What would I alter: director Meji Alabi
Meji Alabi started filmmaking while studying accounting. After graduating and realizing that a career in finance was not for him, he decided to improve his directing skills and has since worked on music videos for Skepta, Tiwa Savage, Popcaan, Tinie Tempah and DJ Regard. Not only was he satisfied with filming, he was also the co-founder of JM Films in 2014, which offers creative production services in Nigeria and Ghana and works with partner organizations across Africa. In 2019, he signed with the British production company Black Dog, which belongs to the Ridley Scott Creative Group.
His work draws on a variety of influences, but the self-taught filmmaker has created a distinctive aesthetic and created vivid videos that often combine tightly choreographed dance scenes with more natural, documentary footage. His promo for Tiwa Savage Track 49-99 was inspired by a portrait of Congolese schoolgirls taken by photographer Eliot Elisofon, while the Popcaans Dun Rich video captured the hustle and bustle of Lagos along with shots of female boxers, swimmers, bikers, and dancers.
For Alabi, who is used to making videos with large casts and crews, locking meant an abrupt end to normal business operations. But like many creatives who were unable to work in their normal way, the director has found alternative ways to continue taking photos while taking time to think. Here he talks to CR about what he learned during the lockdown and what changes he wanted to see in the world of filmmaking and production.