Canon, Multichoice, partner for filmmaking across Africa

Canon Central and North Africa has entered an alliance with Multichoice Talent Factory (MTF) to promote filmmaking through a series of workshops and training. An extension of Canon’s Miraisha programme, it will provide short courses on filmmaking and technical training to the 2021/22 MTF cohort of students.

The MTF Academy is an education programme that develops emerging TV and film talent in Africa, through an accredited 12-month immersion programme, including both theory and hands-on experience in cinematography, editing, audio production and storytelling.

“These training sessions enable us to equip industry professionals with practical and time-relevant skills,” says Nwabisa Matyumza, MultiChoice Talent Factory director. “Most African film-makers and content creators are self-taught, and access to masters and technical skills development is hard to attain – therefore collaborations such as these are crucial for upskilling and development of the industry.”

Canon is rolling out several creative initiatives focused on promoting job opportunities and future livelihoods for the young populationon the continent to enhance and support their skill sets. The company plans to support MTF Academy students to hone their filmmaking and technical skills through a three-month series of workshops that focus on developing a strong foundation of technical know-how, filmmaking basics and introduction to different cameras and lens types.

“These sessions are key to sharpen their existing knowledge and skills to make them future-ready for the big wide world out there,” says Nicola Mungle, sales and marketing director of Canon South Africa. “It makes a world of a difference for students to understand what products are currently being used by ace photographers and filmmakers in the industry and the tips and tricks behind creating their best work using such products. Canon has always been a visionary company that has created some of the best imaging products taking the work of photographers and filmmakers from good to brilliant to exceptional.”

The company plans to take these training courses in time from a virtual set-up to a physical in-person set-up, based on the safety compliance guidelines for the Covid-19 pandemic. The training will encompass a total of 60 students from 13 different African countries, with physical training taking place in the hub countries at the MTF Academies in Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia.

The training programme will kick off with an introductory session on the brand and the best-in-class technological line-up catered for photographers and filmmakers along with technical training on other Canon products. Moving into physical training, the students will have the opportunity to get hands-on training whilst delving deep into filmmaking incorporating a thorough overview into DSLR and Mirrorless, XA & XF and Cinema EOS Filmmaking Cameras along with other sessions on the art of shooting.

Canon has also organised four Miraisha Masterclasses that will be open to the general public as well as MTF alumni. These classes will be based on various industry topics and cover introductions to video and lens basics along with some advanced classes, thereby providing people an opportunity to learn the basics when it comes to technical aspects of filmmaking, as well as have the option to do the advanced workshops.