Issue 02
Special Edition:
DIGI MAG
2013
Cloud VS. Server Storing Film Content Africa at the Oscars Reality TV in Africa In Production
vs.
LETTER
The
Callsheet Africa’s Leading Film Industry Magazine
The Callsheet at Your Fingertips – in Print and Online The Callsheet, africa’s leading film industry magazine, has always come to you each month on paper. But this month we’re highlighting the digital world with our feature article “Storing Film Content: Server vs. Cloud” and thought it would be fitting for the medium to fit the message. So for this issue only, The Callsheet is being distributed digitally. The next issue will be available in both forms, print and online, and will soon be joined by a brand new website we can’t wait to unveil. Welcome to a richer reading environment – with the visual impact of backlighting – and to the future of media. Thank you for your support! Kindly,
Lance Gibbons, Publisher
Maya Kulycky, Executive Editor
The
Callsheet Africa’s Leading Film Industry Magazine
www.thecallsheet.co.za
Publisher: Lance Gibbons lance@filmeventmedia.co.za Executive Editor: Maya Kulycky maya@filmeventmedia.co.za
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Proudly Published by
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Africa at the Oscars Major Grant to showcase African Films Records and Screening News Zululand AFDA Durban Campus
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CONTENTS
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You Need to Know Storing Film Content Reality TV in Africa In Production Opportunities
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Join us
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DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in The Event do not necessarily represent the official viewpoint of the editor or the publisher, while inclusion of adverts/advertising features does not imply endorsement of any business, product or service. Copyright of this material is reserved. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, The Event and/or its employees may not be held liable or responsible for any act or ommission committed by any person, including a juristic person, referred to in this publication. It and they furthermore accept(s) no responsibility for any liability arising out of any reliance that a reader of this publication places on the contents of this publication.
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www.thecallsheet.co.za THE CALLSHEET
| 01
NEWS
Africa at the
Oscars ‘Asad’
‘Asad’, a South African film shot on the west coast of Cape Town featuring Somali refugees, has received an Oscar nomination in the Best Short Film category. This film is collaboration between American director Bryan Buckley’s Hungry Man Films and Cape Town producer Rafiq Samsodien of The Asylum. ‘Asad’ follows the lives of ordinary people in a seaside village in Somalia, providing a glimpse into the daily struggles of ordinary Somalis living in a dysfunctional and failed state. Asad is a young boy faced with choices in a land where survival is a daily challenge.
‘Asad’ won Best Short Film awards at 13 festivals worldwide in 2012.
Bryan was inspired to make this film after visiting a UN refugee camp in Kenya. The film shows the often brutal nature of life for ordinary Somalis, and showcases a gentle sense of humour throughout the story. This creates a film which has as its essence a sense of hope, rather than despair. Due to the political instability in Somalia, Buckley decided to shoot the film in South Africa. ‘Asad’ won Best Short Film awards at 13 festivals worldwide in 2012.
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‘Searching for Sugar Man’ wasn’t made by Africans, but it is a story told by South Africans. In the documentary two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock musician, Rodriguez. ‘Searching for Sugar Man’ is one of four nominees in the Documentary Feature category. The Oscars will be televised live on Sunday, 24 February in more than 225 countries worldwide.
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‘Searching for Sugarman’
tweet
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join the conversation Give us your Oscar predictions!
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NEWS
MAJOR GRANT
Visit siff ! website
to Showcase African Films
A
frican filmmakers will be in the spotlight at the Seattle International Film Festival in the next three years. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded its 2012 multiyear grant for the “African Pictures” program to SIFF, which comprises the Seattle International Film Festival, SIFF Cinema and SIFF Education. The aim of the three-year commitment is to showcase African Films at SIFF, in Seattle, Washington in the United States. Recognized as one of the top film festivals in North America, the Seattle International Film Festival is the largest, most highly-attended film festival in the United States reaching more than 150,000 annually. The 25-day festival is renowned for its wide-ranging and eclectic programming presenting over 250 features and 150 short films from over 70 countries each year.
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This grant gives SIFF an unprecedented opportunity as a major international film festival to showcase a substantive program of indigenous films from Africa.
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SIFF will receive a total of $150,000 over a three-year period to showcase the diverse and burgeoning hotbed of filmmaking activity emerging across the continent of Africa. This grant gives SIFF an unprecedented opportunity as a major international film festival to showcase a substantive program of indigenous films from Africa. “Thanks to the Academy’s significant support of our “African Pictures” program”, says
SIFF Artistic Director Carl Spence,” SIFF will be able to dig deep across the African continent and greatly expand on our previous efforts in the region that we have been working on for several years.” Past African films that have received their North American Premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival include: ‘Tey’ (Senegal, 2012); ‘Otelo Burning’ (South Africa, 2011) and ‘Spud’ (South Africa, 2010); and ‘Imani’ (Uganda, 2009). Starting at SIFF 2013 (16 May – 9 June), a minimum of ten African feature films a year will be presented at the Seattle International Film Festival throughout the course of the threeyear program. The program will also include visits to SIFF from African filmmakers, who will be invited to engage with other filmmaking delegates from around the world and interact with audiences following their film screenings. SIFF will also take filmmakers into classrooms around the region as part of SIFF’s FutureWave education outreach program for K-12 and University students. SIFF Programmer Dustin Kaspar has been travelling in Africa, attending the Durban International Film Festival and Cairo International Film Festival. He will also attend FESPACO (February 2013). This will provide SIFF with the opportunity to build industry relationships and deepen programming while also facilitating a greater awareness of the treasures of contemporary African cinema to a broader audience in the United States.
‘Lucky’ (2011, South Africa), directed by Avie Luthra, screened at Seattle Film Festival 2012
Seattle is a multicultural city with inhabitants from around the globe including Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan. With this diversity comes an increased need to not only understand, but also appreciate, the cultures that influence the city. SIFF says that “African Pictures” will benefit festival-goers directly as well as provide a deeper understanding of indigenous issues and of important sociopolitical concerns on the African continent. The ambition and scope of “African Pictures” promotes cultural discourse through the medium of film and matches with SIFF’s mission to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world.
www.th ecal l sh eet.co .za T H E C A L L SH E E T
| 03
NEWS
‘Robert Mugabe...What Happened?’ at FEPASCO
S
pier Films/Zimmedia Production ‘Robert Mugabe… What Happened?’ has been selected in competition at the largest and oldest Panafrican Film & Television Festival in the World – the 23rd Festival Panafrican du Cinema et de la Televisionde Ouagadougou (FEPASCO), Burkina Faso. The documentary, ‘Robert Mugabe … What Happened?’ directed by Simon Bright and produced by Michael Auret had its World Premiere as the Opening Night film of the Encounters South Africa International Documentary Festival in CapeTown, South Africa and went on to be the most watched film at the 2011 event, with additional screenings being added to accommodate demand. Since then it has sold out at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam and will be the first African documentary to get a wide cinema release in the UK. Billed as the definitive account of Mugabe’s life, it dramatically illustrates his successful
liberation and development of the country but also his ruthless and cunning retention of power at all costs. The film moved on to the Durban International Film Festival on the 23rd July then onto the Tri-Continental Film Festival in Johannesburg, South Africa in September with a limited
Bond Continues to Break Records
theatrical run in South Africa. Experts on Zimbabwe interviewed in the documentary include Trevor Ncube, Geoff Nyarota, Lovemore Maduku, Simba Makoni and the recently deceased Edgar Tekere in his last interview.
vindarajulu, “It is extremely encouraging to see that a franchise which has just celebrated its 50th anniversary still has mass appeal and is able to attract audiences from almost all age groups. This is testament to a brand that has evolved along with its fans and these are incredibly positive signs for future Bond releases.”
“ KYFALL’, the 23rd film in the Bond franchise, has had the biggest African opening for a Bond film of all time in November. Now it’s continuing its record-breaking run. ‘SKYFALL’ is now the biggest Bond movie ever and the biggest film of all time for SPRI (Sony Pictures Releasing International) in South Africa, ahead of recent box-office phenomenon, ‘The Smurfs (3D)’. It is heading towards R35 million at the South African box-office.
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‘SKYFALL’ has five Oscar nominations, including Best Original Song by Adele, who will be performing the song live at the 85th Academy Awards ceremony. Starring Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Dame Judie Dench, Albert Finney as well as Naomie Harris and Bérénice Marlohe, ‘SKYFALL’ is directed by Sam Mendes who has already signed on to direct another 3 Bond films. Says SPRI Marketing Manager, Bashan Go-
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‘SKYFALL’ is now the biggest Bond movie ever and the biggest film of all time for SPRI (Sony Pictures Releasing International) in South Africa.
NEWS Film Office Manager Aims to Put Spotlight on
dation Sediba’s finance course for producers, and won two awards at the Durban FilmMart in 2011 as one of three best emerging producers in Africa and the “Best Pitch” award for a feature film called ‘This Boy’, for which she was the executive producer. The Film Office Manager facilitates and drives all objectives of the office, which include promoting and marketing the Northern KwaZulu-Natal districts as prime locations for stills and film photography to local and international companies by offering the necessary support. Strategic objectives of the film office are to promote and market the Zulu Coast region, create an enabling environment for the creative industry to do business in the region, capitalise on provincial, national and international film support opportunities, contribute and facilitate film industry skills development training initiatives, improve local infrastructure and boost
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Hopefully the Zululand Office will focus the efforts of the northern part of the province, and allow filmmakers to tap into those opportunities, creating significant regional momentum for filmmakers.
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he Zulu Coast Film Office (ZCFO) based in Richards Bay and managed by uThungulu District Municipality and the Mhlosinga Development Agency (uMkhanyakude), has appointed a Film Office Manager who is meant to put the Zulu Coast on the map. Noxy Mavundla has been in the film industry for a decade. She has a BA degree in Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance from AFDA (the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance). During this time, Noxy worked in the industry as production co-ordinator, manager, lineproducer, and producer and has had her own production company, Bancamile Productions. Noxy also has a production budgeting and scheduling certificate from Monash University, attended the National Film and Video Foun-
Zululand
the economy of the region. The filmmaking economic impact on an area is enormous and can bring in to the region estimated revenue of more than a million rand per feature film production. Together with the support of the National Film and Video Foundation, Department of Trade and Industry and various other funding bodies, the office plans for the next two years 2013 – 2014 to run programmes, workshops and training initiatives that will aim at empowering and offering assistance to emerging filmmakers and to people who are interested in knowing and learning more about the industry. Consultant Martin Cuff says, “In the last couple of years, the Durban FilmMart has emerged as the leading developmental event on the continent, the legal wrangling over the Natal Command site has been settled opening the way for a world-class film studio to be
Zululand Office Manager Noxy Mavundla
built and the KZN Film Commission has been formally launched, drawing even more attention to the province. On top of that there are a whole range of other activities - from the DTI incentive programme, to regional television, to training, a collaborative regional approach from the NFVF – that offer KZN Filmmakers a fresh and exciting new workspace for developing their projects in 2013. And that doesn’t even begin to cover the untapped opportunities for delivering Zulu language product to a Zulu-speaking audience that’s around 10 million strong (approx. the same size population as Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia etc.) Hopefully the Zululand Office will focus the efforts of the northern part of the province, and allow filmmakers to tap into those opportunities, creating significant regional momentum for filmmakers.”
www.th ecal l sh eet.co .za T H E C A L L SH E E T
| 05
NEWS
New AFDA Campus Staffed by Industry Veterans
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…being taught and guided by people who have worked in their respective fields, adds a richness to the experience of learning that no book or website can match...
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here is a new opportunity for aspiring young filmmakers and students in Kwazulu-Natal. AFDA (the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance) has opened its third campus in South Africa, in Glen Anil, Durban. The campus will be staffed by seasoned industry veterans. This will allow students to receive training in theory and also to polish their practical skills. Award-winning film director and producer Richard Green has been appointed Head of the Film School. Franco Human will move from the Cape Town campus to Durban to take up the position as Dean of School in Durban. Rajesh Gopie, award-winning playwright, director and actor will head the Live Performance School, and Janet van Eeden, award-winning scriptwriter and educator has been appointed Head of Academic coursework and assessment.
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The new AFDA campus in Durban means that talent will stay in KZN and grow to what will be the industry of the future...
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For Gopie this is a new step and an opportunity to reconnect with the community. “Accepting this position as head of live performance is a bold step for me. But this heralds an exciting new phase in my life and I am looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead and growing a new generation of live performance practitioners. AFDA allows me to hone my teaching skills and teaching is a two way process, inevitably the teacher is also the learner at many points in the process.” Gopie also believes that this new learning facility may very well change the KZN film industry to one that would be a sound competitor to the rest. “Durban is lacking behind JHB and Cape Town, industry wise. Hopefully AFDA and my involvement will address this imbalance aggressively so that KZN talent is up there with the rest of the country. The new AFDA campus in Durban means that talent will stay in KZN and grow to what will be the industry of the future.” With a string of well-known films to his name including ‘Spud’,’ District 9’ and ‘Otelo Burning’, Durban-based director/producer Richard Green, brings knowledge and experience to his new role. His most recent project was working alongside producer Anant Singh as assistant director on the film adaptation of the renowned biography a ‘Long Walk to Freedom’, which is currently in post-production.
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Janet Van Eeden, who is presently doing her PhD in English at University of KwaZulu-Natal, where she has lectured for many years, is a winner of the Vodacom Journalist of the Year Award for the northern/southern regions as a columnist for The Sunday Independent. “My full time post at AFDA means I’ll be even more focussed on working with students which I love. This is the perfect marriage of theory and practice. It’s a privilege to teach what I love to do most of all.” Experienced producer and film-maker Franco Human, who is currently the head of the producing department of AFDA Cape Town and the undergraduate course director, has been with AFDA for 10 years has produced many short films, theatre musical productions, a celebrity campaign for M-Net and the SABC and a television series for CTV. “We are really pleased with the strong core staff contingent we have appointed,” says Chairman of AFDA, Garth Holmes. “All these positions have been filled with people who have both academic and practical industry experience on many levels, and we trust that they will bring a dynamic and hands-on approach to the learning processes at the school. Students can always draw their information from a myriad sources, but being taught and guided by people who have worked in their respective fields, adds a richness to the experience of learning that no book or website can match.” For more information about AFDA contact Milena Gevers on milenag@afda.co.za or call 031 569 2252.
NEWS
You Need to Read…
About the End of the Cable Model
B
usiness Insider and Forbes are reporting that Intel is “Going to Destroy The Cable Model By Offering People The Ability To Subscribe To Individual Channels”. The Business Insider article, by Jay Yarow, reports that Intel will offer its own set-top box and unbundled cable service and that this could have a massive effect on the industry as it is something “consumers around the world have been wanting for a long, long time.”
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This will be the first time that consumers will be able to subscribe to content per channel. Consumers may also be able to subscribe per show.
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Industry insiders tell Business Insider that the box will be available to a limited number of consumers in March and will offer cable channels delivered “over the top” to televisions “anywhere there is an Internet connection regardless of provider.” This will be the first time that consumers will be able to subscribe to content per channel. Consumers may also be able to subscribe per show. This would be a game-changer for the industry.
On the Move…
Grant De Sousa
1 Service, equipment and technology provider Panalux has announced the appointment of Kenny Smith as Managing Director of its South African operations. Panalux stated,“Kenny is a long standing, highly regarded member of the Panalux senior management team and his appointment as Managing Director is a natural progression following many years of dedicated service, loyalty and the undoubted ability he has demonstrated during his time with the company.” 2 Grant De Sousa has joined South African production company Frieze Films. Grant has produced award-winning commercials during his six-year directing career. He is a recipient of the Cannes CFP-E / Shots Young Director Award, M-Net VUKA! Award, and the Creative Social Advertising Award from Humandoc International Film Festival in Poland. 3 Production company Egg Films has announced that Sunu has returned to South Africa. Sunu spent the last seven years in Hollywood developing feature films. While there, he directed Lionsgate’s award-winning feature film, ‘Pride’, starring Terrence Howard and Bernie Mac, and is expecting to direct his second feature film, ‘Riding with Sugar’, in South Africa later this year.
Read the full article here!
www.th ecal l sh eet.co .za T H E C A L L SH EE T
| 07
Storing Film Industry Content
Server or Cloud? By Kevin Kriedmann
Understanding a server-based digital workflow To understand how post production companies are dealing with the challenges of storing content, I spoke to Priest producer Cal Kingwill and Collective Dream engineering manager Gareth Havard, as well as two data storage specialists: Syntech director Ryan Martyn and Digital Depot’s Ashleigh Martyn. While cloud computing hovers on the horizon, for now hard-drive based backup solutions remain the industry standard. “Storage servers are extremely important to an in-house collaborative workflow, where we
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In our new digital era, it’s not an exaggeration to say that how you store digital content can make or break your company.
memory card for storage
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ost creatives have a horror story about technology. Mine goes like this: Once upon a time, I tried to write a novel. Having heard horror stories, I kept one copy on my laptop, another on my email at work, another on my iPad, and another on a USB flash drive. I was about halfway through the novel I deleted the email copy. Then my wife was in a rush and needed a USB flash drive, and I let her copy over the novel. Then someone broke into my flat and stole my laptop. And my iPad. No more novel. I still don’t like to talk about it. I’m still rewriting the novel. It was a nightmare, but at least it was just my time that was lost. I don’t want to imagine how it feels when your computer corrupts the millions of rands worth of footage on it, when you’re on deadline for a client, when the footage in question can never be recreated. In our new digital era, it’s not an exaggeration to say that how you store digital content can make or break your company.
have offline editing, online editing, grade and finishing, VFX and audio working on the same project,” says Gareth. “They give us the ability to share common data between these different platforms and workflow stages, reducing the risk when undertaking huge data movement and allowing more time to work with the media, rather than wait for copies to complete.” But the downside is “the infrastructure required, the cost upfront and costly, complicated, and fragmented route to increasing capacity and performance. While it’s simple to throw in a two terabyte NAS from the local electrical shop, this will not give you redundancy in power or data and will lack the processing power to serve many clients reliably.” Cal agrees. “Servers are costly. There is a high startup cost. They need maintenance and constant upgrading to create more space.” Gareth says the cost of an industrial setup like Collective Dream runs into millions of rands and requires dedicated staff to support it.
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Best practice is to keep at least two copies of content, with one stored off-site. This is becoming a prerequisite for insurance. “It’s worth looking into your insurance policy to see if they cover data loss without you having at least two hard drive backups and/or an LTO backup,” says Ashleigh. For example, KEU Underwriting Insurers specify that footage (“being a true copy of the original format [i.e. SF, CF or Solid State drive]”) must be downloaded onto the DIT’s laptop, then backed up to two separate external hard drives, with both backups being retained in their original form until offline or online editing is completed and approved.
FEATURE
G Technology External hard-drive
step 1
Footage is recorded in a digital format, either to flash memory cards like CF, SxS or SSD or directly to HDD RAID array via a live feed. step Your DIT makes multiple copies of this 2 footage to minimize your risk of data loss. Ryan recommends using high-speed card readers, like the QIO range from Sonnet, for this initial transfer. It’s standard to transfer your footage onto two professional hard drives and take one off-site. Gareth says, “It is vitally important to copy direct from the source media to the backup drives via the computer and not copy to the computer’s internal drive first. If you ‘copy a copy,’ you introduce the risk of backing up a corrupted frame/sequence to both backups. If you copy direct from source to backup drives, you halve the risk of failure.” step Ryan and Ashleigh both recommend 3 that a copy of the raw data is also written to an LTO tape for immediate archive. step Your post-production facility will copy 4 your footage from the hard drive to a centralized backup system, such as a DAS, NAS or SAN. “These are generally RAIDed and can offer fool-proof security for your data, as well as much higher capacities and faster performance,” says Ashleigh. However, Gareth warns, “In my experience
you shouldn’t get complacent with RAIDed storage. Although it’s fast and would usually have a minimum fault tolerance for a single drive failure, if more than one drive fails in the RAID - and it does happen! - you may well lose all your data, in which case I hope that you have backed up sufficiently.” step Once the edit is finished and approved, 5 data can be archived to LTO. Ryan explains, “Archiving is different to backup in the sense that a backup is a tool that protects
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against the loss of current data, while an archive is simply a stage location, which holds content that is no longer needed on a daily basis. By introducing an archive, users can free up space on storage used for current content. This means that users no longer need to buy hard drives for every job and can rather invest in better quality RAID storage.” step The hard drives used on set can be 6 cleared and re-used for the next job.
Best practice is to keep at least two copies of content, with one stored off-site. This is becoming a prerequisite for insurance.
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It’s essential that you clarify upfront whose responsibility this data storage will be. For example, Cal says she specifies on quotation that Priest is not responsible for the lifetime storage of rushes, although they do not delete files before checking that the master files/ rushes are in safekeeping with the client, either on hard drive or LTO. She says Priest also still try hold onto rushes on projects they expect to be recycled. The standard, best-practice workflow seems to be:
www.th ecal l sh eet.co .za T H E C A L L SH EET
| 09
our RAID y g n si
beginners guide to
geek-speak
stands for Digital Imaging Technician, a relatively new job description that didn’t exist in the days of film. These are the people on set who are responsible for transferring and managing the image data, as well as advising on how to get the best from the digital cameras. DITS are sometimes called data wranglers.
Ch oo
DIT This
How many users need to access the storage
DAS
This stands for Direct Attached Storage, a type of RAIDed centralized backup system recommended for companies that only require one user to access the storage. Ryan explains, “Most users in the film industry opt for DAS, which allows one user to connect directly to the RAID storage. DAS systems like Datatale, Sonnet, G-Tech and Netstor are relatively inexpensive and are differentiated by their capacity, expandability and interface.”
INTERFACE
The storage interface is essentially the connection between the computer and the storage device. “A faster interface provides the user better performance and ultimately enables the editor to work with higher resolution content,” says Ryan.
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no
NAS SAN
SAN
yes
no On a budget?
NAS
LTO
This stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. Ryan explains, “RAID allows multiple hard drives to work together, with benefits including faster performance, more capacity and data protection in the event of a hard drive failure.” Ashleigh adds that RAID can provide anything between two terabytes and several petabytes of storage space.
yes
Editing directly from storage?
Portable digital storage devices. Ryan says, “Relatively inexpensive, hard-drives are easy to read and write from, but they only have a shelf-life of 2-3 years.” Ashleigh recommends G-Tech or LaCie hard-drives.
RAID
High Res files?
DAS
HARD-DRIVE
This stands for Linear Tape-Open, a magnetic tape data storage technology. Ryan says, “For archiving, there is still not real substitute for LTO tape. The tapes are not designed for constant access but offer excellent long-term storage. Content can be extracted up to 25 years later.” He adds that Xendata and Tolis Bru offer some “excellent archiving hardware and software.”
1 2-16 16+
yes no
SAN NAS
NAS
SAN
NAS
A type of RAIDed centralized backup system, so an alternative to DAS or SAN. It sits on a network and is accessible to all connected computers. “In environments where multiple users need to access the same content, users opt for either NAS or SAN,” says Ryan. “NAS is great for sharing content but is typically not fast enough for direct editing (unless connected with 10Gbe). Users are therefore required to copy data from the NAS to a DAS before they can edit.” He recommends Thecus as a NAS brand worth exploring.
SAN
A type of RAIDed centralized backup system, so an alternative to DAS or NAS, generally used in environments where multiple users need to access the same content. “Most SANs use Fibre Channel to connect centralised RAID storage to multiple users,” says Ryan. “This type of environment is very fast and generally rather expensive to install but makes it possible for multiple editors to work concurrently on very high quality content. Sharing content through SAN can significantly reduce time for post-production and therefore reduce operating costs.” He recommends investigating brands like Sonnet, ATTO, Netstor and Tiger Technology for your SAN solution.
TERRABYTE
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1024 gigabytes
ethernet cable as interface
Understanding cloud storage “With cloud storage, you are able to access your data from any web browser, which provides amazing accessibility and flexibility,” says Ashleigh. Ryan agrees. “This is a great tool to share completed content or low resolution video like a proxy or clip for the web.” Gareth says Collective Dream is currently in the process of updating their backup workflows to copy data directly offsite to Lasernet’s Distributed Cloud Solution. Media Host is another cloud storage provider Priest is familiar with. “We’re backing up to Lasernet’s cloud servers for short-term online backup and where necessary adding content management with the Clear platform for consumer access to the media,” Gareth explains.
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Cloud storage is a great advancement in technology but right now it’s not the most effective way of storing large amounts of data in South Africa.
amounts of data in South Africa. Firstly you’d need an extremely fast internet connection to backup HD footage and secondly you’d need to purchase a huge amount of space to store it all. At the moment, hard drives are cheaper than cloud and their cost continues to decrease. They also don’t require a recurring subscription or bandwidth-usage, as cloud storage does.” However, Gareth says there are solutions available. “Uploads to Lasernet’s servers can reach 1Gigabit per second via fibre connection to their local data centre, allowing us to upload terabytes of camera media overnight with no problem. Cloud storage is very useful and cost effective. Even with the relatively low internet bandwidth available in South Africa, if you subscribe to a media network, movement of large volume data is as manageable as moving around our facility.” However, not everyone can afford these kinds of speeds. “For end users to access the material in the cloud, then a content management system needs to be in place to supply more manageable compressed files to con-
FEATURE sumers,” he says. For Gareth, the downside of cloud storage is the challenge of scaling up performance. “The best cloud service available would be limited to the same performance we get from a Ethernetbased NAS,” he says. “When you increase your bandwidth requirements to serving high performance post production systems, the only answer is to step up to faster interfaces such as Fibre channel or the newly emerging 10Gig Ethernet. To throw in a comparison, where our cloud service can provide 1GB per minute (and that’s the cutting edge of cloud services), we have a number of systems requiring 1GB per second, every second reliably.” For Cal, one big advantage of servers compared to the cloud is that they allow Priest to retain control of their data and security, rather than being at the mercy of their cloud provider. “With cloud, the provider has complete control over how your data is stored, whereas with hard drives, you do,” explains Ashleigh. “It’s very important to read the privacy policy and terms and conditions of any cloud storage agreement.”
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South Africa’s bandwidth limitations remain the main barrier to cloud. The latest Ookla index ranked South Africa 63rd out of 64 countries when it came to the cost per MBps of bandwidth – only Venezuela was worse off. In terms of speed, in 2012 ITWebAfrica reported that South African speeds were ranked 114th in the world and just sixth in Africa, behind Ghana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Libya and Madagascar. South Africa had an average download speed of 2.85mbps, well below the average rolling mean throughput around the globe of 10.26 Mbps “At this point, because of our bandwidth limitations, the cloud’s not feasible for storing large amounts of data or content which is changed regularly,” says Ryan. Ashleigh agrees. “Cloud storage is a great advancement in technology but right now it’s not the most effective way of storing large www.th ecal l sh eet.co .za T H E C A L L SHE E T
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TRENDS
Reality TV in Africa Heats Up
Winning team ‘Who Dares Wins’ having a laugh Images by Stephen C Photography
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There’s been a clear rise in African viewership of reality television shows over the past decade. With only ten TV sets per 100 people in Africa, watching TV is seen as a social event.
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n a cool, breezy night in Cape Town, South Africa a crowd has gathered around a large piece of meat on the grill. You might expect them to be talking about upcoming holidays or their families, but they’re not. They’re talking business – the big business of African reality television. This isn’t a family braai (barbecue). It’s the wrap party for ‘The Ultimate Braai Master’, South Africa’s first original reality-based television series. ‘The Ultimate Braai Master’ is just one of a number of television shows that have been created to keep up with Africa’s (and the world’s) insatiable appetite for reality television. There’s been a clear rise in African viewership of reality television shows over the past decade. With only ten TV sets per 100 people in Africa, watching TV is seen as a social event. Friends and family gather around to take part in the popular pastime. ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’, ‘Masterchef’, ‘Idols’, ‘Survivor’, and ‘Big Brother’ are among the reality shows that have garnered a successful African following in countries such as South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Nigeria. “When Multichoice launched in 47 countries in 1995, the nudity, drunken nights, sex, romance, fights, political debates, and personality clashes were a producers dream, but the innocence of the airwaves had never before experienced such a cocktail of exhibitionists, entertainers and personalities to an audience of over 30 million viewers”, says journalist Melinda Ozongwu. It’s not surprising that reality shows draw an African audience, though “generally an African country’s program lineup on a terrestrial station will be less provocative and more conservative than that of your average world-wide local or terrestrial station,” continues Ozongwu.
What is surprising is the multitude of unique African reality shows, or spin-offs, produced over the past few years. ‘Masterchef’, ‘Come Dine with Me’, ‘Survivor’, and ‘Idols’ are just a few of the many franchised reality
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shows that have found loyal viewers in Africa. ‘Big Brother Africa’ is currently auditioning for its eighth season, for instance. “The demand from audiences for ‘Big Brother Africa’ continues undimmed… viewers want to see unscripted television, as it happens, with normal people that they can relate to dealing with completely familiar emotional concepts – happiness, frustration, success, failure, hope, anxiety, friendship, opportunity, and of course, love,” says M-Net Africa Managing Director Biola Alabi. Known as the most voyeuristic reality show currently on African TV Channels, the ’15 minutes of fame’ on ‘Big Brother Africa’ is often more in demand than the prize money. While many governments have considered banning ‘Big Brother Africa’, the ratings made it apparent that viewership of the show isn’t affected by negative press and threats. Unique African reality shows, such as Tanzanianproduced ‘Growing up in Africa’, have also received great ratings from local audiences. Nigerian actress Otomola Jalade Ekeinde stars in ‘The Real Me’, a reality show that draws par-
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Idols winner Khaya Mthethwa at Durban International Convention Centre
and recently shattered the records of Africa Magic Entertainment as the most watched TV show of all time. It premiered in November 2012. Meanwhile, South African actress Kelly Khumalo recently starred in her own reality TV show, ‘Rolling with Kelly’, and Nelson Mandela’s granddaughters also have a reality show currently in production, proving that viewers tuning in to the scripted exaggerations of high profile civilians’ daily lives is a worldwide trend. As our Braai Masters start turning their meat our conversation shifts from the rise of African celebrity shows to the demand for more unique and quintessentially South African reality shows. In Africa, the business of creating unique reality shows is growing. Production of action shows such as ‘Way of the Warrior’ and cooking shows like ‘The Ultimate Braai Master’ demonstrate that African audiences crave unique story ideas. ‘The Ultimate Braai Master’ is South Africa’s first original reality-based television series. ‘Ultimate Braai Master’ was able to secure partnerships and sponsorships with large corporations including Pick n Pay, Renault, Coca Cola, and Sun International, for its first season.
With the increase of unique reality shows in Africa and African interest in franchised reality shows, is the African film industry is benefitting from this surge in reality TV viewership?
South African/ American produced ‘Clifton Shores’
It also had 7000 hopefuls enter the competition that included outdoor cooking challenges in an extreme 52-day, 800km road trip. New to reality TV, executive producer Peter Gird says it was the most rewarding thing he’s ever done and describes ‘The Ultimate Braai Master’ as the “first unique reality show made in South Africa, for South Africans, by South Africans”. Drawing from South Africa’s rich cultural diversity, the great outdoors and the vibrant history, ‘The Ultimate Braai Master’ was able to bring people together through South Africa’s unique national pastime, braaing. Auditions are currently underway for the second season. Though reality TV is not South Africa’s first choice in TV genres, there is ample comment and proof of a loyal audience dedicated to this genre. With the increase of unique reality shows in Africa and African interest in franchised reality shows, is the African film industry is benefitting from this surge in reality TV viewership? Of course the investment in African economies and local production houses is welcome, but will it grow? Over the past decade there has been a tremendous improvement in the South African TV Industry, both in local productions and international interest. South African/Ameri-
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Nigerian Reality TV show ‘Growing up in Africa’
TRENDS
can produced ‘Clifton Shores’ brought foreign capital and used local crew and cast. It has recently been picked up by an American TV Channel. Its high production value has been well received within the South African TV industry. According to SA producer Quinton Van Der Bergh, African audiences could see a second season in production soon. Watching braai meat sizzling on the grid, the crowd sits in a contemplative silence trying to predict where this growth will take the African TV Industry. Improvements in digital filmmaking and distribution will surely have an effect on the accessibility and availability of Reality TV. As the Braai Masters give each other a final nod of satisfaction everyone makes their way toward the tables, leaving thoughts to burn on the cooling coals.
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FACTS ABOUT SA TV
GENERATIONS
the most popular programme on SA TV
1%
population that watches TV via mobile
SABC 1
the most popular channel (79.1% of viewers
3
reality TV ranks 3rd as most popular pay TV genre
tweet join the conversation What do you think about Reality TV in Africa?
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| 13
IN PRODUCTION
February
‘Mad Dogs’
2013 fidential’ meets ‘Crash’.”
Thanks to ever-present confidentiality clauses, no one is allowed to officially talk about what’s in production in Africa, so our monthly section is an unofficial overview of the industry’s worst-kept secrets.
‘MAD DOGS’
February sees Out of Africa Entertainment start production on a new season of ‘Mad Dogs’, produced by Left Bank Pictures and coproduced by Palma Pictures for Sky1. Starring Max Beesley (‘Glitter’, ‘Torque’), Philip Glenister (‘Calendar Girls’, ‘Kingdom of Heaven’), John Simm (‘Human Traffic’, ‘Life on Mars’) and Marc Warren (‘The Good Wife’, ‘Hustle’), the critically-acclaimed series was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Drama Serial in 2011 and won the Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best MultiChannel Programme in 2012. It’s expected to end in early March 2012.
‘VEVE’
In Kenya, Simon Mukali will be busy directing ‘Veve’, the fourth film to emerge from the One Film Day Film Workshops, a collaboration between German director Tom Twyker’s One Fine Day Films and Ginger Ink, supported by The Deutsche Welle Academy. The first two - Hawa Essuman’s ‘Soul Boy’ and David Tosh Gitonga’s ‘Nairobi Half Life’ – were both criticallyacclaimed award-winners. Ginger Wilson from Ginger Ink described ‘Veve’ as an ensemble piece about drugs: “like ‘Traffic’ meets ‘LA Conmissions throughout the globe.
‘BLACK SAILS’ Film Afrika is still shooting ‘Black Sails’, a ‘Treasure Island’ prequel set 20 years earlier than Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel. Toby Stephens, the son of Dame Maggie Smith, stars as Captain Flint; Luke Arnold (‘The Pacific’) plays John Silver; and Tom Hopper (‘Merlin’) is Billy Bones, while other faces you might recognize include Zach McGowan (‘Shameless’) and Nigerian/South African star Hakeem Kae Kazim. It’s expected to shoot at Cape Town Film Studios until around May 2013.
‘STRIKE BACK 4’
Out of Africa are still filming the fourth season of ‘Strike Back’, which is expected to move to Durban in February 2013. A collaboration between Sky and Cinemax HBO, ‘Strike Back’ follows Section 20, a secretive unit of the British Secret Intelligence Service, on their high-risk
1 We’d love to know what’s happening on
‘Kite’, a live action adaptation of a 1998 Japanese anime of the same name, expected to star Samuel L. Jackson (‘Pulp Fiction’, ‘The Avengers’). It was supposed to be shooting in Johannesburg early this year, but 60-year-old director David R. Ellis (‘Snakes on a Plane’, ‘The Final Destination’) passed away in his hotel in the city in January while preparing for the shoot.
2 Spier Films are producing a South Af-
rican/Irish co-production, which will start shooting in February. Details are still under wraps though.
3 There’s also a lot of talk online about an adaptation of Mark Mathabane’s autobiography, ‘Kaffir Boy’, a former Oprah Book club selection about a tennis prodigy during Apartheid. IMDB links Connie Nielsen (‘Gladiator’, ‘Boss’), Arnold Vosloo (‘Blood Diamond’, ‘The Mummy’), and Lerato Mvelase (‘Life’, ‘Above All’) to roles, with Scott Hillenbrand (‘National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze’) directing. No word yet on who the local production company involved will be.
‘Strike Back’
‘VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY’
Dylan Voogt’s new company, Stage 5 Films, is shooting ‘Voyage of Discovery’, a four-minute short film for large format public space, co-directed by South Africans Corne and Rene van Rooyen with Montreal-based Melissa Weigel. Melissa’s company, Moment Factory, is an award-winning new media and entertainment company, which organized The New York Times’ Concert of 2012 for Jay-Z.
14 | T HE C ALLSHEET
RLY P A R T I C U L AM E D UNCONFIR ION SPECULAT
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We’d like to hear from you!
Share production updates or news to The Callsheet at editor@thecallsheet.co.za.
OPPORTUNITIES Click here for more info
deadCENTER Film Festival Now Accepting Entries Click here for more info
The 2013 deadCENTER Film Festival is now accepting entries for its annual event. Narrative features and shorts, documentary features,
animation, student films, Oklahoma films and short films will be considered. The official deadline is February 25, 2013. The festival will take place June 5-9, 2013. The objective of the deadCENTER Film Festival is to promote, encourage, and celebrate the independent film arts. This year, the festival will celebrate its 13th year of bringing quality independent films to Oklahoma and providing a nationally recognized platform for filmmakers to share their work.
Open Casting Call to Star in Afrikaans Film Click here for more info
The much-anticipated start of the Afrikaans film DIE WINDPOMP has commenced in Cape Town, and the producers and Nu Metro are searching for a young naturalactress to star in the film. In its search for new talent, ZenHQ Films is holding open call auditions simultaneously in Johannesburg and Cape Town on February 23. The audition is open to all Afrikaans speaking girls age 16 – 24, with or without acting experience to play the role of the beautiful and free spirited Margot. Die Windpomp is a quirky, beautiful and
NFVF Vacancy Position: Executive PA Reporting to: Chief Executive Officer Requirements: • Secretarial qualification with 5 years experience at a senior level • Excellent organisational skills and ability to multi-task • Excellent oral and written communication skills • Excellent Computer skills • Attention to detail • Proven ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines • Mature person with ability to work unsuper-
endearing Afrikaans love story with an unexpected twist, and will be released nationwide this winter through Nu Metro. Hopefuls need to first go to ZenHQ Films’ website, click on the Open Call Auditions icon for more information, and email a recent photo and CV. Those selected will be sent a scene from the script to prepare and will be informed of the secret location of the audition. ZenHQ Films is an award winning production company based in Cape Town with offices in Los Angeles, and has been involved in such film and TV projects as Stander, Hotel Rwanda, Clifton Shores, Charlie Jade, Darfur and the soon to be released films 3 Pegs and The Forgotten Kingdom. For more information contact Lee-Ann Cotton below in Cape Town. Tel: 021-790-1737 Cell: 082-855-2529
vised Suitably qualified and experienced candidates are invited to submit their abridged curriculum vitae via email to vacancies@nfvf.co.za or fax on 0865197585 by no later than 20 February 2013. Applicants who have not been contacted within six weeks from the closing date of this advert should assume their application was unsuccessful. Only interviewed candidates will be advised of the outcome of the interview.
National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund has recently put out a request for funding applica-
4th Durban Filmmart Project Submission The closing date for Durban FilmMart (DFM) project applications is 15th February 2013. African filmmakers are encouraged to submit their film project material. Producers with projects in development are encouraged to apply for this valued pitching opportunity, and co-production event. Ten fiction projects and ten documentary projects will be selected for oneon-one meetings with potential investors and co-producers in the Finance Forum at DFM 2013. Documentary projects will also be pitched to a panel of commissioning editors and funders in the DOC Circle Pitching Forum hosted in partnership with the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam. Entry is open to: • Projects in which the producer, director or writer is an African citizen. Proof of African citizenship or birth must be provided through a certified copy of a valid African passport/ birth certificate; • Africans living in the Diaspora, but who still have African citizenship or have proof of birth in Africa; • Projects with a producer attached.
tions. The Trust has asked the Cape Film Commission (CFC) to partner with them during this next round of applications to specifically look at the film sector. The intention will be to focus on projects and proposals from upcoming filmmakers from marginalised and disadvantaged backgrounds. However, the applicants are not limited by these criteria. The closing date for applications will be 12 April 2013. The Trust does not fund CC or PTY companies. However, it does fund organisations such as ourselves i.e. an independent Not for Profit Company. Should you be interested in being part of this process, contact the CFC via email no later than 4pm on Friday 1st March 2013 at info@capefilmcommission.co.za
www.th ecal l sh eet.co .za T H E C A L L SH EE T
| 15
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