City skyline alive with sound

Commissioned by Elsabe Booyens - Deputy Marketing Director of the City of Jo'burg - the ad was produced by Meerkat Media based on the idea that the sounds of the city can tell you the story of its character.

The result, directed by Pauli Van Dyk and produced by Deon Maas, is a locked-off, time-lapsed pan-shot of the Johannesburg city skyline.

Shot over a period of 15 hours from a koppie in Kensington, the visuals centre on the city itself while the weather and lighting conditions change in an eerie procession. But the main impact is in the swelling and ebbing sounds of taxis, people on the move, car engines and doors combined with bird calls, voices and other city sounds.

Shot on HD digital format, the advert features some slight animation and was completed in a nine-day turn-around from commission to delivery.