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VOL 30 – September 2018 R38.00
| IN THIS ISSUE
24 Mobility, Flexibility, Opportunity: What can an outside broadcasting van do for your business?
10 IBC2018 will feature new ‘Content Everywhere’ hub
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HDR holds the key to better images
NEWS | Submit your film to multiple festivals at once with Festivilia..................... 3 Unpack the source code of your African identity at the 2018 Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival.............. 4 Jozi Film Festival gears up for its seventh edition.................................... 6 CityVarsity presents its first student film festival................................ 8 TECHNOLOGY News | Atomos records 4K 10-bit full-frame video from new Nikon Z 6 and Z 7 mirrorless cameras...................................... 10 IBC2018 will feature new ‘Content Everywhere’ hub ....................... 10 Pebble Beach Systems integrates new Matrox X.mio5 Q25 SMPTE ST 2110 NIC card into its Dolphin integrated channel technology.................. 10 AVMatrix is now available in South Africa.............................. 10 Latest research confirms Cape Town is Africa’s tech capital............ 11
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The role of MAM and storage in redefining news storytelling
ADCETERA | Loeries shows branded entertainment is coming of age in South Africa............... 13 Behind the scenes on the intercontinental music video Let Me Live.................................................... 14 PromaxBDA Africa 2018 – speaker line-up.......................................... 16 ANIMATION & EFFECTS | From graphic novel to animated series....................................... 18 STUDIOS AND PRODUCTION FACILITIES | Through a new lens..................................... 21 Wired for Success – A behind-the-scenes look at Protea Electronics in operation............................. 22 Mobility, Flexibility, Opportunity – What can an outside broadcasting van do for your business?.......................... 24
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ADVERTORIAL Blacksmith Collective: The innovative, creative force SA’s been waiting for........ 25
MEDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT | The role of MAM and storage in redefining news storytelling.................. 34
FILM | Aya explores the horrors faced by victims of trafficking.................... 26 Exploring African folklore in urban settings in The Tokoloshe.......................... 28
Broadcast Technology | HDR holds the key to better images...... 36
OUTSIDE BROADCAST | Dimension Television Facilities 21 years and counting................................. 29
FESTIVALS & EVENTS | Durban FilmMart anchors itself as one of the Africa’s premiere film industry development events.................................... 40
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION | Mobile content platforms: Who is watching the gatekeepers?.......... 30 Balancing pay TV opportunities and challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa.............. 31 Affordable connectivity for broadcast links.............................................. 32
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Transcribing the future............................... 38
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From the editor
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Spring has sprung! Welcome to the September issue of Screen Africa magazine and with that – a new season. The upcoming months are shaping up to be a busy few for our industry, with IBC2018 – the world’s most influential media, entertainment and technology show – taking place later this month, and the much-anticipated and always inspiring PromaxBDA Africa set to run on 8 November, followed by the annual DISCOP Africa’s Johannesburg edition, running from 14 to 16 November. The Screen Africa team will have a presence at all the aforementioned events and additionally will be reporting on all of these in the months to come – be sure to check out the next few issues to see what went down. I’m sure many of you are currently gearing up for the annual tech pilgrimage to IBC – taking place from 14 to 18 September at the RAI, Amsterdam. While our editorial team sadly won’t be heading over, Graham Grier, a member of the Screen Africa sales team, will be there to represent the publication and our October issue will hold a comprehensive report back – from new technologies, trends and themes, hot topics and everything in between, we’ve got you covered! In this issue, we take a look at Urban Brew Studios’ new “future-proof” facilities (pages 20 – 21). Urban Brew Studios is a leading player in the South African television industry – the visual media arm of Kagiso Media has established itself as a frontrunner in our industry over the past 30 years. Their recent move, which included an ambitious studio redevelopment project, represents a bold step forward for the company. With 70 years’ experience behind them, Johannesburgbased Protea Electronics was contracted to rig up Urban Brew’s cutting-edge new studios. Additionally, Urban Brew Studios contracted Protea when purchasing their very own Outside Broadcast (OB) van. In this issue, we get into what this process was like for both parties as well the tech used to kit out the new studio space and OB vehicle. Read all about it on pages 22 – 24. Among other noteworthy articles in this issue, Dave Colantuoni, senior director of product management, Avid, delivers the thought leadership piece, The role of MAM & storage in redefining news storytelling (pages 34 – 35). Chris Merrill, director of Product Marketing, and Klaus Weber, principal, Camera Solutions and Technology, at Grass Valley, present a comprehensive view on the effect of HDR on the broadcast environment entitled HDR holds the key to better images (pages 36 – 37). Ian Dormer closes out the issue with a piece on voice to text transcriptions on pages 38 – 39. Until next month! – Chanelle Ellaya
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Editor Chanelle Ellaya is a writer and a journalist. She completed her BA Journalism degree at the University of Johannesburg in 2011. While writing is her passion, she has a keen interest in the media in various capacities. Chanelle is an avid social networker and a firm believer in the power of social and online networking. Between writing and tweeting, she finds time to feed her love for live music.
JOURNALISTS
Gezzy S Sibisi is a journalist and photographer with experience in print, broadcast and digital media. Her portfolio of work includes working as a lifestyle reporter as well as contributing business and education articles to The Times, Sowetan and Daily Despatch publications. As a freelancer she has worked on content development for corporate newsletters, community newspapers, blogs and educational websites.
Lara Preston is a passionately committed marketer and strategist with a focus in promoting African content and events. Two decades of working across Africa have provided her with insights and experience that she puts to work for the projects she manages. In 2006, Lara founded, and still personally manages, Red Flag Content Relations, a full service below-the-line agency that also focuses on African entertainment and lifestyle brand marketing, strategy, and publicity.
David Cornwell writes fiction, films and features for a variety of publications. His debut novel, Like It Matters (Umuzi, 2016), has been long-listed for the 2017 Sunday Times Fiction Award.
Ian Dormer was born in Zimbabwe and has been in the TV business since the 1980s, having served in various positions at the SABC, M-Net and SuperSport. Ian currently works and resides in New Zealand.
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Submit your film to multiple festivals at once with Festivilia
Festivilia co-founders, Tobi Ogunwade and Daniel Ugbang
The process of submitting a film to a festival can prove to be an expensive, time-consuming and dubious task for filmmakers. Selecting the right festival for a film is in itself a tricky and lengthy task which requires sieving through hundreds of festivals and platforms.
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ith this in mind, Nigerian filmmakers and techpreneurs, Daniel Ugbang and Tobi Ogunwade, have developed a one-of-a-kind platform that enables filmmakers to complete just one form and have their film automatically submitted to over 500 curated film festivals. “The sole vision of Festivilia is to be the best option for effective festival distribution for filmmakers all over the world. We want to save filmmakers the stress of blindly and manually submitting their films to festivals one by one which can be a very time-wasting and expensive activity. We are giving filmmakers the opportunity to channel their time into more creative activities rather than spend it filling numerous submission forms,” Ogunwade explains. The idea for Festivilia was inspired by Ogunwade’s encounter with an Egyptian filmmaker, Ramy El Gabry, in 2016 while he was still running his first start-up Hubrif – an online video platform dedicated to streaming short films made by Africans all over the world.
Unfortunately, the video platform has now collapsed, but while it was still active Ogunwade stumbled upon Gabry’s short film, From Inside, and was really moved by the storyline. He reached out to the filmmaker to get the film featured on Hubrif and it became the most watched film on the platform. He further extended a hand to help Gabry submit the film to a few film festivals. To both their surprise the film was selected by almost all the film festivals that they had submitted it to, including the 2017 Realtime International Film Festival in Lagos, Nigeria where the two finally met. From Inside went on to win the Best African Short Film Award at the festival, and an impressed Gabry graciously told Ogunwade that what he did for him was a great service that many filmmakers could gladly pay for. Ogunwade and his partner, Ugbang, then ran the idea of starting a film distribution platform by their fellow filmmakers and tech enthusiasts. After much research the team decided to test
the concept with a Private Beta launch in early 2017. He expands: “We, first of all, had to curate film festivals from all over the world and that was serious work. We were gathering these festivals from all major submission platforms including filmfreeway, shortfilmdepot, filmfestivallife, withoutabox and the growing number of film festivals that have their own dedicated submission portal.” “We spent months gathering these festivals and then sieving through the right ones for Festivilia. Then we began manually testing the idea with a few selected films. We had to be sure this was worth pursuing so if our hypothesis didn’t work during our Private Beta, then there was no need for building a platform for it.” The Private Beta was a great success, which then led to the Public Beta launch of the platform in June 2018. Currently, the platform has over 500 carefully selected film festivals in their database, the majority of them based in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
“The response has been overwhelming!” Ogunwade enthuses. “Since we launched to the public, we have had more subscribers than we can handle right now and so we have to intensify our in-house selection process.” “Right now, we still curate these films to make sure they meet our in-house criteria while we continue to develop our algorithm. Soon, the whole process will be automated and done entirely online,” he added. To apply, filmmakers need to visit the Festivilia website, pick their preferred plan and download the universal submission form to complete and email back. Festivilia will then get back to them within 48 hours with a list of the curated festivals that match their film. The list is also uploaded to the cloud so that filmmakers can always monitor the progress of their submission. “We build a festival strategy for your film, handle the submission and distribution of your film to these festivals and also source for distribution deals on behalf of our clients. We take a 10 per cent commission on distribution deals sealed,” shares Ogunwade. Through the years Ogunwade has managed to build fruitful relationships with most of the film festivals in the Festivilia database. However, this doesn’t mean he is given preferential treatment, stressed Ogunwade. “Over time, we have been able to submit films that are of very high-quality in terms of story and production aesthetics as well as matching with the festival’s theme. It only means that our reputation has been enhanced as they trust that we only submit films credible and worthy enough to be selected,” he assures. Festivilia has enjoyed a seven per cent growth rate since its public launch and would like to achieve a 40 per cent growth rate by the end of the year. So far 60 per cent of the subscribers are filmmakers based in the USA and Canada, the remaining 40 per cent is shared between North Africa and the Middle East. – Gezzy S Sibisi
“We build a festival strategy for your film, handle the submission and distribution of your film to these festivals, and also source for distribution deals on behalf of our clients.
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– Tobi Ogunwade
September 2018
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Unpack the source code of your African identity at the 2018 Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival
The Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival’s 2018 programme promises to transform Johannesburg, South Africa into a celebration of technology, creativity and innovation from across the African continent.
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he full programme of activities began on 18 August and will run until 29 September. Fak’ugesi, currently taking place at the Tshimologong Precinct, is sharing activities in 2018 with the Wits Art Museum and the Point of Order. Tegan Bristow, Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival director, says that the 2018 theme ‘Tap your Afro Source Code’ centres on African visions of technology by tapping into the sources of African tradition and culture alongside technology, creativity and innovation: “This year we are exploring how local culture can move and change the future of technology. How would you understand and unpack the source code of your African identity?” According to Bristow, the 2018 festival will fully explore the algorithms, patterns and fractals of Africa. In digital art, music, games, virtual reality, digital makers or the way you braid your hair: “Fak’ugesi acts as a platform that brings together diverse digital and technology sectors to collaborate and share skills in digital media and technology innovation.” A highlight at this year’s Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival programme is a large collaboration with
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the Wits Art Museum in an exhibition project titled Digital Imaginaries: Premonition, the second leg of a three-city project, which started with Kër Thiossane and Afropixel Festival in Dakar, Senegal in May and will conclude at ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany in November 2018. The project, an initiative between social scientists and artists, imagines and critiques how globalised digital technology and systems have already, and will continue, to shape and shift African futures. The exhibition, now on at the Wits Art Museum was co-curated by Bristow. Another highlight at the 2018 edition of the festival is the expanded Fak’ugesi Digital Africa Residency. Initially focused on bringing young aspiring digital artists together from the SADC region, this year includes further collaboration with Pro Helvetia, Johannesburg, to include digital artists from North Africa, South Asia and Switzerland. This extended approach will enable students to do a deep dive into the algorithms, patterns and fractals of their indigenous cultures. Along with supporting young up-and-coming digital artists, Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival will be hosting two international media
artists – Marc Lee, a Swiss artist supported by Pro Helvetia; and Brain House, a North American artist supported by the Watershed project. 2018 will see the launch of the Fak’ugesi Arcade concept, announcing the start of a new era in supporting African games and gaming developers. Bristow invites the regional gaming community to discuss how the festival can better support and help develop the game development community: “We want to better understand the needs and requirements, both as a platform and as a location for skills exchange and networking. The Fak’ugesi Arcade is partnering this year with Redbull Basement and Trace TV and will be rolled out in 2019.” For a second year running, in partnership with Weheartbeat via Fak’ugesi Beats, a six-day beats lab residency will be running from 24 to 28 September. Curated by Weheartbeat, participants will embrace the 2018 Fak’ugesi theme, combining tradition with futurism. Bristow is excited about the programme and says that the outcome from these sessions will result in an EP release, available both digitally and on limited edition vinyl. The artists featured
include: Potatohead People (Canada), S Fidelity (Switzerland), Zikomo (USA), Morena Leraba (Lesotho) and South African artists Bonj Mpanza and Hlasko. Fak’ugesi Beats will open to the public through a series of workshops and master classes on 27 September 2018. This will culminate in the Fak’ugesi Beats Bloc Party and closing event on Saturday, 29 September 2018. The Fak’ugesi Beats programme is in partnership with Weheartbeat, Pro Helvetia, Red Bull Music and Ballantine’s Whiskey. In its fifth year, Bristow says the Fak’ugesi Festival attracts over 6 000 participants and is widely recognised for its important role supporting and developing African technology, creativity and culture: “The Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival is the only one of its kind in Africa and the only digital arts focused festival in Sub Saharan Africa. It has a very special location via which many young digital makers have launched their careers and have become prominent digital makers.” She says the 2018 festival approach is a step back from the annual programming that will provide an opportunity for the programme directors to focus on the vision and development for the next five years. This will be supported by the Wits School of Art; the Digital Content Hub of Tshimologong Precinct in collaboration with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) and the British Council ConnectZA.
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Jozi Film Festival gears up for its seventh edition
Winners of the 2017 Don’t Stop Wondering award: Graham Dinkelman (left) and Dusty Van Niekerk (right) with Discovery Channel’s Debbie Brady (middle)
The seventh annual Jozi Film Festival (JFF) will take place from 27 to 30 September 2018 at The Bioscope Independent Cinema in Maboneng and for the first time, at The Olive Tree Theatre in Marlboro.
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FF is Johannesburg’s much-loved independent multi-genre film festival, screening both local and international films in the City of Gold. Small and gritty, and critically acclaimed, the festival’s main aim is to provide a platform for both established and emerging South African filmmakers, while also showing international films that speak to the diverse audience here in Johannesburg. “What’s different about JFF this year is that we’ll be screening for the first time at The Olive Tree Theatre in Alex. It’s a new venue pioneered by playwright and general dynamo, Ntshieng Mokgoro, and it straddles Marlboro so we hope that we don’t only reach Alex residents but cinephiles from Sandton too,” comments JFF founder and organiser Lisa Henry. “It has always been JFF’s mission to reach new audiences and screen in places that traditional cinema complexes don’t reach, so we’re very excited to see what response we get this year.”
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This year marks the second year that JFF has partnered with Discovery Channel to offer African filmmakers a chance to win the Don’t Stop Wondering award – a category that calls for short documentary submissions from filmmakers across the African continent. “Thanks must go to Discovery Networks for partnering with us again to run the Don’t Stop Wondering award, which affords African filmmakers an opportunity to be broadcast on their channel. Additionally, one filmmaker will walk away with prizes worth about US$6 000 from Canon and Singer,” says Henry.
The line-up This year’s Opening Night film is South African director Shameela Seedat’s well-received documentary Whispering Truth to Power. The film charts the final year in office of South Africa’s public protector, Thuli Madonsela. After successfully challenging President Jacob Zuma for the illegal use of state funds, she
now has to face the biggest challenge of her career: investigating – in the face of protests, death threats and legal challenges – the alleged systematic takeover of government by a private family in cahoots with the president. But how does one weigh the importance of fighting government corruption against the larger moral crime of continued inequality? Whispering Truth to Power documents the tense story of Madonsela’s last year in public office while simultaneously crafting an absorbing tale of an outstanding lawyer, mother and woman, as well as providing insight into several critical issues facing South Africa today. The documentary will screen – with director Shameela Seedat in attendace – at The Olive Tree Theatre on 27 September, in partnership with the African Human Rights Festival (AHRFF). Another noteworthy documentary screening at this year’s festival will be the African premiere of directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan’s acclaimed documentary, The Oslo Diaries, which premiered at Sundance 2018. Once upon a time, Israel and Palestine almost made peace. Both nations came close, but at the eleventh hour it all collapsed. The result is an on-going violent reality that the world continues to witness. Personal diaries written by participants of the secret peace talks between the Israelis
and Palestinians, as well as never before seen archival footage of the Oslo Accord peace process creates a dramatic thriller of historic importance. The film provides new insights into why the peace process failed and why both sides are still embroiled in the longest on-going conflict of our times. Fiction highlights include the short film Mma Moeketsi, directed by Reabetswe Moeti. The film has its roots in the fateful and tragic events that took place on 16 August 2012, when South African police opened fire on striking miners at the Marikana Platinum Mine – 34 miners were killed and 78 wounded. Based on a true story, Mma Moeketsi is a domestic worker from rural Lesotho working for a suburban family in Johannesburg. Mma Moeketsi’s only son is among the strikers. In the wake of the wage increase strike from 15 August 2012, Moeketsi’s phone is off and he is nowhere to be found. Mma Moeketsi can do nothing but wait pensively for her son to call her or at least pick up her phone calls. One part of her life is at a standstill while her physical presence must still operate as the housekeeper of her suburban employers, in an empty, lonely silence. JFF will also host the Johannesburg premiere of the award-winning Kenyan, superhero feature film Supa Modo. Director Likarion Wainaina creates an
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Zwelethu Radebe won the JFF’s 2017 Best Short Fiction award for The Hangman
inspired reimagining of the superhero film with Supa Modo which tells the story of 9-year-old Jo, terminally ill and taken home from hospital to die. While her mother wants to wrap her in blankets and keep her indoors, her sister Mwix wants to help her experience all she can in the time she has left. If this sounds rather heavy, take heart from Jo who’s obsessed with Kung Fu movies and superheroes, and deals with her illness by escaping into the world of her imagination.
Discovery Channel’s Don’t Stop Wondering award Following the success of 2017, the Discovery Channel Don’t Stop Wondering award in partnership with the annual Jozi Film Festival returned for a second consecutive year in February 2018. The competition called for two to five minute documentaries from filmmakers across Africa which showcase and celebrate unique African stories and capture Discovery Channel’s ethos of sparking curiosity. The Africa-wide competition received entrants from across the continent and the Discovery and Jozi Film Festival teams were blown away with the creative, emotive and thought-provoking portrayals of Africa’s culture and people. The Top 10 films, as selected by a Discovery and Jozi Film Festival jury, have
been produced by filmmakers from countries including South Africa, Namibia, Ghana and Tanzania. The films present a diverse range of themes and inspiring stories that showcase the many different ways of celebrating Africanism; from century-old cultural traditions, to wildlife conservation efforts, to social change and the new generation of African youth. The films are currently being broadcast on Discovery Channel and the winning film will be selected by popular vote via the voting tool on Discovery’s website. This year’s prize from Discovery Channel will include a Canon XF-405 video camera with Singer Photographic camera accessories worth over US$5 800. The winner will be flown to the awards in Johannesburg to receive their prize. This is a small sample of what promises to be a stellar line-up for the 2018 Jozi Film Festival. The full programme will be available on the JFF website. Tickets can be bought online via The Bioscope’s website in September, and at the door at both venues. “We believe we have some powerful and important films on offer this year, both local and international, and we’re proud of each and every selection we have made. We rely on submissions to run our festival so we’d like to thank all the filmmakers who submitted to us this year,” Henry concludes.
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CityVarsity presents its first student film festival
On 4 August, creative learning institution CityVarsity – School of Media and Creative Arts, hosted its inaugural Film Collective Film Festival at its Cape Town campus. The one-day film festival, organised by first-year film students, presented films from the institution’s second and third-year students, as well as CityVarsity alumni and lecturers.
“F
ilm Collective Film Festival started as a project for the Advanced Diploma Film students who are in their third year at CityVarsity. The aim was to create a refreshing and thrilling platform for young aspiring filmmakers as well as professional filmmakers to show their work and market their name,” shares Tamara MacLachlan, Editing lecturer at CityVarsity. The festival kicked off with local actor, Irshaad Ally (Four Corners, Suidooster), delivering the opening speech. The festival programme was then divided into three sessions which included film showcases, Q&A sessions and networking opportunities with guests
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from the film industry. Filmmakers who graced the event included Imran Hamdulay, winner of Best Film, Best Director and Best Cinematography awards at the Moscow Shorts Festival for his film Brother, as well as actor and filmmaker Riaz Solker who presented his film Picture Perfect Heist. The organisers of the Shnit Short Film Festival were also in attendance to showcase some shorts at the event. The third-year students presented nine short films which ranged from comedy to drama, while the second-year students screened five adverts about local brands and businesses. “The highlight for me was the diversity of the films chosen for the festival. Also,
boosting the confidence of the students who needed a bit of encouragement,” shared MacLachlan. A moving documentary screened at the festival, by 21-year-old film student Yusra Peters, about children who have lost their lives in Hanover Park from gun violence, captivated the audience. The young filmmaker, a Hanover Park resident, expressed how she attempts to educate and create social awareness through her films. “My documentary that the festival screened revolves around the community of Hanover Park and the suffering they have to endure due to the gangsterism that takes place in the area. In the documentary residents from the Hanover Park community speak about their day to day lives and how it is disrupted and affected by the constant shootings that take place.” In the documentary, various Hanover Park community members speak out on the issue of gang violence in their area and how it has and continues to affect their families. Other community members give their input on ways in which they think the problem could be tackled. The documentary ends off with the terrified and grieving community pleading for peace to prevail.
“I believe the film emotionally impacted the audience; some were even left with tears. In the Q&A session after the screening, several people from the audience had many questions about the film, which made clear their interest in the film and that it had an impact on them,” Peters commented. “The experience was overwhelming, and I was overjoyed to see that so many people were interested in my community’s story and that they could learn from my documentary,” she added. Co-founders of Benchfilms and CityVarsity graduates, Hisham Samie and Alan Shelley, came to support the event and showcased some of the films that their production company has been working on. Samie and Shelley also shared on their experiences and the lessons they’ve learned from working in the film industry. Sharing about his journey, Samie said: “My film journey has been filled with highs and lows. We had some success with projects we had made; having won M-Net Vuka, two SAFTAs for our short films and nominated for three. We won the first 48 Hour Film Competition which saw us go on to third place internationally and saw us follow our film to the Cannes
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Film Festival. We had some success with our commercials too, for brands such as Friskies, Purina and Fanta – which was great. The awards were certainly combined with lows in the form of an ever-changing industry and inconsistent work which is something every independent filmmaker can relate too.” The pair also took time to talk about their current projects which include three feature films that are in different stages of development and being the hosts of this year’s 48 Hour Film competition. “It was great to meet students and watch their work. I think the festival is a great idea. I think it’s important for alumni to share their experiences and horror stories with students. The festival is a good platform for production companies
to see up and coming talent too,” commented Samie on the festival. MacLachlan added in conclusion: “My advice is to keep making films. There are endless local stories that should be told in South Africa but also a lot of unsung creative talent. My advice is to add many strings to your bow – don’t just rely on one discipline or job because it’s competitive out there in the real world. My advice is to dig deep with your stories – to make them unique and original, always ask why and keep looking at subtext and meaning. And, the first draft of anything is probably not working – keep chipping away and developing scripts.” – Gezzy S Sibisi
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“The aim was to create a refreshing and thrilling platform for young aspiring filmmakers as well as professional filmmakers to show their work and market their name.
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AVMatrix is now available in South Africa Macro Video Pty Ltd has recently been appointed as the official distributor of AVMatrix products in Southern Africa. AVMatrix design and manufacture high quality Professional AV products. With a modest line-up of extremely well-priced products, AVMatrix is set to grow in popularity in South Africa. Their product line-up includes: Mini Converters and Broadcast Converters, converting HDMI – SDI and SDI – HDMI for less than R1 000 per unit, Fibre Optic Extenders from SDI to Fibre, simple SDI Distribution Amplifiers with 1-in 4-out, cost effective Multiviewers with 4x SDI in, 1x SDI and 1x HDMI out. To round off the line-up, AVMatrix offers Switchers with 8x SDI in and 8x SDI out. An exciting new release is the new AVMatrix MMV1630. This is a dual function unit comprised of a 16CH SDI Multiviewer and 16x16 SDI Matrix Switcher that work at the same time! There are 16x 3G-SDI inputs, 16x 3G-SDI outputs/ loop-outs. The unit’s SDI inputs auto detect 3G, HD, SD. There are 2x3G-SDI and 1xHDMI Multiview outputs with the output format being selectable. The unit boasts Multiviewer mode with full screen and 20 pre-set multi preview layouts with real-time clock, time code, UMD and audio meter overlays. Free PC control uses (free) software via LAN and the unit has dual power design for redundancy. AVMatrix products come with a three year guarantee. Macro Video Pty Ltd is the importer and distributor of AVMatrix products in Southern Africa
Atomos records 4K 10-bit full-frame video from new Nikon Z 6 and Z 7 mirrorless cameras The newly released Nikon Z 6 and Z 7 mirrorless cameras output a full-frame 10-bit 4K N-Log signal which the new Atomos Ninja V 4K HDR monitor/recorder can record and display in HDR. This combination raises the bar for filmmakers and photographers shooting video everywhere. The Nikon Z 6 and Z 7 have state-of-the-art sensors that output pristine 4K images over HDMI, ready for conversion to HDR by Atomos. The Atomos Ninja V records the output to production-ready 10-bit Apple ProRes or Avid DNx formats. Atomos is proud to be the first to support Nikon Log, Apple ProRes recording and HDR monitoring from the Z series cameras. The tiny Ninja V 5-inch device is the perfect partner for these full-frame mirrorless cameras, making the setup ideal for news, documentary, nature films or b-roll for Hollywood productions. Atomos CEO Jeromy Young said: “It’s fantastic to push technology barriers with our friends at Nikon. Combining the new Nikon and our Ninja V HDR monitor/recorder gives filmmakers exactly what they have been asking for – a compact full-frame 4K 10-bit recording system at an amazing price point. To be able to offer users the next level of performance with our Ninja V and Nikon is what our company is truly about!”
Pebble Beach Systems integrates new Matrox X.mio5 Q25 SMPTE ST 2110 NIC card into its Dolphin integrated channel technology At IBC2018 Pebble Beach Systems will be showcasing its Dolphin integrated channel device with enhanced uncompressed multi-channel 4K and 25GbE IP functionality, thanks to the integration of the award-winning Matrox X.mio5 Q25 SMPTE ST 2110 network interface controller (NIC) card. Dolphin is a compact and cost-effective integrated channel device which, operating under the control of Pebble’s Marina automation, delivers highly automated integrated audio, video and graphics functionality for ingest, channel branding and frame-accurate multi-channel playout. The flexible pipeline design enables the virtual output chain to be customised for each channel, specifying the order in which functions including graphics, effects, aspect ratio conversion are handled within the system. Equipped with 25GbE and 10GbE interfaces, Matrox X.mio5 Q25 features multi-channel IP video I/O from HD to 4K—with zero CPU usage—on-board multi-channel HDR conversions, along with motion adaptive de-interlacing, pristine scaling, and powerful compositing engines for high-density 4K video processing. Designed as a video-aware COTS SMPTE ST 2110 NIC card, X.mio5 Q25 delivers 24/7 reliability and interoperability required of broadcast equipment, while offering the flexibility and scalability expected of IP infrastructures including standard network stack functionality.
IBC2018 will feature new ‘Content Everywhere’ hub Technology companies and service providers will come together to discuss the latest trends, strategies and developments in online TV and video at the Content Everywhere Hub programme at IBC2018. The IBC Content Everywhere Hub will consist of 10 expert panel discussions and 34 product demos. IBC Content Everywhere combines a high-quality exhibition with the Hub programme designed to help visitors learn and experience how innovative new technologies are expanding the opportunities arising from the exponential growth of content consumption online. The agenda for the Hub is centred on 10 panel discussions drawing together a range of perspectives and expertise on key issues including the implications for the digital media sector of high profile emerging technologies such as 5G, Edge computing and blockchain. Other topics covered will include how to successfully grow an OTT service, how artificial intelligence and machine learning are impacting content creation, OTT distribution and monetisation, new business models and innovations in programmatic advertising, as well as the convergence of broadcast and telecoms. There will also be 34 product demonstrations covering the entire OTT distribution chain, including online video platforms, transcoding and streaming solutions, content security options and monetisation techniques. Speakers will include experts from small start-ups to some of the biggest names in technology including Google, Alibaba, CSGi, Telia, Ooyala and Roku. IBC2018, the world’s most influential media, entertainment and technology show, is set to run from 13 to 18 September at the RAI in Amsterdam. 10 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2018
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Latest research confirms Cape Town is Africa’s tech capital A report commissioned by the Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative (CiTi), Wesgro, and the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation – with the support of the Western Cape Government – has confirmed that the greater Cape Town area, including Stellenbosch, is Africa’s tech capital. The report by Endeavor Insight, entitled ‘Evaluation & Network Analysis of the Cape Town-Stellenbosch Tech Sector’, was launched on 31 July at the Bandwidth Barn in Woodstock, Cape Town. Endeavor Insight is the research division of Endeavor, a global non-profit organisation that supports high-growth entrepreneurs and ecosystems, and has completed research on entrepreneurial ecosystems across the world. “With South Africa’s current unemployment challenge, the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation believes the study was important so as to understand the tech entrepreneurial ecosystem in Cape Town which has a great potential to accelerate meaningful job creation,” comments Karen Gabriels, head of Finance and Operations, Allan Gray Orbis Foundation. The report aimed to discover the current state of the Cape tech entrepreneur community and identify where the opportunities for growth lie. The report is based on interviews with 150 local technology entrepreneurs and research into more than 450 local tech founders and their companies in the Cape Town and Stellenbosch area. The report reveals that the Cape entrepreneurial tech sector is significantly more productive than other African cities, employing more than double the people than Lagos and Nairobi combined, with 450-550 entrepreneurial companies employing between 40 000 to 50 000
At the launch: (L-R) Jo-Ann Johnston, Karen Gabriels, Ian Merrington, Maha AbdelAzim, Tim Harris, Michelle Matthews and Rhett Morris
people. In comparison, the Lagos and Nairobi tech sector employs 9 000 and 7 000 people respectively, while a promising 3 per cent of local companies have reached scale (100+ employees), comparable to Nairobi’s 1 per cent and 2 per cent in Lagos. With the potential for greater job creation in the digital economy, a key recommendation from the report was an increased focus on investment into talent development. “As an integral catalyst for the ecosystem’s growth, we are hearing a similar challenge across African tech sectors – sourcing specialised talent for digital teams is seriously limiting business growth. The report was great validation that the CapaCiTi Tech Skills and Job-readiness programmes we drive are completely market relevant to assist entrepreneurs, corporates and governments to understand and better solve their talent constraints to growth,” commented Ian Merrington, CEO of CiTi, Africa’s oldest tech incubator. Findings revealed that of the more than 500 entrepreneurial companies in the tech sector, 20 per cent are working in e-commerce and SaaS sectors, with 15
per cent working in fintech. Putting Cape Town on the map is internet giant Naspers, celebrated as Africa’s highestvalued tech company. Further to this Clickatell, BrandsEye and GetSmarter were noted as Cape Town-based tech companies with a strong global presence. “The dynamism, productivity and high-impact companies of Cape Town’s tech sector make it stand out as one of the most successful models in SubSaharan Africa. It has generated the continent’s most highly valued tech company as well as other software businesses that have reached scale, exited for significant sums, or grown to become leading businesses on the continent,” commented Rhett Morris, director of Endeavor Insight. The research highlights the vibrancy of the Cape’s tech entrepreneur community and an interactive network map produced alongside the report illustrates the interconnectedness of the Cape’s entrepreneurs with regards to mentorship, investment, employment and inspiration. Cape founders of scaled tech companies (100+ employees) continue to engage with the ecosystem, with 30 per
cent of founder-to-founder mentorship coming from these companies, compared to only 12 per cent in Lagos and 4 per cent in Nairobi. While the Cape tech sector has shown significant growth, dynamism and innovation over the last decade, there were challenges noted by companies interviewed. Chief among these are access to talent – a problem also encountered in Johannesburg and other African cities. Second to this was access to equity and finance, although the Cape was performing better than Nairobi and Lagos in this regard. Lastly, access to customers was noted as a problem being faced by these entrepreneurs. Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris, commented: “This report shows that the Cape is the tech capital of Africa – a place of innovation and the future. It also shows us that we can do even more to unlock its full potential and become one of the top tech destinations in the world… Already our investment promotion team has helped land over R1 billion in investment in the Cape tech sector over the last five years. We look forward to growing this investment total even further.”
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Loeries shows branded entertainment is
Stills from Absolut One Source music video
Loeries 2018 was yet another reminder of how much advertising has changed in recent years. Sure, traditional TV commercials still featured strongly, but the Film Grand Prix went to a web series (Huggies The World’s First Baby Marathon), a Creative Effectiveness Gold went to a branded concept album (Absolut One Source with Khuli Chana), other winners included a WhatsApp drama for Sanlam and a branded short film for SA Tourism, and there was even an entire category called Other Screens.
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randed entertainment in South Africa may not have had its equivalent of The Lego Movie yet – a branded exercise that topped the global box office on its release, raking in just under half a billion dollars worldwide. (Agencies, the average local feature film only costs R5 million rand; perhaps it’s time to get more ambitious here?) But One Source is a sign of what’s possible locally – the album topped the South African iTunes charts, Sunu’s music video was nominated at the South African Music Awards, and the campaign generated 1.7 billion media impressions, boosting sales of Absolut by 84 per cent and doubling their market share from 14
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per cent to 28 per cent. Absolut is now the top-selling premium vodka in South Africa as a result. The Independent State of Nandi, a Ford Fiesta campaign launched just before the Loeries, is a more recent example of where branded entertainment is heading. Directed by Egg Films’ Zwelethu Radebe, The Independent State of Nandi is a choose-your-own-ending series of eight short films brought to Twitter from inside the all-new Ford Fiesta. Agency GTB Johannesburg approached Egg with the idea for a series that allowed the audience to drive the story by voting at the end of each episode on which way the characters
Written by Kevin Kriedemann:
Marketing manager, Egg Films & Arcade Content, and co-founder of Africa.film
should go. Radebe worked with The River screenwriter Nelisa Ngcobo and the agency’s creative team of Nico Botha, Neil Lindsay, Sophia Basckin, and Candice Mcleroth to craft the different storylines around Nandi (Lebo Borole), who is taking her new Fiesta on its first long-distance trip, from Johannesburg to Amanzimtoti for her sister’s wedding. She’s bringing along her Sotho boyfriend, Sechaba (Marcus Mabusela), with the hopes of introducing him slowly to her traditional Zulu family. Zwelethu and DOP Ofentse Mwase shot 14 epilogues for the first seven episodes, to cater for the different voting outcomes. It’s all part of an innovative larger campaign for Ford South Africa by GTB, Egg and Arcade Content, which includes a vertical Instagram music video, 360-degree videos for shop floors, a traditional TV commercial, and a series of TV ads that only tell you half the story – enticing you to explore the rest on your second screen. The Independent State of Nandi is an interesting model for where branded entertainment is moving for a number of reasons. Firstly, it’s a branded short film, which have been a staple of the international branded entertainment industry ever
since the BMW short films starring Clive Owen first revolutionised advertising in 2001, but which have only recently started to catch on in South Africa. In a market flooded with branded music videos and branded documentaries on ‘influencers,’ well-crafted short films like The Independent State of Nandi (or Bheki The Mbhaco Maker) stand out. Secondly, it’s platform-specific. The days of launching a campaign ‘online’ are over: Twitter is different from Facebook, which is different from Instagram, and
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your campaign strategies need to reflect that. The medium also needs to become part of the message: internationally Skam is pioneering this – a hit teen drama that unfolds one post at a time in a narrative built from Facebook comments, texts and Instagram stories (The New Yorker’s take on it is essential reading for anyone interested in where storytelling is going). Thirdly, it’s interactive, allowing the audience to shape the story directly. Released every Monday and Thursday over four weeks across June and July 2018, The Independent State of Nandi captured Twitter’s imagination, with the first episode getting over 14 000 votes, 350 retweets, and nearly 2 000 likes, and the finale being watched over 230 000
times, generating nearly 150 comments. Twitter gets a bad rap for bringing out people’s worst sides, but Ford Fiesta drivers seem to be a nicer bunch, voting to give Nandi’s sister her say rather than cutting her off; to answer rather than screen calls from her mother; and to help a Gogo who didn’t entirely deserve it. And lastly, The Independent State of Nandi looked beyond the ad industry for its inspiration. Sure, Zwelethu is a fast-rising commercials director, but he’s currently best known for his short film, The Hangman, which has won Best Foreign Film at the Oscar-qualifying LA Shorts Fest, Best South African Short Film at the Durban, Jozi and Shnit film festivals, and Best African Short Film at
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Zanzibar International Film Festival, among other accolades. And one of the best decisions he made with agency GTB was to bring in The River screenwriter Nelisa Ngcobo, whose experience on one of South Africa’s most popular telenovelas was invaluable in crafting the episodic cliff-hangers. Nicholas Hulley and Nadja Lussgott are two of South Africa’s most successful advertising exports. As creative directors at Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, they won two Grand Prixs at Cannes Lions this year for Lad Bible The Trash Isles. Talking to Campaign recently about where they find their inspiration, they said, “We try to remind ourselves that everyone in advertising visits the same sites, follows
the same accounts, gets the same links, and that we are all occupying a similar bubble. The antidote is to try and broaden our stimulation as much as possible. In the places we go for inspiration, but just as importantly by collaborating with people who bring their own diverse and amazing wealth of ideas. It helps drawing from people who don’t give a shit about advertising.” So as you plan your new ad campaign, maybe it’s time to consider a short film (or a feature) for a change, to think carefully about which platform it’s for and how that will shape it, to contemplate how to involve your audience as much as possible, and to collaborate beyond the ad industry.
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Behind the scenes on the intercontinental music video Let Me Live Let Me Live is a collaborative project between UK’s Rudimental and AnneMarie, U.S. musical trio Major Lazer, and Nigerian rapper Mr Eazi. The vibrant music video is a blend of street culture, innovative fashion and South African dance.
TECH CHECK EQUIPMENT • Camera: Arri Alexa Mini
“We shot on the Arri Alexa mini for its lightweight, high-quality aspects; this is because we shot all of the shots on the steadi-cam/Arri Trinity.”
KEY CREW Executive producers: Jannie Mcinnes and Olivia Leitch Director: Chris Saunders Producers: Shabana Mansuri, Maurice Dingli, Allison Swank DOP: Alexandre Jamin Editor: Paul O’Reilly
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A still from the Let Me Live music video
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rance-based, South Africa-born photographer and director, Chris Saunders is the creative talent behind the intercontinental music video. The Johannesburg-born and bred filmmaker is passionate about using film and photography as a tool to understand youth, dance and music subculture, with a large part of his focus on the Pantsula dance culture in Johannesburg. “I think you always have barriers in a city like Johannesburg, and photography and film are great ways to be able to work while exploring and trying to understand the people and the place better. This has always been the case with my relationship with Johannesburg. I do love the city but especially the people from South Africa and their immense cultures,” he says. Saunders recently started working with a US-based production company, Believe Media. It was executive producer Jannie Mcinnes who gave Saunders the script for the music video and helped him through the conceptual process. A brief was then given to him by the artists involved and record label Asylum Universal. “In the original brief the band wanted to create the feeling of an international carnival or festival where the video lives seamlessly within a global landscape. This is why we shot between Ridley road in London, a very multicultural market street and downtown Johannesburg where we incorporated a mixture of dance subcultures. This was my way of tackling their request and at the same time producing something that resonated with me personally,” says Saunders. Production commenced in June 2018, with one day dedicated to London and another day in Johannesburg. As a result of the number of artists featured in the video, and their availability between touring, the project took six months to complete. “I wanted to achieve a vivid, lively video that crossed between London and Johannesburg fluidly telling an almost seamless story. The video shows a globalised world with people from
multiple cultures living in all places. I also wanted to create a South African carnival experience mixing GQOM culture from Durban, Pantsula dance from Johannesburg, and the world music feel of the musicians from London, in one tremendous and loud visual experience,” describes Saunders. The Let Me Live video begins in Rudimental’s homeland in Dalston, East London with eye-catching scenes at the colourful Ridley road market. For the Johannesburg-leg Saunders chose more neutral settings in downtown Johannesburg, under the M2 bridge flyover with the artists and dancers bringing all the action. “I worked with one DOP, Alex Jamin, who I had made a music video with previously; he was an important link between maintaining the look with different crews and light between London and Johannesburg. The process was extremely collaborative, and I am by nature this type of director, I like to deliver a brief to my crew and see what they come back with naturally, trying hard to incorporate new ideas into the mix as the process develops.” Thrilling shots of a fierce female stunt driver are shown in some scenes, while more than forty dancers including Pantsula, GQOM and vogue performers are seen in vibrant costumes showing off their skills alongside various musicians. “On the Johannesburg side, all of our dancers had personal costumes designed in collaboration between fashion designer/stylist Neo Serati and art director/artist Tamzyn Botha. I wanted to try to create a less conventional wardrobe for the dancers, taking the idea of their cultures and projecting them into an intercontinental more modern fashion,” shares Saunders. For the London shoot, Saunders was assisted by producer Shabana Mansuri, and for the South African-leg of the shoot Ola! Films executive producer Olivia Leitch and producer Maurice Dingli were on board. About 30 per cent of the music
video was produced in London, while the remaining 70 per cent was shot in South Africa. “We shot on the Arri Alexa mini for its lightweight, high-quality aspects; this is because we shot all of the shots on the steadi-cam/Arri Trinity. We also shot on a combination of older lenses in London, if I’m not mistaken Alex chose the same lenses that the Godfather was shot on for that side and similar lenses in South Africa.” For the London shoot, Mark McPadden was the steadi-cam operator, while Joe Oosthuizen completed the Johannesburg steadi-cam shots. The video was shot mostly with controlled incidental light, but when moving into the evening scenes, artificial lighting was used. Saunders notes proudly that he incorporated a shot from his iPhone X in one of the last scenes: “After we wrapped there was a tremendous uproar and celebration, this made the cut, and I was amazed at what you could do with a cellphone!” Editing was done by Paul O’Reilly from Stitch, while grading was done by Arthur Paux in Paris. Only one scene required CGI as part of a legal agreement with Barcadi. “We were initially supposed to have a bottle in one of our shots, but in the end, we replaced a billboard behind the taxi shot in Mr Eazi’s tracking scene with an artificial billboard with supplied graphics,” explains Saunders. Apart from the music video, Saunders commissioned director Batandwa Alperstein aka TAKEZITO, to create a behind-the-scenes documentary about the process of creating the music video with the aim of encouraging cultural collaboration and respect for creative expression across the globe. – Gezzy S Sibisi
8 November
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2018
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PromaxBDA Africa 2018 – speaker line-up The best of the best of South African and African creatives involved in on-air marketing, branding and design of television and video content on all platforms will converge for the 2018 PromaxBDA Africa conference and awards on 8 November. Across the world, the PromaxBDA awards stand for excellence in the media and marketing space, and are regarded as the most prestigious awards for creative endeavour in the field.
T
he award-winners will be announced at the culmination of the annual PromaxBDA Africa conference, which is set to take place at The Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg on the same day. As always, the conference programme seeks to inspire and challenge creatives with often unconventional sessions, presented by leading players in the global media industry. PromaxBDA Africa chairman, Tim Horwood, said in his 2018 letter, “This year PromaxBDA Africa seeks to inspire and motivate you with sessions from industry and thought leaders from around the world.” PromaxBDA Africa 2018 speakers include:
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Lee Hunt, founder, Lee Hunt LLC Lee Hunt LLC is a New York-based consultancy focusing on brand strategy, on-air architecture, competitive analysis, and personnel training for television networks and media companies around the world. Hunt is a strategist, trainer, and industry thought leader. His success in launching and positioning channel brands, in addition to his pioneering work in audience management have set many of the standards for our industry. Session one: New Best Practices 2018 Hunt presents an extended and updated version of his annual round up of the strategies, tactics, and creative—from portfolio promos to reverse episodics, to six-second promos in 30 second breaks, we’ll take a look at the new ideas that are changing our business. Session two: Cross Platform Messaging Hunt will present the findings of his two-year study on how linear networks are moving viewers to new platforms— MVPD VOD (on demand via set top box), TVE (authenticated viewing on mobile, tablet, PC), connected devices (Roku, AppleTV, Playstation, etc.), and OTT (Netflix, Amazon, CBS All Access, etc.). The goal of the study was to determine the best practices for cross-platform messaging on linear, on-demand, D4, digital advertising and social media platforms from a brand, business and behavioural perspective.
Steve Brouwers, creative director, SBS Belgium Steve Brouwers is a creative director at SBS BELGIUM. He has been working in television for more than 20 years. Brouwers says that he reads three newspapers per weekend, receives about a 100 mails a day, does too little sports, and has too many friends on Facebook to ask for coffee. He lives in a blended family of six. So he wrote the book Almost everything you have to know about blended families. He is an inspirational speaker who sessions are well attended all over the world. In his “free” time he helps out his wife who has an art gallery in their house in Antwerp, Belgium. Session: Fail Better You have to embrace your failures and own them; figure out what went wrong and what to do better next time. Otherwise, you’ll repeat those errors in the future. Acknowledging your mistakes is important in order to move on. Strokes of genius don’t come about because some people succeed more often than other people do. No, successful people just DO more. Failure doesn’t mean you’re a loser who will never amount to anything in life. Failure is not partial, and it has no favourites. Failure doesn’t pick on special people like you to torment and punish. It is a blind teacher. It’s only doing its job. It is never personal! When you accept that failure is an option, you will be able to come up with great stuff. And what’s the worst that could happen? Right: failure. But if you already know this and have accepted it, then there is no fear of failure anymore. You can just DO. Don’t get ready. Just get started!
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M-Net Africa and M-Net Series accounts. In 2012, she consulted at an emerging promo company, helping to structure and develop their team and operations, before ultimately joining Fox Networks Group Africa as the head of On Air and Creative.
Samira Gerin-Singh
Tim Horwood, executive creative director, Mashoba Media Africa
Liz Dunning, sales trainer and executive coach Liz Dunning, has spent much of her career in broadcast marketing, branding and design, working with broadcasters such as the BBC, BT, Disney, Discovery, EMI, Eurovision, ITV, NBC Universal, PBS, Sony, Sky (in Germany, Italy and UK), Swiss TV, UKTV and Zee TV. She has had her own agency and worked for many years in senior roles at the pioneering broadcast agency Lambie-Nairn. Today she is a sales trainer and executive coach working with a range of clients including Turner Broadcasting Systems, Harrods and many not-for-profit organisations in the UK. Session one: Hate the Idea of ‘Selling’? Whether you like it or not we all sell all the time in our lives – be it getting our ideas approved by our bosses, finding the right partner or posting on social media. So why not get better at this essential life skill? What will then happen – you will see more of your ideas on TV and universally have more of what you want! Dunning will take you through the ropes of how to sell more effectively, memorably and efficiently.
With 28 years’ experience in the broadcast industry, Horwood has been involved in multiple facets of the African television, music, events and youth culture space. He was part of the team to launch the MTV brand in Africa in 2005 and went on to head up the MTV Base brand on the continent. He also served as senior creative director at Viacom International Media Networks Africa where he headed up creative projects for BET, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana and Angola. He is currently heading up Music & Talent for Coca-Cola’s 2018 FIFA World Cup Campaign in Africa. Horwood has developed an in-depth knowledge of audiences in a number of African countries and specialises in the development and management of business, brand and creative strategies specifically within the broadcast, digital and event arenas.
A passionate and award-winning creative mind, success seeker, and respected media professional, Samira Gerin-Singh is fuelled by everything broadcast, from storytelling and content creation, to marketing and audience behaviours. With over 10 years broadcast marketing experience, Gerin-Singh began her career as a promo producer at a creative agency, winning the first ever PromaxBDA Africa Rocket Award. She went on to become creative director on
Session: 1 Movie, 5 Disruptions In this sequel to 1 Movie, 5 Promos, we step beyond the traditional 30” spot. With “disruption” touted to be the new normal, this year’s challenge will push five creative teams to find and use new formats and platforms in the pursuit of eyeballs for Hollywood’s biggest disruptor, Black Panther. With limited budgets, rapidly growing viewing alternatives and more elusive audiences, how do we get our voice heard above the cacophony of “pick me’s”? Or more fittingly, where do we boldly go that no one else dares? The rules: innovate, explore, take risks and be the creatives you’ve always wanted to be.
Session: World Gold [contains 100 per cent global goodness] Showcasing creative genius, inspirational thinking and straight-up insanity that should supercharge your work for the next 12 months.
Session two: Who Wants to Re-Brand? Is your channel planning a re-brand in the next year? Dunning will take you through a simple step-by-step process with all the vital do’s and don’ts by showcasing relevant, engaging and recent examples of major channel and network rebrands.
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From graphic novel to animated series YouNeek Studios is home to eclectic superhero comics, graphic novels and animation. The US-based company has become increasingly popular since 2012 and is known for its vibrant comic strips that bring historically-inspired Nigerian stories to life.
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“We’ve been lucky to have some success in the comic book industry both in Africa and the diaspora because of amazing fans who constantly show us support. Because of that, we felt we could carry that same momentum into animation.
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ounder of YouNeek Studios, Roye Okupe’s first book, E.X.O – The Legend of Wale Williams, a superhero story about redemption set in a futuristic (2025) Lagos, Nigeria, is based on his experience growing up in Nigeria interwoven with superhero sci-fi concepts. The Nigerian-born writer comments, “My culture is a huge part of why I write these stories. And I also believe it is what sets us apart as a company. Our books are culturally authentic and you can feel it on every page. One of the main reasons why, is because the majority of the people that work on the books (sometimes all the people) are born and raised on the continent. The talent is immense in Nigeria (and Africa as a whole) and one of our goals here at YouNeek Studios is to shed light on them.” The company’s latest graphic novel, Malika: Warrior Queen, is focused on bringing strong, black female representation into comic roles and is inspired by the women in Okupe’s life including his mother, wife and sisters. Malika is also inspired by Queen Anima of Zazzau – a real warrior queen who lived in the 15th century; the novel also features elements from West African history including the Songhay Empire, Oyo Empire, Timbuktu and the Benin Empire. Malika was published in August 2017 and won the Best Graphic Novel at the Uncanny Nerd Awards 2017. After much success, Malika is now on the road to being developed into an animated series
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– Roye Okupe
as part of a collaborative project between YouNeek Studios and the Nigerian multimedia production house, Anthill studios. “As a company, we just felt like it was time to make a bold move. We’ve been lucky to have some success in the comic book industry both in Africa and the diaspora because of amazing fans who constantly show us support. Because of that, we felt we could carry that same momentum into animation. But as you know, animation is very hard and expensive to produce especially when you want to do it at a certain quality. This is where we hope a crowdfunding platform like Kickstarter can help us,” shares Okupe. The pair launched their crowdfunding campaign in late July, with the ambition to reach US$15 000 and make a 7-minute pilot. Background and insight on the Malika project, including a two-minute teaser reel created by Anthill Studios, are available on the Kickstarter page. There is also commentary videos from different artists who have worked on the project who wish to see the project reach its next level of success. Within just a few weeks, the project received immense media coverage across African entertainment websites and earned US$20 000 within two weeks, surpassing their initial goal. I knew we would surpass it,” enthused founder and creative director of Anthill Studios, Niyi Akinmolayan. “Malika is such a beautiful project, you either see the potential, or you don’t. There is no
in-between. My team and I, and the YouNeek Studios team, are more than grateful to everyone who backed us on this project.” However, the project’s crowdfunding journey has not stopped yet. Backers can still contribute and help the Malika project to reach further heights. “The funds we have raised is proof that there is an audience filled with expectations of witnessing visual representations of Nigerian and African characters – an audience looking forward to their stories being told on the big screen. Raising 20 000 dollars on Kickstarter is also proof that people believe it can be achieved,” said Akinmolayan. YouNeek Studios has written and will be directing the 7-minute 3D-animated episode, while Anthill Studios will be handling production duties. “We will make an announcement as soon as we commence production so that we are able to put a date and timeline to it. And enable our backers to be carried along the entire process,” informed Akinmolayan. Okupe also plans to pitch to investors and networks who can turn the project into a full-length TV series or movie. “Please continue to support African creative people and companies. Only through this support can we truly grow this industry and push it to realise its full potential. The future for African comics, animation and gaming is very bright,” Okupe concluded. – Gezzy S Sibisi September 2018
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Through A look inside Urban Brew’s “future-proof” new studios
U
rban Brew Studios, the visual media arm of Kagiso Media, is an established leader within the South African independent television industry, with a record of success stretching back nearly 30 years. From conceptualization to final production, Urban Brew has been responsible for creating and producing long-standing favorites such as YoTV, Live Amp and Khumbul-ekhaya, as well as live talk shows, variety features and documentaries, with their content reaching a total of almost 28 million viewers per week. Their recent move to the former entertainment centre of Brightwater Commons in the heart of Randburg – which included an ambitious studio redevelopment project – represents a bold step forward for the company. Featuring 10 television studios, including 2 large studios of 1000m2 and 900m2 respectively, capable of housing multiple sets, state-of-the-art control rooms which allow for live broadcasting and expert channel management services, comprehensive editing and animation suites as well as 9 dedicated audio studios, Urban Brew’s new facilities raise the benchmark for one-stop audio and video production in South Africa. CEO of Urban Brew Studios, Verona Duwarkah explains that, “After a thorough evaluation, we decided it was necessary to relocate to move the business forward. We
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conducted a search throughout Johannesburg and identified this opportunity at the Brightwater Commons as ideal, because of its centrality, with MultiChoice, e.tv and the SABC nearby, as well as multiple other production houses in the vicinity.” She adds that, “From a feasibility point of view, some of the heights that were needed, were already here because of the old cinemas in the complex, so the space was easy for us to evolve into the studio environment that we needed.” Ryan Paulsen, business operations leader at Urban Brew, picks up on this idea of evolution, describing the move as the start of “a new era, with more studios operating within a multi-purpose system to offer greater functionality.” There is also an appealing mixed-use element of the studio space, with an “in-house cinema still to be launched, which we can use for screenings and presentations, and a conferencesized foyer area where we can host events.” Acting head of Facilities and head of Urban Rhythm Factory, Theunis du Toit adds that, “Any limitations from before – in terms of studio space or versatility – have been removed, and the various production aspects can operate with more efficiency.” While the range of services offered by Urban Brew has always covered the full
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a new lens
production spectrum, from concept generation to scriptwriting, live transmission, post-production and final package distribution – with a number of added benefits like in-house set design and construction – their new premises offer some exciting value propositions to clients. With wall-to-wall fibre connectivity throughout the premises, the “central nervous system” of the new studios, in Duwarkah’s words, is its high-tech data centre. Paulsen describes this as a “unique facility, featuring an air-conditioned controlled environment and a raised floor, fire suppressants, battery backups and uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems. There’s also a 40-gig line that links Urban Brew to its storage host, mirroring off-site what is created on-site.” This is, effectively, a cutting-edge form of disaster recovery and risk management in the context of modern audio and visual production, providing clients with data security in addition to the convenience of being able to store and transmit data from within the studio. In the constantly-changing technological landscape, where broadcasting too often finds itself playing catch-up as new developments start to disrupt old practices, it is clear that Urban Brew have taken calculated steps towards “future-proofing” the business by investing in what Duwarkah calls “forward-thinking infrastructure”. Urban Brew – which is already responsible for curating and broadcasting two channels to MultiChoice, 1 Gospel and Dumisa – will also soon be opening a Network Operations Centre (NOC) to ensure the systematic oversight of all aspects relating to channel management. From the conceptualization and development of new channels, to the production of content and the monitoring of broadcast quality, the NOC will link
Tel : 087 057 5707
seamlessly with the data centre to guarantee a smooth and reliable workflow. With the rapid rise of mobile broadcasting technologies, as well as the growing popularity of VOD and OTT platforms, Urban Brew is excited by the direction the industry is heading and remains undaunted by the prospect of ‘traditional’ broadcasting models continuing to shift and change. “For the industry, there are some drawbacks to the changes – fibre connectivity is not available everywhere, for example, and there is a greater barrier for entry for new players,” says Paulsen. “However, the shift to digital platforms and VOD services is a great thing for studios like Urban Brew, because all it means is a greater proliferation of content out there for viewers, and so a greater demand for us to produce it.” Duwarkah echoes these sentiments, saying, “We create content. It doesn’t matter if it’s long or short form, or what platform it’s intended for – the reason why anyone watches anything is to experience great content. And that is what we do.” There is a palpable sense of excitement around the new studios, which Duwarkah describes as a “new energy – almost like the start of a brand-new business.” She reflects with pride on the move, which took place in the incredible timeframe of seven months (September 2017 to April 2018): a testament, she says, “to the caliber of professionals we have involved in this business.” “Moves are challenging, and ours required a restructuring process, as well as a lot of hard work to manage the transition without compromising the quality of our services,” Duwarkah concludes. “But the plane is off the ground now – we’ve made it through the initial turbulence, and we’re already on the way to higher altitudes.”
Email: info@urbanbrew.co.za
OUR OFFICES Brightwater Commons Centre, corner of Malibongwe and Republic Roads Ferndale Randburg 2194
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Photos courtesy: Protea Electronics
Wired for Success A behind-the-scenes look at Protea Electronics in operation Protea Electronics has been in the business of providing engineering solutions for more than 70 years. According to Shaun Kerr, the manager of Broadcast Sales at the Protea Technology Group, the reason for this longevity can be attributed to a number of factors.
“F
irst and foremost, it’s about making sure we are partnered with international leading brands, and – following on from this – it’s about the relationships and the partnerships we form with local suppliers and our customers. If we didn’t have these strong relationships, we couldn’t have the longevity in the business.” Kerr also talks about the “importance
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of listening to the customer’s wants and needs, while at the same time being able to understand what the anticipated and expected outcomes are.” He points to Protea’s ability to “adapt to changing circumstances in the context of changing technologies. We have a versatile, vertical structure to the business and it allows the company to adapt very quickly. On top of that, we have to be – and we are – a very financially disciplined company, and this
leads to financial strength. It all goes hand in hand with the goal of listening to customers, engaging with their needs and delivering realistic outcomes.” The company had an opportunity to test these credentials recently, being contracted to rig up Urban Brew Studios’ cutting-edge new studio spaces, an exciting project that is leading the revitalisation of the former Brightwater Commons entertainment centre. Verona Duwarkah, the CEO of Urban Brew Studios, made it clear that they were looking for a space that would “equip the business as much for the future as for the present. A space that would remove the ceiling for growth.” While this might have been a challenging prospect in and of itself, the timelimes on the project were extremely tight. Jacques Welthagen is a Pre and Post Sales consultant at Protea, but acted as project manager on behalf of Protea and Systems Integration for the Urban Brew Turnkey Project. In his view, “the
team performed wonders in a very short space of time.” The move, which included an extensive redevelopment aspect, kicked off in September 2017. As Welthagen puts it, “We had an immovable deadline: we had to go live on 1 April 2018 – and we did it.” “By the time we arrived at the new studio spaces, most of the building was up but it was still a construction site, so we were all in hard hats,” recalls Kagiso Mabe, who deals with Pre and Post Sales at Protea, including demoing kits and equipment, installation and training. In terms of the system’s design and set up, Welthagen explains that “although we represent a wide range of products at Protea, we are pretty much agnostic to specific models of equipment; that preference usually resides with the client. Our process is always the same: once we finalise the bill of materials, we compile the final workflow and plug in the pieces to make it all work. It is so important in the role of Systems Integrator to be
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STUDIOS AND PRODUCTION FACILITIES
“…in the end it was a great project, because we were able to install this international-standard studio infrastructure, and the success of the venture depended on the excellent working relationship we formed with Urban Brew Studios.
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– Shaun Kerr
open-minded about solutions and not be forced into preconceived ideas and habits.” As part of the strategy for making the new studios ready for tomorrow’s markets, Urban Brew opted for fibre-optic over triaxial connectivity, one in a series of upgrades that saw them overhaul outmoded SD systems to achieve HD, 4K capability. As Theunis du Toit, acting head of Facilities at Urban Brew, points out, the switch to fibre also allows for “a modern, streamlined operations system, where studios are not physically linked to individual control rooms. You get a much more fluid and efficient use of the space by being able to seamlessly link footage from one studio to a different control room using fibre.” From a project manager’s perspective, Welthagen notes that “the facility is rather expansive and – because you need to manage large data streams over large distances – fibre is ideal for the scale of economies within the studio.” Mabe adds, “We catered for the future by
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focusing on the backbone of the studio, as most equipment runs on fibre connectivity. So when it comes to broadcasting in 4K – probably in the near future in South Africa – the studio will be ready, their infrastructure already allows them to achieve it.” For tech junkies, Urban Brew’s new studios feature a lot of products to be excited about. Mabe explains that, “All the equipment we installed was familiar to us, so it was really just a matter of hooking up the component parts to satisfy the system.” But this system is certainly impressive – Welthagen describes it as a “perfectly attuned orchestra, with each element contributing its own nuances to complement the rest” – and he provides us with a look under the hood. “The core is built around a Grass Valley Korona K-Frame V-series 2M/E recording onto Grass Valley K2 Summit 3G Production Servers. The K2 Summit’s 3G MPEG-2 Multicam option can record up to four video streams with K2-Dyno S Replay
Controllers. The CGs (Character Generators) are Ross Xpressions and communication is from Clear-Com and Mirror Image Prompters.” On the camera side of things, “Acquisition is via new Grass Valley LDX-82 CMOS imager-based cameras and Focus-75 triax-based cameras, as well as some Legacy Sony triax systems to convert the signal to fibre. HDX-PLUS and some Cobra units convert all SMPTE fibre signals to dark fibre in the server room. When a studio is not in record mode, it is not making money, and so we wired for 26 camera control units and XCUs, with more to be added soon.” However, Welthagen is clear about what he considers the “flagship of the new facility”: its high-tech data centre. In his words, “This represents the culmination of the traditional Master Control Room in broadcasting. All signals merge and are distributed from the data centre; all mainframes and storage reside there. During Phase Two of the Urban Brew project, the Network Operations Centre will also attach to the data centre to give a helicopter view of operations, as well as status reporting. Key to this will be iTX and iControl integration, with OOYALA displaying the dashboard on
Grass Valley Kaleido multiviewers. This will give a real-time snapshot of the whole facility, as well indicating faults via Kaleido’s Penalty Box feature. This is a powerful, rules-driven engine designed to flag errors and events that require operator or engineer intervention.” From Urban Brew’s perspective, du Toit describes the new facility as “our piece of gold. Because everything is fibre-based, all our footage is fed directly into the servers in the data centre. From there, it goes straight to the adjacent ISP room where we have two transmission lines, which gives us good redundancy, and a failsafe in the event of one going down unexpectedly.” Reflecting on the project, Kerr admits it was “challenging in terms of the timelimes and the deadlines, but also because changing technologies require change management; there is a human element to them. So in the end it was a great project, because we were able to install this international-standard studio infrastructure, and the success of the venture depended on the excellent working relationship we formed with Urban Brew Studios. We look forward to a long future partnership with the group.” – David Cornwell
Protea Electronics (Pty) Ltd A Member Of The Protea Technology Group
www.protea.co.za 23 Galaxy Avenue, Linbro Park, 2090 South Africa Telephone: +27 11 719 5700 E-mail: shaunk@protea.co.za
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| ADVERTORIAL
Photos courtesy: Protea Electronics
Mobility, Flexibility, Opportunity What can an outside broadcasting van do for your business? Outside Broadcasting (OB) – also sometimes called Electronic Field Production (EFP) – refers to any footage that is captured and broadcast from outside the confines of a production studio. When one considers the range of televised events that this definition covers – from sports events to awards ceremonies, live concerts and news reports – it is perhaps unsurprising that the majority of broadcast content in South Africa is OB-based.
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n essence, an OB van is a mobile production studio. From electrical power, to cameras and mixers, playback and recording units, audio interfaces and communication systems – all equipment needs to be of broadcast quality, and capable of being housed and transported in one vehicle. Not only this, but – due to the high-pressure environment of outside broadcasting – the system needs to be user-friendly, allowing engineers precise control over the various components. According to Shaun Kerr, OB vans can offer “unique opportunities to production companies, allowing them to set up for high-quality production virtually anywhere it might be required.” This certainly seems to be in line with the thinking of Urban Brew Studios, who – along with the move to their state-ofthe-art new facilities – recently contracted Protea Electronics during the purchase of their own OB van. Urban Brew Studios’ CEO, Verona Duwarkah explains that “although we’ve had OB vans previously, they became outdated in terms of HD capability. That meant, with the changeover from SD to HD, we were hiring in quite a bit.” Theunis du Toit adds to this point, saying, “It made sense from a business point of view. Although outside broadcasting was an offering of ours previously, now we have an OB van that we own: we can use it on our own productions and also make it available to others as an additional revenue stream.” And as far as content strategy is concerned, Urban Brew aim to use their new van to expand and enrich their
current OB portfolio. “Having an OB van of your own gives you that flexibility in the business,” says Duwarkah. “Rather than just keeping Live Amp in a studio all the time, you can actually go and do road trips – you can get to your audiences in the different provinces. The same goes with our youth programming: we would like to be able to take our offerings to children around the country.” In terms of how Protea went about kitting out Urban Brew’s new OB van, Kagiso Mabe explains that the company always follows similar principles. “Broadcasting is a system, and whenever you are coordinating a number of parts, communication with the customer is the most vital aspect. You need to get a sense of their ambitions – what they want to use the equipment for, both now and in the future – so you don’t end up under-supplying them or taking away any functionality.” Mabe says that, “the coach build was done locally, and we collaborated with another company to rig up the cabling inside the truck. So the OB van project was a local production, from the modification of the vehicle to the installation of the equipment.” Jacques Welthagen of Protea describes the studio rig contained in the Urban Brew van as, an eye-wateringly sophisticated set-up for such a compact space. “The Urban Brew OB van is HD-ready and is pre-wired for 10 cameras and eight recording channels to the Stryme Video Server and another four channels for playback. For visual mixing, there is the Grass Valley Korona unit, and – at the heart of the operation – is a Grass
Protea Electronics (Pty) Ltd A Member Of The Protea Technology Group
www.protea.co.za 23 Galaxy Avenue, Linbro Park, 2090 South Africa Telephone: +27 11 719 5700 E-mail: shaunk@protea.co.za
24 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2018
Valley router with an Apantac Compact Multiviewer. The CG (Character Generator) unit is a Ross Xpression.” Interestingly, Urban Brew’s new OB van has already been tested in terms of its key requirements of functionality and ease of use. As Mabe explains; because of tight deadlines and ongoing building construction, when Urban Brew initially relocated to their new studios “the plan was first to make sure that one studio was fully operational before the 1 April deadline. So we got the floor going and rigged up lights in there, and in the end the studio operations were actually run from the OB van, while our team moved into the Master Control Room and started installing the rest of the studio kit.” Not only did the OB van deliver in this high-stakes situation, but Mabe also shares that “in the studio’s Master Control Room, we ended up installing a Grass Valley Korona switcher. This was already in the OB van, and once the Urban Brew engineers were used to this piece of equipment, when they were ready to move into studios we brought the familiarity and the comfortable use of this kit into the main facility’s control rooms.” In Kerr’s view, this case study shows that “as a facility, Urban Brew are thinking outside of the box, and they are adding value to their customer base by having this ability to do both in-house production, as well as to take any production out on the road with the OB van. They are allowing their customers this freedom and flexibility to shoot in different locations.” – David Cornwell
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Blacksmith Collective: The innovative, creative force SA’s been waiting for If you’ve spotted a cool and innovative creative campaign lately, chances are that Blacksmith Collective had a hand in its execution. From Castle Lite’s ‘Coldest Bar in Africa’ activation to the recent ABSA drone show that brought South Africa to a standing, staring-up-the-sky stupor, Blacksmith Collective – founded and run by creative techpreneurs Marcus von Geyso and Diogo Mendonça – is turning the industry on its head.
“T
he traditional agency model has always had its limitations when it comes to meeting client briefs in exciting and innovative ways,” says von Geyso. “In-house creative teams are more cost-effective than freelancers, for example, but that also means that you’re only tapping into the skills, experience and knowledge of a few individuals.” “Instead, Blacksmith Collective partners with the best creative minds and experts across the country and beyond, from film and photography specialists to brand strategists and even engineers, allowing us to adapt to specific project requirements. It’s a unique business model focused on making the client’s vision a reality through true collaboration that focuses on upholding the integrity of the work,” Mendonça continues. The innovative production collective was established in 2016 and specialises in content creation through creative problem solving, having worked with top international brands including Castle Lite,
Carling Black Label, Budweiser, Huawei, Shell, DHL, Qatar and ABSA to date. They’ve collaborated with some of the most talented individuals in the business as well as some of the biggest agencies in the industry, such as Grid Worldwide, Ogilvy & Mather South Africa, King James II, and Joe Public. The duo has also emphasised the importance of giving credit where credit is due, and ensures that every collaborator on any given project is credited for their work by name. “Having access to a vast network of creative professionals when trying to solve a creative problem definitely adds a lot of dimension to our work, which helps us to make sure our ideas are always current and relevant,” says Mendonça. “But it’s also important that those talented people are given the credit they deserve for their work and contributions, which is something we always make sure happens in every single project we take on.” As the managing director at Blacksmith
Collective, Mendonça oversees the day-to-day operations of the business, maintaining client relationships and sourcing new business opportunities. He is also creatively involved, taking on the role of executive producer in the production process. Executive creative director at Blacksmith Collective, Marcus von Geyso, is responsible for managing the creative conceptualisation and execution of a project from start to finish, ensuring the final product exceeds the client’s creative requirements. As a professional filmmaker and photographer, von Geyso plays a central role in creative production, but – true to Blacksmith Collective’s collaborative spirit – is also involved in the management of the business. Mendonça and von Geyso met while working at Ogilvy & Mather SA, and realised their shared entrepreneurial spirit and vision for a creative platform that knows no bounds. With their combined experience in the advertising and production industries, the pair decided to start their own collaborative platform, that is capable of dynamically scaling up or down depending on the nature and
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Marcus von Geyso and Diogo Mendonça
demand of a client’s brief. “We established Blacksmith Collective to find solutions to the creative problems clients face, and the fact that we’ve experienced such phenomenal growth in the last year alone shows how hungry the industry is for that disruption,” says von Geyso. “Having a pool of creative talent to collaborate with allows us to work smarter, ensure a high standard of service and deliver expert executions.” “We are currently moving into a space now where we provide clients access to our innovative division where we conceptualise and build innovative camera rigs, digital branding tools, and unique consumer engagements executions, says von Geyso.” Every project is unique and the brief shouldn’t always be seen as being set in stone. Our collective creative expertise allows us to research and find interesting ways of solving briefs. Gone are the days where the traditional TVC or a simple Facebook post is enough. We are trying to change the way briefs are interpreted and the ways in which they can be executed.
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Aya explores the horrors faced by victims of trafficking
Human trafficking is the second largest profit-making crime in the world next to drug trafficking. According to World Hope South Africa, there are up to 10 000 child prostitutes in Johannesburg alone. In June this year, 46 kidnapped women were rescued from a room in Johannesburg CBD. Most of the women had been missing since January this year and were set to be shipped overseas in a few days.
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t is a terrible and shameful problem that we are not doing enough about. I kept telling the team while we were filming that we’re able to launch Elon Musk’s sports car towards Mars, but we can’t figure out how to curb the trafficking of women and children. And that was the direction, once you look at it that way you realise how expansive the issue is, so I felt the best approach was to focus on one victim and one victimiser which made it eerily intimate,” says Khalid El-Jelailati. El-Jelailati is an independent filmmaker with years of experience in the commercial industry; it was in mid-2017 when he decided to put his commercial company on hold to pursue making films. While in production last year on another film with a similar backstory, one of the leads had an accident and the production team were forced to put the project on hold until September. “I refused to wait another year to make a film and financially I couldn’t, so I expanded on the research from the previous project which was broadly a similar story. Spent a couple of days calling people who dealt with trafficking victims, doing online research, reading through tons of Stats SA articles on the numbers around this matter and watched as many documentaries as I could. Then outlined the idea for the script on paper and spent two days writing non-stop,” he shares. Aya follows the anguish and resilience of Aya Seniya, played by Danica Del Ray, as she is faced with the hell of being trafficked. El-Jelailati expands: “Aya was a meditation on the horrors that trafficking victims go through. We wanted to create an intense film that didn’t follow a typical structure expected of ‘South African’ film. I feel most people’s stories would make a good story if you contain it into a 90-minute structure and dealing with a story like this, it was about the characters. You are stuck (similar to how the victim is stuck) with them for the length of the film – nowhere to go and no relief from the issue.” In the film, Aya, meets a guy online named Boyade Van Cleef, played by Richard Gau. She plans to meet her online crush against the wishes and advice of her best friend, Pamela, played by Keketso Montshiwa.
Worried about the safety of her friend, Pamela decides to accompany Aya against her will. To their shock, Bayode has plans to take Aya and prepare her to be sold to Mika, played by Charlie Bouguenon. “We had two goals while developing this project. Firstly, we wanted to shock the viewer, we’ve had the ‘Halle Berry and Liam Neeson style’ trafficking films which almost always end up an action movie. We wanted to show you an honest film about victimisation, one you wouldn’t easily forget or ignore. And secondly, we want to show the industry and audiences that we (South African filmmakers) can tell a variety of stories in different styles. We want to promote a culture of watching South African films and variety of story will do that,” shares El-Jalailati. The dark thriller delves into a world of deception, manipulation and violence. When Bayode’s plans are stifled by the presence of Pamela, he decides to take drastic action to ensure he makes the sale. Over a period of two days, using drugs and manipulation, he chips away at Aya’s spirit before he has to deliver her to the buyer. “Aya and Pamela, played wonderfully and intensely by Danica De La Rey and Keketso Montshiwa, represent society and the innocents and gullibility it has when dealing with this issue. On the other hand, you have Bayode and Mika, played by the incredibly and disturbingly talented Richard Gau and Charlie Bouguenon, who play characters that represent the savagery and cruelty of the trafficking world.”
Aya is the first feature film by Image State Film, an indie motion picture company and television studio based in Johannesburg. The film was made on a micro-budget and was written in two days, prepped in five days and filmed over three days. Furthermore, the plot unfolded in just three locations, shots were kept to just three takes, and a minimal crew and cast were used on production. “By filming quickly, not allowing for multiple takes and having a healthy sense of reasonable un-reasonability, we were able to take an idea and turn it into a film in under two weeks. We want to promote this model of filmmaking in our communities, the ones that are struggling to break through the culture ceiling,” says El-Jelailati. The Sony A7S MK II camera was paired with anamorphic lenses to shoot Aya. Gear was rented from the Magic Lightbox Company in Johannesburg where the film was shot. “I wanted to use this camera specifically because it shoots in 4K, gives you incredible picture quality and what it can do in low-low light is unbelievable,” he comments. “Our remarkable DOP, Jiten Ramlal, and I discussed lighting the scene once in a set-up that wouldn’t change. We could then move around the lights, and any change in the lighting would add to the textured scene as opposed to distract from it. This style added an element of crude reality that felt haunting,” adds El-Jelailati. Post-production duties were handled in-house at Image State Films. Aya was completed in March 2018 and cut just in time to be selected by and participate at the Durban International Film Festival and the Durban FilmMart. “We were in Durban for the Durban FilmMart and the festival, and it was a great experience to be able to network with people from the industry. We have submitted to a few more film festivals and are waiting to hear back, fingers crossed.” Aya is scheduled for theatrical release in 2019. El-Jelailita hopes that this film will have a profound impact on the viewer, in such a way that they will want to be part of the change, and put an end to human trafficking. – Gezzy S Sibisi
Film
TECH CHECK EQUIPMENT • Camera: Sony A7S MK II
“I wanted to use this camera specifically because it shoots in 4K, gives you incredible picture quality and what it can do in low-low light is unbelievable.” – Khalid El-Jelailita
KEY CREW Producers: Charles Khuzwayo and Khalid El-Jelailati Director: Khalid El-Jelailati DOP: Jiten Ramlal Editors: Nikita De Oliveira and Lumarno Van Rooyen Sound: Skye Deacon
“By filming quickly, not allowing for multiple takes and having a healthy sense of reasonable un-reasonability, we were able to take an idea and turn it into a film in under two weeks. We want to promote this model of filmmaking in our communities, the ones that are struggling to break through the culture ceiling.
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– Khalid El-Jelailita
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Exploring African folklore in urban settings in The Tokoloshe
If you grew up in South Africa, you’ve surely heard the old horror stories associated with the tokoloshe – a dwarf-like evil spirit in African folklore. While some believe that it is just a tall tale created to scare children, many adults, past and present, claim to have had close encounters with the mythical creature.
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ccomplished commercial director, Jerome Pikwane, decided to explore this terrifying creature in contemporary settings in his debut feature film, The Tokoloshe. “Originally it was supposed to be a straight-out horror film, but then I met and befriended Richard Kunzmann, and we started writing the story as a B grade horror film but knew that this film could be so much more like Pan’s Labyrinth or The Exorcist; we could talk about societal ills and knew that we couldn’t miss the opportunity,” shared Pikwane. Through the script, penned by Pikwane and co-writer and novelist Kunzmann, the pair decided to explore South African tokoloshe folklore in a modern-day setting while juxtaposing true-life horrors against the monsters created in cultural mythology. Who are the monsters that actually do walk the earth, the film asks? “I heard about the usual (tokoloshe) stories, ‘the stealer of children’ but what really scared me was the fact that he preyed on the most vulnerable which in my opinion is true evil and that’s what we wanted to explore,” explains Pikwane. The filmmaker says that he does not believe in mythical monsters, but only in the real ones called mankind. “Men can be the greatest monster, and in these times we are living in, I have no doubt about that.” The film follows Busi, a destitute young woman with dangerously repressed emotions. Busi lands a job at a rundown hospital in the heart of Johannesburg. Desperate for the money so that she can bring her younger sister to Johannesburg, she must survive despite having to deal with her predatory and corrupt hospital manager. 28 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2018
While working in the hospital, Busi discovers an abandoned young girl named Grace who believes that she is tormented by a supernatural force. However, in order for Busi to help the distressed young girl, she must learn to face her own demons from her past. The film unravels through the growing relationship between Busi and Grace who have endured painful ordeals in their lives which have caused them to retreat, creating a larger demon which haunts them daily. However, as they begin to reach out to each other and uncover each other’s secrets, they soon discover that they are mirror images of each other – abandoned, lonely, ostracised and most importantly, not believed. The Tokoloshe is set in Johannesburg, Gauteng as well as in KwaZulu-Natal. In Johannesburg, Busi tries to make a living working as a cleaner at a rundown hospital and goes home to a small gloomy apartment in the dingy side of the inner city. “I wanted the film to look apocalyptic, this outward sense of decay which then translates into one of the themes around moral decay. This worked well for the genre we were working in,” explains Pikwane. Contained environments were also used to enhance the mood of the film. These include scenes shot at the old children’s hospital in Johannesburg and a rundown apartment in Yeoville. Towards the end of the film, Busi flees to her childhood home in one of the most beautiful parts of rural KwaZulu-Natal. However, this spectacular tropical paradise is also the place where the monster who raped her lives. “For us, it was about empathy and being able to put ourselves in the shoes of our protagonist Busi. She is the
everyday woman who cleans after us and does the work we don’t want to do, yet every day she faces real monsters, and that was what interested me… Ultimately my biggest discovery was that we’re all human and have the same needs. It’s just that some people have a bigger battle.” The film was shot over five weeks on the Arri Alexa Classic camera. “We used an Arri Alexa Classic with Panavision Primo prime lenses because it is great for contrast lighting and also to create the noir look which worked well with the ‘look of decay’ that I spoke about,” says Pikwane. CGI and special effects were done by Loco VFX in Johannesburg to create the tokoloshe, with Schalk van der Merwe and George Webster as VFX supervisors. “The look had to mimic what was going on emotionally with the character. I had long discussions with my DOP Trevor Brown, and my production designers Andrew Chandler and Luarnae Roos, about creating synchronicity between the cinematography and production design. The look of the film reflected the characters emotional state,” comments Pikwane. Editing and the post-production duties were handled by Bruce McLaren-Lyall. The Tokoloshe had its African premiere in July 2018 at the Durban International Film Festival, where it was also selected and screened as the opening night film. “It was a huge honour, every artist wants to be recognised by their own people, so I’m humbled that my film was selected,” expressed Pikwane. The film has also showcased internationally at the Bucheon International Fan Film Festival (BiFan) in South Korea, as well as at the London Frightfest Film Festival. When asked how the film resonates with the South African audience versus internationally, Pikwane remarks; “The Tokoloshe tries to bring into focus what we grew up listening to as children and tries to make sense of it in the real world. And for those who don’t know the mythology you’re about to experience nightmares.” – Gezzy S Sibisi
TECH CHECK EQUIPMENT • Camera: Sony A7S MK II • Lenses: Panavision Primo prime lenses
“We used an Arri Alexa Classic camera with Panavision Primo prime lenses because it is great for contrast lighting and also to create the noir look which worked well with the look of decay.” – Jerome Pikwane
KEY CREW Producers: Dumi Gumbi and Cati Weinek Director: Jerome Pikwane Writers: Jerome Pikwane and Richard Kunzmann DOP: Trevor A Brown Editor: Bruce Mclaren-Lyall Sound: Basiami Segola
ADVERTORIAL
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OUTSIDE BROADCAST
Dimension Television Facilities
21 years and counting
Established in 1997, Dimension Television Facilities is one of the largest privately owned Outside Broadcast Facility (OB) companies in Africa.
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ith a resume of productions stretching across continents, the company has applied its services and expertise on a variety of events for international clients including golf for European Tour Productions in partnership with Sunshine
Tour Productions, Cape Epic and Ironman for SuperSport, The Getaway Car for BBC, Dancing with the Stars, UCI Cross Country, Kwesé Sports, Lagardère Sports, U.COM Media women’s golf, NBA, ESPN, and Eurovision, to name a few.
“We are proud to announce that our contract with the Sunshine Tour and European Tour Productions has been extended this year,” inform Dimension Television Facilities’ Joshua Reynders and Henk Spangenberg. For more than two decades, the company has facilitated the broadcast of the Southern Africa leg of this prestigious professional men’s golf tour. The company boasts a state of the art fleet of 4 High Definition OB trucks, 2 Fly-Away Kits, 12 RF cameras (MPEG2 / MPEG4), 6 Point to Point Microwave Links, 2 Drive-Away and 2 Fly-Away SNG systems, 40 Grass Valley Cameras complemented by a variety of lenses, and EVS (XT2+/XT3) Playback facilities.
“In 2019 we will welcome our new flagship unit named OB8 HD,” says Reynders. This unit will be capable of accommodating up to 25 operators in a luxury environment, equipped with only the best to secure seamless flow of productions. Dimension Television Facilities’ founding members recently handed over the reins of the company to Reynders and Spangenberg who say that there are already plans in the works for expanding the company in the near future: “There are exciting times ahead for Dimension Television Facilities. Our success over the last 21 years is just a glimpse of our potential. Delivering beyond what is expected, sets us apart.”
www.dimensiontv.co.za Dimension Television Facilities Joshua Reynders +27 (0)82 373 3719 joshua@dimensiontv.co.za | Henk Spangenberg +27 (0)82 798 6740 henk@dimensiontv.co.za 552 Ontdekkers Road, Florida, South Africa | +27 11 472 7512 September 2018
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DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
| OPINION
MOBILE CONTENT PLATFORMS: Who is watching the gatekeepers? The exponential rise of mobile-driven (and funded) content platforms is starting to have some interesting, and potentially problematic side-effects in terms of selection (curatorship), censorship and the freedom of creative expression.
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s the emergence of short form content as an industry driver becomes more and more clear, producers find themselves in a complex situation in terms of what they produce and how it is distributed. Social media, and of course YouTube, have been the dominant platforms for sharing and monetising this content over the past decade. Brand and digital agencies have also looked to short form producers to produce impactful content around specific narratives and briefs. Short form content then could be broken down into two main categories; firstly, creative driven short films are often developed on the hopes of securing a place and accolades at film festivals, going viral on social media or similar platforms and possibly promoting the career of the producer/filmmaker or securing funding for a full feature or TV series. 30 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2018
A second category of commercially driven content has been driven by brands and agencies looking to capitalise on the power and impact of social media. The prevalence of this content has opened up lucrative career paths for many young producers, but ultimately falls within the world of advertising. The reality for purely creative driven short form producers has been that apart from niche categories at film festivals, and social media sharing, opportunities to drive or monetise their content were slim. However, as mobile platforms start to become the primary platform for more and more people to watch any kind of video content, creative short form is now taking its place as the most lucrative and essential format on the market. The massive hunger now being shown particularly by mobile operators for short content however must not only be seen as a positive driver of the industry. While it is true that the opportunities for
exposure and monetisation, especially for young African producers, are real, there is a cost to this process. The biggest area of concern, as I see it, is in terms of selection and curation. For all its ills and algorhythms, social media, at least to a certain extent, and in certain countries is somewhat democratic. Commercial content often goes viral due to massive budgets and boosts, but often, quirky and original producer uploaded content manages to go global based purely on word of mouth and sharing. Mobile content platforms however are heavily curated, moderated and gate-kept. Is anyone asking who exactly within the mobile platforms is selecting the content, on what criteria and for what markets? Clearly its all about expected profit. The content selected by any mobile platform, especially the content promoted within those platforms, is going to be that which is determined to gather the most eyeballs for as long as possible. The gatekeepers of these mobile content platforms then are often found within the marketing departments – and content is selected often not for any kind of creative originality but rather on projected returns or within very narrow prescriptive norms. As these platforms become more dominant destinations for content consumption amongst consumers, one
has to consider the role of these all-powerful gatekeepers and what it means for the future of creative and perhaps even controversial content. Mobile platforms will inherently shy away from political content, or any content that offends certain governments, think Google in China. So if mobile platforms become the main source of news and information for an entire generation it is essential to look at the impact that this highly curated environment will have on both the viewers and the producers. Already many bemoan the apparent censorship and narrowcasting of content on social media, but this will be exponentially increased when mobile operators control both the access and the content itself. Producers will find themselves having to make more of the same – shorter and shorter bits of content aimed to please the most number of viewers without offending or taking any risks. This is the kind of content that will be rewarded financially leading to a process of self-censorship within the industry. So while we celebrate the income and opportunities that arise from the growth of mobile content platforms – let’s also be mindful of the potential pitfalls in terms of creative, free and fair expression. – Lara Preston
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DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
Balancing pay TV opportunities and challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa By Frank Poppelsdorf, vice president, Product Management, Irdeto
As consumer behaviour continues to evolve rapidly due to technological advances in the pay TV space and the rapid growth of OTT, the market in SubSaharan Africa presents opportunities and challenges for operators.
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ccording to the Sub-Saharan Africa Pay TV Forecasts report, released by Digital TV Research earlier this year, the number of pay TV subscribers is predicted to see an increase of 74 per cent by 2023, to 40.89 million. While this growing subscriber base is a clear opportunity for operators, retaining existing customers and attracting new subscribers is not without its challenges. In fact, the same report predicts pay TV revenues in Sub-Saharan Africa will increase by a much slower rate of only 41 per cent by 2023. This could be down to increased competition driving down prices, as well as the increasing global penetration of pure play OTT providers (Netflix launched in an additional 130 countries, including South Africa, in January 2016). It has led consumers to expect OTT functionality and content everywhere but at a lower
price-point. Whatever the market factors involved, as pay TV operators look to capitalise on the OTT opportunity while simultaneously sustaining strong traditional pay TV operations, they need to come up with ways of rolling out exciting new services and content while ensuring on-going cost efficiencies.
Traditional pay TV remains essential While global OTT growth has been impressive, traditional pay TV services are still hugely important in the region. Operators must therefore consider the evolving consumer requirements for speed and convenience, however content is delivered. They must look to capitalise on new methods of secure delivery of their broadcast content, to serve consumer convenience and make the sign-on process easier and cheaper. The issue faced by operators, is that launching pay TV services in a highly priced competitive market is challenging and they must balance the need for protecting their content against tremendous cost pressures. Rather than being a cost burden, high quality security should be an enabler for business growth by evolving to support an operator’s changing needs. A software-based
security solution will allow operators to securely deliver content across devices, while providing a cost-effective and easily renewable solution to stay ahead of piracy and security threats without hardware dependencies. As operators look to further develop and grow their businesses, they must also be able to create new revenue streams from different tiers of programmes or services, which will require the management of subscriber entitlements. Conditional Access (CA) will ensure that different packages can reach subscribers from different income groups and it will also help operators address piracy concerns. In addition, CA is also important for Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) migration and ensuring official set-top boxes (STBs) are securely delivering content. This will also enable pay TV services to be added if required.
Content delivery strategies for the future Whether looking from a global or regional viewpoint, there is no denying that increasing choice is changing consumer habits and demands. This has led to an increasingly competitive entertainment landscape where traditional satellite and pay TV operators
face a big challenge to hold onto subscribers and market share. When you throw in the entry of the internet giants into the content market, operators must continue to look at how their businesses can evolve to make the most of on-going market opportunities. To remain competitive as the market continues to evolve in future, operators will need to be looking to offer a hybrid STB with linear TV and OTT services. Open platforms like Android TV can be the most effective and fastest way to future-proof a set-top box and explore new revenue-generating services. However, the operators won’t be able to make this future move without first ensuring a secure digital TV ecosystem, where subscriber entitlements can be managed, with the security demands of premium content met. The key to this is a 360-degree approach to security which complements Conditional Access. This means a combination of state-of-the-art security technology, proactive services delivered by experienced investigators and analysts, and comprehensive cybercrime business intelligence services. This will enable operators to securely deliver high value content, enable new revenue streams and secure future growth.
“The issue faced by operators, is that launching pay TV services in a highly price competitive market is challenging and they must balance the need for protecting their content against tremendous cost pressures.” September 2018
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DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
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Affordable connectivity In the past, television and radio broadcasters, production companies and studios had to resort to dedicated satellite or fibre links for their contribution or distribution circuits. It was the only way to reliably delivery their content from anywhere to anywhere.
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very high premium was paid for a guaranteed connection, with Service Level Agreement (SLA) and/or Quality of Service (QoS). Point-to-point contribution satellite links were used, which inadvertently covered an entire country or continent. Satellite bandwidth was expensive and complicated transmission and reception equipment was needed. Then land-lines over copper or fibre circuits started being installed in most major towns and cities. Telecommunications companies such as Telkom, Neotel (now called Liquid Telecom), or any other Commercial (business) Network provider provided circuits, but still at high prices. A long-term lease would have to be signed, with little or no flexibility. The bandwidth charge for these links would be calculated based on distance and required uptime (SLA). These days there are many more options available, varying in affordability and reliability. Delivery over the public (unmanaged) internet has been a reality. There have been significant advances in technology and affordability in the domestic (retail) internet connections industry. ADSL and Diginet/ISDN lines are almost a thing of the past, and are being replaced with dedicated Internet Protocol (IP) network connections, over copper or fibre lines.
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In previous years domestic internet connections were running on ADSL infrastructure, only geared for high downlink speeds. A home user would have a 4Mb/s download but only 512kb/s upload. This would not be sufficient for contribution links out of the home office/studio connection. Whilst internet access speeds are increasing, and uncapped packages becoming more common, so is their reliability. Uptime is crucial for broadcast links, especially for permanent links. Any errors along the transmission path would result in video loss and a degraded video experience at the receiver. One method to protect a video stream whilst traversing unmanaged networks, like the internet, is using Forward Error Correction (FEC). Additional information is sent, in the form of Rows and Columns for error correction. This method works well for links where there is no ability to have a return link. In this case (similar to satellite links), FEC works to ‘fill in the blanks’ if there are errors at the receiver. There is no opportunity to re-send the video information again, due to the live nature of video streams. A disadvantage to this method is an increase in total Transport Stream (TS) bitrate, which is total Service, video & audio information bitrate. The higher the FEC used, the higher the bitrate, which might end up being counter-productive over particularly constrained networks. Examples would be wireless networks, 3G/LTE mobile networks, or networks that have a high contention ratio (over-subscribed or congested). The next category of link systems use encoders that sense the quality of links, and adjust the encoded bitrate, to reliably deliver video over any network. Telemedia’s Comrex LiveShot has been tried and tested over the last six months. It works really well using a combination of WiFi, bonded-cellular and Ethernet links. It also works well using only two high-powered modems, using 2 Data SIM cards.
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DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION
for broadcast links
Written by Andy Louis, CTO, Telemedia (Pty) Ltd.
The Encoder and Decoder form a tunnel through the internet, and communicate between each other to push for the highest possible bitrate. If or when the link starts to degrade, the encoder drops the bitrate to compensate for the worsening internet link, for example drop-outs on the mobile/cellular network. A disadvantage is that you have to use the Vendor’s internal Encoder and Decoder, which might not be ideal for certain customers. They might want to use their own Encoder or Decoder. The start and finish part of this type of Link is HD-SDI or HDMI interfaces. Another product that is well known is LiveU, which works in a similar way. It uses any available networks: GSM (3G/LTE), WiFi and Ethernet, to send.
Another option for error-free transmission over unknown networks is to use additional packaging (wrapping) and intentional latency, or delay. An example is the popular Zixi Transmission Protocol. Their proprietary technology employs continuous feedback from the receiver, back to the transmitter, allowing for error correction without having to increase the overall TS bitrate. In this case an additional 1 second or more of latency is intentional, to allow for buffering (delaying) the TS, so that it can be re-constructed without any errors.
A disadvantage to the Zixi technology is that it requires their special software on both transmit and receive ends. It is also not a globally common platform, such as the DVB specification. However it works remarkable well and has an affordable pricing structure, based on annual license fees, for the various products available. Another advantage is that their software is easy to install and run on any Windows 7/10 Professional PC. The interfaces are easy to set up and there are built-in monitoring tools that come as standard. There are many other Vendors that provide similar robust delivery methods. Ultimately the aim for any of the available transmission protocols is to combine the cost of using this technology and using a cheaper, more affordable internet connection.
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MEDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT
| THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
The role of MAM and storage in redefining news storytelling The way we tell stories has itself become the story. It’s a well-known fact that media consumption has changed dramatically. But storytelling is also undergoing a radical transformation. Alongside the proliferation of content platforms, including OTT channels, has come an explosion of content creation. Literally.
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Dave Colantuoni,
senior director of product management, Avid
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
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ate last year, Netflix predicted it would spend between US$7 billion and US$8 billion on content in 2018. Now it’s estimated that the streaming giant will spend US$12 to US$13 billion on its programming this year. And mainstream players are jumping into the market. HBO and CBS were among the first major networks to make digital forays with HBO Go and CBS All Access. ESPN Plus is now up and running and Disney is slated to debut its own streaming service in 2019. The speed at which content is created and its quality will be critical in differentiating streaming media companies from one another. The sheer amount of content being created and the multitude of ways that
media is being experienced creates production and distribution pressures— from the need for greater production speed and mobility to more intelligent ways of finding and managing assets. Further, media organisations must accommodate international versioning issues, including language captioning.
New capabilities and altered workflows As these forces exert pressure, technology providers are rushing to keep pace, innovating to deliver scalable, flexible and intelligent architectures to meet the new demands. Ecosystems capable of scaling and managing assets logically and flexibly, together with sophisticated storage technology are addressing the challenges of our ubiquitous ‘always-on’ live environment, enabling content production and distribution from anywhere to anywhere, and on virtually any device. Perhaps nowhere are the needs—and the strides made to meet them—more evident than in the 24/7 news environment. For journalists, it’s about making workflows faster and easier and removing bottlenecks. Journalists can now be more autonomous and productive in the field, able to search, access and create content, send packages where needed, and get video on air and online faster—all from their laptops. News workflows must also integrate with web, mobile, and social platforms, while enabling all stakeholders to view footage in a browser, and comment on it or log it as needed. Quantum leaps for broadcast workflows. There are also profound business benefits. For media companies of all kinds, highly integrated ecosystems that include sophisticated MAM systems and shared storage deliver tangible advantages. In addition to resource and cost efficiencies, increased productivity, and higher-quality content, functionalities like integrated metadata sharing help companies expand their assets and leverage content across brands, critical to staying competitive in today’s cost-driven broadcast environment. Many of the tools that facilitate this new collaboration, speed and mobility are remarkably easy to deploy and use but underneath the hood lie some sophisticated technologies.
A common interface A common, easy-to-use interface built on a web browser is needed to enable necessary stakeholders to easily access, view and even contribute to content. It must be an extremely lightweight and quick-to-launch client that can be used in a web browser anywhere with very little training. It should also seamlessly connect to a data center housing storage and the servers that run the infrastructure or to cloud or hybrid environments. The ability to move from on-premise to hybrid to cloud provides the portable capability so critical to today’s speed-driven, remote and highly integrated workflows. Users can share content easily and communicate with each other about
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stories from anywhere in real time. Aggregating social media feeds, logging as content is being acquired, or cutting together a story based on assets on shared virtualised storage or a MAM system can all be achieved on the same interface. And news producers, for example, can log on to see content available and push or pull content to and from production systems within their station group.
Rules and roles It’s also critical for the interface to be applicable to roles in an organisation. An administrator should be able to assign user interfaces based on their tasks. A logger, for example, will see only the log functionality, or an editor only the clips they need. That sort of flexible interface is crucial. It’s not helpful for a logger to see social media feeds or have the ability to send content out to social media on a finished news story. So, an interface must have ease of use, flexibility and scalability built in.
Apps as services The ability to quickly and efficiently search all different storage mechanisms, both in the cloud and in on-premise, archive or nearline storage, is essential to retrieve assets quickly. A particular clip may be archived or parked temporarily on nearline, or on your online storage. The best search mechanics allow you to find and retrieve content quickly and easily regardless of its location. Within this integrated infrastructure, accessing media functions is as simple as selecting the desired app, switching on the modules needed, and customising the workflow with the required media services and partner connectors. Apps that cover everything from searching and browsing media, researching data and social media feeds, logging, editing, review and approval, publishing and more—all accessed from the common interface for a consistent and unified user experience.
New search frontiers Software-defined storage architecture is designed to accommodate the shift to the cloud while supporting on-premise and hybrid workflows. On-demand
MEDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT access to a shared pool of centralised storage can be quickly provisioned, repurposed and tailored to each workspace’s capacity. With storage, the faster it goes, the more expensive it is. An integrated ecosystem with a sophisticated MAM system can move assets where they should be at a given time, so you can avoid purchasing more production storage. A ‘‘media-aware’ system keeps assets close when needed, nearline when appropriate then further away to archive. It’s also a game changer amid increasingly sophisticated services and workflows like cognitive services. If you have millions of assets, you’ll need to do some very sophisticated searching, which is possible by linking together all storage. But that’s just the beginning. Through services like phonetic indexing, indexing the spoken word of ingested content, you can search on phenomes, or just the voice of what was being said. Or use it to complement a metadata search. There are a wide range of services that can be tied together as your infrastructure gets more sophisticated. It’s possible, for example, to upload content to a cloud computing platform like Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services and use AI-driven cognitive service capabilities to create metadata that’s searchable within your ecosystem. Functions like speech-to-text, facial recognition and character or image recognition become searchable metadata.
Better asset monetisation All of this technology really drives toward a fundamental benefit: the best use and monetisation of assets. Most intelligently and economically storing assets and enabling users to easily access and manipulate those assets, wherever they are, lies at the heart of these systems. More advanced AI-driven metadata search can uncover content you might not even know you have, opening up new media and revenue opportunities. The way we tell stories is evolving but the content is always the star. We need to make the most of it – knowing how to find it, where to store it, and how it can work for us.
“For media companies of all kinds, highly integrated ecosystems that include sophisticated MAM systems and shared storage deliver tangible advantages. In addition to resource and cost efficiencies, increased productivity, and higher-quality content, functionalities like integrated metadata sharing help companies expand their assets and leverage content across brands, critical to staying competitive in today’s cost-driven broadcast environment.
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Broadcast Technology
| Thought leadership
Written by Chris Merrill (director of Product Marketing) and Klaus Weber (principal, Camera Solutions and Technology) at Grass Valley
HDR holds the key to better images Consumers have long judged video content by the visible quality of the image they see on a screen. With newer high-resolution formats now available on standard consumer-grade devices, viewers have naturally developed a hunger for first-class quality, which explains why they have such high expectations for better and better images.
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ver the years, we’ve witnessed the shift from black-and-white to colour, from SD to HD, from analogue to digital, and now we are seeing simultaneous interest in both 4K UHD and HDR. Looking for a superior viewing experience, consumers are investing in new displays that can support these latest formats. Initial reactions to 4K UHD and HDR content indicate that consumers are impressed with the noticeable difference they see in the quality of programming; the colours pop and the details stand out more in a wider variety of scenes. This demand on the part of consumers – and the advertisers trying to reach them – is pushing content
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producers to adopt 4K UHD and HDR technologies. 4K UHD increases the number of pixels, resulting in a larger field of view for long shots or increased detail in close-ups. However, while consumers undoubtedly enjoy a much richer viewing experience in 4K UHD, the additional resolution alone is not enough – particularly when you consider the screen size that most of them are accessing content on. More pixels in an image requires a much larger screen at the same viewing distance to see a noticeable difference in the content. This is where HDR comes in. HDR is generally recognised as the next big thing in content delivery, delivering an immediate – and
perceivable – benefit to the consumer. Thanks to its contrast ratio, which is closer to the conditions found in real life, HDR allows image reproduction that is much closer to reality. Consumer trends indicate that HDR is a good bet for content producers. Shipments of HDR TV sets are forecast to surpass HD units by 2020 and reach 245 million units in 2022, representing a market that will be worth around 36.82 billion by that same year. By combining 4K UHD and HDR, broadcasters can deliver the best images possible in the industry today that create truly immersive and lifelike experiences for viewers.
Thought leadership
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Broadcast TECHNOLOGY
HDR also benefits content creators in that the format enables more dependable results under difficult shooting conditions. Its wide contrast range is better able to capture much more detail in the brighter areas of the picture in environments with irregular lighting or partial shade, found at many outside broadcast productions.
HDR also benefits content creators in that the format enables more dependable results under difficult shooting conditions. Its wide contrast range is better able to capture much more detail in the brighter areas of the picture in environments with irregular lighting or partial shade, found at many outside broadcast productions. It’s not just in the context of 4K UHD that HDR can make a difference. HDR is fully format independent and does not need any specialised viewing conditions – such as the minimum screen size and proper viewing distances required for 4K UHD – to show its advantages. The ability to produce HDR content in HD removes the significant bandwidth requirements needed for HDR in 4K UHD and can be more quickly deployed. For many broadcasters, adding HDR to 1080p HD footage is an attractive, cost-effective strategy. From a viewer perspective, there is still a stunning improvement in image quality, and disruption to existing workflows is minimal.
Bringing HDR into the workflow For broadcasters and content creators, embracing an HDR workflow process raises a number of questions and poses some challenges. Most notable is the need for a parallel SDR/HDR production workflow – one where the signal can be adapted with up/down mapping as required to mix and match incoming content formats and output signals, without sacrificing any quality. For example, operators may need to integrate existing SDR content into new HDR productions or may need to send HDR content to SDR multiviewing screens in a studio. Many broadcasters reserve HDR for their premium channels but don’t want the expense of a separate production chain for generally broadcast SDR assets. In any case, the producer’s intent for each individual signal must be maintained.
One of the big hurdles to widespread deployment – as it always is with any new technology – is standards. ITU-R, the radiocommunication sector of the international telecommunication union, have specified in their Recommendation ITU-R BT.2100 “Image parameter values for high dynamic range television for use in production and international programme exchange” two different standards for HDR – Hybrid-Log Gamma (HLG) and Perceptual Quantisation (PQ) or Dolby Vision. Grass Valley, a Belden Brand, offers a portfolio of HDR-enabled Live production solutions that includes cameras, production switchers, servers, routers, up/down mapping cards and multiviewers. To provide the best possible picture quality, either HD or 4K UHD images are captured and used across the production chain in their native PQ or HLG format. That content is simultaneously delivered in HD or 4K UHD, SDR or HDR through a best-in-class down-scaling/down-mapping conversion at the end of the production chain. Using not only the most, but also the best pixels throughout the production and a single conversion ensures the best quality picture possible. An added benefit for many content producers who must rapidly adapt to new production environments at each event, Grass Valley supports all of those formats from the same hardware, preserving the producer’s investment and skill sets from program to program.
An upward trend ahead Looking forward, we are expecting a rise in 4K UHD and HDR uptake across sports and entertainment production. In recent months, we have seen significant investment coming from broadcasters as well as production companies, outside broadcasting and rental houses globally – and we expect this trend to continue in the months ahead.
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
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Transcribing the future A while back I was handed a bunch of very long audio files and was tasked with cutting about 60 hours of interviews, sound bites and voice over down to a 30-minute radio piece. Easy I thought, as long as I could get the material transcribed quickly and at reasonable cost…and there my journey of discovery began.
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oice to text transcriptions have long been used in the media, medical and legal industries, traditionally done by human transcription teams. It’s big business, but turn arounds can be slow and files often need a second error check to make sure
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the content is accurate. The cost of transcription actually wasn’t a factor in my case – it was speed that I needed, I needed a machine to plough through my audio files and spit out a transcript so that I could search for key words and edit my story together.
Trolling the internet, I instantly found a few options and uploaded the same test file to all of them (as part of my free trials) but had really disappointing results ranging from 25 to about 59 per cent accuracy. Simple words and phrases were being interpreted as something
completely different, more complex words like Fakarava Atoll came back as expletives! At first I thought that as the majority of interviews were heavy New Zealand accents that might be the problem but a snippet of the best British accented guest gave me similar results. Through my work in the video world, I am aware that there is a lot of research and development in the transcription arena utilising Artificial Intelligence (AI). Machine learning works best when it is processing large analysable data sets like text. But most of the data being produced in the world right now is not text, it’s the spoken word embedded in video and audio recording and thus the goal for AI developers to produce a
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reliable voice transcription process has intensified. Tech companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon are all actively involved in this space and have been researching voice recognition since the 90s and that research has only accelerated with the emergence of virtual assistants like Alexa, Cortana, and Google Voice and Siri. However, most people who use Siri or Alexa would agree that, while those tools do a reasonable job of understanding you, most of us wouldn’t trust them with our lives. I asked Alexa where the Fakarava Atoll was and her response was, “I would rather not answer that question.” (Out of interest it is in Tahiti and is not a swear word!) A voice
assistant like Alexa only needs to work out which, of a predetermined list of vocal commands is being asked, whereas a transcription programme needs to listen for and capture all spoken words and this wider variety of possible inputs and outputs makes it a more difficult task for AI. Whilst stumbling around for my transcription answers I came across an article published by a team of Data Scientists and enthusiastic entrepreneurs, Ashutosh Trivedi and Anup Gosavi, who recently founded a company called Spext. Trivedi, based in Bangalore India, has deep interest and post graduate expertise in AI and has published his research in many IEEE journals. Gosavi is based in San Francisco and specialises in Design Thinking and Information Visualisation. Spext describes their company name as a fusion of the words speech and text, and from the outset they looked like they could offer me exactly what I wanted and more. The service can best be described as a combined voice transcriber and media editor. You upload your audio files and the system automatically converts voice to text and displays the result in an edit window where it aligns the audio content with the text accurately and that means you can now do some amazing things with the resultant files. Not only do you get a full transcription of your work
but you can edit the transcript, like you would on a word processor and then export the result as a new audio file. Obviously you can’t create new sentences but the ability to edit and output the existing data as an audio file is a huge plus. It looks like a normal text editor and has familiar actions like copy-paste, cut-paste and I found editing by transcriptions on the fly extremely easy. When you are done you export your work as a word document, pdf and/or a new mp3 or wave file or even export your project to professional editing tools such as Adobe Audition, and Final Cut Pro for fine tuning. The most important result is that the files I used to test other systems uploaded into the Spext system quickly and came back blazingly fast with a resultant accuracy of +96 per cent in my case. The system had even correctly punctuated the transcription, coped well with proper nouns like the names of fish species and fishing techniques but…it too also battled with transcribing Fakarava (expletive) but at least recognised the word Atoll. It took no time at all to quickly manually edit any corrections. What could have taken weeks in production will easily get done in a matter of days now, artificial intelligence seems to have finally reached the point where transcription of audio by a machine works efficiently enough to make it viable and as researchers and
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
companies improve and refine their algorithms, it seems evident that transcriptions will become even more accurate and the potential productivity savings of automated transcription will be hard to ignore. Someday soon, we might even be headed towards a world where audio files and text are thought of not as two distinct media types, but as two formats for the same content – as interchangeable – and as convertible as an .mp3 and a .wav file or a text file and a Word document. The guys at Spext have used a unique combination of intuitive user experience design, to make it easy for the user, and advanced machine learning that tests the limits of engineering and algorithm design but ultimately creates a product that is easy to use. Their mission is to make voice media intelligent, personalised and conversant, and they are looking ahead to a future where editing, sharing and dissemination of voice content will be as easy and inexpensive as text. So thanks to the power of AI and Machine Learning my job has become so much easier, so much so that I’m going to Fakarava out of here and go fishing! – Ian Dormer
September 2018
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FESTIVALS & EVENTS
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All the award-winners at DFM 2018
Christine Tröstrum of Berlin Talents with international juror Dorothea Wenner at the Talents Shine and Dine event at DIFF
Film festival programmer Sarah Dawson at the Medium is the Message panel discussion
DIFF and DFM industry curator, Russel Hlongwane at a session at DFM
Filmmakers Tiny Mungwe and Shanelle Jewnarain enjoy a session at DFM
Durban FilmMart anchors itself as one of the Africa’s premiere film industry development events The Durban FilmMart (DFM) has firmly anchored itself as one of Africa’s most important film industry events, having attracted a record number of delegates from across Africa and the globe for its four days of forums and panel discussions, project pitches, industry benchmarking and networking.
40 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2018
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FESTIVALS & EVENTS
Delegates pack the room for the DTI’s Film Incentives Guidelines Launch at DFM
Lucas Rosant – well-known international project mentor in a session at DFM
T
he DFM, has over its nine years of existence, created a robust and enabling environment for independent filmmakers, government agencies, investors and financiers, festival programmers, broadcasters, agents, distributors, and emerging filmmakers to gather in one place to engage in the business of film. The forward-thinking event created by the eThekwini Municipality’s Durban Film Office (DFO), in partnership with the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) and the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), will now ramp up another gear to present its 10th edition in 2019, and will be looking at further ways in which the DFM can act as an enabler for the development of content for the African film industry. “The work we do at this Mart supports the DIFF and DFO’s vision to dynamically grow the industry and bring African cinema to its own people and to global platforms,” says Toni Monty, head of the DFO and DFM. “DFM is often the place where African cinematic successes have their genesis.” “As one of the most important, film industry events and film finance platforms on the continent, we are really pleased that we have grown the DFM substantially this year with 877 delegates attending. We had over 40 countries participating this year, of which 19 were from Africa. A total number of 52 projects were pitched to potential partners, financiers, filmmakers, producers, distributors and agents during countless meetings.” Sixteen official DFM film projects in development were presented at the Finance Forum through the sponsorship
Minister of DTI, Mr Rob Davies, at the DTI Film Incentives launch
of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF). Many of these received awards and grants from various partners to go forward to other markets and further develop them. Supported by Berlinale Talents, the Goethe-Institut and the German Embassy and in cooperation with Fipresci, Durban Talents was able to host 16 young filmmakers, and three Talents Press. “We hosted a number of scriptwriters’ labs including Jumpstart which is supported by Produire au Sud, France and the Realness Script Writing Residency. Hot Docs Canada, mentored 11 documentary projects in development and six CineFam Africa television series projects were mentored by Caribbean Tales, Canada.” “We are always so encouraged by the feedback we receive from delegates detailing how the four days in Durban helps to network them to relevant people within the industry, opening conversations, new doors, and potential projects and business relationships,” says Monty. “Now this is key to the value that the DFM provides filmmakers. Filmmakers are by nature creative people, and as such are often so intimately involved in their work, that little time is spent pushing their business envelops in the right direction; and the DFM provides them with the space to do just that.” Monty acknowledges the important role that the eThekwini Municipality, the principal funder of the DFM plays in its success, along with other funders and partners. “The City’s involvement actively enables the economic growth of the industry, and we thank them, along with
Nicole Mendes of CBC, Canada and Emmy-nominated Jennifer Fox engage with delegates in the Medium is the Message panel discussion our long term and new partners for this. It is through this kind of understanding of the market place, that we are able to create the space for new work to emerge and filmmakers to flourish.” The DFM hosted a number of delegations this year including the in-bound delegation through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the BRICS Film Festival delegation through the Department of Arts and Culture. Special thanks must go to the Canadian High Commission and US Embassy and the French Institute (IFAS), NFVF and KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission for their support in bringing these delegations. This year awards to support projects in development came from The International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA), Afridocs, CineMart (the co-production market of the International Film Festival Rotterdam), Produire au Sud of Festival des 3 Continents (Nantes), Videovision Entertainment, publicity consultants Versfeld & Associates, Sørfond, CineFAM-Africa, and Hot Docs Blue Ice. The DFM continues to be one of the key enablers in the South African and African film industry and has a significant impact on the economy of the creative sector, in the country and beyond. The success of DFM also points to the fact that government support is vital, both to grow the local industry and audiences, as well as providing a significant boost to films hoping to access the international market, thus exporting South African creativity in both financial and cultural terms. While filmmakers are given support
Producer Themba Sibeko at the DTI Film Incentives launch
and advice during DFM, it is up to them to take advantage of the opportunities which the market offers. Monty says, “As a government entity, we work on a highly professional level with filmmakers in order to ensure that we provide an environment which is enabling for them, and which will prepare them for the international market. The FilmMart brings together experts, people, and organisations interested in potential film projects for further development. Here, they are able to meet filmmakers from the continent and further afield. After that, it’s over to them to conclude their business independently.” She continues: “We are very excited to see so many DFM alumni projects that have come to fruition and are doing very well on the local and international festival and cinema circuits. It is also very encouraging to see that many of these titles have clinched great distribution deals.” These include Rafiki, which was the Durban International Film Festival’s closing film this year, Inxeba: The Wound, and Five Fingers for Marseilles, as well as Silas, which also screened at DIFF this year. DIFF this year also included the screening of another DFM project Amal. Additionally, several titles from DFM alumni have also been submitted as their country’s nominations for the Academy Awards’ Foreign Language category including The Train of Salt and Sugar (Mozambique). “This is exactly the strategy created by the DFO and DIFF nine years ago,” says Monty, “and it is extremely encouraging to see the long-term value it provides for the African film industry.”
September 2018
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FESTIVALS & EVENTS
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Kandasamys – the Wedding – the sequel to the box office hit Keeping up with the Kandasamys – launched at DFM
Sherry Sykes, US Consul General, Emmy-nominated film director Jennifer Fox and SA producer Bridget Pickering
A selection of DFM success stories and reports from Alumni
USA script-doctor Peter Russel dazzles the DFM delegates in his workshop on TV series and storytelling
in April, running for nine weeks. It was released in France in June and will release theatrically in the U.S. in September, with upcoming releases scheduled for various European and Asian territories.
Sara Blecher David Max Brown (Stage 5 Films) Brown pitched Noem My Skollie at DFM in 2011 where it won the Videovision prize for most outstanding pitch. A deal was subsequently made with M-Net in 2013/14, with Ster-Kinekor acting as the local distributor. With M-Net and Ster-Kinekor on-board, the NFVF eventually followed suit along with the DTI. The film was shot in 2015 and was released in September 2016. It was South Africa’s official selection for the foreign language Oscars in 2017 and won prizes at several major international film festivals. Skollie more than tripled Ster-Kinekor’s box office estimate for it, taking almost R4 million in 16 weeks on circuit, which, in South African terms, qualifies as highly successful for a serious drama that is more than two-and-a-half hours long.
Cait Pansegrouw & Elias Ribeiro (Urucu Media) Urucu Media has had a stellar year, gathering attention from around the world for the award-winning Inxeba (The Wound) (DFM 2014). Directed by John Trengove, and produced by Urucu Media, the film had its South African premiere at DIFF last year and its theatrical release earlier this year. Additionally, Inxeba won 28 international awards and was screened at more than 50 festivals worldwide, as well as being South Africa’s submission for the Foreign Language Oscar. Most significantly, the film has been sold in over 40 territories. Impressively, Inxeba was not Urucu’s only country submission to the Academy Awards. The Train of Salt and Sugar (DFM 2014), directed by Licinio de Azevedo and co-produced by Urucu Media, was the official Oscar entry for Mozambique, and also won Best Film at last year’s Johannesburg International Film Festival. The film has also won five International awards and been screened at more than 20 festivals and sold to 10 territories. Abnormal Loads, from acclaimed South African writer Neil Coppen, is another Urucu project that was born at DFM. It is currently in development.
42 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2018
Steven Markowitz (Big World Cinema) Big World Cinema have also been having a bumper year, with two FilmMart projects from 2012 in the festival this year. Silas (originally Logs of War at the DFM) premiered at Toronto last year and was sold to Amazon, while Rafiki (Jambula Tree), written and directed by Wanuri Kahiu, had the honour of receiving its premiere at Un Certain Regard in Cannes and has sold to 15 countries so far, including the USA.
Talal Al-Muhanna Egyptian Jeanne d’Arc (DFM 2014) is the second feature film from Egyptian filmmaker Iman Kamel. Co-produced with Kuwait-based Talal Al-Muhanna, the film also received a post-production prize at Carthage in Tunisia that awarded funds to the film for completion. Al-Muhanna also got acquainted with script consultant Miguel Machalski at DFM, later collaborating with Machalski on a feature film project from Iraq which is now in pre-production. Egyptian Jeanne d’Arc has travelled to all corners of the globe, premiering in competition in Dubai in 2016 and later making appearances in Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Oman, Sudan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Kazakhstan. It was also selected for the Panorama section of the Cairo International Film Festival in 2017, which provided a homecoming for a project that was born on the other end of the continent.
Sean Drummond and Michael Matthews (Be Phat Motel) The African Western, Five Fingers for Marseilles (DFM 2013), directed by Michael Matthews and produced by Sean Drummond, went into production in July 2016, and premiered at Toronto in September 2017, before going on to play Fantastic Fest in Austin, BFI London Film Festival, and Busan International Film Festival, with its festival run still continuing. The film recently received it New York premiere at the New York African Film Festival where it was very well-received, while it had its South African premiere at Rapid Lion Film Festival in Johannesburg earlier this year. The film opened in South African cinemas
Director Sara Blecher’s Ayanda was first pitched at DFM in 2013 and completed in 2015, when it was the DIFF opening night film. Ayanda went on to open four more festivals and garner awards at festivals around the world, as well as the South African Film & Television award (SAFTA) for Best Actress. Blecher’s earlier film Otelo Burning was also a DFM project (DFM 2009) and was the opening night film at DIFF 2011. It was also screened at festivals around the world and received numerous awards
Samantha Nell and Bongiwe Selane Miles from Nowhere, from writer-director Samantha Nell and Producer Bongiwe Selane, was selected for DFM in 2017 and is still in development. Thus far, the project has participated at Produire au Sud Workshop in Nantes, the Rotterdam Producer Lab, and La Fabrique Cinema Du Monde in Cannes. Nell and Selane have secured a French producer, MPM films (who are also the French producers of Rafiki). The project is currently being developed through EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs) and is scheduled for production in late 2019.
Luzuko Dilima The South African-Kenyan coproduction Matigari was selected for DFM last year and is still in development, with a focus on financing in South Africa and abroad. Luzuko Dilima, Balufu Bakupa Kanyinda and Fidelis Duker are producing, and Balufu Bakupa Kanyinda will direct. Crimson Multimedia Limited has been attached as a theatrical distributor, with VOD platforms across East and West Africa to follow. John Kani has committed to playing the lead, while Sello Maake Ka Ncube has also been confirmed. Rosie Motene’s Waka Agency is doing the rest of the casting in both countries, while Nelson Mandela University’s Department of Media and Communication is partnering with the project to train their students on video production, scriptwriting, photography, design, journalism, and public relations.
Nicole Schafer Buddha in Africa (DFM 2011) is a feature-length documentary produced by
Zoe Chiriseri of SWIFT and Katarina Hedren, film programmer and writer, at a session on sexual harassment and race in the industry
KZN-based filmmaker, Nicole Schafer from Thinking Strings Media. The film received the IDFA Most Promising Documentary Award at the Durban FilmMart Doc Circle pitch in 2011. Filmed over several years, the film follows the intimate story of a boy growing up in a Chinese Buddhist orphanage in Malawi and the cultural challenges he faces between his African roots and Chinese upbringing. The film has subsequently been awarded funding from several international funds, including the Hot Docs Blue Ice Group Documentary fund and the Alter Cine Foundation in Canada, the IDFA Bertha Fund in the Netherlands, Chicken and Egg Pictures in New York, South Africa’s NFVF, the KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, and has a license agreement with Afridocs. Buddha in Africa is aimed for release at the end of 2018.
Janet Van Eeden Director Janet van Eeden’s A Short at the Big Time (DFM 2012) was first produced as a short film and was screened at DIFF in 2013 and at Cannes Short Film Métrage in 2014. The short also won the eThekwini Award for Best Cine in 2015. The feature version of A Shot at the Big Time is currently in production, with funding from the KZN Film Commission.
Wael Sayed El Ahl Kiss Me Not (The Story of a Kiss) (DFM 2014) produced by Wael Sayed El Ahl and directed by Ahmed Amer was released last March in theatres across Egypt, with a limited release in the Gulf and Lebanon. The film has also screened at numerous festivals around the world, including Dubai, Shanghai, Aswan, Miami, the Middle East Now Festival in Firenze, and the Malmo Arab Film Festival.
Akosua Adoma Owusu Akosua Adoma Owusu (DFM 2013) has been awarded a 2018 summer artist-inresidence with the Goethe-Institut in Salvador-Bahia, Brazil, to continue developing her forthcoming debut feature Black Sunshine which was pitched at DFM in 2013. Selected for DFM 2013, the project won Arte France’s Arte International Award and received the 2015 Tribeca All Access grant. Produced by Obibini Pictures LLC and directed by Owusu, the project was also selected for the 2012 edition of Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors co-production market. – Sharlene Versfeld
| SOCIAL
Fox Networks Group Africa media showcase Fox Networks Group Africa hosted its annual media showcase on 7 August at 54 on Bath Hotel in Rosebank, Johannesburg. Seen there were…
Catherine Davies
Itumeleng Losaba and Pearl Shozi
Anna-Marie Marks and Khosi Khanyile
Jessica Latham
Brilliant Collins
Charles Doncee
Tshepo Masemola
Evert van der Veer
Suné Scholtz
Geoffrey Flint and Penny Ndlovu
September 2018
| SCREENAFRICA |
43
M arketplace
UPCOMING EVENTS SEPTEMBER 6 Variety Entertainment & Technology Summit – LA Los Angeles 6 – 16 Toronto International Film Festival Toronto 13 – 17 IBC 2018 Amsterdam 27 – 30 Jozi Film Festival Johannesburg
OCTOBER 10 – 21 BFI London Film Festival London 26 – 4 NOV Banff International Mountain Film Festival South Africa
Broadcast Brands To Africa
Master Dealer Africa Tel: +27 (0) 762569255 info@mdafrica.com
www.masterdealerafrica.com 44 | SCREENAFRICA | September 2018
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