Lights, camera, action! How to b< become a successful filmmaker Yes, it is possible to make good money from film making, and yes, it is possible to make 71 movies in six months
BYROSEODENGO rose.odengo@gmail.com T,hanks to the digital migration and demand for local content, there is a lot of room for you to share some powerful stories from Kenya as a film maker. But what exactly does it take to make it in Kenya? We had a chat with two award winning Kenyan film makers to get an insight on what opportunities there are in the industry, how to be the best and stay relevant in the industry. Judy Kibinge is an award winning film writer, director and founder of DOCUBOX, a documentary film fund that provides promising East African film makers with small grants and training. Her debut in film was in Dangerous Affair in 2002, where she was a script writer and director. She is also the 2009 Kalasha award winner for Best Director for her film, Killer Necklace, which also won the Best Short film category in the same year. Her short documentary, Coming of Age, won many international accolades, including Best Short Documentary at the African Movie Academy Awards in Nigeria. Judy also directed and co wrote her third feature film, Something Necessary, a movie based on Kenya's 2007 2008 postelection violence. Her last feature length documentary, SCARRED: The Anatomy of a Massacre, about the Wagalla Massacre was released in 2015. As a screenwriter, Judy is the storyteller, she creates a script narrating a tale of fiction or non fiction for production for film, TV or documentaries. As a movie director, she visualises the script, guiding the technical crew and actors to fulfill the film script's vision. Appie Matere is the woman behind some of Kenya's leading film and TV productions. Appie worked with Judy on Killer Necklace as a producer. She also produced the award winning feature documentary, Headlines in History, which won the Best Feature documentary at the Kalasha 2010 awards. She also produced 260 episodes of the Kenyan telenovela "KONA", that aired across Africa on Africa Magic Entertainment, and made what is probably a world record; she executive produced, 71, 60 minute movies in six months for the Africa Magic Original Films (AMOF), which aired on Africa Magic Entertainment. Appie and her Zamaradi Productions team are probably the only Kenyan Film producers to own a production set where they can cost effectively shoot their productions on location. As a Film Producer, she is responsible for a production from inception to completion, marketing and distribution of the finished production ideally. In Kenya, the biggest challenge for filmmakers is distribution. "Piracy is distribution in Kenya," Judy observes. Distribution, as the name suggests, is where the film maker ensures that you get to watch their production at a Cinema or at home, on DVD. How did you make 71 movies for MNET in six months? Is that even possible without breaking the bank? Huh...Nice question! There was no need to break the bank since the films were commissioned by MNET, who paid for them. It was one of the most challenging but best experiences I have ever had. We had to produce three films concurrently, with a turn around period of 12 days per film six days shoot, five days post production, and one day of delivery. Our teams worked under minimum supervision and showed great determination. We are grateful that we worked with some of the best crew and cast our industry has produced. We also learnt a lot from the experience and consequently adopted the model used then as our preferred production model. How do you fund your productions? Is there a general funding policy for productions? We negotiate to have broadcasters help fund the projects to a certain percentage. As for the balance, the production house figures out a funding solution. In Kenya, there is no funding policy for production entities, a factor that is solely responsible for killing most of the producers because it is very difficult to produce without funds. Can you make money from film? Yes you can, but you need to explore other avenues. Film alone means pirated movies through 'Riverwood' which only gives you a 5 per cent margin on sales of your pirated movie. Box office in Kenya will not make your money back. When we made Killer Necklace, we got a grant, and as the producer, I was paid a professional fee. However, the broadcaster owns the rights to the film. There is a lot of money from commissioned work from broadcasters; hence TV production is a better avenue to make money. What is the general rule of thumb a film producer needs to consider before he kicks off a production? Make sure you have a support system not the people on Facebook, or Instagram who like anything you post. People who believe in you and help you in your quest. Production is a tough journey and you need all the support you can get. Focus: There is pressure to deliver everything now; it is the nature of what we do, but try to focus on one task at a time. The best way is to maintain a daily list of things to do, and then follow them through. Learn to do the checks: Double and triple check to make sure everything is set. Check who you hire. I don't claim to be perfect at this, but who you hire will affect the outcome of your production. Share your vision and mission of the project with the crew so that you have people who have similar vision for the project. Hire qualified people even if they are more qualified than you: There is value in having someone who sees the project differently from yourself, instead of being a one man army. For any war to be won, an army needs different tactical teams. Film is about teamwork and getting the best team together gives you the best result.
How much do you save in long term production costs when a production company such as Zamaradi Productions builds its own set? I cannot mention the amounts since different productions will have different budgets, but it saves us up to 30 per cent of the production cost. The challenge of film is balancing passion and revenue streams. Is it possible for film producers to do both in Kenya? It is tough! It is extremely hard for anyone to pay you anything without seeing your work. You learn a lot as you go along, provided you stay open and positive. Someday things easily work out. Sometimes they don't! What's the best way to start? Documentary, feature length, short film or TV show or series and why? If a producer wants to produce films, short films would be the best way to start. One can easily submit the film to various film festivals. Festivals are the gatekeepers to the industry, and this is where you meet the industry decision makers. How do you go about promoting and getting more Kenyans to watch your films and series? This is another tough area because most of our series and films are on pay TV channels Zuku, MNET (Maisha Magic East and Star Times Swahili and English. We use social media and also push broadcasters to invest in promotional aspects since they also need the audiences. How do you manage distribution and licensing rights of your productions? We have two productions that we share rights with a broadcaster. The rest of the six series are independently owned by us. We have adopted the pre license module, where the broadcaster who buys the first sale gets to have a long exclusive license period, a yearlong license. After the license period is over, we are then able to sell the rights to another broadcaster. This module helps us produce since the initial broadcaster pays a certain percent before delivery, which goes to meeting production cost.
Which film schools would you recommend for anyone interested in learning film production? From what I know, there are great film schools in South Africa. They have a very vibrant industry there. My dream school was New York University (NYU). If you can get a scholarship to go to NYU or (University of California in Los Angeles) UCLA I think it would be a big plus for you. UCLA works with the Hollywood industry a lot. Is it essential to go to Film school? Why/Why not? Tosh Gitonga, (Director of the Kenyan movie, Nairobi Half Life) didn't go to film school. Different people find different routes into things. I think Steven Spielberg or Quentin Tarantino didn't also go to film school. I think there are some things that you take out of formally learning the craft though; I would do a oneyear diploma even now if I had the time. I also think there is a beauty of landing into it and learning on set. How do you sustain yourself and your production house financially when you don't make money from box office sales from viewing of your production? I am not fussy about strictly doing film. I feel that with every film you make, whether it is a corporate documentary or a dramatic picture, there is a lot to learn from it. Choosing a career as a film maker is a precarious way to make a living. You need to be extremely tenacious. Use your skill to earn with other commercial jobs to help sustain you, as well as seek funding through grants to fund your film. How much does it cost on average to produce a film? A project can range from ShlOO million (1 million dollars) to Shioo,000. The costing depends on how many days you are shooting, what kind of equipment you are using, what kind of lenses you are using, how many characters you have, are you composing or buying music, do you have graphics? It is like asking the cost of building a house you can build a hut with cow dung or build a state house. The cost varies. How are you able to protect your intellectual property? Piracy is a huge problem in Kenya. Take the commercial film, Dangerous Affair, produced by Njeri Karago everyone seemed to have watched it, but Njeri was not able to recoup her money. If the government is serious about the creative industry taking off, they need to crack down on piracy How do you go about promoting your films and getting more Kenyans to the cinema to see them? We are in a dilemma because broadcasters are not paying proper rates for production, and there is no cultural government funding available, so it becomes a bit difficult. Since our options of distribution to the public are limited, there aren't that many people who watch movies in a cinema. Here is some advice for aspiring Kenyan film makers from Judy and Appie It is extremely tough, even for the most experienced local film makers; every project is done like it is your last. You have to be very pragmatic about it. It is difficult, and if you get into it, you need to have the stomach for it. You need to have the passion to tell our stories and you need to have a good story to tell. Learn the basics of being a producer or director and understand all the elements of film production; development, pre production, production, post production, marketing and distribution. Have patience and discipline. You need to realise film is a business like any other, that it is not all glamour. You must learn to collaborate and partner with talented people like yourself. Big results come from team endeavors. Shi00,000 A film project can range anywhere between Sh 100,000 to Sh loomillion 71 The number of movies Appie made in six months
Responsibilities of a film producer Getting funding. Reading, researching and assessing ideas and finished scripts. Commissioning writers or securing the rights to novels, plays or screenplays. I Building and developing a network of contacts. 1 Liaising and discussing projects with financial backers. Projects can range from a small, corporate video costing 500 (Sh74,000) to a multimillion pound budget hollywood feature film. I Using computer software packages for screenwriting, budgeting and scheduling. Hiring key staff, including a director and a crew to shoot programmes, films or videos. I Controlling the budget and allocating resources. Pulling together all the strands of creative and practical talent involved in the project to create a team. I Maintaining contemporary technical skills. I Organising shooting schedules, dependent on the type of producer and availability of support staff. Troubleshooting. Ensuring compliance with relevant regulations, codes of practice and health and safety laws. Supervising the progress of the project from production to post production. Holding regular meetings with the director to discuss characters and scenes. Daily Nation My Network Magazine I Acting as a sounding board for the director. Bringing the finished production in on budget. Courtesy www.prospects.ac.uk Responsibilities of a film director I Working with the movie producer to cast the actors. Organising and selecting shooting locations. Interpreting the script, and in some cases, writing or selecting it. I Approving sets, costumes, choreography and music. I Giving actors direction while conducting rehearsals and shooting the film. I Directing the work of the crew during shooting. I Working with cinematographers on shot composition. Working with editors on creating a rough cut and final film. Courtesy www.howstuffworks.com