The winners of the first M-Net TAG Awards, announced at a gala ceremony in Kyalami late last year, told Screen Africa about the inspiration behind their award-winning Public Service Announcements (PSAs).
The first M-Net TAG Awards, developed out of the long-running Vuka! Awards, saw thought-provoking Public Service Announcements (PSAs) in aid of a variety of worthy charities compete in three categories: Newcomer, Professional and TAG 10.
As part of the M-Net Cares initiative, the TAG Awards have a strong focus on nurturing and mentoring young talent, and offer a stepping stone into the industry through the new TAG 10 category.
Professionals
The overall winners in the highly competitive Professional category were Lowe Bull Cape Town and Velocity Films for the haunting advert Leila in aid of the Organ Donor Foundation.
Producer Karen Kloppers says the win was great because it involved a team that was really passionate about the project. “More than that, the winning of the award meant that the commercial receives more playtime on the DStv bouquet and therefore more exposure for the cause,’ says Kloppers.
Director Tristyn von Berg had an aunt who was able to live longer because of an organ donor. “This is probably what attracted me to the idea in the first place,’ he explains.
Kloppers says that the concept tries to place the viewer in a position where they theoretically might meet someone in need of an organ, asking if, in that hypothetical circumstance, the viewer would want to be an organ donor to save the life of another person.
“Lowe Bull Cape Town came up with a very effective approach to a difficult topic and approached the Foundation, who must be thanked for all their support on the project,’ notes Kloppers.
The PSA was shot by cinematographer Peter Tischauser on an Arri Alexa, which they say was “brilliant in the low lighting conditions’.
Among the challenges they faced were “no money and an exterior winter’s night in Cape Town – all beaten by brilliant young actress, Leila Arends.’
Newcomers
Draw With Me, an animated PSA from a University of Pretoria team, was crowned the winner in the Newcomer category.
Produced and directed by Elena Pantioukhina, the PSA had a message of suicide prevention in support of the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG).
According to Pantioukhina, the concept of the PSA addresses the ways in which teenagers may cry out for help that can easily be ignored or overlooked.
“The story in the PSA is of two anonymous students writing messages to each other through doodles on a desk. The doodles come to life to show the audience that there are alternatives to giving up on life, and help is always available even in the most unexpected places.’
They researched the topic and interviewed counsellors as well as previous sufferers from depression before coming up with their ideas.
“Once we had the angle we wanted to take, we brainstormed ways in which we used to communicate and what we noticed while at school. Out of our initial ideas, the medium of the school desk stood out most, and we took it from there.’
She believes that, when working with sensitive topics, simplified animation or cartoons can be easier to relate to. The animation was initially done using Adobe Flash and a Wacom tablet to draw the frame-by-frame sequences individually.
“The sequence on the desk was hand-drawn then composited using After Effects. The music was done using Reason, and everything was put together with backgrounds made in Photoshop in a final After Effects animation,’ says Pantioukhina.
One of their biggest challenges was to express the topic without seeming insensitive or condescending: “The challenge was to find a balance between informing and giving hope without alienating someone who could potentially benefit from watching the PSA,’ she explains.
TAG 10
The overall winner of the new TAG 10 category was The Trade, made under the mentorship of Lowe Bull and Catapult Commercials.
Director Marthinus Lamprecht notes that, in an industry that tends to stick to people they know to minimise risk, the TAG 10 award symbolises a stamp of approval from the judges and industry professionals, which is what young industry professionals need to instil trust with future clients and bosses.
He also found mentoring during the process valuable: “I really got the sense that they all openly listened to what we wanted to achieve and gave advice simply on how to achieve that better, instead of enforcing their ideas,’ notes Lamprecht.
Their PSA supports Alberton Child Welfare and highlights “a horrendous yet often overlooked form of human trafficking’ – the exploitation of children for profit where they are made to beg for cash on the streets.
Lamprecht explains that the story is about two unfortunate kids who have been kidnapped and find themselves victims of this crime.
“The commercial shows the exchange of money between the people involved behind the scenes: the owner, the kidnapper and the kingpin. In the end we encourage the audience to help these children who are exploited by refusing to fund and encourage “the trade’.’
While researching the script and fact checking they contacted Child Welfare Alberton, an organisation that has been working to make the public aware of this form of trafficking, and decided to support them.
“They are truly the unsung heroes of our society,’ says Lamprecht.
Cinematographer Matthew Jankes shot the PSA in high definition on a Sony F3.
Besides time and money restrictions, Lamprecht says they also struggled to coordinate all the people working on their PSA for free and those who did huge favours in terms of gear, equipment and post facilities.
“Because things are free and people work free, things will change more rapidly and you find yourself running around locking down locations and people hours before the shoot. But somehow you get through it and you can only be thankful that the universe played along this time.’
By Linda Loubser
Screen Africa Magazine – February 2012
