We had a chat with the King of Continuity in Nollywood. Here is the scoop!!

Ndifreke Mathew popularly known as Ndy is a pioneer in the field of Continuity in Nollywood.

For our readers who do not know what continuity is here is a brief explanation.

What is a Continuity Person?

A script supervisor (also called continuity supervisor) is a member of a film crew and oversees the continuity of the motion picture including wardrobe, props, set dressing, hair, makeup and the actions of the actors during a scene. The notes recorded by the script supervisor during the shooting of a scene are used to help the editor cut the scene. They are also responsible for keeping track of the film production unit's daily progress. The script supervisor credit typically appears in the closing credits of a motion picture and is listed on IMDB under miscellaneous crew.

In the most basic description, the script supervisor is the editor's and writer's representative on set, as well as being the right hand aide to the director and the director of photography. It is the script supervisor's job to make sure that at the end of the day the film can be cut together. In that sense, they back up every department, monitor the script during shooting and make sure that errors in continuity do not occur that would prevent the film from being able to be compiled smoothly in the editing room.

In pre-production, the script supervisor creates a number of reports based on the script, including a one-line continuity synopsis providing basic information on each scene such as the time of day, day in story order, and a one line synopsis of the scene. These reports are used by various departments in order to determine the most advantageous shot order and ensure that all departments, including production, wardrobe, set dressing, hair and makeup, are in sync in regard to the progression of time within the story.

During production, the script supervisor acts as a central point for all production information on a film shoot, and has several responsibilities:

Continuity – The supervisor is responsible for working with all departments (camera, lighting, sound, wardrobe, make-up, properties and sets) to make sure that continuity errors do not happen. The script supervisor takes notes on all the details required to recreate the continuity of a particular scene, location, or action. For every take, the script supervisor will note the duration of the take (usually with a stopwatch) and meticulously log information into a daily editor log about the action of the take, including position of the main actor(s), screen direction of their movement, important actions performed during the shot, type of lens used, and additional information which may vary from case to case. When multiple cameras are in use, the script supervisor keeps separate notes on each. These logs also notate a director's comments on any particular take as to whether it is no good, a hold take (ok, but not perfect), or a print take (a good take). All of these notes are crucial not just for continuity – they provide the editor information on what the director prefers any problems with any of the takes and other notes to assist the editing process.
Axis and Eyelines – The script supervisor is also the go-to person for determining the axis of a scene. The supervisor keeps track of and helps the director and the camera-operator set the camera position and off-camera eyelines ensuring that the coverage of a scene cuts seamlessly and that the characters within a scene always appear, without any confusion on the part of the viewer, to be looking precisely at the intended character or object.
Slating – The script supervisor interacts with the clapper loader (second camera assistant) and the production sound mixer to make sure that each take of exposed film has a consistent and meaningful slate, that the sound and picture slates match. The script supervisor also notes the sound roll of each sync take, and the state of all MOS takes. This ensures that there is proper identification on the film footage in the editing room so the editor can find and use the correct takes.
Script – The script supervisor is responsible for keeping the most current version of the shooting script. During shooting, the script supervisor notates any changes from the screenplay that are made by the actors, director or others during the actual filming process. If significant changes are made to the script that affect a future day's shooting, the script supervisor is responsible for providing those changes to the assistant director's team who then will distribute those changes to the rest of the crew. The script supervisor's script is also referred to as their lined script because during shooting, a script supervisor draws a vertical line down the page for each different camera setup. Each line designates the start and stop of that setup, a quick note of what the shot description was and whether or not the dialogue was on camera for that setup. This allows the editor to quickly reference which camera setups cover which portion of the dialogue or action.
Production Reports – At the end of each shooting day, the script supervisor prepares daily reports for the production team. These reports vary in form depending on the studio or production company; however, they generally include a log of the actual times that shooting and breaks started and stopped, and a breakdown of the pages, scenes and minutes that were shot that day, as well as the same information for the previous day, the total script and the amounts remaining to be done. Also included are the number of scenes covered (completely shot), the number of retakes (when a scene has to be reshot), and the number of wild tracks. The script supervisor is the official timekeeper on any set.
Editor's Notes – In addition to the production reports, each shooting day the script supervisor also compiles the continuity logs for the day's shooting as well as the relevant lined script pages for the scenes shot that day. Those notes are sent off to the editorial staff to assist them in the editing process.

The script supervisor is the primary liaison between the director (who decides what scenes are to be shot) and the editor (who is usually not present during actual filming but needs to have exact records of the filming in order to do the job of cutting the film together.) The script supervisor is a technical rather than artistic position and is generally considered as part of the producer's or studio's staff. There is usually only one script supervisor on a given film production.(Ref: Wikepedia )

That being said it is not difficult to see how valuable people like Ndee are to our industry. The superstar continuity genius took out time to respond to our interview request; giving us a chance to get to know the man behind the brand.

Ndifreke Mathew is the man behind some of your favorite movies like Wedding Party, Tatu, The Arbitration, My Wife and I, New Money, Out of Luck, North East, In Sickness and Health and Blood Letters.

Born in Lagos on the 29^th of Lagos to a family of 7, Ndifreke is the oldest and only male child of 5 siblings. Growing up he had dreams of being a teacher. He had a chance to live out that dream for two years after secondary school, teaching mathematics in a tutorial center but as we know, this was not the plan for his life.

In 2005 after his brief stint as a teacher he came into the movie industry, when we asked him about his first Nollywood set and the experience here is what he had to say:

Ndy: I came in as an actor but the first time I attended an audition, was the day I told myself the truth.... That Ndy u can't act, look for something else to do ... immediately, I changed my mind from acting... I asked people about other departments in movie making. The one I loved most when they explained to me was SCRIPT SUPERVISION (CONTINUITY). I met a friend who is now a brother Akan Archibong. He was one of the continuity persons then, though now he is a director. I begged him to teach me for free 😅.. . He actually did.... But u know free things na... I didn't see how a script looked like through-out the period he taught me. I never went to a movie set to see how it was done that period.... I will spend my last cash on transportations to his place to learn at the end of the day I won't meet him at home, even when I told him I was coming. The most painful part of it was the day he invited me to a movie set he was working on somewhere around Festac town; without a proper address.

Not many people know what continuity is and the job literally landed on Ndee, when we asked when he finally decided this is the career he wanted here is what he had to say

Ndy: From the day I met with my boss, Akan Archibong.... The first thing he told me was that, as a Continuity person I am the director's right hand, if I take the job professionally. That is to say from day one I started the training as a continuity person...

Over the years he has worked on a number of projects; we asked him which was his most memorable and we got the most honest response ever

Ndy: These are projects that hit box office... And when a project u worked on made box office, automatically u r also recognized worldwide 😁

Obviously with movies like The Wedding Party and The Arbitration under your belt you are automatically a hit maker.

Ndee has big plans for his future, he intends to transition into Directing within the next five years, he also plans to study abroad and expand his knowledge. Obviously when we heard he wanted to abandon his field to be a director we had to ask if he feels his current field is under appreciated in Nollywood. This was his response

Ndy: They don't recognize Script supervisors (Continuity Persons) here in Nollywood and it's bad. Most productions don't see us as important as they see the directors, the dps, costumes and so on. Whereas, we are the engine room onset. We supervise every department that involves continuity onset... From The actors, costumes, makeup, Production designers etc... Yet we are nowhere on the list. For instance; Have you ever heard the best Script Supervisor in any award category here in Nigeria ? In UK and U.S film industries everybody is honored and well respected compared to Nigeria.
No matter how big a film appears to be, who are the people behind it? The production team... Every single person on that project is important. Imagine, producers always forget to tag our names on social media whenever they are promoting the jobs. It not fair. We work like elephants onset and earn credits like rodents.
Our awards are more important because, if not for us.. An actor will leave his home onset and appear with another wears, hair, makeup, shoes in the next scene. Think about it.

He says that his dream is to change the way Nollywood sees script supervisors and to be be among the best filmmakers in the world and develop others who have passion for the field.

For those of you that don’t know Ndee, get familiar with his work, available in cinemas, on Iroko Tv and Africa Magic.

Lucky Me
Dream House
Dibia
Date Night
Time Looped
Married TV series
Desperate House girls TV series season 2 n 3