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Behind-the-scenes with drama series Waterfront

Johannesburg - tvplus got at exclusive glimpse as kykNET put together its media package (EPG) to advertise their new drama series Waterfront.

We were on set exactly halfway through shooting its first season – Waterfront will be launching in October and airing in the Tuesday 20:00 slot once Die Boekklub has finished its run.

Hanging around watching the photos being taken for the EPG is like getting a crash course in TV production – everyone had to be “on set”, from the cast to kykNET commissioning editor Marguerite Albrecht , to costume head of department Emma Moss, make-up head of department Francois Rademeyer, line producer Kate Schalk, kykNET publicist Suzaan Keyter and her counterpart from Showmax Kevin Kreidemann – as the series is a first-time co-production between Showmax and kykNET.

And the day is exhaustively scheduled in 15-minute bursts from 07:30 in the morning to 18:00 in the evening. But despite the tight schedule, the atmosphere is one of relaxed (if intense) professionalism. Everyone has something to do and they’re doing it at full steam until the second it’s time to step out for a quick break (which, will, guaranteed, be interrupted – with good humour on both sides). It’s a great place to pick up gossip about the series being filmed – and some other projects also in the works like the new mockumentary from Suzelle DIY’s Julia Anastasopoulos that will be coming to Showmax in December. This is tvplus catnip – and we were rolling in it!

Waterfront the series will be a fascinating tale about the Waterfront’s industrial side, rather than a tale of rich folk who lunch and shop, shop, shop! And this will definitely be reflected in the publicity material that was being put together around us. Lion’s Head Production’s temporary offices were tucked right around the back near the dry docks, shipyards and fishing warehouses, and then it was a series of slightly lunatic car rides into dark and dodgy warehouses.

Photoshoots were being held at the back of Silo Square outside what will soon be Cape Town’s most exciting new art venue – the Zeitz MOCAA, which is still under construction, or tucked round the back of the adorable Edwardian Clock Tower, down a flight of unnoticed stairs, against a cracked and peeling brick and plaster wall. While bright fishing boats were bobbing in the harbour on a bright and sunny day, and shoppers who clearly didn’t have to work at all were milling about, kykNET’s photographers were capturing their performers dressed as the working class boat builders, or plodding, somewhat shabby policemen, against this dingy wall. And while that was happening, production staff were flipping through shots taken earlier in the day of Stian Bam and Edwin van der Walt, cast as the drama's father and son Ruan and Stefan Jordaan sitting on the harbour railings against a more glamorous backdrop of bridges, sea and boats, and Cape Town mountains.

Hanging around gave us a fascinating glimpse into a seldom seen side of Cape Town’s luxury V&A Waterfront shopping mall.

“Shooting at the Waterfront is being on a really good footing with them. We were in negotiations with them for a couple of months and we basically did an overall barter with them. So we have a pass to shoot anywhere that belongs to the V&A Waterfront. Obviously it's in their favour -- it’s a whole series that showcases the Waterfront, okay, maybe not completely like they would want to show it, like a shopping brochure. But they've been very kind. These offices (production offices) they gave to us as well to rent for free, which is amazing,” reveals Marguerite.

And then it was time to zoom back to the production office where stills were being shot against a white backdrop showing the performers in the distinctive costumes chosen to show us viewers at a glance, the kind of people we were looking at.

We asked the series 3 sisters, Milan Murray (Julia Bruwer, nee Myburgh, the oldest sister), Rolanda Marais (Anna Myburgh the middle sister) and Trix Vivier (Kate Myburgh, the youngest sister) what we could tell just by looking at how they were dressed for the “Silo” shoot and they dropped a couple of hints about what to expect from the Myburgh girls:

Milan: It's pretty obvious what she's all about (Kate)

Trix: Ja, mine is sort of a device (laughs) an external search for self-confidence, really.

Milan: My character looks so corporate and so put together, and meanwhile she’s just running her own business and trying to impress everybody. Hers is also a mask in way. But she’s also a bit OCD and she’s structured and punctual and perfectionistic. So the lines in her wardrobe are very clear-cut and straight and monochromatic and precise.

Rolanda: Anna's been living in London for the past 4 years and she's always been quite stylish. She has a good sense of style but understated because she doesn’t have that extraverted personality like her other sisters. She’s a lot more introverted and quiet and I think you can see that in the way she dresses.

Keep an eye on tvplus’s website for more fascinating facts about Waterfront as we get closer to the broadcast date.

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