South Africa’s Dan Mace and JOE Films turn impossible ideas into reality with hit show for Warner Bros. Discovery ‘The BRU Show’
South Africa’s viral hitmaker, original-content king, and founder of JOE Films, Dan Mace, has merged YouTube and traditional TV in ‘The BRU Show’ for Warner Bros Discovery. With the show already gaining big traction internationally, we thought it’s time South Africa got the scoop on how the fairly new production company, JOE Films, produced a 12-part hit show based on impossible ideas, from beginning to post.
In partnership with discovery+ (the streaming platform of Warner Bros Discovery), Dan and the team at JOE Films turned twelve of the most challenging ideas – straight from Dan’s ‘Idea Book’ that he’s carried around for over 10 years – into real-world projects. The punchy action-packed episodes include feats like transforming a four-ton truck into a giant camera to take a larger-than-life image of Table Mountain and recruiting 100 filmmakers across the globe to show what happiness means to them. The show brings Dan’s out-of-the-box creativity and merges it with the high-end commercial quality crafted and produced by the team at JOE Films.
Because discovery+ is not yet available in South Africa, Dan is making all the episodes of ‘The BRU Show’ available on his YouTube channel, where he also cross-promotes discovery+ for the brand. Here’s the first episode where Dan turned a four-ton truck into a camera, because, why not?!
In ‘The BRU Show’, Dan has proven that his creativity has no limits and when it comes to his ability to tell big stories, he doesn’t disappoint. But you can’t talk about ‘The BRU Show’ without recognising the high-end production value and technical ability that JOE Films have brought to the project, seriously. Bringing big ideas to life is one thing, but making them look this good is no small feat.
Of the team of 12 full-time staff at JOE Films, Dan Says: ‘We are all big thinkers. Whether we are creating something more authentic for Instagram that will get high volume views or a show for the Discovery Channel with high production values, we are incredibly passionate about the work. We are a team of young creatives with the ultimate goal of always creating meaningful work and content that people want to watch and share. It’s simple really, we are storytellers. Always, story first’
L to R: From ‘The Bru Show’ episodes ‘Smashing Creative Block with Casey Neistat’ and Dan’s trolley Cam in ‘The Biggest Myth In Filmmaking’
L to R: Dan’s Idea Book, Dan’s reaction when he sees our faces on Zoom.
Whenever we talk to the team at JOE Films we can’t help but feel energised. They really make you wanna get up and do creative stuff! ‘The BRU Show’ is a testament to the passion and energy of JOE Films, a team that knows how to collaborate with agencies and brands to create content that audiences want to engage with.
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Produced by the IDIDTHAT Content Studio – Credits: Anne Hirsch (Writer) / Julie Maunder
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