Comedy series for community TV being produced in Port Elizabeth uses interns

To create a foundation for the development of a local film industry in Port Elizabeth, young filmmakers will be producing a comedy series for Bay TV, as part of a film and television production-training project being run by The Media Workshop of Port Elizabeth in association with Urban Brew Studios.

3 Sep 2012

Denise Roodt

The show is reportedly the first of its kind in South Africa, as community television stations rely mostly on chat shows, news and documentary-style programming. It could have possible syndication on Soweto TV and IKZN

The training of the 40 unemployed learners and graduates is being funded by the Media, Information and Communication Technology (MICT) Seta, according to Denise Roodt, award-winning founder and owner of The Media Workshop, which has its headquarters in Newton Park.

David Lister, who has a wealth of experience in the television and film industry both locally and internationally, is the supervising director and mentor of the internship programme. He is also the lecturer in the NQF 4 and NQF 5 certificate Film Directing modules. He has won 10 directing awards and numerous actors and technicians have won awards for their work under his direction.

"It is a real privilege to have David here to coach the interns. He has directed all genres, including full length movies, telefeatures, television drama series, a puppet series, documentaries, commercials and corporate videos," says Roodt.

"Sustainable training and development"

"The intention is to offer a sustainable training and development service to feed into the community television industry, which will see this year's top NQF 4 graduates entering the NQF 5 programme next year. The NQF 5 graduates will then be considered for internships/workplace experience programmes at community TV channels."

The 'big dream' is to see the graduates produce the Eastern Cape's first commercial full feature film.

"I strongly believe in the creation and development of new opportunities for the disaffected youth. There is a wealth of unrealised talent in the Eastern Cape," says Lister. "The Media Workshop provides valuable structure, guidance and facilities. Students have a chance in a lifetime to be free to experiment and to find their own voice, to realise their passion for filmmaking and to tell their own original stories.

"They will not only learn a range of technical skills, but also learn to work as part of a team in a collaborative medium, which will prepare them for the realities of professional filmmaking," he concludes.

According to Roodt, other South African filmmakers will be sharing their experience, passion and skills with the students during the training.