FILM NEWS

Putting foot on film

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:47

Andrew King

Earlier this year, 25 teams of 125 people took to the road in the inaugural Put Foot Rally. A short film documented all the action.

They travelled in a variety of vehicles, from fully kitted 4x4s to standard Citi Golfs. Even that stalwart of road going sewing machines, the Datsun 120Y, took part. That car was older than any of its three occupants and it was in this spirit that the rally took flight.

Seven countries, seven checkpoints and seven wild parties later, the event was a rousing success for its charity, the Bob’s for Good foundation, which raises funds to put school shoes on the feet of needy children. Overall the rally goers raised about R150 000. This was doubled by Old Mutual, meaning 30 000 kids can now get to school well shod.

With that success there was no question about another rally. The rally is already booked out for 2012 and there has been so much interest that it has doubled in size. A huge part of the motivation for people to enter was the short film documenting the event that was shown online.

Durban’s D4 Productions director Andrew King and producer / photographer Joanna Jansen, were along for the first wild ride.

“My aim was to bring back clean, compelling imagery that we could weave into a short, emotive clip; not only showing people what they’d see and experience if they went on the trip, but also the emotion attached to it,” says King. “Africa is such a complex subject and I was excited at the opportunity to show the contrasts between the typical African way of life and the Rally vibe. Above all I wanted the film to be meaningful rather than simply documenting a bunch of people partying it up.”

D4 is known for its coverage of adventure and extreme sports. This was inspired by King’s participation in such events such as the Freedom Challenge, which meant running the Comrades Marathon then mountain biking (starting the next morning) 2 300kms off road and unsupported to Paarl, to make it in time for the 220km, four-day Berg River Canoe Marathon.

One would think filming the Put Foot Rally would be a walk in the park for King, but as he says: “Being ‘on it’ for 17 days can be tiring, especially when you’re elected as the ‘fines master’ and are expected to perform with a beer in hand at checkpoint parties. So for me it was the classic fear of missing out – driving past classic African landscapes, interesting portrait opportunities and funny situations, even though you have a hundred just like them in the bag.”

King left the Sony NX5 behind and shot entirely on the Canon D7. Shooting on the DSLR brought some challenges, explains King, such as kids who freeze gangsta style thinking they are posing for a still. “It takes some skill looking away and conning them into thinking you’re done so they start acting natural again.”

D4 hopes to Put Foot again in 2012, albeit with a little more preparation to counter the hangovers.

SCREENAFRICA Print Magazine – November 2011 (view here)
By Antone Crone

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