#SAFilmReel December 2016: Fran Luckin picks MTN 'Night Shift'

Luckin says "“Best of Reel goes to both Upstairs Ludus and to Howard Audio because the craft is so seamless here that it would be impossible to judge them separately. The cutting pace gives the story a groove that carries the viewer effortlessly from one scene to the next. It’s to the credit of the editing that the ad maintains an infectious rhythm without ever turning into a Busby Barkeley extravaganza (Google it, millennials!) Even the dance at the bus stop is handled deftly, with combinations of long shots, cutaways and different angles, so it never becomes A Big Flashy Number.

When it comes to take selection, there isn’t a shot here that jars or is out of keeping with the rhythm of the piece. I particularly loved the subtlety of the “sideways glance and shoulder-shimmy” at 0:53 and the way it punctuates the build-up. This could so easily have been cheesy and heavy-handed… some guy who can’t hold a tune serenading his mate Marvin. But the instigator’s voice is blended into the mix almost immediately as the music takes over, and takes us into complete feel-good territory. It’s a great choice of song and the re-record flawlessly captures its groove and its emotive power. I enjoy the way the incidental noises are used as beats in the music to punctuate the melody: witness the musical timing of the cut to the passport controller calling “Next.”

And the close harmonies on the chorus made me get goosebumps (but then I am a big girly softy..). I really like this ad. It’s a welcome return to form for MTN.”

Special mentions for the month also went to:

• Chin Up! ‘Tall Girls and Sanitary Pads’ by Hylton Tannenbaum from Bioscope Films.
  
• Chicken Licken ‘Afronaut’ by Peter Pohorsky from Plank Film Productions.

For more information, visit www.ididthteditorial.com/.