| I have beef with Ugandan music videos! (By Emmanuel Bagwana) |
 Allow me to welcome you to the hideous world of the Ugandan music video. In Uganda, a music video is something that you release to fuck up your song, a good example being Ngoni's Nakupenda sana. The song was a fairly good hit but the video cannot even be termed as a fairly bad. Not only were the artistes over exposed (in terms of lighting not clothing) but the editing was the job of an absolute novice. Nakupenda sana may seem bad, but not as bad as some other videos that assault our eyes on a daily basis.
One of the areas where Ugandan artistes and music video directors blunder is in the wardrobe department. I mean, why bother to make a video if you plan to dress up like a hawker? Those that watched Sweet Kid's Sirikyuusa video have to agree with me, at least those of you that have a decent sense of fashion! How on earth could someone wear a dressy shirt over tracksuit pants and go for a video shoot? Why not save that money and instead hawk your cds? Your fans will get the chance to see you in your shabby mode and you shall also get the chance to interact with them and sell them your cds, talk about shooting 3 birds with one stone!
Another area where I have serious beef is the scripting of Ugandan music videos. These videos make Nigerian movies appear like Academy award winning masterpieces. Abdu Mulaasi's music videos wouldn't even need Kindergarten education for one to direct. The script is always the same, women wearing very little (mind you these are women who should never wear little) and Abdu Mulaasi braging about his prowess. Please!
The script aside, there is also the issue of acting. Why bother with a good script if the 'actors' in the video are gonna look like bimbos? Artistes should also avoid looking at the crew or curious passersby instead of looking in the camera, it shows!
And lastly, the cheap marketing gimmicks that are seen in our local videos. Just as you start enjoying a music video, you are slapped with a sign post with the words, Baker Mugwanya and sons hardware stores! Many lodges, cosmetics and drinks companies are guilty of this tacky form of guerilla marketing. As much as we appreciate your marketing prowess, please try and be tasteful in your future endeavors.
Otherwise all is not doom and gloom as we still have some masterpieces like Ruckus, Hitaji and Bomboclat.
The views expressed on this page are not necessarily those of exit, Slice Entertainment inc. or its management. Beefburger is just a disgruntled person who sees no purpose in life and is only hoping he’ll piss someone off enough to shoot him and take him out of his misery. To insult, issue death threats, compliment or share your beef with Beefburger, email: beefburger@exitkampala.com << Back |
