NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES IN NIGERIAN VIDEO FILMS: A STUDY OF SUICIDE MISSION, IGODO, MISSION TO NOWHERE AND DOG OF WAR BY OKWUOWULU

CHARLES G2008/MA/TA/FA/092 A MASTER DEGREE THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF PORT HARCOURT

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF M.A DEGREE IN THEATRE ARTS (FILM STUDIES)

DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE ARTS FACULTY OF HUMANITIES UNIVERSITY OF PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA JULY 2011 DEDICATION and as I went into the bush in search of firewood His benevolent spirits followed me with a pot of water To the benevolent spirits a child of expedition is born To my parents, Dr. and Mrs. P.A. Okwuowulu who hoped the farm is bigger than the barn To my wife Chinwe, who believed the stream will never dry To my unborn child in the womb ground don level To Gods who sent the benevolent spirits my expedition just began

ACKNOWLEDMENTS I wish to acknowledge the immense contributions of my Head of Departm ent and amiable supervisor, Dr. I. C. Ohiri who made my dream come true. Also hi ghly recognized are my fathers in the academia, especially Professor Femi Shaka,

who exposed me to film studies and whose contributions to film studies, greatly influenced this work, I thank him for the fatherly role he plays in my life. I thank Norbert Oyibo Eze whose great academic assistance in my undergraduate days at the University of Nigeria Nsukka led the foundation to this work. I thank hi m for his keen interest in my M.A Programme. I remain very grateful to Chinonye who showed commitment to typing this work. I also acknowledge my siblings who ca ll in once in a while to ask, How far?, My friends, course mates and colleagues: U ncle Remi, Emeka Ofora, Uche Ajiwe, Omeife Jide Ofor, Bosa Mama, Pastor Godwin, Nwokedi Nwa Nwokedi, Nk, Aris Baba, Felix, Ogaranya, Radikality, Jp, Oliver and others. I am grateful my parents Dr. and Mrs. P.A. Okwuowulu and finally Chinw e my wife. I thank you all for being there. It would not have been possible with out you as you contributed a lot to what I am today. I vouch that I will never l et you down. ABSTRACT The poor narrative techniques of the Nigerian video films have led to the crises of meaning in video film production. Many, who rush into production, do not hav e the basic narrative skills that are required. They apply stage narrative techn iques to film production. This has hampered the semiotic narrative in video film productions. This work examines narrative techniques in Nollywood films and sug gests how its stagy narrative techniques and their monotonous application can be diversified through filmic concepts like semiotics. To achieve this, the study examines scholarly works on narrative techniques and relates them to the analysi s of select Nigeria video films. The under-exploration of the full range of came ra language which is projected as the major challenge to narrative technique jus tifies this research. Robert Scholes theory of narrative provides the theoretical formular for the research work. This study concludes that though narrative techniques in Nigerian films are influenced by theatrical traditions, the recent productions are being influ enced by Western tradition and have adopted filmic narrative techniques. The fil mic motifs seen in Mission to Nowhere and Dog of War, which were produced in 199 7 and 1998 respectively, assert the filmic advancement of narrative techniques o f Nigerian video films. Thus if more filmic motifs are applied to the Nigerian n arrative concept, Nollywood productions will become filmic rather than stagy. Th is will thus improve the quality of video film productions in Nigeria.

TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 1 1.2 5 1.3 1.4 8 1.5 8 1.6 9 1.7 9 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction 11 Research Methodology Definition of Terms Scope of the Study 1 Background to the Study Statement of the Problem Aims and objectives of the Study Justification of the Study 7

11 2.2 A Critical and Historic Review of Video Film in Nigeria CHAPTER THREE NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES IN NIGERIAN VIDEO FILMS 3.1 3.2 3.2 3.3 54 3.4 8 3.5 Introduction The Theory of Narrative Narrative Techniques in Nigerian Video Films Auteur System in Nollywood Genre Perspective in Nollywood Film Semiotics 60 43

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CHAPTER FOUR A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES IN SELECT NIGERIAN VIDEO FILMS 72 4.1. Synopsis of Igodo 73 4.1.1 A critical Analysis of Narrative Technique in Igodo 4.2 Synopsis of Suicide Mission 4.2.1 A Critical Analysis of Narrative Technique in Suicide Mission 82 4.3. Synopsis of Mission to no Where 4.3.1 A Critical Analysis of Narrative Technique in Mission to Nowhere 85 4.4 Synopsis of Dog of War 5 4.4.1 A Critical Analysis of Narrative Technique in Dog of War 87 CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION 93 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study The narrative passion of Africans accounts for their preservation of mythologica l and legendary history through transferred precepts before the coming of the Wh iteman. Africans celebrated stories of epoch events and histories under full moo n nights, rituals, festivals and religious activities. They also expressed thems elves through various means like dance, craft and motifs. With the arrival of Eu ropean education, literature mirrored these art forms through different techniqu es such as; the first person, second person, third person narrative techniques a nd the omniscient voice. The advent of film crystallized the narrative art of Africans with its conventio nal nature whereby the older generation narrated to the younger generation throu

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gh flashback technique. Beyond that, films as a new medium of African expression posed some challenges and complexities in its narrative techniques. This is bec ause the technical activities that accompany film narrative are alien to Africa. Besides, the new film artistes migrated from the literary world and the live st age without much knowledge of these new narrative complexities. They narrate fil ms as literature and this has led to the crisis of meaning in Nollywood. Christian Metz and other scholars have described cinema (film) as a language. F ilm, therefore, must communicate effectively for the audience to understand very well. The ability of film to communicate effectively lies on the efficient mani pulation of its artistic and technical components. The technological and artisti c revolution that characterized film since its inception was orchestrated by the quest for effective visual communication as an iconographic art. The picture of the early films was black and white and had no audio; hence these were describe d as Silent films. The camera remained on a fixed position all through the movie a nd this caused impediments in the channels of communication. Effective communica tion in films became possible with the introduction of sound to films, the movem ent of camera lens enabled different shots like the close up, medium shots and t he invention of image orthicon cameras which have superior colour qualities. The se enabled films to communicate through the five channels of information which E kwuazi identifies as means through which information on screen gets to us via: t he visual image, print and other graphics, speech, music and sound effects (nois e) (2007, p. 153). The conventional method of scene exposition through long shot to close up has be come a clich in narrative technique. When D.W. Griffith introduced the close up, h e established forever a rigid technique that forces an audience to look at what the director wants them to see. Unlike the stage director, who must carefully ba lance all elements, the film director can instantly bring anything to the centre stage through the techniques of cutting and camera angle (Bare, 2001, p. 159). T he complexity of film narrative transcends this convention. Beyond the camera as the directors pen/voice, actors semiotic synchronization with other plastic narra tive patterns also forms a subject of discourse. This is because the dramatic con tents of a film make the immediate importance to the viewer before the technique (Casty, 1971, p. 3). Effective marriage of the dramatic and the technical compon ents account for good narrative production. Between the script and the screen, t here is a desert gap. A literary author writes with his pen and paper which he o ften handles himself, while a film author (director) writes with the camera, sou nd/visual effects, actors and crew members which he manipulates. Thus, the compl exity of narrative technique in film is such that encompasses a wide range of ma terial and human resources. The Nollywood narrative pattern preferred literality to technica lity due to its stage influence. Thus the visual components of film, which invol ves camera language, editing cues/effects, visual colour and transitional method s are not effective. Against this background, this study juxtaposes the Nollywo od narrative pattern in early phase of its inception represented in Suicide Miss ion (1998) and Igodo (1999) and its recent productions represented in Mission to Nowhere (2007) and Dogs of War (2008) to find out similarities and disparities in narrative techniques.

1.2 Statement of the Problem Narrative technique can be said to be a method and system through which film sto ry is communicated to the viewers. The techniques lay in the dramatic content of the film, which involves the plot structure, characterization and its interpret ation by actors, the technical content, which involves the medium for passing th e dramatic content of a film, and its execution by the crew members and technici ans. Nollywood films have failed to harness these dramatic and technical forms f or effective communication. This gives rise to stereotypical and archetypal inte rpretative nature of Nollywood films. In the dramatic content, every pregnant gi rl must vomit or spit before the viewers know that she is pregnant. Every dying

man must vomit a white substance before we know that he has finally died. Every mad man must be excessively mad. Every drunk must stagger home. Every dramatic n arrative technique is always archetypal. The plot structure of the chance for tw o lovers to meet will always be that the girls car is spoilt and she needs assist ance, which the guy readily provides; or the boy mistakenly steps on the girl or breaks the plate or glass cup in a restaurant. These intentions cues and human emotions will have more impact if represented more semiotically. On the technical content, most directors do not pay particular attention to the visual effects of film production technique, which involve the connotative impl ication of the effects of dissolve, fade out, high angle shots, low angle shots and so on. Similarly, the colour and lighting, which should depict the mood and tone of the scenes, are left to the stroke of chance by the editor or light tech nician. Some shots on location are not motivated and therefore send wrong signal s on a particular character in a film. Some Nollywood directors do not fully und erstand film narrative technique which Metz identifies as Montage, camera movemen ts, scale of the shots, relationship between the image and speech, sequences, an d other large systematic units in film production (1974, p. 171). Similarly, Ekwua zis film time technique which is flashback, flash forward, arrested time (whereby time is either frozen or repeated) and time lapses (the cut, dissolve, fade, de focus- refocus, wipe, flexitron and the swish pan) is handled arbitrarily (2007, p. 159). It is only in the understanding and application of this visual narrati ve attributes through semiotics that a perfect narrative ideology in video film will be attained. 1.3 Aims and Objectives of the Study 1. To identify the challenges in the narrative techniques in Nollywood films; 2. To suggest new narrative perspectives in Nollywood films; 3. To review works done by different scholars on narrative techniques of vi deo film production; 4. To analyze the narrative techniques of select Nigerian video films and to asses their levels; 5. To identify auteur and genre systems as major influences of narrative techniq ues in Nigerian video films 6. To review semiotics and proffer it as a solution for effective narrative tech niques in Nollywood. 1.4 Justification of the Study Studies on Nollywood show that the use of poor narrative techniques poses a majo r problem. This study, apart from drawing attention to poor narrative techniques in Nollywood films proffers semiotics as a solution towards the diversification of narrative techniques in Nollywood. Many research works have been done on the area of film narrative techniques. These works however examined narrative techn iques in different aspects of film production like costumes, visual effects and particularly visual components. This work advances the studies on narrative tech niques from a holistic perspective and suggests the contributions of film semiot ics towards a good film narrative technique. 1.5 Scope of the Study This research work examines narrative techniques in select Nigerian video films. A review of research works done in narrative system of Nollywood, gives an in-d epth knowledge of its narrative techniques. Four Nigerian video films which are produced within the last fifteen years are studied to assess the level of narrat ive techniques in Nollywood. 1.6 Research Methodology This work is in the area of film criticism and it would entail the application o f theories of narratives in the analysis of the selected film earmarked for the

study. 1.7 Definition of Terms 1.7.1: Montage: This is the visual arrangement of different still photographs, g raphics and dramatic contents to achieve a unified aesthetic motion pictorial se quence. 1.7.2: Cut: It is a shot description that requires getting from one camera to an other in an action that is continuous in time. It is also used to move from one scene to the other. It is a technical term used to stop the camera from recordi ng a dramatic content of a particular film. 1.7.3: Fade in and Out: This means that the object on screen will go off comple tely to black and gradually come in from black to the object of vision. It is co nnotatively used to depict a long time lapse or to indicate the end of a sequenc e. 1.7.4: Dissolve: This is the act of the object on screen coming up as the other goes off. It is normally done in a synergy as they appear and disappear. 1.7.5: D.O.P: Director of Photography. The crew member who directs shots in video films. He sometimes carries the camera and takes th e shots himself. 1.8 Summary This chapter provides the platform for further study in the research area. It pr ojects the concept that Nollywoods narrative pattern in the early phase of its in ception had stagy narrative influences which were later diffused by Western ideo logies at the later phase. It also traces how Africans embraced technological in ventions to actualize effective narrative techniques. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction So much works have been done on the evolution of Nollywoods narrative system. Thi s chapter reviews these works with the view to providing a concise historical ac count of film and video film in Nigeria and examining their narrative techniques . Works of Hygynus Ekwuazi, Jonathan Haynes, Femi Shaka, Onookome Okome give his torical insight and provides the formula for understanding and further research on narrative techniques in the Nigerian film industry popularly called Nollywood . Innocent Ohiris work also provides the evolution account of Nigerian video film . A critical study of these works identified Nollywoods problems as poor narrativ e technique as seen in most of Shaka, Ekwuazi, Okome and Haynes works. This chall enge of poor narrative techniques identified by these scholars provokes further research in the subject area on ways it can be ameliorated. This study takes a c ritical examination of these scholarly works with the view of knowing the extent of work done on the subject area. 2.2 A Critical Review of Video Film in Nigeria The history of video film in Nigeria is influenced by a number of factors. This study examines different events that characterized the evolution of video film i ndustry in Nigeria which is today known as Nollywood. The birth of Nollywood lea ns on the activities of entrepreneurial film merchants, producers and the reacti on of the motion picture audience in Nigeria over the years. The first film that was screened in Nigeria was in August 1903 at the Glover Memorial Hall Lagos. T he exhibition which was led by a Spanish firm, Balba and company was orchestrate d by Herbert Macaulay (Ohiri, 2002, p. 53). Shaka affirms that these Spanish and English merchants exhibited their films re gularly to fee-paying audience at Glover Memorial hall Lagos (2002, p.11). Thoug h these films were silent films and had no audio, it was sustained for a good nu mber of years and the commercial exhibitors used it effectively to launder the i mage of the American government against Germany. Citing Balogun, Ohiri notes tha t, The objective of bringing in films includes to convince colonies, and to show

the outside world the excellent work being done in heathen parts under the aegis of union jack (2002, p.54). The colonial governments involvement in film producti on began in 1929 as a result of an epidemic outbreak within the Lagos protectora te. Willam Sellers initiated the production of the film which showed that rats we re responsible and the carrier of the disease. William sellers, a chief health o fficer of federal department of health then also used the film to show the effor ts of the cooperation in eliminating the plague. The success and the impact of t he film led to the adoption of film as an instructional material by the colonial government (Shaka, 2002, pp.11-12). The colonial instructional films continued between 1929 and 1946. However, some Nigerians such as Adamu Halilu, A.A Fajemisin, J.A Otigba and Mala m Yakubu Aina were sent for film training in the film training school, Accra Gha na. On arrival, they resorted to the production of documentary films. Some other Nigerians who studied film production in Europe and North America such as Ola B alogun, Eddy Ugbomah, Francis Oladele, Sanya Dosumu, Jab Adu equally returned to the country and started feature film production in the mid 1970s (Shaka, 2002, p. 12). Adesanya accounts that it was the quest to produce feature film that is devoid of colonial cultural domination that gave rise to the indigenous feature film productions. (1997, p. 73) Kongis Harvest, the first Nigerian film was produ ced in 1970 by Calpenny Nigeria Ltd, directed by the African-American, Ossie Dav ies. Kongis Harvest generated a lot of debate amongst scholars on its attribute a s the first Nigeria feature film. They argued that though scripted by Wole Soyin ka, the directors identity and country of origin could have affected the Nigerian motifs in the film. The same criticism was raised in Son of Africa (1971) and G olden Women (1971) which were sponsored by a Lebanese production house. However, in 1975, Amadi, an Igbo film was produced by Afro Cult Foundation Limited and d irected by Ola Balogun (Shaka, 2002, pp. 12-13; Ohiri, 2002, pp.54-55). Many scholars consider Amadi as the first Nigerian feature film not because it w as shot in indigenous language but because the director Ola Balogun is a Nigeria n. The fact that auteur theory positions the director as the author of a film ju stifies this claim. Meanwhile, before these experimentations in feature film, th eatrical traditions and movements were already very strong in the west with its peculiar production and star systems. Feature film productions leaned on these e xisting theatrical structures. Haynes and Okome posit that they were the stronge st element in the twenty-year span of Nigerian film production (1997, p. 21). Ol a Balogun being instrumental to the smooth transition of Yoruba stage to films p roductions directed the following films for the cross over business; Jaiyesimi ( 1979) Aaiye (1979) Aropin Ntenia (1982) and Ayanmo, all of which were Herbert Ogu ndes stage productions. For Adeyemi Folayan (Ade love films) he directed Ija Omin ira (1982) and kadara/Destiny (1982). He equally directed Orun Mooru and Mosebol atan(1984/85) for Moses Olaiya (Shaka, 2002, p. 13). Films produced at this period were very stagy as the camera served only as reco rdable equipment without camera narrative voice. Ime Usens Masters Degree thesis a t University of Port Harcourt explains this stagy narrative characteristic of Ni gerian video film vividly. Though this stagy characteristics is prominent in the works of some film scholars such as Hyginus Ekwazis Film Nigeria, Jonathan Hayn es and Onookome Okomes Evolving Popular Media; Nigeria Video Films and Femi Shakas Hi story, Genres and Text of the Emergent Video Film Industry in Nigeria. Citing Hay nes, Usen affirms that most Nigerian filmmakers came from the theatre belt of th e country which is the southwest. Theatre practitioners having attain fame in th eatre practice make use of theatrical techniques to film (2004, p. 12). Static c amera positions which characterized these productions buttress this fact. In 1985, the Ibrahim Babangidas Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) affected film making in Nigeria. The devaluation of the Naira which was occasioned by SAP made the production cost of films high to be accommodated by the producers (Shaka, 2 002, p.14). Shakas article Rethinking the Nigerian Video Film Industry; Technologi cal Fascination and the Domestication Game, provides a context for the better und erstanding of the film to video film transition process. He affirms that the use of the video camera to produce film was occasioned by the fascination of the ne w modern technology (video camera) and its creative application to solving probl

ems (2003, p.41). Before video film production, video cameras were used by wealthy men in the soc iety to record and document special occasions. According to Shaka, the term vide o camera entered the vocabulary of the country in 1970. This was enabled by the activities of Igbo electronics merchants and importers who ply Asian routes for business. Sharing the same view with Haynes, he affirmed that the introduction o f the equipment for video film production was orchestrated by Babangidas governme nt Structural Adjustment Programme (S.A.P) (Shaka, 2003, p.44). Shaka recalls th at these cameras were earlier used to replicate life without emphasis on the nar rative voice of the camera. Documentary activities by videographers helped the f ilm-to-video transition process. This is because, it not only provided the train ed personnel, but also popularized video home system (VHS), its playback medium which would later serve as a medium for watching these video films. (2003, p.44) . Most of the operators of this video camera worked in state television stations and other audiovisual public companies. Citing Olaoye, Haynes and Okome confirm ed that the retrenched technicians from state television stations through SAP in itiative, also provided the needed labour necessary for film-to-video transition al process (Haynes and Okome, 1997, p.25) By the late 1980s, there were simultaneous experimental video film produ ctions in both the western and southern Nigeria. Citing Uge, Shaka affirms that between 1987 and 1988, an Igbo producer known as Solomon Eze, who adopted the sc reen name of Mike Orihedinma began to emerge. His stories which were in series w ere produced, directed and acted by Mike himself. He produced such titles as Och oifekwu, Adeze, the Ola Nma Series, the Onyemechi Series and the Ihe Ne Eme Na s eries. (2002, p.15) On a similar note, Haynes and Okome cited Ayorinde and Okafo r to have opined that Yoruba travelling theatre artists began video film product ion in 1988 because of its cheap production cost within the economic constraint as at then (Haynes and Okome, 2007, p.23). However, the Igbo business men unders tood video film production business very well and opened way for retail sale of video cassettes. Kenneth Nnebue, an Igbo electronics dealer was said to have rak ed hundreds of thousands in the production of Aje Ni Iya Mi, a Yoruba video fil m which he produced for the late Sola Ogunsola with production cost which was no t up to N2,000. Seeing the money made and unhappy with the pittance being paid, Yoruba artists like Jide Kosoko, Adebayo Salami, Gbenga Adewusi and Muyi Aromire , soon rented a U-matic video camera and started their own productions (Haynes a nd Okome, 1997, p.24). Some television drama series were also shot on video came ra during this period. Prominent amongst them were Jagua, Hot Cash, popularly kn own as Willy-willy, Zebrudaya, etc. To firmly establish film in Nigeria, the Fed eral Government of Nigeria enhanced the articulation of the Nigerian film policy and a film institute was established in Jos. (Ohiri, 2002, p.57) An epoch was made in 1992 with the production of the video film Living i n Bondage by Kenneth Nnebues Company, Nek Video Links and directed by Vic Mordi. Scholars agree that the commercial success of this video film firmly established the video film industry in Nigeria and attracted a deluge of video camera produ cers. After Living in Bondage, an Igbo video film, Circle of Doom I & II (Okechu kwu Ogunjiofor, 1993) was also shot in Igbo. In a desire to reach a wider audien ce, Kenneth Nnebue released an English video film, Glamour Girls I & II (1994). Other films such as Taboo I & II, Jezebel I & II, Evil Passion and Nneka The Pre tty Serpent I & II emerged (Shaka, 2007, p.137). The commercial success of video films gave rise to genre related productions. First it was rituals, followed by epics. The ritual videos attracted a lot of public outcry These were followed by Christian evangelical video films (Shaka, 2002, p.18). Many more video film genr es had since emerged from the industry. Adesanya asserts that the quest by despe rate producers to remain in motion picture business and the quest for profession alism and aesthetics increased video film budget from N50,000 to millions of nai ra (1997, p.16-17) However, the industry has attracted a lot of criticism. Many scholars observe th at its greatest problem is its poor production and narrative techniques. Others attribute it to its poor marketing structure. Nevertheless, many block busters h ave emerged in the industry. OJ Productions Igodo (1999) directed by Andy Amenech

i was widely received by the audience. Osuofia in London (2003) directed and pro duced by Kingsley Ogoro popularized Nollywood to the international sphere. Many scholars have in one way or the other reviewed Nigerian Video Films. Howeve r, what is paramount among the different views shared by these scholars is that Nollywood has come to stay. Nollywood has grown rapidly from its landmark incept ion in 1992 to gain international recognition. The emerging industry has develop ed its peculiar production techniques, structures and stars. Jonathan Haynes and Onookome Okome affirm that There is a concerted effort to build a star system of actors wit h name recognition whose presence (as in Hollywood) will guarantee investment in the project. Many of the current stars made their reputations on television, bu t an arena of publicity based on videos themselves is being created through vehi cles such as billboards, radio and television advertisement, the shows on Lagos television authority devoted to videos, celebrity magazines, Nigeria Television Authoritys TV guide, and other magazine dedicated specifically to videos such as the short-lived Starfilms and Nigeria Videos, the Nigeria film Corporations film and video, the Censors Boards The Classifier, and the new newspaper-format Cinema tters (1997, pp. 29-30). Film journals have sprouted out in Nollywood where scholars shared views about N ollywood. Ezechi Onyerionwu who is the editor and publisher of Film Nigeria inte rviewed some scholars in related disciplines who gave insights about Nollywood. In his interview with Onyerionwu, Shaka affirmed Haynes and Okomes opinion in Nol lywoods star system and posits that; it is the star that people most of the time w ant to watch and not the story (Onyerionwu, 2008c, p.10). However, this study dis covers that this star system, which helped to crystallize the industry, later br oke it. This is because it discourages auteur directing system which helps to so lidify the existing structure. Secondly, star system enables story prediction th rough archetypal casting. Okome in an interview with Onyerionwu posits that Nolly wood has become a global phenomenon. However, this needs to be qualified. It is a global phenomenon because the outside is beginning to pay attention to it (Ony erionwu, 2008b, p.6). Ukala also shared his view on Nollywood in an interview wi th Onyerionwu; First, I must commend the Nigeria film industry because it is doin g a lot, socially. Its about the third largest in the world after Hollywood and B ollywood. Many Nigerian youths who could have been jobless today are well employ ed in the movie industry (Onyerionwu, 2008d, p.12). However, he identifies its pr oblem to be that of content and form and advocates intellectualization of our pr oductions as exemplified in Akpakaland, an intellectual play text that he turned into a film. Ekwuazis analysis in an interview with Onyerionwu equates Nollywood with the Nigerian economy that one may wonder why it has not collapsed. However , he identifies the problems of Nollywood as theme-driven and recommends a techn ique driven Nollywood as the way out, What does distinguish the mediocre from the sublime is not theme but technique; the technique, not the theme makes the stor y (Onyerionwu, 2008a, p.36). Of course, Ekwuazi as a foremost film scholar identi fies what is evidently lacking in film production process. However, the identifi cation of Nollywoods problem by Ukala as lack of form can be attributed to his st rong theatrical background. His analysis is theatre biased. While theatre concen trates on dramatic forms, films communicative channel through the screen medium r equires technique. Though these scholars gave outstanding analysis of Nollywood in Film Nigeria, however Only Ekwuazi mentioned production and narrative techniq ue as one of its problems. Because of the literary background of producers in th e industry, technique is not given much attention as Ekwuazi emphasized. The imp ortance of production and narrative technique in film production cannot be over emphasized. Bare states that In todays motion pictures, and television scripts, the writer usually concentrate s on telling the story through the characters with little regard to the visual p owers of the camera as an adjunct to telling the story. The great directors of t he silent pictures Eisenstein von Sternberg and Griffith told their stories visu ally, not only because sound had not yet come into use, but because they underst ood the dramatic force of the cameras angle approach (Bare, 2000, p.159).

Professional Film script writers in Nollywood having come from theatrical and li terary background thus centre their stories on theme and form rather than techni que. It will thus take a good director to give their works proper filmic interpr etation. Furthermore, the success of the video film industry in Nigeria has attra cted scholarship to Nollywood. A film scholar like Ekwuazi, who was the former M anaging Director of the Nigerian Film Institute asserts that the activities of N FI will surely turn Nollywood around. He recalls that he designed the course and structured the academic calendar for both the professional and degree programme s. He concludes that he made the courses to be responding to the demands of tech nology and challenges of the market (Onyerionwu, 2008a, p. 36). Explaining the n otion of stage influence on narrative techniques, Ekwuazi opines that film narra tive is greatly influenced by stage technique in its approach to dramatic verbos ity and its use of cameras as a photographic machine which serves as the theatri cal fourth wall. His first book on Nigerian film titled Film in Nigeria, was wri tten in 1987, about the time there were simultaneous experimentations in video f ilms in the western and eastern part of Nigeria. Ekwuazi explains these stagy in fluences on film very well. He equally proposes the theory of third cinema as a platform for film studies. The theory which was propounded by Med Hondo and Ouse mene Sembene schools will be further analyzed in this work in relation to Shakas definition of African film (1987, pp.4-34). Furthermore, Haynes and Okomes edited anthology, Nigerian Video Films featured ar ticles that uphold this stage narrative influence on film. In their article; Evo lving Popular Media; Nigerian Video Film, the scholars, Haynes and Okome give a h istorical account of the evolution of video film from celluloid film which was o rchestrated by the SAP economic problem and the survival strategy of the Yoruba and Igbo electronics merchants. They equally posit that narrative system of Nig erian video film is influenced by television drama which was the first to embrac e video camera as a production machine. According to them The videos subplot-filled, sprawling, rhizomatic plot structures have affinities with oral narrative patterns and with indigenous conceptions of fate and destiny . The talky character and low-budget domestic settings of the vast majority of f ilms suggest the influence of soap opera. (1997, p.26) Ogunsuyi equally affirms in his article The Nigeria home video; arguments and critical comments, in Duro Oni edited Nigerian theatre journ al, that Sometimes the audience may just not be too bothered about this artistic anomaly because the stories they tell appeal to them. Nevertheless, the fact remains tha t certain uncinematic and theatrical tendencies, like longer action than necessary , uninteresting mode of acting, bogus display of individual talent, and so on, h ave continued to make home video productions very unrealistic (2005, p.437). On a similar note, Afolabi-Adesanya whose article From Film to Video featured in H aynes and Okomes edited Nigerian Video Films also provides a historical knowledge of the transition from celluloid film to video film. Though he mentions poor na rrative structure as one of its problems, he identifies the poor marketing struc ture as the major problem in the video film industry. Affirming that video produ ction started on a desperate desire by producers to remain in the motion picture business in the face of economic distress of SAP, he gives little attention to narrative technique which he treats in a single paragraph attributing video fil m production technique to be inferior to celluloid (1997, pp.13-20). Femi Shakas articles Rethinking the Nigerian video film industry technological f ascination and the domestication game and History, Genre and Text of Emergent Vide o Film Industry in Nigeria provide a sound evolution account of film and video fi lm in Nigeria. The stagy influence of video film narrative technique is typified in his critical reading of Living in Bondage, Circle of Doom, Jezebel and Nneka the Pretty Serpent. In African video film today, he traces the video documentary

activities of the early videographers as a catalyst to the smooth transition of film in Nigeria and affirms its stagy influence on film When static camera positions are adopted at the level of scenic representation, narrative action seems to drag. Historically speaking, static camera positioning is a by-product of primitive stage of filmic narrative. Its essential quality e ntails the treatment of the camera as photographic equipment providing a window into the pro-filmic reality. Static camera positioning is a carryover mentality of what the static photography camera does for us (2003, pp.45-46). In the article History, Genre and Text of Emergent Video Film Industry in Nigeria, Shaka states that narrative techniques in Nigeria video film are influenced by the rural-urban migratory patterns in developing societies and the narrative tec hniques of Nigerian television soap operas. The narrative influence of soap is s een through the glamorization of Lagos through establishment shots. Another infl uence of television soaps which he recognizes is the superfluous use of theme mu sic in video films (2002, pp.11-30). The article also discusses the underlying f orces of the marketers who instituted the star system. Given a chronological acc ount of colonial and post colonial films, he affirms that SAP orchestrated the c elluloid transition to video films. His observation of the under exploration of camera narrative complexities justifies this study which examines the practical ways of full exploration of camera narrative. Furthermore, Shakas book, Modernity and the African Cinema provides a det ailed theoretical base towards the understanding and definition of narrative fil m. His study reveals that narrative pattern of Nollywood is influenced by two na rrative schools. There have been several attempts to define the African narrativ e pattern which is devoid of western influence. Many schools of thought have eme rged with different propositions on this issue. Africans inherited so much from the colonial masters that her identity seems to be in uneven. In an attempt to d efine African narrative, Shaka analyzed the book, Towards the Decolonization of African Literature written by Chinweizu, Onwuchekwa and Madubuike. This book ar gues that though African literature is written in English language, it does not make it less African. Language is just a vehicle through which the Africans shar e values, assumptions, world outlook and belief systems. (2004, PP. 26-28). The camera though invented by the Whiteman still tells African stories the African w ay. In search of African narrative technique, two schools emerged as narrative model s. These are Med Hondo School and Ousmene Sembene School. While Med Hondo School argues that propaganda does not only reside in content but also in the form of Hollywood cinema and thus Africans should develop an appropriate film style, Ous mene Sembene proposes a development of African cinema with preconceived destinat ion. The postcolonial public has been conditioned by what is termed the cinema o f distraction inherited from Hollywood. Therefore, producers must in order to re tain African patronage put this into consideration and thus retain Hollywood cla ssics without necessarily taking up all the clichs (Shaka, 2004, p. 37-38: Ekwuaz i, 1987, pp. 47-48). On a similar note, Teshome Gabriel in his Towards a critical theory of third cinema, pays attention to narrative technique of the third cinem a which includes narrative and oral discourse, folklore music, songs, extended s ilence and gaps, all of which are culturally determined. (Cited in Shaka, 2004, p. 81). Gabriel was the first to analyze third cinema as a tricontinental phenomenon; he posits that the ideology rather than the people or place makes for third cinema films. Once the cinematic theme addresses similar conditions of under developme nt; poverty and illiteracy that are peculiar in the third world countries, it qu alifies as the third cinema. He asserts that third world countries have a unique tradition with regards to production pattern, time and space. Cinematic codes o f the long takes, cross cutting, the close up shot, the panning shot, the concep t of hero, are applied differently in both traditions. While African narrative t echnique favours long shot and panning because of African communal nature, weste rn technique advocates fast cuts and joins in films because of the value they pl ace on time (Shaka, 2004, pp. 81-83). This results in the gradual narrative pace

of Nollywood films against the fast nature of western films. One can therefore argue that Med Hondos concept can only be seen in Nollywoods visual narrative tech nique and not in the dramatic content. However Teshome Gabriels concept of folk m usic and song are scarcely employed, though its African communal nature is exemp lified in Nollywood narrative. Ime Usens Stage Influence on Nigerian Video Film gives a historical accou nt of poor narrative technique in Nollywood. It is on previous works done by Hyg inus Ekwuazi, Jonathan Haynes, Femi Shaka, Onokomo Okome amongst others. In his review of selected films, Ukwa (2001) which was directed by Chika Onu and Long J ohn (2002) directed by Sunday Nnajiude, Usen affirms that stage influence narrat ive system of video film is a product of cross over theatre artists from the sou th west of the country (2002, p.12). He asserts that Nollywood is promising thou gh Ekwuazi thinks that its standards are still low because of this staginess. (2 004, p.9) He equally recognizes the under-exploration of full narrational range of the camera narrative as one of Nollywoods challenges (2004, p.24). In dramatic content of films, he analyzes his interview with Nkem Owoh whose improvisationa l approach to acting can be likened to the talky character of the stage as Hayne s and Okome refer to it in their article earlier reviewed in this work (Usen, 20 04, p.17). He uses Shakas narrative principle of rural urban migratory patterns a nd glamorization of Lagos and its environs for the critical analysis of Ukwa and Long John video films. Citing Shaka, he acknowledges the under-exploration of f ull narrational range of the camera in its placement, movement and juxtaposition of shots as seen in Ukwa and long John. Again his observation of under-explorat ion of narrative techniques propels this study. However, what is paramount about scholars that have worked on narrative technique is that they have likened its technical narrative to a grammar in a la nguage. Film grammar is all about camera angles, camera placement/movement, shots , juxtaposition of shots etc. (Usen, 2004, p.22). Proferes refers to this as film grammatical rules. He identifies the rules as 180 degree rule, the 30 degree ru le and screen direction rule. He asserts that When a proper cinema (syntax) is engaged in active process of constantly matching chains of shot not merely by association or logical relationship but also by emp athy peculiar to cinema, the blend so achieved spells cinema sense (2005, p.13). Shaka affirms this position and also likens camera works as literary alphabets. Thus the mastery of camera alphabets accounts for excellent production. Just as the mastery of linguistic alphabets produced literary giants like Wole Soyinka a nd Chinua Achebe, the mastery of filmic alphabet has produced cineastes of Franc is Ford Coppola and Sembene Ousmene (2007, p.129). Desmond Davis asserts that Every art has its rules. The masterpiece of literature would surely lose if some thing of it were mis-spelt and wrongly punctuated. In point of fact, bad spellin g and punctuation would do exactly what bad camera work would do, it would draw attention to itself and away from the subject matter (1978, p.9). Beyond films grammatical narrative techniques, the entrepreneurial production and marketing structure which leans on slim budgets accounts for a lot of unprofess ionalism and mediocrity. Nigeria as a capitalist country reflects capitalism in her business structures. Film production as well as marketing is not an exceptio n to this capitalist structure. In Hollywood which is a film tradition in equall y a capitalist country, film production and marketing are naturally structured t hat few big film production and distribution houses control film business. Thus, smaller production houses submerge to these big production houses like Universa l, Paramount and Warner Bros for the distribution of their films. Nigerian film production and distribution are done purely on entrepreneurial basis without a s trong distribution network. Though Hollywood and Nollywood have different film history, Nollywood film will be crystallized if strong video film production and distribution houses emerge. Though Nollywood has gained popularity since inception, its credibility is stil l in a scale. This stems from a number of issues, which could be summed up as po

or narrative techniques influenced by unorganized structure. Film structure in N igeria has passed through several phases that reflect the tempo of the countrys p olitical economy. Ekwuazi observes that From 1903, when the very first movie exhibition took place in Nigeria, to the pr esent day, Nigeria has passed from colonialism through independence, a parliamen tary system, military inter-regnum, through the American type presidential syste m of government to another series of military inter-regnum. The film as an art f orm, should on its functional plasticity, reflect or relate to this chaquered ex perience (1987, p. 70). The production structure of Nollywood, from its landmark inception in 1992 to th e present attests to this entrepreneurial production structure. Living in Bondag e was produced by Nek video Links, a production company owned by Kenneth Nnebue. One, therefore, urges for government support of feature film production in Nige ria. It has rather enacted film policies and set up bodies that regulate film pr oduction. Some of these bodies include Federal Film Unit [FFU], The Nigeria Film Corporation [NFC], The National Film Distribution Company [NFDC], The Federal Ce nsors Board and the National Archive (Shaka, 2004, p. 288). Citing Ekwuazi, Shaka asserts that the principal objective of the Nigerian film corporation is to use its resources to encourage and promote all film makers not only by financial ass istance wherever possible, but by creating a larger market through the expansion of cinema distribution (Shaka, 2004, p. 289). One therefore wonders how far NFC h as gone to throw in support to independent film producers. Producers form their companies, produce films and establish their distribution networks without gover nment assistance. Lack of support from the government contributes to the low int ellectual nature of Nollywood films. The government prefers the documentary genr e to feature film. Ekwuazi supports the notion that the documentary is still held in virtual monopoly by the government and perhaps, on account of this, has been very seriously marginalized by feature film [1987, preface, p. viii]. Before the production of Living in Bondage by Nek Video Links, private film Production Companies were earlier floated in 1970s to produce featur e films. Some of the production houses were established in conjunction with fore ign production houses. Shaka recalls that the first of such private film product ion company established in Nigeria was Calpenney Nigerian Film Ltd, established in 1965. It should also be recalled that Nigerian trained movie producers who ca me back from abroad like Ola Balogun, Eddy Ugbomah, Adamu Halilu floated their p roduction companies. Balogun and Ugbomahs films were produced solely by their com panies, Afrocult foundation and Eddy Fosa films respectively and Adam Halilus fil ms were mostly produced by his production company, Hanks in partnership with Sok oto State Government [Shaka, 2004, pp. 292-297]. Apart from the companies run by Balogun, Ugbomah and Halilu, production houses were formed and run professional ly by theatre artistes like Hurbert Ogunde, Adebayo Salami who embraced the eme rgent film culture, and equally produced films with their production houses. However, the capitalist nature of Nigerian economy has marginalized these profes sional film makers from running profitable production companies living the new c rop of Yoruba film merchants who control the Alaba Yoruba film market and The En glish and Igbo film merchants who control Onitsha and Alaba and Aba markets. The se men have thus used their stores as production houses and reduced film to a co mmodity. However, some first generation production houses that were formed by th e likes of Eddy Ugbomah could not stand the taste of time though their films wer e acclaimed nationally. This is because they had bias on film as an art and its professionalism over film as a commodity and its marketability which sustains th e industry. There is no gain emphasizing that production is not complete till it gets to the final consumers. This undoubtedly accounts for the reason why Onits ha and Alaba mediocre production structures succeeded more than that of Balogun, Ogunde, and Ugbomah. This inevitably discourages intellectuals and corporate or ganizations from investing in the industry as there are no formal structure of r ecouping ones investment. However, few corporate bodies still invest in video fil m production. The Jeta Amata production of Amazing Grace which was sponsored by Donald Dukes administration of Cross Rivers government justifies this claims. Tho

ugh the film did not return the one hundred and fifty million naira investment o n it, some other cooperate bodies still invest in movie production for other rea sons beyond profit making. Amstel Malts spnsored Sitenda (2006), White Waters (2 007), Sidneys Note (2008) and The Child (2009), all directed by Izu Ojukwu, were purely for the promotion of Amstel malt product. Few production houses also part ner with television stations in the production of video films. Obinna Nwafors Tak e Me to Mama which was produced in conjunction with Nigeria Television Authority in the year 2000 throws more light on such partnership. Though it was not a com mercial success because of the bureaucratic nature of NTAs administration, simila r ventures with the private television houses will be more successful. (Personal communication with Obinna Nwafor). Besides partnership and corporate sponsorshi p, films produced on entrepreneurial basis are shot with digital video cameras, edited on computer and replicated on V.C.Ds for the teeming African audience. 2.3 Summary Review of these scholarly works affirms that poor narrative technique is one of the major problems in Nollywood. However, available literature shows that most r esearch conducted on the subject area were done in the nascent phase of Nigerian video film industry; some western influences on narrative technique in the rece nt productions have not been properly harnessed. The diversification of differen t narrative techniques in these recent Nollywood productions requires further re search to ascertain the true position of narrative techniques in Nollywood.

CHAPTER THREE NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES IN NIGERIAN VIDEO FILMS 3.1 Introduction This chapter provides the theoretical framework upon which this study is anchore d. The narrative pattern of the Nigerian video film is further examined in the l ight of the stage and television influences which are gradually paving way for w estern ideology and visual motifs. The visual component which accounts for filmi c narrative quality in a film is equally examined. The influences of filmic con cepts such as semiotics, auteur system and genre to the narrative techniques of video film is adequately examined with the aim of asserting that a perfect inter play and synergy of these filmic concepts will improve the narrative quality of Nigerian video films.

3.2 The Theory of Narrative. This work took cognizance of on Robert Scholes theory of narration and narratives in film. His study provides the context for further research in the subject mat ter. In an attempt to define narrative, he made a distinction between narration, narrative, narrativity and story. He noted that narrative can either be presen tational or representational. The representational narratives come in different

levels depending on the narrative form. The fourth level which he added to repre sentational narrative propels this research A narration is a process of enactment or recounting which is a common feature in our cultural experience. when this process sufficiently coherent and developed t o detach itself from the flux of cultural interchange, we perceive it as a narra tive. As a perceived narrative begins to imply a special kind of pointedness or telelogy, we recognize that it is a story and the level we recognize as story is distinguished by a certain structural feature in presentation which in turn requ ired of the perceiver an active participation which l should like to call narrati vity (1976, p.420). Citing Christian Metz, he affirms that film and narrative have such a powerful a ffinity. Scholes thus disputes the position of Lessing who earlier divided mimet ic possibility of verbal narration and pictorial representation. He concluded th at if Lessing were brought back to life, he would not recognize the reconciliati on of his divided worlds in films. Thus motion picture gives us objects and pers ons moving in visual system and narratives which combine the powers of poetry an d painting in a wonderful synthesis [1976, p.426]. Scholes observed that, "A nar rative then, may be recounted orally, committed to writing, acted out by a group of actors or a single actor, presented in wordless pantomime, represented as a sequence of visual images with or without words, or as a cinematic flow of movi ng picture with or without sound, speech, music and written language (1976, p.4 17). He acknowledges different modes of narration and posits that narration depe nds on the presence of the narrative medium (actors, book, film etc) and the abs ence of the event narrated (1976, p.418). Citing the Russian formalists and the Prague school of structuralism and in particular, Roman Jakobon, he provides the theoretical formula towards the s tudy of the narrative. Roman Jakobon had defined literariness as language callin g attention to itself. Scholes now posits that if narrative may be considered to be literary, it must be literary in a way which is purely narrative. The distin ction between the literary narrative and the recital of the days events for insta nce thus constitutes a subject of query. Is it on performance technique such as language, voice, gesture as opposed to those of a literary raconteur or is it a matter of the events themselves? He further admits that narrative, which is embe dded in these forms is classified into representational and presentational forms . While presentational form is immediate (language, gesture etc), the representa tional form is at one level removed from performance itself. He exemplified thes e forms thus In a novel, for instance, there is the language of the author at one level, and the representation of the character situations and event at another. In a play, there is the language of the author, the performance of the actor and the deeds for the character to consider; three easily discerned levels at which form is pe rceptible. And films add at least one level to these, just through the process o f photography itself; camera angle, lighting focus, etc. (1976, p.419). The fourth level added to film narrative in its technical content justifies that the technical content which includes the camera, lighting, focus, editing, and others stand as the adjunct language of motion picture generally referred to as visual language. The third level which is the dramatic content combines with the last level which Scholes added to constitute the bedrock of films narrative and forms the theoretical formula upon which this research is anchored. Good film de pends on good narrative technique. The ensemble synthesis of the schools third a nd fourth level which is the dramatic and the technical content respectively acc ounts for a good narrative production. 3.3 Narrative Techniques in Nigerian Video Films Since the advent of motion picture, there has been a lot of discourse on the nar rative techniques of films. Most scholars attribute the narrative technique of f ilm with bias to either the dramatic components or technical components of films . This has given room for a biased intellectual activity. Narrative technique is

achieved in both dramatic and technical content in a film as scholes narrative t heory stipulates. Both combine to form good narrative technique. Scholes in his theoretical studies of narrative posits that narrative may be recounted orally, committed to writing, acted out by a group of actors or a single actor, presented in wordless pantomime, represented as a s equence of visual images, with or without words, or as a cinematic flow of movin g pictures, with or without sounds, speech, music and written language (1976, p. 417). Beyond these noticeable influences is the western influence on Nollywoods narrati ve technique which might be termed the cross country migratory pattern. In this in fluence, the narrative action of video film starts in one country and ends in an other country. Most video films such as Osuofia in London, Across the Niger, Acr oss the Bridge, Mr. Ibu in London exemplify such narratives techniques. However, most production houses that do not have sufficient money for cross country prod uction develop a character that have either come from abroad or is travelling ab road. The narrative pattern of Nollywood is equally greatly influenced by the co ncept of genre and auteur theory and film semiotics in the industry. While a par ticular film genre adopts its narrative method, auteur systems plays a very prom inent role in the narrative system as every auteur director has his personal nar rative technique which influences the narrative. As video film developed in Nigeria, the dramatic and visual contents improved and became more filmic than theatrical. The dialogue became less verbo se and more action oriented. Film shares some characteristics with novel in appr oach to content, character, statement, story, plot and in dealing with time and space. However while physical descriptions are conveyed through the medium of wo rds in novels, they produce a sense of perceptions, immediately and directly in films (Casty, 1971, p. 4). This presupposes that film manipulates the complexiti es of iconographic visuals and dramaturgy for a good narrative. The camera is us ed as the first person narrative, third person narrative as well as the omniscie nt narrative. The director should be able to lead the spectator along whenever t he point changes from director to the character or vice-versa. Sometimes a subje ctive voice is desired. It is not altogether analogous to the first person voice in prose, but it shares that narrative function by allowing the audience to part icipate more fully in the interior life or perceptions of a character the subject ive camera should not be confused with simply using a point of view shot (Profere s, 2005, p. 41). Point of view shot is seen in Igodo, the scene where Ugodiya sees a wh ite ram as the representation of Amadioha after the death of her son who was kil led by a tiger. However The most common way of using point of view is to have the camera first focus on a person looking on a particular direction and then follo w with a shot of what the person sees (Zettl, 2005, p. 208). Point of view is mor e objective than subjective since the camera assumes the role of a person who is actively engaged in the screen event (Zettl, 2005, p. 208). The third person narr ative pattern in prose is akin to the directors objective camera movements and co mposition with the six variables of camera controls which are; Angle, Image, Siz e, Motion, Depth of Field, Focus and Speed. (Proferes, 2005, Pp. 40-41). Motion picture film is made up of series of still photographic images w hich when projected in succession, provides the illusion of movement. Each indiv idual photographic image is called a frame which is always arranged in a composi tion. A sequence of frames is called a shot, which is defined as footage (Mamer, 2006, p. 3). However, Herbert Zettl suggest two visual techniques for effect ive narrative. This does not actually deal with the field of vision visual orien tation, rather on camera narrative approach and its implications and psychologic al effects to the viewers. Each technique accounts for the pace and suspense cre ated by a particular narrative. Most Nollywood directors apply them unconsciousl y and most times it sends crisis of meanings to the viewers. Purposeful applicat ion of these techniques results in effective visual narrative. He identifies the se as deductive and inductive visual technique. The deductive technique could be termed the master scene technique approach. This is the conventional method of

moving a shot from general to specific. The establishment shot also referred to as the master shot, sets the dramatic environment and the context for the scene. It could be likened to an exposition in good story, where characters introduced eventually leads to conflict development and subsequent resolution. The conflic t then propels the plot forward. In deductive technique, shots move from long to medium and to close-ups. The close-ups act as intensifiers to the scene and obj ect in focus (Zettl, 2005, p.200). The deductive visual technique means the reve rse of the inductive. That is moving from the specific to the general overview. Shot sequence begins with close-up of significant details and then the close- u p and a series of close-up details that best portrays the whole event. An occasi onal wider orientation shot could be used to aid the viewers in seeing the vario us close-ups in relation to one another. However, the overview shots can be disp ensed if various close-ups have been properly selected to express the essence of the event. The viewers will be enticed and compelled to apply psychological clo sure when confronted with these series of close-ups, and thus mentally structure the close-ups into a sensible event gestalt. Zettl advises that a general shot be used to end the scene just to make sure that ones point is retained. (Zettl, 2 005, pp.200-201). He summits that Motion pictures have long held on to the classical deductive approach of moving from establishing shot to close-up. But you may have noticed that now many large screen motion pictures use inductive approach as well. Filmmakers believe that the inductive series of close-ups increased not only the already high energy at the screen images but the audience as well the sound track becomes an essential e lement for facilitating closure in inductive sequencing (2005, p.201). He goes further to posit that the inductive visual approach select significant d etails of event that represent the whole and presents them as a series of closeups. He equally identifies three basic ways of playing on audience psychology us ing such medium for optimal communication as; looking at an event, looking into an event, and creating an event. Each of these basic ways can serve as visual na rrative approach which is embedded in either inductive or deductive approach (Ze ttl, 2005, p.202). However no one technique is better than the other, each serve s its purpose when adequately applied. 3.4 Auteur System in Nollywood The roles of Nollywood directors have been undermined by the executive producers . This is because of a number of reasons which include the star system that is v ery prevalent in Nollywood. One finds Nkem Owoh for instance, directing himself on location. The second reason is the entrepreneurial nature of Nollywood. The third is the theme driven nature which cumulatively disfavours the practice of a uteur system in Nollywood. Bare reviewing Hollywoods pattern asserts that, Many mo viegoers still identify a film with its star yet the trend now is to find and se parate the one person who can be held accountable for the result of the total pr oduct (2002, p. 2). Nollywood operates a different pattern as executive producers write scripts for their script writers and also direct on location. They beli eve that the genre and star systems of Nollywood naturally sell the films even t hough it has a bad narrative technique. This is the reason why Nollywood films a re not filmic. A producer more likely tamper with a story line than with visual style. Producers, like most people, understand plot in literary rather than cine matic terms (Sarris,1976, p. 247). Nollywood directors, occasioned by these fact ors mentioned, resort to the production of narratives with stereotypical charact ers and predictable plot structures. This has made our movies to loose credibili ty. However, the auteur system which positions the director as the creator of th e film will improve Nollywood productions if given a chance. What we have witne ssed so far in Nollywood is a situation where actors are imposed on directors by the executive producers. Directing process in Nollywood has never favoured the auteur system. However, we have a handful of auteur directors in Nollywood who h ave distinguished themselves because of their personal styles and signatures of films production. They can be considered as auteur because of the reoccurring na

ture of a particular style in their works. Few directors like Tade Ogidan, Tunde Kalani, Dickson Iroegbu, Ifeanyi Onyeabor, Izu Ojukwu, Teco Benson and a few o thers, can be considered as auteur directors. Some of Tade Ogidan films are Host age, Dangerous Twins and others. Dickson Iroegbus films include Womens Cult, The M ayors and Trinity.. Tunde Kalani directed Saworoide, Tunder Magon and others. Pr ominent among Izu Ojukwus films are Who Will Tell The President, Cindys diary, The World is Mine, Sitanda and White Waters. Ifeanyi Onyebors New Jerusalem is remar kable among his films. Teco Benson shot The Senator, The State of Emergency, Mis sion to Nowhere, among others. However, while some of these directors have adopt ed their narrative techniques in the treatment of story, plot and themes, others have theirs in the application of visual components as adjunct to narrative. D ickson Iroegbu, Ifeanyi Onyeabor and Tunde Kalani use much of film dramatic elem ents such as plot and theme. For instance, Dickson Iroegbus themes are socially r elevant and address topical issues. Besides, most directors also have their pers onal narrative signatures in their manipulation of the visual components of the film. Chief among these is Izu Ojukwu who is more concerned with the visual narr ative attributes of his films for which he does not settle for half measures. Hi s training and competence in cinematography makes a very wonderful impression in the narrative technicality of his films. He was the first to use the zoom and b lur camera narrative technique in Nollywood. This technique which features in mo st of his films, directs the attention of the audience to where he wants it. Sim ilarly, Teco Benson strives for visual narrative competence in his films though his personal signature is equally tilted to his themes which are based on crimin al and detective patterns of western countries on African soil. Prominent among such films is Mission to Nowhere which this study examines. The influence of aut eur system in Nollywood is that it has improved narrative techniques through mas tery. The peculiar reoccurring experimentations of the visual style adopted by t hese directors pave way to improved narrative in Nollywood. However, the reoccur ring application of these narrative techniques by these auteur directors results to monotony in film narratives. 3.5 Genre Perspective in Nollywood History credits Nollywood with circles of genre development just as it did to Ho llywood in the early Hollywood days. Richard Griffith recorded the early genres in Hollywood films as a reflection of the American way of life and a mirror of A merican society. He identified these early genres, which were predominant in 193 0s, as the gangster, the confessional and the topical films. (1976, pp. 111-118) . In a like manner, Shaka traces the genres in Nollywood as the rituals followed by epics These were followed by Christian evangelism video films (1997, p. 138). Th en afterwards, a popular genre, comedy as seen in Nkem Owohs films came on board . This popular genre was the first to hit the international market with the film Osuofia in London (Kingsly Ogoro 2003). The year 2000-2011 saw genres that were termed contemporary and glamour which reflected city lives. Genre-mixing and re cycling has equally been prominent in Nollywood. Nollywood genres have helped to crystallize Nollywood as the executive producers pump money into the production of genre related films believing it will sell and mostly the films do. However, genre has also destroyed our growing movie culture. This is because once a part icular genre succeeds commercially, all the producers rush into productions in i t without proper research and scripting, thus producing films with narrative inc onsequentialities. Most of these genres have developed their star system which p ropels the market force. This star-genre system has compelled the plot and actin g techniques of narrative video films to tilt towards archetypes as it developed stock characters such as Nkem Owoh (Osuofia) who mostly identifies with comedy genres, Pete Edochie, and Patience Ozokwor who mostly identify with ritual genre s. For instance, Pete Edochie plays no other role than that of a wicked, greedy man in all his films while Patience Ozokwor plays a mischievous mother In-law. M ost times, they are cast as husbands and wives in many films. Producers equally recycle related stories on these stars. These accounts for the predictable natur e of Nigerian video films as these archetypes maintain the same character in all

these films. This has drastically affected the narrative quality of Nollywood f ilms. Another tremendous influence of genre system is that it not only determine s the type of the films to be produced but its narrative technique through its p lot pattern and language. 3.6 Film Semiotics Semiotics has been defined by Elam as a science dedicated to the study of the pro duction of meaning in society. As such it is equally concerned with process of s ignification and that of communication i.e. the means whereby meanings are both generated and exchanged (1980,p.1). Nevertheless, Harman narrows the definition o f semiotics to film as a the theory of film- as-a-systemof-signs. The idea is that we are to think of film as a kind of language and try to develop the linguistics of this language of film (1977, p. 204). However, most film directors do not un derstand the language of semiotics. This dearth of knowledge accounts for poor c omposition of shots and a wrong use of visual effects and components. These have resulted in the production of films that fall short of local standards, much le ss the international standard. The importance of the film director to understand and apply semiotics in directing was highlighted by Eco; I do not believe it is possible to understand the social relevance and the aesthetic functioning of a m ovie without focusing on it from a semiotic point of view (1977, p. 217). It goes without saying therefore that a directors knowledge and competence in various as pects of cultural and psychological semiotics will help in the production of mea ning. Shaka affirms that the picture, however, is meaningful depending upon the c ultural background of the viewers and their level of visual literacy... a pictur e is worth a thousand words. But that is if the picture is understood. If a view er cannot decode a visual message, the picture becomes worthless (2007, p. 130). Human beings are concerned about the production and significance of meaning in t he society. Film semiotics has thus attracted much research work because of its iconographic nature. The word semiotics comes from semiology, though both are used interchangeably an d mean the same thing. Semiology is the theory of signs that was propounded by F erdinand de Saussure who was born on November 26, 1857, in Geneva, Switzerland, to a family with a long history of contributions to the sciences ( Nwokedi, 2010 , p.11). Guzzetti in tracing the origin of Semiology asserts that Semiology deriv es its linguistic framework from Ferdinand de Saussure, who furnished the indisp ensable distinction between the general term language (e.g. French, English, Rus sian, etc) and langue, the system within a language that comprises such elements as the phonetic, syntactic, and semantic sub-systems, which together permit the intelligibility and multiplicity of utterances (Guzzetti, 1973, p.185). However, following the death of the Swiss linguist, Ferdinand de Saussure, an American p hilosopher Charles Sander Peirce, coined the word semiotics as a science dedicate d to the study of the production of meaning in society. As such it is equally co ncerned with processes of signification and communication, which is the means wh ereby meanings are both generated and exchanged. Its objects are thus at once th e different sign-systems and codes at work in society and the actual messages an d texts provide thereby. Elam (1980,p.1). Film borrows a lot from semiotics since its major concern is communication. Metz asserts that the semiotics of the cinema can be conceived of either as a semiot ics of connotation or as semiotics of denotation (1974, p. 173). Harman opines t hat the semiotics of connotation can be seen as the meaning imbedded in particul ar information while the semiotics of denotation can be seen as the meaning of i nformation on the face value. He, therefore, concludes that connotation is what is signified by a sign when the sign combines aspects of the basic materials of the film and the story that those aspects denote (1977, p. 205). Film is an illu sion of reality. The Nollywood director should be able to manipulate the denotat ive and connotative signs to achieve good narrative. However, Harman reviewing M etz advised that we should study denotation before connotation because that is t he way various aspects of plot are presented before we study such things as styl e, genre, and poetic mood (1974, p. 205). We have three types of denotative signs which include icon, index and symbols. W

e must develop semiotics in accordance with the theory of sign envisioned by the American philosopher C.S. Peirce. In particular, we must recall Peirces distinct ion between three aspects of sign: iconic, indexical and symbolic (Harman, 1977, p. 209). An iconic sign is similitude. It is noted for high resemblance to what it represents such as a photograph. Indexical signs are casually connected with their objects such as the horn and a car, the smoke and fire. symbolic sign, on the other hand, do not have any semblance or connection with the objects. They are just signs that are decoded by a particular set of people. These various asp ects of signs are interwoven and interact to produce meanings. These three modes interact, thus there is never pure iconic or indexical sign. Every concrete occ urrence of an act of signification however relies on all these three modes (Harm an, 1977, p. 226). Every aspect of film production in Nigeria is known for its archetypal interpret ative nature. If our Nigerian video film directors apply film semiotics to film directing, such semiotic concepts as suggestive and selective realism will expou nd creative ability of the director and the interpretative ability of the actor. This will generate creative nonverbal communicative skills rather than dwelling on the archetypes. Directors should therefore pay particular attention to semio tic narrative techniques which involve the implication of the effects of dissolv e, fade out , colour and film lighting as they depict the mood and tone of scene s and establish time sequence. The complementary role of semiotics to visual nar rative could be exemplified with a symbolic sign which is normally pasted in eve ry modern rest room that connotes either male or female usage. There is a comple te visual narrative in establishing such signs in a shot sequence and following up with a character coming out of the rest room. Without any dialogue from the a ctor, the symbol on top of the rest room connotes a rest room. However some othe r nonverbal dramatic semiotic components such as facial communication, proxemics , body synthesis and synchronization are adequately examined for effective appli cation in film narrative techniques that can be employed to achieve narrative di versity in Nigeria video films. Facial communication is one of the major nonverbal narrative techniques. The fir st major scientific study of facial communication was published by Charles Darwi n in a book entitled, The Expressions of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Darwin concludes that many expressions and their meanings are universal. Sylvan S. Tom kins also conducted a research on facial emotions. Tomkins studies support Darwins research findings that many expressions are universal. Tomkins goes a step furth er to identify these universal emotions as: (1) Surprise (2) Interest (3) Joy (4 ) Rage (5) Fear (6) Disgust (7) Shame (8) Anguish (Philip, 1990, p. 61). It is t hese eight basic emotions that form the bedrock of facial communication. For ins tance, the feeling of surprise could easily be seen in ones face when ones eyelids widen. Facial communication reflects inner attitudes; unvoiced opinions and emo tions as aroused. However, there are exceptions to facial communication. This is because research has proven that some peoples facial expressions are deceptive. For instance, an angry man is expected to have frown brows, but in some cases, o ne finds an angry man with normal brows. A good narrative must obey these techni ques of facial communication. Any misuse could be very deceptive to the viewers. Mastery and use of these expressions aid narratives to actualize its purpose es pecially when making use of the inductive visual approach earlier discussed. Proxemics is the study of mans appreciation and use of space. The term proxemics wa s coined by a reseacher E.T. Hall in 1963 when he investigated mans use of person al space in contrast with fixed and semi-fixed feature space (as cited in Ford, 1970 , p. 71). Etymologically, proxemics comes from the word proximity which is nearness. Man is highly territorial but we are rarely aware of it unless our space is som ehow violated. Spatial relationship and territorial boundaries directly influenc e our daily encounters. Directors should be sensitive to proxemics in blocking a ctors as violations would send wrong signals and result in unnecessary tension a nd suspicion. Anyanwu grouped proxemics into four zones: A. Public zone This is a spatial arrangement that allows distance that stre tches from 12 feet back to the limits of sight. For example, a public speaker gi ves a considerable distance from his audience. Likewise, there is always spatial

delineation between high and low class of the society in any occasion. B. Social zone This recommends a distance of 4-12 feet. It is mainly for so cial interaction. It does not give room for a high level of intimacy. C. Personal zone This advocates a distance of about 2-4 feet apart. It help s in face to face contact or personal business. It offers a significant amount o f privacy. Facial expressions could easily be interpreted in this zone. It shoul d be noted that personal zone varies from culture to culture. D. Intimate zone; 0-2, This enables significant level of privacy. It enable s the individual to probe into the inner psyche of his partner to externalize th e feelings therein (Anyanwu, 1984, p. 63). Good narratives make adequate use of the semiotics of spatial dramatic actor-toactor relationship to represent its narrative intentions and avoid crisis of mea nings. It is good to know that seating arrangements equally have psychological s emiotic values, Ford noted different seating arrangements such as, side by side, corner to corner and across the table positions (Ford, 1970, p. 71). People ar e conscious of their seating arrangements. In an occasion, for instance, the cha irman of the occasion is expected to seat on the high table. On territorial boun dary, people are so conscious of their territory that they can go all out to fig ht when they feel their territory is being invaded. It is important to note that parties may subconsciously decrease their proxemic distance from social zone to personal zone and to the intimate zone as the case may be. Synthesis and synchronization is also a dramatic concept that studies the combin ation and agreement of human speech and actions in speed and time (Anyanwu, 1984 , p. 94). It looks at how words and actions are combined to compliment narrative s. In synthesis and synchronization, our facial expressions, words, eye contacts and gestures must either be synchronized with our speech or be synthesized befo re or after it. Anyanwu noted that body synthesis and synchronization are classi fied into three groups. A. Action before words This is a synthetic situation where somebody does a particular action before expressing it in words. Example, nodding before saying y es. Most times, it shows deep reverence and fear. B. Action together with word Here, the action and words synchronize at the same time. An example is when somebody says come and at the same time beckons on h is subject. C. Action after word This is also a synthetic situation where an action com es after the spoken word. For example, pointing at a car saying look at that car ( Anyanwu, 1984, p. 104). The complementary role of this technique to visual narrative lies in deductive v isual approach where extreme close-up shot for specifics could be induced by the narrative. The synthesis or agreement can be employed for special effects. Prop er understanding and application of these semiotic concepts will have a positive influence in the narrative techniques of the Nigerian video films. 3.7 Conclusion This chapter having provided the theoretical framework upon which this study is anchored summits that though narrative pattern of the Nigerian video film is inf luenced by the stage and television tradition, these traditions are gradually pa ving way to Western ideology and visual motifs. The influences of filmic concept s such as semiotics, auteur system and genre to the narrative technique of video film were adequately examined asserting that a perfect application of semiotics will improve the narrative quality of Nigerian video films.

CHAPTER FOUR A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES IN SELECT NIGERIAN VIDEO FILMS

4.1 Introduction Having discussed the influence of narrative pattern in Nollywood, this chapter e xamines select Nigerian video films with the view of asserting that the narrativ e pattern of the video films that emerged recently are becoming more filmic and expunged of stage and television influences due to the influence of western trad itions. Four video films were randomly selected without emphasis on genre. Empha sis is placed on chronological production periods of the video films under study . These video films are Suicide Mission, Igodo, Mission to Nowhere and Dog of Wa r. While Suicide Mission and Igodo, produced in 1998 and 1999 respectively, repr esent the video films with much stage and television narrative techniques influe nces, Mission to Nowhere and Dog of War, produced in 2007 and 2008 respectively represent video films with Western influence and more filmic narrative qualities . 4.2. Synopsis of Igodo Igodo is one of the greatest epic video film genres that emerged in Nollywood fr om the staple of OJ productions in 1999. It was directed by Andy Amanechi. Iheuk wumere being a victim of mens conspiracy is buried alive. A deed done by seven sp ells calamity and breeds death amongst the people of Umuoka. A spiritual tree mu st be cut with a spiritual knife gotten from the shrine of Amadioha far away in the evil forest. An evil deed by seven has to be atoned by seven. Thus seven men embark on an expedition in the land of the dead in quest of Amadiohas spiritual knife. Only Igodo returns with the spiritual knife. 4.2.1 A Critical Analysis of Narrative Techniques in Igodo One of the techniques adopted in the story telling is the use of flashback. God visited Umuigodo formerly Umuoka with a harvest of deaths. Following dibias advic e, the Igwe summons Igodo, the only man who returned from the evil forest expedi tion. His summoning by the community was to enquire about the calamity in Umuigo do. Igodo shares his experience in the tale of the great past which occasions se ries of flashbacks. Firstly, the flashback that is introduced by the tale of Igo do explains the cause of death at that period. The second flashback that is intr oduced in the narrative is occasioned by the historical account of the deaths in Umuoka. Iheukwumere, being a son of Amadioha is loved by the whole community. A ggrieved by the admiration showered on Iheukwumere by the community, seven men p lot, set him up and bury him alive. Before his death, he pronounces a curse of d eath on Umuoka- a curse that will last for ten generations. This accounts for th e expedition and ordeal of the seven men who embark on a journey to the evil for est in atonement for the evil done by their fathers and uncles who had died myst eriously after the act. The establishment shot is achieved through the Nollywood glamorization c lich. The birth of Iheukwumere in a small village sparks off the narrative action . The chief priest of Amadioha is seen on top of a mountain from where the glamo rization of environment is achieved with the camera through his point of view. The filmic narrative point of attack is wonderful. The narrative tells four inte rwoven stories with the aid of flashback technique. The influence of television soap operas experience is seen in the establishment or aerial long shots in the video film; the scene preceding the introductory scene projects the theme of t he film with a line up of aerial shots of ambulances which semiotically establis h the harvest of death in the village. This filmic action located at the country side projects the thought that the ambulances come from the cities. With the su mmoning of Igodo, the narrative reveals through series of flashbacks the events which had caused deaths in Umuoka and how the deaths were stopped by appeasing A madioha who was aggrieved by the death of Iheukwumere. The complexity of the narrative technique is wonderful. The first fl ashback equally shows the harvest of deaths in Umuoka. The old dibia, (Pete Edoc hie) summoned by the Igwe tells the story of Iheukwumere, the son of Amadioha, w ho was killed in envy. Iheukwumere, set up and buried alive by the entire commun ity placed a curse of death that will spill for generations in the community. Th

us, an evil deed hatched by seven and endorsed by the entire community spells de ath on every first son of Umuoka both at home and in Diaspora. To appease Amadio ha, seven men embark on a journey to the evil forest. The forest expedition conc ept could have been influenced by the stage play Lamgbodo written by Wale Ogunye mi which won the first prize for Playwriting in FESTAC 1977. The plot of this pl ay is woven around expedition to the evil forest by some men to find solution an d peace in their community. The concept of predestination plays a major role in Igodos return. His return is forecasted by the Old Dibia during his blessing to the seven men before they embark on the expedition. He says iye eji, iye ana which means that yo u will go and return. Though he blessed others, he never said that they will ret urn. Most of the expeditors go contrary to Old Dibias instruction that they shoul d not help themselves in the evil forests. They do this out of compassion. Igodo , the only one who returns from the expedition is believed to have heeded Dibias instructions not to help any body out of trouble. He however mistakenly shoots O konta mistaken him for an animal. The narrative language is full of proverbial d ialectics and Igbo-to-English transliteration dictions which help to establish t he filmic mood and environment. The language firmly establishes the evolvement o f narrative action which is marked with high suspense. Establishing time sequence in Nollywood films has always been very stereotypical. While most films employ graphical method in establishing time by writing twenty years later for instance, the video film employs a creative approac h of time sequence in transposing the character of the young Ihukwumere to the o ld Ihukwumere. This is realized with the aid of sharpening arrow. The camera est ablishes the young Ihukwumere sharpening the arrow and zooms down to the arrow. Upon zooming up, the narrative reveals the old Ihukwumere sharpening the same ar row. Evidence of cultural semiotics is seen in the video film. Esp ecially in the scene where the elders advise Egbuna (Sam Dede) to embark on the expedition. Egbunas refusal was occasioned by the fact that the community did not hing when his land was ceded to Nwoke. As he discharges the elders, his son runs in to announce that a tiger had pounced on Dume his first son. Egbuna rushes ou t and carries Dumes body to the scene of filmic action. Dumes death which was caus ed by Egbunas refusal to embark on the journey is foretold semiotically with a wh ite ram which appears in a vision seen by Egbunas wife in a trance through a POV visual technique. Egbunas screaming of Amadioha explains the decoding of the semiot ic meaning of the white ram which connotes sacrifice in African context. The cul tural semiotics is also seen in the film at Ikennas death in the evil forest whic h was heralded by his wifes breaking a water pot. The wife exclaims in Igbo diale ct ya awukwa laa na onwego ihe mere Ikenna mo which means, let it be that nothing h as happened to my dear husband, Ikenna. There is superfluous use of particular sound effects to herald the appe arance of a ghost or danger in the evil forest. A point of view shot was employe d when the young Ihukwumere upon pursuit by assassins, climbs the tree. The POV shot is used to establish the assassins spatial orientation to Ihukwumere from I hukwumeres perspective. There are attempts to glamourize the location of the evil forest through beautiful mountains and exotic landscapes. However, the film whi ch ends in the country side in different flashback sequences does not proffer an y solution to the present crisis which has led to deaths in Umuigodo. Rather, Ig odo, on whose narratives point of view these series of flashbacks anchored advis es them to find solution to the present crisis through previous experiences. The narrative, though very interesting and engaging because of its fl ashback and expedition techniques that drive its suspense to a subjective mood, is punctuated with some technical narrative flaws. Arbitrary camera setups are p rominent in the narrative. Apart from the unified colour pictures seen in the us e of different cameras which make the narrative lack picture continuity, Low ang le shots which connotatively depict fame in dramatic narrative are applied arbit rarily. This is exemplified in the scene where the villagers accompany the seven warriors to the dibias shrine before they leave for the evil forest. Superfluous

use of theme music clich in Nigerian video films as observed by film scholars is not employed in the video film. The use of music to heighten the thematic mood in the narrative is perfectly achieved. Deductive visual approach is mostly used and shot compositions are wonderfully h andled. However, the semiotic value of different visual colours that could have been employed for an effective visual approach to highlight different flashback sequences is not well expressed in the video film. Figure 4.1 Egbuna carries Dumes body to scene of filmic action as Egbunas wife see s a vision of a white ram.

Figure 4.2. The picture of the white ram seen by Egbunas wife 4.3 Synopsis of Suicide Mission Suicide mission, one of the ritual video films that emerged in 1998, directed by Fred Amata centres on Austins family. Monique (Regina Askia) being madly infatua ted by Austin who is already married with three kids, goes to the herbalist for magical charm that will make Austin to marry her. After consulting the first her balist whose charm lacks potency, she proceeds to the second herbalist and being desperate makes love to the spirit of a dead man on the herbalists request. Aust ins effigy is then given to Monique in a bottle. She is thus advised never to all ow the bottle to break. Consequently, Austin marries Monique and sends his wife parking following Moniques setup. Monique later decides to kill Austin and inheri t his wealth. She goes back to the herbalists who prepares her a charm. On her wa y back, the charm is beaten by rain contrary to the herbalist earlier warning th at water should not touch the charm. This makes her mad. Being mad, Austin gets a pastor who prays for Monique. After confessing, Monique mistakenly breaks the bottle containing Austins effigy. She finally turns into a dog. 4.3.1 A Critical Analysis of Narrative Techniques in Suicide Mission The video film is full of suspense with its introductory scene established in a dream world. The mermaid spirit beacons on Austin who is tied on a bridge with a rope across his neck. As the rope breaks, he falls inside the river where the m ermaid is and wakes up. Besides the glamorization of Lagos seen in the establish ment shots as the opening credit rolls, more influence of glamorization of famil y models is equally prevalent. Every husband in Nollywood is handsome and rich a s seen in Austin while every wife is beautiful as seen in Winnie, (Ameze Imarhia ge) Austins wife. The portrayal of this family model stirs viewers admiration ther eby projecting Moniques actions of breaking such model offensive. This offensive action sustains the narrative in viewers expectation of poetic justice which late r occurs in the video film through Moniques transmogrification into a dog. Though inductive screen approach is adopted in the video film, the narra tive technique is also marked with a lot of flaws. Ritual video film genre could be likened to the deus ex-machina era where the supernatural does everything fo r men. This is seen in the dramatic narrative as Moniques actions towards the her balists lack strong motivation. Her character is not deeply defined. The appearan ce of the Angel in Winnies dream attests to this deus ex-machina narrative form. The rain effects in the video film is too mechanical. The ritual significance in the video film derives its driving force from the metaphysical manipulations. M onique consults the herbalists to marry Austin and equally consults the herbalis t in a bid to kill him. Winnie goes back to her husbands house on the insinuation of the angel. Figure 4.3. The narrative visual effect of Austins effigy (Richard Mofe Damijo)

in a bottle in Suicide Mission. 4.4 Synopsis of Mission to No Where Mrs Adams murder in cold blood triggers off investigations from the Homicid depar tment, state CID. The investigations to uncover the truth leads to nowhere. Pame la (Stephanie Okereke), the murdered womans daughter who just returned from Austr alia, could not enhance the investigation, knowing little about the mother. Dete ctor Rogers (Sam Dede) who would not stop at anything to uncover the murderer on ly meets stunning challenges with the suspects. Firstly, he meets father Nichola s whom Mrs. Adams had earlier confessed to in her residence shortly before her m urder. Though the confession could be a good lead to uncover the reason for the murder, father refuses to disclose the confession details as it was against Cann on law. Secondly, spotted also to have been with Mrs. Adams in her residence sho rtly before her murder is Jack Moris who works with an insurance company. Though Moris denies having killed Mrs. Adams, she gives a glue to Sk whom the narrativ e voice presents as the prime suspect through inductive visual approach. Upon in tense torture, Sks confession heightens the narrative conflict as he accepts atte mpting to kill Mrs. Adams but eventually finds her dead before getting there. Th ere is a twist as Tina confessed that she committed the murder in vengeance for Mrs. Adams reckless driving that had led to the death of her (Tina) husband five years back.

4.4.1 A Critical Analysis of Narrative Techniques in Mission to Nowhere The visual narrative technique in Mission to Nowhere is highly professional. The re is a perfect combination of deductive and inductive screen approaches. The se lect exposition approach employed by the director makes the video film replete w ith suspense. Flashback narrative techniques were employed sparingly by the dire ctor. There is much experimentation which occasions the full range of camera nar rative in the video film. Camera equipment such as crane machine enable the view ers to be actively involved in the scenes where they are employed. Beautiful sho t descriptions are seen in the video film. Most dramatic semiotic values are per fectly observed. 4.5 Synopsis of Dog of War Dog of war is a tragic video film that centres on the character af a Dog, Uli. Mezie Mmadu having died, his kinsmen gather to hear his will. Dissatisfied that only an average of five million naira was willed to them in Mmadus multi billion naira estate, Mmadus relations decide to kill his only son Ken who just returned from abroad for the burial ceremony. Nathy, the late Mezie Mmadus gardener who also is willed the sum of five million naira continues his duties in Mezie Mmadus house diligently. While workin g, his daughter Rose brings him food on a particular day. Citing and admiring he r, Ken sends Uli (his dog) a message to her in a piece of paper. Ken and Rose fi nally meet and fall in love. Different plots by Kens uncles to kill him are flawe d by Ulis (his dog) through semiotic language. His uncles, led by Oba Ejike invite Ken for a family meeting in the process of w hich they put poison in his drink. Ken is distracted by Uli (dog) as he wants t o take the poisoned drink. Oba Ejike also poisons his drink in their next meetin g but his plans equally fail because of Ulis distractions. Further attempts to ta ke Kens life fail. Oba Ejikes hired assassins could not find Ken because Uli commu nicates him of the impending doom. Oba Ejike further engages Udoka to kill Ken w ith food poison. Uli throws the food away. The second attempt through food poiso ning by Ejike takes the filmic action to a climax as Ken ignoring Ulis warnings e ats the poisoned food. Following this, he dies instantly. Uli takes revenge by k illing Kens uncles for killing Ken. Figure 4.4. Ken being distracted by Uli not to take a poisoned drink in Dog of W

ar Figure 4.5. Uli sends a letter to Rose. 4.5.1 A Critical Analysis of Dog of War The narrative centering around the character Uli, a Rottweiler dog, is marked wi th great semiotic components. There is high level of sign language between the c entral character Uli and other actors in the narrative film. The extension of th e semiotic language of the dogs character in relation to human character propels the narrative to a climatic state where Kens flaw in failing to decode Ulis signs leads to his (Ken) death. The narrative technique which is realized through the activities of the dog is very impressive. Uli is used comprehensively in the narrative. He deliver s letters from Ken to Rose and vice versa. This function becomes intensified whe n Roses father, Nathy, afraid of been branded a gold-digger, confines his daughte r Rose to house arrest to prevent her from seeing Ken. The video films narrative point of attack is wonderful. It has a late point of attack as Mmezie Mmadu and his wife, who are Kens supposed parents, are dead before the inception of the na rrative. The narrative employs character dialogue to establish that Kens uncles, who want to kill him in the belief that he came back to cut them out of their w ill, also killed his parents, Mmezie Mmadu, to inherit Mmezie Mmadus estate. Characterization is however, not properly developed. Kens motivation for leaving his studies abroad is not stated. He never looks moody for once as the o nly son who just lost his parents. Besides, his uncles characters are not properl y delineated, thus they do not have character depth. However, Ulis character is p roperly defined and remains consistent throughout the narrative. The film projec ts the feminist concept in the negative manner through the character of Lolo (Pa tience Ozokwor). Lolo believes that Kens kinsmen, her husbands, are light hearted and lack the ability to carry out their treats of killing Ken. The sitting down narrative syndrome is very prevalent in the video film. This is a narrative technique that is noticeable in most Nigerian video films. Most actions by Kens uncles are done sitting down in Oba Ejikes parlor. This reduc es the narrative tempo and makes it less engaging. However, the esthetics of the films narratives technique lies on Uli, the central character. Unlike the metaph ysical narrative techniques in most Nollywoods films, as seen in Ghosts Conflict, Uli, is used to resolve the dramatic conflict. Uli, a tragic character fights t he killers of his master Ken. The narrative implication in the films use of dog a s the central character is a western influence in Nollywood films earlier discus sed. Roses unborn baby signifies hope for Mmezie and Nathys families. 4.5. Summary This chapter summits that video films that were produced from the year 2003 to d ate are more influenced by western ideologies than stage orientation as exemplif ied in the video films under study. This is because Nigerian video film viewers lost interest on the stagy narrative techniques of video films. Producers in a q uest to meet the filmic taste of Nigerian viewers resorted to production of narr atives with Western motifs. Some producers also produce narratives which normall y start in one country and end in another. This accounts for the cross country m igratory pattern in our video films.

CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY OF FINDING RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary Nigerian video films commanded great patronage in its inception. This is because of the fascination of the new visual narrative medium. The video film patronage soon dropped as the teeming viewers got dissuaded about the boring nature of it s narrative techniques which was orchestrated by its stage influence. Nollywoods viewers consequently turned their patronage towards the western film with wester n ideologies. To remain in business, Nollywood producers borrow and use these we stern traditions in their video films. The two video films, Igodo and Suicide Mi ssion, which were produced in 1998 and 1999 respectively project the narrative t echnique of stage influences more than Mission to Nowhere and Dogs of War which project narrative techniques with Western influences. Teco Bensons recent product ions have detective narrative techniques of western film tradition and are furth er highlighted by his reoccurring use of FBI (Federal Bureau of intelligence) or the Homicide department, state CID against Nigerian police force in crime detec tion and control. The use of a dog character as a narrative technique in Dog of War is very obvious of this western influence in Nollywood recent film productio ns. Kens romance with the western tradition is portrayed by his fondness with a R ottweiler dog, Uli, which becomes a central character in the narrative. This western influence is further buttressed by what could be termed the cross country migratory pattern as seen in most of these films. Ken in Dog of War comes back from abroad where he studied. Pamelas mother, Mrs Adams, is murdered in cold blood in Mission to Nowhere after Pamela returns from abroad where she s tudied. 5.2 Recommendations Studies carried out show that narrative techniques are influenced by film concep ts like auteur theory, genre perspective and semiotics. It also reveals that wes tern ideologies have tremendous influence on Nigerian society. Video film in oth er to regain patronage should not only depict these western ideologies in films but apply film concepts like semiotics to enable a filmic narrative. The archety pal influence of auteur and genre systems to narrative techniques should be dive rsified through proper semiotic applications in the production of narratives. 5.3 Conclusion Film studies as a nascent discipline requires much literature on its narrative t echniques which this study provides. The critical analysis of the narrative tech niques in this study will not only provide a platform for further research on th e subject area but also proffers solution for its efficient application for effe ctive narratives.

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VIDEOGRAPHY Suicide Mission (1998) Director- Fred Amata. with Richard Mofe Damijo, Regina A sikia, Ameze Imorhiaghe, Obot Etuk. Igodo (1999) Directors- Andy Amenechi and Don Pedro Obaseki. with Pete Edoche, Norbort Young, Sam Dede, Charles Okafor, Obi Mmadubugwu, Chidi Mokeme, Price Jome Uche, Ignis Ekwe, Joe loyode. Mission to Nowhere (2007) Producer- Teco Benson, DirectorTeco Benson. with Sam Dede and Stephenie Okereke. Dog of War (2008) Director-Uzee Madubogwu, with Desmond Elliot, Ini Edo, Enebel i Elebuwa, Patience Ozorkwo, Mcdonald Oti.