Can you tell us about your job?
I started my career in 2016 at Maline Production, an audiovisual production company based in the city of Douala, as an assistant director working alongside Franco-Central African promoter and director Guy Thierry Alima. This company specialized in the production of institutional films and multi-camera commercials using Blackmagic 4K ATM. It also had a film set rental division for external productions.
In 2017, I joined an audiovisual production company specializing in the production of short and feature films called Cordia Prod. I worked as a cameraman/editor and assistant director in this company. This allowed me to learn about the process of creating fiction films, documentaries, and television series.
In June 2019, I embarked on a new adventure, this time with Hémisphère Média Africa as a photojournalist. Our mission was to produce journalistic audiovisual content (news reports, magazines, live broadcasts, etc.) to feed international media outlets such as TF1, Arte, France 24, France 2, TV5Monde, Canal+, and others across the continent!
My love for images dates back to my high school years. I had a camera that I used a lot. Later, I opted for professional training in editing and production at the Isem-ibcg university institute in Douala, Cameroon. At this institution, I learned the basics of editing and production. This allowed me to quickly acquire and improve my skills in this field. But I am a curious and self-taught person. I also learned a lot from the internet, watching tutorials.
What are your main responsibilities?
As a photojournalist, I work in an editorial office with journalists. We propose ideas for news reports or magazine features for our broadcasters. Once the idea has been proposed, we have to get it approved by our editorial coordinators, who will then propose it to the various television channels. After their final approval, we start the filming process. We prepare our visit to the field with our contacts.
Once in the field, my role is to capture images, both aerial and terrestrial, to best tell the stories you will see on your small screen, by proposing as many shot ideas as possible to the journalist I am working with. Once filming is complete, we return to the office and immediately begin post-production. Editing can then begin. We have to work within sometimes quite tight production deadlines. Once the subject has been edited and approved by our editorial managers, we send the "Ready to Broadcast" (RTB) to our broadcasters.
What are the challenges of your job? What are the main difficulties you face on a daily basis?
The challenges are enormous, especially since we work daily to provide mass information via our broadcasters such as France 24 and TV5 Monde, for which we are responsible for correspondence in Cameroon. In our countries, these media outlets are sometimes poorly perceived by the population or the authorities, as they are accused of serving the interests of France. With each broadcast, we have to be very careful to collect, verify, and scrupulously analyze the information provided by our sources. Sometimes the subjects are very sensitive, and a report can have significant consequences for the people we highlight.
There are several difficulties. For example, the fact that we work mainly for French channels in Africa. As our reports have international resonance, we are sometimes prohibited from filming by the authorities due to the complexity and sensitivity of certain subjects. Another difficulty is that some of the people we want to feature in our reports, who sometimes hold crucial information, are afraid of reprisals depending on the nature of the subject. These people refuse to speak on camera or allow us to follow them to tell their stories.
Since you started out, what major changes have there been in the profession of "JRI" in Cameroon?
The profession of photojournalist in Cameroon is still little known, and I would say that it is Hémisphère Media Africa that is innovating in this field. Our company has a demanding production process that allows us to deliver productions that meet international standards. The experience of our managers, in this case Mr. Patrick Fandio, the company's CEO, allows us to evolve. Local media outlets do not have the same technical and editorial requirements as we do. When you take a quick look around, the productions made in Cameroon still leave something to be desired. But I believe that by taking inspiration from companies like ours, local media outlets will also be able to improve the quality of their content.
What excites you about your job?
What excites me about my job is the unexpected and the adventure! But also the contact with the people we meet, because we go to the source of the information, wherever it may be. In the field, you never know what to expect, but we have clear objectives… we have to finish each shoot with enough material to edit and broadcast a good story. So far, we have always achieved these objectives.
An anecdote? The day I put on a bulletproof vest, helmet, and ballistic glasses for the first time. We were going to film in the English-speaking regions of northwestern and southwestern Cameroon. A war has been going on there for several years. On the road, as our convoy passed under military escort, we were fired upon by English-speaking rebels. That day, I was scared out of my wits!
Any advice? I would say that you have to be passionate about your work, because it is very time-consuming.