Best in Craft awarded to Talya Galasko from Sketchbook Studios and Kyle Lewis from Egg Films

This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by our fearless leaders, Executive Creative Director of Joe Public United, Megan Perks and Owner, Composer and Engineer of Howard Audio, Adam Howard. Thank you for your service to this country. Not only are you heroes to us, but to all your fellow South Africans. To Talya Galasko from Sketchbook Studios and Kyle Lewis from Egg Films, congratulations on being awarded Best in Craft, truly the highest honour in all the land, we salute you.

‘What are the IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards?’ Every month we team up with ad industry leaders to award the finest in South African film and production craft across these different categories: Direction, Editing, Cinematography, Animation and SFX, Online, Original Sound, Sound Design and Final Mix. It’s just another way that we make it ridiculously easy to stay up-to-date with who’s doing the best work in the country.

BEST IN CRAFT (Direction)
Hope Guardians ‘Voicenote’
Sketchbook Studios | Talya Galasko

Awarded by Megan Perks

‘I think, getting such an intimate performance that conjures up so much emotion, utilising very little other than the performance to tell the story makes the direction craft on this piece a winner for me. The direction is so subtle yet takes the viewer on a journey of anxiety that feels so real and experiential. I particularly love the way the director creates tension in the film, through performance, intimate camera language, sound, silence and pace. Subtle performance notes like breath, movement and playing with the real and the imagined world heighten the sense of what mental health illnesses feel like. The story is simple and doesn’t try too hard to spoon-feed the audience, the director allows the viewer’s natural intuition to fill in the gaps around mental health. Mostly I love the way the direction of this piece makes you feel like you are not alone.’
– IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Megan Perks, Executive Creative Director at Joe Public United

BEST IN CRAFT (Direction)
Toya Delazy ‘Resurrection’ (Music Video)
Egg Films | Kyle Lewis

Awarded by Adam Howard

‘This film is quite literally an assault on the senses, but in all the right ways. At times I didn’t know whether I was dreaming, hallucinating or watching a music video. Kyle takes us on a journey into the spiritual underworld completely in harmony with the music. I know as a judge we try to not get swayed by other crafts like music production and art direction, but when all these elements come together as they do here it creates art and for many moments in this piece, I completely lost touch with reality, which is what art should do.’
– IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Adam Howard, Owner, Composer and Engineer at Howard Audio

CRAFT MENTION (Direction)
Nedbank ‘The Anti-Advertising Advertising Campaign’
Romance | Greg Gray

Awarded by Adam Howard

‘This campaign directed by Greg Gray just shows off his amazing skills at shooting just about anything. The campaign just oozes luxury and each genre of film is a directing marvel as Greg nails each pastiche, but in a subtle way gives each film his own trademark touches. Having seen Greg at work, I know the amount of detail and work he puts into every project and this was a huge campaign excellently executed.’
– IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Adam Howard, Owner, Composer and Engineer at Howard Audio

Please note: Megan abstained from judging this campaign as it was work produced by her agency. As it was awarded by Adam Howard, this campaign will not be re-entered into next month’s judging.

CRAFT MENTION (Direction)
Inverroche ‘Pioneers Of The Present’
The Rudeboy Collective | Mpho Twala & Vusi Twala

Awarded by Adam Howard

‘Brand AV’s or company manifesto films can at best be quite sterile, but this film by Mpho Twala and Vusi Twala is a beautiful capture of the essence of the Inveroche brand. We get taken on a sensual journey and the direction is just spot on. As you watch the film, you can even taste and smell the environment as Mpho and Vusi get our senses going. I really felt I got to know the brand more intimately because of this. A beautifully executed film where the directors manage to take us on a journey where the brand message doesn’t get forced. Even having the founder of Inveroche involved didn’t feel contrived and instead actually added sincerity to the film.’
– IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Adam Howard, Owner, Composer and Engineer at Howard Audio

CRAFT MENTION (Direction)
Diamond Thug ‘Purple Skies’ (Music Video)
Meghan Daniels

Awarded by Megan Perks

‘The storytelling, visual choices, grade, edit and pace are beautifully crafted with empathy and compassion. The direction of dance, performance and emotion in this film enhances the music without distracting from it. The director’s choice to play on light and dark to aid the storytelling works very well – with soft touches of sadness and a build to the end with stark contrasting visuals, the directorial choices make this piece striking and memorable.’
– IDIDTHAT Guest Judge: Megan Perks, Executive Creative Director at Joe Public United

IDIDTHAT GUEST JUDGES:

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Megan Perks is the Executive Creative Director of Joe Public United. She began her career in publishing, working across a number of brand titles. From magazines, she moved into eCommerce, focusing specifically on content marketing in the digital space. Joining Joe Public United in 2015 to creatively head up the Jet retail account, Megan has grown to lead the digital cluster of the company. She aims to deliver work that not only looks beautiful but has meaning and strategy within it in order to connect with the target market, change buying behaviour and ultimately convert sales and deliver on ROI. Together with her team, she has won numerous local and international awards, notably ranking as the 13th top ECD in the country by the Loeries.

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Adam Howard is the Owner, Composer and Engineer of the award-winning 3-studio facility Howard Audio. Adam has musically directed, composed, arranged, produced and performed music for many of South Africa’s top artists, among them Hugh Masekela, Brenda Fassie, Jonathan Roxmouth and Mafikozolo. He has won nearly every award you can win in advertising, which he shares with the amazing clients he gets to work with, like Joe Public United, TBWA, DraftFCB, Y&R, Ogilvy & Metropolitan Republic on campaigns for some of the biggest brands in the world. One of his personal highlights is performing at the 2010 FIFA World Cup “kick-off” concert with the likes of Alicia Keys, John Legend, Hugh Masekela and Angelique Kidjo in front of 60,00 people… and to a TV audience of 1 billion people! Adam also formed and runs the Johannesburg Big Band, a collection of the finest jazz and session musicians in South Africa.