There are many ways to describe this beautiful art of motion pictures which prides itself as an imitation of life. Some have described it as ‘a lie well told’, others have used more flattering terms. So, as I gulped my last cup of beer on Christmas eve listening to one of the finest pieces of music ever done, The Bohemian Rhapsody, by QUEENS, I got another, almost perfect way to look at the art that I have dedicated my life to study; Filmmaking as a symphony.
Let me borrow you a little lecture from my JSS 3 music class note. A symphony is an extended musical composition most often for orchestra. It usually consists of multiple distinct sections or movements. Symphonies are notated in a musical score, which contains all the instrument parts. The orchestral musicians play from parts which contain just the notated music for their own instrument. This to me is the perfect description of Filmmaking.
Just like a symphony, Filmmaking consists of multiple distinct sections: cinematography, production design, sound design, etc. Like scoring in symphonies, films are blocked and rehearsed. The equivalent of the musical score is the script which becomes the ‘bible’ for the film project. The various orchestral musicians, who in this case are the cast and crew in film, play their parts from the script to ensure the perfect interpretation, following the director’s vision.
I would have loved to present film as the very beautiful symphony that transports the listeners to high heavens, threading together the sweat and expertise of the cast and crew, but my newest resolution is to stop lying. So I will present it to you the way it truly is; a bitter sweet symphony.
A young filmmaker gets an idea, eureka! It is the brightest idea ever. To him, he has the idea that will produce the best film ever done. He starts up by writing a script. He defeats writer’s block. He gets together crew members. Casting is done. Then appears the budget. He runs around to get funds, from personal savings, loans, family and friends, crowd funding, to mention but a few. Casting is done. Everyone is excited in pre-production. He starts imagining himself in the front of audiences in Canes Sundance, FESPACO and AFRIFF. The perfect film is about to be born. He starts imagining the blockoffice success he is about to make. NETFLIX and Amazon Prime are about to crawl to him to acquire the film. Then principal photography starts. Murphy’s law raises its head: what ever can go wrong, goes wrong. Delays on the first day of shoot. Some equipment malfunction. Some casts do not show up even after a contract. Emotions flare. He shoots into extra days. Budget is exhausted. He runs around to get more money. Weather, ill health all play their parts. The filmmaker becomes less excited about his ‘masterpiece’. Now, he just wants to finish what he started. Finally, it’s a wrap. The film is completed, though with a few dropped scenes. Post production begins. Sitting all night with the editor. The sound designer, colourist all do their parts. Weeks and months of post-production drains the excitement more. Then he sees the first cut. A far cry from what he planned. Self-doubt creeps in. Is he actually as good as he thought he was? Has he done well? More cuts come in. He begins to see errors he could have avoided. His pocket is crying for help. He gets messages from his creditors. The six months he promised is over, yet the film is far from complete. Insomnia is his new friend. His health starts to suffer. Questions fly around: when is the film coming out? He has no answer. Then, after months of toiling, he gets his final cut. He rushes to filmfreeway to put it in for film festivals. He is hopeful, he can still make it to Canes and Sundance. Then comes the rejection emails from the festivals. He develops phobia for checking his mails. His self-doubt increases. He meets the iron walls of streaming platforms. Suddenly, aggregators and agents are nowhere to be found. ‘Will this film end up in my cupboard?’ he queries. He finally gets accepted into some film festivals. He attends with mixed feelings. Then he sits in the cinema as his film is screened. He watches the audience respond to his work of art. The excitement, the emotional rollercoaster that the film brings. He is relieved. ‘This is the reason I made this film.’ He stands in front of the audience during Q&A. The excitement is priceless. He leaves the hall shoulders high. After all, all the efforts weren’t a waste. His film starts winning. Streaming platforms acquire his work. His name is on the lips of film lovers. And suddenly he forgets about all the sad moments.
Sometimes it doesn’t end as sweet as this. But just like a woman who has experienced a difficult labour, not long after, the filmmaker is already thinking of making another film.
This is our cross as filmmakers. A blessing, a curse, a bitter sweet symphony.
Gbovo Eriamiantoe writes from a beer parlour in Ekosodin.
