On 3 March 2016, Sony Pictures Television’s first locally commissioned show, GoggleBox South Africa, aired on the Sony Channel (DStv Channel 127). GoggleBox SA takes viewers into the homes of everyday people and allows them to be a fly on the wall while these families watch and discuss South Africa’s favourite TV shows.
The concept for Gogglebox originated in the United Kingdom. The British reality show first aired in March 2013 and went on to win a number of awards including a BAFTA, and became a word-of-mouth hit that had the Twittersphere buzzing with enthusiasm for its unusual style and content. The success of Gogglebox in the UK naturally resulted in numerous spin offs in countries around the world – and now finally in South Africa.
The format for GoggleBox was conceptualised based on the fact that almost everyone loves watching TV and in turn loves talking about TV. “The idea was to create an interactive show where ordinary families sit comfortably in their living rooms where they discuss, laugh, cry or debate about what they see on TV,” says Sonja Underwood, Sony Pictures Television territory director for the network’s Africa Channels. “Sony Pictures Television chose to bring Gogglebox to South Africa as a result of the Sony Channel wanting to create a show that resonated well with viewers across the country. The show itself is perfectly positioned as a result of the diverse cultures and people living in South Africa. Gogglebox has been produced for viewers to connect with their TV, favourite actors, shows and story lines.”
A cross selection of shows on the Sony Channel (DStv Channel 127), Sony Max (DStv Channel 128), as well as the most prevalent and most watched entertainment, sport, news, politics and current affairs shows that aired on DStv during the week are reviewed by the GoggleBox SA families.
Episodes are filmed seven days prior to airing every Thursday, in order to keep the content current and topical. The downside to this is that the turnaround time for each completed episode is extremely short – a few days at most, says GoggleBox SA director Jane Kennedy (Trinity Productions), resulting in all-nighters particularly for the edit team. Producer Gary King (Picture Tree) agrees that the tight turn-around in the editing process has been one of the biggest challenges in producing GoggleBox SA, “with very little time and hours of footage, it is extremely difficult to edit an hour programme within such a limited number of days,” says King. “The content that the families are observing is from the last seven days so the filming needs to be current. Thanks to a great team of editors and Jane Kennedy, the director of the series, we are managing to meet our deadlines.”
With the help of casting director Bonnie Lee Bouman, the households featured on GoggleBox South Africa were selected from ordinary citizens on the street – albeit with a little pizazz. King, Kennedy and executive producer Stephen Le Roux (Eject Media) wanted a cast that represented the diversity of South Africa, complete with differing opinions and high emotions. “…it was imperative to find the perfect cast for Gogglebox South Africa,” says King. “This was a huge challenge, as what the viewer is going to find appealing is subjective. We looked for opinionated TV viewers when it comes to what’s on the box. They needed to be entertaining, outspoken, emotional and irreverent and also needed to be friends or families that love to watch TV. Further to this, they also have to love talking about the television shows they watch. Once they ticked these criteria, the question I always asked was ‘Will they give the viewer a warm feeling?’”
GoggleBox SA was captured using Datavideo PTC150 cameras: “We were looking for the best in remote control cameras in terms of lens range and exposure/Fstop flexibility,” says Kennedy, adding that the goal was to capture the most authentic responses from the cast, which would have been somewhat inhibited had there been a physical production crew in the room with them. “Charl Fraser was the DOP who set up the lighting and camera configuration in each house but we now have four different cameramen…we send four teams out a night for five nights of filming. Each team has its own camera operator,” she explains.
The fundamental feature of Gogglebox, South Africa or elsewhere, is to showcase the ‘realness’ factor, “that sets this show aside from anything else on TV,” says Sony Pictures Television’s Sonja Underwood. “Nothing in the show is scripted and this is a fresh format that has never been seen in South Africa. Gogglebox has a strong social element and we encourage viewers to share their thoughts and opinions on what they view on the show.”
