For the past two weeks we have been shooting the annual Channel O Top 20 of 2011 and this is our second season. We have added a few things just to improve from last year. This show was in the top 5 for the most watched shows in the history of channel O and this has added a bit of pressure to improve from last year. We have included a few changes which include an upgrade on the graphics, we have also made a drastic improvement on the content and we have also turned it up a notch visually. We made sure we do not loose the essence of the show but improve on things we thought needed an upgrade. Last year we only had two weeks to package and deliver the show. This meant shooting in SA and Nigeria in under 14 days and a few days in post production to package a two hours special and we pulled it off. This year we had more time to plan and set up systems. Last year we did not even have time to roll out a marketing plan. All we did last year was to shoot, cut a promo and hope for the best.
One of the most exciting things for us was shooting the whole show with a 7D Canon camera. This proves again it is not the size of the camera but the camera operator. This year we did not shoot in Naija but shoot the artists from the rest of the continent during the O-Awards. We literally pulled them after they were rehearsing for the main show. Daaaaaaaam! STL is hot in person,lol! Okay back to the story.
During the week of the O-Awards we were shooting four shows at the same time (Channel O Top 20, Studio 53 Extra, South African Tourism advert in association with M-net Africa, The Channel O Red Carpet Special). All went well and even though we had a few days to prepare for the three other shows. A strong team is underrated!!!!!
The funniest thing about the Top 20 shoot was when electricity went off in Rosebank for the whole day as we were shooting at Club Hush. It reminded me of my time in Lagos, lol. This allowed us to use our lighting more effectively and it gave us a very good and different look and a visual design we did not plan for but it worked very well.
Check out the Top 20 of 2011 on the 27 of December for part 1 and on the 28th of December 2011 for Part 2 at 19:00CAT.
Squareleg Media/Callback Dreams Studios.
