Something Silly

So sometimes when I take pictures and I come to the studio to edit them, a couple of the guys come round to  preview what i have taken before i edit them. 

This post is dedicated to some of the silly things we say.

Introduction of Debra-Jane Nelson

HACKATHON

Our first hackathon… wow! What an experience!

Before I say anything else let me just break the myth that geeks are boring. Even if they are, this bunch knew the fine art of balancing work and play.

So for those of you reading who are not sure exactly what a hackathon is (it’s nothing to be embarrassed about I wasn’t sure about it myself), it’s an event where programmers (cool geeks) come together to use codes (the language that they understand) to create really amazing applications that everybody can use.

Thanks to ‘smsgh’ the oneshot team was invited to this exclusive world of developers, who at this event, were supposed to use an API developed by the developers of Mpower so they could develop new applications. So while the programmers were working under this particular project, the API of MPower, the idea was for each team to be able to work on whatever they wanted. Yep, very techy stuff! And contrary to ideas floating in my head no one had the time to hack into anyone else’s app to sabotage the other group. They were team players.

Developers worked from coffee cup to dinner plate at ‘ispace Ghana’ and after the applications were developed and the 1^st prize of 2,000 Ghana Cedis was snatched, to ensure that these amazing apps will be finished (for those who couldn’t finish) and launched, smsgh put up an additional total of 2,000 Ghana Cedis (GHC500 per group) to any group who could finish the app, pass it through rigorous testing platforms and launch it within a 14 day period.

And my, the view from the top of ispace…

Amazing things happening in GH.

Ghana my motherland

Ive always wondered why it is that when foreigners come to Ghana one point of call is Jamestown. I mean, lets face it, with slummed areas and funny scents, it isnt a place that is exactly a tourist attraction.

Since my recent dabbling in photography however, ive come to understand why photographers love it and foreigners too. Its the little child playing football on the street who seems to not have a care in the world, its the haggling over fresh fish down by the shore, its the sea, and the old buildings. The place really is picturesque despite everything else.

Part of why it looks this way, i think, is thanks to the efforts of Manste and his crew. Their effort with the Chalewote festival is evident especially on the John Evans Atta Mills High Street. The other part of it is thanks to our predecessors and the government of Ghana for not yet destroying relics.

No, we didnt go on an excursion there, rather, on our way to a reception to shoot we passed through the area and in traffic i couldnt help but ask for my camera to take a few shots. within the mess of the area, there is an endearing quality apparent, especially to those of us who dont always use that route.

Not to sound like a preacher, but our country really is beautiful, lets try to keep it clean so we enjoy it.

This week started with us putting on our corporate suits for an advertising shoot. The corporate wing of OneShot is our growing child, that’s why most of you may not know it. 

The most engaging thing about adverts in my opinion is the pre-production time where the creative team sits down to come up with a concept that will get the message across in a matter of seconds. To me the most important and expensive thing in any means of communication is the idea. There's nothing more important than that so the brainstorming sessions are totally amazing. Some of the ideas are the craziest things you've ever heard, but somehow, some way those work, with the input of everyone of course. 

For this advert we had the pleasure of working with who we all used to know back in the day as “Pusha!!!” and that name came with the walk and the handkerchief in the back pocket and it was so much fun working with him. Putting the fun aside, he knows his stuff, so shooting with him is like ironing linens when they're damp - easy.

This advert is a motion design piece so it meant green screen. The key story here is we lost our first studio booking. Just like that! A day before the shoot! We were out-booked (I know that's not a word but look at it as though we were outbid)  So 24 hours to the shoot we are almost panicking because we didn't have the luxury of postponing the shoot. We made calls left, right, centre and  were running around looking for a  studio that was free and willing to book us that late, that had equipment and that had most importantly a green screen, oh, and that was within the budget we were working with. Around 21:00 hours we found a really cool set up by STUDIO 13. Big ups to you guys and thank you. So yes, at 10:00 hours the next day we were in labor and ready to give birth to this advert. 

When I asked the associate creative director why he chose to do weddings he laughed and he said, you know whenever people ask me that question it’s almost as though they want me to start by saying something like; “you see Jesus performed his first miracle at a wedding …” 

He had no idea I was interviewing him to be part of the maiden edition of this blog. But I feel that it’s apt to explain to you why we do it before I get into any philosophical ranting I may write in this blog.

I've always teased him that he was a helpless romantic and today was my chance to confirm it. After laughing heartily, he continued and said, “you see, weddings ein, hmmm…. They are like the singular most important event in a couples lives and being with them on that day is magical.”

He talked about how he enjoyed filming a love story; a true love story every week. He didn't have to write them himself (even though he could), but he enjoys being able to film it. "I don't think about the event, I think about the couple and try and brand their love. There is no way I can look at a wedding through the guise of a contract. Its so much more. I cant make it about the wedding or the big dress or the big reception I care about the love. Filming a couple's weddings make me feel like I've been part of such an important event that at the end of the day I feel like a part of their family. It becomes personal."

That spirit runs through all of us in the Oneshot team, though we may not all be helpless romantics like Kwesi, we enjoy meeting new people, sharing in their special day, making new friends and making a bit of that magic last through motion picture.And its always a joy to meet couples like we did this week: Kuu and Mirabel and Phoebe and Kojo. They're great. Real. Down to earth. Couples that know each other well. Couples that know each others weaknesses but love each other nonetheless.

 So yes, at Oneshot we believe a wedding is not necessarily about the clothes, jewels, decor, and, even though it hurts me to say this, its not even about the food; its all a part of it but to us its more about people, family, friends. Starting a new family, a new tradition; its about new traditions with that one person that makes things bearable and getting the whole world to know that "yes i do love this person."