iDidTht’s Monthly Craft Awards showcase the very best in craft by production companies in South Africa. This month we asked Jenny Glover, Executive Creative Director at TBWA\Hunt Lascaris, to select her standouts. She has over 45 international awards, including 21 Cannes Lions and four D&AD Yellow Pencils, is ranked 2nd on the Creative Circle rankings and 1st on iDidTht’s ‘Creatives We Like To Stalk’ rankings. A privilege to have you Jenny. (We promise not to hug you, but we will enthusiastically chant your name) Jenny! Jenny! Jenny!

I think we can all agree that 2017 has been tough. And by tough I mean completely crap. The fact that we’ve still managed to make some beautiful film is a small Christmas miracle. Overall the work was good despite the fact that many of the scripts were not.  In fact, the quality of production was far better than the quality of the ideas.

BEST OF REEL: Carling Black Label ‘No Excuse’ by Kim Geldenhuys from 0307 (Direction Craft ), Gordon Midgely from Deliverance Post (Editing Craft), and Marc Algranti from Pulse Music (Music Craft)

In terms of craft, one piece stood head and shoulders above the rest. The ‘No Excuse’ spot for Carling Black Label is flawlessly executed across every craft category. Kim Geldenhuys’ direction is considered but not laboured, Gordon Midgely has stitched together the edit to create a really compelling narrative and the music, supervised by Marc Algranti is amazeballs. Yes, I said amazeballs.  It’s also worth mentioning that the audio mix is very well handled. It’s no small thing to balance live sound, dialogue and a vocal music track.
This piece really demonstrates how interconnected film craft is and why it’s so important to get every aspect right.

SPECIAL MENTION: Tusker ‘Light the way’ by SJ Myeza-Mhlambi from 7Films – Direction Craft

One final mention goes to SJ’s sharp direction of Tusker ‘Light the way.’  He’s created something that feels effortless and impromptu but still maintains a level of craft.