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Apampa Owolabi Oluwadamilola is a video director and CEO at Polar Films. In this interview with BusinessDay’s Frank Eleanya, he speaks on how Nigerian music videos have evolved and attracted global recognition. He also states the challenges and opportunities in the Nigerian entertainment scene.
So tell us how you started and what you currently do.
I began playing with photography in 2013 getting gigs for burials and event photography. While doing photography, I also was playing with video editing and then I worked with Director Q as an editor. So basically, I have done photography, I have been a video editor and then a DOP. I now direct, oversee and execute the production process and I am very hands-on on post-production so I personally sit to the final output of the videos we create.
I now work with a team that takes up different parts of the process from pre-production to post.
Tell us about your work and what the experience has been so far.
I shoot and direct videos. I am mostly known for shooting music videos under the name “Dammy Twitch”.
When I set up polar films (my video production company), it took my clients a while to accept using Polar films instead of Dammy Twitch. In fact, I still have clients that insist on me using Dammy Twitch on their videos (especially music videos).
READ ALSO: Bamzy Richies talk taking over the music industry
Polar films is a video content production company. We are known for shooting high-quality video content to meet the creative and business needs of our clients. Polar films produce different forms of video content with the aim of pushing the limit on what is already available out there in the markets. Somehow, we manage to churn out great work.
Polar films also connect great talented creatives that have not been given a chance, to build their portfolio, expand on their experience and build their careers. One of my objectives is to give as many creatives the platform they need to build their portfolio and their careers. We have a lot of awesome creatives in this country. Most of them just have not been given an opportunity to show what they can do. The way I see it if no one took a chance on me, I really would not have had a chance at growing. My team is so well aligned and we have quite a vast network of resources, we have pulled off entire projects within 24hours notice without having to compromise on quality. I never really thought all of this was possible only a few years in the business but I am entirely grateful to the team and how open we are to do whatever it takes to make things work.
Give us a sneak peek into your work
So the first music video I shot was for Burna Boy and Yonda in 2017. That same year, I was in Senegal and Davido called me to shoot a video for his label which was Aje. I did that in Senegal. So far I’ve worked with quite a number of artists. I’ve worked with Falz, Burnaboy, Olamide, Dremo, Lil Kesh, Victor AD, Preto Show (Angola), Perruzi, Mayorkun and more.
Besides music video production, I and my team are working on a commercial in another African country for a strong hospitality brand and also working on a short film about rape.
We are also setting up a platform pretty much like the humans of New York. We will be taking pictures of people and scenarios from different walks of life and telling their stories. With this, we look to tell the story of the country and continent through pictures and captions with the aim of telling real stories so other people from all around the world can make a connection or relate to the situations obtainable on the ground here. Nigeria and Africa are not only about bad news It’s still a work in progress but will be out soon. It’s our way of expanding on the African story from a contemporary angle. We will be putting that out really soon.
Where do you want to take this?
I really am about upgrading what the world expects from Nigerian music videos. With each project, I want to implement something different. Something better than I’ve done before. I want to challenge what we think is possible with a music video production that’s where I’m taking this.
As a music video director, what’s your take on Nollywood?
I feel like Nollywood has grown really fast within a short time frame. We are all in the entertainment industry producing video content but Nollywood is about full-on movies and music videos are quite different from that. Movies have a longer project timeframe, a bigger budget and serve a whole different purpose from music videos. I applaud the Nollywood filmmakers that are pushing the limits and doing things that haven’t been done ever before. Budgets have to be improved generally if we must match our peers at Hollywood and a lot more support has to be given to all video content producers. We all will keep doing our bit to drive the African narrative through entertaining content.
What exactly do you dislike about your industry?
First is a low level of collaboration among directors and producers. Unnecessary competition between music video directors when in fact we should be collaborating to improve the output of Nigerian music video content.
Besides that, a low level of support for our industry. When people think videos, they think movies. While that’s not a bad thing, we should also consider that music is one of the biggest means through which Nigeria exports culture and video producers/directors are responsible for crafting the visuals that make this music more appealing.
The budget is a huge conversation. Sometimes you finish a gig and have not very much to show for it in terms of profit but we keep it moving. The more I work, the luckier I’ll get. Lol.
We also aren’t evolving as fast as our counterparts in the US. In order to push myself, I have pushed to work with big international labels and trust me, it’s been a whole different experience. They have requirements that can be quite intimidating for a person who started out like me. This experience showed me we have a long way to go as an industry it also got me to up my game and to keep doing that. I have gone one to work on projects with Sony Music, Warner music and now working on a project with Universal music and I’ve had to learn really fast to meet their requirements. I’m happy this makes me push myself all the time.
How do you react to negative comments regarding you or your work?
I just laugh and walk away. I don’t even reply.
Someone can be insulting you online and see you in person and be quite excited and come to hail you. If you don’t like me and you can’t say it to my face, then you really like. I don’t like to stress about it.
At this point in your career are you confident of your longevity?
Yes, I think I am because I am educating myself and aiming for a new level both in the short and long run.
How would you like to be remembered as a video director?
As someone that took this game to another level.
