Mann Made Media, the Johannesburg-based brand experience agency that has been producing events and content since 2003, is opening its Sandton production campus to brands and agencies planning hybrid broadcasts, virtual events and studio shoots for the final quarter of 2026. The Wendywood facility houses two production-ready green screen studios, a broadcast control setup and an in-house production floor, giving clients a single place to record, stream and finish content as October brings the start of South Africa’s year-end conference, awards and launch calendar.
Many organisations now run their important moments in two places at once: a room full of guests and an online audience watching from elsewhere. Getting both right takes more than a camera and a laptop. It needs reliable power, fast connectivity, trained crew and a set that looks good on screen. Mann Made’s studio offering is built around those practical needs, and it connects directly to the agency’s wider event, video and animation teams.
Inside the Sandton studios
The campus at 34 Bowling Avenue, Wendywood, Sandton, includes two premium green screen studios set up for quick keying, which makes them suited to virtual sets, presenter-led explainers and recorded keynotes that will later be placed into branded environments. Mann Made supplies professional technical directors, sound engineers, camera operators and autocue specialists to run master control during a booking.
Two infrastructure details stand out for anyone who has lived through a live stream failing at the wrong moment. The studios run on an uninterruptible power supply with automatic switching to backup generators, which Mann Made says is there to guarantee zero workflow downtime. Connectivity comes through dedicated fibre lines of up to 1 Gbps, intended to keep streams stable, support remote feeds and keep live distribution clear.
Clients also have access to a client lounge, green rooms, make-up stations and serviced office space. Optional extras include full live broadcast control room setups using vMix or Tricaster, bespoke 3D virtual set designs, post-production and editing suites, motion design support and catering for executive hospitality. External crews and creative teams are welcome; Mann Made’s own staff remain attached to the core infrastructure to supervise technical safety.
One team from stage to screen
The studio is one part of a larger operation. Mann Made works as an event management company, covering strategy, concept, pre-production, event days and post-event measurement. Its process starts with a deep dive into the requirements and intended outcome of an event, moves through a detailed guest experience presentation and a master schedule, and ends with event content repackaged for a post-event campaign. Success is tracked using tools that include surveys delivered through a custom eventing app.
The agency’s portfolio shows how that process plays out in practice. Mann Made engineered and executed the inaugural Singularity University South Africa Summit, which it has produced each year since, including hybrid virtual editions, and its homepage describes a SingularityU event at the Sandton Convention Centre that integrated a custom metaverse component and hosted more than 1,500 attendees. Other work listed on the site includes the Yoco Next hybrid product launch at The Playground in Johannesburg, story-led executive presentations for MTN’s Global Leadership Gathering at Gallagher Convention Centre, a two-day unconference for SA Future Trust with more than 30 sessions, and the Kaizer Chiefs and Kappa kit launch campaign.
Video and animation in the same building
Because the agency owns its own production chain, footage recorded in the studios can be edited, graded and finished in-house. Mann Made’s video production service is built around making people comfortable on camera, with a focus on coaching speakers, structuring the story and running a predictable process. Its published packages range from short CEO messages, expert interviews, testimonials and internal training videos through to brand stories, website hero videos and event highlight reels, with custom cinematic productions such as television commercials and flagship brand films quoted separately.
For live events, the agency also operates as an animation studio focused on motion design for stages and screens. Its event animation work includes animated logo reveals, ambient stage wallpapers, lower thirds and speaker titles, segment openers and transitions, branded countdown clocks, sponsor loops, winner reveal animations and animated infographics. Assets can be produced in 2D or 3D. In a hybrid broadcast, those elements keep the brand visible for both the room and the online audience, and smooth transitions help the programme move without awkward pauses between speakers.
Why the timing matters
October is when many South African companies move from planning to production for the end of the year. Leadership summits, awards evenings, product launches and year-end gala events tend to cluster between now and early December, and most of them now include some form of recorded or streamed content. Booking studio time, preparing virtual sets and building motion graphics packages takes lead time, so organisations that line these up in October have more room to rehearse and refine.
A studio-based approach can also reduce risk. Recording executive messages, award segments or product explainers in a controlled environment ahead of the event means the live programme depends less on everything happening perfectly on the night. Pre-recorded segments can be dropped into the run sheet, while the live portions stream from the same campus with backup power and fibre in place.
Technology alongside human craft
Mann Made describes its model as fusing AI-augmented workflows with human-led delivery. Its services include AI video, AI automation and software development, as well as a robot experience offering for trade shows, exhibitions, keynotes and corporate events. The agency positions these tools as a way to speed up storyboarding, concept prototyping and content creation, while experienced crews handle the physical side of production on site.
The company states that it has more than 50 skilled professionals running an in-house production floor and lists Johannesburg, Cape Town and Dubai as its locations. It combines what it calls the personal touch of a family business with the infrastructure of an established agency, owning the value chain from creative concept to fabrication, logistics and post-production.
Brands, event organisers and agencies that want to discuss studio bookings, hybrid broadcasts, video or event animation for the coming months can find full details on the Mann Made website at https://mannmade.co.za/.
About Mann Made Media
Mann Made Media is a South African brand experience agency established in 2003, with a production campus in Wendywood, Sandton, and locations listed in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Dubai. The agency provides event strategy and production, video and content creation, 2D and 3D animation, AI video and automation, software development, robot experiences, live streaming and broadcast, stage and set design, and green screen studio hire. It employs more than 50 professionals on its in-house production floor and is a Level 2 BBBEE value-adding service provider.
Media Contact
Mann Made Media
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +27 11 259 7120
Website: https://mannmade.co.za/
