Why are they important?

We are moving into a new era - that of multi-channel, and fragmenting audiences.  TV channels are going to grow at ten or twenty times the rate of population growth, so the audience share per channel can be reduced to a fraction of what it was.  TV programmers will have no option but to cherish the audience they have left, get to know them intimately, and serve them with dishes they really want.

People who go to Wimpy don't go anywhere else.  Spur people remain Spur people: Steers people, Steers; Mugg & Bean people Mugg & Bean.  In the same way on TV Discovery Viewers like the Discovery line-up, and e! Entertainment like what's there.  They go first to their favourite channels, and only if they have seen everything their favourite channels have to offer, will they start looking for another channel to watch.  This shows that:

1. Channels have to choose a niche that everyone else ignores

2. They must deliver to that niche what they really want

3. Viewers primarily watch programmes, not channels.

Now, the audience has decreased, so revenue will decrease.  Therefore costs have to decrease.  Therefore you have to satisfy the emotional needs of a smaller group, with much cheaper programmes.

Most African broadcasters find it easy, it's the way they have worked for years, and many have a very broad range of channels already (mostly regional).

South Africans will find it hard.  They have been spoilt with relatively few channels confined to a national footprint.  They charge mega-bucks for advertising, and they can afford what they have come to call "high quality".

Actually the programmes produced have not been high quality.  Quality has nothing to do with what the producer says.  It is decided by the audience.  How can a film be high quality when no one wants to watch it? So, what they mean is that they have been covering up the low quality of scripts, acting and direction with "high production values" - helicopter shots, filters on lenses, extravagant lighting, large casts, lavish sets and scenery.

Those days are over.  There will still be good films, but far fewer.  The bulk will now have to be bubblegum. Simple arithmetic tells you what a bubble gum movie will cost.

Are they like Nollywood films?

Yes, in fact a Nollywood film with an average budget of $35 000 (±R250 000) is round about what a bubblegum movie is expected to cost.

But you can't make a profit on a film at that cost?

Yes you can.  But you have to shoot in 14 days, and finish in 14 days.  While you are editing one, you are shooting the next.  You must aim to make 20 or so a year, and you must try and have five or six ready for shooting at the same time, so that you can double up covering shots and locations at the same time.

You only shoot in friends' houses, use their cars and the actors bring their own costumes.  You cannot meet union requirements, and so you have to employ people who do not want to belong to a union.

You must use the same crew and many of the same actors throughout the year, so that you can offer what no one else can - steady work.

You shoot on a HD Handicam, carry three or so radio mics, and two boom mikes.  You have one flight kit of lights and two cold fill lights.  If aspirant actors are prepared to act in your film for nothing, tell them it's a good idea.

Employ only one script writer and pay for two scripts a month. She must write in such a way that it is easy for you to shoot.  If she's clever, she will come up with series that uses the same characters, but each film is stand-alone.

The writer must write scenes, and describe what the actors say.  Don't write the dialogue, it takes too long for actors to remember precise words.  Rehearse them three or four times and see if you can add the words "one take" as your middle name. The more rehearsal, the fewer takes, and  the quicker it is to edit.

Every actor in South Africa speaks at least three local languages.  Shoot each dialogue scene three times, each in a different language.  Make sure they are well-slated, so that your editor can easily deliver three language versions with very little extra cost.  Think about it, you should get three versions for a premium of no more than 15% on the cost. Get smart, and do a deal with the broadcaster that makes it worth while for both of you.

The following brief has recently been published by MNet's Mzansi Channel:

"Bubblegum Movies – R90 000 cpe (cost per episode) (52 episodes which will be commissioned to different production companies)"

Looking at the cost per episode, I am sure they mean no more than 45 minutes per episode to fit into a one hour slot.  The budget above R250 000 (based on the Nigerian model) is for a full 90 minute or more feature film.

Personally I worry about each episode coming from a different company.  In theory it gives more aspirant producers a chance. In practice, the costs are unnecessarily high as you can't achieve economies of scale, you have style all over the place, and in fact no one gets a chance to do anything well.  But that's their choice.

What do I get out of it?

A hell of  a lot of experience; the skills to work fast and cheap; making decisions by the seat of your pants; team building; shrewd accountancy; negotiation skills; and production management skills.  Your director gets to make 20 films in just one year (where else do you get a chance like that - and the same goes for each member of the crew.

As the now retired Head of M-Net's Local Productions, Carl Fischer once said, "Quality comes out of quantity". I'll never forget that - he said it about 1999.  He's been proved right over and over again, and still no one takes notice of the wisdom.

Where can I learn more?

Workshops on this type of filmmaking are useful. But they are costly.  Get a group of fifteen together, organise funding, and let's talk.

Nollywood has many lessons to offer, but so have local producers.  There's more bubblegum around than you think.