Over the past few decades, Nollywood has
become a source of profit for Nigerian business men. This phenomenon has had
global impact, since many Nigerian films are released in just weeks or in some
cases, days. Since the inception of the AMAA premiere (African Movie Academy Award),some movies
has even opened worldwide on the same date. “The international market is a
growing and very vibrant place,” says Dan Fellman, a movie producer “so when we
make movies, we view it as a global opportunity.” Now more than ever, what
happens in Nollywood affects the entertainment industry worldwide.
Many movies must take in more than 5 to
10 million naira and above just to cover production and marketing costs.
And whether they succeed is entirely up to an unpredictable public. “You can
never know what the public at any given moment is going to find exciting or
sensationally appealing,” says David Cook, a professor of film studies at Emory
University. So how do moviemakers increase their odds of success? To answer, we
first need to understand a few basics about how films are made.
Preproduction Laying the Groundwork
Preproduction is often the longest phase of
the film making process and one of the most important. As with any large
project, preparation is the key. The hope is that every naira spent in
preproduction will save many more times that amount during filming.
The making of a movie begins with a story
idea, which may be either fictitious or based on real-life events. A writer
puts the story into script form. The script, also called the screenplay, may be
revised numerous times before the final version called a shooting scripts
produced. The shooting script contains the dialogue of the film as well as a
brief description of the action that will take place. It also provides guidance
for technical details, such as camera direction and transitions between scenes.
It is while still in its early stage,
however, that a screenplay is offered for sale to a producer. What kind of
screenplay might a producer be interested in? A producer might be drawn to a story that
reaches out to youths.
Better still it is a script that cuts across the
age demographic. For example, a movie about Aki and Paw-paw surely draw younger
children who are familiar with the character. And no doubt their parents will
accompany them. But how do moviemakers attract the teenagers and young adults? Acknowledge
all and sundry will help a producer to reach everyone’s heart thereby maximizing
its profit-making potential by leaving no group languishing out on the
sidewalk.”
Big names can attract investors who are
needed to finance the film.
If a producer feels that a screenplay has
potential, he might purchase it and try to sign on a reputable director and a
famous actor or actress. Having a known director and a top-name star will
create box-office appeal when the film is released. Yet, even at this initial
stage.
Another aspect of preproduction is
storyboarding. A storyboard is a series of sketches depicting various sequences
of the film, particularly those that involve action. Serving as a blueprint for
the cinematographer, the storyboard saves much time during filming. As director
and screenwriter Frank Darabont says, “There’s nothing worse than standing
around on the set wasting your shooting day trying to figure out where to put
the camera.”
Many other issues must be settled during
preproduction. For example, what locations will be used for filming? Will
travel be required? How will interior sets be built and designed? Will costumes
be needed? Who will handle lighting, makeup, and hair? What about sound,
special effects, and stunt work? These are just a sampling of the many aspects
of moviemaking that need to be considered before a single frame of film is
shot. Watch the closing credits of a big-budget film, and you may find that
hundreds of people were involved behind the scenes! “It takes a city of people
to make a feature film,” says one technician who has worked on numerous movie
sets.
Production—Putting It on Film
Shooting a movie can be time-consuming,
tedious, and expensive. Indeed, a single minute wasted can cost thousands of
naira. Sometimes actors, crew members, and equipment have to be transported to
a remote part of the world. No matter where shooting takes place, however, each
day of filming takes a sizable bite out of the budget.
Lighting crew, hairdressers, and makeup
artists are among the first to arrive on the movie set. Each day of filming,
stars may spend several hours being made ready for the camera. Then a long day
of filming begins.
The director closely supervises the filming
of each scene. Even a relatively simple scene can take all day to film. Most
scenes in a movie are filmed with a single camera, and as a result, the scene
will be done over and over again for each camera angle. Additionally, each shot
may need to be done repeatedly to get the best performance or to correct a
technical problem. Each of these attempts at filming is called a take. For
bigger scenes, 50 or more takes may be required! Later—usually at the end of
each shooting day—the director views all the takes and decides which ones
should be saved. In all, the process of filming may take weeks or even months.
Postproduction the Pieces Come Together
During postproduction, film footage is edited
to form a cohesive motion picture. First, the audio track is synchronized with
the film. Then, the editor assembles the raw footage into a preliminary version
of the film, called a rough cut.
Sound effects and visual effects are also
added at this stage. Special-effects cinematography—one of the most complex
elements of filmmaking—is sometimes accomplished with the help of computer
graphics. The results can be spectacular and lifelike. The musical score is
also added during postproduction, and this aspect has taken on greater
prominence in today’s films. “The movie industry is now demanding more original
soundtrack music than ever
Finally, the completed film is released to
theaters. Only at this point does it become apparent whether it will be a
blockbuster or a bomb or something in between. But more is at stake than naira
and kobo. A series of failures can ruin an actor’s prospects for work and
destroy the reputation of a director. “I had seen several of my contemporaries
fall away after a couple of misses,” says director John Boorman, reflecting on
his early years in filmmaking. “The brutal reality of the movie business is
that if you don’t make money for your masters, you are banished.”
Of course, when standing before a theater
marquee, the public at large is not thinking of the employment issues of
moviemakers. More likely, their primary concerns include: ‘Will I enjoy this
movie? Is it worth the price of admission? Will I find the film shocking or
offensive? Is it appropriate for my children?’ How can you answer such
questions when deciding which movies you will see?
While details may
vary from one film to another, what is presented here is one possible course of
events.
In some cases a
producer is offered a story outline rather than a screenplay. If he is
interested in the story, he can buy the rights to it and have it developed into
a screenplay.
“You can never know what the public at any
given moment is going to find exciting or sensationally appealing.”—David Cook,
professor of film studies
Attend The EPIC BLOGGING Seminar (Jan 29th - 30th, 2016)
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Please, no email address or phone number in your comment. Tick "Notify me" to follow the conversation and get notified whenever there is new comment!