MultiChoice, Africa’s pioneer pay TV service provider and operators of DStv, has given a hint that it will soon organise masterclasses for actors and actresses as part of a broader goal of helping to develop a well-rounded film industry in Africa.

The masterclasses form part of the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) programme launched in May 2018, to offer African talents theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience in cinematography, film editing, audio production, storytelling etc.

The MTF project is in three parts namely, the Academy, which is a 12-month training school for young film talents; Masterclasses, which are learning sessions hosted by experts for players in the industry as well as a Portal for sharing useful information.

The West African Director for MTF, Mr Femi Odugbemi, who gave the hint in an interview in Accra said “The larger population of our creative industry is in acting and I think it is only fair that we provide opportunities for growth, not just in acting per se but also how to create businesses around acting”.

This, he said, is important because it will prepare the actors and actresses to be more resourceful, “So that when you don’t have a role, you still have food to eat”.

“It is very important that we develop templates for agents, artiste managers etc. so that we actually have people who are able to get the best out of their potential. This will ensure that the actor/actress is not his or her own manager, agent etc. When that happens they can focus on better performances,” the director noted.

Mr Odugbemi was in Ghana as a special guest at a masterclass organized by MultiChoice for sound professionals and hosted by Vikram Joglekar, a veteran sound consultant.



Femi Odugbemi, West African Director for MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF)

He said the MTF programme will have masterclasses for every critical aspect of the film industry, pointing out that the class on sound is a conscious and intentional investment in the film industry, adding that similar classes had been held in Nigeria and Zambia.

According to the academy chief, MultiChoice recognizes the importance of soundmen and women to the growth of the business of MultiChoice itself and was therefore upbeat about helping them to learn the best practices in the global industry to take the “game” to the next level.



The MTF Accra sound masterclass in session

The General Manager of MultiChoice-Ghana, Mr Cecil Sunkwa-Mills observed that a lot had changed for the better in the film and television space and MTF is a journey that has just started with the aim of keeping the industry players abreast of current trends and gave the assurance that the programme will grow bigger.

He said MultiChoice collaborates with some TV stations in Ghana to carry their programmes across a wider area and is also working to help improve the quality of their programmes in terms of sound etc.



General Manager of MultiChoice-Ghana, Cecil Sunkwa-Mills (left) interacting with Femi Odugbemi at the Accra MTF sound masterclass

“Together with the EIB Network, we relaunched Fiesta TV and we have set standards for the type of videos that will be aired on the channel. That is where we should be going”.

“The sound quality must be as good as those aired on stations outside Ghana. It does not matter where we do the production, we must do everything to make it world class,” he said.

According to the General Manager, efforts are being made to protect the copyrights of creative people, saying soon a tribunal will be created to make the cost of protecting the work of art easier for the industry, so that people can monetize their works.

He said the future of cinema is bright and pointed out that one did not need a bag of money to be successful in the movie industry.

All we need, he said, is a policy that will encourage people to invest and for others to consume and pay the right price for what they get.

Sound expert, Vikram Joglekar took the participants through various topics in sound engineering including, Surround Sound 5.1 and 7, designing, recording clean sound on location, positioning of microphone, choosing the right microphone for the right production etc.



Sound expert, Vikram Joglekar

A participant in the masterclass, Clifford Edem Tayviah of GHOne TV, EIB Network, described the exercise as “a good one”.

“I learnt about the latest techniques in sound engineering. Indeed, this is the first time I am seeing a workshop that has brought quite a large number of TV and film (production) sound engineers together to improve our skills and capacity”. “We hope to have more of this every quarter,” he added.

The trainer, Vikram Joglekar is a veteran sound consultant, who has worked with Dolby Laboratories, a US company specialising in audio noise reduction and audio encoding and compression, for over 20 years.

Born in India, Vikram, who is currently Senior Marketing Manager, Content Relations India at Dolby, started his career in cinema audio, working as a Dolby sound consultant and has been involved in the transition from mono to surround sound in cinema in India that took place in the 1990s.

He continued to work for Dolby in Italy for 12 years and moved back to India in 2011, where he worked with various broadcast houses facilitating surround content production.

Based in Mumbai, Vikram has worked on film sets as a consultant, sound designer and composer for movies like Road, and 2008 Italian biographical drama film based on the figure of former Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, titled II Divo.