South African pay-TV broadcaster M-Net’s long running Vuka! Awards, in which creatives in the advertising and film industry are invited to produce touching Public Service Announcements (PSAs) for charity organisations, have been re-named M-Net TAG (Television Awards for Good).
Says Koo Govender, M-Net’s Director of Corporate Marketing and Communications: “We decided to rename the M-Net Vuka! Awards to M-Net TAG to underline our fresh new approach to this important M-Net Cares initiative. While M-Net TAG has the same big heart in the way it creates awareness for worthy causes, M-Net Cares is taking these industry awards to the next level with a much stronger focus on developing and mentoring new talent.
“We trust that, as people get tagged on social media networks, M-Net TAG will assist in building a future community of diverse voices with confident creatives from different backgrounds who are equipped to take the South African advertising, film and television industry to new heights in line with the latest worldwide trends.’
M-Net TAG will continue to reward excellence in the Newcomer and Professional Categories, which have become a staple of the M-Net Vuka! Awards, but to create new and meaningful training opportunities a brand new category has been introduced to further M-Net’s Corporate Social Investment objectives. The exciting new category TAG 10 provides a platform for young “wannabe’ copywriters, art directors, producers and directors to break into the industry with the mentorship of experts in the field.
While the Newcomer category is open to students and any person who is not a professional and has not had any work broadcast on television or cinema before, the new TAG 10 category invites entries from film or advertising school graduates or those between the ages of 20 and 27 (born between 1985 and 1992) with less than 5 years experience in his/her field of focus – directing, producing, copywriting or art direction. As this category is aimed at filmmakers who are looking for “the big break’, the services of professionals such as a DOP, editors etc. may also be used.
“As TAG 10 aims to provide mentorship to talented young people and to address imbalances in our creative industry we encourage teams entering this category to take into account the race, language and cultural demographics of South Africa,’ adds Palesa Xorile, M-Net’s CSI Manager.
The winning team in the TAG 10 category will win an overseas trip to the Cannes Film Festival and Cannes Young Lions, but first they will have to display their passion for the industry and hone their skills in the presence of a high-level panel.
This category will unfold in three phases. In Phase 1 young copywriters and art directors are required to submit a written entry comprising of a written motivation, a script and a storyboard for their PSA. Directors and producers are required to submit a showreel and a motivation letter, motivating as to why they should be considered to direct/produce the chosen PSA script.
The shortlisted Producer/Director teams will each be sent one of the winning 10 scripts (entries from Agency Copywriters and Art Directors) and be invited to pitch on producing the PSA.
During the pitching session in phase 2 the complete team comprising of Producer, Director, Art Director and Copywriter will present to a panel of judges and in phase 3 the chosen teams will begin production under mentorship and monitoring from the panel.
The format and terms and conditions of the Newcomer and Professional categories remain similar to those of Vuka! Newcomers and Professionals can enter the M-Net TAG Awards by submitting a PSA produced specifically for television and/or cinema.
The Professional category is open to any person who works in, or has worked in, the advertising, television, film or visual arts industry whether as a full-time or a part-time employee, consultant, or as an independent contractor.
For more information as well as the terms and conditions and entry deadlines, go to http://tag.mnet.co.za or contact Shelli or Candice on 011 804 2552.
All the winning PSAs will be screened on M-Net and its channels.
