Soap opera – or soapie – production is a process that’s not for the faint of heart. Being an on-going production without an end, many gruelling hours and sleepless nights are put in to ensure a final product that viewers can engage and become involved with.
e.tv’s long running soapies, Scandal! and Rhythm City, have both been on air for over a decade now. The success lies in the crews behind the cameras, the on-screen talent and the writers who can continuously provide a riveting and dramatic storyline that viewers can relate to. Every single topic ranging from polygamy to drug addiction to murder is covered in the storylines over time on both shows. The two shows are broadcast in prime time slots, with Rhythm City airing at 19h00 and Scandal! at 19h30 every weekday, with both soapies rank as the most watched shows on e.tv.
Scripts
The pressure is always on, with the writers having to always be up to date with local trends and incorporate this within storylines for relevance. The writing teams brainstorm every week to come up with storylines and characters that can deliver interesting and thought-provoking stories that address social issues. Storylines are normally divided into A, B and C storylines. The A storyline is the one that gets the most on-screen focus for a period and is the main story for a period of time. The B and C storylines are ones that are still important to the story and can be the starting point for an A storyline in the future. A storyline’s span can range from four to eight weeks on screen, but the prep and thought that goes into it behind the scenes can take months to prepare. Script writers work around the clock to develop scripts that make sense and are engaging with the characters. Each character has a certain way of portraying themselves on screen and script writers need to be the first to understand the character and personality traits to write convincing lines for the character.
Production
To make the show look as authentic as possible, sets are constructed from scratch with direction from the shows respective art director. Worlds are created to represent the universe within which the story is set. Each and every set, from townships to upscale hotels are all created on site. If certain scenes cannot be filmed on set, locations are sought out to facilitate the look and feel that production is going for. If a wedding or a heist, for example, needs to be shot, it is cheaper and more effective to hire a venue and shoot on location than build a set from scratch. This is a huge task undertaken by art directors to create sets within an allocated budget. Wardrobe directors have a similar role to fill by dressing cast members in relation to their character. This is done by conducting extensive research on the look of the character and their persona, and finding a wardrobe that will represent them best. Sponsorships with retailers or clothing brands are sometimes obtained to facilitate this. Another gruelling aspect of production is the amount of time and effort that goes into hair and make-up. Teams are employed to stay on set and constantly do touch ups on set when filming to ensure the talent look their best at all times on screen.
On-screen talent
The on-screen talent, who represent a diverse range of characters, are cast with the aim to represent our local heritage and diversity. There are your villains, which the viewers love to hate, that are normally the heart of a storyline. These characters are the ones that entice the drama and are the catalysts for the big event television that keeps viewers glued to the screen. Both Scandal! and Rhythm City have featured some of the biggest local talent playing the villain over the years. Since the inception of both shows, talent such as the SAFTA award winning Masasa Mbangeni, Jamie Bartlett, Sello Maake Ka Ncube and Mduduzi Mabaso have been cast as the villains that viewers just can’t seem to get enough of. The coordination of talent is a massive task that the production coordinator on set takes upon themselves. Scenes need to be constructed and these then need to be scheduled with talent to film. Not all talent is exclusive to the production and can sometimes be working on several other productions at once. Facilitating the scheduling of cast to shoot scenes is no easy task and needs to be treated with care and extreme attention to detail.
The final step
What the viewer sees on screen is normally shot two to three months prior to the broadcast date. This is to ensure that production has enough time to edit and reshoot scenes if necessary. Once an episode is shot, this is presented to the executive producer of the channel to approve or make changes to that episode. Thereafter, the episode is delivered to the channel for broadcast.
All in all, production of a soap opera in South Africa is a massive undertaking, but with the amount of awards that Rhythm City and Scandal! have received over the years, plus the great ratings the shows enjoy on a daily basis, it makes the process well worth it.
By Ziyanda Mngomezulu, head of Local Productions, e.tv
