SA leads Africa in filmic first

In the words of Barack Obama: Yes we can! It has been a long wait, but, finally, Africa has produced it's first full-length computer-generated animated feature film. The Lion of Judah is a co-production between Cape-Town based companies Character Matters Animation Studio and Sunrise Productions and US-based AFF (Animated Family Films). By Atiyyah Khan

Commitment, passion and a leap of faith were the ingredients to this success story.

Character Matters was responsible for the animation. The company initially started with a three-man team and no budget, but since the Lion of Judah, has grown to the point of almost no studio space.

The story was written locally, but is not an African tale. Rather, it is a Biblical epic journey, about a group of farm animals who set out for Jerusalem and rescue a lamb called Judah. Director, Deryck Broom explains: "I'd never directed an animated film before. When I read the script, that's what sold me on the story. It's funny, but also really touching."

The film was completed in 18 months. Talking about some of the challenges, Broom says: "Things had to be done really fast. We had a small crew and a short time to produce the film. We had 33 people, and everyone had to multi-task. The team was very forgiving and patient with me. It takes a long time to do anything with animation.

"At Pixar, they do five seconds a week, we had to average five seconds a day."

Sunrise took on the production of the film and the chief funding was provided by AFF.

According to Broom, it was normal to come into the studio in the morning and find people sleeping over to work throughout the evening.

"Because of the speed at which we worked, every person in the studio took ownership of their role and added their own thumbprint to the film. Their commitment and dedication to the project is what made it possible."

He mentions that one of the biggest challenges was building a render farm, which Chris Schoultz, owner of Character Matters, built from scratch and it is now the largest render farm in Africa.

Voice-overs were sourced from all over the world and the film boasts Hollywood actors Ernest Borgnine and Michael Madsen and Bollywood comic Anupam Kher. It consists of a local cast too, and the soundtrack was done by local musicians.

Two international guest animators Eric Lassard (Madagascar) and Tom Roth (Shrek) brought their expertise to the team.

As to why it's taken Africa so long, Broom says: "I think that it's because of a lack of crew, resources and time. Animation is a very expensive medium, but I'm hoping that the Lion of Judah increases confidence for more films."

Schoultz adds: "It's purely a mindset. Many people said we couldn't do it.

"Sometimes you go on a feeling and this seems to be the most accurate one so far. And we did it on a fraction of a budget."

The Lion of Judah puts the local industry on a par with international standards and is evidence that South Africa is more than capable of such a feat.

The film is due for release in June, internationally and locally.

Courtesy of http://tonight.co.za