Hansie team goes all out
2007-10-05 09:04
Johannesburg - A digital crowd roars while the cricket action unfolds in slow motion on the screen - instantly you're transported from your couch to a seat in the stadium.
That's the effect the production team for the upcoming movie on the life of Hansie Cronjé wants to create with advanced cameras and specialised software.
Scenes for the film, titled Hansie , were shot at Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg on Thursday.
The film crew were due to move to SuperSportpark in Centurion on Friday.
James Middleton a member of the production team said the sports scenes in this movie wouldn't be like just another televised cricket match.
"We wanted the cricket action scenes to be brilliant. The audience must become so involved that they feel part of the match," Middleton said while filming a scene from the semi-finals of the 1999 Cricket World Cup tournament.
The Phantom, a high-definition film camera able to capture the action in ultra-slow motion has been brought from New York to South Africa especially for this.
It is one of about ten such cameras in the world.
As far as they know, it is the first time that this technology had been used in a sports movie, Middleton said.
It is also the first time that the camera had been used in Africa.
The action is captured so slowly that viewers can pick up on every little detail.
"For example, the audience will see exactly how the ball spins as it leaves Shane Warne's (former Australian spin-bowler) hand."
Software created originally for the Lord of the Rings movies was used to fill the empty cricket stadium with a digital crowd of 33 000 - another first for a local production, said Middleton.
"We didn't want to produce just another sports movie, as producer Regardt van den Bergh said beforehand: 'I want it all, I won't accept any compromise.'"