Hi everybody,
I feel very excited to have this medium for all of us to share our thoughts, ideas, visions, aspirations, solutions, joys, celebrations and whatever it is that will make the Nigerian Motion Picture industry tick….positively!!
As a working filmmaker who has experienced different cultures around the world and observed keenly how various movie industries have been established, developed and sustained, it has always been my dream to have a world class movie industry in Nigeria.
Over the years I have come to realize that one common factor and ever-constant trait in the countries with advanced film industries is the fact that practitioners subject themselves to serious training and re-training. Also, they share ideas and share technologies they have developed. When one person discovers a way to make something happen and wows the audience with it, he then shares the idea with the rest of the world; that way someone else takes it from where he/she has stopped and pushes the envelope further to break more grounds. This is a way the industry can get better. One person can be known for discovering the technology but someone else can bring about a spectacular revolution that the original creator may even learn from.
When Martin Cooper invented the world’s first hand-held cellular phone on April 3, 1973, little did he know that he had just set in motion a technology that would change the world forever. As a staff of Motorola then, he was excited he had done something different and the first call he made was to his competitors at AT&T and he informed them he had beat them to it, solidifying the fact that using cell phones was possible. He had discovered the key and made the world know he did it then he shared the concept behind it with the world. However, the folks at Apple under the leadership of Steve Jobs took cell phone technology to a whole new level based on the original principles discovered by Martin Cooper.
This blog is for filmmakers, film enthusiasts and movie lovers to share their ideas and help make our motion picture industry bigger and better. I know that everybody has something to complain about the movie industry because everywhere I go they complain..bad lighting, bad acting, poor editing, quack directors! Yeah right! We know we have issues in the industry...Well, so does the banking sector, power sector, immigration, the nation's infrastructural development, the Nigerian Police Force and the whole world! Give the Nigerian movie industry a break! We don’t need people to rub our inadequacies in our faces 24-7. Do you think we don’t know them? What we need are people who have answers and solutions. People who are willing to go all the way to support the filmmakers who have proved themselves over time as credible folks and are committed to changing the game. We need people who are willing to push for policies that will create an enabling environment for good films to be made. People who will ensure that we don’t have to use our children as collaterals to be able to shoot a movie at the Muritala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos.
I am also passionate about discovering new talents i.e. actors, cinematographers, directors, writers, gaffers, make up artists, costume designers, etc. Its time for us to celebrate the people behind the scenes and promote them. Yes the actors are the face of the industry but they would’t be there if not for the efforts of the small, unseen guy whose job it is to power the generator that will give light before the actor can do his/her scene. I will celebrate them here. These are my people.
For young filmmakers who desire to be the very best as they start their journey in to the exciting and very eventful world of filmmaking; consider this as your online FREE film school. I will share tips, ideas and different technologies I have used as a filmmaker over the years. Also, my friends and colleagues from around the world will contribute and share nuggets that will help you in the areas of scriptwriting, gear review, cinematography, make up, producing, acting, production designing, sound, directing and even film distribution.
For my colleagues out there who are working on movie projects, send us pictures of your behind the scenes and let us put it here. Give us updates on your films. Lets us celebrate people who are doing good stuff. Nollywood is ours and it is up to us to set the records straight about our industry. This is where we can make that happen. Share your experiences here. This is not just a blog...it is OUR WORLD. OUR MIND-SPACE. OUR ZONE. OUR HOME!
Okay... I shouldn’t talk too much as this is our introduction. I feel super charged and ‘mega-hyper’ about the amazing things that are about to happen in our lives through this blog. God bless you as you spread the word.
Always remember; IF YOU CAN THINK IT, YOU CAN ACHIEVE IT!
