The LOFT

A vibrabrant format for a youth varierty show that connects young people
from all walks of life and offers them a platform to express themselves, share
each other’s opinions, learn from and entertain each other and celebrate
South-Africa’s great cultural heritage.

THE IDEA

The LOFT is about aspiration – the ideas, the vision, the goals, the
personalities, the pride, the culture and the life that the South-African youth
aspire to live. It’s like a major social network live on on our national
Television – young people talking to each other, telling their stories in their
own voices, they way they want it told.

It is a daily half an hour youth social platform on Television. This will take
educational Television to new heights with its use of popular cultural
elements, clever treatment of stories all wrapped up in a dynamic interactive

Sunday, December 23, 2007 Private & Confidential

format. The menu is issues of society, education, politics, entertainment and
lifestyle, careers, culture, economics, environment and more.

The LOFT will unearth stars from all around the country and make young
people believe in the SABC’s belief in them. The LOFT’s studio in
Johannesburg will be the base and South-Africa, is the story that gets told by
the youth in ways that only they can.

Target Market
Our primary target market is LSM 5 – 8 which is made up of:
 Young people between the ages of 13 and 24,
 The South African youth and those in other countries that have access
to SABC 1, and
 People that are brialliant, energetic, outgoing, impulsive, prone to
experiemntation, often recluse and rebellious, subject to temptation,
inquisitive, opinionated and itching to get their two cents worth heard.

Series Objectives

 To be the ultimate social platform for young people,

 To reflect the aspirations of the South-African youth,
 To encourage and engage the youth to buy into the culture of problem
solving,
 To celebrate our country’s rich and diverse cultures, languages,
heritage, history, beliefs and experiences,
 To dispell the notion that Television only works for people in Gauteng,
 To encourage youth to speaking their mind responsibly,
 To promote equality, national culture and diversity thereby
encouraging national pride, and
 To unearth and develop brand new Television stars in rural areas.

THE SHOW
The Look & Feel

The LOFT is young, hip and happening ans this will clearly be reflected in the
graphics, the set, the wadrobe, the presentation style, the treatment, the
camerawork and the language. The LOFT will look and feel accessible and
aspirational.

The Graphics

Sunday, December 23, 2007 Private & Confidential

The LOFT’s logo has to be a thing of beauty, an icon that will be easily
recognizerble by anyone who has seen it once. It will be like an emblem that
represents all that is ‘cool’. From the colors to the design the LOFT’s graphic
package has to be vibrant and in your face. They will serve a number of
purposes, both traditional and unorthodox.
 The Opening sequence,
 Insert stings,
 Guest titles and subtitles,
 Gig guide,
 Slides (we will use slides for various reasons such as contact details
and illustrations),
 Trivial information,
 Competition (only on Fridays),
 Bumpers to and from break, and
 Stings for live studio performances,

The Studio & Set

The LOFT consist of both studio and location elements. The studio will
function like a connector that links together, inserts from different parts of
South-Africa. The studio is the home of the show, our headquarters and as a
result the set will take the shape of an an exciting information centre with a
side stage for performances.

The Shoot Locations

All inserts will be shot on location. These locations will serve the following
purposes:
• Complementing the stories, and
• Introducing the location to the view that might not be familiar with it.

Locations will vary according to the nature of the stories and our researchers
will recee each and every location. Our DOP’s will employ their lighting
experience and camera skills to capture the essence of each location.

The Treatment
Studio Treatment

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The studio needs to feel like it’s happening and if you’re not part of this
movement you lose. We will utilize the traditional three cameras in the
studio in order to cover both studio presenters and provide wides and cover
studio guests.

The camera system will also come in very handy when we film live studio
performances in Friday. Two of the three cameras will cover the performance
closely whilst the one gives the wides. Close to the end of the song the wide
will retire to focus on the presenter.

Insert Treatment

We will use digibeta tapestock to achieve the squeacky clean look. One
camera, hand held or on tripod. The DOP, Researcher and Content Producer
will work on a treatment for each insert. This will help us find the best way of
treating the various locations. We’ll find interesting and innovative to treat
transitions.

The Format

The LOFT is presented in a vibrant and interactive capsule that features a

fusion of elements from a variety and magazine formats. The building blocks
of the format allow for integration of various interesting features that has
roots in social networking (more on this under Features).

Focus of the Show

The show will focus on (but not limited to) the following:
• Social issues,
• Environment,
• Health,
• Lifestyle,
• Economics, and
• Careers.

Content

Ultimately the best content and how it is presented to the viewer will be
what sets The LOFT apart from its competitors and other programs alike. It is
the cornerstone of the success of this project and as such we’ve created
systems that will alows us to achieve the highest level of content
management.

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The content will centre on the above-mentioned focus areas. The daily
episodes will be broken down into the following themes:
Monday – Social Issues
Tuesday – Health
Wednesday – Heritage and Culture
Thursday – Economics and Careers
Friday – Lifestyle & Entertainment

Research

Leaps Media and Productions aims to set up one of the best research and
writing teams for The LOFT. The team’s structure is inspired by the following
considerations:

• Gathering research the best stories and case studies across all 9
South-African Provinces, and
• Gathering and delivering large amounts of effective and credible
research.

The research team will be broken down into three teams based in the
following Provinces:
• Gauteng (Johannesburg),
• Western Cape (Cape Town), and
• Kwazulu-Natal (Durban).

Each team will be designated research areas that will allow us to cover the
rest of the country. The teams will be headed by a Content Producer with
whom they will be connected to them via Microsoft Groove and in contact
daily

The CP will also make regular trips to Provincial teams in order to take care
of quality control measures such as brainstorming and ??? We will also
develop a content bible in conjunction with SABC Education to help govern
the research processes and guide the researchers.

Each research team will be made up of the following members:

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 • 2x Researcher/PA,
• Presenter,
• DOP, and
• Soundman.

As part of our commitment to providing industry training we will give

preference to people living in the above-mentioned Provinces.

The Talent
The LOFT will have representation in each and every province. We will group
neighboring provinces together in this manner:

• Gauteng & North West (Studio & Location)

• Limpopo & Mpumalanga (Location)
• Kwazulu-Natal (Location)
• Free State & Northern Cape (Location)
• Eastern & Western Cape (Location)

We have two candidates for the Johannesburg station and we will audition for
talent in other part of the country. Our Johannesburg recommendations are.

Candy Brown (Actress and Singer)

Candi is a natural born entertainer. It’s her singing and acting that has drawn
her acclaim, but what most don’t know is that every minute with her is
exciting. She has presented on television before for a DStv Afrikaans
channel. Candi can fluently speak all 11 official languages.

She represents a typical young South-African with big dreams and a zest for
life, viewers will easily with connect her.

Thato (Rapper)
Thato is the epitome of two things, the title ‘Young, Black and Talented’ and
the old adage: ‘if you want something, you will find a way to get it’. At age
15 he wanted to be a recording artist, and today at age 25 he is a member of
the Hip-Hop band Zulu Mobb.
Their debut album ‘Corner, Bullet and Knife’ was born out of lyrical and
musical expression that relates directly to the youth of today, their opinions,
thoughts, influences and tales of their daily lives. Zulu Mobb was nominated
for the Metro FM Awards 2004, SAMA 11 and Channel O Music Video Awards
for the debut album.

Thato’s personality is what makes him perfect for The LOFT. Although his
style of music would suggest otherwise he is simple yet charismatic young
person that others would be able to identify with.

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The LOFT beyond Television

The LOFT aims to inspire a movement of proud young South-Africans and it is

critical that we provide our viewers with off television platforms to further
this commitment. We propose the following:
 www.theloft.co.za – a website that supports the show and provide
multiple interactive chat forums,
 The LOFT Chat Room on MXit,
 The LOFT Facebook group,
 Build relationships within programs on SABC’s regional radio stations,
 A freely distributable eZines,
 Build a relationship with a leading youth Magazine.

The Features of the Show

The LOFT will deliver an episode for each day of the week and each episode
will have its own DNA with the exception of a few primary elements. The
primary elements are as follows:

Primary Features:
Hoekom? – A young person gets one minute to blow off steam. They get to
rant and rave for a minute about specific issues starting each sentence with
‘why’.
This Day in History – A rundown of the South-African historical events that
took place on the present day.
Big Brother - An investigative piece where our presenter follows a story
following a report by a young person. The main aim of this insert is to
encourage problem solving. The presenter is merely there to facilitate and
help the guest find some kind of a solution to the problem at hand.
FYI – An information capsule that contains news, information requested by a
viewer, notice board messages and any other information bits.

Secondary Features:

1. (Kas’ Lam) Youth can learn and enjoy their country through Kas’ Lam...
2. (Qhawe la Maqhawe) Youth can pay homage and celebrate their
heritage and heroes through Qhawe la Maqhawe…(heroes from all
walks of life, even people that are deceased – this can be done through
various ways….viewers can choose to write piece of poetry, sing a
song, compile a profile for other viewers or anything that they deem fit
to help drive their point.
3. (Morethetho) Viewers can request and nominate entertainers. They
can request a song by a popular personality – getting the musician in
the studio is first prize and in the event that we fail, we will either get
them to perform the song from wherever they are (might even be a
music festival or a private performance) or get the music video. The

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 viewer can also nominate an unsigned band to perform for either in the
studio or on location if the budget allows.
4. (Why?) Beginning with ‘why’, young people can interrogate issues and
implore other young people to air their views. This feature will provide
some viewer interactivity opportunities via SMS, MMS, email, and snail
mail and Telephone.

Running Order

Item Audio Video Dur.

1. Opening Sequence
2. Line Up
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Sunday, December 23, 2007 Private & Confidential