THE Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation on December 31 failed to air the traditional Video of the Year programme owing to various challenges at the institution.
BY SILENCE CHARUMBIRA ENETRATINMENT REPORTER
Many will remember staying glued to the television set on the nights of December 31 to the first morning of the year waiting for their favourite videos to be screened.
In some instances, family members would even take turns to take a nap and wake each other when a popular video was being played.
The programme, besides cajoling audiences, also worked as a way of encouraging artistes to package their music with quality videos.
Yet the failure by ZTV to air the 2013 Video of the Year programme could be taken as evidence of the mess that the broadcaster found itself in and there is more to it.
Zimbabwean musicians have of late been failing to produce quality videos.
The advent of the Internet and satellite television makes it inevitable to compare local music videos to the standard found in the region.
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Despite language barriers, one would agree that Nigerian music videos are of high quality.
In Zimbabwe, however, there has been a challenge with musicians failing to adhere to the basics of video production.
Or is it the producers?
Important facets of the set are ignored and the resultant video is just disastrous to say the least.
In the just-ended year, the best videos; though subject to debate, could easily be Runonzi Rudo from Pah Chihera (Tracy Pamhidzai Mbirimi) and Ngoda by Jah Prayzah (Mukudzei Mukombe).
Runonzi Rudo was shot at Harare Gardens, a common site that many can relate with.
It has probably the simplest script.
The subjects change costume just a few times and in the greater part of the video they are seated on a park bench.
There is not much that one can take away from this video including the exceptional picture quality.
Ngoda similarly has a few subjects.
The script is rather complex compared to Runonzi Rudo and one cannot help but marvel at Jah Prayzah’s artistry.
His comic theatrics are proof of an artiste thinking outside the box and costume sums it up matching the scenario envisaged.
There are hundreds more videos that were released in 2013 yet some are not worth mentioning owing to their horrible standards.
Information from ZBC says other than the low staff morale, there were no sponsors to fund prizes for winners, but it is highly likely that come December 31 2014, Tawanda Mazhangara (producer of the ZBCVideo of the Year show) and crew will be raring to go. The onus is on the musicians and producers to produce quality work.
There have been numerous calls for local videos to be aired on DStv’s Channel O, but the truth is the bulk of the productions are simply well off the mark.
Zimbabwean artistes simply need to look at videos from countries like Zambia, Nigeria and South Africa, among others, to get an idea of current global standards in video making.
