When we heard that Chocolate Tribe’s latest ad for Showmax, celebrating the iconic Muhammed Ali, was almost 80% 3D visual effects our masks nearly dropped to the floor. And we weren’t the only ones, as the team admits that most viewers thought it was simply clever live action trickery at play. Rob van Den Bragt and Tiaan Franken from Chocolate Tribe pull back the VFX curtain to share with us what it took to bring Muhammed Ali back to life in just over 3 months.

‘It’s our biggest curse, when we do our job right, nobody knows we’ve done our job. Invisible effects are really what we strive for and that means the harder you work, the less you get noticed. It’s a nice dilemma to have and of course we take it as a compliment.’

Let’s bring you up to speed. Chocolate Tribe’s creative, technical and in-depth industry knowledge is a culmination of over 25 years of international experience. They have always been passionate about two things; proving that Africa can compete with the big guns and delivering international quality standards. Their success is evident in their stable of A-lister clients like Netflix (Amsterdam, Los Angeles), BBC, DMC films, Voltage Pictures, The Mill (New York, London), Glassworks, Automatik, Romance Films, Moonlighting, DiPrente, Ogilvy, TBWA and M&C Saatchi Abel.

Okay, challenge: Which bits are the real Ali and which are the 3D Ali? Aaaaand go!

Q: Okay, but the ring and the chairs and stuff are real-life though, right?

Tiaan: All boxing ring and video monitor shots were fully done in 3D, as well as about 70% of Muhammad Ali.
Rob: The ring, chairs, microphone, floors and lighting made it look like it was in a certain time and represented the era of when Ali was in his prime. Capturing the small nuances and crafting the smallest details were integral. We then brought all the sporting heroes onto the CGI screens surrounding the Ali, making the space, as well as the content on the screen, fit within the powerful narrative spoken by him.

Let’s briefly pause our existential crisis where we question everything that is real…

Showmax ‘Game Changers’ is of course not the only eye-popping project that Chocolate Tribe has had their invisible hand in. They work on numerous projects for Netflix, Disney, ShowMax, and many more, serving both the film and commercial industry and we haven’t even mentioned all those beloved ads you know so well like Investec ‘Human Searchbar’, Nedbank ‘Secrets’ and Allan Gray ‘Father’s Share’.

Here are a few of our favourite spots from the Chocolate Tribe reel that prove that this really is a leading VFX team putting SA on the global map.

(Below) Chicken Licken ‘Big John Mjohnana’: In just 2 minutes, this bad boy for Chicken Licken has over 40 VFX shots.

(Below) Penny ‘Christmas Doesn’t Need Much’: Chocolate Tribe collaborated with Glassworks to animate over half the ad, rig all lead characters, as well as produce the 3D animation for the social media campaign. Want a heartwarming ad to get you in the Xmas spirit? Grab a tissue!
(Below) The short film ‘Robot and Scarecrow’ comprised over 140 visual effects shots, of which Chocolate Tribe delivered 127. All shots contained either the fully CGI robot, scarecrow or both. The project was a first for South Africa, due the scale of the VFX production.

Chocolate Tribe is a female black-owned company founded in 2014 by Nosipho Maketo- van den Bragt and Rob van den Bragt with a BBBEEE level score of 1. Based in Joburg it has grown over the past 6 years to a fleet of 20 magicians who have been creating some high-end visual game changing gems, and because of the international and local demand for excellence, they still continue to grow. So, if you want an African company that will deliver international quality and who also happen to be really great humans, join the tribe!