THE FILM
TAKING EARTH
Taking Earth is a full-length, English-language, feature film created for worldwide distribution. The screenplay, a character-driven science fiction work, is written by Grant Humphreys, Michael Harrison and Grant Knight.
The movie showcases the natural, stunning beauty of the South African landscape. As local producers we take great pride in showing off our rich and varied scenery, with a passion clearly evident in our presentation of the incredible South African countryside. From a rich cultural heritage, breathtaking views, picturesque cities and a uniquely talented population, Taking Earth has a 'proudly South African' feel. "Our aim is to showcase this amazing country and to take it to an international stage" - Grant Knight / Executive Producer.
We have been given this wonderful opportunity, with grateful thanks, to some very generous investors, who have shown their complete commitment to the process of film-making and the artistic vision of the producers. These contributions, combined with a film rebate grant from the Department of Trade and Industry, has made this uniquely South African production possible.
This is the main premise of the movie : "They took the planet to find just one".
Synopsis:
An unexplainable event that has thrust the world into chaos brings two survivors together as a portion of the worlds population presumably infected by a strange outbreak, hunt them. These Infected Ones (IO’s) seem motivated by an obsession to rein chaos with a need for tasting blood. The two survivors; David (Ronan Quarmby) and a teenager named Cameron (Marco Torlage) form a bond as they try to find their lost loved ones, but the young man has a secret about the outbreak – all is not as it seems. A race from another world are orchestrating this attack on Earth as they hide in the skies, searching for the one out of seven billion people… searching for Cameron. Controlling the IO’s who are gripped in a bicameral state, time is running out as the ‘Visitors’ patience is waning and a greater threat faces our world if the boy is not found. David must help Cameron find his mom, Ellen (Barbara Harrison) and do what they can to stop the alien attack.
Taking Earth is complete and is planned for release in 2017 with the local release still to be confirmed.
We invite you join us on this epic journey to produce a truly ground-breaking South African film
FILM FACTS
Contrary to some belief, this film was made by a core group of 3 people. EVERYTHING was done by these producers: Script, Pre Production planning, Financial procurement, Script breakdown, Casting, Location scouting, Travel planning and logistics, Permits, Bookings, Equipment rentals, Directing, Shooting, Lighting, Cinematography*, Catering, Media management, Proxies, Editing, Visual Effects, Sound Effects, Delivery.
The only areas that were outsourced were: Sound recording by a single sound engineer, Final mix sound, Colour grade and score, although the theme tunes for Cameron, David, Garabon, Irehkull and Devanera were composed by the director.
The entire budget was less than $250 000
*FW Stark added an invaluable contribution, joining Grant Humphreys, Grant Knight and Michael Harrison as co-cinamatographer.
DIGITAL FORCES
A Brief History
Digital Forces was the brain-child of Grant Humphreys and Grant Knight, created in 1999 when they started a new South African production company. From small beginnings, initially focused on graphic design, creating logos and commercial campaigns, the company progressed and grew to produce advertising campaigns for some of the country's largest agencies ...
Drama was always a central theme, and the company went on to produce 'Oor die Kole', a talk show with a difference. Presented by local rugby heroes : Kobus Wiese and Toks van der Linde, this show travelled around the country and then the globe, to interview some of the world's greatest sporting legends. Director Grant Humphreys always pushed the creative boundaries and invented new ways to give exposure to the sponsor's brand by writing dramatic pieces, which then turned the show into an interesting series, including characters and humour, rather than merely a straight-forward talk show.
Michael Harrison joined the team at the end of 2009, and his talents as a young special-effects maistro added a weight of skills and experience to the company's expanding arsenal.
In 2010, Digital Forces was awarded the contract to produce all the national Motor Racing series, captured in thirty-six, one-hour episodes per year. Once again Grant Humphreys applied his creative magic and transformed the show into a story-telling dream, where extremely talented racing drivers were portrayed as 'SuperStars'. This is the platform where Digital Forces made first contact with Ronan Quarmby. As the National Superbike champion, Ronan had that special something which made him stand out from the crowd.
It was in 2011 that Digital Forces launched into the film-making industry, as this had always been a long-term goal for the company. The decision was made to self-finance a project to showcase the talents of the team. Digital Forces produced a forty-eight minute short film called Dark Light, which sparked off the creative ideas for a large, new variety of stories. This movie was extremely well received, and led to the opportunity for the company to procure the finance to make Taking Earth.
This is where the company is situated at this moment. We believe we are going to make a major impact on the local and international film industry. Digital Forces look forward to showing you what we can do!
