If one looks a little deeper however, the film also makes use of a strong sense of nostalgia to drum out a feeling of patriotism in the viewer and pay homage to some of the traditional African ideals that underpin South African society.

Colour, sequence and time play a significant part in both of these ends. A beautiful African sunset establishes the scene for a grandfather telling his grandson about a seed he planted when he was a young boy that grew to become the majestic old tree they are sitting under. Glowing reds, yellows and oranges (evocative of the richness of African soil) warm the viewer to the concept, while rhythmic drum beats accompany the rapid passing of time and illustrate the growth of one simple idea into a forest of dreams powerful enough to blanket Africa and the world.

“UZI Films has an inherent ability to translate an emotive thought into action and execution. Sappi painted a vague landscape with an emotional objective and UZI Films filled that canvass into the whole campaign,” says Bernhard Riegler, general manager at Sappi.

As producer/director, Steven Hall explains that the idea behind using a warm colour palette to accompany the simplicity of the message was to create a feeling that resonates with many South African viewers. Alongside the deliberate colour usage are rapidly juxtaposed images (some purposefully out of sequence) in order to show that time is just one factor in the equation of seeing one’s dream realised from germination through to fruition.

“Time is one of the key elements of film,” explains Hall. “A film or advert plays out over a linear time frame, but the components that make it up can be free of time and out of sequence. In this sense, film can bend time.”

From the shot planning and green screen work to the final 3D animation, this web advertisement marked the most technically challenging job that UZI Films has delivered to date. Balanced with the evocation of time were various other challenges, one of the most important of which was letting the graphics of the rapidly growing and sprouting trees look real and credible without having them overshadow the message. The art of enhancing and not overpowering the simple message was a delicate one, and a potential pitfall that a less experienced creative team could easily have fallen prey to.

“Having an opportunity to produce and direct a project like this was a substantial growth experience for UZI Films,” says Hall. “I think the strength of the end result is not so much in what is unique and innovative, but rather that it is familiar and recognisable. Also, its strength is its simplicity. The characters, setting, effects and final message are all quite familiar – it is like having a happy recurring dream. You can keep having it because it makes you feel good.”