Archive for the 'Film Industry South Africa' Category
Shot for furniture company EM.com by Big Picture at one of our top classic homes, Strawberries & Cream
Top Classic Location, Strawberries & Cream
On Set, AFS Productions
Written by Kevin Kriedemann, The Filmmaker’s Guide To South Africa 2012, p8
2011 was a breakthrough year for the South African film industry. Time Magazine called the country “Hollywood’s hottest back lot.” The Hollywood Reporter named Cape Town Film Studios one of seven “state-of-the-art production facilities giving Hollywood a run for its movie” and announced “South Africa has arrived.” The Location Guide hailed South Africa as an “ever-reliable production hub.” And Variety said the country “is currently the most cost-competitive it’s been in years.”
South Africa is earning a reputation for making films that look twice their budget. Chronicle, a teen superhero flick shot in South Africa for just $12m, earned rave reviews internationally and topped the American box office on its release in February 2012, as did Safe House, a CIA-themed thriller which was shot and set in Cape Town. Dredd producer Andrew Macdonald told Time that filming in South Africa allowed him to make a graphic novel adaptation “that will look like $100 million” for less than half that figure. American producer Peter Safran similarly told Variety that Paul Walker’s upcoming Johannesburg set thriller Vehicle 19 “would have been twice as expensive to shoot in the US.”
South Africa has one of the oldest film industries in the world, dating back to the late 1800s, so the country offers a great value location without the risk often associated with emerging locations.
You’re in safe hands here: since democracy, South Africa has hosted a wide variety of film and television shoots, including Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe winners and nominees like Clint Eastwood’s Invictus, Neill Blomkamp’s District 9, Ed Zwick’s Blood Diamond, Terry George’s Hotel Rwanda, HBO’s Generation Kill, Fox’s 24: Redemption and The History Channel’s America: The Story of Us and Gettysburgh. In addition, South Africa has hosted shoots for some of the most awarded commercials in the world, like Traktor’s Fox Sport adverts, which won the Cannes Lions Grand Prix.
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I spotted some gorgeous classic libraries on House Beautiful the other day. Most of the images below are from our own extensive portfolio, with a few of theirs thrown in for good measure!
ASOS magazine shot with Bigsky Productions in Cape Town in the archetype 1970’s house called El Dejo.
ASOS.com is one of the leading global online-only fashion and beauty retailers and its ASOS magazine is now 18th most read magazine in the UK with a readership of 450 000 people. The editorial was shot by Alex Sainsbury and styled by Richard Sloan, the model was Alessandra Cirotto From Ice Models.
The El Dejo House, listed with Amazing Spaces, is a location that has been frozen in time – like someone simply pressed pause. It is exactly this attribute that made ASOS choose this location for one of their magazine editorials. The strong American West-Coast architecture, with its period furniture and features, make this house a spectacular example of 70’s lifestyle. The interior is not so much a statement but a feeling of the times, which is the case with so much of this house. Its rounded arches and its well established garden make finding a spot to shoot easy and inspirational. Perfect for any shoot searching to recapture the spirit of the 70’s or reinvent the seventies in a modern and chic way.
Meet Foxy, the FoxyBingo.com mascot who was here in January shooting a commercial for the UK gaming site. His face is so well known that two British women who spotted him on the beach in Clifton reportedly ‘nearly died’. His fame has been compared to the likes of Robbie Williams!
This 90kg fox suit houses advanced animatronics, he can wiggle his ears, nose and mouth and can only see through the lens of a fibreoptic camera sitting in his nose. A second suit housing water pipes to cool down the occupant sits underneath this one, but shooting on one of our typical summer days meant a true test of its cooling powers. Needless to say it did not provide much comfort to the unfortunate inhabitant!
Shot by Uncle Morris, a new production company owned by Steven St Arnaud, at the fabulous Nelson’s Eye, watch the TVC here:
