Sunu’s treatment was all about bringing the human element to a depiction of Africa as a place of possibility.
“Industry is because of people, so we focused on finding the humanity and emotion in each of the sequences,” says Sunu, who also worked on finding fresh imagery for the Africa rising narrative, flipping expectations wherever possible.
The final 45-second ad packs in 60 shots. “We wanted to capture the energy and pace of Africa,” says Sunu. “Africa has so much going on, we wanted you to see something different each time you watch it, to give it a long shelf-life. The pace also differentiates it from the other bank ads out at the moment.”
DOP, Rory O’Grady, shot much of the footage hand-held. “Everything is so clean and perfect in most bank ads,” says Sunu. “We wanted this to be a lot more gritty.”
Sunu directed with Gordon Midgely’s edit in mind, so aerial shots of crops line up with haircut lines and each image ties into the next. Similarly, the last image of each section carries a double meaning, also acting as the first image of the next section.
Shooting over four days, Sunu worked with his usual team of producer Vjorn du Toit, assistant director Kerry Lagoe, DOP Rory O’Grady and art director Keenan McAdam.
“We were well-planned upfront,” says Sunu. “We shot 20 scenes at five locations a day, but I never felt rushed. It makes a huge difference working with a team that pushes you and gives you the time to really craft each shot.”