As the excitement of FIFA‘s 2010 World Cup Soccer gets underway, ESPN launches it’s “One Game Changes Everything” platform for promoting it’s coverage of the famed international sporting event. This year’s show open, featuring U2 and the Soweto Gospel Choir, was supervised and produced by Habana Avenue executive producer/creative director Steven J. Levy and shot on location in and around Johannesburg, South Africa.
Habana Avenue, which has a longstanding relationship with ESPN, has provided production support for many of the network’s largest initiatives. Most recently, Habana produced a special 40th anniversary show open for this past season’s ESPN “Monday Night Football” (MNF).
As with much of ESPN‘s campaign for the World Cup, work centers around the message of unity and the many nations that will compete on this international stage. It is this powerful message that convinced U2 to lend their voice to this effort. The open, which visually intercuts between the choir singing on the streets of Soweto, Hillbrow and New Town and U2 live on stage, evokes powerful feelings of national pride and international unity. The piece is underscored by the music of U2 singing poignant songs like Streets Have No Name, Boots, Magnificent and Amazing Grace backed up by the powerful voices of Soweto‘s choir. Over the course of the four-week event, a different song will be featured in the open. This collaboration will appear in every programme throughout ESPN‘s presentation of the World Cup including soccer highlights, match and studio coverage. Noteworthy locations like the Regina Mundi Catholic Church and the Elias Motsoaledi Informal Settlement are well represented in this moving piece. “There are a great many streets with no name in Africa,” according to Levy. “We tried very hard to represent all aspects of African life both beautiful and challenging.”
Habana Avenue was charged with overseeing the live action production in Johannesburg, the mix of U2 and the choir, as well as a large scenic element and visual effects production throughout South Africa in cooperation with and support of Prologue animation. The joining of those sounds is equally as powerful as the rich imagery of South Africa and U2 performing live. Directing for Habana is Emmy Award winning Other Film Director/Cinematographer, Scott Duncan. Duncan is best known for creating the iconic visual style for such broadcast franchises as Survivor,
Apprentice, Contender and Rock Star. Duncan has earned 8 Emmy Awards for Individual Achievement in Cinematography. AFS Productions was engaged by Habana to provide production support throughout Africa.
Overseeing the project for ESPN was Jed Drake – SVP & Exec. Producer, Geoffrey Mason – Head of Production, Valerie Fischler – Lead Producer and Claude Mitchell – Music Director. Richard Mitchell of RM Recordings engineered the recording session. The Soweto Gospel Choir is overseen by Exec. Producer โ Beverly Bryer and Music Directors Lucas Bok & Milton Ndlakuse.
About Habana Avenue
Habana Avenue is a full-service TV, film, live event and concert-experience Production Company and an original content creator with offices in New York City, Los Angeles and Tampa. It maintains a boutique postproduction facility in Tampa called Bungalow Post @ Habana Avenue and has a postproduction alliance with full-service and nationally positioned Red Car, which has offices in New York, Miami, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. For more information, visit www.HabanaAvenue.com or call 212-355-8311.