Paradigm shift: A short film featuring Ben Sharpa

Peace to all massive and crew, hope everyone is good and getting into the swing of things. We are big fans of sharing, hence why we practice the art so much. This time around, it's a film we helped make which features South African hip-hop stalwart Ben Sharpa.

Last year, round about April, our good friend Tamar from the UCT Film and Media School asked me to help him out with being a Director Of Production on a film based on Ben, an offer I could not turn down. After close to eight months of on-and-off editing, he completed the project.

The film is called The Paradigm Shift, and sees Sharpa talking about things such as aliens, music, and the impact of technological innovations on modern society. Tamar keeps it interesting by mixing in various related shots with the actual footage taken during a day of shooting. It is approximately 10 mins long, and is well worth every minute (according to us at least!)

Now, Tamar was very specific that I should not put up any other parts of this doccie up apart from the intro, so we locked him up in solitary confinement just so that we could post the end-credits as well. Had it been up to us, we would have uploaded the rest of it and shared it with people out there. Also, we have not cleared some of the music used in the film, which might cause quips with various people in the world (i.e. the individuals who were involved in crafting those pieces of audio; see the end-credits if interested).

Offers have already come from film festivals as far away as France, and we shall keep you all in the loop with regards to what shall be going down. Check out the short intro, along with the end credits, and leave any comments.

The beginning:

...and the end:

The Cipha - Part One

Yo!! Hope all are still well in this field of life. The post today is centred around the first part of 'The Cipha'. I shall walk you through what went into shooting the scenes, and how they were put together. So, hang on, and enjoy the ride.

The scene opens up with a shot of the National University of Lesotho's main entrance, then cuts into the first emcee to bless the documentary, Black Ice. We shot the scenes with a beatmaker called Symptorme (nuff shout), who assissted with some of the camera angles. During editing, we managed to get hold of some old footage which had Black Ice on it, and it became a perfect fit into the whole plot.

After a short interval/break in transmission, the documentary cuts into a scene of Black Ice spitting freestyles (something the man does quite well). The reason for this stylistic decision is that we had edited the second part of the documentary prior to the opening scene; actually, the opening scene was dictated by the narrator's script, which, by the way, wasn't scripted at all! This was another stylistic decision - to keep true to the tradition of the cipha, it was only fitting that the narratives should be freestyles.

Another break in transmission comes after the freestyle, and the documentary proceeds to the section where Black Ice breaks down his definition of the cipha. We used two cameras (another one courtesy of the man Symptorme), so the different angles make for quite an interesting view. Poisonfoul, another emcee from Lesotho, sits in the background as Ice carries on with his thoughts.

Black Ice's scene was one of last parts we shot for the documentary, but ended up being the opening part. We had already gotten the hang of the editing software, so for the hallway scene where he's freestyling, a split-screen stylistic effect was chosen. I find it quite amusing how people who have seen the documentary in my presence become boggled by this particular scene. Secret: well, there is not secret at all, we used two cameras - camera1 on the left side of the screen, and camera2 on the right, on either side of the emcee. One can even see Symptorme holding his camera if proper attention to detail is paid.

The documentary then reverts back to the interview where Black Ice continues to explain what the cipha means to him, amidst noise from a passerby truck (the joys of filming outside!). All in all, that's a bit of info on how this first part of the documentary was put together. If you dig it, leave comments. Please forward any questions through, we'll be happy to answer them.

Peace!!!

The Cipha - Intro

What's the deal people??! Still staying alive I hope, and keeping positive vibes flowing. Today's post concerns a film project me and Fairo worked on towards the tail-end of 2007. It's a documentary details the gwaans in the Lesotho hip-hop circles, especially the cipha scene.

For them who don't know, in hip-hop terms, a cipha happens when emcees form a circle and start rapping - simple as that. It's a big thing all over the globe, and we as Corporate Nemesis wanted to get a Lesotho-based emcee's perspective on the cipha scene; how it influences/inspires them, what they get from it, etc.

We've uploaded a number of clips from the documentary on youtube (check out: www.youtube.com/nemesisRepublik), and I'll be uploading the links here on the blog and giving inside information on how the particular clip was put together.

First up is the introduction. The beat on the clip is done by a fairly unknown Lesotho-based producer who goes under the moniker Profane Hermit. For those who don't know, the quote "Time for s**** y'all n**** ain't heard yet/ cuz the radio is repetitive bull****", is taken from a Lootpack song off of the Antidote album. Madlib recites that particular line.

Check it out; love it, hate it, and please, give some feedback. Peace!!!