New South African reality cooking series Ultimate Braai Master, created by Cooked in Africa Films and hosted by local chef and TV personality Justin Bonello, started on SABC3 in September.
Ultimate Braai Master host Justin Bonello explains that the new series developed as a natural progression from the concept of his cooking and travel show Cooked, alongside the success of cooking shows such as MasterChef.
“I believed it was high time that we developed a South African concept, starring South Africans and filmed by South Africans that taps into the South African psyche. The concept seems so obvious that it begs the question – why has no-one thought of it before,’ says Bonello.
He adds that they created the series with the intention of capturing the imaginations of all South Africans. “It’s a homegrown original that features a treasure trove of new recipes, extreme cuisine cook-offs, adrenalin-driven adventure and unscripted human drama packaged into 13 episodes.
“Getting it made, however, has taken almost two years, from working out what the challenges would be, to finding the right judges for the show, to pitching the concept to sponsors and finally getting the green light.’
The unexpected
For a totally new concept, Bonello notes that they weren’t sure what to expect. “We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of people who entered (6 400) and the calibre of entries. When we ran the audition rounds we were looking for a diverse cross section of people who understood food and the alchemy behind timing and combinations. If you can cook in the kitchen, you should be able to replicate any dish on the fire. Of course, being a television show we were also on the lookout for character, although that was less important than cooking ability.’
Fifteen teams of two contestants each were selected to compete for the prize of R500 000 cash, a new Renault Koleos 4×4 valued at R325 000 and a Cadac BraaiMaxx valued at R15 000.
Filming on the series started in July and took place at 18 outdoor locations. “It took 52 days with a crew of 50 and 30 contestants, including 15 contestant vehicles and 12 production vehicles. We covered 8 000 kilometres from one end of South Africa to the other.’
Locations included the banks of the Orange River in the North, Cape Town, the Karoo, the Wild Coast, Durban, the Midlands, the Drakensberg and the Pilanesberg.
Bonello continues: “Logistically it’s been a long road. By now I’ve perfected the art of filming with a small crew, so initially the idea of filming with a crew of 50 seemed like a bit of a nightmare. Luckily my business partner Peter Gird has done massive amounts of really big advertising campaigns, so his expertise was valuable in getting the show made.’
Extreme production
Director of photography Sunel Haasbroek explains that they shot on Sony EX1 cameras. “Because of the nature of filming reality TV in the great outdoors, it was a no brainer to use the EX1 because of its robustness, versatility, workflow and picture quality. We also got to play with the NEX-FS100 – one of Sony’s new 35mm CMOS censor cameras. This enabled us to get the same narrow depth of field and incredible picture quality that I would from the Sony F3, but at a fraction of the cost.
“We added a COOKE 25 – 250mm lens via a PL adapter, making it possible for us to get a more filmic look to add to our signature Cooked in Africa aesthetic.
“The Sony HDR-CX760E Handycam – a great little camcorder – was also used in conjunction with our steady drone to get epic aerials anywhere, anytime. The great thing about this Handycam is the lens stabilising system. This basically means that, especially when filming aerials, no matter how much the camera moves, the lens will move inside the camera body independently to keep the image stable.’
She adds that, because they often had to shoot after sunset, she used fire and practical lights as often as possible keeping with the outdoors feel of the show. “Although I did use external HMIs and other light sources to light scenes, I tried to keep it as natural as possible,’ notes Haasbroek.
The Glidetrack HD Slider was used for tracking shots, Minijib Arms for crane shots and Go Pros for car shots.
Haasbroek notes that filming reality comes with various challenges. “We had one film crew covering the entire series, which included filming one 24-hour main challenge directly followed by a 15-hour elimination challenge. The series required extreme cooking but it’s fair to say that it was an extreme production in every sense of the word.’
“Because it was a competition, you couldn’t ask someone to compromise what they were doing and jeopardise their chances, just to get the shot. To be fair to the contestants, we had to think on our toes the whole time to make sure we got the story, the drama and the action the first time round – and we had to do this with the highest production value possible.’
Post-production was done in-house at Cooked in Africa by 14 fulltime staff and seven freelancers.
Hybrid funding model
According to marketing and sponsorship manager at Cooked in Africa, Lara Black, the programme was funded using a hybrid model within the traditional AFP (advertiser-funded programme) structure. “Branded entertainment is less about the classic bells and whistles of AFP platforms and more about the entertainment values, less about the brands behind it than about the content and the action of the series.’
The series is sponsored by Pick n Pay and supported by Renault SA and Coca-Cola.
Continues Black: “The series is one element within an integrated and multi-dimensional marketing platform that includes a dedicated website; print, radio and TV partners; a cook book; braai ambassadors and activations; as well as in-store branding.’
By Linda Loubser
screen africa magazine – october 2012
