Too Much Noise in Many Hollywood Movies; Nollywood Should Not Copy Hollywood

Too Much Noise in Many Hollywood Movies; Nollywood Should Not Copy Hollywood

There are noisy sound tracks in many Hollywood movies, especially the action film adaptations of comic books and other action movies.

For example, there was more noise than sense in "Catwoman" 2004 film.

The discordant noisy soundtracks

often make the movies to look like cover-ups for bad directing and  storytelling.

Sound is important in storytelling. But not noise.

When music is too loud, it becomes noise.

There are also anachronisms in the soundtracks of several of the movies. Having rock music in an historical movie on the Roman Empire and ancient kingdoms is not different from showing the emperor wearing a Rolex in 2000 BC.

Soundtracks should be in accordance with the period as the costumes and the sets in the production design.

Soundtracks for fighting scenes don't need to be noisy.

You don't need noisy soundtracks for an action or adventure movie to be exciting and thrilling.

Viewers should not have headaches watching movies.

Nollywood is now copying Hollywood by making parodies of American action movies and comedies. 

They have made their own "Gangs of Lagos" like the "Gangs of New York". 

What's next? "Pirates of the Niger Delta" like "Pirates of the Caribbean"?

The most annoying are shallow  parodies of the "Real Housewives of Hollywood" and "Real Housewives of Atlanta" with their own "Real Housewives of Abuja",  "Real Housewives of Lagos" and other copycats' versions with women wearing costumes copied from the annual MET Gala or Hollywood red carpets.

Nothing beats originality in creativity.

There are many untold original Nigerian stories waiting to be told in movies and documentaries and not copying Hollywood or Telemundo.

I am still waiting for a great film on the Biafran war. 

The film adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's historical novel, "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Biyi Bandele in 2013 told half of the story of one of the bloodiest civil wars in Africa. There are still untold stories of the war that will be awesome movies.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series

The Top 10 Best NIgerian Movies in 2021

The Top 10 Best NIgerian Movies in 2021

NIgerian filmmakers produced over twenty outstanding movies both on film and video, even though none fulfilled the criteria to qualify for the NIgerian entry for the Best International Feature category of the 94th annual Academy Awards coming up on March 27, 2022.

The following are my selection of the top ten best NIgerian movies in 2021 based on peer reviews, film criticisms, awards and nominations and thematic importance, relevance and significance on contemporary issues of current affairs and history of NIgeria in the screenwriting, directing and cinematography.

1 Eyimofe by Chuko and Arie Esiri

2. Eagle Wings by Paul Apel Papel.

3. Ayinla by Tunde Kelani.

4. Juju Stories by C.J. Obasi, Abba Makama and Michael Omonua.

5. La Femme Anjola by Mildred Okwo.

6. Swallow by Kunle Afolayan.

7. Amina by Izu Ojukwu.

8. Black Mail by Obi Emelonye.

9.  Gone by Daniel Ademinokan.

10. Collision Course by Mrs. Bolanle Austen-Peters.

Notable Mentions

Prophetess by Niyi Akinmolayan.

Blackout by Abbey Abimbola, aka Crackydon.

A Soldier's Story 2 by Frankie Ogar.

Best Actor
OC Ukeje as "Chinda" in Blackmail
Best Actress
Rita Dominic as Anjola in La Femme Anjola.

 Rita Dominic is one of the best actors not only in NIgeria, but the rest of Africa and the world. She is one of the few actors I know who can turn a bad screenplay into a masterpiece.

The cinematic experience of "La Femme Anjola" will be more romantic when dubbed in the French language and Spanish language. Mildred Okwo should have the theatrical release of the French language copy in French speaking countries and the Spanish language copy in Spanish speaking countries.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Serie,

The first book series on Nollywood and the Nigerian film industry since 2013,, printed in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.

Art and book design by Juvelin Aripal in the Philippines.

Published by International Digital Post Network Limited.

Sound and Screenwriting in Nollywood and Kannywood

Sound and Screenwriting in 

Nollywood and Kannywood

Majority of screenwriters in #Nollywood and #Kannywood need to learn how to include sound cues during screenwriting and not during post production.

If we ask even those who claim to know a simple question about sound in screenwriting, they may not know, because they have not shown that they know in several of their film and TV productions.

Seeing is believing.

Many people listen, but only few learn in Nigeria. That's why we hear and see repetitions of the same mistakes in film and TV productions in Africa's largest film industry.

They still don't know how to use sound for characterisation in screenplays before the principal photography.

They just copy and paste soundtracks during post production without creating and composing any original score.  

Sound in a movie includes the music, leitmotifs, dialogues, sound effects, ambient noise, and/or background noise and soundtracks. 

There is what I call the "Ambience of Romance" in filmmaking and it can only be achieved with sound.

And what is the ambience of romance in screenwriting and in the atmosphere of a scene?

I am still waiting for the cinematic experience of Dolby Vision in Nollywood and Kannywood.

To me, any Nigerian filmmaker whose movies have not qualified for the Official Selections of the Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival is not qualified to teach any  Masterclass. 

How can you teach a Masterclass without the proof of being a master of the subject?

How can someone who is still having issues with the nuances of sound in storytelling teach a Masterclass on directing or screenwriting? 

Do you know that majority of the filmmakers in Nollywood and Kannywood are clueless about spherical and anamorphic lenses? And they are teaching Filmmaking in some so called film and TV academies in Lagos, Asaba, Calabar and Kannywood without any certification or accreditation.

- By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima,

Publisher/Editor,

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® Series

distributed by Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other booksellers.

Experience Last Night in Soho in Dolby

In acclaimed director Edgar Wright’s psychological thriller, Eloise, an aspiring fashion designer, is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer, Sandie. But the glamour is not all it appears to be and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something far darker.

 https://www.dolby.com/experience/cinema