"Shuga" show from Kenya

[Village-Boi]

Quick question to you guys in the biz, I know the message is about AIDS and condoms, but why the overkill?

Because it was commissioned for one reason only - "As part of a ground-breaking multimedia campaign to spread the message about responsible sexual behaviour and tolerance. The MTV: Staying Alive Ignite"
The following teamed up for it - MTV Networks Africa, MTV Staying Alive Foundation, PEPFAR (The US President's Emergency Fund for Aids Relief), the Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation (HFG) and the Government of Kenya.

So yes it does have AIDS and condoms as it's only message - and yet it is so well done. Totally enjoyed all 9 Episodes.

Love Sex Money - Episode 6; Banky W is in there, even. Thiis is really cool show.

It's brilliant... I got hooked (like you and watched everything)... there's also a ton of stuff on the Vimeo page.

 

[Village-Boi]

The 42min TV wrap up called - That Shuga Moment

 

[kaymax]

Because it was commissioned for one reason only - "As part of a ground-breaking multimedia campaign to spread the message about responsible sexual behaviour and tolerance. The MTV: Staying Alive Ignite"
The following teamed up for it - MTV Networks Africa, MTV Staying Alive Foundation, PEPFAR (The US President's Emergency Fund for Aids Relief), the Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation (HFG) and the Government of Kenya.

So yes it does have AIDS and condoms as it's only message - and yet it is so well done. Totally enjoyed all 9 Episodes.


It's brilliant... I got hooked (like you and watched everything)... there's also a ton of stuff on the Vimeo page.

absolutely, I love the way that it dealt with a marriage of social issues, from alcoholism, molestation/preditor, child neglect-non attentive father, dating, so many things, it is brilliant.

 

[vince]

The overkill is down to the series having been made mainly for propaganda, Kenyan govt cum US govt sponsored propa. That's probably why the show was so well made. The AIDS awareness thingy is big over there in Kenya.

Quick question to you guys in the biz, I know the message is about AIDS and condoms, but why the overkill?

 

[Village-Boi]

The overkill is down to the series having been made mainly for propaganda, Kenyan govt cum US govt sponsored propa. That's probably why the show was so well made. The AIDS awareness thingy is big over there in Kenya.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well made it was and from the BTS it seems they shot on the HVX (prob 200?) with a 35mm adaptor. And there was a great team of professionals working on it
They have another 3-part thing shot in the Caribbean, can't remeber the name but will check it out later.

 

[KikisMuffin]

OK, cause I got confused after Ep. 3, as soon as I start understanding the Xters, they go and change on me. Is this standard? I was gearing up for a show with continuity, not change of characters. Anyhow, if there are other episodes with the original cast members and the continuation of the stories, please someone let me know.

Kaymax, I've only watched Seson 2 (Love,Sex and Money) and there are 3 main storylines in the 6-part series and all events occur simultaneously (and were shot so I believe).

If you watch closely some of the same scenes are repeated down the line depending on which character they are focusing on. For example, Club scene with the chick with Aids celebrating her magazine slot with her friends is repeated in Episode 3, but this time with the focus on Leo, Femi and co. Interelated.

Love Sex Money - Episode 6; Banky W is in there, even. Thiis is really cool show.

He's also in episode 4 and did the official soundtrack. BankyW, Wizkid, L-tido from SA and Boneye from Kenya (who happens to be the areaboy/thief in episode 6) collaborated om the soundtrack

The overkill is down to the series having been made mainly for propaganda, Kenyan govt cum US govt sponsored propa. That's probably why the show was so well made. The AIDS awareness thingy is big over there in Kenya.

There was a cool wrap up chat session as well when all the actors and some Kenyan AIDS activists and a few other people do an hour chat on the subject. They showed all the episodes and that session on MTV Base and BET (For Africa) earlier in the year)

 

[vince]

The best way to watch the whole show without the confusion in the middle is by watching them all from a single utube uploader. I am now downloading from the MTVShuga channel.

Okay there are 3 ep. in season 1 and 6ep. in 2
here:Shuga Series 1: Episode 1 - Friday Nights - YouTube
Shuga Series 1: Episode 2 - The Morning After - YouTube
Shuga Series 1: Episode 3 - Tomorrow - YouTube
Shuga: Love, Sex, Money - Episode 1 - YouTube
Shuga: Love, Sex, Money Episode 2 - YouTube
Shuga: Love, Sex and Money Season 2 Ep# 3 - YouTube
Shuga: Love, Sex and Money Season 2 Ep# 4 - YouTube
Shuga : Love Sex Money - Episode 5 - YouTube
Shuga: Love, Sex, Money - Episode 6 - YouTube

 

[Kala Lou]

It'll take a while before Naija movies get this good....and na partly the Nolly consumers fault, we keep buying what they are selling....all these kpa kpa producers don't have the need to improve the products because regardless of what they put together, people will still buy it.

 

[Village-Boi]

It'll take a while before Naija movies get this good....and na partly the Nolly consumers fault, we keep buying what they are selling....all these kpa kpa producers don't have the need to improve the products because regardless of what they put together, people will still buy it.

True and it's such a shame! No incentive to do it well when rubbish still sells like hot cake!

 

[kaymax]

True and it's such a shame! No incentive to do it well when rubbish still sells like hot cake!

It'll take a while before Naija movies get this good....and na partly the Nolly consumers fault, we keep buying what they are selling....all these kpa kpa producers don't have the need to improve the products because regardless of what they put together, people will still buy it.

OK, what do you guys propose we do? You're right, I have literally sat there watched some of these movies and as I was watching it, I asked myself, why are you wasting your time on this nonsense, and I still watch. Wetin you wan make we do? how do we get our 'fix'? We all want better quality on every level, but how do we make it happen?
And now with online sources now where you can stream and watch these things, what do we do? The thing is Nollywood has something for everybody, from the very selective to 'mush', depending on what you want. I will say that story lines are getting better, actors and actresses are stepping up their game a bit, but much more needs to be done. We should, however, give props to the growth. Thanks also to megastars that are demanding better, OMOT rarely does junk anymore, Ezerounye has visibly become more selective, and others are following suit. I'm glad the Joke Silvas, Olu Jacobs, and Justus Esiri's of Nollywood are comming out, these younger artists are demanding better, even Dumelo is coming into his own.

 

[Kala Lou]

OK, what do you guys propose we do? You're right, I have literally sat there watched some of these movies and as I was watching it, I asked myself, why are you wasting your time on this nonsense, and I still watch. Wetin you wan make we do? how do we get our 'fix'? We all want better quality on every level, but how do we make it happen?
And now with online sources now where you can stream and watch these things, what do we do? The thing is Nollywood has something for everybody, from the very selective to 'mush', depending on what you want. I will say that story lines are getting better, actors and actresses are stepping up their game a bit, but much more needs to be done. We should, however, give props to the growth. Thanks also to megastars that are demanding better, OMOT rarely does junk anymore, Ezerounye has visibly become more selective, and others are following suit. I'm glad the Joke Silvas, Olu Jacobs, and Justus Esiri's of Nollywood are comming out, these younger artists are demanding better, even Dumelo is coming into his own.

if they would just limit the running time for their movies...that could be the first step in the process of trying to make better movies. The average hollywood movie runs for about 90mins, Naija movies, by the time you add all the parts plus the "End ofs" you are looking at 3 to 4hrs and sometimes even more. If the Nolly producers can limit the stories to 90 to 120 mins they will make better movies than they are doing now, because they are try to make sure movies get to 6 parts they fill movies with unnecessary long scenes and scenes that don't add any value to the story. Take "Shuga" for instance, they are able to tell you a complete story in 2(twenty plus mins)parts, in other words they spend about 45 mins on each story and you don't feel like you missed anything. But Nolly producers greed won't let them realize that they a slowing killing the industry with these 8 part movies. There are other issues to address in the industry too but I think this is the easiest for them to tackle.

 

[kaymax]

if they would just limit the running time for their movies...that could be the first step in the process of trying to make better movies. The average hollywood movie runs for about 90mins, Naija movies, by the time you add all the parts plus the "End ofs" you are looking at 3 to 4hrs and sometimes even more. If the Nolly producers can limit the stories to 90 to 120 mins they will make better movies than they are doing now, because they are try to make sure movies get to 6 parts they fill movies with unnecessary long scenes and scenes that don't add any value to the story. Take "Shuga" for instance, they are able to tell you a complete story in 2(twenty plus mins)parts, in other words they spend about 45 mins on each story and you don't feel like you missed anything. But Nolly producers greed won't let them realize that they a slowing killing the industry with these 8 part movies. There are other issues to address in the industry too but I think this is the easiest for them to tackle.

I mos def agree with you on that one. I always wonder why an artist is not able to tell a story in 90 minutes or less, the WHOLE movie, not just the parts. I may watch a 4 part movie if the story line is good and plot is well developed, but for the most part, I do not go there, so you're preaching to the choir on that one.
But is it 'greed' or just an inability to tell a story? Perhaps both?

 

[tunmi]

I loved this series when I first found it. I think one of VB's links got me there on vimeo and then I saw it again on BellaNaija. I stayed up all night watching the series because they were that good. The stories were not preachy (which is rarely the case for Naija), the cinematography was beautiful, the club scenes were common but it's realistic given the environment--they are college kids. I was really hoping they would do more, I really loved Vi's character and that little girl she helped.

 

[vince]

It's both. But it is my belief that a movie is as good as the taste of the executive producer/financier of it. That has always been the Achilles heel of most Nollywood "home video" productions(one really should refrain from calling them "MOVIES" because they are mostly not).

I mos def agree with you on that one. I always wonder why an artist is not able to tell a story in 90 minutes or less, the WHOLE movie, not just the parts. I may watch a 4 part movie if the story line is good and plot is well developed, but for the most part, I do not go there, so you're preaching to the choir on that one.
But is it 'greed' or just an inability to tell a story? Perhaps both?

 

[Village-Boi]

It's both. But it is my belief that a movie is as good as the taste of the executive producer/financier of it. That has always been the Achilles heel of most Nollywood "home video" productions(one really should refrain from calling them "MOVIES" because they are mostly not).

Interesting point @ underlined but isn't the movie as good as the taste of the director? Or did you mean a movie won't get made without an exec-prod/financier?

 

[vince]

If the financier is poor - as is the case with most Nollywood home videos - he will either not use a good director with affinity for attention to details, hence needing too much time to finish a movie, or he will hire a kpa kpa kpa one to finish the shooting before he even starts, hence leading to a very poor and amateurish production value or standard (again, the story of Nollywood home videos).

This is why i strongly believe that having a financier/ exec producer with taste for quality productions is paramount to making a movie with decent production value. Anything besides that will lead to utter frustration for any director who prefers to take his time to make movies of the highest production standards.

Interesting point @ underlined but isn't the movie as good as the taste of the director? Or did you mean a movie won't get made without an exec-prod/financier?

 

[Kala Lou]

I think the greed part affects other aspects of the Nollywood industry, like actors...how many star(used loosely) actors in the industry do you think will accept half of their normal fee for a chance to be in an artistic movie?

 

[vince]

Why bother with established stars for such a movie? Just go to the theater scene and hire actors from there. That scene is big enough pool to get properly decent performers who will take a fraction of what established stars would take. If the story and production standard are good enough, it will attract decent attention. Why throw away ridiculous cash on overrated stars, anyway?

I think the greed part affects other aspects of the Nollywood industry, like actors...how many star(used loosely) actors in the industry do you think will accept half of their normal fee for a chance to be in an artistic movie?

 

[Village-Boi]

If the financier is poor - as is the case with most Nollywood home videos - he will either not use a good director with affinity for attention to details, hence needing too much time to finish a movie, or he will hire a kpa kpa kpa one to finish the shooting before he even starts, hence leading to a very poor and amateurish production value or standard (again, the story of Nollywood home videos).

This is why i strongly believe that having a financier/ exec producer with taste for quality productions is paramount to making a movie with decent production value. Anything besides that will lead to utter frustration for any director who prefers to take his time to make movies of the highest production standards.

I get your point but it really comes down to finances + the team. A marketer can throw $1M to a rubbish team and get a bad result and a poor marketer can give very little money to a very creative team and get a very good result. This raises a question - Do Nigerians make films because they love film or because they love the money first? It's most probably the latter. I still stand by we're 'generally' too lazy to make good films, to lazy to learn how to even, heck we don't even want to. I once met some guys at BenTV that said they shot their 'feature' film in 2 days... of course it will be kpa, kpa, kpa rubbish. No ifs ot buts about it.

I guess to make a good film one really needs almost everyone involved to be good enough to want to make a good film irrespective of the small or big budget involved.

 

[Village-Boi]

I think the greed part affects other aspects of the Nollywood industry, like actors...how many star(used loosely) actors in the industry do you think will accept half of their normal fee for a chance to be in an artistic movie?

Let's hustle to get Denzel Washington for a hundred Gs ;-)