Orikinla:


OP, thank you for your honest analysis of Lancelot Imasuen's epic "Invasion 1897" and it is best coming from someone who is not related to the director.
As one of the publicists of the film, I cannot also be the critic.

As I always say in Nollywood, the best is yet to come. And another Nigerian is already working on his own version of the same history.

Ah Oga. I really wanted to love this film. It's a story that MUST be an EPIC when told. Oh well.

Aystarz:


I know of OSCAR award winning actors and movies, but which one be grammy-award winning MOVIES again? Lol.. The grammies is made for musical artiste s not movie actors.

Lol you no well. (and that is a compliment)

sholay2011:

I know say you go like am

But of course my broda

jaydee87:

tanks a lot will focus on my photography class as u said and watch some videos too... u really good cos yesterday I learnt photography copied from painting.. tanks again

You're welcome. I studied 'Film & Broadcast Production' but after that I started messing around with 'stills' photography... I can tell you for a fact that you learning photography will greatly increase your skills as a filmmaker when the time comes. You're on the right path already; keep at it.

Saw this film a couple of days ago at the BFI and part of their regular 'African Odysseys' programme.

Wow, what do I even say about it? First let me remind you of the trailer -

Invasion 1897 Trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YljETHmfD34

Oga Orikinla, no vex but I was seriously disappointed with this film - remember over a year ago there was that long thread on this film and we talked about so many things - especially the extremely poor VFX and the 'supposed' $18m budget which I straight up called BS. Well the film remained just as bad as the trailer (no they did not ever attempt to rework the crappy VFX).

This is a HUGE story, a huge part of our history and should have been a huge EPIC of a film... sadly it was so underwhelmingly small that a friend I took thought that they were fighting for a little village or patch of land and not a whole Benin Kingdom. When she got home she started reading about the Benin Kingdom and couldn't understand where the $1m budget went. This did not even look like a 100K film... yes it was shot on the 'regular' RED EPIC... sadly not too many of our films look like films when shot on such amazing cameras but end up looking like they were shot on 'video' - post-production people take note.

There was zero crowd. Benin Kingdom soldiers no pass 20 sef. When the Oba's daughter was getting married crowd no pass 30. Seriously how hard is it to go into a village or 2 and get 150-200 people as crowd (shebi na 'epic' you dey make?) This was a joke. Whenever it went into the 1897 'era' you could just not for anything believe you had been transported to that timeline. Costumes were poor, the oyinbo people sef wore kiddy plastic-costume police caps from the 'One Pound' shop and the t-shirts were so modern - there couldn't have been crew-neck elasticated t-shirts in 1897...Duh! Oh and the 'nylon' shorts... why not 'cotton' - Didn't these people watch 'October 1' which is a zillion light years better?
Yes na period drama but the acting was theatrical and generally poor, various things in the edit made it unintentionally comical - this was a serious subject matter nah! Anyway I no go yab the film too much - this was a seriously, seriously missed opportunity. Of course it will pick up the normal "Let's-pity-and-dash-those-black-African-people" some awards from festivals that no one has heard of because the subject matter is a bit controversial.

We really need to learn "Do something well or don't do it at all." Filmmaking is not by force nah; don't do things until you are actually ready - why bite off a thousand times more than what you can chew? And we want Nigerian filmmaking to be taken seriously? We are jokers that have no shame at all - look at a relatively non-filmmaking fellow-African-country like Mauritania diving head first with a 'quality' film straight to an 'Oscar' nomination submission.
Oh well, we're professionals at making the same excuses we've hear a million times over. Bring on the excuses!

Here is the Q&A session which was generally interesting (it's long at just over an hour)
Yes the 450 seat venue was packed - most people left right after the screening.
Invasion 1897 - Q&A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8glXnWvjlXE

jaydee87:

I want to make music videos , reason why I started with photography is because I want to start from the scratch... shud appreciate any help..

Your photography course is going to teach you A LOT about the basics and more - filmmaking is not really different; same principles apply - film is 'photographs' - just at 24 photos a second (in general). No idea if your course will go into the 'greats' (the simple truth is film stole a ton of ideas from photography which in turn stolen a lot of ideas from painters of old - absolutely nothing wrong in 'taking' from great ideas before you) - your two key things are 'composition' and 'lighting' - jump onto Youtube as there are a million and one FREE videos - you can basically do a whole film-school without stepping out of the house - but do step out of the house to PRACTICE - one of the most important things you can do - practice, practice, practice - also watch a ton of brilliant shorts and BTS videos and good music videos.

Check out channels like FilmRiot, Tom Antos, Indy Mogul, Slanted Lens, Neumannfilms and dozens of others. Make Google & YouTube your best friends.

VOfficialR:
Hopefully man, it's freaking cold here right now man.

Hahahaha, yes it is. Got your email.

jaydee87:
can u kindly educate me on how to become a producer, I want to go into musical videos... just started my photography classes tho... if there is any eBook/videos u can give I will really appreciate it...

Hey Jaydee, many of us here tend to use a number of 'terms' quite differently. Now you say you've just started photography classes - what do you actually WANT to do? Do you want to 'make' music videos or really just 'produce' on them?

VOfficialR:
@ Villageboi

Hey Nel, just checked you on Vimeo. I'll be in London in March.... Nice to chat if you'd have time for coffee...
Cheers!

Hey man, just sent you a message via Nairaland that will appear offline - your email inbox. Sure, def catch up in March when you're over here - it'll be warmer weather by then

They killed off that fine Indian chick... but that fight was bada$$ shaa!

VOfficialR:



I'll still quote you write up man. Tangerine is the Sundance film called, with an Iphone 5 (New Price around 600 Euros) with a prime lenses. I'm sure you know glass that good cost over 23K Euros to buy buy new but yeah, they were borrowed. A new BMPCC 4k cost around 2500 Euro. Tokina lenses and Rokinon cost way cheaper. A lens set of 5 is around 1300 Euro.

Me wanting to get BM doesn't mean I'm waiting to have the money, I'm waiting to have the time... I have been working on Film for few years. Django Unchained(scenes in Los Angeles), St. James place (2015 Tom Hanks and Spielberg, shot in Berlin) among many others are on my CV. But you know, there is a difference between running on set, working on set and making your films...
Now back to the point, I'm starting out to edit that's why I suck... and I need time to invest in myself before starting school.

what do you and where do you live, I might be around because I move around quite a lot these days

Actually to put it into the correct perspective the filmmakers of 'Tangerine' used a 1.33x Anamorphic Adapter that costs $160 (Moondog Labs) and the $8 FiLMiC Pro app. However, the most important thing which most people still tend to miss is "Story is King" and that alone is the most important tool one has to share with the audience. Was the iPhone the best choice available to these filmmakers? You & I both know it wasn't. Did it generate a lot of noise & buzz at the festival? Oh absolutely YES. They did this because they COULD.

As mentioned in my previous post I have not and will not ever say equipment is not a good thing... trust me I'm a filmmaking equipment junkie... if it's out there then I pretty much know about it. What I did say is equipment is NOT the most important thing rather focus on the creativity of storytelling. Think of the best accessible equipment out there and there's a ton of it in Nigeria - from RED Epics to Arri Alexas... as a nation are we yet making 'great' films? No! So equipment is NOT the saving grace.

Also don't get me wrong; I didn't say owning a BMPC 4k is a bad thing... I believe it's actually a very good thing for we Nigerian filmmakers to own some equipment as it means we can practice and produce things at any time... and that's a positive thing in that we get better and better. Of course we all have RED to thank for the last few years - if they didn't come out with a RAW shooting camera at an affordable price range many years ago then we wouldn't have new-to-the-camera-game people like BlackMagic. And in this day and age we CAN own great tools that come in at a great price point.
STORY, STORY, STORY... still remains the most important thing... if that is nailed then most other things become minor.
I'm a freelancer/wannabe filmmaker currently based in London

sholay2011:

Oga, how far? This 'Ida' has been scooping gongs all over the place for 'Best Foreign film'. Even though I'm not a filmmaker, explain this 'unconventional' framing you mentioned and what makes the film great. It's about sisters (nuns) right?

Sholay how now? Me I just dey.

First, are you aware of rule of 'thirds'? It's pretty much the basis of all films, photography and paintings... Anyway here is a quick video on 'thirds'

Rule Of Thirds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOMLAAsUfJI

Now this is pretty much all before jumping into the 'Golden ratio', symmetry, repetition and rhythm and so on.

Anyway the filmmakers of 'Ida' have a lot of shots that would be considered 'odd'. Hopefully you can see the '52 Cinematic shots from Ida' - http://vashivisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/IDA_COMP.jpg

Another interesting 'composition' video is that of the film 'Drive'... hopefully i can find a Youtube copy because I know it is on vimeo.

Drive (2011) - The Quadrant System

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsI8UES59TM

Nice post, very true.

VOfficialR:



Oh my God man.... Thanks a million...
I thought no one will check on it. That's really really appreciated. I've been on set like forever, that's my first editing experience and yeah.. I sucked at it. I'll improve, I'm just waiting to get my BMPC 4K and then go out and shoot. I let it so long because the school requested me to not lay everything on music.

I let the camera shake slide because I'm applying for directing BA and well, I still have to improve.

Are you based in Nigeria?

Hey man, you're welcome.

I'm going to quote you here and then start a bit of a convo from there - "I'm just waiting to get my BMPC 4K and then go out and shoot." Ahhhhhhh don't fall for that line of thinking. New filmmakers (and some old ones) all over the world use that line like mad... and we Nigerians suscribe to it like it's the best thing since the invention of sliced bread - EQUIPMENT will NEVER EVER make anyone a good filmmaker. (DISCLAIMER* I have never and will never say equipment is not important - it is). However, I understand what most people mean when they say that. Give a 'weak' filmmaker the latest 6K ARRI (yeah the one that they will never put on sale) and that filmmaker will still make really poor films. Give a good and 'creative' filmmaker a phone and they will shoot something pretty good.
One of the best films at SUNDANCE this year was shot entirely on the iPhone. Tangerine by Director Sean Baker was picked up by Magnolia pictures.
An interview with the director -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHRUVLOlFpE
Much more interesting stuff on their FB page - https://www.facebook.com/TangerineFilm

The very best camera in the world is the camera you have in your hand RIGHT NOW. The BMPC 4K is a very, very good camera... it's also better for 'action' than the other brilliant cameras from BlackMagic for the simple reason that it has a 'global' shutter, albeit it loses 1 stop of dynamic range.
The best advice I can give you is focus a million times more on how to be 'creative' and not what was used to shoot what - the biggest reason is that the real 'audience' doesn't care if it was shot on a 720p tool or an 8K sensor or 70mm film - they just want to be 'entertained' and not be taken for idiots. Some of the really good films in cinemas were shot on SD quality... for example '28 Days Later' was shot on Canon XL-1S - Mini-DV cameras - still a damn good film.
I don't think I have ever come across a single person that has ever complained that a 'doc' news clip that showed people running from bullets and bombs and is shaky as hell was shot on a phone - the phone of someone that was there running for their lives. We see a lot of phone footage in the news now and we still go with the 'story' being told.
At least we can all be glad that we live in the age when everything filmmaking related is accessible to the masses... definitely good times ahead.

For a first time editor you shouldn't be hard on yourself. Trust me, we ALL sucked at things we did the first few times You will get better with practice. The good thing is you know what you want to do and are taking steps towards that. You will also benefit greatly from taking your BA in Directing - a lot of 'practicals' but also very important 'theory' that will greatly expand your thinking.
No I'm not based in Nigeria but will be trooping in and out a bit more regularly. That is the place to make great films; there is so much wonderful stuff going on there and a lot of brilliant minds live there too. There are a number of them on this forum as well. Do check the TV/Movies section.

All the best with everything and do stay in touch.

Yeah, I also think there have been quite a few others before.

Not sure why 'first' tag is one of the biggest deals with Nigerian productions... maybe one day there will be a 'production' that will be the 'first' to be 'brilliant' on EVERY level... alas that is still a long, long way away!

nellynwandu:

That's a mistake. How can you correct the mistakes of Nollywood filmmakers if you don't know and note them?

True that. It's just like one has to know the 'rules' of filmmaking to be able to 'break' them. Have a look at 'Ida' with such 'unconventional' framimg...

But seriously OP you want to be a 'writer'? Isn't one of the things they do called research? Why not use Google as your starting point? Or even search the threads here?

https://www.nairaland.com/2007415/does-perfect-nollywood-script-look#28200115

Yeah the 'Chucky' films.

In order -

Child's Play (1988)
Child's Play 2 (1990)
Child's Play 3 (1991)
Bride Of Chucky (1998)
Seed Of Chucky (2004)
Curse Of Chucky (2013)
Child's Play 7 Coming 2015

miniziter:
I have done most of what you said but the issue is still thesame. I was told to change the lens rotor or so.

Good you've done most so do the rest of it. Get onto Nikon forums that talk about the particular lens in question.
No idea what they've told you but I personally have never heard of a lens rotor.

If the problem is the 'motor' which I doubt... a bit more likely to be the AF cable inside the lens... well since it's only a month old get it sorted on your warranty.

miniziter:
I just bought my NIKON D3000 like a month ago and I just observed the lens can't focus unless I switch to manual (which is very frustrating). Please my people is there any way out?

I hardly use Nikons so can't say for sure what the issue is but try the few things below.

I know this sounds silly but first check the 'switch' on the lens is at AF (I know some Nikons have this button on the 'body' of the camera... check that too)
Try cleaning the contact points on both the lens and the camera... be careful doing this. DO NOT use a 'cleaning' fluid!!
Try a different Nikon lens.

You might have to go into the menu to let us know what is going on -
MENU - WRENCH - FOCUS MODE. - Try the AF-A and AF-S modes and see what it does.

Hopefully this helps; if not let us know.
Oh what lens are you using? In you camera menu settings is autofocus 'greyed' out? Is your big round 'dial' set to the green 'A' - auto function? Switch it to 'M' and try.

Sorry most of this is guess work as Nikon does strange things with their different body models.

This guy has a pretty good YT channel.

Top 15 Mistakes Beginner Filmmakers Make

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1myw_0W5E8

Very nice, well done. Can't wait to see the film.

Hiya,

It's ok'ish' but far too long for the variety of shots you have.

The first shot is the guy walking and on the train... it just goes on forever.
Then we have the girls at the cafe... and at 1.12secs you include a 'camera shake' shot that should have never made the cut... and then again they talk forever. We continue with the same two people on and on (remember it's a showreel not for us to sit down and watch the whole film).
After the couple are done you have about 4secs of black screen... that shouldn't be in there... I actually thought it had ended. You have a guy and his girlfriend for 2.52 mins... that is sooooooo long and not many people will watch a reel without variety for that amount of time as there is not really anything to keep them interested. The age we live in is so fast and most people know within 10secs if the are going to continue to watch something of this nature online or not.
Your last set of shots is the pizza delivery guy walking around someone's house... would your audience find that to be believable (even though they don't have the full context?). Oh and when you have really bad audio it's best not to include it in a reel... rather cover it all up with music. You may also consider cutting to the beat of music.

What you can do is go out a film shots that show off your skills (they don't have to be from films you've already made)... even if they are 10secs each... you'll def be able to pull 3-5 secs per shot to add to the reel... variety is KEY. For a showreel a shot of 10secs is an eternity and even more so if it is static with nothing much happening in it.

Keep on practicing and watch as many reels online as possible. Na learn we all dey learn and best of luck with your application.

Here's my old reel for starters... I really need to cut a newer and better one and make it much shorter because 3 mins even with the amount of variety is tooooo long.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYjgCc3BRbg

You fit join the gang here - https://www.nairaland.com/1945377/walking-dead-season-5-page

Ta guys.

@ Prof, considering the conditions I was pretty surprised and pleased myself. Since yesterday I've chatted quite a bit on quad forums and know the fix to a number of issues.
More practice and one will only get much, much better.

Hi guys, posting pretty bland boring footage from my quadcopter; it was a horrible cold, grey and ugly winter day weatherwise. It's a DJI Phantom 2v2, H3-D3 gimbal with a GoPro 4 Hero Black. Nothing that interesting filmed as it was a 'vibration' test. It's my 2nd flight with it and on my first which was late one night about a week ago I noticed the gimbal vibrates like mad. Surprisingly the footage is quite stable. Have flown my much smaller drones and this one is really easy to fly.
Will be getting an FPV setup soon... more practice and more practice.

First filmed test.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRw_cQFrjLA

Hi guys, posting pretty bland boring footage from my quadcopter; it was a horrible cold, grey and ugly winter day weatherwise. It's a DJI Phantom 2v2, H3-D3 gimbal with a GoPro 4 Hero Black. Nothing that interesting as it was a 'vibration' test. It's my 2nd flight with it and on my first which was late one night about a week ago I noticed the gimbal vibrates like mad. Surprisingly the footage is quite stable. Have flown my much smaller drones and this one is really easy to fly.
Will be getting an FPV setup soon... more practice and more practice.

First filmed test

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRw_cQFrjLA

Dymondgurl:
the youtube video is super amazing. Thank you.

You're welcome. There are tons of things to do with photography & filmmaking online for absolutely FREE!

And the bullet-thru-apple photo you posted is, as someone rightly mentioned, a classic; the photo was taken way back in 1964!

Teehee, totally enjoyed this. Nice to have a 'Nollywood-bashing break'. Why hasn't this made Front Page?

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

Nice one Prof & Sholay.

baseg25:
Yu guyz have a point, but am still not confuse.

I'm very sure neither Prof's nor my posts said you were confused.

prof800:
ha! VillageBoi what took you so long?

Oga Prof, how now? A very Happy New Year to you and yours; may 2015 be prosperous and fabulous for you.
I've just not been on the site that much to be honest.