film critique

FILMMAKER: CYRIL KARWA

FILM: MABWEGE

DURATION: 70 MINS

PRE-PRODUCTION

It involved brainstorming of the whole idea of the film plus writing of the script. Planning of this film went on for a period of 1 month.

Scouting of the location which included Kiambu, Nairobi town, Komarock and lastly Dandora.

Since it was a low budget film they had to get settings which will be available to them. In the budget it was inclusive of the transport, tapes (10 mini-DV tapes) and food.

Auditioning for the cast, who were students at the Nairobi Institute of Business Studies, NIBS. They also acted for free.

Inclusive also was 2 cameras; Sony PD170

Cyril is a lecturer at NIBS and this was his project so he was the director, DOP, producer and also did the editing.

Making of the schedule for the movie was planned according to the free time of the students.

Rehearsals were done for two weeks. Actors acted out their roles so that the scriptwriter could identify what changes can be made to the script before the actual shooting.

The crew consisted of 8 members.

PRODUCTION

This involves the actual shooting day of the film.The assistant director was in charge of location. They were meant to start shooting at 8:00 am but started at 10:00 am because the venue they had booked was no longer available and so they had to search for another one.

At every scene before shooting they would first setup and this involved:

Cast rehearsing their lines

Setting up of the camera and lights

Dressing up for the casts

Second rehearsal with camera included

Then finally the actual shooting of the scene.

Since some scenes were on the streets, they got a students permit so that they do not get to pay. The permit was for 7 days.

POST- PRODUCTION

There was only one editor, so there was a one week rest after shooting.

It involved capturing and editing of the work and it took 2 months to complete it.

The editing software used was Avid media composer.

10 tapes were used in production stage, a total of almost eight and a half hours which was being compressed to 70mins.

Editing also included insertion of music in the film.

CHALLENGES EXPERIENCED

Word of advice from the filmmaker, he said that in making a movie there are always unforeseen setbacks so in such cases get a team that thinks fast.

He also said that a producer should have a plan B just incase things ever go wrong on set.

Pre-production

Getting people who would write for comedy

Getting suitable locations

Working with the crew especially on sets, people have different temperaments.

Production

Getting of suitable location for their scenes and on the low budget.

Transport for equipment and crew and most especially when carrying the equipments to the sets.

Post-production

The filmmaker had challenges editing all alone

Computers also had some problems during editing

Critique of the movie: Mabwege

This is a local production film which is hilarious and identifies with the common mwananchi.

It is a story based on two friends who live in the rural area but eventually get tired of that lifestyle and thus opt to go and explore the urban region, in this case, Nairobi city. While there they try to do some work so that they can get some money to live on by. One time they get lucky and win some large sum amount of money but hereafter they face some challenges whereby they are conned and are in a mission to get back their money.

The script is a little bit weak in that there seems to be no build up of the story and what is happening.

The montage is very creative and nice. There was use of slow motion. The two main characters were also a natural.

Camera shots: they were also evident as there was the use of wide angle which was used to establish the area where the cast were. Zoom in and out to give more emphasis on what the cast were talking about. There was a nice close up of the money when it was being held.

Sound: at the scene where the cast were in Nairobi city the sound was good and real, nothing looked as if it was acted out. At times though throughout the movie sound was high at some point and at some other point it was low, think it is because of use of two cameras. There was also interference with the wind blowing; filters would have helped at this point.

They used a boom mic to pick up the sound and it held up alright as each and every cast was heard perfectly.

Lighting: this was a major issue in the film even the producer pointed out that they did not have reflectors. On the note that this was low budget film they did try at some points. It could be noted that exposure was poor especially at the first scenes and probably it’s because the different cameras had been put on different settings.

 

Editing: there was minimal usage of transitions or any effects.

At some scenes you could see the other camera person in shot such as, the point in the beginning where the main casts had sat under a tree, also the city scene (polishing shoes) where you could see the camera stand on top of the bus. The boom had been spotted also at some point.

 Bilha Wangui 07-0339