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Duanju
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Read the article: https://www.duanju.news/en/post/akolade-bamidele-duanju-format-narrative-rigor
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00:00Today we are joined by a multidisciplinary creative whose work spans through narrative
00:07design, vertical script writing, editing, and storytelling across formats. And this conversation
00:13today is going to explore the craft, the process, and the future of mobile-first storytelling in
00:19Africa, which is Dwanju. So let's get started. I want us to start with you. Can you tell us a bit
00:25about yourself, your background, and how did your journey into script writing begin? And what
00:30kinds of stories do you find yourself most passionate about creating? Okay, thank you so
00:36much, Blessing. My name is Bamidele Akolade, and I studied management in school, but I grew up
00:45loving creative writing, and I remember while growing up, I would write about all these
00:51I did go to school, all those little, little, little short stories like that. So, but as time
00:55went on, I had the opportunity of writing a short story and publish it online, and I saw how people
01:02could connect well with the characters, and how they so much love the story. So I thought about it
01:09that, oh, if I can write down one, and they so much love it, then let me write another one. So I
01:16published another short story, and it was also the same responses from them. And so from there,
01:23I just thought about it that I should now venture into another kind of creative writing, which is
01:29script writing. So I chose vertical scripts. And the kind of stories I love to write, I love to write
01:39romance, suspense, thriller, you know, yeah, all those stories that people can connect with the
01:46characters very easily. So those are the kind of stories I love to write.
01:50Ah, that is wonderful to hear. It's nice to have you here. So staying on that thread, we wanted to
01:56get your perspective on Duan Zhu. That is vertical dramas. We know that Duan Zhu is short mobile
02:02first dramas, and we know that currently they are redefining how audiences consume stories. So as a
02:08script writer, what is your perspective on this format? Do you see it as a creative challenge or a new
02:14storytelling opportunity? Okay, so I see Duan Zhu, I don't know if I pronounce it right though.
02:22I see it as a massive opportunity because one thing I always tell people is that if you know how to
02:31write vertical shots, you are good to go in script writing world because vertical shots challenges
02:37writer and it makes writer better. So once you can get a hand of it, then you are good to go in other
02:43kind of script writing. So I think it's a massive opportunity in storytelling and starting from the
02:50oak to the, from the hook to the cliffhanging, you know, everything just makes it a very big
02:56opportunity. So I would say that it's a massive opportunity. This actually leads me to the next
03:03question. I want to understand your process for fast-paced because I know how you said, you mentioned
03:08something about how vertical script writing challenges writers, which is very true. So I want to understand
03:14your process for this fast-paced audience. When you are writing for screen or digital format, what is your
03:20process like and how do you balance storytelling depth with fast-paced attention span of today's
03:26audience? Okay. So, um, for my process, sorry, for my process, the, whenever I want to start writing
03:34maybe, um, a new episode or a new scene, I asked myself a particular question, which is what is the
03:41character going to feel in this episode or what is the character going to feel in this scene? And after I
03:50answer that question, I will ask, I will ask the next question, which is why do the audience care
03:54about what the characters feel? So once I can answer those two questions very correctly, I think I can
04:00now start breaking, um, this episode into bits by, um, starting with the hook, then to the tension of
04:10conflict, and then I move to the emotional shifts, then I now go to the cliffhanging. So once I'm able to do
04:17all of that, I think I'm very good to go in writing the whole episode or scene and all of that. And for the
04:25balancing, yeah, I balance it just like I mentioned earlier, I start with the, um, hook part of it. So I try as
04:33much as possible to ensure that in as much as I'm trying to make it hooking enough for the audiences,
04:40I still do not go outside the box. I still do not write what is irrelevant. So I try as much as
04:46possible to trim what is not necessary for the people and to trim unnecessary dialogue so that I
04:53still, like, I'm still on track and also not to write something that doesn't move the story forward.
04:59So once I'm done writing a particular episode, I try to read again, read again, read again, so check
05:05that, okay, this particular thing I wrote, is he moving the story forward? Is he telling us something
05:10about the characters? If not, then I think I have to, like, remove them. So that's why I balance,
05:16um, the writing process with the story.
05:20I love that. So let's, let's expand on that. Let's talk about, like, a project that changed you.
05:25You know, every, every writer has, like, a story that changed them. So what is one project that has
05:32shaped your voice or taught you something pivotal about writing for visual media?
05:37Okay, I will say, um, there's a particular mafia story that I wrote. And to me, I felt like, oh,
05:47this particular story, you know, it is moving very fast, you know, looking very interesting and all of
05:53that until I heard from the editor that, oh, this story is extremely slow paced and it is not moving
06:00forward and all of that. So I have to, like, start writing it from the beginning. So that really
06:04just taught me that, oh, really, people really want something that would not break their attention.
06:10Like, I might feel like the story is extremely, you know, fast paced, you know, there's something
06:15always happening. But someone else might watch it and feel like, oh, I'm not really attracted or I'm
06:22not, you know, interested in going to the next episode. So that really, like, really helped me to
06:27know what exactly I should be on the lookout for when I'm writing each episode and how to, like,
06:32move it forward. So I can say that, um, particular mafia story really shaped my mind. And since that
06:39time, it has really helped me to, um, when I'm writing my new stories now, I know what to look
06:45out for. I know what to write. I know how to edit it from my one hand.
06:49Hmm. That's, that's beautiful. Okay. So for our final question, looking ahead, where do you see
06:57Dwan Shu fitting into Africa's creative landscape, rather? Do you believe that short dramas can find
07:04mainstream success here? And would it, or what would it take for it to happen?
07:09So I believe that, um, versatile shots has a very huge future here in Africa, because we are in a
07:18generation where everybody, like this generation, they are glued to their phones. So people will wake
07:25up in the morning. The first thing they do is to check their phones. So since, um, versatile shots
07:29is mobile friendly, I think it's really has a very huge future in Africa. And what do we need to do to
07:37achieve that? I think we need three things. The first thing we need is we need trained writers,
07:43because we don't have a lot of writers in Africa that know how to write vertical shots.
07:49And even some of them don't even know what it means. So if we can have quite a number of trained writers,
07:58and also the next thing I think we need to have is to have investors. There might be a lot of writers
08:04out there, but there are no platforms that are willing to, um, accept our stories. So we need, um,
08:11trained writers, we need investors. And the third thing I think we need is, we need creativity. We can
08:18train writers, and if they're not creative enough, that can, like, creativity in writing African stories,
08:24like stories that, you know, suit and fit our culture. So I think if we can have those three
08:29things, then we are really good to go in vertical shots in Africa.
08:36Okay, that was, uh, nice, um, you know, output there. I love what you said about, um, needing
08:42trained writers, because I feel like if a lot of people know how this format works, it will be easier,
08:48because, I mean, it's, you cannot make a movie without a script. So, yeah. Thank you so much,
08:53Akulade, for sharing your insights and your craft. Um, I just hope that this conversation will be able
09:00to add real value to the dialogue around, um, vertical storytelling and the future of African content,
09:07because more voices are needed in this space, more voices like yours. So thank you very much.
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