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| IN THIS ISSUE
18 DIRECTOR JUDY NAIDOO TAKES IT BACK TO HER CHILDHOOD IN KINGS OF MULBERRY STREET
6 TELEMEDIA LINKS UP LESOTHO
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28
WHOSE STORY IS IT ANYWAY?
MEDIATECH SHOW REPORT
NEWS |
ADCETERA |
DIGITAL CONTENT |
TRADE SHOWS & EXPOS |
A record-breaking 10th Durban FilmMart................................3
New Nite Jogger campaign from adidas celebrates the creative awakening of the night............................. 10
Facebook series 2De Vrou spotlights issues of polygamy in the Muslim community....................... 22
It’s IBC time again!.................................... 32
The 40th Durban International Film Festival award-winners......................4
Director Speak: Nare Mokgotho........... 12
ADVERTORIAL
New Oliver Hermanus film, Moffie, set to premiere at Venice Film Festival...4
FCB reinvents the Share a Coke campaign with phonetic cans ................ 14
Next generation experiences for local markets....................................... 24
Telemedia links up Lesotho.......................6
The ad industry needs more start-ups............................... 16
INSTALLATIONS |
FILM |
Harambe completes one of Africa’s first IP-based studio installs.................... 26
REGULARS |
MEDIATECH SHOW REPORT |
Social: Mediatech Africa 2019................. 38
Mediatech show report........................... 28
Marketplace................................................ 40
New Movievision showroom officially opened............................................6 The industry joins forces to save some souls......................................7 Realness Institute Confirms Sundance Partnership: Creative Producers Indaba 2020 Launched............8
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Director Judy Naidoo takes it back to her childhood in Kings of Mulberry Street............................ 18 Whose story is it anyway?...................... 20
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STORAGE AND ASSET MANAGEMENT | MediaCloud and Object Matrix bring MatrixStore as a service to Africa........ 34
ANIMATION | Sam the Hedgehog..................................... 36
Upcoming Events...................................... 40
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FROM THE EDITOR
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What an exciting, jam-packed last two months we’ve had here at Screen Africa. The month of July saw us attend and cover the biennial Mediatech Africa – the leading media and entertainment technology trade show in the southern hemisphere, as well as the 40th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) and its concurrent FilmMart. It’s been non-stop networking, premieres and red carpet events for us, but most importantly we’ve enjoyed being a part of the invaluable discussion that has taken place at these leading platforms, on everything that makes our industry what it currently is. I think it goes without saying then that here at Screen Africa, we welcome the somewhat quiet month of August. Let’s get straight into the issue… This month we get behind the scenes of two major campaigns for leading brands, adidas and CocaCola. Gezzy Sibisi spoke to the key individuals involved in the making of these two mammoth campaigns. Head over to our Adcetra section to read all about the creative processes behind the new adidas Nite Jogger spot – conceptualised by creative agency Andpeople and directed by award-winning director Kyle Lewis – and Coca-Cola’s viral Coke Phonetic Can campaign. In our film section, we take a look at awardwinning director Judy Naidoo’s feel-good comedy feature Kings of Mulberry Street. Naidoo enjoyed global critical acclaim with her 2016 thriller Hatchet Hour. Kings of Mulberry Street, though lighter in subject matter, premiered at local cinemas to a positive reception in June this year. Read all about it on pages 18-19. Another interesting addition to the section this month sees journalist Julia Smuts Louw chat to veteran producer Aron Warner (Shrek) about the recently-announced new international division at Sony where two South African projects are on the bill (pages 20-21). Off the back of the recent Mediatech Africa 2019 expo, we’ve put together an exciting post-show report over four pages, featuring comment from various industry giants. Read all about it on pages 28-31. From Africa to Amsterdam, Ian Dormer gives us a peak into what awaits attendees at the much-anticipated IBC Show 2019, taking place from 13 to 17 September at the Rai, Amsterdam. Keep an eye out on the next issue for his annual post-show report. Until next time! Chanelle Ellaya
THE TEAM EDITOR
Chanelle Ellaya is a writer and a journalist. She completed her BA Journalism degree at the University of Johannesburg in 2011. While writing is her passion, she has a keen interest in the media in various capacities. Chanelle is an avid social networker and a firm believer in the power of social and online networking. Between writing and tweeting, she finds time to feed her love for live music.
SUB-EDITOR & FEATURES WRITER David Cornwell writes fiction, films and features for a variety of publications. His debut novel, Like It Matters (Umuzi, 2016), was long-listed for the 2017 Sunday Times Fiction Award and the 9mobile Prize for Best African Debut.
JOURNALISTS
Lara Utian-Preston is a passionately committed marketer and strategist with a focus in promoting African content and events. Two decades of working across Africa have provided her with insights and experience that she puts to work for the projects she manages. In 2006, Lara founded, and still personally manages, Red Flag Content Relations, a full service below-the-line agency that also focuses on African entertainment and lifestyle brand marketing, strategy, and publicity.
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EDITOR: Chanelle Ellaya: editor@screenafrica.com JOURNALISTS: Gezzy S Sibisi: news@screenafrica.com DESIGN: Trevor Ou Tim: design@suncirclegroup.com
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ACCOUNTS: Helen Loots: accounts@sun-circle.co.za ADVERTISEMENT SALES: Marianne Schafer: marianne@screenafrica.com Graham Grier: graham@sun-circle.co.za
Louise Marsland is a veteran editor and journalist with over 20 years experience in the advertising, media, marketing and communications industries. Based in Cape Town, South Africa, she worked as the editor of AdVantage magazine, as well as Bizcommunity. com. She is currently publishing editor of TRENDAFRiCA.co.za.
Ian Dormer was born in Zimbabwe and has been in the TV business since the 1980s, having served in various positions at the SABC, M-Net and SuperSport. Ian currently works and resides in New Zealand.
Gezzy S Sibisi is a journalist and photographer with experience in print, broadcast and digital media. Her portfolio of work includes working as a lifestyle reporter as well as contributing business and education articles to The Times, Sowetan and Daily Despatch publications. As a freelancer she has worked on content development for corporate newsletters, community newspapers, blogs and educational websites.
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A RECORD-BREAKING 10TH DURBAN FILMMART Rounding up a jam-packed four days of master classes, discussions, networking, pitching and forums, the 10th Durban FilmMart (DFM) – the industry development programme of the eThekwini Municipality’s Durban Film Office (DFO) and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) – came to a close on 22 July with its annual awards ceremony, this year held at the Southern Sun Maharani Hotel in Durban, South Africa.
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t the stylish event, Toni Monty, head of the Durban Film Office and the Durban FilmMart, addressed the audience of 300 filmmakers from South Africa, Africa and across the globe, saying, “We have enjoyed a packed programme this year, with a record number of more than 1,000 delegates registered for the DFM, representing 40 countries, 19 of which were from Africa. This year we had 50 projects in our Finance Forum, Talents Durban, Jumpstart, Realness Writers’ Residency and CineFAM programmes, who pitched their film projects in development to potential financiers, filmmakers, producers, partners, festivals, distributors and agents in hundreds of meetings. “As we reach our 10th anniversary this year, we are reminded of the value that the DFM provides the developing African industry,” Monty continued. “The Mart acts as a springboard that enables filmmakers to meet and network, benchmark themselves, gather information and learn. Of course this would not be possible without the support of development organisations, our partner markets and other funding bodies, all of whom we graciously thank. “The DFM would like to acknowledge the eThekwini Municipality, the principal funder of the DFM for its involvement in supporting the market, which has become a vital cog in the engine of making film on the continent.” This year – through the sponsorship of the Industrial Development Corporation and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) – 20 official DFM film projects were pitched at the Finance Forum. Six CineFam Africa television series projects were mentored by
Award winners at the 10th Durban FilmMart (DFM) Caribbean Tales, Canada; Jumpstart (Produire au Sud, France) and the Realness Script Writing Residency hosted scriptwriters’ labs for a total of 10 projects; and HotDocs Canada, together with Don Edkins of Afridocs, mentored 13 documentary projects. Supported by Berlinale Talents and the Goethe-Institut, Durban Talents hosted 18 young filmmakers and three Talents Press. Finally, a number of delegations were hosted including the in-bound delegation from Canada with support from the Canadian High Commission and Telefilm Canada.
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THE AWARDS/GRANTS: • The CineMart Award, sponsored by the co-production market of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, went to the fiction project, Sunflowers in the Dark (Zimbabwe), produced by Ben Mahaka, Tapiwa Chipfupa and directed by Chipfupa. The project is given an opportunity to attend the Rotterdam Lab, a five-day training and networking event for producers from all over the world. • Produire au Sud of Festival des 3 Continents (Nantes)/ IFAS also awarded Sunflowers in the Dark an opportunity to attend its developmental workshop programme, PAS, where they will be given tools, expertise and opportunities to develop European networks. • Carthage Film Festival awarded Pieces of Salma (South Africa), produced by Khosie Dali and David Horler, and directed by Imran
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Hamdulay, the opportunity to participate in their programme in Tunisia. Sørfond awarded the project Mami Wata (Nigeria), produced by Oge Obasi and directed by C.J. Obasi, with the opportunity to pitch at the Sørfond Pitching Forum in Oslo later this year. The NFVF CineFAM-Africa Incubator Accelerator Programme Award of a R50,000 development grant went to Sylvia Vollenhoven for Buckingham Palace. Videovision Entertainment awarded the ‘Best South African Film Project’ to The Bursary (South Africa), produced by Brett Michael Innes and directed by Nomawonga Khumalo. They receive a prize valued at R75,000, which guarantees the film’s release once it is completed. The prize also includes marketing and distribution support from Videovision Entertainment. The Stage 5 Films Award for the ‘Most Promising Narrative’ also went to The Bursary (South Africa). They receive a R50,000 cash prize accompanied by an additional R25,000 worth of script coverage, production support, market analysis and packaging for further finance. Durban FilmMart Talents Award for the Durban Talents Project selected as a project for DFM went to Twelve Pangas directed by Xola Mteto (South Africa). Versfeld & Associates, communications consultants, awarded Those Who Dwell in
Darkness (South Africa), produced by Dolly Mhlongo and Sithabile Mkhize and directed by Michael James; The Home (South Africa), produced by Justin Cohen, Jessie Zinn and Chase Musslewhite and directed by Jessie Zinn and Chase Musslewhite; and the Talents Durban project And Who Will Cook? by Samira Vera-Cruz (Cape Verde) with one-on-one publicity consultations. • The broadcast stream, Afridocs, which shows African and other international documentaries across 49 countries of sub-Saharan Africa on a weekly basis, gave a €2,500 award, funded by the Bertha Foundation, to Kongo is Burning (Uganda/Congo), produced by Ali Musoke and directed by Arnold Aganze. • The DoK Leipzig Award went to Black Women and Sex (South Africa), produced and directed by Godisamang Khunou, who will be given an opportunity to participate in the 2020 DoK Leipzig programme in Germany. • Finally, the Hot Docs Blue Ice Award, a cash prize of 2,000 Canadian dollars, went to the documentary project Kongo is Burning (Uganda/Congo), produced by Ali Musoke and directed by Arnold Aganze. The 10th Durban FilmMart ran from 19-22 July, alongside the 40th Durban International Film Festival which came to a close on 28 July.
– Sharlene Versfeld
“As we reach our 10th anniversary this year, we are reminded of the value that the DFM provides the developing African industry. The Mart acts as a springboard that enables filmmakers to meet and network, benchmark themselves, gather information and learn. Of course this would not be possible without the support of development organisations, our partner markets and other funding bodies, all of whom we graciously thank.
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– Toni Monty
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THE 40TH DURBAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AWARD-WINNERS The 40th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) – which ran from 18-28 July – announced the 2019 winners at its awards ceremony on 23 July at the Tsogo Sun Elangeni Hotel in Durban, South Africa.
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inners were selected after three jury teams, made up of industry leaders from across the globe, deliberated over this year’s selection of films in competition. The features jury was made up of Emrah Kilic (Turkey), Diarah N’Daw-Spech (USA), Laurence Boyce (UK), Diana Keam (South Africa) and Mohammed Siam (Egypt). In the documentary jury were Patricia Van Heerden (SA), Florian Weghorn (Germany), Tracy Clayton (UK/SA), Rehad Desai (SA) and Ziyanda Macingwane (SA). The short film jurors were Jaime E. Manrique (Colombia), Silas Miami, (Kenya), Jacintha De-Nobrega (SA), CJ Obasi (Nigeria) and Mpho Ramathuthu (SA).
A total of 19 awards were given out at the star-studded awards ceremony: • Best Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award at DIFF 2019: For Sama directed Edward Watts and Waad al-Kateab • Artistic Bravery: Letters of Hope directed by Vusi Africa • Best Cinematography: Divine Love directed by Gabriel Mascaro • Best Editing: Cronofobia directed by Francesco Rizzi • Best Screenplay: Les Misérables directed by Ladj Ly • Best Short Film: Acid directed by Just Philippot • Best African Short Film: Brotherhood directed by Meryam Joobeur. The film also received a cash prize of R20,000 sponsored by
Features jury member Ziyanda Macingwane with Back of the Moon associate producer Kutlwano Ditsele; actress Moneoa Moshesh; director Angus Gibson; producer Desiree Markgraff; and actor Lemogang Tsipa, as they accept the award for the Best South African Feature Film at the 40th Durban International Film Festival the Gauteng Film Commission • Best South African Short Film: Miracle directed by Bongi Ndaba. The film received a cash prize of R20,000 from the Gauteng Film Commission • Best Actor: Bongile Mantsai for Knuckle City directed by Jahmil XT. Qubeka • Best Actress: Nisrin Erradi for Adam directed by Maryam Touzani • Best Documentary: For Sama directed by Edward Watts and Waad al-Kateab. The film received a cash prize of R25,000 • Best South African Documentary: Buddha in Africa directed by Nicole Schafer. The award is accompanied by a cash prize of R25, 000 • Best Direction: Divine Love directed by Gabriel Mascaro • Best South African Feature Film: Back of the Moon directed by Angus Gibson. The film received a
cash prize of R25,000 • Best Feature Film: Les Misérables directed by Ladj Ly. The award is accompanied by a cash prize of R50,000 • DIFF Legacy Award: Peter Rorvik • DIFF Legacy Award: Roz Sarkin and Moosa Moosa • DIFF Legacy Award: Julie Frederikse and Madoda Ncayiyana DIFF is included as a Documentary Feature Qualifying Festival by the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences. This means that both the winners of the Best Documentary – For Sama – and Best SA Documentary – Buddha in Africa – automatically qualify for consideration for an Oscar nomination. – Sharlene Versfeld
NEW OLIVER HERMANUS FILM, MOFFIE, SET TO PREMIERE AT VENICE FILM FESTIVAL The new Oliver Hermanus and Portobello Productions film, Moffie, will have its world premiere as part of the official selection at the 76th Venice International Film Festival.
M
offie is the second film by Hermanus, and only the fourth South African film overall, to receive an official invitation to the Venice Film Festival. Hermanus’s previous film The Endless River (2015) was the first South African film to compete for the Golden Lion. Moffie will premiere in the Orizzonti (Horizons) Competition. The director’s sophomore film, Skoonheid (Beauty), won the Queer Palm at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and his debut film, Shirley Adams, was nominated for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2009. Produced by Fugard Theatre founder and South African-born Eric Abraham
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– who produced the Academy awardwinning films Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida (2014) and Jan Sverak’s Kolya (1996) – and Jack Sidey of Portobello Productions, Moffie the film is based on the memoir of the same name by André-Carl van der Merwe and tells the story of a conscript who embarks on his military service in 1981 South Africa. The film stars Kai Luke Brummer in his
first film lead performance, as well as a cast of sixteen young actors, many of whom make their feature film debuts with Moffie. In 2018 the producers of the film, along with casting director Jaci Cheiman, hosted a nationwide casting call for the film’s lead and for the other conscripts. Kai Luke Brummer attended no less than eight individual castings before bagging the leading role of Nicholas. Two of the near-one thousand hopefuls who responded to a Facebook and press campaign and consequently attended the casting sessions in Johannesburg, Matthew Vey and Rikus Terblanche, landed other principal parts in the film. Vey and Terblanche are still in high school. The creative team behind Moffie are Hermanus regulars, working on what is their third collaboration with the director. The team includes SAFTA award-winning production designer Franz Lewis, renowned costumer Reza Levy and director of photography Jamie D Ramsay. The original score is composed by Braam du Toit and the film is co-produced by another Hermanus collaborator, Thérèsa Ryan-van Graan. The film was shot last summer in various Western Cape locations.
“I am so honoured to return to Venice. The head of the festival, Alberto Barbera, has been such a wonderful champion of my work and I in turn am extremely proud of the cast and crew that have been a part of this return to Venice. We really became one big family making this film and it will be a crowning moment to present the film to them in the context of such prestigious occasion like Venice, not to mention the audience of over a thousand people. What a trip!” said Hermanus. Every year the Venice Film Festival is a highlight of the international film calendar, welcoming only the best in the cinematic arts and playing host to celebrity-filled premieres and film events. Now in its 76th year, the festival will run from 28 August to 7 September on the Lido in Venice, forming part of the Venice Biennale. Moffie was made in association with Hermanus’s Cape Town-based Penzance Films with the support of the Department of Trade and Industry South Africa. Moffie will be released in South Africa later this year. – Christine Skinner
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TELEMEDIA LINKS UP LESOTHO Telemedia has recently completed the first phase of the radio expansion for Lesotho National Broadcasting Service (LNBS).
T
he LNBS requirement was to provide a downlink solution for 14 remote sites to enable them to provide 16 radio services per site. Each system had to decode the radio services from the DTT (Digital Terrestrial) satellite T2MI distribution signal, as well as provide a backup link for each of the radio services via an IP circuit. Additionally, a return channel for a radio service from each remote site back to the head end was to be made available for contributions from the regions. Until now, LNBS was not able to switch their satellite distribution signal to the T2MI modulation scheme for the DTT transmitters because they weren’t able to extract the radio services from the T2MI feed for the remote FM transmitters. The Telemedia solution was provided using equipment from Appear Television,
Wohler and Comrex. The solution was implemented by extracting all 16 radio services from the DTT HE (head end), main and standby servers, and packaging each stereo pair
to be streamed to the 14 remote sites via IP circuits (supplied by a third-party service provider). At each remote site, the decoders use the satellite T2MI signal as a primary feed
and automatically switch to the IP stream as a backup for each radio service. The IP network supplied the backup radio services each site, return radio channels, monitoring and control of the remote encoding/decoding equipment and an additional circuit for ancillary remote monitoring applications. An AES audio distribution and monitoring system was also supplied, which allows LNBS personnel to monitor all incoming radio feeds and split them between the DTT main and standby head ends. This completes Phase One of the project, whereby equipment for the HE and four remote sites have been completed. Remaining sites are to be implemented as soon as their equipment housings have been completed onsite. Additionally, a mobile workshop for the engineers servicing the remote sites was supplied. This was based on a Land Cruiser 76 series: the vehicle was modified with extra travel suspension, winch and recovery kit to enable it to reach the extreme remote sites. The bin section was kitted out with an aluminium canopy with a movable load shelf to mount and transport transmission equipment, with an inverter generator and tools to service the kit onsite.
NEW MOVIEVISION SHOWROOM OFFICIALLY OPENED Movievision, a leading supplier of television, theatre, studio and film lighting equipment for more than 50 years, opened its new showroom in style on the 22nd of July, with a party at its offices in Wynberg, Johannesburg.
C
omplete with craft beer and vodka and an on-site Balkan Burger food truck, the evening provided a great opportunity for people in the film and broadcasting industries to catch up, as well as to admire the state-of-the-art new showroom at the company’s offices, where customers can get a hands-on experience of the latest gear to hit the South African market. With fixtures such as Spotlight’s new Hyperion Fresnel LED and Filmgear’s 1000W LED Spacelight attractively suspended from the ceiling on pantographs, John Harrison – CEO of Movievision – explains that the fixtures are connected to dedicated mixing
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consoles to allow customers “to try out the different lights, and different combinations of lighting effects.” The new showroom also contains a coffee bar, and its open-plan design is perfect for demonstrations of what the respective fixtures can achieve. “We want this space to be very interactive,” says Kierryn Harris, media and marketing liaison at Movievision. “We want people to come in, have a chat and a cup of coffee – and then actually work with the fixture and see how it functions. Instead of us just telling you about it, it’s so much better to experience the solutions for yourself.” The buzzing party for the launch of the
new showroom was another reminder of the importance of the social aspect of business to Movievision’s operations, after their hand-built, steam punkinspired stand at Mediatech thronged with visitors throughout the trade show. Visit Movievision’s new showroom in Wynberg to test out the company’s premium selection of lighting solutions,
including the MaxiMix from Rosco DMG and Filmgear’s new panel light offering – both of which are featured in our round-up of Mediatech products on pages 28-31. For more information about Movievision, please visit www.movievision.co.za
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THE INDUSTRY JOINS FORCES TO SAVE SOME SOULS On 18 July, an impressive contingent of industry leaders gathered at The Venue in Melrose Arch to participate in the second SOS Dinner, a fundraising event hosted by DWR Distribution to assist people and families in the theatre and live events industries during times of need.
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n its second iteration, the SOS Fundraising Dinner is an biennial event that aims to raise funds for the SOS Charity Fund – a philanthropic project launched by DWR Distribution in 2016 to assist professionals working in the live events and theatre industries during times of personal crisis. “When visiting South Africa back in 2016, Ian Staddon of DiGiCo made our team aware of a charity that operates in England, which was established to assist individuals working in the entertainment industry during difficult times,” explains Duncan Riley, managing director of DWR
Duncan Riley
Distribution. “According to Ian, the UK-based charity was not designed to pay out massive amounts or play the role of insurer, but rather to enable humble gestures that provide immediate relief for industry people in their hour of need,” Riley goes on to explain. It immediately became clear to Riley and his team that an organisation of this nature was desperately needed in South Africa, and the SOS Charity was born. Since its launch in December 2016, the SOS has supported several individuals and families during times of crisis. One such beneficiary is Kendall Dixon, a father of five who was diagnosed with cancer while working abroad in 2018. Kendall has been fighting for his life for the past two years, and personally thanked the SOS Charity for its generous donation towards his treatment. “You never expect something like this to happen to you – and you can never really be prepared if it does. Thanks to the generosity of people like you, I am still fighting, despite being given only weeks to live back in 2018,” Kendall told attendees at the SOS Dinner. The SOS has been able to make similar contributions to help support Landy Yeatman, who is also bravely fighting cancer. The organisation was also able to, literally, lend a hand when rental company owner and technician Vincent Joubert discovered that he had developed septic
arthritis. The SOS was able to assist in paying for specialised medical treatment that prevented doctors from amputating his finger, which would have permanently impeded his ability to work. While the SOS has tried to answer the call for help when people are facing illness and grief, they have also played an instrumental role in lighting the flame of hope when opportunity knocks and financial barriers threaten to keep the door latched. Daniel Meledimo, a student from TUT, showed all the right stuff when he approached Joshua Cutts as a volunteer on the set of Idols South Africa in 2017. “It was evident that [Daniel] was an extremely hardworking and dedicated student, with the right temperate and someone who would do well in the industry. After chatting to him, I realised that he might have to drop out university, as he could not afford to pay his outstanding account,” explains Cutts. He approached the SOS, and together, they raised the funds needed to allow Daniel to graduate and pursue his dream of working in the industry. None of these works of kindness, which are simply too many to mention individually, would have been possible without the support that the charity has received from the industry over the past three years. “The SOS Charity Dinner provides a platform for people to give
back to the industry that we all are so passionate about. Many of the attendees at this year’s SOS Dinner are tough competitors in the market. However, the rivalry between rental companies, manufacturers and suppliers is put aside for a night as we all get together to share a meal, laugh, banter and support a good cause,” says Riley. In closing, Duncan and Sherryn Riley extend their heartfelt gratitude to all who contributed to the SOS Dinner, which has helped to raise much-needed funds to ensure that the SOS can continue the great work it has achieved thus far. “We would like to thank Tony Raciti and the team at The Venue in Melrose Arch for hosting us. Also a huge thanks to the Gearhouse Group of companies for sponsoring the registration stand. We really appreciate the talent who offered their time at no cost to entertain us during the event, including our MC for the night, Lucky Du Plessis, and Jeremy Loops and Sutherland for their fantastic performances. Finally, a huge thank you to all of the people who donated items for auction and to those who bid so enthusiastically during the event. We are incredibly grateful for your generosity.” Should you wish to get involved in assisting the SOS Charity in future initiatives, kindly contact Duncan Riley at duncan@dwrdistribution.co.za.
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REALNESS INSTITUTE CONFIRMS SUNDANCE PARTNERSHIP:
CREATIVE PRODUCERS INDABA 2020 LAUNCHED
Realness Indaba session at Durban FilmMart
In an exciting development for African producers, a long-hinted-at collaboration is finally official.
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ealness founders and film producers Elias Ribeiro and Bongiwe Selane teased the announcement during the Realness Residency that took place recently at Cannes, but it is now confirmed that Realness Institute, EAVE and the International Film Festival Rotterdam are further partnering with the Sundance Institute to create the Creative Producers Indaba, a professional training programme designed to support emerging African producers on a global stage. The newly-announced confirmation of the partnership with the Sundance Institute, which took place at the Durban FilmMart in July, means that North American professionals and networks will now be included in this global professional training and development initiative. The Creative Producers Indaba will bring together 15 participants to develop the capacity of producers on the continent and to create a global network of producing talent with the ability to bring African projects to the international market, as well as to grow local African creative economies. Ten of the selected participants will be from Africa – with the organisers selecting five African producers with projects currently in development, who will be joined by five African participants drawn from government, institutions, sales companies and other bodies from across the continent – and five participants will comprise European or North American partners looking to co-produce in Africa. Ribeiro explained the key aims of the
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Creative Producers Indaba during the announcement in Durban: “We decided to launch Creative Producers Indaba to make sure we have more producers that understand the international financing game, international distribution, and who can help…African projects to move closer from the page to the screen.” Realness Institute has recognised that, despite the recent global festival success and accolades for a number of creative and innovative films by African filmmakers, there is a need for support, specifically when it comes to
Unlike many other short-term interventions and workshops, Realness participants work together for a full year in order to emerge as strategic-thinking professionals capable of enabling the entire creative economies of their regions. As a producer-centric programme, Realness aims for more than simply packaging productions for the international market – although all participants will develop a thorough and marketable package ready to take to market. Participants will attend a variety of workshops over the year-long period focused on script development, packaging, finance, distribution and ultimately pitching to the marketplace. With sessions led by industry professionals from across Africa, Europe
“The Creative Producers Indaba will bring together 15 participants to develop the capacity of producers on the continent and to create a global network of producing talent with the ability to bring African projects to the international market, as well as to grow local African creative economies. development financing, infrastructure, distribution and marketing. Realness is aimed at empowering producers across these various skill-sets not just to see a film through production, but also to become active developers of their local creative economies as both practitioners, policy activists and leaders within their fields.
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and now North America, participants have an unparalleled opportunity to learn and engage with the global film community. Realness has a collaborative approach that has successfully created global partnerships with key European institutions such as the International Film Festival Rotterdam and EAVE, the
European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs initiative, a well-established training programme that has been in existence for over 30 years. The inclusion of the Sundance Institute as a Realness partner brings a number of obvious benefits to the project. The stamp of approval that such a partnership conveys will assist Realness as it continues to secure funding for its various programmes. As an African-based organisation in the film industry, funding is always a challenge, and the inclusion of these new partners will hopefully lead to increased funding opportunities and exposure for the project and its graduates. Organisations such as Realness, as well as filmmakers themselves, often have to look to the global north, and primarily to Europe, for funding, an ultimately unsustainable approach. Projects like the Creative Producers Indaba will hopefully lead to a more independently sustainable African creative film economy. Realness’ Elias Ribeiro explains further: “It is our intention to form leaders, producers, activists, who can go back home and engage with local government and institutions, lobbying for better policies for the audiovisual industry as well as implementation of new financial instruments which will enable international and Pan-African cooperation.” Realness also confirmed that the first call for submissions is expected to be made in October, with a build-up to the first workshop in Kenya in September 2020, followed by a second workshop to take place at the Rotterdam Film Festival in January 2021. – Lara Utian-Preston
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NEW NITE JOGGER CAMPAIGN FROM ADIDAS CELEBRATES THE CREATIVE AWAKENING OF THE NIGHT
adidas recently launched a new, reflective training shoe collection for the “night time creator.” The trendy sneaker, aptly called Nite Jogger, is inspired by a 1970s shoe of the same name.
adidas Nite Jogger campaign 10 | SCREENAFRICA | AUGUST 2019
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TECH CHECK EQUIPMENT • Cameras: ARRI Alexa and Phantom
“The night time is when the magic takes place and this is where we wanted to play – at night, in the heartbeat of this creative awakening.
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– Martin Magner
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he youth of today burns into the early hours of the morning, expressing themselves creatively without the boundaries of what their mundane day to day provides. Whether its work or school or making ends meet during the day, the night time is when the magic takes place and this is where we wanted to play – at night, in the heartbeat of this creative awakening,” says Martin Magner, creative director of Andpeople. Andpeople – a creative agency of youth engagement specialists – has been working with adidas Originals South Africa for over seven years now. Their partnership is inspired by their shared vision of creating value in youth culture through creative empowerment. “The brief was to establish the adidas Nite Jogger’s unique proposition within the market and the creative process took place within our dynamic team. We are all actively part of this creative awakening – between us we throw nightlife events, teach yoga and make music all on top of our 9 to 5s,” Magner comments. With the campaign tagline, ‘What you are in the day is not what you are at night’, the team at Andpeople fittingly chose to play with music and dance as the central themes. Magner expands: “’What you are in the day is not what you are at night’ guided us into the music and dance space. When looking at South Africa, the most accessible form of creative expression is dance. Dance allows us to communicate without words and express who we are – something that every one of us can relate to, and experience on every corner, club or household when the sun goes down.” Durban’s gqom music sensation, DJ Lag, and sultry singer and songwriter, Shekinah, were brought together to create a song and subsequent music video for the campaign. Using the phrase ‘Creative Awakening of the Night’ as inspiration, they were tasked to develop a catchy tune that resonates with young people and encourages dance expression. “Pairing DJ Lag’s nation-
moving gqom sound with Shekinah’s hearty, smooth as honey vocals felt like a no-brainer. I’m the biggest fan of an unexpected collaboration, and the collision of these two is something I never knew we needed. Shekinah and Lag both have their unique audiences and together they’re a force,” says Magner about the unique pairing. The vibey track and accompanying music video – directed by award-winning director Kyle Lewis and shot by Devin Tosselli – is titled Anywhere We Go. The video features dancer Thami Njoko, wearing the adidas Nite Jogger sneaker while expressing himself through dance after dark. “From the very beginning we wanted the focus to be on the expression of dance as well as the track itself – the integration of the artists is nuanced but present, never overshadowing the dance performance,” comments Lewis. “I wanted to focus on those who are inspired by the music and the emotions behind it rather than do the traditional artists-feature. Both Lag and Shekinah were on the same page as me: it was like after they contributed their creativity, they wanted to pass it on to someone else.” Lewis says that the brief was open and collaborative, and everyone was given respect regarding their creative process and input in the project: “It was a fantastic process… they allowed me to conceptualise and create the visuals and trusted me completely, which can be rare in this field. It’s always a blessing to be allowed to create in this way as a director.” Lewis sought the assistance of producer Vjorn du Toit to find a gifted dancer that could execute his vision. After a brief search, the pair found their guy while doing a random search on YouTube. “His control of his body and his knowledge of various different genres of dance was awe-inspiring. He really captivates you and draws you in, which is exactly what I was looking for,” comments Lewis. Anywhere We Go was shot on the ARRI
Alexa and Phantom cameras, paired with Panavision C Series Anamorphic Prime lenses. The shoot took place at night, at a paper recycling plant in Epping, Cape Town. Njoko glistens as he performs, bare-chested and wearing only adidas track pants paired with Nite Jogger sneakers. “I wanted to explore dance and how it can express inner emotions without words. I wanted to use sci-fi as a notion of not feeling like you belong,” shares Lewis, who took a creative risk by incorporating the use of VFX to complement the performance. “I am a big fan of incamera, but for this piece, I wanted to explore more VFX, especially with the sci-fi tone. It was a departure for me but my incredible FX artist and long-time collaborator, Blake Prinsloo, put me at ease.” The pair started the process by doing a full 3D scan of the dancer. More effort was placed on 3D and compositing to achieve the desired look. Postproduction was handled by Stephen du Plessis from 2+3 Post Productions in Cape Town. Shekinah makes brief appearances in the video as television noise captured in an old black and white TV, while DJ Lag appears in the form of a silhouette on the wall, with the lyrics of the song running across him. “With Lag, I wanted him present but in an interesting way. It was inspired by the adidas aesthetic as well as the lyrics of the track,” Lewis shares. The video was released on multiple digital streaming platforms on 24 May 2019. DJ Lag, who has been working with adidas for two years now, shared about how the brand has been a strong supporter of his music and dedicated the track to all creatives chasing their dreams, saying: “This is for all creatives that never sleep on calling the dream.” – Gezzy S Sibisi
Anywhere We Go was shot on the ARRI Alexa and Phantom cameras, paired with Panavision C Series Anamorphic Prime lenses.
KEY CREW Producer: Vjorn du Toit Director: Kyle Lewis DoP: Devin Tosselli Editor: Stephen du Plessis Music: DJ Lag and Shekinah
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DIRECTOR SPEAK
NARETHO O MOKG
“There’s little substitute for a good, simple idea well communicated, or a great story well told. These stay with audiences more than anything else.
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This month Screen Africa spoke to visual artist and director Nare Mokgotho…
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AND HOW IT HAS SHAPED YOU AS A DIRECTOR? I studied fine art and, after art school, started working in advertising as a copywriter. After a few years at places like J. Walter Thompson, Grey and Saatchi & Saatchi, I traded agency life for a position as a creative researcher at Velocity Films under Peter Carr, who remains my executive producer at MassÏf. In research I learned from some of the best directors in the country, but also discovered what kind of work resonated with me. TELL US ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY FROM COPYWRITER TO DIRECTOR? WAS DIRECTING ALWAYS THE GOAL? Directing wasn’t necessarily a goal, but it was certainly a dream. I think being on commercial sets while I was a copywriter made it more real, and I became convinced that directing was something I wanted to pursue. As I mentioned, I spent a number of years as a researcher, which were invaluable for my trajectory. WHAT KIND OF CONTENT DO YOU ENJOY CREATING AND WHY? I really enjoy conceptually-driven work, particularly stories that lend themselves to subtlety and require some level of nuance. I always remember the substance of films, commercials, literature and artworks more than I might the formal properties. Techniques can 12 | SCREENAFRICA | AUGUST 2019
change so quickly, but I think ideas and stories are far more constant and are always on trend. WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR PERSONAL FAVOURITE PROJECTS THAT YOU HAVE WORKED ON? I don’t know if I can narrow them down. They’ve all been beneficial in some way, particularly the most challenging ones. YOU TOOK HOME TWO AWARDS – FOR SHOWMAX’S “ZERO BUCKS GIVEN” AND RAPID LION’S “WREATHS” – AT THE RECENT YDA, CONGRATULATIONS! WHAT DOES THE WIN MEAN FOR YOU AS A DIRECTOR? Historically, the YDA has been good at foregrounding the careers of young directors. The YDA has often helped set up young directors for a career in the industry by affording them greater visibility. For me, the wins mean that people in the industry have a greater sense of the kinds of things I gravitate towards, like performance-driven storytelling injected with subtle inflections of humour. WHAT, IN YOUR OPINION, MAKES AN AWARDWINNING AND SUCCESSFUL BRAND FILM? There’s little substitute for a good, simple idea well communicated, or a great story well told. These stay with audiences more than any thing else.
NARE MOKGOTHO
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APART FROM DIRECTING, YOU ARE A VISUAL ARTIST. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR WORK? I’ve been working as part of a collaborative artist duo for the past 10 years. Broadly speaking, our practice uses everyday black urban experience as a primary departure point. This is a way for us to think through popular education spaces, collaborative infrastructures, oral histories, knowledge dissemination systems and the kinds of things that might be considered worthy of intellectual consideration. WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON? A few projects that have me excited. I’m presently pitching on a major car brand commercial and on another great comedy spot for a top retail brand. ANY PLANS FOR A FEATURE FILM IN THE FUTURE? Yes, but not in the immediate future. You could say I’m currently laying the foundations and flirting with some ideas. IF YOU WEREN’T A FILMMAKER, YOU WOULD BE? A visual artist. I’m fortunate because I get to do both alongside one another. – Chanelle Ellaya
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FCB REINVENTS THE SHARE A COKE CAMPAIGN WITH PHONETIC CANS Though twenty-five years have passed since Apartheid, its effects are still apparent in South Africa today. During the Apartheid era, when black South Africans possessed names that were deemed too difficult to pronounce, they were often given common western names.
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reative director at FCB Joburg, Suhana Gordhan, expands: “Imagine that your name was Bonganiokuhlekwamadlamane. Now imagine that you grew up at the height of segregation in Apartheid South Africa. Your name was a problem, and so was your native language. The government decided it was easier to just call you ‘John’. This was the struggle with identity that generations of South Africans faced under an oppressive system. Twenty-five years later, the effects still linger and language still divides us.” FCB Joburg won the Coca-Cola South Africa account in 2011, and kick-started their partnership with the soft drink by printing South African names on cans in the global Share a Coke campaign. Share a Coke with Bobby was the 2013 TV commercial and campaign that saw Coca-Cola swap its brand name to feature 600 of the country’s most popular names. Additionally, Coke ran a consumer-led activation campaign which allowed ordinary South Africans the opportunity to have their proudly-African names printed
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on a can. In the midst of its success, a can was found with a profane Tsonga word written on it. The profanity slip prompted discontinuation of the consumer-led element of the Share a Coke campaign. “The ‘slip’ was a very unfortunate incident whereby one individual took it upon themselves to abuse the ability to put one’s name on a Coke product. This resulted in hundreds of thousands of South Africans losing out on the opportunity to enjoy receiving their name on a Coca-Cola. There will always be individuals who deliberately try to deviate from the norm, but the joy brought to the larger population is far greater and more beneficial for the brand than the negative ripple that these acts create in small circles,” comments FCB Joburg Business Unit director, Struan Bourquin. Now back with an added educational element, the agency presents the Coke Phonetic Can campaign. “For me, this was a very special campaign because I think the subject matter is especially unique to South Africa,” comments Gordhan on the new campaign. “I love that a big brand like
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Coca-Cola can commit to using their real estate on packs to help solve a social problem. In the past, Coca-Cola has placed people’s names on cans. However, The Phonetic Can took it further by adding the pronunciation to people’s names.” To execute the campaign, Gordhan had an equally dedicated and passionate team working by her side, namely senior art director Jonathan Wolberg, senior copywriter Paul Frade, as well as art directors Jeremy Miller and Yaseen Mahomed. “Our vision was to introduce South Africa to South Africa, by putting the phonetics of each name from all the different languages and cultures on Coca-Cola packs, effectively teaching South Africans to greet each other, by name, correctly,” Gordhan shares. “At its core, Coca-Cola aims to bring people together, regardless of their differences. So, this campaign felt like a perfect fit to do just that in the realm of Share a Coke.” The FCB team worked with the Department of Home Affairs to gather names from every part of the country. The list comprised the most popular South African names in all eleven languages and across all nine provinces. “We started with a list of over 12 000 unique names and ended up with a list of 1 000 names to go on packs, which would give us a high enough coverage of the population,” comments Bourquin. When undertaking the phonetics challenge, the agency consulted with linguistic professors from multiple universities as well as professional writers who spoke the eleven official languages. Together with these language specialists, the team worked to develop a simple, non-academic phonetic system to help South Africans pronounce each other’s names better. “The big idea or concept was that by adding the pronunciation to people’s names, the Coca-Cola packaging became much more than an acknowledgement of identity – it became a teacher, a change-maker. Wherever there was a Coke can, there was an opportunity to learn, or at the very least, to just try. The can became an invitation to say a name without fear. It became a way to bridge language divides, an educational tool and a symbol of cultural pride,” says FCB Joburg chief creative officer, Jonathan Deeb. The Coke Phonetic Can campaign commenced in November 2018 with just the name and pronunciation initiative, but by the first quarter of 2019, it expanded with countrywide activations on TV, radio, cinema, billboards and social media platforms. And, excitingly, the vending machine model that was introduced with the original Share a Coke campaign made a comeback, allowing many South Africans the opportunity to get their hands on a personalised can. “The response was overwhelmingly positive,” remarks Bourquin. “It has shown us that South Africans really embrace truly South African stories and executions.” Produced by Johannesburg-based Bioscope Films, under the
direction of Fausto Becatti with DoP Fabian Vettiger, ordinary South Africans were featured in over 30 pieces of TV and online content sharing the story behind their unique names. “The brief from FCB was to focus on finding real people, with real names, and to tell genuine and entertaining stories with the knowledge that South Africa has such a diverse and interesting populace. A big part of my treatment was to put an emphasis on the heartfelt or more meaningful stories to balance out the funny ones, having had a personal history with a name that is almost always mispronounced,” Becatti shares. The stories were shot using three cameras: the Sony VENICE as the A-cam; the ARRI Amira as the B-cam; and the Canon 8mm camera as the C-cam. “The Venice was chosen because of its full-frame sensor with the intention of shooting wide open, and giving us a sense of a medium-format portrait look and feel,” explains Becatti. “We kept it very simple in the set-up as our master shot, without too much movement, to act as the most basic shot of documenting a story. “The ARRI as a B-cam would capture a bit more movement and alternative angles to keep the edit interesting, and also to capture more of the character’s mannerisms or quirks both in their way of talking or their homes or rooms,” he continues. “The C-cam was simple but an incredibly important choice in the mix because it acted as the purest form of capturing our characters’ spirits. The 8mm film, not only rich with a sense of nostalgia but also loose and gritty, meant that we got cutaways that were the most raw and pure versions of the people.” The Coca-Cola YouTube channel created a teaching series titled Share a Sound to teach complex sounds such as the ‘q’ and ‘x’ click sound commonly found in Zulu and Xhosa names. The series has since gained much attraction from viewers, including a school teacher who has requested the use of the series in the classroom. Bourquin expands: “We received a message on our YouTube channel from a school teacher asking if she could use the content as a learning tool. This is, of course, exactly the intention of the campaign and led us to create specific sound boxes which could be used to further help learners understand how to pronounce our names.” Radio station hosts such as 702’s Bongani Bingwa shared their support of the campaign with their listeners. Other national radio stations went as far as changing their names and jingles for the day to the most difficult names in South Africa. In addition, out-of-home activations were strategically implemented in different regions with deliberately mismatched languages broadcast to introduce communities to other native languages besides the ones spoken in that area. “People who were featured on billboards even shared pictures of themselves standing under their billboards. These were shared to social media. I think it meant something for these young people to be represented by the brand in such a personal way,” says Gordhan. The project was one of the largest integrated campaigns ever tackled by FCB Joburg and has been awarded internally amongst FCB’s global creative executive committees. “Navigating the sheer volume of content that we created for the campaign to ensure diversity and inclusion was probably the biggest challenge. This was one of those liquid ideas that continues to allow us to expand our content arsenal,” highlights Bourquin. The campaign received two shortlists at Cannes Lion this year, and Coca-Cola’s No Sugar offering, which featured across all content during the campaign, has experienced an increase in sales. “I believe that this campaign is relevant to our times – a time in South Africa when social cohesion is more necessary now than ever before,” concludes Gordhan. – Gezzy S Sibisi
TECH CHECK EQUIPMENT • Cameras: Sony VENICE, ARRI Amira and Canon 8mm camera
The campaign was shot using three cameras: the Sony VENICE as the A-cam; the ARRI Amira as the B-cam; and the Canon 8mm camera as the C-cam.
KEY CREW Senior art director: Jonathan Wolberg Senior copywriter: Paul Frade Art directors: Jeremy Miller and Yaseen Mahomed Director and photography: Fausto Becatti DOP: Fabian Vettiger Editors: Daniel Mitchell, Tumi Ditshego, Joe de Ornelas, Keno Naidoo, Jarryd Du Toit, Mohammed Chopdat
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THE AD INDUSTRY NEEDS MORE START-UPS
“The South African ad industry punches way above its weight and could hold its own against many of the world’s greatest advertising countries.” This is the word from advertising creative Faheem Chaudhry, who has returned from M&C Saatchi London to take up the job of Managing Partner at M&C Saatchi in Johannesburg.
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haudhry will form part of the M&C Saatchi Abel Johannesburg leadership team, along with Neo Mashigo, Group Chief Creative Officer; Adam Weber, Executive Creative Director Johannesburg; and Makosha Maja-Rasethaba, Head of Strategy Johannesburg. In his short time back, after four years of working in the London advertising scene as Strategy Director, Chaudhry has observed several changes in the local industry. He said it was encouraging to see a raised prioritisation of diversity from both agencies and clients. “The Johannesburg advertising scene feels a lot more representative of the country, although there is still plenty of work to do. “From a talent perspective, the freelance economy seems to have taken off, with many top creative teams deciding to freelance and pick and
choose where they work, rather than anchoring themselves to one agency,” he added. He also said that there aren’t as many new agency start-ups as he was hoping to see. “New entrants to the market are important in our industry – they bring new ways of working; offer a fresh challenge to existing agencies; and, certainly from an independent agency perspective, we share an entrepreneurial spirit that breaks through previous barriers. The slow growth of the broader economy is clearly making it a difficult operating environment for new entrants.” Chaudhry, who will be responsible for operational leadership at the agency in Joburg, stressed that it is important for the South African creative industry to define ourselves by our South African context, and not necessarily be distracted by international trends. “From an industry perspective, I think
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MILESTONES
Faheem Chaudry we’re doing just fine. If anything, I’d like us to not be distracted by the trends of others and instead define ourselves by the South African context and environment, and push ourselves to approach things in a way that answers our needs. All the usual trends of digital adoption and technology will naturally develop as infrastructure improves. In some industries, like banking, our
His return to M&C Saatchi and South Africa comes at a time of “milestones”, according to Chaudhry. “This feels like a triple homecoming for me – returning to the city I grew up in, alongside a group of partners I admire and trust, in the agency where I spent my formative years. The chance to work with our people and in partnership with our clients to drive growth for their businesses, and for the South African economy, is a challenge I find both critical and irresistible.” “M&C Saatchi Abel has always been a company run by great friends first and colleagues second. The opportunity to come back and join the founders as we look towards the milestone of our tenth birthday was irresistible. I quite relish the challenge of being part of, and hopefully contributing to, a flourishing future for our country,” he said. Chaudhry missed the dynamism and vibrancy of South African creativity while he was away. “That was a big part of deciding to come back. We really are blessed with an abundance of talent across the creative landscape. From art to
comedy, music to fashion… Getting to work with that talent was something I missed and something I’m already thoroughly enjoying.” In London, he led a diverse range of clients, including NatWest Bank, the British Government and projects across Europe, Bahrain and Tokyo. While at M&C Saatchi London, he co-founded Black and White, a strategic consultancy within the group. For the past two years he was also invited by the United Nations to deliver keynote talks on ‘The Power of Communication’.
RISING STAR In the press release sent out about Chaudhry’s appointment, Mashigo described him as “one of the rising stars in M&C Saatchi Worldwide” and said he would play a pivotal role within the Johannesburg leadership team. One of Chaudhry’s challenges in working internationally, he recounted, was getting used to the scale and pace at which things move. “You really do live and work by the minute in London. Then there was understanding the particular market dynamics of Brexit Britain, which shone a light on adland and how it’s often guilty of existing in the liberal London bubble.
Getting in touch with the particularly British tensions took time to understand in depth. “Finally, the level of competition in the UK. There are 350-strong agencies in London alone. So, winning new business is a difficult pursuit, and one that forces you to get into the margins and really nail every detail to stand a chance.” His international stint has certainly enriched his work, he said. “Working in London is a wonderful cultural experience. You’re thrust into the very centre of the world, surrounded by and working with people from all over the globe. Their diverse ways of thinking, creating and executing stretch and surprise you constantly. I found that really enriching as it shakes you out of the way you’ve always done things and shows you alternatives. “As our global headquarters, M&C Saatchi London is filled with some of the greatest minds in our global network, responsible for many of our most iconic campaigns. Getting exposure to them on a daily basis and getting to work with them was a great privilege and certainly inspired me to want to push the boundaries back home.” – Louise Marsland
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Director Judy Naidoo takes it back to her childhood in Kings of Mulberry Street
Set in the early-80s, the heart-warming feature film Kings of Mulberry Street follows the adventures of Ticky and Baboo, two nine-year-old misfits who take on the town bully.
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ritten and directed by Judy Naidoo, the film is set in the fictionalised Sugarhill District – inspired by the KwaZuluNatal towns of Verulam and Tongaat. Naidoo, who grew up in Verulam, holds the film particularly close to her heart: “Whilst pursuing a short filmmaking course in New York City, a lecturer who saw some potential in my work encouraged me to tell my own stories,” she shares. “He encouraged me to tell stories that were personal to me. At that stage I had no ideas brewing in my mind, but on the long flight back from the US the story for Kings of Mulberry Street emerged. I dreamt up the characters of Ticky and Baboo – they were largely inspired by the weird and whacky kids I once knew growing up. And being a strange kid myself, I could see myself in both those characters. The rich and colourful world of the Indian community in the 80s, as well as Indian cinema and songs from that era, all provided the inspiration for this story.” Kings of Mulberry Street tells the story of two unlikely friends, the young Indian 18 | SCREENAFRICA | AUGUST 2019
boys Ticky and Baboo, who have to find a way to overcome their differences in order to defeat the local crime lord, Raja, who is threatening their families. Spirited and fearless, Ticky escapes the realities of his daily life by living in a Bollywood dream-world. Baboo, on the other hand, is timid, academic and apprehensive. “It is a universal story about innocence and a tribute to the love between friends,” says Naidoo. An old-fashioned, colourful comedy misadventure made for the whole family, “the story of Kings of Mulberry Street is akin to a matinee feature,” she says. Making their acting debuts are the brilliant young talents, twelve-year-old Aaqil Hoosen (Ticky) and nine-year-old Shaan Nathoo (Baboo), who play the leads in the film. “Casting the two leads took approximately six months,” says Naidoo, who was very hands-on in the process. “We found the Baboo character quite early in the casting process, although we only cast the role a couple of months later.” Casting Ticky proved to be more of a challenge, sending Naidoo and her team to public schools across KwaZulu-Natal, where they eventually
found the perfect fit after a lengthy process and many call backs. Interestingly, he (Hoosen) happens to be from Naidoo’s hometown of Verulam. Rounding out Judy Naidoo on set with Shaan Nathoo the cast are Thiru Naidoo, Rizelle Januk, Amith Sing, Neville Pillay, Keshan Drawing inspiration from the vibrant Chetty, Hamish Kyd, Kogie Naidoo, and interesting lives led by the Indian Kimberly Arthur and Chris Forrest. community residing in KwaZulu-Natal in Shot on location (Verulam, Tongaat the 80s, as well as Bollywood cinema and and surrounding areas) in KwaZulu-Natal songs of the same era, Kings of Mulberry in just 29 days in June 2018, Naidoo says Street is visually dynamic and rich in that as with most films, budget and time colour – “in a retro way,” says Naidoo. were the biggest challenges encountered “Between DOP Greg Heimann and when producing Kings of Mulberry Street, myself we had decided on a certain look especially when you factor child leads for the film, but we were very open to into the equation. The lead child actors things developing organically from there, underwent an intense six-week acting which they did. We had very specific and dance rehearsal period to prepare references in mind, which we referred to for the film’s dance scenes. “There are from time to time, but we were flexible strict time constraints when working with and adapted to what was required on children, and it makes scheduling location.” particularly challenging,” comments Shot on the Red Dragon, Naidoo Naidoo. describes the shooting style as “largely
“It is a universal story about innocence. It is a tribute to the love between friends.”
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– Judy Naidoo
TECH CHECK EQUIPMENT • Camera: RED Dragon
Kings of Mulberry Street was shot on the RED Dragon.
KEY CREW Shaan Nathoo and Aaqil Hoosen in a scene from Kings of Mulberry Street
free and loose” to allow the actors some degree of freedom, especially the child actors. “At times it was very challenging as the spaces we worked in were tiny and to fit the actors, the crew and the equipment in one room was a bit of a mission to say the least. We also shot on rooftops a lot, so safety was a big concern for us,” adds Naidoo. Kings of Mulberry Street was edited by Quinn Lubbe (5:25 Productions), while sound design and final mix was undertaken by Janno Muller (On-Key Sound), with C.A. van Aswegen (FiX Post Production) handling online and grade. As a multi-award-winning filmmaker, Naidoo is no stranger to the local and international festival circuit. Her debut
Aaqil Hoosen
feature, Hatchet Hour (2016), scooped numerous awards, including Best Director and Best Picture at the New Hope Film Festival in Pennsylvania, as well as the Best Foreign Film Award at the LA Femme International Film Festival. Her plans for Kings of Mulberry Street are no different, with the intention being to have the film travel to festivals worldwide. Kings of Mulberry Street is a film that ultimately inspires children to be themselves, to believe in themselves, and to understand “that we are not limited by our circumstances,” says Naidoo. “It is a universal story about innocence. It is a tribute to the love between friends. While the antics of Baboo and Ticky will impress and amaze the children watching it, it will
profoundly reconnect the adult viewer, via nostalgia revisited, to how cinema informs childhood. Like the movies that took our breath away as kids, Kings will sweep us off out feet and make us all feel young again with its cracking Durban-Indian wit meets hilarious Bollywood mimicry and some of the oddest dance moves in cinema history,” she concludes. The film has enjoyed a successful theatrical release in South African cinemas beginning 28 June. Kings of Mulberry Street is distributed in South Africa by Indigenous film Distribution.
Judy Naidoo and crew
Director: Judy Naidoo Producer: Judy Naidoo Co-Producer: Bianca Isaac Line Producer: Alan Shearer Director of Photography: Greg Heimann, SASC Production Designer: Edward Liebenberg Editor: Quinn Lubbe Sound Designer: Janno Muller Music Composer: Brendan Jury 1st Assistant Director: Francois Coetzee
– Chanelle Ellaya
Aaqil Hoosen and Shaan Nathoo
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CREDIT: SONY PICTURES ANIMATION
FILM
Whose story is it anyway? T
Sony Pictures Animation is creating a platform for emerging storytellers… and two South African projects are on the bill.
his past June, at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France, Sony Pictures Animation announced the launch of an international division headed up by veteran producer Aron Warner (Shrek). While the division’s pilot slate is still under wraps, Warner divulged earlier this year at the Cape Town International Animation Festival that he is in talks on two local projects. In fact, he credits South Africa as the inspiration behind the entire career move. “Your political history and the social issues here create this tension that needs a creative outlet,” said Warner. “I saw not just the hunger and the desire, but the readiness to do the work.” Warner is not the first to notice the potential here. As a voracious market,
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bristling with new platforms searching for stories, Africa has emerged as a treasure trove ripe for mining. The question preoccupying African filmmakers is, Are we ready to tell those stories before someone else tells them for us? With films like Pixar’s Coco, Disney’s Moana, and Marvel’s Black Panther pulling in hundreds of millions at the box office, the phrase “cultural appropriation” has emerged out of niche academic discourse and into the big business of mainstream content. This is where Sony’s approach is refreshing. Rather than appropriating stories and then developing them in-house, Warner’s division will help emerging filmmakers make the most of their own ideas. The journey started when director
Chris Appelhans came to Warner with the proposal for Wish Dragon – a feature set in modern-day China. “I said yes in the room,” says Warner, though it would be some time before the right team came together around the film – ultimately a co-production between Sony Pictures Animation, Beijing Sparkle Roll Media, Tencent and Base Media. Idaho-born Appelhans could scarcely have been less Chinese, however, and authenticity was a serious concern. “Sophie Xiao, who worked at Base, helped us localise it,” Warner explained. “I started to see the power of a film about a kid growing up in present-day China, and how the Chinese-American crew was feeling about it, and how important representation was. That idea started to spread in my brain, and I ended up in
South Africa. I saw this light in the people I met, and the industry teetering on the verge of an amazing time. I sat down and thought, how do I make a living doing this?” He approached Sony with the idea of starting his own division and was met with resounding support. To date, projects are already in development in South Africa, Mexico, Korea, Colombia and China. As it gets harder to stand out in the market, this might be just the reinvigorating tonic that Sony Pictures Animation needs – not to mention the impact it will have on South African animation if the two local projects make it to the finish line. As Warner points out, finding filmmakers with enough stamina is the hardest part of his job…
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FILM
JSL: THERE’S A PERCEPTION OF ASIAN ANIMATION STUDIOS THAT THE TEAMS WANT SPECIFIC FRAME-BY-FRAME INSTRUCTIONS, AND THAT MAKES CREATIVE COLLABORATION DIFFICULT WHERE YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO JUST SAY “HERE’S A SHOT, GO WILD.” AW: I think there’s an artistic freedom that’s burgeoning there. I think they didn’t have permission. And there’s a lot of insecurity, but I’m telling you, it’s happening. I saw people blossom on our film. JSL: I GET THE FEELING THEY ARE REACHING OUT MORE. MORE COPRODUCTIONS, MORE EXCHANGE. AW: Part of that is because there are a lot of Chinese Americans who are going back to China, to work and be a part of it. So there’s cross-pollination. JSL: I WAS INTERESTED IN WHAT YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT [2018’S SURPRISE HIT] CRAZY RICH ASIANS – HOW YOUR ASIAN AMERICAN FRIENDS HAD TEARS STREAMING DOWN THEIR FACES. IT’S SIMILAR TO HOW BLACK PANTHER PLAYED HERE. IT’S DEFINITELY FLAWED. BUT IT HAD SUCH A POWERFUL EFFECT – WHO AM I TO SAY THERE’S ANYTHING THAT’S NOT WORKING ABOUT IT? AW: You can’t know what it feels like, and I can’t either. In some ways I can, as a gay Jew growing up in LA, not being particularly beautiful, I used to see movies with gay characters, and it was like, there’s the flaming queen, the serial killer, or the pathetic old lonely person. Those were my three examples of what gay people were, growing up.
A screenshot from Wish Dragon
JULIA SMUTS LOUW: I FIND IT INTERESTING THAT YOU PICKED UP ON THIS MOMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA, BECAUSE IT’S A REALLY CONFUSING MOMENT, POLITICALLY AND SOCIALLY. WE HAD APARTHEID, AS YOU KNOW, AND SOME OF OUR MOST ICONIC ART CAME OUT OF THAT PERIOD. THEN WE HAD A TRANSITION PERIOD THAT WAS VERY HOPEFUL… AND IT TURNS OUT THAT ARTISTICALLY, HOPE IS JUST NOT THAT INTERESTING. YOU NEED SOMETHING PUSHING AGAINST IT. NOW, WE HAVE A COMPLEX MIX OF FACTORS AND EMOTIONS. ARON WARNER: Exactly. Tension is a necessary part of creativity. It’s unfortunate that a lot of good stuff comes out of bad shit. Sometimes why you need to make animation or speculative stuff is because people aren’t ready to look at this stuff head, on but they’re ready to look at it through a filter.
JSL: I GUESS THE OTHER QUESTION IS ‘WHO HAS THE RIGHT?’ ARE WE ALLOWED TO TELL A STORY FROM ANOTHER RACE, OR IS THAT CULTURAL APPROPRIATION? AW: Every side has a good point. When the people who could be telling their own stories don’t have the opportunity, then there is something wrong with that. I think partnership is very valuable, and people shouldn’t let their egos get in the way. JSL: WHAT’S IT BEEN LIKE WORKING IN CHINA? AW: The director I work with jokes “multiply everything by 12.” One of the issues we came up against on Wish Dragon is people without feature experience getting really tired and not knowing you’ll come out the other side okay. And I can understand that. JSL: I GET THE IMPRESSION THEY WORK PRETTY HARD. AW: They work incredibly hard. But the bar for this film is very high. And sometimes it breaks people.
JSL: THERE WAS A BOOK, SHRILL, BY LINDY WEST. SHE WROTE ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING FAT. AW: My friend Ali [Rushfield] is doing a show about that book for Hulu.
“Tension is a necessary part of creativity. It’s unfortunate that a lot of good stuff comes out of bad shit.
”
– Aron Warner
JSL: SHE SAID SOMETHING SIMILAR – HER ROLE MODELS WERE AN OLD TEAPOT, A VILLAIN, OR A HARMLESS MATRIARCH. WONDER WOMAN SHOWED THAT JUST WOMEN IN GENERAL NEEDED TO SEE SOMEONE POWERFUL WHOSE THIGHS JIGGLE. AND THE #METOO MOVEMENT HAS PROVED THERE’S A LOT OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. AW: Absolutely, and there’s incredible power in it. JSL: IS THERE ANYTHING YOU LOOK FOR BETWEEN ONE PROJECT AND THE NEXT? AW: I just want something I haven’t seen before. And I know that’s hard. If it’s really unique and has someone behind it who actually has the capacity to make it through that movie as a creator, then that makes it a lot more attractive. Wish Dragon is due for release in 2020. – Julia Smuts Louw
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DIGITAL CONTENT
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Facebook series 2De Vrou spotlights issues of polygamy in the Muslim community 2De Vrou is a three-part Facebook series created by Cape Town filmmaker Sedick Simons. The series marks his filmmaking debut under Koefia Films – a platform that Simons intends to use to create Halal-permissible Islamic content that will educate and stimulate discussion in the Muslim community.
T
he controversial series, 2De Vrou, tackles issues pertaining to polygamy in the Muslim community, more especially the pain often felt by women in the community when their husbands take on another wife. “Our film in no way undermines the Quran and Sunnah (our lifestyle or our beloved prophet). It tackles a pertinent issue in our community and contextualises it for people who deal with this on a daily basis. Most Imams (may Allah bless them) and Muslim men today focus on the Fiqh/ Sharia but very little on the emotional trauma some of our women experience,” explains Simons, who felt that making 2De Vrou could help bring the plight of women affected by this issue to the fore, and lead to a much-needed discussion about this common but largely unspokenabout practice. Part one of the series is a 10-minute short film set in Mitchells Plain, which follows a married woman named Nuraan. A wife and mother who practices her faith diligently, Nuraan is distraught when – on a visit to her local butchery – she discovers that her husband has taken a second wife. This new information puts her faith and marriage to the test when Nuraan questions her rights as a Muslim woman and her husband’s betrayal for keeping his new wife a secret from her for more than six months. The short film sees Nuraan confront her husband as well as the local Moulana to voice her concerns. Her journey to find a possible solution to her predicament leads to an open conversation on the topic with some of her close family. Still to be shot, part two of the series will focus on how polygamy impacts the children involved, the second wife and the husband. While in part three, the team will look into the reasons why the Prophet took on more than one wife. According to the Quran, the religion permits men to have up to four wives, with the condition that he treat all of them equally. “You may have heard of someone that didn’t treat his wives with fairness
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“Western films depict Islam in a very negative way. Muslims are always terrorists or the bad guy... It has always been my dream to create Halal-permissible Islamic content that can educate and stimulate discussion in our local community. The only way to tackle this problem is to create our own Halal Islamic content that is both informative, educational and entertaining for everyone – not just Muslims.
”
– Sedick Simons
and justice. Maybe someone did it purely out of lust. Maybe that person was abusive physically and emotionally. But the act itself was allowed by God so we cannot think of it as wrong. We cannot eliminate it,” says Simons. “Men marry for
different reasons: care, love, lust, friendship, etc. No matter what the reasons, when a man takes a second wife, the first wife and children in most cases experience some level of emotional and behavioural issues.” The female lead Nuraan is played by Nuraan Ajam – wife of Simons’s cousin, Achmat. The couple play the main characters in the series, even using their real names. Simons says that idea for the series was actually sparked by Nuraan’s relationship with her husband: “I admire the bond between Achmat and his wife. They do everything together…I thought about what would happen if a third person entered their relationship. This sparked thoughts about how couples in polygamous relationships navigate the struggles of their relationships. I discussed the idea with them and the rest is history.” Simons educated himself on the topic by discussing it with several local scholars: “I read online articles and watched videos on polygamy presented by international Muslim scholars. I also interviewed local Muslim women to get their thoughts on the subject,” he shares. “This is a subject that very often is discussed between friends, family, husbands and wives. I thought I could touch on the emotions a woman goes through – even though she is a practicing Muslim and understands polygamy is allowed.” Part one was shot at the Simons house in Mitchells Plain, the butchery in New Woodlands and at the Al-Masjidur Rawbie mosque in Portlands. “My filmmaking methodology is guided by Islamic principles shaping the production process. The manner in which the characters are dressed in the film is also according to Islamic principles,” explains Simons, who shot the first installment on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 camera, paired with Sigma 18-35 lenses. Aputure Amaran LED light panels and No Name fluorescent tubes were used to light select scenes. Besides having a team to help with the lighting for the shoots, Simons handled everything else himself – from the script, to production, post and final upload. The first episode in the series was released in late-June of 2019 and went viral within days. As a result, Simons was asked to be a guest on various radio shows to discuss the film. The first installment of the three-part series has sparked much-needed discussion on the topic, with several women coming out to share their personal stories of living in a polygamous
relationship and how they cope with having to share their husbands. 2De Vrou received mixed reactions from Muslim men who are for and against this practice. Simons says that he hopes to start shooting part two in the first week of August. “I’m busy writing part two and because I work solo, things take a bit longer. I also need to work around my cast’s schedules. This is not a paid-for production, it’s self-funded.” Simons is already working on other film ideas with roots in the Muslim community. Through his films, he intends on changing the way the world views his religion and his people, and this starts by educating citizens about things that take place in their own backyards. “Western films depict Islam in a very negative way. Muslims are always terrorists or the bad guy... It has always been my dream to create Halalpermissible Islamic content that can educate and stimulate discussion in our local community. The only way to tackle this problem is to create our own Halal Islamic content that is both informative, educational and entertaining for everyone – not just Muslims,” Simons concludes. – Gezzy S Sibisi
TECH CHECK EQUIPMENT • Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 • Lenses: Sigma
2De Vrou is shot on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 camera, paired with Sigma 18-35 lenses.
Systems Integrator
We are a local Avid supplier in South Africa
We are a local Avid supplier in South Africa
ADVERTORIAL
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NEXT GENERATION EXPERIENCES FOR LOCAL MARKETS How Dolby are looking to create “real change” in the African broadcasting landscape
CREATING A HEALTHY ECOSYSTEM
It is hard to think of another name as inseparable from the cinema experience as Dolby. For decades, the company has worked with partners in both the film and broadcast industries and focused on developing next generation technologies – such as Dolby Atmos – that create unique and immersive sound experiences for viewers. Pankaj Kedia, Managing Director of Emerging Markets, took time out of his busy Mediatech Africa 2019 schedule to talk to us about how Dolby are helping the next generation of television and digital content producers tell more compelling stories.
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As Kedia explains, “Dolby is a partner – not a vendor or a supplier. What we offer is a strategic partnership with our technology plus our technical and creative expertise. We develop our technology and solutions to use these technologies for the cinema and broadcast industries, and then support partners for these technologies to be adopted throughout various parts of the industry ecosystem. This could be comprised of tools, or infrastructure, workflows – there are different pieces that we do. For us, it’s not just about developing technology and pushing it out into the market – it’s about helping people to use our technology within the market to aid storytelling and deliver spectacular experiences.” He explains that as viewer expectations regarding video and audio quality continue to rise, there are many sectors of the industry in which Dolby strives to forge productive partnerships. “Even if you look at some of the big sports producers and broadcasters – they are now expected to use Dolby Atmos to
deliver the next generation audio experience, but a lot of them are still unsure about how to take this on, how to set up their infrastructure, how the cost of operations will be affected,” Kedia says. “There are many things to unpack and focus on – and that’s where we can bring a lot of value. Whether it’s a streaming service or a broadcaster looking to create quality content on a limited budget, we work with them to find a solution.”
SOUND IS STORYTELLING Describing sport broadcasting as “unscripted drama” and quoting an interview that Francis Ford Coppola gave around the time of the release of Apocalypse Now – in which the famous director talks about how much value the soundtrack can give to the visual aspects of a production – it is clear that Kedia and the Dolby team are passionate about the work they do. “For us, it is about using [sound technology] to bring audiences in – so the story is not playing out in front of, but around the viewer. It is about making the audience part of story they are watching.
| That’s where we aim to be: driving that level of engagement in content production and delivery.” Reflecting on how the company seeks to achieve this through its various operations and across different markets, Kedia reflects: “It might sound obvious, but a lot of the work starts with getting people to pay attention to how important sound is to film and television production. From our point of view, sound is storytelling – and there are a lot of missed opportunities because people don’t focus on sound as an integral part of the production process.” Beyond this idea of taking care to maximise the role of sound in productions, Kedia shares some important insights into the state of global content distribution and the need for production companies to find robust, scalable sound solutions for their projects. “Content is becoming very global,” he says. “It’s no longer produced in one market and consumed there – it is designed to travel across the world through different streaming services. That’s opening new doors and creating new value for your content, and – if you’re trying to dub into different languages, for example – those types of workflows can become much easier if you take a strategic, holistic approach to sound.”
UNIQUE ATMOSPHERE According to Kedia, the requirements for being able to mix in Dolby Atmos – the company’s most cutting-edge audio format – “are different depending on whether you are mixing for the cinema, or for the home, or even for a mobile device. The solutions are different, because those environments are different, but we have – for example – a set of specifications for how to set up a cinema mixing room. So we can come in and consult and tell people how to set things up so that, what you hear in the room during the mix is exactly how it’s going to sound in the cinema or home. Because a director might spend weeks or months working with a sound team to craft a particular sound – and it doesn’t help if that doesn’t translate in the cinema or in the home.” He continues, “If you’re a studio and you’re currently doing stereo work or 5.1, there are a few components you need to add – but the infrastructure is not the big challenge. The infrastructure is incremental, based on platforms people use today, and the cost is not prohibitive. The transfer in terms of the skills is also not too significant: there is a transition required, but what we find is that after the first one or two projects people get really comfortable and it becomes very natural to them.” Delving into how the process differs, Kedia says: “Usually when you’re doing a channel-based mix, you mix sounds to speakers. With Dolby Atmos mixing, the workflow is different: the engineer will do a channel bed, the base of the sound, and then start placing objects in a 3D environment. It’s very free-form, it’s very visual – your interface is a 3D cube and you move sound around; you can program the sounds to move or swell or
Pankaj Kedia
fall or diffuse at certain times. This information is then relayed to the device in this format, and the device renders the sound and plays it out in terms of its own speaker capabilities and the playback environment. That’s why the technology is so scalable: it’s not the same translation as, for example, sending 5.1 to a stereo speakers.” This is also why the company is always eager to assist content producers in the earliest stages of a project. “We always look to promote the idea of creating one master at the highest format, then derive the 5.1 and stereo mixes from the Dolby Atmos master. Lots of our partners tell us that down-mixing Dolby Atmos is richer and stronger than mixing straight into 5.1 or stereo.”
LOCAL IMPACT Dolby Atmos is a perfect example of how innovation in one sector can quickly lead to advancements in other areas of the industry. Before this technology was invented, surround speakers in the cinema “were not designed to be full
range,” Kedia explains. “But, as technology and the ability to craft an immersive sound environment have evolved, they have had to adapt to deliver new possibilities.” “In the context of emerging markets, such as Africa where reliable audio mixes can sometimes be a challenge, we are interested in helping partners achieve solid 5.1 and Dolby Atmos mixes on their projects. We want to help the industry and content creators to improve the quality of their audio.” Kedia explains how this outlook fits with the “long-term approach” that Dolby adopts towards its partnerships. “The work we do is certainly focused on the long term. It has to be, if you’re in a position to interface with large changes in the industry over many years” – and he points to Dolby’s recent partnership with the MultiChoice Talent Factory as an example of “a unique partnership where we are trying to scale our knowledge to a whole bunch of new content creators, as well as existing industry professionals.” The exciting partnership between Dolby and the MultiChoice Talent Factory – which consists of masterclasses, workshops and other forms of knowledge-sharing, and which was described as a “game-changer for young African content producers” by its director, Cheryl Uys-Ali – serves as an illuminating example of the philosophy that Dolby adopts towards its partnerships. As Kedia says, “We want to reduce the barrier to entry, be it through implementing facilities or helping to prepare content. Because if you prepare your sound incorrectly, it will cost you a lot of money down the line. It’s very important that you follow a good technical process, as this will aid you in being cost-effective throughout the whole production chain. Overcoming that
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barrier to entry is very important to us – and once the foundation is in place, we’re ready to keep growing with our partners over the years.” Summing up what Dolby finds exciting about visiting shows such as Mediatech and forming partnerships such as the one with MultiChoice Talent Factory – one of many Africa-based projects the company currently has on the go – Kedia gives an inspiring message to content producers across the continent. “What’s exciting is that we’re in the position to be able to help transform local industries. This is real change – not only in terms of the experiences we bring to viewers, but also on the level of upskilling people around the world who are involved in the industry, and of helping locally-made content be competitive in the global market.” – David Cornwell
AUGUST 2019
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INSTALLATIONS
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HARAMBE COMPLETES ONE OF AFRICA’S FIRST IP-BASED STUDIO INSTALLS The recent Harambe Technologies installation at Red Pepper Studios – the home of the brand-new DSTV channel Newzroom Afrika – indicates a great leap forward for the South African broadcasting industry, as its “future-proof” IP-based design provides a taste of things to come.
I
n this feature, Screen Africa chatted to Broadcasting Systems Integrator Jacques Breytenbach to hear more about the intention behind the project; why IP installations are going to be more and more prevalent within the broadcasting landscape over the new few years; and the exciting new technology deployed at Red Pepper Studios for Newzroom Afrika.
INNOVATIVE PLATFORM “Our promise to you is to be an innovative and interactive multimedia news service, to be seen as a strong alternative for professional, incredible South African current affairs coverage. We promise to unpack the unspoken,” said co-founder of Newzroom Afrika, Thabile Ngwato, in an on-screen message when the channel launched back at the start of April. This innovative intention for the news channel is more than matched by the cutting-edge set-up at Red Pepper studios. As Breytenbach says: “The whole intention behind the installation was to future-proof the studio facility. “We proposed an IP core and to utilise the existing HD baseband equipment in the same domain – which, of course, requires IP gateways to do the encapsulation and de-encapsulation as a hybrid solution between the two domains. That was the main intention, so that – going forward – as your equipment becomes increasingly IP-ready, it can 26 | SCREENAFRICA | AUGUST 2019
connect directly to this future-proofed core and older components can be phased out one by one. It is also means that the studio core is ready for UHD (or 4K broadcast) without changing anything on the fibre cabling requirements side of things, but mainly replacing SFPs or QSFPs to accommodate required bandwidth.”
PARADIGM SHIFT Although revolutionary in terms of the African broadcasting landscape, Breytenbach explains that IP-based studio installs have been taking place around the globe for many years already. “In fact,” he says, “We’ve been waiting for this kind of installation for at least four or five years – the technology has been out there, [this country] just been a little slow in picking it up.” Giving us a sense of the differences of IP-based studio installs, Breytenbach says: “When one looks at baseband versus IP, it’s a completely different installation. It’s a different mind-set, actually – even down to the level of monitoring, you no longer have your discreet signal travelling through a baseband cable. You can no longer directly plug that cable into equipment to monitor the signal. In the IP domain, you’re talking about multicasts being moved from a source to a destination – simply using the SMPTE ST 2110 standard, we are now moving the video, audio and ancillary data (metadata) as
“We’ve been waiting for this kind of installation for at least four or five years.”
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INSTALLATIONS
– Jacques Breytenbach
separate multicasts through the IP domain. So your fault-finding, for example, now moves from a visible or audible baseband signal to software processes within a multi-cast system.” Explaining the challenges of designing IP-based systems, Breytenbach says: “With this technology, bandwidth determines everything. The bandwidth management within the IP world is all-important. You need a solid software defined video network (or SDVN) – one that’s capable of doing this kind of bandwidth management. So you start your design by understanding your requirements in terms of sources/ destinations and input and output signals – using this information, one can then determine the bandwidth that is required by the system. You then use these calculations to create your overall IP design.”
HEAVYWEIGHT TECHNOLOGY While Harambe provided an end-to-end Avid NCRS solution for Newzroom Afrika, the backbone of the newsroom facility is an Evertz IP system, which – Breytenbach explains – is celebrated for its “scalability, in that it can be used for IP systems of any size, and its flexibility, to provide a format-agnostic facility to support multiple standards and streams for both compressed and uncompressed video.” Evertz is a worldwide leader in the broadcast industry’s transition to IP – having first developed their systems technology after a request made by the sports broadcasting giant ESPN. “The challenge of delivering more content, in multiple formats and to multiple platforms, is becoming both more
significant and more important every day,” Breytenbach explains. “Not only do we have a great relationship with Evertz going back more than 10 years, but they have already completed more than one hundred global IP-based installs – they’ve won numerous awards and are one of the front-runners in the industry.” Breytenbach explains how this special working partnership between Harambe and Evertz was instrumental in getting the newsroom up and running: “Normally, it takes between four to six weeks to receive delivery after placing an order with a supplier – but we were able to get this system in under three weeks. This was crucial, as we received the gear on the 18th of March – and had to go live by the 1st of April – which we did, of course.” Providing a look under the hood of the new IP system, Breytenbach shares: “We went for the Evertz SDVN because it features the award-winning Magnum unified control software. This is utilised to manage and control not only the core, but the complete IP system. It functions as a traditional router using the same control panels as any baseband router, but the core is comprised on an IPX switch fabric. This becomes the engine of the whole IP domain: the softwaredefined network determines the multicast that has been assigned to the edge device for every signal coming in and out, and this information is all moved and routed through the IP core switch. “The core switch we chose is capable of handling up to 128 ports. These can individually be configured from 1GE to 25GE – depending on your bandwidth requirements. Because the system is controlled via software, it is agnostic
when it comes to input signal – it doesn’t mind if it’s SD, UHD, anything – it will convert it. The only key, and this goes back to the design stage, is not to over-subscribe any individual port in terms of its bandwidth requirements.” Delving into the system’s performance, Breytenbach comments: “Our IP gateways are high-density – we can have 16 baseband signals going in, and 16 out. It runs on 25GE connectivity, same as our multiviewers; therefore, you can use a single MTP-MTP fibre cable and get 100GE connectivity between your IP gateway, multiviewers and your IPX core switch. That’s a lot of bandwidth – and you can get this with just one cable connection and a Quad SFP (QSFP). This reduces cabling and clutter enormously: from having a spider-web of fibres at the back of every device, now you just have your device and a single Quad SFP (QSFP).” Breytenbach concludes by looking forward to future applications of the IP system. “The set-up we went for, with its 128 (1GE/10GE/25GE) ports, potentially gives us the capability of through-putting up to 3.2Tb of data per second. Currently, we are only using 72 (1GE/10GE/25GE) of these ports in the studio facility, with the ability to expand even beyond the 128 port connections by adding additional aggregation IPX core switches. This shows the level of growth that we expect from broadcast technologies in the near future – and it shows how important it is to plan for tomorrow’s advancements right now.” – David Cornwell
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“We’re noticing a big
REPORT
interest in OTT-type streaming video on demand…
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– Jacques Botha
MEDIATECH SHOW Over the course of three jam-packed days at the Ticketpro Dome, Screen Africa was able to chat to leading exhibitors and the company experts on their stands about the latest products and technologies set to influence the media and broadcast industries over the next couple of years. AFRICA BROADCAST TECHNOLOGY Jason Sproat, Managing Director
“There’s been an increase in popularity from the church market – especially in terms of broadcast equipment. I think they are wanting to upscale their equipment and have something that’s more television-orientated – and some of the larger, branched churches have invested a lot in having larger, more sophisticated television broadcast 28 | SCREENAFRICA | AUGUST 2019
equipment. I’ve found that churches want the best quality that money can buy; they want cameras that can be matched and controlled in terms of colour, exposure and performance – they have really up-scaled their production value. We have done several installations of Black Magic systems, specifically. As far as I can tell, people want quality, but they don’t always have the budgets… that’s where Blackmagic and ABT fit in so well, we can over-deliver on quality and it’s affordable.”
AFRICAN UNION COMMUNICATIONS
CONCILIUM TECHNOLOGIES
“We’re noticing a big interest in OTT-type streaming video on demand… Customers want to watch what they want, when they want, where they want. Something that we’re trying to push from our side, though we are fighting across limitations like bandwidth availability, data costs and the like – all of these things remain an issue. So we’ve put a lot of research into optimising these processors – like, instead of having a million customers connecting to one server, all at once, using AI and machine learning and tools like that, you can optimise the way content is distributed. We’re currently in a bubble of digital migration – but from next year there is a deadline saying that the analogue spectrum will no longer be available.”
“The key thing for us is the move to IP. Audio, video, transmission, playout over IP – this is where our focus has been as a company. We are currently rolling out a multi-channel playout system for MultiChoice – all over IP – and this is what we’re demonstrating on the Imagine stand. We will be replacing the 2,000 square foot router with an IP backbone. This will translate to savings and increased efficiencies for the company, in terms of being able to spin up or spin down a channel seamlessly, as news develops, without adding any hardware. Most of the exhibitors on our stand are working in the IP sector – this shift in the industry is something that we’ve seen coming for a while, and we’ve made sure to get the right people in place to represent the company.”
Jacques Botha, Operational Manager
Andrew Cole, Managing Director
REPORT
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“There’s been an increase in popularity from the church market – especially in terms of broadcast equipment.
”
– Jason Sproat
REPORT DOLBY INTERNATIONAL Pankaj Kedia, Managing Director of Emerging Markets
“Dolby is looked at as a consulting partner – not a vendor or a supplier. What we offer is a strategic partnership and consulting expertise. One of main ways we invest in the film and broadcast industries is by developing our technology, and then getting that technology adopted throughout various parts of the industry ecosystem. This could be comprised of tools, or infrastructure, workflows – there are different pieces that we do. For us, it’s not about developing technology and pushing it out on the market – it’s about helping people to use our technology on within the market.”
JASCO SYSTEMS
MACRO VIDEO
MOVIEVISION
“We have two new partners on our stand this year. One is Ateme, which is a company that specialises in broadcast head-end software technology. And we also have Glookast, who provide alternative ingest solutions for avid and the avid-based workflows. The other interesting partner is an OEM-agnostic integrations provider, so they can talk to a customer and find out what they need – and then go to the whole market to spec a solution, without being tied to a specific brand. That’s unusual for the South African context, a brand-agnostic approach – but this partnership will allow us to offer our customers the very best of what’s out there… Looking forward, I think what’s going to be interesting in the industry is the merging of the IT and IP spheres with broadcast. It will be fascinating to see if broadcast professionals upskill in terms of their IT skills, or if IT professionals move into broadcasting as an application within the IP network.”
“Our approach is to put various broadcasting components into a one-box solution and make it work. Many of the products we typically include are manufactured by DataVideo, but this doesn’t have to be the case – you could use another product for your comms system, or another for your recorder. Either way, we can provide a one-box turnkey broadcasting solution. We see a big demand from houses of worship and rental companies, people looking for a simple efficient broadcast solution, as well as from big production companies who want the option of being so light and portable. The SABC have two of our mobile studio units – that’s a full studio in a suitcase, 12 inputs, full HD… In terms of being ready for AV over IP, DataVideo has just released a new camera, the PTZ140T, which is connected with one cable to a switcher. It is powered over the internet, and it connects your control systems and your video with one Cat 5 and one Cat 6A cable – and that’s it.”
“We’re really excited by a few products on the stand this year. We have a couple of six-colour panel lights – red, green, blue, white, lime green and amber – and both are really bright, with 400W of output, which is actually more powerful than some of their competitors, who have much larger units on the market. The one light is locally manufactured by Film Gear – the RGB Panel 400 Pro – and it will be released later this year. The other is the Rosco DMG MaxiMix, a brand-new product in South Africa, though it has already done extremely well in Europe. They have amazing app control via wireless and Bluetooth – unbelievable colour rendering and control right in your hand. We have also just been named distributed for zero88 – a leading lighting control company. They do dimmers, desk, DMX control – and we love them because they cater for every rung of the market, from solid entry-level solutions to the really complex FLX S consoles.”
Paul Divall, Cluster Managing Director
Eric Wiese, Director
Sean Boyce, Technical Director at Southern Lighting Solutions
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| PROTEA ELECTRONICS
Shaun Kerr, Manager – Broadcast Sales, and Kevin King, OEM Channel Manager – EMEAR at AJA Video Systems “Everybody wants to get into the AV over IP market – that’s the real traction that’s coming – but everybody wants to do it in the quickest, most cost-effective fashion... Just in the example of streaming, there are so many different ways of doing it, but most involve a capture card of some sort and a computer. In the words, it’s an operator-led process – whereas HELO is an appliance. It can be programmed up and then it’s a one-button click. At AJA, we cater for many different clients because there’s not one way to fit all. Another of our flagship products, U-TAP, came about because we were trying to stream to our own employees, and another – the Region of Interest (ROI) converter – was developed because I was at a conference in Kenya and I saw the difficulties that the Kenyan Broadcasting Company was having trying to get Skype conversations into a magazine show. So many of our products start with the question: ‘Does anybody actually make a device that can do this?’ – and if the answer is no, we get to work.”
REPORT
ROHDE & SCHWARZ Rian Emerich, Sales Support: Broadcast and Media
“Rhode & Schwarz is a German company, though we have an office in Johannesburg. What we’re showing is our broadcasting file-based media systems, as well as our transmitter systems. What it entails is ingesting into a studio, editing, storage, monitoring and sending out to the transmitter. We supply equipment throughout the value chain, from input to output, and we can provide end-to-end solutions or individual components. The strength of the product is that allows you to make use of all formats: our systems are designed to be highly flexible and to fit in with existing hardware or workflow preferences. One of the company’s big focuses is test and measurement equipment, which makes Rohde & Schwartz a good fit for content producers of all sizes; on the transmitter side, we cater more for signal distributors and broadcasters, and we supply and service these throughout Africa, from our specialised Service Division based in Johannesburg. “
SONY PROFESSIONAL SOLUTIONS Rob Sherman, Managing Director, and Paul Martin, Business Head – Broadcast & Media Sales
“For us, Mediatech is a very useful show – it’s great to come out here every two years and meet new people in the industry. Especially exciting for us this time around is our VENICE 6K RAW camera, which has picked up very strongly in the last year or so. We’re seeing a significant interest in the VENICE: as people have learned what the camera can do, its reputation has spread very quickly. But the key areas for this region, the ones where we see the biggest amount of growth, are the lower-cost production areas. There’s a large diversity of people producing content now – not just broadcasters – so there’s a lot more players in the market to address. So we’re showing a very cost-effective mixer which is connected to three cameras of different ranges, showing people the quality and ease-of-use they can get even in the lower-cost production environment. You have to have the right tools for the right job, which means also providing options that allow creatives to get into the process very quickly without unnecessary technical barriers.”
TELEMEDIA
Gaorekwe Kgaratsi, Engineer “Since the last Mediatech, the evolution of broadcasting has definitely moved towards a greater role for IP. Telemedia’s operations are largely satellite- or fibre-orientated, and focused on the contribution side – so we have been in a good position over the last couple of years to see how IP has moved into centre-stage. This has forced everyone in the industry to change from native video and audio cable setups, and – though people are doing it at different speeds – I think, by the next Mediatech, everyone will be playing in this space, and we are looking forward to even greater engineering innovations in the near future. We have been the backbone of satellite communications and broadcasting technology since the 80s, and – being involved in contribution for so long – we have been able to foresee this IP trend coming, and so all the products and technologies we commonly use have this future-proof aspect to them. We always ask about any new idea, ‘How will this be relevant in two, five or ten years’ time?’ So our stand shows that we’re not just ready for the IP revolution; we have always been ready for it.”
“Everybody wants to get into the AV over IP market – that’s the real traction that’s coming – but everybody wants to do it in the quickest, most costeffective fashion... 30 | SCREENAFRICA | AUGUST 2019
– Shaun Kerr
”
REPORT VISION VIEW
Buhle Mashugane, Production Manager “We decided to showcase the full range of our broadcasting capabilities at Mediatech this year, as well as demonstrate to people how we can adapt our studio services to match different budgets. OB1 is our smallest OB van, but it still has multi-cam facilities, and the next in the range – the OB2 – has more capacity, and so on. Our latest is OB5, which we brought to Mediatech to showcase because we are also systems integrators: we work with other South African companies when we build our OB vans; we assemble the different components and integrate the systems ourselves. At our Randburg site we have pre- and post-production facilities, producers, editors, cameras for hire – we are an all-encompassing company that can take you from concept to package delivery, and we wanted to showcase that at Mediatech this year. We also do live broadcasts, of course – we have an example of that here – and a new, fully-fledged internet radio station that we’ve set up outside. So right now we’re filming, recording audio and broadcasting – and you can see that footprint is still quite small.”
VISUAL IMPACT
Goran Music, Company Director, and David Green, Business Development Manager at ARRI Camera Systems “One of the most exciting cameras we have at Mediatech is the brand-new ARRI ALEXA Mini LF – this is the first time this camera has appeared on the continent. The camera is the next stage on from the ALEXA Mini, which was launched in 2015, and is the result of our decision to build a large format camera, which gives a bigger canvas and – with a longer focal length – a more nuanced perspective in terms of separating foreground, subject and background. Fundamentally how this is achieved is that the sensor inside is full frame; it’s essentially two ALEXA Mini sensors that have been rotated 90 degrees and put together. We’ve also taken the opportunity to redesign some of the features of the original Mini, such
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as a new viewfinder with a much bigger display, and a new coexpress cable which can be extended up to ten metres – so you can use this camera as an RCU, such as on a crane. We’ve increased the number of user buttons on the camera, as well as the power outlets, and the camera now supports a new media bay that takes 1 TB codex cards on the side and Wi-Fi output. Most important, with the large format design, we’ve also changed the ecosystem of the camera and changed the lens mount to a large positive lock (LPL) configuration. This has allowed us to redesign the lenses for the camera – to make telecentric lenses specifically designed for LF digital sensors.” – David Cornwell
“For us, Mediatech
is a very useful show – it’s great to come out here every two years and meet new people in the industry.
”
– Rob Sherman
“Since the last Mediatech, the evolution of broadcasting has definitely moved towards a greater role for IP.
”
– Gaorekwe Kgaratsi
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TRADE SHOWS & EXPOS
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It’s IBC time again! September is nearly upon us, where does the time go? It’s a month of changes: for us in the southern hemisphere it’s the announcement of spring; for our friends up north, the start of autumn; and, more importantly, the start of the world’s most influential media, entertainment and technology show – IBC2019.
T
he IBC theme this year is ‘See it differently’, an apt theme considering that broadcasting is going through an immense amount of disruption, thanks widely to new technology and consumer viewing habits. This year’s show is slightly different, in that IBC has decided to align the dates of the exhibition and conference so that they will now both take place from Friday, 13 September through to Tuesday, 17 September 2019. Until now, the IBC Conference always started a day earlier than the Exhibition, on the preceding Thursday. Over the five day conference, 1,700 delegates and guests from across the globe will hear from an outstanding line-up of 300-plus speakers, enjoy fantastic networking opportunities and be inspired to embrace the changes in our industry together. The exhibition expects to draw a crowd of over 55,000 attendees. This year’s IBC conference programme features some of the foremost thoughtleaders, innovators and policy-makers in their fields and covers a wide breadth of topics. The programme will explore new strategies, business disruptors and future technological progress, and will hopefully reveal the future roadmap of the industry. Top of my list from the conference sessions is a peak into business disruptors YouTube on their content creation and monetising of the channel, with a keynote speech from Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Head of YouTube EMEA. YouTube has largely been about user-generated content shot on mobile phones. But large viewing figures and big sponsorship deals have seen some YouTube stars become increasingly more professional in their approach to video production, creating competition for traditional broadcasters. The desire for instant-access content on YouTube, as well as a growing number of other platforms, can be an opportunity for broadcasters, giving them a new outlet and way of engaging their audience. Another not-to-miss from the conference programme will be the Global Gamechangers session on Friday 13
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September. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to meet the pioneers of creativity and innovation and be inspired and informed by the greatest creative, innovative and future-facing talents making headlines across the global stage. The Global Gamechangers will debate the future of the industry as they consider where revenues will come from, the creative challenges facing content makers and how broadcasters can remain relevant in a future dominated by digital media. Always fully booked in advance, the IBC2019 Big Screen Programme focuses on how innovation in tech is allowing us to bring stories to life like never before. This year you will be able to gain from insights from creative and technical deep dives, and from cinematographers to colourists involved in the production of hits like Toy Story 4 and Games of Thrones. A world-class forum where creativity meets tech, the Big Screen programme allows us to hear from the talent behind the camera on everything from cinema and big event programming to boxset dramas and an in-depth look into the tech bringing this content to our screens. Outside the IBC2019 conference doors – which contain over 50,000 square meters of exhibition space, over 1,700 exhibitors and over 55,000 attendees made up of innovators, key decisionmakers and press – you’ll get the opportunity to discover adjacent technology and sectors, and catch up with the latest developments in broadcast and how they can fit into your future media plans. One of the major areas of interest will be Artificial Intelligence. Is AI still hype or is it really the next big thing? At last year’s IBC, the Future Zone looked at how Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) had already had an impact on the broadcast, media and entertainment industries. This year, with both technologies having dramatically improved, there’s a wider look at existing projects and new ways that AR and VR can impact broadcasting, for creators and viewers alike. From the creation of virtual
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objects in a TV studio, to complete virtual sets, AR is already a big part of many broadcasts. Looking to the future, many believe that high-speed 5G mobile networks will create new opportunities for AR and VR, creating new ways of telling stories and delivering immersive narrative experiences. Other hot topics will no doubt be Cloud Production, Cyber Security, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and one of my personal favourites, Esports. Esports is already a billion-dollar industry and all signs point to it growing rapidly over the coming years. With this potential comes fresh challenges, such as how to create interesting stories from in-game streaming. Esports was introduced at IBC2018, but the focus will be much larger at this year’s show. For the first time, IBC2019 is hosting the IBC Esports Showcase designed to give attendees an
insight into this growing area. From managing the complexity of production to delivering an Esports broadcast, the Esports Showcase will host a live Esports tournament to demonstrate the techniques, trends and technologies required to bring this exciting new form of entertainment to life. Something that has been in the headlines – be it good or bad – is the implementation of Mobile 5G networks. 5G networks are starting to be switched on across Europe, with plans to rapidly expand coverage. Offering broadbandlike speeds, 5G is a revolutionary new type of mobile network that makes high-speed internet access possible for mobile devices. For broadcasters, 5G can offer a complete portable transmission solution, even delivering 4K video streams. For consumers, 5G can be used for streaming high-capacity content, such
as with Barcelona Football Club, which has used 5G to embed wireless 360-degree cameras throughout the Nou Camp stadium, streaming the video to home fans using VR headsets. I have no doubt that 5G will be bigger than ever and a talking-point long after IBC finishes. IBC organisers say that this event is the world’s most influential media, entertainment and technology show – and they aren’t wrong. It’s set to be a goodie, and offers everything from new product launches to opportunities to engage with customers old and new and to meet up with your broadcast colleagues as well as all the industry leaders. IBC 2019 is heading to Amsterdam, and – as they say in Dutch – “zie je daar.” – Ian Dormer
TRADE SHOWS & EXPOS
This year’s IBC conference programme features some of the foremost thought-leaders, innovators and policy-makers in their fields and covers a wide breadth of topics. The programme will explore new strategies, business disruptors and future technological progress, and will hopefully reveal the future roadmap of the industry. AUGUST 2019
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STORAGE AND ASSET MANAGEMENT
| CASE STUDY
MediaCloud and Object Matrix bring MatrixStore as a service to Africa Written by Nick Pearce,
Tomenius, Sales and Marketing Director, Object Matrix
With increased demands for tapeless and cloud workflows, South Africabased MediaCloud realised the need for a scalable and secure multitenancy storage platform, delivered as a managed service. To do this, it joined forces with object storage company, Object Matrix, to develop its own solution.
speed of access when uploading or downloading assets using only the public internet, and the costs associated with egress when needing content back. MediaCloud had a list of requirements to meet the demands of providing seamless offsite Disaster Recovery to existing customers as well as MaaS (MatrixStore as a Service) to South Africa and beyond.
REQUIREMENTS INCLUDED:
M
ediaCloud provides lightning fast internet, telecommunication and cloud solutions to the media industry across the country, enabling media companies to access and share content efficiently. MediaCloud had already been promoting and selling MatrixStore, the mediafocused private and hybrid cloud object storage solution, developed by Object Matrix, as part of its existing service. MatrixStore makes it easy to discover and access content within your archive, all while keeping it secure. However, with
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increased demands for tapeless and cloud workflows, MediaCloud realised the need for a scalable and secure multi-tenancy storage platform, delivered as a managed service.
THE CHALLENGE MediaCloud has had great success deploying MatrixStore on-premises across the region. However, with the growth of its client base, more and more media companies were demanding a Disaster Recovery setup, should anything unavoidable happen on-site. This could
be achieved through installing a second MatrixStore in a separate building with seamless replication from the primary MatrixStore; however, with many companies limited to just one site, an alternative was needed. Additionally, through working with a number of organisations, MediaCloud identified that many of its customers needed a tapeless and ‘easy-to-access’ storage platform, despite not having the space on-site for a MatrixStore solution. Public cloud was an option, but there were limitations in terms of metadata,
• Disaster Recovery – the storage platform needed to be fast and easy to access in the event of an emergency with a simple interface to access the replicated assets if or when needed. It needed to support multi-tenancy requirements as well as being secure, robust, costeffective and scalable in order to meet growing business needs. • MaaS – the storage platform needed to be fast and accessible with a simple intuitive media interface for users. It needed to offer dedicated connectivity for fast access as well as public internet. It would need to be highly scalable for flexible use and highly secure to protect content. Integrations to existing workflows and applications would be necessary. The solution would need to be cost-effective, with predictable costs.
CASE STUDY
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STORAGE AND ASSET MANAGEMENT
With MaaS, MediaCloud can give fast, low-latency connectivity to its customers, with many mainly using the solution as a nearline archive.
THE SOLUTION Having worked with Object Matrix for many years, MediaCloud had a deep understanding of its technology and its benefits. MediaCloud chose to implement Object Matrix’s MatrixStore solution to deploy MaaS. Having its own on-premises MatrixStore means that MediaCloud can now offer a fully-hosted cloud service – ‘MaaS’ (MatrixStore as a Service) and deliver all of the required benefits that its customers had been asking for. The MaaS service provides MediaCloud customers with a costeffective cloud storage service that is scalable and delivered through a secure and robust platform. Connectivity can be achieved over public internet or through MediaCloud’s fast dedicated network. Customers included South Africa’s three largest broadcasters, post facilities and production houses, including Red Pepper Pictures, Clearwater and Homebrew Films, as well as a number of the country’s largest advertising agencies, who were in short-term need of a solution like MaaS. Access to MaaS is gained either via a file system on a local machine or using ‘Vision’, the web-based asset management tool that enables easy search and share capabilities. The commercial aspect of the service is very transparent, with predictable storage costs and no additional penalties to access content (egress).
THE FUTURE MediaCloud has benefited from having a multi-tenancy platform which it offers to all of its customers. The platform can scale seamlessly and enables protection and security whilst providing customers with easy access to their content. As a media-focused private cloud storage solution, MatrixStore is designed to meet the challenges faced by organisations when creating, ingesting, logging, editing, sharing, distributing and archiving video content. It can be deployed as a hybrid cloud platform, which means that it uses a mix of on-premises private cloud and thirdparty, public cloud services, with orchestration of content between the two platforms. This allows content to be shared as needed whilst being tightly integrated to ensure seamless synchronisation of content and metadata. MaaS’s integration with AWS enables global collaboration and further elasticity.
THE WORKFLOW MediaCloud hosts MatrixStore in its secure facility with a number of vaults (workspaces) per customer, customised to their requirement to enable multi-tenancy from a single platform. Thanks to tight security and audits, MediaCloud ensures that each customer is only able to access their own archive. Additionally, individuals within customer organisations can be assigned different permission levels within the archive.
CUSTOMERS CAN ACCESS THEIR FILES VIA THE FOLLOWING METHODS: 1. Vision: A simple and intuitive web interface which enables users to view lower resolution versions of the content within the archive and access the highresolution versions when required. Assets can be found using extracted or tagged metadata. Proxies can be played out and content can be easily shared within the network. 2. DropSpot: A data asset management tool that allows users to tag objects with metadata during ingest. 3. MatrixStore File System (MXFS): A locally-mounted file system giving access to content in the MatrixStore. Users can browse, playback and perform basic edits using MXFS.
MediaCloud now offers a highlysuccessful service that is heavily in demand. Due to its scalability, the service can also grow with demand. Currently focused in South Africa, MediaCloud is hoping to expand the service to the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. Marc Eckstein, Managing Director of MediaCloud, commented, “I am really excited to be working closely with Object Matrix to deliver a service. Object Matrix really understands us, our clients, and the challenges faced. Its solutions are perfectly geared towards media workflows and can integrate easily with any combination of different systems. Thanks to this implementation, we can now offer our customers storage as a service that can be scaled at any time, is extremely secure, performs well, and is easy for them to access whenever needed.” Peter Watling of Object Matrix added, “MediaCloud is a great company with a similar ethos to us. Like us, MediaCloud specialises in the media industry and has a team of media experts, meaning it can deliver a high level of technical knowledge and support. That, coupled with a specialised world-class solution, is a winning combination for its clients across the region. We are now in a great position to offer offsite Disaster Recovery for existing customers and MaaS to organisations across sub-Saharan Africa, which is very exciting.”
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ANIMATION
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Sam the Hedgehog In a world full of sheep, it’s important to celebrate and embrace differences. This is the premise of Sam the Hedgehog, an animated film that aims to highlight the realities of families with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
C
o-founder of MAAN Creative and co-director of the film, Michael Clark, shared how the idea for the film was sparked by his wife’s interaction with autistic children and their parents. “Initially I was just an animator looking for a story to tell and my only connection to ASD was that my wife saw several autistic kids as an occupational therapist at a local school, one of whom was the son of local radio host David O’Sullivan. After a chat with him, we started exploring this idea of an autistic hedgehog,” Clark shares. Not long after that, Clark’s nephew was diagnosed with ASD. “This somewhat traumatic time (for the whole wider family) added a lot of impetus to the project, as well as insight into the subject matter,” says Clark. In 2013, Clark, business partner Johan Scheepers and some industry friends were pitching movie ideas to each other. The pair pitched their idea and, to their surprise, screenwriter Julia Smuts Louw asked if she could write a script for them.
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“Julia came up with the idea of a hedgehog raised by sheep which we loved and thought it was a great metaphor for how a lot of autistic kids are treated and this has become central to the message of acceptance in the film. Hedgehogs are shy, quiet creatures that can be very prickly when approached and easily take fright, curling up into a defensive ball when they are unsure of a situation. We thought this was such a good visual metaphor for ASD. Sheep, by contrast, are very gregarious and often symbolic of a crowd mentality,” says Clark. Smuts Louw comes from an advertising background, but in 2014 she quit the ad game and fully committed to animation. Animals and unusual relationships have always heavily influenced her work, with these two key elements playing an important part in Sam the Hedgehog. In 2014, Smuts Louw joined Clark and Scheepers during the research phase of the project: “While Michael and Johan focused on interviewing professionals working with the autistic community, I did
a lot of research online... It has been eye-opening. What I was specifically looking for was to find out what aspect of their experience this community wished was better understood by the rest of us. The message that kept coming up was that they wished people hadn’t tried to ‘make them normal’ when they were kids. Our story was grounded on that insight,” says Smuts Louw. The team also worked with Johannesburg-based remedial school Bellavista, which caters for children on the autism spectrum. With the assistance of the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), the team was able to develop their first script draft, a storyboard and a test animation. “That was actually a great experience even though we were a little apprehensive at first… We worked with a fantastic script editor, Julie Hall, and the added rigour and scrutiny really moved the project forward. I think it goes to show that if you have a good idea and a compelling story it will ultimately shine through.” While much of the film is focused on Sam’s journey, the family aspect plays an
equally important role in the film. This is explored through the character of Mrs Mouton – Sam’s mother – who, at first, struggles to accept that Sam is a hedgehog and not a lamb. “We realised while writing the script though that we are actually telling Mrs Mouton’s story. Sam is who he is – it is his mother who has a character arc through the film,” explains Clark. Overall, the film echoes a central message of acceptance of all people and conditions associated with autism and all its spectrums. “We want people to understand that what we call ‘normal’ is one of many ‘neurotypes’ – to broaden their understanding of what kind of brain has value. Kids don’t all have to be pushed into an acceptable mould. To do so is as foolish as trying to turn a hedgehog into a sheep,” says Smuts Louw. While MAAN Creative is known predominantly for its exceptional work in 2D designs, Clark and Scheepers thought that a flat 2D look would be too abstract and too far from reality for the Sam
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ANIMATION
“We want people to understand that project. “We wanted to create a look that is very detailed, visceral and emotive, to lend weight to the story and suit the emotional tone of the film.” All the characters were developed internally by the MAAN Creative team with Scheepers overseeing character design. Charl Smit is the storyboard artist and set builder on the project, while Kgothatso ‘Bruce’ Malatji heads up the small internal animation team that includes Rita du Plessis, an independent autistic female and junior animator. The team began the shooting process using stop motion but soon realised that making an entire film in stop motion was just too ambitious. Their second option was using high-quality 3D animation, but that process carried a huge expense which they could not afford. “We ended up settling on this hybrid style where we are shooting miniature stop motion background plates and then comping in 2D tradigital characters that are themselves very textured,” says Clark. “This has resulted in a beautifully rich, textured look without breaking the bank
(totally) and the stylistic disconnect between physical sets and digital characters kind of suits the conceptual themes in the subject matter as well.” The test was animated in Adobe Flash/ Animate and coloured in Photoshop. However, Clarks says that this might all change as they approach the final production. Currently, the team is working on the final animatic, as well as building the rest of the sets. “The process is not very resource heavy, so most of us are working on laptops and smaller machines. The sets are all physical and shot on a DSLR with Dragonframe and some simple studio lights,” says Clark. Once complete, Sam the Hedgehog will be available online to stream for free. – Gezzy S Sibisi Note that you can help Sam the Hedgehog come to life by making a donation to samthehedgehog.com/donate. Talented students, artists and/or 2D animators can also contribute their skills to help complete the film.
what we call ‘normal’ is one of many ‘neurotypes’ – to broaden their understanding of what kind of brain has value. Kids don’t all have to be pushed into an acceptable mould. To do so is as foolish as trying to turn a hedgehog into a sheep.
”
– Julia Smuts Louw
KEY CREW Julia Smuts Louw: writer Michael Clark: producer and co-director Johan Scheepers: co-director and character designer Charl Smit: storyboard artist and set designer
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SOCIAL
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Mediatech Africa 2019
Seen at Mediatech Africa 2019, held at Ticketpro Dome, Johannesburg...
Mabel Legodi, Deborah Ngobeni and Portia Khumalo
Jade Manicom and Robert Grobler
John Harrison and Wezley Ferreira
Adriaan Shipalana and Rob Sherman
Goran Music and Lungile Molefe
Rian Emerich and Georg Piรณrczyล ski
Jason Sproat and Ivan Schoeman
Paul Hadfield
Andrew Cole
Neo Modisakeng
Peter Rieck and Angus Clarke
Paul Duval
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Golf Day 2019 will take place on
Thursday, 22 August 2019 at Eagle Canyon Golf Estate 3 Blueberry St, Eagle Canyon Golf Estate, Honeydew, Johannesburg, 2040
A cocktail party and prize-giving will be held at the Eagle Canyon Clubhouse Pub following the competition, which provides great networking opportunities.
Thursday, 22 August 2019
Date: Sponsorship:
Hole 1 & Hole 10 – (SOLD) All other holes – R5 750.00 (ex vat) A few holes available for sponsors
Halfway House:
For your own account
Green Fees:
Green fees will be R500 per player which includes dinner
Start:
Shotgun Start @ 11:30am
Contact: Ellen Oosthuizen Cell: +27 (0)83 268 6868 Fax: +27 (0)86 670 6809 e-mail: ellen.oosthuizen@pixie.co.za SPONSORS
M A R KET PL AC E
UPCOMING EVENTS AUGUST 7 – 17
LOCARNO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Locarno, Switzerland
27 – 7 SEPT MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
28 – 7 SEPT VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
Venice, Italy
SEPTEMBER 4–5
AI EXPO AFRICA
Cape Town, South Africa
5 – 15
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Toronto, Canada
13 – 17
IBC 2019
Amsterdam, Netherlands
23 – 9 OCT
4TH BRICS FILM FESTIVAL
Niterói, Rio de Janeiro
What’s your Case? The Case Connection Manufactures a range of custom made products: • Aluminium Flight Cases • Cordura Nylon Padded Bags and Covers • Wooden Flight Cases • Honeycomb Polaypropylene Cases • Polyethylene Tubes • Design and Fitting of bespoke foam interiors in any case No request is too large or too small. The Case Connection will manufacture any case to suit your requirements.
Contact David Livesey on: Cell: 083 381 4685 Tel: (011) 794 9588 Fax: (011) 794 9597 e-mail: info@caseconnection.co.za Web: www.caseconnection.co.za 1464 Vragboot Street, Laser Park, Honeydew
40 | SCREENAFRICA | AUGUST 2019
AG-CX350
Memory Card Camera Recorder
High-End 1.0-type Handheld Camcorder with 4K/HDR/10-bit Capabilities. Supports IP Control, NDI | HX and RTMP Streaming.
* Future support
www.pansolutions.co.za Contact: Sean Loeve Cell: 083 677 4917 Tel: 010 449 0000
The world’s most influential media, entertainment and technology show 13- 17 September 2019 | RAI, Amsterdam
FROM TRADITIONAL BROADCASTING TO OTT, VR, AR AND ESPORTS Register before 16 August to get your free visitor pass or the early booking conference discount
See it differently.
show.ibc.org