The Network

TWENTY10, 20-TEN, or 2010?

Whichever way one chooses, it means the same thing in the end: A New Year, a New Decade.

In the Chinese calendar the year of the Ox gives way to the time of the Tiger on the 14 th February. So not only is it Valentine's Day but Yin moves to Yang, its opposite. Shade becomes light.

After the turbulence, witnessed around the world of the end of the last decade, the year of the Tiger imbues the future with a fresher, more positive energy. Whenever we are tested it makes us stronger, reinforcing and renewing our relationships, commitment, and motivation to do and be the best.

Speaking of positive energies; this season, we at The Network are happy to welcome a new producer to our family. Janine Vasilantonakis, an extremely experienced and dynamic producer; who has proved herself on a whole range of projects, including the two we feature in this newsletter.

Hair today, on air tomorrow !

An intricate and beautiful concept for Shiseido out of Japan; wrangled African wildlife (zebras and eland), more stunning locations, savannah and desert dunes; researched and selected across five African countries but ultimately shot closer to home in Namibia and South Africa.

All in all, it was a fantastic production experience, working across many miles with a great production company from Tokyo, Tohokushinsha Film Company (TFC), whose production team, lead by Takashi Aso (Production Manager) and Otsuki Timo Mitsuaki (International Producer), impressed by their desire to make the experience pleasurable and successful in all aspects, not to mention a very dynamic and powerful work ethic.

An enigmatic concept, juxtaposing exotic, oriental beauties and aesthetics with the rugged landscapes, wide skies and big horizons of Africa. A fantastic and rewarding shoot, with a great South African crew and production support from our friends in Namibia, where professionalism and hilarity combined sufficiently to remind people why it is they love this business.

Double Vision.

Our constant aim at The Network is to build and maintain relationships, so it is particularly heartening when people who started out as clients return as friends. The heightened levels of trust and co-operation always seem to reflect well in the finished product, when everyone involved has taken a personal interest in the efficient success of a project.

Simon Leung from Smoke Films, in Hong Kong with his crew of Eddy "the Chandelier" Mok (Art Director), Ko Kei Leung (DOP), Didi Lei (Producer) are among those who have become so popular with our crews that it is like welcoming long lost relatives back to the Cape. As with many of the commercials we have shot out of Asia this was a pastiche of well co-ordinated "Dali-esque" art direction and interesting symbolism; put together in a way which keeps everyone involved and maximizes the creative input of the team.

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