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MONTHLY NEWS ON BROADCAST, FILM, COMMERCIAL, NEW MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY
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VOL 22 – August 2010 R32.00
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2010 World Cup pay off?
Now that the 2010 Fifa World
Cup is finally over, it is time
for South Africans to remove
the national flag from their
cars and count the cost of the
‘beautiful’ event. The biggest
winner, according to
economists, is Fifa, who has
been left with a minimum
profit of R15bn. For South
Botswana
series
relocates
Production of the
television series, No 1
Ladies Detective Agency,
will no longer take place
in Gaborone, Botswana.
The producers of the
series, Film Afrika,
decided to relocate the
production to Cape Town
after the Cape Film
Commission (CFC)
offered attractive
incentives. Originally the
Botswana government
planned to introduce a
rebate system to stimulate
the country’s film
industry but this did not
materialise.
“After lengthy
discussions with the
Botswana government
and promises to introduce
a film rebate, there is still
no official rebate in
place,” says Film Afrika
producer Vlokkie
Gordon.
– to page 49
Africa, the investment of
R30bn plus is expected to
bring a direct return of a few
hundred million rands in
stadium rentals. It is hoped
that the feel-good factor with
which international soccer fans
left the country will boost
tourism in the future. The
successful hosting of this world
event will possibly also
generate new investment in the
country.
But did the World Cup pay
off for the South African
filmmaking and production
service industry? Many
companies invested in facilities
and equipment in anticipation
of higher demand for their
services prior and during the
event. To assess the financial
impact of the World Cup on
the industry, Screen Africa did a
survey of companies working
in production, rentals,
equipment sales, studios and
post-production.
Rentals and equipment sales
company Visual Impact’s
World Cup related work was
much smaller than originally
anticipated. Says Goran
Music: “In our experience
most of the international
broadcasters brought in large
quantities of their own
equipment, or they contracted
suppliers with whom they had
an existing relationship. “Notwithstanding, we did
have a substantial amount of
work related directly and
indirectly to the World Cup
event. Our busiest department
was our Broadcast Workshop,
which was swamped by
numerous requests for service
support on a daily basis.”
– to page 51
Bass wins
Hubert Bals
Fund Award
specially selected for the
market.
Says Bass: “The Hubert Bals
Fund has supported so many
major and innovative
filmmakers that it is an honour
to be included among them.
Of course the financial
support will kick start the
funding process we are about
to embark on, but more than
that it is an affirmation for our
crazy film, and I don't think a
price tag can be attached to
that.”
Tok Tokkie takes place in
Cape Town and follows a
night in the life of The Black
Cross – a team of misfits and
dropouts who act as the city’s
only ghost welfare unit. Bass
describes the film as
– to page 49
Twenty-three year old Cape
Town filmmaker Jenna Cato
Bass of Fox Fire Films has
won the Hubert Bals Fund
Award in the ‘Specialist
Projects’ category of the
inaugural Durban FilmMart
(DFM).
Bass was presented with an
award of € 5,000 on 26 July for
script and development for her
project Tok Tokkie, which was
deemed by the three judges to
be the most promising African
project presented at DFM. Tok
Tokkie was one of 12 projects
VOL 22 – August 2010 R32.00
Photo courtesy Louise Stickland
MONTHLY NEWS ON BROADCAST, FILM, COMMERCIAL, NEW MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY
FIELD OF LIGHTS: The spectacular closing ceremony of the 2010 Fifa World Cup
at Johannesburg’s Soccer City used large format projection technology. See page 24
1st DFM a success
The positive feedback and the
large number of delegates –
202 in total – at the inaugural
Durban FilmMart (DFM),
which ran from 23 to 26 July
at the Royal Hotel, point to a
successful event jointly
initiated by the Durban Film
Office (DFO) and the
Durban International Film
Festival (DIFF).
Says the DFO’s acting
CEO Toni Monty: “Prior to
the event we hoped for around
100 or maybe 120 delegates at
the most, so the final
registration figure more than
exceeded our expectations.
We are thrilled with the
turnout and interest in the
event. Especially pleasing was
the presence of producers
from Gauteng and the Cape,
all of whom expressed their
support for a co-production
market in South Africa. They
attributed the success of this
first event in a large part to
the compact scale and
intimacy of the market. “We are especially happy
with the level of meaningful
interaction and engagement
on a one-to-one basis. There
were meetings happening
everywhere, even during the
lunch break. You could feel
business being done.”
Producer Teboho Pietersen
of Thousand Hugs
Productions found the
Durban FilmMart “incredibly
professional” and was able to
make a lot of important
contacts. “It really was a
brilliant networking
environment which was
important as I have a project
that I’m currently developing.
I also attended the master
classes and found them very
useful.”
Martina della Togna of
Rainbow Circle Films
described DFM as a
– to page 51
From the editor
Of freedom and
independence
Governments worldwide do a poor job of regulating their own conduct.
The free flow of information as well as the right to know is therefore
necessary if people are to be protected from errant governments.
In July the call for the creation of a statutory media tribunal to rein in
the press was raised again by the ruling African National Congress (ANC)
party. The reason appears to be that the press is pursuing an opposition
agenda and the system of regulation of the media by an industry
ombudsman is not sufficiently independent.
The other half of the attack on freedom of information in general and
on freedom of the media in particular is the Protection of Information Bill.
Proponents of the Bill favour the argument for personal dignity over
unfettered flow of information and broad national interests over the right
to know.
Is it possible to balance these competing interests?
Proponents justify the existence of a tribunal with the example of media
reports about the lavish, taxpayer-funded lifestyles of Cabinet ministers,
which they maintain should not be raised. They also suggest that reporting
on the controversial "autopsy" painting of Nelson Mandela should not have
been allowed. Media consider this as basic reporting on matters of interest
to the public.
Critics of the Bill see it as an attempt to prevent the media from
exposing wrongdoing and thereby silencing criticism of government.
If the so called “independent” media tribunal and the Protection of
Information Bill come into being, it could be the end of media freedom in
South Africa – two decades after it was won.
The second Bill of concern to the industry is the Independent
Communications Authority of South Africa's (Icasa) Amendment Bill.
While there are some worthwhile changes in the Bill to improve the
efficiency of Icasa, it also seeks to give the Minister of Communications,
Siphiwe Nyanda, more power to interfere. The minister, for instance, will
be able to select members of the complaints and compliance committee,
which has to ensure that broadcasters comply with legislation and
regulations. This is not acceptable as the Icasa council should have the
power to nominate the committee.
In reality the minister is a member of the ruling political party and in
this capacity cannot be independent of the interests or agendas of the
government. As we have said before: The danger is not that Icasa is
incapable of making the right decisions; the danger is that political
interference will compromise its integrity and independence.
C on t en t s
5
34
IBC in 3D
A few years back, HD was the new technology that made us gasp in
admiration. Now it is digital stereoscopic 3D. Not only will 3D systems be
on display on many exhibitor booths at IBC but also interesting conference
sessions will discuss developments and the use of 3D in sporting events.
The recent Fifa World Cup in South Africa had 25 games covered in 3D
(see story in this issue) and in four years time when the next event takes
place, 3D is expected to be available on appropriate television sets in
millions of homes.
Screen Africa always aims to provide readers with wide coverage of
production news, industry-related issues, new technology, opportunities
and information that can be used in business or to further a young person’s
career. This issue will not disappoint.
Angela van Schalkwyk
Ratings: Enid Venter
enid@ihjohannesburg.co.za
Head of Design:
Trevor Ou Tim: design@screenafrica.com
Website & Production Updates:
Anusha Dayal: info@screenafrica.com
Subscriptions:
Anusha Dayal: info@screenafrica.com
SCREENAFRICA – August 2010
30
40
SPECIAL FEATURES
DISTRIBUTION
IBC – Technology gets
TRAINING
Boom time for
Church expands
Canal France International
local films................................. 10
reach with innovative solution
partners with Africa.............. 35
Finance in motion;
Independents speak.............. 11
SCREENAFRICA
Editor-in-Chief:
Angela van Schalkwyk: editor@screenafrica.com
Deputy Editor:
Joanna Sterkowicz: joanna@screenafrica.com
Contributors:
Andy Stead, Karen van Schalkwyk, Pam Marsh
Martin Chemhere, Daniel Dercksen
Sub-Editor: Mandy Collins
6
Advertisement Sales:
Marianne Schafer: marianne@screenafrica.com
Hermione Ballinger: hermi@screenafrica.com
Antonio Diogo: antonio@screenafrica.com
Accounts:
Marietjie Esterhuizen: accounts@screenafrica.com
to show off.............................. 30
32
FILM
GENERATORS &
BATTERIES
A powerful SA story............... 5
Power to the Industry.......... 20
Beautifully told thriller shot in
The visualisation of Spud........ 8
No generator required........ 22
14 days..................................... 36
NEWS
COMMERCIALS
Fifa TV gives back to SA...... 34
EVENT
Big screen view of cities and
architecture............................. 40
AFRICA
Alternative African production
and distribution; African
2010 Fifa World Cup pay off?;
The ostrich that flew............ 14
students in film exchange.... 42
Front Office:
Delight Ngwenya: adminsa@screenafrica.com
1st DFM a success; Bass wins
Hubert Bals Fund Award;
PROFILE
Publisher:
Simon Robinson: publisher@screenafrica.com
Botswana series relocates...... 1
Top of the charts...................... 6
Sun Circle Publishers (Pty) Ltd
Tel: 011 719-4380
Fax: 011 719-4392
Physical address: Block D2 Sasani Studios,
2 Johannesburg Road, Highlands North Ext 6,
Johannesburg
Postal address: PO Box 89271 Lyndhurst 2106
French students capture SA
TRACKING TECHNOLOGY
Products........................... 16-24
experience; Ghost hitchhiker
LiveU breaks boundaries;
Defining Success.................... 38
lives on........................................ 3
SABC deploys Pixel graphics;
Production Update........ 47-49
Soccer big viewership
Fifa and Sony and 3D; Vuvuzela
buzz silenced by Lawo.......... 16
Audience Ratings................... 50
draw; Return path audience
measurement............................. 4
PlayBox Technology in SA;
Mini-INPUT in Harare;
REGULARS
Adcetera.......................... 12-13
Director Speak....................... 14
Tracking Technology
Kenya hosts Discop Africa 4;
Can? Oh yes we can............. 18
Promo on SA’s attractions.. 28
A really big finale................... 24
Close Up................................. 52
NEWS
Mini-INPUT in Harare
Zimbabwe has become the third
country in Africa to host the MiniINPUT, which will be held in Harare
jointly with the IIFF (International
Images Film Festival) in December
2010.
INPUT National Co-ordinator,
Zimbabwean Stephen Chigorimbo,
says the event brings together
filmmakers and commissioning editors
from all the SADC region countries
and will aim at increasing the
confidence of Zimbabwean
filmmakers, who will constitute the
majority of participants.
“We are bringing in filmmakers and
commissioning editors because this
segment is responsible for the creation
and production of documentaries,
television series, feature films and
news. We anticipate a minimum of 100
delegates converging in Harare,” says
Chigorimbo, adding that the MiniINPUT Programme will include
screenings of documentary and feature
films.
“Each screening will be preceded by
discussions on the films – not so much
about the content but the entire process
including the film’s production value,
its distribution and its impact in terms
of message.”
French students
capture SA
experience
The 2010 Fifa World Cup generated worldwide excitement and
enthusiasm. The French were no exception, when they flew a team of four
French teenagers to South Africa, in order for them to experience and film
this event. The four did not have much experience in filming, so their tour
of South Africa was also intended to be a discovery of the art of
filmmaking. They were accompanied by former cinema students turned
professional from Paris-based Femis, the most renowned cinema school in
France.
The idea of filming in South Africa during the World Cup was formed
by Diambars, an organisation created by former French team players:
Bernard Lama, Patrick Viera and Jimmy Adjovi Boco in order to provide
French civilians with the real essence of South Africa, not only through
soccer, but also through the country’s people, and muliti-faceted cultures.
The aim of Diambars is to promote education through soccer, in academies
set up in Senegal, France and recently South Africa.
Pambili Productions, (managed and directed by award winning
cinematographer, Mandla Dube), a South African company based in
Pretoria, served to guide Diambars with regards to filming, as well as places
of interest the French team could visit in the various host cities.
On 16 June, Pambili and the entire French “crew” travelled to the Hector
Pieterson Memorial in Orlando, Soweto, and then proceeded to the
Mandela home to offer their condolences on the tragic loss of a grandchild.
The next day they travelled to Polokwane where they visited the
Limpopo Arts and Culture Association (LACA’s) Arts Support Centre and
networked with young artists from around the area. Many more trips
followed, including visits to Seshego, Alexander, Venda, Bloemfontein,
Krugersdorp and Cape Town.
The team carried a lot of equipment with them which included two high
definition cameras, in order to capture every moment on their journey of
discovering the essence of South Africa. The four teenagers each had a
lower resolution camera and disk drive, which enabled them to film with no
restrictions. All their footage was edited daily from the guesthouses and
youth hostels where they stayed. The editing process continued well into
the early hours of the morning, and was accompanied by the compiling of a
blog hosted by the National French newspaper, Le Monde.
The blog was entertaining, and bustled with ideas for the duration of the
World Cup. It was constantly fed with content consisting of interviews of
South African citizens, as well as improvisations from the four teenagers,
who were more than willing to share their views of the country online.
The creation of the blog and videos posted on YouTube formed one of
the most interesting aspects of their adventure and succeeded in creating
hype around their experiences in South Africa.
INPUT’s reach in Africa is a recent
development, with Uganda being the
second country to host the event early
this year after South Africa. The
annual and bigger INPUT 2010 was
held in Budapest, Hungary and next
year it will be hosted in Seoul, South
Korea from 9 to 12 May.
Based in Europe, INPUT is about
improving the quality of programmes
that are commissioned, produced
and aired. In recognition that a
great many working TV
professionals cannot make it to
INPUT each year, a Mini-INPUT
is held in more than 30 countries to
allow greater access for all each year.
– Martin Chemhere
Ghost hitchhiker
lives on
Writers/directors
Fazila Wahab and
Oliver Kohl are
ex-television
producers with an
obsession to make
movies. Their short
film project, Karoo,
released through
their production
company
Kaugoomi, is
inspired by the
famous South
African legend of the
Karoo ‘Ghost
Hitchhiker’. Sighted
over many decades in
different locations
throughout the vast
semi-desert, a pale
female apparition
stands on the
highways flagging
down passing traffic.
The filmmakers
developed a
contemporary theory
on how and why the hitchhiker became
a ghost, resulting in a highly original
story that weaves its way through
mystery and suspense.
The action packed drama/thriller
will be entered into a variety of
international film festivals and will
then be licensed to various broadcasters
around the world.
With generous assistance from the
Cape Town filmmaking community,
the totally self-funded 35mm project
was shot between Touws River and
Sutherland in November last year.
With the editing and post-production
taking place between Cape Town,
Johannesburg and Tzaneen, Karoo was
finished just in time for the 2010
Cannes Film Festival where it
premiered at the Short Film Corner.
“The main character of Zoe was our
biggest challenge and after four months
of casting, we were still not completely
decided on the actor,” says Kohl. “It was
a day before we had to make a decision
that we received a tape from a young
actress, Briony Horwitz in
Johannesburg. She had gone to a lot
of trouble to shoot certain scenes of the
script with a friend because she couldn’t
get down to Cape Town to audition
and as it was a low budget production
we couldn't afford to fly her down.
“We were both gob smacked! Her
taped audition was amazing. One
immediately ‘sensed’ her presence on
the tape. She wasn’t playing Zoe – she
was Zoe.”
Wahab says the first time they met
Horwitz was on set. “There were no
rehearsals and no traditional cast
preparation, but Briony cracked the
part and delivered consistently powerful
and un-contrived performances
throughout a very taxing shoot.”
The filmmakers produced Karoo as a
showcase piece to attract funding for a
feature film satire in the pipeline called
South of Eden. This project deals with
the population development of South
Africa in a light-hearted manner,
allowing children to study the mistakes
of their forefathers and move forward
as a confident, proud and unified
nation.
August 2010 – SCREENAFRICA
NEWS
Soccer big viewership draw
G
lobal ratings company Nielsen
recently released the 2010 Fifa
World Cup figures, which far
exceeded expectations. Candice
Ulrich, South African researcher and
panel manager, AGB Nielsen, explains
that viewership figures peaked for the
opening game at Soccer City. “The
game attracted the largest in-home TV
audience in South Africa for a single
event – 11.6m people. With regard to
the final, SAARF TAMS (South
African Advertising Research
Foundation Television Audience
Measurement) shows combined
SABC1 and SuperSport3 figures of
8 940 726 viewers (7 505 350 from
SABC1 and 1 435 376 from
SuperSport3), with 1.5 million South
Africans residing in either
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town or
Durban watching the World Cup game
out-of-home with men (1m)
outnumbering women (500 000).”
During the World Cup certain
territories reported more viewers than
others. “In-home viewing during the
first two weeks of the football saw
8.47 million Taiwanese fanatics –
around 38.5% of the Taiwanese
population, in front of their TV sets six
hours ahead of South African kick-off
time. These figures are from June 11 to
June 25, the date on which the Round
of 16 started. South Koreans too,
backed their team with 13 815 million
people – some 47.4% of their
population – watching the game
against Argentina on 17 June and just
over that – 47.6% or 13 855 million –
cheered for South Korea against
Greece.
“For no-teamer Indonesia, the
figures are equally surprising: 49.2%
Indonesians, which is 24 365 million
people, watched Spain versus
Switzerland on 16 June. It must be
noted that one of the key ways we
establish these figures is through a
‘people meter’. However there is no
‘people meter’ measurement in Africa
(outside of South Africa) so it is
therefore difficult to compare numbers
on the continent.”
Asked how the increase in audience
ratings influences the amount of money
spent on advertising, Chris Botha, joint
MD, MediaShop comments:
“Television worldwide is bought on a
Cost Per Point (CPPs) or in other
words, cost per rating. The bigger the
audience, the more the station can
charge for the programme. So for
instance if programme X has a rating of
5 ARs (meaning 5% of your target
market watched the programme) and is
costed at R10,000 per spot – then the
CPP would be R10 000 ÷ 5AR =
R2 000 CPP. Now, if the audience
increases to 10AR (now 10% of your
target market is watching) then they
can afford to charge R20 000 for a spot
and maintain their CPP – R20 000 ÷
10 AR = R2 000 CPP. So they remain
cost effective. Increased audience
means increased revenue.”
Return path audience
measurement
S
outh Africa has become only
the third country in the world,
after the UK and the US, to
implement return path
television audience measurement. On
14 July in Johannesburg, pay-TV
operator MultiChoice (owner of DStv,
M-Net and SuperSport) and Oracle
Airtime Sales (OATS) launched DStvi, which uses Return Path Data (RPD)
technology in decoders to capture
viewing habits.
DStv-i was introduced specifically to
cater for DStv’s multichannel
environment. It aims to complement
rather than replace the South African
Advertising Research Foundation’s
(Saarf) Television Audience
Measurement Survey (TAMS), which
uses the people meter.
OATS MD Peter McKenzie said
that it was a desire to measure
audiences on DStv’s various bouquets
more accurately (as well as to measure
each channel) that led to the
development of DStv-i. “We embarked
on this project three years ago and now
the testing phase is over we have a
robust sample size. The historical
challenge for media planners for DStv
has been the small DStv sample base
on the TAMS panel, where 5.275
million adults (+16 years) are
represented by approximately 400
homes.
“The reality is that for the majority of
channels there is only a sample base of
three or less individuals (one household)
to use for planning. Conversely, the
DStv-i universes are derived from the
MultiChoice subscriber base and
SCREENAFRICA – August 2010
Brenda Wortley
Nick Burfitt
THE NUMBERS GAME – Peter McKenzie
updated monthly to ensure robust,
accurate DStv viewing data. The data
has been incorporated into the Telmar
Transmit, Arianna and TechEdge
applications. This new technology
allows us to understand DStv viewing
patterns by more defined target
markets.”
The initial phase of DStv-i had
2 000 single decoder and XtraView
decoder reporting houses. This number
will grow later this year, when SD PVR
households are added, with HD
households to follow next year. By July
2011, the new generation DStv decoder
will include DStv-i technology.
MultiChoice will also make use of
the DStv-i data to advise channel
providers and programme producers of
viewers’ preferences.
DStv-i is based on the BSkyB
Skyview panel, introduced in the UK
in 2006. Said Nick Burfitt of TNS’
head of RPD Services (part of Kantar
Group): “The process of introducing
DStv-i in South Africa began with
recruiting DStv households. Samples
were determined by province and
programme choice. Once we got the
household’s permission we employed
personnel to install the decoder with
the modem for return path data
collection. Every click of the remote
control is recorded and the data
recovered from the DStv decoder
provides accurate tracking of the
channels that audiences are watching
and the services they use.
“We track the viewing data from the
household and ask them to do a twoday viewing diary on a quarter-hourly
basis. Diaries are done once a year and
spread across the week. So this gives us
personal data as opposed to household
data. Twenty percent of our universe is
replenished annually.”
OATS’ director of research and
strategy Brenda Wortley explained the
difference between TAMS and DStv-i.
“TAMS measures 6.9 million
individuals while we have 8.4 million.
The second major difference is that our
data is only for DStv viewers who are
connected to a satellite. Once you get
into niche channels you can see the big
difference between DStv-i and TAMS.
“We measure audiences from the age
of four upwards and exclude domestic
workers’ viewing. Guests are included
in DStv-i whereas the TAMS people
meter has a ‘guest’ button for when
visitors are viewing in those
households. Our data reflects the
growing universe of DStv and its
changing nature because of new
channels being added all the time.
DStv-i has not been launched with
LSMs (Living Standard
Measurements) as everyone already
knows in which LSMs DStv is
found. We place a lot of emphasis
on genre.”
FILM
A powerful
South African story
Themba, a South African-German co-production, was
released on circuit on 16 July. DANIEL DERCKSEN
explores the film’s production process with
Stefanie Sycholt, who says it is irrelevant that she is a
woman writer and director. Nevertheless, she holds
a torch up high for women filmmakers in a male
dominated industry.
SOCCER SHOOT! – A soccer scene in Themba – A Boy Called Hope
W
ith filmmakers like Kathryn
Bigelow striking gold for
women directors with her
Oscar-winning The Hurt
Locker, South African writer-director
Stefanie Sycholt brings us Themba – A
Boy Called Hope, undoubtedly one of
the best films emerging from South
Africa since Tsotsi.
“I hope that one day nobody will
even notice whether a director is a man
or a woman. Or maybe they’ll start
genetic testing like they do in sport…
and the whole issue of what gender you
are as a director will become incredibly
complex. I hope that is not the future.”
When she took on the task of
adapting and directing Themba, Sycholt
was often confronted by the question:
How can a woman make a film about
soccer?
“Nobody would have asked a male
director that question, even if the man
had never touched a soccer ball in his
life. He would simply have been
considered competent to direct a film
with soccer scenes in it.”
She was well rewarded when the
editor of Kick Off magazine told her
that Themba has some of the best and
most believable soccer sequences that
he’s seen in films.
When she was working on her first
feature at a film school in Munich, she
gained an understanding of the
differences between male and female
directors. Her directing coach told her
that he appreciated her love for
democracy but advised her that a
director should be a dictator.
“I think that maybe that’s where a
little bit of difference might lie between
male and female directors. Maybe
women directors allow the rest of the
crew to be included more in the process
of making the film,” she laughs.
Hopelessness and
hopefulness
She was inspired to adapt Lutz van
Dijk’s novel for the big screen because it
combines so successfully “the parallel
themes of hopelessness and hopefulness
– which to me are simply both sides of
the central theme of hope. It was not a
story about HIV/Aids that was just
bleak and dismal, but there really was
the potential in there to create a film
that was essentially positive and
uplifting in its approach, despite
dealing with such a hard-hitting, real
subject matter.”
It was on the strength of her previous
film, Malunde, that Van Dijk was
persuaded to give Sycholt the film
rights.
Sycholt strove to find visual images
for the intellectual thoughts in the
novel. “In the end, it is important to see
that the novel and the film are two
separate entities. And a film has to
work as a film – while remaining true
to the spirit of the novel, it cannot
translate one to one to the big screen.
That would make for a very boring and
sometimes even incomprehensible
film.”
She enjoys directing stories that she
has scripted because “by the time you
get to direct the film you know
everything about the story; you have
been living, breathing, thinking this
story for two or so years already. And
you know a lot of the answers already –
because that is what you need when you
are directing.
“You have a vision when you are
writing. And then one day you finish
writing and the directing process
begins. You put on your director’s cap
and you start to make that vision
become a reality. You start to enthuse
Stefanie Sycholt directing a class scene
others with your vision and your ideals.”
Sycholt regards herself as both a
writer and a director. “In Germany
where I trained at the film school in
Munich, there are very many
filmmakers who combine these two
things, so I don’t really see that there is
a problem with being both or that it is
in any way unusual.”
This is the first film where she
became involved in the producing
process, raising a lot of the funds for
this film.
“Despite the fact that it is a GermanSouth African co-production it really is
such a South African film – based in
the country, telling an all-South
African story, shot in 65% Xhosa and
35% English with an all South African
cast, except for Jens Lehmann, the
German national goalkeeper. The only
German people on set were the director
of photography and his apprentice.”
Challenges
It wasn’t an easy film to make.
“Raising the money for such a film is
truly difficult. Then it was shot largely
in the rural Eastern Cape, where there
is very little infrastructure for the film
industry, and in a township near Cape
Town, which is notoriously difficult to
manage in terms of crowd control, etc.”
Because the story spans six years,
Sycholt needed two sets of actors to
play each of the children. “We had to
find a lot of talented newcomers who
could also play soccer, and they had to
look like each other too. It’s difficult
enough directing one non-professional
actor, but in this case we had a whole
lot of really new talent, including
Simphiwe Dana in her first ever acting
role. Yes, it was difficult, but it was also
incredibly exhilarating and rewarding.”
For Sycholt, who stands with one
foot in South Africa and the other in
Europe, the local film industry is
“really super professional” and in terms
of the skills here, “we are in no way
behind any other nation, even the great
filmmaking countries”.
She believes that the industry still
has some way to go until South African
films “can be fully supported by local
audiences and distributed in such a way
that they get to all South Africans, and
till local stories and culture get
supported the way they are, for
example, by the German or French
states, where subsidies are purposefully
set aside to keep alive a local film
culture that does not bow to
Hollywood’s standards. Where
independent filmmaking is supported
and where grants are issued, no
attempts are made to change the
content and the type of story being
told.”
As for the future, Sycholt aims to
make a lot more South African films,
“to help my son grow up to be a
beautiful, responsible adult, to have an
empathetic and sympathetic ear for my
fellow human beings, to spend as much
time as I can in my beautiful home
country.”
August 2010 – SCREENAFRICA
PROFILE
Top of
the charts
By Karen van Schalkwyk
A GRAY INSIGHT – Gray Hofmeyr working on Schuks Tshabalala’s Survival Guide to South Africa
G
ray Hofmeyr is regarded as one
of the top directors in the South
African film industry, and has
won more awards than anyone
else in the country. He began directing
drama in 1975 after training in the UK,
and has directed and been involved in
both television and film.
Some of his early TV work includes
The Villagers, The Outcast, People Like
Us, The Big Time and later Isidingo
(credit as creator), Fear Factor and
Snitch. His feature films span from
1986 with Jock of the Bushveld, Sweet &
Short, Mr Bones 1 and 2, Mama Jack and
recently, Schuks Tshabalala’s Survival
Guide to South Africa 2010.
Hofmeyr credits his long and prolific
career to his ongoing involvement in
both the film and TV industries. “We
are lucky in South Africa in that the
industry is relatively small and directors
and writers can cross over and do both.
In places like the US this is very
difficult, as you become labelled as
being a certain type of writer or
director. I also really enjoy the work
that I do and this is crucial to being
successful.”
Hofmeyr has worked with Leon
Schuster on many films. “It has been a
long road. In the early days we used to
bump heads a lot, but the end results
were always successful. We have
however matured and are not so
possessive of our work and support
each other and offer a lot of
encouragement. It is now a really
SCREENAFRICA – August 2010
great relationship.”
With regards to how they work as a
team, Hofmeyr explains: “We have
worked on about six films together
from Sweet & Short, Mr Bones, Mama
Jack, etc. Leon is great at what he does.
He knows how to tap into people’s
funny bones. I offer a more
dramatic approach and this
works well.”
Directing candid camera
Many people think that comedy
especially candid camera, is easy.
Hofmeyr offers this insight. “What
Leon does is incredibly hard. He puts
himself out there all the time, alone.
Schuks was a very emotional journey for
him; he gets drained. As a director on
this film I did less of the ‘normal’
directing and offered him a lot of
emotional support. It was more about
being a brother.”
Candid camera is hard in that it is
unpredictable in terms of people’s
reactions. “We had to have a bodyguard
on set. You have to prepare for any
eventuality, but luckily there were no
extreme incidents. Leon did get pushed
around once or twice, but generally it
was a smooth run.”
Asked why Schuster’s films are so
successful, including the most recent
one, Hofmeyr responds: “People really
wanted another candid camera Schuster
film. The timing was also perfect. We
purposefully coincided the film with
the 2010 Fifa World Cup and there is a
thin thread running through. The
other thing is that it was school
holidays and a lot of kids went to see
the film, not just once, but repeatedly. I
think that this contributed greatly to
the success of the film. Also you find
that more black audiences go and watch
the films and I would say that around
60% or higher is a black audience,
which is representative of the
population. The films are a
phenomenon as they cross all types of
boundaries: race, age, sex.”
Tricky genre
Directing comedy is often one of the
more tricky genres to get right.
Hofmeyr explains how he approaches
it: “You have to maintain the pace and I
like to work with DOPs who work fast.
With Leon’s films there is a lot of
slapstick and this translates into plenty
of action and special effects work.
Action also takes longer than drama.
However I think that comedy is more
forgiving than drama in terms of look
and mood. It does not require perfect
structure as it relies more on the
performance and pace.”
Hofmeyr says that he enjoys the
technical challenge of comedy. “With
Schuks we shot with up to six cameras to
makes sure we got all the coverage. The
challenge is to hide the cameras. We
shot behind a lot of one-way mirrors,
combis, cupboards and also used a
pillar box, which can be placed outside
and is big enough for the cameraman
and focus puller. It is covered
with Perspex and has a 150 pan
capability. We then cover this with
advertising.”
Asked if he prefers comedy over
drama, Hofmeyr replies: “I like both
genres. I started off in drama with the
likes of The Villagers and Jock of the
Bushveld. However I consider myself to
be a commercial filmmaker. I want to
make films that entertain an audience
and the more people, the better. I love
to create and this is evident in the
projects I have.”
As for the future, Hofmeyr says that
he will work with Schuster again. “We
will most definitely do something again
in the future. One of the great joys of
working with Leon is that the films are
so popular and it is gratifying that
people like them so much.”
“I am also working on my own
scripts and as executive producer of
drama at Endemol, I am trying to get
co-productions off the ground with
other broadcasters and would like to
work with Australia, but rights,
ownership and unions create a lot of
complications. I have been plugging
away at this for years so hopefully
something will materialise.”
Hofmeyr says that the South African
film industry is in great shape. “We are
really starting to make our mark and I
am very encouraged by the number of
films being made.”
FILM
The hair-raising trials and tribulations of a teenage South African boy navigating
his first year at a posh private boarding school, as so wittily documented in
John van de Ruit’s best selling Spud, are set to hit the big screen in November.
JOANNA STERKOWICZ speaks to writer/director DONOVAN MARSH
about turning an action-packed 388-page novel into a 100-minute film that
remains true to Van de Ruit’s much loved literary creation.
PRODUCTION TEAM
Producers: Ross Garland (Rogue
Star Films), Brad Logan (BLM
Productions)
Director/Screenplay: Donovan
Marsh
DOP: Lance Gewer
Editor: Megan Gill
Musical Director: Ed Jordan
Production Designer: Tom Gubb
The visualisation of Spud
L
ong before the film version of
Spud was ever thought of,
Donovan Marsh (Dollars & White
Pipes, The Good Fight) had read
the novel, loved it and thought it would
make a great film.
“Some time later I read a newspaper
article about how producer Ross
Garland (Big Fellas, U-Carmen
eKhayelitsha, Confessions of a Gambler)
was looking for an international
director to do a film version of Spud,”
says Marsh. “So I contacted Ross, told
him he was mad to want an overseas
director and offered my services
instead. Although Ross declined my
offer I managed to get my show reel to
him. About three weeks later he asked
me if I would pitch for the job of
screenwriter, along with
four other writers. I
basically got the job on
spec.”
Anyone who has read
Spud will know that it is
an incredibly dense book,
with lots of things
happening on every page.
Plus, it is in diary form.
The protagonist, John
‘Spud’ Milton, writes
about the loony antics of
his dorm cohabitants
(aka ‘The Crazy Eight’)
SCHOOL’S IN – Troye Sivan (Spud), Julie Summers (Mom) and
at Michaelhouse School,
Jeremy Crutchley (‘The Glock’)
the bizarre quirks of his
teachers, and the insane
reactions of his father to Nelson
path into manhood. Once that was
Mandela’s release from prison.
done I constructed a three-act structure
Not surprisingly Marsh found the
for the screenplay.”
process of adapting the book extremely
The writing process was facilitated
difficult. “I wrote about 20 drafts of the
by feedback from Garland (whom
screenplay before we got to the final
Marsh describes as “a very bright guy”)
version.”
and Van de Ruit himself. The National
Film and Video Foundation (NFVF)
First step
was involved in script development and
brought in Justine Loots, who provided
Marsh started the screenplay process by
a helpful script breakdown.
going through the book and
It was useful that Marsh himself had
highlighting what he thought would
gone to Bishops, a very similar school
translate visually and what was
to Michaelhouse. “I was also a boarder
humorous. “A lot of the jokes in the
like Spud and like him, I was a bit of a
book are because of the way they are
nerd. So I totally understand Spud’s
written and so wouldn’t work on screen.
environment.”
Added to which I wanted to avoid the
The diary element of the book is
really silly slapstick stuff. Consequently, carried through the film via Spud’s
every gag in the film is real, but it was
narration. Marsh took care to imbue
hard to get the tone right.
the narration with the same humour as
“I also decided that this would be a
the book. Writing the dialogue proved
coming of age film so I had to identify
challenging as there isn’t much in
those moments which influence Spud’s
the book.
SCREENAFRICA – August 2010
CLASSROOM ANTICS – Director Donovan Marsh with ‘The Crazy Eight’
Rounded characters
Every single character in the book is
richly drawn so it was tough to find the
right people to fit the roles. The
headline star of the film is British
comedian John Cleese (Monty Python,
Fawlty Towers, A Fish Called Wanda),
who plays a teacher nicknamed ‘The
Guv’.
Says Marsh: “As ‘The Guv’ is meant
to be British, it made sense to cast in
Britain. One of the names that
immediately came to mind was John
Cleese, so we engaged an overseas
agent. However, we were told to forget
it as John rarely films anymore. But we
sent the script to his agent anyway and
three days later, much to our joy, he
accepted. This is just one example of
what I call ‘the John van de Ruit magic’
that surrounded this film. There has
been so much goodwill around the
project because everyone loves the
book. And John Cleese was amazing –
he added so much to the film.”
Casting the schoolboys, particularly
‘The Crazy Eight’, was very hard. It
was a collaborative effort between
Garland, Logan, Van de Ruit and
Marsh. Logan did the leg work,
travelled all over the country and saw
thousands of kids. Once they were
shortlisted Marsh started auditioning.
“Most of the kids we chose are nonactors so it was quite a process
auditioning them to make sure they
could deliver the goods. Spud himself
was the most difficult and we just
couldn’t find the perfect fit, which we
found in Troye Sivan (X-Men Origins:
Wolverine), who lives in Australia and
has South African parents. I auditioned
Troye over Skype and he was
wonderful. He can also sing, which is
essential as Spud gets cast in the lead
role of the school musical, Oliver. On
set Troye was fantastic – he’s only 15
years old but already a complete
workaholic. He is in every scene of the
film and didn’t want to stop working at
the end of each day.”
Prior to the shoot Marsh had a twoweek rehearsal period with ‘The Crazy
Eight’ and the two lead girls at
Michaelhouse. “It was important that
‘The Crazy Eight’ work as a cohesive
group. This rehearsal period worked
extremely well so by the time we got to
filming, the kids were great actors and
totally relaxed. We were lucky to have
the help of Cape-based acting coach
Claire Breslin.”
The screenplay for Spud consists of
200 scenes, all of which were shot in six
weeks, mostly at Michaelhouse with
the remainder in Durban. Spud was
filmed in 35mm.
Fuelled by the magic of film, the Architect Africa Film
Festival was created to embrace the astounding reality of
urban living. As well as entertaining and inspiring, the Film
Festival promotes good design practice and sustainable
development by featuring topical and pertinent issues
within the built environment. This is a rare opportunity to
enjoy fascinating films, inspiring exhibitions, and informative
discussions on architecture, infrastructure and cities.
CAPE TOWN
PORT ELIZABETH
Nu Metro V&A
10-16 September
Nu Metro Boardwalk
10-12 September
DURBAN
BLOEMFONTEIN
JOHANNESBURG
Nu Metro Pavillion
17-23 September
Nu Metro Loch Logan
17-19 September
Nu Metro Hyde Park
24-30 September
aaff.co.za
Craig Hayman
Adriaan Louw
The Architect Africa Film Festival 2010 is a proud partner
and supporter of Architecture ZA 2010. Bringing global
cities and architecture to the Big Screen!
‘Koolhaas Houselife’ Ila Beka & Louise Lemoine
The big screen,
with its vibrant light, colour and sound, is a wonderful
and exciting way to experience cities, landscapes and
architecture.
Oldrich Frans Polak
Lights, Camera, Architecture!
(Association Incorporated under Section 21) 2007/007763/08
DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION
Compiled by Karen van Schalkwyk
Got film, need distribution to succeed
An interesting new trend in the film and TV industry is observable: whereas a few years ago the local TV industry was the monetary and employment spinner, it is now
the film industry that has taken hold and is creating work and economic opportunities. But key to the sustainable success of the local film production market is distribution.
Boom time
for local films
LAUGHING TO THE BANK – Scenes from Schuks Tshabalala’s Survival Guide to SA
T
he local independent film
industry has blossomed and the
main reasons are distribution,
the Department of Trade &
Industry (DTI) rebate, the Industrial
Development Corporation (IDC) and
at the top of the list, the independent
filmmakers. Without the drive of the
independents’ entrepreneurial spirit, the
industry would still be producing only
two or three films a year. Instead what
we have now is over 20 films being
released in 2010.
Helen Kuun of Indigenous Film, a
relatively new distribution company
that recently released Leon Schuster’s
hit, Schuks Tshabalala’s Survival Guide to
10
SCREENAFRICA – August 2010
South A frica and Jakhalsdans, says that
the industry is in a boom time. “There
are many local films being released that
are finding their market with South
African audiences. Both Jakhalsdans
and Schuks have done phenomenally
well. For instance Jakhalsdans made
R3.4m at the box office and this was
higher than we expected. The budget
of the film was R3m and included 41
sites around the country. It played very
well in areas like Pretoria,
Bloemfontein and Nelspruit. It has
done well in cinemas and this excludes
DVD and TV sales.
“[Leon] Schuster is a phenomenon in
the South African film industry. He
understands his audience
across the board and this works
wonders for the box office. Mid July the
film had already made R30m on 110
prints and is going to be the most
successful Schuster film ever,
surpassing Mama Jack and Mr. Bones 2.
It still has about another six weeks in
theatres so it will most definitely make
its production money back from the
theatrical release. We will be looking at
an international release strategy for the
film.”
Kuun believes that this boom trend
will continue. “In 2011 we will see
another batch of South African films
being released, however I have to stress
that not all films should be released
theatrically. Some should be distributed
only on DVD and TV platforms.
These are the platforms where films
often make their money back, and
ironically not via theatrical release,
unless it is a hit.”
Kuun who has long been known as a
proponent of local indigenous films,
says that she is passionate about seeing
the industry develop. “I started
Indigenous Film because I feel there is
enough local content produced to make
a distribution company viable. There
was a gap in the market and this
justified the start-up of the company. I
also think that we would not be in the
position we are in if it were not for the
DTI rebate. This has been a
tremendous incentive to create films
and opened up the
market for distribution.”
The first film that the
company distributed
was Jakhalsdans. “We
have been extremely
happy with the results.
We will distribute six
films this year (these
include The Unforgiving,
Night Drive, Liefling,
Eternity). At the moment
this is the capacity of the
company but we will most
definitely increase this
number as we grow and
look at international
distribution.”
Kuun believes that
distribution is relationship
driven. “I think that a
smaller company like
Indigenous can be more flexible and a
lot of producers are attracted to this
more hands-on boutique distribution
company. I think transparency and a
fair deal are key aspects to why
producers choose certain companies.
However I have to stress that nothing
will drive distribution besides good
content. It is critical that South African
filmmakers develop and strive for
better and better films. As a distributor
I have to carefully consider what
platform the content must be
distributed on.”
With regards to African distribution,
Kuun comments: “We are looking at
Africa but the TV and film markets are
very small and it requires a lot of
strategy and planning which can
outweigh the benefits. We need to find
the right partners to connect with and
that is critical. It is vital to ask questions
like: what does distribution mean? It is
pretty simple and yet complicated, but
in a nut-shell it means you deliver to the
right market.”
Kuun believes that in the future there
will be more independent distribution
companies opening up. “Once there is
success in this market other people will
follow suit. I think one will see that
some films will fail and other succeed
and this is just the nature of the
business. I think we have a lot to look
forward to with regards to the
independent film industry.”
Finance
in
motion
MONEY TALK – Basil Ford
T
he the Industrial Development
Corporation (IDC) has been
investing in local South African
films for many years, some have
been relatively successful and others
utter failures. Basil Ford, head of media
and motion pictures division IDC, says
that the requirements to obtain IDC
finance are firstly based on a sales agent
and distribution strategy.
“The IDC views the involvement of
a reputable sales agent as very
important since sales agents constantly
interact with buyers and are thus well
informed about the market conditions
and trends. We have therefore placed
significant reliance on the sales
estimates provided by the agents as an
indication of the market appetite for the
film.”
Ford explains that this is critical as it
is an assessment of the film’s economic
merit. “The IDC requires economic
merit to be demonstrated as we seek to
achieve sustainability of the motion
picture sub-sector.”
Asked whether the IDC has become
more stringent with regards to its
requirements for distribution, Ford
responds: “We have not become more
stringent, only more refined. The IDC
is a learning organisation, which strives
for continuous improvement by
applying the lessons learnt. We have
therefore been constantly refining our
position, particularly in the area of legal
agreements, such as the Sales Agency
agreement, the Collection Account
Management Agreements and the
Interparty Agreements.”
The IDC recognises that the
distribution world is changing rapidly
with the various platforms opening up
and with the digital environment
becoming more pervasive and
accessible. “Digital distribution and in
particular the massive response to 3D
has indicated that the traditional
distribution models have become
outdated and new platforms, like HD
big screen televisions, video downloads,
mobisodes and digital cameras, are
starting to dominate distribution
strategies.
“The proliferation of new
distribution channels means that
potentially films and content can be
distributed more cheaply and easily.
The South African market has been
constrained by the location of cinemas
primarily in the suburbs and the digital
platforms have the potential to expand
cinemas into the townships and rural
areas on a cost effective basis. We are
seeing a number of new independent
distributors and this is very important
for the industry as it promotes
competition and results in improved
performance and innovation for the
industry.”
Ford maintains that industry
sustainability is only achievable when
“it is based on the foundation of local
consumption of locally developed films.
This means that more high quality
films need to be developed, produced
and consumed locally in South Africa
and Africa. When this happens, locally
developed and produced films will no
longer be dependent upon the
international market to achieve
economic merit.”
The other important aspect is that
the South Africa brand will be
enhanced.
The number of local films that
achieve international breakouts will
depend on “a pull rather than push
factor” into the international market,
maintains Ford. “An important
consequence of this approach is that
South African films can then be sold
on our terms, ie. terms favourable to
our film industry.”
Independents speak
Film distribution often presents an overwhelming
hurdle for producers to overcome. However,
to successfully distribute a film is possible if a
producer understands the market, maintain two
producers who have recently had their feature
films released with good box office takings.
P
roducer Anton Ernst of
Makadi Productions’ feature
film Jakalsdans was released
theatrically recently and the
company will release its vampire
film, Eternity, towards the end of
the year. “However it has taken me
many years to streamline an
approach to marketing and
without a doubt the distribution
element is one of the most
important of all the elements in
the movie making process. I need
to add that distribution needs to
be the right kind of distribution
for the product.”
Lance Samuels of Out of
Africa Film (Schuks Tshabalala’s
Survival Guide to SA) maintains
that without a distribution
plan, “you will not find the
finance to make the film. You
have to show that you have some
plan to make the money back. We distributed the film through
Indigenous Film and it is great to work with young independents in the
industry.”
It is critical to distribute on the right platform. Ernst responds: “You have
to work with a company that knows its business. Distribution also depends
on what budget levels need to be recouped. If you have a small budget film
and the demand for DVD and TV exist; it would be recommended to skip
theatrical. However even the DVD buyers are pricing with theatrical in mind
so if you only release on DVD your price/earnings will be far less. It is
important to work the numbers to see what platform/s your film should go
out on.”
Samuels says that theatrical success is often an indication of how successful
the film will be on DVD and TV. “The key is always to work through all the
information and do the research so that you can, to a certain extent, safeguard your investment and make money. I think with low budget films, the
DVD and TV market is best. Often films that are released theatrically
should really only be released on DVD and TV. A theatrical release for the
wrong film can do more harm than good for the product and the South
African industry in general.
“One needs to know your audience. With the Schuster films, and now
recently with Schuks, there is a huge market across the board and this is a key
reason why the films do so well locally. This will be the biggest Schuster film
to date in terms of theatrical box office.”
Both producers stress that there are certain elements that can assist
independent filmmakers to succeed in distribution. “Make sure that the
market analysis has been done in detail before starting a movie and do not try
to fix it after the fact. If the market does not want the movie do not do it,”
says Ernst.
Samuels says that it is important to check out all the options. “Go through
everything and when it comes to the contracts go through them with a finetooth comb. It is important to create relationships that work for you. The role
of the distributor is that they know the market for the movie. I think two of
the most important things to look for in a distributor are fairness and
transparency.
“We have two other films coming up this year, Senyaka, which will be for
DVD release only and tells the story of the famous Senyaka, who has a huge
following in the townships as a musician with flair. The other is Maakbet and
is a translation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the contemporary South African
context. This is for theatrical release.”
August 2010 – SCREENAFRICA
11
ad cetera Report on the South African commercials industry
Of this and that…
at Cannes Lions
to say: “Cannes was very positive this
year. It was small but everybody was
there to do business. New media was a
big talking point and, I believe, a great
opportunity for new business. This is a
very exciting time for filmmakers
because traditional advertising is only
one small part of the overall message
and the big opportunity with new
media is to produce great content again.
Consumers want to choose, they want
entertaining and beautiful content and
that is the opening for fantastic
creativity.”
On the question of South Africa as a
service destination, De Villiers
commented: ”South Africa is definitely
not cheap compared to other service
destinations. We have certainly lost our
position as top choice for service, which
we held for a few years. There have
been some ridiculous price hikes in the
last couple of years, which means it’s
not as easy to shoot here as before. This
was very evident at Cannes, firstly by
the lack of South African service
companies this year and also by the
strong presence of all other service
destinations. Some new and interesting
ones are springing up and making a
play for business, for example Tenerife.
Brazil and Argentina still have a very
strong presence in Cannes.”
On a more positive note she
concluded: “I think we have another
opportunity to get up there again with
the success of the World Cup.
Hopefully we’ll be fresh on everybody’s
minds.”
As always the Cannes Lions International
Advertising Festival is high on creativity, ideas
and of course, the best ads in the world. Here
Pam Marsh, Screen Africa’s representative at
this year’s event, which took place in Cannes
from 20 to 26 June, records her impressions of
the greatest ad show in the world.
Party time
Film jury
Fran Luckin, chief creative officer of
Ogilvy Johannesburg and a member of
the film jury, had this to say: “I thought
the winners in Film this year reflected
a return to good, strong storytelling.
The films that took home Gold relied
less on trickery and expensive postproduction, and more on the power of a
great story, well told. This may have
had something to do with the
introduction of the Film Craft Lion. It
may be that the main Film jury was less
likely to be seduced by technique into
giving something an award because we
knew that that piece would probably be
honoured by the Craft Jury.”
Old Spice was certainly a worthy
Film Grand Prix winner. It was
directed by Tom Kuntz of MJZ Los
Angeles, created by Wieden+Kennedy
Portland and featured actor Isaiah
Mustafa. It was fresh, it was original
and it’s made the phrase ‘I’m on a horse’
part of the local idiom in Australia,
where the ad hasn’t even flighted and
people have only seen it on the Internet.
It’s a prime example of what the jury
chairman, Mark Tutsell, said about socalled viral ads: “Viral is a consequence.
First you make a great film that people
want to watch and THEN it goes
viral.” The Old Spice ad is a classic 45"
TV ad, but it has been seen all over the
world because people love it and pass it
12
SCREENAFRICA – August 2010
As a result there was no central South
African house or gathering spot for all
of us ‘Saffers’! We had to rely on
bumping into each other. However, one
of the best gatherings (well done
Philippa Dresner, who at the last
minute raised funds for this party from
local corporates) was at Morrisons Pub
for the South Africa/France Fifa World
Cup match. Cannes was seriously
livened up by the sound of vuvuzelas or
‘voo voo zaillers’ as the British press are
calling them. You could hear them for
blocks down the Rue d’Antibes –
a good guide to the location and even
more appropriate that we won the
game.
Fran Luckin
on. Old Spice is known in countries
like Australia, where they don’t even
sell Old Spice.
It’s very encouraging for South Africa
that the Grand Prix was a classic 45"
TV ad, made on a reasonable budget. It
sends a very clear message that you
don’t have to make a three-minute ad
with the production values of a feature
film to win the Grand Prix. It’s still
about perfectly scripted and freshly
executed ads with great insight.
I think if we could learn to write
dialogue like the Americans, push our
ideas a little more into the unexpected
territory like the South Americans and
make fun of serious things like the
Indians and the Thais, we might be
onto a good thing. South African exposure
What was really disappointing at
Cannes Lions 2010 was no government
spending from South Africa this year.
South Africans at Morrisons Pub
Friday night brought a South African
party hosted by AFS Productions and
Media Film Service. It was a great
party, loads of fun had by all with
Jonathan Beggs, creative director
Ogilvy Johannesburg, spinning the
discs… do you still say that?
Filmmaking
opportunities
Cannes Lions
seminar highlights
My highlight of the week is always the
New Directors Showcase. It is
breakthrough work often unhampered
by the parameters of advertising. After
the showcase I had the opportunity to
chat with Richard Myers, Saatchi &
Saatchi Worldwide creative director for
culture and Tom Eslinger, Worldwide
Digital creative director, who gave me
an idea of the vast elimination process.
They get over 100 entries and have to
get it down to 20 pieces, which Cannes
Lions delegates get to view. The
opening of the show is always
phenomenal. It’s usually a live show of
sorts; a few years ago it was a moving
stage which was actually mindblowing,
but never mind that!
This year, for the 20th showcase, they
had Paul Arden introduce it, as he was
the founder of the show. Paul Arden
passed away two years ago, but there he
stood, live on stage, talking about this
showcase. The audience all took it in
their stride, watched the fantastic pieces
and then Paul Arden came back on
stage to say goodbye. As he finished his
speech, he went up in a puff of smoke
and the mic he held dropped to the
floor – it was truly a brilliant piece of
smoke and mirrors! A moving
hologram, amazingly done.
Two of my favourite pieces from the
showcase − find them on youtube.com
– T-shirt war and Tropicana Arctic Sun.
Here’s what I learnt from other
seminars:
In the ‘How of Social Media’, Simon
Mainwaring presented seven new
lessons in advertising:
1. Advertising and capitalism need
each other to survive.
2. Consumers want a better world,
not just better widgets.
3. The future of profit is purpose.
4. Advertisers must become
architects of the community.
5. Reverse everything you know
about advertising.
6. Consumers now co-author the
stories we tell.
7. The evolution of revolution is
contribution.
David Harris, executive creative
director of Wunderman Worldwide,
presented a beautiful and gentle
seminar where he went through the
process and the ages of how we find
Congratulations South Africa!
SA winners list
Direct –
Silver Lion – JWT Cape – Literacy Project
Bronze Lion – Joe Public – Aids Awareness
Bronze Lion – Ireland Davenport – Ditsong Military Museum
Radio –
Silver Campaign Lion – Toyota Genuine Parts – Draftfcb
Silver Lion – Toyota Genuine Parts – Draftfcb
Bronze Lion – Netsurit – TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris
Bronze Campaign Lion – Virgin Atlantic – Net#work BBDO
Bronze Lion – Netsurit – TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris
Outdoor – Gold Lion – XBOX – Y&R JHB
Silver Campaign Lion – Endangered Wildlife Trust
– TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris
Silver Campaign Lion – Anti-Human Trafficking
– TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris
Bronze Campaign Lion – Exclusive Books – Ogilvy JHB
Bronze Lion – Anti-Drink Driving – FoxP2
Press –
Silver Campaign Lion – VW Crafter – Ogilvy Cape
Bronze Campaign Lion – Masterlock – FoxP2
Design – Gold Lion – Anti-Human Trafficking – TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris
Bronze Lion – Art for Amnesty – Disturbance Durban
Film –
Gold Lion – Topsy Foundation – Ogilvy JHB
Bronze Lion – Allan Gray – King James Cape
Bronze Lion – 1st for Women Ins. – Black River FC
inspiration. Here are two thoughts he
left me with: “Investing in inspiration
challenges the status quo,” and
“Inspiration has to overcome the inertia
of the current truth.”
The seminar by Mark Zuckerberg,
CEO of Facebook, was slightly
pedestrian as it was just a chat,
something delegates at Cannes don’t
really like – we want visual impact and
sensory stimulus, by the ton! But what
was remarkable about this guy besides
his youth, were his clarity and speed of
thought. He left us with this: “All
products are better when they’re
designed around people; Less about
broadcast, more about engagement;
People become evangelists for your
product; All business is going to go
Janette de Villiers of Groundglass was
at Cannes again this year. She had this
Jonathan Beggs spinning the discs
Shayne Brookstein, Brin Kushner and Ray Burgess
Alistair King (King James)
through a mini-revolution – you can
carry on or get disrupted.”
Although it was pretty interesting to
see ‘celebs’ Ben Stiller and Yoko Ono,
there were no breakthrough ideas from
either. Stiller was pretty funny and Ono
quite mad and it was really disruption
at its best with nothing further to it but
good promotion for the seminars.
One of the last seminars I saw was
How to Start an Agency hosted by
Chuck Porter and David Droga. Give
me Chuck any day − I find him so
fabulously amusing and interesting that
I could listen to him all day. David
Droga was fantastically personal, which
gave his chat real sincerity. At this
seminar the MDC partners offered a
$100 000 partnership to a fresh
advertising business idea from
anywhere in the world.
What did I learn at Cannes Lions
2010? The consumer is writing your
next idea.
Who were the clear winners of
Cannes Lions 2010? Replay by
Gatorade and Livestrong/ Chalkbot
(personal messages painted on the road
at Tour de France).
Richard Pinder, COO of Publicis,
had this to add: “Clients are saying –
give me an idea, not an ad!”
Pam Marsh’s sponsors to Cannes,
with grateful thanks: BP,
Bladeworks & United Stations.
August 2010 – SCREENAFRICA
13
COMMERCIALS
The ostrich that flew
A new commercial for Cadbury’s Milk Chocolate involved
a real and animatronic ostrich, aerial cinematography, loads
of green screen and extensive post-production. All this
culminated in the ad being judged a finalist at the recent
Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, in the Sweets
& Snack Foods category.
cargo plane interior set built by London
Models.
“The ostriches were tame and used to
cameras, having previously starred in
other commercials,” explains Bosman.
“But it’s not like you can actually train
ostriches to perform; it’s a case of their
handler psyching them into doing the
FLYAWAY KIT – The animatronic ostrich and the cargo plane interior set
C
adbury’s Ostrich, a glass and a
half full production has quite a
long history, having been first
pitched to the client by Saatchi
& Saatchi Johannesburg two years ago.
When the project was revived this year
Catapult Commercials was brought on
to produce the commercial, with
executive producer Glen Bosman
bringing in London-based Peter
Truckel to direct. Post-production
visual effects and CGI were assigned to
Bladeworks, under Fraser Rowe’s
supervision.
The concept of the commercial
revolves around the euphoric feeling
that Cadbury’s chocolate, with its glass
and a half of milk, unleashes when
consumed. In the commercial, an
ostrich contained in an airborne cargo
plane is inspired to jump out of the
plane and fly joyously around the skies.
As ostriches are flightless the
commercial required an animatronic
bird complete with flapping wings.
This was tasked to The Creature Shop.
Particular attention had to be paid to
the wing structure so that the ‘flying’
would look realistic.
Bosman sourced two female
ostriches from Cape Town animal
handler Luke Cornell, who brought the
‘performers’ up to Sasani Studios in
Johannesburg, for a two-day shoot in a
Director Speak
Duvan Durand
(Groundglass)
WHAT IS IT ABOUT
DIRECTING THAT
APPEALS TO YOU?
I started out editing, something I
still love to do, but at times
found it frustrating that I
couldn’t control what I had in
front of me. As a director I have
that control.
HOW HAS YOUR
BACKGROUND PREPARED
YOU FOR DIRECTING COMMERCIALS?
Through editing I have learned what works and what
doesn’t, but it’s in my nature to want to do better and I
tend to be quite critical of my work. You learn on every
job. Experience is key.
required actions. We had to let the
ostriches rest frequently during the
shoot, as they got very hot under the
lights.
“One problem that our DOP,
Werner Maritz, had to contend with,
was finding comfortable framing for
the ostrich. An ostrich is basically a
beanpole with a tiny head at the top of
it. So you either shoot the head or the
whole body because
mid-shots don’t really work.”
As per Rowe’s recommendation,
Maritz shot on the Red One camera
(supplied by Russell Campbell) due to
the extensive green screen work and the
nature of the subject.
WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR CAREER HIGHLIGHTS?
Probably making Parow’s cooler as ekke music video.
We had no money and to see the video go viral with
close to a million views has been awesome. Travelling
for any job is always a highlight.
WHAT’S THE TRICK TO TELLING
A STORY IN 30 SECONDS?
Well exactly that, to tell it in 30 seconds. If
all else fails throw in some fancy effects and
explosions.
WHAT’S THE CLEVEREST AD
YOU’VE EVER SEEN?
During the recent Fifa World Cup Sony
Bravia did an ad with Brazilian soccer star
Kaka. It was brilliant.
WHAT ARE THE COMMON
ELEMENTS OF REALLY BAD ADS?
DO YOU HAVE AN ICONIC BRAND FOR WHICH
YOU’D LOVE TO MAKE A COMMERCIAL?
WHAT WOULD THE COMMERCIAL BE LIKE?
Adidas or Audi. My commercial would
be amazing.
WHERE IS YOUR DREAM LOCATION
AND WHY?
I would love to shoot in Machu Picchu, Peru before the
world ends in 2012.
WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE FILMMAKERS?
IS THERE A SECRET TO DEALING WITH
AGENCY CREATIVES AND CLIENTS?
I don’t think so. Just do your job and deliver what you
promised.
DO YOU HAVE ANY MENTORS?
I have many people I look up to and respect. If they
speak, I listen.
Shooting cooler as ekke I wanted Jack Parow to ghost
ride an old Opel Kadett. The car was old and didn’t run
SCREENAFRICA – August 2010
well. I had one of the guys lie on his back to drive the
car. It didn't work at all and the car kept going off the
road. For the last take, we opted for speed. The car
went straight but almost drove over the artist. There
were some tannies witnessing this freak show with
Parow rapping in his underwear and a car with fur on
the hood driving by itself. You could see the
disappointment on their faces at the demise of the
youth.
Bad products.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST BIZARRE THING
THAT HAS HAPPENED ON A SHOOT?
14
Aerial footage was by Peter
Samuelson doing a free fall drop with a
camera on his helmet. For other aerial
shots Maritz put the camera on a Libra
mount on a helicopter flown by Bill
Olmstead.
Once the offline edit by Gordon
Midgely at Riot Post Production was
approved it went to Bladeworks. “Prior
to the shot we had meetings with
Catapult regarding visual effects and
CGI and created a detailed story board
for them. We had a team of nine people
working on the commercial,” notes
Rowe.
Key people were lead flame artist
Paul Marangos, visual effects
supervisor Shaun Froneman and
colourist Nic Apostoli on the Baselight.
The live ostrich footage was put
through five days of rotoscoping to take
the bird out of the green screen
environment and place it into the sky
environment. Then followed weeks of
compositing in Flame, followed by
lengthy sessions on Combustion and a
week of CGI. Audio was by Dave
Harris of Frequency.
Says Bosman: “From a postproduction point of view this
commercial was probably the most
complex I’ve worked on in a decade.
Fraser and his team gave us great
support. It was a case of constantly
refining and re-building all the way
along.”
Catapult helped Saatchi & Saatchi
find the right bit of music for the
commercial – Sammy Davis Jr’s I
Gotta Be Me – which was re-scored by
Hey Papa Legend in Cape Town. In
Europe the ad features Nessum Dorma
instead.
I think Michel Gondry is God. His work is so unique and
he always pushes the boundaries in some way. I also
love the way he sticks with analogue effects.
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF 10
YEARS FROM NOW CAREER-WISE?
I will just keep on doing what I love − as long as I can be
creative I will be happy. Maybe a feature. Who knows, I
haven’t really thought past 2012!
tXXXQCTTBDP[B
TRACKINGTECHNOLOGY NEWS
LiveU breaks
boundaries
During the 2010 Fifa World Cup
leading media companies from
around the world utilised dozens of
LiveU mobile broadcast backpacks
for continuous coverage from all the
main regions of South Africa, for creative, cost-effective,
portable, and high quality content acquisition.
For the first time in the history of World Cup coverage,
broadcasters made extensive use of cellular-based video
transmission. CNN, Sky, FOX, NBC, France 24, RedeTV,
BFMTV, AP, BFMTV, Telavisa, and Multimedios, to
mention a few, all deployed LiveU mobile broadcast
backpacks, with great results.
Creative Broadcast Solutions (Pty) Ltd represents LiveU in
South Africa and was responsible for preparing and
supporting over 31 backpack units used by broadcasters
during the World Cup.
Ariel Galinsky, LiveU VP of Business and Corporate
Development, explains: "With LiveU, broadcasters are set
free from the limitations of traditional uplink technologies
such as satellite, which offer practically no flexibility, yet
come at very steep rates.
“Using the LiveU backpack, our customers can broadcast
while standing in a large crowd of fans, in the locker room,
on the field, and even on the move at highway speeds, all
without worrying about running long cables, fitting a big
truck, where there is no available space, or paying satellite or
fiber rates."
The LiveU backpack solution connects to any video
camera and bonds together multiple 3G, 4G, WiMax, WiFi,
and other data connections to offer a reliable, high-quality
video uplink that opens the door to transmitting from places
and in situations where it was considered impossible to go live
only a few years ago.
Fifa and Sony and 3D
At the 2010 Fifa World Cup,
Fifa and the Sony Corporation
decided to produce some of the
games at the World Cup as a
joint 3D project. Mark
Grinyer, 3D/sports solutions
business head of Sony Europe,
says that this is the start “of a
long term relationship between
the two companies”.
Sony has experience in the
creation of professional 3D
technology and this was
brought to the fore for the
World Cup, says Grinyer. “We
not only shot in 3D but Sony
Pictures Home Entertainment
released the official 3D Fifa
16
SCREENAFRICA – August 2010
World Cup
film on Blu Ray
Disc, and
broadcast 3D
games to
various
broadcasters
and in cinemas
around the
world.”
Grinyer says
that this is the
first time the
3D has been
produced for an
event of this
scale. “We shot 25 matches
and the challenge was all the
different locations and the
match schedule. We had to
develop a technology solution
which would be quick to move
but also very reliable in terms
of creating high quality 3D.”
Grinyer explains how 3D
works: “When shooting a 3D
image, two lenses or mirrors
and prims are used to capture
separate images of the same
object from different angles.
The 3D images are then
edited while maintaining the
information from both angles.
When the medium is played
SABC deploys Pixel graphics
Pixel Power secured a
major graphics
technology contract from
SABC, for use initially
on the national
broadcaster’s 2010 Fifa
World Cup coverage,
and then for deployment across
its usual output. The deal was
overseen by Pixel Power’s
South African partner, Zimele
Broadcasting.
SABC ordered four
premium Clarity 5000
hardware units specified with
audio, four-stream clip player
and 3D graphics capabilities.
SABC has also purchased four
Vuvuzela
buzz
silenced
by Lawo
There was much
controversy surrounding the
constant buzzing noise
produced by vuvuzelas
during this year’s Fifa
World Cup. Many
broadcasters like ARD, the
German public national
radio and TV network,
resorted to filtering the
audio. “The ability to use
the steep notch filters on a
Lawo console’s EQ was
extremely helpful in the
creation of signals with
reduced interference from
back, the left-hand image is
shown only to your left eye and
the right hand image only to
your right eye. These
two images combine in
your brain to give you a
perception of depth.”
One of the solutions that
Sony came up with in terms of
making top class 3D was the
3D Box (MPE200). Grinyer
explains how it works: “The
3D Box is made of hardware
and software. The hardware is
developed in Japan and based
on Sony’s cell processor – this
provides a high performance
processing platform for the
software. The software acts as
the brain for the 3D camera
system; like your brain, it
compensates for the errors that
occur between the two
cameras, enabling high quality
3D to be created.
“The 3D box provides a
Clarity 3000 units, again
specified with audio, clips and
3D options, and Pixel Control
Toolbox, a drag-and-drop
development environment for
creating custom data entry and
control programmes. This has
placed the building of GUI
controllers for the Clarity
systems in the hands of
SABC’s graphics department.
Ivan Marks, manager, Pre-
Production and Graphic
Resources in SABC’s
Technology Division, said:
“We used an HD OB unit for
our Fifa World Cup coverage
on SABC1 equipped with two
Clarity 5000s. This facilitated
the back-to-back production of
more than 10 hours per day of
live content. Two more Clarity
5000s were installed in a
preparation area within a post
production facility specifically
built for the World Cup at the
Sandton Convention Centre.
Our graphics operators were
able to deliver brilliant content
to air.”
the vuvuzelas,” explains
Carsten Higler, technical
director of ARD,
ARD was responsible for
planning at the venues, the
SNG (Satellite News
Gathering), and the DFB
(German Football
Association) headquarters,
while ZDF – the other
public national German
broadcaster – fulfilled the
same role at the
International Broadcast
Centre (IBC) and provided
the line management. With
Swiss Host Broadcast
Services (HBS) being
responsible for the
production and distribution
of all the audio and video
feeds (global, as well as
international audio and
video), ARD contracted
SWR for on-site operations.
HBS provided 12 feeds
for the IBC’s control room,
and up to 14 in the stadia,
depending on the match
taking place. In addition,
return lines from Germany,
for transfer and switching to
SNGs, DFB headquarters,
and national OB vans at the
stadiums, were handled in
the IBC.
A Lawo mc290 was
deployed at the IBC.
According to SWR sound
engineer Erich Ebert, this
console offers a high degree
of flexibility and easily lives
up to all its tasks (the
creation of a 5.1 output,
among many others). The
‘level function’ was of
particular importance, since
it allows immediate control
of all faders assigned to the
VCA master.
All OB van control
rooms featured mc266
consoles, while an
additional mc256 was
employed at the DFB
headquarters.
technology platform for the
convergence operator to
control the 3D image. The
convergence operator is
constantly adjusting the 3D
depth and the point of
convergence within the image
to make it as natural as
possible. Although 3D
requires the addition of a
convergence operator, the
product we used for the World
Cup has shown that the
requirements for a slowmotion operator are reduced so
there is a resource trade off.
The cameraman and
convergence operator work
together to produce the 3D
image. It is the job of the
cameraman to frame the
action and focus the camera,
while it is the job of the
convergence operator to
control the depth of the 3D
and convergence point within
the image. This is done from
the OB van.”
One of the criticisms of 3D
is that it is very expensive to
produce. Grinyer responds:
“We created the 3D Box as it
is affordable. Using electrical
corrections to eliminate
camera variations means that
simpler and cheaper rigs can
be used. In turn this reduces
rigging time and so the impact
of 3D production cost terms
can be reduced.”
3D is not easy to shoot as it
requires the right technology
and understanding of how to
use the technology. Grinyer
comments: “It is very easy to
shoot bad 3D. To shoot good
3D you need technology
platforms that are reliable, a
workflow that your operators
understand and a production
vision that works to enhance
the viewing experience.”