationally known for her features Une fenêtre ouverte and Le monologue de la muette, passed away on 8 October, 2013. A few years ago, while her grandmother came to visit and sang their family’s lineage, she and Mariam decided to direct a movie about it.

In this documentary set in Barale, Senegal, the two sisters analyse the link between humans and words, past and present, and family lineage in a poetic two-voice storytelling. “Khady passed away after the first editing,” says Mariama. By completing the movie beyond this loss, A Single Word becomes a testimony as well as a touching declaration of love to literature, cinema, humanity and Khady Sylla.

Impunity

by Jyoti Mistry – South Africa – 85min International Sales: Shadowy Meadows Productions, Bioskope Pictures Set in Durban, this sexy and violent thriller

recounts the story of a killer couple, whose murderous impulses are closely linked to the heavily-charged eroticism of their relationship. They encounter a minister’s daughter whose death leads to a Special Crimes Unit investigation.

While the film’s depiction of violence and sexual deviance is interesting – if disturbing – and the use of split-screen to show everyday crimes is clever, the mise en scene chosen by Jyoti Mistry is quite dubious.

The director is clearly trying to explore the links between violence and sexuality but the end result comes to close to pure sensationalism. Unlike Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange – of which this film’s setting and colour palette are clearly reminiscent – the combining of sexual and violent imagery does not add up to the philosophical point that the director is trying to make.

Beats of the Antonov

by Hajooj Kuka – Sudan – 65min International Sales: Big World Cinema

This year’s Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award Winner is an immersion into the everyday life of the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains’ inhabitants. Directed by Sudanese video artist Hajooj Kuka, Beats of the Antonov allows rebels to speak about how they preserve their cultural identity despite displacements. “We never had a deeper understanding of the Darfur issue, why people fight each other, so I wanted Sudanese to tell me what was happening,” recounts Kuka.

For two years this New York-based artist moved back to his birth country.

From bombings to refugee camps, Kuka describes the cultural complexities of the Darfur conflict and its consequences.

“They are victims but they’re also fighting back. They’re happy, they’re living and growing and you can see a future for them.” Despite the fact that including the government point of view would have been helpful to understand all sides of the situation, Kuka succeeds in capturing viewpoints that have never before been aired through the media. – Claire Diao October 2014 | SCREENAFRICA | 21

FILM

|

Kenya | Mauritius

The essential Jinna Mutune While Africa’s film talent is still largely in its infancy, there are already individuals who will undoubtedly remain relevant in its unfolding history. One among them is Jinna Mutune, a Kenyan woman filmmaker whose heart beats for the African story to be voiced beyond its borders.

Growing up in a middle class family in Nairobi, Mutune’s starved yearnings for storytelling were fulfilled when she attended AFDA – the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance.

“I needed a film education and I continued researching till I came across AFDA, one of a handful of quality film schools in Africa at the time, which enabled me to research film directing as a career,” she says. “Including the prospects for income, they always pulled me back to the practical matters of budgets, plans and goals that would really help me later on.”

Starting at an early age, her vision was to tell epic tales with African heroes as the leads.

“When I was eight years old my best friend and I fancied the idea of being

super heroes. We tried out our super hero powers and jumped off two feet skyscrapers. The desire to be a super hero is in most people,” she says.

The multicultural filmmaker, who has written, directed and produced films, music videos and theatricals, is passionate about stirring up African innovation and invention. She released her film Leo last year and it has been getting positive reviews.

“It was always my dream to shoot a film about the beauty that exits in Kenya. I also wanted to challenge the stereotypical images that portrayed Africa as a famine stricken, poverty and disease infested continent.”

Leo, meaning ‘today’ in Swahili, is a story about ambition, passion and realising dreams against all odds, done in the African context. She believes that with a film like Leo, Kenya and Africa will be better placed to attract investors.

“Art imitates life and life imitates art, therefore the purpose of the film is to subtly ‘re-brand’ Kenya to the western hemisphere through the visual medium of film and to portray the true realities of Africa.” Mutune says: “This will only

happen by showcasing a film narrative that is entertaining as well as inspiring.”

The film involved DOP Abe Martinez, a renowned Hollywood director of photography who shot the film Hitch. To Mutune it was an important step in ensuring the seriousness of her dream and the quality of the film.

“When we were shooting Leo two years ago, the Kenyan Industry was so young in the area of cinematography expertise, so we opted to go with a renowned name but we also created a mentor – mentee structure where the more experienced crew could train the less experienced crew.”

Mauritius: an island of talent and opportunity Mauritius is the model of the paradise island that travel agencies like to promote. Struggling to develop a local film industry, Mauritian filmmakers are launching the seventh edition of the short film festival Ile Courts.

Cinema from Mauritius is not well known, but this is changing. Given its great location and its people from various origins who speak English, French and Creole, Mauritius is definitely a place to discover.

Its feature films are not easy to find in world markets, yet one of them was an award winner recently at Fespaco: The Children of Troumaron directed by father and son Harrikrisna and Shirvan Anenden.

Depicting an impoverished area of the capital, Port Louis, as well as desperate teenagers craving to leave the country, this feature was the latest Mauritian movie to travel to international film festivals. “I’m one of the cinema pioneers,” says Harrikrisna Anenden, based in Switzerland. “There is no film industry or funding. Mauritius is an island, people don’t know you and it’s difficult to sell 22 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

A PLACE TO DISCOVER: A screen capture from Sophie Robert’s The English Lesson

your movie.”

Despite this compelling fact, David Constantin, another Mauritian director, is actually editing his first feature, Lonbraz Kahn, about dismissed sugar cane field workers, showing ‘the other side of the picture postcard of happy tropical people’.

Granted by the African-Caribbean and Pacific-EU Support Program to ACP Cultural Sectors, this project also aims at setting up a film industry in Mauritius.

“We managed various workshops for actors and technicians, and got audiences to aspire to other upcoming projects,” Constantin explains. “The collaboration between public and private Indian Ocean islands funding allows local fundraising instead of turning towards Europe. This

makes it possible to reduce production costs and to build projects with budgets commensurating with our desires and our possibilities.”

In a country where American blockbusters still monopolise movie theatres, the Ile Courts short film festival is another opportunity for promoting local filmmakers, such as Wassim Sookia, Joel Valerie and Jon Rabaud, every year.

“Cinema is emerging and becoming concrete, particularly through Ile Courts, Rabaud confirms. Mauritians are watching more movies because the cost of entrance tickets decreased and the fact that some Mauritians travel abroad with their films raises awareness on what’s happening.”

Launched in 2007 by the association

The film was financed by local investors – mostly friends and family, a typical way for independent filmmakers to realise their dreams.

Mutune believes she did learn her lessons and it’s with such lessons that she still thinks, without a shadow of a doubt, that Africa has to leap beyond Western media, which tends to portray the continent as a hopeless frontier with no place for great stories.

But before the outside world comes here, she is emphatic that she should be judged, criticised and challenged as a craftsman and not by her gender.

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent,” Mutune says. “I love my femininity and my self-confidence as a woman in the work place is important but it’s equally important that I respect everyone whether they are male or female in senior or subordinate positions.”

Living in Africa as a filmmaker is a worthwhile opportunity and for Mutune it creates an important prospect to tell the African story, the African way.

“If you are a young filmmaker in Africa, you are a pioneer; we are at a magical moment where there is a global focus on Africa and that translates automatically to the fact that there is a need for African content.” – Sam Charo

Porteurs d’Images, Ile Courts offers various short film screenings in partnership with Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival, the Rencontres du Film Court from Madagascar, the Festival international d’Afrique et des îles from Réunion, the Comoros International Film Festival and the Courant 3D Festival from France.

Mentored by the Indian filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, this edition will also showcase four Mauritian short films: A Tree, an Encounter by Sébastian Sauvage; Foreigners at Home by Bhimsen Conhyedoss, The English Lesson by Sophie Robert and Ratsitatane’s Shadow

by Patrice Canabady. Produced by Porteurs d’Images through their Film Fabrik workshop, this collection is in keeping with the 28 movies directed as part of five short films collections shown on Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation’s (MBC) TV channel.

As part of the film industry building project they support, Ile Courts will also host four workshops on writing, directing and sound engineering bound for young professionals.

Last but not least, Mauritius will, for the first time, host the Film Forum Bazar, a film market organised in partnership with the Rencontres du Film Court from Madagascar, the Festival international d’Afrique et des îles from Réunion and the Comoros International Film Festival. This unprecedented project received support from the ACP-EU Support Program to ACP Cultural Sectors, and will be hosted in Reunion in 2015 and in Madagascar in 2016. Mauritius is definitely a country to watch. – Claire Diao

| Documentary

Medical doccie shifts UN perspective on essential surgery Jaymie Henry is a US-based doctor who grew up in the Philippines, just one of the many regions worldwide with limited access to vital surgical procedures.

Moved to take action and create awareness about this growing global epidemic, she co-founded the International Collaboration for Essential Surgery and, with the help of South African producer James Carroll and cinematographer Diego Ollivier, directed and co-produced a film intended to promote the organisation’s agenda to governments around the world as well as international organisations such as the United Nations.

According to Carroll, the film, called The Right to Heal, highlights the need for nurses and junior medical staff in developing countries to be trained by qualified surgeons on how to perform certain surgical procedures which are both simple and life-changing.

“Jaymie Henry’s mission was to create awareness about this issue, and band the United Nations (UN) and World Health Organisation (WHO) together in making it a priority, so that policy could be changed at government level,” explains Carroll.

Before production wrapped in April 2014 Carroll, Ollivier and Henry spent a

ESSENTIAL SURGERY: Jaymie Henry, Diego Ollivier and James Carroll shooting behind the scenes in Right to Heal year battling the nightmarish logistics of African travel, collecting patient testimonials in order to put a human face to the issue.

Everything was shot using the filmmakers’ own equipment, which included LED lighting, two Canon 5D Mark IIIs, a Mark II for stills, a basic sound kit with a rifle mic and Steadicam Merlin.

According to Ollivier this basic kit was best suited for their on-the-go shooting with the light and adaptable 5Ds providing a beautiful cinematic feel

without consuming too much power.

But navigating degraded roads, handling fragile equipment, having limited access to electricity, getting across borders and having to get “a list of inoculations as long as my arm” was at times easier than the horrendous conditions and tragic stories to which the team was exposed.

Carroll recalls one incident which took place at a hospital in Malawi: “There was a little boy who saw us coming with cameras, he knew what we were going to

do, which was take his shirt off and look at his burns, and he just started screaming. The thing with burns is if they don’t get seen to quickly enough, they cause terrible contractions and the skin attaches to itself. He was screaming and screaming and I had to turn my camera off and walk away.”

The footage, along with additional material taken in developing countries outside of Africa, was edited by Carroll over five weeks at Henry’s home in San Francisco before it premiered at the Bay Area Global Health Film Festival. A recent screening in April 2014 at the Houses of Parliament in London resulted in the film securing online distribution with medical journal The Lancet, an ideal platform to expose it to its target audience: policy makers, government officials and medical professionals. The film has made a direct impact with this key audience which has resulted in essential surgery being considered as a priority for the UN Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Henry, Carroll and Ollivier thus achieved the goal they had in mind when they set out to make the film. “It started as a passion project and it shows in the film; it looks great. I’m very proud of it,” Carroll concludes.

– Carly Barnes

Q-Gear

TM

Te l e p r o m p t e r S y s t e m s

The new view of broadcasting, is like the new birth of television

We have exciting new streaming solutions...

So call us! www.pro-sales.co.za

Broadcast Video, Audio & Lighting

75 fleet street, Ferndale, Randburg Tel: +27 (0)11 462 0000 E-Mail: info@pro-sales.co.za Arne Sack 082 576 1366 / Jason Sproat 082 576 1367 / Jonathan Sack 083 695 9656

October 2014 | SCREENAFRICA | 23

Cinematography

|

The Good Lord, Mr Sony and me

SEEING THE LIGHT: Koos Roets (far right) and Jans Rautenbach (centre) on the set of Abraham

Veteran cinematographer and director Koos Roets recounts his experience of working on Jans Rautenbach’s Abraham, on which he bravely worked to fulfil the director’s wish to shoot the film using only natural light.

I

was shooting PG du Plessis’ sequel to Koöperasiestories when I started receiving very interesting, albeit quite disturbing pictures (for a DOP that is!) from Wendy Malan. Wendy is the life-long art director of Jans Rautenbach and we did our first stint together working on Jannie Totsiens in 1969.

They were prepping for Jans’ new movie Abraham which I was to photograph for him in the Klein Karoo.

Wendy kept on sending these wonderful pictures of the interior of these old farmworker houses and they all had the most fantastic texture.

It had crumbling paint, cracks in the mud walls and the other effects that you only find after a lifelong exposure to the elements and of course, more than a dash of Wendy’s skill. “What Jans wanted,” she explained in an e-mail to me, “is to photograph everything without any

24 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

artificial light as it destroys all the rich textures that he so dearly wants.”

No lights? In a mud house with windows the size of a matchbox? I have known the Old Fox for more than 50 years and I know how he loves to move his actors all over the place. How am I going to cope with all that?

Nevertheless, I ordered a few small ‘inkys’, LED blocks, lots of white pollyboards, scrims and just for a bit of assurance, 4x .575 HMI lights. Jans is a lover of long lenses and his ‘normal’ lens for exteriors is normally a Canon 400mm, his ‘wide angle’ a 250mm but he would mostly shoot on a 800mm. This makes it a bit on the tough side for a seventy-oneyear old operator but I soon got myself in the swing of things! Poor old Drikus van der Merwe was the gentleman in charge of focus but he coped extraordinarily well.

Night interiors, which are mainly lit by

candles and paraffin lamps, are shot without ANY fill light whatsoever and the first time I brought out an Inky both the lamp and myself were nearly thrown out the door. “No lights,” Jans bellowed. “If I wanted lights, I would have shot at Sun City!”

Needless to say, all the gear I had ordered was returned but I was allowed to keep the pollys.

I must admit, we got the most beautiful pictures I have ever shot! Together with Brent Webb, our faithful and skilled gaffer, I molded the images with a few other candles that I had had made up.

Some of them had two or three wicks and we had to be very, very careful not to over light!

All the night interiors are shot on Nikon, manual prime lenses at a stop around F2.8 at ISO 800. The pollys were only allowed for cutting and creating shadows. Brent dared to pick one up for a bit of a shine in the eyes of our lead actor but he and the board departed the set post haste!

The exteriors are exactly the same. No fill. On one occasion we tried to sneak in a bit of fill by hanging up a black and white but NOTHING escapes that pair of eagle eyes.

Jans wanted to create this feeling of the sun’s incredible harshness and brightness as the characters moved from

indoors to outdoors. He wanted the image to burn out completely and – would you believe it – it was quite a feat to do so. There was always still some detail left in the image. Remember how poorly the dynamic range of our top cameras were but a few years ago?

I chose to work on the humble Sony F3 after my experience with it on Die Wonderwerker. Quite a few sequences were shot on the F3 and intercut with the Alexa’s footage and in spite of Amelia Henning’s offer of a R1 000, nobody could identify these scenes correctly!

The Sony performed fantastically in the Klein Karoo’s high summer with the added problems of extreme dust and temperatures up to around 40 degrees.

We had to drive to Cape Town once to have the sensor cleaned and was informed by the engineer that we should stick some ‘renostersnot’ (Prestick) over the camera’s built-in ND filter slots as it sucks the dust in through those slots. Since then we have shot without any hint of trouble.

So there we have it: a feature film shot entirely with available light and we got the most incredible images! I might have been the director of photography on Abraham but the lighting cameramen were most certainly The Good Lord and Mr Sony! – Koos Roets

Digital Cinema

|

Does digital cinema project the goods?

Since digital cinema has become a reality in South Africa, there is an on-going debate on the quality of reproduction and whether we are viewing and listening to the best that is available world-wide.

So in basic terms, is digital projection able to reproduce the stunning quality of digital and film origination, and are we fully up to speed with technology in the preparation and projection of digital images? Let’s take a look at the process.

W

ith the demise of film distribution globally, cinema chains in South Africa have now completed a full roll-out to digital projection in all of their cinemas.

This has affected some of the processes involved in the preparation of content, although some have remained as they were for 35mm prints.

Preparing material to go to the big screen is a different process from that of television for a number of reasons, one of the most significant being that the light source from a projector is front lit, and television back lit. This means the colour space differs, therefore colourists treat the two processes differently when grading images.

Sound needs to be prepared separately for the different environments.

Sound is absorbed and perceived very differently in a large cinema space filled with people as opposed to a television home environment.

For both picture and sound there are different creative and technical requirements to ensure maximum exploitation of the cinema medium.

Johannesburg-based facility Refinery has a long history of preparing material for

26 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

the big screen; first for film, then the e-cinema circuit and now Digital Cinema Packages (DCP).

Charmaine Lautré, ex-Post Supervisor at Videovision and former manager of the Film Lab, heads up the cinema division at Refinery and has a strong understanding of what is required for the big screen.

“Doing a 5.1 mix for cinema requires a lot of preparation by an experienced sound engineer who understands how to attain the substance that is required to make the soundtrack work within the cinema environment” says Lautré. “Sound from television commercials that have been converted for cinema will feel “thin” if not mixed correctly.

“Converting sound for cinema is not as simple as making a mix louder and stretching the television version from 25FPS to 24FPS. Each element of the sound mix, dialogue, SFX and music, needs to be crafted at the correct frame rate and panned to work in a Dolby 5.1 sound space. When approving pictures in cinema, it is important to ensure that the

speaker configuration is correct for Dolby 5.1, that all speakers are playing and that there is no delay to the speakers or the sound will appear out of sync”.

Once commercials are approved they are copied onto USBs and dispatched for distribution. The process for DCPs of features films has certain additional security protocol and anti-piracy processes. The Refinery is a ‘digital’ lab, as opposed to the traditional film lab.

Foreign digital labs supply Refinery with encrypted DCPs along with a master key (DKDM) with specific encoding details relevant only to Refinery’s Clipster. This will enable Refinery to ‘unlock’ that DCP, and copy it onto drives for local cinemas.

“These duplicates are also keyed,” says Lautré, “or locked into a specific cinema server for a specific period of time, and can only play once they are issued with their own KDM (key delivery messages), which Refinery’s Clipster is licensed to do” If digital prints move to different screens additional keys are required.

BYTES OF FILM: A projection room equipped with a digital projector

Refinery has to constantly update the database with details relevant to each screen of every cinema.

Installing and servicing projectors Questek is the sole distributor for Barco cinema projectors in South Africa. There are four manufacturers that have been given licences to manufacture DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) compliant projectors: being Barco, Christie, Sony and JVC. “In South Africa we have only Barco and Christie” says Questek’s George van Gils. “Between the two all their projectors have to be DCI compliant so in theory the images should be identical. The DLP (digital light processing) engine is manufactured by Texas Instruments and is the same supplied to all manufacturers.” When it comes to South Africa’s two main cinema chains, Nu Metro has chosen Barco for most of its theatres, while Ster-Kinekor recently completed installation of Christie projectors in their 430-plus screens around the country.

“Barco claim they have 53% of the world market and we have supplied approximately 190 projectors in South Africa,” van Gils continues. “We completed all the installations until the rollout of Nu Metro where they decided to get the training and do it in-house for their 160 projectors. We have also been servicing all Barco projectors in South Africa. However now that Nu Metro are doing their own, we only do the independents as well as the post facilities that use cinema”.

Rudie du Plooy, owner and Director of

| DIGITAL CINEMA RCC Trading, who supply and service Nu Metro, observes: “I estimate 700 Screens in total. We recently started to supply Tsogo Sun (Movies@), Avalon Group (CineCentre) and various private cinemas within Africa. The delivery format is DCP2000 via Hard Drive/CRU “RCC Trading has trained engineers to install, service and maintain these projectors as required by the manufacturers. The projectors require service and maintenance at different intervals from monthly, three-monthly and six-monthly to annually. They also require some maintenance during lamp changes. The duration of lamp life is dependent on the lamp quality and size.”

Technical support during movies depends on the operational requirements of the exhibitor. If the equipment is monitored via network, they normally have a technician for a few sites. If the equipment is not monitored via network, the equipment requires intervention in order to start and stop both projector and show times.

“Troubleshooting digital projection requires more knowledge and time in order to resolve a problem,” adds du Plooy. “With the 35mm mechanical projectors, you replaced the faulty mechanical or electrical part but with the digital projectors, you have potential software and hardware problems and troubleshooting may require more knowledge and skill to resolve.

Colourist Terry Simpson prepares a DCP “Typical problems include loss of network connectivity, software corruption resulting in picture or sound loss, hardware corruption resulting in either picture or sound loss, content corruption during ingest and KDMs to activate content either not recognised by the equipment or incorrect for the content received.”

So, it would seem that the biggest disadvantage of digital projection is hardware or software failure. If the file is corrupt and won’t load, or if it crashes halfway through screening the film, that’s the end of the screening and patrons walk out unhappy. If the server crashes, that’s also the end of the screening, whereas film prints were physically there and projector failure uncommon.

The advantages of digital “There are, however, many advantages to digital projection,” claims Lautré. “Firstly, it’s a much more cost effective process.

The manufacture of film prints was an

expensive business. The demise of film projection also means no more bulky prints to courier around the world, and gone is the need for often massive warehousing and the manpower required to control inventory.

“You are able to do with fewer projectionists now that the tedious splicing together of reels and lacing up/ rewinding process is no longer required.

Commercial reels and trailers also had to be spliced onto the front of the main feature. A lot of PT! There is also no longer the danger of scratches, splices pulling loose and the picture being out of rack”.

There has been a process involved in refining and adjusting the set-ups in the various cinemas. It is constantly being improved. Some issues have been projector lamps not being used at full power, projectors not having the appropriate KW for the larger cinemas, incorrect settings being selected for picture and or sound, and sound configurations within the cinemas

Big plans underway for Kwazi Mojo Sound Studios and Waterfront Film Studios Composer and Sound Designer Alun Richards has been working in the industry for decades, beginning as a sound mixer at The Audio Lab JHB and then starting up his own studios, Cut & Paste Generation before moving on to some major, collaborative ventures. It has been a long process of slow, steady growth since he first began operations – a process that is now culminating in several exciting developments on the international motion picture production front.

After Cut & Paste had been operating for about ten years, Richards formed Kwazi Mojo Media as a holding company for all the studio’s assets, while the music and licensing side of the business remained under the name Cut & Paste Generation. Then, three years ago, Kwazi Mojo became a vehicle for several joint ventures and associated companies. A number of likeminded sound designers and composers joined with Richards under the Kwazi Mojo umbrella. Each of them, including Kwazi Mojo Sound Studios, Produce Sound, The O, The Sound Patch, Masondo Music and Richards’ own Cut & Paste, are 100 percent individually owned but enjoy the

benefits of the symbiotic relationship formed within the group.

Although short form makes up a substantial component of Richards’ work, he has also made lengthy inroads into the feature film field and is focusing on increasing his involvement in both local and international movie production over the course of the next few years. A major step in that direction took place at the beginning of 2014 when he became a co-owner of Waterfront Film Studios in Cape Town, together with Steve Harris of Blade, Ivan Bridgens of LaserNet and effects and grading master Hilton Trevis.

Since they took over the studios, which includes both production sound stages and post-production facilities, a number of exciting developments have been underway, increasing Waterfront’s appeal to film producers from all over the world.

In addition to the improvements being made to the sound stages and video editing aspects of the facility, as well as logistical considerations such as adding more parking and so on, the sound studios are also set to undergo major upgrades in the near future. Most exciting among these are the plans currently being put in place to make Waterfront the

being incorrect.

Having said that, most of the cinemas have been upgraded now, and quality has improved substantially in the last year or two.

As can be seen it’s a highly technical and complex process to bring the perfect image to the digital screen. Errors will creep in, but the level of professionalism working to ensure that these errors are kept to a minimum is high. And the potential for improvement is great.

Consider 4K and even 8K projection – this will provide image quality once only dreamed of.

For the technically inclined the specification for material supplied to digital cinemas is as follows:

• Video: 24.00 frames per second • Compression: JPEG2000 • Color Space: XYZ • Video Format: 2K – 2048x1080 container size (1920x1080, 1998x1080, 2048x858 and other image sizes are acceptable) • Audio Format: 24-bit, 48 kHz uncompressed. Minimum 3 channels (Left, Right, Centre) or 5.1 (L,R,C,LFE,LS,RS) • Audio Channel Mapping: 1:Left 2:Right 3:Center 4:Subwoofer 5:Left Surround 6:Right Surround – Andy Stead

| POST-PRODUCTION

WELL VERSED: Alun Richards site of Africa’s first ever Dolby Atmos mixing suite. Since Richards has run one of the country’s very few Dolby-licensed 5.1 studios for years, he is well versed in the specs and requirements of this most famous of sound brands. The Atmos studio would be a major undertaking, requiring a lot of real estate. It would have to be ten to 15 metres wide and about 15 to 18 metres long. It would be a full-size 20-30 seat viewing theatre. The installation of all the equipment – both hardware and software – needed for a fully accredited Atmos studio would also entail a heavy capital outlay.

In order for the venture to be viable, Waterfront would have to have sufficient

international feature film work passing through the studio on a regular basis.

Plans are also being made to ensure that the Atmos room remains productive during down time. In addition to Atmos mixing, Waterfront would offer the studio to its clients as a viewing theatre for both dailies and final presentation and sign-off.

The company is also in discussion with education and training organisations around the country to make the space available for their purposes. “Mixing for Atmos requires specialised training to which no-one currently has access,” Richards says. “So we would offer the studio to these institutions for selected students who could take it as a bolt-on to their existing courses and come in for a certain period of time to work on actual projects as interns.”

There are also plans to build a custom ADR and Foley recording studio. “Up till now we have done ADR and Foleys in our biggest studio here at Cut & Paste, which is eight by six metres with a three-pointfive metre height. This new one would be 12 by 12 metres with a six to seven metre height,” Richards says.

“It’s a big investment and we will have to be very careful how we do it. But I’m at the stage now in my career where I’m ready to take this step and I think that our industry is also at the point where this kind of facility will soon be in high demand,” Richards concludes.

October 2014 | SCREENAFRICA | 27

Cameras & Accessories

|

Testing the Sony F55 and Gates underwater housing Underwater cameramen Dan Beecham and Charles Maxwell, based in Cape Town, South Africa, recently acquired Sony’s PMW-F55 4K digital cinema camera, along with a Gates underwater housing. They put the rig to the test in their explorations of the Atlantic depths just off the coast of the mother city.

Screen Africa asked them to assess their experience with the camera.

Screen Africa: Firstly, some background on the work you do. What were you planning to do and what needs did you have as far as your camera equipment was concerned?

Beecham: Charles and I decided to partner up a year or so ago and invest in a 4K camera system together. Our work is all based in, on and around the water but for a variety of different projects – from shooting and managing our own stock footage library, to shooting for features, commercials and high-end natural history productions for the BBC, Nat Geo, Discovery and other networks internationally.

We needed a camera that would suit all of these purposes. At the time, the F55 was the new kid on the block and we liked the look of the system as well as the ability to get after-sales service locally should there be any issues with the camera.

What made the F55 your choice? What features and functionalities does it have that made it the right camera for the job?

Beecham: There were a number of reasons that we decided the F55 was the camera for us. Simple things such as ND filters, XLR inputs and a global shutter are fantastic features on the F55. They are things we are used to take for granted on video cameras, but have been lost from many camera models over recent years.

The F55 is also a highly modular camera, but retaining some of the 28 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

WELL SEALED UNIT: One of Beecham and Maxwell’s stars poses for a close-up with the Sony F55 with Gates underwater housing important hardware traditionally found on video cameras was a good move by Sony.

When you do need things like ND filters and you are using a camera that does not have them built in, it can mean a lot of extra expense, gear and hassle – it also means more items that can be lost, forgotten or broken.

Also, having the option to shoot 4K internally using the XAVC codec, or externally with the RAW recorder gives us huge flexibility. We can shoot 4K externally and 2K internally simultaneously – the 2K files are used to start viewing rushes immediately and doing rough assemblies, the 4K RAW is kept for the final assembly / on-line.

All of this, as well as the 14-stop dynamic range, the wide colour gamut of the camera and how well it performs in low-light were what helped make it so attractive to us for underwater work.

Obviously underwater use comes with its share of unique handling and operation needs and challenges.

How did your rig enable you to cope with these?

Beecham: This is really down to engineering work of the guys at Gates Underwater products in San Diego, who design and build the underwater housings that we use. People are often shocked by the cost of underwater housings, but engineering a product that allows full access to the camera controls (including full menu access, ND filters etc) as well as being reliable and having high quality optics, does not come cheap.

There’s no point having such a fantastic camera and lens stuck behind substandard optics, degrading the image.

Our housing can accommodate a range of lenses, from DSLR glass such as the Tokina 11-16mm (our workhorse lens) to Zeiss or Arri primes.

The Gates housing is built so that you can trim the buoyancy underwater by adding or removing small lead weights to different points on the housing (depending on how you have the camera

set up). We have our housing set to be ever so slightly negatively buoyant, so moving the camera around underwater and keeping it steady is very easy. The housing has a seal-check system; we pull a vacuum on the housing before taking it in the water, so we know there is no way that water can enter the housing.

We’ve also got our system set up with a surface feed cable – important for live broadcast work or set work where a director needs to be able to see what the underwater camera is getting.

Can you describe a particular shot or set-up that really allowed the F55 to show its mettle?

Beecham: Charles was on a shoot earlier in the year diving some slightly deeper reefs than we had previously used the camera in. The conditions meant low light (because of the depth) and the visibility was poor and the water green. Often when you film in very dirty, green water you normally end up with very unattractive pictures because in underwater filming, as you go deeper, water filters out the red end of the natural light spectrum. By shooting in RAW, we are able to get corrected colours into the footage, which are true to life. Had we been shooting with traditional video, we never would have been able to recover these colours in post-production.

What would you describe as the pros of this camera?

Beecham: A combination of the F55’s low light capabilities, wide colour gamut and dynamic range are really what makes it a winner for us. Also, the fact that we are able to shoot in HD (or 2K) and we do not worry about the image being cropped or ‘windowed’, is fantastic. Wide-angle lenses are important in underwater work – we use them all the time as underwater you have to remain close to your subject, if you back away you shoot through more water, degrading the image. One of the golden rules in underwater work is ‘get as close as you can, then get closer’. Much

of our work is with large animals, so again, wide angles are really important for us.

Not having to worry about the sensor cropping if we shoot at lower resolutions is a real bonus, we can swap between resolutions with no impact on the coverage of our lenses.

What are the cons of this camera in your experience?

Beecham: I admit to feeling a little limited when it comes to being able to shoot at higher frame rates in 4K – the F55 shoots up to 60fps @ 4K and 240FPS @ 2K. It would be nice to see an upgrade in the future that will allow us to shoot higher frame rates, ideally 120fps at 4K. For natural history work sometimes producers want everything shot in slow motion just so they have the option to use it if they need it.

The addition of a proper record cache would also be very welcome.

All things considered, how did the F55 shape up in terms of meeting your production needs?

Beecham: Overall we’ve been really impressed with both the functionality and the results from the F55. The camera produces really stunning underwater images. I have used other 4K camera systems underwater and as much as the footage looked great, it lacked ‘a certain something’ that the F55 produces.

The footage we are shooting on our local dives around Cape Town has an ethereal, otherworldly quality, which I think simply comes from the amount of detail it captures and its wide colour gamut. It really feels like now we are showing people the things we get to see on our dives and that we are getting much closer to them actually experiencing it themselves because of the immersive characteristics of the footage…and we all thought HD pictures looked good! www.danbeecham.com www.underwatervideo.co.za danbeecham@gmail.com

Getaway G Ge t wa ta way ay

Cameras & Accessories

|

Africa’s largest photographic expo in focus

Worth a shot SNAPPING FORWARD: Photo and Film Expo 2013

From 30 October to 2 November, shutterbugs, cinephiles and photographic pros flock to the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg to indulge in the latest industry tech and trends.

T

he Photo and Film Expo is more than just an exhibition of filmmaking and photographic equipment – though with over 400 related brands on show, the spread is enough to get any gear head’s fingers itching. Now in its sixth year, the event has grown to be a valuable and informative hub for those wanting insights and a competitive edge in a fast advancing industry. The expo offers attendees free access to over 120 unique presentations, which are aimed at empowering photographers of any skill level with the creative and practical tools they need to take that next step, or snap, forward.

Through-thelense learning According to expo organiser Matt Raven, workshops cover everything from planning and setting up a shoot, right through to different photographic genres and editing processes, and as there is such a wide range of presentations being held simultaneously, visitors are able to hand pick the topics which suit them personally.

“The punchy 45-minute sessions are designed to cater to photographers of all skill levels – even if you currently only snap a few shots on your cellphone you will benefit from the wealth of information 30 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

our speakers are able to impart. Most sessions (unless stated particularly in the description) are broad based and light hearted, intended to inspire and teach at the same time.”

Presenters are made up of top South African talent as well as some seasoned imports from abroad including Israeli photographer and philosopher Pierre Poulain, UK advertising and editorial photographer Bruce Smith, and UK photographer and trainer Andrew Appleton.

One workshop titled ‘Shocking Portraits’ features a number of wellknown stars who courageously forego the stereotypical celeb shoot environment for a worthy cause. Instead of presenting the camera with a perfect pose they are to be shocked by a stun gun in front of high speed cameras and flash systems. Over and above the unique still and video footage which the shoot is expected to produce, the initiative raises money which goes to charity.

Raven adds that there are also a number of appealing workshops for filmmakers, covering topics which range “from the challenges of filming on location to shooting styles and even the editing processes. Adobe is also giving dedicated feature sessions discussing their new software abilities for filmmakers.”

A close-up on the cutting edge The photographic realm is a constantly evolving landscape and with the emergence of new technology, capabilities in this medium have exploded. In recent times it has become paramount for creatives and professionals to keep abreast of the latest tools and trends shaping the industry.

Raven comments, “This year the focus is on products that are usually unavailable (or have limited availability) in general photographic stores,” and explains that although photography is the expo’s primary focus, spin-off industries such as filmmaking, beauty, styling, advertising, training and safari venues have a place at the event as well. Among the many engaging spaces featuring on the expo floor is a beauty area, underwater area and places dedicated to live product demos where attendees can experience a variety of products, be it a quadcopter or studio shoot-out demonstrations.

According to Raven, a number of participating brands are offering products which align with global trends, including photography designed to summon a sense of nostalgia and filming which brings the viewer incredibly close to real-life experiences. Raven says, “There is a major trend toward retro styling, with cameras and accessories being styled to appear vintage.

Additionally the filmmaking abilities of high end SLR and action cameras have been increased dramatically, with high frame rates, improved low light capability and super resolutions being the primary selling points.”

A feast of gadget giveaways, prizes and skill-advancing opportunities is a Photo and Film Expo norm and this year is no different.

“As per the last five events we are once again offering a massive lucky draw prize available to an attendee of the event. This is a massive bundle prize consisting of a camera, tripod, backdrop system, software, training manuals and courses, carry cases, memory card, editing tablet and more,” says Raven.

In addition, other large contests are being run at the event and on the Photo and Film Expo’s social networks.

Individual brand contests are running from exhibitors’ stands, plenty of spot prizes are to be handed out, at least 10 main competition draws are set to take place at Sunday’s prize-giving and, by completing the expo survey at www. photosurvey.co.za, visitors have the opportunity to win an extra bundled prize.

Raven adds, “There will be a ‘Selfie Contest’ this year that is open to private colleges, public varsities and technikons as well as those who are studying privately or are self-taught. The contest will demand creativity from attendees and can be entered by visitors of all skill levels.”

The event runs from 09h00 to 18h00 on each day and tickets can be purchased at the door or online from webtickets.co. za. If purchased online, tickets are priced at R200 for a four-day weekend pass and R80 for an adult’s one-day pass (R40 for pensioners and under 16’s). If purchased at the door, tickets cost R100 for an adult’s one-day pass (R50 for pensioners and under 16’s).

Visit the Photo and Film Expo website at www.photofilmexpo.com for more information. – Carly Barnes

YOUR WORKFLOW JUST GOT SIMPLER

PXW-X500

The Sony PXW-X500 • Multiple codec choices – XAVC (100 mbps), MPEG4 SStP, ProRes*, DNxHD*,MPEG2 50mbps, MPEG IMX, DVCAM, XAVC • New three chip 2/3 inch CCD imager • 60dB signal to noise ratio • Studio connectivity options • Slow & quick option upto 120 fps* • Built in Digital Extender 2X, 3X, 4X

* Paid option.

‘SONY’, ‘XDCAM’, ‘XAVC’, ‘MPEG HD422’, ‘MPEG HD’ and ‘MPEG IMX’ are trademarks of Sony Corporation. ’DNxHD” is a registered trademark of Avid Technology, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Sony Professional Solutions Specialist: Jasco +27 11 266-1500 | Protea +27 11 719-5700 Specialised Broadcast Sales & Service +27 21 425-6337 | Visual Impact +27 11 788-9879 Sony Broadcast & Professional +27 11 690-3200 | Email: middle.east@eu.sony.com | www.sony-psmea.com

Cameras & Accessories

|

The cameraman’s toolbox Cine Photo Tools is a one-stop shop offering specialised retail service, top international brands at competitive prices, and the best customer care.

They bring prime products to domestic shores by combining a global vision with local market insight and research.

Dealers for some of the best industry-standard brands such Canon, Leica, Schneider, Redrock micro, Chimera, Eizo, Glidetrack, Glidecam, Small HD, DJI, Samyang, Voigtlander, Zylight, Sunbounce and much more, they also stock a large range of accessories and consumables. They are also the official distributor of broncolor lighting solutions here in South Africa, as well as DJI Ronin dealers. They stock the most innovative and current equipment to suit any style and scale of production.

Cine Photo Tools is the sister company of Photo Hire, a leading South African rental company. They have an efficient and professional team with vast industry knowledge and have proficient understanding of all the products they

STABLE AND ABLE: The DJI Ronin handheld camera stabilisation system

stock to help customers make smart purchase decisions.

Product highlights The Ronin is a handheld camera stabilisation system. DJI is already

renowned for the advanced gimbal technology of their aerial systems, so it was only a matter of time before they harnessed the power of their Zenmuse technology – the incredibly smooth brushless multi-rotor gimbal – into a handheld version to rival all others.

Samyang’s VDSLR lenses proved to be so popular that they decided to bring out cost-efficient kits containing a line of completely manual, video-specific lenses with step-less aperture control, follow focus gearing, and T-stop markings.

There are four different kits aimed at various form factors and sensor sizes.

They come with a custom, foam-lined, weather-sealed carrying case.

The Zylight F8 is an award-winning energy efficient ultra-bright LED Fresnel light. It is fully dimmable and water resistant. It is lightweight and compact.

This versatility and portability means it is both studio and field friendly. It is also durable and does not emit any heat or noise.

The Redrock micro Remote Follow Focus is a wireless lens control system that offers true, accurate, repeatability.

Adjustable motor torque, intuitive controls and lens-mapping provides for precise, cinema quality focus pulling.

Other features include: automatic set-up, accurate calibration, adjustable hard stops and indicator, smooth, dampened focus wheel, 270 degree throw for maximum accuracy and right or left-handed operation modes.

47 De Villiers Street, Zonnebloem, Cape Town 8001 Contact: 021 462 6933 • info@cinephototools.com

www.cinephototools.com THE FUTURE OF POSSIBLE

DJI RONIN Nikon, Canon, Sony E & MFT mounts. De-clicked, fast aperture, long focus pull, geared, lens kits.

3 axis stabilized handheld gimbal system

redrockmicro Remote follow focus

32 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

Award winning F8 LED Fresnel Battery opp. V/GOLD mounts

| Lighting

From Dream to reality

SHEDDING LIGHT ON FLUORESCENTS: LED Epic LED light

Johannesburg-based start-up lighting manufacturer Dream Lights have made quite a name for themselves in recent months among the lighting experts in the industry. One of the most interesting aspects of Dream Lights’ business model, as their products get ready to ship, is that it places the LED versus fluorescent debate under the spotlight.

A

Double Barrel two-lamp fluorescent

lthough the Dream Lights product line does include two LED (light-emitting diode) models, the company has chosen to place its emphasis – for now – on the production of fluorescents. This is an interesting choice considering that LED is widely regarded to be the future. The decision stems in part from the preference that Dream Lights’ TK Madini and Manqoba Shongwe have for fluorescents.

“We can’t deny that LED technology is the future,” says Madini, “but it’s still not proven. Fluorescents have been around for years, they’re proven. LEDs are still going through the process of being tried and improved. What we’ve noticed with a lot of LEDs at the moment, is that many manufacturers will compromise the basics of lighting like colour temperature and colour rendering in order to hit a desirable price point.

“LEDs with high colour rendering indexes (CRI) are extremely pricey so manufacturers will skimp on that in order to lower the price, and they also don’t have the punch that you may need on set.

If you put a light meter right in front of an entry to mid-level LED, you will get a high reading, but as you move away from the light, there is a significant fall-off in terms of the amount of lumens you’re getting.

With fluorescents you can achieve the highest possible CRI at a much lower price and you don’t get that fall-off.”

But of course, they could not base their business on their own preferences alone, so they did their research and asked

Sweet Dream single lamp fluorescent

suppliers and users of lights a very pertinent question: “if LEDs and fluorescents were equally mobile and equally efficient in terms of power usage, which one would you choose?”

Much of the appeal of LEDs comes from the fact that they are generally more compact and can be run off a battery directly attached to the units, making them easily mobile and independent of whatever power sources may available on location. Fluorescents, on the other hand, are generally bulkier and require mains or a heavy battery pack attached by means of an XLR cable, requiring more lifting and cable-bashing to move around on set. Madini and Shongwe found that many lighting operatives and cameramen in the industry shared their love for the quality of light rendered by fluorescents but would opt for LEDs at times because they were easier to use. So, in creating their product line, Dream Lights set about closing this ‘convenience gap’ between LEDs and fluorescents.

As a result of these efforts, all of Dream Lights’ fluorescents can be run off two 14.4 volt V-lock batteries or one 26 volt V-lock battery, which can be mounted directly onto the backs of the lights, eliminating the need for cables. Of course they can still run off mains power and have been fitted with relays to ensure that mains power will kick out when running off batteries and vice versa. This is to avoid the circuitry in the lights getting burnt out if a user has both batteries and mains hooked up.

While the response to the performance of the lights has been universally positive, Madini and Shongwe received quite a bit of constructive criticism regarding the look of the units. There was a general sense that while the lights functioned beautifully, they could do with a redesign to make them a little ‘sexier’.

Dream Lights called upon a design company with no experience in light design to improve the look of the lights.

“More than anything,” says Madini, “we wanted to ensure that we didn’t end up with something that looks like anything else on the market. It had to be as small and lean as possible and still look like no other product out there. So we approached a company that designs cases for servers and electricity substations – things that had to serve a functional purpose but were still in plain sight and therefore had to be aesthetically pleasing. We chose them rather than lighting designers because we knew they would bring us the different look we were after.”

Dream Lights is now ready to take orders for their new-look lights. The product range consists of four models of fluorescent lights – the Sweet Dream (single lamp), the Double Barrel (two lamps), the Bright Spark (four lamps) and the Bigfoot (eight lamps). On the LED side, they are marketing the LED Epic, with another design currently in development. – Warren Holden

October 2014 | SCREENAFRICA | 33

Television

|

Exploring an edible world After conquering the Masterchef kitchen in 2013, winner Kamini Pather acquired a taste for adventure, connection and flavour which extends beyond South Africa’s borders.

In her new show Girl Eat World, the young foodobsessed Capetonian takes to the streets of cities around the world to share local culinary experiences and mad adventures with some equally passionate local food bloggers.

Winning ingredients

B

angkok, Tokyo, Sydney, Lima, Philadelphia, Milan, Berlin, Copenhagen, Dubai, Johannesburg – globetrotters, eat your heart out!

These are the destinations to which Kamini Pather will travel to meet inspiring food bloggers with whom she connected and has maintained contact for months leading up to production.

Lucky Bean Media director and Girl Eat World executive producer Chris Green explains: “Girl Eat World is about Kamini travelling around the world to 10 food destinations hosted by people who know those destinations best – local food bloggers. The show is an insider’s view of a city and takes the stance that even though people can connect via the web or digital portals, it doesn’t mean they truly have a sense of what’s going on in the local food scene. The show is an enabler for Kamini to do that. She’s never met the bloggers until now.”

Some of the highlights include visiting a restaurant in Copenhagen, described by some as a porridge paradise, which serves over a hundred flavours of the breakfast favourite. Another spot she can’t wait to explore is Berlin, where a huge immigrant community is bringing culinary influences from their home countries into the city. But for someone

34 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

A TASTE FOR ADVENTURE: Kamini Pather

whose ‘food-losophy’ centres around seasonal fresh produce, Pather is equally keen on discovering local offerings of this kind.

“My approach to cooking is more produce related – I’m the girl that goes to organic markets and gets excited when I see gooseberries with hats on them, and then I take them home and have no idea what to make,” she admits. “So I’m excited to visit some local organic markets, to see what food is actually there and what you can do with it.”

Breaking bread What sets Girl Eat World apart from anything else that food fanatics are used to seeing on TV is a focus on connection, forming relationships and sharing experiences.

“We had to choose the right people from the right places, and from the moment they were chosen we had a lot of contact with them, so now it feels like we know them. But when I was introduced to the Joburg blogger it was one of those situations where you don’t know whether you should shake hands, or just say hello,” says Kamini.

Green points out that a show like this could never have been done 10 years ago, when the technology wasn’t yet as advanced or widely used as it is now and says: “I think digital media has done a lot for people who are passionate about food. People now have a platform to publish themselves, and that for me becomes a talking point, people sharing what they are passionate about. And food is something that so many people are passionate about.”

“After the show (Masterchef SA 2013) ended I had a meeting with the Lucky Bean Media team – I think before the show even ended I was already thinking: I want a show!” says Pather, who has kept busy as a food writer and stylist as well as a radio host on Heart 104.9 FM since season two of the reality cooking programme concluded.

According to Green, Girl Eat World is a joint production between Pather and Lucky Bean Media, which will provide the infrastructure, expertise and facilities needed to deliver a slick final product with international appeal.

Following two months of research, which began in March, Pather and the Girl Eat World team collaborated on two and a half months of pre-production and up until Pather’s departure on 16 September, Girl Eat World has been a self-funded passion project between the two entities.

Although still in the process of negotiating with potential broadcasters, Pather and Green are for now able to creatively work at their own pace.

“Rather than wait for a commission from a local broadcaster, we have elected to finance this venture ourselves, and look to licence it, both locally and internationally. We are seeing increasing interest in South African content at international markets, we feel South African productions maintain a very high standard internationally and believe strongly that there is a demand for what we can offer. It’s a significant financial risk, but with no risk there is no reward!” explains Green.

Joining Pather on her delicious journey are key crew members: series director Annalet Steenkamp, DOP James Boon, sound engineer Kenny Geraghty, production manager Minet Williams and producer Michelle Geering, who is no stranger to on-the-go production after working on the Tusker Twende Kazi reality show which travelled from Kenya to London in 50 days – by road.

Armed with a Canon 5D, a Canon C300 and a compact production kit the group will jetset around the globe for two months, all the while sending footage back to Lucky Bean in Johannesburg where it can be edited while they are still on the road.

Green and Pather plan on taking the series to MIPCOM, an international market for entertainment content across all platforms, which takes place in Cannes, France in October. Where and when the world will get to experience Pather’s adventure is yet to be confirmed and so for now, hungry fans must wait, chomping at the bit. – Carly Barnes

TRANSFORMING AFRICA’S DIGITAL ECONOMY 9000+

17TH ANNUAL

ATTENDEES

+ 300 VISIONARY

SPEAKERS

375+

EXHIBITORS

11-13 NOVEMBER 2014 CTICC CAPE TOWN SOUTH AFRICA

PLUS NEW FOR 2014

NEW FOR 2014

140+

COUNTRIES REPRESENTED

Christian de Faria CEO Airtel Africa

Chris Daniels VP of Product of Internet.org Facebook

Marc Rennard EVP, Africa, Middle East & Asia Orange Group

Zunaid Bulbulia Chief Executive Officer MTN SA

Arthur Bastings EVP Africa Millicom

Katie Lampe head of Sales Operations EMEA Twitter

January Makamba MP, Minister of Communications Tanzania

Irene Charnley Group CEO Smile

PLUS NEW FOR 2014

NEW FOR 2014

in partnership with:

NEW FOR 2014

SDN & NETWORK VIRTUALIZATION

NEW FOR 2014

CONTENT & DATA

BROADBAND TECHNOLOGIES & MODELS

2014 SPONSORS

Register today: www.comworldseries.com/africa

Produced by:

Television

|

Namibia

Up close with Namibia’s Dalton Ashikoto

TRULY PAN-AFRICAN: Dalton1Hashondali Ashikoto Bolt ad 09-14* 9/21/14 1:25 PM Page

Namibian theatre and TV actor Dalton Hashondali Ashikoto, who currently stars as Stanley Gwala in the South African soap opera Rhythm City, believes ideas are always valid no matter where one comes from.

Truly pan-African in education and background, the father of two went to school in Windhoek, Namibia and studied computer science in Nairobi, Kenya.

Throughout his studies he maintained a passion for the performing arts. “I have always had a love for television, film and acting for as long as I can remember,” he says. To be precise, he started acting some 20 years ago with friends in college.

He then did short films for the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) as well as presenting a NBC TV music show called Penduka.

After the experience at the NBC, Ashikoto took a 10-year break to concentrate on business.

Two years ago he decided to reignite his passion for acting and decided to pursue his childhood dream again, inspired by Hollywood greats like Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Kevin Spacey and Angella Bassett. He embarked on a pilgrimage to Los Angeles to study film and acting.

Besides being an actor and a presenter, he is also a producer and a businessman, with a number of business interests on the go in his home country. The enterprising actor recently started a media and film production company in Johannesburg, C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY CMY

K

where has been doing mostly commercials and short films for M-Net. He also recently worked on the Hollywood live-action anime adaptation, Kite, alongside Samuel L Jackson.

With all these irons in the fire, Ashikoto now also enjoys the somewhat steadier work of a soap star with his role on Rhythm City. “I got a call from my agent while in Namibia telling me that I need to get to Joburg,” he says.

Ashikoto promptly boarded a plane, learned his lines during the flight and showed up at the audition ready to tackle the part. As a result, since April 2014, he has become known to South African soapie enthusiasts as the incorruptible Stanley Gwala on the daily drama, which airs on free-to-air channel, e.tv.

Of the Namibian film industry, Ashikoto says it is still in its infancy in contrast to the South African industry, which is well supported by corporates and government.

“The challenges are many as you try to break into the South African industry,” he says. “Building networks, getting work permits, getting a good agent and so on are some of the many hurdles.”

On whether he plans to stay in Johannesburg permanently, he says: “I love juggling between the two countries. Joburg can be hectic and Namibia is my sanctuary. Luckily Windhoek and Joburg are only two hours apart.” – Gethsemone Mwizabi

Outside broadcast

| Television

SuperSport upgrades its OB fleet with EVS XT3 SuperSport is the leading sports provider in Africa and one of the biggest in the world. Based in South Africa and part of the MultiChoice satellite broadcaster, it covers major sporting events spanning football, rugby, cricket, tennis, golf, motor sports, cycling, boxing, wrestling and athletics.

TOTAL COVERAGE: The upgraded EVS system in a SuperSport OB truck

A

s part of our ‘total coverage’ vision, we have a thriving production arm, which provides comprehensive coverage of these major regional events. This includes a large in-house fleet of outside broadcast trucks, designed primarily for live sports broadcasting.

One of the core elements of sports broadcasting is the ability to provide multiple replays of the key action, including super slow-motion replays, using cameras which shoot at three times the normal frame rate. To achieve this, outside broadcast trucks are today equipped with state-of-the-art servers capable of capturing every camera feed

and replaying any channel instantly.

By far the market leader in providing these live production servers is Belgian company EVS, whose products are used in trucks and studio complexes around the world. We were already a long-time EVS user, and we’ve now upgraded our outside broadcast fleet with a large number of EVS’ new generation XT3 servers. Each of these supports eight channels of HD or six 3D/1080p video channels.

Our largest trucks are fitted with as many as six XT3 servers, enabling us to capture the output of 20 cameras or more, including super slow motion cameras. In total, we’ve upgraded seven

trucks with XT3s. And we’ll also use one XT3 in our upgraded training centre, which replicates a real-world outside broadcast unit and can double up as an extra OB truck.

The upgrade enables us to satisfy our production requirements today – the need for extra channels and storage capacity now is fundamental – and gives us the ability to future-proof for 4K recording tomorrow. It gives us the peace of mind of knowing that we can benefit from the expanded capabilities of the XT3 whenever we want in the future.

The XT3 also integrates seamlessly with key EVS production tools such as the IPDirector live production asset management suite and XFile3 for easy and efficient search, retrieval, transcoding and back-up of content from one interface. The EVS MultiReview solution is a real asset, as it gives our production teams the ability to browse multiple camera angles simultaneously in low resolution and quickly select clips for instant replays. Directors really appreciate this bird’s eye view of a live production!

The XT3 is controlled by the EVS LSM control panel, a familiar and intuitive panel used by a large number of operators, who have become highly skilled with it. It can also be used in conjunction with LSM Connect, a tablet-based solution for clips and playlist management.

OB6, one of our largest trucks, also has the Epsio Live sports graphic tool loaded

on its XT3 server. Fully integrated with the LSM remote control panel, Epsio Live allows graphic overlays, like the offside line in football, to be added in real time or to instant replays. This saves on additional kit and operators, and makes replays more informative without a whole load of complex routing. All of the new functionality, including Epsio Live, is carried out from the LSM panel, allowing us to introduce new tools as we need them without extensive retraining.

Critical for us with the upgrade was to ensure we were future-ready. The XT3 gives us that confidence as it’s equipped with up to 10 Gigabit Ethernet connectivity and powerful recording capabilities built in. This gives us huge flexibility and allows us to benefit from high-performance connections between a truck on site and the broadcaster’s base operation.

This means that post-production tasks like highlights packages and post-game analysis can be carried out remotely, which is important as it minimises the number of staff needed on location.

When a broadcaster is called SuperSport, viewers clearly expect the very best in production values. The EVS XT3 upgrade will allow us to continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in sports coverage, adding value, insight and creativity to the audience viewing experience. – Johan van Tonder, technical operations manager at SuperSport October 2014 | SCREENAFRICA | 37

Broadcast Technology

|

IBC – a veteran’s report Chris Hanson, managing member of Touchvision, with 30 years of experience in the broadcast and post-production industry, shares his experiences at IBC 2014 – in particular the latest products put forward by AJA, including the CION 4K/UHD production camera.

AJA’s CION 4K/UHD production camera LATEST TECHNOLOGY: FS1-X Frame Synchronizer & Converter

I

t’s eight o’clock in the evening, the sun is still shining, the air is full of the sounds of squeaky bicycles and rattling trams. The cold Heineken on the table in front of me was brewed just down the road and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that IBC 2014 is in full swing.

As with previous visits, I find myself a prisoner of Hall 7 (the post-production hall) where all the usual suspects have set up their lavish and expensive stands packed with all the latest technology they have to offer. I am there in two capacities, as the Touchvision representative looking for new products to bring to South Africa and also as an exhibitor with AJA Video Systems.

AJA Starting with AJA, the main attraction was undoubtedly their new CION 4K\UHD production camera which was being demonstrated for the first time in Europe.

In a market that seems to be swamped with 4K digital cameras, the CION was holding its own and was attracting a lot of interest at the show. And while some people were questioning AJA’s ability to step up into the professional camera market, you have to remember that much of the technology that features inside the CION has been developed by AJA for other 4K products. They have a proven track record with ProRes disc-based recorders and 4K video processing devices. The CION is very much a combination of these technologies with the addition of a CMOS global shutter which can output RAW at up to 120fps.

Another attractive part of the camera’s operation is its non-proprietary design, which opens it up to use with a full range of accessories by all manufacturers, according to the needs of the production.

For example, although it will ship with a PL lens mount, it can accommodate all other types, including EF. Where I believe AJA have an edge in 38 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

this industry space is that they have a 4K/ UHD workflow solution incorporating the CION with their Kona4 and IO-4K capture and playback devices as well as their 4K mini-convertors for monitoring and downconversion to HD and 2K resolutions.

Those of us who remember the nightmares in early adoption of HD will appreciate just how valuable a tried and trusted 4K workflow is. Here you have an end-to-end solution that doesn’t suffer from the pitfalls of having to try and integrate third party products.

As far as Kona4 is concerned AJA announced that the video and audio I/O card had been upgraded to support the latest versions of Adobe video applications in Adobe Creative Cloud, enabling Adobe users to take advantage of the card’s capacities in managing 4K, UHD, 2K and HD. These features will be available to more users than ever as it has now been released to retail, having previously been available only to AJA’s third-party developers.

The versatile FS1-X frame synchroniser and converter also received a package of major upgrades to better enable its integration of video and audio in broadcast, mobile and post-production environments. Stereo mixdown from 5.1 and 7.1 sources, MADI audio support and reverse telecine conversion will now all be easier and produce better results with the FS1-X.

The Foundry Our friends at The Foundry had opted not to exhibit at the actual show but had booked a suite at the nearby Okura Hotel to demonstrate the latest developments to their VFX, editorial and 3D modeling software. Much like at NAB earlier this year, artists are following the development of Nuke Studio very closely as it promises to deliver a whole new level of collaborative creativity. The post industry finds itself facing severe

challenges in terms of meeting tight deadlines on diminishing budgets with out sacrificing creativity. Nuke Studio is really about meeting these challenges by offering a complete editorial and VFX solution that incorporates extensive multi-user project and media sharing.

Scheduled for release later this year, Nuke Studio is undoubtedly going to solve a lot of the headaches facing today’s post-production houses.

Autodesk Not to be out-done, Autodesk continued to show off the 2015 release of its flagship Flame Premium editorial, VFX and finishing suite. Again, the emphasis is on collaboration and by off-loading some of the more light-weight VFX work onto flare and flame assist stations, allowing flame premium to handle the heavy lifting, complex projects can be finished in record time without compromising the eye-candy that flame has always been synonymous for.

To 4K or not to 4K? But moving away from the actual products on show at the IBC, I got the impression that one of the hot topics that people where debating was, is 4K and UHD a viable broadcast format?

Certainly, from a production and post perspective, 4K and UHD are rapidly becoming the norm, but many broadcasters are still reeling from the impact of having to implement HD as a standard. It was an expensive and complex jump up from SD and many are saying that UHD is perhaps coming too soon after HD and with the Japanese already trialing UHD-2 (or 8K) there is a sentiment that says “maybe we’ll skip UHD for now, and wait for UHD-2 to become a reality.” It was certainly food for thought, and the debate is still going strong. Are consumers ready to invest in

new UHD screens when there is still very little UHD content being generated?

I’m guessing that over 90 per cent of Africa is still trundling along in SD, and there’s no sense of urgency in adopting HD, so do we even need to consider UHD for now? It’s quite a contentious issue which isn’t going to be resolved overnight, and I think we’ll need a few more IBCs before the dust settles on this one.

So while a fair number of the products on show at this year’s IBC were refinements of existing technology, with few groundbreaking developments on display, the exhibition once again proved to offer an invaluable insight into industry trends and directions. Worth every cent in my opinion and even being stuck next to some half-drunk babbler from the north of England for the 11 hour flight to Amsterdam didn’t spoil the experience.

AJA, Foundry and Autodesk Products are available through Touchvision , with Offices based in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

The CION Camera is due to ship early Summer and is available through preferred resellers SBSS in Cape Town and Central Integration in Johannesburg.

Touchvision is the premiere distributor of all digital media and design products from vendors such as AJA, Autodesk, Chaos Group, HP, Apple, Adobe, The Foundry, ToonBoom, Farmers Wife, Maxon, Rhino and more. Our company motto is to provide production professionals with professional tools, supported by professional people, while not compromising on levels of quality or service. If you have a need for a customised, scalable and highly streamlined animation and Visual FX production pipe-line that will ensure that your digital media is successfully managed and controlled, then we have the solution.

More information on AJA http:// www.aja.com/en/products/cion.

2 SAFTA Nominations for best Sound Feature Film 2014 ‘Of Good Report’ & ‘Sleepers Wake’

1 SAFTA Nomination for best Sound Documentary 2014 Norman Catherine ‘Light & Dark’

BOUTIQUE AUDIO POST

BY PROFESSIONALS FOR PROFESSIONALS AS SOUTH AFRICA’S MOST EXPERIENCED AND TECHNICALLY SUPERIOR SOUND ENGINEERS AND PRODUCTION TEAM WE PRODUCE AUDIO CONTENT FOR:

FEATURE FILMS TV BROADCAST SERIES INTERNET CINEMA & DVD/BLURAY

EXPERIENTIAL MEDIA INTERACTIVE PUBLISHING LIVE BANDS GAMING

KWAZI MOJO MEDIA AUDIO POST FACILITIES REPRESENT: KWAZI MOJO STUDIOS • PRODUCE SOUND • THE O • THE SOUNDPATCH • MASONDO MUSIC • CUT & PASTE GENERATION Audio Post Supervision, workflow and creative advice and planing Feature Film Accredited Dolby Digital Mixing & Mastering Theater & DTS 7 State of the art ProTools suites Final Mix 7.1 / 5.1 / Quad / Stereo ADR (Interior & Exterior Dialogue Replacement)

• • • • •

• • • • •

Foley Recording on custom Foley Stage Sound Design Dialogue Edit Networked RAID Server Backup & Offsite Cloud DATA Archive Dedicated DATA wrangling and client IT support

FOR BOOKINGS OR TO DISCUSS SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS CONTACT THE PRODUCTION TEAM ON +27 (0) 11 361 3020

Africacom

|

Unpacking AfricaCom 2014 Taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) from 11 to 3 November 2014, AfricaCom is now in its 17th year. AfricaCom is Africa’s largest communications conference and exhibition.

The conference programme covers the most strategic issues affecting companies in Africa’s digital market – services, efficiency, profitability, customer experience, partnerships, policy and more.

A

s more and more mobile phones are taken up across the continent and we increasingly engage and transact in a digital world, it stands to reason there is more and more data being generated. But, what to do with it?

AfricaCom 2014 will address this subject through two key streams:‘cloud’ and ‘big data.’

Knowing how to analyse the data retrieved through a myriad of transactions in order to serve users’ specific information, which results in a desired response, is both an art and a science.

This is now a business in its own right and involves sophisticated software systems that can take the bytes of data, process them quickly and dispatch them with the objective of acquiring targets.

Whether we like it or not, we are all a part of the matrix. A swiped credit card, any form of payment (other than cash), is

40 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

BITS AND BYTES: Scenes from the 2013 edition of AfricaCom recorded. Personal details, likes and dislikes and even habits, are all on file, somewhere. For marketers and brands alike, big data is an incredible opportunity to increase sales. Big data can serve huge amounts of selected data to billions of people at exceptional speeds. It influences everyday purchase decisions, but its the ability to keep up to date with the fast evolving developments in this field that will classify the winners and the losers of the information age.

Storing this data presents another opportunity and the ‘cloud’ that is slowly covering Africa is an ideal place to begin.

But ‘cloud’ is much more than just a storage place. The provision of cloudbased computer services linked to ‘businesses on the go’ is helping to drive entrepreneurship in both established and emerging markets. Fuelled by necessity, the quickest uptake in cloud services is coming from the SME sector, however enterprise is beginning to sit up and take notice of the many benefits and cost savings of migrating to a more flexible and efficient infrastructure.

However, there are still questions around security of the information stored in the cloud and the need for the telcos and cloud service providers to work together in order to maximise the customer experience and help grow economies.

AfricaCom, as the African continent’s single largest digital ecosystem conference and exhibition, continues to provide a platform and environment where these issues, can be debated, challenged and resolved. Considering that both the ‘cloud’ and ‘big data’ affect just about each and every person on the planet, it’s probably best to discover why and how to get the most out of it.

Mobile money Another hot topic at AfricaCom 2014 is mobile money. In the past 12 months, the African continent has seen an exponential increase in the number of ‘mobile money’ transacting and payment solutions. For the unbanked on the African continent – which remain the majority – ‘mobile money’ solutions have given access to mCommerce, which has in turn, opened up major economic opportunities. mTrade is alive, well and flourishing and is a key factor in the ‘Africa rising’ era. mCommerce embraces the full gamut of mobile payments, mobile retail and mobile banking and is ideally suited to Africa with its vast geographical challenges, as discovered by the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) who were the first to lead the charge. Because they are not ‘banks’ carrying heavy infrastructure costs and overheads, they have been able to keep transactions costs reasonable levels and can adapt quicker to market conditions. With Africa still the world’s fastest growing mobile phone market – one in 10 people have a mobile device of some description – it is no wonder that traditional banks across the continent are quickly developing their own mobile money solutions.

With innovative technology developers– like TrustPay – leading the way in settlement and remittance by integrating a multitude of traditional and non-traditional payment methods, both operators and banks are also now poised to take advantage of the growth in mobile marketing that is also spreading across the continent. Mobile marketing is not restricted to smartphone users and as a result, feature phone owners who are already used to mobile payment solutions

for purchasing airtime and transferring money are now fully engaged in searching for information, and buying and selling goods through their mobiles.

However, because the industry is evolving so rapidly, there are a number of developments that need to be addressed, regulated and taken account of. Now that the mCommerce and eCommerce sectors are reaching critical mass, it is going to be vital for all stakeholders – consumers too – to engage with one another so that everyone in the food chain benefits and the sector continues to be sustainable.

AfricaCom 2014 is the prime event for these discussions and debates to take place. Topics at Mobile Money 2014 – the third stream within AfricaCom – will include:• •

•

•

•

•

•

•

Assessing the m-money market drivers and barriers in Africa.

Examining the various business models for mobile payments and mobile banking.

Understanding the mobile money ecosystem and the role of the various stakeholders.

How mobile money services fit within mobile operators’ strategies.

Regulating the m-money market: challenges and developments.

Technology developments and standardisation to deliver mobile money services.

New developments in the mobile money transfer and international remittance market.

Opportunities in contactless payments and NFC.

We Deliver the Best Experience in the Industry Intelsat connects your content to the largest number of viewers.

Intelsat’s exclusive Video Neighborhoods place your content on the most in-demand satellites among top media and telecom providers. And, our next generation satellite platform will combine high-throughput spot beams for content regionalization and targeting, with our wide beam neighborhoods for mass audience coverage – that’s Intelsat EpicNG. Intelligent design developed specifically for your growth and your bottom line – you must agree, is an epic experience.

Meet with Intelsat during Africa Com 2014 at Stand E6.

www.intelsat.com/media

Envision. Connect. Transform.

New Media

|

Staying ahead of the digital curve Creative thought leaders who participated in the British Council’s Connect ZA Creative Futures event share insights on how to curate, connect and capitalise in a new age of business.

C

onducting business in the online space is an exciting prospect with endless possibilities for any company or brand. But in a highly competitive environment where consumers are constantly bombarded with content, how do creatives and entrepreneurs insure their voice is heard above a busy, media-saturated sea of online commercial chatter?

Flux Trends’ Nicola Cooper, Creative Nestlings co-founder Dillion Phiri (SA), actor and partnership marketing manager Libby Curley (UK) and artist Gareth Owen Lloyd (UK) share some valuable tips, trends and truths guiding them through this constantly evolving business platform.

Propagate brands from personas The idea of share-ability isn’t a new one when it comes to content, but Nicola Cooper explains how interconnectivity can be applied to more than just pieces of information. By means of mutual online symbiosis, the overlap of social media networks, a person’s personal digital footprint and an associated brand can lead to a shift in focus for an audience of consumers.

Flux Trends was able to expand and build an audience by making good use of owner, trend analyst and design consultant Dion Chang’s public persona and strong online following. “From his Twitter following we were able to redirect the attention of a big audience from a sole person to a brand, and from there we could start expanding,” says Cooper.

42 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

“Allowing individuals to be voyeurs in our lives builds brand awareness. My followers get insight into the life I have and what I do for a living.”

Thrive on low investment The perception that creating a brand online needs to be an expensive or time-consuming exercise is somewhat of a myth, dispelled by Gareth Owen Lloyd who admits he spent months designing an elaborate website to showcase his art.

The artist shares his thoughts in retrospect: “The beauty of Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter is that you don’t need expensive branding – you can take a crappy picture, yellow wash it and make it look like a professional photograph.

Skip the web design and go straight to Tumblr or a similar low investment platform where you can showcase high quality content.”

Exude quiet confidence Content communication is a massively powerful tool – it keeps the conversation between brand and consumer alive, it can create brand loyalty and ultimately, it affects sales. But according to Libby Curley, it’s hard nowadays to cut through the clutter and give a brand the right kind of attention.

“On average a person is exposed to 3 500 adverts in different forms of media, a day. It’s a growing space that is becoming completely saturated, and so maybe it’s not about trying to shout the loudest, but rather speak quietly in a way which completely resonates with your

CREATIVE GATHERING: Creative Futures Business in the Digital Age session audience. Brands want to talk to their consumers truthfully and you can only do that if you know exactly who your audience is – back to front, inside out,” says Curley.

Accessibility to creation For an artist like Lloyd the emergence of ground-breaking technology such as 3D printing and free design software has facilitated a convergence of digital and reality. He explains a new phenomenon called the flip-flop effect: “Flip-flop is the blending of digital and real experiences.

For example an artist can take a 3D scan of a sculpture, add design elements to the sculpture using software, and 3D print the recreated artwork. There’s also a trend of dub-step YouTube videos where dancers are shooting videos of themselves dancing, and then slowing their moves down using software. The dance is then re-choreographed using the slow-mo moves and uploaded to YouTube showing a completely different effect.”

Hybrid consumers In the retail space, online interactivity is playing a significant role in the way consumers behave. Whether using applications like WhatsApp to send peers pictures of themselves in a particular outfit or browsing Amazon for competitive prices, technology is becoming more and more an integral part of a buyer’s shopping experience. Similarly, brands are devising digital promotion mechanics to meet this growing need.

Curley says: “Brands are beginning to use geo-targeting as a way to speak to their audience. In London, if you are a certain distance away from a store, they have the technology to locate and communicate with you about real-time special offers or sales.”

Content creation and curation “A big conversation is the death of the artist,” says Lloyd, “Today content which is being made by non-artists or unknowns is far more interesting. The key is to find really interesting content and make it easily accessible. The world needs more curators.”

Further to this Lloyd describes a lag in relevance in respect to the content put out by creatives who are too involved in the digital realm. “There’s an influential problem at the moment. I watch trends and with click farms and content farms readily available on the net, filled with content which is made in order to be retweeted, artists are coming in a bit late.

Because of how viral content works, they are becoming less and less aware of what’s fresh and relevant out there.

There’s a need for artists and filmmakers to break away from this content cycle and the internet. Go outside.

Go places.”

Influencers and innovators The use of digital influencers is important to brand awareness, but Cooper warns that there is a fine line to be drawn between what is curated, what should be seen and what is oversharing. “With innovators and influencers, you have to choose them wisely. You have to be clear about what makes you as a brand, different.”

Dillion Phiri has another take on the idea of online brand ambassadors and explains: “We all have influence in how we react about anything. We don’t realise how influential we even are. Influence is not about an individual, it’s about a community and collaborating with a following of people who can all be influencers to your brand.”

– Carly Barnes

| Box Office

Figures supplied by SAFACT

Revenge is the dish best served at the SA box office South Africa’s biggest box office earners this month appealed to the audience’s taste for getting even.

Planes: Fire & Rescue

Lucy In its fifth week at SA cinemas, this sciencefiction/action film starring Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman garnered R1 016 046, bringing total local gross earnings to R12 655 708. Directed, written and edited by French director Luc Besson and distributed by United International Pictures, Lucy received positive critical reviews internationally for its intriguing themes and visuals, with Johansson also winning praise for her performance.

Equally enjoyable for adults as it is for kids, Planes: Fire & Rescue was the top earner at the local box office in its first week of release – proving that sequels can match if not better their originals.

Directed by animation heavyweight Roberts Gannaway, Disney’s new comedy-adventure presents viewers with more jokes, more action sequences and even better animation. Played at 103 cinemas locally, the film brought in R2 445 931 in its debut weekend.

The Maze Runner Based on the first book in the science fiction trilogy by James Dashner, The Maze Runner stars Dylan O’Brien – of MTV Teen Wolf fame – as one of a group of boys living in isolation, trapped by an enormous, moving concrete maze. On home soil, the post-apocalyptic science-fiction flick accumulated R1 689 117 on the weekend of its release, cementing its place in the national top three. Film critics have high hopes for the picture which is distributed by 20th Century Fox, with part II of the trilogy already in production.

The Equalizer

If I Stay

Denzel Washington and director Antoine Fuqua of Training Day reunite for this action packed film based on the 1980s television series of the same name.

Sniping the top spot at the US box office in its opening weekend with US$35 million in earnings, The Equalizer features Washington as a former commando who finds himself in a battle with the Russian mafia. Nationally the film came in at number two in its opening weekend, grossing R1 956 534 with 72 prints.

Based on the novel of the same name

by Gayle Forman, If I Stay is a romantic drama directed by R. J. Cutler. Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, the film earned R387 711 at the local box office in its second week since its release, a 25% decrease in earnings on opening weekend. If I Stay received mixed reviews both locally and internationally, with cumulative local box office earnings sitting at R1 314 194.

Let’s Be Cops The comedy Lets Be Cops, distributed locally by Times Media Group, drops three spots to number seven in its third week at South African cinemas. The film stars Damon Wayans Jr. and Jake Johnson, and earned R1 948 036 in the three weeks since its nation-wide release.

– Compiled by Chanelle Ellaya

October 2014 | SCREENAFRICA | 43

PR ODU CT IO N

UPDATES FOR FURTHER DETAILS VISIT www.screenafrica.com

Those productions in red are newly listed this month Production Updates Order of Information 1. Title 2. Production company 3. Director 4. Genre

IN DEVELOPMENT

Unit C5 RobeRtville Mini FaCtoRies 255 nadine stReet RobeRtville RoodepooRt 1709

Small ads 09-14* 9/23/14 9:29 AM Page 1 C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY CMY

Composite

general post editors, animators compositors, digitisers researchers, storyboard supplying the finest artists & illustrators freelance post-production writers, directors & creative crew to the post production film and television industry supervisors, workflow consultants, broadcast designers’ producers location producers cameramen office: 0860 111 553 technical directors after hrs: 076 225 9173 content directors & bookings@generalpost.co.za production managers

www.generalpost.co.za

44 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

K

69 BODIES/SHARPEVILLE Tamol Media Prod: Thabang Molibeli Feature 80 MINUTES Periphery Films Dir: Simon Taylor / Julia Taal Feature Are Aganeng/Asakhaneni Michics Global Communications Exec Prod: Mishack Motshweni Talk Show A Bank in Krugersdorp (Working Title) Panda Broadcast Prod: Sam Groenewald Feature Film A LION IN THE BEDROOM Two Oceans Production Prod: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature AT THE CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE Zen Crew Prod: Laura Tarling Documentary BREAD AND WATER Periphery Films Dir: Simon Taylor / Julia Taal Feature Documentary BIG FRIEND LITTLE FRIEND Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker TV movie Camping Two Oceans Productions Prod: Giselher Venzke/Bertha Spieker Feature CAPE OF GOOD HOPE Two Oceans Production Prod: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature CHILDREN OF FAMOUS ACTIVISTS Current Affairs Films Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman Feature CINDERELLA Two Oceans Productions Prod: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature Cybervisions Writer:Tawanda Murimirwa Completed Sci-Fi Screenplay DE BRAZZAVILLE A JOHANNESBURG Site et Sons Media Productions Dir/ Writer: Elvis Nkosi Producer: Zamo Missie Feature Film DIE VERHAAL VAN RACHELTJIE DE BEER Nostalgia Productions Prod: Brett Michael Innes Feature Die Vervoerder Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Prod: Jarrod de Jong Feature ENTREPRENEURS Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Magazine

ESCAPE Current Affairs Films Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman / Beata Lipman Feature EX PATS Current Affrairs Films / French Connection Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman Series FISTS OF FURY P.I.M.P Dir/Prod: Daniel P Nxumalo Feature Future Legends Phoenix Entertainment and Productions Prod: Koketso Sefanyetso TV Magazine Izinyembezi Zami Inhlakanipho Films Dir: Vusi Nhlapo Feature Film HEAVEN – AFRICA 2 Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker Feature HHOLA HHOLA Vuleka Productions Prod: Julie Frederikse Feature High School Modeling Michics Global Communications Exec Prod: Mishack Motshweni Feature HOEHLENMENSCH Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker TV movie HOTEL SONGOLOLO The Media Workshop Dir: Benito Carelsen Series HOUSE OF ENCOURAGEMENT Panache Video Productions Dir/Prod: Liesel Eiselen Corporate IN SILENCE & IN TEARS Alternative Cinema Prod: Ikechukwu Omenaihe Feature ISIHLOBO ESIHLE Dogg Bite Entertainment Dir/Prod: Siphiwe Dominic Mpanza Documentary IZINJA ZAMI P.I.M.P Dir/Prod: Daniel P Nxumalo Feature JIVA Tamol Media Prod: Thabang Molibeli Feature KING SEKHUKHUNE / EVERYONE’S LAND Sukuma Media Prod: Leonard Sekhukhune / Bonginhlanhla Ncube Feature Film LEKKERKAMPPLEKKE Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Prod: Jarrod de Jong Variety MONDAY MAN Tincup.tv Dir/Prod: Matt Torode Mini Series MANCHE, THE AFRICAN SAINT Get the Picture Prod/Dir: Jacky Lourens / Fiona Summers Documentary M/A/N/D/E/L/A P.I.M.P Dir/Prod: Daniel P Nxumalo Feature

NIXEN ALARM Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker TV movie NONGOLOZA/ THE BLOOD KING AND THE RED DRAGON Current Affairs Films Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman / Mtutuzeli Matshoba Feature Ntomb’khona Sibongokuhle Media and Entertainment Prod/Dir: Sakhile Lushaba Corporate On the spot Karabo Shaun Productions Dir: Gugu Mbatha Film Oscar Pistorius Synergy Prod: Jane Thandi Lipman Documentary PALACE OF THE FAITHLESS White Heron Pictures Dir: Themba Sibeko Feature PARADISE Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker TV movie PASSARES (BIRDISH) White Heron Pictures / Casa De Criacao Cinema Prod: Themba Sibeko Feature Pippie se Towerkombuis Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Prod: Jarrod de Jong Variety Ponte Nostalgia Productions/ Black Irish Productions Prod: Jamie Ramsay/Brett Michael Innes Feature PROTECTION ORDER P.I.M.P Dir/Prod: Daniel P Nxumalo Feature Rachel Weeping Nostalgia Productions Prod: Johan Kruger/ Brett Michael Innes Feature Rockville Season 3 Ferguson Films Prod: Bobby Heaney TV Series SARAH GRAHAM: BITTEN 2 Okuhle Media Dir: Chris Lotz Series Sea Monster Triggerfish Animation Studios Dir: Anthony Silverston Animated Feature SEBOKENG MPA (Motswako) Dir: Charls Khuele / Zuko Nodada Feature Sin Bin Diamond Hill / Engage Entertainment / Coco TV Prod: Sisanda Henna / Stephen Lorenzo Documentary SNAP Jujuma Entertainment International Prod: Cyril Dupout Feature SOWETO SINDERELLA P.I.M.P Dir/Prod: Daniel P Nxumalo Feature The Dandelion ShootAway Production Prod: Patrick Walton Drama

PRODUCTION THE DREADED EVIL EYE FROM PAST TO PRESENT AND ACROSS CULTURES Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Documentary The Exchange Engage Entertainment Prod: Stephen Lorenzo Feature THE GIFT Ferguson Films Prod: Shona and Connie Ferguson, Bobby Heaney TV Feature Film THE GREAT KAROO Current Affairs Films/ White Pine Pictures Prod: Jane Lipman Series THE HITCHERS: A GHOST STORY Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Short Film The Mountain of the Night Nostalgia Productions Prod: Herman Mabizela/ Brett Michael Innes Feature The Norwegian Brothers (Working Title) Panda Broadcast Prod: Sam Groenewald Feature Film The Reggies Rush Nostalgia Productions Prod: Brett Michael Innes Feature The Sales Lab Time Frame TV Prod: Vanessa Yelseth, Jasmyn Asvat Series TIENERWERELD Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Prod: Jarrod de Jong Variety UMASHONISA P.I.M.P Dir/Prod: Daniel P Nxumalo Feature WAY TWO ROLL Way To Roll Pictures Dir: Freddie Strauss Feature Welcome To Art Michics Global Communications Exec Prod: Mishack Motshweni TV Series Westgate Shopping Mall attack (Working Title) Media Village Productions Prod: Diane Vermooten Documentary Zakouma Two Oceans Productions Prod: Giselher Venzke/ Bertha Spieker Feature ZEN FILM CREW MANAGEMENT ZEN Film Crew Management Prod / Dir: Laura Tarling Commercial

IN PRE-PRODUCTION

ABLAND PROPERTY DEVELOPERS FC Hamman Films Dir: FC Hamman Marketing Video Alex on 7th Xcut Studios Dir: Engelbert Phiri Documentary ATTACHMENT PARENTING Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Insert BIG BROTHER ANGOLA Endemol South Africa Prod: Terja Beney, Llonka Geudes Reality

CASE Tamol Media Thabang Molibeli Short Film De Brazzaville a Johannesburg Site et Sons media productions Dir: Elvis Nkosi Feature Film Die Laaste Ure: Inconnu French Film Festival Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Producer: Jarrod de Jong Short film DISHONEST Inhlakanipho Films Dir: Vusi Nhlapo Feature Film Domestic Bliss 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myers Advertising Funder Project EL ELJON PROJECTS FC Hamman Films Director: FC Hamman Marketing Video ESPAFRIKA PRESENTS THE CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL 2014 ESPafrika Prod/Dir: Rashid Lombard / Yana Lombard / John Bright Documentary GENERATION FREE Okuhle Media Dir: Jemima Spring Series GENiAS Khinc Studios Dir: Khalid EL – Jelailati Feature Film GRIZMEK Two Oceans Production Prods: Giselher Venzke / Bertha Spieker TV Movie HIDDEN HOLOCAUST IN THE DUNES: GENOCIDE IN NAMIBIA Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Series LOVE MORE: POLYAMORY IN SOUTH AFRICA Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Series MARRY ME IN MZANZI Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Series PHOENIX RISING...

THE BUSINESS OF STYLE SEASON 2 Phoenix Entertainment and Production Prod/Dir: Koketso Sefanyetso Reality SEATBELT MEDIC FC Hamman Films Dir: FC Hamman Commercial SLENDER WONDER INFORMATION VIDEO Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Information Video SOCIAL WORKER Tamol Media Thabang Molibeli Short film STICKS+STONES (Working Title) Fireworx Media/ Tunc Prodcutions Prod: Bridget Pickering Telenovela THE MESSENGER Footprint Media TV Prod: Annalise Van Rensburg Series Unashamedly Ethical Media Village Productions Prod: Diane Vermooten Awards and Gala Evening WHILE YOU WEREN’T LOOKING Out in Africa Dir: Catherine Stewart Feature

U PDAT ES

WHIPLASH Get the Picture Prod/Dir: Jacky Lourens / Meg Rickards Feature WORKERSLIFE NETWORK MARKETING FC Hamman Films Director: FC Hamman Marketing Video

IN PRODUCTION A CALENDAR OF EVENTS – MEDUPI & KUSILE Betta Beta Communications Prod: Tommy Doig Documentary A MAN OF HIS OWN PRINCIPALS Sekgopha Productions Prod: Buhle Mofulatsi / Thapelo Hlagala TV movie 3 TALK Urban Brew Talk Show 20 and Free X CON Films Dir: Munier Parker Documentary 50/50 Clive Morris Productions Current Affairs 53 EXTRA M-Net Inhouse Productions Dir: Navan Chetty Magazine AFRICA 360 eNews News Head: Patrick Conroy Current affairs AFRO CAFÉ SEASON 7 Bonngoe Productions Prod: Pepsi Pokane Music ArtsCulturex Talent 1000 Championships Michics Global Communications Exec Prod: Mishack Motshweni Series Auditor General Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Brad Montgomery/Natalie Varoy Corporate BIG BROTHER MZANSI Endemol South Africa Prod: Terja Beney, Liza Kleitman Reality BINNELAND Stark Films Prod/Dir: Friedrich / Elsje Stark Series BODA BODA THIEVES Switch Films Prod: James Tayler Feature BRAVO! Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Magazine BONISANANI Grounded Media Talk Show Bugatti Together Lucky Fish Productions Dir: Raphaël Crombez Commercial CARTE BLANCHE (INSERTS) Modern Times Prod: Sophia Phirippides News Carte Blanche shorts TIA productions Prod / Dir: Tarryn Lee Crossman News CLASH OF THE CHOIRS Endemol South Africa Prod: Josh Feldman Talent / Reality COOL CATS Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Cecil Berry Children’s Show CORTEX MINING FC Hamman Films Prod Man: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video

Cnr. Frost avenue & owl street | Milpark | Jo’burg t +27 [11] 482 7111

www.atlasstudios.co.za

Small ads 09-14* 9/23/14 9:29 AM Page 2 C

COME DINE WITH ME SOUTH Composite

AFRICA Rapid Blue Prod: Kee-Leen Irvine Reality CUTTING EDGE SABC News Current Affairs Debra Deel Khaki Productions Prod/Dir: Christelle Parrott, Wynand Dreyer Series DINNER DIVAS 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myers Series Ditokelo tsa Medupi LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature

M

Y

CM

MY

CY CMY

K

DIY MET RIAAN Prod: Riaan Venter-Garforth Magazine EARTH BEAT Tekweni TV Productions Prod: Sandra Herrington Series EASTERN MOSAIC Red Carpet Productions Prod: Saira Essa / Mark Corlett Magazine END GAME Fireworx Media/ Tunc Productions Prod: Bridget Pickering Dir: Akin Omotoso/ Thandie Brewer/ Thabang Moleya Feature EXPRESSO (Season 2) Cardova Prod: Paul van Deventer Series

October 2014 | SCREENAFRICA | 45

PR ODU CT IO N

UPDATES

1464 Vragboot Steet Cnr Vooraadskip Streets Laserpark, Honeydew

Small ads 09-14* 9/23/14 9:29 AM Page 3 C

Composite howard

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

M

Y

music SACA ADVERT_bold.pdf

1

SERVICES INCLUDE • FINAL MIX • SOUND DESIGN • COMPOSING & ARRANGING • MUSICAL DIRECTION FOR CORPORATE EVENTS

ADDRESS Ministry Of Illusion, Block A, 4 on Anslow Office Park, Cnr Anslow & Berkley Avenues, Bryanston, JHB 2021.

CONTACT www.howardmusic.co.za +27 (0)72 994 9695 +27 (0)11 463 8538 adam@howardmusic.co.za 46 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

CM

MY

CY CMY

9/13/11

K

11:18 AM

FACE OF GEMINI Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Series Facility Management Lectures (A4FM) Panache Video Productions Dir/ Prod: Liesel Eiselen Educational Faith Today Impact Christian Media Prod: Carl Schultz TV Series FOX NEWS CHANNEL Betta Beta Communications Prod/Dir: Tommy Doig News Free State Tourism Indaba Our Time Productions Dir: Jaun de Meillon Corporate FRENZY Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Morena Sefatsa Variety GENERATIONS Morula Pictures Prod: Mfundi Vundla Series GOOD MORNING AFRICA Planet Image Productions SA Prod/Dir: Wale Akinlabi Magazine GOSPEL GOLD Engage Entertainment Prod: Sthembile Mhlongu Music Got It Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate GROEN Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Wildlife Had Better Days Uniquely Novel Productions Prod/Dir: Deon VD Merwe Feature Film HECTIC 99 Okuhle Media Prod: Wilna van Schalkwyk Magazine HITACHI POWER AFRICA MEDUPI AND KUSILE Betta Beta Communications Prod/Dir: Tommy Doig Documentary HOUSE CALL Izwe Multimedia / Urban Brew Prod: Annalie Potgieter Talk Show IGNITE Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Reality IHAWU LE SISWE Provoke Entertainment Dir: Sechaba Morojele TV Series iParent training clips Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate IMIZWILILI Ukhamba Productions Prod: Alfred Mpofu Music INKABA Urban Brew Studios Prod: John Kani Telenovela In search of our own Open Window school of film arts Prod: Adriaan De la Rey Documentary ISIDINGO Endemol South Africa Prod: Pumla Hoppa, Leo Phiri Soap JOU SHOW Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Talkshow comedy KOKKEDOOR 2 Homebrew films Prod: Jaco Loubser and Paul Venter Cooking reality series

KOLLIG Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Magazine KONA The Directors Team (Pty) Ltd Prod/Dir: Laurence Lurie / Cathy Sykes Series KOOLCON CORPORATE VIDEO FiX Post Production/ Marketing AV Marketing Video KWELA Pieter Cilliers Productions Prod/Dir: Pieter Cilliers Magazine LATE NITE NEWS ON E.TV Diprente Productions Prod: Tamsin Andersson Series Light Girls South African Unit White Heron Pictures Prod: Themba Sibeko Documentary LIVE Urban Brew Music LIVE LOTTO SHOW Urban Brew Game Show Mandela’s Gun DV8 films Dir: John Irvin Feature Marang Estate: Mixed Used Development Nov/ Dec Our Time Productions Dir: Jaun de Meillon Documentary MASHELENG1 LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature MASHELENG 2 LMOL Production Dir: Jonny Muteba Feature MASSMART CSI REPORT SummerTime Productions Prod/Dir: Roxanne Rolando / Sean Gardiner Corporate Video MassTalk Global Access Creative Agency Prod: Brad Montgomery Corporate MATRICS UPLOADED Educational Improvement and Study Help (EISH) Prod: Lisa Blakeway Educational MILLIONAIRES Two Oceans Production Prod: Giselher Venzke/Bertha Spieker Feature MOTSWAKO Carol Bouwer Productions Prod: Grant Paul Roy Talk Show MCA Training Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Guy Sclanders Corporate MUVHANGO Word of Mouth Prod: Pieter Grobbelaar Feature MY GENERATION Current Affairs Films Dir: Jane Lipman TV Series My name is Funeka Sabido Productions Dir/Prod: Catherine Rice Documentary MZANSI INSIDER Bonngoe Productions Prod: Pepsi Pokane Magazine NET1 – SASSA Betta Beta Communications Prod: Tommy Doig Corporate NEWS NIGHT eNews Prod: Nikiwe Bikitsha Current Affairs

Oscar Pistorius Documentary Inserts TIA Productions Dir/ Prod: Tarryn Crossman Documentary PASELLA Tswelopele Productions Dir: Liani Maasdorp / Werner Hefer Magazine PAWN STARS SOUTH AFRICA Rapid Blue Prod: Kee-Leen Irvine, Ed Worster, Johan Naude and Kat Weatherall Reality M-NET SHORT FILMS Current Affairs Films Prod/ Dir: Jane Thandi Lipman Film POWER COMBAT ZONE Mixed Motion Entertainment Dir: Dieter Gottert Sport PROJECT MV Zen Crew Prod: Laura Tarling Music Rands with Sense 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myers Education RHYTHM CITY Quizzical Pictures Prod: Yula Quinn Soap RHYTHM CITY INTERACTIVE Quizzical Pictures / e.tv Prod: Viva Liles-Wilkin Interactive Platform Media RIVONINGO Asi-B Films Prod: Asivhanzi ‘Asi’ Mathaba Children’s Show ROCKING FUTURE SummerTime Productions Prod: Sean Gardiner / Tanya Vandenberg Educational Video ROLLING WITH KELLY KHUMALO Red Pepper Prod: Cecil Barry Reality ROOTS Ukhamba Communications Prod: Alfred Mpofu Music SAINT AND FREEDOM FIGHTER Blue Marble Entertainment Dir: Eugene Botha Documentary SA Top Model for a Day Michics Global Communications Exec Prod: Mishack Motshweni TV Series SAKEGESPREK MET THEO VORSTER SEASON 5 Dirk Mostert Camera Production Prod/ Dir: Dirk Mostert Series SAUBA Imagofilm Prod: Tam de Vries Reality TV Series Shreds and Dreams Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant TV Series SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM Rapid Blue Prod: Kee-Leen Irvine Global TV Commercial SA’S GOT TALENT Rapid Blue Prod/Dir: Kee-Leen Irvine Talent show SCANDAL Ochre Moving Pictures Prod: Romano Gorlei Soap SCHOEMAN BOERDERY – MOOSRIVIER Khaki Productions Prod/Dir: Christelle Parrott / Wynand Dreyer Documentary SELIMATHUNZI Sikhoyana Productions Prod: Baby Joe Correira Variety

PRODUCTION SHIZ NIZ Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Allen Makhubele Variety SHIFT Urban Brew Talk show SISTERHOOD Red Pepper Pictures Prod: Andy Leze Variety SIYAKHOLWA – WE BELIEVE X CON Films Dir: Munier Parker Edutainment Slender Wonder Doctors Conference Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Prod: Slender Wonder Corporate Video Slender Wonder Patient Testimonial Videos Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Corporate Videos SOCCER ZONE SABC Sports Head: Sizwe Nzimande Magazine SODA AND Mayoral Awards Global Access Creative Agency Guy Sclanders Corporate STUDY MATE Educational Improvement and Study Help (EISH) Exec Prod: Lisa Blakeway Educational THE CHAT ROOM Eclipse Prod: Thokozani Nkosi Talk Show THE COMMUNIST REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA Jam TV, Creative South Africa, Nkhanyeti Production Prod: Barthelemy Ngwessam Documentary THE JUSTICE FACTOR eNews Prod: Debbie Meyer Current Affairs THE REAL GOBOZA 7 Urban Brew Entertainment The Revolution Betrayed Shadow Films Prod/Dir: David Forbes Documentary THE RUDIMENTALS Periphery Films Prod: Simon Taylor Feature THE TECH REPORT Homebrew Films Prod: Jaco Loubser Technology Magazine TOP BILLING Tswelopele Productions Prod: Patience Stevens Magazine TOP TRAVEL (Season 3) Cardova Prod: Bradley van den Berg Series Transnet Financial Results Global Access Creative Agency Dir: Brad Montgomery Corporate Troopship Tragedy (Working Title) Sabido Productions Prod/Dir: Marion Edmunds Documentary TSHIPE BORWA MANGANESE MINE Betta Beta Communications Prod / Dir: Tommy Doig Documentary Vaseline Experience Xcut Studios Dir: Lee Anne Theron 4D AV production VILLA ROSA Spectro Productions Dir: Luhann Jansen / Andries van der Merwe/ Leroux Botha/ Isabel Smit Series

Volkspele South Africa Grey Cloud Productions Dir: Jacques Brand Prod: Bertie Brink Documentary WARD 22 TIA Productions Prod/Dir: Tarryn Crossman Documentary WEEKEND AM LIVE SABC News Current Affairs YILENGELO LAKHO Prod: Nndanganeni Mudau Current Affairs ZOOM IN Footprint Media TV Prod: Cheryl Delport Talk Show

IN POST-PRODUCTION A BUSHMAN ODYSSEY Onetime Films Prod: Richard Wicksteed Documentary A DIFFERENT COUNTRY Sabido Productions Dir: Lisa Henry Documentary series A Love Letter to Luxor Shadow Films Prod/Dir: David Forbes Short Film AFROX CO2 PLANT FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video AFROX FINANCIAL RESULTS FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video AFROX RAU INSIGHT FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video AFROX SHEQ INDUCTION FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Commercial Challenge SOS 2 Blonds and a Redhead Filming Prod: Anne Myers Reality Collide Media Village Productions Prod: Ardeen Munnik TV Series DEBRA DEEL Khaki Productions Prod: Christelle Parrott TV Series FORMIDABELE VROUE: CISSY GOOL Khaki Productions Prod/Dir: Christelle Parrott/ Wynand Dreyer Documentary HOPE NHU Africa Prod: Vyv Simson / Donfrey Meyer Documentary IQILI Impucuzeko Prod: Sharon Kakora Feature THE FLAWED GENIUS OF JAN SMUTS Tekweni TV production Prod/Dir: Sandra Herrington / Neville Herrington Documentary Joyous 18 RM Recording Prod: Lindelani Mkhize Other JULIUS HAS A DREAM Creative South Africa, Nkanyethi Productions,Jam TV Prod: Bathelemy Ngwessam Documentary KADARA Media Navigation Prod: Dan Akinlolu/ Biola Karonwi TV Drama

Kerels wat Kook Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant Reality TV Series KNYSNA West Five Films Prod/ Dir: Maynard Kraak; Andre Velts Feature Film NEW LAND Plexus Films/ Four Corners Media Dir: Kyle O’ Donoghue TV Series NORTHMEN Two Oceans Productions Prod: Giselher Venzke/Bertha Spieker Feature Nyaope Gangsters LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature PERFECT SHISHEBO Quizzical Pictures Prod: Nthabiseng Mokoena Series PLAY MORE GOLF FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Commercials Pushi- Passion LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Series SAFE BET Sukuma Media Producer: Nokuthula Sakhile Mguni / Bonginhlanhla Ncube Feature Film SLENDER WONDER FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video SLENDER WONDER MJ LABS FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video Solo Flight Two Oceans Production Prod: Giselher Venzke/ Bertha Spieker Feature Spud 3: Learning to Fly Rogue Star Films Dir: John Barker Feature SWARTWATER Quizzical Pictures Prod: Bianca Isaac Dir: John Trengove/ Jozua Malherbe/ Denny Y Miller Series SURVIVOR Endemol South Africa Prod: Anton Burggraaf, Josh Feldman Reality The calling LMOL Production Dir: Lizzy Moloto Feature THE CODE BREAKER NHU Africa Prod: Vyv Simson / Donfrey Meyer Documentary THE LAST GREAT TUSKERS NHU Africa Prod: Vyv Simson / Donfrey Meyer Documentary The Lighthouse Run SummerTime Productions Dir: Tanya van den Berg Documentary The Message Reel Edge Studios Dir: David Golden TV Drama Series THE SHORE BREAK Marie-Verite Films and Frank Films Prod: Ryley Grunenwald, Odette Geldenhuys Documentary THE STORY OF LITTLE FOOT Paul Myburgh Film Prod: Paul Myburgh Documentary THE TRANSPORTERS Sukuma Media/ Reality Motion Pictures Dir: Bonginhlanhla Ncube Documentary

U PDAT ES |

UPCOMING EVENTS OCTOBER

8 – 12 Shnit International Short Film Festival

Cape Town www. za.shnit.org

13 – 16 MIPCOM

Cannes, France www.mipcom.com

19 – 24 Wildscreen Film Festival

Bristol, UK www.wildscreenfestival.org

24 – 29 Udada Film Festival

Nairobi, Kenya www.facebook.com/udadafilmfestival/ 24 Pendoring Advertising Awards

Midrand www. afr.pendoring.co.za

23 – 31 Banff Mountain Film Festival

South Africa www.sterkinekor.com

30 – 2 Nov Photo and Film Expo

Johannesburg www.photofilmexpo.com

NOVEMBER 5 – 7 DISCOP Africa 2014

Johannesburg www. discopafrica.com

9 – 16 Africa International Film Festival

Nigeria www.africafilmfest.org

9 – 18 Cairo International Film Festival

Egypt www.cairofilmfest.org

11 – 13 AfricaCom

Cape Town www. africacast-event.com

14 – 15 AFPRO Connect

Johannesburg www. afproconnect.com

19 – 21 Content Everywhere MENA

Dubai www.ibc.org

22 Africa PromaxBDA Conference

Johannesburg www.promaxafrica.tv

25 – 27 Digital Migration and Spectrum

Management Conference

Johannesburg www.bspmediagroup.com

Traffic Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant TV Series TRAILER-MADE JaC Productions & Innovation Films Dir: Jacobus Kriel Feature UNDER THE MOUNTAIN Plexus Films Prod: Miki Redelinghuys,/ Lauren Groenewald Short film Unfriend Two Oceans Production Prod: Giselher Venzke/Bertha Spieker Feature VKB LANDBOU BEPERK FC Hamman Films Prod: Odette van Jaarsveld Corporate Video

When I Was Water Shadow Films Dir: David Forbes Documentary XJ-1 Eternal Film Productions Prod: Marius Swanepoel/ Dana Pretorius Feature You Deserve It Penguin Films Prod: Roberta Durrant TV Game Show

Screen Africa relies on the accuracy of information received and cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions which may occur.

E-mail production updates to: online@screenafrica.com October 2014 | SCREENAFRICA | 47

Social IBC

|

DyVi stand: Dennis Herold (SABC), Philippe van Walle (DyVi), Marius Janse van Rensburg (SABC) and Colin Wainer (Inala Broadcast)

Grass Valley stand: Gary Johnston and Shaun Kerr of Protea Technologies with Vincent Eade of Grass Valley

Media Guru stand: Simon Robinson (Screen Africa), Richie Ebrahim (Media Guru) and Antony Bijsters (Inala Broadcast)

Lebogang Rasethaba and visual tour of Jozi attendees

Visual Jozi tour attendees walking in Maboneng precinct

Creative Futures Tour

Lebogang Rasethaba and Kazim Kazim Kazim walking in Maboneng precinct

Screening of Rainbow Makers – Tribute to the Frontline States

Barbara King and Hlomla Dandala

Richard Pule, John Nyoka, Barbara King, Shaka Sisulu and Anna Stapleton

Zion from Liquideep

Fortune Masina

Pawn Stars SA Media Launch

The cast of Pawn Stars SA

Desiree Pillay and Robyn Smith of MultiChoice

DStv’s Hyede Modise, Liesel Bredenkamp, Zarina Hutchinson, Julie Mcara and Nicky Naidoo

Keeleen Irrine and Liel Rimon of Rapid Blue

Kevin McLaren (DStv), Melissa Cogle (OMD), Alysan Lewis (DStv), Busi Zando (DStv) and Domnic Goliath (DStv)

Nikita Camacho and Steven Mabuudu of DStv

48 | SCREENAFRICA | October 2014

www.kwazulunatalfilm.co.za.

http://pro-av.panasonic.net/en/varicam/35 http://pro-av.panasonic.net/en/varicam/35

Varicam's features. Your creativity.

Varicam's features. Your creativity.

Control Panel with 3.5 type LCD Removable for remote control Menu operation with intuitive GUI Control Panel with 3.5 type LCD Live Preview Removable for remote control Menu operation with intuitive GUI Live Preview

Modular Design Camera module + Recording module + EVF module + Shoulder mount module

Modular Design Camera module + Recording module + EVF module + Shoulder mount module Durable, Ergonomic Body

OLED EVF

Large 38mm eyepiece Optical zoom OLED EVF Quick response Large 38mm Surround vieweyepiece on VF Optical zoom Adjustable position Quick response Surround view on VF Handle / Mounting Holes Adjustable position Rugged and easy to grip Sensor position indication Handle / Mounting Holes 3rd party top plates / handles can be attached Rugged and easy to grip Sensor position indication 3rd party top plates / handles can be attached

Durable aluminum body Well-balanced and low profile design

Durable, Ergonomic Body

Durable aluminum body Well-balanced and low profile design

super35mm 4K Sensor

Item Buttons

Easy access to main setting User assignable button

Item Buttons

Easy access to main setting Rec Buttons button User assignable One at front part of body side, one on control panel

Rec Buttons

One at front part of body side, one on control panel

Newly developed sensor ideal for 4K shooting Wide latitude super35mm 4K Sensor 120fps scanning Newly developed sensor ideal for 4K shooting Wide latitude 120fps scanning Lens Mount

Dailies in Camera Double Recorder / Dailies in Camera Dual Recording Slots for expressP2 card Double Recorder / x2, microP2 card x2 Dual Recording Simultaneous recording in

Cinema standard PL mount Serial interface for lens data Lens Mount Rugged and easy to operate Cinema standard PL mount Serial interface for lens data Rugged and easy to operate

Slots for expressP2 - Different formats :card 4K / x2, microP2 card UHD and 2K x2 / HD Simultaneous recording in - Different codecs : AVC-ULTRA, - ProRes Different formats : 4K / and 2Kfrom / HDV-Log / V-709 / - UHD Selectable - Grading Different codecs : AVC-ULTRA, ProRes -In-Camera Selectable from V-Log / V-709 / Color Grading Grading CDL live grading & 3D LUT upload Color grading by 3rd party software

In-Camera Color Grading

CDL live grading & 3D LUT upload Color grading by 3rd party software

Rear Mount Direct mounting of CODEX V-RAW Recorder Gold / V-mount battery mounting

12-pin Lens Interface

Rear Mount

Direct mounting of CODEX V-RAW Recorder Gold / V-mount battery mounting

12-pin Filters Lens Interface

Multiple Outputs

ND Filter 0.6 / 1.2 / 1.8 Optical Low Pass Filter Filters IR & UV Cut Filter ND Filter 0.6 / 1.2 / 1.8 Optical Low Pass Filter IR & UV Cut Filter

4K SDI output Monitor output x2 Multiple Outputs VF output x1 4K SDI output Monitor output x2 VF output x1

Focus Assist

Advanced functionality for 4K shooting Expand / Focus in Red / Focus Squares

VFR Recording

Focus Assist

Continuous and limitless recording of 4K @ 120fps Variable frame rates from 1-120 VFR Recording Adjustable during recording Continuous and limitless recording of 4K @ 120fps Variable frame rates from 1-120 Adjustable during recording

Advanced functionality for 4K shooting Expand / Focus in Red / Focus Squares

User Buttons

Varicam Look Wide dynamic range 14+ stops of latitude V-Gamut: wide color gamut V-Log: tuned for emotional images Wide range 14+Rec stops V-709:dynamic cinematic tuned 709of latitude V-Gamut: wide color gamut V-Log: tuned for emotional images V-709: cinematic tuned Rec 709

Varicam Look

Big Red Button It feels nice to push it. You know you want to.

Big Red Button

Direct access to up to 10 assignable functions

Shoulder Mount Module

Direct access to up to 10 assignable functions

Shoulder Mount Module

User Buttons

It feels nice to push it. You know you want to.

Adjust position 110mm for perfect fit Adjust position 110mm for perfect fit

Big Logo To make everyone jealous.

Shutter / EI / White Balance Selection

Big Logo

Instant access to frequently adjusted settings

To make everyone jealous.

Shutter / EI / White Balance Selection Instant access to frequently adjusted settings

*Some functions will be available in the near future. *Some functions will be available in the near future.

Create Emotion Create Emotion www.pansolutions.co.za

Contact: Sean Loeve Cell: 083 677 4917 Tel: 011 313 1622