Funny how things work out sometimes…
I completed my first commercial for TV last night. How did this come about? It has always been a goal of mine to get into audio work for TV, advertising, documentaries and movies. In October 2009 I did some freelance design work at an advertising agency called Indigo Branding, filling in for my business partner Karien. Incidentally it was also the creative director Johannes Swanepoel's notice month. Jo is a very talented and creative guy, and I hope the person Indigo employed in his stead can fill his shoes.
Jo went off and joined NeoAfrica, a black-owned company dabbling in everything from publishing to advertising to sponsorships. Before Jo left Indigo I mentioned that my brother Erik is an very good 3D animator. Within two months of starting at NeoAfrica Jo actually contacted Erik to do an animation for some promotion. Erik must have done a good job because last week he got another assignment: to do a 15 second animation for NeoAfrica. They later changed the brief, extending the video to 30 seconds and announcing that it is going to be featured on some of the SuperSport channels on local satellite TV provider DSTv.
Erik realised that he would need decent audio effects for a thirty second spot, but because of time constraints he will not be able to do a voice-over. He then approached me to do the background audio, seeing as I have an audio studio at home. He supplied a low-resolution video clip, and I did the audio in three hours, composing a little jingle for them in the process, because it would have seemed very bland with only drones and swooshes. The little melody is an African-sounding ethnic piece and it worked like a charm. The client was happy end Erik and I did the final timing tweaks in about half an hour and voila! Done!
The collaboration went smoothly, and the job was delivered on time. What more can one want? I think that Erik and I can actually be a potent combination creatively. We're very much alike in our personalities, and like to do our jobs with attention to detail and offering added value to our clients. time will tell, but I really enjoyed this opportunity. It might be the start of something big…
Funny how things work out…
