As we embark on the new year key industry players in the South African commercial production and equipment supply sectors summarise 2012 and give their predictions for 2013. *
2012 was an unpredictable, bumpy year for many in the commercial production industry according to
Peter Carr, executive producer at Velocity, South Africa’s most awarded commercial production company.
“I think the industry is presently taking strain, judging by word on the street among producers, crew and suppliers. A lot of producers are complaining about the lack of work and low budgets, while costs are going up. One major production house closed down in 2012,’
He notes that last year the industry resolved many issues including the Cape Town location problems. “We now need to resolve the newly drafted work permit / visa legislations, which will impact on foreign clients coming into South Africa. Clients are not all paying on time and I expect this to become a bigger issue this year.
Agencies and production houses will need to become firmer about their contracts.
“We also need to improve communication with suppliers to help them find alternative, cost effective means of producing the work. I think that the government should do more in terms of marketing South Africa as a film destination.’
Carr believes that 2013 may see local directors being used more and more on foreign commercials shot in South Africa.
“Locally, I expect the market to remain much the same as 2012 with a lot of ups and downs. There is a lot work coming out of the African continent with much of it being awarded to local agencies so I expect this area will grow and generate more work for us,’ he says.
John Dixon, group chief executive officer of agency Draftfcb South Africa believes that 2012 was a pretty tough year for the industry.
“While many of the top companies in South Africa are reporting good results, there is a general lack of confidence in the macroeconomic environment, driven in part by the sovereign debt crisis in Europe. Clients appear to be less willing to commit up front to projects and we have seen a swing back to variable compensation as opposed to fixed fees. The process for getting work approved appears to be getting longer and longer.
“There appears to be a decline in skill levels across both agencies and clients which affects both margins and the quality of the final work. On positive side, the demand for truly integrated campaigns is increasing and digital communication generally has finally come of age in this market,’ says Dixon.
He believes that TV will still dominate ad spend in 2013, whereas digital will continue to experience the fastest growth.
“Expect to see greater integration of TV and digital to take advantage of the “two screens phenomenon’. Radio will continue to be the best opportunity to speak to South Africans in their own language,’ comments Dixon.
Equipment supply
2012 was a difficult year in terms of broadcast equipment sales says Sony SA’s Jess Goedhals.
“We were fortunate in that we delivered a brand new 26-camera high definition (HD) outside broadcast (OB) unit to SuperSport in April and a five-camera HD mobile production unit in October, with another one due early in February 2013.
“I believe that 2013 will continue like 2012, with little excitement in the broadcast sales market. There is movement on the media archiving front with some new products that should create opportunities in 2013, but the remainder of the industry will be quiet, primarily due to lack of momentum normally provided by the national broadcaster in any region.’
Goedhals thinks that 4K will make its mark in the industry in 2013, as products announced in this format have generated enthusiasm from filmmakers across the world.
“I believe that 4K is set to become the next “big thing’ in television – the excitement is equivalent to when HD (1920×1080) became a reality for customers in South Africa in 2008. Sony’s Consumer division has just launched the 84′ 4K Ultra HD TV with buyers already placing orders.
“The “lens to glass’ journey of Sony 4K technology and equipment development has its inception in the range of 4K acquisition products – the F65 Premium and F55 CineAlta broadcast cameras and the XAVC camera recording system,’ states Goedhals.
Steve Lauter of Jasco Broadcast Solutions says that the first six months of 2012 was business as usual (ie. “tough as nails’).
“Luckily Jasco landed two substantial projects at SuperSport and Namibia Broadcasting Corporation which really got us over the hump. I am pretty optimistic for 2013 as there is so much upgrade work going on at the moment both locally and in Africa to support channel expansion as a result of digital terrestrial television (DTT).
“With DTT looming I think that set-top-boxes are going to be a big deal and archiving is still a hot topic,’ says Lauter.
Andrew Cole of Concilium Technologies reports that despite the slow downs and subsequent delays in companies being able to spend their budgets, they had a very satisfying year with a number of firsts. In 2013 he hopes to see initial commercial DTT broadcasts commence in South Africa.
“This should result in the broadcasters requiring investment in infrastructure requirements and clever workflows to provision for the additional channels, both SD and HD, which can be accommodated on the DTT platform. The imminent roll out of LTE (Long Term Evolution) should be a game changer with consumers switching back and forth between linear TV and on demand services.
“With 3D having run its course, more emphasis will be put on 4K. There will continue to be a move towards “TV everywhere’. With tablets becoming more prevalent, broadcasters will focus on better quality transmission to handheld devices and the ability to watch a programme on one device, pause it, and continue watching on another device,’ explains Cole.
Sean Loeve of Panasonic Broadcast cites 2012 as “very tough’ with less units being sold and at tighter margins.
“Customers seemed very nervous about investing in new product in the difficult market conditions. There is also increased pressure from international direct sell websites which cut out the marketing and professional support margin.
“However, trading picked up in November and December and we are looking forward to growth in 2013. From Panasonic Broadcast we can expect a quality world leading Codec family in AVC-Ultra being incorporated into its camcorders,’ comments Loeve.
*For predictions of how 2013 will pan out for the film industry see front page story entitled Positive outlook for SA film
screen africa magazine – january 2013
