A branded short film directed by Picture Tree’s Wim Steytler has been singled out as the best SA Film Reel of the month by iDidTht.com.

The film, on singer and songwriter Valiant Swart, was one of four branded content edits that Steytler directed for the Sanlam Musiekfees by die Woordfees which took place in Stellenbosch early in March. All four branded short films were based around the broader theme of the festival – “Elke woord is ’n meesterstuk” (“every word is a masterpiece”).

In selecting Steytler’s work as the standout for iDidTht.com, Donovan Bryan, Executive Creative Director at Owen Kessel Leo Burnett, described the short piece as “beautifully put together”.

“I loved the way the graphics were included – they were so considered and thoughtful. I thought that Valiant’s performance was great. A really, really beautiful piece of direction where every element of the communication is deliberate and works hard. I loved this piece.”

Working with the creative team at King James Cape Town, Steytler’s brief was to reinforce Sanlam’s appreciation for the skill and dedication that go into creating musical masterpieces. The content additionally had to lend themselves to be viewed by the public in imaginative and unusual settings, including a bird hide, an arcade game and a motorcycle.

“The branded short films needed to touch on three different aspects – the songwriting process, intimate biographical information about the artist and then also do justice to the song itself,” explains Steytler. “To do this, in the space of three or four minutes, I took an assemblage approach, combining video, stills and typography to create a visually rich and experimental short film.”

Working on a tight budget meant Steytler chose to use the concept of metaphor to drive the narrative forward.

Each branded content piece is anchored by an interview with the artist which was filmed in a specially created set that captured the theme of each video (“I find talking head interviews boring and unimaginative and so wanted to make sure that we captured this part of the film in the most engaging way,” explains Steytler). These interviews were the starting point for Steytler’s distinctive approach to each film. “I wanted to pick up on the content of the interview and the chosen song’s lyrics in a conceptual way that would also not the break the budget. This led me to trawling the internet for free-to-use visuals as well as my own archive to find those images that could play a metaphorical role in the films.” Also contributing to the imagery of the branded films were a wide range of Instagrammers (each of whom is acknowledged in the credits) as well as the artists themselves who looked into their own archives for childhood and performing images.

“Creating this content was a collaborative process – whether it was the brilliant King James’ design team who worked on the typography for each specific piece or the Instagrammers who contributed such beautiful images,” says Steytler. “I must also pay credit to the post-production team at Mushroom Media which played a really important role in helping me realise the creative vision I had for each of the four branded films.”

For Valiant Swart’s “The Mystic Boer”, Steytler wanted to convey the progressive and mystical side to Afrikaans culture that’s not often seen but is perfectly conveyed in Swart’s iconic song. “Valiant is really like our Jim Morrison. He came in the wake of the Voëlvry movement, singing, not about politics, but about sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll. He brought the cool back into the scene and set it up for bands like Fokofpolisiekar to follow.”

Alongside Swart, Steytler created content on Al Bairre (Cape Town-based purveyors of an “ice-cream of orchestral sounds”), Mitchell’s Plein rapper, Churchil Naudé, and Afrikaans rock icon, Hunter Kennedy (Fokofpolisiekar and Die Huewels Fantasties).