A group of youth perform a dance sequence at the intersection of Parliament road during a social media video shoot in Nairobi's central business district on November 17, 2024. [AFP]A storm over the quality of Kenyan films erupted on social media recently, with Kenyans tearing apart productions they felt fell short of audience expectations.Critics questioned recycled storylines and casts, a lack of versatility and what they described as weak production quality.Some argued that Kenya has the talent but lacks the money, equipment and infrastructure needed to turn good ideas into productive productions that can compete beyond the local market.It is a debate the industry has had before, but one that has again raised questions about what can be done to make Kenyan productions better.Two filmmakers with experience working on productions involving some of the world’s biggest brands, broadcasters, musicians and sports personalities believe technology could be part of the answer.Making a high-quality film is expensive.
A production that requires scenes in Nairobi, Mombasa and New York can quickly see its budget swallowed by flights, accommodation, transport, equipment and large crews.For a small production company, an independent filmmaker or even a business shooting an advert, ambition often has to be adjusted to fit the budget.The result is that some ideas are scaled down before cameras even begin rolling, with filmmakers focusing on what they can afford rather than everything they imagine. But British filmmaker James Hakesley and Kenyan-born Roy Kimani now see that gap as a business opportunity for Kenya and the wider region.The two have worked on more than 150 virtual productions in the United Kingdom, Pakistan and the Middle East and their projects have involved global brands and organisations as well as leading figures in the entertainment and sports industry.Now, they want to bring the virtual production technology behind some of those projects to Nairobi, betting that it could help address some of the challenges facing Kenya’s film and content industry.The global virtual production market is also expanding rapidly, with the filmmakers estimating that it could reach about $9 billion (Sh1.1646 trillion) by 2030.Hakesley and Kimani are betting that the same technology could be tapped in Kenya and across Africa, not only to unlock new creative possibilities but also to create a multimillion-dollar business opportunity and jobs for the next generation of filmmakers.They argue that the technology could help solve a familiar problem: How to make bigger and better-looking content without stretching production budgets beyond reach.Virtual production combines large LED screens, cameras, lighting and game-engine technology to create digital environments in which actors can perform as though they are physically at a particular location.The technology uses Unreal Engine, the same game engine behind the popular video game Fortnite, alongside traditional filmmaking tools.A filmmaker who wants to shoot scenes in Nairobi, Mombasa, New York and other locations would traditionally have to move cast, crew and equipment from one place to another, which means more days of filming and higher costs.
