Award-winning music video director ThankGod Omori, popularly known as TG Omori, has said some of the music videos he has directed cost over $100,000 to produce.
Omori disclosed this on the Afropolitan Podcast, published on YouTube on Wednesday, where he discussed production budgets for videos shot both within and outside Nigeria.
According to the director, filmmakers often hesitate to disclose budgets because costs largely depend on the concept and location.
‘As directors, we don’t really like to reveal budgets because filmmaking is subjective. The ideas vary, and sometimes we don’t like to put budgets out,’ he said.
He noted that making budgets public could either discourage potential clients or undervalue the creative work involved.
‘It doesn’t scare people. It doesn’t also speak cheap of our art. To some people, it might be scary. So it always boils down to the concept that we’re trying to work on,’ he added.
Omori explained that shooting in the United States, especially in cities such as Las Vegas and Los Angeles, is significantly more expensive due to insurance, hourly charges and other production requirements.
‘Most times, if we’re shooting abroad, it’s actually more expensive. So most of the videos I’ve had to shoot in Las Vegas or LA have had to be a bigger budget, not necessarily coming to me, but because shooting in America, I have to pay for insurance. Every hour spent, all of those things,’ he said.
He added, ‘At the end of the day, you’re paying in dollars, and sometimes it goes way above a hundred thousand dollars.’
Asked to confirm whether he meant over $100,000 for a single video, Omori replied, ‘Yeah, most times.’
The director said he has also executed projects in Nigeria for around $100,000, which he described as more profitable because of lower production costs.
‘But in Nigeria here, I’ve done a couple for around a hundred thousand dollars. But it’s easier here. You make a lot of profit from that in Nigeria,’ he said.
He contrasted this with shooting abroad, where a similar budget leaves little profit after covering production expenses.
‘But if I do that abroad, you probably might not make… You just probably get a service charge,’ he said.
Omori further spoke about working with local artisans in Nigeria, noting that while labour is affordable and skilled, it requires intensive supervision.
‘That’s why I enjoy shooting in Lagos because I won’t say cheap, but manpower or labour is quite affordable here. You can get good artisans, local artisans,’ he said.
‘If you have the vision that can help you get the best. It’s just that working with people in Lagos, you are going to sacrifice your sleep and your time to make it happen.’
‘It might save you some money, but to save your health, to go after your sleep and your health, because you have to literally work with them on every nail that is going into the wood.
‘You have to watch the process of everything. But they’re going to get it right. But you’re actually going to have to monitor everything to actually get what you really want. So those are the downsides,’ he added.