Source: Daily Dispatch.
Filed Under (multimedia) by Jan Hennop on 18-05-2010 and tagged journalism, Matthew Edwards, media, multimedia, pineapples, rhodes, sellers, YouTube South Africa
An Eastern Cape production has become one of the most watched online videos on Tuesday when it reached viral status with the launch of Youtube’s new South African portal. Produced last year by Rhodes journalism graduate Matthew Edwards, “Pineapples for sale” went from 5 000 hits last night to a phenomenal 29 158 at the time of this post after Youtube’s launch, writes Michelle Solomon.
“I am excited to announce the launch of the South African version of YouTube,” Alon Chen, YouTube marketing manager said yesterday from Atlas Studios in Johannesburg.
The South African domain launch is a first for the African continent.
“Content uploaded by users in SA will show up as ‘browse pages’ on the YouTube South Africa site,” Chen said, adding that this will make it easier for locals to find videos most relevant to them and their way of life, thus creating a new space for the national community and giving SA users the opportunity to increase their exposure, reported BizCommunity.
Edwards produced the video last year as an individual assignment in the fourth year of his television journalism degree, and was awarded the first ever Audience Choice Award at the RUTV4 Film Fest for the category.
The video tells the story of a couple of women who sell their pineapples along the N2 in the Eastern Cape, and the immense poverty of the rural Eastern Cape.
Edwards told the Dispatch on Tuesday that he found the dramatic increase in viewings of his production “a little bit overwhelming”, but was excited nonetheless that he was getting publicity for the piece.
“It’s quite exciting… if the ladies get more business it’s great,” he said, adding that the pineapple sellers were usually based on the N2 between Peddie and Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, just after the Great Fish river bridge.
Edwards told the Dispatch how he stumbled on the story of the pineapple sellers quite by accident during a car trip from the Transkei.
“We were driving back to Grahamstown after shooting another documentary in Port St John’s, and I noticed them… (The pineapple sellers) are an issue in the Eastern Cape that everyone knows about but does nothing about,” Edwards said.
“I worked with them for five days in total, and all the stories I found weren’t told in the 5-minuter. One of the ladies has been standing at that same place selling pineapples everyday since she was eleven years old,” Edwards said. “She’s about 40 years old now,” he added.
“The most amazing thing I found though, was that these women were not looking for charity -- they just want a chance like everyone else, and hope to find support for their business,” Edwards explained.
“Pineapples for Sale” was aired on SABC 2’s “Ikon” earlier this year, along with a few other leading productions from the 2009 Rhodes Journalism TV group.
When asked why Edwards had chosen the story of the pineapple sellers, as opposed to a story about the crime and corruption of South Africa’s poorest province, he said that he felt such negativity was unproductive.
“I’m extremely passionate about this country, and if we keep saying negative things we won’t achieve anything. People go on about (South Africa’s) potential, but there’s a thin line between potential and wasted opportunity,” Edwards said.
The Youtube launch follows that of RhodesTV last month, a Youtube channel airing the work of Rhodes University television journalism students and also hosts Edwards work. - michelles@dispatch.co.za
See this amazing video
Pic: Daily Dispatch.