PROFESSIONALISM AND ETHICS IN FILM PRODUCTION A CRITIQUE OF TECHNICAL AND AESTHETIC ELEMENTS IN SELECTED NOLLYWOOD FILMS
ABSTRACT
What is generally known today as Nollywood industry began around 1992 when Kenneth Nnebue shot Living in Bondage. The industry has since passed through a series of revolution with recognisable growth in output. Today it has grown to become the world’s second largest producer of films ahead of Hollywood, generating millions of Dollars to the Nation’s economy. There is however the claim that the growth of the industry is not qualitative but quantitative. The hijack of the industry by amateurs have been partly blamed for the poor quality out put of the movies. It is in this light that Udomisor and Opara Anayo said that despite Nollywood’s success in home videos and across films produced in Africa, more has to be done in terms of production, film content, quality and originality (9). Poor finances have also been blamed for the low quality output of movies made in Nigeria. It is in response to the general poor rating and the feeling that the Nollywood industry is about amateurish practice that this research is embarked upon. The idea is to direct attention to the fact that in spite of these challenges, Nollywood filmmakers still produce quality films. Three Nollywood movies have been selected for analysis to prove this. The films are The Figurine (2009), Phone Swap (2012) and Half of a Yellow Sun (2013). The analysis is in the area of Camera manipulation, lighting and shadow, sound recording, continuity, acting, speech and costume and make-up. The research methodology relied on are the Historical research methodology, the Sociological methodology and the Artistic methodology. The preference for these research methodologies is their suitability for theatre and media researches.