Rob Malpage

Rob Malpage

Director at The Rudeboy Collective, Cape Town
Johannesburg, South Africa

About me

Rob Malpage is one of the industry’s leading cinematographers turned director. A tenacious perfectionist who continues to direct and shoot most of his own commercials, for which he has been locally and internationally recognised. Rob’s wealth of experience started when, fresh out of film school, he began shooting the award-winning series ‘Yizo-Yizo’. A steady flow of commercials followed as did a number of feature films and short films. These allowed Rob to delve into the storytelling element of film-making which in turn has given him the ability to find narrative in all genres. Rob made his directorial debut shooting music videos with controversial South African artists, Die Antwoord. Rob has an inimitable and expressive visual language, which translates beautifully to the screen. This, coupled with his deep understanding of performance, composition, music and editing, makes him a multifaceted and highly respected director. He continues to both direct and shoot most of his commercials, which have won him multiple accolades at Cannes Lions, D&AD, LIA, Visible Spectrum Awards and Loeries. " The work that I love doing is above the line big TV commercials, which are cinematic in nature - I love doing big shots in big landscapes. I love the technically challenging shoots where you are pitted against nature somewhere beautiful, or finding textures in the back alleys of Lagos. I like shooting emotion, making an audience feel something, be it love, fear, awe. I like to tap into people’s core emotions let them believe in the characters and what they see on the screen. I love photography as well, in time the two have become interwoven. I love the still moment where everything has come together. The two disciplines of cinematography and photography help you as a director to know the medium of imagery and how to best capture it." - Rob Malpage, director, The Rudeboy Collective

Director
Cape Town, South Africa
After graduating from AFDA with honors as best cinematographer in 1999, Rob shot Yizo Yizo, one of the most highly awarded and critically acclaimed productions of its time both locally and internationally. Rob was immediately noticed by the commercials industry and was quickly picked up by some of the world’s finest directors, going on to shoot extensively in Africa and abroad. Rob is still one of South Africa’s most highly regarded cinematographers both in the local and international market.Rob’s unique style and desire to push the boundaries further led him to make the move into directing. He enjoys the creative process involved in each facet of production and feels that having more control over the whole job allows for his vision and style to truly be utilized, bringing the huge benefit of director/DOP to each project. He made his directoral debut shooting music videos with controversial South African artists, Die Antwoord. He carried on to direct TV commercials, among them MTN and Uniball, for which he won awards at Cannes Lions, D&AD and Loeries.Rob is versatile in both visual artistry and storytelling, making him an asset to the Velocity showreel. He is tenacious and a perfectionist and strives for excellence in every facet of his life. 
Director of Photography
Berlin, Germany
Cinematography
Cape Town, South Africa
Director of Photography
Beijing, China
Cinematography
Network BBDO
Johannesburg, South Africa

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