In November 2016 South Africa was graced with Beautiful News and every day since, and every day for the next three years at 16h14 a Beautiful News story is published online. The two-minute videos poignantly share stories from across the country that unlike primetime news, are truly inspiring, motivating, and genuinely delightful.
The concept came from the creators of 21 Icons, a collective of like-minded people whose passion and interest in South Africa’s potential brought them together. 21 Icons celebrated South Africa’s most remarkable men and women over three seasons. “The experience of creating that project made it clear that South Africa is full of people whose stories are worthy of celebration. Beautiful News was born out of a desire to share them,” explains Anthony Hinrichsen, commissioning editor of Beautiful News and Ginkgo Agency.
Beautiful News aims to be the reminder of hope, “To remind South Africa’s people why we live here, and show the world why this country will fulfil the promise of the Mandela era,” he says. “We will show the selflessness, the entrepreneurial spirit, and the human kindness that binds South Africans together. This country and its people have so much to give and so much to live for; now we will tell their story, our story, together.”
Nelson Mandela was released from prison at 16h14 on 11 February 1990. Beautiful News stories are released at this time as a symbolic reference to the power and impact of the moment when it became clear that democracy was coming to South Africa.
“We find story subjects from numerous sources including community contacts, submissions from the existing audience, as well as online and offline research from our editorial team. It is the intention for Beautiful News to represent every kind of South African, from every province in the country,” explains Hinrichsen.
Beautiful News is too produced by Ginkgo Agency and is made possible with the support of their partner Mercedes-Benz South Africa.The films are all shot at locations that relate to the subject featured in the film in order to tell an authentic and engaging story. The crew predominantly used DSLR and mirrorless cameras with prime lenses.“These setups are best suited for Beautiful News as they are light, inconspicuous and can switch between video and stills,” says Hinrichsen. He explains that the crew on set make use of available light when shooting the stories, therefor dictated by location of the subject.
For recording sound they use pro directional mics, Hinrichsen says they give exceptionally good quality recording in the field. They also use lapels for on-screen interviews. They have a licensing agreement with Capasso where they source their music from.
The poetic news clips are edited using Adobe Creative Cloud: Premiere Pro for editing; Lightroom for photo editing; Photoshop for photo editing and logo design and corporate identity; Illustrator for logo design and corporate identity; and After Effects for video and photo effects. “Adobe Creative Cloud is efficient for shorter films and projects,” explains Hinrichsen. “The different programmes are interlinked, thus making the post-production process smoother.”
There is a full in-house crew that includes an editorial team, production team, shooting crew, media managers and editors that source and create Beautiful News daily. Every day they are in production with the duration of filming dependent on the story, subject and location of the shoot. “Shooting in the field brings with it its fair share of challenges,” says Hinrichsen. Including weather, lighting and location changing daily and all offering a different dynamic. “Scheduling at times can be challenging as we are dealing with individuals who lead full lives and are not always available to shoot,” he adds. Despite this, every day at 16h14 on the Beautiful News platform and distributed across News24 and 24.com, a beautiful video is uploaded giving viewers a reason to be proudly South African.
“The response has been remarkable. People are looking for positive stories that remind them that South Africa is a country we can be proud to call home,” says Hinrichsen. “Having only launched in November 2016 the uptake has been faster than expected, and it is continuing to grow.”
The hope is that Beautiful News creates positive conversations that bring people together. “It strives to remind everyone on a daily basis that South Africa is full of remarkable stories and incredible potential,” says Hinrichsen. “The world often feels chaotic and out of control; the aim of Beautiful News is not to ignore or disregard this, but to remind us all that, as bad as things get, we are surrounded by good people doing extraordinary things.”
Anyone can contribute by submitting a story idea to the Beautiful News editorial team. “The public can get involved by sharing stories or contributing their own,” explains Hinrichsen. “Furthermore by supporting the people featured in Beautiful News.” You can help them to continue doing the work that made their story special in the first place.
