The pitiful and pathetic red carpet pre coverage of the 7th South African Film and Television Awards broadcast on Saturday evening on SABC3 with clearly unqualified and unprofessional live television "interviewers" was once again a jarring and eye-popping example of South African television's embarrassing and shameful refusal and inability to get it and do it right.
South African television, production companies and spotlight-seeking telenalities refuse to accept and work from the most basic premise of so-called red carpet award show coverage: investing in, and finding properly skilled people with experience who know what they're doing, can work under pressure, and can juggle the live demands and various simultaneous processes of red carpet coverage and make it look natural, smooth and easy.
Anyone cannot do it, and anyone shouldn't be doing it. Having watched Ryan Seacrest or Giuliana Rancic on E! Entertainment do red carpet coverage, isn't your "academic qualification" for thinking you're suddenly able to.
The gaffe-filled 7th Saftas red carpet coverage on Saturday evening with a meek Lerato Kganyago and a tragically inept, unprofessional and unqualified Nthato Mashishi was another sad display of exactly what happens when people who don't know what they're really doing - or who haven't done it for years and can't deftly adapt with live TV cameras rolling - try to do so-called "red carpet coverage".
What a national shame. And even more ironic that it keeps happening at a so-called awards show dedicated to honouring the best of television.
The numerous mistakes - especially of Nthato Mashishi - beamed into viewers' homes on Saturday evening by the producers as part of the 7th Saftas are simply too numerous to mention and was complete and utter failure television. Lets take just one cringe-inducing example:
Celebutant Jen Su in the yellow is talking, but viewers can't hear anything because neither of the vapid red carpet co-host, all smiling and apparently over-awed, can't be bothered or isn't technically focused enough on holding an actual mic immediately, and steadily, in front of her. And it happens multiple times, constantly.
Interrupting interviewees after they were just asked a question, sound here, sound there, sound gone, crazy and uncontrollable big windmill hand and arm movements and wholly uninformed interviewers is what viewers are shown.
"Are we seeing you playing a role, a cameo maybe?" asks Nthato Mashishi after Jen Su mentions she hopes soap Isidingo wins.
"I have actually before in the past. I've done a cameo role in Isidingo and I hope so again maybe again in the future," said Jen Su, nicely answering diplomatically and trying to lessen the obvious embarrassment.
"Okay. Thank you Jen Su. You look amazing."
If you do red carpet interviews - especially live - you need to know you're production information and the background on the TV talent walking the carpet inside out. You're get paid to know everything because you're supposedly better than the viewer watching. You don't ask questions if you don't know the facts.
If you're co-host mess up, you need to step up and smooth it over and cover for the other person's problems - delicately - because you're a team. You don't just stand there.
You are also able to present to the camera (and the viewer) whilst simultaneously connecting to the person you're interviewing, while you listen to the director or floor manager, and as you keep an eye on the cameraman to adjust your standing angle and floor mark, and look for cues about what to do next, or how long to continue.
What on earth were the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), the Saftas organising committee and the production company thinking by using utterly inappropriate and unprofessional people not versed in red carpet coverage to do it - red carpet coverage which is also live?
People study, learn, qualify and work their way up for years in order to do skilled television presenting work like this - presenting work which is some of the hardest and most technical to pull off successfully.
The 7th Saftas red carpet was once again substandard trash television and an unmitigated disaster.
The black full wall curtain in the back like last year with "emptiness" stretching into the background? Another fail. The organisers probably haven't yet heard of pop-up banner screens with your award logo and that of the sponsors as a backdrop for your red carpet put up not randomly, but exactly behind your red carpet where the TV interviews are taking place - which is how real award shows do it.
ALSO READ: 7th Saftas massive mistake with best writing for a TV drama category creates huge embarrassment and confusion.
ALSO READ: Saftas judging: "No doubt there's room for improvement," says Nodi Murphy, judging chairperson for the 7th Saftas.
ALSO READ: Reeva Steenkamp not included in the "In Memoriam" tribute of the 7th Saftas; segment done properly for the first time ever.
ALSO READ: Nik Rabinowitz bring real funniness for the first time ever as co-host of the 7th South African Film and Television Awards; staccato Connie Ferguson fails.
ALSO READ: Review. Sail Away: The 7th South African Film and Television Awards once again a sinking ceremony; a how-to NOT of disaster coverage.
