By Desi Tzoneva

On Thursday, 11 March, in a mysterious media briefing, Elsje and Friedrich Stark, Producers of Afrikaans soapie, Binnelanders, revealed a new studio that will house both the hospital and legal ‘universe’ of the soapie. In addition to this, it was announced that the soapie would now be broadcast for five episodes a week, with each episode running for an hour - a first in local soapie history. The decision to do so was made late last year.

Elsje Stark commented that the new studio, based in Fontainebleau in Randburg, is a far cry from the previously rented studios in the Johannesburg CBD, which comprised 40% of the current studio space used for filming the soapie. The two studios - the law firm and hospital setting - housed in the complex are 700 m2 and 500m2 in size, respectively. Traffic; parking; safety concerns; lack of space; storage; and outdated equipment were some of the challenges faced before the move.

Stark said that with the newly-built studio, every aspect of producing the soapie would now take place under one roof.

Friedrich Stark said the new studio is: “the best equipped studio for a drama series, not only in the southern hemisphere, but also in Europe.”

The studio, which accommodates the hospital universe, has been designed to ensure that a 360-degree shot in any direction will be possible, and the equipment is kept there permanently. In terms of flooring; acoustics; and sound-proofing, the floor has been raised to ensure that there is a vacuum between the underlying concrete and the actual floor to make it soundproof. Several layers of sound-proofing for the walls have also been added. The studio houses over 250 lights which have been imported from Europe.

The soapie is shot in full high definition (HD). The hospital universe houses six cameras, but can accommodate more if needed. Stark said that sets are ‘swung’ every night for the following day’s shoot, and that this is repeated daily. Those parts of the studio that remain unchanged have been designed to eliminate cables - the only visible cables are those of the cameras. Other cabling and communications are done electronically.

As opposed to the traditional three-wall soapie set, the ‘universe’ has been entirely designed to have the look and feel of a hospital. Day or night scenes, for instance, make use of tungsten lights and specially fitted wall lights.

Both ‘universes’ of the soapie are shot at the same time in their respective studios, with half an hour of each ‘universe’ recorded in both studios, integrating the variety of story lines, which revolve around RPK Law Firm and the Binneland hospital.

Stark hopes to reach a point where more than five episodes are recorded in a week. He also said that a large number of people needed to be trained, in addition to the show’s 11 directors.

Senior Art Director, Megan Havenga, gave a tour of the law firm ‘universe’. She said this universe was designed to emulate the feel of the real ‘Church Square’ in Pretoria and a structure was created on the set to mirror this. Because of the number of pedestrians in Church Square, Elsje Stark said that 55 extras are hired each day to give the show a “real feel.”

“The idea was to shoot at 360-degrees, to have someone in their office in one scene; get out; go for lunch; get a menu; and order in one scene, to make sure the scene is not stilted,” Havenga added.

In the offices, Havenga said that windows were created which could be opened at an angle and filmed through, in order to create depth.

Havenga added that all framed law certificates and most of the books are real, in an effort to ensure that each scene is as realistic as possible. Furnishings were matched to the characters’ personalities and hierarchical status in the law firm.

The cast of Binneland Kliniek is: Hans Strydom (to play At Koster); Michelle Botes (Ingrid Louw-Koster); Rolanda Marais (Stefanie Louw); Hykie Berg (Conrad Bester); Tobie Cronje (Kallie Koster); Franci Swanepoel (Toeks Muller); Dawid Minnaar (Franz Basson); Sandi Schultz (Jennifer Adams); Ramey Short (Quinton Meyer); Reynardt Hugo (Tertius Jonker); Karl Thaning (Nathan Richards); Esmeralda Bihl (Faye Becker); Nadia Valvekens (Pippa Venter); Chantelle Gertse (Veronica Williams); Lindie Stander (Elsie Kruger); Desire Manthey (Daleen Oosthuizen); Vilje Maritz (Gys Eloff); and Carl Beukes (Dylan Fourie).

The cast of Binneland’s RPK Incorporated law firm includes: Jana Cilliers (playing Joeke Rossouw); Terence Bridgett (Warrick Paulse); Nick Boraine (Oliver Knight); Lika Berning (Hannah Rossouw); Antony Coleman (Michael Lennox); Michelle Pienaar (Yvette Stuurman); Maggie Benedict (Zoey Matsekwa); Robyn Olivia (Billy Cooper); Christil Weinbeck (Nadia da Costa); Jason Kennett (Emilio Castigiani); and Albert Pretorius (Ulrich Moolman).

Guest stars in the Binneland clinic are Erik Holm (Rian Malherbe) and Chris Chameleon (playing the role of Thomas Badenhorst).

Binneland Sub Judice will be broadcast on M-Net from 5 April.