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Nkosilesisa Ncube, Sunday Life Reporter
THE AMERICAN Emmy awards are the most decorated awards in television and this year’s edition held last Sunday were no different. And while the awards were for the American audience, there are lessons that our local television and film industry can derive from the 68th edition of the awards.
Power in true stories
The People vs OJ Simpson, a life-based mini-series, documenting the murder trial of former football star and actor OJ Simpson walked into the Emmys with 22 nominations and managed to walk away with five awards. The lesson here is that instead of trying to come up with killer functional storylines all the time, perhaps local producers can tell true stories. This has been tried and tested with Jane the Ghost, based on a local urban legend becoming a big screen hit last year. Attention can be moved from fiction to biopic and other projects inspired by true events.
Diversity is key
The Emmys were diverse both in terms of nominated content and nominated individuals. Most of all American races were represented at the event. What we can learn from this is to include as much diversity in our film and television. Instead of sticking to three languages, efforts can be made to include more languages and cultures.
Music Matters
The Emmys have an “Outstanding Music Composition for a Series” category which celebrates the music featured in television shows. Very often our local productions feature exotic music. Local musicians can embrace the idea of making music for film.
After all some of the world’s greatest songs such as Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On started off as soundtracks before making it big on the charts.
The Allure of Reality Television
The Emmy reality nomination pool featured talent searches such as The Voice and comedy shows like Saturday Night Live. When it comes to local productions, a lot of emphasis is placed on drama and documentaries and reality shows are ignored.
To date, we have tried to indulge reality television with shows like Tourism Challenge and A Academy but recently there have been fewer and fewer of these reality shows.
Pay Attention to Internet Acts
Portlandiar, a comedy series which walked away with the Emmy for Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Non-fiction, Reality or Reality-Competition Series started off as an internet skit before being picked up by a network. Best Choreography nominee Crazy Ex-Girlfriend also started out as an online television show before being signed on as a television comedy series. Locally, attention should be paid to internet sensations such as Nceku, Daniel Lasker and The Bulawayo Show.
In time these will grow into television-ready shows.
@nkocykay
Online Reporter