Young Nigerian filmmakers with sci-fi movie go viral

A group of young Nigerian filmmakers have gone viral for making `sci-fi film’ using a simple smartphone and green screen.

Science fiction (sometimes called Sci-Fi ) is a genre of speculative fiction that has been called the “literature of ideas”.

It typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, time travel, parallel universes, fictional worlds, space exploration, and extraterrestrial life.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the group, which includes an eight-year-old, broke the internet following a short Reuters documentary highlighting their work.

The Kaduna-based film makers, called ‘The Critics’ made their first film “Redemption” in 2016.

They revealed that they saved for a month to buy the green fabric for the chroma key and taught themselves how to do visual effects by watching tutorials on YouTube.

A member of the group, Godwin Josiah said, “Well the main aim was not for our stuff to go viral, we just wanted people to see that, okay, there are kids in Kaduna doing something different.

“That was just the main aim. So it all of a sudden just happening, it blew our mind.”

The group of eight used a smashed mobile phone as a camera and a broken microphone stand as their tripod.

They record the film and edit the sci-fi using special effects despite facing regular power and internet outages.

Another member, Raymond Yusuf, also a student said, “The system is really slow; it takes time to render.

“Our five minutes short film called ‘Chase’ took us like almost two days to render and not only the fact that this system is slow, the electricity where we stay here is pretty poor. ”

NAN reports that on Thursday, the group was invited by the Governor of Kaduna state, Malam Nasir El-Rufai who praised their ingenuity and assured them of his government’s support.

A statement on Kaduna government official Twitter page @GovKaduna read, “Governor Nasir Ahmad @elrufai has received a group of young film makers from Kaduna State who have created short viral sci-fi films using a smartphone.

“Malam Nasir @elrufai praised their creativity, offered the government’s support and constituted a team of senior officials to work on the details with their family.

“Meet eight year old Rachael Yusuf, the youngest of the group of filmmakers. Rachael is set to start Secondary School in a few weeks.

“The group of young cousins taught themselves effects on YouTube, using a smartphone,” the Kaduna state government said.

NAN reports that ‘The Critics’ films caught the eye of a well-known producer – who encouraged a fundraising campaign where they raised six thousand dollars.

(NAN)

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