A conversation I had with a dear friend this week had me thinking about the South African television and film industry in a fresh way. See, hardly a day goes by where this friend and I don’t get to speak about our chosen field and what needs to be done for things to change for the better within it.
Having been in the game for almost 25 years, I sometimes think one should simply step aside and let new blood with their new ways of doing things get on with their business without our constant critique and often unsolicited advice. After all, times have changed. The industry has grown.
New platforms exist now that were not imagined by any of the great teachers that trained and prepared us for this industry. Nothing is slow and laboured any more. The VCR (video cassette recorder) and VHS (video home system) are now museum pieces while cameras keep shrinking in size. In fact, my ‘born before computers’ teachers would probably have never imagined that today’s young creatives would be able to film content and upload it to the Internet to be viewed by an online audience that could be anywhere in the world.
They wouldn’t have dreamt that one day the art of make-up would be taught in YouTube videos. Or that digital technology would make it possible for creatives to film an entire feature or series using much less equipment than what is traditionally required.
I might have just used a problematic word here. Traditionally. I probably should guard against being hung up on old ways and methods. Perhaps those time are up.
The conversation my dear friend and I were having changed tone from our regular frustrated and ‘tired of the game’ beat to something that ignited a new path of hope for me. I had just been to the a beautiful graduation ceremony for one of the most useful internship programmes in television and film, the M-Net Magic in Motion Academy.
I had been to one such ceremony before about two years back. I remember how amazed I was that a broadcaster had recognised the need to take young people by the hand and walk them through the industry until there is little they don’t understand about the production process. I have to declare my bias in this matter though: the academy in question is headed by one Bobby Heany, who auditioned me for one of the lead roles in the first season of the SABC health drama Soul City when I was still wet behind the ears. I didn’t crack it. I got a small cameo instead.
I would have the opportunity to work with this award-winning director at a later stage. He is indeed one of the best teachers I know. But he can’t teach alone. This is the change in tone I am referring to. We industry old hands with all our experience and multiple files of lessons learnt need to recognise the need to teach.
We need to create platforms to share knowledge with the young entrants into the industry so we too can benefit from their fresh approach to content creation and story telling.
So instead of lamenting the era of quick fixes and short cuts, it might be beneficial to us to recognise that perhaps it is time to teach the young ones what we know.
I have come to realise in my many interactions with young people who are trying to set themselves up as producers or directors of films and TV programmes, that the information they need to get assistance does not necessarily filter through to them. So while the handful of drama school graduates that make it into M-Net’s internship might be the most fortunate entrants into the television industry, a whole lot more young people remain on the periphery without a guide to help them navigate this jungle of an industry. We need to challenge each other to make time to teach.
And this teaching could simply mean sharing information on how things work. It could mean holding regular workshops on specific areas where experienced professionals share their wealth of knowledge with film school students and industry newcomers. There is so much to explain, yet much of the information that someone like me would take for granted is not so easily accessible.
So, in our wanting to teach, the simple things we could start with should include challenging agencies like the National Film and Video Foundation to be repetitive in communicating their application process. We assume, often wrongly, that information hidden in websites is out there and really available. So it’s teaching young people the business side of film and television production?
Are we training them to knock on doors for jobs or are we equipping them with the empowering information they need to access the various funding vehicles so they may become job creators themselves? When we are done teaching a young person how to write, we must make sure we take them through the pitch process as well.
We have got to teach them about how to apply for script development support. We must take them through the Department of Trade and Industry’s film incentives and how that works. Let us tell your people about the Department of Arts and Culture’s Mzansi Golden Economy and how that affects them how they can access such funds. We have got to share information with young creatives on the commissioning processes of the different broadcasting houses in the country. What works at eTV might not be the same process at SABC. This teaching will involve urging the broadcasters themselves to adopt this repetitive information sharing on their own platforms so aspirant producers may access it. What I’m nudging us towards is a network of industry teachers.
We must, for the love of this beautiful industry, be prepared to make it our business to ensure we do not become gatekeepers for those who wish to walk in our footsteps and beyond.
I honestly believe that our old ways have their place in the industry while at the same time I’m beginning to accept that we might be guilty of keeping valuable knowledge to ourselves because we are somehow also threatened by young people and their fresh, fast-paced approach.
My generation of industry players have dragged their feet long enough in pushing for real transformation in this game. Instead of fighting for growth of the industry as a whole, what we seem to be concerned with most has been the protection of a few big names in production.
Young people should not have to cry for seats at the table. We should not be patting ourselves on the back for giving a countable number of newcomers a foot in the door.
The game has already changed in front of our eyes and if we think withholding knowledge is going to serve us well we might as well write our own career obituaries. It’s time to teach.
We must do this as duty to the upcoming creatives but also for our own benefit. And we must remember that quality productions and great stories are not just reserved for urban centres.
We have to reach out and create platforms accessible even to the young person in the most rural areas.
They too deserve a place in grand credit rolls. Their stories deserve funding for development so they can ultimately produce their films and fly the SA flag on world platforms. We must also teach the young aspirant creative about the many opportunities behind the camera.
I am driven by the Charlotte Maxeke philosophy of lifting as we rise. We cannot grow if that growth means we rise alone or with the select few in our close circles.
I don’t want to be critical any longer. I don’t want to keep pointing out what we could be doing wrong.
I am challenging myself to do what I can to share my lessons with those who are following in my footsteps so that their journey does not end up being as long and challenging as mine was.
So, yes my friend had a point in that conversation of ours. It really is time to teach.
@FloMasebe