During the brief gap between the two main ‘lockdown’ periods in the UK, myself and fellow filmmaker Cansen had the opportunity to head to the stunning island of Zanzibar to work with a new group called Baqabo, produced by DJ Enzo Siffredi of Wired Label.

We were set the task of shooting multiple music promo films (7 in total) for the group’s upcoming album release, all within a 10-day period. We came up with the creative concept of shooting them as ‘one-shot’ films, the scenes developing with the music without any cuts.

All the of the films were shot on the Blackmagic URSA 4.6k G2 or the BMPCC4k, flying on the DJI Ronin 2. We attached a Bluetooth speaker to the rig so the guys could lip-sync, and shot most of them at faster frames rates (from between 33 – 45fps) to give a subtle difference to the feel and pace of the movement.

Thanks to the incredible work ethic, drive and determination of everyone that was involved in helping make it all happen, we managed to achieve a very high level of production value with very limited resources, in a very short amount of time. So many aspects and moving parts had to come together, and I know that without the African spirit, attitude or way of life, it simply wouldn’t have happened!

This film in particular was probably my favourite to shoot, as it feels like a true development journey as the song builds. The dusty little village of Jambiani came together and helped make the vision a reality with lots of the locals volunteering to feature in it, and control the little streets to make sure it all worked out. After several hours in the beating sun and almost 40 degree heat, we celebrated with a traditional feast with everyone cramming into the little village restaurant!