Assistant Directors

Here is how this works in practice. We place first assistant directors who run the shooting floor, build and drive the schedule, and serve as the link between the director's creative intent and the crew's day-to-day execution. Our network is centred on Cape Town and Johannesburg, where a deep, top-tier pool of first ADs has been built on decades of global features, long-running series and high-volume commercial work. The first ADs we supply break down scripts, prepare shooting schedules and one-line schedules, run the call sheet process and keep tricky days moving safely and on budget.

Here is the short of it. We match each AD to your genre and scale, whether that means a studio drama at Cape Town Film Studios, a location-heavy feature across the Western Cape or an action shoot in the bushveld. Because English is the working language of the South African industry, first ADs communicate clearly with both local and visiting crew, and the favourable South African rand exchange rate means a skilled AD team is engaged at costs well below European or North American norms. They set up closely with the second and third ADs, the production manager and the line producer.

Here is the breakdown. South Africa gives first assistant directors a mature, well-covered environment in which to run a set. The country is one of the world's top destinations for servicing global features, series and commercials, and its crew base is worldwide seasoned, so ADs work with departments that already know fast, tight shooting days. The country's different locations, from Table Mountain and the Cape Peninsula to the Kruger bushveld and the Karoo, place real scheduling demands on an AD, who must build in travel, light and wildlife considerations across the strong Southern Hemisphere day.

Here is what that looks like on the ground. Productions such as the Starz series 'Black Sails' and Ridley Scott's 'Raised by Wolves' at Cape Town Film Studios have relied on local AD teams to manage large units. Drone work falls under the South African Civil Aviation Authority and national-park access under SANParks, so ADs schedule licensed and permitted activity with care. The prime November-to-February season aligns conveniently with Northern Hemisphere production calendars.