Christian Film Production Tips: Good day everyone. I was with - TopicsExpress

Christian Film Production Tips: Good day everyone. I was with Tade Ogidan two days ago in his office, I went there to consult him concerning a production I intend to embark on soon. I went to him because he had produced something of the kind before, he opened my eyes to some things that I didnt take into consideration while writing the script. For this same production I had a meeting with Pat Afun, one of the best cinematographers in this continent, likewise Tunde Kelani, just to get what they have that makes them stand out. I also spoke with Femi Isaac Akintunde one of the Mount Zion fathers, and he also gave me his advice. This same week, I called Joshua Mike-Bamiloye to teach me something, why am I doing all these, I just want to get the best out of myself and I am ready to pay the price for the best I could get. Though you need a strong foundation which you can get if you can attend Mount Zion Institute. Humility pays. The reason why many people remain on the spot is because of pride, they are too proud to consult someone younger than them or even their mates. If someone has what you do not have, drop your pride and get what you need. Joshua Mike-Bamiloye was a baby when I attended Mount Zion Institute, he was surprised when I called him that I wanted him to teach me something, I am not saying this to tell you I am humble, I am also daily working on myself to deal with pride. If you cant see anything relating to pride in your life, it may be that you are being blindfolded by pride itself; cos pride blinds its victim. Please, let us try to do whatever it takes to take us to greater heights in our calling, humility pays. Now, straight to the business of the day. The only production designer I have heard of in this country is Pat Nebo, we have worked together on few shows. I am about to go on a location, and I intend to use a production designer on that project, so I called Abayomi Ojo, though he is known as a makeup artist, I told him I needed him as a production designer. I told him it is no difficult task and that I could teach him what to do, his response surprised me! He said he knows a lot about production design and even has masters in Art and Design from Unilag, he then told me who a production designer is and that he did some projects in school he was willing to shoe me. I then asked him why our people didnt know about that of him since because what we need in our industry is anything that will make our productions better. His response was that we will consider the money required more than the value- he is absolutely right. This shows that we have a readymade production designer in our midst, this is good for us. Brethren, its not about money, its about our mind set, and you do not have to be an art and design graduate to be a production designer. Anyone who is artistically gifted, who is a good thinker and can pay attention to details can do it. Because what it takes to design a production is to get to the location a month or two before the shoot (I am saying this because of our kind of production. Internationally, a production designer ought to be part of the planning at least six months before the location starts). So, if you have anyone like that in your ministry, you can allow that person to learn more from any of the schools where they offer the course. I taught people this in my school but I am not running any course for now, and of course, there are others out there; KSO has his own likewise Paul esupofo-oriade, there may even be others that I do not know of. But if you can also stay tuned to these posts, I will try to explain it as much as I can, if youve missed any of my posts in the past you can like Christian Film Institute page, and youll get them all. A production designer will help to enhance artistic quality of your production, it will beautify your shot and all the details will be well pronounced. What is actually the job of a production designer? A production designer is to help the director to actualize his vision. Often times, they also call them Art Director because all the artistic staff on the production will be under the leadership of the production designer thereby reducing the burden of the director. When I finished teaching this topic in my class, Victor Olukoju then asked, why then are they not referred to as a director because they seem to be the one to carry most of the burden? The job of a director is to oversee the activities of the artistic department and the technical department, while the job of a production designer is limited to the artistic works. The script and the budget are factors that will determine the size of the artistic crew, among whom we may have the illustrators, graphic artist, creative designers, set-designers, carpenters, welders, costumiers, makeup artist, hair stylists, costume designers and so on… Usually in a big production, a production designer will have his own team, after his meeting with the director, himself and his team will brainstorm together on whatever can bring the vision of the director to reality. The director must have taken the production designer to the locations, he must have gone there with his photographer, who will snap the pictures from all angles, he will then tender the pictures of each scene and locations before his team, then start discussing their needs and the directors vision for each scene. On several occasions, the production designer will need to take the crew down to locations to see things for themselves and to also meet the cast involved on the set, take their measurement for costume and other needs that can really depict their character. This is a comprehensive course which we cannot conclude this weekend, we shall continue next week. You can share this on your page as you may be doing someone a favour! Please dont be overwhelmed by what you have read, I will still simplify it to something we can afford to try. Till next week, stay tuned and remain blessed…