I want to work with all the artistes I look up to —Director Sos

Stanley Obiamalu Somadina professionally known as Director SOS is a Nigerian music video director based in Johannesburg, South Africa. His work also extends to film, artiste management and other conglomerates. Known for his work with Vector (in What’s that), Ice Prince, CDQ among other notable Nigerian artistes, Director SOS continues to hone his craft in both Nigeria and South Africa, earning for himself the status of bridge-builder in the African creative industry. The Pempe director is currently working with famous gospel singer, Sinach, in a music video and spoke to Newton-Ray Ukwuoma, about his career, philanthropy among other others in this chat.

How has the year been for you?

The year has been very fulfilling, I am attaining all my set goals and targets.

What plans do you have for the next half of the year?

There is an expansion going on in the company at present, we’re working on bringing in our other business concentrations such as SOS Investment and Real Estate, SOS VIP services , SOS Custom Cars just to mention a few. All these add-ons will fall under SOS Group Africa.

Do you have a platform set aside to impact lives directly?

At present we are working on the expansion of the business sectors as I said before; however, with that we are expanding our philanthropic efforts to encapsulate all the business sector.  At SOS Group Africa, our philanthropy is focused on developing skills so that those that we aid in developing their skills in our core business areas become self-sufficient and are able to use these skills to get a form of income for their selves.  It is our hope that the skills we teach all the people who fall under SOS philanthropy gain knowledge through skills development and this knowledge will be useful to them for decades to come.

What inspired SOS Rescue?

SOS Rescue falls under the SOS Media Production sector of the SOS Group Africa. It is my first initiative to give usable skills in form of pre-production, production and post-production training to individuals who have keen interest in motion picture work, but are unable to afford the costs that come with learning the skills. At the SOS Production Studio in Johannesburg we have a full curriculum that schedules participants to come for training, do practical work and, at the end of 3 months, get a chance to work on a live film set and also get credit for their work.

On top of these, you are a music video director. Give us a snapshot of your regular day at SOS Mediapro?

Most days I am working on multiple projects at the same time. I have other concentrations. Today, I could be at SOS Custom Cars Design Centre working with the design team or I could be on a pre-production set working on the set design for a music video. So a regular day is filled with many tasks to execute.

When did your passion for cars start?

I have always loved cars! I have a love for Mercedez AMG spec cars and all my cars are of the Mercedez Benz brand, but they are also customised.

Between actual films and music videos which is more demanding?

A film set is much more demanding, it takes a longer time to wrap up on a film set than it does to work on a music video. So, I will say that film making is much more demanding

Have you not considered Nollywood?

Well, I have considered Nollywood. But at present I have been tied up with projects for Foxlife and BET. So, I may not be able to work with Nollywood for some time. But it is definitely on the agenda.

Beside film what would you have done? 

Like I said earlier, I have been working on sereval business sectors which I am about launching the new site in the coming days. SOS Group Africa will embody all of my business focus and offerings.

When the Minister of Information, Tourism and Arts said Nigerian artistes should not shoot their music videos abroad, you are mostly in South Africa, but what was your immediate reaction?

To be honest, I wondered what better alternative that Nigeria was offering at the moment. Nigeria is my country. I was born and bred in Nigeria, my family lives in Nigeria so, my love for my country is unquestionable, but there are just some long standing and unresolved problems that are yet to make Nigeria an enabling environment.

 How do you now consider that advice in relation to the economy?

Nigeria has one of the strongest economies in Africa, That’s if not the strongest economy in Africa. There are just forces at play that make Nigeria a nearly oppressive country.

By forces, do you mean witches and wizards?

Maybe they are some of the forces. But we see corruption, inadequate governance, lack of opportunities for people that are willing and able to work, a stifling environment… the list goes on and on. These are the tangible forces we know of and must deal with.

Are there challenges you currently face as a music video director?

The major challenge that I face as a music video director is budget. I have gone so deep into the art and passion for directing that most times, I tend to use my own money to complete an uncompleted project due to an inadequate budget.I always want the best and I never settle for less or stifle my creativity due to lacking budget. The budget is the real challenge for me it limits me and sometimes sets me back.But, I can still work with most budgets, I have the will to do so!

How much is your average budget?

There are variables but it is highly dependent on what the client wants. So I can’t tell you a certain price a lot has to be considered before a budget is made

You and Ice Prince are known to be close friends. You have worked on some of his songs. What brought you together?

I met Ice Prince March 2014 a few days before my birthday in South Africa. He had a song collaboration with my friends Emmy Gee and DJ Dimples, and we were booked to shoot the video on my birthday. So, I invited them both to my birthday at club Harem in Johannesburg after the shoot was complete and coincidentally Ice Prince was also performing at Club Harem that night. Ever since that very night, we have been friends and I have worked on a few videos for him. I think the secret to our friendship is that we both understand each others when it comes to creating visuals for his song.

Do you have any celebrity crush?

There is none currently on my wish list, but I can say that I really do admire Boity, the South African model/TV personality.

Any Nigerian crush?

I definitely have a Naija crush but I’m going to keep her a secret.

Afro Hip-Hop is gaining massive recognition globally. How do you feel about this? Do you see the window of opportunities for new and established video directors? 

Nigerian music is hot. And this has done a lot of good to my career as a video director. I currently shot a video called Bombastic, it had a mix of talented African artistes and a well-known Jamaican superstar from South Africa’s De Les to Malawi’s  Zani Chale. It also featured Grammy award winning artist Beenie Man. Bombastic is out and so far the reviews have been great.

Have you ever had the thought of coming back to Nigeria fully to set up your production company? 

I can’t be in Nigeria fully neither can I be in South Africa fully, I have dual commitments.

I was in Lagos for the Headies! And I come into Nigeria every other week to visit my parents. And also to attend meetings and business executions for Stone World Mining Company which I co-own with my father. In the process of all this, I got a call from a Kenyan artist who wanted to have a meeting with me about the video he wanted to shoot in Capetown in the coming week. So, as you can see I have dual commitments.

Looking at the industry at large, what niche or would I say brand are you hoping to build for yourself in the entertainment industry as a video director? 

Thus far, I have been focused on music videos more that I have been on music. In the not too distant past, I have been involved in short films which I won an award. But I have upcoming series I am working on in collaboration with BET and Foxlife so, let’s see how that goes.

Which of the Nigerian artistes would you like to work with and why would you do it? 

I would love to work with a lot of Nigerian artistes that I have looked up to in the past on my wish list is Mr Peter, Rudeboy, Don Jazzy, 2 Baba. There are so many… I can’t mention them all.

You have successfully remained scandal free. What is your secret?

I am not scandalous.

You are hot and successful. How do you manage female fans?

I am quite disciplined. There are definitely a lot of females around me but I can’t get distracted.

You’re very often described as calm and humble. Do you think this best describes you?

Well, I think it’s my nature. I believe in humility.  I also believe that pride can’t get me far in life. And I want to go very far. I believe humility keeps me grounded, it reminds me that all people are important not just successful or famous people.

What makes you happy and what turns you off?

Success makes me happy; to have a set goal and to achieve these goals in spite of challenges!My turn off is tacky work, anything that has not been done with much effort and attention to detail turns me off.

You have so many things going on in your career, but how do you see the year ending for you?

I see the year ending wonderfully well!