Thorntree Films - Film-makers from and about South Africa's Eastern Cape

TruFM - Change the World

About this film

Youth radio station TruFM relaunched its brand. Part of the relaunch campaign was a prime-time television commercial. The decision to use stop motion was an irresistable opprtunity for the client to engage the services of Thorntree Films

The making of

A behind the scenes look at the development of this project

The script

The entire production starts with the script. In this case the client submitted the script and in cosultation with us we then went on to develop the storyboard (which you can see below). The original script (as a word document) can be downloaded here.

Style and visual treatment

In order to establish some common ground with regard the "look and feel" of the film the following artwork was presented.

Timecoded storyboard

Because we used a stop motion technique it was very important to shoot precisely the number of frames required for each sequence. The annotated and timecoded storyboard frames allowed us to plan each shot.

Splitscreen animatic

On the left of the split screen is the animatic and on the right is a low resolution render of the finished project. Images from the original storyboard and a rough soundtrack were edited together to create the animatic which is very useful for establishing a rythmn and for client approval prior to the final shooting and editing. The variations you see between the two are the result of tighter editing of the final project.

Film Credits and Partners

• Client / Script - Di Stap Communication
• Storyboarding - Andrew Mogridge, Jon Edwards, Diane Flint
• Stop motion animation, Sound and Editing - Andrew Mogridge
• Graphic Design - Jon Edwards and Diane Flint

Research Links and Other Resources

• Tru FM - http://www.trufm.co.za/

Licensing and Distribution

TruFM is a brand of the South Africa Boadcasting Corporation (SABC). This video cannot be licensed or distributed freely without the consent of the SABC.