Chinner Okoye
9 July 2009
Lagos — Mighty Jot Studios is an upcoming computer animation studio with the technical, creative and production capabilities to create a new generation of animated feature films, merchandise and other related products. This is in an effort to bridge the gap between the western animation world and pool of talents in Africa, especially Nigeria where the primary software for workflow has been 2D.
Malaria still kills more people than HIV in Africa. Every second, malaria kills a child. While other nations like United States of America, Germany, Canada and Britain have advanced their fight against mosquitoes, it is still advancing in epidemic proportions across Africa with agencies like the United Nations, the Red Cross and other health agencies coming to our aid.
"Many mosquitoes have been killed since the beginning of the project" We can proudly say that. It is amazing how difficult it would have been for us to say we killed a butterfly during the making of Lifespan
Lifespan is a Mighty Jot Animation Studios production, which involves creating animation for commercials, movies and other productions. Mighty Jot aims at pioneering the evolution of a new, dynamic and internationally viable movie cartoon in Nigeria. At this stage, the project is 67 per cent complete and is due to be completed in October and the movie due for release locally on December 15.
Mighty Jot Animation Studios intend to kill more, and fight against mosquitoes and Malaria that has been an age long battle. The existence and preoccupations remain a constant threat to human survival; yet, there is still no way in view, of completely eliminating mosquitoes hence, awareness is the key!
As part "of our contribution to society, Lifespan movie will embark on a nationwide tour to create awareness and sensitise women and children across the country about the prevention and treatment of malaria. Selected states and regions in the country where malaria is prevalent will be toured as part of the campaign.
"Schools and health centres will be the venues for this campaign. Health professionals and non-profit organisations, including the federal and state ministries of health and organisations like UNICEF are involved. Characters from the movie will be used to illustrate important facts about malaria in video clips and pamphlets
Lifespan is a Nigeria's first 3D animated feature film, from Nigeria. It is Low budget considering the fact that its budget stands at N293, 625, 727 whereas, other animated movies that have made headlines and remarkable proceeds at the box office had budgets as high as $75million (approximately N13, 500,000,000 (thirteen billion, five hundred million naira). The Movie has been in production since late 2005," the movie director, Stanlee Ohikhuare said.
The movie was written by Ohikhuare, who is also the director. He has solely funded the project for the last three years; including a formal launch at the prestigious Planet One Entertainment in Lagos, Nigeria. Stanlee stands for the resilience that is deep-seated within every Nigerian. This has led to an insatiable thirst for excellence and the belief that nothing is "impossible".
According to him, "Lifespan is not an attempt to become a local champion, neither is it a project for local consumption alone, "rather a project that will put us in the spotlight for global scrutiny and criticism, to enable us get better and eventually bridge the gap between us and big time production firms like Pixar and DreamWorks.
"If Lifespan is not screened worldwide, or if after its release, attention is not immediately drawn to the millions of undiscovered talents in Nigeria, then we have failed. The movie is about mosquitoes and the first real conversation in the movie reveals a plot by mosquitoes to attempt cleansing them selves by carrying out an infamous ritual of purification to stop them from being the carriers of malaria.
"There are hidden motives and selfish interests surrounding this quest and in the end, the story brings forth a compelling revelation of the actual intentions of the entire cast. Lifespan's story tends to suggest the early origins of mosquitoes and their unwavering quest for survival leading to their adaptation and persistent resurgence in the face of extinction attempts by man.
"The mosquitoes depicted in Lifespan have been uniquely designed to vary from anything else that has been designed after the mosquito race. The characters don't bend over like regular insects but instead, they walk on twos' like humans and speak in a language we understand.
"Each character is voiced by a talented performer; ranging from famous to unknown. Our goal was never to have a star-studded cast list but an array of convincingly talented people who understand the rudiments of the act.
Lifespan will make history as Nigeria's first 3D animated feature movie with distinctive project that will place Nigeria on the global entertainment map, especially in the area of new media and technological savvy. It will be second only to South Africa in the entire continent.
"The movie is a world class production exhibiting technical know-how only evident in top grossing animated features the likes of "Shrek," "Ice Age" and "Ants." It uses cutting edge graphics, effects and a fresh enlightened African perspective that will prove irresistible to viewers of all ages worldwide," the director further said.
According to the sneak preview, this feature will serve as a branding medium for Nigeria, especially in the light of the deluge of negative publicity we have suffered in recent times; most of which is linked to the notorious advanced fee fraud scams.
This animation tells a socially relevant story and educates viewers about the unending scourge of malaria and how to curb its spread. In the accomplishment lie a renewed hope and a fresh sense of direction for the Nigerian Youth. Lifespan is a rather ambitious novel adventure into realms that before now were considered un-pliable by Nigerians.
The movie itself is set in the Ancient Benin Kingdom and the fashion and dressing of that Nigerian population is reflected in the outlook of the characters - mosquitoes. Most of the scenes are neo-surrealistic, attempting to create an impressive and convincing illusion of depth and mysticism that grips a far-reaching genre of audience.
So far, the producers have manually animated every ready scene. However, there is the technology to shrink character animation from a five month procedure to a mere duration of one month approximately. They intend to deeply explore that option in order for them to meet the target.
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