Rob Malpage Shoots 'Switch' for Eskom

Frieze Films’ Rob Malpage directed and lensed Eskom 'Switch' for Saatchi & Saatchi Johannesburg.

The upbeat spot celebrates the way Eskom improves ordinary South African’s lives, reminding viewers how much begins with the flick of a switch.

While Kobus Loots’ fast-cut edit is full of intricate effects shots and transitions, Rob balances the technical with the human to keep the tone light, personal and modern.

Telkom’s National Control Room is restricted as a National Key Point, so Rob recreated it using a combination of art direction and CGI. He also overcame the loss during pre-production of Khusile Power Station. “Thankfully, I’d taken some stills on my director’s recce, so we shots the guys working with cranes on a building site and then comped the stills from the power station into the background. It actually worked in our favour, as I needed the foreground and background as separate plates anyway to create the AutoCAD architectural drawing effect.”

Saatchi & Saatchi creative director Liam Wilopolski, copywriter Wynand Prinsloo and art director Wihan Meerholz conceived the spot, with InJozi supplying the score.