INTERVIEW: Good Action With Poor Diction Will Not Take You Far As An Actor- Diction Coach
In the Gospel Film Ministry, some actors are stepping up their games in diction. Female Actor and Diction Coach, Bunmi Bamitale since 2020 started training movie Actors, Producers, Directors on diction. In this exclusive interview with Gospel Film News, Bamitale stated that good action with poor diction will not take any actor far. She also unveiled some truth behind the diction training starting today 14th to 17th June, 2021 amongst others. Excerpt:
You have organised a previous edition of third diction training, yet you are organizing another, does that mean the previous edition was not successful?
The first edition of Online Diction Training for Drama Ministers was a huge success. It was held in May, 2020 during the lockdown. We even had participants from outside the country and the testimonies on it was massive as lives were imparted.
What brought about this second edition was the leading of God and the demand of people. Many drama ministers couldn’t participate in the first edition and they’ve been requesting for another training and many who participated have been asking about when the next edition would be.
We noticed a change in the array of speakers for this edition, why is this so this time?
We are blessed with great people in Gospel Film Industry. Last year we had Dr. Doyin Hassan, Prof. Feyi Adepoju, Lolade Okedare and Daddy Kayode Owojori. I was the only Diction coach then and we were so blessed by them. This year, I had to pray again that God should lead in the choice of another set of drama ministers who will be a blessing to the people of God and God did it. We’ll be having Omolara Ayoola PMH, Olajide Ogunmilade, Adeola Salako-Adedamola and Lakunmi who will be sharing their ‘Journey to Eloquence’ with us. Also, myself and Gloria Aideloje, another seasoned Diction Coach with Fluency Experts will be training drama ministers on English Diction.
How important is diction in movie making?
Diction is an aspect in movie making that Producers pay little or no attention to. Good diction will make you stand out as an actor. You will not only be fluent but eloquent. It’s a skill that makes you dynamic and opens doors of opportunity for you. Good action with poor diction will not take you far. You must balance the two.
A poor speaker is a poor writer, a good scriptwriter must be good diction wise.
In film subtitling, good diction cannot be overemphasised. Film subtitling should be error-free. It irks to see films with powerful messages eroded with errors.
Directing goes beyond calling shots. What you do not have, you cannot give. A director with poor diction will not know when an actor is not enunciating words correctly.
Quiet a number of people believe diction training is meant for English language (speakers) alone, is there anything to gain by an actor whose core area of specialization is Yoruba/Hausa/Igbo movie?
Let me answer this by saying that in Nigeria, English language is our L2(second language). It is received pronunciation. English Language is our official language. Until any of our local languages become an official language, we just have to learn how to speak English language excellently.
In communication, there’s code switching and code mixing. As a Hausa, Yoruba or an Igbo actor, you’ll see yourself beginning your conversation in your local language and ending it in English language. Sometimes you use English words in-between your lines. How well do you pronounce them? Whether you shoot your movie in either Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba, what makes it acceptable globally is the translation into English language (subtitling). Also, sometimes, we have voiceover, commentary and newscasting in our movies. Ability to take same role in both your local language and English language will make you dynamic.
Who and who is the training meant for and what area do you want to focus on this time around?
This training is for drama ministers; actors, directors, editors, scriptwriters, and other crew members (whether you’re into stage, movie or radio drama production). If you’re also a spoken word or voiceover artist. If you’re into any aspect of movie production that is targeted at populating the kingdom of God, preaching the gospel of Christ, this training is for you.
The training will cover English sounds that give actors away, intonation, overcoming ‘h-factor’ and more.
On a final note, as an organizer, what do you stand to gain from this training seeing that it’s free of charge?
Our gain is seeing drama ministers exhibit excellence in this aspect in their productions. Creating awareness for good diction is very sensitive because everybody talks but not everybody speaks well. It takes humility to accept that one needs to hone one’s speaking skill and we appreciate it. This training is powered by Fluency Experts, a registered organisation that helps people put finesse to their speech and trains on business communication.
