Making Music Videos in South Africa

Remember those pre-historic, pre-MK days when music videos in South Africa were an endangered species. On second thought, I guess for something to be endangered it had to exist in large quantities at some point in time. So maybe endangered isn’t the correct word, perhaps non-existent is a better term.

I remember seeing music videos on SABC which were shot in one take and the musician would turn, like a newscaster, to an alternate camera to give the video the feel of a few extra camera angles. Then later the footage just got stuck together and like a preschool Pritt project it was all over and done in 10 minutes.

Thanks to MK this depression era for South African music videos is long gone. In fact, this side of the music industry has never been healthier in our country. Don’t get me wrong there are still tons of utterly atrocious music videos out there, but there are an increasing amount of artists and directors who are continuously producing better and more creative music videos.

The power of the visual medium and the quality of South African music have grown hand in hand and to such a degree that it has forced the mother of all music channels, MTV, to take notice. A few weeks ago I saw Van Coke Kartel’s music video for September Fools playing on MTV Europe’s show Superock. And Zebra & Giraffe’s video for ‘In my Eyes’ has recently been added to the playlist rotation on the same channel. South African music videos are beginning to demand international recognition.

So come with NepTunes as we take you on a concise behind the scenes road trip of the inner workings of the visual music medium. We spoke to directors Morgan Dingle, Sean Metelerkamp, Brian Little from Fly on the wall Productions, Dean Leslie from The African Attachment and Managing Director of Rhythm Records Albert Du Plessis and found out more about the art of making a music video in the RSA.

Budget
The word budget in the South African context is somewhat similar to that of Lord Voldemont in the Harry Potter series. Its name should not be spoken out loud. Those involved in the industry either did not know or did not want to elaborate too much on what artist/bands have the most expensive music videos. So the myth of South Africa’s biggest spenders will live on a little longer.

However, the cost of a music video in South Africa ranges from R5 000 to R200 000. And on average the damage to your bank account is between R25 000 to R50 000. Rhythm Records MD Albert Du Plessis says the budget is determined by “sales and band profile – i.e. turnover will determine whether costs expended are recoverable.” And if you are flying solo then it basically just depends on how much money you and your band mates are able to cough up for a video. So when a band has decided on a song and their budget has been acquired by whichever means, they are then ready for step 2 – the concept.
Concept
This part of the process varies in its execution. Bands more often than not approach directors or production companies with an idea to do a music video. But sometimes a band’s live performances or songs inspire an idea and then a director may approach the band and pitch a concept to them.

The creative process for the concept of a music video can be anything and everything. Different directors have various means for coming up with an idea. Morgan Dingle (director of Straatligkinders – ‘Avontuur van ‘n hartbreek’ and four Prime Circle music videos) says that: “Normally I have a bunch of ideas sitting around waiting for the right songs to match up. Most often though, the band has a particular need from a video and that, matched by a feeling or perhaps lyrics would spark an idea. Drinking helps too.”

One approach that comes across strongly is that the director listens to the song an almost countless number of times to get a feel for the imagery of the song and then along with the budget constraints their idea for the music video will end up being either a concept video or a performance video.
Concept videos vs Performance Videos
Morgan Dingle states that performance videos are very important for new bands, because it introduces them to the public. On the other hand concept videos are quite expensive to pull off, but Dean Leslie (director of Ashtray Electric – ‘Quite Overstared’ and The Parlotones – ‘Overexposed’) believes “things are changing and there are a lot of good music videos being produced locally that have high production value and good concepts.”

The most important factor in this stage is that the power of a great idea should never be underestimated. A great idea and amplified creativity is more powerful than bucket loads of cash. Because in the end a big budget along with a plain idea will probably result in more ladies, more Mercedes and a couple of explosions – which is something that the public has seen many times before.

Bryan Little (director of aKING – Safe as houses and Van Coke Kartel – September Fools) adds to this: “I was trained to use budget constraints as a creative platform for original ways of looking at the medium. Don’t compete with Hollywood, you will lose and your work will have nothing else that makes it special.”

Sean Metelerkamp (director of Fokofpoliskar – Antibiotika) has an entirely different take on the situation: “I don’t think budget plays a part in how an individual wants to make a video, performance or not. But it does influence production value. If your performers can’t perform, then gooi concept, and if your concept sucks then just film crocodiles and parrots having sex. I’ve never seen that so that should be a winner.”

The Shooting Process
After all the admin and planning it comes down to one to two days of capturing the events on film. The days are very long and grueling, because as much as possible is fit into the day of shooting. Getting that perfect shot has left those involved with a number of tales to tell.

Bryan Little: “For Van Coke Kartel we shot at night in a residential area and Justin the drummer was banging away at 4 in the morning. We nearly got killed by the neighbours. In hindsight that was a mistake and very inconsiderate and also cost me a lot of what I wanted to actually shoot. The cops came a lot and we spent more time trying to stay out of jail than shooting.”

Morgan Dingle has also had his share of strange experiences: “I’ve experienced my crew flooding an entire building, being electrocuted in the rain, and a hip hop artist demanding Jack Daniels at 6 o’clock in the morning…All normal stuff in the music video world.”
Post Production
The work to be done in this phase depends on which medium you shot the footage (digital, film, or photo stills). In this phase the footage is graded, which means that you tweak the image colours and CGI (if necessary) are also added. Then, the basic editing which determines the pace and flow of the video is also done here.

Sean Metelerkamp describes the post production phase of the project as the place where you: “Edit/cut raw footage into something you had imagined while you were picking your nose. You try and make it look as pretty as possible.”

And Ta da! You have your music video. From first meet to the end of post production a music video usually takes between one and two months to finish. It’s amazing that these short little pieces of film take so much blood, sweat, time and money to create. But it is understandable as these videos have become the window into what’s hot and what’s not in the South African music industry. With the growing popularity of MK as well as social networking sites, these videos have become the primary source of discovery of new South African music for many music fans.

NM - Andre Kluyts