I had an educative time on the set of “Hostages”- A movie directed by Tola Balogun in Abuja, while I was there I saw a drone go upward and I saw the director say the magic word “Action” and the actors started performing then I noticed a man with the remote control of the drone
taking directives from Tola Balogun. I recognized him (Leo B Okwese) as one of us in the movie industry but I never knew he could fly a drone. I walked up to him after the shoot to get to know more about the drone. Yours truly, Emilia Emeka-Nwamadi was educated on a whole lot of aspects in movie making. Read excerpts below;
My name is Leo B Okwese
I am an Actor, a Director, a Director of Photography (DOP)
and a Movie Editor. I do everything cinematography.
and a Movie Editor. I do everything cinematography.
I fly drones. Yes. I fly drones with a passion. Drones are
like toys in my hands. Drones are used
for high altitude shots. We had cranes before
the advent of drones. We had cranes that could go as high as forty feet, twenty
feet, hundred feet but we needed to go higher than that. We needed to see what
the entire city looks like, from the air. We used to pay heavily to use
helicopters but drones came and things were made easier. So we needed to train to be called “Drone
Pilots” because what we do is to fly unmanned aircrafts. It is still the same principle that guide flying an helicopter. The difference is that the pilot sits inside the helicopter but the Drone Pilot stands on the ground, so it is called Unmanned Aircraft.
like toys in my hands. Drones are used
for high altitude shots. We had cranes before
the advent of drones. We had cranes that could go as high as forty feet, twenty
feet, hundred feet but we needed to go higher than that. We needed to see what
the entire city looks like, from the air. We used to pay heavily to use
helicopters but drones came and things were made easier. So we needed to train to be called “Drone
Pilots” because what we do is to fly unmanned aircrafts. It is still the same principle that guide flying an helicopter. The difference is that the pilot sits inside the helicopter but the Drone Pilot stands on the ground, so it is called Unmanned Aircraft.
I also do Special Effects. Special effects is actually my
major. As Nollywood began to expand and
grow, I saw the need for very good visual effects. Looking at Hollywood , I came to discover
that almost every scene in a very good Hollywood movie is filled with various
kinds of visual effects. When we say visual effects people think it is about
bomb explosion or that we are talking about skyscrapers dropping down. Visual effects go beyond that. In every single
conversation you see in a simple Hollywood movie, you see some visual effects
which look so natural and tender to the eye that you don’t see them as visual
effects . For instance; two people are discussing and you see the dust in the
air as they are walking on the road. When it was shot you didn’t have that dust
really, those are put in by way of “Object Modules”. They are put there to make
it look real because when you shoot, what you have is an artificial footage so you’ll
try to make it look real in the eyes of the people so you put in those visual effects. When a car passes by it
gives you some kind of haze that you cannot see with the visual eye but with
visual effects you can exaggerate it and these are what make the pictures look a
lot more different from what we have in Nollywood and that is the loophole I’m
trying to fill here. I studied it and I discovered it can also be done in
Nollywood.
major. As Nollywood began to expand and
grow, I saw the need for very good visual effects. Looking at Hollywood , I came to discover
that almost every scene in a very good Hollywood movie is filled with various
kinds of visual effects. When we say visual effects people think it is about
bomb explosion or that we are talking about skyscrapers dropping down. Visual effects go beyond that. In every single
conversation you see in a simple Hollywood movie, you see some visual effects
which look so natural and tender to the eye that you don’t see them as visual
effects . For instance; two people are discussing and you see the dust in the
air as they are walking on the road. When it was shot you didn’t have that dust
really, those are put in by way of “Object Modules”. They are put there to make
it look real because when you shoot, what you have is an artificial footage so you’ll
try to make it look real in the eyes of the people so you put in those visual effects. When a car passes by it
gives you some kind of haze that you cannot see with the visual eye but with
visual effects you can exaggerate it and these are what make the pictures look a
lot more different from what we have in Nollywood and that is the loophole I’m
trying to fill here. I studied it and I discovered it can also be done in
Nollywood.
If I have to choose between Visual Effects and Flying Drones, I’ll choose visual effects because
it gives more room for creativity.
it gives more room for creativity.
From my experience in acting, a good actor is one with good diction not good English, Good looks in relation to the
character you are portraying and good voice
in terms of projection and voice modulation.
character you are portraying and good voice
in terms of projection and voice modulation.
For those that intend to become actors, I am of the opinion that actors are born not made. Real
actors are born. It is innate. For someone who wants to become an actor, First
you must ask yourself, do I have it? It is a different ballgame if you want to
upgrade yourself. You only upgrade what is there. What is not there is
installed, we call it installation. You can’t upgrade what is not there. A good
actor will upgrade and become better but someone who is not good, can’t
upgrade.
actors are born. It is innate. For someone who wants to become an actor, First
you must ask yourself, do I have it? It is a different ballgame if you want to
upgrade yourself. You only upgrade what is there. What is not there is
installed, we call it installation. You can’t upgrade what is not there. A good
actor will upgrade and become better but someone who is not good, can’t
upgrade.
To my fans; the best is yet to come.