What are you currently working on and who commissioned it?  Tell us a little bit about it.

Two and a half years ago I started working on a very exciting project – a weekly half hour Afrikaans environmental series commissioned by kykNET (DSTV 35) called “GROEN”. My producer, Jaco Loubser got me on board  in 2005 as Researcher and Production Manager, and soon I took over from him as Director and Manager.  Today (officially) we finished editing our 156th episode.  The series is specifically about the “wonders of nature” where we feature conservation stories, animal behaviour, habitats and its associated animal and plant life, yet GROEN does not cover any negative environmental issues.  We’ve developed a website for the series (www.groen.co.za), providing a meeting place for viewers and providing access to information regarding our episodes, the destinations we visit and special viewer packages. GROEN has once again been commissioned for the next season, and we’ve already started filming.

At the recent Durban Wild Talk Africa Festival you chaired the discussion – What do our children want to watch?  Can you give us feedback on this.

At Wild Talk Africa this year we had four fantastic panel members: Lolli Goodson from SABC, who explained that it is important to distinguish between your different audiences within the children's programming genre.  Michaela Strachan, celebrity presenter from the UK brought everything into perspective showing what UK audiences enjoy.  Sanet Olivier, director of “GROENtjie” - a brand new Afrikaans environmental children's series shared her experience with reversioning of material and being creative on how to get (and keep) the attention of our younger viewers.  Cecil Barry from Red Pepper also showcased a very exciting project he is working on called “Ed & Eppa in the Wild”, a full HD wildlife series with animated characters. His experience was that a series must have a story which will appeal firstly to the broadcaster and most importantly to the audience.  By using animated characters he takes viewers on a journey of discovery.  In the audience we also had a small group of children from a local school aged between 6 and 11 and having their input was invaluable.  I did however realize by the end of the session that we do need to follow Lolli’s advice as we have a diverse viewership in South Africa, and when producing a series, one should clearly distinguish between culture groups, languages, the different age groups and general interests. Just looking at the ROSCAR winner in the Children's category one soon realizes - it’s dangerous to generalize the “children audience” as some would prefer the “Micky Mouse” and others the Sir David Attenborough documentaries!  Children want to see the big and hairy, but always keep in mind that most children associate more easily with known animals like the rat, the house mouse, the cat and the dog. They enjoy seeing normal people appreciating nature and by doing so conveying the message effectively.  They enjoy the stories, and appreciate good wildlife filmmaking!

 
What would you say to newcomers to the industry?

Often some amazing shots have got nothing to do with the technical aspects. Rather it’s hidden in words like passion, endurance, perseverance, hard work and time (if you are lucky). Most people start as a nobody, but eventually you could be fortunate enough to produce a series that will reach a lot of people. But most importantly of all is what I have learnt from my colleague and mentor, Jaco Loubser: “we do this first and foremost... to have fun!”