BUSINESS NEWS

Bumpy road ahead in 2012

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:04

With the South African industry reporting a tough year in 2011, many are looking at 2012 with trepidation, especially with the uncertain global economic outlook and the continuing crisis at beleaguered public broadcaster SABC.

However, some industry stakeholders are cautiously optimistic about the new year.

At the end of 2011, Indigenous Film Distribution CEO Helen Kuun predicted strong growth for the coming year. “There are already 12 feature films lined up for release and we are not even in 2012 yet,” said Kuun.

She notes that there are still major challenges facing the film industry, including script development. “Furthermore filmmakers should also realise that not all films are meant for cinema release, especially now that video on demand (VOD) is a reality,” said Kuun.

Producer Isaac Mogajane of Diprente Films is excited about 2012. “We are currently negotiating Season 4 of the The Late Nite News With Loyiso Gola and are in post-production for our first feature film, Blitz Patrollie. Additionally we have a number of new features and television shows that we hope to produce this year,” said Mogojane.

He expects 2012 to be the biggest year yet in South African film. “A number of great projects like Material and Vehicle 19 are on the horizon, and there is a real buzz in the industry at the moment.”

However, he believes the industry still faces some challenges, including marketing local releases better so that more buzz and awareness is created around them.

Mogojane also thinks that local movies need to win back the good faith of South African audiences. “There is a developing trend of South African films to feature things that are unique to us and that do not exist in Hollywood films. In 2012 we need to build on this trend and prove that a good South African film is well worth your R50.”

Television

Vice chair of the South African Screen Federation (SASFED), Marc Schwinges, predicts a tough year for the local industry, although he sees some silver linings.

“Next year is going to be very difficult due to the possible implosion of the Eurozone and the US deficit problems. Distribution to, and independent funding sources from, Europe and America will become tight. The good news for the feature film industry is that the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) withdrew their maximum cap on the local rebate in 2011. The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) also announced that its budget for 2012 has effectively doubled. This is will also allow more development possibilities in various genres.

“On the local broadcast side, I suspect various problems and perhaps some possibilities will arise with the long overdue Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) migration. Certainly 2012 will not see a radical increase in local content on our TV screens yet, but we may (if funding is made available somehow), see increased content commissioned in preparation of the 2013 demand created by DTT.

“I think 2012 will be a year where public broadcasters will either make it, or yet again break it and one where interesting developments in the community broadcast and VOD sectors will take place, with IP based television having an unprecedented impact.”

According to Cooked in Africa executive producer Peter Gird they’ve had an amazing year and delivered 70 hours of new content to broadcasters locally and internationally by 15 December 2011.

He believes that in a changing industry, businesses need to adapt or die. “While the local broadcast industry has its challenges, globally content is still king.”

Commercials

Philip Key, CEO of Moonlighting Film Production Services, says they’ve had an interesting 2011 with a lot of diverse work across different media types.

“We’ve had more digital and photographic work alongside some good TV commercials from a mix of repeat and new clients. Territories for us included the traditional ones – USA, UK, Germany, Sweden, France and Spain – alongside less frequent ones like Australia and Canada. Our 2011/2012 season started earlier this year and the weaker rand has been a big plus,” notes Key.

“For 2012 challenges include the Cape Town permiting system and reversing the trend of political interference in our industry, as well as providing additional value to grow South Africa’s market share in a mature global market.”

Peter Carr, chair of the Commercials Producers Association (CPA) and executive producer at Velocity Films, says he can’t predict what 2012 holds for the commercials industry.

“It’s always such an unknown as we tend to be affected by the economies overseas and with the Eurozone crisis hanging in the balance, there is uncertainty. But with the rand now at a much more favourable rate, I do expect us to gain more business from territories that want greater value for their dollars and euros. Overall, we are on a turnover par with last year which is good considering the nervousness out there. Where we did well last year on local income, the next year could swing to more international growth.”

However, he believes it’s critical that Cape Town sort itself out in 2012. “It is our shooting capital that we sell to overseas clients, but right now it’s just not that easy to access locations and get through the red tape in getting permits.”

Equipment suppliers

According to Jasco sales manager Steven Lauter 2011 was a tough year but 2012 looks exciting. “We have some new and exciting big opportunities in our pipeline, both locally and in Africa. Things look very healthy for us and I hope this is a reflection of the industry at large.”

Steve Alves of Concilium Technologies believes 2012 will see continued investments in the rollouts of the various new digital delivery platforms, and continued upgrading by customers to meet the demands of the new age of broadcast delivery to multiple platforms and in multiple formats.

Says Alves: “This applies equally to TV and radio where digital is rapidly replacing analogue. There are a number of new players now providing more choice to the viewers, with more that should come on line in 2012, and as competition always stimulates growth, we are gearing up for a very busy 2012.”

Sean Loeve of Panasonic says that 2011 went surprisingly well for them. “Trading conditions were definitely tougher than the past few years, but we still managed to exceed our targets for the year.”

He believes trading in 2012 will be tougher. “There definitely seems to be a slowdown in our market. The European situation will also start affecting South Africa more and the current exchange rates are pushing our prices up significantly. We are expecting growth for 2012 to be flat.”

Sony South Africa’s Jess Goedhals says 2011 was an extremely difficult year for Sony with two natural disasters affecting production of equipment and recording media.

“The industry does however remain strong with many small production companies and individuals buying new technology products, especially non-tape based acquisition equipment. The rise in non-broadcast applications such as corporate and wedding was significant in 2011.

“Sony remains optimistic as a whole for 2012 especially with the new generation of 35mm type electronic cameras gaining more and more popularity. HD is still expanding in the broadcast market and the 2012 Olympic Games should provide opportunities for further expansion.”

By Linda Loubser

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