THE mentoring programme wears the toga of intervention in media education to give undergraduates studying communication courses the chance to acquire skills that can improve their understanding of the profession.
The first beneficiaries of the workshop were a select group of final year students of the Lagos State University (Adebola Adegunwa School of Communication), Surulere Campus. With high spirit, the participants entered the conference room of the rather tiny but lively campus to have the feel of the workshop designed to improve their skills and marketability in the highly competitive media industry.
In his opening remarks, Funke-Treasure said that she was delighted to be giving back to society, her beloved profession and youths in particular. She stated that her involvement in such an enviable project was informed by her passion to impart skills and empower aspiring broadcasters at such a critical stage in the students’ career path, even as she encouraged well- meaning individuals and corporate citizens to support the project.
We were also given opportunities to earn and grow at some point in our lives, and I have come to realize that for Nigeria to be truly transformed, we must encourage, support and demand excellence in every endeavor and from everyone, So, I consider it an honour to be part of this laudable project,” she said.
Speaking on the benefits of the initiative, the Dean of the School of Media and Communication, Professor AbdulRaheem Isa Lawal, through his representatives, Dr Yinka Alawode and Dr. J.O Akin Sofoluwe, appreciated the organisers for their genuine concern and support for academic cum professional excellence through the medium of practical training and inspiration for students. He noted that it was in tandem with the school’s vision of building Nigeria’s foremost media and communication training institution, which will be highly regarded for its curriculum as well as its facilities, academics and students.
Acting chief operating officer of Debb and Isaac Media, Mr. Femi Adeyemo, explained that the company decided to train and mentor students aspiring to work in the broadcast media because of the critical need for sustainable quality and creativity in content generation, production and presentation on radio and television programmes as well as online platforms. He said that this would ultimately improve the quality of media services offered to the vastly discerning Nigerian audience.
Mr. Dafe Ivwurie 24 Media Ltd in his presentation on ‘Popular Culture’ noted that
when culture meets it is either there will be a fusion or the weaker culture become subservient. “In those days our cultures became subservient to European culture until we started accepting ourselves.
He described popular culture as a culture that is about to kill the world. Cultural pulverization versus cultural synchronization
The most important thing in popular culture today according to him is technology. Popular culture he said is dynamic which means that as broadcaster the students should be dynamic. “But we must maintain certain norms and tradition of the profession. It is not permitted for you to pronounce a name wrongly. There is always somebody around to tell you how to pronounce names correctly. It is not acceptable for you to pronounce people’s name wrongly. The danger of wrong pronunciation of people’s name is that you are helping the people to forget their cultures. Some people call their names in a funky way,” he said
He urged the students to make use of the opportunity of the internet age to get vital information. “When I was growing up there is nothing like computer. But today there is computer and internet. Information at your fingertip.
“This is an information era. We have i phone, i pad. Move away from mere reporting to investigative reporting. Be able to study any subject that you are presented,” he said.
You can develop your story from what is going on around you. “You don’t have to work for government to make money. Moment with Mo may be criticized for one reason or the other but she is doing something unique in the industry. But who will take over from her when she leaves the scene? He queried.
Ify Onyegbule CEO, Truline Productions presenter with TV Continental in her lecture on “Montage and Persuasion” disclosed that a montage is a French word meaning “putting together” or “assembly” which simply describes a film editing technique.
According to her there are at least three senses of the term: In French film practice, “montage” has its literal French meaning (assembly, installation) and simply identifies editing.
In Soviet filmmaking of the 1920s, “montage” was a method of juxtaposing shots to derive new meaning that did not exist in either shot alone.
In classical Hollywood cinema, a “montage sequence” is a short segment in a film in which narrative information is presented in a condensed fashion. This is the most common meaning among people today.
Thus, Montage she said has become a weapon or object of persuation (something that encourages or spurs you to look out for something) “It is usually used to advance the story as a whole (often to suggest the passage of time), rather than to create symbolic meaning. In many cases, a song sometime plays in the background to enhance the mood or reinforce the message that is being conveyed,” she said.
A montage she said gets its power from presenting a collection of diverse images to the audience all at once, so that the overall impression is much richer than simply showing a single image or element.
One famous example of montage was seen in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey (film), depicting the start of man’s first development from apes to humans.Metric montage – where the editing follows a specific number of frames (based purely on the physical nature of time), cutting to the next shot no matter what is happening within the image. This montage is used to elicit the most basal and emotional of reactions in the audience.
Rhythmic montage – includes cutting based on time, but using the visual composition of the shots
According to her tonal Montage – uses the emotional meaning of the shots (a sleeping baby would emote calmness and relaxation.)
“Overtonal Montage – the overtonal montage is the cumulation of metric, rhythmic, and tonal montage to synthesize its effect on the audience for an even more abstract and complicated effect,” she said.
In intellectual montage for example … The Godfather, during Michael’s nephew’s baptism, the priest performs the sacrament of baptism while we see killings ordered by Michael take place elsewhere. The murders thus “baptize” Michael into a life of crime.
Onyegbule in the final analysis urged the students to know their audience. Have good shots that tell stories. “In Ambience representation (radio – could also be used to tell a story on TV).Don’t overuse effects or copy effects used a lot. Be careful with the transitions and ensure they make sense.Your shots must be able to catch attention and create suspense! Be sure to provide adequate hold on time (so that viewers can process the message). Always be conscious of time…for programme montage…the shorter the better
Sharing his experience as a producer Bunmi Davies, the CEO of Afrotainment recalled that his role as a producer is to create an environment where things works.
The producer of Stand up Nigeria recalled that he has about 12 staff including his wife and media partner.
“It took nine months for us to make our first profit. I knew it would take time but it took a l longer time. We had prepared for losses. We don’t give up in spite of all the challenges. It is just to prepare you for the real work,” he said
But he regretted that the losses of the nine months the company is yet to recover. “It is not to discourage you, but to let you know that it is not all golden. There must be feedback mechanism. Be open up to new ideas,” Davies explained.
He urged the students to have knowledge of everything, understanding the fundamentals. The fundamental must be right to build a brand that is of repute,” he revealed.
The media mentoring series, which covered news reporting, interviewing, programme production, video editing, presentation and new media had as facilitators highly acclaimed broadcasters and media professionals whose passion for media excellence was experienced first-hand by the students. Among them were Olumide Macaulay, a renowned television presenter and producer, Pelu Awofeso, a travel journalist who only last moth won the CNN/Multi-Choice Africa Journalist of the Year Prize in the tourism category; and Toye Oremosu, an information technology /new media consultant.
