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NAFTI urge filmmakers to engage professionals
Accra, March 29, Ghanadot/GNA- Mr Martin
Loh, Director of National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI),
on Saturday urged Ghanaian filmmakers to engage
professionals in their productions to ensure development and
competitiveness in the global film market.
He said: "we still see little evidence of filmmakers
aggressively searching out stories, scripts, styles, and
techniques...most of the works seems out-of-track and
squeezing blood from the turnip, by digitally making the
same sorts of traditional films with the same methods."
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on
Saturday, Mr Loh said in professional filmmaking, the story
choice or the script made the greatest difference.
The Director of NAFTI said this was followed by extreme
schedule efficiency extreme technical discipline, dogmatic
avoidance of archive footage and archive music.
He said it was important that film producers in the Ghanaian
film industry trained and educated themselves professionally
so that they could produce movies that the audience could
identify themselves with.
"In our case people think that film making is easy and now
our filmmakers do not seem to accept that a good film is
better than just rushing to reap the benefit," Mr Loh said.
He noted that engaging non-professionals to reduce cost of
production is not tangible, "pay professionals their going
rates, control personnel costs by adjusting time, not rates.
Mr Loh said "Reconfigure what you do, not how much you pay
for it. Use experienced craftspeople at all levels,
especially in audio and assistant editing. Make the film
quickly. Production and editorial schedules that minimize
person-days are big levers for cost reduction."
He encouraged filmmakers to set rough cut and lock picture
deadlines and seek the assistance of experienced film makers
in their productions.
Mr Loh asked film makers to maintain clear decision flow,
appreciate the role of the producer or director and
fine-tune the filtering of ideas to flow from community to
director to editor in an orderly fashion.
He urged film makers to use high-end facilities for sound
finishing and colour correction after extremely careful
field origination and editorial prep.
Mr Loh said the film industry was the most powerful means of
conveying messages to Ghanaians to enlighten them on
developmental issues.
He appealed to film makers to employ qualified people or
NAFTI graduates to help them in every aspect of their work.
Mr Loh said "Our effort is to assist filmmakers to make good
films which can tell African stories better to overcome
poverty, hunger, wars and other related issues which are
retarding the development of the African continent."
He said NAFTI was obliged to train people to enable them act
professionally and urged the Video Producers Association to
work with the institute to find solutions to problems facing
the film industry.
Mr Loh said presently the film industry was facing
difficulties that could affect the Ghanaian Film Industry.
He explained that some young people entering the industry
did not work with film producing outfits to enable them to
acquire experience.
Mr Loh said the film industry lacked organised funding which
was crucial to making the film industry blossom as the
Nigerian film industry.
The following films were adjudged the best at the end of the
18TH NAFTI FILM AND TELEVISION FESTIVAL in Accra: "Out of
Place," was adjudged the best film, Costume of a Nation was
adjudged the best documentary, Adam's Seed, the best
teleplay, Soul Trade, the best screenplay, Out of Place,
best photography, Ezanetor, the best sound and the best art
director, Dream On, best set design.
Mr Oscar Provencal who featured in the "Out of Place," was
adjudged the best actor, Ms Charity Yeboah who featured as
Ezanetor in Ezanetor, was adjudged the best actress, Ms
Beatrice Dadsons who featured as Sika in Soul Trade won the
best juvenile actor, Mr Brew Riverson who featured in Soul
Trade, won the best supporting actor award, and Lucinda
Ribero who featured in Out of Place, won best supporting
actress award.
There was also special recognition of Young Ezanetor who
featured in EZANETOR and SOUL TRADE for good acting,
documentary Film on former President Jerry John Rawlings.
GNA
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