I have just witnessed something Very powerful. Very chilling. Very compelling. And unfortunately, Very true. Strangely it has touched me in a way that I have, over time learnt to move away from. I call it ‘the hot plate of grief’. I have no idea why I originally called it that, but after my dad was murdered, it was only so often that I could ‘touch’ that hot plate of grief, because it hurt like hell. Does that make sense? Tonight, I watched the final production of the VUKA! Commercial which has been put together for the DNA Project by the media industry of Cape Town, with the dynamic Producer Director, Sophia Dewberry of Straight Shooting Productions, at its helm. The ad has been entered into VUKA! by Sophia, and if deemed good enough, will be flighted amongst other NPO’s,  providing vital exposure via Public Service Announcements (PSAs) to raise awareness for our organisation.

Let me tell you, that no-one can ignore this ad – it does not come ‘gift wrapped’, I was told. And gift wrapped, it is not. It vice-gripped my chest and unwittingly took me back five years to the feeling of what it was like to be at the coal face of having someone you love, ripped out of your life through the violence of what we have come to call so flippantly, ‘crime in South Africa’.

I confess, that I am the most guilty of letting the words slide so easily off my tongue, despite the work I do. But this commercial snapped me out of my complacency so fast, I didn’t even realize what was happening, and before I knew it, there was my hand on the ‘hot plate of grief’. How many hands in South Africa bear those same burn scars of grief? This is a story that all we need to tell and we need to be called into action to do something about it. If this ad makes you feel uncomfortable, then that is a good thing – because we sit too comfortably with crime in our country.

We need to be jolted upright and into action to fight, and fight harder even still. When you watch the movie clip I will attach to this Blog via YouTube, be warned, but better yet, be prepared to fight back. You will see what I mean. And feel free to paste your comments about the commercial onto this website – I am very interested to hear what you have to say about it.

But lets’ take our hands off that plate for now. And move to the unbelievable media industry of Cape Town. Thank you, each and every one of you for your incredible contribution and commitment to this commercial. I have never witnessed such a coming together of energies as the last 2 weeks – within two days of Sophia calling on the troops, the VUKA! Commercial was ready to go.

What amazed me most, was that this group of people and companies, did not need to go through the corporate ‘blah blah’ of whether they thought it was or wasn’t a good idea, or what it would or wouldn’t do for them – they went on their gut, and granted the persuasive Sophia tactics are hard to avoid, they acted on that instinct – together. The value of this commercial is well over R500 000. That is what they have given back to SA. Just.Like.That. If you are reading this blog, and have made it thus far – please, just take the next minute to read the names of the people and organisations who have helped put this VUKA! commercial together: they have already taken a stand. Now it’s your turn:

The amazingly talented Producer Director, Sophia Dewberry of Straightshooting Productions, without whom, this commercial would not have been created.
Leigh-Ann Smith from Take2 Films for Camera and Grips equipment

Grant Forbes from Media Film Services for Lighting Equipment

Dennis Banks from Bittersuite for help with the tag line
Tracy-lee from Black Ginger who gave us two days of “flame”
Lucid State on Editing and Logo Animation
TheWorkRoom for Sound Design and Mix
Mandy Campbell-Miller from Kodak film for 1 roll of film
Richard from Panavision for 5 rolls  film
Brigid Olen from Do Productions for 2 rolls of film
Claire and Tracey from Setscapes & iProps for donating the hire of the fridge, glass and bar stools.
Gary & Nezile from  Waterfront Post for processing and telecine
Liezel  from Alexander Forbes for Insurance Cover
Philip Jacobs from Universal Music for music

with thanks,

Vanessa

Click here to watch the commercial or link to FaceBook to view the ad

This entry was posted on Mon, Oct 26th, 2009 at 4:45 pm and is filed under DNA Project, Latest News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.