Making a shortfilm through Decentralized means in Africa

In this article, we have documented all the processes from pre-production, funding, production, post production to marketing and distribution.The aim of this article is to impact,help and assist all aspiring and young talented filmmakers to get started easily or somewhere in this crazy filmmaking world especially in Africa.

Story development and Funding acquisition

When you are a writer, you are writing creatively not thinking of the production necessarily because you want to have a mesmerizing experience with the film. With Mtingo we chose to go with a short film approach, we found our local writer Brian Kalenga, who initially produced a script skeleton and had to go through multiple drafts editing and refining it to cinematic aesthetic, thanks to Nick Stephen, Rashid Shemzitu and Simalike Musika.

So we pitched the idea on the Decentralized Pictures platform via the iPhone Contest and our script happened to be one of the chosen ones by the Film3 community. Unfortunately on the budget part we had less room to maneuver as only 500 usd was offered to us.

Script Breakdown

A breakdown is simply taking your script and going through all the needs of your production to report all the elements of your scenes. Elements are something like props, wardrobe, location, characters, vehicles and whatever you might need while shooting.

So on our part we identified 10 play characters, one vehicle, 5 locations(2 needed to pay for), modern-school dress code, food, drinks, couple lights and sound instruments. The importance of this was to have a rough estimate on the budget and the processes we needed to focus most on.

Initial Budget

Since we were limited we had to find ways to maximally exploit what we have, to produce something good for the audience. Somewhere between minimalism and actually spending much of our own funds is where we aimed to have a good film.

For every film there are fundamentals to highly consider; Location fees, production team wages, preproduction costs, post production costs, marketing and distribution costs, insurance costs, licenses and permits, camera and instrument rentals.

On the team casts we had each ranging from 40,000 tshs to 60,000 tshs per day (20–30 usd equivalent ) depending on casts role, on the preproduction part we recruited a production designer , cloth and makeup artist, storyboard artist, sound guy, light artist, whose wages were negotiated depending on the situation. To be honest all the guys we recruited did it for the Love not for the money.

We were fortunate enough to get an Iphone 14 pro for shooting, hence cutting the camera cost.We also rent some light instruments and a gimbal.

At this moment we didn’t want to worry about the marketing and distribution costs.We just wanted the film produced. We also had to cut down unnecessary scenes in our script to strictly convey the message and conserve the cost. Regardless, all the above cost more than 500 usd, now you know we had to use our own costs as well.

10 pages but then we cut it down to 6 pages because every extra page is a cost intact. We also got rid of some characters as well. Now we had 3 locations(1 to pay for) and 8 characters.

With Mtingo we did it locally on paper, since we needed to work with the deadline(1 week), we had to schedule the events, the scheduled events were talent casting, location scouting, team assembly,

Crewing up

Due to the constraints of the budget we really had to work with what we have and ask in a lot of favors from friend filmmakers and families.Most professional filmmakers hire an AD to handle off film activities and support Director’s logistical needs and to make sure they are well handled and provided for while on set, such as organizing actors/actresses, handle and pay accommodation bills during shooting, handle emergency and discomfort issues while shooting, handling food.Due to funds limitation we didn’t hire an AD and Rasta Bujo had to handle that part while Kevin Raymond was on set directing. On the cinematography part we recruited a local artist who has vast experience with the camera from shooting music videos to scenes, thanks to Simalike who was also our assistant writer of the script as well, and had to work hand in hand with KR.

Location lockdown

Location scouting

Usually on big productions they hire a location scout manager for this or use online platforms like Giggster to assist. The big takeaway from location scouting is through this process you can be able to visualize the play on the shooting day and be able to simulate setup changes, angles, light, film elements positioning, usually a production designer is also involved. In our case since it was a short film production with limited funds we had to do it ourselves. So we had to go around the city to look for perfect locations that would fit our screenplay, we also had to negotiate with this restaurant and agree on the day and date of shooting and negotiated the cost, it was a done deal. However there is an interesting story related to locations that will unfold on the near sections, that taught us a valuable lesson.

Shot listing and Storyboarding

Shot list is simply a list of all things you need to shoot. A shot list contains important information such as shot specs(description, shot size, angles, camera movement) and the simulated rough drawings of a shot .The advantage of this is to be able to have a simulated visual of the camera, light, time setup and to prepare for shifts or change of setups during shooting to be able to minimize time spent on production location. Usually on professional encounters, a cinematographer and the scriptwriter does one and compares the shot lists but for us we are able to get a talented storyboard artist called Lucky Mkinga to help us define the visual language of the film.

Film casting and audition

In our case we used local methods of casting such as creating audition posters, posting them on our social media, spreading the word by mouth, and we also partnered up with University of Dar es salaam, college of arts to cast and audition. There were a lot of submissions that turned up to our surprise as we had to hold two auditions.

How to hold an audition

There are few essentials to consider for a successful audition

• Dedicated space, which is undisturbed. In our case we had two spaces, one at the University of Dar es salaam hall, and another at Rasta Bujo area.

• Signing sheet, to keep a record of all participants and their contacts.

• Script sides, few pages of the script that best showcases the character.

On the audition day we gave the cast their script sides depending on the character they chose to play and gave them time to embody and envision, then we assessed them as they played that role. We also had self tapes that we later had to sit down and assess them again.

Initially the role of Jay and Emy had a lot of competition, by the end of the auditions we had like 3 Emy and 4 Jays, hard to choose right? But we eventually found the right guys.

Table Read

For us table read was both a rehearsal, chemistry buildup among the chosen characters and to basically go over the script per single character to see areas where they can be improved or twisted according to the look and feel of the chosen.

Essentials for a table read

• Get a quiet space.

• Bring scripts.

• Refreshments.

Insurances, shooting schedules and call sheets

At this point we synced up with our cloth and makeup designer to get the right kit for the actors/actresses, also we checked the weather on the shooting day to make sure it doesn’t coincide with our activities.

Planning the shooting schedule

It’s one of the most valuable tools to have, as it’s an awesome way to keep track of what you want to do, and what you have done. It keeps different departments in sync. Shooting schedules take into account factors like location priority, time feel of the film(morning, afternoon, evening), costs. There tools out there to make this work but for a us a piece of paper and excel worked out for us

Production insurance.

Definitely one of those unavoidable stuff needed, but for our case we treated the film shooting as taking content (just like instagram content) regarding to, we were shooting using the phone, that way we were able to escape those costs, although in our budget we kept some amount for emergency which was 10% of the total capital.lucky for us nothing was damaged throughout the whole shot.

Call sheets

Call sheet is a document that you send to your film crew to let them know important information about the day of shooting. Big projects use tools such as studioBinder, ‘’’

Must have

• Time of arrival.

• Important people of contact.

• Weather on the shooting day

• Location address

In our case we created a simple message showing all the above and personally sent it to each of our film crew via text messages. We sent them at least a day before shooting, this was to give our crew time and space to confirm their attendance, and to account for any inconveniences before the shooting day.

Film Production

At this point, we had all the preproduction stuff ready except the storyboard, on which it was supposed to be ready by morning of the shooting day, unfortunately our storyboard artist was contested hence we had to move on blindly, remember the story I said earlier on the Location scouting discussion will unfold, here we are;

Shooting

Our team crew arrived on time on the first shooting location as indicated on the call sheet, we began shooting blindly without the storyboard. Unfortunately the manager of the location called it quits for an unjustified couple of reasons, despite having an agreement and paying them a prefund. What a blow!

So we had to look for another option, unfortunately we got ideas from one of our crew members and had to link up with another potential location where we had plenty of time to shoot and better deal, but since we had not a completed storyboard we struggled to get angles and camera movements, testing out on the location hence consuming a lot of time, so we didn’t finish all them scenes from the location so we had to come back again the next day, since we disturbed the atmosphere of the location as we conducted ourselves poorly, the location manager didn’t agree for us to come back the next day. What another blow!

So that night we had little conversations as core members and we discovered that not having a storyboard was the reason for us not completing the task since we had plenty of time to shoot. So we vowed not to shoot without one, so we contacted our storyboard artist only to find out that he had finished the task. So we had to find a new location and this time everything went smoothly as we didn’t repeat former mistakes.

Regardless, the lesson was painful as we spent more money on all the locations we passed through but what we learnt was that ‘never shoot without a storyboard’ was priceless.

Post production

On the post production part we didn’t recruit anyone, so Kr had to cut and do the color grading. The sound on set was horrible so we had to do an ADR session after the final cut. Thanks to Tipatone sound for helping out on this, this helped us to get quality sound even on scenes that would have been challenging to get on set such as the Bajaj scene.

Marketing and distribution

At this point we have no funding left, but then we have to distribute the film and definitely market it. So we used couple strategies such as;

• Social media traction for film content

• Festivals submissions, in our case we used online platform filmfreeway to submit to multiple festivals around the world and actually got screened on more than 3 festivals.

• Organize film premieres on different platforms such as entertainmint

• Organize physical film screenings.

In big professional film settings, a marketing manager is usually hired to handle distribution deals and set up a marketing network for the film.

Premiere

The official premiere of our film is scheduled for 30th November on YouTube and additional platforms. To ensure a wide reach, we have:

1. Engaged Influencers: Collaborated with key influencers, including Hidaya, Karla and Weamto amplify the campaign and build anticipation.

2. Launched NFTs: Introduced exclusive NFTs via NiftyKit, offering audiences privileged access to our community and behind-the-scenes content.

3. Multi-Platform Promotion: Leveraged YouTube and other digital platforms to maximize visibility and engagement.

4. Behind-the-Scenes Documentation: Shared the film's production process through detailed content, fostering a deeper connection with the audience and enhancing transparency.

5. Targeted Advertising: Plan to run promotional campaigns using YouTube and Instagram ads to further boost reach and ensure the premiere gains significant attention.

This strategic approach combines digital engagement, influencer outreach, and innovative technology to ensure the premiere's success and longevity in audience interest.

Conclusion

Inadvertently to complete a full film a great team is needed, as such relentless coordination, communication and team chemistry should be prioritized and cultivated.

What’s next

There are couple of perks that arise with a completed film

• Can be used as a proof of concept to give the team more opportunity to make full features or more films.

• Apply for funding to make more films.

• Great rep to have in your resume.