CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, April 05, 2017

Advancing The Skillsets Of Nollywood Filmmakers

Rosco Spectrum: Christian Epps is a gaffer and lighting designer whose career covers more than two decades of experience in major motion pictures, broadcast television, commercials, music videos and special events. Christian is also founding CEO of Lights, Camera, Diaspora! (LCD), a non-profit social enterprise he established to “bridge the gap between the African & African-Diaspora entertainment industries by connecting artisans & technicians on the continent and in the Diaspora to expand the aesthetic quality of African media & live events.”

2 comments:

Rebecca Meckler said...

What a great opportunity to advance the Nollywood film industry. I liked how the article goes through the ideas behind each day, that way you can see the cycle and progression of the curriculum. I think it's interesting how they start with recreation, before moving on to more complex topics, such as using light to create character. I would love to hear why they determined this course in the curriculum. Also, I would love to hear why they chose to make the conclusion and final project of the course creating a horror movie. I also think that it's neat that they teach car lighting in the course. It is not something that I would have thought of but seems important. I wonder how often Nollywood movies have car scenes in them. Overall, this sounds like an amazing crash course. I hope in advances the careers of those in attendance and the Nollywood film industry.

wnlowe said...

I think this is a really cool organization which brings with it a very powerful message. Connecting the diaspora with the native community is important for both parties. It brings — hopefully — approval for the diaspora from their home community while they share knowledge and skills with that community. The fact that they utilized culturally relevant clips/looks also made it interesting and more meaningful for the people they were working with. It is also a unique organization as it teaches a skill which is usually gratefully undervalued, so not only the fact that he has been able to begin this organization but also that he finds people in the diaspora to work with and that are interested enough to take a part in this organization. I think it would be really cool to learn more about this organization and see what they end up doing in the future and if it expands.