The soap Isidingo (SABC3, weekdays, 18:30) has a brand-new look and gold infused opening intro that's co-inciding with the addition of the new Sibeko gold mining magnate family. The presence and colour of gold is unmissable and unmistakable and is clearly the new element that will literally be driving and infusing the soap moving forward.
Isidingo's executive producer Pumla Hopa shares the secrets of the new Isidingo opening theme - that also has some new updated theme song music - and tells TV with Thinus that the opening theme had to change with the new family and direction of the show to reflect the presence of the Sibekos.
''It's been a couple of years coming,'' says Pumla Hopa about the new Isidingo opening theme. ''The last time Isidingo was relaunched with a new title sequence was in 2002 when we were moving away from the gritty authentic mine feel and the Haines' introduced The Deep to the stylish glamorous world of ONtv. We are now introducing another new family, the Sibekos who are catalysts in bringing an urbane world with pioneering business developments to The Deep.''
Pumla Hopa says it took three days to shoot all the scenes in total making up the new opening sequences that sees the Isidingo soap stars surrounded by the drippings and trappings of conspicuous wealth, posing in soft light, and several eyes during the sequence reflecting liquid gold.
Asked what scenes from the theme were more difficult production wise to film, Pumla Hopa says Charlie's pool shots. ''We didn't have a black pool so we had to create one. The water was cold and the actress was freezing.''
''We bought the pool a few hours before shooting and covered it with a black cloth and put water in it,'' says Pumla Hopa. In keeping with the previous opening title, Isidingo retains its glamorous look, but seems to have even enhanced it further. Talking about the conceptualization and how the message of the new Isidingo theme song is different from the ones that came before it, Pumla Hopa says the Sibekos ''are bringing in pioneering technology to the Deep. We needed to reflect that.''
Traces of the original theme song music is also still there but the score has been adapted and changed in its biggest change since the soap started. ''We wanted to maintain the original theme that the audience has loved over the 13 years and the music was tweaked to enhance it with the new visuals.''
