Making Movies the Nollywood Way

Background

My training as a theatre artist began in Delta State University where I majored in film directing. During my studies, I learnt the rudiments of storytelling, and this formed the nucleus of my training. After school, I delved into extensive online research to ensure I understood the business of filmmaking and when the time was right, I plunged into the deep end and made my first feature film.

First Film

I started making feature films in 2014 with "30 days in Atlanta", but the journey started years earlier, around 2007, with a series of short films, which I made to depict various national and societal topics.

In reality though, my first feature movie was "30 days in Atlanta", which was made in Nigeria and Atlanta. It took me about seven months from concept creation to the final copy.

The Filmmaking Process

The story, for me, is the bedrock of the filmmaking process. Some may choose to start at the funding stage, and then make their story conform to available resources, but I am a creative person and my preference is to start from a good story and raise the resources to execute it in the most creative way possible.

This is not to say that one aspect supersedes the other. No. Every aspect of filmmaking is critical to its eventual success. I cannot put one above the other because I treat them all with equal importance. Every aspect not treated with importance creates challenges for the other aspects. For example, a bad screenplay will make the production process even more tasking for a good director who wants to tell a good story; a good story that is badly produced will make the postproduction process a nightmare.

The size of the crew and equipment depends on the complexity of the story. An average crew size can range from 35 to 45 people.

Also, I personally leave the camera and equipment aspect of the production to my director and the director of photography to handle due to its technicalities.

Filmmaking In Nigeria

Our filmmaking process is unique because it is based on our national and societal peculiarities. Nollywood is a self-funded industry without an actual Hollywood studio-style setup. For this reason, the standard filmmaking process is largely reflective on the knowledge and scope of the person involved.

In my case, the story is paramount. After getting the right story, I engage my producer and together we engage the services of a writer whom we believe we can lucidly interpret our creative thoughts on paper. When the script is developed and has been refined through several drafts, we then engage the services of a director whose pedigree confirms him to be best suited to execute the script.

Once a director is engaged, we start the process of casting for the project, using a mix of selection, closed and open auditions to get the necessary cast that will best bring to life the various characters. Simultaneously, we do the selection of the key crew members such as the Director of Photography, Arts Director, Production Manager, Line Producer, Wardrobe Consultant, Sound Recordist and Light Designer. Recruiting these crew members at this stage is necessary to ensure that they are a part of the preproduction process. Their input is critical at this stage because the selection of locations, costumes, cast extras and others must be done in conformity with the overall story flow.