This document is offered compliments of BSP Media Group. www.bspmediagroup.com

All rights reserved.

THE  STORY  OF  DIGITAL  CONTENT    IN  AFRICA  

Presented  for    BSP  CONTENT  MANAGEMENT    by  karanja  john,  

MAGIC  GALAXY  LTD.    

IN  THE  BEGINNING              

THE  STORY    v   Know  your  audience.  v Know  your  brand.  v Speak  the  truth.  v Trust  yourself.  v No  apologies.  v Never  give  up.  

The  African  story    

–  What  can  we  describe  as  the  African  story……for  me  it  is  any  story  that  originates  or  is  associated  with  Africa…when  it  captures  and  shows  people  from  Africa  and  places  in  Africa,  when  it  shares  situaPons  that  people  in  Africa  go  through  regardless  of  where  in  the  world  they  are,      we  can  describe  it  in  whole  or  part  as  an  African  story.  

–  A  good  story  equals  to  happy  audiences  equals  to  money,  this  sounds  too  easy.    This  is  because  the  story  must  be  created,  developed  and  produced,  (  manufactured)  then  made  available  to  the  audiences.  This  is  where  ficPon  parts  ways  with  reality.    

–  without  even  going  into  history,  telling  our  stories  is  the  way  to  go  BUT  WHAT  IS  OUR  STORY  AS  AFRICA?  it  is  the  story  that  tells  who  will  are  in  vivid  pictures.  we  must  interrogate  both  our  history  and  our  future  on  the  plaXorm  of  the  current  posiPon.  This  current  posiPon  must  be  interrogated  through  a  profound  process  of  visual  comparisons.  

–  our  story  begins  from  the  caves,  we  however  don't  live  in  the  caves  anymore,  we  live  in  a  world  which  has  telephones  and  many  other  cool  gadgets  which  have  converted  people,  both  young  and  old  into  zombies.....we  must  take  advantage  of  this  by  making  sure  that  our  

content  is  available  for  these  zombies  on  these  gadgets.  It  is  without  doubt  that  the  biggest  future  market  for  gadgets  is  in  Africa....  

–  we  have  no  limitaPons  or  delimitaPons  on  where  we  can  go  with  our  story,  however  we  must  be  ready  to  appreciate  the  spirit  and  tradiPons  of  our  people,  there  is  what  they  customary  hold  dear  and  it  must  be  captured  at  the  core  of  the  story,  however,  we  must  understand  that  Pmes  are  changing  and  new  ideas  must  be  incorporated  in  the  broader  specs  of  our  stories.  

–  we  have  a  problem  in  Africa  which  has  everything  to  do  with  the  fact  that  even  a[er  ge\ng  our  independence,  we  are  yet  to  decolonize  our  minds,  our  thinking  and  way  of  doing  things,  this  will  never  happen  so  it  is  be]er  that  we  don't  even  try  re-­‐invenPng  the  wheel  when  it  comes  to  broadcasPng,  Americas,  the  west  and  Asia  have  done  all  this  for  Africa  through  technology,  our  work  is  simply  to  use  what  we  buy  from  these  conPnents  and  use  it  to  tell  our  stories.  We  must  encourage  as  many  of  our  stories  on  the  screen  as  humanly  possible.  

–  Kenya  has  42  tribes,  43  when  you  include  those  brothers  and  sisters  from  other  countries  who  in  one  way  or  the  other  have  found  themselves  in  Kenya  and  made  this  country  home.  They  have  needs  when  it  comes  to  what  they  want  to  watch  on  whatever  screen  that  they  are  near  to.  

Triple  heritage-­‐      THOSE  BORN  BEFORE  COLONISATION                                                      -­‐  THOSE  BORN  INTO  COLONISATION  

   -­‐  THOSE  BORN  AFTER  COLONISATION......  The  thinking  and  experiences  are  different  due  to  being  exposed  to  different  environments,  their  interpretaPons  of  issues,  situaPons  and  scenarios  is  therefore  different,  language  mutates,  behaviors  transform  and  interacPons  become  confusing  and  explosive....this  is  exponenPal  from  one  heritage  to  another.  

 THE  MANUFACTURER…..WHO  IS  THIS  PERSON  ?    The  person  who  undertakes  manufacturing.      BriPsh  DicPonary  definiPons  for  manufacturing    manufacture  /ˌmænjʊˈfæktʃə/    verb  1.  to  process  or  make  (a  product)  from  a  raw  material,  esp  as  a  large-­‐scale  operaPon  using  machinery        2.  the  producPon  of  goods,  esp  by  industrial  processes    

The eight phases of making a film – Peter D. Marshall 1. Script Development( design phase) 2. Financing 3. Pre-Production 4. Production 5. Post-Production 6. Advertising/Promotion 7. Distribution 8. Exhibition- broadcast administration( money )

Broadcasters  q  Kiss  TV  q  Maua  Channel  q  Q  TV  q  K24  q  KBC  q  WTV  

WTV

HOT  BED  OF  WELL  COOKED  STORIES  

 

Building  the  industry        

•  WHAT  WE  MUST  DO.....  

•  1.  Broadcasters  must  stop  treaPng  content  suppliers  with  suspicion  and  doubt  as  this  amounts  to  digital  migraPon  contempt,  as  much  as  profit  and  loss  is  important,  it  is  the  story  and  the  way  that  it  is  packaged  which  will  create  wealth  for  everybody.  ..This  can  never  happen  in  vacuum,  if  we  don't  share  experiences  and  communicaPon  which  goes  beyond  profit  and  loss,  we  shall  keep  on  going  against  the  grain  of  people  expectaPons.  The  big  quesPon  is,  has  the  broadcasters  purposed  the  importance  of  partnership  with  independent  content  manufacturers?  how  are  these  decisions  translaPng  into  structure,  formats,  business  and  leadership  in  the  way  the  business  of  content  is  handled,  from  manufacturing  to  consumpPon?    We  must  conPnue  to  work  for  what  the  audiences  must  have  as  entertainment  on  our  screens.    

•  2.  DemysPfying  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  African  audiences  which  has  been  nurtured  from  the  caves...we  have  the  numbers......in  Kenya  we  love  talking  about  the  tyranny  of  numbers.,  Africans  no  longer  live  in  caves,  the  era  of  wearing  loin  clothes  is    gone,  though  it  sPll  exists  in  traces,  majority  have  been  westernized  ....this  means  that  when  we  make  content  for  radio  or  TV  we  are  talking  to  people  who  can  understand  and  appreciate  what  is  aired...they  also  have  room  to  comment  and  criPque  thanks  to  available  channels  for  audience  feedback,    This  is  the  message  to  the  broadcasters  in  Africa  and  beyond,  we  know  how  to  read  and  write,  that  means  we  know  good  things  from  bad  things,  we  know  that  we  want  more  of  what  we  can  idenPfy  with.....when  our  local  staPons  air  more  foreign  content  than  local  content(  about  90%  to  10%  to  be  precise)    our  quesPon  is  simple,  don't  we  have  our  own  who  can  create  winning  content  for  us.....?    more  than  50%  of  people  in  Africa  have  access  of  electricity......Kenya  alone  has  more  than  10M  mobile  phone  owners  ....TV  sets  are  more  than  5  million....what  is  missing  is  the  totality  of  our  stories  on  these  screens...we  sPll  have  a  long  way  to  go  when  it  comes  to  this.    

•  3.  The  big  quesPon  is  now,  What  to  create  and  develop  for  digital  plaXorms  in  Africa  and  why...wake  up  and  smell  the  coffee...its  plenty....we  have  more  channels  and  high  demands  for  structured  content,  it  is  up  to  the  content  creator  to  know  their  niche  and  sPck  to  the  models  that  make  sense  to  them,  in  both  Pme  and  space.  This  simply  says  that  we  can't  stop  anybody  with  a  camera  from  shooPng,  we  are  doing  at  Efwe  associaPon  and  riverwood,  selling  the  movies  and  DVD  door  to  door,  this  is  creaPng  a    wave  and  new  TV  staPons  are  now  looking  for  partnerships  so  that  the  movies  can  be  broadcasted  on  their  channels.  The  models  are  paying  between  40,000  shillings  to  a  maximum  of  200,000  shillings.  It  is  a  good  start,  it  is  creaPng  compePPon  and  more  innovaPons,  what  we  lack  is  industry  leadership  which  si  structured  towards  appreciaPng  more  of  our  own  and  wanPng  to  make  more  of  our  own  seen  through  conPnuous  investments,  resources  mobilizaPon  for  general  capacity  building  and  leadership.    

•  4.Why  digital  migraPon  is  the  devil  and  the  details  all  rolled  up  into  one...the  three  musketeers,    suppliers,  broadcasters  and  media  buyers  ...this  has  been  like  a  cartel  for  a  long  Pme,  independent  content  creators  were  never  invited  even  as  flies  on  the  wall  during  the  meePng....a[er  all  they  were  never  shareholders  in  the  decisions  which  touched  on  running  of  the  television  staPon  viz-­‐  a  -­‐viz  knowing  what  content  ma]ered  for  the  audiences.    the  cycle  has  been  such  that  suppliers  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  broadcasters  who  unfortunately  are  at  the  mercy  of  media  buyers,  the  naPonal  broadcasters  are  somePmes  forced  to  compete  with  the  private  broadcasters  instead  of  playing  their  role  of  naPonal  integraPon  and  general  informaPon  and  entertainment  for  the  audiences.  The  digital  migraPon  especially  in  Kenya  seems  to  have  completely  confused  the  market,  the  broadcasters  don't  know  what  to  do,  they  are  waiPng  for  go  dot!  Most  want  to  do  their  own  shows  which  the  regulator  has  said  a  big  no  to...it  is  creaPng  a  crisis  of  some  sort....as  each  staPons  wonders  what  to  do  with  24  hours  available  everyday...addiPonal  channels  which  are  a  requisite  from  the  regulator  and  audiences  which  are  making  comparisons  with  Americas,  Asia  and  the  west.  We  do  have  this  problem  in  Kenya  but  in  Nigeria  and  Tanzania,  ciPzen  arrest  on  this  ma]er  has  worked  miracles  for  all  the  content  creators  and  suppliers  in  the  business.  When  people  support  their  own,  they  build  their  economy.....  

•  5.  The  landscape  ,  the  opportuniPes,  and  business  models-­‐  show  me  the  money!    case  study,  riverwood  associaPon  and  EFWE  associaPon.      

 Nothings  builds  an  industry  faster  than  sharing  experience,  educaPon,  knowledge,  fears,  failures,  exposures,  opportuniPes,  progress,  processes,  experiments,  innovaPons,  renovaPons,  creaPvity,  dreams  and  passions  just  to  menPon  but  a  few,  the  list  of  what  is  there  to  share  is  limitless  and  endless,  there  is  infinite  quest  for  shared  knowledge  and  wisdom  

 

Online  Presence  

•  Online  we    have    the  really  classy  channel  “RiverWoodTV”  

•  On  www.youtube.com\riverwoodtv  •  Vernacular  films  •  Comedy  from  all    corners  of  Kenya  

Our  calling    •  Take  our  story  to  every  screen  there  is  in  the  world.    

MISSION  

 

*Fill  the    dreams    of  our    screens.  

*  Develop    local  content    capacity  

*  To  make    the    broadcast    industry    

the    number    one    sector  

Increasing  availability  of  local  stories  

INTRODUCTION  Local    stories,    when    well    told      have    no  equal  in  the      world  .  They  are    unique    in  approach,  textures,      content      and  purpose  

By      building    capacity    in  local    content      creaPon,  development  ,  producPon  and    trade,    we  establish      a      business  plaXorm    for  thousands      of    people      who    rely    on    the  industry    for    livelihood  

   

Blueprint

• Training on the process of screen, art, craft and sciences. • Researching into the stories to tell for maximum audience captivation and appeal. • Lobbying for the film sector and local content screen culture. • Proposal writing for funding and sponsorship. • Demystification of the film industry and its economic policy in line with vision 2030. • Film curriculum development • Training on how to trade in film, maximize revenue generation and business structures in the industry. • Engaging the national and county governments and their relevant organs in the business of television and film. • Generation of high content formats on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis. • Creating through ways for local and international businesses' gainful memorandums of understanding.

Broadcast stories are a source of trade and revenue for crew, cast and service providers, this results to creation of wealth

WAY TO GO FOR THE INDUSTRY • Comprehensive research into what works in the industry – without bias, fear or intimidation. • Open dialogue based on issues as opposed to propaganda or politics of separation. • Creation of media centers and information outlets. • Workshops centered on creation of content and broadcast of content resulting from these workshops.

   

DIGITAL  GRANDMA  

Equipment  and  crew.  

Magic  galaxy  ltd    

ENTERTAINMENT FILM WELFARE ENSEMBLE ASSOCIATION

The  BEAST    

The  Future