THE AFRICAN ARTISTS, PRODUCTIONS, PRODUCERS AND VALUE FOR CONTENT- ONIBIYO Samuel E
THE AFRICAN ARTISTS, PRODUCTIONS, PRODUCERS AND VALUE FOR CONTENT- ONIBIYO Samuel E
In 1994, I was priviledged to Direct "the GRACE", then as an end product on the VHS tape, which was to be sold amongst Christians and particularly, ECWA denomination, if not "shared", because getting the Local Church Board of 2nd ECWA Church, Ilorin to even produce the video was but an Herculean task, like it would be anywhere as at then; so the issue of distribution was not even in the front burner but production, which of course was a heavy task, due to the scarcely available tools like the video recorder, the lights, the cables, the editors and so on, which were almost 100% analog, and were not readily available around, safe for NTA and a very few outlets who had returned to the country after their sojourn off shore, the centre issue before the Board Elders were basically what is the production aimed at? so for twenty eight (28) years now, over two decades, we have been in the production family, the content has been long before then and almost three decades! still discussing production, but less attention to content and it's value(s).
While fund to do production is still largely an issue, it is glaringly not as hardly available then, but the main THRUST today is the quality of production, which may take you to the standard of equipment used, but mainly the value of the production, which am focusing from the content.
Recently the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) came down heavily on movie producers in respect of the use of Police uniforms, vehicles and other related items, which most stakeholders as well as observers has condemned as it is seen as merely an exercise by Police authority to extort money from producers, rather than for security reasons, or and for reasons such has stopping people from using the toy like arms to take advantage of the people under the pretence of using them for production, and of course another school of thought, believes that, such productions are encouraging violence, exposing people to more ills on the use of the arms and the last feels very strongly that the, Police is portrayed in bad lights and that is damaging to the image of the nation, not just the Police.
In all these, my angle to the management of this subject here in respect to production from root to roof planning system driven around content and of course the very fundamentals of the issue, the force that actually drives production outside revenue, and just where exactly is the place for the content of production, that determines it's value and of course you may ask, what are the understandings of viewers, otherwise consumers who use or watch the products of these productions.
I love quickly, to roll back to the days of the likes of now must be elder Shola Omole, Ruth Benemezia Opia, surely grannies now if not great grannies, to those of Ronke Ayuba, whom we all run rings round the black and white TVs then to listen to them cast the news, learn new words and pronunciations, now called phonetics and of course to be current! You can ask me which stations any kid runs to, to hear this news again, how much more learn new things! It's shocking too, that, I hope am right in the early 2000, I watched briefly a misrepresented drama on GODS ARE NOT TO BLAME, which was suppose to be the Octopus adaptation, which that year, am sorry, whichever, pupil writing NECO, SSSCE and what have you, dared watched would have failed woefully, these are errors NTA can not ordinary commit in the past, because for your job to be accepted and for even you to be their artists, you would have been thoroughly scrutinized and only God knows how many reviews.
These days, I watched several productions with line crossings on camera positions and at times you can't actually be sure what you are watching is a screen work or stage or whether a new intro to the world of production.
Being a member of the Network of NTA that produced FAMILY CIRCLE was a delight and an opportunity to learn from the likes of Late John Taylor of blessed memory, then working from the Ilorin office of NTA, the seasoned programme chief and director from Ipoti Ekiti, will not compromise an inch of the production standard from language, to deliveries, to characterization and will always tell you that, the National Office will vet and re vet, infact that same job ended on Ben TV in London as a partnership content with NTA Nigerian services, Oh! What a production with content targeted at homes.
Getting back to the issue in focus, do we as production people define the value of our production before launching into it, do we define our pegs and where they are headed and who it is meant to serve what? Such that we are able to ensure that the variables pulled together to drive home these "messages" reflects the core values of the production and not necessarily ending up widening the gulf we intend to close or reduce?
I love to look at the fact that, we are not failing in content design so much so that, we needed not to be adding to the confidence of those criminal minded elements of gullible ones to have a charge to go on with their nefarious activities or end up initiating or blowing the lead for anyone to take unto crimes after watching our jobs.
It is true, that a "contentless" job may attract more audience and even popularity, like today, you can see the millions of sea heads that are glued to BBN and other nude and sex corridor productions, all in the name of revenue, and yet, Government is helpless at this and some homes and institutions too.
You had even be shocked to see some Governors or Ministers celebrating those who won or were thrown out of such places while those who finished top class from our various institutions of higher learnings, or had discovered or bring about a new progressive development (s) are not even celebrated by mere councilors!
Content is key and to productions and consumers, should be the ultimate and should be the guiding factor, which is why I think the not enough or not doing enough governing movie bodies like NFVCB are not paying attentions to, same is the effect of the contents, which desires so much to be looked deeper into; it should be our businesses, it should go beyond piracy and grading who can watch (age) the production, if you say not less 18 and 12 years is watching as found today, how do you regulate that in houses of even online, where breeches occurs every seconds?
Am back to producers, to please take a deeper and critical look at their productions by ensuring that they know the value and the effects of such contents on the community (viewers/ watchers/ users) who will consume these works, we should also be worried about what happens after!
It behoves on us that, our content value should not send cigarettes smokers to become drug takers, from cigarettes to weeds, from beer to hard drinks like spirits, ogogoro and from there to robbery and so on and so forth.
For no reason whatsoever, we should not be the reason or be responsible for why prostitution is on the increase, why yahoo should add plus to it and we should be conscious of what we are dishing out.
On this note, I will like to get the Government to look into having as many as possible FILM VILLAGES or even private investors who can ensure a one stop many centres to broaden the access of film makers to facilities that are not ordinarily within the reach of producers as this will help redefine contents and even ensure that contents are not limited by what the producer can access, and yet he wants to deliver something to the people and the market. "Man Must Chop Syndrome".
We need to get structurally growing, and it should of course be, a development plan of where the movie industry should be in another 10 years, we must be moving at a set out pace with preparation for response ideology to on-field real time discoveries/ occurrences offered by either science of government policies, market reactions or global unpredicted situations like COVID 19, which will surely require a through M & E Plan (Monitoring and Evaluation) which will form the basis for evaluation, drawn from parameters which tells you where you are and lead you to why you are there versus where you should be and of course allow for a concrete mitigation or progress plan from capacities of response.
I challenge the African Artists to do a great reflection on this and move from where we are to where we should be, at least as possible within our evolution which we must come together to set the agenda, like "Where Should African Movies Be In 2032 Driven By It's Content", a thematic that can roll towards producing a Ten Years Rolling Developing Plan (TYRDP)
The western world, should find a way to intervene in this aspect and support action plans towards this, as a tool to broadening the social, justice and behavioural change plans and expectations globally desired in a world, where teenagers are fast geometrically becoming 'lord' and portending global disasters.
Onibiyo Samuel is an African Culture Fund Awardee, the only Nigerian in 2021, C.E.O of ENET TV, an off shoot of Endday News and Entertainment, a Screen Writer, Actor, Director and Producer. God bless the movie industry in Africa and beyond.
