Newzroom Afrika’s brand new home

In celebration of its second year live on air, Newzroom Afrika has relocated to a new address in Oak Avenue, Randburg and has relied on the original set design team, headed by Michael Gill Designs, to deliver a polished set that shoots extraordinarily well for television.

Newzroom Afrika management appointed Ryan Toerien as Project Manager who managed every aspect from air‐conditioning and construction to the professional installation of equipment. Joshua Cutts of Visual Frontier, assisted by Paul Modise, were the appointed lighting designers while DWR Distribution supplied and installed the lighting equipment assisted by The Install Crew.

The new set includes three distinctive zones including the main news area, a couch set up that can double as a standing area and a round table set up, enabling the presenters to comfortably move from one space to the next. To create depth of feel one can now shoot from one area to the next along the length of the studio or from the front from side to side.

Joshua Cutts comments, “It was a big challenge to light the newsroom set because of the ceiling height and the architectural design. We had to come up with clever angles to use light as both an architectural fitting and studio light. I opted to go completely soft because it’s news. We chose an architectural lighting fitting that we adapted to make useable in a studio environment. I think it worked well in the end and the lights match some of Michael’s design. It was a great project.”

Project Manager Ryan Toerien added that “The key to the entire project was meticulous planning and working closely with the set team, the broadcast team, and the contractors, and eventually it all came together.”

For Kevin Stannett from DWR Distribution, the job was all about overcoming challenges, tight time frames, and budget, but he enjoyethe flexibility of working with Ryan, Michael and Joshua. “This was not our first rodeo together,” Kevin smiles.

Says Duncan Riley of DWR, “It was an honour working with the team again. We could conceptualize what the other parties would require due to past experiences and initiated certain plans to ensure all parties were happy before being asked.

Most important is that the client, Newzroom Afrika, represented by founders Thabile Ngwato and Thokozani Nkosi were extremely happy with the result. Thank you for trusting us.”

dwrdistribution.co.za