The Callsheet Issue 9

ISSUE 09 | 2017 O TORONT TIONAL INTERNA IVAL ST FILM FE ERDAM IBC AMST ND PHOTO A STIVAL FILM FE MIPCOM

+ POST PRODUCTION IN SA

Exploding with Opportunities and Innovation

+ SOUTH AFRICA GEARS

UP FOR SEASON

Trends and Insights from Commercial Service Experts

CONTENTS / 01

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02. Bruce Lee-Inspired

Warrior Heads to SA

16 18 22 34

PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE FILM INDUSTRY Kim Crowie talks to leaders in two very different genres of photography in the industry: Commercial, and Unit Stills.

04. Interview with

JP Van Der Merwe

07. DOP Johan Horjus proves he's worth his salt

08. Sexism and Abuse Rife in the Film Sector

09. Why Do Small

Agencies Fail?

10. SA Gears Up

MUSIC IN FILM

Discover how music becomes the emotional backbone of film and TV productions.

For Commercial Service Season

13. The Loeries 2017: Gold and Grand Prix Winners

16. Photography in the Film Industry

18. Connecting

POST PRODUCTION IN SOUTH AFRICA Susan Reynard reports on the recent work done by the country’s leading post-production experts.

with Emotions through Music

22. Post Production Explodes with Opportunities

28. Film Industry

Suppliers: The Unsung Heroes

32. What’s New at IBC 2017

34. Mauritius: Location Spotlight

MAURITIUS

The verdant island paradise is a haven for Bollywood productions, and is starting to garner attention from even further afield.

36. Events to Diarise 38. Associations News 40. Directory of Advertisers

02 / NEWS

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BRUCE LEE-INSPIRED

WARRIOR HEADS TO SA The 10-episode TV series, Warrior, inspired by an idea from Bruce Lee, is set to begin shooting in Cape Town in the next few months.

A

ccording to an exclusive Deadline story, a 19th century crime drama called Warrior has been ordered

by Cinemax. The 10-episode series was inspired by an idea from Bruce Lee and was created and executive produced by Banshee Co-Creator Jonathan Tropper, Executive Producers Justin Lin and Danielle Woodrow (Perfect Storm Entertainment) and Shannon Lee for Bruce Lee Entertainment.

The show was originally set up at Cinemax for development in 2015 and was ordered to pilot last year. The series is set to begin production in Cape Town during the spring months in SA. The show is one of the new productions expected to be part of a straight-to-series shift in the company. It is an international coproduction strategy that Cinemax Programming says is a very costeffective way of doing original, high-octane, primetime series.

Last December, Kary Antholis, President at HBO Miniseries and Cinemax Programming, revealed their plans to do up to four shows a year initially, with three of them being co-productions, and the fourth being a homegrown show with a Banshee-level budget.

“Warrior follows in the spirit of the tradition of adrenalised Cinemax dramas that we established with Strike Back and Banshee,” Antholis said of their two most successful original series. “We are brimming with excitement for this unique martial arts series combining Bruce Lee’s inspired conception with the immense storytelling talents of

Jonathan Tropper and Justin Lin.” Warrior is set to be a gritt y, action-packed crime drama set in the Tong Wards of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the 1800s. The story follows Ah Sahm, a martial arts prodigy who emigrates from China and becomes a hatchet man for the Tongs – one of Chinatown’s most powerful organised crime families.

Bruce Lee worked on Warrior for years, although it was never published or produced. Years after his death, Lee’s daughter found a large collection of handwritten

notes which have now become the basis of the concept for the series.

“As a show that proudly bears the imprimatur of Bruce Lee, it’s our intention to deliver not only explosive martial arts action – which we will – but also a powerful and complex immigration drama that is as relevant today as it was in the 1870s,” says Tropper.

“I’ve always admired Bruce Lee for his trailblazing efforts opening doors for Asians in entertainment and beyond,” Lin says, “So I was intrigued when Danielle told me about the urban

legend of his never-produced idea for a TV show and suggested we bring it to life. Then when Shannon shared with us her father’s writings: rich with Lee’s unique philosophies on life, and through a point of view rarely depicted on screen – Danielle and I knew that Perfect Storm had to make it. Partnering with Cinemax has led to a wonderful collaboration with Jonathan Tropper, who has created a fantastic series inspired by Lee’s writings. We are all honoured to continue what he started.”

Sam Heughan, Duncan Lacroix, Tobias Menzies Our Girl Season 3 | TV Series: BBC | Starring: Michelle Keegan Red Sea Diving Resort | Feature Film | Director: Gideon Raff | Starring: Chris Evans, Michiel Huisman, Haley Bennett Tremors 6 | Feature Film | Director: Don Michael Paul | Starring: Jamie Kennedy, Michael Gross, Jay Anstey Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver | Feature Film | Writers: Michael Ende (novel), Dirk Ahner, Andrew Birkin, James V. Hart, Sebastian Niemann Strike Back Season 6 | TV Series: Cinemax, BSkyB, Left Bank Pictures, Double D Productions | Starring: Philip Winchester, Sullivan Stapleton, Michelle Lukes

• Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria | Feature Film | Starring: Daniel Radcliffe • Aankhen 2 | Feature Film | Writer: Anees Bazmee | Starring: Ileana D’Cruz, Anil Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan • Year of the Great Storm | Feature Film | Director: Karzan Kader | Writer: Johanna Baldwin • The Forgiven | Feature Film | Director: Roland Joffé | Starring: Forest Whitaker, Eric Bana, Jeff Gum • The Blue Mauritius | Feature Film | Director: Charles Henri Belleville | Starring: Eric Dane, John Rhys-Davies, Thomas Kretschmann • 3 Way Junction | Feature Film | Director: Juergen Bollmeyer | Starring: Tom Sturridge, Tommy Flanagan, Stacy Martin

IN PRODUCTION IN SA Other international productions that have recently been shot, are currently shooting, or expected to shoot in the country: • Maze Runner: The Death Cure | Feature Film | Director: Wes Ball, | Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Nathalie Emmanuel, Katherine McNamara, Kaya Scodelario • Troy: Fall of a City | TV Series: BBC, Netflix | Starring: Louis Hunter, Bella Dayne, David Threlfall, Frances O’Connor • Tomb Raider | Feature Film | Director: Roar Uthaug | Starring: Alicia Vikander, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Dominic West • Outlander Season 3 | TV Series: Starz | Starring: Caitriona Balfe,

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04 / PRO-SPECTIVE

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JP Van Der Merwe on location in Cambodia © Photographer Credit: Lee Morrison

JP VAN DER MERWE Behind the scenes with one of the industry’s most respected Extras Casting Directors.

What is the process for deciding the “look” of the extras you’re casting in a specific project?

First, I will read the script to get an idea what part of the world the script is based in and which time period we are working with.

After reading the script I start to do additional research into the subject matter.

This consists of searching the web, speaking to the Director, Art director, Costume designer and last but not least, the HODs of the Hair and Make-up departments, so I can get an idea what their vision is for the project.

From there, I start building and casting the atmosphere (background artists) that will enhance their vision for the show and to make sure it looks realistic and authentic.

Where do you begin your search for extras?

There are two scenarios -

shooting in in a Metropolitan (Cape Town) area where extras agents supply the production, and shooting on Location where there are no agencies and where you have to cast from the communities of the specific area.

Shooting in Metropolitan area I will start off by sending detailed character briefs with character descriptions out to established agencies, which follow specific rules and guidelines of the industry.

By doing this, you protect the talent pool and the production companies you work for.

If I cannot find what I am looking for from the agents, I street cast for suitable candidates.

Shooting on location First, I familiarise myself with the area by looking at the type of communities living in the area, then I make contact with the community leaders, tribal chiefs or community elders so I

can assess who I need to liaise with if I want to cast background artists from the specific location.

I will then have a meeting with the different role players to discuss the process and what we as a production need from the community and how the community would like to be involved in the project.

Only after this process I can start my casting for the project.

How does the process change according to the needs of each production?

The framework stays the same for any production, but the interior workings of the framework change all the time.

The most important part is to have your systems in place and do proper planning of your needs for each project before you even start the casting process.

Being Extras Casting Director or the HOD of the extras department does not

mean you just cast extras and get them to set.

You have to create and manage a budget for each production, and make sure you have all the correct legal documents signed and paper work like valid work documents ie. IDs and work permits.

You also need to plan when and how they need to be on set and how they will get to specific locations. You need to make sure they all get to breakfast and lunch and make sure they all eat before you even sit down to have your meal, and sometimes I do not even manage to sit down and have lunch.

You need to be attentive to all the background on set as you are responsible for their wellbeing. You will be up sometimes two to three hours before the technical shooting crew arrives on location to start their day and leave one to two hours after wrap.

Oh, and you need to be a psychologist.

PRO-SPECTIVE / 05

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What type of extra is most in demand?

This depends what the production needs. Background with any specialised skill is a bonus.

Background that have natural hair color and do not use any form of chemical to highlight their hair definitely work more than artists who have three different hair colours.

Artists that update their profile photos with agents on a regular basis and do not change their appearance every 2nd week is also a bonus for any background casting director as 90% percent of the time we do not see them in person until they come to a costume fitting or arrive at the location and this can cause a bit of stress.

There is sometimes a shortage of people that can fill the professional working age group on show. But overall, I work with all ethnicities and age groups What is the most challenging production you’ve ever cast?

I would say the most challenging and rewarding experience was First They Killed My Father which was shot on location in Cambodia.

I had seven weeks of prep before our first shoot date, so for someone that does not speak Khmer and who has never been to Cambodia, was a challenge in itself as all the background artists only spoke Khmer.

I was fortunate enough to have had a brilliant Cambodian team that helped with the translating in my department and we started

the casting process immediately as there are no agencies. We had to go to all the different locations and set up meetings with the village leaders and commune leaders and get permission to work with them.

Over a period of two weeks we registered over 5 000 people to a database from which we started our casting process. I had to rework my systems that I use at home and integrate it so it could work in Cambodia I had 21 800 crowd mandays over of a 50-shoot day period of which 6 000 was used on the last day of the shoot.

I also learned as much Khmer as possible so I had a basic knowledge of Khmer and this helped a lot with the background artists.

At the end, I built lasting relationships on the project with the Cambodian crew and talent and I have to say Cambodia left a lasting impression on me and I have a fondness for the country and it is close to my heart.

Please share your favorite on-set anecdote.

I was working on a show that needed background as warriors, and on this specific day we had to rush to travel normal background warriors and horse riders that were also warriors.

One of the real warrior horse riders was running late so did not travel and somewhere in the travel to set, one background artist got mixed up with the horse riders that was sent to get on their horses.

So the poor guy got onto the

one horse whose horse rider was still in make-up, as he thought this is what he was supposed to do and no one asked him who he was as they all had the same markings and costume.

Eventually it was cameras, lights, action, and the city gates open and in come the warriors on their horses, and this poor guy had turned a ghost white color and had eyes the size of saucers.

I was standing with one of the industry’s legendary producers and production coordinators, watching the shot, when they

JP’S CV FEATURES

• Maze Runner: The Death Cure • The Mummy • The Dark Tower • First They Killed my Father • Resident Evil: The Final Chapter • The Last Face • Endless River • Avengers: Age of Ultron • The Good Lie • The Giver • Mad Max: Fury Road • Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom • Dredd • Chronicle • The Lost Future • Invictus • Safari • The Scorpion King: Rise of a Warrior • Doomsday

asked who the guy on the horse was and what was wrong with him.

I looked up and answered “I think he is one of my background artists’. A cut was called and we immediately saved the poor guy from the horse.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Waking up every morning with a smile knowing that the day will bring new creative challenges and to work with like-minded creative people, as no day on set is ever the same as the day before.

• Starship Troopers 3 Marauder • The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines

EXTRAS ASSISTANT • • • • • • •

10 000BC Ask the Dust In My Country Blast Slipstream Consequence Global Effect

TV SERIES • • • • • • • • • • •

Cape Town History of the World America: The Story of us Outcast Blood And Oil Safari 24 End Game ER King Solomon’s Mines Human Cargo

Happy Cat Films is one of the top production companies in South Africa. Our collective experience stretches across commercials, stills photography, feature films, documentaries and all types of TV programming. We work with you, as part of your team, always thinking creatively and strategically. We are Cape Town-based but shoot all over Africa, offering a boutique hands-on approach to filming.

t: 27 21 422 2795

m: +27 82 497 75 36

e. rachel@happycatfilms.co.za

www.happycatfilms.co.za

06 / POSTCITY

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POSTCITY THE HIDDEN AFRICAN GEM....

With artists like the voice of the Lion King, Mr Lebo M, Jennifer Hudson, Westlife, One Republic, Zahara, The Jaziel Brothers and many more. MMX|Studios a premium member of the PostCity Network and with studio facilities in Johannesburg and Cape Town is one of South Africas most state of the art and sought-after recording studio facilities, with a heritage of world stars and local wonders having recorded some of their biggest musical moments at the studios over the last 12 years. The facility’s Studio A offers a large 81m2 Live Room, perfect for that “BIG MMX Drum sound”, live orchestral recordings as well as large choir recordings. With a spacious acoustically balanced control room and two more ISO rooms all inter-connected to form the perfect large format recording space. Studio B offers a lovely acoustically designed control room with voice-over booth and Studio C with a 3m perforated cinema screen and an immersive sound audio setup perfect for mixing any audio for visual productions.

JOIN THE POSTCITY NETWORK TODAY Whether you are a facility owner, freelancer, specialist service provider or any other creative and entertainment industry professional, we would like to invite you to join the PostCity network.

Through the network partners, we offer inter-connecting services to network members and also external clients in need of services or a combination of services offered individually or globally by our network partners.

We also offer virtual office hosting, phone line hosting, reception service, accounting services as well as temporary and permanent office space for creative individuals or companies who wish to join our growing creative hub.

LIST OF SERVICES OFFERED AT POSTCITY CAPE TOWN Clients seeking to deal with one point of contact for all their production needs will have to look no further than the PostCity network offering full service solutions from full film support for pre-production, on set technical, data-and workflow management, world class 3D animation, mobile Live Broadcast production units for Video and Audio, media management as well as audio and video postproduction — all managed by a single service provider.

01 02 03 04

Audio Pre-dub Suites Video Editing Suites Audio Mastering Suite Music Production and ADR Studios 05 Grading 06 DCP encoding

& Final QC 07 Dub-stage/Grading/

Screening Cinema

featuring Auro3D

& Dolby Atmos

surround sound for

final mix, a 4K

Post Production

projector, high contrast

woven screen for

grading & 24 cinema

CONTACT US

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09

10

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seats for viewing sessions Boardroom with HD video conferencing Production area with “hot desks” and private offices.

Coffee, Popcorn & Refreshments Patio and Recreational area.

State-of-the-art data centre with high speed fiber internet and 96 TB SNS EVOshared storage for collaborative editing.

Head Office Address: Post | City, Floor 1, Harbour Place Building, 7 Martin Hammerschlag Way, Foreshore, Cape Town, 8001 Tel: +27 83 388 5614 | Email: info@postcity.tv Website: www.postcity.tv

IMMERSIVE SOUND – A FIRST IN AFRICA

The SoundMAX 3D grading and dubstage conveniently nestled into the Mother City, only a stone's throw away from the V&A Waterfront, opened its door in 2016 with another “Africa-first” by being the first Auro3D and Dolby Atmos certified stage in Africa.

The stage, with a beautiful reclaimed wood finish, is equipped with a powerful 44.3 JBL Sound System, Pro Tools HDX and a 32 Fader Avid D-Control console. This stage has already delivered world-class film mixes for a few of SA’s highly acclaimed film releases as well as for the multi award-winning Mumford & Sons, Live in South Africa – Dust and Thunder Cinema and Blueray release, the first musical concert film to be released in cinema with both Dolby Atmos and Auro3D immersive sound mixes.

NEWS / 07

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DOP JOHAN HORJUS PROVES HE'S WORTH HIS SALT ON TULIPS AND CHIMNEYS' NEW

CEREBOS ANIMATION

Snow, Tulips and Chimneys’ new animation, is the first television commercial in over 20 years for Cerebos, South Africa’s favourite salt brand.

T

he FCB Durban spot tells the story of Mpho, a little girl who dreams of snow, despite living in the Karoo.

Her grandparents intervene to help her dream come true – with a little help from Cerebos (cue their classic ‘see how it runs’ tagline).

The television commercial has been featured widely, including on AdForum’s Top 5 Globally, Shots, Shoot and BestAdsOnTV. To create Snow’s distinct look, Tulips and Chimneys used a combination of stop motion and CG, creating the miniatures in-house and collaborating with BlackGinger on the animation. It took a team of three four weeks to put together the miniature set, as just building the lounge required 24 different types of material and 31 loose items were created just to dress the kitchen.

But while Tulips and Chimneys and BlackGinger deserve a lot of the praise, spare a thought for DOP Johan Horjus. Here are six times he proved he was worth his salt.

• The flickering light from the TV was created by sliding 3cm x 3cm blue and diffuser gels between the light hidden behind the TV, about 40 times, without moving anything else.

• A 30 kg light with a camera lens was rigged 2m up looking down, then the spot of light was reduced to shine on an area of 4cm, only to create more definition on the stove in the kitchen.

Snow, Tulips and Chimneys’ new animated television commercial for Cerebos.

• All the long traveling shots over the landscape were shot upside-down so that the camera could get closer to the ground.

• The warm sidelight on the rope and gears that grandpa built was a slither of light about 2cm. It was masked on the wall with 1cm of black tinfoil, only to separate it from the wall and to add some texture.

• The bedside light was created by set designer Cristina Salvoldi. Johan supplied a 360 LED light. A rod was attached to the column of the light that continued all the way down to underneath the set.

This is where he turned the bedside light every second

frame, by hand, by increments as small as he could possibly move, about 120 times.

• Any time it seems that there is one lighting source, there are at least three lights shining.

“It’s these tiny touches that makes the spot so special,” says executive producer Nina Pfeiffer.

“We couldn’t be happier with the result,” says FCB Durban creative director, Brandon Govender. “We wanted something out of the ordinary and decided it simply had to be animated.

Tulips and Chimneys are the best in the business, and we’ve truly enjoyed working with them to bring the characters and story to life. It’s been a real labour of love for all involved.”

Snow marks another success for Ree and Nina, who will be celebrating their 10-year creative partnership this year. Readers will remember their early work when they still traded as Shy the Sun, with such hits as The Curse of the Sad Mummy for League of Legends, which now has over 13 million YouTube views.

Ree’s hoping it won’t be another 20 years before Cerebos returns to TV screens (or whatever has replaced them by then). “Mpho's sidekicks are three chickens that ended up stealing the show,” she says.

“We absolutely love them and are hoping we have the opportunity to develop their stories further down the line.”

08 / SPOTLIGHT

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SEXISM AND ABUSE RIFE IN THE FILM SECTOR

In a recent session at Durban FilmMart, SWIFT revealed shocking research into the amount of sexism, sexual harassment, and abuse that takes place behind the scenes on South Africa’s film sets.

W

ith Durban FilmMart leading the discourse around women’s rights in recent months, SWIFT had the platform to speak about the cases of abuse and sexism they have found in the local film and television industry.

These cases come from actors, directors, and high-profile executives, and were revealed as part of SWIFT’s Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Survey launched in January 2017. “Transformation, salary bias, representation in front and behind the camera, and unreasonable working hours are just some of the issues that we’d like to address,” the organisation said in their advocacy speech at DFM in July.

“However, since the very first SWIFT meeting that took place last year, various women have come forward and shared their horrific stories of sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. As a starting point, the Impact and Advocacy Subcommittee has decided to make these issues its core focus.

But before we can address anything, we needed to see the extent of the issue,” they continued, “There has been research conducted about women in the South African film and TV industry, spearheaded by the NFVF. However, there was a gap in terms of specific focus on the intersectional experiences of sexual harassment and discrimination of women in the

workplace. With that in mind, and with a market researcher and psychologist, we compiled an anonymous survey to see the intersectional reality of women’s experiences of sexual harassment and discrimination.”

SWIFT added that the survey is really a starting point to establish the extent of what they’re dealing with, and have partnered with the NFVF’s research department to create a further survey dealing with broader issues.

RUNNING THE NUMBERS

Preliminary data has been shocking; with the majority of respondents indicating they had experienced the most common forms of gender discrimination. 77% of respondents felt they had been discriminated against based on gender in the workplace, 58% based on their race and 41.3% on body image or size.

66.7% felt uncomfortable in the workspace due to unwanted advances.

23.7% of 76 respondents indicated they had been unwillingly touched, with 11.8% saying they were unsure – suggesting that these are not abnormal circumstances and that lesser aggressions have potentially compounded the silencing of violent harassment and abuse. 65% said they had witnessed sexual harassment by someone in a higher position, with 30% in

THIS NORMALISATION AND THE LACK OF RECOURSE OR PROTOCOL FOR SUCH ACTIONS FOSTERS AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH IMPOSTER SYNDROME IS PRODUCED AND REPRODUCED. an equal position and 5% in a lower position. 55% indicated they intervened, while 27% of these confirmed it was at the risk of their jobs.

THE WAY FORWARD

If nothing else, this survey demonstrates how common the experience of discrimination is for women in the local television and film industry.

“This normalisation and the lack of recourse or protocol for such actions fosters an environment in which imposter syndrome is produced and reproduced,” SWIFT said, “The normalisation of casual gender discrimination creates a sense that women in the industry are luck just to be where they are and as such, speaking out about their mistreatment jeopardises already questioned credibility and ability in the workplace and endangers their position therein.”

Perhaps the saddest finding is that 71% of the survey’s respondents revealed that they did not know of any support,

platform or person they could approach about these incidents, and for those who did confide in someone, many revealed they were met with “attitudes of resignation or further ostracised, even from other women within the industry.”

In response, SWIFT has partnered with Lawyers for Human Rights gender department who have offered pro bono legal advice for SWIFT members. They also suggested two solutions to the issue: 1. A code of conduct to be placed in contracts, 2. A safety contact – a neutral person with an unbiased point of view who will be available 24/7 should any instances of sexual harassment take place.

“This code of conduct is underpinned by the values of Chapter 2 of the Bill of Rights, where everyone has the right to dignity and protection against discrimination on one or more grounds.” SWIFT hopes that together with industry partners, the code of conduct will become mandatory in contracts.

SPOTLIGHT / 09

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WHY DO

SMALL AGENCIES FAIL?

A Loeries Masterclass by Allon Raiz of Raizcorp.

A

llon Raiz has spent 17 years working with entrepreneurs, more than 10 000 in fact. The fact is, 96% of businesses fail. “God isn’t picking on agencies”, says Allon, “nearly all business fail”.

Allon says that agencies, however, make the same mistakes time and again.

THE 7 MISTAKES THAT SMALL AGENCIES MAKE

1. Just because you’re a creative, doesn’t mean you should work in an agency.

Many non-creatives run the

best agencies. You must be an entrepreneur, as being a creative is just a bonus.

2. The myth of “We give personal service”. If you want to be a growth entrepreneur, you cannot give personal service to every client.

3. The myth of “We will beat any price”. You cannot build a business on price. You must build a business on value.

4. 1 + 1 = 1. Get your costings right Nine times out of ten, small agencies are costing incorrectly.

5. Small agency entrepreneurs think that someone else is better at sales than them.

Most successful companies have founders as their primary sales people.

6. You become entrenched in working for one big client.

Which is wonderful until it ends. If your financial dependency is over 65% on one client; it’s game over.

You must have no more than 20% reliance on one client.

7. The myth of image. “Image is unproductive and it costs money. You don’t need shiny things to impress clients.

As long as you can deliver value; that’s what counts.

THE 4 OBSESSIONS OF SUCCESSFUL AGENCY ENTREPRENEURS

1. Be obsessed with providing value. What is valuable to your client?

2. Be obsessed with your own profitability. This is often an afterthought.

3. Be obsessed with your own independence, and not reliant on one client.

4. Be obsessed with remaining relevant. Understand what’s coming.

10 / FEATURE

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SOUTH AFRICA GEARS UP FOR

COMMERCIAL SERVICE SEASON As the weather heats up in South Africa, local companies servicing the commercials industry prepare for peak season in international business.

S

pring Day on 1 September heralds the unofficial start of the commercial service season in the film industry.

“South Africa is seen as one of the countries in the world with the best production crews, we have state-of-the-art studios, sound stages, post production facilities and bundled with amazing locations that can put you anywhere in the world by only having to drive a few kilometres.

We are definitely right there at the top of the choice list when any international production is choosing where to stage their next shoot,” says Johan van der Colff from PostCity. “Our country’s film and television incentive programme and the exchange rate also assist with giving South Africa an edge, especially when budgets are being prepared.”

Johan adds, “Our key attraction is our team of exceptional creative operators and the grouping of facilities that offers our clients the highest international standards all in a down-to-earth interconnected environment.”

PostCity’s sentiments show that contrary to the country’s history, international commercials are increasingly having post-production work done in South Africa.

Philip Key of Moonlighting Commercials elaborates on emerging trends: “The one thing that typifies the commercial

service industry is that there is a very short order book. Three weeks is a long lead time so there is never an early indication of what the season will look like. We just make sure that we market as hard as we can in the north European autumn in anticipation of season.

“I think that last season was typified for us by extremely difficult jobs. This mainly relates to art department budgets that are always difficult to estimate and where the creative requirement evolves into something bigger than what was anticipated. Our bidding systems have always provided a lot of detail to avoid these situations but we have now strategised to be even more explanatory about what is achievable within the numbers we give out. Outside of this problem we had a good season flat in terms of turnover but really good work done in a pleasant work environment. I find that clients are consistently complimentary about the skills and attitude of the people they work with and often surprised by the high level of competence.

Certainly, more work was done in the digital realm where budgets were not necessarily much smaller.

Moonlighting has diversified quite a bit into digital - both local and foreign - and is making good headway in Table-top with director Simon Barnes, and has a Procter and Gamble specific production resource that all contribute to our bottom line. MoonSport

is also reaching maturity after four years in the making and has already been invited to participate in sports content provision for the Tokyo Olympics.”

According to Martin Jacobson, Executive Producer at Juice Films, “The past season (2016-2017) certainly had its challenges.

Budgets on jobs remained tight, and the need to be flexible, innovative and solution-orientated was a necessity in getting some of our jobs confirmed. We were able to collaborate closely with our long-term clients to find solutions for them, while working just as hard with new clients to help them win jobs. Overall, we were fortunate enough to have some repeat clients as well as some meaty projects to ultimately make the year a successful one.

For the forthcoming season,

we are already seeing some movement in terms of budget requests coming in, and expect that in the next month we will see a sharp increase in these requests as our summer season approaches. Good news is that as part of an industry initiative that we were part of, we had four days of meetings with crew and suppliers to discuss the changes and challenges in the international advertising world. The discussions revolved around how we as an industry (Production Companies, Producers, Crew and Suppliers) can work together to maintain the high level of professionalism associated with our South African industry, but yet remain flexible and open to ideas that assist the industry to keep attracting work to ensure its long-term sustainability. These talks were

I FIND THAT CLIENTS ARE CONSISTENTLY COMPLIMENTARY ABOUT THE SKILLS AND ATTITUDE OF THE PEOPLE THEY WORK WITH AND OFTEN SURPRISED BY THE HIGH LEVEL OF COMPETENCE. CERTAINLY, MORE WORK WAS DONE IN THE DIGITAL REALM WHERE BUDGETS WERE NOT NECESSARILY MUCH SMALLER.

FEATURE / 11

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very positive and informative for all, and we trust this will make a positive impact on the year ahead, and on the years thereafter.”

South Africa has been trading on a par with international companies for some years now, and often at more budgetfriendly prices, maintains Lauren van Rensburg from Refinery.

“Our end-to-end solution and extensive filmography résumé affords us a very good reputation in the marketplace. But under the hood, it’s really the efficiency and data integrity of the workflow that adds the most value. Again, it’s all in the customisation that you make a real impact.

You need to be prepared to try new things, evolve and respond with agility to an everchanging market,” she notes.

Companies like Spartan Film Division have been created especially to service the transport needs of the film industry. Various sizes of vehicles and trucks are fitted with the necessary

rails, shelves and equipment needed by crew. They are staffed with experienced teams who understand the pressures, demands and need for flexibility in this demanding industry.

Manager Anneliese Spann says the division’s success is based on its ability to maintain relationships and communication with clients. “We are hoping commercials will be busier this year compared to last season as I have always maintained we need a healthy balance of both features and commercials to achieve success,” she adds.

Seton Bailey from the SA F.I.L.M. Academy says the upcoming commercial service peak season holds huge potential for employment and hands-on “learning-by-doing” opportunities for interns and trainees coming through the programme. “It’s the perfect time for high-quality placements, and early indications certainly point to a hectically busy season,” he notes.

“Commercials are an awesome opportunity for SA F.I.L.M. Academy trainees and interns to learn and grow as emerging crew because by definition, they involve a highly concentrated, extremely tough work ethic and intense application, focus and well-developed life and occupational skills played out under extreme stress, over a very short period of time,” he explains.

Seton says South Africa’s commercial industry is healthy and thriving, as indicated by the number of local and international service productions taking place and the number of international awards garnered.

“It’s still our submission that regular ‘learning-by-doing’ opportunities on productions can only contribute to a more transformed, more diverse, representative crew and HOD resource base, sustaining and growing a globally competitive local and international commercials industry,” he adds.

SA A GLOBAL CONTENDER Benefits of servicing film, television and commercial projects in South Africa versus elsewhere in Africa or the world include: • Experienced, hard-working and well-priced production crews and creative teams • Post-production facilities with the best equipment and software • Artists who have worked and innovated with top creatives and filmmakers locally and internationally • Access to infrastructure and filming locations • Financial incentive if the production qualifies for a government programme • Proficiency in English • Versatility and diversity of people and environments • Professionalism across the board

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12 / SPARTAN FILM DIVISION

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SPARTAN’S FILM FLEET FLOURISHES Providing vehicles to move film equipment takes attention to detail, flexibility and communication, says Anneliese Spann, manager of Spartan Film Division.

CONTACT Spartan Film Division Tel: CPT: 021 511 2333 (076 821 2284) / JHB: 012 665 0519 (082 334 6278) Email: CPT: anneliese@ spartantruckhire.co.za JHB: kyle@spartantruckhire.co.za Website: www.spartantruckhire.co.za

S

partan Film Division is dedicated to servicing the transport needs of the thriving local and international film and television industry. Part of Spartan Truck Hire, the Film Division was started by manager Anneliese Spann in April 2013 to enhance the company’s services, with vehicles and expertise tailored to this high-tech market.

Anneliese has more than 20 years’ experience in the film and truck hire industry and is passionate about building longterm relationships with their clientele. The division she manages provides vehicles and drivers for commercials, documentaries, feature films, stills and other forms of entertainment.

Spartan Film Division has in its fleet a range of bakkies, panel vans, sprinters and four- and eightton tail lifts. Vehicles are equipped for lighting, unit, camera, grips, wardrobe and rails, with trolleys (shelves) that can be taken out of the vehicles with ease. All vehicles have tow bars, air conditioners and the eight-ton trucks are equipped with regular tail lifts

and extended tail lifts. Support service includes nationwide travel as well as cross-border permits and every vehicle is equipped with live tracking devices. Roadside assistance is offered 24/7 and the company has an anti-hijack team. The last time a truck was hijacked the team sprang into action and traced and recovered the vehicle in under an hour.

The film and television industry requires 24-hour back-up service – Anneliese says her phone is always on and she’s been on standby for 20 years! – as well as carefully selected staff who understand the pressures and flexibility needed to move sensitive, expensive, specialist equipment, with an eye for detail and obsession with service delivery. The business is volatile and seasonal, with winter usually quiet (except this last winter broke with the norm and was very busy) and summer season exceptionally busy.

“My biggest challenge was getting the right staff as the industry is tough and demanding and you have to be so pedantic with detail. Service delivery has to be at the highest level and

the pressure you are put under can make or break you. We have the right staff to weather the storm with us,” Anneliese says.

“We’re up against stiff competition as more and more crew are buying their own vehicles. However we don’t compete with them as we believe crew always come first.

Healthy competition is welcome but you have to be careful of not getting into a price war.

For me it’s all about giving the clients the best service you can – they are incredibly creative and busy people and we need to be flexible,” she adds.

Spartan Film Division has a lot of regular clients thanks to Anneliese and her team. They have a dedicated person based at each branch to deal with damages and traffic fines, ensuring drivers remain fully focused on the job at hand. And a healthy fleet size of vehicles that can be fitted for various jobs ensures the division rides out slow seasons and revs up for peak seasons.

“With the high demands we face being flexible is key as not everything is black and

white. Each and every situation has its own challenges and demands. We are always willing to negotiate as nothing is ever cast in stone,” Anneliese notes.

She encourages clients to feel relaxed and says this is a service and relationships industry, and having a bit of fun along the way never hurt anyone.

“Communication is key. Things will go wrong but you must communicate with clients all the time. We aim to make the client’s life easier and our clients really appreciate this,” she adds.

“I love this industry and every feature film and commercial excites me. I urge my staff to treat every job as if it’s their very first, that thrill of being part of the production of a film or television project,” she concludes. This has paid off as they have won Branch of the Year for two of their four years since launch and are very proud and privileged to be part of this world.

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Digital & Interactive - Website or Microsite - La Libanaise Des Jeux - “Skip Friday 13” - Impact BBDO Dubai

THE LOERIES 2017 All the Gold and Grand Prix Winners at the largest celebration of creativity in Africa and the Middle East.

THE THREE GRAND PRIX LOERIES WERE AWARDED TO: • In Websites or Microsites, La Libanaise Des Jeux’s “Skip Friday 13” by Impact BBDO Dubai • In Communication Design, Marble’s “Meat Made Luxury” by Grid Worldwide Branding, Johannesburg • In Print, The Cartel’s “Be Seen” by Y&R Dubai

• KFC, “Sad Mad Meals”, Ogilvy Johannesburg • Nissan, “Camelpower”, TBWA\RAAD

THE GOLD LOERIES WERE AWARDED TO: • Commission for Gender Equality, “He She”, DDB • Goodbye Malaria, “Beautiful Pathogens”, Hunt Lascaris, Johannesburg • HuffPost SA, “Stop the

Cycle”, NATIVE VML • Interreligious Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, “One Book for Peace”, Y&R Dubai • KFC, “KFC Soundbite Chart”, Ogilvy Johannesburg • Law Andak Dam, “Kol Nokta Btefrek”, Impact BBDO Dubai • Marble, “Meat Made Luxury”, Grid Worldwide Branding • Mars, “Balloons”, Impact BBDO Dubai

• Safaricom, “M-TIBA”, Safaricom Kenya • Sappi Southern Africa, “The Abashintshi Social Mobilisation Project”, DevCom • Viacom, “MTV #FCKHIV”, Ogilvy Johannesburg • Visa, “The Holiday - Sea, Vegas, Forest”, Impact BBDO Dubai • Absolut, “Absolut One Source Music Video”, NATIVE VML • Brand South Africa, “After Tears”, The Odd Number

14 / SPOTLIGHT

• BRF, “#ShopLess”, Impact BBDO Dubai • Duracell, “Times Change, Power Doesn’t”, Grey Advertising Africa • Flight Centre, “BabyBot”, Hunt Lascaris Johannesburg • Flight Centre, “The US President”, Hunt Lascaris Johannesburg • KFC, “KFC Suppertime Stories”, Ogilvy Johannesburg • Mada Masr, “Micropolitics”, J. Walter Thompson Dubai • Momentum, “MMI Corporate & Public Sector: Reimagining Workplace Living Services”, Accenture • Nando’s, “Reconciliation Table”, M&C Saatchi Abel • Ol Pejeta Conservancy, “World’s Most Eligible Bachelor”, Ogilvy & Mather Africa • Samsung, “Samsung Gaming Marathon”, Leo Burnett • Sanlam, “Conspicuous

Nissan, “Camelpower”, TBWA\RAAD

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Savers”, King James Group • Sanlam, “Every 1 Counts”, King James Group • Saudi Telecom Company, “Laywagif”, J. Walter Thompson • Ster-Kinekor, “#OpenEyes”, FOXP2 • Surf Shack, “Salt”, Y&R South Africa

CRAFT GOLD LOERIES WERE AWARDED TO: • Marble, “Meat Made Luxury”, Grid Worldwide Branding • Nestle Middle East, “Tummyfish”, Memac Ogilvy Dubai • Sanlam, “Uk’Shona Kwelanga”, King James Group • Steimatzky Bookstore, “Even our Sales have Stories”, Imbar Merhav G • The Cartel, “Be Seen – Shoes, Makeup, Ring,

Sunglasses, Bag”, Y&R Dubai • The Cartel, “Be Seen – Sunglasses, Makeup, Ring, Shoes, Bag”, Y&R Dubai • Visa, “The Holiday – Forest, Sea, Vegas”, Impact BBDO Dubai • Visa, “The Holiday – Vegas, Sea, Forest”, Impact BBDO Dubai • adidas, “Original is Never Finished”, Egg Films (TV Crafts – Direction) • adidas, “Original is Never Finished”, Egg Films (TV Crafts – Production Design) • Björk, “Björk Not Get”, Wicked Pixels • Distell, “Three Ships Projection Mapping”, Lucan Visuals • Flight Centre, “The US President”, Hunt Lascaris Johannesburg • Flight Centre, “World Gone Mad – Climate Change”, Hunt Lascaris Johannesburg

• Landmark Group, “Silver Lining”, Impact BBDO Dubai • MTN SA, “Nightshift”, Metropolitan • Netflorist, “Maternal Kombat”, FCB Jhb • Pernod-Ricard, “OneSource”, Egg Films • Surf Shack, “Salt”, Y&R South Africa In the Student category, four Gold Loeries were awarded, with students from Vega School winning two Gold awards, AAA School of Advertising one Gold award, and the Greenside Design Center one Gold award.

Four Craft Golds were awarded to The Open Window.

THE SANBS PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD WAS AWARDED TO: • Western Cape Government, “Everybody Knows”, Young & Rubicam

We’re famous for our mountain, and our oceans, and our desert, and our forests, and our city, and our rivers, and our salt pans, and our winelands, and our farms, and our beaches, and our parklands, and our game reserves, and our studios, and any other location you need.

Cape Town and the Western Cape has as many locations as you have ideas. Together with state-of-the-art facilities and a budget-loving exchange rate, the journey from script to screen will be seamless. That’s why movies and series such as Resident Evil: The Last Chapter, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Brothers Grimsby, Eye in the Sky, Momentum, District 9, Shepherds and Butchers, Noem My Skollie, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Invictus, Safe House, Dredd, Strike Backs S3, Blood Drive, Homeland S4 and Black Sails S1-4 have been filmed here.

Other benefits of shooting here are the moderate climate, highly competitive rates, a skilled and established commercial and stills industry, as well as world-class animation, VFX, and post production facilities. Wesgro is mandated by the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government to promote the region’s film and media industry. This means we’re a favour waiting to happen. Find out how Wesgro can support you by visiting www.wesgro.co.za and download our new e-book to see some of the inspiring locations we have waiting for you.

Cape Town and the Western Cape.

An inspiring place to create.

For more information contact: Monica Rorvik, Head: Film and Media Promotion +27 (0) 21 487 8600 | film@wesgro.co.za | www.wesgro.co.za

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PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE FILM INDUSTRY

Their imagery travels across the world as part of publicity, advertising and marketing campaigns, but what is this industry truly like for these photographers?

T

here are numerous genres of photography within the film industry.

In this article, we will look at only Commercial Photography and Unit Stills Photography — two important but distinctly different genres.

COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY South Africa has some incredibly talented commercial photographers like Jan Verboom, David Prior and Alexa Singer, of whom the latter is renowned for her editorial, travel and beauty shots with a client list including GQ, Elle, Mercedes, HSBC and more. This year, there have been reports of a downturn in international shoots to South Africa, particularly as locations in the Eastern Bloc begin to compete with South Africa’s rates and capabilities.

Jan Verboom of Roodebloem Studios reported a great 2016 – although this year he has shot more local jobs than international ones. Jan has worked on multiple advertising and TVC stills for a variety of international clients such as Heinz, Birds Eye, and Samsung, to name a few. He says that over the last decade, digital technology has affected the way they market themselves. “In the old days, when you quoted on a job, the final image would be with a client for much longer than a final image today. When you have an online campaign, variety is of the essence and you want to look like it’s not a single image

Calmag campaign, Photo by Jan Verboom

you’re selling to the client. There are a lot more people advertising than before, because digital has made it more accessible. Even if you look at Instagram, there are people that have never marketed before who are now marketing, so there are a lot more photographs being taken and budgets are less than before, but that’s okay because the spread to photographers is different.”

A renowned commercial photographer in Africa’s brand communication industry, David Prior, has a keen eye for capturing the moment. He’s shot for some of the largest brands on the continent and has been recognised at Cannes Lions, The One Show, D&AD and The Loeries. One of his latest projects was an aerial shoot for Nedbank of Hillbrow at night.

“The vibrations and long exposure made it seriously challenging,” he says. “After intensive preparation, the right gimbal and a ridiculously high ISO, I got some great

shots.” Earlier this year he shot alongside Bomb Productions for MTN on a challenging shoot with heavy time constraints.

High-pressure is the nature of the job in the commercial world, and 2017 has been no less challenging. According to David, companies are spending their budgets mainly on digital, social media and television advertising. “Local shoot budgets are small and shoot requirements

Viagra campaign, Photo by David Prior

are increasing within a shorter shooting time,” he explains. “I’m grateful to be used for the more technically challenging shoots, and have been lucky enough to enjoy loyalty from bigger brands like Nedbank, Castle, MTN, Anglo, and McDonald’s, but I do have concerns about what the future holds for up and coming stills photographers.”

“The industry is changing so fast, and people are becoming ever-more time poor. Images are being created using all the exciting advances in CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) more and more frequently, and the Internet is flooded with cheap stock images to fill other gaps; so the next five to ten years are going to be like nothing we’ve seen before, and nearly impossible to predict.”

David adds that recently the stills photographer’s pie has been a meagre one, although he hopes that some of the South African film industry’s popularity overseas rubs off on stills.

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Origins: The Journey of Humankind Documentary Drama Series ©National Geographic Channels & Asylum Entertainment LLC 2016, Film Afrika, Motion Picture Still Photography by Joe Alblas | African Photo Productions ,

SPECIAL AND UNIT STILLS PHOTOGRAPHY A small group of highly qualified individuals in SA, known as motion picture still photographers are an integral part of a production’s marketing strategy. With an ever-growing number of international films and television series shooting on location in the country, it’s no wonder the likes of Coco Van Oppens (The Odyssey, The Last Post, The Crown), David Bloomer (District 9, The Giver, Blood Drive) and Joe Alblas of African Photo Productions (Dredd, The Salvation, The Gunman, Maze Runner: The Death Cure, Origins: The Journey of Humankind) are always on the go.

“The greatest challenge facing anyone working in this environment is not based solely upon any technical ability or the dexterity in which you are able to capture images, but by understanding the director’s vision and being able to use still photography as a fictive medium capable of telling a story that will eventually appear on screen,” Joe says of his craft.

“Working as a unit still photographer requires a fair amount of stealth, although your

status on-set might be pretty low, the importance of good stills ranks high on all producers’ lists.

After all, they need to market the product way ahead of any screening,” he explains. “Being a still photographer demands self-effacement. You are not shooting the movie; you have a very different role – you’re there to add value to the project. You have to be sensitive to scripts,

The Odyssey, Photo by Coco Van Oppens

actors and what’s going on.

You’ve got to respect actors, keep out of their eye lines, keep quiet and keep a low profile.”

Coco Van Oppens has done extensive work for BBC including The Crown and Our Girl, and most recently she’s worked on Action Point – Johnny Knoxville’s production set in a 70’s theme park – a shoot she says was “gratifying for a

photographer” with incredible stunt performances.

Forward planning is important in this line of work, Coco explains, but being able to interact with people is imperative. “The art of a stills photographer very much depends on your personality, your ability to talk to people, your ability to be invisible a lot of the time, and being confident enough to lead an actor and tell them what you want them to do.”

Many photographers are now embracing the latest technology with mirrorless cameras like Fuji, Sony and Leica brands. These are able to shoot without a blimp because of the completely new silent shutter design. Coco admits to recently doing a full gear upgrade to mirrorless, which is both a gratifying and mammoth task.

Most commercial photographers believe their business is in uncertain times due to international economic instability, while the unit and special stills sector is doing well and has much future potential.

“In the next five to ten years, the film and still industries should grow substantially due to demand by an ever expanding global media base,” says Joe.

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Kyle Shepherd, who recently found his place in the film world as composer of Noem My Skollie’s score. Photo by Lindsey Appolis

CONNECTING WITH EMOTIONS THROUGH MUSIC No film would be the same without a score giving subtle, nuanced voices to a river of emotions beneath the surface. Kim Crowie investigates music in the movies, from industry trends and online libraries to licensing, musicians and composers.

M

“

usic is the emotional spine of a film. It offers the opportunity to become a character in a film which has immediacy in the way it influences the way the audience feels about what they are seeing,” says renowned local musician, Kyle Shepherd, who recently found his place in the film world as composer

of Noem My Skollie’s score.

“Music in film is “a bit like the ‘air’ in an environment”, says Donovan Copley. “It might not seem immediately vital to the life of a production, but take it away and it becomes more obvious.”

Copley heads up local band Hot Water – best known in the film world for their song Wamkelekile, which was used in Adam Sandler’s

Blended a few years back.

The track has since reached over one million streams on Spotify thanks to the exposure with Warner Bros.

And, just as oxygen is the lifeblood of the body, music is “the translation of emotion in film,” says Johan van der Colff, Owner of Mastermax (MMX), a sound recording and

audio post production facility serving the film industry.

“Music and sound in film is as important in making the film a success as the storyline, and if the sound and music do not do the film justice, the audience will not make the emotional connection that is needed to fully be captivated,” he explains.

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Matt Botsford (via Unsplash)

MUSIC MATTERS AND MOVEMENTS Despite South Africa declaring recession, most companies working in the music space have reported a good 2017 so far. Mama Dance, a music solutions company that’s been in the business for over 15 years, has one of their tracks on The Forgiven starring Forest

Whitaker and Eric Bana, and has been facilitating music for productions in Kenya, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. Dale Blignaut says that one of the things filmmakers struggle with when choosing the correct music is only choosing tracks from sources that are available to license and within budget constraints. “We have often had to replace tracks that worked well in the edit, but either due to the number of cooks in the kitchen, no one knew where the music came from or alternatively the filmmakers didn’t consider whether or not the latest Bruno Mars track was affordable.”

“Filmmakers many times tend to forget the importance of music and sound in film

and its left as an afterthought once the film is done and budget has been depleted, which then leaves very little scope for the creative team to create an engaging soundscape for the film,” says Johan can Der Colff of Mastermax Productions, of which MMX

recording studios is a division.

They recently worked in the sound design and final mix of Deon Meyer’s Jagveld.

“Another film called The Roar that we’ve just finished we had the privilege of composing a full original score that had to include some original songs.”

WE HAVE OFTEN HAD TO REPLACE TRACKS THAT WORKED WELL IN THE EDIT, BUT EITHER DUE TO THE NUMBER OF COOKS IN THE KITCHEN, NO ONE KNEW WHERE THE MUSIC CAME FROM OR ALTERNATIVELY THE FILMMAKERS DIDN’T CONSIDER WHETHER OR NOT THE LATEST BRUNO MARS TRACK WAS AFFORDABLE.

Production Music for Professionals representing over 60 international labels and African Planit, a South African Music Library.

Service is our first Priority.

VISIT US: www.synchromusic.co.za

20 / FEATURE

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PROGRAMMING JUST CANNOT REPLACE THE OPPORTUNITY OF BEING ABLE TO WORK WITH LIVE ORCHESTRAS AND LIVE INSTRUMENTS WHEN CREATING AN ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FILM. Kyle Shepherd with Shane Cooper, Producer. Photo by Lindsey Appolis.

well.” He’s pushing boundaries with a totally new mash up of film and live performance art. Kyle will perform the Noem My Skollie score live with an 18-piece orchestra on 17 September 2017, complete with a large LED screen projection of the film at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town. “I’m new to this field but from what I can tell there are not many people specialising in film composing in South Africa. It really is a field that requires a different mindset to writing performance music. I can see how the specialised nature of it may turn people away from it, but I have been encouraging many young musicians to think about it as a possible alternative to an exclusively performance career.”

Noem My Skollie - Photo by Lindsey Appolis

In terms of industry trends, Johan says the greatest move in sound for film is Immersive Sound – which surpasses even 7.1 Surround Sound. “It enables sound designers to create a more encapsulating, true to life, soundscape that holds extreme potential to add to the emotional experience the audience has when watching a film. There are a few players in the market when it comes to Immersive Sound, but the biggest two in the cinema market currently is Barco’s Auro3D and Dolby’s Atmos.” These both use an ear level layer of speakers and a layer on the ceiling. Auro3D has an additional layer of speakers on

the walls called a Height Layer, creating a ‘dome’ of sound.

LOCAL MUSICIANS AND COMPOSERS With the help of technology, composers can now create great sounding scores with virtual instruments and programming software in relatively quick time frames. “But in my experience,” says Johan, “programming just cannot replace the opportunity to be able to work with live orchestras and live instruments when creating an original score for a film. There is an emotional connection when the instrumentalists starts to

play the arrangements and each person is moved emotionally by the melodies and harmonies that translates through to the final product and creates and emotional bond between the music and the film that brings it all together to tell the story.”

Pianist Kyle Shepherd can agree, having composed all the music for Noem My Skollie. This was his first experience doing so for film, and he is currently working on the music of an American production called Conformist.

“This is also an interesting process because the director is based in Los Angeles so we are collaborating and communicating online – which works surprisingly

MUSIC LIBRARIES AND ONLINE SEARCHES Although original scores with full orchestras may be worth the indulgence on a Hollywood blockbuster, online music libraries are ideal for those with time constraints, budget constraints, or filmmakers just looking for a convenient source of obtaining the music they desire for their production. According to Blignaut, finding the exact track they’re looking for can be a bit tricky. “We once needed some Futurist Egyptian Dance music and Pakistani Hip Hop. I also got a request for Ladysmith Black

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Mambazo-sounding music, but without the voices – they are a choral/vocal group, so without the voices there would be no music at all.” Mama Dance has a list of adjectives or keywords they use on their library website to help clients searching for a certain ‘energy’ that a filmmaker may not fully know how to put into words.

They host music from some of South Africa’s best musicians and composers. “We focus on only releasing high-quality music and albums that are relevant to our South African clients that you won’t find on other libraries, for example, Kwaito, Boeremusiek, Maskandi, etc.”

Synchro Music Management is an independent SA music publisher whose main source of business is the 50 top international production music catalogues that they make available to the film industry. They supplied music to Keeping up with the Kandasamys, as well as the Van Der Merwe film through Murray Macdonald. “Our international libraries release new albums monthly and we make them available on the music search engines on the Synchro Music website,” Louise Bulley explains.

“Music is so accessible now on music library websites by just registering and downloading the music you need.” Syncho Music represents German library Sonoton with a variety of music Louise describes as “mind-blowing”. They have new libraries on Sonofind, such as Boom Music and All Sorts Music, while X-Ray Dog is a great, edgy music library hosted on Synchro.

Technology has, of course, made a huge impact on the music business in recent years.

Access to music is a lot simpler and more music is available to choose from. “As with the world in general, data mining is becoming increasingly valuable in terms of clients being able to sort through all the music available to find what they want,” says Dale, “Technology is also providing music publishers and record labels a way to monitor broadcasts

and online to track their music and improves the accuracy of reporting to composers and also limits piracy. Clients have been requesting stems, or separates, more and more, which are the individual instruments playing in a musical track. This allows them more flexibility when editing.”

IP AND MUSIC LICENSING FOR FILMS Although most musicians and composers know about SAMRO, the Southern African Music Rights Organisation, a copyright asset management society, the way in

Mastermax Productions

Larisa Birta (via Unsplash)

which music is licensed for film is slightly different. When it comes to music libraries, they often assist and clients can either contact them directly or go through CAPASSO (Composer, Authors, and Publishers Association) for rates, quotes or to sort out the paperwork. A music cue sheet that lists the final tracks used is also required. “This license is…a simple process of sending in the cue sheet, which you will need anyway for international release, and then the license fee is worked out,” Louise explains.

As musicians or composers working without the support of

a music library, it’s a bit trickier says Donovan Copley. Most local musicians are not really aware of the opportunities in supplying tracks or compositions to the film and television industries. “Indeed it only seems to be the musicians that are well into their careers that either know about or take note of this,” he notes, “I highly recommend that every musician understand at least the basics of this side of the business; use the internet – there is a huge amount of support and info out there that simply; ask for support – there are many people out there who are willing to do so.”

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Blood Drive 02 – 13-part TV series for NBCUniversal. Refinery did VFX work on select shots. In this shot they’ve added in the metallic rod coming out of the actor’s mouth, including modelling in 3D and tracking to the hand and mouth, light and texturing to match the live action.

POST PRODUCTION EXPLODES WITH OPPORTUNITIES

Post production is expanding, driven by new technology and changes in the way clients create their stories. It’s a complex field driven by specialists who share their expertise and passion for post with Susan Reynard.

EXPERTISE ON OFFER Refinery is a full service post production facility, from media management services on set to offline cutting rooms. They also offer colour grading, online, sound editing and visual effects, all the way through to delivery masters for the local and international marketplace.

“Post production is a broad field and is ever-growing with new technology. It’s about customising

to the specific needs of each production, striving to elevate the production value of any given show or piece,” says Lauren van Rensburg, general manager of their Cape Town branch.

On-Key Sound Studios has been in audio post production since 2001. “Our services include dialogue editing, track lay, foley, ADR, additional location recordings, sound design and final mix for all genres and

platforms including multimedia, radio, television and film.

Additionally, we collaborate with top music composers to offer a complete audio post package. All these elements are combined to create the best sound track for each production,” explains owner Janno Muller.

PostCity offers a full post production environment that includes media management and archiving, 4K capable viewing

theatre, edit suites, sound design, ADR and music production studios, grading theatre, VFX, CGI and animation including VR and a “Barco Auro3D” and “Dolby Atmos” certified immersive sound final mix theatre. Owner Johan van der Colff says, “Through our expert operators and co-production members we offer a full-service solution in one central hub to clients and productions that require a large studio infrastructure

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and contained post production environment, who want to work with specific individual creative talents and customise their production needs and workflow.”

Sasani Studios offers a full technical solution to any television production, from parking through to studios, edit suites, final mix and live TX, including pre-production, production and post services.

The primary challenge throughout the entire process is to edit footage almost as fast as it rolls off the camera feeds, says CEO Eileen Sandrock.

In exploring a solution, Kim Smith, Sasani Studios’ chief engineer and his team developed a post workflow solution based on client’s needs and using a shared storage system, along with a production asset management solution, which includes ingest, browsing and logging capabilities.

“This new integrated workflow is tremendous for time-saving and increased efficiency, as many simultaneous users have collaborative access to high-resolution video footage.

Editors and compositors connected to the network can seamlessly access and share in real time from a common pool of media files, regardless of the application, platform or source material,” says Eileen.

Kim Smith explains further, “We use the EditShare solution for this purpose as it has a powerful database that allows users to access and track all

Soundcraft audio mixing console at Sasani

THIS NEW INTEGRATED WORKFLOW IS TREMENDOUS FOR TIME-SAVING AND INCREASED EFFICIENCY, AS MANY SIMULTANEOUS USERS HAVE COLLABORATIVE ACCESS TO HIGH-RESOLUTION VIDEO FOOTAGE. EDITORS AND COMPOSITORS CONNECTED TO THE NETWORK CAN SEAMLESSLY ACCESS AND SHARE IN REAL TIME FROM A COMMON POOL OF MEDIA FILES, REGARDLESS OF THE APPLICATION, PLATFORM OR SOURCE MATERIAL.

media assets on the entire network throughout the production process, from ingest to edit and through to play out and archiving. The servers provide multiple channels of HD/SD-SDI and file ingest, including low-resolution proxies and a logging tool which allows

productions to add metadata in the fastest way possible.

Multiple Avid Media Composer NLE systems and Avid Pro Tools audio suites are connected to the network, which includes nearline and archive systems, together with browsing and admin workstations. The use

Post Production Production Film Art www.priest.co.za Cape Town | Johannesburg | +27 (021) 201 4777

of video recording servers allows us to record multiple (ISO) cameras simultaneously, ready for multi-cam editing,” he explains. “This project sharing facility allows the team to selectively see each other’s projects and work collaboratively to build the shows.”

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STAND-OUT CLIENT REQUESTS Janno Müller of On-Key Sound Studios recalls: “We’ve had some interesting experiences with advertising agencies. For one of our client approval viewings we were ordered to have a full continental breakfast ready including gluten-free muffins and fruit salad with very specific low fat yogurts.

The only thing was that the approval viewing was for the afternoon! But, whatever makes the client happy.”

Cal Kingwill at Priest Post Production says they’ve had their fair share of odd requests from clients, such as the bizarre behaviour of a client wearing sunglasses throughout a grade process while practising his downward facing dog yoga position.

They’ve also been asked: “Can you please change the African skin tone to a white, Caucasian skin tone?” and during finishing to “roto out the smoke” and “speed up the shot to warp speed slow”; as well as “Can’t you just make a new shot?” when live footage is missing and “Can you replace the head and make them smile?”

Lauren van Rensburg from Refinery says they’ve been asked to grade a feature shot entirely on an iPhone: “It had the right frame size in terms of resolution, but the low data rate meant there was only so much we could do in post. But we think we made a difference!”

Johan van der Colff from PostCity notes, “Working in a world of creatives and creativity, where making the impossible possible is actually the norm, I guess that very few requests feel outrageous anymore.”

Priest’s 3D creation: Houdini sand disintegration test by wizard Nathan Anderson using Smoke artist Grant Aerts.

Priest’s Matthew Swanepoel holding his Safta award after winning Best Editor for Necktie Youth in Johannesburg last year.

Priest’s Cal Kingwill in the Johannesburg office.

Cal Kingwill, producer and founder of Priest Post Production which was established in 2003, says they pride themselves on their meticulous management system.

“All clients and suppliers are treated with care and respect and attention to detail is afforded to every task and project. Michelle Barrow is one of the best VFX and online producers and has worked with large teams of animators and compositors in commercials and feature films.

Jess Cash has procured numerous clients whom she works with creatively on scripts and concepts and thereafter produces the short films and TVCs. Our studio offers invaluable experience from SAFTA award winner Matthew Swanepoel in the commercial and feature editing field. Motion graphics

and illustration from Amelia Cohen, 3D on the Rolls Royce of 3D software Houdini, with artist wizard Nathan Anderson, colour grading with Francesca Verveckken on Da Vinci Resolve and the master of all compositing, Grant ‘The Monk’ Aerts on Autodesk Smoke,” she says of her team and their expertise.

PROJECTS IN POST Janno and his team at On-Key Sound Studios are currently finishing work on three local feature films: Vuil Wasgoed, an action comedy directed by Morne du Toit; Vaselintjie based on the award-winning book by Anoeschka Von Meck, adapted and directed by Corne van Rooyen; and She is King, a musical directed by Gersh Kgamedi featuring Khabonina Qubeka,

Priest’s illustrator Amelia Cohen in her richly decorated chalk board suite.

Aubrey Poo, Gugu Zulu, Khanyi Mbauand and Mandisa Nduna.

He is also working on a number of television dramas, reality and comedy series, including: iNumber Number, Swartwater, Bedford Wives, Thuli No Thulani, Date my Family, Easy Money, Our Perfect Wedding, and more. For the rest of 2017, Janno is working on two more feature films, a three-part documentary series, two new comedy shows and a major reality show.

Priest Post Production’s senior editor Matt Swan is working on a feature film with Hajooj Kuka of Beats of the Antonov fame.

They are also working on an Africa-meets-Asia sci-fi hip hop music video with Daniel Levi.

On the commercial side, there’s Outsurance’s Savers campaign with Lee Doig of Let it Rain Films, using Carpool Karaoke

by The Late Late Show with James Corden as inspiration, as well as Twisp, shot and edited by Priest with Dalmatian Advertising. In the pipeline is Liberty with Gentlemen Films and TBWA Jhb at their offices in Johannesburg plus a new Dove campaign with filmmaker and writer Oliver Hermanus.

Johan of PostCity says that during the last 12 months, they have worked on four features at their facilities, two of which – Mumford & Sons’ Dust and Thunder and Deon Meyer’s Jagveld – were mainly sound design and final mix.

The Forgiven involved video

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DURING THE LAST 12 MONTHS, POSTCITY HAVE WORKED ON FOUR FEATURES AT THEIR FACILITIES, TWO OF WHICH – MUMFORD & SONS’ DUST AND THUNDER AND DEON MEYER’S JAGVELD – WERE MAINLY SOUND DESIGN AND FINAL MIX. POSTCITY CURRENTLY HAS THREE NEW FILMS IN THE PIPELINE, ONE OF WHICH IS AN INTERNATIONAL FEATURE THAT THEY WILL BE DOING FULL POST PRODUCTION FOR.

Music/ADR/SoundDesign Suite at Post|City

Post|City’s Reception area

post only and The Roar was a full production as well as audio and video post production.

PostCity currently has three new films in the pipeline, one of which is an international feature that they will be doing full post production for and the other two are international co-productions the titles of which cannot yet

be named, Johan notes.

“We are thrilled to provide the studios and equipment required for five daily soaps: Rhythm City, Scandal, Isidingo, Skeem Saam and 7de Laan, and in addition to this numerous seasons of The Voice are also produced at Sasani: The Voice Nigeria, The Voice Francophone

(broadcast in West Africa), The Voice South Africa and The Voice Angola, and many other shows,” says Eileen from Sasani Studios.

Refinery is working on VFX prep for two international features and one local feature, with production earmarked to start towards the end of the year. In conjunction with these

they are doing the set VFX supervision on an international feature. Commercials they’re working on include Product and Price campaigns, smaller budget retail commercials and final grades on First for Women, Nedbank and Chicken Licken.

Cinema commercial work for Ster Kinekor and Nu Metro is ongoing.

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Blood Drive 01 – 13-part TV series for NBCUniversal. Refinery did VFX work on select shots. In this shot they replace the actor’s eyes with smoking lava.

TECH TRENDS “Traditional, standard workflows are no longer the order of the day,” maintains Lauren from Refinery. “Rather, the field has opened up to different and varied skill applications.

Barriers to entry are often either very low or very high, which doesn’t always position

post well in the local market.

“Technology continues to be the biggest challenge. As cameras and tech evolves, so does post have to adapt.

The speed at which this is happening is affecting how South African filmmakers and producers engage with the foreign marketplace when looking to trade content on

international platforms. They are being placed under pressure to adhere to minimum resolution guidelines such as 4K post and delivery to get the most out their investments. Unfortunately the cost of doing so doesn’t necessarily add the right numbers to the bottomline so there is currently a sense of limbo in that space,” she explains.

TECHNOLOGY CONTINUES TO BE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE. AS CAMERAS AND TECH EVOLVES, SO DOES POST HAVE TO ADAPT.

Post-Production (t) 011 886 0808 (e) info@fourteententh.co.za (w) www.fourteententh.co.za Now operating at 4 Grosvenor Avenue, Craighall Park, Johannesburg

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ONE OF THE BIGGEST INFLUENTIAL ELEMENTS IS THE SPEED AT WHICH TECHNOLOGY HAS ADVANCED AND THE FACT THAT ONE CAN EFFECTIVELY DO FULL POST PRODUCTION ON A PROJECT ON ONE’S LAPTOP WITH ONE OR TWO SOFTWARE PROGRAMS. THIS MOVEMENT DOES AID THE NEED FOR LOWER PRODUCTION BUDGETS, MAKES IT EASIER TO ENTER INTO THE INDUSTRY AND CREATES A TREND TO RUN PRIVATE SPECIALISED SERVICES BY ENTREPRENEURIAL CREATIVES.

Janno from On-Key Sound Studios says the advent of online streaming and easy access to fibre is leading to new opportunities. “Technology such as VR and 3D sound is becoming much more accessible and affordable.

You have to evolve and make sure that you stay on top of current trends in order to offer relevant solutions,” he notes.

Johan of PostCity agrees that one of the biggest influential elements is the speed at which technology has

advanced and the fact that one can effectively do full post production on a project on one’s laptop with one or two soft ware programs. “This movement does aid the need for lower production budgets, makes it easier to enter into the industry and creates a trend to run private specialised services by entrepreneurial creatives,” he adds.

“However, it also holds some danger since the lack of proper media management and security can have a negative

On-Key’s Janno Müller (right) and Israel Matseke who plays “Skroef” in iNumber Number.

impact on the production if something goes wrong.

Also, larger scale productions require some form of basic infrastructure to make investors feel safe when venturing into the world of content creation.

This is where PostCity has found a balance in bringing the two worlds together and to accommodate this move that is disrupting the industry,” Johan explains.

Priest’s Cal notes, “International corporates have taken to ‘versioning’ – making

On-Key Sound Studio in Johannesburg.

one template advertisement and using this to create ads unique to different countries and territories.” She says there is less shooting of commercials in South Africa which means less work, but Priest is trying to acquire some of this versioning or regional adaptation work. The use of the Internet and remote interaction means fewer clients in the building making immediate decisions, which leads to organic and unscheduled reverts and lengthy approval phases, she adds.

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© Magic Lightbox Company

www.thecallsheet.co.za

© Shesha Film & Event Caterers

A selection of two-way radios that can be used on set.

FILM INDUSTRY SUPPLIERS:

THE UNSUNG HEROES F

ar removed from the glitz and glamour; the unsung heroes of the film industry are often the suppliers who make up the complex and diverse supply chain. This month, we turn the spotlight on three suppliers that provide invaluable services to our industry. From two-way radios, to specialised gear rental, to the on-set caterers who ensure that cast and crew are well fed; these three companies perform the essential but often overlooked services that keep the film, TV and commercials sectors working smoothly.

MAGIC LIGHTBOX COMPANY The Magic Lightbox still works from the same ethic that was incorporated decades ago: today’s runner is tomorrow’s producer – and everyone has an integral and equal part to play in the ongoing success of

the industry. South Africa has the second-oldest film industry in the world, and with eleven official languages, there are no limits to communicating with each other in new and exciting vibrant ways.

The Magic Lightbox Company offers the following for rental: cameras, camera accessories, camera lenses, audio, grips, lighting, monitors and other consumables.

SHESHA FILM & EVENT CATERERS

After 10 years of feeding film crews, Shesha continues to push the boundaries of innovative, fresh and super cool on set food! With kitchen headquarters in both Cape Town and Johannesburg, Shesha have managed to service film shoots all around South Africa. The company currently runs six teams in

Cape Town and five teams in Johannesburg, all fully equipped to handle anything from small stills shoots to large commercials and long-form productions. Their features department is geared up with five mobile food units.

From generators to shade and stretched tents and a transport fleet to follow, they’ve got it all and they’ll make it happen.

Recent productions they have serviced include: Maze Runner: The Death Cure, Madiba, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Black Mirror, Queen of Katwe and The Brothers Grimsby.

LAZER COMMUNICATIONS

Lazer Communications’ flexible approach and ability to find solutions has set the company apart as a preferred supplier of short-term two-way radio rentals for motion pictures, commercials and sporting and music events.

Lazer is the service provider for

the Argus Cycle Tour, The Giro, BKM Neighbourhood Watch and The International Jazz Festival.

Lazer Communications offer sales and service of renowned brand names such as Motorola, Icom, Kenwood and Kirisun radios in both portable and mobile options.

Their innovative specialised industry professionals will help you make the most cost effective and technically correct choice of product, equipment and auxiliary accessories for your specific business needs.

Lazer Communications employ a skilled technical team 24/7 to oversee their repeater network.

During power failures, their sites are assisted with battery back-up and early warning messaging via cell phone. The armed response and emergency service customers rely on Lazer’s efficient and mission critical communications at all times.

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LAZER COMMUNICATIONS

Lazer Communications provided equipment for Homeland S4 ©Showtime

Another high-profile client, Black Sails ©Starz Entertainment

Need two-way radios for a commercial, movie, event or short-term project? Need twoway radios throughout South Africa? Lazer Communications specialises in sales, rental and servicing of Two-Way radios and Trunking equipment. Lazer Communications is the authorised provider of Q-Trunk and Fleetcall radio trunking airtime networks. Lazer Communications has the most comprehensive airtime coverage of any service provider in the Western Cape. The backbone of the airtime network is 15-state-of-the-art high sites owned and managed by Lazer. Lazer Communications offer sales and service of renowned brand names such as Motorola, Icom, Kenwood and Kirisun radios in both portable and mobile options. Our innovative specialised industry professionals will help you make the most cost effective and technically correct choice of product, equipment and auxiliary accessories for your specific business needs.

Tel: +27 21 510 5450 Email: info@lazer.co.za Address: 39 Berkley Road, Epic Industrial Park, Maitland, 7405, Cape Town, South Africa Website: www.lazer.co.za

MAGIC LIGHTBOX COMPANY

Gear rental has never been this magical – from our rich history in the South African film industry, to our childlike excitement about new gear – Magic Lightbox Company has been instrumental in making small and large productions a reality.

With a motto like “Give Back and Inspire” and our otherworldly ability to solve complex problems, you are sure to walk out of our office with more than you anticipated – and we even have take-away coffee! So whether you need an FS7 or an ARRI SkyPanel, give us a call. You will not be disappointed.

Tel: +27 11 463 7584 Email: info@magiclightbox.co Address: 2A Old Kilcullen Drive, Bryanston, Sandton, 2191 Website: www.magiclightbox.co

SHESHA FILM & EVENT CATERERS

Shesha was born in 2005 after Executive Chef Byron de Carvalho saw an opportunity to cater for a very unique industry, Film and TV. Fast-forward 12 years and Shesha has expanded into events, weddings, expos and has the capacity to cook up to 5 500 meals a day out of their industrial and mobile kitchens. Shesha is Halaal-certified and a proud Level 1 BBBEE-contributor. Over the past decade, Shesha has worked on over 5 000 sets, events and weddings combined across South Africa. Some features include Maze Runner 3, Outlander, Blood Drive, Homeland and Madiba. For a quote, menu and a portfolio of events, shoots and functions we have worked on, contact our foodie team below. We look forward to feeding you!

Byron de Carvalho Tel: +27 82 699 4868 Email: byron@shesha.tv Michelle Gray Tel: +27 63 694 8738 Email: michelle@shesha.tv Website: www.shesha.tv

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© Flickr, John Hickey-Fry

Cape Winelands

Cape Town (Green Point Park)

Cape West Coast

© Flickr Heribert Bechen

Cape Karoo

WESGRO ENGAGES WITH INDUSTRY

In recent months, Cape Town and Western Cape Film and Media Promotion, a division of Wesgro, has engaged with industry stakeholders through a number of sessions, workshops and events.

FILM INDUSTRY PRE-SEASON BRIEFING

In mid-August, Wesgro and the City of Cape Town in conjunction with the Commercial Producers Association and South African Association of Stills Producers, Cape Town, launched the

annual film industry preseason briefing. This two-day briefing was an opportunity to engage industry stakeholders, discuss developments over the past year as well as opportunities and challenges in the upcoming year and

extends to various stakeholders such as Cape municipalities.

City of Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille delivered the keynote address and used the opportunity to extend her support to the industry: “Over the years, the Cape film sector

has made great progress and as an opportunity city, we are well aware of its potential. This industry has provided skills training and jobs to many residents, and we want to know what you need to grow and how the City can help you achieve your goals

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and unlock those possibilities.

“We need to leverage our success as an international destination in order to develop our own locally grown film industry.

We must have a bold vision for this sector, which can do so much to position Cape Town globally and highlight the enormous talent that sits here. “We also need to make sure that we build a more inclusive industry and that it becomes an industry that our young film makers can see a bright future in.”

Wesgro CEO Tim Harris said: “Cape Town is one of the top ten film locations centres globally.

The province’s beautiful locations, great climate, high quality infrastructure, the industry’s lowest annual operating costs, and over 2 500 direct service providers by our last count have positioned the local film and media industry as a key emerging sector.”

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

2017 is the 150 th anniversary of Canada becoming a country, and is being promoted by the Canadian government as CANADA150.

As part of the celebrations extra attention has been paid to enable South Africa and Canada governmental and industry links to help drive creative projects.

One of these endeavours brought the head of Canada Media Fund, along with over nine producers, part of a large delegation of Canadian professionals to the recent DIFF/DFM.

© Flickr, Vaiz Ha

© Flickr, SA Tourism

Cape Overberg

Garden Route and Klein Karoo

TIFF is considered one of the largest and most important gathering places for film professionals, especially those trying to access North America and their global partners.

Monica Rorvik, Wesgro’s Head of Film and Media will be attending TIFF during CANADA150 to take follow up meetings with the many Canadian delegations that have been in South Africa as well as to meet with new producers interested in South Africa. She will also be present during the festivals industry sessions from 8 to 13 September. Wesgro’s Chief Business Officer, Yaw Peprah, is also attending TIFF and will serve to link not only to the film industry but to the investment and trade opportunities that are abound in Toronto, which is one of the world’s top finance centres.

“I’m expecting some good news for co-productions to come from TIFF, this year.” Says Rorvik.

Since it is the 20 th anniversary of the Canada – South Africa co-production treaty, many projects are being highlighted.

CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL FILM MARKET AND FESTIVAL

The Cape Town International Film Market & Festival (CTIFMF) – formerly known as the Cape Town & Winelands International Film Festival, is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a brand-new look and location. The CTIFMF offers a valuable opportunity to consolidate existing alliances

between local filmmakers and our international production treaty partners, and to explore opportunities for exciting new collaborative ventures with our friends from around the world.

The CTIFMF is a collaborative effort by the City of Cape Town, and the festival board that seeks to establish itself as the Cannes of Africa.

Wesgro has endorsed the event, and recognises its value not only to the film industry, but to the tourism sector as well.

FORUMS ON RESEARCH FINDINGS

Lance Greyling, Director of Enterprise and Investment, City of Cape Town, engaged the industry on the Film and Media Sector Study and highlighted some of the key findings and recommendations.

The presentation included an unpacking of the film value chain, industry constraints, the Cape’s competitive advantage, as well as an overview of the City’s film strategy. The industry will be invited to various forums in the months to come to help drive and collaborate a new film strategy. The research study will be launched by October 2017.

IP LAW WORKSHOP

Wesgro, in partnership with Webber Wentzel, hosted a legal workshop on IP laws affecting the entertainment industry in July. The engagement was to Film Ad – Call Sheet A4.indd 1

inform and spark debate with the local film associations and other industry representatives, including international representatives from the Motion Picture Association of America and International Federation of Film Producers Association ahead of public hearings that took place at Parliament on 1, 3 and 4 August 2017.

For more information about the events mentioned above, or to find out more about Film and Media Promotion within the Western Cape, please contact: Monica Rorvik Head: Film & Media Promotion Lisa Mini Film and Media Promotion Officer t: +27 21 487 8600 e: film@wesgro.co.za LinkedIn: Wesgro - Film in the Western Cape www.wesgro.co.za Visit www.wesgro.co.za to download the Creati ve Locations ebook.

CREATIVE LOCATIONS CAPE TOWN AND THE WESTERN CAPE

2016/09/12 12:29 PM

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WHAT’S NEW AT

IBC 2017 We speak to CEO Mike Crimp to find out what’s new, innovative and set to make waves at IBC 2017 from 14 to 19 September.

I

BC has maintained its position as one of the largest technological trade events on the media and entertainment industry’s calendar, and 2017 is no different. The conference leg of the show takes place from 14-18 September, with the exhibition opening from 15-19 September.

This year, the IBC Conference focuses on Truth, Trust and Transformation with a wide variety of topics including new industry strategies, understanding business disruptors, and charting future technological progress.

The exhibition covers fifteen halls across the RAI in Amsterdam and hosts over 1 700 exhibitors from creators to management and delivery of electronic and media entertainment. Integral to the IBC experience are a number of specially curated Feature Areas and events. These tie into the IBC Conference stream to enrich visitors’ understanding of tech and trends driving the sector. The Callsheet speaks to IBC CEO Mike Crimp to find out what’s new and what African delegates can expect this year.

How do you keep IBC fresh, innovative and new despite the many years IBC has been running?

IBC is celebrating its 50 th anniversary this year, and I think the key to its longevity is that it has evolved along with the industry; or rather, IBC has strived to identify the key trends which will transform the industry, and ensure that we are ahead of the curve.

IBC is organised by the

industry for the industry, and at the top of our organisation is the Partnership Board which contains representatives of the six leading professional and trade bodies in the industry: IABM, IEE, IET, RTS, SCTE and SMPTE. My day job revolves around the invaluable feedback we receive, from our partner bodies and from the committees which draw upon industry knowledge. I take all that input and try to develop a strategy for the continuing development of IBC as an agile platform for industry education, ready to respond to new trends and technologies as they arise.

What new technologies and trends are set to change the entertainment landscape internationally?

I see IBC as an important enabler for change in the industry. For instance, VR and AR will be addressed across the event, from the conference to the Future Zone and, no doubt, on the show floor. This is a great example of where IBC adds so much value to the industry. Technologies in this area are tumbling out, but the business and creative case seems to be lagging behind. We know what VR can do, but how can we tell stories with it? How can we monetise it? IBC can bring all the sides of the industry together to dig into all the issues. And not just in debate but by seeing and experiencing the state of the art.

What’s new in 2017, what highlights on both the conference programme and

on the exhibition floor are you most looking forward to?

IBC has always strived to help new companies find a place in our community, and this year we are trying a more proactive approach with the IBC Startup Forum. Working with a specialist agency, Honeypot Media, we will bring together startup and scale-up businesses, investors and media houses, with a Deal Room as well as networking areas and a seminar programme.

Also new this year is the C-Tech Summit: two days of specialist presentations and debates, presented on the same behind-closed-doors basis as the Leaders’ Summit. The event will provide technological debate at a strategic level, aiming to help C-level executives understand the implications for business transformation. This year we are tackling two topics: a threat and an opportunity. On Friday we will look at cyber-security, and on Saturday it will be the possibilities of 5G and persistent, universal very high speed connectivity.

Building on the incredible achievement of last year’s IP Interoperability Zone, this year we are presenting the IP Showcase to show how far we have come in just a year. IP is no longer ‘the future’ – real-time IP for production, playout and contribution is a practical, flexible, efficient reality that is rapidly taking hold in mainstream broadcast operations. The IP Showcase will offer demonstrations, realworld scenarios and education sessions, showing the full

potential of IP workflows.

This year’s conference is subtitled Truth, Trust and Transformation, and has five tracks running over the five days: Advances in Technology, Business Transformation, Content and Production, Audiences and Advertising, and Platform Futures.

The Keynote Sessions provide a broad view of where we are as an industry. The opening keynote, with speakers including Dan Danker, Product Director at Facebook and Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, President & CEO at Modern Times Group, will explore how the rise of fan and friend power in the media ecosystem is driving new approaches to broadcasting, as well as paving the way for new partnerships and funding models; Brian Sullivan, President & COO, Digital Consumer Group, Fox Networks Group at 21st Century Fox, will take to the stage to deliver insight into the American market and developments of Fox Network’s leading TV Everywhere services; Balan Nair, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Liberty Global will join other key industry leaders for the CTO Roadmap Keynote; and Rikard Steiber, President, Viveport and SVP Virtual Reality, HTC, delivers the Technology Forward Keynote, ‘What’s Happening in VR, AR and Mixed Reality’, looking at the emerging swathe of consumer devices and services, as well as showcasing successful VR experiences across platforms.

Register Now! Conference 14-18 September 2017 Exhibition 15-19 September 2017

IBC2017 The World’s Leading Media, Entertainment & Technology Show Join over 1,700 exhibitors showcasing the latest technological innovations, 400+ speakers delivering the latest industry insights and 55,000+ attendees providing unlimited networking opportunities at IBC’s 50th annual conference and exhibition.

Register at show.ibc.org #IBCShow

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Trou aux Biches, Pamplemousses, Mauritius © Mark Fischer

© Mauritius Attractions (www.mauritiusattractions.com)

Le Rocher de Cristal - Le Morne, Mauritius © Sandy Marie

Club Med - La Plantation d’Albion, Mauritius © Antoine Debroye

MAURITIUS

Although still relatively unknown in international circles, the tropical paradise of Mauritius is a sought-after location for Bollywood content and is growing its filmic offerings in leaps and bounds.

A

volcanic island with palm-fringed beaches, waterfalls, forests, and turquoise lagoons, Mauritius offers a host of jungle and coastal locations for filmmakers who are willing to try something new. Thanks to its proximity to Southeast Asia, Mauritius is a popular Bollywood film destination, with some of the best known regions including the Black River Gorges National Park, Casela National Park, and the coloured earth of the Chamarel Plain and Le Pouce.

Underwater photography and

filming are ideal on Mauritius, particularly the more protected west coast, while Tamarin Bay has great surf breaks. For those in search of specific looks, the main towns and much of the French colonial-era architecture are quite rundown – making for some interesting backdrops – while those in search of agricultural looks will find sugarcane and tea in abundance.

FILMS SHOT IN THE COUNTRY The Indian film community has always been comfortable filming on location in Mauritius. Since

1977, hundreds of Bollywood films, commercials and TV series have been shot on the island – giving it the nickname of ‘Mini India’. Some of the films shot in Mauritius include Josh, 36 China Town, Go Goa Gone, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, and Kidnap. French production My Father the Hero (1991) featuring Gérard Depardieu was filmed here, as well as the UK’s Jane and the Lost City (1987) and China’s The Breakup Guru (2014).

In May 2017, the Mauritius Board of Investment announced that the country would host its

first ever big-budget Hollywood feature, Serenity. The project is worth US$20-million, and stars Matthew McConaughey alongside Anne Hathaway and Uma Thurman. “Around eighty local crew are involved in this production, which is expected to create further business linkages with local financial institutions and other suppliers of services,” the Board said, adding that the island is at the heart of the story, with the film being shot exclusively in Mauritius. Identical Pictures is attached as one of the

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CLIMATE Because the country has a tropical climate that remains warm and relatively dry throughout the year, shoots in Mauritius will depend entirely on the production requirements. November to April are warm and wet, while June to September are cool, dry, and are best for surf and underwater filming.

Average Annual Temperatures in Port Louis, Mauritius 400C 30 0C 20 0C

Mauritian Fody © Antoine Debroye

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Average Monthly Sunlight Hours in Port Louis, Mauritius 400 hrs 300 hrs 200 hrs 100 hrs 0 hrs

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ACCESS

© Mauritius Attractions (www.mauritiusattractions.com)

local companies servicing the production. At the time of going to print, principal photography was underway. 50 film projects have injected approximately US$28 million into the Mauritian economy through the rebate scheme since its launch in 2013.

FILMING ON LOCATION

In addition to myriad pictureperfect locations, Mauritius offers an attractive tax rebate of up to 40% on eligible production spend for commercials, feature films, TV shows and documentaries.

There is also no custom duty on

equipment brought in to be used on qualifying productions. The Board of Investment facilitates producers with all shooting permits, licenses and applications for the Film Rebate Scheme.

Productions not qualified under the rebate should apply to the Mauritius Film Development Corporation three weeks prior to shooting in the country.

Mauritius has a small pool of local directors, videographers, stills photographers and crew, with talent mainly of Indian and Creole descent. The country has limited casting facilities, so street casting is common.

MAURITIUS OFFERS AN ATTRACTIVE TAX REBATE OF UP TO 40% ON ELIGIBLE PRODUCTION SPEND FOR COMMERCIALS, FEATURE FILMS, TV SHOWS AND DOCUMENTARIES.

Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport is the main airport for the islands, located 48km southeast of the capital of Port Louis. Airlines flying to Mauritius include: • • • • •

Emirates Air India Meridiana Air France Malaysia Airlines

• • • • •

SWISS Air Turkish Airlines Saudia Kenya Airways Eurowings

• Singapore Airlines • China Eastern • South African Airways

POPULATION 1 348 242 (CIA World Factbook, July 2016 est.)

CONTACT Mauritius Board of Investment Tel: +230 203 3800 Email: filminmauritius@investmauritius.com Web: www.filminginmauritius.com Mauritius Film Development Corporation Tel: +230 696 3137 / +230 698 6013 Email: mauritiusfilm@intnet.mu | Web: www.mauritiusfilm.mu

FIXERS Tamarin Film & Services Contact: Veronika Zaplata Tel: +230 593 396 61 / +49 1728 366 827 Email: info@tamarinfilm.com | Web: www.tamarinfilm.com

36 / EVENTS TO DIARISE

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OCTOBER SAN DIEGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 4–8 SanDiego, USA

SEPTEMBER

MARBELLA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 4–8 Malaga, Spain

TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL 1–4 Telluride, USA NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 6 – 20 Masterton, New Zealand CALIFORNIA INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL 7 – 14 California, USA TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 7 – 17 Toronto, Canada

PYONGYANG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 16 – 23 Pyongyang, DPR Korea SAN SEBASTIAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 16 – 24 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain

CALIFORNIA INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL 7 – 14 Bay Area, California, USA

GLOBAL PEACE FILM FESTIVAL 18 – 24 Orlando, USA

ATLANTA DOCUFEST 8 – 10 Atlanta, USA

OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL 20 – 24 Ott awa, Canada

CAMDEN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 14 – 17 Camden, USA

BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 4 – 15 London, United Kongdom

LONDON SCREENWRITERS FESTIVAL 15 – 17 London, United Kingdom

RAINDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 20 – 1 Oct London, United Kingdom

JOZI FILM FESTIVAL 21 – 24 Johannesburg, South Africa MANHATTAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL 28 – 8 Oct New York, USA ZURICH FILM FESTIVAL 28 – 8 Oct Zurich, Switzerland REYKJAVIK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 28 – 8 Oct Reykjavik, Iceland VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 28 – 13 Oct Vancouver, Canada

OUT AT THE MOVIES INTERNATIONAL LGBT FILM FEST 5–8 Winston Salem, Carolina HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 5–9 East Hampton, USA SITGES FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINEMA FANTASTIC DE CATALUNYA 5 – 15 Barcelona, Spain IRIS PRIZE FILM FESTIVAL 10 – 15 Cardiff, Wales NEW ORLEANS FILM FESTIVAL 11 – 19 New Orleans, USA

EVENTS TO DIARISE / 37

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NOVEMBER

CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL FILM MARKET & FESTIVAL 12 – 21 V&A Waterfront, Cape Town CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 12 – 26 Chicago, USA CARMEL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 18 – 22 Sunset Centre, California TALLGRASS FILM FESTIVAL 18 – 22 Kansas, USA SHNIT WORLDWIDE SHORTFILMFESTIVAL 18 – 29 8 Cities Internationally SAN JOSE INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL 19 – 22 San Jose, USA PHILADELPHIA FILM FESTIVAL 19 – 29 Philadelphia, USA VIENNALE (VIENNA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL) 19 – 2 Nov Vienna, Austria

LEEDS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 1 – 16 Leeds, United Kingdom

MOSTRA SAO PAULO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 20 – 2 Nov Sao Paulo, Brazil DISCOP JOHANNESBURG 25 – 27 Johannesburg, South Africa TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 25 – 3 Nov Tokyo, Japan AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL 26 – 2 Nov Austin, USA SOUTH AFRICAN HORRORFEST 26 – 3 Nov Cape Town, South Africa AFRICA IN MOTION 27 – 5 Nov Glasgow, Scotland SAVANNAH FILM FESTIVAL 28 – 4 Nov Savannah, USA AFRICA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 29 – 4 Nov Lagos, Nigeria

THESSALONIKI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2 – 12 Thessaloniki, Greece HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2 – 12 Hawaii, USA FORT LAUDERDALE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 3 – 19 Florida, USA CARTHAGE FILM FESTIVAL 4 – 11 Nov Carthage, Tunisia NAPA VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL 8 – 12 Napa, USA LONESTAR FILM FESTIVAL 8 – 12 Fort Worth, USA

DOC NYC 9 – 16 New York, USA AFI FEST 9 – 16 Los Angeles, USA KOLKATA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 10 – 17 Kolkata, India BLACK NIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL 11 – 27 Tallinn, Estonia BARCELONA INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL 14 – 20 Barcelona, Spain INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL AMSTERDAM 15 – 26 Amsterdam, Netherlands INTERFILM FESTIVAL 20 – 26 Berlin, Germany INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF INDIA 20 – 28 Goa, India

CUCALORUS FILM FESTIVAL 8 – 12 Wilmington, USA

CAIRO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 21 – 30 Cairo, Egypt

STOCKHOLM FILM FESTIVAL 8 – 19 Stockholm, Sweden

TORINO FILM FESTIVAL 24 – 2 Dec Torino, Italy

© Justin Roy / Unsplash

AMERICAN FILM MARKET & CONFERENCES 1–8 Santa Monica, USA

38 / ASSOCIATIONS NEWS

ASA AND AAN ATTEND DISCOP JOBURG

WPO SUPPORTS TRANSPARENT BIDDING

Animation SA’s Nick Cloete will be present at DISCOP along with the African Animation Network (AAN). A round table discussion titled Animation Unites Africa will take place on Wednesday, 25 October at 10:30am. The session will promote the diversity of the African animation industry and invite animation, visual effects, gaming and comics associations to explore possibilities of creating coproduction opportunities between African regions.

Confirmed delegates include: • Nick Wilson | AAN • Nick Cloete | Animation South Africa (ASA) • Mbuotidem Johnson | Animation Nigeria (AN) • Abel Kouamé | Association Ivoirienne du Film d’Animation (AIFA) • Wilfrid J. de Dieu Paré | l’Association Burkinabè du Cinéma d’Animation (ABCA) • Ayodele Elegba | Association of Comic Makers Nigeria

The World Producers Organisation, which held its annual summit at Cannes in late June, brought over 100 production company owners and executives from 34 different countries together to discuss pressing issues facing the global production industry.

“As a group there was absolute resolve that in order to deliver the highest quality product to marketers in the most efficient fashion, bidding procedures must be fully transparent,” WPO said in an official statement. “Major factors for transparency include marketer expectations such as disclosure for budget range, and complete knowledge of other bidding entities. The concern that advertising agency owned production entities could be involved as competitors continues to be of paramount concern to the industry, and is part of an ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice in the United States.”

“The open market…is the guarantor of value for advertisers. Anything that distorts that competitive balance…is contrary to the interests of advertisers – as well as being unfair to weight the scales against the production companies also bidding,” WPO concluded.

Other animation events scheduled during DISCOP include a Master Class on Inside Scoops from Animation Du Monde, presented by MIFA (Annecy Animation Festival), a pitching competition, and another Master Class called African Comic Books to Animation Feature Films. The animation programme will come to a close with the African Animation Cocktail Party on Friday, 27 October at 7:30pm.

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SAGA PRESENTS SUBMISSION FOR COPYRIGHT AMENDMENT BILL The South African Guild of Actors presented their oral submission to the Portfolio Committee for Trade and Industry on the Copyright Amendment Bill on 4 August 2017. “This is the first and only opportunity that we have a voice at the highest levels of legislation to push for performers’ rights,” the body said in a statement.

The outcome of this controversial bill could see authors of creative works hampered by suggesting that ‘users’ such as broadcasters and digital music services of copyright-protected material should enjoy the same privileges as the creators of said material.

This could seriously undermine creators, with particular concern centred around in an amended clause found throughout the

bill stating that “provided that, notwithstanding the transfer of copyright in a literary or musical work by the user, performer, owner, producer or author, the user, performer, owner, producer or author of such work shall have the right to claim an equal portion of the royalty payable for the use of such copyright work”. The use of ‘user’, according to copyright commentators, would give third parties the same rights – and by extension a cut of the royalties – as the author.

There is agreement, however, that the Copyright Act, originally formulated in 1978, needs to be amended in order to accommodate technological advances in the creative and broadcasting industries.

ASSOCIATIONS NEWS / 39

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CPA SPONSORS YDA AT CANNES

NFVF AIMS FOR A MORE INCLUSIVE APPROACH

The South African Guild fo Editors held a discussion at Durban International Film Festival on 20 July 2017 about different editing styles, how they serve story and emotion, and how some techniques are an invisible part of the narrative, while others call attention to it. The discussion also covered when it’s better to use a long take rather than a short montage, or jump cuts rather than seamless continuity.

Award-winning editors Nick Cstaras and Megan Gill led the conversation about the impact of editing styes on a story.

The Commercial Producers Association of South Africa was a sponsor of the Young Director Award at Cannes Lions – the only award dedicated to rising young directing talent.

Two South Africans won the award this year. Dan Mace was awarded a Silver Screen for Broadcast Africa for Finding 42 (produced by Groundglass) while Dirk van Niekerk was recognized with a Silver Screen for Charity Africa for Dead Fish Eyes (produced by 7 Films).

The National Film and Video Foundation has embarked on a new outreach programme to strengthen its relationship with local filmmakers. “We want to increase the industry’s understanding of our work, and build our own understanding of the challenges faced by filmmakers, so we’re looking at a two-way conversation,” NFVF CEO Zama Mkosi said during the Durban International Film Festival.

“We want to ensure that the film industry understands why we do what we do, and at the same time ensure we better understand the challenges they face. The environment has changed significantly since the NFVF was formed, and we want to ensure that we’re all working in the same direction… We can’t ignore the recent criticism of

our funding model, for example, so we’re embarking on a structured process to explain our strategy and processes, and find ways of increasing the impact of our funding and our marketing capacity.”

Mkosi will be scaling up the NFVF’s capacity to interact with the industry on a structured basis, and the Foundation will be running a series of road shows around the country to provide a platform for filmmakers to speak out but also to share critical information to empower filmmakers to access the services offered by the Foundation.

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40 / DIRECTORY

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+27 21 511 2333

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+27 83 538 3894

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39

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