Edith Magak, bird story agency
While the ingredients to a great nature documentary may vary, some key elements include stunning cinematography, great storytelling – and a soundtrack that complements the visuals.
For Pragna Parsotam-Kok, a South African storyteller and a National Geographic Explorer, that means the soundtrack must perfectly match the film’s setting.
“There are all these beautiful African wildlife and nature documentaries that we watch, but all the music that you hear is Beethoven and 15-piece orchestras playing in the background, and it doesn’t resonate with the lion that’s chasing the buck across the African plain,” said Parsotam-Kok.
According to Parasatom-Kok, nature documentaries coming out of Africa should have a soundscape that channels the uniqueness of Africa.
“You cannot tell an African story without the rhythms and beats and the sounds of Africa.”
Together with Noel Kok, they have started Nature, Environment & Wildlife Filmmakers (NEWF). This initiative builds capacity for African nature, environment and wildlife storytellers, ensuring that indigenous African voices tell the stories of Africa.
“In order to diversify the soundscapes of African wildlife documentaries, we started Compose Yourself Lab, bringing together composers from South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Morocco, Senegal and Nigeria,” she said.
These fellows compose music and give real authentic sound to the films we watch and the films our producers are making through the producer’s labs, added Parsotam-Kok.
Marcia Buwa is a vocalist in the Compose Yourself Lab and the sole South African member of the group. She plays the Djembe drum, shakers and various percussion instruments.
“We now have about 10 composers coming from different parts of Africa and automatically trying to spread that with the Compose Yourself Lab,” said Buwa.
We sat down with Buwa to learn more about the work of the lab and the process of composing for Nature films.
What exactly does Compose Yourself Lab mean, and what goes on there?
Compose Yourself Lab is a school that takes your ability and enhances it. In this case, you must be at least a performing artist, singer, songwriter, or instrument player.
Compose Yourself Lab is a school that teaches musicians and gives them the ability to create the musical texture for movies so that if you could switch off the visuals and play the music, you’ll still feel the same way you felt watching the visual. That’s what we do.
What does creating and diversifying African rhythms and sounds for films involve?
I’ll give an example of the music we made for the film Nkashi: Race for the Okavango. It was shot in the Okavango Delta. So we went down there for three days, got to speak to the characters that were part of the film, and walked around the locations where it was shot to listen to how everything and everyone sounded.
We attended a poetry session in the area to get a feel of what Botswana people sound like, and we met the local women that sing. We wanted to understand the rhythm and sounds of Botswana. After experiencing that, we went to the studio, and the most beautiful, gorgeous music came out.
So what we do is take that same rhythm, and we’ll split it into different emotions. But in a very smart way.
We’ve also done the same with Samson Moyo’s film, Reformed, which we had the privilege to perform live in Jackson Wild at NatGeo in DC, Washington.
So you listen to the communities and incorporate their rhythm and sounds into music?
No. We incorporate the feeling, not the sounds. When we get to these communities, we’ll listen to the dialect, the articulation of the words and the expressions. There’s a certain way you have to open your mouth to make it sound a certain way, and we observe all of that.
But with the feeling, you have to watch how they move. Once you watch a person close enough, you know how they feel. That feeling that you had when you watched them, you need to take it back with you when you’re composing. There’s no way of explaining it beyond that. If we were to go to places and steal the music and the sounds, then what’s the purpose? We’re trying to create a hub where it doesn’t sound like recycled music.
Who are the members of your group?
We have Labdi Ommes from Kenya. She plays the Orutu and sings so beautifully. There’s Neil Darmon from Morocco. He plays the guitar, and he’s our engineer. We have Patrick Sainton from France, who plays wind instruments. We have Muhamago Gomate from Mozambique, and he plays Mbira, an African finger piano. And then we have Eli, our bass guitarist from the US. We also have Mr Saronga on percussion and vocals, and his brother Prince is on keyboard and percussion. They are from Botswana. Then we have Michael Ezomoh from Nigeria, who is a vocalist.
What are you most excited about for the future?
What excites me is I know I will be one of the greatest composers in the world. And I think, as a female and LGBTQI female, it will be a huge deal. And I’m okay with it because I want it.
This story was originally published by bird story agency