Tag Archives: Pandemic

Word from the Basement

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Nigerian animator Mbuotidem Johnson, CEO of Basement Animation, tells Content Nigeria about the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on production, his company and the sector at large.

Mbuotidem Johnson

What do you think about the spread of Covid-19 and its effect on the economy?
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected all areas of our lives and even how we do business. No one knows how long this will last. Many businesses have been forced to adapt to the situation and revamp their models and those that have not been able to quickly find and implement new models that work are going out of business. This has brought about massive lay-offs, unemployment and uncertainty all over the world.

Businesses in the media and entertainment industry are not left out as content distribution has been affected. For example, there are movies that ought to have been released in the cinemas in this period. However, the choice has to be made between releasing their movies now and not meet their targets as cinemas are shut down or have their release dates pushed later when they will have to compete with even more movies for the consumer’s money. So it’s not exactly a win-win situation.

Most productions have been temporarily shut down but you have kept production going at Basement. How did you do this?
We are able to work remotely because before the lockdown started all members of the production team were provided with the equipment they need to work from home. We also provide data allowances so that we can send all of the large files we need to send during the course of our work.

Meetings are being held on WhatsApp groups and video calls. The system is not perfect, yet as the unpredictability of power supply is an issue that affects our working hours. It’s a work in progress and we are facing the challenges as they come.

Are you working on any animated series at the moment?
Since late last year we joined the production team of one of the most popular kids animated series from Africa: Bino & Fino [from EVCL]. Depending on our responsibilities we will be on this project for the next few months. We are also in the development phase of our own IP: Adefellas. We hope to start the production phase soon.

Bino & Fino is aimed at two- to six-year-olds

How do you intend handling any unforeseen challenges you may encounter while working remotely?
The greatest challenge would be if any of us contracted the virus. That’s one of the reasons we encouraged everyone to start working from home before the lockdown directive was given. Other than that, we are still facing the same challenges we were faced with before the lockdown: reliable internet access and epileptic power supply. And because everyone has their unique challenges, we communicate regularly with everyone to know what challenges they may be facing and help figure out a way out of these challenges.

Do you think other animation production houses will follow suit? How can they manage what is going on without it affecting their productions?
I am in touch with a number of animation studios and many of them are still functioning. We all have the same issues about power supply and reliable internet access. Eventually everyone will decide what works best for them.

Looking forward, do you intend changing how you operate in the post-Covid-19 landscape?
I don’t think it will be back to business as usual after the lockdown. People will still be wary of crowded places for some time after it is called off.

For us at Basement Animation, we have been able to build a system where people can work remotely and we intend to continue working remotely for some time after the lockdown is called off until we are sure everywhere is safe, so as to protect the health of our staff. We are also growing our team so this will be an opportunity to work with talent from other states who will not have to relocate to Lagos to work with us.

What lessons do you think Nigerians can learn from this crisis, particularly in the Nollywood and animation industries?
We really cannot predict when these types of things will happen even though we have to make plans for them. We have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. For the Nollywood and animation industries, many of us in these industries only get paid when there’s a production going on and now that production has stopped, everyone has to rely on whatever savings they had before.

Perhaps we need to try a different approach to content production and distribution such that the content we create will have a longer life and consumption of these content is maximised. This could ensure that stakeholders continue to get some payment from their past works over the course of the life of the content.

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Government urged to support media

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Pandemic-hit broadcasters all over Nigeria are appealing to the government to aid the country’s media industry.

Guy Murray-Bruce

The broadcast media claims it has achieved huge traction is its mass coverage of Covid-19, with the help of committed workers and resources. But terrestrial broadcasters say they have to fund their operations on dwindling revenues from advertising and other forms of sponsorship.

A statement by Usman Umar Bello, chairman of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, read: “We appeal to the government to rescue broadcasting from imminent collapse.”

He said this should involve the government “taking some exigent measures that include the funding of advertorial and public information campaigns running on broadcast organisations; and government approval of a stimulus package for the broadcast industry through tax rebates and an intervention fund for the broadcast industry to access long-term capital at a single-digit interest rate.”

He added: “We also canvass the speedy conclusion of the digital migration process, which has been lingering for several years.”

Another appeal, made by Guy Murray-Bruce, secretary to the Independence Broadcasting Association of Nigeria (IBAN) and Silverbird Group founder, reads: “The broadcast media has been hit both on the demand and supply side, which has not only led to cash flow problems but has also resulted in an existential crisis for the independent private broadcasters.

“IBAN is calling for government support including the commissioning of a multi-billion Covid-19 awareness advertising campaign in an effort to support Nigeria’s struggling media industry.”

The Association of Licensed Set-Top Box Manufacturers urged the government to assist with unlocking the manufacturing potentials of its members and unleashing the creative capacity of the entertainment industry by completing the broadcast digitisation process.

Godfrey Ohuabunwa, chairman of the association, said completing the process will free up some frequencies which the government can auction to raise cash for telecoms services, now that other sources of funding are drying up.

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Funmi Iyanda returns with Public Eye Live

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Talkshow host and veteran broadcaster Funmi Iyanda is back with a new live Instagram show called Public Eye Live.

The aim of the show is to have conversations about the Covid-19 pandemic, the lockdown, its effects on crime, conspiracies, the economy, our health system and more.

Iyanda will have conversations with professionals and lawmakers about the pandemic in an attempt to find answers.

She said: “The question is, what happened? I don’t think anyone has an answer. For the first time in modern history, something has happened to put the world at a standstill. We are being forced to question who we are, how we live, how we want to go on and how we got where we are today. This is an opportunity to begin to have hardcore conversations by asking the right questions of the right people.”

Iyanda, who took a career break a few years ago, began in television by producing and presenting Good Morning Nigeria, a breakfast magazine television show that focused on the injustices suffered by Nigerians. She also produced and hosted the successful and transformative New Dawn in 2000, a show that tackled many social issues.

Public Eye Live is on every Friday on Instagram Live at 8pm.

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NBC warns broadcasters over fake news

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The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has warned all broadcast stations against airing programmes about the Covid-19 pandemic that have no verifiable claims.

The NBC has observed a spike in the spread of fake news and misinformation, which is harming the fight against the virus, and has said it would not hesitate to impose severe sanctions on any channels that carries unverifiable claims.

The NBC highlighted sections of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, which states that the broadcaster must ensure every programme is accurate and credible; descriptions, claims, testimonials or illustrations in an advertisement relating to verifiable facts should be easily be substantiated; and that the broadcaster must ensure an advertisement is not broadcast if it contains an offer to diagnose or treat conditions by myth or superstitious beliefs and practice.

According to the NBC: “The coronavirus has been declared a global pandemic and no station shall allow its platform to be used to undermine the seriousness of the virus, and all broadcast stations are responsible for all contents that they transmit.”

Ekanem Antia, assistant director of public affairs, said: “In compliance with the directives of the commission for pay TV to decrypt the signals of local channels on their platforms for one month, in the first instance, to enable viewers get adequate information and directives during the Covid-19 pandemic, free TV has announced unrestricted access for customers during the lockdown.”

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, minister for information and culture, said: “If you go by WhatsApp, there are so many myths and cures for Covid-19 today. Some people will tell you it cannot affect Africans or the disease is not even existing at all, while some will say all you need to do is to take garlic or ginger.

“As we speak today, there is no vaccine or medicine for Covid-19. The only weapon to combat the virus is what we call non-pharmaceutical intervention, which largely means sensitisation, advocacy, keeping very good hygiene, social distancing, not shaking hands and not gathering.

“These are the only effective ways to contain the pandemic and that is why governments are declaring total lockdowns. Once it starts spreading, no healthcare in the world can survive it.”

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